Приключения Шерлока Холмса / The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (сборник)
Шрифт:
“‘Well,’ said I, ‘the gentleman at No. 4.’
“‘What, the red-headed man?’
“‘Yes.’
“‘Oh,’ said he, ‘his name was William Morris. He was a solicitor and was using my room until his new office was ready. He moved out yesterday.’
“‘Where can I find him?’
“‘Oh, at his new office. He told me the address. Yes, 17 King Edward Street.’
“I started off, Mr. Holmes, but when I got to that address it was a manufactory, and no one in it had ever heard of either Mr. William Morris or Mr. Duncan Ross.”
“And what did you do then?” asked Holmes.
“I went home to Saxe-Coburg Square, and I took the advice of my assistant. But he could not help me. He could only say that if I waited I might get a letter. But that was not good enough, Mr. Holmes. I did not wish to lose such a place without a struggle, so, as I had heard that you gave good advice to poor people, I came to you.”
“And you did very well,” said Holmes. “Your case is remarkable, and I shall be happy to look into it. The affair may be very serious.”
“Of course serious!” said Mr. Jabez Wilson. “I have lost four pounds a week.”
“As far as you are personally concerned [40] ,” remarked Holmes, “I do not see that you have anything against this extraordinary league. On the contrary, you are, as I understand, richer by about 30 pounds, to say nothing of the knowledge which you have got on every subject which comes under the letter A. You have lost nothing.”
“No, sir. But I want to find out about them, and who they are, and why they played this trick – if it was a trick – on me. It was a pretty expensive joke for them, for it cost them thirty-two pounds.”
40
As far as you are personally concerned –
“We shall try to clear up these points for you. And, first, one or two questions, Mr. Wilson. This assistant of yours who first brought you the advertisement – how long had he been with you?”
“About a month then.”
“How did he come?”
“In answer to an advertisement.”
“Was he the only who answered the advertisement?”
“No, I had a dozen.”
“Why did you choose him?”
“Because he was cheap.”
“At half wages.”
“Yes.”
“What is he like, this Vincent Spaulding?”
“Small, very quick, no hair on his face, about thirty. He has a white scar on his forehead.”
Holmes sat up in his chair very much excited. “I thought as much [41] ,” said he. “Are his ears pierced for earrings?”
“Yes, sir. He told me he had done it when he was a boy.”
“He is still with you?”
“Oh, yes, sir; I have only just left him.”
“And has he worked well in your absence?”
“Yes, sir. There’s never very much to do in the morning.”
41
I thought as much – Так я и думал
“That will do, Mr. Wilson. I shall be happy to give you an opinion on the matter in a day or two. Today is Saturday, and I hope that by Monday we may come to a conclusion.”
“Well, Watson,” said Holmes when our visitor had left us, “what do you make of it all [42] ?”
“I make nothing of it,” I answered. “It is a very mysterious business.”
“As a rule,” said Holmes, “the more unusual a thing is the less mysterious it is in the end. But I must hurry up.”
42
what do you make of it all? –
“What are you going to do, then?” I asked.
“To smoke,” he answered. “It is a three pipe problem [43] , and I ask you not to speak to me for fifty minutes.” He sat in his chair, with his eyes closed. I had come to the conclusion that he had fallen asleep, when he suddenly sprang out of his chair like a man who had made up his mind and put his pipe down on the table.
“What do you think, Watson? Could you come with me for a few hours?” he said.
43
It is a three pipe problem – Это проблема на три трубки (Шерлок Холмс имеет в виду, что для решения этой проблемы ему нужно столько же времени, сколько для того, чтобы выкурить три трубки)
“I have nothing to do today. My practice is never very busy.”
We travelled by the Underground first; and then a short walk took us to Saxe-Coburg Square, the scene of the unusual story which we had listened to in the morning. It was a little, shabby place, where two-storeyed houses looked out into a small garden. A brown board with “JABEZ WILSON” in white letters on a corner house showed us the place where our red-headed client carried on his business. Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it and looked it all over. Then he walked slowly up the street, and then down again to the corner, still looking at the houses. Finally he returned to the pawnbroker’s, struck on the ground with his stick two or three times, went up to the door and knocked. It was opened by a young fellow, who asked him to come in.
“Thank you,” said Holmes, “I only wished to ask you how I could go from here to the Strand [44] .”
“The first turning to the left,” answered the assistant, closing the door.
“Smart fellow,” remarked Holmes as we walked away. “I think, he is the fourth smartest man in London. I have known something of him before.”
“Evidently,” said I, “Mr. Wilson’s assistant is involved in this mystery of the Red-headed League. I am sure that you asked your way only to see him.”
44
the Strand – Стрэнд (название одной из центральных улиц Лондона, одно из нескольких названий улиц, употребляющихся с определенным артиклем)
“Not him.”
“What then?”
“The knees of his trousers.”
“And what did you see?”
“What I expected to see.”
“Why did you strike the ground?”
“My dear doctor, this is a time for action, not for talk. We are spies in an enemy’s country. We know something of Saxe-Coburg Square. Let us now see some other places.”
The road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the corner from Saxe-Coburg Square was a great contrast to it. It was one of the main arteries with busy traffic. It was difficult to realize as we looked at the line of fine shops and business offices that they were really on the other side of the quiet square which we had just left.