5 The Man with the Gun

Chapter 5 The Man with the Gun I couldn't work out what had startled Holmes. Outside, the street was now completely empty. That man might still have been crouching in his doorway, but I could no longer see him. Suddenly, Holmes pulled me into the darkest corner of the room. I felt his hand on my lips, warning me to stay silent. His fingers were trembling with nervous tension. I wondered what was troubling him, but then I became aware of a sound. It was low and stealthy and didn't come from the street but from the back of the house.

第五章拿枪的人我弄不明白是什么使福尔摩斯大吃一惊。 外面的街道现在完全空无一人。 那个人可能还蹲在门口，但我看不见他了。 突然，福尔摩斯把我拉到房间最黑暗的角落里。 我感觉到他的手放在我的嘴唇上，警告我不要出声。 他的手指因神经紧张而颤抖。 我不知道是什么在困扰他，但后来我听到了一个声音。 那声音低沉而隐蔽，不是从街上传来的，而是从房子后面传来的。

A door opened and closed. Footsteps began creeping slowly down the passage toward us. Holmes edged deeper into the shadows and I did the same, my hand closing on the butt of my revolver. Peering into the gloom, I saw the vague outline of a man. He stood for a moment in the doorway, then crept forward into the room. I prepared to meet his attack, until I realized he had no idea we were there.

一扇门开了又关。走廊上开始有脚步声慢慢地向我们走来。 福尔摩斯向暗处挪了挪，我也向暗处挪了挪，我的手紧紧抓住了左轮手枪的枪托。 在黑暗中，我看到了一个男人模糊的轮廓。 他在门口站了一会儿，然后蹑手蹑脚地走进房间。 我准备迎接他的攻击，直到我意识到他根本不知道我们在那里。

He moved to the window and carefully raised it a few inches, then sank to one knee so he could see through the opening. The street light fell upon his face. I saw he was an elderly man with a high forehead and a large moustache. In his hand he carried a thin cane or rod that gleamed like metal. From his pocket, he drew a bulky object, which he fitted to the rod with a sharp click. He pushed a lever, producing a whirling, grinding noise that ended in another loud click.

他走到窗前，小心地把窗户抬高了几英寸，然后单膝跪地，这样他就能透过窗户看到外面了。 街灯照在他的脸上。 我看到他是个上了年纪的人，额头很高，留着大胡子。 他手里拿着一根像金属一样闪闪发光的细手杖。 他从口袋里掏出一个笨重的东西，啪的一声把它装在杆子上。 他推了一下控制杆，发出一阵旋转的、磨碎的声音，最后又是一声响亮的咔哒声。

I saw now that the object in his hand was a kind of gun. He opened it at the breech and put something in before snapping it shut. He rested the end of the barrel on the ledge of the open window. His eye gleamed as it peered through the sights. He snuggled the butt comfortably against his shoulder and gave a sigh of satisfaction as he took aim at the black figure in the yellow window. For an instant, he was perfectly still. Then his finger tightened on the trigger.

我现在才看出他手里拿的是一种枪。 他打开后膛，放了些东西进去，然后砰地一声关上了门。 他把桶的一端搁在开着的窗户的窗台上。 他的眼睛在透过视线窥视时闪闪发光。 他把屁股舒服地靠在肩上，心满意足地叹了口气，瞄准了黄色窗户里的黑影。 有那么一瞬间，他完全静止了。 然后他的手指扣紧了扳机。

There was a loud whizzing sound followed by a silvery tinkle of broken glass. At that moment, Holmes sprang out of the shadows and landed on the marksman's back, pushing him flat on his face. Showing incredible strength, the man immediately rose up again and seized Holmes by the throat. Moving behind the man, I struck him on the head with the butt of my revolver and he dropped back down to the floor. I held him there with my arms and knees while Holmes blew loudly on his whistle.

一阵响亮的嗖嗖声，接着是碎玻璃发出的银白色的叮当声。 就在这时，福尔摩斯从阴影中跳出来，落在射手的背上，把他推倒在地。 那人表现出令人难以置信的力量，立刻站起来，一把抓住福尔摩斯的喉咙。 我走到那人身后，用左轮手枪的枪托打了他的头，他又倒在地上。 我用胳膊和膝盖把他抱在那里，福尔摩斯大声吹着哨子。

There was a clatter of running feet and three men rushed through the front entrance and into the room. Two were uniformed policemen; the other, a plain-clothed detective who I recognized as the figure I'd seen sheltering in the doorway. "That you, Lestrade?" said Holmes. "Yes, Mr. Holmes. It's good to see you back in London, sir." "I thought you could use a little help. Three unsolved murders in a year isn't good enough, Lestrade." The two constables took my place in restraining the prisoner, who was now back on his feet.

传来一阵奔跑的脚步声，三个人从前门冲了进来。 两人是穿制服的警察；另一个是一个便衣侦探，我认出他就是我看见躲在门口的那个人。 “是你吗，雷斯垂德？”福尔摩斯说道。 “是的，福尔摩斯先生。很高兴在伦敦见到您，先生。” “我想你可能需要一点帮助。 雷斯垂德，一年内有三起未破的谋杀案是不够的。" 那两个警察代替我去制服犯人，现在犯人已经站起来了。