红发会

杰贝兹·威尔逊先生

Mr Jabez Wilson

我叫华生医生。我是一个医生，也是歇洛克·福尔摩斯的朋友。福尔摩斯是伦敦贝克街的一名侦探。人们把奇怪的难题带来找他，我常常把他的案子写下来。

My name is Dr Watson. I am a doctor, and a friend of Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is a detective in Baker Street, in London. People bring him their strange problems, and I often write down his cases.

去年秋天的一天，我去看他。屋里还有别人。他正在和一个胖胖的、年纪大一些的先生说话，那位先生红着脸，有一头鲜红的头发。我说了对不起，转身想走。但是福尔摩斯把我拉进房间，关上了我身后的门。

One day in the autumn of last year, I went to see him. He was not alone. He was talking with a fat, older gentleman with a red face and bright red hair. I said sorry and turned to go. But Holmes pulled me into the room and closed the door behind me.

“你来得正是时候，我亲爱的华生，”他热情地说。

“You came at the best possible time, my dear Watson,” he said warmly.

“我怕你正在忙。”

“I was afraid that you were busy.”

“我很忙。非常忙。”

“I am. Very busy.”

“那我可以去隔壁房间等。”

“Then I can wait in the next room.”

“一点儿也不用。威尔逊先生，这位先生是我的朋友。他在我许多最好的案子里帮过我，他也能在你的案子里帮我。”

“Not at all. Mr Wilson, this gentleman is my friend. He helped me in many of my best cases, and he can help me in yours too.”

胖先生从椅子上微微站起来，轻轻点了点头。他的小眼睛很快地看了看我，眼里带着疑问。

The fat gentleman stood up a little from his chair and gave a small nod. His small eyes looked at me quickly, with a question in them.

“坐到沙发上吧，华生，”福尔摩斯说。他靠坐在自己的扶手椅里，把指尖对在一起。他认真思考的时候总是这样做。“我知道你喜欢奇怪的事，我亲爱的华生。你喜欢普通生活中无聊日子以外的一切。那就是你写我的小冒险的原因。几天前我对你说过一些话。现实生活比作家能想出的任何故事都更奇怪。你还记得吗？”

“Sit on the sofa, Watson,” said Holmes. He sat back in his armchair and put the tips of his fingers together. He always did this when he was thinking hard. “I know that you love strange things, my dear Watson. You love everything outside the boring days of normal life. That is why you write about my little adventures. A few days ago I told you something. Real life is stranger than any story that a writer can invent. Do you remember?”

“记得。而且当时我不同意你的看法。”

“Yes. And I did not agree with you.”

“你确实不同意，医生。但是你最后会同意我的。现在，杰贝兹·威尔逊先生今天早晨来找我。他的故事是我听过的最奇怪的故事之一。这是一起犯罪吗？我目前还不知道。”

“You did not, Doctor. But you are going to agree with me in the end. Now, Mr Jabez Wilson came to see me this morning. His story is one of the strangest that I have ever heard. Is it a crime? I don’t know yet.”

他转向我们的客人。

He turned to our visitor.

“威尔逊先生，请从头再讲一遍你的故事。我的朋友华生医生没有听到第一部分。”

“Mr Wilson, please start your story again from the beginning. My friend Dr Watson did not hear the first part.”