《福尔摩斯探案集·波希米亚丑闻》第21节
“This was quite too good to lose, Watson. I was just balancing whether I should run for it, or whether I should perch behind her landau when a cab came through the street. The driver looked twice at such a shabby fare, but I jumped in before he could object. ‘The Church of St. Monica,’ said I, ‘and half a sovereign if you reach it in twenty minutes.’ It was twenty-five minutes to twelve, and of course it was clear enough what was in the wind. “My cabby drove fast. I don’t think I ever drove faster, but the others were there before us. The cab and the landau with their steaming horses were in front of the door when I arrived. I paid the man and hurried into the church. There was not a soul there save the two whom I had followed and a surpliced clergyman, who seemed to be expostulating with them. They were all three standing in a knot in front of the altar. I lounged up the side aisle like any other idler who has dropped into a church. Suddenly, to my surprise, the three at the altar faced round to me, and Godfrey Norton came running as hard as he could towards me.
注释摘要
这一段文字，读者与华生一道，从追述里见证了一场极不寻常的“街头偶遇”。华生此刻完全是一个听故事的人，他对事态的走向一无所知，只能仰赖福尔摩斯的讲述，而福尔摩斯在叙述时也适度保留着当时自己那一层“并不完全明白会发生什么”的有限视角。这种双层追叙，恰好制造出侦探小说中极宝贵的悬念：我们看见三辆马车纷纷以“二十分钟内赶到，赏半镑金币”的方式疾驰向同一座教堂，却不…