《福尔摩斯探案集·斑点带子案》第14节
“How about poison?” “The doctors examined her for it, but without success.” “What do you think that this unfortunate lady died of, then?” “It is my belief that she died of pure fear and nervous shock, though what it was that frightened her I cannot imagine.” “Were there gipsies in the plantation at the time?” “Yes, there are nearly always some there.” “Ah, and what did you gather from this allusion to a band—a speckled band?” “Sometimes I have thought that it was merely the wild talk of delirium, sometimes that it may have referred to some band of people, perhaps to these very gipsies in the plantation. I do not know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wear over their heads might have suggested the strange adjective which she used.” Holmes shook his head like a man who is far from being satisfied. “These are very deep waters,” said he; “pray go on with your narrative.”
注释摘要
这一小段对话发生在海伦·斯托纳叙述完姐姐茱莉亚死状之后。福尔摩斯介入得极有章法。他先追问一个现代读者第一反应就会想到的可能:毒药。海伦的回答是,医生做了检验,但一无所获。这便排除了当时苏格兰场与公众最依赖的一类物证——化学检验在维多利亚时代的法医学中已经占据重要地位,砒霜、颠茄等毒物的检测方法渐趋成熟。验不出毒,在官方逻辑里便几乎等于排除了谋杀。于是福尔摩…