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Sherlock Holmes sprang out of his chair as if he had been galvanized. "What!" he roared.
福爾摩斯從椅子上跳了起來，好象觸了電一樣。"什么？"他咆哮道。
"Yes, to-day." She stood smiling, holding up a little slip of paper in the air.
"是的，今天，"她微笑地站著，高高地舉起一張小紙條。
"May I see it?" "Certainly."
"我可以看看嗎？""當然可以。"
He snatched it from her in his eagerness, and smoothing it out upon the table he drew over the lamp and examined it intently.
他急切地抓住那張紙條，在桌子上把它攤開，挪過燈來，專心地審視。
I had left my chair and was gazing at it over his shoulder.
我離開座椅，從他背后注視那張紙。
The envelope was a very coarse one and was stamped with the Gravesend postmark and with the date of that very day,
信封的紙很粗糙，蓋有格雷夫森德地方的郵戳，發信日期就是當天，
or rather of the day before, for it was considerably after midnight.
或者說是前一天，因為此時已過了午夜很久了。
"Coarse writing," murmured Holmes. "Surely this is not your husband's writing, madam."
"字跡潦草，"福爾摩斯喃喃自語，"肯定這不是您先生的筆跡，夫人。"
"No, but the enclosure is."
"是的，可是信卻是他寫的。"
"I perceive also that whoever addressed the envelope had to go and inquire as to the address."
"我還覺得，不管是誰寫的信封，他都得去問地址。"
"How can you tell that?"
"您怎能這么說？"
"The name, you see, is in perfectly black ink, which has dried itself.
"這人名，您看，完全是用黑墨水寫的，寫出后自行陰干。
The rest is of the grayish colour, which shows that blotting-paper has been used.
其余的字呈灰黑色，這說明寫后是用吸墨紙吸過的。
If it had been written straight off, and then blotted, none would be of a deep black shade.
如果是一起寫成，再用吸墨紙吸過，那末有些字就不會是深黑色的了。
This man has written the name, and there has then been a pause before he wrote the address,
這個人先寫人名，過了一會兒，才寫地址，
which can only mean that he was not familiar with it.
這就只能說明他不熟悉這個地址。
It is, of course, a trifle, but there is nothing so important as trifles.
這自然是件小事，但是沒有比一些小事更重要的了。
Let us now see the letter. Ha! there has been an enclosure here!"
現在讓咱們來看看信吧。哈！隨信還附了件東西呢！"
