《福尔摩斯探案集·铜山毛榉案》第29节
“‘Ah!’ said he, ‘you must not think me rude if I passed you without a word, my dear young lady. I was preoccupied with business matters.’ “I assured him that I was not offended. ‘By the way,’ said I, ‘you seem to have quite a suite of spare rooms up there, and one of them has the shutters up.’ “He looked surprised and, as it seemed to me, a little startled at my remark. “‘Photography is one of my hobbies,’ said he. ‘I have made my dark room up there. But, dear me! what an observant young lady we have come upon. Who would have believed it? Who would have ever believed it?’ He spoke in a jesting tone, but there was no jest in his eyes as he looked at me. I read suspicion there and annoyance, but no jest. “Well, Mr. Holmes, from the moment that I understood that there was something about that suite of rooms which I was not to know, I was all on fire to go over them. It was not mere curiosity, though I have my share of that. It was more a feeling of duty—a feeling that some good might come from my penetrating to this place. They talk of woman’s instinct; perhaps it was woman’s instinct which gave me that feeling. At any rate, it was there, and I was keenly on the lookout for any chance to pass the forbidden door.
注释摘要
这短短的一场花园对话，看似是主仆之间日常的寒暄，实则是一场不动声色的刺探与反刺探。 字面上看，这是在铜山毛榉宅的花园里，鲁卡斯尔先生为自己先前的无礼匆匆而过道歉，给出的理由是忙于事务。这位家庭女教师，也就是我们的叙述者维奥莱特·亨特小姐，得体地表示并未介怀，却紧接着抛出一个看似无心的问题：楼上似乎有一套空房间，其中一扇窗户关着百叶窗。鲁卡斯尔先生的反应变得…