5 The Assistant Manager

Chapter 5 The Assistant Manager "We have much to discuss," Sherlock Holmes said to the little man, "and I think we would be more comfortable talking in a warm room than a windswept marketplace, don't you?" He hailed a passing four-wheeler, but did not immediately climb aboard. "Before we go any farther," he said, "perhaps you could tell me your name." The man hesitated, glancing furtively from side to side. "My name is John Robinson," he muttered. "No, I mean your real name," said Holmes with a polite smile.

“我们有许多事情要谈，”歇洛克·福尔摩斯对矮个子说，“我想我们在一间暖和的屋子里谈比在风刮得厉害的市场里谈要舒服得多，你说呢？”他招呼了一辆路过的四轮车，但没有立即上车。 “在我们继续往前走之前，”他说，“也许你能告诉我你的名字。” 那人犹豫了一下，偷偷地左右打量着。 “我叫约翰·罗宾逊，”他喃喃地说。 “不，我指的是你的真名，”福尔摩斯彬彬有礼地微笑着说。

"Well that's between you and Mrs. Oakshott then, isn't it? It's got nothing to do with me." "She told me to ask you." "You can ask the King of Prussia for all I care," growled Breckinridge. "Now get out of here!" He rushed at the little man, who fled into the darkness. "Well, well!" said Holmes. "This may save us a visit to Brixton Road. Let's find out what this little fellow can tell us." We strode after him through Covent Garden Market. Knots of customers browsed the various stalls lit by the flare of gas jets. Eventually, Holmes drew close to the man and tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to spin

“那么，这是你和奥克肖特太太之间的事了，是不是？” 这跟我一点关系都没有。” “她让我问你。”“你可以问普鲁士国王，我才不管呢。”布雷肯里奇咆哮道。 “现在给我滚出去！”他向小个子男人冲去，后者逃进了黑暗中。 “好吧，好吧！”福尔摩斯说道。 “这样我们就不用再去布里克斯顿路了。 让我们看看这个小家伙能告诉我们什么。” 我们跟在他后面，大步穿过科文特花园市场。 成群的顾客在煤气灯照亮的各个摊位上浏览。 最后，福尔摩斯走近那个人，拍了拍他的肩膀，把他弄得晕头转向

around in fright. In the gaslight, I could see all the blood had drained from his face. "Who are you?" he gasped. "What do you want?" "Forgive me," said Holmes, "but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation with the shopkeeper just now. I think I may be able to help you." "You?" spluttered the little man. "Who are you? How could you know anything of this matter?" "My name is Sherlock Holmes, and it is my business to know what other people don't." "But you can know nothing about this." "I know everything about it," insisted Holmes. "I know you are trying to trace some geese that were sold by Mrs.

在恐惧中走来走去。在煤气灯下，我可以看到他脸上所有的血都流干了。 “你是谁？”他喘着气说。“你想要什么？”“请原谅，”福尔摩斯说道，“我刚才无意中听到了你和店主的谈话。 我想我也许能帮到你。” “你？”小个子男人气急败坏地说。 “你是谁？”你怎么会知道这件事呢？”“我叫歇洛克·福尔摩斯，知道别人不知道的事是我的职责。” “但是你什么也不知道。” 福尔摩斯坚持说："这事我全知道。 “我知道你在试图追查一些鹅，这些鹅是由Mrs。

A flush appeared on the stranger's pale cheeks. "All right," he said. "My real name is James Ryder." "As I thought," said Holmes. "You are the assistant manager of the Hotel Cosmopolitan. Now please step into the cab and I shall soon tell you everything you wish to know." Ryder looked at us both with half-frightened, half- hopeful eyes. Then he climbed aboard, and in half an hour we were back in the sitting room in Baker Street. The journey there was silent except for the nervous breathing of our new companion as he clasped and unclasped his hands. "Come in, come in," said Holmes, ushering us into the room. "You look cold, Mr. Ryder. Please, take a seat by the fire. Good man! Now then, you want to know what became of those geese. Or rather, I should say, of that goose. It was one bird, I believe, that you were interested in—a white one with a black tail?"

陌生人苍白的双颊泛起了红晕。 “好吧，”他说。“我的真名是詹姆斯·莱德。” “正如我所料，”福尔摩斯说道。 “你是大都会酒店的副经理。 现在请上马车，我马上就把你想知道的一切都告诉你。” 赖德半是害怕，半是希望地看着我们俩。 然后他爬上了船，半小时后我们回到了贝克街的客厅。 一路上鸦雀无声，只有我们的新伙伴在双手交叉和松开时发出的紧张的呼吸声。 “请进，请进，”福尔摩斯边说边把我们领进房间。 “你看起来很冷，赖德先生。 请坐在火炉旁。 好男人!现在，你想知道那些鹅后来怎么样了吗？ 或者，我应该说，是那只鹅。 我相信你只对一只鸟感兴趣——一只长着黑尾巴的白鸟吧？”

Ryder trembled with emotion. "Oh yes, sir. That's the one. Can you tell me what became of it?" "It came here." "Here?" "Yes, and what a remarkable bird it proved to be," said Holmes. "It laid an egg after it was dead—the prettiest little blue egg you ever did see! I have it right here." Holmes unlocked his strongbox and held up the blue carbuncle. It gleamed with a cold radiance, like one of those stars I saw in the winter sky.

赖德激动得浑身发抖。 “哦，是的，先生。就是这个。 你能告诉我后来怎么样了吗？”“它来到这里。” “在这里?”福尔摩斯说："是的，事实证明它是一只多么了不起的鸟啊。 “它死后还下了一个蛋——你见过的最漂亮的蓝蛋！”我这儿就有。” 福尔摩斯打开他的保险箱，举起那颗蓝色的红宝石。 它闪烁着寒光，就像我在冬天的天空中看到的一颗星星。

Ryder staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece. He stared wide-eyed at the stone. I could see he was desperate to grab hold of it, yet he feared revealing his desire. "The game's up, Ryder," said Holmes quietly. "I know it was you who stole the gem." Ryder looked ready to faint. His eyes lost their focus and his legs started wobbling. "Hold up, man, or you'll fall into the fire!" said Holmes in alarm. I grabbed the little man's arm before he collapsed

赖德摇摇晃晃地站了起来，抓住壁炉架。 他睁大眼睛盯着那块石头。 我看得出来，他很想抓住它，但又害怕暴露自己的欲望。 “游戏结束了，赖德，”福尔摩斯平静地说。 “我知道是你偷了宝石。” 赖德看起来要晕倒了。 他的眼睛失去了焦点，双腿开始颤抖。 “撑住，伙计，不然你会掉进火里去的！”福尔摩斯惊恐地说。 我在他倒下之前抓住了他的胳膊