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I surprised you by beating upon the pavement with my stick.
我用手杖敲打人行道使你感到驚訝，
I was ascertaining whether the cellar stretched out in front or behind. It was not in front.
我當時是要弄清楚地下室是朝前還是朝后延伸的。它不是朝前延伸。
Then I rang the bell, and, as I hoped, the assistant answered it.
然后我按門鈴，正如我所希望的，是那伙計出來開門。
We have had some skirmishes, but we had never set eyes upon each other before.
我們曾經有過一些較量。但是，在這以前，彼此從未面對面相見過。
I hardly looked at his face. His knees were what I wished to see.
我?guī)缀鯖]看他的臉，我想要看的是他的膝蓋。
You must yourself have remarked how worn, wrinkled, and stained they were.
你自己也一定覺察到，他的褲子膝部那個地方是多么破舊、皺褶和骯臟。
They spoke of those hours of burrowing. The only remaining point was what they were burrowing for.
這些情況說明，他花了多少時間去挖地道。這樣唯一未解決的問題是，他們?yōu)槭裁赐诘氐溃?/div>
I walked round the corner, saw the City and Suburban Bank abutted on our friend's premises, and felt that I had solved my problem.
于是，我在那拐角周圍巡視一番，我看到原來那城市與郊區(qū)銀行和我們的朋友的房子緊挨著。我覺得問題解決了。
When you drove home after the concert I called upon Scotland Yard and upon the chairman of the bank directors,
當你在我們聽完音樂坐車回家的時候，我走訪了蘇格蘭場和這家銀行的董事長，
with the result that you have seen."
結果如何，你已經看到了。"
"And how could you tell that they would make their attempt to-night?" I asked.
"我問他："你怎么能斷定他們會在當天晚上作案呢？"
"Well, when they closed their League offices that was a sign
"唔，他們的紅發(fā)會辦公室關門大吉是個訊號：
that they cared no longer about Mr. Jabez Wilson's presence–in other words, that they had completed their tunnel.
他們對杰貝茲·威爾遜先生人在當鋪里已不在乎了。換句話說，他們的地道已經挖通了。
But it was essential that they should use it soon, as it might be discovered, or the bullion might be removed.
但是，最重要的是，由于地道有可能被發(fā)現(xiàn)，黃金有可能被搬走，所以他們務必盡快利用這條地道。
Saturday would suit them better than any other day, as it would give them two days for their escape.
星期六比其他日子對他們更合適，這樣他們有兩天的空隙可供逃跑。
For all these reasons I expected them to come to-night."
根據(jù)上述種種理由，我預料他們會在今天晚上下手。"
"You reasoned it out beautifully," I exclaimed in unfeigned admiration. "It is so long a chain, and yet every link rings true."
我以毫不掩飾的欽佩心情贊嘆道："你這樣推理真是太棒了。這一連串的推理可謂長矣，但每個環(huán)節(jié)都證明你的推斷是正確的。"
"It saved me from ennui," he answered, yawning. "Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me.
他回答說："這免得我感到無聊。"他打個哈欠，接著說，"唉，我已覺得生活夠無聊的了。
My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so."
我的一生就是力求不要在庸庸碌碌中虛度過去。這些小小的案件幫了我的忙。"
"And you are a benefactor of the race," said I.
我說："你真是造福人類啊！"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, perhaps, after all, it is of some little use," he remarked.
他聳了聳肩，說道，"唔，總而言之，這也許還有點用處。
"'L'homme c'est rien–l'oeuvre c'est tout,' as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand."
正如居斯塔夫·福樓拜在給喬治·桑的信中所說的，'人是渺小的--著作就是一切。'"
