2 The Stolen Jewel

Chapter 2 The Stolen Jewel "The goose, Mr. Holmes!" gasped Peterson. "The goose!" "What about the goose?" demanded Holmes. "Did it come back to life? Did it speak to you?" "No, sir, look! See what my wife discovered in the goose's throat." The doorman held out his hand for us to look. In the middle of his palm lay a glittering blue jewel. It was about the size of a bean and twinkled with an almost electric glow.

“那只鹅，福尔摩斯先生！”彼得森喘着气说。 “鹅!”“那只鹅呢？”福尔摩斯问道。 “它复活了吗？” 它对你说话了吗？”“不，先生，你看！看看我妻子在鹅的喉咙里发现了什么。” 看门人伸出手让我们看。 在他的手掌中央放着一颗闪闪发光的蓝色宝石。 它大约有一颗豆子那么大，闪烁着近乎电光的光芒。

For a moment, Holmes and I could only stare at the object, mesmerized by its beauty. "By Jove, Peterson!" Holmes exclaimed once he'd rediscovered his voice. "This is extraordinary! Do you have any idea what you have there?" "It's a diamond, sir. A precious stone." "Not just any old precious stone," said Holmes. "It's the precious stone." "You don't mean...?" I began, before continuing in a shocked murmur: "Is this the Countess of Morcar's blue carbuncle? The one that was stolen?" "Indeed it is," said Holmes. "I read the description in The Times newspaper last week, so I know its size, shape, and hue. The gem is unique and its value can only be guessed. The countess has offered a reward of a thousand pounds for its recovery, but that must be less than a twentieth of what it's worth."

有那么一会儿，福尔摩斯和我只能目不转睛地盯着这个东西，被它的美丽迷住了。 “天哪，彼得森！”福尔摩斯一恢复声音就惊叫起来。 “这太不可思议了！”你知道你手里拿的是什么吗？”“这是一颗钻石，先生。 一块珍贵的石头。”福尔摩斯说："不是随便什么古老的宝石。 “是那颗宝石。” “你不会是说……？”我刚开口，接着又震惊地低声说：“这是莫卡伯爵夫人的蓝宝石吗？ 被偷的那件？”“的确是这样，”福尔摩斯说道。 “我上周在《泰晤士报》上看到了它的描述，所以我知道它的大小、形状和色调。 这块宝石独一无二，其价值只能靠猜测。 伯爵夫人悬赏一千英镑，想把它找回来，但这还不到它实际价值的二十分之一。”

"A thousand pounds!" gulped the doorman. He sat down heavily in a chair and stared at us, stunned. "Yes, that is the official reward," said Holmes. "However, I believe the countess would pay a lot more if she could only recover the gem. It has great sentimental value for her, so I understand." "If I remember correctly, it was lost at the Hotel Cosmopolitan," I remarked. "Precisely so," said Holmes. "The theft took place on December 22nd, just five days ago. John Horner, a plumber, was accused of having stolen it from the lady's jewel case. He was immediately arrested and sent before a judge. It seems the evidence against him was very strong."

“一千英镑！”看门人喘着气说。 他重重地坐在椅子上，目瞪口呆地盯着我们。 “是的，这就是官方的赏金，”福尔摩斯说道。 “不过，我相信伯爵夫人只要能找回那颗宝石，她愿意出更多的钱。 这对她来说有很大的情感价值，所以我理解。” “如果我没记错的话，它是在大都会饭店丢的。”我说。 “正是这样，”福尔摩斯说道。 “盗窃案发生在12月22日，也就是五天前。 水管工约翰·霍纳（John Horner）被指控从这位女士的珠宝盒里偷走了它。 他立即被逮捕并送到法官面前。 看来对他不利的证据非常有力。”

Holmes began rummaging through a stack of newspapers on his desk. "I have the report here, somewhere," he muttered. "Ah, here it is." He smoothed out one of the papers and read us the following story: Jewel Robbery at the Hotel Cosmopolitan John Horner, 26, a plumber, was arrested on a charge of having stolen from the jewel case of the Countess of Morcar the valuable gem known as the blue carbuncle. James Ryder, assistant manager of the hotel, said he showed Horner into the countess's room on the afternoon of December 22nd and asked

福尔摩斯开始翻找桌上的一叠报纸。 “我这儿有报告，就在什么地方。”他喃喃地说。 “啊，在这儿。”约翰·霍纳，26岁，是一名水管工，因被指控从莫卡伯爵夫人的珠宝盒里偷走了一颗被称为蓝红宝石的珍贵宝石而被捕。 酒店副经理詹姆斯·赖德说，12月22日下午，他把霍纳带进伯爵夫人的房间，并问

him to fix a blocked sink in her bathroom. Ryder was then called away on some hotel business. When he returned, he found that Horner had disappeared. A locked drawer in the desk had been forced open and the countess's jewel case, where she kept her blue carbuncle, was standing open and empty on the desk surface. Catherine Cusack, the countess's maid, said she heard Ryder give a cry of dismay and she came rushing into the room. She found the scene exactly as Ryder had described.

他去修她浴室里堵塞的水槽。 赖德后来被叫去处理一些酒店事务。 当他回来时，他发现霍纳已经不见了。 桌子上一个锁着的抽屉被撬开了，伯爵夫人放蓝宝石的首饰盒敞开着，放在桌上，空无一物。 伯爵夫人的女仆凯瑟琳·库萨克（Catherine Cusack）说，她听到赖德惊慌地叫了一声，便冲进了房间。 她发现那情景和赖德描述的一模一样。

Holmes tossed aside the newspaper. "The rest of the story can be summarized fairly simply. Ryder called the police, and John Horner was arrested that evening. According to Inspector Bradstreet, the officer in charge, Horner was very surprised when the police arrived at his home. He struggled with the arresting officers, insisting on his innocence. The police searched him and his rooms quite thoroughly, but they couldn't find the gem anywhere. "Yet everything pointed to Horner's guilt. The man has had a troubled past and has previously been found guilty of robbery. Having heard the evidence, the judge declared that Horner would have to stay in prison until his trial. Horner was pretty angry and upset by all accounts. When the judge made his decision, the plumber fainted and had to be carried back to his cell."

福尔摩斯把报纸扔到一边。 故事的其余部分可以相当简单地概括。 莱德报了警，约翰·霍纳当晚被捕。 据负责此案的布拉德斯特里特探长说，当警察来到霍纳家时，他非常惊讶。 他与逮捕他的警察搏斗，坚称自己是无辜的。 警察彻底搜查了他和他的房间，但他们没有找到宝石。 然而，一切都指向霍纳有罪。 这名男子有着麻烦的过去，此前曾被判抢劫罪。 在听取了证据后，法官宣布霍纳必须在监狱里待到审判。 大家都说霍纳非常生气和不安。 当法官做出判决时，水管工晕倒了，不得不被抬回牢房。”