Can you solve a mystery before Sherlock Holmes? - Alex Rosenthal

翻译人员: Yanyan Hong 校对人员: suya f.

I called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes,

去年秋天的某日，

我拜访了好友夏洛克·福尔摩斯先生， 发现他正在和一位上了年纪

one day in the autumn of last year and found him in deep conversation

with a very stout, florid-faced, elderly gentleman with fiery red hair.

却身材健壮、面色红润， 留了一头火红头发的绅士详谈。

Where I saw merely an unhappy tradesman,

在我眼中他不过是一位闷闷不乐的商人，

Sherlock observed a Freemason who had done manual labor,

夏洛克却发现他是一位 做过体力劳动的共济会成员，

visited China, and written quite a bit recently.

去过中国，最近写过不少东西，

And this last inference was at the heart of the matter.

而最后一点是问题的关键。

This gentleman, Mr. Jabez Wilson, was a pawnbroker.

这位绅士贾贝兹·威尔逊（Jabez Wilson） 先生曾是一位当铺老板。

Two months ago he answered a peculiar newspaper advertisement.

两个月前，他看到一则奇怪的报纸广告。

The mysterious League of Red-Headed Men had announced an opening

神秘的红发男子联盟 宣布了一个空缺职位

that came with a significant cash incentive,

报酬颇为丰厚，

and every red-headed man above the age of 21 in London was encouraged to apply.

欢迎伦敦所有 21 岁 以上的红发男子申请。

Wilson was hesitant to go; it seemed too strange to be true,

因看似奇怪，难以置信， 使得威尔逊犹豫不决，

but his assistant of recent employ, who found the ad in the first place,

是他最先发现这则广告的新助手

convinced him to.

说服了他去尝试。

Outside the League’s office, they found hundreds of men,

在联盟办公室外， 他们发现了数百名男子，

all awaiting their shots at the position.

都在等着争取这个机会。

Seeing Wilson's particularly magnificent hair,

看到威尔逊特别出众的头发，

the hosts parted the red sea and ushered him through to a room with a little man.

主办人带着他穿过人海， 将他领进了一个房间。

This interviewer, one Duncan Ross,

这位面试官邓肯·罗斯 （Duncan Ross）

subjected Wilson to a single, painful test,

对威尔逊进行了一次痛苦的考验，

then inducted him into the League.

然后将他介绍进了联盟。

All he had to do to receive his stipend was spend four hours here every day

为了获得报酬，他所要做的 就是每天在这里花四个小时

transcribing the encyclopedia.

抄写百科全书。

He’d be paid handsomely; much more than his day job.

他会得到丰厚的报酬； 远远超过他的日常工作。

Wilson, of course, accepted,

当然，威尔逊接受了，

and showed up to that address every day without fail for two months.

并在两个月内，每天 都无一例外地出现在那里。

Including today, when he was shocked to discover a sign

直到今天，他震惊地发现了

saying that the League had been disbanded.

一个标语，上面写着联盟已经解散。

Ross, meanwhile, had disappeared without a trace.

与此同时，罗斯失踪得无影无踪。

So Wilson turned to the one man who might make red heads or red tails

因此，威尔逊只得求助于唯一

of these events.

能摸清关于这些红头事件来龙去脉的人。

Sherlock accepted the remarkable case

夏洛克接受了这个非同寻常的案例，

and whisked me to Wilson’s place of business,

带我去了威尔逊的商店，他的助手，

where his assistant, a young man named Vincent Spaulding,

一个名叫文森特·斯波尔丁 （Vincent Spaulding）的年轻人，

answered the door.

接待了我们。

Sherlock asked him nothing more than walking directions to the Strand

夏洛克只是问了他 前往斯特兰德河的步行路线，

and concluded the interview.

便算是结束了问话。

The great detective proceeded to examine the area,

这位伟大的侦探开始调查该区域，

then led me on a stroll around the block.

然后带我去街区里漫步。

Satisfied, he instructed me, to my great surprise,

令我惊讶的是，他心满意足地 指示我晚上

to meet him at Baker Street at 10 pm to thwart a considerable crime.

10 点在贝克街与他见面， 以挫败一起重大犯罪。

I ask you this: what was the crime and who was going to commit it?

现在我问你：罪行是什么， 又是谁将犯下罪行？

That night, at the doorstep of 221B Baker Street,

那天晚上，在 贝克街 221B 号的门口，

I discovered a carriage waiting.

我发现一辆马车在等着。

Inside, Sherlock and two other men: a bank director and a police officer.

里面有夏洛克和另外两名男子： 一名银行行长和一名警察。

Sherlock explained: we’d gathered to prevent a robbery.

夏洛克解释说： 我们聚在这是为了防止抢劫。

Not just any robbery, the banker added;

这位银行家补充说， 这不是随随便便的抢劫案；

the theft of a massive quantity of French gold,

而是对大量法国黄金有计谋的盗窃，

on temporary storage in his bank’s subterranean vault.

这些黄金暂时存放在银行的地下金库中。

The carriage let us out, and there, in the cold recesses of the bank's basement,

当我们下了马车，在那里， 在银行地下室寒冷的地下室里，

we found ... absolutely nothing of criminal consequence.

我们发现……绝对没有犯罪迹象。

Sherlock told us to hide ourselves in the darkness,

夏洛克叫我们躲在黑暗中，

ready for a fight.

为战斗做好准备。

And at long last we heard a scratching, then a sliding sound.

我们终于听到了一声刮擦声， 然后是滑动的声音。

We leapt into action and, after a scuffle, detained two men:

我们开始行动，在一场混战之后， 拘留了两名男子：

Wilson’s assistant Spaulding, and the man Wilson knew as Duncan Ross.

威尔逊的助手斯波尔丁 和威尔逊认识的那位邓肯·罗斯。

Sherlock explained: the target all along had been the French gold.

夏洛克解释说： 目标一直就是法国黄金。

Spaulding knew it would be here, so he got himself employed by Wilson

斯波尔丁知道它会在这里， 所以想办法让威尔逊聘用了他，

on account of the proximity of the pawnshop to the bank.

因为当铺离银行很近。

But in order to dig a tunnel undetected,

但为了在不被发现 的情况下挖出一条隧道，

he’d need Wilson out of the way for long stretches.

他需要支开威尔逊，

And that was when he dreamed up the Red-Headed League,

这也就是为什么想出了红头联盟，

for which he recruited his accomplice.

为此他招募了同谋。

Every day while Wilson toiled away for a pittance

每天，当威尔逊辛勤工作以赚取 与他们偷走的价值

compared to the value they’d steal,

相比微不足道的钱时，

Spaulding and Ross dug their tunnel, finally reaching the bank vault today.

斯波尔丁和罗斯都在挖隧道， 终于在今天挖到了银行金库。

Sherlock wasn’t sure exactly what Spaulding was up to

夏洛克不确定 斯波尔丁到底在干什么，

until he saw the worn and dusty knees of his trousers,

直到他看见裤子上 有破旧和尘土飞扬的膝盖，

and recognized him as notorious thief John Clay.

并认出他是臭名昭著的小偷 约翰·克莱（John Clay）。

He tested the pavement by the pawn shop, and finding it hollow, rounded the block,

他在当铺旁测试了人行道， 发现人行道是空心的，然后绕过了方块，

where he discovered the true target.

在那里他发现了真正的目标。

“Poor Wilson,” I concluded.

“可怜的威尔逊，” 我总结道。

“Out of the best job of his life and 4 pounds per week.”

“失去了他一生中最好的工作， 每周 4 磅的工作。”

To which Sherlock retorted, “Have no pity, Watson;

夏洛克反驳道： “没啥大不了，沃森；

the man is richer by far in his newfound knowledge of aardvarks, Abbasids,

至少他对土拨鼠、阿巴斯王朝、

acupuncture, and assorted other subjects that begin with the letter A.”

针灸和其他各种以字母 A 开头 的主题有了更丰富的了解。”