Chapter 10
Reasoning Backwards (Part I)
II. The Adventure of the Cardboard Box
 
“The case,”
said Sherlock Holmes
as we chatted
over our cigars
that night
in our rooms
at Baker Street,
“is one where,
as in the investigations
which you have chronicled
under the names
of ‘A Study in Scarlet’
and of ‘The Sign of Four,’
we have been compelled
to reason backward ( 逆向推理)
from effects
to causes.”
This is the end of paragraph 1.

“I have written
to Lestrade
asking him
to supply us
with the details
which are now wanting,
and which
he will only get
after he has secured
his man.

That he may be
safely trusted
to do,
for although
he is absolutely
devoid of reason ( 缺乏理性),
he is as tenacious ( 頑強的)
as a bulldog
when he once understands
what he has to do,
and, indeed,
it is just
this tenacity
which has brought him
to the top
at Scotland Yard.”
This is the end of paragraph 2.

“Your case
is not complete,
then?”
I asked.
This is the end of paragraph 3.

“It is fairly complete
in essentials.

We know
who the author
of the revolting ( 令人厭惡的) business is,
although one
of the victims
still escapes us.

Of course,
you have formed
your own conclusions.”
This is the end of paragraph 4.

“I presume
that this Jim Browner,
the steward
of a Liverpool boat,
is the man
whom you suspect?”
This is the end of paragraph 5.

“Oh!
it is more
than a suspicion.”
This is the end of paragraph 6.

“And yet
I cannot see
anything
save very vague ( 含糊的)
indications.”
This is the end of paragraph 7.

“On the contrary,
to my mind
nothing could be
more clear.

Let me run over
the principal steps.”
This is the end of paragraph 8.

“We approached the case,
you remember,
with an absolutely
blank mind,
which is always
an advantage.

We had formed
no theories.”
This is the end of paragraph 9.

“We were simply there
to observe
and to draw
inferences ( 推論)
from our
observations.”
This is the end of paragraph 10.

“What did we see first?

A very placid ( 平和的)
and respectable lady,
who seemed
quite innocent
of any secret,
and a portrait
which showed me
that she had
two younger sisters.”
This is the end of paragraph 11.

“It instantly
flashed across my mind
that the box
might have been meant
for one of these.”
This is the end of paragraph 12.

“I set the idea aside
as one which
could be disproved
or confirmed
at our leisure.”
This is the end of paragraph 13.

“Then we went
to the garden,
as you remember,
and we saw
the very singular ( 奇特的) contents
of the little yellow box.”
This is the end of paragraph 14.

“The string
was of the quality
which is used by sailmakers
aboard ship,
and at once
a whiff ( 一絲) of the sea
was perceptible ( 可察覺的)
in our investigation.”
This is the end of paragraph 15.

“When I observed
that the knot
was one which
is popular with sailors,
that the parcel
had been posted
at a port,
and that the male ear
was pierced
for an earring,
which is so much
more common
among sailors
than landsmen ( 陸居者),
I was quite certain
that all the actors
in the tragedy
were to be found
among our
seafaring ( 航海的) classes.”
This is the end of paragraph 16.

“When I came
to examine the address
of the packet
I observed that it was
to Miss S. Cushing.”
This is the end of paragraph 17.

“Now,
the oldest sister
would, of course,
be Miss Cushing,
and although her initial
was ‘S’
it might belong
to one of the others
as well.”
This is the end of paragraph 18.

“In that case
we should have
to commence
our investigation
from a fresh basis
altogether.”
This is the end of paragraph 19.

“I therefore
went into the house
with the intention
of clearing up
this point.”
This is the end of paragraph 20.

“I was about to assure
Miss Cushing
that I was convinced
that a mistake
had been made
when you may remember
that I came suddenly
to a stop.”
This is the end of paragraph 21.

“The fact was
that I had just seen something
which filled me with surprise
and at the same time
narrowed the field
of our inquiry ( 調查)
immensely ( 極大地).”
This is the end of paragraph 22.

“As a medical man,
you are aware, Watson,
that there is
no part of the body
which varies so much
as the human ear.”
This is the end of paragraph 23.

“Each ear
is as a rule
quite distinctive
and differs
from all other ones.”
This is the end of paragraph 24.

“In last year’s
Anthropological Journal
you will find
two short monographs ( 專文)
from my pen
upon the subject.”
This is the end of paragraph 25.

“I had, therefore,
examined the ears
in the box
with the eyes
of an expert
and had carefully noted
their anatomical
peculiarities ( 特徵).”
This is the end of paragraph 26.

“Imagine my surprise, then,
when on looking
at Miss Cushing
I perceived
that her ear
corresponded exactly
with the female ear
which I had
just inspected.”
This is the end of paragraph 27.

“The matter was entirely
beyond coincidence.”
This is the end of paragraph 28.

“There was
the same shortening
of the pinna ( 外耳廓),
the same broad curve
of the upper lobe,
the same convolution ( 皺褶)
of the inner cartilage.”
This is the end of paragraph 29.

“In all essentials
it was 
the same ear.”
This is the end of paragraph 30.

The  End