5 A Shocking Attack

Chapter 5 A Shocking Attack After leaving Miss Stoner, Sherlock Holmes and I walked over to the Crown Inn and secured an upper-floor room. From our window, we had a good view of the inhabited wing of Stoke Moran. At dusk, Dr. Grimesby Roylott arrived at the house in his trap. The young driver had some difficulty undoing the heavy iron gates, and we heard an angry roar of impatience from the doctor as he shook his fist at the boy.

第五章令人震惊的袭击离开斯通纳小姐后，歇洛克·福尔摩斯和我来到皇冠旅馆，在楼上找了个房间。 从我们的窗口，我们可以清楚地看到斯托克莫兰有人居住的一面。 黄昏时分，格里姆斯比·罗伊洛特医生乘着他的马车来到了那所房子。 年轻的司机好不容易才打开沉重的铁门，我们听到医生不耐烦地怒吼着，向男孩挥舞着拳头。

"I fear we may be in some danger tonight, Watson," said Holmes gravely. "Clearly you saw more in that house than I did," I said. "I saw all you did, but perhaps I deduced a little more. There were some very odd things about those rooms." "Like the ventilator shaft?" "I knew that would be there before we came to Stoke Moran." "You did? How?" "You remember Miss Stoner telling us that her sister could smell her stepfather's cigars? That's when I knew there had to be an opening in the wall between the two rooms, however small." "But what's the significance of a tiny opening between the rooms, Holmes? A rat could barely pass through it." "Yes, and it serves no obvious purpose; that's what bothers me. It's the same with the bell pull, which was put in at around the same time. Also, did you notice anything unusual about the bed?" "It was clamped to the floor."

福尔摩斯严肃地说：“恐怕今晚我们会遇到危险，华生。” “显然你在那所房子里看到的比我多，”我说。 “你所做的一切我都看到了，但也许我的推断更多一些。 那些房间有一些非常奇怪的东西。” “就像通风口一样？”“在我们来到斯托克莫兰之前，我就知道会有这样的结果。” “你做的?如何?”“你还记得斯托纳小姐告诉我们她姐姐能闻到继父的雪茄味吗？” 那时我就知道，两个房间之间的墙上必须有一个开口，不管有多小。” “可是，两个房间之间有一个小小的开口有什么意义呢，福尔摩斯？ 老鼠都不能穿过它。” “是的，而且没有明显的目的；这就是困扰我的地方。 拉铃也是一样的，它们差不多是在同一时间出现的。 还有，你有没有注意到床有什么不寻常的地方？”“它被夹在地板上了。”

"Did you ever see a bed fastened like that before?" "I can't say I have." "The lady couldn't move her bed, so it would have to be in the same position beneath the ventilator and the rope." I shivered at his use of the word rope instead of bell pull. Yet he was right—it was clearly never meant to be a bell pull. I began to see the dim outlines of a subtle and horrible crime. I only prayed we were in time to prevent it. We stared into the darkness, waiting for our signal. Hours passed and I began to fear that

“你以前见过这样固定的床吗？”“我不能说我见过。” “这位女士无法移动她的床，所以它必须在呼吸机和绳子下面的相同位置。” 他用“绳”这个词代替“拉铃”，我不禁打了个寒颤。 然而，他是对的——很明显，这从来就不是拉铃的意思。 我开始看到一桩微妙而可怕的罪行的模糊轮廓。 我只祈祷我们能及时阻止它。 我们凝视着黑暗，等待我们的信号。 几个小时过去了，我开始担心

something had gone wrong. Perhaps Dr. Roylott had broken into his stepdaughter's bedroom. Then, at the stroke of eleven, a single bright light shone from the house. "That's the signal," cried Holmes, springing to his feet. "It's coming from the middle window." A moment later, we were outside on the dark road, a chill wind blowing in our faces and just that lonely yellow light to guide us to our destination. It wasn't difficult to enter the grounds—the old wall surrounding the property had several breaks in it. After making our way through the trees, we crossed the lawn and were

出了什么问题。也许博士。 罗伊洛特闯进了继女的卧室。 然后，在十一点的钟声敲响的时候，一盏明亮的灯从房子里照了出来。 “这就是信号，”福尔摩斯一跃而起，喊道。 “是从中间的窗户传来的。” 过了一会儿，我们来到外面黑暗的路上，寒风吹在我们的脸上，只有那盏孤独的黄灯指引我们到达目的地。 进入场地并不困难——房子周围的旧墙有几处裂缝。 穿过树林后，我们穿过草坪

about to enter through the window when a nearby movement made us jump. Something sprang out of a clump of bushes and darted across the lawn. It looked like a hideous little child. "Hell's teeth!" I whispered. "Did you see that?" Holmes seemed, at first, as startled as I was, for I felt his hand close tightly around my wrist. Then he broke into a low laugh. "That," he said, "was the baboon." I had forgotten about Roylott's strange pets, and I let out a strangled sigh. "Maybe we'll find the cheetah on our shoulders next," I muttered.

我们正要从窗户进去，这时附近的动静把我们吓了一跳。 有什么东西从灌木丛中跳出来，飞快地穿过草坪。 它看起来像一个丑陋的小孩。 “地狱的牙齿!”我低声说。 “你看到了吗？”福尔摩斯起初似乎和我一样吃惊，因为我感到他的手紧紧地抓住了我的手腕。 然后他低声笑了起来。 “那，”他说，“就是那只狒狒。” 我忘记了罗伊洛特的那些奇怪的宠物，我发出一声窒息的叹息。 “也许下一个我们会发现猎豹在我们的肩膀上，”我喃喃地说。

Holmes was first through the window. After I had clambered in behind him, he quietly closed the shutters and moved the lamp to the table. We removed our shoes to make less noise. "Let's not speak," Holmes whispered in my ear. "The smallest sound could be fatal to our plans." I nodded to show I understood. "And stay awake," he whispered. "Your life may depend on it." I took out my gun and rested it on the table within easy reach. Holmes took the lamp over to the bed. He seated himself there, laying his long, thin cane on the blanket beside him. Next to it he placed a box of matches. Then he switched off the lamp, leaving us in complete darkness. This was necessary because even the dimmest light would

福尔摩斯是第一个透过窗户进去的。 我从他身后爬进去后，他轻轻地关上百叶窗，把灯移到桌子上。 我们脱掉鞋子以减少噪音。 福尔摩斯在我耳边轻声说：“我们不要说话了。” “哪怕是最小的声音都可能对我们的计划造成致命的影响。” 我点点头表示我明白。 “保持清醒，”他低声说。 “你的生命可能就靠它了。” 我掏出枪放在桌上，伸手就能拿得到。 福尔摩斯把灯端到床边。 他坐在那里，把又长又细的手杖放在身旁的毯子上。 他在旁边放了一盒火柴。 然后他关掉了灯，把我们留在一片漆黑中。 这是必要的，因为即使是最昏暗的光线也会