赖盖特之谜08

We passed the pretty cottage where the murdered man had lived, and walked up an  oak-lined avenue to the fine old Queen Anne house, which bears the date of  Malplaquet upon the lintel of the door. Holmes and the Inspector¹ led us round it  until we came to the side gate, which is separated by a stretch of garden from  the hedge which lines the road. A constable² was standing³ at the kitchen door.

“Throw the door open, officer,” said Holmes. “Now, it was on those stairs  that young Mr. Cunningham stood and saw the two men struggling just where we  are. Old Mr. Cunningham was at that window—the second on the left—and he saw  the fellow get away just to the left of that bush. So did the son. They are both  sure of it on account of the bush. Then Mr. Alec ran out and knelt beside the  wounded man. The ground is very hard, you see, and there are no marks to guide  us.” As he spoke⁴ two men came down the garden path, from round the angle of the  house. The one was an elderly man, with a strong, deep-lined, heavy-eyed face;  the other a dashing young fellow, whose bright, smiling expression and showy  dress were in strange contrast with the business which had brought us there.

“Still at it, then?” said he to Holmes. “I thought you Londoners were never  at fault. You don't seem to be so very quick, after all.”

“Ah, you must give us a little time,” said Holmes good-humoredly.

“You'll want it,” said young Alec Cunningham. “Why, I don't see that we have  any clue at all.”

“There's only one,” answered the Inspector. “We thought that if we could only  find—Good heavens, Mr. Holmes! What is the matter?”

我们走过被害者住的漂亮的小屋，走上一条两旁橡树挺一立的大路，来到一所华丽的安妮女 王时代的古宅，门楣上刻着马尔博罗［一七○九年在西班牙王位继承战中马尔博罗指挥英国 人及其同盟军战胜了法国人——译者注］的日期。福尔摩斯和警官领着我们兜了一圈，然后 我们来到旁门前。门外便是花园，花园的篱包外面是大路。

一个警察站在厨房门旁。

“请把门打开，警官，”福尔摩斯说道，“喂，小坎宁安先生就是站在楼梯上看到那两个人 搏斗的，两人搏斗之处就是我们现在站的地方，老坎宁安先生就是在左起第二扇窗户旁看到 那个家伙刚刚逃到矮树丛左边的。他儿子也这么说。他们两个人都提到矮树丛。后来亚历克 先生跑出来，跪在受伤者身旁。你们看，这儿地面非常硬，没有给我们留下丝毫痕迹。”福 尔摩斯正说着，有两个人绕过屋角，走上了花园的小径。一个年龄较大，面容刚毅，面部皱 纹很深，目光抑郁不欢；另外一个是打扮得很漂亮的年青人，他神情活泼，满面笑容，衣着 华丽，与我们为之而来的案件，形成非常奇异的对比。

“还在调查这件事吗？”他对福尔摩斯说道，“我想你们伦敦人是不会失败的。但你似乎不 象很快就能把案破了。”

“啊，你必须给我们一些时间，”福尔摩斯愉快地说道。

“这对你是很必要的，”亚历克-坎宁安说道，“哦，我根本看不出有什么线索。”

“只有一个线索，”警察回答道，“我们认为，只要我们能找到……天哪！埃尔摩斯先生， 这是怎么回事？”

1 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

2 constable   

n.(英国)警察，警官

参考例句：

• The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
• The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。

3 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。

4 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。