《福尔摩斯探案集·歪唇男人》第16节
“He is a cripple in the sense that he walks with a limp; but in other respects he appears to be a powerful and well-nurtured man. Surely your medical experience would tell you, Watson, that weakness in one limb is often compensated for by exceptional strength in the others.” “Pray continue your narrative.” “Mrs. St. Clair had fainted at the sight of the blood upon the window, and she was escorted home in a cab by the police, as her presence could be of no help to them in their investigations. Inspector Barton, who had charge of the case, made a very careful examination of the premises, but without finding anything which threw any light upon the matter. One mistake had been made in not arresting Boone instantly, as he was allowed some few minutes during which he might have communicated with his friend the Lascar, but this fault was soon remedied, and he was seized and searched, without anything being found which could incriminate him. There were, it is true, some blood-stains upon his right shirt-sleeve, but he pointed to his ring-finger, which had been cut near the nail, and explained that the bleeding came from there, adding that he had been to the window not long before, and that the stains which had been observed there came doubtless from the same source. He denied strenuously having ever seen Mr. Neville St. Clair and swore that the presence of the clothes in his room was as much a mystery to him as to the police. As to Mrs. St. Clair’s assertion that she had actually seen her husband at the window, he declared that she must have been either mad or dreaming. He was removed, loudly protesting, to the police-station, while the inspector remained upon the premises in the hope that the ebbing tide might afford some fresh clue.
注释摘要
这一节是福尔摩斯向华生叙述案情的后半段，华生刚刚对“一个瘸子怎么可能独自对付一个壮年男子”提出了疑问。福尔摩斯的回答很简短，却透着他一贯的、建立在广泛知识基础上的实用推理：瘸子只是走路跛，身体其余部分可能非常强壮，这种单肢的弱势往往伴随着其他肢体异常的力量，这是医学上常见的代偿现象。他在这里其实是在提醒华生不要被表面印象困住，也顺带点出了华生作为医生的身份…