Page 383 - 血字的研究·四签名(外研社双语读库) (福尔摩斯探案全集)

I confess that I had my doubts myself when I reflected
upon the great traffic which had passed along the London

road in the interval. My fears were soon appeased, however.
Toby never hesitated or swerved but waddled on in his
peculiar rolling fashion. Clearly the pungent smell of the
creosote rose high above all other contending scents.

我承认，当看到川流不息的伦敦马路时，我难免有些怀疑。但我
的疑虑马上就烟消云散了。托比毫不犹豫地嗅着地面，用他特有的步

伐，摇摆着向前奔去。很明显，强烈的木馏油气味盖过了所有其他的
气味。

"Do not imagine," said Holmes, "that I depend for my

success in this case upon the mere chance of one of these
fellows having put his foot in the chemical. I have
knowledge now which would enable me to trace them in

many different ways. This, however, is the readiest, and,
since fortune has put it into our hands, I should be culpable
if I neglected it. It has, however, prevented the case from
becoming the pretty little intellectual problem which it at
one time promised to be. There might have been some

credit to be gained out of it but for this too palpable clue."

“不要以为，”福尔摩斯说，“我是靠着案子里有一个人脚上沾染
了化学制剂，才成功破案的。”凭我现在所掌握的信息，我可以用许多

不同的手段找到他们。但既然幸运之神把最简便的方法送到我们的手

里，如果我忽视它的话，那就是我的过失了。不过，这个方法确实把
一个需要深奥的学问才能解决的问题简单化了。依据一个简单的线索

来破案，难以显现我的功绩。”

"There is credit, and to spare," said I. "I assure you,
Holmes, that I marvel at the means by which you obtain

your results in this case even more than I did in the
Jefferson Hope murder. The thing seems to me to be deeper
and more inexplicable. How, for example, could you
describe with such confidence the wooden-legged man?"