《福尔摩斯探案集·红发会》第8节
“The first thing that put us out was that advertisement. Spaulding, he came down into the office just this day eight weeks, with this very paper in his hand, and he says: “‘I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a red-headed man.’ “‘Why that?’ I asks. “‘Why,’ says he, ‘here’s another vacancy on the League of the Red-headed Men. It’s worth quite a little fortune to any man who gets it, and I understand that there are more vacancies than there are men, so that the trustees are at their wits’ end what to do with the money. If my hair would only change colour, here’s a nice little crib all ready for me to step into.’ “‘Why, what is it, then?’ I asked. You see, Mr. Holmes, I am a very stay-at-home man, and as my business came to me instead of my having to go to it, I was often weeks on end without putting my foot over the door-mat. In that way I didn’t know much of what was going on outside, and I was always glad of a bit of news. “‘Have you never heard of the League of the Red-headed Men?’ he asked with his eyes open.
注释摘要
威尔逊先生的叙述进入了一个新的段落——广告出现了。这一节从结构上看，是故事真正的发动机：此前福尔摩斯刚刚展示过他穿透表象的观察力，而现在，读者要跟随华生一起，听这位当铺老板从头讲起。 字面上，威尔逊回忆起八周前的一个日子，他的助手文森特·斯波尔丁拿着报纸走进办公室，用一种近乎天真的语气感叹——“我真希望自己是个红头发的人。”助手接着把广告的内容讲给威尔逊听…