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Sherlock Holmes sat down beside him on the couch and patted him kindly on the shoulder.
福爾摩斯在床上坐在他身邊，和藹地拍了拍他的肩膀。
"If you leave it to a court of law to clear the matter up," said he, "of course you can hardly avoid publicity.
"如果你讓法庭來查清這件事情，"他說，"當然那就難免要宣揚出去。
On the other hand, if you convince the police authorities that there is no possible case against you,
可是，只要你能使警務當局相信，這不是一件足以向你提出控告的事情，
I do not know that there is any reason that the details should find their way into the papers.
我想沒有什么理由必須把你案子的詳情公諸于報紙。
Inspector Bradstreet would, I am sure, make notes upon anything which you might tell us and submit it to the proper authorities.
我相信布雷茲特里特巡官是會把你說給我們聽的記錄記下來提交給有關當局的。
The case would then never go into court at all."
這樣，這案子就根本不會提到法庭上去了。"
"God bless you!" cried the prisoner passionately.
"上帝保佑您！"那囚犯熱情洋溢地高喊起來，
"I would have endured imprisonment, ay, even execution, rather than have left my miserable secret as a family blot to my children.
"我寧愿忍受拘禁，唉，甚至處決，也不愿把我的令人感到痛苦的秘密作為家庭的污點，留給孩子們。
You are the first who have ever heard my story.
你們是唯一聽到我的身世的人。
My father was a school-master in Chesterfield, where I received an excellent education.
我父親是切斯特菲爾德的小學校長，在那里我受過極為良好的教育。
I travelled in my youth, took to the stage, and finally became a reporter on an evening paper in London.
我青年的時候酷愛旅行，喜歡演戲，后來在倫敦一家晚報當了記者。
One day my editor wished to have a series of articles upon begging in the metropolis, and I volunteered to supply them.
有一天，總編輯想要一組反映大城市里的乞討生活的報道，我自告奮勇來提供這方面的稿件。
There was the point from which all my adventures started.
這就成了我一生歷險的開端。
It was only by trying begging as an amateur that I could get the facts upon which to base my articles.
我只有客串充扮乞丐才能收集到寫文章所需的一些基本材料。
When an actor I had, of course, learned all the secrets of making up, and had been famous in the green-room for my skill.
我當過演員，自然學到了一些化裝的秘訣，并曾以我的化裝技巧而聞名于劇場后臺。
I took advantage now of my attainments.
這時我利用了這種本領。
I painted my face, and to make myself as pitiable as possible
我先用油色涂臉，然后為了盡量裝成最令人憐憫的樣子，
I made a good scar and fixed one side of my lip in a twist by the aid of a small slip of flesh-coloured plaster.
我用一小條肉色的橡皮膏，做出一個惟妙惟肖的傷疤，把嘴唇一邊向上扭卷起來。
Then with a red head of hair, and an appropriate dress,
戴上一頭紅發，配上適當的衣服，
I took my station in the business part of the city, ostensibly as a match-seller but really as a beggar.
就在市商業區選定一個地方，表面上是火柴小販，實際上是當乞丐。
For seven hours I plied my trade,
我這樣干了七個小時，
and when I returned home in the evening I found to my surprise that I had received no less than 26s. 4d.
晚上回到家中，發現我竟得到二十六個先令零四個便士，這使我大吃一驚。
