血字的研究 24警察栾斯的叙述(5)

"There's a half-sovereign for you," my companion said, standing¹ up and taking his hat.

"这个半镑金币给你，"我的同伴说着就站起身来，戴上帽子，

"I am afraid, Rance, that you will never rise in the force.

"栾斯，我恐怕你在警察大队里永远不会高升了。

That head of yours should be for use as well as ornament².

你的那个脑袋不该光是个装饰，也该有点用处才对。

You might have gained your sergeant's stripes last night.

昨夜你本来可以捞个警长干干的。

The man whom you held in your hands is the man who holds the clue of this mystery, and whom we are seeking.

昨夜在你手里的那个人，就是这件神秘案子的线索，现在我们正在找他。

There is no use of arguing about it now; I tell you that it is so.

这会儿再争论也没有什么用处了。我告诉你，事实就是这么回事。

Come along, Doctor."

走吧，医生。"

We started off for the cab together, leaving our informant incredulous, but obviously uncomfortable.

说着我们就一起出来寻找我们的马车，剩下那个警察还在半信半疑，但是显然觉得不安。

"The blundering fool!" Holmes said, bitterly, as we drove back to our lodgings³.

我们坐着车子回家的时候，福尔摩斯狠狠地说："这个大傻瓜！

"Just to think of his having such an incomparable bit of good luck, and not taking advantage of it."

想想看，碰上这样一个千载难逢的好机会，他却把它白白地放过了。"

"I am rather in the dark still.

"我简直还是坠在五里雾中哩。

It is true that the description of this man tallies⁴ with your idea of the second party in this mystery.

诚然，这个警察所形容的那个人和你所想象的那人的情况正好一样，

But why should he come back to the house after leaving it?

但是他干吗要去而复返呢？

That is not the way of criminals."

这不象罪犯应有的行径吧。"

"The ring, man, the ring: that was what he came back for.

"戒指，先生，戒指，他回来就是为了这个东西。

If we have no other way of catching⁵ him, we can always bait our line with the ring.

咱们要是没有别的法子捉住他，就可以拿这个戒指当做钓饵，让他上钩。

I shall have him, Doctor--I'll lay you two to one that I have him.

我一定会捉住他的，医生--我敢和你下二比一的赌注打个赌，我可以逮住他。

I must thank you for it all.

这一切我倒要感激你啦。

I might not have gone but for you, and so have missed the finest study I ever came across: a study in scarlet⁶, eh?

要不是你，我还不会去呢，那么我就要失掉这个从来没遇到过的最好的研究机会了。咱们叫它作'血字的研究'好吧？

Why shouldn't we use a little art jargon⁷.

咱们何妨使用一些美丽的辞藻呢。

There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life,

在平淡无奇的生活纠葛里，谋杀案就像一条红线一样，贯穿在中间。

and our duty is to unravel⁸ it, and isolate⁹ it, and expose every inch of it.

咱们的责任就是要去揭露它，把它从生活中清理出来，彻底地加以暴露。

And now for lunch, and then for Norman Neruda.

咱们先去吃饭，然后再去听听诺尔曼·聂鲁达的音乐演奏。

Her attack and her bowing are splendid.

她的指法和弓法简直妙极了。

What's that little thing of Chopin's she plays so magnificently: Tra-la-la-lira-lira-lay."

她演奏萧邦的那段什么小曲子真是妙极了：特拉—拉—拉—利拉—利拉—莱。"

Leaning back in the cab, this amateur bloodhound carolled away like a lark¹⁰ while I meditated¹¹ upon the many-sidedness of the human mind.

这位非官方侦探家靠在马车上象只云雀似地唱个不停。我在默默沉思着；人类的头脑真是无所不能啊。

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 ornament   

v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物

参考例句：

• The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
• She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。

3 lodgings   

n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍

参考例句：

• When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时，太阳已下山了。
• I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。

4 tallies   

n.账( tally的名词复数 )；符合；（计数的）签；标签v.计算，清点( tally的第三人称单数 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• Cash on hand tallies with the figure in the accounts. 现款跟账上的数目没有出入。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He tallies his own marks. 他把自己的得分记了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

6 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

7 jargon   

n.术语，行话

参考例句：

• They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
• It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.

8 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

9 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

10 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

11 meditated   

深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑

参考例句：

• He meditated for two days before giving his answer. 他在作出答复之前考虑了两天。
• She meditated for 2 days before giving her answer. 她考虑了两天才答复。