福爾摩斯探案集·血字的研究 第11期:演繹法(6)

“And these other people?”

"還有另外那些人呢？"

“They are mostly sent on by private inquiry agencies.

"他們多半是由私人偵探指點(diǎn)來的，

They are all people who are in trouble about something and want a little enlightening.

都是遇到些麻煩問題、需要別人加以指引的。

I listen to their story, they listen to my comments, and then I pocket my fee.”

我仔細(xì)聽取他們的事實(shí)經(jīng)過，他們則聽取我的意見；這樣，費(fèi)用就裝進(jìn)我的口袋里了。"

“But do you mean to say,” I said,

我說："你的意思是說，

“that without leaving your room you can unravel some knot which other men can make nothing of,

別人雖然親眼目睹各種細(xì)節(jié)，但都無法解決，

although they have seen every detail for themselves?”

而你足不出戶，卻能解釋某些疑難問題嗎？"

“Quite so. I have a kind of intuition that way.

"正是如此。因?yàn)槲矣心敲匆环N利用直覺分析事物的能力。

Now and again a case turns up which is a little more complex.

有時也會遇到一件稍微復(fù)雜的案件，

Then I have to bustle about and see things with my own eyes.

那么，我就得奔波一番，親自出馬偵查。

You see I have a lot of special knowledge which I apply to the problem, and which facilitates matters wonderfully.

你知道，我有許多特殊的知識，把這些知識應(yīng)用到案件上去，就能使問題迎刃而解。

Those rules of deduction laid down in that article which aroused your scorn are invaluable to me in practical work.

那篇文章里所提到的幾點(diǎn)推斷法則雖曾惹起你的訕笑，但在實(shí)際工作中，對我卻有著無比的價值。

Observation with me is second nature.

觀察能力是我的第二天性。

You appeared to be surprised when I told you, on our first meeting, that you had come from Afghanistan.”

咱們初次會面時，我就對你說過，你是從阿富汗來的，你當(dāng)時好象還很驚訝哩。"

“You were told, no doubt.”

"沒問題，一定有人告訴過你。"

“Nothing of the sort. I knew you came from Afghanistan.

"沒有那回事。我當(dāng)時一看就知道你是從阿富汗來的。

From long habit the train of thoughts ran so swiftly through my mind

由于長久以來的習(xí)慣，一系列的思索飛也似地掠過我的腦際，

that I arrived at the conclusion without being conscious of intermediate steps.

因此在我得出結(jié)論時，竟未覺察得出結(jié)論所經(jīng)的步驟。

There were such steps, however.

但是，這中間是有著一定的步驟的。

The train of reasoning ran,

在你這件事上，我的推理過程是這樣的：

‘Here is a gentleman of a medical type, but with the air of a military man.

‘這一位先生，具有醫(yī)務(wù)工作者的風(fēng)度，但卻是一副軍人氣概。

Clearly an army doctor, then.

那么，顯見他是個軍醫(yī)。

He has just come from the tropics, for his face is dark,

他是剛從熱帶回來，因?yàn)樗樕詈冢?/p>

and that is not the natural tint of his skin, for his wrists are fair.

但是，從他手腕的皮膚黑白分明看來，這并不是他原來的膚色。

He has undergone hardship and sickness, as his haggard face says clearly.

他面容憔悴，這就清楚地說明他是久病初愈而又歷盡了艱苦。

His left arm has been injured. He holds it in a stiff and unnatural manner.

他左臂受過傷，現(xiàn)在動作品來還有些僵硬不便。

Where in the tropics could an English army doctor have seen much hardship and got his arm wounded?

試問，一個英國的軍醫(yī)在熱帶地方歷盡艱苦，并且臂部負(fù)過傷，這能在什么地方呢？

Clearly in Afghanistan.’

自然只有在阿富汗了。'

The whole train of thought did not occupy a second.

這一連串的思想，歷時不到一秒鐘，

I then remarked that you came from Afghanistan, and you were astonished.”

因此我便脫口說出你是從阿富汗來的，你當(dāng)時還感到驚奇哩。"

“It is simple enough as you explain it,” I said, smiling.

我微笑著說："聽你這樣一解釋，這件事還是相當(dāng)簡單的呢。

“You remind me of Edgar Allan Poe’s Dupin.

你使我想起埃德加·愛倫·坡的作品中的偵探人物杜班來了。

I had no idea that such individuals did exist outside of stories.”

我真想不到除了小說以外，實(shí)際上竟會真有這樣人物存在。"

Sherlock Holmes rose and lit his pipe.

福爾摩斯站了起來，點(diǎn)燃他的煙斗。

“No doubt you think that you are complimenting me in comparing me to Dupin,” he observed.

他說："你一定以為把我和杜班相提并論就是稱贊我了。

“Now, in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow.

可是，在我看來，杜班實(shí)在是個微不足道的家伙。

That trick of his of breaking in on his friends’ thoughts with an apropos remark after a quarter of an hour’s silence is really very showy and superficial.

他先靜默一刻鐘，然后才突然道破他的朋友的心事，這種伎倆未免過于做作，過于膚淺了。

He had some analytical genius, no doubt;

不錯，他有些分析問題的天才，

but he was by no means such a phenomenon as Poe appeared to imagine.”

但決不是愛倫·坡想象中的非凡人物。"