Sherlock Holmes sat for some time in silence,
福爾摩斯默默地坐了一會兒,
with his head sunk forward and his eyes bent upon the red glow of the fire.
頭向前傾,目光凝注在壁爐的紅彤彤的火焰上。
Then he lit his pipe, and leaning back in his chair he watched the blue smoke-rings as they chased each other up to the ceiling.
隨后他點燃了煙斗,背靠坐椅,望著藍色煙圈一個跟著一個地裊裊升向天花板。
"I think, Watson," he remarked at last, "that of all our cases we have had none more fantastic than this."
"華生,我想我們經(jīng)歷的所有案件中沒有一件比這個更為稀奇古怪的了。"他終于做出了一個判斷。
"Save, perhaps, the Sign of Four."
"除了'四簽名'案外,也許是這樣。"
"Well, yes. Save, perhaps, that.
"嗯,對了。除此之外,也許是這樣。
And yet this John Openshaw seems to me to be walking amid even greater perils than did the Sholtos."
可是在我看來,這個約翰·奧彭肖似乎是正在面臨著比舒爾托更大的危險。"
"But have you," I asked, "formed any definite conception as to what these perils are?"
"但是,你對這是什么樣的危險是否有了任何明確的看法?"我問道。
"There can be no question as to their nature," he answered.
"它們的性質(zhì)是沒有疑問的了,"他回答說。
"Then what are they? Who is this K.K.K., and why does he pursue this unhappy family?"
"那么,它們是怎么回事?誰是這個K.K.K.?為什么他要一直糾纏著這個不幸的家庭呢?"