Kitobni o'qish: «Приключения Шерлока Холмса / The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (сборник)»
Иллюстрации И. В. Кульбицкой
© ООО Издательство АСТ, 2014
Предисловие
Артур Игнатиус Конан Дойл родился 22 мая 1859 года в Эдинбурге. Его отец, Чарльз Альтамонт Дойл, был художником и архитектором, а мать увлекалась литературой и, обладая ярким воображением, являлась великолепной рассказчицей.
Материальное положение семьи Дойлов было достаточно скромным, и родители не могли обеспечить способному мальчику хорошее образование, поэтому, увидев в ребенке потенциал, богатые родственники отправили Артура учиться в иезуитский колледж Стоунхерст. Обучение в колледже было предельно строгим, а учащиеся подвергались физическим наказаниям, но тем не менее это не помешало Дойлу стать популярной личностью среди сверстников и открыть в себе способности к сочинительству.
В дальнейшем Дойл получил медицинское образование в Эдинбургском университете, где познакомился с начинающими литераторами Джеймсом Барри, Робертом Льюисом Стивенсоном, а также одним из прототипов сыщика Шерлока Холмса – преподавателем Джозефом Беллом. Именно во время учебы в университете Дойл публикует свои первые рассказы.
По окончании университета Дойл занимается врачебной практикой, не забывая и о литературном творчестве. В 1887 году выходит первый роман Дойла о Шерлоке Холмсе – «Этюд в багровых тонах». Роман тепло принимается публикой, и на протяжении последующих нескольких лет Дойл создает другие произведения о Холмсе, среди которых «Знак четырех», «Собака Баскервилей» и несколько сборников рассказов.
С тех пор прошло немало лет, но произведения Артура Конан Дойла о Шерлоке Холмсе по-прежнему пользуются большой популярностью среди читателей самых разных возрастов. Они были переведены более чем на 70 языков, экранизированы бесчисленное количество раз, а сам Шерлок Холмс на сегодняшний день, пожалуй, является самым известным сыщиком в мире литературы.
Пестрая лента
The Adventure of Speckled Band
Адаптация текста, упражнения, комментарии и словарь Е. В. Глушенковой
I
On glancing over my notes of the cases in which I have studied the methods of my friend Sherlock Holmes, I find many tragic, some comic, a large number strange, but no commonplace cases. He worked rather for the love of his art than for money and he refused to associate himself with any investigation which did not have anything unusual and even fantastic in it. Of all these cases, however, I cannot recall any which was more unusual than that which was associated with the well-known family of the Roylotts ofStoke Moran1. The events occurred in the early days of my association with Holmes, when we were sharing rooms in Baker Street.
It was early in April in the year 1883 that I woke one morning to find Sherlock Holmes standing, fully dressed, by the side of my bed.He was a late riser2, as a rule, and as the clock showed me that it was only a quarter-past seven, I looked up at him in some surprise.
“Very sorry to wake you up, Watson,” said he, “but Mrs. Hudson has been woken up, and she woke me up.”
“What is it, then – a fire?”
“No, a client. A young lady has arrived. She is waiting now in the sitting-room. When young ladies call on you at this hour of the morning, I think that it is something very pressing. If it is an interesting case, I am sure, you would like to follow it from the beginning.”
“My dear fellow, I shall be ready in a minute.”
I put on my clothes and was ready in a few minutes to accompany my friend down to the sitting-room. A lady dressed in black rose as we entered.
“Good-morning, madam,” said Holmes. “My name is Sherlock Holmes. This is my friend and associate, Dr. Watson, before whom you can speak as freely as before myself. I am glad to see that Mrs. Hudson has lighted the fire. Please sit near it, and I shall ask a cup of hot coffee for you, for I see that you are shivering.”
“It is not cold which makes me shiver3,” said the woman in a low voice.
“What, then?”
“It is fear, Mr. Holmes. It is terror.” She looked up as she spoke, and we could see her pale face with frightened eyes.She must be a woman of thirty4, but her hair was turning gray.
“You must not fear,” said he. “We shall soon help you, I have no doubt. You have come to London by train this morning, I see.”
“You know me, then?”
“No, but I see your return ticket in your left glove.You must have started early5, and you had a long drive in a dog-cart, along heavy roads, before you reached the station.”
The lady looked in bewilderment at my companion.
“There is no mystery, my dear madam,” said he, smiling. “The left arm of your jacket is covered with mud. The marks are perfectly fresh. Only a dog-cart throws up mud in that way.”
“You are perfectly correct,” said she. “I started from home before six, and came in by the first train toWaterloo6. Sir, I can stand this strain no longer7; I shall go mad if it continues. I have heard of you, Mr. Holmes; I have heard of you from Mrs. Farintosh, whom you helped. It was from her that I had your address. Oh, sir, do you not think that you could help me, too? At present I cannot reward you, but in a month or six weeks I shall be married and shall have my own income, and then you will not find me ungrateful.”
Holmes turned to his desk and took a small book, which he consulted.
“Farintosh,” said he. “Ah yes, I recall the case. I think it was before your time, Watson. I can only say, madam, that I shall be happy to investigate your case as I did for your friend. As to reward, my profession is its own reward; but you can pay me at the time which suits you best. And now I ask you to tell us everything that may help us in to form an opinion upon the matter.”
“Alas!” said our visitor, “the horror of my situation lies in the fact that my fears are so vague, that even the man who cares for me looks upon all that I tell him as the fancies of a nervous woman. He does not say so, but I can read it in his eyes.”
“I am all attention, madam.”
Exercises
1. Answer the questions:
1. When did Sherlock Holmes investigate the case of the Roylotts of Stoke Moran?
2. Where did Sherlock Holmes live? Who did he share the rooms with?
3. Why did Sherlock Holmes wake up Dr.Watson very early one morning?
4. What did the client look like?
5. How did Sherlock Holmes surprise their visitor?
6. How did he learn all the information about the client?
7. Who did the client learn about the detective from?
8. Why did the client come to Holmes for help?
9. What did she tell Holmes about her financial position?
Think and say
1. What do you think is the role of Dr.Watson in Sherlock Holmes’ investigations?
2. What does Holmes’ behaviour at the beginning of the story tell us about his character?
2. Find the following words and phrases in the text and reproduce situations from the text with them. Give Russian equivalents.
1. rather… than
would rather do smth than do smth else
2. to occur
It occurred to smb
3. to share a room / flat
4. as a rule
5. to call on smb
6. to accompany smb to some place
7. to investigate a case
8. to care for smb / smth
3. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences so as to use the words and phrases above.
1. Sherlock Holmes usually allowed Dr. Watson to follow his investigations.
2. Sherlock Holmeslooked intoa lot of tragic events.
3. When my friend told me she felt nervous before her first concert I offeredto go there with her.
4. The two sisterslived in the same room.
5. Anne’s grandmother lived next door and the girl oftenvisited herafter classes.
6. Sherlock Holmespreferred doing nothing to investigating common cases.
7. I don’t really think that heloves anyonebut himself.
8. I don’t know when the accidenthappened.
9. When Dr. Watson was woken up very early in the morning, hehad an ideathat the house was on fire.
10. The teacher said hewould prefer teachingbright students for a small pay to teachingstupid students for a higher pay.
4. Complete the sentences with the words and phrases above in the correct form.
1. Emily… an office with eight other people. She says it’s very noisy there…
2. When Anne arrived at the hospital she said she’d….. a ward with some other patients… have a private ward. It was the first time she was in hospital and she wanted to have somebody to talk to.
3. If you’re afraid to go to the doctor, I can… you there.
4. Sherlock Holmes… a lot of… together with Dr. Watson and Police Inspector Lestrade.
5. Monica would like to become a vet as she… animals.
6. Tom would… travel by train… by air. He hates travelling by plane.
7. Evelyn was short of money and… to her that she could borrow some from her aunt.
8. Several car accidents… at the crossroads before traffic-lights were put up there.
9. Don’t cook curry for our party. We don’t… Indian food.
10. Helen Stoner… Sherlock Holmes early in the morning and asked him… her…
II
“My name is Helen Stoner, and I am living with my stepfather, who is the last of one of the oldest families in England, the Roylotts of Stoke Moran.
“The family was at one time among the richest in England, but at present only a few acres of land and an old house are left. The last squire lived the horrible life of a poor aristocrat; but his only son, my stepfathertook a medical degree8 and went to India, where, by his professional skill and his force of character, he established a large practice. In a fit of anger, however, he beat his native servant to death and went to prison. After that he returned to England a gloomy and disappointed man.
“When Dr. Roylott was in India he married my mother, Mrs. Stoner, the young widow. My sister Julia and I were twins, and we were only two years old at the time of my mother’s second marriage. She had a considerable sum of money and all this she left to Dr. Roylott while we lived with him, but a certain sum should be paid to each of us every yearin the event of our marriage9. After our return to England my mother died – she was killed eight years ago in a railway accident. Dr. Roylott then left London and took us to live with him in the old house at Stoke Moran. The money which my mother had left was enough for all our wants, and it seemed we could be happy.
“But a terrible change occurred to our stepfather at this time. Instead of making friends with our neighbours, who at first were happy to see a Roylott back in Stoke Moran, he shut himself up in his house. When he seldom came out, he started quarrels with anyone whom he met. A number of horrible quarrels occurred, two of which ended in the court, until at last he became the terror of the village, and the people hid at his approach, for he is a man of great strength in his terrible fits of anger.
“He has no friends at all except gypsies, and he allows them to stay in the park near the house. He loves also Indian animals, and he has at this moment a cheetah and a baboon, which go freely over the park and are feared by the people of the village almost as much as their master.
“You can imagine from what I say that my poor sister Julia and I had no great pleasure in our lives. No servant stayed with us, and for a long time we did all the work of the house. She was thirty at the time of her death, but her hair was turning gray like mine.”
“Your sister is dead, then?”
“She died two years ago, and it is of her death that I wish to speak to you. You can understand that, living the life which I have described, we saw very few people. We had, however, an aunt, who we were allowed to visit. Julia went there at Christmas two years ago, and met there a young officer, to whom she became engaged. My stepfather learned of the engagement when my sister returned and did not say anything against the marriage; but two weeks before the wedding, the terrible event occurred and I lost my only companion.”
Sherlock Holmes had been sitting in his chair with his eyes closed, but now he glanced at his visitor.
“Please give us all the details,” said he.
“It is easy for me to do so, for I remember every event of that time. The house is, as I have already said, very old, and only the bedrooms are on the ground floor. Of these bedrooms the first is Dr. Roylott’s, the second is my sister’s, and the third is my own. There are no doors between them, but they all open out into the same corridor.
“The windows of the three rooms open out upon the park. That fatal night Dr. Roylott had gone to his room early, though we knew that he had not gone to bed, for my sister was troubled by the smell of the strong Indian cigars which he smoked. She left her room, therefore, and came into mine, where she sat for some time, talking about her approaching wedding. At eleven o’clock she rose to leave me, but she paused at the door and looked back.
“ ‘Tell me, Helen,’ said she, ‘have you ever heard anyone whistle at night?’
“ ‘Never. But why?’ said I.
“ ‘Because during the last few nights I have always, about three in the morning, heard a low, clear whistle. I cannot tell where it came from – perhaps from the next room, perhaps from the park. I thought that I would ask you whether you had heard it.’
‘No, I have not.It must be those gypsies in the park10.’
“ ‘Very likely. And if it were in the park, it is strange that you did not hear it also.’
“ ‘Ah, but I do not hear anything when I am asleep.’
She smiled back at me, closed my door, and a few moments later I heard her key turn in the lock.”
“Did you always lock yourselves in at night?” asked Holmes.
“Always.”
“And why?”
“I think that I said that the doctor kept a cheetah and a baboon. We had no feeling of security if our doors were not locked.”
“I see. But forgive me for interrupting you. Please continue your story.”
Exercises
1. Answer the questions:
1. What did you learn about the Roylotts of Stoke Moran?
2. Why did Dr. Roylott return to England from India a gloomy and disappointed man?
3. How did it happen that Dr. Roylott lived in Stoke Moran with his two stepdaughters?
4. Who else lived in the house?
5. What were the relations between Dr. Roylott and other people in the village?
6. Why weren’t Julia and Helen happy?
7. How did it happen that Julia became engaged to be married?
8. What did you learn about the house where Julia’s tragic death occurred?
9. What did the sisters speak about before Julia’s death?
10. Why did the sisters lock their bedrooms?
Think and say
1. Was Dr. Roylott a good doctor? Would you like him to be your family doctor? Why do you think so?
2. Was it easy for the sisters to marry? Why do you think so?
2. Find the following phrases in the text and reproduce situations from the text with them. Give Russian equivalents.
1. to be left
2. to leave smth to smb
3. to make friends with smb
4. to be / become engaged to smb
engagement (to smb)
5. to open out on / upon / into
3. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences so as to use the phrases above.
1. Tony is a very sociable boy, he canbecome the friend of anybody.
2. How longbefore the wedding did they agree to get married?
3. It was only after his aunt’s death that Robert learnedhe would get her house after her death.
4. After he paid all his debts, no more moneyremained.
5. Their roomfacesthe park, so they have a very nice view.
6. Have you heard that John has broken offhis agreement to marryJune? – I didn’t even know that they agreed to marry.
7. After Miss Stoner’s sister died, sheremainedalone with her stepfather.
4. Complete the sentences with phrases above in the correct form.
1. Susan doesn’t want her bedroom… the sea. She says the noise of the sea won’t let her sleep.
2. There were a lot of shops in the street a few years ago. But only two… The others have been closed.
3. I didn’t know that Alex and Anne… to be married.
4. When Bob came to a new school, he wanted… his new classmates.
5. Peter’s father… him his gold watch, and Peter always wears it.
6. Walter gave Alice an… ring. They are to be married next month.
7. After her children married, Mrs Sykes… alone in her big house.
III
“I could not sleep that night. I had a vague feeling that something bad was coming. It was a wild night. The wind was very strong outside, and the rain was beating against the windows. Suddenly, there was a wild scream of a terrified woman. I knew that it was my sister’s voice. I got out of my bed, and rushed into the corridor. As I opened my door I seemed to hear a low whistle, such as my sister described, and a few moments later a strange sound, as if metal had fallen. As I ran down the corridor, my sister’s door was unlocked, and opened slowly. By the light of the corridor-lamp I saw my sister appear in the doorway, her face pale with terror, she could hardly stand. I ran to her and threw my arms round her, but at that moment she fell to the ground. She seemed to be in terrible pain. As I bent over her she suddenly cried out in a voice which I shall never forget, ‘Oh, my God! Helen! It was the band! The speckled band!’ There was something else which she wanted to say, and she pointed her finger at the door of the doctor’s room, but she could not speak. I called loudly for my stepfather, and I saw him running from his room. When he reached my sister’s side she was unconscious, and though he sent for a doctor from the village,she died without having recovered her consciousness11.”
“One moment,” said Holmes, “are you sure about this whistle and metallic sound?”
“That was what the police asked me. I believe I heard it, butI may have made a mistake.12”
“Was your sister dressed?”
“No, she was in her night-dress. In her right hand wе found a burnt match, and in her left a match-box.”
“It shows that she struck a light and looked about her when she heard a noise. That is important. And what conclusions did the police come to?”
“They investigated the case with great care, for Dr. Roylott had a very bad reputation, but they were unable to find any satisfactory cause of death. The door was locked on the inside, and the windows were blocked. The walls and the floor were examined, with no result. It is clear, therefore, that my sister was alone when she met her end. Besides, there were no marks of any violence upon her.”
“How about poison?”
“The doctors examined her for it, but without any result.”
“What do you think your sister died of, then?”
“I believe she died of fear and nervous shock, though what frightened her I cannot imagine.”
“Were there gypsies in the park at the time?”
“Yes, there are nearly always some there.”
“Ah, and what did you think of her last words – a speckled band?”
“Sometimes I have thought that she spoke of some band of people, perhaps of the gypsies in the park. So many of them wear the speckled handkerchiefs over their heads.”
Holmes shook his head like a man who was not satisfied.
“Two years have passed since then, and my life has been lonelier than ever. A month ago, however, a dear friend, whom I have known for many years, asked my hand in marriage. His name is Armitage – Percy Armitage. My stepfather has nothing against the marriage, and we are to be married in spring. Two days ago some repairs were started in the house, and I had to move into the room in which my sister died, and to sleep in the bed in which she slept. Imagine, then, terror when last night I suddenly heard the low whistle which my sister had heard before her death. I got up and lit the lamp, but saw nothing unusual in the room. I was too frightened to go to bed again, however, so I dressed, and as soon as it was daylight I left the house, got a dog-cart and drove to the station, from where I have come on this morning to see you and to ask your advice.”
“You have done well,” said my friend. “But have you told me all?”
“Yes, all.”
“Miss Roylott, you have not.”
“Why, what do you mean?”
For answer Holmes took her hand that lay upon our visitor’s knee. The marks of a very strong hand were printed on it.
“Your stepfather has been cruel to you,” said Holmes.
“He is a hard man,” she said, “and perhaps he hardly knows his own strength.”
There was a long silence, during which Holmes looked into the fire.
“This is a very deep business13,” he said at last. “There are a thousand details which I should like to know before I decide what to do. We have not a moment to lose. If we come to Stoke Moran to-day, would it be possible for us to see these rooms without the knowledge14 of your stepfather?”
“He spoke of going to town to-day upon some most important business. It is probable that he will be away all day. We have a housekeeper now, but she is old and foolish.”
“Perfect. You are not against this trip, Watson?”
“No, I am not.”
“Then we shall both come. What are you going to do yourself?”
“I have one or two things to do now in town. But I shall return by the twelve o’clock train, and I shall be there in time for your coming.”
Exercises
1. Answer the questions:
1. Why couldn’t Helen sleep that night?
2. What sounds did Helen Stoner hear that night?
3. What did Julia look like when she came into the corridor?
4. How did Julia die?
5. What did Helen think Julia’s last words meant?
6. What did the police investigation show? Was it careful?
7. What were Helen’s plans for the near future?
8. Why was she terrified?
9. What was Sherlock Holmes going to do?
10. Why was Sherlock Holmes interested in Dr. Roylott’s plans for that day?
Think and say
1. Did Dr. Roylott love his stepdaughters?
2. Why was the police investigation without any results?
2. Find the following phrases in the text and reproduce situations from the text with them. Give Russian equivalents.
1. to be in pain
2. to come to a conclusion
3. (to find) the cause of death
4. to die of smth
5. to move to another place / into another room
3. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences so as to use the phrases above.
1. We saw that the manwas suffering terribly, but all we could do was to call an ambulance.
2. Sherlock Holmesdecidedthat it was a very deep business.
3. Her grandmothergot pneumonia and died.
4. The police examined the dead man but couldn’tsay why he died.
5. I was surprised to hear that Simonhad gone to live in another flat. He always said it was a very good flat.
6. The policemade an absolutely wrong decisionas to why the man diedbecause they didn’t have enough information.
7. Julia Stoner could not talk because shewas suffering from pain.
4. Complete the sentences with the phrases above in the correct form.
1. In old days when a patient… the doctor gave him some alcohol to drink.
2. In the 19th century thousands of people all over Europe… tuberculosis.
3. Helen Stoner was afraid… the room where her sister had died.
4. If you want to know somebody’s…, you have to see the death certificate.
5. After a long discussion the doctors… that the patient didn’t need an operation.
6. If you…, take the pill.
7. Don’t worry, people don’t… such temperature.
IV
“And what do you think of it all, Watson?” asked Sherlock Holmes after Miss Stoner left the room.
“It seems to me to be a most dark and gloomy business.”
“Dark enough and gloomy enough.”
“If the lady is correct when she said that no one could get into the room from the outside, then there is no doubt that her sister was alone when she met her end.”
“What about these whistles, and the very strange words of the dying woman?”
“I have no idea.”
“Whistles at night, a band of gypsies in the park, the fact that the doctor has an interest in preventing his stepdaughter’s marriage, the dying woman’s words, the fact that Miss Helen Stoner heard a metallic sound… Probably it was caused by the gypsies’ attempt to force the window.”
“But what, then, did the gypsies do?”
“I cannot imagine.”
“That is why we are going to Stoke Moran today. I want to see whether we can explain all this.But what in the name of the devil!15”
Our door suddenly opened, and a very big man was in the doorway. So tall was he that his hat reached the doorway. A large face,marked with every evil passion16, was turned from one to the other of us.
“Which of you is Holmes?” asked the man.
“This is my name, sir,” said my companion in a low voice.
“I am Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of Stoke Moran.”
“Ah, Doctor,” said Holmes. “Please take your seat.”
“I will do nothing of the kind17. My stepdaughter has been here. I have followed her. What has she said to you?”
“It is a little cold for the time of the year,” said Holmes.
“Ha! You put me off, do you?” said our new visitor. “I know you, you scoundrel! I have heard of you before.”
My friend smiled.
“Your words are most pleasant,” said he. “When you go out close the door, for the open door makes the room cold.”
“I will go when I have said what I want. I know that Miss Stoner has been here. I followed her! I am a dangerous man! See here.”
He took the poker, and bent it with his very strong hands.
“Keep yourself out of my grip,” he said, threw the poker, and went out of the room.
“He seems a very friendly person,” said Holmes, laughing. “I am not so big, but my grip is as strong as his own.” He took the poker and straightened it out again.
“Fancy his having the insolence to confound me with the official detective force! This incident gives zest to our investigation, however, and I only trust that our little friend will not suffer from her imprudence in allowing this brute to trace her. And now, Watson, we shall order breakfast, and afterwards I shall walk down to Doctors’ Commons, where I hope to get some data which may help us in this matter.”
It was nearly one o’clock when Sherlock Holmes returned home. He held in his hand a sheet of blue paper, covered with notes.
“I have seen the will of Miss Stoner’s mother,” said he. “The income is now not more than 750 pounds. Each daughter can have an income of 250 pounds, in case of marriage. It is clear, therefore, that if both girls had married, our pleasant visitor would have had very little left, even one marriage would take a lot of money from him. He has the strongest motives for preventing his stepdaughters’ marriage. And now, Watson, this is very serious and we must hurry, as the old man knows of our interest in his affairs; so if you are ready, we shall call a cab and drive to Waterloo. And remember to take your revolver with you. It is a good argument with gentlemen who can bend pokers.”
At Waterloo we took a train for Leatherhead, the station nearest to Stoke Moran, where we got into a cab and drove for four or five miles to our client’s house. It was a perfect day, with a bright sun and a few clouds in the sky. The trees were just throwing out their first green leaves, and the air was full of the pleasant smell. To me there was a strange contrast between the beautiful spring day and the tragic event we had arrived to investigate. My companion sat in the cab,his hat pulled down over his eyes, lost in the deepest thought18. Suddenly, however, he pointed to the left.
“Look there!” said he.
I saw a park with a very old house in it.
“Stoke Moran?” said he.
“Yes, sir, that is the house of Dr. Grimesby Roylott,” answered the driver.
“There’s the village,” said the driver, pointing to some houses to the left; “but if you want to get to the house, you’ll find a road over the fields. There it is, where the lady is walking.”
“And the lady, I believe, is Miss Stoner,” said Holmes.
We got off and the cab drove back to Leatherhead.
Exercises
1. Answer the questions:
1. Did Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson come to any conclusion about the case?
2. Who suddenly came into the room?
3. What did Dr. Roylott look like?
4. How did he learn about Miss Stoner’s visit to Sherlock Holmes?
5. Why did Dr. Roylott come to Sherlock Holmes?
6. What did Sherlock Holmes find out about Dr. Roylott’s financial position?
7. How did Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson reach Stoke Moran?
Think and say
1. How did Sherlock Holmes’ and Dr. Roylott’s behaviour characterize them?
2. Why did Sherlock Holmes think that they had to hurry?
2. Find the following phrases in the text and reproduce situations from the text with them. Give Russian equivalents.
1. from the outside
ant.from the inside
2. there is no doubt (about smth / that…)
3. in a low voice
4. to follow smb
3. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences so as to use the phrases above.
1. The actors spokevery quietlyand we couldn’t hear anything.
2. When Steven arrived home he found the house lockedby somebody who was in it. Steven rang the bell and knocked on the door but without any result.
3. Alex was a private detective and very often his job wasto watchpeople and write reports about their actions for his clients.
4. After the doctor examined the dead man,the cause of his death was quite clear.
5.We are absolutely surethat the window was broken by somebody who was not in the house.
6. The catwatchedevery movement of the mouse.
7.I am surethe police are after us.
4. Complete the sentences with the phrases above in the correct form.
1. Please speak…, the children are asleep.
2… he is seriously ill. He is very pale. He looks as if he is in pain.
3. Sue and Sam tried… the unknown woman, but her car was much faster than theirs, and they soon lost her.
4. Sherlock Holmes came to the conclusion that no one could get into Julia’s room…
5. He said it in such… that nobody understood him.
6. A crowd gathered around a house on fire. They heard cries…, but no one went into the fire.
7. If anyone can do the work…, it’s him. Let him be responsible for it.
V
Our client had hurried forward to meet us with joy. “I have been waiting for you,” she cried, shaking hands with us warmly. “Dr. Roylott has gone to town, and it is not likely that he will be back before evening.”
“We have had the pleasure of making the doctor’s acquaintance19,” said Holmes, and in a few words he told her what had occurred. Miss Stoner turned white as she listened.
“Good heavens!”20 she cried, “he has followed me, then.”
“So it seems.”
“What will he say when he returns?”
“You must lock yourself up from him to-night. If he does anything to you, we shall take you away to your aunt. Now, you must take us at once to the rooms which we have come to examine.”
The building was gray. Most part of it was a ruin. Holmes examined with great attention the outsides of the windows.
“Is this the window of the roomin which you used to sleep21, the central one of your sister’s, and the next of Dr. Roylott’s room?”
“Yes. But I am now sleeping in the middle room.”
“There are some repairs, as I understand. By the way, I cannot see any very pressing need for repairs in this part of the house.”
“You are right. I believe that it was an excuse to move me from my room.”
“Ah! that is interesting. These three rooms open into a corridor. There are windows in it, of course?”
“Yes, but very small ones. Too small for anyone to get in.”
“As you both locked your doors at night, no one could get into your rooms from that side. Now, go into your room and shut your window.”
Miss Stoner did so, and Holmes, after a careful examination, attempted in every way to force the window open, but without any result. “Hum!” said he, “No one could get into the room from here. Well, we shall see if the inside throws any light upon the matter.”
We went to the corridor from which the three bedrooms opened. We passed at once to the second room, in which Miss Stoner was now sleeping, and in which her sister had met her end. It was a little room, with a low ceiling and a big fireplace, like in many old country-houses. Holmes drew one of the chairs into a corner and sat silent, while his eyes travelled round and round the room.
“Where does that bell go to?” he asked at last, pointing to a bell-rope which hung down beside the bed.
“It goes to the housekeeper’s room.”
“It looks newer than the other things.”
“Yes, it was only put there two years ago.”
“Your sister asked for it?”
“No, she never used it. We always got what we wanted ourselves.”
“It seemed unnecessary to put a bell-rope there. You will excuse me for a few minutes while I examine this floor.” He examined carefully the floor with his lens in his hand, then he did the same with the walls. Finally he walked over to the bed and spent some time looking at it and at the wall. Finally he took the bell-rope in his hand and pulled it.
“It won’t ring22,” said he. “It is not connected to anything. This is very interesting. You can see now that it is fastened above a little opening for the ventilator.”
“How very strange! I never noticed that before.”
“Very strange!” answered Holmes, pulling at the rope. “There are one or two very unusual things about this room. For example,the ventilator opens into another room, when it might have opened on the outside!23”
“That is also quite modern,” said the lady.
“Was it done about the same time as the bell-rope?” asked Holmes.
“Yes, there were several little changes done at that time.”
“They seem to be very interesting – bells that do not ring and ventilators which do not ventilate. With your permission, Miss Stoner, we shall now continue our investigation in the next room.”
Dr. Grimesby Roylott’s room was larger than that of his stepdaughter. A camp-bed, a small shelf full of books, mostly of a technical character, an armchair beside the bed, a chair against the wall, a round table, and a large safe were the principal things in the room. Holmes walked slowly round and examined all of them with interest.
“What’s in here?” he asked, pointing to the safe.
“My stepfather’s business papers.”
“Oh! you have seen inside, then?”
“Only once, some years ago. I remember that it was full of papers.”
“There isn’t a cat in it, for example?”
“No. What a strange idea!”
“Well, look at this!” He took up a small saucer of milk which stood on the top of it.
“No; we don’t keep a cat. But there is a cheetah and a baboon.”
“Ah, yes, of course! Well, a cheetah is a big cat, and yet a saucer of milk will not satisfy its wants. There is one thing which I should like to see for myself.” He bent over the chair and examined it with the greatest attention.
“Thank you. That is quite clear,” said he, putting his lens in his pocket. “Hello! Here is something interesting!”
He pointed to a small dog lash that hung on one corner of the bed. The lash, however, was tied into a loop.
“What do you think of that, Watson?”
“It’s a common lash. But I don’t know why it is tied.”
“That is not quite so common, is it? Ah, it’s a wicked world, and when a clever manturns his brains to crime24 it is the worst of all. I think that I have seen enough now, Miss Stoner, and with your permission we shall go outside.”
I had never seen my friend’s face so gloomy.
Exercises
1. Answer the questions:
1. Who met Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson on the road leading to Stoke Moran?
2. What did the house look like?
3. What did Sherlock Holmes and Miss Stoner think about the repairs in the house?
4. Why did Sherlock Holmes examine the window of Miss Stoner’s room? What did he find?
5. What did Miss Stoner’s room look like?
6. What did Sherlock Holmes find out about the bell and the ventilator in the room?
7. What was Dr. Roylott’s room like?
8. What seemed unusual to Sherlock Holmes in Dr. Roylott’s room?
9. What did Sherlock Holmes say after he examined Dr. Roylott’s room?
Think and say
1. Why was Miss Stoner frightened when she learned of Dr. Roylott’s visit to Sherlock Holmes?
2. What does the look of the house and the rooms tell you about the people who lived in Stoke Moran?
2. Find the following words and phrases in the text and reproduce situations from the text with them. Give Russian equivalents.
1. an excuse to do smth
2. to throw light on / upon smth
3. crime
to commit a crime
3. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences so as to use the phrases above and from the previous parts.
1. The French windowled toa verandah.
2. Dr. Roylott started repairsto explain why his stepdaughter should moveto another room.
3. The death certificate said thatit was a heart attack that caused the deathbut the family didn’t believe it and asked the detective to look intoit.
4. His mother’s illness was onlysomething he mentionedto leave the party early. It was clear from the beginning he didn’t like it there.
5. A detective has sometimesto become the friend ofpeople to get information he needs.
6. When Bob was on the way to the birthday party,he had a sudden ideathat he didn’t have a birthday present.
7. Many years ago, when he was a young man, Dan’s unclebroke the law, but his family can’t forgive him even now.
4. Complete the sentences with the words and phrases above and from the previous parts in the correct form.
1. A few strange deaths… in the town before the police started investigation.
2. Sherlock Holmes was able… even the darkest and tragic cases.
3. Alice’s mother always used the girl’s poor health as… not to let the girl go out with her friends.
4. Tom didn’t want… his cousin to a discotheque because he didn’t… dancing. He could even say he hated dancing.
5. Has it ever… to you that your mum needs your help in housework?
6. Most people think it is not polite… other people without a telephone call before it.
7. The book… unknown facts of the great scientist’s life.
8. If you are interested in… books, go over to those shelves. We have all kinds of books – classical detective stories by Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, hard-boiled detective novels by Raymond Chandler and others, modern police novels.
VI
“It is very important, Miss Stoner,” said he, as we have already left the house and were standing in the park, “that you should absolutely follow my advice in every detail.”
“I shall certainly do so. I am in your hands.”
“In the first place, both my friend and I must spend the night in your room.”
Both Miss Stoner and I looked at him in surprise.
“Yes, it must be so. Let me explain. I believe that there is a hotel in the village over there?”
“Yes, the Crown.”
“Very good. Your windows can be seen from there?”
“Certainly.”
“You must go to your room, saying you have a headache, when your stepfather comes back. Then when he goes to his room, you must open your window, and put your lamp there as a signal to us, and then go quietly into the room where you slept before. I have no doubt that you can sleep there for one night.”
“Oh, yes, easily. But what will you do?”
“We shall spend the night in your room, and we shall investigate the cause of this noise which you heard.”
“I believe, Mr. Holmes, that you have already come to some conclusion,” said Miss Stoner.
“Perhaps I have.”
“Then, tell me what was the cause of my sister’s death.”
“I should like to have clearer evidence before I speak.”
“But you can tell me whether my own idea is correct, and if she died of fear.”
“No, I do not think so. And now, Miss Stoner, we must leave you, for Dr. Roylott must not see us here. Good-bye, and if you do what I have told you, nothing will threaten you.”
Sherlock Holmes and I had no difficulty in getting a room at the Crown. It was on the upper floor, and from our window we could see Stoke Moran. In the evening we saw Dr. Grimesby Roylott drive past, and a few minutes later we saw a light among the trees as the lamp was lit in one of the sitting-rooms.
“Do you know, Watson,” said Holmes as we sat together in our hotel room, “I have really some doubts about taking you to-night. It is certainly dangerous.”
“Can I be of help to you?25”
“Oh, yes.”
“Then I shall certainly come.”
“It is very kind of you.”
“You speak of danger. You have evidently seen more in these rooms than I have.”
“No. I imagine that you saw all that I did.”
“I saw nothing unusual except the bell-rope, but why it is important I cannot imagine.”
“You saw the ventilator, too?”
“Yes, but I do not think that it is such an unusual thing to have a small opening between two rooms. It was so small that no one could pass through it.”
“I knew that we should find a ventilator even before we came to Stoke Moran.”
“My dear Holmes!”
“Oh, yes, I did. You remember Miss Stoner said that her sister could smell Dr. Roylott’s cigar. Now, of course that meant that there was an opening between the two rooms.”
“But it is so small!”
“Well, the dates are strange. A ventilator is made, a bell-rope is hung, and a lady who sleeps in the bed dies. Does that not strike you?”
“I cannot see any connection.”
“Did you notice anything very unusual about that bed?”
“No.”
“It was fastened to the floor. Did you ever see a bed fastened like that before?”
“Never.”
“The lady could not move her bed. It must always be in the same position to the ventilator and to the bell-rope – or so we may call it, for it was clearly never meant for a bell.”
“Holmes,” I cried, “I seem to see what you mean26. We are in time to prevent some horrible crime.”
“Horrible enough. When a doctorturns to crime27 he is the first of criminals. But we shall have enough horrors before the night is over; let us rest and think for a few hours about something more pleasant.”
About eleven o’clock a bright light appeared in the window.
“That is our signal,” said Holmes, “it comes from the middle window.”
A moment later we were out on the dark road, one yellow light guiding us to the house.
We had little difficulty in entering the park. Walking among the trees, I saw someone like a child running and jumping on the grass.the grass.
“My God!” I whispered; “did you see it?”
“That is the baboon.”
I had forgotten the strange pets of the doctor. There was a cheetah, too; it could be upon our backs at any moment. I must say I felt less nervous when we got into the bedroom through the window.
Exercises
1. Answer the questions:
1. What plans did Holmes make for the night?
2. How did Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson spend the evening?
3. What facts did Sherlock Holmes think were important in the case?
4. How did Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson get into Stoke Moran that night? Did anything unusual happen to them on the way there?
Think and say
1. Did Sherlock Holmes think that anything threatened Miss Stoner that night?
2. Why did Sherlock Holmes go to a hotel till night rather than hide in Stoke Moran?
2. Find the following words and phrases in the text and reproduce situations from the text with them. Give Russian equivalents.
1. to follow smb’s advice
2. in detail
3. evidence
4. to have (no) difficulty (in) doing smth
5. criminaln
3. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences so as to use the phrases above.
1.It won’t be difficult for them to gettickets for the concert.
2. Mary told her mother about her examsgiving a lot of facts.
3. The police are examining the room where the crime was committed. They are collectingeverything that can show who committed it.
4. Michaeldid what his father told himand took a medical degree.
5. Everybodyfound it difficult to understandHans because of his strong foreign accent.
6. Almost allthose who break lawhope that they will not be caught.
7. The engineer wrote instructions for the workersand explained every operation carefully.
8. Police officers are often called to court to givefacts of the crime.
4. Complete the sentences with the words and phrases above in the correct form.
1. John… remembering people’s names.
2. The police are looking for a… who is hiding somewhere in the neighbourhood.
3. After the investigation was over Sherlock Holmes told Dr. Watson about it…
4. Sherlock Holmes thought that first he had to get… and only then could he come to some conclusion.
5. Medical… did not help to find the cause of death.
6. The girl said she had always… her father’s…, but this time she would decide for herself.
7. The teacher often… reading her students’ handwriting, so she asks them to type their works on the computer.
8. Mr. Simmons is tired of his wife telling him what she did during the day…
VII
My companion closed the window, moved the lamp onto the table, and looked round the room. All was as we had seen it in the daytime. Holmes whispered into my ear:
“Any sound can be fatal to our plans.”
I nodded to show that I had heard.
“We must sit without light. He will see it through the ventilator.”
I nodded again.
“Do not go asleep; your life may depend upon it. Have your revolver ready. I will sit on the side of the bed, and you in that chair.”
I took out my revolver and put it on the table.
Holmes had brought a long thin cane, which he put upon the bed beside him. He also put there a box of matches and a candle. Then he turned down the lamp, and we were left in darkness.
I shall never forget that awful night! I could not hear a sound, but I knew that my companion sat beside me, as nervous as I was myself. We waited in absolute darkness. How long seemed those hours! The clock of the village church struck twelve, and one and two and three, and still we sat waiting silently for we did not know what.
Suddenly there was light up in the opening of the ventilator. It was followed by a strong smell of burning oil and metal. Someone in the next room had lit a lamp. I heard somebody move there, and then all was silent again, though the smell grew stronger. For half an hour I sat listening. Then suddenly I heard another sound – a very low hissing sound. The moment we heard it, Holmes struck a match, and lashed with his cane at the bell-rope.
“You see it, Watson?” he shouted. “You see it?”
But I saw nothing. At the moment when Holmes struck the light I heard a low, clear whistle, but I could not see anything in the sudden light. I could, however, see that Holmes stopped striking and was looking up at the ventilator when suddenly there came the most horrible cry to which I have ever listened. It grew louder and louder, a horrible cry of pain and fear and anger. They say that that cry could be heard in the village.
“What can it mean?” I whispered.
“It means that it is all over,” Holmes answered. “And perhaps, after all, it is for the best. Take your revolver, and we will enter Dr. Roylott’s room.”
With a serious face he lit the lamp and went down the corridor. Twice he struck at the door of Dr. Roylott’s room without any answer. Then he entered, I followed him, with the revolver in my hand.
On the table stood a lamp, throwing light upon the safe, the door of which was ajar. Beside this table, on the chair, sat Dr. Grimesby Roylott. In his hand he had the long lash which we had seen during the day. Round his head he had a yellow speckled band. As we entered he did not move.
“The band! the speckled band!” whispered Holmes.
I took a step forward. In a moment the strange band began to move, among his hair we saw the head of a snake.
“It is the deadliest snake in India!” cried Holmes; “He died ten seconds after he was bitten.The schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another28. Let us put it back into the safe, and we can then let the police know what has happened.”
As he spoke he drew lash from the dead man’s hand, and throwing the loop round the reptile’s head he drew it from Dr. Roylott’s head, threw it into the safe, and closed it.
Such are the true facts of the death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of Stoke Moran. It is not necessary for me to tell how we accompanied the terrified girl to the morning train which took her to her aunt.
The police came to the conclusion that the doctor met his end while playing with a dangerous pet. The little which I did not know of the case was told me by Sherlock Holmes as we travelled back next day.
“I came,” said he, “to an absolutely wrong conclusion which shows, my dear Watson, how important it always is to have evidence. The gypsies in Stoke Moran, the word ‘band,’ which was used by the poor girl,put me upon an entirely wrong scent29. However, soon it became clear to me that danger could not come either from the window or the door. The ventilator and the bell-rope which hung down to the bed drew my attention. The discovery that the bell did not ring, and that the bed was fastened to the floor, gave me an idea that the rope was there as a bridge for something to pass through the opening and to come to the bed. The idea of a snake occurred to me at once, and when I recalled that the doctor kept animals from India, I felt that I was probably right. The idea of using poison which could not be discovered by any chemical test could occur to a clever man who had lived in India. Not every policeman could see the two little dark spots left by the snake’s teeth. Then I thought of the whistle. He had used it to call the snake back to him, he had, probably, trained the snake to go through the ventilator by the use of the milk which we saw, to go down the rope and onto the bed. It might or might not bite the girl, perhaps he did it every night for a week, but sooner or later the snake must bite the poor girl.
“I had come to these conclusions before ever I entered his room. His chair showed me that he had been standing on it, which of course would be necessary to reach the ventilator. The safe, the saucer of milk, and the loop of lash showed that I was right. The metallic sound heard by Miss Stoner was that of the closing door of the safe upon the snake. I came to the right conclusion, and you know what I did to finish the case. I heard the snake hiss as I have no doubt you did also, and I lit the light and attacked it.”
“And you drove it through the ventilator.”
“And it turned upon its master at the other side. The snake was angry, so it attacked the first person it saw. In this way I am no doubt responsible for Dr. Grimesby Roylott’s death, and I cannot say that I am very sorry about it.”
Bepul matn qismi tugad.
