工程师大拇指案 14向福尔摩斯叙述故事(8)

'I quite follow you,' said I.

'我听得很明白，'我说。

'The only point which I could not quite understand was what use you could make of a hydraulic¹ press in excavating² fuller's-earth,

'唯一不太明白的一点是，水压机对你挖漂白土有什么用处？

which, as I understand, is dug out like gravel³ from a pit.'

据我所知，漂白土是象从矿坑里掏沙砾那样挖出来的。'

'Ah!' said he carelessly, 'we have our own process.

'啊，'他不在意地说，'我们有我们自己的方法。

We compress the earth into bricks, so as to remove them without revealing what they are.

我们把土碾压成砖坯，以便在搬运的时候不致于泄露它们是什么东西。

But that is a mere⁴ detail. I have taken you fully⁵ into my confidence now, Mr. Hatherley,

但那只不过是一些细节。现在我已经向您透露了全部秘密，哈瑟利先生，

and I have shown you how I trust you.' He rose as he spoke⁶.

并且向您表示了我是多么信任您。'他边说边站了起来。

'I shall expect you, then, at Eyford at 11:15.'

'那么，十一点十五分在艾津见。'

'I shall certainly be there.'

'我一定到那里去。'

'And not a word to a soul.' He looked at me with a last, long, questioning gaze,

'绝对不能对任何人说。'最后，他又久久地以怀疑的眼光凝视着我，

and then, pressing my hand in a cold, dank grasp, he hurried from the room.

然后，用他那湿冷的手和我握了一下，就急急忙忙走出了房间。

1 hydraulic   

adj.水力的；水压的，液压的；水力学的

参考例句：

• The boat has no fewer than five hydraulic pumps.这艘船配有不少于5个液压泵。
• A group of apprentics were operating the hydraulic press.一群学徒正在开动水压机。

2 excavating   

v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• A bulldozer was employed for excavating the foundations of the building. 推土机用来给楼房挖地基。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs. 一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。 来自辞典例句

3 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

4 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。