2 Birlstone Manor

Chapter 2 Birlstone Manor Half an hour later, we reached Pitt Street. As we drew up to number 131, we found a curious crowd gathered by its front steps. "By George!" said Holmes. "Only a murder would draw a throng like this. Look, Watson, the top step has been mopped down while the rest are dry. What does that tell us? Let's see what Lestrade has to say." The policeman greeted us solemnly and showed us into a sitting room where an agitated middle-aged man in a dressing gown was pacing

第二章伯尔斯通庄园半小时后，我们到了皮特街。 当我们走到131号的时候，我们发现一群好奇的人聚集在门前的台阶上。 “天哪！”福尔摩斯说道。“只有谋杀案才会吸引这么多人。 看，华生，最上面的台阶已经被拖过了，其余的都是干的。 这告诉我们什么？让我们看看雷斯垂德会怎么说。” 警察严肃地迎接了我们，把我们领进一间客厅，一个穿着晨衣的中年男子在客厅里踱来踱去，神情激动

up and down. Lestrade introduced him as Mr. Horace Harker, a newspaper journalist and the owner of the house. "It's the Napoleon bust business again," said Lestrade, "and the affair has taken a much darker turn." "What kind of turn?" "Murder, Mr. Holmes." He turned to Harker. "Perhaps you could tell these gentlemen exactly what happened, sir." The man in the dressing gown stopped pacing and gazed at us with a sorrowful expression. "It's quite extraordinary," he said. "I've spent my

上上下下。雷斯垂德介绍说，他是霍拉斯·哈克先生，一位报社记者，也是这所房子的主人。 “这又是拿破仑半身像的事，”雷斯垂德说，“这事已变得阴暗得多了。” “什么样的转弯？”“谋杀，福尔摩斯先生。” 他转向哈克。“也许您可以把事情的原原本本告诉这两位先生，先生。” 穿晨衣的人停止了踱步，带着悲伤的表情凝视着我们。 “这很不寻常，”他说。 “我花了我的

entire life writing about other people's news, and now that the news has happened to me, I'm too confused and upset to write a word. "Instead, I'm giving away my story for free to every reporter who happens by. I've heard of you, Mr. Holmes, and if you'd only explain this strange business, that would more than compensate me for telling you the story." We sat down and listened. "As a journalist I do a lot of my work at night, writing until the early hours. At about three o'clock, I was in my study upstairs when I heard some sounds coming from down here. I sat listening for a while longer, but they weren't repeated and I figured they'd come from outside. Then, about five minutes later, I heard a horrible scream—the most dreadful sound I ever heard, Mr. Holmes. I sat frozen with horror for a moment, then seized the poker and went downstairs. On entering this room, I found the window wide open and I immediately noticed my bust of Napoleon was missing from the mantelpiece. Why any burglar would take such a

一辈子都在写别人的新闻，现在这些新闻发生在我身上，我太困惑和沮丧了，一个字也写不出来。 “相反，我要把我的故事免费赠送给每一个碰巧路过的记者。 福尔摩斯先生，我听说过你，如果你能解释一下这件奇怪的事情，那就比我给你讲的故事更能补偿我了。” 我们坐下来倾听。“作为一名记者，我的很多工作都是在晚上完成的，一直写到凌晨。 大约三点钟的时候，我正在楼上的书房里，突然听到下面有声音传来。 我又坐着听了一会儿，但声音没有重复，我猜想是从外面传来的。 然后，大约五分钟后，我听到一声可怕的尖叫声——这是我听到过的最可怕的声音，福尔摩斯先生。 我吓得呆呆地坐了一会儿，然后抓起拨火棍下楼去了。 一走进这间屋子，我发现窗户大开着，我立刻注意到我的拿破仑半身像从壁炉架上不见了。 为什么窃贼会拿走这么多

thing I've no idea, for it was only a plaster cast and of no great value." "Where did you obtain the bust?" asked Holmes. "I bought it at Harding Brothers in Kensington High Street about four months ago." Holmes nodded. "Please go on with your story." "I went into the hall and opened the door to see if I could catch sight of the burglar.

我不知道那是什么东西，因为那只是一个石膏模型，没有什么价值。” 福尔摩斯问道：“你从哪儿弄到半身像的？” “我大约四个月前在肯辛顿高街的哈丁兄弟公司买的。” 福尔摩斯点点头。“请继续讲你的故事。” “我走进大厅，打开门，想看看能不能看见那个窃贼。

"However, as I stepped out into the dark, I nearly fell over the body of a dead man lying there on the front step. The poor fellow had been stabbed. I was in a terrible panic—but somehow, I managed to raise the alarm with my whistle. Then I must have fainted, for the next thing I knew a policeman was standing over me in the hall." "Who was the murdered man?" asked Holmes. "We found nothing to identify him," said Lestrade. "You'll see him at the mortuary. He's

然而，当我走到黑暗中，我几乎跌倒在一个死人的尸体躺在那里的前台阶。 这个可怜的家伙被人刺伤了。 我非常惊慌——但不知怎么的，我设法用哨子拉响了警报。 然后我一定是昏过去了，因为我所知道的下一件事就是一个警察站在大厅里看着我。” “被谋杀的人是谁？”福尔摩斯问道。 雷斯垂德说："我们没有发现任何能证明他身份的东西。 “你会在太平间见到他的。 他是

tall, sunburned, very powerful but poorly dressed, and not more than thirty. A horn- handled knife was lying beside him when he was found. Whether or not it was the murder weapon, we don't know. It could have belonged to the victim himself. All we found in his pockets was an apple, some string, a pocket map of London, and a photograph. Here it is." The photograph showed an alert, sharp- featured man with thick eyebrows and a stern expression. "What happened to the bust?" asked Holmes after studying the picture. "It was found just before you arrived in the front garden of a nearby empty house. It was

高个子，晒得黝黑，很有力量，但穿着不得体，不到三十岁。 他被发现时身边放着一把角柄刀。 至于那是不是凶器，我们不知道。 可能是死者自己的。 我们在他口袋里只发现了一个苹果、一根绳子、一张袖珍伦敦地图和一张照片。 给你。”照片上是一个机警、轮廓分明的男人，眉毛浓密，表情严肃。 福尔摩斯研究完画像后问道：“半身像后来怎么样了？” “它是在你到达附近一所空房子的前花园之前发现的。 这是