《福尔摩斯探案集·铜山毛榉案》第31节
“There was a little passage in front of me, unpapered and uncarpeted, which turned at a right angle at the farther end. Round this corner were three doors in a line, the first and third of which were open. They each led into an empty room, dusty and cheerless, with two windows in the one and one in the other, so thick with dirt that the evening light glimmered dimly through them. The centre door was closed, and across the outside of it had been fastened one of the broad bars of an iron bed, padlocked at one end to a ring in the wall, and fastened at the other with stout cord. The door itself was locked as well, and the key was not there. This barricaded door corresponded clearly with the shuttered window outside, and yet I could see by the glimmer from beneath it that the room was not in darkness. Evidently there was a skylight which let in light from above. As I stood in the passage gazing at the sinister door and wondering what secret it might veil, I suddenly heard the sound of steps within the room and saw a shadow pass backward and forward against the little slit of dim light which shone out from under the door. A mad, unreasoning terror rose up in me at the sight, Mr. Holmes. My overstrung nerves failed me suddenly, and I turned and ran—ran as though some dreadful hand were behind me clutching at the skirt of my dress. I rushed down the passage, through the door, and straight into the arms of Mr. Rucastle, who was waiting outside. “‘So,’ said he, smiling, ‘it was you, then. I thought that it must be when I saw the door open.’
注释摘要
维奥莱特·亨特进入了那个被禁的侧翼。她的叙述在此处陡然从冷静的观察转入一种哥特式的恐怖体验，而这一切始于一条极其简陋的走廊——没有墙纸，没有地毯，这意味着脚步声不会被吸收，任何闯入者的存在都会被建筑本身暴露。这是第一处值得留意的细节：这条走廊的裸露状态，究竟是疏于打理，还是故意为之，以便让任何接近的人无法隐匿行踪。 走廊尽头右转，三扇门排成一线。两边敞开的…