Chapter 1
Preface & Heat on Baker Street
II. The Adventure of the Cardboard Box
In choosing
a few typical (典型的) cases
which illustrate (說明)
the remarkable (非凡的)
mental (心智的) qualities (特質)
of my friend,
Sherlock Holmes,
I have endeavoured (努力),
as far as possible,
to select those
which presented
the minimum (最低)
of sensationalism (聳動),
while offering
a fair field (領域)
for his talents.
This is the end of Paragraph 1.
It is, however,
unfortunately impossible (不可能的)
entirely to separate (分開)
the sensational (聳動的)
from the criminal (犯罪的),
and a chronicler (記述者)
is left
in the dilemma (進退兩難)
that he must either
sacrifice details
which are essential (必要的)
to his statement
and so give
a false (錯誤的) impression
of the problem,
or he must use
matter which chance,
and not choice,
has provided him with.
This is the end of Paragraph 2.
With this short preface
I shall turn
to my notes
of what proved
to be a strange,
though a peculiarly (特別地)
terrible (可怕的),
chain of events.
This is the end of Paragraph 3.
It was
a blazing hot day
in August.
This is the end of Paragraph 4.
Baker Street
was like an oven,
and the glare (刺眼)
of the sunlight
upon the yellow brickwork
of the house
across the road
was painful (刺痛的)
to the eye.
This is the end of Paragraph 5.
It was hard
to believe
that these were
the same walls
which loomed (隱約顯現)
so gloomily (陰沉地)
through the fogs
of winter.
This is the end of Paragraph 6.
Our blinds
were half-drawn,
and Holmes lay curled
upon the sofa,
reading
and re-reading
a letter
which he had received
by the morning post.
This is the end of Paragraph 7.
For myself,
my term of service
in India
had trained me
to stand heat
better than cold,
and a thermometer at ninety
was no hardship (辛苦).
This is the end of Paragraph 8.
But the morning paper
was uninteresting (乏味的).
This is the end of Paragraph 9.
Parliament had risen (休會).
This is the end of Paragraph 10.
Everybody was out of town,
and I yearned (渴望)
for the glades (林間空地)
of the New Forest
or the shingle (卵石灘)
of Southsea.
This is the end of Paragraph 11.
A depleted (耗盡的) bank account
had caused me
to postpone (延期) my holiday,
and as to my companion,
neither the country
nor the sea
presented the slightest attraction
to him.
This is the end of Paragraph 12.
He loved to lie
in the very centre
of five millions of people,
with his filaments (觸絲；線索)
stretching out
and running through them,
responsive to every little rumour (流言)
or suspicion (嫌疑)
of unsolved crime.
This is the end of Paragraph 13.
Appreciation of nature
found no place
among his many gifts,
and his only change
was when he turned his mind
from the evil-doer (作惡者) of the town
to track down (追查)
his brother of the country.
This is the end of Paragraph 14.
Finding that Holmes
was too absorbed (專注的)
for conversation
I had tossed aside
the barren (空洞的) paper,
and leaning back
in my chair
I fell into
a brown (憂鬱的) study (沈思).
This is the end of Paragraph 15.
Suddenly my companion’s voice
broke in upon my thoughts:
“You are right, Watson,”
said he.
“It does seem
a most preposterous (荒謬的) way
of settling a dispute (爭端).”
This is the end of Paragraph 16.
“Most preposterous!”
I exclaimed,
and then suddenly realizing
how he had echoed (呼應)
the inmost thought of my soul,
I sat up in my chair
and stared at him
in blank (茫然的)
amazement (驚訝).
This is the end of Paragraph 17.
Sherlock Holmes. Short Story 2. The Adventure of the Cardboard Box