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"You think then, definitely, that Barker and Mrs. Douglas are guilty of the murder?"
"那么，你一定认为巴克和道格拉斯夫人就是杀人犯了？"
"There is an appalling directness about your questions, Watson," said Holmes, shaking his pipe at me.
"你的这些问题真够直截了当的，"福尔摩斯向我挥舞着烟斗说。
"They come at me like bullets.
"就像对我射来的子弹一样。
If you put it that Mrs. Douglas and Barker know the truth about the murder, and are conspiring to conceal it, then I can give you a whole-souled answer. I am sure they do.
如果你认为道格拉斯夫人和巴克知道谋杀案的真情，并且合谋策划，隐瞒真相，那我打心眼里同意你，肯定他们是这样干的。
But your more deadly proposition is not so clear. Let us for a moment consider the difficulties which stand in the way.
不过你那击中要害的前提还不那么清楚。我们先来把妨碍我们前进的疑难问题研究一下吧。
We will suppose that this couple are united by the bonds of a guilty love, and that they have determined to get rid of the man who stands between them.
我们如果设想他们两个人因暧昧关系而沆瀣一气，而且他们决心除掉碍手碍脚的那个人。
It is a large supposition; for discreet inquiry among servants and others has failed to corroborate it in any way.
这只是一种大胆的设想，因为我们经过对仆人们和其他人的周密调查，从哪一方面也不能证明这一点。
On the contrary, there is a good deal of evidence that the Douglases were very attached to each other."
恰恰相反，有许多证据说明道格拉斯夫妇恩爱无比。"
"That, I am sure, cannot be true," said I, thinking of the beautiful smiling face in the garden.
"我敢说这都不是真的，"我想起花园中那张美丽含笑的面孔，说道。
"Well, at least they gave that impression.
"好，至少他们使人产生这种印象。
However, we will suppose that they are an extraordinarily astute couple, who deceive everyone upon this point, and conspire to murder the husband.
然而，我们假定他们是一对诡计多端的人，在这一点上欺骗了所有的人，而且共同图谋杀害道格拉斯。
He happens to be a man over whose head some danger hangs..."
碰巧道格拉斯正面临着某种危险..."
"We have only their word for that."
"我们只是听到他们的一面之词啊。"
Holmes looked thoughtful. "I see, Watson. You are sketching out a theory by which everything they say from the beginning is false.
福尔摩斯沉思着，说道："我知道，华生，你概括地说明了你的意见，你的意见是，从一开始他们说的每件事都是假的。
According to your idea, there was never any hidden menace, or secret society, or Valley of Fear, or Boss MacSomebody, or anything else.
按照你的看法，根本就没有什么暗藏的危险，没有什么秘密团体，也没有什么'恐怖谷'，没有什么叫做麦金蒂之类的大头目诸如此类的事情。
Well, that is a good sweeping generalization. Let us see what that brings us to. They invent this theory to account for the crime.
好啊，这也算是一种不错的总归纳。让我们看看它会使我们得到什么结果。他们捏造这种论点来说明犯罪原因。
They then play up to the idea by leaving this bicycle in the park as proof of the existence of some outsider.
然后，他们配合这种说法，把这辆自行车丢在花园里，作为凶手是个外来人的物证。
The stain on the windowsill conveys the same idea. So does the card on the body, which might have been prepared in the house.
窗台上的血迹也是出于同一目的。尸体上的卡片也是如此，卡片可能就是在屋里写好的。
That all fits into your hypothesis, Watson. But now we come on the nasty, angular, uncompromising bits which won't slip into their places.
所有这一切都符合你的假设，华生。可是现在，我们跟着就要碰到这样一些难于处理、颇为棘手、处处对不上碴儿的问题了。
Why a cut-off shotgun of all weapons -- and an American one at that?
为什么他们从所有武其中单单选了一支截短了的火枪，而且又是美国火枪呢？
How could they be so sure that the sound of it would not bring someone on to them?
他们怎么能肯定火枪的射击声不会把别人惊动，向他们奔来呢？
It's a mere chance as it is that Mrs. Allen did not start out to inquire for the slamming door.
像艾伦太太那样把枪声只当关门声而不出来查看，这不过是偶然现象罢了。
Why did your guilty couple do all this, Watson?"
华生，为什么你所谓的一对罪犯会这样蠢呢？"
"I confess that I can't explain it."
"我承认我对这些也无法解释。"
"Then again, if a woman and her lover conspire to murder a husband, are they going to advertise their guilt by ostentatiously removing his wedding ring after his death?
"那么，还有，如果一个女人和她的情夫合谋杀死她的丈夫，他们会在他死后像炫耀胜利似地把结婚戒指摘走，从而让自己的罪行尽人皆知吗？
Does that strike you as very probable, Watson?"
华生，难道你认为这也是非常可能的吗？"
"No, it does not."
"不，这是不可能的。"
"And once again, if the thought of leaving a bicycle concealed outside had occurred to you, would it really have seemed worth doing
"再说，假如丢下一辆藏在外边的自行车是你想出来的主意，难道这样做真有什么价值吗？
when the dullest detective would naturally say this is an obvious blind, as the bicycle is the first thing which the fugitive needed in order to make his escape."
即使最蠢的侦探也必然会说，这显然是故布疑阵，因为一个亡命徒为了逃跑，首要的东西就是自行车呀。"
"I can conceive of no explanation."
"我想不出怎样才能解释了。"
