3 The Search

Chapter 3 The Search Sherlock Holmes pushed a handkerchief under Toby's nose. "Smell it, boy!" "What's that?" I asked. "I smeared some of the creosote from those footprints on here," Holmes said. "It'll help us track down the accomplice." The dog cocked his head, then began following the trail, straining at the leash as he pulled us along. He led us to part of the outer wall, where we found a handprint—evidence that this was where the intruders had broken in.

夏洛克·福尔摩斯把一块手帕塞到托比的鼻子底下。 “闻一闻，孩子！”“那是什么?”我问。 “我把那些脚印上的杂酚油涂在了这里，”福尔摩斯说。 “这将帮助我们追查帮凶。” 那只狗歪着头，开始顺着小路走，一边拉着我们，一边使劲地拉着皮带。 他把我们带到外墙的一部分，在那里我们发现了一个手印——证据表明这就是入侵者闯入的地方。

Dawn was breaking as Toby led us along the road. As we walked, I asked Holmes how he knew the man with the wooden leg was Jonathan Small. "Small was one of the four who signed Captain Morstan's chart beneath that symbol— the sign of four, as they called it. These four men believe Sholto's treasure is theirs, and they've been trying to steal it back. We know Major Sholto dreaded a wooden-legged Englishman. As the only English-sounding name on the list, Small must have been that man. "I'm sure it was Small's face Sholto saw at the window on the night he died. It was probably

托比领着我们沿着路走，天刚亮。 我们走着走着，我问福尔摩斯他怎么知道那个装着木腿的人是乔纳森·斯莫尔。 斯莫尔是在摩斯坦船长的航海图上那个符号下面签名的四个人之一——他们称之为四的符号。 这四个人认为舒尔托的宝藏是他们的，他们一直想把它偷回来。 我们知道舒尔托少校害怕一个装着木腿的英国人。 作为名单上唯一一个听起来像英语的名字，斯莫尔一定就是那个人。 “我敢肯定，舒尔托死的那天晚上在窗口看到的就是斯莫尔的脸。 这可能是

Small who searched his house for clues to the treasure, then left those scrawled words, 'the sign of four,' on Sholto's chest." "But what about those other things you said about him—that he was tall and bearded and had lost some skin from his palm?" "I worked out his height from the length of his stride. Thaddeus described the face at his father's window as hairy, and there were blood stains on the rope he used to climb into the room." Toby eventually led us to a wooden wharf on the south bank of the Thames. There, he stood whining and looking out at the river. "They must have taken a boat from here," said Holmes. Close to the landing stage was a small house with a sign outside: "Mordecai Smith: Boats for Hire." Holmes knocked at the door and a stout, red-faced woman answered. "If you want to hire a boat, I'm afraid my husband's away," she said.

斯莫尔在他的房子里寻找宝藏的线索，然后在舒尔托的胸膛上留下了潦草的字迹，‘四的符号’。” “但是你说的关于他的其他事情呢——他很高，有胡子，手掌上掉了一些皮？”“我根据他的步幅算出了他的身高。 塞笛厄斯说，他父亲窗前的脸长满了毛，他爬进房间的绳子上也有血迹。” 托比最后把我们带到了泰晤士河南岸的一个木制码头。 他站在那里呜咽着，望着外面的河水。 “他们一定是从这里上船的，”福尔摩斯说。 靠近登陆台的是一座小房子，外面有一个牌子：“莫迪凯·史密斯：出租船只。” 福尔摩斯敲了敲门，一个红脸粗壮的女人应门。 “如果你想租一条船，恐怕我丈夫不在，”她说。

"That's a shame," said Holmes. "I was hoping to hire his steam launch." "Well I'm sorry, but it's the steam launch he's gone out in. He left early yesterday morning and, truth to tell, I'm starting to get worried. I didn't like the look of that wooden-legged man who woke him up and asked him to take him out in it." "And was this wooden-legged man alone?" Holmes asked. "I couldn't say, sir. I didn't see anyone else, but it was quite dark."

“真可惜，”福尔摩斯说道。 “我想租他的蒸汽船。” “很抱歉，他坐的是蒸汽船。 他昨天一大早就走了，说实话，我开始担心了。 我不喜欢那个装着木腿的人的样子，那个人把他叫醒，让他坐着车带他出去。” “只有这个木腿人吗？”福尔摩斯问道。 “我说不上来，先生。我没看见别人，但是天很黑。”

Holmes questioned the woman further, and we discovered the boat was black with two red stripes and was called the Aurora. After we bade her farewell, I said to Holmes: "We should hire a launch and go in search of this boat." "It would be a colossal task, as there are hundreds of landing places along the river." "Then perhaps we should advertise," suggested. "If we did that, Jonathan Small would know we were after him and he'd flee the country. No, I believe this may be a job for the Baker Street Irregulars." "The who?" "Don't worry, Watson, you'll find out soon enough."

福尔摩斯进一步询问了那个女人，我们发现那艘船是黑色的，上面有两条红色的条纹，名叫“极光号”。 在我们向她告别之后，我对福尔摩斯说：“我们应该租一只小汽艇去寻找这只小船。” “这将是一项艰巨的任务，因为沿河有数百个着陆点。” “那么也许我们应该登广告。” “如果我们那样做，乔纳森·斯莫尔就会知道我们在追捕他，他就会逃离这个国家。 不，我相信这可能是贝克街非正规团的任务。” “谁?”“别担心，华生，你很快就会知道的。”

We returned Toby to his owner, then went back to Baker Street. After an hour's sleep and a bath, I came downstairs to find breakfast laid and Holmes pouring coffee. He showed me the morning newspaper. Beneath the headline "Mystery Death at Upper Norwood," the article described the discovery of Sholto's body and the disappearance of the treasure. It went on: "Thanks to the brilliant skills of Mr. Athelney Jones, the police detective, Bartholomew's brother Thaddeus Sholto has already been arrested, together with the housekeeper Mrs. Bernstone, and the porter Mr. McMurdo." "Isn't it wonderful!" laughed Holmes. "What do you think?"

我们把托比交还给它的主人，然后回到贝克街。 我睡了一个小时，洗了个澡，下楼时发现早餐已经摆好，福尔摩斯正在倒咖啡。 他给我看晨报。 在“上诺伍德神秘死亡”的标题下，这篇文章描述了舒尔托尸体的发现和宝藏的消失。 信上接着说：“多亏了侦探埃塞尔尼·琼斯先生的高明手段，巴塞洛缪的弟弟塞迪厄斯·舒尔托和管家伯恩斯通太太以及看门人麦克默多先生已经被逮捕了。” 福尔摩斯笑着说：“真是妙极了！” “你觉得怎么样？”