评论
打印
"It has a very irregular look," said the colonel.
"字体看起来很不规则。"上校说道。
"My dear sir," cried Holmes, "there cannot be the least doubt in the world that it has been written by two persons doing alternate words.
"我亲爱的先生，"福尔摩斯大声说道，"毫无疑问，它是由两个人交替着写出来的。
When I draw your attention to the strong t's of 'at' and 'to,' and ask you to compare them with the weak ones of 'quarter' and 'twelve,' you will instantly recognize the fact.
我只要请你们注意'at'和'to'字中那两个苍劲有力的't'字，再请你们把它跟'quarter'和'twelve'中那两个软弱无力的't'字对比一下，你们马上就可以看出事情的真相。
A very brief analysis of these four words would enable you to say with the utmost confidence that the 'learn' and the 'maybe' are written in the stronger hand, and the 'what' in the weaker."
从这四个字的简单分析上，你们就可以满有把握地说，那'learn'和'maybe'是出自笔锋苍劲有力的人的手笔，而那'what'是那笔锋软弱无力的人写的。"
"By Jove, it's as clear as day!" cried the colonel. "Why on earth should two men write a letter in such a fashion?"
"天哪，这真是一清二楚的！"上校喊道，"那两人究竟为什么要用这样一种方式来写这封信呢？"
"Obviously the business was a bad one, and one of the men who distrusted the other was determined that, whatever was done, each should have an equal hand in it.
"这事显然是一种犯罪行为，其中的一个人不相信另外一个人，于是他决定，不管干什么两个人都得一起动手。
Now, of the two men, it is clear that the one who wrote the 'at' and 'to' was the ringleader."
很清楚，这两个人中，那个写'at'和'to'的人是主谋。"
"How do you get at that?"
"那你根据什么说的呢？"
"We might deduce it from the mere character of the one hand as compared with the other. But we have more assured reasons than that for supposing it.
"我们可以从对比两个人的笔迹中推断出来。不过我们有更有力的理由。
If you examine this scrap with attention you will come to the conclusion that the man with the stronger hand wrote all his words first, leaving blanks for the other to fill up.
如果你注意检查一下这张纸，你就会得出一个结论：那个笔锋苍劲有力的人首先把他所要写的字全部写完，留下许多空白，叫另一个人去填写。
These blanks were not always sufficient, and you can see that the second man had a squeeze to fit his 'quarter' in between the 'at' and the 'to,' showing that the latter were already written.
而这些空白并不是都很富余的，你可以看出，第二个人在'at'和'to'之间填写'quarter'一词时，写得非常挤，说明'at'和'to'那两个字是先写好的了。
The man who wrote all his words first is undoubtedly the man who planned the affair."
那个把他所要写的字首先写完的人，毫无疑问，就是策划这一案件的人。"
"Excellent!" cried Mr. Acton.
"太妙了！"阿克顿先生大声说道。
"But very superficial," said Holmes. "We come now, however, to a point which is of importance.
"不过这是显而易见的，"福尔摩斯说道，"然而，我们现在要谈到重要的一点。
You may not be aware that the deduction of a man's age from his writing is one which has been brought to considerable accuracy by experts.
可能，你们不知道，专家们可以根据一个人的笔迹，相当准确地推断他的年龄。
In normal cases one can place a man in his true decade with tolerable confidence.
在正常情况下，可以相当有把握地断定一个人的岁数。
I say normal cases, because illhealth and physical weakness reproduce the signs of old age, even when the invalid is a youth.
我说，'在正常情况下'，这是因为不健康和体质弱是老年人的特点，如果年轻人是一个病人，他的字迹也就带有老年人的特点。
In this case, looking at the bold, strong hand of the one, and the rather broken-backed appearance of the other, which still retains its legibility although the t's have begun to lose their crossing,
在这件案子里，只要看看一个人的笔迹粗壮有力，另一个人的笔迹虽然软弱无力，却依然十分清楚，不过't'字少了一横，
we can say that the one was a young man and the other was advanced in years without being positively decrepit."
我们就可以说，其中的一个人是一个年轻人，另一个人虽未十分衰老，却也上年纪了。"
