3 The Scene of the Crime

Chapter 3 The Scene of the Crime We passed through the gates of the Cunningham estate. After passing the lodge where Keegan had lived, we walked up an oak-lined avenue to the old house. Holmes and Forrester led us around the house until we came to a side door guarded by a constable. A stretch of lawn lay between here and the hedge bordering the property. "This is where the fight between Keegan and the murderer took place," said Holmes. "Please open the door." The constable did so, and Holmes pointed to a staircase within. "It was on those stairs that young Alec Cunningham stood and saw the two men struggling."

第三章犯罪现场我们穿过坎宁安庄园的大门。 经过基冈住过的小屋后，我们沿着一条橡树林荫道向老房子走去。 福尔摩斯和福雷斯特领着我们在屋子里转了一圈，一直走到一个警察把守着的侧门。 在这里和与庄园接壤的树篱之间有一片草坪。 福尔摩斯说：“这就是基冈和凶手打斗的地方。” “请开门。”警官照做了，福尔摩斯指着里面的一个楼梯。 “年轻的亚历克·坎宁安就是站在那些楼梯上，看到那两个人在打斗。”

Then Holmes pointed upward. "Meanwhile, old Mr. Cunningham was at that window—the second from the left—and he saw the fellow escape across the lawn." Holmes now turned and indicated a small break in the hedge. "That's where he saw him push through to the road. The ground is very hard, unfortunately, so there are no footprints to guide us." As Holmes spoke, two men came around the corner of the house. One was elderly with a deep- lined face and heavy eyes. The other was a dashing young man with a cheerful smile. They had to be the Cunninghams.

然后福尔摩斯向上指了指。 “与此同时，老坎宁安先生正站在那扇窗边——左手数第二个——他看见那家伙穿过草坪逃走了。” 福尔摩斯这时转过身来，指着树篱上的一个小缺口。 “他就是在那里看到他推到马路上的。 不幸的是，地面很硬，所以没有脚印来指引我们。” 福尔摩斯说话的时候，有两个人从房子的拐角处走了出来。 一个上了年纪，脸上皱纹很深，眼睛很沉。 另一个是一个风度翩翩的年轻人，脸上带着愉快的微笑。 那一定是坎宁安一家。

"Still working on the mystery then?" Alec said to Holmes. "I thought you Londoners were supposed to be a smart lot. You don't seem to be so very quick after all." "Ah, you must give us a little more time," said Holmes good-naturedly. "By all means," said Alec, "though I don't see that the burglar left you any clues at all." "Actually, there is one," said Forrester. "If we could only find—Good heavens, Mr. Holmes! What's the matter?" My friend had, without warning, collapsed face first on the ground. I rushed to his side.

“还在研究那个谜题吗？”亚历克对福尔摩斯说。 “我还以为你们伦敦人都很聪明呢。 看来你的反应并不那么快。” “啊，你得再给我们一点时间，”福尔摩斯和气地说。 “当然可以，”亚历克说，“不过我看不出那个飞贼给你留下了什么线索。” “事实上，有一个，”弗雷斯特说。 “要是我们能找到——天哪，福尔摩斯先生！怎么啦？”我的朋友毫无征兆地脸朝下倒在地上。 我冲到他身边。

"Holmes, what's the matter?" He uttered only a deep groan in response. Horrified by the suddenness and seriousness of the attack, we carried him into the kitchen and laid him in a large chair. Here, he sat for a few minutes until he could speak again. "Watson will tell you that I've only just recovered from a severe illness," he explained. "I'm afraid I'm still vulnerable to these sudden nervous attacks." "Would you like a ride home in my trap?" offered old Cunningham. Holmes shook his head and rose to his feet. His recovery seemed as swift as his collapse.

“福尔摩斯，出什么事了？”他只发出一声深深的呻吟作为回应。 我们被袭击的突然和严重吓坏了，把他抱进厨房，放在一张大椅子上。 他在这里坐了几分钟，直到又能说话了。 “华生会告诉你，我刚刚从一场大病中恢复过来，”他解释道。 “恐怕我还是很容易受到这种突如其来的神经攻击。” “你想坐我的马车回家吗？”老坎宁安问道。 福尔摩斯摇摇头，站了起来。 他的恢复似乎和他的崩溃一样迅速。

"While I'm here," he said, "I should like to put a new theory to you." "By all means," said Mr. Cunningham. "Do you think it's possible that the burglar had already been in the house when he had his confrontation with your coachman, William Keegan? We all seem to have assumed that, although the door was forced, the robber never got in. But how can we be sure of that?" "It's obvious to me that he didn't get inside the house," said Mr. Cunningham. "My son Alec hadn't yet gone to bed, and he would certainly have heard anyone moving about downstairs." "Where were you exactly?" Holmes asked Alec. "I was reading in my dressing room." "Which window is that?" "The last one on the left, next to my father's." "And the lamps in your dressing room and bedroom were both lit?" "Of course."

“既然我在这儿，”他说，“我想向你提出一个新的理论。” “当然可以，”坎宁安先生说。 “你认为窃贼在与你的马车夫威廉·基冈发生冲突时，有没有可能已经在屋里了？” 我们似乎都认为，虽然门被撬开了，但强盗并没有进去。 但我们怎么能确定呢？”“在我看来，他显然没有进到房子里，”坎宁安说。 “我儿子亚历克还没有上床睡觉，他肯定听到楼下有人走动的声音。” “你到底去哪儿了？”福尔摩斯问亚历克。 “我在更衣室里看书。” “那是哪个窗口？”“左边最后一家，在我父亲的旁边。” “你更衣室和卧室的灯都亮着吗？”“当然。”

"Do you not find it extraordinary that a burglar—one with previous experience, let's not forget—would break into a house at a time when he could see from the lights that members of the family were still up and about?" "He must have been a daring fellow," said Alec. "As for your idea that he robbed the house before William tackled him, I find that absurd. Wouldn't we have found the place in a mess, with things missing?" "It depends on what the things were," said Holmes. "Remember, we are dealing with a very

“你不觉得很奇怪吗？一个窃贼——一个有前科的人，别忘了——会在他从灯光里看到家里的人还在走动的时候破门而入？”“他一定是个勇敢的家伙，”亚历克说。 “至于你说他在威廉抓住他之前抢劫了房子，我觉得这很荒谬。 我们会不会发现这地方乱成一团，东西都不见了？”福尔摩斯说："这要看是什么东西了。 “记住，我们面对的是一个非常