書蟲二級：有斑點的帶子 - 海倫的故事

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1.海倫的故事

At the time of this story, I was still living at my friend Sherlock Holmes's flat in Baker Street in London. Very early one morning, a young woman, dressed in black, came to see us. She looked tired and unhappy, and her face was very white. 'I'm afraid! Afraid of death, Mr Holmes!' she cried. 'Please help me! I'm not thirty yet and look at my grey hair! I'm so afraid!'

故事發(fā)生的時候，我還住在我的朋友夏洛克·福爾摩斯在倫敦貝克街的公寓里。一天大清早，一位穿黑衣的年輕女人來見我們。她看起來疲憊而憂郁，臉色蒼白。“我害怕!害怕死，福爾摩斯先生!”她哭道，“請幫幫我!我還不到30歲，但是看看我灰白的頭發(fā)!我太害怕了!”

Just sit down and tell us your story,' said Holmes kindly.

“先坐下，給我們講講你的事。”福爾摩斯溫和地說。

My name is Helen Stoner,' she began, 'and I live with my stepfather, Dr Grimesby Roylott, near a village in the country. His family was once very rich, but they had no money when my stepfather was born. So he studied to be a doctor, and went out to India. He met and married my mother there, when my sister Julia and I were very young. Our father was dead, you see.'

“我叫海倫·斯托納，”她開始說道，“我和繼父格里姆斯比·羅伊洛特醫(yī)生住在鄉(xiāng)下，在一個村子附近。他家原來很富有，但是我繼父出生的時候他們已經(jīng)沒有錢了。所以他學醫(yī)并且去了印度。他在那里遇到了我母親并和她結(jié)了婚，那時候我姐姐朱莉婭和我還很小。你知道，我們的父親死了。”

Your mother had some money, perhaps?' asked Sherlock Holmes.

“你母親大概有些錢吧?”夏洛克·福爾摩斯問道。

Oh yes, mother had a lot of money, so my stepfather wasn't poor any more.'

“噢，是的，我母親有很多錢，所以繼父從此擺脫了窮困。”

Tell me more about him, Miss Stoner,' said Holmes.

“再多給我講些他的情況，斯托納小姐。”福爾摩斯說。

Well, he's a violent man. In India he once got angry with his Indian servant and killed him! He had to go to prison because of that, and then we all came back to England. Mother died in an accident eight years ago. So my stepfather got all her money, but if Julia or I marry, he must pay us ￡250 every year.'

“哦，他是個粗暴的人。在印度的時候，他曾經(jīng)跟他的印度仆人生氣，竟然把那個人殺了!他為此坐了牢，后來我們都回到了英國。媽媽八年前死于一次事故。所以繼父得到了她所有的錢，但是如果朱莉婭或者我結(jié)婚的話，他必須每年付給我們250英鎊。”

And now you live with him in the country,' said Holmes.

“現(xiàn)在你們和他住在鄉(xiāng)下。”福爾摩斯說。

Yes, but he stays at home and never sees anybody, Mr Holmes!' answered Helen Stoner. 'He's more and more violent now, and sometimes has fights with the people from the village. Everybody's afraid of him now, and they run away when they see him. And they're also afraid of his Indian wild animals which run freely around the garden. A friend sends them to him from India. And the animals are not the only wild things in the garden; there are also gipsies. My stepfather likes these wild people, and they can come and go where they like. Poor Julia and I had very unhappy lives. We had no servants. They always left because they were afraid of my stepfather, and we had to do all the work in the house. Julia was only thirty when she died, and her hair was already grey, like my hair now.'

“是的，但是他總待在家里，從來不見任何人，福爾摩斯先生!”海倫·斯托納回答，“他現(xiàn)在越來越粗暴了，有時還和村里的人打架?，F(xiàn)在所有的人都害怕他，見到他就跑開。他們也害怕他養(yǎng)的那些印度野獸，那些野獸在花園里亂跑，那是他的一個朋友從印度送來的?；▓@里不光有野獸，還有吉普賽人。繼父喜歡這些野蠻人，他們可以在那兒自由來去?？蓱z的朱莉婭和我過得非常不開心。我們沒有仆人。他們總是因為害怕我繼父而離開，我們只好自己做家務(wù)。朱莉婭死的時候才30歲，她的頭發(fā)已經(jīng)灰白了，就像我現(xiàn)在的頭發(fā)一樣。”

When did she die?' asked Sherlock Holmes.

“她什么時候死的?”夏洛克·福爾摩斯問。

She died two years ago, and that's why I'm here. We never met anybody in the country, but sometimes we visited some of my family who live near London. There Julia met a young man who asked to marry her. My stepfather agreed, but soon after this she died.' Miss Stoner put her hand over her eyes and cried for a minute.

“她是兩年前死的，我就是為這件事來的。我們從來不和村里的人交往，但是有時候我們會去拜訪住在倫敦附近的一些親戚。在那里朱莉婭遇到了一個年輕人，他想娶她。我繼父同意了，但是不久之后她就死了。”斯托納小姐捂著眼睛哭了一會兒。

Sherlock Holmes was listening with his eyes closed, but now he opened them and looked at Helen Stoner.

夏洛克·福爾摩斯一直閉著眼睛聽，但是現(xiàn)在他睜開眼睛看著海倫·斯托納。

Tell me everything about her death,' he said.

“告訴我跟她的死有關(guān)的所有事情。”他說。

I can remember it all very well. It was a terrible time!' she answered. 'Our three bedrooms are all downstairs. First there is my stepfather's room. Julia's room is next to his, and my room is next to Julia's. The rooms all have windows on the garden side of the house, and doors which open into the corridor. One evening our stepfather was smoking his strong Indian cigarettes in his room. Julia couldn't sleep because she could smell them in her room, so she came into my room to talk to me. Before she went back to bed, she said to me, "Helen, have you ever heard a whistle in the middle of the night?"

“所有的事情我都記得很清楚。那個時候真可怕!”她回答，“我們的三個臥室都在樓下。第一間是我繼父的房間。他的隔壁就是朱莉婭的房間，我的房間在朱莉婭的隔壁。三個房間的窗戶都在朝著花園的那邊，而門在走廊的那一側(cè)。一天晚上，繼父在他的房間里抽印度雪茄，味道很嗆人。朱莉婭睡不著，因為她在房間里能聞到煙味，所以她來到我的房間和我聊天。她回去睡覺之前跟我說：‘海倫，你半夜里聽到過口哨聲嗎?’”

I was surprised. "No," I said.

“我很吃驚。‘沒聽到過。’”我說。

"It's strange," she said. "Sometimes I hear a whistle, but I don't know where it comes from. Why don't you hear it?"

“‘很奇怪，’她說，‘有時候我會聽到口哨聲，但是我不知道是從哪兒傳來的。你為什么聽不到呢?’”

I laughed and said, "I sleep better than you do." So Julia went to her room, and locked the door after her.'

“我笑了，說：‘我比你睡得好唄。’朱莉婭回她的房間去了，并且鎖上了門。”

Why did you lock your doors?' asked Sherlock Holmes.

“你們?yōu)槭裁匆i門呢?”夏洛克·福爾摩斯問道。

We were afraid of the wild animals, and the gipsies,' she answered.

“因為我們害怕那些野生動物，還有那些吉普賽人。”她回答。

Please go on,' said Holmes.

“請接著說。”福爾摩斯說。

I couldn't sleep that night. It was a very stormy night, with a lot of wind and rain. Suddenly I heard a woman's scream. It was my sister's voice. I ran into the corridor, and just then I heard a whistle, and a minute later the sound of falling metal. I didn't know what it was. I ran to my sister's door. She opened it and fell to the ground. Her face was white and afraid, and she was crying, "Help me, help me, Helen, I'm ill, I'm dying!" I put my arms around her, and she cried out in a terrible voice: "Helen! Oh my God, Helen! It was the band! The speckled band!" She wanted to say more, but she couldn't. I called my stepfather, who tried to help her, but we could do nothing. And so my dear, dear sister died.'

“那天晚上我無法入睡。那是個暴風雨之夜，外面風雨交加。突然，我聽到一個女人的尖叫。那是我姐姐的聲音。我沖進走廊，就在那時我聽到了口哨聲，一分鐘后又聽到了金屬落地的聲音。我不知道那是什么東西發(fā)出的。我跑到姐姐的房間門口，她打開門后就倒在地上。她的臉煞白，充滿了恐懼，還哭喊著：‘救救我，救救我，海倫，我難受，我要死了!’我抱著她，她用可怕的聲音哭喊：‘海倫!噢，我的上帝，海倫!是那條帶子!那條有斑點的帶子!’她想再說點兒什么，卻什么也說不出來了。我叫了繼父，他試圖救她，但是我們什么也做不了。我最親愛的姐姐就這么死了。”

Are you sure about the whistle and the sound of falling metal?' asked Holmes.

“你確定聽到了口哨聲和金屬落地的聲音?”福爾摩斯問道。

I think so,' answered Helen. 'But it was a very wild, stormy night. Perhaps I made a mistake. The police couldn't understand why my sister died. Her door was locked and nobody could get into her room. They didn't find any poison in her body. And what was "the speckled band"? Gipsies wear something like that round their necks. I think she died because she was so afraid, but I don't know what she was afraid of. Perhaps it was the gipsies. What do you think, Mr Holmes?'

“我想是的，”海倫回答，“但那天晚上有很大的暴風雨?；蛟S我弄錯了。警察沒有弄清我姐姐的死因。她的門鎖著，沒人能進入她的房間。他們也沒在她身上發(fā)現(xiàn)中毒的跡象。而且‘有斑點的帶子’是什么呢?吉普賽人脖子上戴著一種類似的東西。我想她是兇恐懼而死，但是我不知道她害怕的是什么?？赡苁悄切┘召惾恕Ｄ阍趺纯茨?，福爾摩斯先生?”

Holmes thought for a minute. 'Hmm,' he said. 'That is a difficult question. But please go on.'

福爾摩斯想了一會兒。“唔，”他說，“那可是個難題。不過請繼續(xù)說下去。”

That was two years ago,' Helen Stoner said. 'I have been very lonely without my sister, but a month ago a dear friend asked me to marry him. My stepfather has agreed, and so we're going to marry soon. But two days ago I had to move to my sister's old bedroom, because some men are mending my bedroom wall, and last night I heard that whistle again! I ran out of the house immediately and came to London to ask for your help. Please help me, Mr Holmes! I don't want to die like Julia!'

“那是兩年之前的事了，”海倫·斯托納說，“沒有了姐姐，我一直過得很孤獨，但是一個月之前，一位親愛的朋友向我求婚。我繼父也同意了，所以我們很快就要結(jié)婚了。但是兩天前我不得不搬到我姐姐原來的臥室里，因為一些人正在修補我臥室的墻，而昨晚我又聽到了那個口哨聲!我立刻跑出了那座房子，來倫敦尋求你的幫助。請你幫幫我，福爾摩斯先生!我不想和朱莉婭一樣死去!”

We must move fast,' said Holmes. 'If we go to your house today, can we look at these rooms? But your stepfather must not know.'

“我們必須趕快行動，”福爾摩斯說，“如果我們今天去你家，我們可以看看那些房間嗎?但是不能讓你繼父知道。”

He's in London today, so he won't see you. Oh thank you, Mr Holmes, I feel better already.'

“他今天在倫敦，所以他不會見到你們的。噢，謝謝你，福爾摩斯先生，我已經(jīng)感覺好些了。”