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"Remarkable!" he said, when the story was unfolded, "most remarkable! I can hardly recall any case where the features have been more peculiar."
"奇怪！"在听了案情介绍以后，福尔摩斯说，"奇怪极了！我想不起来以前有什么比这更奇怪的案子了。"
"I thought you would say so, Mr. Holmes," said White Mason in great delight.
"福尔摩斯先生，我早想到你会这样说的，"怀特·梅森非常高兴地说。
"We're well up with the times in Sussex.
"我们在苏塞克斯算是赶上时代了。
I've told you now how matters were, up to the time when I took over from Sergeant Wilson between three and four this morning.
到今早三、四点之间我从警官威尔逊手里接过这桩案子为止的全部情况，我都告诉你了。
My word! I made the old mare go! But I need not have been in such a hurry, as it turned out; for there was nothing immediate that I could do.
我拼着老命赶来！哎呀！结果证明，我本来用不着这么紧赶慢赶的。因为这里没有我能马上做的事。
Sergeant Wilson had all the facts. I checked them and considered them and maybe added a few of my own."
警官威尔逊已经掌握了全部情况。我查对了一下，仔细研究了一番，多少还加了几点我自己的看法。"
"What were they?" asked Holmes eagerly.
"你的看法是什么呢？"福尔摩斯急切地问道。
"Well, I first had the hammer examined. There was Dr. Wood there to help me. We found no signs of violence upon it.
"嗯，我首先把铁锤仔细检查了一下。医生伍德也在旁帮忙。铁锤上没找到施用暴力的痕迹。
I was hoping that if Mr. Douglas defended himself with the hammer, he might have left his mark upon the murderer before he dropped it on the mat. But there was no stain."
我原来想，或许道格拉斯先生曾用这把锤子自卫过，他就可能在把锤子丢到地毯上以前，在上面留下印痕，可是锤子上一点痕迹也没有。"
"That, of course, proves nothing at all," remarked Inspector MacDonald. "There has been many a hammer murder and no trace on the hammer."
"当然，这一点儿也证明不了什么问题，"警官麦克唐纳说道，"因为有许多使用铁锤的凶杀案，铁锤上并没有留下痕迹。"
"Quite so. It doesn't prove it wasn't used. But there might have been stains, and that would have helped us.
"确实如此。这并不一定能证明没有用过它。不过要果真留下一些痕迹，那对我们就有用了。
As a matter of fact there were none. Then I examined the gun.
但事实上却没有。后来我又检查了一下枪支。
They were buckshot cartridges, and, as Sergeant Wilson pointed out, the triggers were wired together so that, if you pulled on the hinder one, both barrels were discharged.
这是大号铅弹火枪。正像警官威尔逊所指出的那样，扳机缚在一起，所以只要你扣动后面一个扳机，两个枪筒就会同时发射。
Whoever fixed that up had made up his mind that he was going to take no chances of missing his man.
不管是谁做的这样的处理，肯定他是下了决心决不让他的敌手逃脱厄运。
The sawed gun was not more than two foot long–one could carry it easily under one's coat.
这支截断的枪最多不过二英尺长，一个人能轻而易举地把它藏在大衣里。
There was no complete maker's name; but the printed letters P-E-N were on the fluting between the barrels, and the rest of the name had been cut off by the saw."
枪上虽然没有制造者的全名，可是两支枪管间的凹槽上还刻有'P-E-N'三个字母，名字的其它字母就被锯掉了。"
"A big P with a flourish above it, E and N smaller?" asked Holmes.
"那上面是一个花体的大写字母'P'，而'E'和'N'两个字母则较小，是吗？"福尔摩斯问道。
"Exactly."
"一点也不错。"
"Pennsylvania Small Arms Company -- well known American firm," said Holmes.
"这是宾夕法尼亚小型武器制造公司，是美国的一家有名的工厂。"福尔摩斯说。
White Mason gazed at my friend as the little village practitioner looks at the Harley Street specialist who by a word can solve the difficulties that perplex him.
怀特·梅森紧盯着我的朋友，就好像一个小小的农村开业医生望着哈利街的专家一样，这个专家一句话就可以解开使他感到困惑不解的所有疑难问题。
"That is very helpful, Mr. Holmes. No doubt you are right. Wonderful! Wonderful! Do you carry the names of all the gun makers in the world in your memory?"
"福尔摩斯先生，这是很有用的。你说得一点也不错。奇怪！奇怪！难道你把世界上所有军火制造厂的名字都记住了吗？"
Holmes dismissed the subject with a wave.
福尔摩斯挥挥手，岔开了这个话题。
