【前情回顾】：
罪案现场的受害者表情恐惧，让华生不寒而栗。而就在一行人认为调查已经告一段落时，大家却意外地在死者身上找到了案件的关键线索——一枚神秘的结婚戒指。同时发现的还有写在墙上的血字”RACHE”。这一切都让案件更加扑朔迷离。
【今日翻译】：
As he spoke, he took a tape measure and a large round magnifying glass(放大镜) from his pocket.
With these two tools he walked noiselessly about the room, sometimes stopping, occasionally kneeling(跪下), and once lying flat upon his face.
So focused was he upon his task that he appeared to have forgotten our presence.
他一边说着，一边从口袋里拿出一个卷尺和一个放大镜。
落脚无声的走向房间，有时候停下来，偶尔还会跪下，甚至还会躺在地上，脸贴着地面。
如此专注于他的检查工作，好像已经把我们彻底忘记了。
As I watched him, I was reminded of a pure-blooded(纯种的) well-trained foxhound(猎狐犬) as it ran backwards(向后) and forwards, being hidden, until it comes across the lost scent(气味).
For twenty minutes or more he continued his researches.
In one place he gathered up(收拢) very carefully a little pile of grey dust from the floor, and packed it away in an envelope(信封).
Finally, he examined with his glass the word upon the wall, going over every letter carefully.
This done, he appeared to be satisfied, for he replaced his tape and his glass in his pocket.
我看着他，感觉像是看到一只纯种且训练有素的猎狐犬，来往奔突，四处嗅吠，一头猛的要找出残留的气味。
他持续了有二十多分钟，在某个地方，他还小心翼翼的从地板上的收集了一小撮灰色的尘土，放进了一个信封里。
最后，他用放大镜仔细的照着墙上的每个字母，一个都没放过。
这之后，他看起来好像终于心满意足了，因为他把卷尺和放大镜又收起来放进他的口袋了。
“They say that genius(天才) is an infinite(无尽的) capacity(能力) for taking pains,” he remarked with a smile.
“It’s a very bad definition(定义), but it does apply to detective(侦探) work.”
Gregson and Lestrade had watched the movements of their amateur(业余的) companion with considerable curiosity and some contempt(轻蔑).
“都说，吃得了苦就是天才。”他笑说，“我虽然不认同这个定义，但它倒是非常适合侦探工作。”
Gregson和 Lestrade 全程看着这位实际上是业余人士的小伙伴，虽然好奇他的举动，但是却带着轻蔑。
They failed to appreciate the fact that Sherlock Holmes’ smallest actions were all directed towards some definite(明确的) and practical end.
“What do you think of it, sir?” they both asked.
“It would be taking your credit for the case if I was to help you,” remarked my friend.
“You are doing so well now that it would be a pity for anyone to interfere(介入).”
There was a world of contempt(轻蔑) in his voice as he spoke.
他们显然没意识到，Holmes的每一个举动，甚至是微小的看起来是多余的举动，都带有明确实际的目的。
“你认为如何？”他们都问。
“若是要我出手的话，恐怕会不合事宜。你们的工作如此完美，再多一个人插手实在是有些多余。”
小伙伴虽然是在夸奖，但这话里的轻蔑实在是藏不住。
“If you will let me know how your investigations(调查) go,” he continued, “I will be happy to give you any help I can.
In the meantime(同时), I should like to speak to the officer who found the body. Can you give me his name and address?”
Lestrade glanced at(浏览) his note-book. “John Rance,” he said.
“He is off duty now. You will find him at 46, Audley Court, Kennington Park Gate.”
“你们要是能让我知道调查进展如何，我倒是很乐意提供帮助。
还有，我想与发现尸体的那位警员聊一聊。他的名字和地址是？”
Lestrade看了一眼他的笔记本，回到，“John Rance，他现在下班了，你可以去Kennington 公园 Gate路，Audley 巷4号找找看。”
Holmes took a note of the address.
“Come along, Doctor,” he said, “we should go and call on him.
I’ll tell you one thing which may help you in the case,” he continued, turning to the two detectives(警探).
“There has been murder done, and the murderer was a man.
He was more than six feet high, was in the prime of life.
He had small feet for his height, wore rough, square-toed boots and smoked a Trichinopoly cigar.
He came here with his victim in a four-wheeled cab(马车).
The murderer was likely to have a reddish face, and the finger-nails of his right hand were remarkably long.
These are only a few indications, but they may help you.”
Holmes 记下地址。
“走，医生，我们去看看。”他对我说，然后又看向那两位警探，“我会告诉你们一件事情，对案件有帮助。
这是一起谋杀案。凶手是位男士。超过六英尺高（1.83米），正值壮年。
他的脚相对于身高来讲稍显小，穿一双破旧的方头靴，抽 Trichinopoly 牌的雪茄。
他和死者是坐四轮马车来的。
凶手八成是面部红润之人，右手指甲很长。
线索不多，但对案件会有帮助。”
Lestrade and Gregson glanced at each other with a doubtful smile.
“If this man was murdered, how was it done?” asked the former.
“Poison,” said Sherlock Holmes, and walked off.
“One other thing, Lestrade,” he added, turning round at the door
“ ‘Rache’ is the German for ‘revenge(复仇)’, so don’t lose your time looking for Miss Rachel.”
Lestrade 和 Gregson互相笑了笑，都不太信。
“如果这是凶杀案，凶手如何杀死的死者？”Lestrade 问。
“毒。”Holmes说着就走出去了，“哦还有件事情， Lestrade，‘Rache’是德语单词 ‘revenge(复仇)’，所以没事儿就不要浪费时间去找一位 Rachel女士了。”
Then he walked away, leaving the two rivals(对手) open-mouthed behind him.
It was one o’clock when we left No. 3, Lauriston Gardens.
Sherlock Holmes led me to the nearest telegraph office, where he left a long telegram.
He then called a cab(马车), and ordered the driver to take us to the address given by Lestrade.
然后他就潇洒的走了，留下两只大张着嘴的警探。
我们离开Lauriston 花园3号的时候是下午一点。
Holmes和我先去附近的电报局，他发了一封长电报。
然后叫了辆马车，驶向 刚刚Lestrade给的地址。
“There is nothing like first-hand evidence,” he remarked, “as a matter of fact, my mind is entirely made up upon the case, but still we may as well learn all that is to be learned.”
“You surprise me, Holmes,” said I.
“Surely you are not as sure as you pretend to be of all those details(细节) which you gave.”
“There’s no room for a mistake,” he answered.
“第一手证据是最重要的。其实，我心里已经有大致的案发经过了，不过还是得将各种情况查明清楚。”
“你太让我吃惊了！Holmes。”我说，“但其实你也对刚才的线索并没有那么大的把握吧？？”
“绝对有把握。”他说。
“The very first thing which I observed on arriving there was that a cab(马车) had made two grooves(车槽) with its wheels close to the curb(路边).
Now, up to last night, we have had no rain for a week, so that those wheels which left such a deep impression must have been there during the night.
Since the cab(马车) was there after the rain began, and was not there at any time during the morning—
I have Gregson’s word for that—it follows that it must have been there during the night.
Therefore, the cab(马车) brought those two individuals to the house.”
“That seems simple enough,” said I, “but how about the other man’s height?”
“我到了那里就发现，沿着马路边有两条马车痕。到昨天晚上，我们有一周没下过雨，所以这个痕迹是肯定是夜间留下的。
由于马车是在下雨后到的那里，然后那位Gregson警探又说整个早上没有别的马车到过那里，所以很明显马车是夜间到的。
因此，当然是马车带的两个人过去的那个屋子。”
“哦，这个看起来真是挺简单。那你怎么知道的凶手身高？”我说。
“Well, the height of a man, in nine cases out of ten, can be told from the length of his step.
It is a simple calculation.
I had this fellow’s footprints both on the clay outside and on the dust within.
Then I had a way of checking my calculation.
When a man writes on a wall, his instinct(本能) leads him to write about the level of his own eyes.
Now that writing was just over six feet from the ground. It was child’s play.”
“哦，身高啊，一个人的身高十之八九都能从他的步伐长度看出来。
那只是个简单的计算。
我看过凶手在外面泥地和屋内灰尘上的脚印。
我还验证了一下我的计算。
当一个人要在墙上写字的时候，他会本能的写在和视线持平的地方。
那个字迹离地面的高度也就6英尺。
没什么难度。”
“And his age?” I asked.
“If a man can step four and a half feet without the smallest effort, he can’t be that old.
That was the range of a puddle(水坑) on the garden path which he had obviously walked across.
Leather(皮质的) boots had gone round, and square-toes(穿方头鞋的人) had jumped over.
There is no mystery(谜) about it at all.
I am simply applying to ordinary life a few of those methods of observation and deduction(推理) which I recommended in that article.
Is there anything else that puzzles(困扰) you?”
“年龄呢？”
“一个人的步伐能毫不费力就达到四英尺半，那他肯定年纪不大。
花园里就有这么大的一个水坑，很明显穿方头靴的人是一步迈过去的，而皮靴是从旁边绕过去的。
这也没什么神秘的。
我只是把我写的那个观察和推理中的几个方法用到生活中。还有什么问题吗？”
“The finger-nails and the Trichinopoly,” I suggested.
“The writing on the wall was done with a man’s forefinger(食指) dipped in blood.
My glass allowed me to observe that the plaster(灰泥) was slightly scratched(划掉) in doing it, which would not have been the case if the man’s nail had been cut.
I gathered up some scattered(散落的) ash from the floor.
It was dark in color and flaky(薄片状的)—such an ash as is only made by a Trichinopoly.
I have made a special study of cigar ashes, so I can distinguish(辨别) at a glance the ash of any known brand(品牌).
It is just in such details(细节) that the skilled detective(侦探) differs from the Gregson and Lestrade type.”
“指甲和Trichinopoly呢？”
“墙上的字明显是人用食指沾血写的。
我用放大镜能看到字迹旁边有的地方墙上的灰泥被划掉了。如果这人指甲短的话，是不会碰到灰泥的。
我从地上收集到一些烟灰。
颜色是黑的，成薄片状——这种烟灰只有Trichinopoly牌子。
我曾经研究过各种雪茄的烟灰。所以我能辨别出它的牌子。
就是这种细节，才能区分专业侦探和Gregson 和 Lestrade之流。”
“And the reddish face?” I asked.
“Ah, that was a more daring guess, though I have no doubt that I was right.
You must not ask me that at the present state of the affair.”
“面部红润呢？”这些我完全推不出来啊。
“哦，那只是我大胆猜的。不过我肯定是对的。所以你现在还是先别问这个问题了。”
I passed my hand over my forehead.
“My head is in a spin(眩晕),” I remarked, “the more one thinks of it the more mysterious(神秘的) it grows.
How did these two men—if there were two men—come into an empty house?
What has become of the cabman(马车夫) who drove them? How could one man compel(强迫) another to take poison?
Where did the blood come from? What was the aim of the murderer, since robbery had no part in it?
How did the woman’s ring come there?
Above all, why should the second man write up the German word RACHE before leaving?
I confess(承认) that I cannot see any possible way of connecting all these facts.”
我抚了抚额。
“我更晕了。越想越觉得案件复杂。
这两个男的——如果是两个男的话——是怎么进入那个空房间的？
马车夫怎么样了？一个人是如何让另一个人服毒的？
血从哪儿来的？既然不是抢劫，凶手目的是什么？
为什么会有女士戒指？
还有，为什么第二个男的在离开前要写德语RACHE？
我承认我根本联系不起来这些线索。”
My companion smiled.
“You sum(总结) up the problems of the situation briefly and well,” he said.
“There is much that is still obscure(模糊的), though I have quite made up my mind on the main facts.
As to poor Lestrade’s discovery, it was simply a criminal intended(意图) to put the police upon a wrong track.
It was not done by a German.
The A, if you noticed, was printed somewhat after the German fashion(样式).
小伙伴迷之微笑。
“你总结的很全面很精辟啊，虽然我大致知道了案件经过，但具体细节还是有些模糊的。
Lestrade发现的那个血字，大概只是误导警探查案方向的。
那不是一个德国人写的。
如果你注意的话，会发现，字母A是仿照德文样式写的。
Now, a real German invariably prints in the Latin(拉丁语的)character, so that we may safely say that this was not written by a German, but by an awkward(拙劣的) imitator.
It was simply a trick to distract(转移) inquiry(调查) into a wrong direction.
I’m not going to tell you much more of the case, Doctor.
You know a performer gets no credit when once he has explained his trick,
and if I show you too much of my method of working, you will come to the conclusion(结论) that I am a very ordinary individual after all.”
但，一个正宗德国人写的是拉丁文字体。
所以我们能确定不是德国人写的。而是一个低劣的模仿者。
主要是调虎离山，让警探走错误的方向。
其他的我就不多说了。
你知道的，当一个魔术师的魔术被众所周知，大家就不觉得他有多厉害了。
要是我告诉你太多我是怎么想的话，你会觉得，我也是个不过如此的普通人。”
“I will never do that,” I answered.
“绝对不会。我对你的崇拜之情永不消灭。”我神圣的回答道。
over，不定时更新。