3 The Advertisement

Chapter 3 The Advertisement "That, Watson, is the mystery we must solve," said Sherlock Holmes. "We must work out the sequence of events that led from a theft at the Hotel Cosmopolitan to a scuffle on Tottenham Court Road. We have a stone. The stone came from a goose. The goose came from Mr. Henry Baker. We were having a lot of fun trying to work out the man's identity from his hat, but our innocent game has suddenly become a lot more serious. It is now vitally important that we find this gentleman and try to work out what part he played in this mystery." "And how will we do that?" asked Peterson. "We'll start with the most straightforward approach," said Holmes. "We'll place an advertisement in all the evening papers and hope he responds." "And if he doesn't?" I asked. "Then we shall have to try other methods," replied Holmes. "Now pass me a pencil and that slip of paper, will you?" I did so, and Holmes wrote down the following...

夏洛克·福尔摩斯说道：“华生，这就是我们必须解决的谜题。 “我们必须找出从大都会酒店（Hotel Cosmopolitan）的盗窃案到托特纳姆法院路（Tottenham Court Road）的扭打事件的先后顺序。 我们有一块石头。这块石头来自一只鹅。 这只鹅是亨利·贝克先生送的。 我们在试图从帽子中找出那个人的身份时玩得很开心，但我们天真的游戏突然变得严肃起来。 现在至关重要的是，我们要找到这位先生，并设法弄清楚他在这个谜团中扮演了什么角色。” “那我们怎么做呢？”彼得森问。 “我们将从最直接的方法开始，”福尔摩斯说。 “我们将在所有的晚报上登广告，希望他能回应。” “如果他没有呢？”我问。 福尔摩斯回答说：“那么我们就得试试别的办法了。” “现在递给我一支铅笔和那张纸条，好吗？”我照做了，福尔摩斯写下了下面的话……

"Found on Tottenham Court Road, a goose and a black felt hat. If you are mister Henry Baker and these belong to you, please come to 221B Baker Street this evening at 6:00 PM to pick them up. "Here you are, Peterson," said Holmes. "Run along to the advertising agency and have this placed in the evening papers." "Very well, sir. What about the stone?" "I shall keep the stone, thank you!" said Holmes. "And I say, Peterson, buy a goose on your way back and bring it to me, would you? We must offer Mr. Baker a bird to replace the one you and your wife have eaten." "Very well, sir."

"在托特纳姆法院路发现，一只鹅和一顶黑色毡帽。 如果您是亨利·贝克先生，这些是您的，请于今晚6点到贝克街221B领取。 “给你，彼得森，”福尔摩斯说道。 “快去找广告公司，把这条广告登在晚报上。” “很好，先生。那石头呢？”福尔摩斯说：“谢谢您，我将保管那块石头。” “我说，彼得森，回来的时候买只鹅给我带来，好吗？” 我们必须给贝克先生一只鸟来代替你和你妻子吃的那只。” “很好，先生。”

When Peterson had gone, Holmes picked up the blue carbuncle and held it up to the light. "It's glorious, isn't it, Watson?" he said. "See how it glints and sparkles! It is very rare for a carbuncle to be blue. Most are ruby red. This makes it more valuable and, of course, behind every valuable stone there is always a dark history of crime. This one was discovered only twenty years ago on the banks of a river in southern China. Since then, it has prompted no fewer than two murders, a kidnapping, and several robberies. Who would think such a pretty thing would cause so much trouble? I shall lock it in my strongbox for now and write a note to the countess to tell her we have it."

彼得森走后，福尔摩斯捡起那颗蓝色的红宝石，把它举到灯光下。 “真了不起，是不是，华生？”他说。 “看它是怎样闪闪发光的！”红宝石呈蓝色是非常罕见的。 大多数是宝石红色的。这使得它更有价值，当然，每一块有价值的石头背后都有一段黑暗的犯罪历史。 这是20年前在中国南方的一条河边发现的。 从那时起，它引发了不少于两起谋杀案，一起绑架和几起抢劫案。 谁会想到这么漂亮的东西会引起这么多麻烦？ 我现在要把它锁在保险箱里，给伯爵夫人写个条子，告诉她我们拿到了。”

"Do you suppose Henry Baker had anything to do with the theft?" I asked. Holmes shook his head. "I think it quite unlikely that Mr. Baker had a clue about what his bird contained. However, a simple test should be enough to determine his guilt or innocence—so long as he answers our advertisement." "Well," I said, "I suppose there is nothing more to be done until he gets here, and as a doctor, I do have some patients to visit. I'll return this evening at half past six, for I very much want to see how this strange story concludes." "Excellent, Watson, I'll see you then. We dine at seven. Mrs. Hudson will be serving duck. In view of recent events, perhaps I ought to ask her to examine its throat." I was delayed with one of my patients and it wasn't until a little after half past six that I found myself back in Baker Street. As I approached number 221B, I saw a tall man standing there in a coat buttoned up to his chin. The door opened and Mrs. Hudson showed the two of us up to Holmes's room.

“你认为亨利·贝克与盗窃案有关吗？”我问。 福尔摩斯摇了摇头。“我认为贝克先生不大可能知道他的鸟里装的是什么东西。 不过，只要他回答了我们的广告，一个简单的测试就足以判定他有罪还是无罪。” “好吧，”我说，“我想在他来之前没有什么可做的了，作为一个医生，我确实有一些病人要拜访。 我今晚六点半回来，因为我很想看看这个奇怪的故事是怎么结束的。” “太好了，华生，到时候见。 我们七点钟吃饭。哈德森太太会做烤鸭。 鉴于最近发生的事情，也许我应该请她检查一下它的喉咙。” 我被我的一个病人耽搁了，直到六点半多一点，我才发现自己回到了贝克街。 当我走近221B号时，我看到一个高个子男人站在那里，他的外套一直扣到下巴。 门开了，赫德森太太把我们俩领进福尔摩斯的房间。

"Mr. Henry Baker, I believe," said Holmes, rising from his armchair and greeting his visitor with a friendly shake of the hand. "Please, take this chair by the fire for it is a cold night, and I can see that you are a man who prefers summer to winter. This, by the way, is my friend Dr. Watson. And this, I believe, is your hat." "It most certainly is," said Baker. He was a large man with a broad, intelligent face and a pointed beard. There was a touch of red in his nose and cheeks and a tremble in hands, which was how Holmes deduced he did not enjoy cold weather.

“我想是亨利·贝克先生吧，”福尔摩斯说着，从扶手椅上站起来，友好地同来访者握了握手。 “请把这把椅子放在火边，因为今天晚上很冷，而且我看得出来，你是一个喜欢夏天而不喜欢冬天的人。 顺便说一下，这位是我的朋友。 沃森。我相信这是你的帽子。” “当然是，”贝克说。 他身材高大，长着一张宽阔而睿智的脸，留着尖尖的胡子。 他的鼻子和双颊微微发红，双手颤抖，因此福尔摩斯推断他不喜欢寒冷的天气。

"You are very kind, sir," said Baker, "to have gone to the trouble of advertising my lost property." He spoke slowly and precisely, choosing his words with care. His coat, like his hat, had seen better days. As Holmes had predicted, he seemed like a man who had come down in the world. "We waited a few days before advertising," said Holmes, "because we expected to see an announcement from you giving your address. Why did you not advertise your lost property in the newspaper?" Our visitor blushed. "I have to be a little careful with my pennies these days," he said. "I assumed the gang of

“您真是太好了，先生，”贝克说，“不辞辛苦地为我的失物登广告。” 他说得缓慢而准确，用词谨慎。 他的外套，就像他的帽子一样，也曾有过好日子。 正如福尔摩斯所预料的那样，他看起来像一个落魄的人。 “我们等了几天才登广告，”福尔摩斯说道，“因为我们希望看到你公布你的地址。 你为什么不在报纸上登启事呢？”我们的客人脸红了。 他说：“这些日子我得小心点。” “我以为是一伙人