领略原汁原味汉英对照经典名作
二块血迹
      I had intended “The Adventure of the Abbey Grange” to be the last of those exploits of my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, which I should ever communicate to the public. This resolution of mine was not due to any lack of material, since I have notes of many hundreds of cases to which I have never alluded, nor was it caused by any waning interest on the part of my readers in the singular personality and unique methods of this remarkable man. The real reason lay in the reluctance which Mr. Holmes has shown to the continued publication of his experiences. So long as he was in actual professional practice the records of his successes were of some practical value to him; but since he has definitely retired from London and betaken himself to study and bee-farming on the Sussex Downs, notoriety has become hateful to him, and he has peremptorily requested that his wishes in this matter should be strictly observed. It was only upon my representing to him that I had given a promise that “The Adventure of the Second Stain” should be published when the times were ripe, and pointing out to him that it is only appropriate that this long series of episodes should culminate in the most important international case which he has ever been called upon to handle, that I at last succeeded in obtaining his consent that a carefullyguarded account of the incident should at last be laid before the public. If in telling the story I seem to be somewhat vague in certain details the public will readily understand that there is an excellent reason for my reticence.
      It was, then, in a year, and even in a decade, that shall be nameless, that upon one Tuesday morning in autumn we found two visitors of European fame within the walls of our humble room in Baker Street. The one, austere, high-nosed, eagle-eyed, and dominant, was none other than the illustrious Lord Bellinger, twice Premier of Britain. The other, dark, clear-cut, and elegant,hardly yet of middle age, and endowed with every beauty of body and of mind, was the Right Honourable Trelawney Hope, Secretary for European Affairs, and the most rising statesman in the country. They sat side by side upon our paper-littered settee, and it was easy to see from their worn and anxious faces that it was business of the most pressing importance which had brought them. The Premier’s thin, blue-veined hands were clasped tightly over the ivory head of his umbrella, and his gaunt, ascetic face looked gloomily from Holmes to me. The European Secretary pulled nervously at his moustache and fidgeted with the seals of his watch-chain.
      “When I discovered my loss, Mr. Holmes, which was at eight o’clock this morning, I at once informed the Prime Minister. It was at his suggestion that we have both come to you.”
      “Have you informed the police?”
      “No, sir,” said the Prime Minister, with the quick, decisive manner for which he was famous. “We have not done so, nor is it possible that we should do so. To inform the police must, in the long run, mean to inform the public. This is what we particularly desire to avoid.”
      “And why, sir?”
      “Because the document in question is of such immense importance that its publication might very easily—I might almost say probably—lead to European complications of the utmost moment. It is not too much to say that peace or war may hang upon the issue. Unless its recovery can be attended with the utmost secrecy, then it may as well not be recovered at all, for all that is aimed at by those who have taken it is that its contents should be generally known.”
      “I understand. Now, Mr. Trelawney Hope, I should be much obliged if you would tell me exactly the circumstances under which this document disappeared.”
      “That can be done in a very few words, Mr. Holmes. The letter—for it was a letter from a foreign potentate— was received six days ago. It was of such importance that I have never left it in my safe, but I have taken it across each evening to my house in Whitehall Terrace, and kept it in my bedroom in a locked despatch-box. It was there last night. Of that I am certain. I actually opened the box while I was dressing for dinner, and saw the document inside. This morning it was gone. The despatch-box had stood beside the glass upon my dressing-table all night. I am a light sleeper, and so is my wife. We are both prepared to swear that no one could have entered the room during the night. And yet I repeat that the paper is gone.”
      “What time did you dine?”
      “Half-past seven.”
      “How long was it before you went to bed?”
      “My wife had gone to the theatre. I waited up for her. It was half-past eleven before we went to our room.”
      “Then for four hours the despatch-box had lain unguarded?”
      “No one is ever permitted to enter that room save the housemaid in the morning, and my valet, or my wife’s maid, during the rest of the day. They are both trusty servants who have been with us for some time. Besides, neither of them could possibly have known that there was anything more valuable than the ordinary departmental papers in my despatch-box.”
      “Who did know of the existence of that letter?”
      “No one in the house.”
      “Surely your wife knew?”
     “No, sir; I had said nothing to my wife until I missed the paper this morning.”
      The Premier nodded approvingly.

中文翻译
      写完《福田宅邸》之后，我本来打算就此封笔，不再向公众介绍我朋友歇洛克•福尔摩斯先生的辉煌成就。我这个决定并不是因为缺乏素材，我的笔记里还有千百件我从未提及的案子，也不是因为读者诸君已经兴味索然，不再关注这位非凡人物的卓荦个性和独特方法，真正的原因在于，福尔摩斯先生已经明确表示，不希望我继续发表他的事迹。当他还在从事实际的侦探工作的时候，关于他成功案例的报道可以带给他一些实际的益处。可是，如今他已经毅然决然地离开伦敦，遁入萨塞克斯丘陵，以研究工作和蜜蜂养殖自娱。此种情形之下，他自然对无谓的声名深恶痛绝，并且不由分说地要求我尊重他对这件事情的看法，不能有任何违拗。不过，我还是向他提出抗议，告诉他我已经承诺读者，一俟时机成熟就会发表“第二块血迹案”，同时又向他指出，在他应邀侦办的所有国际性案件当中，这件案子最为重大，十分适合成为这个漫长系列的收山之作。这样一来，我最终征得了他的同意，可以将经过慎重修饰的案情记述呈现在公众面前。故事之中若有含混模糊之处，实在也是不得不然，相信公众可以谅解。
      我不能透露具体的年份，甚至是具体的年代，因此我只能说，某个年代的某一年，秋天里的某个周二上午，两位闻名全欧的客人大驾光临，踏进了我俩位于贝克街的区区寒舍。其中之一神情严峻，高鼻鹰眼，威仪赫赫，正是两度担任本国首相的贝林格勋爵，另一位则是本国最有前途的政治新星、欧洲事务大臣特里劳尼•霍普阁下，只见他肤色黝黑，轮廓分明，气度雍容，人虽然未到中年，体格和心智却已臻于完美。他们肩并肩地坐进了我们那把堆满报纸的靠背长椅，两张憔悴焦灼的脸庞明白无误地告诉我们，他们屈驾来访，一定是为了某种至关重要的事情。首相用青筋暴露的枯瘦双手紧紧抓着雨伞的象牙柄，来回打量着我和福尔摩斯，瘦削的脸上阴云密布。欧洲事务大臣则慌慌张张地捋了捋自己的髭须，然后就开始翻来覆去地摆弄穿在表链上的图章。
      “福尔摩斯先生，今天早上八点钟，我发现文件不见了，之后就立刻通知了首相。我们上门拜访，正是首相的提议。”
      “你们通知警方了吗？”
      “没有，先生，”首相说道，用的正是他那种名闻遐迩的果决口吻。“我们没有这么做，也不可能这么做。长远看来，通知警方无异于通知公众，而这正是我们竭力想要避免的事情。”
      “为什么呢，先生？”
      “因为这份文件关涉极其重大，一旦公之于众，很容易引起——甚至可以说，十之八九会引起——极其严重的全欧争端。不夸张地说，战争与和平就取决于这件事情的结果。如果我们不能通过极其隐秘的方式找回文件的话，那就跟找不回来没有什么两样，因为那些人偷窃文件的唯一目的就是让大众知晓文件的内容。”
      “我明白了。好了，特里劳尼•霍普先生，劳您大驾，给我讲讲文件失窃的详细情形吧。”
      “几句话就可以讲完，福尔摩斯先生。六天之前，我们收到了这封信，是这样，我们说的文件其实是一位外国君主写来的信。这封信十分重要，我不敢把它留在办公室的保险箱里，每天晚上都会把它装进公文箱，锁上箱子，然后带回我在白厅巷的住宅，放到我的卧室里面。昨天晚上文件还在，这一点我完全肯定。换衣服准备去吃晚饭的时候，我曾经打开公文箱看过，文件确实是在里面。
       今天早上，文件却不见了。公文箱整夜都在我卧室梳妆台的镜子旁边，与此同时，我妻子和我都是睡觉很轻的人。我俩都可以发誓，夜里绝不会有人进过卧室。可是，我还得重复一遍，文件确实是不见了。”
      “您是什么时间去吃晚饭的呢？”
      “七点半。”
      “就寝之前，您在卧室外面待了多久？”
      “我妻子看戏去了，我一直在等她回来。十一点半的时候，我俩才一起回房就寝。”
      “如此说来，公文箱有四个小时没人看守，对吧？”
      “可以进卧室的只有三个仆人，上房女仆早上可以进去，其他时间只有我的贴身男仆和我妻子的贴身女仆可以进去，他们两个都在我家里待了相当长的时间，品行十分可靠。除此之外，他们都不可能知道，公文箱里还放着比部里的日常公文更有价值的东西。”
      “那么，知道这封信在箱子里的又有谁呢？”
      “我屋里的人都不知道。”
      “您的妻子总应该知道吧？”
      “她不知道，先生。今早上发现文件失窃之前，我什么也没跟她说。”
      首相赞许地点了点头。