3 A Trip to Norfolk

Chapter 3 A Trip to Norfolk Sherlock Holmes kept up his calm, professional manner until our visitor had departed. Once Hilton Cubitt's broad back had disappeared through the door, my friend rushed over to the table. He laid out all the slips of paper, then threw himself into an intense examination of the dancing men. For two hours he covered sheet after sheet of his notepad with figures and letters. So absorbed was he in this task that he completely forgot I was there.

第三章诺福克之行歇洛克·福尔摩斯一直保持着他那镇静而专业的态度，直到我们的客人离开。 希尔顿·丘比特宽阔的背影一从门里消失，我的朋友就冲到桌边。 他把所有的纸条摊开，然后全神贯注地打量着跳舞的人。 两个小时里，他在记事本上一页一页地写满了数字和字母。 他全神贯注于这项任务，完全忘记了我在那里。

Sometimes, as he made progress, he sang and whistled while he worked; at other times, when he was stuck, he would sit in silence, frowning at the symbols as if trying to force them to make sense. Finally, he sprang from his chair with a cry of triumph and walked around the room rubbing his hands together. Then he wrote a long telegram. "If this brings the answer I expect, Watson," he said, "then you'll have another very pretty case to write about. I hope the answer will come tomorrow and then we can go to Norfolk and explain the whole mystery to our friend." But the answer to the telegram didn't come the next day, nor the day after that, and my friend

有时，当他取得进展时，他一边工作一边唱歌和吹口哨；其他时候，当他被困住的时候，他会沉默地坐着，对着那些符号皱着眉头，好像试图迫使它们有意义。 最后，他胜利地叫了一声，从椅子上跳了起来，搓着手在房间里走来走去。 然后他写了一封很长的电报。 “如果这是我所期望的答案，华生，”他说，“那么你就又有一个非常漂亮的案子可以写了。 我希望明天能得到答案，然后我们就可以去诺福克，向我们的朋友解释整个谜团。” 但是第二天电报没有得到答复，第三天也没有，我的朋友

grew increasingly impatient. On the evening of the second day, a letter arrived from Hilton Cubitt. He had found some more dancing men written on the pedestal of the sundial. Here is the copy he made... After studying these for some minutes, Holmes let out a gasp of surprise and dismay. "We have to go to Norfolk at once!" he exclaimed. "Is there a train to North Walsham tonight?" "The last one has just gone," I said, after checking the timetable. "Then we must take the first one tomorrow morning." Our landlady Mrs. Hudson came in with a telegram—the long expected reply to the one Holmes had sent. "Just as I expected," said Holmes, after he had read it. I had rarely seen him look so gaunt with anxiety. "This makes it even more essential that

变得越来越不耐烦。 第二天晚上，希尔顿·丘比特来了一封信。 他在日晷的底座上又发现了几个跳舞的人。 这是他的复印件。 福尔摩斯仔细研究了几分钟后，惊讶而沮丧地倒吸了一口气。 “我们得马上去诺福克！” “今晚有开往北沃尔舍姆的火车吗？”“最后一班已经开走了，”我看完时刻表后说。 “那么我们明天早上必须乘第一班。” 我们的房东赫德森太太带着一封电报走了进来——这是福尔摩斯寄来的那封期待已久的回信。 福尔摩斯读完信后说道："正如我所预料的那样。 我很少看到他焦虑得如此憔悴。 “这使得它变得更加重要

we inform Mr. Cubitt of the situation, for he has no idea what terrible danger he is in." As it turned out, Holmes was right. How I wish we could have taken that earlier train and thus prevented the dark conclusion of this story. We had barely stepped off the train at North Walsham the following morning when the station master hurried toward us. "I suppose you are the detectives from London heading for Ridling Thorpe Manor?" he panted.

我们把情况告诉了丘比特先生，因为他不知道自己处于多么可怕的危险之中。” 事实证明，福尔摩斯是对的。 我多么希望我们能乘早一点的火车，这样就能避免这个故事的黑暗结局。 第二天早上，我们刚在北沃尔舍姆下了火车，站长就急匆匆地朝我们走来。 “我想你们就是从伦敦来的侦探吧？”他喘着气说。

A look of fear passed across Holmes's face. "Why do you ask?" he said. "Or maybe you are the surgeons? She's not dead—or wasn't the last I heard. You may be in time to save her yet, even if it's only for the gallows." "We are going to Ridling Thorpe Manor," said Holmes, "but we've heard nothing of what's happened there." "It's a terrible business," said the stationmaster. "Mrs. Cubitt shot her husband and then herself, so the servants say. He's dead, and her life is hanging by a thread. Dear me! And to

福尔摩斯的脸上掠过一丝恐惧。 “你为什么这么问？”他说。 “或者你们就是外科医生？” 她还没死，至少不是我最后听到的消息。 你也许还来得及救她，哪怕只是为了上绞架。” “我们要到雷德林索普庄园去，”福尔摩斯说，“但是我们对那里发生的事一无所知。” “这是一件可怕的事情，”站长说。 “仆人们说，库比特太太先是开枪打死了她丈夫，然后又自杀了。 他死了，她命悬一线。 亲爱的我!和

think the Cubitts are one of the oldest and most respected families in Norfolk." Without a word, Holmes hurried to a waiting carriage. During the drive to Ridling Thorpe, he never opened his mouth. The pretty Norfolk countryside was entirely lost on him. I've seldom seen him so despondent. At last we came in sight of Ridling Thorpe Manor, a beautiful old brick-and-timber house rising above a grove of trees. As we drove up to the front door we passed the sundial on the lawn and the toolshed where the messages had appeared.

我认为丘比特家族是诺福克最古老、最受尊敬的家族之一。” 福尔摩斯二话没说，匆匆走向一辆等候着的马车。 在去雷德林索普的路上，他一句话也没说。 他对美丽的诺福克乡村完全失去了兴趣。 我很少看到他这么沮丧。 最后，我们看到了里德林·索普庄园，一座美丽的老砖木房子矗立在一片树林之上。 当我们开车到前门时，经过了草坪上的日晷和工具间，这些信息就是在那里出现的。