【前情回顾】：
福尔摩斯在报纸上刊登了该戒指的相关消息，希望能够引君入瓮。失物招领的消息的确吸引了一人登门造访，但来者的老妇人身份让两人大吃一惊。在言语的交锋中他们没有发现破绽，只好归还戒指。
【今日翻译】：
Sherlock Holmes sprang to his feet the moment that she was gone and rushed into his room.
He returned in a few seconds wearing a coat and a scarf.
“I’ll follow her,” he said, hurriedly, “she must be an accomplice(同伙), and will lead me to him. Wait up for me.”
The hall door had hardly closed behind our visitor before Holmes had walked down the stair(楼梯).
那老妇一走，Holmes就跳了起来冲进卧室。
几秒钟后就穿着外套围着围巾出来了。
“我去跟踪她，她肯定是个同伙，现在去和凶手回合了。等我。”
那老妇出去了，Holmes 还没下完楼梯，大门就“砰”的一声关上了。
Looking through the window I could see her walking along the other side, while her pursuer followed her some little distance behind.
It was almost twelve o’clock before I heard the sharp(尖锐的) sound of Holmes opening the door.
The instant he entered I saw by his face that he had not been successful.
我赶紧扑向窗户看去，就见那老妇沿着街另一边走着，几米开外是跟踪她的Holmes。
伴随着一声吱呀的开门声，Holmes回来了，那时候都夜里两点了。
他一进门，我看到他的表情，就知道，这事儿没成功。
“I wouldn’t have the Scotland Yarders know it,” he cried, dropping into his chair,
“I have mocked(嘲笑) them so much that they would never have let me hear the end of it.”
“What is it then?” I asked.
“这事儿说什么都不能让那些苏格兰人知道，我嘲笑过他们不知道多少次，这要是被他们知道了那还了得。”说着，他就把自己扔进了沙发。
“到底怎么样？”我好奇得很。
“Oh, I don’t mind telling a story against myself.
That lady had gone a little way when she began to limp(跛行) and show every sign of being tired.
Presently she called a cab(马车) which was passing, and said loudly ‘Drive to 13, Duncan Street, Houndsditch.’
Having seen her safely inside, I hung on the back.
I jumped off before we came to the door, and walked down the street.
I saw the cab(马车) pull up.
The driver jumped down, and I saw him open the door and stand in shock.
No one came out. There was no sign or trace(痕迹) of his passenger.
On inquiring(调查) at Number 13, we found that no one of the name either of Sawyer or Dennis had ever been heard of there.”
“恩，倒是能跟你讲讲。
那老妇不是一直跛着走呢么，而且还处处显露出疲态。
后来她叫停了一辆经过的马车，大声的说：【去 Houndsditch区Duncan街13号！】
然后就看她慢腾腾的爬上了车。我就挂在马车背部。
快到目的地的时候，我先跳了下来，沿着街乱走。
然后马车停了。马夫跳下车，把门帘撩开后，就看到他一脸懵逼的看着车里。
里面没人。毛都没有。
后来我调查了下13号，结果不论是Sawyer或者Dennis什么的，都没在这里住过。
“You don’t mean to say,” I cried, in shock, “that that old woman was able to get out of the cab(马车) while it was in motion(行驶中的), without either you or the driver seeing her?”
“Old woman be damned!” said Sherlock Holmes, sharply.
“We were fooled by the old woman.
It must have been a young man, and a smart one, too, and he must also have been a good actor.
He saw that he was followed, no doubt, and used this means of escaping me.
It shows that the man we are after is not as lonely as I imagined he was.
He has friends who are ready to risk something for him.
Now, Doctor, you are looking tired. Take my advice and go to bed.” Holmes said to me.
“你不会是说——就那个老妇，在马车行进中就能离开马车，然后你和车夫一前一后结果都没看到？！”我的老天，实在是大吃好几斤！
“对！简直是个鬼！”Holmes气得不行。“我们都被那老妇耍了！
那肯定是个年轻人，还且还有智商，也肯定是个能拿奥斯卡的演员！
他发现自己被跟踪了，然后就将计就计来了个金蝉脱壳。
看来根本不像咱想的那样是一个人来的，绝对有同伙帮他。
医生，你现在看起来挺累了，听我的，先去休息把。”
I was certainly feeling very weary(疲倦的), so I obeyed his advice.
I left Holmes seated in front of the fire, and knew that he was still thinking over the strange problem which he had set himself to solve.
的确，我感觉有些疲倦，所以就乖乖听话睡觉去了。
独留 Holmes坐在火炉前，默默思考着那个他认真解锁的谜案。
“Every effort should be made to find the secretary, Stangerson, and to find out some details(细节) of the habits of the dead man.
A great step had been gained by the discovery of the address of the house at which he had stayed—
a result which was entirely due to efforts and energy of Mr. Gregson of Scotland Yard.”
“本案应致力于找寻秘书Stangerson，以及关于死者生前的习性。
由于发现死者生前居住地而有了大步进展——
这一切都归功于Scotland Yard（苏格兰法庭）的Gregson侦探的不懈努力。”
Sherlock Holmes and I read this notice from The Daily News together at breakfast, and it appeared to afford him considerable enjoyment.
“Whatever happened, Lestrade and Gregson will be sure to get some credit.”
“That depends on(取决于) how it turns out.”
第二天早饭，我和Holmes都看到了日报上的这则消息，这好像很大的取悦了我的小伙伴。
“不管发生什么，Lestrade和 Gregson肯定都能获得功劳。”
“那不是还要看结果。”
“Oh, it doesn’t matter in the least. If the man is caught, it will be because of their efforts;
if he escapes, the detectives(侦探) will also get praise for trying.
It’s heads I win and tails you lose.
Whatever they do, they will have followers.
They say that ‘a stupid person can always find an even more stupid person to admire him.’ ”
“呵，结果怎样都不会有影响。如果凶手被抓，那肯定是他们的努力；
如果没抓住，那也会大肆表扬侦探过程的努力和艰辛。
就是我能拿到头，但你只有尾巴。典型的我吃肉你喝汤。
不论怎样，他们都会有大批的追随者。
有句老话说得好：【一个笨蛋，总能找到另外的更笨的笨蛋为他喝彩】。”
“What on earth is this?” I cried,
for at this moment there was a sound of many steps in the hall and on the stairs(楼梯), accompanied(伴随着) by the disgusted(厌烦的) voice of our landlady(房东太太).
这时候楼梯里响起一阵杂乱的脚步声，伴随着房东太太的叠声抱怨。
“发生什么事了？”我问道。
“It’s the Baker Street division of the detective(侦探) police force,” said my companion,
and as he spoke, there rushed into the room half a dozen of the dirtiest street Arabs that I had ever put eyes on.
“Attention(立正)!” cried Holmes, in a sharp(尖锐的) tone(音调), and the six dirty little Arabs stood in a line.
“这是侦探警部在Baker街的分部。”
小伙伴说着，就冲进来了6个我没见过这么脏的阿拉伯小孩儿。
“立正！”Holmes大叫了一声，6个孩子就排成了一排。
“In future you should send up Wiggins alone to report, and the rest must wait in the street. Have you found it, Wiggins?”
“No, sir, we haven’t,” said one of the youths.
“以后你们就让Wiggins一个人上来进行汇报，其余人等在下面等着。Wiggins你们找到他了吗？”
“没先生，我们没找着。”其中一个孩子回到。
“I hardly expected you would. You must continue until you do. Here are your wages(工资).” He handed each of them a coin.
“Now, off you go, and come back with a better report next time.”
“我也没想着你能找到。你们继续接着找，直到找到为止。这是工资。”他给了他们每人一个硬币，“现在去接着找吧，下次带个好消息回来。”
He waved his hand, and they ran away downstairs like so many rats, and we heard their loud voices next moment in the street.
“Those children are more useful than all the detectives(侦探) put together,” Holmes remarked.
“The mere sight of an official-looking person closes men’s lips.
These children, however, go everywhere and hear everything.
They are smart, too, and all you need is to organize them.”
他摆了摆手，然后那群熊孩子就跟几只老鼠一样涌下了楼梯，下一秒就通道他们在街上的吼叫声了。
“这些孩子比一队侦探还顶用。”Holmes说，“要是正经的官方人士的话，很难打探到有用的信息。
但是这些孩子们，就能无孔不入。
而且他们也很聪明，你只需要组织一下他们就成。”
“Is it on this Brixton case that you are employing them?” I asked.
“Yes. There is more I want to learn.
It is merely a matter of time.
Hello! We are going to hear some news now!
Here is Gregson coming down the road with happiness written upon every feature(五官) of his face. Bound for us, I know.
Yes, he is stopping. There he is!”
“你雇他们是为了这宗谜案吗？”
“恩是的，我想知道一些事情。
现在就直接坐等就好了。
哦！看来我们会有个新消息了！
你看门外那笑的一脸褶子的 Gregson侦探，肯定是带来了什么他觉得特别好的消息。
哦，他停了，来了。”
There was a violent ring of the bell, and in a few seconds the detective(侦探) came up the stairs(楼梯), three steps at a time, and burst into our sitting-room.
“My dear fellow,” he cried, “congratulate me!
I have made the whole thing as clear as day.”
然后就听到了门铃声，紧接着上楼声，一步能迈三阶台阶，然后进了屋。
“哦我亲爱的伙计们，恭喜我吧！我把整件事情都理清了！”
A shade of anxiety seemed to cross my companion’s face.
“Do you mean that you are on the right track?” he asked.
“The right track! Oh, sir, we have the man under lock and key.”
“And his name is?”
“Arthur Charpentier, sub-lieutenant in Her Majesty’s navy,” cried Gregson, rubbing(搓) his fat hands and puffing out his chest.
我好像从小伙伴的脸上看到了一丝焦虑紧张。
“你是说你整个案件都搞明白了？”小伙伴问。
“对！都搞明白了！哦，我们连凶手都抓到了。”
“他是？”
“Arthur Charpentier，是皇家海军的一名中尉。”Gregson搓着手，挺着胸膛大声说。
Sherlock Holmes gave a sigh of relief, and relaxed into a smile.
“Take a seat, and try one of these cigars,” he said.
“We are anxious to know how you managed it.
Will you have some whiskey(威士忌) and water? Let us hear how you arrived at this most satisfying result.” said Holmes.
“The fun of it is,” the officer cried, “that that fool Lestrade, who thinks himself so smart, has gone off upon the wrong track altogether.
He is after the secretary Stangerson, who had no more to do with the crime than an unborn baby.
I have no doubt that he has caught him by this time.”
The idea excited Gregson so much that he laughed until he started coughing.
明显看到小伙伴大松了一口气，露出了蜜汁微笑。
“先坐，抽根烟。我们很想知道您是怎么办到的。要来点威士忌吗？还是水？”
“哈哈好，跟你们说啊，笨蛋Lestrade，还老以为自己多聪明，完全走错了路。他一直追踪那个秘书Stangerson，但其实人家跟着案子毛的关系都没有。我肯定他现在已经抓住那个秘书了哈哈哈！”
Gregson笑的根本停不下来，笑到后来被自己的口水呛到咳个不停。
over，不定时翻译。
