The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
II.THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE
「シャーロックホームズの冒険」コナン・ドイル 赤毛連盟
twitterでの毎日英文和訳(@lang_baobab)のまとめページです。
2019/8/11から2020/6/9投稿分です。
(まとめタイミングは毎日ではありませんので、毎日読みたい方はtwitterをどうぞ)
後半には原文をまとめて掲載もします。まず原文を読みたい方は後半からどうぞ。
ちなみに、302ツイートで読み終わります。少なく感じますが、1日1ツイートで約9か月かかります。やっていればそのうち終わるはず、というやつですね。
単語数は単語数9109(重複を除き1942)。頻出語トップ3は1.the (462回) 2.and (277回) 3.i (261回)。
何の文章読んでも頻出トップ10はこれ系の単語な気がします。
英単語カウンター
https://tool.stabucky.com/word_counter.htm
英文⇒日本語訳
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 237
II.THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE
I had called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, one day in the autumn of last year and found him in deep conversation with a very stout, florid-faced, elderly gentleman with fiery red hair.
第２章
赤毛連盟
昨年秋のある日、友人シャーロックホームズを訪れたときのことだ。
とても赤い髪で恰幅の良い赤ら顔の年配の紳士と熱心に話をしていた。
call upon 訪問する
stout 恰幅の良い
fiery 燃えるような
子供の頃は赤毛ってどんなの？と思っていたので
いまだに赤毛の外国人に会うと
これが赤毛か〜とまじまじと見てしまうw
赤毛のアンと赤毛連盟のせい。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 238
With an apology for my intrusion, I was about to withdraw when Holmes pulled me abruptly into the room and closed the door behind me.
“You could not possibly have come at a better time, my dear Watson,” he said cordially.
邪魔したことを詫びて引き下がろうとすると、ホームズに部屋に連れ戻されドアを閉められた。
「これ以上ないタイミングで来たね、ワトソン君」彼は愛想よく言った。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 239
“I was afraid that you were engaged.”
“So I am. Very much so.”
“Then I can wait in the next room.”
「忙しいんじゃないかと思ったけど」
「そうだね。非常にね」
「じゃあ隣の部屋で待っているよ」
engage v.従事する，忙しくする, 引き込む
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 240
“Not at all. This gentleman, Mr. Wilson, has been my partner and helper in many of my most successful cases, and I have no doubt that he will be of the utmost use to me in yours also.”
「いや大丈夫だよ。
こちらの紳士はワトソン氏で、私のパートナーであり、
沢山の事件解決を手助けしてくれています。
あなたの件でも最高の助けになると確信しています」
utmost a.最大限の
ホームズはワトソンが大好きだな〜
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 241
The stout gentleman half rose from his chair and gave a bob of greeting, with a quick little questioning glance from his small fat-encircled eyes.
その恰幅の良い紳士は椅子から半分腰を上げて軽く会釈をし
脂肪に囲まれた小さな目から疑わしそうな視線を
素早く投げかけた。
stout a.丈夫な、恰幅の良い
bob n. 1．ショートヘアー、ボブ 2.挨拶、お辞儀、ひょいと動く
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 242
“Try the settee,” said Holmes, relapsing into his armchair and putting his fingertips together, as was his custom when in judicial moods.
「かけたまえ」とホームズは言い、肘掛け椅子へ戻って両指先を合わせた。
考える時のいつもの姿勢だ。
settee n.長椅子
relapse v.逆戻りする、ぶり返す
judicial a.司法の、公正な、判断力のある
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 243
“I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love of all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum routine of everyday life.
「ワトソン君、ほら、君も私と同じように
奇妙な、日常生活から外れたようなことが好きだろ」
convention n.大会、習慣、協定
humdrum a.平凡な、月並みな、退屈な
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 244
You have shown your relish for it by the enthusiasm which has prompted you to chronicle, and, if you will excuse my saying so, somewhat to embellish so many of my own little adventures.”
君は新聞記事を書くくらいには、
そして、こう言っても差し支えなければ
僕のちょっとした冒険を多少脚色して書くくらいの情熱をみれば
君のその嗜好は分かるさ。
relish n.風味、面白み、興味
chronicle n. 年代記、新聞
embellish v. 装飾する
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 245
“Your cases have indeed been of the greatest interest to me,” I observed.
「君の事件は実際、私にとって最大の関心事さ」
私は言った。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 246
“You will remember that I remarked the other day, just before we went into the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary Sutherland, that for strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself,
「この前言ったことを覚えてるよね、メリーサザーランド嬢のちょっとした事件の前だ。奇妙な影響と変な組み合わせは人生そのものにおいて探求すべきだと」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 247
which is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.”
“A proposition which I took the liberty of doubting.”
どんなに想像力を働かせるよりも
いつだってずっと斬新なものなんだ」
「私が勝手ながら疑問を呈した主張だね」
daring a.大胆な、向こう見ずな、斬新な
dare v.あえてーする、挑む av.あえてーする
proposition n.提案、計画、仕事、主張
take the liberty 勝手ながらーする
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 248
“You did, Doctor, but none the less you must come round to my view, for otherwise I shall keep on piling fact upon fact on you until your reason breaks down under them and acknowledges me to be right.
「そうだったよね。それでも私の意見に同意するようになるよ。
でないと、君の前に事実の山を積み上げ続けるよ。
君の理論が崩れ、私が正しかったと認めるまでね」
none the less それでもなお
come round 立ち寄る
noneとかlessとかのイディオムは感覚的に掴めなくて難しい。
come roundとかも意見が近づくという感覚だろうな。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 249
Now, Mr. Jabez Wilson here has been good enough to call upon me this morning, and to begin a narrative which promises to be one of the most singular which I have listened to for some time.
ほら、こちらのジャベズ・ウィルソン氏は今朝わざわざ訪ねてくださったんだが、
私がこれまでに聞いた中でも最も珍しいに違いない話を
してくれてたのさ。
be good enough to 親切にもーする
singular a.並はずれた、非凡な、奇妙な、珍しい、単数(形)の
for some time しばらく前から、先般来、しばらくの間・当分、暫時、さっきから
シンギュラリティはsingularの名詞形？でしょうね
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 250
You have heard me remark that the strangest and most unique things are very often connected not with the larger but with the smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed, where there is room for doubt whether any positive crime has been committed.
奇妙な風変りな事件というのは、通常大きな犯罪ではなく軽犯罪に関係することが多いと私が言ったのを覚えているね。
実際時々、明確に犯罪が起きたのかと疑問に思う余地があるよ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 251
As far as I have heard, it is impossible for me to say whether the present case is an instance of crime or not, but the course of events is certainly among the most singular that I have ever listened to.
聞いた限りでは、今回の件が犯罪なのか判断することは出来ない。
でもこの出来事が私の知りうるなかでももっとも珍しい部類に属するのは
たしかだ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 252
Perhaps, Mr. Wilson, you would have the great kindness to recommence your narrative.
ウィルソンさん、もう一度話をして頂けますよね。
recommence v.やり直す
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 253
I ask you not merely because my friend Dr. Watson has not heard the opening part but also because the peculiar nature of the story makes me anxious to have every possible detail from your lips.
友人であるワトソン博士が冒頭部分を聞けなかったからというだけでなく、
この奇妙な話のすべての細部をあなたの口から聞かなければという
気持ちになったので、お願いしている訳です。
peculiar a.妙な、変な
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 254
As a rule, when I have heard some slight indication of the course of events, I am able to guide myself by the thousands of other similar cases which occur to my memory.
大抵は事件についてちょっとした部分を聞けば、
何千もの同じような事件が頭に浮かんで
うまく進んで行けるんだ。
as a rule 原則として、概して, 一般に, 通例
slight a.ちょっとした
indication n. 印、兆候
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 255
In the present instance I am forced to admit that the facts are, to the best of my belief, unique.”
現時点では私の信じる限り、事実はまったくもって奇妙だと
認めざる得ないよ」
instance n. 例、事例、実証、場合、段階
best a,n 最善、最上の、
to the best of my belief 私の信じるところでは
to the best of ・・・はフレーズ知らないとどうにもならないなー
best単体の意味からは類推が出来ない
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 256
The portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance of some little pride and pulled a dirty and wrinkled newspaper from the inside pocket of his greatcoat.
恰幅の良いその紳士は、少し誇らしげに胸を膨らませ、
汚れたシワシワの新聞紙をコートの内ポケットから取り出した。
portly a.肥満した，かっぷくのよい
puff out 胸を膨らます
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 257
As he glanced down the advertisement column, with his head thrust forward and the paper flattened out upon his knee, I took a good look at the man and endeavoured,
彼が頭を前に突き出して新聞を膝に畳んで置き、
新聞の広告欄を見るのを
私はじっくりと観察するように努めた。
thrust v.押す、突っ込む
flatten v.平らにする
endeavoure v.努力する
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 258
after the fashion of my companion, to read the indications which might be presented by his dress or appearance.
友人の真似をして、彼の服装や見た目が表しているヒントを
読み取ろうとした。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 259
I did not gain very much, however, by my inspection. Our visitor bore every mark of being an average commonplace British tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow.
しかし私の観察では多くのことは得られなかった。
その男は太っていて尊大で動作がゆっくりした平均的などこにでもいる英国商人の
特徴をすべて身に付けていた。
bear 1.産む 2.身に付ける、帯びる、持つ bore 退屈な
tradesman n.商人
pompous a.尊大な、気取った、仰々しい
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 260
He wore rather baggy grey shepherd’s check trousers, a not over-clean black frock-coat, unbuttoned in the front, and a drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy Albert chain, and a square pierced bit of metal dangling down as an ornament.
baggy a.だぶだぶの
shepherd’s check n.白黒碁盤じま模様
shepherd n.羊飼い、牧師、指導者、キリスト v.世話をする、導く
frock-coat n.昼間の男性用礼装
drab a.くすんだとび色、茶色、面白みのない
waistcoat n.チョッキ、ベスト
brassy a.真鍮の
Albert chain n.アルバート公爵が付けていたデザインの懐中時計用のチェーン
あまり重要ではなさそうで、おまけに古そうな言葉だけど
分からなくて調べるのがダルかった。。
昔の紳士のスタイルね。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 261
A frayed top-hat and a faded brown overcoat with a wrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair beside him.
擦り切れたシルクハットに、皺になったベルベットの襟が付いた色褪せた茶の外套が
彼の隣の椅子に掛けてあった。
fray 2.v.擦り切れる、ぼろぼろになる 1.けんか
top-hat n.シルクハット
fade v.衰える、しぼむ
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 262
Altogether, look as I would, there was nothing remarkable about the man save his blazing red head, and the expression of extreme chagrin and discontent upon his features.
要するに私の見る限り、燃えるような赤い髪と
顔に現れている強い悔しさと不満の他には
この紳士に特徴的なものはなかった。
Altogether ad.完全に、要するに
save conj.であることを除いては
chagrin n. 無念，悔しさ
discontent n.不平、不満
feature n.顔の造作、顔だち、特色、主要点、呼び物、見もの
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 263
Sherlock Holmes’ quick eye took in my occupation, and he shook his head with a smile as he noticed my questioning glances.
ホームズの素早い目は
私の行動を捉え、
私の疑わし気な視線に気が付いて
微笑みながら首を振った。
occupation n.職業、占有
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 263
“Beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual labour, that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, that he has been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of writing lately, I can deduce nothing else.”
「彼は肉体労働をしたことがあるとか、嗅ぎタバコを吸うとか、フリーメーソンだとか、
中国に居たことがあるとか、最近大量の書きものをしただとか、
そういう明白な事実以外に
私が推理できることは無いね」
at some time いつか
snuff v.鼻をふんふんいわせる、n.嗅ぎタバコ
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 264
Mr. Jabez Wilson started up in his chair, with his forefinger upon the paper, but his eyes upon my companion.
ジャベズ・ウィルソン氏は驚いて椅子から飛び上がり、
親指を新聞に載せて、
しかし目はホームズに向けた。
start up n. 行動開始，操業開始(の会社) v.動き出す、びくっとする、驚く、始める
スタートアップをわざわざ調べる機会は無かったが、
面白い意味が混じってる
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 265
“How, in the name of good-fortune, did you know all that, Mr. Holmes?” he asked. “How did you know, for example, that I did manual labour.
「ホームズさん、一体全体、どうして分かったんです？」
彼は聞いた。
「どうやって、例えば、私が肉体労働をしたということが
分かったんですか？」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 266
It’s as true as gospel, for I began as a ship’s carpenter.”
“Your hands, my dear sir. Your right hand is quite a size larger than your left. You have worked with it, and the muscles are more developed.”
全くその通りなんです。私は船大工として働きはじめたんですから」
「あなたの手ですよ。あなたの右手は、左手より一回り大きいですよね。
右手を使って働いていたということで、筋肉がより発達したんですね」
gospel n.福音、キリスト教の教義、絶対の真理、 信条，主義
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 267
“Well, the snuff, then, and the Freemasonry?”
“I won’t insult your intelligence by telling you how I read that, especially as, rather against the strict rules of your order, you use an arc-and-compass breastpin.”
「では、嗅ぎタバコ、それからフリーメーソンというのは？」
「どうやって読み取ったかを伝えることで、あなたの知性を侮辱する訳ではありませんので。
特にあなたの結社の厳格なルールに反して弧とコンパスのピンを使っていらっしゃいますね」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 268
“Ah, of course, I forgot that. But the writing?”
“What else can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny for five inches, and the left one with the smooth patch near the elbow where you rest it upon the desk?”
「ああ、そうだ、忘れていたよ。では書き物というのは？」
「右の袖口が５インチほど、光ってしまっていますね。
そして左のカフスは肘近くまで継ぎ物がされていますね。
机の上に乗せかけるのでしょう。
それ以外にヒントはありますかね？」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 269
“Well, but China?”
“The fish that you have tattooed immediately above your right wrist could only have been done in China.
「ああ、では中国は？」
「右手首のすぐ上の魚のタトゥは中国でしか出来ないものです」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 270
I have made a small study of tattoo marks and have even contributed to the literature of the subject. That trick of staining the fishes’ scales of a delicate pink is quite peculiar to China.
タトゥの模様については少し研究したことがあって、そのテーマの文献に寄稿したことすらあるのです。
そのほのかなピンクの魚の鱗の染色の秘訣は中国独自のものです。
contribute v.寄与する、寄稿する
literature n.文学、文学研究、文献、印刷物
stain n,しみ、よごれ、汚点、染料 v.
scale １．n.メモリ、比率、規模、階級、音階 ２．天秤、天秤座 ３．うろこ
peculiar a.変な、特有の、具合が悪い
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 271
When, in addition, I see a Chinese coin hanging from your watch-chain, the matter becomes even more simple.”
それに、中国の硬貨が時計のチェーンからぶら下がっていますね。
より簡単になりましたよ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 272
Mr. Jabez Wilson laughed heavily. “Well, I never!” said he. “I thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see that there was nothing in it after all.”
ジャベズ・ウィルソン氏は大笑いした。
「いやいや、最初はあなたが賢いことをしたと思ったが、
結局なんでもないことだったね」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 273
“I begin to think, Watson,” said Holmes, “that I make a mistake in explaining. ‘Omne ignotum pro magnifico,’ you know, and my poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I am so candid.
「思うに、ワトソン君」ホームズは言った。
「説明が上手くなかったかもしれないね。
”未知なるものは偉大だ”というだろう。
ほら、私の評判は大したことないし、この通りさ。
率直にそのまま言うと失敗するね」
shipwreck n.難破船、失敗
candid a.率直な、公平な
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 274
Can you not find the advertisement, Mr. Wilson?”
“Yes, I have got it now,” he answered with his thick red finger planted halfway down the column. “Here it is. This is what began it all. You just read it for yourself, sir.”
ウィルソンさん、広告は見つかりませんか？」
「ああ、いま見つかったよ」彼は太い赤い指を新聞の欄の真ん中に載せて答えた。
「これだよ。これが全ての始まりだった。
自分で読んでみてくれ」
plant v.植える、置く
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 275
I took the paper from him and read as follows:
“TO THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE: On account of the bequest of the late Ezekiah Hopkins, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.,
私は彼から新聞を受け取り、次の内容を読んだ。
”赤毛連盟、米国ペンシルバニア州レバノンの先に亡くなったエゼキア・ホプキンスの遺産によるもの。
On account of のため、の理由で
bequest n.遺産
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 276
there is now another vacancy open which entitles a member of the League to a salary of ? 4 a week for purely nominal services. All red-headed men who are sound in body and mind and above the age of twenty-one years, are eligible.
連盟の会員に1名空きがでました。
会員には純粋に名目上のサービスで週に4ポンドの給与の権利を与えます。
心身健康で21歳以上の赤毛の男性のみなさんは
資格があります。
nominal n.名目上の、額面の
eligible a.適任で、適格
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 277
Apply in person on Monday, at eleven o’clock, to Duncan Ross, at the offices of the League, 7 Pope’s Court, Fleet Street.”
月曜11時に、フリート通りポープスコート7番地の
同盟事務所のダンカン・ロスまで
本人が応募するように。
in person 本人が、実物で
apply in personとかシンプルだけど
自分じゃ書けない
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 278
“What on earth does this mean?” I ejaculated after I had twice read over the extraordinary announcement.
「これは一体どういう意味だい？」
この奇妙な広告を2回読んでから私は思わず言った。
ejaculate v.射精する、突然叫ぶ
extraordinary ad.風変わりな、並はずれた、臨時の
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 279
Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his habit when in high spirits. “It is a little off the beaten track, isn’t it?” said he.
ホームズはクスクス笑い、椅子の上で身をよじらせた。
機嫌がいい時のいつもの感じだ。
「ちょっと尋常じゃないよね」彼は言った。
in high spirits 興奮状態で、上機嫌で
beaten track 踏み慣らされた道、普通の方法，世間の常識
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 280
“And now, Mr. Wilson, off you go at scratch and tell us all about yourself, your household, and the effect which this advertisement had upon your fortunes.
「それで、ウィルソンさん、初めから話を聞かせて頂けますか。
あなたのこと、ご家庭のこと、この広告であなたの運命がどう変わったかを。
go off 去る、爆破する、消える go-ogg 出発、開始
from scratch 最初から
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 281
You will first make a note, Doctor, of the paper and the date.”
“It is The Morning Chronicle of April 27, 1890. Just two months ago.”
“Very good. Now, Mr. Wilson?”
ワトソン君、最初にその新聞と日付をメモしてくれるかい」
「1890年4月27日のモーニング・クロニクル紙だね。ちょうど2か月前だ」
「よし。では、ウィルソンさん」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 282
“Well, it is just as I have been telling you, Mr. Sherlock Holmes,” said Jabez Wilson, mopping his forehead; “I have a small pawnbroker’s business at Coburg Square, near the City.
「ええ、いまホームズさんにお話ししてた通り、」おでこを拭きながらジャベズ・ウィルソン氏は言った。
「私はシティの近く、コバーグスクエアで小さな質屋をやっております。
pawnbroker n.質屋
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 283
It’s not a very large affair, and of late years it has not done more than just give me a living. I used to be able to keep two assistants, but now I only keep one;
大きなものではないし、近年は私1人が生きていくのにギリギリなくらいだ。
以前は2人スタッフを抱えていたが、いまでは1人だけだ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 284
and I would have a job to pay him but that he is willing to come for half wages so as to learn the business.”
“What is the name of this obliging youth?” asked Sherlock Holmes.
彼1人に給料を支払うくらいの仕事はあるかもしれないのだが
仕事を学ぶためにと彼は半分の給料でも来ている」
「その親切な若者の名は？」ホームズは聞いた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 285
“His name is Vincent Spaulding, and he’s not such a youth, either. It’s hard to say his age. I should not wish a smarter assistant, Mr. Holmes;
「彼の名はヴィンセント・スパウルディング、それほど若くないよ。
幾つかは分からないが。
彼より賢いアシスタントは望めませんよ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 286
and I know very well that he could better himself and earn twice what I am able to give him. But, after all, if he is satisfied, why should I put ideas in his head?”
彼は自分でもっと上手くやれるし、今の給料の2倍は稼げますよ。
でも結局彼が満足しているなら、私がそんなこと伝える必要もないでしょう？
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 287
“Why, indeed? You seem most fortunate in having an employ? who comes under the full market price. It is not a common experience among employers in this age.
「実際どうしてなんです？
この完全な市場価格の中で来てくれる従業員がいるなんて
あなたは幸せですよね。この時代、雇用主が経験できることではないですよ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 288
I don’t know that your assistant is not as remarkable as your advertisement.”
“Oh, he has his faults, too,” said Mr. Wilson. “Never was such a fellow for photography.
あなたのアシスタントがこの広告のように注目されないのが分かりませんね」
「ああ、欠点もあるんだ」ウィルソン氏は言った。
「写真となると、あんな奴はいないね。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 289
Snapping away with a camera when he ought to be improving his mind, and then diving down into the cellar like a rabbit into its hole to develop his pictures.
覚えないといけない時に写真を撮りまくるんだ。
写真を現像するときには、穴に逃げ込むウサギみたいに、地下室に飛び込んでしまう。
snap away 写真を撮りまくる
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 290
That is his main fault, but on the whole he’s a good worker. There’s no vice in him.”
“He is still with you, I presume?”
それが最大の欠点です。しかし概して良い働き手ですよ。
悪癖もありませんし」
「彼はまだあなたと働いているんですよね？」
vice 1.a.悪癖、弱点 3.副
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 291
“Yes, sir. He and a girl of fourteen, who does a bit of simple cooking and keeps the place clean?that’s all I have in the house, for I am a widower and never had any family.
「ええ、彼と、ちょっとした料理と掃除をする14歳の少女がいるんですが
この2人が私の家に居ます。
私は独り者でして、家族がいたことはありません。
widower n.男やもめ cf.widow 未亡人
男やもめって最近聞かない言葉ですね。
どういう意味だっけーと調べたら
本来は配偶者を失った人だが
適齢期をすぎた独身者も指す、ですって。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 292
We live very quietly, sir, the three of us; and we keep a roof over our heads and pay our debts, if we do nothing more.
“The first thing that put us out was that advertisement.
我々3人はとても静かに暮らしています。
住む場所を確保し、日々の支払いを行っています。たとえそれ以上のことはないにしても。
「我々の生活が変わったのはまずあの広告です。
put out 消す、出す、困らせる、迷惑をかける、狂わせる
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 293
Spaulding, he came down into the office just this day eight weeks, with this very paper in his hand, and he says:
“‘I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a red-headed man.’
ちょうど8週間前のその日、スパウルディングのやつが事務所に降りてきて、
この新聞を手に、言ったんです。
「ウィルソンさん、私が赤毛の男だったらよかったのに。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 294
“‘Why that?’ I asks.
“‘Why,’ says he, ‘here’s another vacancy on the League of the Red-headed Men.
「どうしてだい？」私は聞いた。
「どうしてって」彼は言った。
「ここに、赤毛連盟の空きが出たっていう話が」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 295
It’s worth quite a little fortune to any man who gets it, and I understand that there are more vacancies than there are men, so that the trustees are at their wits’ end what to do with the money.
手に入れる人にはちょっとしたお金になりますよ。
人間より空席が多いようで、
だから管財人はお金をどうしようかと知恵も尽きたようです。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 296
If my hair would only change colour, here’s a nice little crib all ready for me to step into.’
“‘Why, what is it, then?’ I asked.
私の髪の色が変わりさえすれば、この小さな素晴らしい空席は私が飛び込むのを待っているというのに」
「なぜ、なんだって？私は言いました。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 297
Mr. Holmes, I am a very stay-at-home man, and as my business came to me instead of my having to go to it, I was often weeks on end without putting my foot over the door-mat.
ホームズさん、私は基本的に家にいる人間なんです。
というのも私の仕事は外に出かけるのではなく、仕事の方がやってくるものですし。
何週間もドアマットより向こうにでないこともしばしばですよ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 298
In that way I didn’t know much of what was going on outside, and I was always glad of a bit of news.
“‘Have you never heard of the League of the Red-headed Men?’ he asked with his eyes open.
“‘Never.’
そんな訳で外で起きていることはよく知りませんでしたし、
いつもちょっとしたニュースで喜んでいましたので。
彼は目を見開いて「赤毛連盟ってご存知でした？」と聞くので
「いや全く」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 299
“‘Why, I wonder at that, for you are eligible yourself for one of the vacancies.’
“‘And what are they worth?’ I asked.
「ほら、思うんですが、その空席の一つに
あなたはピッタリじゃないですか？」
「どんな価値があるんだい？」私は聞きました。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 300
“‘Oh, merely a couple of hundred a year, but the work is slight, and it need not interfere very much with one’s other occupations.’
「ああ、単に年に数百ポンドですよ。仕事は少しだし、
他の仕事の邪魔にはなりませんよ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 301
“Well, you can easily think that that made me prick up my ears, for the business has not been over good for some years, and an extra couple of hundred would have been very handy.
「ほら、お分かりでしょうが私の耳は反応しました。
もう何年も事業はパッとしないし、200ポンドももらえるんだったら助かりますから。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 302
“‘Tell me all about it,’ said I.
“‘Well,’ said he, showing me the advertisement, ‘you can see for yourself that the League has a vacancy, and there is the address where you should apply for particulars.
「詳しく教えてください」私は言った。
彼は広告を見せながら「ええ、ここにある通り、連盟には空きがあり、
詳細問合せ先の住所がこれです」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 303
As far as I can make out, the League was founded by an American millionaire, Ezekiah Hopkins, who was very peculiar in his ways. He was himself red-headed, and he had a great sympathy for all red-headed men;
私の知る限りでは、連盟はアメリカの百万長者イゼキア・ホプキンスが作ったもので
独特な人だった。
彼自身赤毛で、赤毛の男に強い共感を抱いていた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 304
so, when he died, it was found that he had left his enormous fortune in the hands of trustees, with instructions to apply the interest to the providing of easy berths to men whose hair is of that colour.
だから彼が亡くなった時、管財人に巨額の富が残されていたことが分かり、
そして赤毛の男性らに簡単な仕事でその利息を与えるよう指示が残っていたんだ。
berth n.就職口、寝台、段ベッド
古そうな単語だけど。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 305
From all I hear it is splendid pay and very little to do.’
“‘But,’ said I, ‘there would be millions of red-headed men who would apply.’
私の聞いたところでは、支払いは素晴らしく、やることはほとんど無いようでした」
「でも」私は言った。「何百万もの赤毛の男らが応募するでしょうね」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 306
“‘Not so many as you might think,’ he answered. ‘You see it is really confined to Londoners, and to grown men. This American had started from London when he was young, and he wanted to do the old town a good turn.
「思うほど多くはなかったんです」彼は答えた。
「ロンドン人で成人男性に限定されていますから」
「彼は若いころロンドンで始めて、古いこの町に良い事をしたかったのです」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 307
Then, again, I have heard it is no use your applying if your hair is light red, or dark red, or anything but real bright, blazing, fiery red. Now, if you cared to apply, Mr. Wilson, you would just walk in;
それからまた、明るめの赤毛や暗い赤毛では応募できないと聞きました。
本物の明るい、燃えるような、火のような赤でないと。
ほら、ウィルソンさん、応募したいなら行ってみたらいいですよ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 308
but perhaps it would hardly be worth your while to put yourself out of the way for the sake of a few hundred pounds.’
でもほんの数百ポンドのために
わざわざ出かけて行くような価値は
ないかもしれませんけどね。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 309
“Now, it is a fact, gentlemen, as you may see for yourselves, that my hair is of a very full and rich tint, so that it seemed to me that if there was to be any competition in the matter I stood as good a chance as any man that I had ever met.
ほら、実際、ご覧になるように
私の髪は多くて良い色ですから、
いままで会ったどんな人達よりも
いいチャンスになる競争になるだろうと思われました。
長くて苦しい文章、、、
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 310
Vincent Spaulding seemed to know so much about it that I thought he might prove useful, so I just ordered him to put up the shutters for the day and to come right away with me.
ヴィンセント・スパウルディングは良く知っているようだったから、
彼は役に立つかもしれないと思った。
だからその日はシャッターを閉めて、すぐに私と来るようにと指示した。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 311
He was very willing to have a holiday, so we shut the business up and started off for the address that was given us in the advertisement.
彼も休みを取りたがっていたので、我々は仕事を止めて
広告に示されていた住所へ向かいました。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 312
“I never hope to see such a sight as that again, Mr. Holmes. From north, south, east, and west every man who had a shade of red in his hair had tramped into the city to answer the advertisement.
「あんな光景は2度と見たくないですよ、ホームズさん。
北、南、東、西から髪に赤味のある男たちが
広告に応えるためにこの都市に踏み込んで来ているんですから。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 313
Fleet Street was choked with red-headed folk, and Pope’s Court looked like a coster’s orange barrow. I should not have thought there were so many in the whole country as were brought together by that single advertisement.
フリート通りは赤い頭で埋め尽くされ、
教皇裁判所は行商のオレンジの荷車みたいだったね。
この一つの広告で、国中から集まってきたとしても
こんなに沢山だとは思わなかった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 314
Every shade of colour they were?straw, lemon, orange, brick, Irish-setter, liver, clay; but, as Spaulding said, there were not many who had the real vivid flame-coloured tint.
様々な色のトーンの人がいた。麦わら色、レモン色、オレンジ色、レンガ色、
黒茶のアイリッシュセッター犬の色、茶褐色、粘土色。
しかしスパールディングが言うように、本当に鮮やかな炎の色味の人は
多くなかった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 315
When I saw how many were waiting, I would have given it up in despair; but Spaulding would not hear of it.
大勢が待っているのを見て、
ガッカリして諦めるところだったが
スパールディングは聞かなかった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 316
How he did it I could not imagine, but he pushed and pulled and butted until he got me through the crowd, and right up to the steps which led to the office.
彼がどうやったのか想像もつきませんが
しかし彼は押したり引いたり、押しのけて
群衆から私を引っ張りだし、
事務所へと続く階段まで連れてきました。
butt v.頭で押す n.太い端、尻
buttはすごく沢山の語義があった。
米国ドラマのfriendsでも、あの男性のお尻素敵！ってときはbuttって言ってたなー
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 317
There was a double stream upon the stair, some going up in hope, and some coming back dejected; but we wedged in as well as we could and soon found ourselves in the office.”
上への階段は2重の流れが出来ていて
希望をもって上に登る人や、がっかりして戻っていく人がいた。
しかし我々はその場に留まり、すぐに事務所に入ることができた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 318
“Your experience has been a most entertaining one,” remarked Holmes as his client paused and refreshed his memory with a huge pinch of snuff.
「あなたのご経験は、今までで最も面白いものの一つですね」
彼は一呼吸付いて、大きく嗅ぎタバコをつまんで記憶を呼び起こそうとし、
ホームズはこう述べた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 319
“Pray continue your very interesting statement.”
“There was nothing in the office but a couple of wooden chairs and a deal table, behind which sat a small man with a head that was even redder than mine.
「どうぞこの面白い話を続けてください」
「事務所には、木の椅子2脚とモミ材のテーブル以外に何もなかった。
テーブルの後ろには私よりももっと赤い頭の小柄な男がいた」
deal 1.取引 2．モミ、マツ材
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 320
He said a few words to each candidate as he came up, and then he always managed to find some fault in them which would disqualify them.
候補者がやってくると、少し言葉をかけ、
いつも資格を満たしていないとうなんらかの欠点を見つけ出した。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 321
Getting a vacancy did not seem to be such a very easy matter, after all.
結局のところ、空席を手に入れるのは
そんなに簡単なことではないようだった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 322
However, when our turn came the little man was much more favourable to me than to any of the others, and he closed the door as we entered, so that he might have a private word with us.
しかし我々の順番が来た時、その小柄な男は他の誰に対してよりも
私に良い印象を持ったようだった。
我々が入るとドアを閉め、我々にプライベートな言葉をかけたいかのようだった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 323
“‘This is Mr. Jabez Wilson,’ said my assistant, ‘and he is willing to fill a vacancy in the League.’
「こちらがジャベズ・ウィルソン氏です」と私の助手が言った。
「彼は連盟の空席を埋めたいと思っています」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 324
“‘And he is admirably suited for it,’ the other answered. ‘He has every requirement. I cannot recall when I have seen anything so fine.’
「そして彼は見事に合っている」一方の人が答えた。
「彼は全ての必要条件を備えている。これほど素晴らしいものを見たことは
今までない」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 325
He took a step backward, cocked his head on one side, and gazed at my hair until I felt quite bashful. Then suddenly he plunged forward, wrung my hand, and congratulated me warmly on my success.
彼は一歩下がり、片側に頭を傾け、
私が恥ずかしく感じるほど私の頭を見つめた。
それから突然前に飛び出して私の手を掴んで
合格を優しく祝福した。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 326
“‘It would be injustice to hesitate,’ said he. ‘You will, however, I am sure, excuse me for taking an obvious precaution.’
「ためらうのは公平ではないだろうね」と彼は言った。
「しかしあなたは、思うに明らかに警戒するのを許してくれるでしょう」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 327
With that he seized my hair in both his hands, and tugged until I yelled with the pain. ‘There is water in your eyes,’ said he as he released me.
そう言って彼は両手で私の髪を掴み、
私が痛みで声を上げるまで引っ張った。
「目に涙がありますね」私を開放しながら彼は言った。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 328
‘I perceive that all is as it should be. But we have to be careful, for we have twice been deceived by wigs and once by paint. I could tell you tales of cobbler’s wax which would disgust you with human nature.’
「全てあるべきものであると分かりました。
しかし気を付けないといけない。2度カツラで、染色で１度騙されましたから。
人間というものにウンザリするような、鞍直し職人のワックスの話を
しましょうか」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 329
He stepped over to the window and shouted through it at the top of his voice that the vacancy was filled.
彼は窓際へ行き、空席は埋まったと声の限り叫んだ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 330
A groan of disappointment came up from below, and the folk all trooped away in different directions until there was not a red-head to be seen except my own and that of the manager.
がっかりという唸り声が下から上がり、
群衆はちりじりになり、残った赤毛は
私の赤毛とそのマネージャーの赤毛だけになった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 331
“‘My name,’ said he, ‘is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. Are you a married man, Mr. Wilson? Have you a family?
「私の名は」彼は言った。
「ダンカン・ロスです。私自身もこの素晴らしい恩人の
遺産から恩恵をうけているものです。
ウィルソンさん、ご結婚はされていますか？
ご家族は？」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 332
“I answered that I had not.
“His face fell immediately.
“‘Dear me!’ he said gravely, ‘that is very serious indeed!
家族はいないと答えました。
彼の顔はすぐに曇り、「ああ！」と重々しく言い、
「本当にとても深刻だ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 333
I am sorry to hear you say that. The fund was, of course, for the propagation and spread of the red-heads as well as for their maintenance.
そう仰られて残念ですよ。
この基金はもちろん、赤毛の維持と、繁栄と広がりを目的としているのです。
propagation n.繁殖、普及、遺伝
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 334
It is exceedingly unfortunate that you should be a bachelor.’
あなたが独身でとても残念です」
ここのshouldの意味合いが分からない。
がこれか。shouldムズイ。
[遺憾・驚きなどを表わす主節に続く that 節に用いて] …する(のは，とは) 《現在では should を用いず直説法が用いられることが多い》.
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 335
“My face lengthened at this, Mr. Holmes, for I thought that I was not to have the vacancy after all; but after thinking it over for a few minutes he said that it would be all right.
「私の顔はこう伸びましたよ、ホームズさん。
結局空席を私は埋められないと思いましたから。
しかし数分考えた後、彼は大丈夫だろうといいました。
lengthenは伸びるって訳語しかないけど
浮かない顔ってことみたい。ピンと来ない
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 336
“‘In the case of another,’ said he, ‘the objection might be fatal, but we must stretch a point in favour of a man with such a head of hair as yours. When shall you be able to enter upon your new duties?’
「他の人の場合、」彼は言った。
「反論は避けられないかもしれない。しかし、あなたのような髪を持つ人のために
基準を広げるべきだ。
いつから仕事に入れますか？」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 337
“‘Well, it is a little awkward, for I have a business already,’ said I.
“‘Oh, never mind about that, Mr. Wilson!’ said Vincent Spaulding. ‘I should be able to look after that for you.’
「ええと、少し戸惑っていますが、
すでに仕事はありますので」と私は答えました。
「ああ、それは気にしないでください、ウィルソンさん」
ビンセント・スパウルディングが言った。
「私が代わりにやりますから」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 338
“‘What would be the hours?’ I asked.
“‘Ten to two.’
“Now a pawnbroker’s business is mostly done of an evening, Mr. Holmes, especially Thursday and Friday evening, which is just before pay-day;
「時間はどうなりますか」私は聞きました。
「10時から2時までです」
「質屋の仕事はほとんど夜なのです。
特に木曜と金曜の夜、給料日の直前の日なのです」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 339
so it would suit me very well to earn a little in the mornings. Besides, I knew that my assistant was a good man, and that he would see to anything that turned up.
だから朝のうちにちょっと稼ぐのは
私にぴったりでした。
それにアシスタントは良い奴だと分かってますから
なにか起きても彼が対応してくれるでしょう。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 340
“‘That would suit me very well,’ said I. ‘And the pay?’
“‘Is ? 4 a week.’
“‘And the work?’
“‘Is purely nominal.’
「まったく私にピッタリですよ」
私は聞いた。「それで給料は？」
「週に4ポンド」
「仕事内容は？」
「ほんとうに名目だけで」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 341
“‘What do you call purely nominal?’
“‘Well, you have to be in the office, or at least in the building, the whole time. If you leave, you forfeit your whole position forever.
「ほんとうに名目だけというのは？」
「ええ、その時間中は事務所にいないといけないのです、
少なくとも建物の中にはいないと。
もしそこを離れたら、永遠にその地位を没収されることになります。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 342
The will is very clear upon that point. You don’t comply with the conditions if you budge from the office during that time.’
“‘It’s only four hours a day, and I should not think of leaving,’ said I.
その点については遺言はとても明確なので。
その時間中にオフィスから離れたら、条件に従わないということになります」
「一日たった4時間ですから。それにその場を離れるなんて考えてもいません」私は言った。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 343
“‘No excuse will avail,’ said Mr. Duncan Ross; ‘neither sickness nor business nor anything else. There you must stay, or you lose your billet.’
“‘And the work?’
「言い訳は通用しません」とダンカン・ロス氏は言った。
「病気であろうと仕事であろうとダメです。
そこに居るか、その地位を失うか、です」
「で仕事内容は？」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 344
“‘Is to copy out the Encyclop?dia Britannica. There is the first volume of it in that press. You must find your own ink, pens, and blotting-paper, but we provide this table and chair.
ブリタニカ百科事典を写し書くことです。
そこの戸棚に第一巻があります。
インクとペンと染み取り紙はご用意ください。
このテーブルとイスはお貸しします。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 345
Will you be ready to-morrow?’
“‘Certainly,’ I answered.
“‘Then, good-bye, Mr. Jabez Wilson, and let me congratulate you once more on the important position which you have been fortunate enough to gain.’
「明日から大丈夫ですか？」
「もちろんです」私は答えました。
「では、それでは。
もう一度この重要な地位を祝福します。あなたが手にした幸運を」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 346
He bowed me out of the room and I went home with my assistant, hardly knowing what to say or do, I was so pleased at my own good fortune.
彼はお辞儀で私を部屋から送り出し、私はアシスタントと家へ帰った。
何を言えばいいのか、すればいいのか分からなかったが
この幸運に喜んでいた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 347
“Well, I thought over the matter all day, and by evening I was in low spirits again; for I had quite persuaded myself that the whole affair must be some great hoax or fraud, though what its object might be I could not imagine.
「一日中この出来事について考えていました。
そして夕方にはまた気分が落ち込みました。
というのも
その目的は見当も付きませんでしたが、
この一連の出来事がいたずらか詐欺かなにかに違いないと
思えてきたからです。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 348
It seemed altogether past belief that anyone could make such a will, or that they would pay such a sum for doing anything so simple as copying out the Encyclopedia Britannica.
誰かがこんな遺言を残したり、
ブリタニカ大百科事典を書き写すような簡単な仕事で
こんな大金をくれるなんて
全く信じられないように思いました。
past belief が難しいが
past が過去や過ぎて、終わってという意味。
以上、及ばない、も。
past belief で信じられない、になるよう。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 349
Vincent Spaulding did what he could to cheer me up, but by bedtime I had reasoned myself out of the whole thing.
ビンセント・スパールディングは私のやる気を盛り上げようとしたが
寝るまで私はこの出来事について考えていた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 350
However, in the morning I determined to have a look at it anyhow, so I bought a penny bottle of ink, and with a quill-pen, and seven sheets of foolscap paper, I started off for Pope’s Court.
しかし朝には、どうであれ見てみようと決心した。
だから1ペニー分のインクのボトルと羽ペン、7枚の大判紙を買って
教皇裁判所に向かった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 351
“Well, to my surprise and delight, everything was as right as possible. The table was set out ready for me, and Mr. Duncan Ross was there to see that I got fairly to work.
「それで、驚いたと共に有難かったのが
全てはそれ以上ないほどきちんとしていました。
テーブルは私のために準備されており、
ダンカン・ロス氏は私がきちんと仕事をしているのを確認するために
そこにいました。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 352
He started me off upon the letter A, and then he left me; but he would drop in from time to time to see that all was right with me.
彼は私に「文字A」から始めるよう指示して去りました。
そして時々問題が無いか確認しに来ました。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 353
At two o’clock he bade me good-day, complimented me upon the amount that I had written, and locked the door of the office after me.
2時になると私にお疲れ様と言い、
私の書いたものを褒め、
私と部屋を出てカギをかけた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 354
“This went on day after day, Mr. Holmes, and on Saturday the manager came in and planked down four golden sovereigns for my week’s work. It was the same next week, and the same the week after.
「これが日々続き、土曜にはマネージャーが来て
一週間分の賃金として4枚の金貨を差し出しました。
翌週もその次の週も同じでした。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 355
Every morning I was there at ten, and every afternoon I left at two. By degrees Mr. Duncan Ross took to coming in only once of a morning, and then, after a time, he did not come in at all.
毎朝私はそこに10時に居て、午後には2時に帰りました。
次第にダンカン・ロス氏は朝に一度だけ訪れるようになり、
それからしばらくして全く姿を現さなくなりました。
By degrees 次第に
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 356
Still, of course, I never dared to leave the room for an instant, for I was not sure when he might come, and the billet was such a good one, and suited me so well, that I would not risk the loss of it.
それでも勿論、私はすぐには部屋を離れる気にはなりませんでした。
彼が戻ってくるかもしれないし、その仕事はとても良く、私に合っていたし、
それを失うようなリスクは負いたくなかったからです。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 357
“Eight weeks passed away like this, and I had written about Abbots and Archery and Armour and Architecture and Attica, and hoped with diligence that I might get on to the B’s before very long.
「こうやって8週間が過ぎ、私はAbbots大修道院長、Archeryアーチェリー、Armour鎧、Architecture建築、Atticaアッチカと書き写し
真面目にやればそろそろBに入れるかもしれないと
考えていました。
before very long 近いうちに、そのうち
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 358
It cost me something in foolscap, and I had pretty nearly filled a shelf with my writings. And then suddenly the whole business came to an end.”
大判の紙代がかかるのと
書いたもので棚を埋め尽くしそうでした。
そして突然、この仕事は終わりを迎えたのです。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 359
“To an end?”
“Yes, sir. And no later than this morning. I went to my work as usual at ten o’clock, but the door was shut and locked, with a little square of cardboard hammered on to the middle of the panel with a tack.
「終わりに？」
「ええ、そうです。まさに今朝、いつも通り10時に職場へ行きましたが
ドアは閉まってカギがかかっていました。
パネルの真ん中に小さな段ボールの切れっぱしが鋲で止められていました。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 360
Here it is, and you can read for yourself.”
He held up a piece of white cardboard about the size of a sheet of note-paper. It read in this fashion:
こんな風に、読んでみてください」
そして彼はノートサイズの白いダンボール片を取り出した。
そこにはこう書かれていた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 361
“THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE IS DISSOLVED. October 9, 1890.”
「赤毛連盟は解散しました。1890年10月9日」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 362
Sherlock Holmes and I surveyed this curt announcement and the rueful face behind it, until the comical side of the affair so completely overtopped every other consideration that we both burst out into a roar of laughter.
ホームズと私はこのそっけない通知とその後ろの悲痛な顔を見た。
他のあらゆる考慮よりも、この出来事のコミカルさが際立ち、
我々は思わず噴き出した。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 363
“I cannot see that there is anything very funny,” cried our client, flushing up to the roots of his flaming head. “If you can do nothing better than laugh at me, I can go elsewhere.”
「なにがそんなに面白いんですか」と彼は叫び、
赤毛の地肌まで赤くなった。
「笑うだけだったら他所へ行きますよ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 364
“No, no,” cried Holmes, shoving him back into the chair from which he had half risen. “I really wouldn’t miss your case for the world. It is most refreshingly unusual.
「いえいえ」ホームズは叫び、半分腰を浮かせていた椅子へ
座り直した。
「世界のためにも、あなたの事件にぜひ取り組みたいのです。とても爽快なほど珍しい事件です」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 365
But there is, if you will excuse my saying so, something just a little funny about it. Pray what steps did you take when you found the card upon the door?”
しかし、失礼ながら言わせて頂きますと
この事件にはちょっと面白いところがありますね。
ドアにこのカードを見つけた時
いったいどうされたんです？」
prayはどうか、どうぞぐらいのよう。ムズイ
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 366
“I was staggered, sir. I did not know what to do. Then I called at the offices round, but none of them seemed to know anything about it.
「もう倒れそうでしたよ。どうしたらよいのか分かりませんでした。
それから近隣のオフィスに行ってみましたが
誰も何も知らないようでした」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 367
Finally, I went to the landlord, who is an accountant living on the ground floor, and I asked him if he could tell me what had become of the Red-headed League. He said that he had never heard of any such body.
しまいには１階に住んでいる会計士の大家のところへ行き、
赤毛連盟に何が起きたのか教えてくれるよう頼みましたが
そんな団体は聞いたことが無いと言われました。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 368
Then I asked him who Mr. Duncan Ross was. He answered that the name was new to him.
“‘Well,’ said I, ‘the gentleman at No. 4.’
それからダンカン・ロス氏は何者なのか尋ねました。
大家は初めて聞く名前だと答えました。
「ええと」私は言いました。「4番室の男性ですが」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 369
“‘What, the red-headed man?’
“‘Yes.’
“‘Oh,’ said he, ‘his name was William Morris.
「なに、あの赤毛の男性？」
「はい」
「ああ」彼は言った。「ウィリアム・モリスさんでしたね」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 370
He was a solicitor and was using my room as a temporary convenience until his new premises were ready. He moved out yesterday.’
“‘Where could I find him?’
彼は事務弁護士で、新しい建物が準備できるまでの一時的な利用で
あの部屋を使っていました。昨日出て行きましたね」
「どこに行けば会えます？」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 371
“‘Oh, at his new offices. He did tell me the address. Yes, 17 King Edward Street, near St. Paul’s.’
「新しい事務所ですね、聞いてますよ。
ええ、キング・エドワード通りの17です。セント・ポール通り近くの」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 372
“I started off, Mr. Holmes, but when I got to that address it was a manufactory of artificial knee-caps, and no one in it had ever heard of either Mr. William Morris or Mr. Duncan Ross.”
「もう走りだしましたよ、ホームズさん。
しかしその住所に着いたら、
人工膝当ての工場だったのですが
そこにいた人はだれ一人として
ウィリアム・モリスもダンカン・ロスの名前も聞いたことが
無いっていうんです」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 373
“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 in any way.
「それでどうしたんです？」ホームズは聞いた。
「サックス・コバーグスクエアの家にかえりました。アシスタントの助言を求めに。
しかし彼にもどうにも出来ませんでした」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 374
He could only say that if I waited I should hear by post. But that was not quite good enough, Mr. Holmes.
彼が言えたのは、待っていればなにか郵便で知らせが来るかもしれないということだけでした。
しかしそれじゃ納得できませんよ、ホームズさん。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 375
I did not wish to lose such a place without a struggle, so, as I had heard that you were good enough to give advice to poor folk who were in need of it, I came right away to you.”
あの場所を何もせずに失いたくはありませんでした。
それで、あなたが助けが必要な気の毒な人にいいアドバイスをする方だと聞いていたので
すぐにやってきたのです。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 376
“And you did very wisely,” said Holmes. “Your case is an exceedingly remarkable one, and I shall be happy to look into it.
「とても賢い行動でしたね」ホームズは言った。
「この事件は非常に珍しいものですから、調査に関われて嬉しいです」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 377
From what you have told me I think that it is possible that graver issues hang from it than might at first sight appear.”
“Grave enough!” said Mr. Jabez Wilson. “Why, I have lost four pound a week.”
お話を伺った限りでは、ぱっと見よりも
大きな問題が起きている可能性があると思いますね」
「充分大きいですよ！」ジャベス・ウィルソン氏は言った。
「週に4ポンドを失ったんですから！」
grave 1.n.墓 2.a.重要な
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 378
“As far as you are personally concerned,” remarked Holmes, “I do not see that you have any grievance against this extraordinary league.
「あなた個人については」
ホームズは言った。
「この変わった連盟に対してなんの不満も無いようですね」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 379
On the contrary, you are, as I understand, richer by some ? 30, to say nothing of the minute knowledge which you have gained on every subject which comes under the letter A. You have lost nothing by them.”
逆に、私の理解ではあなたは30ポンド分もお金持ちになり、
Aの文字の全ての物事について詳細な知識を得たということは言うまでもありません。
この件で何も失ってはいませんよね。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 380
“No, sir. But I want to find out about them, and who they are, and what their object was in playing this prank?if it was a prank?upon me. It was a pretty expensive joke for them, for it cost them two and thirty pounds.”
「ええ、でも彼らを見つけ出し、誰なのか、私にこんな悪ふざけをした目的は何なのかを知りたいのです。悪ふざけであれば、ですが。
冗談にしてはあまりにお金が掛かってるでしょう。32ポンドはかかってますよ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 381
“We shall endeavour to clear up these points for you. And, first, one or two questions, Mr. Wilson. This assistant of yours who first called your attention to the advertisement?how long had he been with you?”
「あなたのためにそれらの点を明らかにするよう努力します。
そしてまず、１，２の質問があります。
アシスタントですが、その広告を最初に教えてくれた人ですね、
どれくらいあなたのところに居ますか？
endeavour v,n 努力
エンデバーってスペースシャトルがありましたけど
努力って意味だったんですね。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 382
“About a month then.”
“How did he come?”
“In answer to an advertisement.”
“Was he the only applicant?”
「約1か月ですね」
「どうやって来ることになったのですか」
「広告への応募です」
「応募者は彼1人でしたか？」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 383
“No, I had a dozen.”
“Why did you pick him?”
“Because he was handy and would come cheap.”
“At half wages, in fact.”
“Yes.”
「いえ、10人ほど」
「どうして彼を選んだのですか？」
「便利そうでしたし、安い給料で来てくれるので」
「実際、半分の給料でしたね」
「ええ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 384
“What is he like, this Vincent Spaulding?”
“Small, stout-built, very quick in his ways, no hair on his face, though he’s not short of thirty. Has a white splash of acid upon his forehead.”
「このビンセント・スパウルディング氏はどんな方ですか」
「小柄でずんぐりしていて、動きは素早くひげは無い。
30歳ちょいですが額には酸がはねて白くなったところがあります」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 385
Holmes sat up in his chair in considerable excitement. “I thought as much,” said he. “Have you ever observed that his ears are pierced for earrings?”
ホームズはかなり興奮して椅子から立ち上がった。
「やっぱりそうだと思った」ホームズは言った。
「彼の耳にはピアスの穴は無かったですか？」
I thought as muchって使えそうな表現。やっぱりね！って。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 386
“Yes, sir. He told me that a gipsy had done it for him when he was a lad.”
“Hum!” said Holmes, sinking back in deep thought. “He is still with you?”
「ええ、若いころにジプシーがやってくれたと言っていました」
「ほう！」ホームズは言って、また深い物思いに戻った。
「彼はまだいるのかい？」
lad n.若者、男 （英国）
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 387
“Oh, yes, sir; I have only just left him.”
“And has your business been attended to in your absence?”
“Nothing to complain of, sir. There’s never very much to do of a morning.”
「ええ、彼だけ残してますので」
「あなたがいない間は彼が商売を見ていたんですか？」
「なんの不満もありませんよ。午前中はいつもやることありませんから」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 388
“That will do, Mr. Wilson. I shall be happy to give you an opinion upon the subject in the course of a day or two. To-day is Saturday, and I hope that by Monday we may come to a conclusion.”
「それがあるんですよ、ウィルソンさん。
1，2日後には私の見解をお伝えさせて頂きます。
今日は土曜ですから月曜には結論が見えているだろうと思いますよ
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 389
“Well, Watson,” said Holmes when our visitor had left us, “what do you make of it all?”
“I make nothing of it,” I answered frankly. “It is a most mysterious business.”
「ねえ、ワトソン君」ホームズが来客が去ってから言った。
「一体どう思うかい？」
「さっぱりわからないね」率直に答えた。
「まったく不可思議な話だね」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 390
“As a rule,” said Holmes, “the more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, featureless crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most difficult to identify.
「物事は奇妙に見えるときほど、ミステリアスではないと判るんだ。
そういうものさ。
普通の特徴の無い犯罪のほうが実際は複雑だ。
よくある顔が見分けにくいようにね」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 391
But I must be prompt over this matter.”
“What are you going to do, then?” I asked.
しかしこの件については迅速にやらなくては」
「では一体どうするつもりだい？」私は聞いた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 392
“To smoke,” he answered. “It is quite a three pipe problem, and I beg that you won’t speak to me for fifty minutes.”
「まず煙草を」と彼は答えた。
「煙草3本分ほどの問題だね。50分ほど話掛けないでくれるかい」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 393
He curled himself up in his chair, with his thin knees drawn up to his hawk-like nose, and there he sat with his eyes closed and his black clay pipe thrusting out like the bill of some strange bird.
彼は椅子の上で体を曲げ、薄い膝を鷲鼻まで引き寄せ、
そして目を閉じ、黒い陶器のパイプを奇妙な鳥のくちばしの様に刺して座った。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 394
I had come to the conclusion that he had dropped asleep, and indeed was nodding myself, when he suddenly sprang out of his chair with the gesture of a man who has made up his mind and put his pipe down upon the mantelpiece.
彼が眠ったという結論に達し、私自身もウトウトしていたが
突然彼は決意を固めたというように椅子から飛び起き、
暖炉にパイプを置いた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 395
“Sarasate plays at the St. James’s Hall this afternoon,” he remarked. “What do you think, Watson? Could your patients spare you for a few hours?”
「午後にセントジェームズホールでサラサーテが演奏するんだ」と彼は言った。
「どうだい、ワトソン君。君の患者は数時間君を貸してくれるだろうか？」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 396
“I have nothing to do to-day. My practice is never very absorbing.”
“Then put on your hat and come. I am going through the City first, and we can have some lunch on the way.
「今日はヒマなんだ。私の診療はあまり忙しくないんだ」
「では帽子をかぶって付いてきてくれ。まずシティに行って、途中ランチでも取ろう」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 397
I observe that there is a good deal of German music on the programme, which is rather more to my taste than Italian or French. It is introspective, and I want to introspect. Come along!”
演奏プログラムにはドイツ音楽のいいやつが入ってるようなんだ。
イタリアやフランス音楽より好きなものでね。
内省的でね、私は内省的なものを求めているんだ。
さあ行こう！」
introspective a. 内省的な，内観的な，自己反省の
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 398
We travelled by the Underground as far as Aldersgate; and a short walk took us to Saxe-Coburg Square, the scene of the singular story which we had listened to in the morning.
我々は地下鉄でアルダーズゲートまで行った。
そして少し歩いてサックス・コバーグスクエアへ行った。
朝に聞いた奇妙な物語の場所だ。
singular a.並はずれた、非凡な、奇妙な、珍しい、単数の
singularって意味が広いけど、一つしかないイメージかな
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 399
It was a poky, little, shabby-genteel place, where four lines of dingy two-storied brick houses looked out into a small railed-in enclosure,
そこは狭苦しい古ぼけた体裁を繕っているような場所で、
黒ずんだレンガの2階建ての建物が
４方から小さな横木で囲われた場所を見下ろしていた。
four lines ofがいまいち不明
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 400
where a lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded laurel bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden and uncongenial atmosphere.
そこは雑草の多い芝生で、色あせた月桂樹の低木の茂みがあり
煙ぽく居心地の悪い空気と戦っていた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 401
Three gilt balls and a brown board with “JABEZ WILSON” in white letters, upon a corner house, announced the place where our red-headed client carried on his business.
３つの金メッキの玉と茶色い板に白文字で「ジャベズ・ウィルソン」と書かれたものが家の角にあり、
ここが赤毛連盟事件の顧客が仕事を営んでいる場所だというのを示していた。
gilt v.gildの過去形 a,n.金箔の gilt 2.n.若いメス豚
gild v.金めっきする、美しく飾る
ギルド会員はguild。発音はgildと同じ
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 402
Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it with his head on one side and looked it all over, with his eyes shining brightly between puckered lids.
シャーロックホームズはその前で立ち止まり、
頭を傾けてじっくりと眺めた。
うっすら閉じた瞼の間からはきらきらと輝く瞳が見えた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 403
Then he walked slowly up the street, and then down again to the corner, still looking keenly at the houses.
それからゆっくりと通りを登り、また角まで戻りながら
じっくり家を観察していた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 404
Finally he returned to the pawnbroker’s, and, having thumped vigorously upon the pavement with his stick two or three times, he went up to the door and knocked. It was instantly opened by a bright-looking, clean-shaven young fellow, who asked him to step in.
そして彼は質屋まで戻り、ステッキで2，3度歩道を強くたたいてから
ドアに行ってノックした。
すぐに明るい印象のきれいに髭もそった若い男がドアを開け
入るよう促した。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 405
“Thank you,” said Holmes, “I only wished to ask you how you would go from here to the Strand.”
“Third right, fourth left,” answered the assistant promptly, closing the door.
「ありがとう」ホームズは言った。
「ここからストランド通りまでの道を教えて頂きたいのだが」
「3つ目の角を右に、4つ目の角を左です」と助手は即答し、ドアを閉めた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 406
“Smart fellow, that,” observed Holmes as we walked away. “He is, in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring I am not sure that he has not a claim to be third. I have known something of him before.”
「賢い男だね、あれば」と歩きながらホームズは述べた。
「私の見るところ、彼はロンドンで4番目に賢いね。
大胆さでは3番目ではないとも言えないな。
彼について以前から少し知っているよ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 407
“Evidently,” said I, “Mr. Wilson’s assistant counts for a good deal in this mystery of the Red-headed League. I am sure that you inquired your way merely in order that you might see him.”
「明らかに」私は言った。「ウィルソン氏の助手はこの赤毛連盟の謎で
重要な役割を果たしているね。彼を見るためだけに道を聞いたんだろ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 408
“Not him.”
“What then?”
“The knees of his trousers.”
“And what did you see?”
“What I expected to see.”
「彼のことではないよ」
「じゃあ何だい？」
「彼のズボンの膝さ」
「何を見たんだい？」
「見れると思っていたものをだよ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 409
“Why did you beat the pavement?”
“My dear doctor, this is a time for observation, not for talk. We are spies in an enemy’s country. We know something of Saxe-Coburg Square. Let us now explore the parts which lie behind it.”
「歩道を叩いてたのはどうして？」
「ほらワトソン君、これは散歩じゃなくて観察の時間だよ。
我々は敵国のスパイだ。サックスコバーグスクエアになにかがあるのは分かっている。
その後ろにあるものを見に行こう」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 410
The road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the corner from the retired Saxe-Coburg Square presented as great a contrast to it as the front of a picture does to the back.
我々がいた道はサックスコバーグスクエアの角を曲がったところにあり,
写真の前面と裏側は大きく異なっているのと同じようだった。
（ちょっと難しすぎの文）
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 411
It was one of the main arteries which conveyed the traffic of the City to the north and west.
それは、シティの交通を北と西へ運ぶ主要道路の一つだった。
artery n. 動脈、主要水路、幹線
convey v. 運ぶ、運搬する
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 412
The roadway was blocked with the immense stream of commerce flowing in a double tide inward and outward, while the footpaths were black with the hurrying swarm of pedestrians.
道路は内部へ外部へと向かう商用車の大きな２つの流れでいっぱいで、
歩道もまた急ぎ足の歩行者で真っ黒だった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 413
It was difficult to realise as we looked at the line of fine shops and stately business premises that they really abutted on the other side upon the faded and stagnant square which we had just quitted.
良さげな店舗や立派なオフィスの並びをみると
我々がさっきまでいた古ぼけた人気のない広場にその裏側が本当に隣接しているとは
分かるのが難しかった。
asからが挿入句になってるようで、構文が取れなかった。weblio見た。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 414
“Let me see,” said Holmes, standing at the corner and glancing along the line, “I should like just to remember the order of the houses here. It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of London.
「ほらちょっと」とホームズは言って角に立ち、通りの並びを見つめた。
「この家々の並び順を覚えておこう。ロンドンの細かな知識を得るのが趣味なんだ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 415
There is Mortimer’s, the tobacconist, the little newspaper shop, the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank, the Vegetarian Restaurant, and McFarlane’s carriage-building depot. That carries us right on to the other block.
モーティマーの店に煙草屋、小さな新聞スタンド、シティおよび郊外銀行のコバーグ支店、
ベジタリアンレストラン、マクファーレンの馬車乗り場があった。
そして別のブロックに続いていた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 416
And now, Doctor, we’ve done our work, so it’s time we had some play.
ではドクター、仕事は終わったから、もう楽しむ時間だね。
it’s timeの後が過去形なのは仮定法で、もうすでにしててもいいのにまだしていないので仮定法のよう。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 417
A sandwich and a cup of coffee, and then off to violin-land, where all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony, and there are no red-headed clients to vex us with their conundrums.”
サンドイッチとコーヒー、それからバイオリンの世界に行こう。
甘く繊細なハーモニー、難題で悩ます赤毛連盟は居ないさ。
vex v.苛立たす ラテン語由来
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 418
My friend was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a very capable performer but a composer of no ordinary merit.
私の友は熱心な音楽家で、有能な演奏家であるだけでなく
非凡な作曲家でもあった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 419
All the afternoon he sat in the stalls wrapped in the most perfect happiness, gently waving his long, thin fingers in time to the music,
午後中、彼は椅子に座ってほとんど完璧な幸せに包まれていた。
その長く細い指を音楽に合わせて振りながら。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 420
while his gently smiling face and his languid, dreamy eyes were as unlike those of Holmes the sleuth-hound, Holmes the relentless, keen-witted, ready-handed criminal agent, as it was possible to conceive.
優しく微笑んだ顔に物憂い夢心地の目は
狩猟犬のようにするどいホームズ、冷徹なホームズ、
機知に富んだ機敏な犯罪捜査官を想像するのは難しいほど
違っていた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 421
In his singular character the dual nature alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and astuteness represented, as I have often thought, the reaction against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally predominated in him.
彼の１人格の中の２つの性質は交互に現れ、
いつも思うが詩的で瞑想的な気分がしばしば起きることへの反動で
その究極の正確性と辣腕さが示されているのだ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 422
The swing of his nature took him from extreme languor to devouring energy; and, as I knew well, he was never so truly formidable as when, for days on end, he had been lounging in his armchair amid his improvisations and his black-letter editions.
その性質が酷い物憂げさからエネルギッシュさまで揺れ動き、
私には馴染み深いが何日も肘掛け椅子で物思いにふけり、即興演奏と古いゴシック文字の書物に包まれているときには
決して本当に手ごわい人間にはならない。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 423
Then it was that the lust of the chase would suddenly come upon him, and that his brilliant reasoning power would rise to the level of intuition,
それから探求への渇望が突然現れ、彼の輝かしい論理的な能力が
直感のレベルまで上がり、
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 424
until those who were unacquainted with his methods would look askance at him as on a man whose knowledge was not that of other mortals.
彼のやり方を知らない人は彼の知識が他の人々とは異なることに
疑いの目で見たりする。
文章長くて難しすぎ
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 425
When I saw him that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. James’s Hall I felt that an evil time might be coming upon those whom he had set himself to hunt down.
その日の午後にセント・ジェームスホールで
音楽に包まれた彼を見た時、
彼が狙いを定めた人間にはこれから不運な時間がやってくるのだろうと感じた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 426
“You want to go home, no doubt, Doctor,” he remarked as we emerged.
“Yes, it would be as well.”
「ドクター、家に帰りたいんだろ」外に出た時ホームズは言った。
「そうだね、それもいい」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 427
“And I have some business to do which will take some hours. This business at Coburg Square is serious.”
“Why serious?”
「ちょっと時間のかかりそうな仕事があるんだ。
このコバーグスクエアの件は深刻だよ」
「どうして深刻なんだい？」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 428
“A considerable crime is in contemplation. I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it. But to-day being Saturday rather complicates matters. I shall want your help to-night.”
「大きな犯罪が計画中なんだ。
その犯罪を止めるのに間に合うと確信できる沢山の理由がある。
しかし今日は土曜であり、一層物事を複雑にする。
今夜手伝ってくれるかい」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 429
“At what time?”
“Ten will be early enough.”
“I shall be at Baker Street at ten.”
「何時に？」
「10時で充分だ」
「では10時にベーカー街に行くよ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 430
“Very well. And, I say, Doctor, there may be some little danger, so kindly put your army revolver in your pocket.” He waved his hand, turned on his heel, and disappeared in an instant among the crowd.
「いいね。それからワトソン君、ちょっとした危険があるかもしれない。
だから君の銃をポッケに忍ばせておいてくれるかい」
そして彼は手を振り踵を返して、雑踏に消えた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 431
I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbours, but I was always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings with Sherlock Holmes.
私は隣人たちより鈍いとは思わないが
しかしシャーロックホームズと付き合っているといつも
自分のバカさ加減に悩まされる。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 432
Here I had heard what he had heard, I had seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it was evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened but what was about to happen, while to me the whole business was still confused and grotesque.
彼が聞いたことは私も聞いており、彼の見たものは私も見ているが
彼の言葉からは何が起き、何が起きようとしているのかがはっきりと分かっているようだ。
一方の私といえば、さっぱり分からないし奇妙に思えるだけなのだ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 433
As I drove home to my house in Kensington I thought over it all, from the extraordinary story of the red-headed copier of the Encyclopedia down to the visit to Saxe-Coburg Square, and the ominous words with which he had parted from me.
ケンジントンの家へ帰る道すがら、よくよく考えた。
このおかしな赤毛連盟の辞書写しの話から、サックスコバーグスクエア探訪に
別れ際の不吉な言葉まで。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 434
What was this nocturnal expedition, and why should I go armed? Where were we going, and what were we to do?
この夜の冒険は何だろうか？
なぜ銃を持つのか？
どこに行くのか、何をするのか？
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 435
I had the hint from Holmes that this smooth-faced pawnbroker’s assistant was a formidable man?a man who might play a deep game.
あのツルっとした顔の質屋のアシスタントが酷い男で
底知れぬことを企てているかもしれないという
ヒントはホームズから得た。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 436
I tried to puzzle it out, but gave it up in despair and set the matter aside until night should bring an explanation.
この謎を解こうと試みたが落胆して諦め、
夜には説明がつくであろうこの問題を置いておいた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 437
It was a quarter-past nine when I started from home and made my way across the Park, and so through Oxford Street to Baker Street.
9時15分過ぎに家を出て、パークを横切り
オックスフォード通りを抜けてベーカー街へ向かった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 438
Two hansoms were standing at the door, and as I entered the passage I heard the sound of voices from above.
ドア前に２台の辻馬車が止まっており
私が通路に踏み入れた時、上から声が聞こえた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 439
On entering his room, I found Holmes in animated conversation with two men, one of whom I recognised as Peter Jones, the official police agent, while the other was a long, thin, sad-faced man, with a very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frock-coat.
部屋に入るとホームズは2人の男性と話をしていた。
1人はピーター・ジョーンズで警察官だった。
もう1人は長身で痩せた、暗い顔の男で煌びやかな帽子と
威圧的で質の良いフロックコートを着ていた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 440
“Ha! Our party is complete,” said Holmes, buttoning up his pea-jacket and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack.
「うん、我々のチームが出来上がったね」とピーコートのボタンを閉め、
棚から重いハンティング・スティックを取りながら
ホームズは言った。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 441
“Watson, I think you know Mr. Jones, of Scotland Yard? Let me introduce you to Mr. Merryweather, who is to be our companion in to-night’s adventure.”
「ワトソン君、スコットランドヤードのジョーンズ氏は知っているよね。
メリー・ウェザー氏を紹介するよ。今夜の冒険に同行してくれるんだ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 442
“We’re hunting in couples again, Doctor, you see,” said Jones in his consequential way. “Our friend here is a wonderful man for starting a chase. All he wants is an old dog to help him to do the running down.”
「ほら、また一緒にハンティングだよ、ドクター」とジョーンズ氏はその尊大ぶった言い方で言った。
「この友は追跡を始めるにはもってこいの男だ。
彼が必要なのはやっつけるのを手伝ってくれる老犬だけだね」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 443
“I hope a wild goose may not prove to be the end of our chase,” observed Mr. Merryweather gloomily.
「野生のカモを捕まえて終わりってことにならないように願いたいね」
メリー・ウェザー氏が重々しく行った。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 444
“You may place considerable confidence in Mr. Holmes, sir,” said the police agent loftily.
「ホームズ氏にかなりの信頼を置いているのかもしれませんが」と警官は傲慢に言った。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 445
“He has his own little methods, which are, if he won’t mind my saying so, just a little too theoretical and fantastic, but he has the makings of a detective in him.
「彼にはちょっとした独自のやり方があるが
私に言わせてもらえばあまりに空論で奇妙だ。
しかし彼は探偵の素質がある。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 446
It is not too much to say that once or twice, as in that business of the Sholto murder and the Agra treasure, he has been more nearly correct than the official force.”
ショルト殺人事件やアグラの財宝事件では
警察ほりもよほど正確だったと
一度や2度そう言っても言い過ぎじゃないだろう。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 447
“Oh, if you say so, Mr. Jones, it is all right,” said the stranger with deference. “Still, I confess that I miss my rubber. It is the first Saturday night for seven-and-twenty years that I have not had my rubber.”
「ジョーンズさん、それでしたら大丈夫です」
とその見知らぬ人は同意した。
「それでも実はブリッジの勝負を逃してるのですよ。
27年間で初めての土曜ですよ、ブリッジをしなかったのは」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 448
“I think you will find,” said Sherlock Holmes, “that you will play for a higher stake to-night than you have ever done yet, and that the play will be more exciting.
「じきに分かりますよ」ホームズは言った。
「今夜、いままで経験したことがないくらいの大きなゲームになるってね。
最高に刺激的ですよ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 449
For you, Mr. Merryweather, the stake will be some ? 30,000; and for you, Jones, it will be the man upon whom you wish to lay your hands.”
メリーウェザーさん、あなたの賞金は3万ポンドにもなりますよ。
そしてジョーンズさん、あなたが手に掛けたいと願っている男がいるはずですよ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 450
“John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger. He’s a young man, Mr. Merryweather, but he is at the head of his profession, and I would rather have my bracelets on him than on any criminal in London.
「ジョン・クレイ、殺人者で窃盗、模造、偽造。
若い男ですよ、メリーウェザーさん、
しかし一味のリーダーで、ロンドンのいかなる犯罪者よりも
私は彼に手錠をかけたいのですよ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 451
He’s a remarkable man, is young John Clay. His grandfather was a royal duke, and he himself has been to Eton and Oxford.
彼は非凡な男で、若きジョン・クレイです。
祖父は公爵で、彼自身はイートン校とオックスフォード大学に行った。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 452
His brain is as cunning as his fingers, and though we meet signs of him at every turn, we never know where to find the man himself.
彼の頭脳はその指と同じように器用で、
事あるごとに彼の印に遭遇するのだが
彼自身がどこにいるのかは分からないんだ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 453
He’ll crack a crib in Scotland one week, and be raising money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next. I’ve been on his track for years and have never set eyes on him yet.”
彼はある週にスコットランドで貯蔵庫破りをした。
そして次にコーンウェルで孤児院を作るための資金を集めている。
私は何年も彼を追っているが、まだ彼を見たことがない。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 454
“I hope that I may have the pleasure of introducing you to-night. I’ve had one or two little turns also with Mr. John Clay, and I agree with you that he is at the head of his profession.
「今夜、あなたに紹介できるよう願ってますよ。
ジョン・クレイ氏とはちょっとした急場が１つ２つありましたが
彼がその道のリーダーということには同意しますからね。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 455
It is past ten, however, and quite time that we started. If you two will take the first hansom, Watson and I will follow in the second.”
しかし10時過ぎだ。だいぶ時間がたちましたね。
お2人は最初の馬車に、ワトソン君と私は２台目に乗ろう」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 456
Sherlock Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive and lay back in the cab humming the tunes which he had heard in the afternoon.
長いドライブの間、シャーロックホームズはあまり喋らず、
深く座ってその日の午後に聞いた音楽を口ずさんでいた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 457
We rattled through an endless labyrinth of gas-lit streets until we emerged into Farrington Street.
ファーリントン通りまでガス灯の灯る終わりなき迷宮のような道を
ガタガタと揺られていった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 458
“We are close there now,” my friend remarked. “This fellow Merryweather is a bank director, and personally interested in the matter. I thought it as well to have Jones with us also.
「もうすぐだよ」とホームズは言った。
「友人のメリーウェザーさんは銀行の頭取で
個人的にこの件に興味がある。
ジョーンズさんもそうだろうと思ったんだ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 459
He is not a bad fellow, though an absolute imbecile in his profession. He has one positive virtue. He is as brave as a bulldog and as tenacious as a lobster if he gets his claws upon anyone.
彼は悪い奴ではないんだが、仕事においては全くの無能だね。
良い所もある。
一度誰かを掴んだらブルドッグみたいに勇敢だし、ロブスターみたいに粘り強い。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 460
Here we are, and they are waiting for us.”
ほら付いた、我々を待ってるよ」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 461
We had reached the same crowded thoroughfare in which we had found ourselves in the morning.
午前中に来た、同じ混みあった通りに我々は到着した。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 462
Our cabs were dismissed, and, following the guidance of Mr. Merryweather, we passed down a narrow passage and through a side door, which he opened for us.
馬車は去り、メリーウェザー氏の誘導に従って細い小道を通り
彼があけてくれた通用口を抜けた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 463
Within there was a small corridor, which ended in a very massive iron gate. This also was opened, and led down a flight of winding stone steps, which terminated at another formidable gate.
中には重い鉄の門に続く小さな回廊があった。
門も開いており、曲がりくねった石の階段があり、別の恐ろしいような門で終わっていた。
—
flight n.飛行、飛ぶこと、一続きの階段
flightに階段という意外な意味があった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 464
Mr. Merryweather stopped to light a lantern, and then conducted us down a dark, earth-smelling passage, and so, after opening a third door, into a huge vault or cellar, which was piled all round with crates and massive boxes.
メリーウェザー氏はランタンを灯すために立ち止まり、
そして暗く土臭い通路へ我々を誘導した。
それから3つ目のドアを開けて大きな地下室というか貯蔵室に入った。
そこは枠箱や大きな箱が一面に積みあがっていた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 465
“You are not very vulnerable from above,” Holmes remarked as he held up the lantern and gazed about him.
「あなたは上からの攻撃に弱くはないですね」と
ホームズはランタンをかざして彼を見つめて言った。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 466
“Nor from below,” said Mr. Merryweather, striking his stick upon the flags which lined the floor. “Why, dear me, it sounds quite hollow!” he remarked, looking up in surprise.
「下からも大丈夫」とメリーウェザー氏が言って
ステッキで床にある旗をつっついた。
「おや、あれ、空洞の音じゃないか！」と驚いて言った。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 467
“I must really ask you to be a little more quiet!” said Holmes severely. “You have already imperilled the whole success of our expedition.
「もう少し静かにできませんかね！」ぴしゃりとホームズは言った。
「すでにこの探検の成功を危うくしてますよ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 468
Might I beg that you would have the goodness to sit down upon one of those boxes, and not to interfere?”
その辺の箱に座ってじっとしててもらってもいいですかね？
で邪魔しないでもらえますかね」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 469
The solemn Mr. Merryweather perched himself upon a crate, with a very injured expression upon his face, while Holmes fell upon his knees upon the floor and, with the lantern and a magnifying lens, began to examine minutely the cracks between the stones.
真面目なメリーウェザー氏は箱に座り、ひどく傷ついた表情を浮かべた。
ホームズはというと床に膝をつきランタンと拡大鏡で石の間の割れ目を細かく調べ始めた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 470
A few seconds sufficed to satisfy him, for he sprang to his feet again and put his glass in his pocket.
ほんの数秒で彼は満足し、再び立ち上がって
ポケットに眼鏡をしまった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 471
“We have at least an hour before us,” he remarked, “for they can hardly take any steps until the good pawnbroker is safely in bed.
「少なくともまだ1時間はあります。
善良なる質屋が平和に眠りにつくまでは、彼らは何も出来ませんからね」
—
時間がbefore usにある、というのが分からんかったのでweblio見た。
こういうのが分かるようになる日は来るのかしら
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 472
Then they will not lose a minute, for the sooner they do their work the longer time they will have for their escape.
それと彼らは1分たりとも無駄にできませんよ。
作業を迅速に行えば、それだけ逃げる時間が出来ますから。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 473
We are at present, Doctor-as no doubt you have divined-in the cellar of the City branch of one of the principal London banks.
僕たちは今、ワトソン君、君が見抜いているように
ロンドンの主要銀行の一つ、そのシティ支店の地下室にいる。
(weblioで訳みてようやくわかった。構文でちゃんと考えないとダメだな)
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 474
Mr. Merryweather is the chairman of directors, and he will explain to you that there are reasons why the more daring criminals of London should take a considerable interest in this cellar at present.”
メリーウェザー氏はその頭取で、大胆なロンドンの犯罪者が
どうして今この地下室に大きな興味を持っているのか
説明してくれるよ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 475
“It is our French gold,” whispered the director. “We have had several warnings that an attempt might be made upon it.”
“Your French gold?”
「我々のフランスのゴールドなんです」頭取は呟いた。
「なんらかの企みが起きるかもしれないと複数の警告を受けたのです」
「フランスのゴールドですか？」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 476
“Yes. We had occasion some months ago to strengthen our resources and borrowed for that purpose 30,000 napoleons from the Bank of France.
「ああ、数か月前にリソースを強化する機会があり、
そのためフランス銀行から3万ナポレオン金貨を借り入れした。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 477
It has become known that we have never had occasion to unpack the money, and that it is still lying in our cellar. The crate upon which I sit contains 2,000 napoleons packed between layers of lead foil.
その金をまだ開封しておらず、我々の金庫に眠っていることが広まった。
私が座っているこの箱には鉛箔の仕切りの間に2千枚のナポレオン金貨が入っている。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 478
Our reserve of bullion is much larger at present than is usually kept in a single branch office, and the directors have had misgivings upon the subject.”
1支店にある準備金としては現在、通常よりもかなり多いのです。
そして局長らはそのことで心配していた。
bullion n.金、金かい
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 479
“Which were very well justified,” observed Holmes. “And now it is time that we arranged our little plans. I expect that within an hour matters will come to a head.
「それはとてももっともなことです」ホームズは言った。
「そしていま、ちょっとした計画を準備する時がきました。
一時間以内に事は起きると見ています。
come to a head 機が熟す、危機に陥る
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 480
In the meantime Mr. Merryweather, we must put the screen over that dark lantern.”
“And sit in the dark?”
メリーウェザーさん、それまでその暗いランタンに
カバーをかけておきましょう」
「暗闇の中で座っているというのか？」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 481
“I am afraid so. I had brought a pack of cards in my pocket, and I thought that, as we were a partie carree, you might have your rubber after all.
「ええ、残念ながら。トランプをポッケに入れてきたのですが
2人組がふたつできますから、3番勝負でも出来ると思いまして。
rubber 1.ゴム（その他いろいろあり） 2．三番勝負
carree 仏語 四角、２乗など
weblio翻訳見た。自力では無理だ
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 482
But I see that the enemy’s preparations have gone so far that we cannot risk the presence of a light. And, first of all, we must choose our positions.
しかし敵の準備も今までのところ進んでいますから
灯りを付けておくリスクは取れませんね。
そして始めに我々の立ち位置を決めなければなりません。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 483
These are daring men, and though we shall take them at a disadvantage, they may do us some harm unless we are careful. I shall stand behind this crate, and do you conceal yourselves behind those.
大胆なやつらですし、彼らを不利な立場に追いやるにしても
気を付けなければ怪我をします。私はこの箱の後ろに立ちますから
あなたがたもその辺りの箱の後ろに隠れてください。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 484
Then, when I flash a light upon them, close in swiftly. If they fire, Watson, have no compunction about shooting them down.”
それから彼らに向けて灯りを照らすので、素早く近寄ってください。
彼らが発砲したら、ワトソン君、迷わず奴らを撃って欲しい。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 485
I placed my revolver, cocked, upon the top of the wooden case behind which I crouched. Holmes shot the slide across the front of his lantern and left us in pitch darkness-such an absolute darkness as I have never before experienced.
私は拳銃を撃鉄を引いた状態で木箱の上に置き、その後ろにしゃがみこんだ。
ホームズはランタンの前のスライド扉をサッと締めて暗闇にした。
いままで経験したことがないような完全な暗闇だ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 486
The smell of hot metal remained to assure us that the light was still there, ready to flash out at a moment’s notice.
熱い金属の匂いで灯りがまだそこにあり、即座に灯りを放てるということを
我々に伝えていた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 487
To me, with my nerves worked up to a pitch of expectancy, there was something depressing and subduing in the sudden gloom, and in the cold dank air of the vault.
私はと言えば期待で神経が高まっており
寒くジメジメした地下室が突然暗くなった中で
なにか抑圧された陰鬱な気持ちを感じていた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 488
“They have but one retreat,” whispered Holmes. “That is back through the house into Saxe-Coburg Square. I hope that you have done what I asked you, Jones?”
「逃げ道は一つしかない」とホームズはささやいた。
「家の後ろからサックスコバーグスクエアまでだ。ジョーンさん、お願いしたことは
やって頂いてますよね？」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 489
“I have an inspector and two officers waiting at the front door.”
“Then we have stopped all the holes. And now we must be silent and wait.”
「玄関口に警部1名と警官2名を配備してます」
「ではこれで全ての穴を塞いだことになる。さてでは黙って待とう」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 490
What a time it seemed! From comparing notes afterwards it was but an hour and a quarter, yet it appeared to me that the night must have almost gone, and the dawn be breaking above us.
どれだけ長く感じたことだろうか！後でメモ書きを確認してみると
1時間15分に過ぎないのだが、一晩を過ごしたかのように、
そして夜明けが訪れたように感じた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 491
My limbs were weary and stiff, for I feared to change my position; yet my nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of tension,
手足は疲れ、固くなっていた。姿勢を変えるのが怖かったからだ。
それでも神経は最高潮に緊張したまま活発に動き、
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 492
and my hearing was so acute that I could not only hear the gentle breathing of my companions, but I could distinguish the deeper, heavier in-breath of the bulky Jones from the thin, sighing note of the bank director.
聴覚は敏感になり、仲間の穏やかな呼吸の音だけでなく
頭取の微かな溜息の音と大柄なジョーンズ氏の深く重く息を吸い込む音を
聞き分けることすら出来た。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 493
From my position I could look over the case in the direction of the floor. Suddenly my eyes caught the glint of a light.
私の場所からは箱越しに床の方向が見えていた。
突然、キラリと光が見えた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 494
At first it was but a lurid spark upon the stone pavement.
最初それは石畳の上に眩く煌めいた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 495
Then it lengthened out until it became a yellow line, and then, without any warning or sound, a gash seemed to open and a hand appeared, a white, almost womanly hand, which felt about in the centre of the little area of light.
それから1本の黄色い線になるまで光は伸び、
なんの音も予兆もなしに割れ目ができ、白い、ほとんど女性のような手が現れ、
小さな光の中心で手探りしていた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 496
For a minute or more the hand, with its writhing fingers, protruded out of the floor. Then it was withdrawn as suddenly as it appeared, and all was dark again save the single lurid spark which marked a chink between the stones.
1分以上その手は指をもがくようにして床から出てきた。
それから現れたと思ったらすぐに引っ込んだ。
そしてまた全ては暗闇となり、ただ一つ煌めく光が石の割れ目を示していた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 497
Its disappearance, however, was but momentary. With a rending, tearing sound, one of the broad, white stones turned over upon its side and left a square, gaping hole, through which streamed the light of a lantern.
しかし消えていたのは一瞬だった。
割れるような、引き裂ける音と共に、大きく白い石の一つが
横向きにひっくり返って四角い割れ穴が現れ、
そこからランタンの明かりが流れ出てきた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 498
Over the edge there peeped a clean-cut, boyish face, which looked keenly about it, and then, with a hand on either side of the aperture, drew itself shoulder-high and waist-high, until one knee rested upon the edge.
端からきれいに髪を切り揃えた、少年のような顔が覗き、鋭く見回した。
それから一方の端から手が、肩の高さまで、そして腰の高さまで、膝が端に乗るまで
体を引き上げた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 499
In another instant he stood at the side of the hole and was hauling after him a companion, lithe and small like himself, with a pale face and a shock of very red hair.
次の瞬間には割れ穴の淵に立ち、続く仲間を引っ張り上げた。しなやかで彼のように小柄で、青白い顔に縮れた赤毛だった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 500
“It’s all clear,” he whispered. “Have you the chisel and the bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I’ll swing for it!”
「大丈夫だ」彼はささやいた。
「のみとカバンはあるか？よし、スコット！
ジャンプしろ、アーチー、ジャンプだ。失敗するなよ」
—
swing for it が絞首刑にする、
I can swing itができるよ、らしく
この場合は失敗したら罰という意味合いかしら。不明
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 501
Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts.
ホームズはさっと立ち上がり、侵入者の首を掴んだ。
他のものは穴に飛び込み、ジョーンズ氏が裾を握ったとき、布が破ける音がした。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 502
The light flashed upon the barrel of a revolver, but Holmes’ hunting crop came down on the man’s wrist, and the pistol clinked upon the stone floor.
銃身の上で光がきらめいたが、ホームズの馬鞭が男の腰に巻きつき、
銃は石の床へ落ちた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 503
“It’s no use, John Clay,” said Holmes blandly. “You have no chance at all.”
“So I see,” the other answered with the utmost coolness. “I fancy that my pal is all right, though I see you have got his coat-tails.”
「無駄だよ、ジョン・クレイ」ホームズは淡々と言った。
「もう全く無理だよ」
「そうか」もう一人が極めて冷静に言った。
「仲間は大丈夫だろうよ。奴のコートの切れ端を持ってるようだがね」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 504
“There are three men waiting for him at the door,” said Holmes.
“Oh, indeed! You seem to have done the thing very completely. I must compliment you.”
「ドアのところで3人が待ち構えてるよ」ホームズは言った。
「ああ、まじか！完璧にやってくれたようだね。敬意を示さないといけないな」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 505
“And I you,” Holmes answered. “Your red-headed idea was very new and effective.”
“You’ll see your pal again presently,” said Jones. “He’s quicker at climbing down holes than I am. Just hold out while I fix the derbies.”
「君もね」ホームズは答えた。
「赤毛連盟のアイディアは斬新で効果的だったね」
「ほらすぐに仲間に再開できるよ」ジョーンズは言った。
「奴は私より早く穴を降りて行ったからね。ダービーを決める間、手を出すんだ」
—
I fix the derbiesでweblioだと「手錠をかける」という翻訳が出てくるけど
derbyにはダービー（レース）とか山高帽という意味しか見つからない。
比喩的に使ってるのかなと推測
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 506
“I beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands,” remarked our prisoner as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists.
「その汚らしい手で触らないでもらえますか」と罪人は言ったが手首には手錠がガチャリと音を立てた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 507
“You may not be aware that I have royal blood in my veins. Have the goodness, also, when you address me always to say ‘sir’ and ‘please.’”
「ご存じないかもしれないが、私の血管には高貴な血が流れているんだ。
私には常に「サーSir」「お願いしますplease」と言ってくれたまえ」
—
こういうのは言語が違うと難しい
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 508
“All right,” said Jones with a stare and a snigger. “Well, would you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab to carry your Highness to the police-station?”
「分かったよ」とジョーンズ氏はじっと見つめてニヤニヤしながら言った。
「では、恐れ入りますが上まで歩いてもらえますかね。
閣下を警察にお連れする馬車を拾いましょう」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 509
“That is better,” said John Clay serenely. He made a sweeping bow to the three of us and walked quietly off in the custody of the detective.
「いいね」とジョン・クレイは静かに言った。
我々3人に軽く会釈をし、刑事に連れられて静かに出て行った。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 510
“Really, Mr. Holmes,” said Mr. Merryweather as we followed them from the cellar, “I do not know how the bank can thank you or repay you.
「ホームズさん、本当に」彼らについて地下室から出ながらメリーウェザー氏は言った。
「銀行としてはどんなにあなたに感謝したらいいか、お礼をしたらよいのか分かりませんよ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 511
There is no doubt that you have detected and defeated in the most complete manner one of the most determined attempts at bank robbery that have ever come within my experience.”
私がかつて経験したことのないような銀行強盗の企てを
あなたが発見して全く完璧な方法でやっつけてくれたのは疑いようもありませんからね」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 512
“I have had one or two little scores of my own to settle with Mr. John Clay,” said Holmes. “I have been at some small expense over this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund,
「ジョン・クレイ氏に清算するちょっとした借りがあったんですよ」とホームズは言った。
「この件については私の出費は少しだけで、まあそれも銀行が補填してくれると思いますが、
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 513
but beyond that I am amply repaid by having had an experience which is in many ways unique, and by hearing the very remarkable narrative of the Red-headed League.”
しかしそれ以上に、こんなに変わった点の多いユニークな経験をさせてもらえて
そして赤毛連盟のこの不思議な話を聞くことが出来て
もう充分に恩恵は受けましたね。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 514
“You see, Watson,” he explained in the early hours of the morning as we sat over a glass of whisky and soda in Baker Street,
「ほらね、ワトソン君」とベーカー街で我々はウィスキーソーダを片手に
朝の早い時間にホームズは説明した。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 515
“it was perfectly obvious from the first that the only possible object of this rather fantastic business of the advertisement of the League, and the copying of the Encyclopædia,
「最初から明らかだったんだよ。この奇妙な赤毛連盟広告に百科事典の書き写しで
ただ唯一可能性があるのは
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 516
must be to get this not over-bright pawnbroker out of the way for a number of hours every day.
毎日数時間、この決して切れ者とは言えない質屋の主人を
外に出しておくことしかないからね。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 517
It was a curious way of managing it, but, really, it would be difficult to suggest a better. The method was no doubt suggested to Clay’s ingenious mind by the colour of his accomplice’s hair.
非常に興味深いやり方だったね。しかし本当に、他にこれ以上いい方法なんて思いつかないよ。
クレイ氏の共犯者の髪の色からこの想像力溢れる方法を思い付いたに違いないね。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 518
The £ 4 a week was a lure which must draw him, and what was it to them, who were playing for thousands?
週4ポンドは間違いなく質屋を惹きつける釣り餌だったし
数千ポンドを狙う彼らにとっては痛くもなかったよね。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 519
They put in the advertisement, one rogue has the temporary office, the other rogue incites the man to apply for it, and together they manage to secure his absence every morning in the week.
広告を出し、1人が即席の事務所を構え、もう一人は応募するようけしかけ、
一緒になって平日の毎朝、質屋が家にいないようにしむけた。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 520
From the time that I heard of the assistant having come for half wages, it was obvious to me that he had some strong motive for securing the situation.”
アシスタントが半分の給料でいいからと来たと聞いて
彼にとってそのポジションを確保することに
何らかの強い動機があることは明白だったさ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 521
“But how could you guess what the motive was?”
“Had there been women in the house, I should have suspected a mere vulgar intrigue.
「しかしどうやってその動機が分かったんだい？」
「家に女性がいたら、単なる下品な陰謀だと考えただろう。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 522
That, however, was out of the question. The man’s business was a small one, and there was nothing in his house which could account for such elaborate preparations, and such an expenditure as they were at.
しかしそれは問題外だ。
あの質屋のビジネスは小規模で家にはこんな手の込んだ準備が必要なものや、こんなにお金をかける価値があるものは何もない。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 523
It must, then, be something out of the house. What could it be? I thought of the assistant’s fondness for photography, and his trick of vanishing into the cellar. The cellar!
では家の外に何かがあるはずだ。なんだろう？
アシスタントの写真の趣味について考えた。
そして彼が地下室に消えていくというやり方についても。
地下室だ！
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 524
There was the end of this tangled clue. Then I made inquiries as to this mysterious assistant and found that I had to deal with one of the coolest and most daring criminals in London.
もつれた手掛かりの終端だ。
それからこの謎のアシスタントの調査をし、
ロンドンで最も冷静で大胆不敵な犯罪に取り組まなければならないことが分かった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 525
He was doing something in the cellar—something which took many hours a day for months on end. What could it be, once more?
奴は地下室で何かをしていたんだ。
毎日毎日何時間も、数か月もかかる何かを。
一体何だろう？
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 526
I could think of nothing save that he was running a tunnel to some other building.
他の建物へのトンネルを走ってるってこと以外には
思いつかなかったよ。
save 前置詞：－を除いて
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 527
“So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action. I surprised you by beating upon the pavement with my stick.
ここまで分かってからこの現場を訪れた。
杖で歩道を叩いて君を驚かせただろ。
—-
so far-whenが分からなかった。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 528
I was ascertaining whether the cellar stretched out in front or behind. It was not in front. Then I rang the bell, and, as I hoped, the assistant answered it.
地下室が前方に広がっているのか、後方なのか確かめたんだ。
前方ではなかった。
それからベルを鳴らして、期待通りにアシスタントが返事をした。
ascertain v.確かめる、突き止める
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 529
We have had some skirmishes, but we had never set eyes upon each other before. I hardly looked at his face. His knees were what I wished to see. You must yourself have remarked how worn, wrinkled, and stained they were.
彼とは何度か小競り合いをしていたが、でも互いに視線を合わせたことはなかった。
彼の顔はほぼ見たことがなかった。
彼の膝を見たかったんだ。擦り切れてシワが寄り、汚れていたのに気が付いたはずだ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 530
They spoke of those hours of burrowing. The only remaining point was what they were burrowing for. I walked round the corner, saw the City and Suburban Bank abutted on our friend’s premises, and felt that I had solved my problem.
その何時間も掘っていたということさ。
残る疑問は何のために掘っているのかということだ。
角のあたりを歩いて、シティ＆郊外銀行があの敷地に隣接しているのが分かった。
それで謎は解けたと思ったのさ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 531
When you drove home after the concert I called upon Scotland Yard and upon the chairman of the bank directors, with the result that you have seen.”
コンサートの後、君が帰ってからスコットランドヤードと銀行の頭取に連絡したんだ。
君が見た情報と共にね。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 532
“And how could you tell that they would make their attempt to-night?” I asked.
“Well, when they closed their League offices that was a sign that they cared no longer about Mr. Jabez Wilson’s presence
「で一体どうして今夜決行するって分かったんだい？」私は尋ねた。
「ああ、赤毛連盟の事務所が閉まっただろう。あれはジャベス・ウィルソン氏の存在をもはや
気にしなくていいということだ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 533
—in other words, that they had completed their tunnel. But it was essential that they should use it soon, as it might be discovered, or the bullion might be removed.
つまり、トンネルが完成したんだ。
見つからないうちに、すぐに使うだろうことは明らかだった。金塊も移動されると困るしね。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 534
Saturday would suit them better than any other day, as it would give them two days for their escape. For all these reasons I expected them to come to-night.”
特に土曜がいいだろう、逃げるのに2日使えるからね。
こういったことを考えて、僕は今夜やるとおもったのさ。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 535
“You reasoned it out beautifully,” I exclaimed in unfeigned admiration. “It is so long a chain, and yet every link rings true.”
「見事に解き明かしたね」私は心からの賞賛を込めて言った。
「とても長い鎖で、それぞれの輪から真実が鳴り響いている」
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 536
“It saved me from ennui,” he answered, yawning. “Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence.
「退屈しのぎにはなったね」あくびをしながらホームズは言った。
「ああ、また退屈がやってくるよ。
僕の人生は平凡な存在というものから逃れようという長い努力に費やされているからね。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 537
These little problems help me to do so.”
“And you are a benefactor of the race,” said I.
こういったちょっとした事件は退屈しのぎに役立つのさ」
「そして君は人類の恩人でもあるわけだね」
—-
the raceが今回の事件(競争）を指してるのかと思ったけど
weblioでは人類にしてたので、人類を採用
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 538
He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, perhaps, after all, it is of some little use,” he remarked.
ホームズは肩をすくめ、「ああ、たぶん、少しは役に立ってるかもね」と言った。
#SherlockHolmes #シャーロック・ホームズ 539
“‘L’homme c’est rien—l’œuvre c’est tout,’ as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand.”
「Man is nothing – work is everything（人は何物でもなく、仕事がすべて）、
ギュスターヴ・フローベールがジョルジュ・サンドに書き送っているとおりだ」
完
フローベールはフランスの作家。著書に『ボヴァリー夫人』
サンドもフランスの作家で初期フェミニストでリストやショパンとも関係
英語（原文）での赤毛連盟
II.
THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE
I had called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, one day in the autumn of last year and found him in deep conversation with a very stout, florid-faced, elderly gentleman with fiery red hair. With an apology for my intrusion, I was about to withdraw when Holmes pulled me abruptly into the room and closed the door behind me.
“You could not possibly have come at a better time, my dear Watson,” he said cordially.
“I was afraid that you were engaged.”
“So I am. Very much so.”
“Then I can wait in the next room.”
“Not at all. This gentleman, Mr. Wilson, has been my partner and helper in many of my most successful cases, and I have no doubt that he will be of the utmost use to me in yours also.”
The stout gentleman half rose from his chair and gave a bob of greeting, with a quick little questioning glance from his small fat-encircled eyes.
“Try the settee,” said Holmes, relapsing into his armchair and putting his fingertips together, as was his custom when in judicial moods. “I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love of all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum routine of everyday life. You have shown your relish for it by the enthusiasm which has prompted you to chronicle, and, if you will excuse my saying so, somewhat to embellish so many of my own little adventures.”
“Your cases have indeed been of the greatest interest to me,” I observed.
“You will remember that I remarked the other day, just before we went into the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary Sutherland, that for strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.”
“A proposition which I took the liberty of doubting.”
“You did, Doctor, but none the less you must come round to my view, for otherwise I shall keep on piling fact upon fact on you until your reason breaks down under them and acknowledges me to be right. Now, Mr. Jabez Wilson here has been good enough to call upon me this morning, and to begin a narrative which promises to be one of the most singular which I have listened to for some time. You have heard me remark that the strangest and most unique things are very often connected not with the larger but with the smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed, where there is room for doubt whether any positive crime has been committed. As far as I have heard, it is impossible for me to say whether the present case is an instance of crime or not, but the course of events is certainly among the most singular that I have ever listened to. Perhaps, Mr. Wilson, you would have the great kindness to recommence your narrative. I ask you not merely because my friend Dr. Watson has not heard the opening part but also because the peculiar nature of the story makes me anxious to have every possible detail from your lips. As a rule, when I have heard some slight indication of the course of events, I am able to guide myself by the thousands of other similar cases which occur to my memory. In the present instance I am forced to admit that the facts are, to the best of my belief, unique.”
The portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance of some little pride and pulled a dirty and wrinkled newspaper from the inside pocket of his greatcoat. As he glanced down the advertisement column, with his head thrust forward and the paper flattened out upon his knee, I took a good look at the man and endeavoured, after the fashion of my companion, to read the indications which might be presented by his dress or appearance.
I did not gain very much, however, by my inspection. Our visitor bore every mark of being an average commonplace British tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow. He wore rather baggy grey shepherd’s check trousers, a not over-clean black frock-coat, unbuttoned in the front, and a drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy Albert chain, and a square pierced bit of metal dangling down as an ornament. A frayed top-hat and a faded brown overcoat with a wrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair beside him. Altogether, look as I would, there was nothing remarkable about the man save his blazing red head, and the expression of extreme chagrin and discontent upon his features.
Sherlock Holmes’ quick eye took in my occupation, and he shook his head with a smile as he noticed my questioning glances. “Beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual labour, that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, that he has been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of writing lately, I can deduce nothing else.”
Mr. Jabez Wilson started up in his chair, with his forefinger upon the paper, but his eyes upon my companion.
“How, in the name of good-fortune, did you know all that, Mr. Holmes?” he asked. “How did you know, for example, that I did manual labour. It’s as true as gospel, for I began as a ship’s carpenter.”
“Your hands, my dear sir. Your right hand is quite a size larger than your left. You have worked with it, and the muscles are more developed.”
“Well, the snuff, then, and the Freemasonry?”
“I won’t insult your intelligence by telling you how I read that, especially as, rather against the strict rules of your order, you use an arc-and-compass breastpin.”
“Ah, of course, I forgot that. But the writing?”
“What else can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny for five inches, and the left one with the smooth patch near the elbow where you rest it upon the desk?”
“Well, but China?”
“The fish that you have tattooed immediately above your right wrist could only have been done in China. I have made a small study of tattoo marks and have even contributed to the literature of the subject. That trick of staining the fishes’ scales of a delicate pink is quite peculiar to China. When, in addition, I see a Chinese coin hanging from your watch-chain, the matter becomes even more simple.”
Mr. Jabez Wilson laughed heavily. “Well, I never!” said he. “I thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see that there was nothing in it after all.”
“I begin to think, Watson,” said Holmes, “that I make a mistake in explaining. ‘Omne ignotum pro magnifico,’ you know, and my poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I am so candid. Can you not find the advertisement, Mr. Wilson?”
“Yes, I have got it now,” he answered with his thick red finger planted halfway down the column. “Here it is. This is what began it all. You just read it for yourself, sir.”
I took the paper from him and read as follows:
“TO THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE: On account of the bequest of the late Ezekiah Hopkins, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., there is now another vacancy open which entitles a member of the League to a salary of £ 4 a week for purely nominal services. All red-headed men who are sound in body and mind and above the age of twenty-one years, are eligible. Apply in person on Monday, at eleven o’clock, to Duncan Ross, at the offices of the League, 7 Pope’s Court, Fleet Street.”
“What on earth does this mean?” I ejaculated after I had twice read over the extraordinary announcement.
Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his habit when in high spirits. “It is a little off the beaten track, isn’t it?” said he. “And now, Mr. Wilson, off you go at scratch and tell us all about yourself, your household, and the effect which this advertisement had upon your fortunes. You will first make a note, Doctor, of the paper and the date.”
“It is The Morning Chronicle of April 27, 1890. Just two months ago.”
“Very good. Now, Mr. Wilson?”
“Well, it is just as I have been telling you, Mr. Sherlock Holmes,” said Jabez Wilson, mopping his forehead; “I have a small pawnbroker’s business at Coburg Square, near the City. It’s not a very large affair, and of late years it has not done more than just give me a living. I used to be able to keep two assistants, but now I only keep one; and I would have a job to pay him but that he is willing to come for half wages so as to learn the business.”
“What is the name of this obliging youth?” asked Sherlock Holmes.
“His name is Vincent Spaulding, and he’s not such a youth, either. It’s hard to say his age. I should not wish a smarter assistant, Mr. Holmes; and I know very well that he could better himself and earn twice what I am able to give him. But, after all, if he is satisfied, why should I put ideas in his head?”
“Why, indeed? You seem most fortunate in having an employé who comes under the full market price. It is not a common experience among employers in this age. I don’t know that your assistant is not as remarkable as your advertisement.”
“Oh, he has his faults, too,” said Mr. Wilson. “Never was such a fellow for photography. Snapping away with a camera when he ought to be improving his mind, and then diving down into the cellar like a rabbit into its hole to develop his pictures. That is his main fault, but on the whole he’s a good worker. There’s no vice in him.”
“He is still with you, I presume?”
“Yes, sir. He and a girl of fourteen, who does a bit of simple cooking and keeps the place clean—that’s all I have in the house, for I am a widower and never had any family. We live very quietly, sir, the three of us; and we keep a roof over our heads and pay our debts, if we do nothing more.
“The first thing that put us out was that advertisement. Spaulding, he came down into the office just this day eight weeks, with this very paper in his hand, and he says:
“‘I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a red-headed man.’
“‘Why that?’ I asks.
“‘Why,’ says he, ‘here’s another vacancy on the League of the Red-headed Men. It’s worth quite a little fortune to any man who gets it, and I understand that there are more vacancies than there are men, so that the trustees are at their wits’ end what to do with the money. If my hair would only change colour, here’s a nice little crib all ready for me to step into.’
“‘Why, what is it, then?’ I asked. You see, Mr. Holmes, I am a very stay-at-home man, and as my business came to me instead of my having to go to it, I was often weeks on end without putting my foot over the door-mat. In that way I didn’t know much of what was going on outside, and I was always glad of a bit of news.
“‘Have you never heard of the League of the Red-headed Men?’ he asked with his eyes open.
“‘Never.’
“‘Why, I wonder at that, for you are eligible yourself for one of the vacancies.’
“‘And what are they worth?’ I asked.
“‘Oh, merely a couple of hundred a year, but the work is slight, and it need not interfere very much with one’s other occupations.’
“Well, you can easily think that that made me prick up my ears, for the business has not been over good for some years, and an extra couple of hundred would have been very handy.
“‘Tell me all about it,’ said I.
“‘Well,’ said he, showing me the advertisement, ‘you can see for yourself that the League has a vacancy, and there is the address where you should apply for particulars. As far as I can make out, the League was founded by an American millionaire, Ezekiah Hopkins, who was very peculiar in his ways. He was himself red-headed, and he had a great sympathy for all red-headed men; so, when he died, it was found that he had left his enormous fortune in the hands of trustees, with instructions to apply the interest to the providing of easy berths to men whose hair is of that colour. From all I hear it is splendid pay and very little to do.’
“‘But,’ said I, ‘there would be millions of red-headed men who would apply.’
“‘Not so many as you might think,’ he answered. ‘You see it is really confined to Londoners, and to grown men. This American had started from London when he was young, and he wanted to do the old town a good turn. Then, again, I have heard it is no use your applying if your hair is light red, or dark red, or anything but real bright, blazing, fiery red. Now, if you cared to apply, Mr. Wilson, you would just walk in; but perhaps it would hardly be worth your while to put yourself out of the way for the sake of a few hundred pounds.’
“Now, it is a fact, gentlemen, as you may see for yourselves, that my hair is of a very full and rich tint, so that it seemed to me that if there was to be any competition in the matter I stood as good a chance as any man that I had ever met. Vincent Spaulding seemed to know so much about it that I thought he might prove useful, so I just ordered him to put up the shutters for the day and to come right away with me. He was very willing to have a holiday, so we shut the business up and started off for the address that was given us in the advertisement.
“I never hope to see such a sight as that again, Mr. Holmes. From north, south, east, and west every man who had a shade of red in his hair had tramped into the city to answer the advertisement. Fleet Street was choked with red-headed folk, and Pope’s Court looked like a coster’s orange barrow. I should not have thought there were so many in the whole country as were brought together by that single advertisement. Every shade of colour they were—straw, lemon, orange, brick, Irish-setter, liver, clay; but, as Spaulding said, there were not many who had the real vivid flame-coloured tint. When I saw how many were waiting, I would have given it up in despair; but Spaulding would not hear of it. How he did it I could not imagine, but he pushed and pulled and butted until he got me through the crowd, and right up to the steps which led to the office. There was a double stream upon the stair, some going up in hope, and some coming back dejected; but we wedged in as well as we could and soon found ourselves in the office.”
“Your experience has been a most entertaining one,” remarked Holmes as his client paused and refreshed his memory with a huge pinch of snuff. “Pray continue your very interesting statement.”
“There was nothing in the office but a couple of wooden chairs and a deal table, behind which sat a small man with a head that was even redder than mine. He said a few words to each candidate as he came up, and then he always managed to find some fault in them which would disqualify them. Getting a vacancy did not seem to be such a very easy matter, after all. However, when our turn came the little man was much more favourable to me than to any of the others, and he closed the door as we entered, so that he might have a private word with us.
“‘This is Mr. Jabez Wilson,’ said my assistant, ‘and he is willing to fill a vacancy in the League.’
“‘And he is admirably suited for it,’ the other answered. ‘He has every requirement. I cannot recall when I have seen anything so fine.’ He took a step backward, cocked his head on one side, and gazed at my hair until I felt quite bashful. Then suddenly he plunged forward, wrung my hand, and congratulated me warmly on my success.
“‘It would be injustice to hesitate,’ said he. ‘You will, however, I am sure, excuse me for taking an obvious precaution.’ With that he seized my hair in both his hands, and tugged until I yelled with the pain. ‘There is water in your eyes,’ said he as he released me. ‘I perceive that all is as it should be. But we have to be careful, for we have twice been deceived by wigs and once by paint. I could tell you tales of cobbler’s wax which would disgust you with human nature.’ He stepped over to the window and shouted through it at the top of his voice that the vacancy was filled. A groan of disappointment came up from below, and the folk all trooped away in different directions until there was not a red-head to be seen except my own and that of the manager.
“‘My name,’ said he, ‘is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. Are you a married man, Mr. Wilson? Have you a family?’
“I answered that I had not.
“His face fell immediately.
“‘Dear me!’ he said gravely, ‘that is very serious indeed! I am sorry to hear you say that. The fund was, of course, for the propagation and spread of the red-heads as well as for their maintenance. It is exceedingly unfortunate that you should be a bachelor.’
“My face lengthened at this, Mr. Holmes, for I thought that I was not to have the vacancy after all; but after thinking it over for a few minutes he said that it would be all right.
“‘In the case of another,’ said he, ‘the objection might be fatal, but we must stretch a point in favour of a man with such a head of hair as yours. When shall you be able to enter upon your new duties?’
“‘Well, it is a little awkward, for I have a business already,’ said I.
“‘Oh, never mind about that, Mr. Wilson!’ said Vincent Spaulding. ‘I should be able to look after that for you.’
“‘What would be the hours?’ I asked.
“‘Ten to two.’
“Now a pawnbroker’s business is mostly done of an evening, Mr. Holmes, especially Thursday and Friday evening, which is just before pay-day; so it would suit me very well to earn a little in the mornings. Besides, I knew that my assistant was a good man, and that he would see to anything that turned up.
“‘That would suit me very well,’ said I. ‘And the pay?’
“‘Is £ 4 a week.’
“‘And the work?’
“‘Is purely nominal.’
“‘What do you call purely nominal?’
“‘Well, you have to be in the office, or at least in the building, the whole time. If you leave, you forfeit your whole position forever. The will is very clear upon that point. You don’t comply with the conditions if you budge from the office during that time.’
“‘It’s only four hours a day, and I should not think of leaving,’ said I.
“‘No excuse will avail,’ said Mr. Duncan Ross; ‘neither sickness nor business nor anything else. There you must stay, or you lose your billet.’
“‘And the work?’
“‘Is to copy out the Encyclopædia Britannica. There is the first volume of it in that press. You must find your own ink, pens, and blotting-paper, but we provide this table and chair. Will you be ready to-morrow?’
“‘Certainly,’ I answered.
“‘Then, good-bye, Mr. Jabez Wilson, and let me congratulate you once more on the important position which you have been fortunate enough to gain.’ He bowed me out of the room and I went home with my assistant, hardly knowing what to say or do, I was so pleased at my own good fortune.
“Well, I thought over the matter all day, and by evening I was in low spirits again; for I had quite persuaded myself that the whole affair must be some great hoax or fraud, though what its object might be I could not imagine. It seemed altogether past belief that anyone could make such a will, or that they would pay such a sum for doing anything so simple as copying out the Encyclopædia Britannica. Vincent Spaulding did what he could to cheer me up, but by bedtime I had reasoned myself out of the whole thing. However, in the morning I determined to have a look at it anyhow, so I bought a penny bottle of ink, and with a quill-pen, and seven sheets of foolscap paper, I started off for Pope’s Court.
“Well, to my surprise and delight, everything was as right as possible. The table was set out ready for me, and Mr. Duncan Ross was there to see that I got fairly to work. He started me off upon the letter A, and then he left me; but he would drop in from time to time to see that all was right with me. At two o’clock he bade me good-day, complimented me upon the amount that I had written, and locked the door of the office after me.
“This went on day after day, Mr. Holmes, and on Saturday the manager came in and planked down four golden sovereigns for my week’s work. It was the same next week, and the same the week after. Every morning I was there at ten, and every afternoon I left at two. By degrees Mr. Duncan Ross took to coming in only once of a morning, and then, after a time, he did not come in at all. Still, of course, I never dared to leave the room for an instant, for I was not sure when he might come, and the billet was such a good one, and suited me so well, that I would not risk the loss of it.
“Eight weeks passed away like this, and I had written about Abbots and Archery and Armour and Architecture and Attica, and hoped with diligence that I might get on to the B’s before very long. It cost me something in foolscap, and I had pretty nearly filled a shelf with my writings. And then suddenly the whole business came to an end.”
“To an end?”
“Yes, sir. And no later than this morning. I went to my work as usual at ten o’clock, but the door was shut and locked, with a little square of cardboard hammered on to the middle of the panel with a tack. Here it is, and you can read for yourself.”
He held up a piece of white cardboard about the size of a sheet of note-paper. It read in this fashion:
“THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE IS DISSOLVED. October 9, 1890.”
Sherlock Holmes and I surveyed this curt announcement and the rueful face behind it, until the comical side of the affair so completely overtopped every other consideration that we both burst out into a roar of laughter.
“I cannot see that there is anything very funny,” cried our client, flushing up to the roots of his flaming head. “If you can do nothing better than laugh at me, I can go elsewhere.”
“No, no,” cried Holmes, shoving him back into the chair from which he had half risen. “I really wouldn’t miss your case for the world. It is most refreshingly unusual. But there is, if you will excuse my saying so, something just a little funny about it. Pray what steps did you take when you found the card upon the door?”
“I was staggered, sir. I did not know what to do. Then I called at the offices round, but none of them seemed to know anything about it. Finally, I went to the landlord, who is an accountant living on the ground floor, and I asked him if he could tell me what had become of the Red-headed League. He said that he had never heard of any such body. Then I asked him who Mr. Duncan Ross was. He answered that the name was new to him.
“‘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 as a temporary convenience until his new premises were ready. He moved out yesterday.’
“‘Where could I find him?’
“‘Oh, at his new offices. He did tell me the address. Yes, 17 King Edward Street, near St. Paul’s.’
“I started off, Mr. Holmes, but when I got to that address it was a manufactory of artificial knee-caps, 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 in any way. He could only say that if I waited I should hear by post. But that was not quite good enough, Mr. Holmes. I did not wish to lose such a place without a struggle, so, as I had heard that you were good enough to give advice to poor folk who were in need of it, I came right away to you.”
“And you did very wisely,” said Holmes. “Your case is an exceedingly remarkable one, and I shall be happy to look into it. From what you have told me I think that it is possible that graver issues hang from it than might at first sight appear.”
“Grave enough!” said Mr. Jabez Wilson. “Why, I have lost four pound a week.”
“As far as you are personally concerned,” remarked Holmes, “I do not see that you have any grievance against this extraordinary league. On the contrary, you are, as I understand, richer by some £ 30, to say nothing of the minute knowledge which you have gained on every subject which comes under the letter A. You have lost nothing by them.”
“No, sir. But I want to find out about them, and who they are, and what their object was in playing this prank—if it was a prank—upon me. It was a pretty expensive joke for them, for it cost them two and thirty pounds.”
“We shall endeavour to clear up these points for you. And, first, one or two questions, Mr. Wilson. This assistant of yours who first called your attention to 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 applicant?”
“No, I had a dozen.”
“Why did you pick him?”
“Because he was handy and would come cheap.”
“At half wages, in fact.”
“Yes.”
“What is he like, this Vincent Spaulding?”
“Small, stout-built, very quick in his ways, no hair on his face, though he’s not short of thirty. Has a white splash of acid upon his forehead.”
Holmes sat up in his chair in considerable excitement. “I thought as much,” said he. “Have you ever observed that his ears are pierced for earrings?”
“Yes, sir. He told me that a gipsy had done it for him when he was a lad.”
“Hum!” said Holmes, sinking back in deep thought. “He is still with you?”
“Oh, yes, sir; I have only just left him.”
“And has your business been attended to in your absence?”
“Nothing to complain of, sir. There’s never very much to do of a morning.”
“That will do, Mr. Wilson. I shall be happy to give you an opinion upon the subject in the course of a day or two. To-day 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?”
“I make nothing of it,” I answered frankly. “It is a most mysterious business.”
“As a rule,” said Holmes, “the more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, featureless crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most difficult to identify. But I must be prompt over this matter.”
“What are you going to do, then?” I asked.
“To smoke,” he answered. “It is quite a three pipe problem, and I beg that you won’t speak to me for fifty minutes.” He curled himself up in his chair, with his thin knees drawn up to his hawk-like nose, and there he sat with his eyes closed and his black clay pipe thrusting out like the bill of some strange bird. I had come to the conclusion that he had dropped asleep, and indeed was nodding myself, when he suddenly sprang out of his chair with the gesture of a man who has made up his mind and put his pipe down upon the mantelpiece.
“Sarasate plays at the St. James’s Hall this afternoon,” he remarked. “What do you think, Watson? Could your patients spare you for a few hours?”
“I have nothing to do to-day. My practice is never very absorbing.”
“Then put on your hat and come. I am going through the City first, and we can have some lunch on the way. I observe that there is a good deal of German music on the programme, which is rather more to my taste than Italian or French. It is introspective, and I want to introspect. Come along!”
We travelled by the Underground as far as Aldersgate; and a short walk took us to Saxe-Coburg Square, the scene of the singular story which we had listened to in the morning. It was a poky, little, shabby-genteel place, where four lines of dingy two-storied brick houses looked out into a small railed-in enclosure, where a lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded laurel bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden and uncongenial atmosphere. Three gilt balls and a brown board with “JABEZ WILSON” in white letters, upon a corner house, announced the place where our red-headed client carried on his business. Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it with his head on one side and looked it all over, with his eyes shining brightly between puckered lids. Then he walked slowly up the street, and then down again to the corner, still looking keenly at the houses. Finally he returned to the pawnbroker’s, and, having thumped vigorously upon the pavement with his stick two or three times, he went up to the door and knocked. It was instantly opened by a bright-looking, clean-shaven young fellow, who asked him to step in.
“Thank you,” said Holmes, “I only wished to ask you how you would go from here to the Strand.”
“Third right, fourth left,” answered the assistant promptly, closing the door.
“Smart fellow, that,” observed Holmes as we walked away. “He is, in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring I am not sure that he has not a claim to be third. I have known something of him before.”
“Evidently,” said I, “Mr. Wilson’s assistant counts for a good deal in this mystery of the Red-headed League. I am sure that you inquired your way merely in order that you might see him.”
“Not him.”
“What then?”
“The knees of his trousers.”
“And what did you see?”
“What I expected to see.”
“Why did you beat the pavement?”
“My dear doctor, this is a time for observation, not for talk. We are spies in an enemy’s country. We know something of Saxe-Coburg Square. Let us now explore the parts which lie behind it.”
The road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the corner from the retired Saxe-Coburg Square presented as great a contrast to it as the front of a picture does to the back. It was one of the main arteries which conveyed the traffic of the City to the north and west. The roadway was blocked with the immense stream of commerce flowing in a double tide inward and outward, while the footpaths were black with the hurrying swarm of pedestrians. It was difficult to realise as we looked at the line of fine shops and stately business premises that they really abutted on the other side upon the faded and stagnant square which we had just quitted.
“Let me see,” said Holmes, standing at the corner and glancing along the line, “I should like just to remember the order of the houses here. It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of London. There is Mortimer’s, the tobacconist, the little newspaper shop, the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank, the Vegetarian Restaurant, and McFarlane’s carriage-building depot. That carries us right on to the other block. And now, Doctor, we’ve done our work, so it’s time we had some play. A sandwich and a cup of coffee, and then off to violin-land, where all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony, and there are no red-headed clients to vex us with their conundrums.”
My friend was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a very capable performer but a composer of no ordinary merit. All the afternoon he sat in the stalls wrapped in the most perfect happiness, gently waving his long, thin fingers in time to the music, while his gently smiling face and his languid, dreamy eyes were as unlike those of Holmes the sleuth-hound, Holmes the relentless, keen-witted, ready-handed criminal agent, as it was possible to conceive. In his singular character the dual nature alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and astuteness represented, as I have often thought, the reaction against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally predominated in him. The swing of his nature took him from extreme languor to devouring energy; and, as I knew well, he was never so truly formidable as when, for days on end, he had been lounging in his armchair amid his improvisations and his black-letter editions. Then it was that the lust of the chase would suddenly come upon him, and that his brilliant reasoning power would rise to the level of intuition, until those who were unacquainted with his methods would look askance at him as on a man whose knowledge was not that of other mortals. When I saw him that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. James’s Hall I felt that an evil time might be coming upon those whom he had set himself to hunt down.
“You want to go home, no doubt, Doctor,” he remarked as we emerged.
“Yes, it would be as well.”
“And I have some business to do which will take some hours. This business at Coburg Square is serious.”
“Why serious?”
“A considerable crime is in contemplation. I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it. But to-day being Saturday rather complicates matters. I shall want your help to-night.”
“At what time?”
“Ten will be early enough.”
“I shall be at Baker Street at ten.”
“Very well. And, I say, Doctor, there may be some little danger, so kindly put your army revolver in your pocket.” He waved his hand, turned on his heel, and disappeared in an instant among the crowd.
I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbours, but I was always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings with Sherlock Holmes. Here I had heard what he had heard, I had seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it was evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened but what was about to happen, while to me the whole business was still confused and grotesque. As I drove home to my house in Kensington I thought over it all, from the extraordinary story of the red-headed copier of the Encyclopædia down to the visit to Saxe-Coburg Square, and the ominous words with which he had parted from me. What was this nocturnal expedition, and why should I go armed? Where were we going, and what were we to do? I had the hint from Holmes that this smooth-faced pawnbroker’s assistant was a formidable man—a man who might play a deep game. I tried to puzzle it out, but gave it up in despair and set the matter aside until night should bring an explanation.
It was a quarter-past nine when I started from home and made my way across the Park, and so through Oxford Street to Baker Street. Two hansoms were standing at the door, and as I entered the passage I heard the sound of voices from above. On entering his room, I found Holmes in animated conversation with two men, one of whom I recognised as Peter Jones, the official police agent, while the other was a long, thin, sad-faced man, with a very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frock-coat.
“Ha! Our party is complete,” said Holmes, buttoning up his pea-jacket and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack. “Watson, I think you know Mr. Jones, of Scotland Yard? Let me introduce you to Mr. Merryweather, who is to be our companion in to-night’s adventure.”
“We’re hunting in couples again, Doctor, you see,” said Jones in his consequential way. “Our friend here is a wonderful man for starting a chase. All he wants is an old dog to help him to do the running down.”
“I hope a wild goose may not prove to be the end of our chase,” observed Mr. Merryweather gloomily.
“You may place considerable confidence in Mr. Holmes, sir,” said the police agent loftily. “He has his own little methods, which are, if he won’t mind my saying so, just a little too theoretical and fantastic, but he has the makings of a detective in him. It is not too much to say that once or twice, as in that business of the Sholto murder and the Agra treasure, he has been more nearly correct than the official force.”
“Oh, if you say so, Mr. Jones, it is all right,” said the stranger with deference. “Still, I confess that I miss my rubber. It is the first Saturday night for seven-and-twenty years that I have not had my rubber.”
“I think you will find,” said Sherlock Holmes, “that you will play for a higher stake to-night than you have ever done yet, and that the play will be more exciting. For you, Mr. Merryweather, the stake will be some £ 30,000; and for you, Jones, it will be the man upon whom you wish to lay your hands.”
“John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger. He’s a young man, Mr. Merryweather, but he is at the head of his profession, and I would rather have my bracelets on him than on any criminal in London. He’s a remarkable man, is young John Clay. His grandfather was a royal duke, and he himself has been to Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers, and though we meet signs of him at every turn, we never know where to find the man himself. He’ll crack a crib in Scotland one week, and be raising money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next. I’ve been on his track for years and have never set eyes on him yet.”
“I hope that I may have the pleasure of introducing you to-night. I’ve had one or two little turns also with Mr. John Clay, and I agree with you that he is at the head of his profession. It is past ten, however, and quite time that we started. If you two will take the first hansom, Watson and I will follow in the second.”
Sherlock Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive and lay back in the cab humming the tunes which he had heard in the afternoon. We rattled through an endless labyrinth of gas-lit streets until we emerged into Farrington Street.
“We are close there now,” my friend remarked. “This fellow Merryweather is a bank director, and personally interested in the matter. I thought it as well to have Jones with us also. He is not a bad fellow, though an absolute imbecile in his profession. He has one positive virtue. He is as brave as a bulldog and as tenacious as a lobster if he gets his claws upon anyone. Here we are, and they are waiting for us.”
We had reached the same crowded thoroughfare in which we had found ourselves in the morning. Our cabs were dismissed, and, following the guidance of Mr. Merryweather, we passed down a narrow passage and through a side door, which he opened for us. Within there was a small corridor, which ended in a very massive iron gate. This also was opened, and led down a flight of winding stone steps, which terminated at another formidable gate. Mr. Merryweather stopped to light a lantern, and then conducted us down a dark, earth-smelling passage, and so, after opening a third door, into a huge vault or cellar, which was piled all round with crates and massive boxes.
“You are not very vulnerable from above,” Holmes remarked as he held up the lantern and gazed about him.
“Nor from below,” said Mr. Merryweather, striking his stick upon the flags which lined the floor. “Why, dear me, it sounds quite hollow!” he remarked, looking up in surprise.
“I must really ask you to be a little more quiet!” said Holmes severely. “You have already imperilled the whole success of our expedition. Might I beg that you would have the goodness to sit down upon one of those boxes, and not to interfere?”
The solemn Mr. Merryweather perched himself upon a crate, with a very injured expression upon his face, while Holmes fell upon his knees upon the floor and, with the lantern and a magnifying lens, began to examine minutely the cracks between the stones. A few seconds sufficed to satisfy him, for he sprang to his feet again and put his glass in his pocket.
“We have at least an hour before us,” he remarked, “for they can hardly take any steps until the good pawnbroker is safely in bed. Then they will not lose a minute, for the sooner they do their work the longer time they will have for their escape. We are at present, Doctor—as no doubt you have divined—in the cellar of the City branch of one of the principal London banks. Mr. Merryweather is the chairman of directors, and he will explain to you that there are reasons why the more daring criminals of London should take a considerable interest in this cellar at present.”
“It is our French gold,” whispered the director. “We have had several warnings that an attempt might be made upon it.”
“Your French gold?”
“Yes. We had occasion some months ago to strengthen our resources and borrowed for that purpose 30,000 napoleons from the Bank of France. It has become known that we have never had occasion to unpack the money, and that it is still lying in our cellar. The crate upon which I sit contains 2,000 napoleons packed between layers of lead foil. Our reserve of bullion is much larger at present than is usually kept in a single branch office, and the directors have had misgivings upon the subject.”
“Which were very well justified,” observed Holmes. “And now it is time that we arranged our little plans. I expect that within an hour matters will come to a head. In the meantime Mr. Merryweather, we must put the screen over that dark lantern.”
“And sit in the dark?”
“I am afraid so. I had brought a pack of cards in my pocket, and I thought that, as we were a partie carrée, you might have your rubber after all. But I see that the enemy’s preparations have gone so far that we cannot risk the presence of a light. And, first of all, we must choose our positions. These are daring men, and though we shall take them at a disadvantage, they may do us some harm unless we are careful. I shall stand behind this crate, and do you conceal yourselves behind those. Then, when I flash a light upon them, close in swiftly. If they fire, Watson, have no compunction about shooting them down.”
I placed my revolver, cocked, upon the top of the wooden case behind which I crouched. Holmes shot the slide across the front of his lantern and left us in pitch darkness—such an absolute darkness as I have never before experienced. The smell of hot metal remained to assure us that the light was still there, ready to flash out at a moment’s notice. To me, with my nerves worked up to a pitch of expectancy, there was something depressing and subduing in the sudden gloom, and in the cold dank air of the vault.
“They have but one retreat,” whispered Holmes. “That is back through the house into Saxe-Coburg Square. I hope that you have done what I asked you, Jones?”
“I have an inspector and two officers waiting at the front door.”
“Then we have stopped all the holes. And now we must be silent and wait.”
What a time it seemed! From comparing notes afterwards it was but an hour and a quarter, yet it appeared to me that the night must have almost gone, and the dawn be breaking above us. My limbs were weary and stiff, for I feared to change my position; yet my nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of tension, and my hearing was so acute that I could not only hear the gentle breathing of my companions, but I could distinguish the deeper, heavier in-breath of the bulky Jones from the thin, sighing note of the bank director. From my position I could look over the case in the direction of the floor. Suddenly my eyes caught the glint of a light.
At first it was but a lurid spark upon the stone pavement. Then it lengthened out until it became a yellow line, and then, without any warning or sound, a gash seemed to open and a hand appeared, a white, almost womanly hand, which felt about in the centre of the little area of light. For a minute or more the hand, with its writhing fingers, protruded out of the floor. Then it was withdrawn as suddenly as it appeared, and all was dark again save the single lurid spark which marked a chink between the stones.
Its disappearance, however, was but momentary. With a rending, tearing sound, one of the broad, white stones turned over upon its side and left a square, gaping hole, through which streamed the light of a lantern. Over the edge there peeped a clean-cut, boyish face, which looked keenly about it, and then, with a hand on either side of the aperture, drew itself shoulder-high and waist-high, until one knee rested upon the edge. In another instant he stood at the side of the hole and was hauling after him a companion, lithe and small like himself, with a pale face and a shock of very red hair.
“It’s all clear,” he whispered. “Have you the chisel and the bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I’ll swing for it!”
Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts. The light flashed upon the barrel of a revolver, but Holmes’ hunting crop came down on the man’s wrist, and the pistol clinked upon the stone floor.
“It’s no use, John Clay,” said Holmes blandly. “You have no chance at all.”
“So I see,” the other answered with the utmost coolness. “I fancy that my pal is all right, though I see you have got his coat-tails.”
“There are three men waiting for him at the door,” said Holmes.
“Oh, indeed! You seem to have done the thing very completely. I must compliment you.”
“And I you,” Holmes answered. “Your red-headed idea was very new and effective.”
“You’ll see your pal again presently,” said Jones. “He’s quicker at climbing down holes than I am. Just hold out while I fix the derbies.”
“I beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands,” remarked our prisoner as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists. “You may not be aware that I have royal blood in my veins. Have the goodness, also, when you address me always to say ‘sir’ and ‘please.’”
“All right,” said Jones with a stare and a snigger. “Well, would you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab to carry your Highness to the police-station?”
“That is better,” said John Clay serenely. He made a sweeping bow to the three of us and walked quietly off in the custody of the detective.
“Really, Mr. Holmes,” said Mr. Merryweather as we followed them from the cellar, “I do not know how the bank can thank you or repay you. There is no doubt that you have detected and defeated in the most complete manner one of the most determined attempts at bank robbery that have ever come within my experience.”
“I have had one or two little scores of my own to settle with Mr. John Clay,” said Holmes. “I have been at some small expense over this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund, but beyond that I am amply repaid by having had an experience which is in many ways unique, and by hearing the very remarkable narrative of the Red-headed League.”
“You see, Watson,” he explained in the early hours of the morning as we sat over a glass of whisky and soda in Baker Street, “it was perfectly obvious from the first that the only possible object of this rather fantastic business of the advertisement of the League, and the copying of the Encyclopædia, must be to get this not over-bright pawnbroker out of the way for a number of hours every day. It was a curious way of managing it, but, really, it would be difficult to suggest a better. The method was no doubt suggested to Clay’s ingenious mind by the colour of his accomplice’s hair. The £ 4 a week was a lure which must draw him, and what was it to them, who were playing for thousands? They put in the advertisement, one rogue has the temporary office, the other rogue incites the man to apply for it, and together they manage to secure his absence every morning in the week. From the time that I heard of the assistant having come for half wages, it was obvious to me that he had some strong motive for securing the situation.”
“But how could you guess what the motive was?”
“Had there been women in the house, I should have suspected a mere vulgar intrigue. That, however, was out of the question. The man’s business was a small one, and there was nothing in his house which could account for such elaborate preparations, and such an expenditure as they were at. It must, then, be something out of the house. What could it be? I thought of the assistant’s fondness for photography, and his trick of vanishing into the cellar. The cellar! There was the end of this tangled clue. Then I made inquiries as to this mysterious assistant and found that I had to deal with one of the coolest and most daring criminals in London. He was doing something in the cellar—something which took many hours a day for months on end. What could it be, once more? I could think of nothing save that he was running a tunnel to some other building.
“So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action. I surprised you by beating upon the pavement with my stick. I was ascertaining whether the cellar stretched out in front or behind. It was not in front. Then I rang the bell, and, as I hoped, the assistant answered it. We have had some skirmishes, but we had never set eyes upon each other before. I hardly looked at his face. His knees were what I wished to see. You must yourself have remarked how worn, wrinkled, and stained they were. They spoke of those hours of burrowing. The only remaining point was what they were burrowing for. I walked round the corner, saw the City and Suburban Bank abutted on our friend’s premises, and felt that I had solved my problem. When you drove home after the concert I called upon Scotland Yard and upon the chairman of the bank directors, with the result that you have seen.”
“And how could you tell that they would make their attempt to-night?” I asked.
“Well, when they closed their League offices that was a sign that they cared no longer about Mr. Jabez Wilson’s presence—in other words, that they had completed their tunnel. But it was essential that they should use it soon, as it might be discovered, or the bullion might be removed. Saturday would suit them better than any other day, as it would give them two days for their escape. For all these reasons I expected them to come to-night.”
“You reasoned it out beautifully,” I exclaimed in unfeigned admiration. “It is so long a chain, and yet every link rings true.”
“It saved me from ennui,” he answered, yawning. “Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so.”
“And you are a benefactor of the race,” said I.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, perhaps, after all, it is of some little use,” he remarked. “‘L’homme c’est rien—l’œuvre c’est tout,’ as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand.”
原典等
原文はこちらから：http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1661/1661-h/1661-h.htm
単語を調べるのはweblioを利用しています：https://ejje.weblio.jp/
コメント