黄面人16

It was you who told me first that the cottage was occupied. I should have waited for the morning, but I could not sleep for excitement, and so at last I slipped out, knowing how difficult it is to awake you. But you saw me go, and that was the beginning of my troubles. Next day you had my secret at your mercy, but you nobly refrained from pursuing your advantage. Three days later, however, the nurse and child only just escaped from the back door as you rushed in at the front one. And now to-night you at last know all, and I ask you what is to become of us, my child and me?” She clasped her hands and waited for an answer.

It was a long ten minutes before Grant Munro broke the silence, and when his answer came it was one of which I love to think. He lifted the little child, kissed her, and then, still carrying her, he held his other hand out to his wife and turned towards the door.

“We can talk it over more comfortably at home,” said he. “I am not a very good man, Effie, but I think that I am a better one than you have given me credit for being.”

Holmes and I followed them down the lane, and my friend plucked at my sleeve as we came out.

“I think,” said he, “that we shall be of more use in London than in Norbury.”

Not another word did he say of the case until late that night, when he was turning away, with his lighted candle, for his bedroom.

“Watson,” said he, “if it should ever strike you that I am getting a little overconfident in my powers, or giving less pains to a case than it deserves, kindly¹ whisper ‘Norbury’ in my ear, and I shall be infinitely² obliged to you.

“是你首先告诉我这个小别墅有人住了，我本应等到早晨，可是我激动得睡不着，因为我知道你很难惊醒，所以就溜了出去。不料被你看到了，于是我开始碰到了麻烦。第二天你察觉了我的秘密，可是你宽宏大量，没有追究。三天以后，你从前门闯进去，保姆和孩子却从后门逃走了。今天晚上终于真情大白，请问你打算怎样处理我和孩子呢？”她握紧双手，等待着回答。

这样过了十几分钟，格兰特-芒罗打破了沉默。他的回答给我留下了愉快的回忆。他抱起孩子，吻吻她，然后，一手抱着孩子，一手挽着妻子，转身向门口走去。

“我们可以回家去从容商量嘛，”他说道，“我虽然不是圣人，艾菲，可是我想，总比你所想象的要好一些。”

福尔摩斯和我随他走出那条小路，这时，我的朋友拉了拉我的衣袖。

“我想，”他说道，“我们还是回伦敦去，这比在诺伯里更有用些。”

这整晚他对本案再也没提起过，直到他最后拿着点燃的蜡烛走回卧室时才说：

“华生，如果以后你觉得我过于自信我的能力，或在办一件案子时下的功夫不够，请你最好在我耳旁轻轻说一声'诺伯里'，那我一定会感激不尽的。”

1 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

2 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。