Приключения Шерлока Холмса / The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (сборник)
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“I will be proud if we are working together, Mr. Holmes,” said the inspector.
“In that case I’ll be glad to hear the evidence [123] and to examine the place where it had happened.”
Inspector Martin was a clever man. He allowed my friend to do everything in his own way, he just watched and made some notes. The local doctor, an old, white-haired man, had just come down from Mrs. Hilton Cubitt’s room. He said that her injuries were serious, but not fatal. The bullet had hit her brain [124] , and it would take some time [125] before she could speak. But the doctor couldn’t answer the question whether she had been shot or had shot herself. But certainly it happened at a very short distance. They found only one revolver in the room. Mr. Hilton Cubitt was shot in the heart. It was equally possible that he had shot her and then himself, or that she was the criminal, because the revolver lay on the floor right between them.
123
evidence –
124
bullet had hit her brain – пуля задела ее мозг
125
it would take some time – это займет время
“Has anyone moved him?” asked Holmes.
“We have moved nothing except the lady. We could not leave her here, she was wounded and lying on the floor.”
“How long have you been here, doctor?”
“Since four o’clock.”
“Anyone else?”
“Yes, the policeman is here.”
“Have you touched nothing?”
“Nothing.”
“Good. Who sent for you?”
“The housemaid, Saunders.”
“Was it she who gave the alarm [126] ?”
126
to give the alarm – поднять тревогу
“She and Mrs. King, the cook.”
“Where are they now?”
“In the kitchen, I think.”
“Then I think we had better hear their story now.”
The old hall with big windows turned into a court of investigation [127] . Holmes sat in a great, old-fashioned chair. I could read in his severe eyes that he was ready to devote his life to this case. He didn’t manage to save his client, it was too late. But at least he could take revenge [128] . Inspector Martin, the old country doctor, myself and a policeman made up the rest of that company.
127
a court of investigation – следственная камера
128
to take revenge – мстить
The two women told their story clearly enough. They woke up because of a loud sound of an explosion, in a minute they heard a second one. They slept in different rooms, and Mrs. King had run to Saunders. Together they came to the room – the door was open and a candle was burning on the table. Their master lay on his face in the centre of the room. He was dead. Near the window his wife was sitting. She was horribly wounded, and her face was red with blood. She breathed heavily, but couldn’t say anything. The corridor and the room were full of smoke and the smell of powder. The window was shut. Both women were sure of it. They had sent for the doctor and for the policeman at once. Then, with the help of the groom and the stable-boy, they carried Mrs Cubitt to her room. She had a dress on, Mr. Cubitt was in his dressing-gown, over his night clothes. Nothing had been moved in the room. As far as Mrs. King and Saunders knew, husband and wife never quarreled. They were a very united couple.
These were the main points of the servants’ evidence. They were sure that every door was locked from the inside, and that no one could have escaped from the house. They both remembered that they noticed the smell of powder when they ran out of their rooms. “It’s important to pay attention to [129] this fact,” said Holmes to us. “And now I think that we can do a careful examination of the room.”
The room was really small. There were a lot of book shelves and a writing-table at the window, which looked out on the garden. The body of the poor squire was lying on the floor. The bullet was fired at him from the front, and remained in his body. His death was certainly painless. There was no powder on his dressing-gown or on his hands. The country doctor said the lady had stains on her face, but none on her hands.
129
to pay attention to – обратить внимание на
“Well, it means nothing, although the stains on the hands may mean everything,” said Holmes. “I think that Mr. Cubitt’s body may be removed now. So, doctor, you have not taken the bullet out which wounded the lady?”
“A serious operation is necessary. But there are still four patrons in the revolver. Two have been fired and there are two wounds.”
“It only seems so,” Holmes said. “Could you explain me then what’s this on the window-frame? It’s a mark of one more bullet.”
He turned suddenly, and his long, thin finger was pointing to a hole in the window-frame.
“Oh my!” [130] cried the inspector. “How did you notice that?”
“Because I looked for it.”
“Wonderful!” the country doctor said. “You are certainly right, sir. Then there was a third shot, and a third person must have been there. But who? And how did he manage to run away?”
“That is the problem which we have to solve,” said Sherlock Holmes. “Do you remember, Inspector Martin, when the servants said that they noticed a smell of powder when they left their rooms? And I said that this is very important?”
130
Oh my! – Вот те на! Подумать только!
“Yes, sir. But I am afraid that I do not understand you.”
“It means that the door and the window were open during the firing. A draught was necessary to spread the smell of powder through the house. Both door and window were only open for a very short time, however.”
“How can you prove that?”
“Because the candle didn’t go out [131] .”
“True!” the inspector cried.
“So if the window had been open at the time of the tragedy, it means that there was a third person, who stood outside and shot through the window. Any shot at this person might hit the window-frame. I looked there and yes, there was the bullet mark!”
131
to go out – угасать (о пламени)
“But the window was shut and locked…”
“The woman’s first instinct would be to shut and lock the window. But… what is this?”
It was a lady’s hand-bag which lay on the table, a little hand-bag of crocodile-skin and silver. Holmes opened it. There were twenty fifty-pound notes of the Bank of England, held together by an india-rubber band [132] .
“It will be necessary in the trial,” said Holmes and gave the bag to the inspector. “Now let us concentrate on this third bullet. It was certainly fired from the inside of the room. I’d like to see Mrs. King, the cook, again… You said, Mrs. King, that you woke up because of a loud explosion. When you said that, did you mean that it was louder than the second one?”
132
twenty fifty-pound notes of the Bank of England, held together by an india-rubber band – двадцать пятидесятифунтовых кредитных билетов, перевязанных резиновой тесемкой
“Well, sir, it is hard to say, because the moment before I was sleeping. But yes, it was very loud.”
“Don’t you think that it was two shots fired almost at the same time?”
“I am not sure, sir.”
“I believe it was. Inspector Martin, I think we’ve learned everything from this room. If you don’t mind, we shall see what fresh evidence are there in the garden.”
There was a flower-bed just under the window and we were very much surprised when we saw that it was in a mess [133] . There were a lot of footmarks on it. Large feet of a man with long, sharp toes. Holmes started looking for something, like a retriever for a wounded bird. Then he cried with satisfaction and picked up a little bullet.
133
to be in a mess – быть в беспорядке