《福尔摩斯探案集·红发会》第14节
“‘What would be the hours?’ I asked. “‘Ten to two.’ “Now a pawnbroker’s business is mostly done of an evening, Mr. Holmes, especially Thursday and Friday evening, which is just before pay-day; so it would suit me very well to earn a little in the mornings. Besides, I knew that my assistant was a good man, and that he would see to anything that turned up. “‘That would suit me very well,’ said I. ‘And the pay?’ “‘Is £ 4 a week.’ “‘And the work?’ “‘Is purely nominal.’ “‘What do you call purely nominal?’ “‘Well, you have to be in the office, or at least in the building, the whole time. If you leave, you forfeit your whole position forever. The will is very clear upon that point. You don’t comply with the conditions if you budge from the office during that time.’ “‘It’s only four hours a day, and I should not think of leaving,’ said I. “‘No excuse will avail,’ said Mr. Duncan Ross; ‘neither sickness nor business nor anything else. There you must stay, or you lose your billet.’ “‘And the work?’ “‘Is to copy out the Encyclopædia Britannica. There is the first volume of it in that press. You must find your own ink, pens, and blotting-paper, but we provide this table and chair. Will you be ready to-morrow?’
注释摘要
这一小段对话发生在威尔逊的叙述之中，是他与自称邓肯·罗斯的“红发会”经理之间的一场简短谈判。威尔逊刚刚获得那个古怪空缺，现在需要确认具体条件。他主动抛出三个问题：工作时间、报酬金额、工作内容。这三个问题恰好构成一份标准雇佣合同的骨架，也让读者得以看清这个所谓“红发会”提出的条款到底有多不寻常。 值得注意的是威尔逊的第一反应，他不是先问报酬或工作内容，而是先…