巴斯克维尔的猎犬

夏洛克·福尔摩斯先生

Mr Sherlock Holmes

夏洛克·福尔摩斯先生早上起得很晚。有时候他根本不睡觉。但那天早上他已经在吃早餐了。

Mr Sherlock Holmes usually got up very late in the morning. Sometimes he did not go to bed at all. But that morning he was already at the breakfast table.

我手里拿着一根手杖站在火炉旁。昨天晚上有一位客人来看我们，但我们出去了。他等了一个小时，然后就走了。他把手杖忘了。

I stood by the fire with a walking stick in my hands. A visitor came to see us the evening before, but we were out. He waited for an hour, and then he left. He forgot his stick.

这是一根不错的好手杖，头很重，圆圆的。头下面有一圈宽宽的银环。上面写着：送给詹姆斯·莫蒂默，医学士，来自他在查林十字医院的朋友们。上面还有一个年份：1884年。医学士这几个字母告诉我一件事：这个人是个医生。

It was a good, thick stick with a heavy round head, and under the head there was a wide silver band. On it were these words: TO JAMES MORTIMER, M.R.C.S., FROM HIS FRIENDS OF THE C.C.H. And there was a year: 1884. The letters M.R.C.S. showed me one thing: the man was a doctor.

这是那种老家庭医生会拿的手杖。它看起来很严肃、结实而且安全。

It was the kind of stick that old family doctors carried. It looked serious, solid and safe.

“那么，华生，关于它你能告诉我什么？”

“Well, Watson, what can you tell me about it?”

福尔摩斯背对着我坐着。我没说一个字，也没发出一点声音。

Holmes was sitting with his back to me. I did not say a word, and I did not make a sound.

“你怎么知道我在做什么？”我问。“我觉得你的后脑勺上长了眼睛。”

“How do you know what I’m doing?” I asked. “I think you have eyes in the back of your head.”

“不，但我面前有一个银咖啡壶，”他说。“它像镜子一样亮，我能在里面看到你。现在，华生，告诉我关于我们客人的手杖的事。我们错过了他，不知道他想要什么。所以这根手杖很重要。它告诉你关于那个人的什么信息？”

“No, but I have a silver coffee pot in front of me,” he said. “It shines like a mirror, and I can see you in it. Now, Watson, tell me about our visitor’s stick. We missed him, and we don’t know what he wants. So this stick is important. What does it tell you about the man?”

我试着使用我朋友的方法。“我觉得莫蒂默医生是一位成功的年长医生，”我说。“人们喜欢他。这就是为什么他的朋友们送他这个礼物。”

I tried to use my friend’s methods. “I think Dr Mortimer is a successful older doctor,” I said. “People like him. That is why his friends gave him this present.”

“好！”福尔摩斯说。“太棒了！”

“Good!” said Holmes. “Excellent!”

“我还觉得他是一位乡村医生。他走路去给病人看病。”

“I also think that he is a country doctor. He visits his patients on foot.”

“为什么？”

“Why?”

“因为这根手杖以前很漂亮，但现在又旧又坏。城里的医生不会拿这样的手杖。你看金属杖头。它磨损了，所以他经常拿着它走路。”

“Because the stick was once very beautiful, but now it is old and damaged. A doctor in the city doesn’t carry a stick like this. And look at the metal end. It is worn down, so he walks a lot with it.”