领略原汁原味汉英对照经典名作
恐怖谷
      “I am inclined to think——” said I.
      “I should do so,” Sherlock Holmesremarked impatiently.
      I believe that I am one of the most longsuffering of mortals; but I’ ll admit that I was annoyed at the sardonic interruption.
      “Really, Holmes,” said I severely, “you are a little trying at times.”
      He was too much absorbed with his own thoughts to give any immediate answer to my remonstrance. He leaned upon his hand, with his untasted breakfast before him, and he stared at
the slip of paper which he had just drawn from its envelope. Then he took the envelope itself, held it up to the light, and very carefully studied both the exterior and the flap.
      “It is Porlock’s writing,” said he thoughtfully. “I can hardly doubt that it is Porlock’s writing, though I have seen it only twice before. The Greek e with the peculiar top flourish is distinctive. But if it is Porlock, then it must be something of the very first importance.”
      He was speaking to himself rather than to me; but my vexation disappeared in the interest which
the words awakened.
      “Who then is Porlock?” I asked.
      “Porlock, Watson, is a nom-de-plume, a mere identification mark; but behind it lies a shifty and
evasive personality. In a former letter he frankly informed me that the name was not his own, and defied me ever to trace him among the teeming millions of this great city. Porlock is important, not for himself, but for the great man with whom he is in touch.
      Picture to yourself the pilot fish with the shark, the jackal with the lion—anything that is insignificant in companionship with what is formidable: not only formidable, Watson, but sinister— in the highest degree sinister. That is where he comes within my purview. You have heard me speak of Professor Moriarty?”
      “The famous scientific criminal, as famous among crooks as—”
      “My blushes, Watson!” Holmes murmured in a deprecating voice.
      “I was about to say, as he is unknown to the public.”
      “A touch! A distinct touch!” cried Holmes. “You are developing a certain unexpected vein of pawky humour, Watson, against which I must learn to guard myself. But in calling Moriarty a criminal you are uttering libel in the eyes of the law—and there lie the glory and the wonder of it! The greatest schemer of all time, the organizer of every deviltry, the controlling brain of the underworld, a brain which might have made or marred the destiny of nations—that’s the man! But so aloof is he from general suspicion, so immune from criticism, so admirable in his management and self-effacement, that for those very words that you have uttered he could hale you to a court and emerge with your year’s pension as a solatium for his wounded character. Is he not the celebrated author of The Dynamics of an Asteroid, a book which ascends to such rarefied heights of pure mathematics that it is said that there was no man in the scientific press capable of criticizing it? Is this a man to traduce? Foul-mouthed doctor and slandered professor—such would be your respective rôles! That’s genius, Watson. But if I am spared by lesser men, our day will surely come.”
      “May I be there to see!” I exclaimed devoutly. “But you were speaking of this man Porlock.”
      “Ah, yes—the so-called Porlock is a link in the chain some little way from its great attachment. Porlock is not quite a sound link—between ourselves. He is the only flaw in that chain so far as I have been able to test it.”
      “But no chain is stronger than its weakest link.”
      “Exactly, my dear Watson! Hence the extreme importance of Porlock. Led on by some rudimentary aspirations towards right, and encouraged by the judicious stimulation of an occasional ten-pound note sent to him by devious methods, he has once or twice given me advance information which has been of value—that highest value which anticipates and prevents rather than avenges crime. I cannot doubt that, if we had the cipher, we should find that this communication is of the nature that I indicate.”
      Again Holmes flattened out the paper upon his unused plate. I rose and, leaning over him, stared down at the curious inscription, which ran as follows:

中文翻译
      “我在想——”我开口说道。
      “接着想吧，”歇洛克• 福尔摩斯不胜其烦地接口说道。
      我自认拥有全世界数一数二的耐性，可我必须承认，他这句藏针带刺的插话让我相当着恼。
      “说实在的，福尔摩斯，”我义正词严地说道，“有些时候，你可真有点儿让人受不了。”
     他完全沉浸在自己的思绪之中，没有立刻回答我的抗议。他一只手托着下巴，面前的早餐原封未动，眼睛直勾勾地盯着他刚刚从信封里抽出来的一张纸片。这之后，他把信封拿了起来，举到光亮的地方，仔仔细细地研究了一下信封的外观和封口。
      “这是波洛克的笔迹，”他若有所思地说道。“波洛克的笔迹我虽然只见过两次，可我几乎可以断定这是他写的东西。这个希腊式的字母‘e’顶端带点儿花体，恰好是他的特征。不过，如果这封信真的来自波洛克的话，信里讲的就一定是一件至关紧要的事情。”
      他不像是在对我说话，更像是自言自语，可他的话让我一下子充满好奇，忘记了刚才的不快。
      “那么，波洛克是谁呢？”我问道。
      “华生啊，‘波洛克’只是一个笔名、一个身份标记而已，它代表的是一个变化多端、藏头露尾的人物。在前面的一封信当中，他坦白地告诉我这不是他的真名，还叫我尽管去试，看看我能不能在这座大都市的百万人海当中查出他来。波洛克非常重要，不是因为他自己，而是因为跟他有交道的那个大人物。你不妨把他想象成鲨鱼身边的引水鱼，或者是狮子左右的豺狼，总之就是个微不足道的角色，但却跟某个十分强大的家伙混在一起。他身边的那个家伙不光是强大而已，华生，而且还十分邪恶，邪恶到了无以复加的程度。这就是我对那个家伙的评价。你听我提过莫里亚蒂教授吗？”
      “那个著名的科学罪犯，在歹徒当中广为人知的程度正如——”
      “我真替你难为情，华生！”福尔摩斯不以为然地咕哝了一句。
      “我要说的是，正如在公众当中鲜为人知的程度一样惊人。”
      “点中了！确实让你给点中了！”福尔摩斯叫道。“华生，你显然是学会了一种本事，懂得冷不丁地开暗藏机关的玩笑了，我可得防着点儿。不过，你把莫里亚蒂叫做罪犯，本身倒是口出诽谤之言，为法律所不容——他的本事高就高在这里、妙就妙在这里！有史以来最了不起的阴谋家、所有暴行的策划者、控制地下世界的神经中枢、左右各国命运的大脑——他就是这么个人物！
      可他距离公众的猜疑是那么地遥远，跟外界的非议是那么地不相干，隐身幕后操控一切的手法又是那么地令人叫绝，以至于光凭你刚才说的那几句话，他就可以拖着你去对簿公堂，把你整整一年的年金变成他的名誉损失费。《小行星动力学》一书的理论数学水平达到了唯我独尊的高度，据说整个科学舆论界都没有人能对它提出任何批评，那本奇书的著名作者不就是他吗？这样的人是可以随便中伤的吗？满嘴胡言的医生和清誉受损的教授，这就是你们俩各自扮演的角色！他可真是个天才，华生。不过，只要我没在那些小阴沟里翻了船，咱们就必然会有旗开得胜的一天。”
      “但愿我能够亲眼见证那一天！”我热忱地高喊一声。“不过，你刚才谈的可是波洛克这个家伙的事情。”
      “呃，没错——所谓的波洛克是链条当中的一个环节，离那个了不起的核心距离不远。咱俩私下说啊，波洛克这个环节并不是特别牢靠。根据我现有的测试结果来看，他是那根链条当中唯一的一个薄弱环节。”
      “可是，链条的牢靠程度总是由最薄弱的一个环节来决定的啊。”
      “一点儿不错，亲爱的华生！就是因为这一点，波洛克才显得极端重要。这个人总算是良心未泯，加上我时不时地采取一种助人向善的明智举措，转弯抹角地送他一张十镑的钞票，结果呢，有那么一两次，他赶在事发之前给过我一些很有价值的情报——那些情报的价值可以说是无可比拟，因为它们可以帮助我预防犯罪，而不是事后再去讨还公道。我敢说，要是能找到解码方法的话，咱们肯定会发现，眼下这封信也属于我刚才提到的那个类型。”
      福尔摩斯再一次把纸片平摊在他那个未曾使用的碟子上。我站起身来，低下头去，隔着他的肩膀看到了以下的古怪符号：

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