"You are right," he cried; "I am the King. Why should I attempt to conceal it?"
"你说对了,"他喊道,"我就是国王,我为什么要隐瞒呢?"
"Why, indeed?" murmured Holmes.
"嗯,真的吗?"福尔摩斯喃喃地说,
"Your Majesty had not spoken before I was aware that I was addressing Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein,
"陛下还没开口,我就知道我是要跟威廉·戈特赖希·西吉斯蒙德·冯·奥姆施泰因交谈,
Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein, and hereditary King of Bohemia."
也就是卡斯尔-费尔施泰因大公、波希米亚的世袭国王。"
"But you can understand," said our strange visitor, sitting down once more and passing his hand over his high white forehead,
"但是你能理解,"我们奇怪的来客又重新坐下来,用手摸了一下他那又高又白的前额说道,
"you can understand that I am not accustomed to doing such business in my own person.
"你能理解我是不惯于亲自办这种事的。
Yet the matter was so delicate that I could not confide it to an agent without putting myself in his power.
可是这件事是如此地微妙,以致于如果我把它告诉一个侦探,就不得不使自己任其摆布。
I have come incognito from Prague for the purpose of consulting you."
我是为了向你征询意见才微服出行,从布拉格来此的。"
"Then, pray consult," said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more.
"那就请谈吧,"福尔摩斯说道,随即又把眼睛阖上了。
"The facts are briefly these: Some five years ago, during a lengthy visit to Warsaw,
"简单地说,事情是这样的:大约五年以前,在我到华沙长期访问期间,
I made the acquaintance of the well-known adventuress, Irene Adler. The name is no doubt familiar to you."
我认识了大名鼎鼎的女冒险家艾琳·艾德勒。无疑你是很熟悉这名字的。"
"Kindly look her up in my index, Doctor," murmured Holmes without opening his eyes.
"医生,请你在我的资料索引中查查艾琳·艾德勒这个人,"福尔摩斯喃喃地说,眼睛睁也没睁开一下。
For many years he had adopted a system of docketing all paragraphs concerning men and things,
他多年来采取这么一种办法,就是把有关许多人和事的一些材料贴上签条备查。
so that it was difficult to name a subject or a person on which he could not at once furnish information.
因此,要想说出一个他不能马上提供起情况的人或事,那是很不容易的。
In this case I found her biography
关于这件案子,我找到了关于她的个人经历的材料。
sandwiched in between that of a Hebrew rabbi and that of a staff-commander who had written a monograph upon the deep-sea fishes.
它是夹在一个犹太法学博士和写过一起关于深海鱼类专题论文的参谋官这两份历史材料中间的。