3 Witness to a Wedding

Chapter 3 Witness to a Wedding Putting his hands in his pockets, he stretched out his legs before the fire and began laughing helplessly. "What's so funny?" I asked. "You'll never guess, Watson, how I spent my morning." "I suppose you were watching the house of Irene Adler." "Quite so—or that's how my day began. I left the house in the character of an out-of-work

他把手插在口袋里，在炉火前伸开双腿，无奈地笑了起来。 “什么事这么好笑？”我问。 “华生，你绝对猜不到我是怎样度过我的一上午的。” “我想你是在监视艾琳·阿德勒的房子吧。” “的确如此——我的一天就是这样开始的。 我以一个失业者的身份离开了家

stable hand, so I could mingle with the horsey men around Miss Adler's residence—such men are always a wonderful source of gossip. I hung around the stables in Serpentine Mews, a courtyard that ran alongside her garden, and helped the stable hands rub down their horses. In exchange, I received twopence, something to drink, and as much information as I desired about Miss Irene Adler." "What did you learn?" I asked. "Well, she's quite a beauty, they tell me. She lives quietly, sings at concerts, goes out at five o'clock each day and returns at seven sharp for

这样我就可以和阿德勒小姐家周围的马夫混在一起了——这些人总是极好的八卦来源。 我在蛇形马厩附近闲逛，这是一个紧挨着她花园的院子，帮马厩的人用手给他们的马按摩。 作为交换，我得到了两便士，一些饮料，以及我想知道的关于艾琳·艾德勒小姐的一切情况。” “你学到了什么?”我问。 “嗯，她真是个美人，他们告诉我的。 她过着安静的生活，在音乐会上唱歌，每天5点出门，7点整回来

dinner. She has a male friend who visits her once a day and sometimes twice—a dark-haired, handsome lawyer named Godfrey Norton. "I worried a little about this Godfrey Norton and wondered what sort of relationship he had with Miss Adler. If she was his client, then she had probably handed him the photograph for safekeeping. In that case, should I continue to watch Briony Lodge or should I turn my attention to his place of work? "On the other hand, if they were simply friends or romantic partners, then there was no problem. However, if she was in love with Mr. Norton, then presumably she was no longer in love with the king of Bohemia, so why try to stop him from marrying?

晚餐。她有一个男性朋友每天来看她一次，有时两次——他是一位黑发英俊的律师，名叫戈弗雷·诺顿。 “我有点担心这个戈弗雷·诺顿，不知道他和阿德勒小姐是什么关系。 如果她是他的客户，那么她很可能把照片交给他保管。 那样的话，我是该继续监视布里奥尼·洛奇还是该把注意力转向他的工作地点？ “另一方面，如果他们只是朋友或恋人，那就没有问题了。 然而，如果她爱上了诺顿先生，那么她大概就不再爱波希米亚国王了，那么为什么要阻止他结婚呢？

"I was walking up and down Serpentine Avenue mulling all this over and keeping an eye on the small, elegant villa where she lives, when a hansom cab pulled up outside it and a gentleman stepped out. He was remarkably handsome, with an aquiline nose and a fine moustache, and was undoubtedly this man, Godfrey Norton. "He appeared to be in a great hurry. Shouting at the cabman to wait, he knocked on the door and when the maid opened it, he brushed past her with the air of someone arriving at his regular home.

“我在蛇形大道上走来走去，一边仔细考虑着这一切，一边留意着她住的那座优雅的小别墅，就在这时，一辆双座马车停在外面，一位绅士走了出来。 他长得非常英俊，鹰钩鼻，留着漂亮的小胡子，毫无疑问就是戈弗雷·诺顿。 他显得非常匆忙。 他大声叫车夫等一等，然后敲了敲门。女仆打开门后，他从她身边擦身而过，那副神气就像有人来到了他的老宅。

"He was in the house for about half an hour. I caught glimpses of him in the windows of the sitting room, pacing up and down, waving his arms, and talking excitedly. Of Miss Adler I saw nothing. He emerged looking in even more of a rush than before. As he stepped into the cab, he pulled a gold watch from his pocket and stared at it. 'The Church of St. Monica in the Edgware Road,' he shouted. 'I'll give you half a sovereign if you can make it in twenty minutes.' "Away they went, and I was just debating whether to follow them when along the lane came a neat little carriage. Before it had even halted outside Briony Lodge, the front door of the house flew open and out shot Irene Adler.

“他在屋里呆了大约半个小时。 我瞥见他在客厅的窗户里踱来踱去，挥舞着手臂，兴奋地说着话。 关于阿德勒小姐，我什么也没看见。 他走了出来，看上去比以前更匆忙了。 他走进出租车，从口袋里掏出一块金表，盯着看。 “埃奇韦尔路的圣莫尼卡教堂，”他喊道。 “如果你能在二十分钟内赶到，我就给你半个金镑。’”他们走了，我正在考虑要不要跟着他们，这时一辆整洁的小马车沿着小路走来。 车子还没停在布里奥尼府邸外面，前门就突然打开了，艾琳·阿德勒被射了出去。

She looked even lovelier than the stable hands had described. 'The Church of St. Monica, John,' she said to the coachman, 'and you can have half a sovereign if you reach it in twenty minutes.' "It was clear to me, Watson, that something very interesting was brewing and I simply had to get to that church. The trouble was how? Should I run there or get a ride by jumping onto the back of her carriage? "Luckily, I was saved from both of these disagreeable alternatives when a cab turned into the street. The driver looked doubtfully at such a

她看上去比马厩里的人所描述的还要可爱。 “去圣莫尼卡教堂，约翰，”她对马车夫说，“如果你能在二十分钟内赶到那里，你就可以得到半个金镑。’”华生，我很清楚，一件非常有趣的事情正在酝酿之中，我必须去那个教堂。 问题是怎么做到的？我应该跑过去还是跳上她的马车后座搭她一程？ 幸运的是，当一辆出租车驶入街道时，我从这两种不愉快的选择中解脱了出来。 司机怀疑地看着这样一幅画