The banker recoiled in horror. "I should not dream of trying," said he.
那银行家惊慌地往后退缩。他说:"我连做梦也不敢去掰它。"
"Then I will." Holmes suddenly bent his strength upon it, but without result.
"那么我来试试,"福尔摩斯猛然用足力气去掰它,但是纹丝不动。
"I feel it give a little," said he; "but, though I am exceptionally strong in the fingers, it would take me all my time to break it.
"我觉得它有点松动,"他说,"但是,虽然我的手指特别有劲,要掰开它也很费事。
An ordinary man could not do it. Now, what do you think would happen if I did break it, Mr. Holder?
一个普通人是不可能把它掰开的。好了,霍尔德先生,如果我真的掰开了它,会是什么情况呢?
There would be a noise like a pistol shot.
那就会发出象枪响一样的声音。
Do you tell me that all this happened within a few yards of your bed and that you heard nothing of it?"
你敢说,这一切是发生在仅离你卧榻数码之遥的地方,而你却一点什么声音也没听见吗?"
"I do not know what to think. It is all dark to me."
"我什么也不敢想,什么问题也看不出来。"
"But perhaps it may grow lighter as we go. What do you think, Miss Holder?"
"但是事情也许会越来越清楚。你是怎么想的,霍尔德小姐?"
"I confess that I still share my uncle's perplexity."
"我承认我和我的叔叔一样困惑不解。"
"Your son had no shoes or slippers on when you saw him?"
"当你看到你的儿子时,他没有穿鞋或拖鞋,是吗?"
"He had nothing on save only his trousers and shirt."
"除了裤子和衬衫外,他什么也没有穿。"
"Thank you. We have certainly been favoured with extraordinary luck during this inquiry,
"谢谢你。我们的确从这次询问中得益匪浅,实在太幸运了,
and it will be entirely our own fault if we do not succeed in clearing the matter up.
如果我们还不能把这事情弄清楚的话,那就完全是我们自己的过错了。
With your permission, Mr. Holder, I shall now continue my investigations outside."
霍尔德先生,请允许我再到外面去继续调查。"