修道院公学（12）

（单词翻译）

“But the bicycle?” I persisted.

“Well, well!” said Holmes, impatiently. “A good cyclist does not need a high road. The moor is intersected with paths and the moon was at the full. Halloa! what is this?”

There was an agitated knock at the door, and an instant afterwards Dr. Huxtable was in the room. In his hand he held a blue cricket-cap, with a white chevron on the peak.

“At last we have a clue!” he cried. “Thank Heaven! at last we are on the dear boy's track! It is his cap.”

“Where was it found?”

“In the van of the gipsies who camped on the moor. They left on Tuesday. To-day the police traced them down and examined their caravan. This was found.”

“How do they account for it?”

“They shuffled and lied—said that they found it on the moor on Tuesday morning. They know where he is, the rascals! Thank goodness, they are all safe under lock and key. Either the fear of the law or the Duke's purse will certainly get out of them all that they know.”

“So far, so good,” said Holmes, when the doctor had at last left the room. “It at least bears out the theory that it is on the side of the Lower Gill Moor that we must hope for results. The police have really done nothing locally, save the arrest of these gipsies. Look here, Watson! There is a watercourse across the moor. You see it marked here in the map. In some parts it widens into a morass. This is particularly so in the region between Holdernesse Hall and the school. It is vain to look elsewhere for tracks in this dry weather; but at that point there is certainly a chance of some record being left. I will call you early to-morrow morning, and you and I will try if we can throw some little light upon the mystery.”

The day was just breaking when I woke to find the long, thin form of Holmes by my bedside. He was fully dressed, and had apparently already been out.

我再一次问：“那么自行车呢？”

福尔摩斯不耐烦地说：“好，好！一个自行车骑得好的人，不一定非得在大路上才能起。荒原上有许多小路一交一错，而且那时月亮正圆。喔，什么声音？”

一阵急促的敲门声，随着进来了贺克斯塔布尔博士。他手里拿着一顶蓝色的打板球时戴的帽子，帽顶上有白色的Ｖ形花纹。

他喊道：“我们终于找到了一个线索！谢天谢地！我们至少知道了这位少爷走过的路径！这是他的帽子。”

“在哪儿找到的？”

“在吉卜赛人的大篷车上，他们在这片荒原宿过营。他们是星期二走的。今天警察追到他们，并且检查了他们的每辆车，发现了这顶帽子。”

“他们怎样解释呢？”

“他们又搪塞又撒谎，说是星期二早晨在荒原上拾到的。这群恶棍，他们知道孩子在哪儿！谢谢上帝，把他们都关起来了。法律的威力，或是公爵的金钱，总会使他们说出他们知道的情况。”

博士离开之后，福尔摩斯说：“这很好。至少证实了我们的设想，必须在下吉尔荒原的这一边找才会有结果。警察除去逮捕了这些吉卜赛人之外，确实没有做什么。华生，你瞧！横穿荒原有一条水道。地图上这儿已经标出来了。有的地方水道变宽成为沼泽，尤其是在霍尔得芮斯府和学校之间的一平地区。在这样干燥的天气，到别处去找痕迹是徒劳的，但是在这一带，有可能找到留下的痕迹。明天一清早我来叫你，你和我一起出去试试，看能否给这个神密的案件找出一线光明。”

天刚刚发亮，我一睁眼就看到福尔摩斯的细长的身一子站在我的一床一边。他已经穿好了衣服，并且显然已经出去过了。