Page 402 - 血字的研究·四签名(外研社双语读库) (福尔摩斯探案全集)

说，船的烟囱是黑色的，是吗？”

"No, sir. Black with a white band."

“不是的，先生。是有一圈白色的黑烟囱。”

"Ah, of course. It was the sides which were black. Good-
morning, Mrs. Smith. There is a boatman here with a wherry,

Watson. We shall take it and cross the river."

“啊，对了。黑色的是船身。再见了，史密斯太太。沃森，那里有

一个船夫有一只渡船。我们就坐那个到河对面去吧。”

"The main thing with people of that sort," said Holmes
as we sat in the sheets of the wherry, "is never to let them
think that their information can be of the slightest

importance to you. If you do they will instantly shut up like
an oyster. If you listen to them under protest, as it were, you
are very likely to get what you want."

“跟这种人打交道，最重要的就是，”当我们坐上船后，福尔摩斯

说道，“就是绝对不能让他们知道，他们所说的信息对你来说有丝毫的
重要性。如果你让他们知道了，他们马上就不说了。如果你装作不情

愿地听着，反倒能得到你想要的。”

"Our course now seems pretty clear," said I.

“现在看起来，我们要采取的步骤已经非常清楚了。”我说。

"What would you do, then?"

“你下面打算怎么做呢？”

"I would engage a launch and go down the river on the
track of the Aurora."

“我会雇一只汽船，到下游去找找‘曙光’号。”

"My dear fellow, it would be a colossal task. She may
have touched at any wharf on either side of the stream
between here and Greenwich. Below the bridge there is a
perfect labyrinth of landing-places for miles. It would take