【前情回顾】：
福尔摩斯向华生展示自己如何推理出信使职业的过程，其精湛的推理技巧让华生心悦诚服。而信使也给他们带来了一则凶案的消息，一场刺激的探案旅程即将拉开帷幕。
【今日翻译】：
A short passage led to the kitchen and offices.
There were two doors which led to the left and to the right.
One of these had obviously been closed for many weeks.
The other led to the dining-room(餐厅), where the crime had happened.
从前厅到厨房和书房之间，有两扇门通向左右两边。
其中一扇门看起来已经关了有几个星期了。
另一扇通向餐厅，也是现在的凶案现场。
Holmes walked in, and I followed him with that subdued(压抑的) feeling in my heart which the presence of death inspired(激发).
It was a large square room, looking all the larger from the absence of all furniture.
The wallpaper was blotched with damp(潮湿的) patches(斑点), and here and there great strips(片) had peeled(剥落) off, showing the yellow plaster(灰泥) beneath.
Holmes走近前去观察，我也跟着上前。不过看到尸体，我满心里都是压抑感。
这是个大的正方形房间，因为没有家具，看起来更加空旷。
墙纸上到处是霉斑，还有地方已经脱落了，露出里面灰色的墙。
Opposite(在对面) the door was a fireplace.
On one corner of the mantelpiece(壁炉台) was a red candle.
The only window was so dirty that the light was dim(昏暗的), and a thick layer(层) of dust coated the whole apartment(房间).
All these details(细节) I observed afterwards(后来).
At present my attention(注意力) was focused upon(集中到) the single grim(可怕的) still(静止不动的) figure which lay stretched(平躺) upon the boards.
门对面是个壁炉。
壁炉台的一角有一只红蜡烛。
仅有的一扇窗户，也脏的连透过的光线都是昏灰的，照出屋子里浓重纷飞的灰尘。
这些都是我后来看到的屋子的细节。
最开始进这个屋子，我只看到了地板上平躺着的死不瞑目的尸体。
It was a man about forty-three or forty-four years old, middle-sized, wide-shouldered(宽肩的), with curly(卷曲的) black hair and a short beard.
A top hat, well brushed, was placed upon the floor beside him.
His hands were closed and his arms spread out, while his legs were crossed as if his death had been a painful one.
On his rigid(僵硬的) face there stood an expression of horror(恐惧) and hatred.
这男的大约43、44岁的样子，中等身材，宽肩，黑色卷发和短须。
旁边躺着一顶高档的大礼帽。
双手紧握，双臂大开，双腿扭曲交叉，让人觉得他死的挺痛苦。
面目表情上看得出他死前很恐惧，且充满憎恨。
I have seen death in many forms, but never has it appeared to me in a more terrifying(可怕的) shape than in that dark apartment(房间).
Lestrade was standing by the doorway, and welcomed my companion and myself.
我见过不知多少尸体，但这具尸体是最让我害怕的。
Lestrade站在门口，对小伙伴和我的到来表示了欢迎。
“This case will make a stir(轰动), sir,” he remarked. “It beats anything I have seen, and I’ve seen a lot in my time.”
“There is no clue(线索)?” said Gregson.
“None at all,” said Lestrade.
Sherlock Holmes approached the body, and, kneeling down(跪下), examined it carefully.
“这起案件会引起很大轰动，我也见识过不少事情了，但是，这次事件还是刷新了我的认知。”
“没有线索？”Gregson问。
“没，一点都没。”Lestrade回到。
Holmes走近尸体，跪在旁边，进行仔细探查。
“You are sure that there is no wound?” he asked, pointing to numerous(大量的) splashes(（溅上的）斑点) of blood which lay all round.
“Positive(肯定的)!” cried both detectives(警探).
“Then, of course, this blood belongs to a second individual—probably the murderer, if murder has been committed.”
As he spoke, his fingers were flying here, there, and everywhere, feeling, pressing, examining.
“你确定尸体身上没有伤口？”他指着地面溅上的大量血迹斑点。
“恩确定！”所有警探都给了回复。
“那很明显，这些血迹是第二个人的——很可能是凶手的，如果这是一场谋杀罪的话。”
他说着，手指也四处划动，感触，按压，以及检查。
His eyes wore an expression of deep thought.
So quickly was the examination made that one would hardly have guessed the small details(细节) with which it was conducted.
Finally, he smelled the dead man’s lips, and then glanced at his leather(皮质的) boots.
他的眼神专注，陷入思考。
检查的速度快到让人根本来不及猜他得到了什么信息。
最后，他闻了闻尸体的唇部，然后瞥了眼尸体的皮靴。
“He has not been moved at all?” he asked.
“Only what was needed for the purpose of our examination.”
“You can take him to the morgue(停尸房) now,” he said.
“There is nothing more to be learned.”
Gregson had a stretcher(担架) and four men at hand.
“尸体未曾移动？”
“是，只有检查的时候会进行翻动。”
“恩，可以移入停尸房了。没什么有用信息了。”
Gregson准备了一副担架，及四个抬担架的人。
At his call, they entered the room, and the dead man was lifted and carried out.
As they raised him, a ring fell, making a tinkling sound as it hit the ground, and rolled across the floor.
Lestrade took it up and stared at it with a puzzled(困惑的) expression.
他一招呼，这四个人就进屋抬走了死者。
他们抬尸体的时候，叮铃一声，一枚戒指掉了出来，在地板上上滚了两圈。
Lestrade捡起戒指，一脸迷惑。
“There’s been a woman here,” he cried. “It’s a woman’s wedding-ring.”
As he spoke, he held it out upon the palm(手掌) of his hand.
We all gathered round him and gazed(盯着) at it.
There could be no doubt that the ring had once been on the finger of a bride.
“有个女人来过这儿！这是个女士婚戒！”他喊道。
他说的时候，举起手掌，上面放着戒指。
我们都盯着戒指看。
很明显，这枚戒指曾经出现在一位新娘的手上。
“This complicates(使复杂) matters,” said Gregson.
“Heaven knows, they were complicated(复杂的) enough before.”
“You’re sure it doesn’t make things simpler?” said Holmes.
“There’s nothing to be learned by staring at it. What did you find in his pockets?”
“这下就更复杂了。” Gregson说。“天啊，本来就已经很复杂了！”
“你确定不是变得更简单了？”Holmes说，“盯着戒指看也看不出什么。你在他口袋里找到了什么没有？”
“We have it all here,” said Gregson, pointing to a few of the items(物件) upon the bottom steps of the stairs(楼梯).
“A gold watch by Barraud of London. A gold Albert chain, very heavy and solid(纯金的).
A gold pin—bull-dog’s(斗牛犬) head, with rubies as eyes.
Russian leather(皮质的) card-case, with cards of Enoch J. Drebber of Cleveland, which matches the E. J. D. marked on his clothes.
No wallet, but change in the amount of seven pounds.
Two letters—one addressed to E. J. Drebber and one to Joseph Stangerson.”
“都在那儿呢。”Gregson指着楼梯那儿的一堆东西。“一个伦敦Barraud的金手表；一个Albert 金链，超重而且是纯金；一枚金别针，上面是有红宝石眼睛的金制斗牛犬的头像；一个俄罗斯的皮包，里面有写有Enoch J. Drebber of Cleveland字样的名片，这与衣服上的E. J. Drebber标记相符；没有钱包，不过有大约七磅的零钱。
以及两封信——一封给E. J. Drebber，一封给Joseph Stangerson。”
“At what address?”
“American Exchange, Strand—to be left till called for.
They are both from the Guion Steamship Company, and are about the sailing times of their boats from Liverpool.
It is clear that this unfortunate man was about to return to New York.”
“Have you made any inquiries(调查) about this man, Stangerson?”
“地址？”
“美国股票交易所——留待本人自取。
两封信都是从Guion轮船公司寄来的，是通知他们轮船从Liverpool（利物浦）开行的日期。
可知倒霉死者是准备回纽约。”
“你们调查过这个叫Stangerson的人吗？”
“I did so at once, sir,” said Gregson.
“I have had advertisements(启事) sent to all the newspapers, and one of my men has gone to the American Exchange, but he has not returned yet.”
“Have you contacted Cleveland?”
“Yes, this morning.”
“What did you say?”
“调查了。”Gregson说，“我在所有报纸上都刊登了启事，且派人到美国交易所打听，不过还没回来。”
“调查 Cleveland了吗？”
“恩，今天早上。”
“什么意思？”
“We simply explained the situation, and said that we should be glad of any information which could help us.”
“You did not ask for any details(细节) which appeared to you to be crucial(关键的)?”
“I asked about Stangerson.”
“Nothing else? Are there details(细节) which seem to you to be important? Will you contact them again?”
“I have said all I have to say,” said Gregson, in an unhappy voice.
“我们简单说明了情况，并希望他发现任何有价值的信息能够提供给我们。”
“你没有问他们你们觉得关键的细节吗？”
“我提到过Stangerson。”
“没了？整个案件没有其他关键性细节了？你不再联系他们？”
“我已经说了我知道的了。”Gregson明显不高兴了。
Sherlock Holmes laughed to himself, and appeared to be about to make some remark,
when Lestrade, who had been in the front room while we were having this conversation in the hall, returned to the scene.
He rubbed(搓) his hands in a proud and self-satisfied manner.
“Mr. Gregson,” he said, “I have just made a discovery of the highest importance, and one which would have been missed if I had not made a careful examination of the walls.”
“Come here,” he said, rushing back into the room.
The atmosphere of the room felt clearer since the removal of the dead man.
Holmes笑了一下，正准备说话，刚刚在前厅的Lestrade冲了进来，洋洋得意的搓着手，自豪的说，
“Gregson先生，我刚刚发现了一个重要线索，要不是我又仔细检查了一遍墙，肯定我也发现不了。跟我来。”说着，他又返回了屋子。
屋子里原先的尸体搬了出去，现在感觉气氛清爽了些许。
“Now, stand there!”
He struck a match on his boot and held it up against the wall.
“Look at that!” he said, proudly.
I have remarked that the wallpaper had fallen away in parts.
In one corner of the room, a large piece had peeled off(剥落), leaving a yellow square of rough plaster(灰泥).
Across this bare(空的) space there was blood-red letters, a single word—RACHE
“呐，过来这儿！”他在靴子上滑着了一根火柴，照亮着墙，“看那里！”
我前面说过，有些墙纸已经脱落了。
在这个屋子的一个角落，就有一大块没有了墙纸，露出了一片粉色的墙。
墙上写着明晃晃的血字，是一个单词——RACHE。
“What do you think of that?” cried Lestrade, “this was missed because it was in the darkest corner of the room, and no one thought of looking there.
The murderer has written it with his or her own blood.
See this smear(血迹) where it has trickled down(滴下) the wall!
That eliminates(排除) the idea of suicide(自杀).
Why was that corner chosen to write it on? I will tell you.
See that candle on the mantelpiece(壁炉台).
It was lit at the time, and if it was lit this corner would be the brightest instead of the darkest part of the room.”
“你们怎么看？” Lestrade兴奋的喊，“这里太阴暗了，还是个角落，根本没人想到要查看这里。
肯定是凶手用他或她自己的血写的。
你们看还有血顺着墙流下来的痕迹！
绝对能够排除是自杀。
为什么要写在墙角呢？我来告诉你们。
看那个壁炉台的蜡烛。
它亮着的时候，这里绝对是这个房间里最亮的地方，而不是现在这样最暗的地方。”
“And what does it mean now that you have found it?” asked Gregson in a critical(挑剔的) voice.
“Mean? It means that the writer was going to put the female name Rachel, but was disturbed(打断) before he or she had time to finish.
Remember my words, when this case comes to be cleared up you will find that a woman named Rachel has something to do with it.
It’s all very well for you to laugh, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
You may be very smart and clever, but the old dog is the best, when all is said and done.”
“你就算发现了这个，有啥用？”Gregson很轻蔑的问。
“有啥用？这意味着凶手肯定是想写一个女性的名字Rachel，但是写一半就被打断了。你听着，我肯定全案弄清楚的时候，一定会与一个叫Rachel的女性有关系。
Holmes你尽管笑话我。你虽然非常聪明有天赋，但要知道，姜还是老的辣。”
“I really beg your pardon!” said my companion, who had irritated(激怒) the little man by bursting into(爆发) laughter.
“You do have the credit of being the first of us to find this out.
As you say, it bears every mark of having been written by the murderer in last night’s mystery(谜案).
I have not had time to examine this room yet, but with your permission, I will do so now.”
“哦抱歉，非常抱歉！”我的小伙伴听了他的话就爆笑出声，这完全激怒了那位洋洋自得的男士。
“你的确是我们中第一个发现这条线索的人。而且就像你说的，种种迹象表明，这字的确是昨晚谜案中的另一个人留下的。
我还没来得及检查这间屋子，若你同意，我现在就检查一下。”
over，不定时翻译。
