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We walked down the quaint village street with a row of pollarded elms on each side of it.
我们沿着古雅的乡村街道走去，大街两侧各有一行截梢的榆树。
Just beyond were two ancient stone pillars, weather-stained and lichen-blotched,
远处是一对古代石柱，已因风吹雨淋而斑驳变色，长满藓苔，
bearing upon their summits a shapeless something which had once been the rampant lion of Capus of Birlstone.
石柱顶上的东西已经失去原形，那过去曾经是伯尔斯通的两个后脚立起的石狮。
A short walk along the winding drive with such sward and oaks around it as one only sees in rural England, then a sudden turn,
顺着迂回曲折的车道往前走不远，四周尽是草地和栎树，人们只有在英国农村才能看到这种景色，然后是一个急转弯，
and the long, low Jacobean house of dingy, liver-coloured brick lay before us, with an old-fashioned garden of cut yews on each side of it.
眼前看到一片长长的、低矮的詹姆士一世时期的古别墅，别墅的砖已成了暗褐色的了，还有一个老式的花园，两旁都有修剪的整整齐齐的紫杉树。
As we approached it, there was the wooden drawbridge and the beautiful broad moat as still and luminous as quicksilver in the cold, winter sunshine.
我们走到庄园跟前就看到了一座木吊桥和幽美宽阔的护城河，河中的水在寒冬的阳光下象水银一样，一譬如镜，闪闪发光。
Three centuries had flowed past the old Manor House, centuries of births and of homecomings, of country dances and of the meetings of fox hunters.
这座古老的庄园自从建成以来，时光流逝，已有三百多年了，它反映出几百年的人事沧桑、悲欢离合。
Strange that now in its old age this dark business should have cast its shadow upon the venerable walls!
奇妙的是，由于历史悠久，好像现在从这些古老的墙上可以显出犯罪的先兆来。
And yet those strange, peaked roofs and quaint, overhung gables were a fitting covering to grim and terrible intrigue.
还有那些奇怪的高耸的屋顶以及古怪的突出的山墙，更适于掩护可怖的阴谋。
As I looked at the deep-set windows and the long sweep of the dull-coloured, water-lapped front, I felt that no more fitting scene could be set for such a tragedy.
当我看到那些阴沉沉的窗户和前面一片暗淡的颜色和水流冲刷的景象时，我感到发生这样一件惨案，没有比这里更适当的场合了。
"That's the window," said White Mason, "that one on the immediate right of the drawbridge. It's open just as it was found last night."
"这就是那扇窗户，"怀特·梅森说道，"吊桥右边的那一扇，正像昨晚发现时那样地开着。"
"It looks rather narrow for a man to pass."
"要想钻过一个人去，这扇窗户可够窄的。"
"Well, it wasn't a fat man, anyhow. We don't need your deductions, Mr. Holmes, to tell us that. But you or I could squeeze through all right."
"也许这个人并不胖。我们不需要用你的推论来告诉我们这一点，福尔摩斯先生。不过你和我完全可以挤过去。"
Holmes walked to the edge of the moat and looked across. Then he examined the stone ledge and the grass border beyond it.
福尔摩斯走到护城河边，向对面望去。然后他又查验了突出的石岸和它后面的草地的边缘。
"I've had a good look, Mr. Holmes," said White Mason.
"福尔摩斯先生，我已经仔细看过了，"怀特·梅森说道。
"There is nothing there, no sign that anyone has landed -- but why should he leave any sign?"
"可这里什么也没有，没有任何能说明有人上岸的痕迹。不过，他为什么一定要留下痕迹呢？"
"Exactly. Why should he? Is the water always turbid?"
"对啊，他为什么一定要留下痕迹呢？护城河水总是这样浑浊吗？"
"Generally about this colour. The stream brings down the clay."
"通常是这种颜色。因为河水流下来的时候，总是夹杂着泥沙的。"
"How deep is it?"
"河水有多深？"
"About two feet at each side and three in the middle."
"两侧大约两英尺左右，中间有三英尺深。"
"So we can put aside all idea of the man having been drowned in crossing."
"那么，我们可以排除那个人在蹚过护城河时淹死的这种想法了。"
"No, a child could not be drowned in it."
"不会的，就是小孩也不会淹死的。"
