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At the farther end was a small brazier of burning charcoal,
在遠處一頭，有一個小炭火盆，炭火熊熊。
beside which on a three-legged wooden stool there sat a tall, thin old man,
盆旁一只三足木板凳上坐著一個瘦高的老頭，
with his jaw resting upon his two fists, and his elbows upon his knees, staring into the fire.
雙拳托腮，兩肘支在膝蓋上，雙目凝視著炭火。
As I entered, a sallow Malay attendant had hurried up with a pipe for me and a supply of the drug, beckoning me to an empty berth.
當我進屋時，一個面無血色的馬來人伙計興沖沖地走上前來，遞給我一桿煙槍和一份煙劑，招呼我到一張空榻上去。
"Thank you. I have not come to stay," said I.
"謝謝你。我不是來久呆的，"我說，
"There is a friend of mine here, Mr. Isa Whitney, and I wish to speak with him."
"我有一位朋友艾薩·惠特尼先生在這里。我要找他說話。"
There was a movement and an exclamation from my right,
在我右邊有人蠕動并發出喊聲。
and peering through the gloom I saw Whitney, pale, haggard, and unkempt, staring out at me.
我透過暗淡的燈光瞧見惠特尼面色蒼白，憔悴不堪，邋里邋遢，睜大眼睛盯著我。
"My God! It's Watson," said he. He was in a pitiable state of reaction, with every nerve in a twitter.
"天哪！原來是華生！"他說，他答話的樣子顯得既可憐又可鄙，他的每條神經似乎都處于緊張狀態。
"I say, Watson, what o'clock is it?" "Nearly eleven."
"嘿，華生，幾點鐘了？""快十一點鐘了。"
"Of what day?" "Of Friday, June 19th."
"哪天的十一點鐘？""星期五，六月十九日。"
"Good heavens! I thought it was Wednesday. It is Wednesday. What d'you want to frighten the chap for?"
"我的天！我一直認為是星期三。今天是星期三，你嚇唬人干什么？"
He sank his face onto his arms and began to sob in a high treble key.
他低下頭，把臉埋在雙臂之間，開始放聲痛哭起來。
