01.THE SPECKLED BAND_1 Helen's Story

1.Helen's Story
1.海伦的故事


At the time of this story, I was still living at my friend Sherlock Holmes's flat in Baker Street in London. Very early one morning, a young woman, dressed in black, came to see us. She looked tired and unhappy, and her face was very white. 'I'm afraid! Afraid of death, Mr Holmes!' she cried. 'Please help me! I'm not thirty yet and look at my grey hair! I'm so afraid!'


故事发生的时候，我还住在我的朋友夏洛克·福尔摩斯在伦敦贝克街的公寓里。一天大清早，一位穿黑衣的年轻女人来见我们。她看起来疲惫而忧郁，脸色苍白。“我害怕!害怕死，福尔摩斯先生!”她哭道，“请帮帮我!我还不到30岁，但是看看我灰白的头发!我太害怕了!”


Just sit down and tell us your story,' said Holmes kindly.


“先坐下，给我们讲讲你的事。”福尔摩斯温和地说。


My name is Helen Stoner,' she began, 'and I live with my stepfather, Dr Grimesby Roylott, near a village in the country. His family was once very rich, but they had no money when my stepfather was born. So he studied to be a doctor, and went out to India. He met and married my mother there, when my sister Julia and I were very young. Our father was dead, you see.'


“我叫海伦·斯托纳，”她开始说道，“我和继父格里姆斯比·罗伊洛特医生住在乡下，在一个村子附近。他家原来很富有，但是我继父出生的时候他们已经没有钱了。所以他学医并且去了印度。他在那里遇到了我母亲并和她结了婚，那时候我姐姐朱莉娅和我还很小。你知道，我们的父亲死了。”

Your mother had some money, perhaps?' asked Sherlock Holmes.


“你母亲大概有些钱吧?”夏洛克·福尔摩斯问道。


Oh yes, mother had a lot of money, so my stepfather wasn't poor any more.'


“噢，是的，我母亲有很多钱，所以继父从此摆脱了穷困。”


Tell me more about him, Miss Stoner,' said Holmes.


“再多给我讲些他的情况，斯托纳小姐。”福尔摩斯说。


Well, he's a violent man. In India he once got angry with his Indian servant and killed him! He had to go to prison because of that, and then we all came back to England. Mother died in an accident eight years ago. So my stepfather got all her money, but if Julia or I marry, he must pay us ￡250 every year.'


“哦，他是个粗暴的人。在印度的时候，他曾经跟他的印度仆人生气，竟然把那个人杀了!他为此坐了牢，后来我们都回到了英国。妈妈八年前死于一次事故。所以继父得到了她所有的钱，但是如果朱莉娅或者我结婚的话，他必须每年付给我们250英镑。”


And now you live with him in the country,' said Holmes.


“现在你们和他住在乡下。”福尔摩斯说。


Yes, but he stays at home and never sees anybody, Mr Holmes!' answered Helen Stoner. 'He's more and more violent now, and sometimes has fights with the people from the village. Everybody's afraid of him now, and they run away when they see him. And they're also afraid of his Indian wild animals which run freely around the garden. A friend sends them to him from India. And the animals are not the only wild things in the garden; there are also gipsies. My stepfather likes these wild people, and they can come and go where they like. Poor Julia and I had very unhappy lives. We had no servants. They always left because they were afraid of my stepfather, and we had to do all the work in the house. Julia was only thirty when she died, and her hair was already grey, like my hair now.'


“是的，但是他总待在家里，从来不见任何人，福尔摩斯先生!”海伦·斯托纳回答，“他现在越来越粗暴了，有时还和村里的人打架。现在所有的人都害怕他，见到他就跑开。他们也害怕他养的那些印度野兽，那些野兽在花园里乱跑，那是他的一个朋友从印度送来的。花园里不光有野兽，还有吉普赛人。继父喜欢这些野蛮人，他们可以在那儿自由来去。可怜的朱莉娅和我过得非常不开心。我们没有仆人。他们总是因为害怕我继父而离开，我们只好自己做家务。朱莉娅死的时候才30岁，她的头发已经灰白了，就像我现在的头发一样。”


When did she die?' asked Sherlock Holmes.


“她什么时候死的?”夏洛克·福尔摩斯问。


She died two years ago, and that's why I'm here. We never met anybody in the country, but sometimes we visited some of my family who live near London. There Julia met a young man who asked to marry her. My stepfather agreed, but soon after this she died.' Miss Stoner put her hand over her eyes and cried for a minute.


“她是两年前死的，我就是为这件事来的。我们从来不和村里的人交往，但是有时候我们会去拜访住在伦敦附近的一些亲戚。在那里朱莉娅遇到了一个年轻人，他想娶她。我继父同意了，但是不久之后她就死了。”斯托纳小姐捂着眼睛哭了一会儿。


Sherlock Holmes was listening with his eyes closed, but now he opened them and looked at Helen Stoner.


夏洛克·福尔摩斯一直闭着眼睛听，但是现在他睁开眼睛看着海伦·斯托纳。


Tell me everything about her death,' he said.


“告诉我跟她的死有关的所有事情。”他说。


I can remember it all very well. It was a terrible time!' she answered. 'Our three bedrooms are all downstairs. First there is my stepfather's room. Julia's room is next to his, and my room is next to Julia's. The rooms all have windows on the garden side of the house, and doors which open into the corridor. One evening our stepfather was smoking his strong Indian cigarettes in his room. Julia couldn't sleep because she could smell them in her room, so she came into my room to talk to me. Before she went back to bed, she said to me, "Helen, have you ever heard a whistle in the middle of the night?"


“所有的事情我都记得很清楚。那个时候真可怕!”她回答，“我们的三个卧室都在楼下。第一间是我继父的房间。他的隔壁就是朱莉娅的房间，我的房间在朱莉娅的隔壁。三个房间的窗户都在朝着花园的那边，而门在走廊的那一侧。一天晚上，继父在他的房间里抽印度雪茄，味道很呛人。朱莉娅睡不着，因为她在房间里能闻到烟味，所以她来到我的房间和我聊天。她回去睡觉之前跟我说：‘海伦，你半夜里听到过口哨声吗?’”


I was surprised. "No," I said.


“我很吃惊。‘没听到过。’”我说。


"It's strange," she said. "Sometimes I hear a whistle, but I don't know where it comes from. Why don't you hear it?"


“‘很奇怪，’她说，‘有时候我会听到口哨声，但是我不知道是从哪儿传来的。你为什么听不到呢?’”


I laughed and said, "I sleep better than you do." So Julia went to her room, and locked the door after her.'


“我笑了，说：‘我比你睡得好呗。’朱莉娅回她的房间去了，并且锁上了门。”


Why did you lock your doors?' asked Sherlock Holmes.


“你们为什么要锁门呢?”夏洛克·福尔摩斯问道。


We were afraid of the wild animals, and the gipsies,' she answered.


“因为我们害怕那些野生动物，还有那些吉普赛人。”她回答。


Please go on,' said Holmes.


“请接着说。”福尔摩斯说。


I couldn't sleep that night. It was a very stormy night, with a lot of wind and rain. Suddenly I heard a woman's scream. It was my sister's voice. I ran into the corridor, and just then I heard a whistle, and a minute later the sound of falling metal. I didn't know what it was. I ran to my sister's door. She opened it and fell to the ground. Her face was white and afraid, and she was crying, "Help me, help me, Helen, I'm ill, I'm dying!" I put my arms around her, and she cried out in a terrible voice: "Helen! Oh my God, Helen! It was the band! The speckled band!" She wanted to say more, but she couldn't. I called my stepfather, who tried to help her, but we could do nothing. And so my dear, dear sister died.'


“那天晚上我无法入睡。那是个暴风雨之夜，外面风雨交加。突然，我听到一个女人的尖叫。那是我姐姐的声音。我冲进走廊，就在那时我听到了口哨声，一分钟后又听到了金属落地的声音。我不知道那是什么东西发出的。我跑到姐姐的房间门口，她打开门后就倒在地上。她的脸煞白，充满了恐惧，还哭喊着：‘救救我，救救我，海伦，我难受，我要死了!’我抱着她，她用可怕的声音哭喊：‘海伦!噢，我的上帝，海伦!是那条带子!那条有斑点的带子!’她想再说点儿什么，却什么也说不出来了。我叫了继父，他试图救她，但是我们什么也做不了。我最亲爱的姐姐就这么死了。”


Are you sure about the whistle and the sound of falling metal?' asked Holmes.


“你确定听到了口哨声和金属落地的声音?”福尔摩斯问道。


I think so,' answered Helen. 'But it was a very wild, stormy night. Perhaps I made a mistake. The police couldn't understand why my sister died. Her door was locked and nobody could get into her room. They didn't find any poison in her body. And what was "the speckled band"? Gipsies wear something like that round their necks. I think she died because she was so afraid, but I don't know what she was afraid of. Perhaps it was the gipsies. What do you think, Mr Holmes?'


“我想是的，”海伦回答，“但那天晚上有很大的暴风雨。或许我弄错了。警察没有弄清我姐姐的死因。她的门锁着，没人能进入她的房间。他们也没在她身上发现中毒的迹象。而且‘有斑点的带子’是什么呢?吉普赛人脖子上戴着一种类似的东西。我想她是凶恐惧而死，但是我不知道她害怕的是什么。可能是那些吉普赛人。你怎么看呢，福尔摩斯先生?”


Holmes thought for a minute. 'Hmm,' he said. 'That is a difficult question. But please go on.'


福尔摩斯想了一会儿。“唔，”他说，“那可是个难题。不过请继续说下去。”


That was two years ago,' Helen Stoner said. 'I have been very lonely without my sister, but a month ago a dear friend asked me to marry him. My stepfather has agreed, and so we're going to marry soon. But two days ago I had to move to my sister's old bedroom, because some men are mending my bedroom wall, and last night I heard that whistle again! I ran out of the house immediately and came to London to ask for your help. Please help me, Mr Holmes! I don't want to die like Julia!'


“那是两年之前的事了，”海伦·斯托纳说，“没有了姐姐，我一直过得很孤独，但是一个月之前，一位亲爱的朋友向我求婚。我继父也同意了，所以我们很快就要结婚了。但是两天前我不得不搬到我姐姐原来的卧室里，因为一些人正在修补我卧室的墙，而昨晚我又听到了那个口哨声!我立刻跑出了那座房子，来伦敦寻求你的帮助。请你帮帮我，福尔摩斯先生!我不想和朱莉娅一样死去!”


We must move fast,' said Holmes. 'If we go to your house today, can we look at these rooms? But your stepfather must not know.'


“我们必须赶快行动，”福尔摩斯说，“如果我们今天去你家，我们可以看看那些房间吗?但是不能让你继父知道。”


He's in London today, so he won't see you. Oh thank you, Mr Holmes, I feel better already.'


“他今天在伦敦，所以他不会见到你们的。噢，谢谢你，福尔摩斯先生，我已经感觉好些了。”