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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE 2

THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE 2

We travelled by the Underground as far as Aldersgate; and a short walk took us to Saxe-Coburg Square, the scene of the singular story which we had listened to in the morning. It was a poky, little, shabby-genteel place, where four lines of dingy two-storied brick houses looked out into a small railed-in enclosure, where a lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded laurel bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden and uncongenial atmosphere. Three gilt balls and a brown board with “JABEZ WILSON” in white letters, upon a corner house, announced the place where our red-headed client carried on his business. Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it with his head on one side and looked it all over, with his eyes shining brightly between puckered lids. Then he walked slowly up the street, and then down again to the corner, still looking keenly at the houses. Finally he returned to the pawnbroker's, and, having thumped vigorously upon the pavement with his stick two or three times, he went up to the door and knocked. It was instantly opened by a bright-looking, clean-shaven young fellow, who asked him to step in.

“Thank you,” said Holmes, “I only wished to ask you how you would go from here to the Strand.”

“Third right, fourth left,” answered the assistant promptly, closing the door.

“Smart fellow, that,” observed Holmes as we walked away. “He is, in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring I am not sure that he has not a claim to be third. I have known something of him before.”

“Evidently,” said I, “Mr. Wilson's assistant counts for a good deal in this mystery of the Red-headed League. I am sure that you inquired your way merely in order that you might see him.”

“Not him.”

“What then?”

“The knees of his trousers.”

“And what did you see?”

“What I expected to see.”

“Why did you beat the pavement?”

“My dear doctor, this is a time for observation, not for talk. We are spies in an enemy's country. We know something of Saxe-Coburg Square. Let us now explore the parts which lie behind it.”

The road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the corner from the retired Saxe-Coburg Square presented as great a contrast to it as the front of a picture does to the back. It was one of the main arteries which conveyed the traffic of the City to the north and west. The roadway was blocked with the immense stream of commerce flowing in a double tide inward and outward, while the footpaths were black with the hurrying swarm of pedestrians. It was difficult to realise as we looked at the line of fine shops and stately business premises that they really abutted on the other side upon the faded and stagnant square which we had just quitted.

“Let me see,” said Holmes, standing at the corner and glancing along the line, “I should like just to remember the order of the houses here. It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of London. There is Mortimer's, the tobacconist, the little newspaper shop, the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank, the Vegetarian Restaurant, and McFarlane's carriage-building depot. That carries us right on to the other block. And now, Doctor, we've done our work, so it's time we had some play. A sandwich and a cup of coffee, and then off to violin-land, where all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony, and there are no red-headed clients to vex us with their conundrums.”

My friend was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a very capable performer but a composer of no ordinary merit. All the afternoon he sat in the stalls wrapped in the most perfect happiness, gently waving his long, thin fingers in time to the music, while his gently smiling face and his languid, dreamy eyes were as unlike those of Holmes the sleuth-hound, Holmes the relentless, keen-witted, ready-handed criminal agent, as it was possible to conceive. In his singular character the dual nature alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and astuteness represented, as I have often thought, the reaction against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally predominated in him. The swing of his nature took him from extreme languor to devouring energy; and, as I knew well, he was never so truly formidable as when, for days on end, he had been lounging in his armchair amid his improvisations and his black-letter editions. Then it was that the lust of the chase would suddenly come upon him, and that his brilliant reasoning power would rise to the level of intuition, until those who were unacquainted with his methods would look askance at him as on a man whose knowledge was not that of other mortals. When I saw him that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. James's Hall I felt that an evil time might be coming upon those whom he had set himself to hunt down.

“You want to go home, no doubt, Doctor,” he remarked as we emerged.

“Yes, it would be as well.”

“And I have some business to do which will take some hours. This business at Coburg Square is serious.”

“Why serious?”

“A considerable crime is in contemplation. I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it. But to-day being Saturday rather complicates matters. I shall want your help to-night.”

“At what time?”

“Ten will be early enough.”

“I shall be at Baker Street at ten.”

“Very well. And, I say, Doctor, there may be some little danger, so kindly put your army revolver in your pocket.” He waved his hand, turned on his heel, and disappeared in an instant among the crowd.

I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbours, but I was always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings with Sherlock Holmes. Here I had heard what he had heard, I had seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it was evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened but what was about to happen, while to me the whole business was still confused and grotesque. As I drove home to my house in Kensington I thought over it all, from the extraordinary story of the red-headed copier of the Encyclopædia down to the visit to Saxe-Coburg Square, and the ominous words with which he had parted from me. What was this nocturnal expedition, and why should I go armed? Where were we going, and what were we to do? I had the hint from Holmes that this smooth-faced pawnbroker's assistant was a formidable man—a man who might play a deep game. I tried to puzzle it out, but gave it up in despair and set the matter aside until night should bring an explanation.

It was a quarter-past nine when I started from home and made my way across the Park, and so through Oxford Street to Baker Street. Two hansoms were standing at the door, and as I entered the passage I heard the sound of voices from above. On entering his room, I found Holmes in animated conversation with two men, one of whom I recognised as Peter Jones, the official police agent, while the other was a long, thin, sad-faced man, with a very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frock-coat.

“Ha! Our party is complete,” said Holmes, buttoning up his pea-jacket and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack. “Watson, I think you know Mr. Jones, of Scotland Yard? Let me introduce you to Mr. Merryweather, who is to be our companion in to-night's adventure.”

“We're hunting in couples again, Doctor, you see,” said Jones in his consequential way. “Our friend here is a wonderful man for starting a chase. All he wants is an old dog to help him to do the running down.”

“I hope a wild goose may not prove to be the end of our chase,” observed Mr. Merryweather gloomily.

“You may place considerable confidence in Mr. Holmes, sir,” said the police agent loftily. “He has his own little methods, which are, if he won't mind my saying so, just a little too theoretical and fantastic, but he has the makings of a detective in him. It is not too much to say that once or twice, as in that business of the Sholto murder and the Agra treasure, he has been more nearly correct than the official force.”

“Oh, if you say so, Mr. Jones, it is all right,” said the stranger with deference. “Still, I confess that I miss my rubber. It is the first Saturday night for seven-and-twenty years that I have not had my rubber.”

“I think you will find,” said Sherlock Holmes, “that you will play for a higher stake to-night than you have ever done yet, and that the play will be more exciting. For you, Mr. Merryweather, the stake will be some £ 30,000; and for you, Jones, it will be the man upon whom you wish to lay your hands.”

“John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger. He's a young man, Mr. Merryweather, but he is at the head of his profession, and I would rather have my bracelets on him than on any criminal in London. He's a remarkable man, is young John Clay. His grandfather was a royal duke, and he himself has been to Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers, and though we meet signs of him at every turn, we never know where to find the man himself. He'll crack a crib in Scotland one week, and be raising money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next. I've been on his track for years and have never set eyes on him yet.”

“I hope that I may have the pleasure of introducing you to-night. I've had one or two little turns also with Mr. John Clay, and I agree with you that he is at the head of his profession. It is past ten, however, and quite time that we started. If you two will take the first hansom, Watson and I will follow in the second.”

Sherlock Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive and lay back in the cab humming the tunes which he had heard in the afternoon. We rattled through an endless labyrinth of gas-lit streets until we emerged into Farrington Street.

“We are close there now,” my friend remarked. “This fellow Merryweather is a bank director, and personally interested in the matter. I thought it as well to have Jones with us also. He is not a bad fellow, though an absolute imbecile in his profession. He has one positive virtue. He is as brave as a bulldog and as tenacious as a lobster if he gets his claws upon anyone. Here we are, and they are waiting for us.”

We had reached the same crowded thoroughfare in which we had found ourselves in the morning. Our cabs were dismissed, and, following the guidance of Mr. Merryweather, we passed down a narrow passage and through a side door, which he opened for us. Within there was a small corridor, which ended in a very massive iron gate. This also was opened, and led down a flight of winding stone steps, which terminated at another formidable gate. Mr. Merryweather stopped to light a lantern, and then conducted us down a dark, earth-smelling passage, and so, after opening a third door, into a huge vault or cellar, which was piled all round with crates and massive boxes.

“You are not very vulnerable from above,” Holmes remarked as he held up the lantern and gazed about him.

“Nor from below,” said Mr. Merryweather, striking his stick upon the flags which lined the floor. “Why, dear me, it sounds quite hollow!” he remarked, looking up in surprise.

“I must really ask you to be a little more quiet!” said Holmes severely. “You have already imperilled the whole success of our expedition. Might I beg that you would have the goodness to sit down upon one of those boxes, and not to interfere?”

The solemn Mr. Merryweather perched himself upon a crate, with a very injured expression upon his face, while Holmes fell upon his knees upon the floor and, with the lantern and a magnifying lens, began to examine minutely the cracks between the stones. A few seconds sufficed to satisfy him, for he sprang to his feet again and put his glass in his pocket.

“We have at least an hour before us,” he remarked, “for they can hardly take any steps until the good pawnbroker is safely in bed. Then they will not lose a minute, for the sooner they do their work the longer time they will have for their escape. We are at present, Doctor—as no doubt you have divined—in the cellar of the City branch of one of the principal London banks. Mr. Merryweather is the chairman of directors, and he will explain to you that there are reasons why the more daring criminals of London should take a considerable interest in this cellar at present.”

“It is our French gold,” whispered the director. “We have had several warnings that an attempt might be made upon it.”

“Your French gold?”

“Yes. We had occasion some months ago to strengthen our resources and borrowed for that purpose 30,000 napoleons from the Bank of France. It has become known that we have never had occasion to unpack the money, and that it is still lying in our cellar. The crate upon which I sit contains 2,000 napoleons packed between layers of lead foil. Our reserve of bullion is much larger at present than is usually kept in a single branch office, and the directors have had misgivings upon the subject.”

“Which were very well justified,” observed Holmes. “And now it is time that we arranged our little plans. I expect that within an hour matters will come to a head. In the meantime Mr. Merryweather, we must put the screen over that dark lantern.”

“And sit in the dark?”

“I am afraid so. I had brought a pack of cards in my pocket, and I thought that, as we were a partie carrée, you might have your rubber after all. But I see that the enemy's preparations have gone so far that we cannot risk the presence of a light. And, first of all, we must choose our positions. These are daring men, and though we shall take them at a disadvantage, they may do us some harm unless we are careful. I shall stand behind this crate, and do you conceal yourselves behind those. Then, when I flash a light upon them, close in swiftly. If they fire, Watson, have no compunction about shooting them down.”

I placed my revolver, cocked, upon the top of the wooden case behind which I crouched. Holmes shot the slide across the front of his lantern and left us in pitch darkness—such an absolute darkness as I have never before experienced. The smell of hot metal remained to assure us that the light was still there, ready to flash out at a moment's notice. To me, with my nerves worked up to a pitch of expectancy, there was something depressing and subduing in the sudden gloom, and in the cold dank air of the vault.

“They have but one retreat,” whispered Holmes. “That is back through the house into Saxe-Coburg Square. I hope that you have done what I asked you, Jones?”

“I have an inspector and two officers waiting at the front door.”

“Then we have stopped all the holes. And now we must be silent and wait.”

What a time it seemed! From comparing notes afterwards it was but an hour and a quarter, yet it appeared to me that the night must have almost gone, and the dawn be breaking above us. My limbs were weary and stiff, for I feared to change my position; yet my nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of tension, and my hearing was so acute that I could not only hear the gentle breathing of my companions, but I could distinguish the deeper, heavier in-breath of the bulky Jones from the thin, sighing note of the bank director. From my position I could look over the case in the direction of the floor. Suddenly my eyes caught the glint of a light.

At first it was but a lurid spark upon the stone pavement. Then it lengthened out until it became a yellow line, and then, without any warning or sound, a gash seemed to open and a hand appeared, a white, almost womanly hand, which felt about in the centre of the little area of light. For a minute or more the hand, with its writhing fingers, protruded out of the floor. Then it was withdrawn as suddenly as it appeared, and all was dark again save the single lurid spark which marked a chink between the stones.

Its disappearance, however, was but momentary. With a rending, tearing sound, one of the broad, white stones turned over upon its side and left a square, gaping hole, through which streamed the light of a lantern. Over the edge there peeped a clean-cut, boyish face, which looked keenly about it, and then, with a hand on either side of the aperture, drew itself shoulder-high and waist-high, until one knee rested upon the edge. In another instant he stood at the side of the hole and was hauling after him a companion, lithe and small like himself, with a pale face and a shock of very red hair.

“It's all clear,” he whispered. “Have you the chisel and the bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!”

Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts. The light flashed upon the barrel of a revolver, but Holmes' hunting crop came down on the man's wrist, and the pistol clinked upon the stone floor.

“It's no use, John Clay,” said Holmes blandly. “You have no chance at all.”

“So I see,” the other answered with the utmost coolness. “I fancy that my pal is all right, though I see you have got his coat-tails.”

“There are three men waiting for him at the door,” said Holmes.

“Oh, indeed! You seem to have done the thing very completely. I must compliment you.”

“And I you,” Holmes answered. “Your red-headed idea was very new and effective.”

“You'll see your pal again presently,” said Jones. “He's quicker at climbing down holes than I am. Just hold out while I fix the derbies.”

“I beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands,” remarked our prisoner as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists. “You may not be aware that I have royal blood in my veins. Have the goodness, also, when you address me always to say ‘sir' and ‘please. '”

“All right,” said Jones with a stare and a snigger. “Well, would you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab to carry your Highness to the police-station?”

“That is better,” said John Clay serenely. He made a sweeping bow to the three of us and walked quietly off in the custody of the detective.

“Really, Mr. Holmes,” said Mr. Merryweather as we followed them from the cellar, “I do not know how the bank can thank you or repay you. There is no doubt that you have detected and defeated in the most complete manner one of the most determined attempts at bank robbery that have ever come within my experience.”

“I have had one or two little scores of my own to settle with Mr. John Clay,” said Holmes. “I have been at some small expense over this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund, but beyond that I am amply repaid by having had an experience which is in many ways unique, and by hearing the very remarkable narrative of the Red-headed League.”

“You see, Watson,” he explained in the early hours of the morning as we sat over a glass of whisky and soda in Baker Street, “it was perfectly obvious from the first that the only possible object of this rather fantastic business of the advertisement of the League, and the copying of the Encyclopædia, must be to get this not over-bright pawnbroker out of the way for a number of hours every day. It was a curious way of managing it, but, really, it would be difficult to suggest a better. The method was no doubt suggested to Clay's ingenious mind by the colour of his accomplice's hair. The £ 4 a week was a lure which must draw him, and what was it to them, who were playing for thousands? They put in the advertisement, one rogue has the temporary office, the other rogue incites the man to apply for it, and together they manage to secure his absence every morning in the week. From the time that I heard of the assistant having come for half wages, it was obvious to me that he had some strong motive for securing the situation.”

“But how could you guess what the motive was?”

“Had there been women in the house, I should have suspected a mere vulgar intrigue. That, however, was out of the question. The man's business was a small one, and there was nothing in his house which could account for such elaborate preparations, and such an expenditure as they were at. It must, then, be something out of the house. What could it be? I thought of the assistant's fondness for photography, and his trick of vanishing into the cellar. The cellar! There was the end of this tangled clue. Then I made inquiries as to this mysterious assistant and found that I had to deal with one of the coolest and most daring criminals in London. He was doing something in the cellar—something which took many hours a day for months on end. What could it be, once more? I could think of nothing save that he was running a tunnel to some other building.

“So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action. I surprised you by beating upon the pavement with my stick. I was ascertaining whether the cellar stretched out in front or behind. It was not in front. Then I rang the bell, and, as I hoped, the assistant answered it. We have had some skirmishes, but we had never set eyes upon each other before. I hardly looked at his face. His knees were what I wished to see. You must yourself have remarked how worn, wrinkled, and stained they were. They spoke of those hours of burrowing. The only remaining point was what they were burrowing for. I walked round the corner, saw the City and Suburban Bank abutted on our friend's premises, and felt that I had solved my problem. When you drove home after the concert I called upon Scotland Yard and upon the chairman of the bank directors, with the result that you have seen.”

“And how could you tell that they would make their attempt to-night?” I asked.

“Well, when they closed their League offices that was a sign that they cared no longer about Mr. Jabez Wilson's presence—in other words, that they had completed their tunnel. But it was essential that they should use it soon, as it might be discovered, or the bullion might be removed. Saturday would suit them better than any other day, as it would give them two days for their escape. For all these reasons I expected them to come to-night.”

“You reasoned it out beautifully,” I exclaimed in unfeigned admiration. “It is so long a chain, and yet every link rings true.”

“It saved me from ennui,” he answered, yawning. “Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so.”

“And you are a benefactor of the race,” said I.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, perhaps, after all, it is of some little use,” he remarked. “‘L'homme c'est rien—l'œuvre c'est tout,' as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand.”

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THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE 2 DIE ROTHAARIGE LIGA 2 赤毛のリーグ 2 A LIGA RUIVA 2 РЫЖАЯ ЛИГА 2

We travelled by the Underground as far as Aldersgate; and a short walk took us to Saxe-Coburg Square, the scene of the singular story which we had listened to in the morning. It was a poky, little, shabby-genteel place, where four lines of dingy two-storied brick houses looked out into a small railed-in enclosure, where a lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded laurel bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden and uncongenial atmosphere. Это было убогое, маленькое, обшарпанно-благородное местечко, где четыре ряда обшарпанных двухэтажных кирпичных домиков выходили в небольшую огороженную оградой ограду, где лужайка сорной травы и редкие купы увядших лавровых кустов вели упорный бой. против задымленной и неблагоприятной атмосферы. Three gilt balls and a brown board with “JABEZ WILSON” in white letters, upon a corner house, announced the place where our red-headed client carried on his business. Три позолоченных шара и коричневая доска с белыми буквами «ДЖЕЙБЕЗ УИЛСОН» на угловом доме указывали на место, где наш рыжеволосый клиент вел свои дела. Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it with his head on one side and looked it all over, with his eyes shining brightly between puckered lids. Шерлок Холмс остановился перед ним, склонив голову набок, и оглядел его, ярко сияя глазами из-под сморщенных век. Then he walked slowly up the street, and then down again to the corner, still looking keenly at the houses. Finally he returned to the pawnbroker's, and, having thumped vigorously upon the pavement with his stick two or three times, he went up to the door and knocked. It was instantly opened by a bright-looking, clean-shaven young fellow, who asked him to step in.

“Thank you,” said Holmes, “I only wished to ask you how you would go from here to the Strand.” -- Благодарю вас, -- сказал Холмс, -- я только хотел спросить вас, как вы доберетесь отсюда до Стрэнда.

“Third right, fourth left,” answered the assistant promptly, closing the door.

“Smart fellow, that,” observed Holmes as we walked away. — Умный парень, — заметил Холмс, когда мы уходили. “He is, in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring I am not sure that he has not a claim to be third. «Он, по моему мнению, четвертый умнейший человек в Лондоне, и по смелости я не уверен, что он не претендует на третье место. I have known something of him before.” Я кое-что знал о нем раньше.

“Evidently,” said I, “Mr. -- Очевидно, -- сказал я, -- г. Wilson's assistant counts for a good deal in this mystery of the Red-headed League. Помощник Уилсона имеет большое значение в этой тайне Лиги рыжих. I am sure that you inquired your way merely in order that you might see him.” Я уверен, что вы спрашивали дорогу только для того, чтобы увидеть его.

“Not him.”

“What then?”

“The knees of his trousers.”

“And what did you see?”

“What I expected to see.”

“Why did you beat the pavement?”

“My dear doctor, this is a time for observation, not for talk. We are spies in an enemy's country. Мы шпионы в стране врага. We know something of Saxe-Coburg Square. Мы кое-что знаем о площади Саксен-Кобург. Let us now explore the parts which lie behind it.” Давайте теперь исследуем части, которые лежат за этим».

The road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the corner from the retired Saxe-Coburg Square presented as great a contrast to it as the front of a picture does to the back. Дорога, на которой мы оказались, свернув за угол от уединенной площади Саксен-Кобург, представляла собой столь же большой контраст с ней, как лицевая сторона картины контрастирует с изнаночной. It was one of the main arteries which conveyed the traffic of the City to the north and west. Это была одна из главных артерий, по которой транспортное движение города направлялось на север и запад. The roadway was blocked with the immense stream of commerce flowing in a double tide inward and outward, while the footpaths were black with the hurrying swarm of pedestrians. Проезжая часть была заблокирована огромным торговым потоком, текущим двойным потоком внутрь и наружу, а пешеходные дорожки были черными от торопливого роя пешеходов. It was difficult to realise as we looked at the line of fine shops and stately business premises that they really abutted on the other side upon the faded and stagnant square which we had just quitted. Когда мы смотрели на ряд прекрасных магазинов и величественных торговых помещений, нам было трудно понять, что они действительно примыкают с другой стороны к выцветшей и застойной площади, которую мы только что покинули.

“Let me see,” said Holmes, standing at the corner and glancing along the line, “I should like just to remember the order of the houses here. -- Позвольте-ка посмотреть, -- сказал Холмс, стоя на углу и глядя вдоль линии, -- я хотел бы только запомнить порядок домов здесь. It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of London. There is Mortimer's, the tobacconist, the little newspaper shop, the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank, the Vegetarian Restaurant, and McFarlane's carriage-building depot. That carries us right on to the other block. And now, Doctor, we've done our work, so it's time we had some play. A sandwich and a cup of coffee, and then off to violin-land, where all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony, and there are no red-headed clients to vex us with their conundrums.”

My friend was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a very capable performer but a composer of no ordinary merit. Мой друг был музыкантом-энтузиастом, будучи не только очень способным исполнителем, но и композитором незаурядных достоинств. All the afternoon he sat in the stalls wrapped in the most perfect happiness, gently waving his long, thin fingers in time to the music, while his gently smiling face and his languid, dreamy eyes were as unlike those of Holmes the sleuth-hound, Holmes the relentless, keen-witted, ready-handed criminal agent, as it was possible to conceive. Весь день он просидел в партере, окутанный самым совершенным счастьем, нежно помахивая в такт музыке своими длинными тонкими пальцами, а его нежно улыбающееся лицо и томные, мечтательные глаза были так непохожи на глаза сыщика Холмса, Холмс — безжалостный, сообразительный, готовый к действиям криминальный агент, каким его можно было представить. In his singular character the dual nature alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and astuteness represented, as I have often thought, the reaction against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally predominated in him. В его своеобразном характере попеременно проявлялась двойственная натура, а его крайняя точность и проницательность представляли собой, как я часто думал, реакцию против поэтического и созерцательного настроения, которое время от времени преобладало в нем. The swing of his nature took him from extreme languor to devouring energy; and, as I knew well, he was never so truly formidable as when, for days on end, he had been lounging in his armchair amid his improvisations and his black-letter editions. Колебания его натуры привели его от крайнего томления к пожирающей энергии; и, как я хорошо знал, он никогда не был так поистине грозен, как тогда, когда целыми днями бездельничал в своем кресле среди своих импровизаций и своих чернокнижных изданий. Then it was that the lust of the chase would suddenly come upon him, and that his brilliant reasoning power would rise to the level of intuition, until those who were unacquainted with his methods would look askance at him as on a man whose knowledge was not that of other mortals. Тогда-то на него внезапно нападала страсть к охоте, и его блестящая рассудительность поднималась до уровня интуиции, так что те, кто не был знаком с его методами, смотрели на него косо, как на человека, чье знание не было что у других смертных. When I saw him that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. Когда я увидел его в тот день таким погруженным в музыку в церкви Св. James's Hall I felt that an evil time might be coming upon those whom he had set himself to hunt down. Джеймс Холл Я чувствовал, что для тех, за кем он взялся охотиться, грядут тяжелые времена.

“You want to go home, no doubt, Doctor,” he remarked as we emerged. — Вы, без сомнения, хотите домой, доктор, — заметил он, когда мы вышли.

“Yes, it would be as well.”

“And I have some business to do which will take some hours. This business at Coburg Square is serious.” Дело на Кобург-сквер серьезное.

“Why serious?”

“A considerable crime is in contemplation. «Рассматривается крупное преступление. I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it. У меня есть все основания полагать, что мы успеем остановить это. But to-day being Saturday rather complicates matters. I shall want your help to-night.” Мне понадобится твоя помощь сегодня вечером.

“At what time?”

“Ten will be early enough.”

“I shall be at Baker Street at ten.”

“Very well. And, I say, Doctor, there may be some little danger, so kindly put your army revolver in your pocket.” He waved his hand, turned on his heel, and disappeared in an instant among the crowd.

I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbours, but I was always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings with Sherlock Holmes. Я надеюсь, что я не глупее моих соседей, но меня всегда угнетало чувство собственной глупости в отношениях с Шерлоком Холмсом. Here I had heard what he had heard, I had seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it was evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened but what was about to happen, while to me the whole business was still confused and grotesque. Здесь я слышал то, что он слышал, я видел то, что он видел, а между тем из его слов видно было, что он ясно видел не только то, что произошло, но и то, что должно было произойти, тогда как для меня все дело было еще запутанным. и гротеск. As I drove home to my house in Kensington I thought over it all, from the extraordinary story of the red-headed copier of the Encyclopædia down to the visit to Saxe-Coburg Square, and the ominous words with which he had parted from me. Пока я ехал к себе домой в Кенсингтоне, я обдумывал все это, от необычайной истории рыжеволосого переписчика Энциклопедии до визита на Саксен-Кобург-сквер и зловещих слов, с которыми он расстался со мной. What was this nocturnal expedition, and why should I go armed? Что это за ночная экспедиция и зачем мне идти с оружием? Where were we going, and what were we to do? I had the hint from Holmes that this smooth-faced pawnbroker's assistant was a formidable man—a man who might play a deep game. I tried to puzzle it out, but gave it up in despair and set the matter aside until night should bring an explanation. Я пытался разгадать это, но в отчаянии бросил это дело и отложил дело до ночи, когда оно принесет объяснение.

It was a quarter-past nine when I started from home and made my way across the Park, and so through Oxford Street to Baker Street. Two hansoms were standing at the door, and as I entered the passage I heard the sound of voices from above. Два экипажа стояли у дверей, и когда я вошел в коридор, я услышал звуки голосов сверху. On entering his room, I found Holmes in animated conversation with two men, one of whom I recognised as Peter Jones, the official police agent, while the other was a long, thin, sad-faced man, with a very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frock-coat. Войдя в его комнату, я застал Холмса за оживленной беседой с двумя мужчинами, в одном из которых я узнал Питера Джонса, официального полицейского агента, а в другом был высокий, худощавый мужчина с грустным лицом, в очень лоснящейся шляпе и с гнетущим выражением лица. респектабельный сюртук.

“Ha! Our party is complete,” said Holmes, buttoning up his pea-jacket and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack. Наша вечеринка завершена, — сказал Холмс, застегивая бушлат и снимая с вешалки тяжелый охотничий хлыст. “Watson, I think you know Mr. Jones, of Scotland Yard? Let me introduce you to Mr. Merryweather, who is to be our companion in to-night's adventure.” Позвольте представить вам мистера Мерриуэзера, который будет нашим спутником в сегодняшнем приключении.

“We're hunting in couples again, Doctor, you see,” said Jones in his consequential way. — Видите ли, доктор, мы снова охотимся парами, — сказал Джонс своим последовательным тоном. “Our friend here is a wonderful man for starting a chase. «Наш друг — прекрасный человек для начала погони. All he wants is an old dog to help him to do the running down.”

“I hope a wild goose may not prove to be the end of our chase,” observed Mr. Merryweather gloomily. -- Надеюсь, дикий гусь не станет концом нашей погони, -- мрачно заметил мистер Мерривезер.

“You may place considerable confidence in Mr. Holmes, sir,” said the police agent loftily. — Вы можете полностью доверять мистеру Холмсу, сэр, — высокомерно сказал агент полиции. “He has his own little methods, which are, if he won't mind my saying so, just a little too theoretical and fantastic, but he has the makings of a detective in him. — У него есть свои маленькие методы, которые, если он не возражает, если я так скажу, слишком теоретические и фантастические, но в нем есть задатки детектива. It is not too much to say that once or twice, as in that business of the Sholto murder and the Agra treasure, he has been more nearly correct than the official force.” Не будет преувеличением сказать, что один или два раза, как в случае с убийством Шолто и сокровищами Агры, он был более прав, чем официальная сила.

“Oh, if you say so, Mr. Jones, it is all right,” said the stranger with deference. “Still, I confess that I miss my rubber. «Тем не менее, признаюсь, я скучаю по своей резине. It is the first Saturday night for seven-and-twenty years that I have not had my rubber.” Это первый субботний вечер за двадцать семь лет, когда у меня нет резины.

“I think you will find,” said Sherlock Holmes, “that you will play for a higher stake to-night than you have ever done yet, and that the play will be more exciting. «Я думаю, вы обнаружите, — сказал Шерлок Холмс, — что сегодня вы будете играть по более высокой ставке, чем когда-либо, и что игра будет более захватывающей. For you, Mr. Merryweather, the stake will be some £ 30,000; and for you, Jones, it will be the man upon whom you wish to lay your hands.” Для вас, мистер Мерривезер, ставка составит около 30 000 фунтов стерлингов; а для тебя, Джонс, это будет человек, на которого ты пожелаешь наложить свои руки.

“John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger. «Джон Клей, убийца, вор, разбойник и мошенник. He's a young man, Mr. Merryweather, but he is at the head of his profession, and I would rather have my bracelets on him than on any criminal in London. He's a remarkable man, is young John Clay. Он замечательный человек, молодой Джон Клей. His grandfather was a royal duke, and he himself has been to Eton and Oxford. Его дед был королевским герцогом, а сам он побывал в Итоне и Оксфорде. His brain is as cunning as his fingers, and though we meet signs of him at every turn, we never know where to find the man himself. Его мозг так же хитер, как и его пальцы, и хотя мы встречаем его следы на каждом шагу, мы никогда не знаем, где найти самого человека. He'll crack a crib in Scotland one week, and be raising money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next. На одной неделе он сломает детскую кроватку в Шотландии, а на следующей соберет деньги на строительство приюта в Корнуолле. I've been on his track for years and have never set eyes on him yet.” Я следил за ним много лет и еще ни разу не видел его».

“I hope that I may have the pleasure of introducing you to-night. I've had one or two little turns also with Mr. John Clay, and I agree with you that he is at the head of his profession. У меня также был один или два небольших поворота с мистером Джоном Клеем, и я согласен с вами, что он возглавляет свою профессию. It is past ten, however, and quite time that we started. Однако уже десятый час, и нам пора начинать. If you two will take the first hansom, Watson and I will follow in the second.”

Sherlock Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive and lay back in the cab humming the tunes which he had heard in the afternoon. We rattled through an endless labyrinth of gas-lit streets until we emerged into Farrington Street.

“We are close there now,” my friend remarked. “This fellow Merryweather is a bank director, and personally interested in the matter. I thought it as well to have Jones with us also. Я тоже подумал, что хорошо бы иметь с нами и Джонса. He is not a bad fellow, though an absolute imbecile in his profession. Он неплохой малый, хотя и полный идиот в своей профессии. He has one positive virtue. У него есть одно положительное достоинство. He is as brave as a bulldog and as tenacious as a lobster if he gets his claws upon anyone. Он храбр, как бульдог, и упорен, как омар, если кого-нибудь схватит когтями. Here we are, and they are waiting for us.” Мы здесь, и они ждут нас».

We had reached the same crowded thoroughfare in which we had found ourselves in the morning. Our cabs were dismissed, and, following the guidance of Mr. Merryweather, we passed down a narrow passage and through a side door, which he opened for us. Наши кэбы были отпущены, и, следуя указаниям мистера Мерриуэзера, мы прошли по узкому проходу и через боковую дверь, которую он открыл для нас. Within there was a small corridor, which ended in a very massive iron gate. Внутри был небольшой коридор, который заканчивался очень массивными железными воротами. This also was opened, and led down a flight of winding stone steps, which terminated at another formidable gate. Они также были открыты и вели вниз по извилистым каменным ступеням, которые заканчивались другими грозными воротами. Mr. Merryweather stopped to light a lantern, and then conducted us down a dark, earth-smelling passage, and so, after opening a third door, into a huge vault or cellar, which was piled all round with crates and massive boxes. Мистер Мерривезер остановился, чтобы зажечь фонарь, а затем провел нас по темному, пахнущему землей коридору, а затем, открыв третью дверь, в огромное хранилище или подвал, со всех сторон заставленный ящиками и массивными ящиками.

“You are not very vulnerable from above,” Holmes remarked as he held up the lantern and gazed about him. «Вы не очень уязвимы сверху», — заметил Холмс, подняв фонарь и оглядевшись.

“Nor from below,” said Mr. Merryweather, striking his stick upon the flags which lined the floor. — Ни снизу, — сказал мистер Мерриуэзер, ударяя палкой по плитам, уложенным на полу. “Why, dear me, it sounds quite hollow!” he remarked, looking up in surprise.

“I must really ask you to be a little more quiet!” said Holmes severely. «Я действительно должен попросить вас быть немного тише!» — строго сказал Холмс. “You have already imperilled the whole success of our expedition. Might I beg that you would have the goodness to sit down upon one of those boxes, and not to interfere?” Могу ли я попросить вас сесть на один из этих ящиков и не вмешиваться?

The solemn Mr. Merryweather perched himself upon a crate, with a very injured expression upon his face, while Holmes fell upon his knees upon the floor and, with the lantern and a magnifying lens, began to examine minutely the cracks between the stones. Торжественный мистер Мерриуэзер взгромоздился на ящик с очень обиженным выражением лица, а Холмс упал на колени на пол и с фонарем и увеличительным стеклом начал внимательно рассматривать трещины между камнями. A few seconds sufficed to satisfy him, for he sprang to his feet again and put his glass in his pocket. Ему хватило нескольких секунд, и он снова вскочил на ноги и сунул стакан в карман.

“We have at least an hour before us,” he remarked, “for they can hardly take any steps until the good pawnbroker is safely in bed. «У нас есть по крайней мере час впереди, — заметил он, — потому что они едва ли могут предпринять какие-либо шаги, пока добрый ростовщик не окажется в безопасности в постели. Then they will not lose a minute, for the sooner they do their work the longer time they will have for their escape. Тогда они не потеряют ни минуты, ибо чем раньше они сделают свою работу, тем больше времени у них будет для побега. We are at present, Doctor—as no doubt you have divined—in the cellar of the City branch of one of the principal London banks. В настоящее время, доктор, как вы, несомненно, догадались, мы находимся в подвале городского отделения одного из главных лондонских банков. Mr. Merryweather is the chairman of directors, and he will explain to you that there are reasons why the more daring criminals of London should take a considerable interest in this cellar at present.” Мистер Мерривезер — председатель правления, и он объяснит вам, что есть причины, по которым самые смелые лондонские преступники должны в настоящее время проявлять значительный интерес к этому подвалу.

“It is our French gold,” whispered the director. «Это наше французское золото», — прошептал директор. “We have had several warnings that an attempt might be made upon it.” «У нас было несколько предупреждений о том, что на него может быть совершено покушение».

“Your French gold?” — Твое французское золото?

“Yes. We had occasion some months ago to strengthen our resources and borrowed for that purpose 30,000 napoleons from the Bank of France. Несколько месяцев тому назад у нас была возможность укрепить наши ресурсы и занять для этой цели 30 000 наполеонов у Банка Франции. It has become known that we have never had occasion to unpack the money, and that it is still lying in our cellar. The crate upon which I sit contains 2,000 napoleons packed between layers of lead foil. Ящик, на котором я сижу, содержит 2000 наполеонов, упакованных между слоями свинцовой фольги. Our reserve of bullion is much larger at present than is usually kept in a single branch office, and the directors have had misgivings upon the subject.” Наш резерв золота в настоящее время намного больше, чем обычно хранится в одном филиале, и у директоров были опасения по этому поводу».

“Which were very well justified,” observed Holmes. «Что вполне оправдано», — заметил Холмс. “And now it is time that we arranged our little plans. — А теперь пора нам привести в порядок наши маленькие планы. I expect that within an hour matters will come to a head. Я ожидаю, что в течение часа дело дойдет до апогея. In the meantime Mr. Merryweather, we must put the screen over that dark lantern.” А пока, мистер Мерриуэзер, мы должны поставить экран над темным фонарем.

“And sit in the dark?”

“I am afraid so. I had brought a pack of cards in my pocket, and I thought that, as we were a partie carrée, you might have your rubber after all. У меня в кармане была колода карт, и я подумал, что, поскольку мы были party carrée, у тебя все-таки могла быть резина. But I see that the enemy's preparations have gone so far that we cannot risk the presence of a light. Но я вижу, что приготовления противника зашли так далеко, что мы не можем рисковать присутствием огня. And, first of all, we must choose our positions. These are daring men, and though we shall take them at a disadvantage, they may do us some harm unless we are careful. Это смелые люди, и хотя мы поставим их в невыгодное положение, они могут причинить нам некоторый вред, если мы не будем осторожны. I shall stand behind this crate, and do you conceal yourselves behind those. Я буду стоять за этим ящиком, а вы спрячьтесь за теми. Then, when I flash a light upon them, close in swiftly. Затем, когда я направлю на них свет, быстро приближайтесь. If they fire, Watson, have no compunction about shooting them down.” Если они стреляют, Ватсон, не стесняйтесь стрелять в них.

I placed my revolver, cocked, upon the top of the wooden case behind which I crouched. Holmes shot the slide across the front of his lantern and left us in pitch darkness—such an absolute darkness as I have never before experienced. Холмс выстрелил слайдом через переднюю часть своего фонаря и оставил нас в кромешной тьме — такой абсолютной тьме, какой я никогда раньше не видел. The smell of hot metal remained to assure us that the light was still there, ready to flash out at a moment's notice. Запах раскаленного металла убеждал нас, что свет все еще здесь, готовый вспыхнуть в любой момент. To me, with my nerves worked up to a pitch of expectancy, there was something depressing and subduing in the sudden gloom, and in the cold dank air of the vault. Для меня, с моими напряженными до предела ожидания нервами, было что-то угнетающее и угнетающее во внезапном сумраке и в холодном сыром воздухе подвала.

“They have but one retreat,” whispered Holmes. — У них есть только одно отступление, — прошептал Холмс. “That is back through the house into Saxe-Coburg Square. — Это обратно через дом на площадь Саксен-Кобург. I hope that you have done what I asked you, Jones?” Надеюсь, вы сделали то, о чем я вас просил, Джонс?

“I have an inspector and two officers waiting at the front door.” «У входной двери меня ждут инспектор и два офицера».

“Then we have stopped all the holes. «Тогда мы заткнули все дыры. And now we must be silent and wait.”

What a time it seemed! Какое время казалось! From comparing notes afterwards it was but an hour and a quarter, yet it appeared to me that the night must have almost gone, and the dawn be breaking above us. После сравнения заметок прошло всего лишь час с четвертью, но мне показалось, что ночь, должно быть, уже почти прошла, и над нами забрезжил рассвет. My limbs were weary and stiff, for I feared to change my position; yet my nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of tension, and my hearing was so acute that I could not only hear the gentle breathing of my companions, but I could distinguish the deeper, heavier in-breath of the bulky Jones from the thin, sighing note of the bank director. Мои конечности были утомлены и окоченели, потому что я боялся изменить свое положение; тем не менее мои нервы были напряжены до предела, а слух был настолько острым, что я мог не только слышать тихое дыхание моих товарищей, но и отличать более глубокий и тяжелый вдох грузного Джонса от тонкого , вздыхая записку директора банка. From my position I could look over the case in the direction of the floor. Со своего места я мог смотреть на ящик в направлении пола. Suddenly my eyes caught the glint of a light. Внезапно мои глаза уловили отблеск света.

At first it was but a lurid spark upon the stone pavement. Сначала это была лишь бледная искра на каменной мостовой. Then it lengthened out until it became a yellow line, and then, without any warning or sound, a gash seemed to open and a hand appeared, a white, almost womanly hand, which felt about in the centre of the little area of light. Затем она удлинилась, пока не превратилась в желтую линию, а затем без всякого предупреждения или звука, казалось, открылась рана, и появилась рука, белая, почти женская рука, которая ощупывала центр маленького участка света. For a minute or more the hand, with its writhing fingers, protruded out of the floor. На минуту или больше рука с извивающимися пальцами торчала из пола. Then it was withdrawn as suddenly as it appeared, and all was dark again save the single lurid spark which marked a chink between the stones. Затем оно исчезло так же внезапно, как и появилось, и все снова погрузилось во мрак, за исключением единственной зловещей искры, которая отмечала щель между камнями.

Its disappearance, however, was but momentary. Однако его исчезновение было лишь мгновенным. With a rending, tearing sound, one of the broad, white stones turned over upon its side and left a square, gaping hole, through which streamed the light of a lantern. С разрывающимся, рвущимся звуком один из широких белых камней перевернулся на бок и оставил квадратную зияющую дыру, через которую лился свет фонаря. Over the edge there peeped a clean-cut, boyish face, which looked keenly about it, and then, with a hand on either side of the aperture, drew itself shoulder-high and waist-high, until one knee rested upon the edge. Из-за края выглянуло чистое мальчишеское лицо, которое внимательно огляделось, а затем руками по обе стороны от проема вытянулось до плеч и до пояса, пока одно колено не уперлось в край. In another instant he stood at the side of the hole and was hauling after him a companion, lithe and small like himself, with a pale face and a shock of very red hair. В следующее мгновение он уже стоял у края ямы и таскал за собой товарища, такого же гибкого и маленького роста, как и он сам, с бледным лицом и копной очень рыжих волос.

“It's all clear,” he whispered. — Все ясно, — прошептал он. “Have you the chisel and the bags? — У тебя есть долото и сумки? Great Scott! Великий Скотт! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!” Прыгай, Арчи, прыгай, а я замахнусь!

Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar. Шерлок Холмс выскочил и схватил незваного гостя за воротник. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts. Другой нырнул в дыру, и я услышал звук рвущейся ткани, когда Джонс вцепился в свои юбки. The light flashed upon the barrel of a revolver, but Holmes' hunting crop came down on the man's wrist, and the pistol clinked upon the stone floor. Свет вспыхнул на стволе револьвера, но охотничий хлыст Холмса опустился на запястье мужчины, и пистолет звякнул о каменный пол.

“It's no use, John Clay,” said Holmes blandly. — Это бесполезно, Джон Клей, — мягко сказал Холмс. “You have no chance at all.” — У тебя вообще нет шансов.

“So I see,” the other answered with the utmost coolness. -- Так я и вижу, -- ответил другой с величайшим хладнокровием. “I fancy that my pal is all right, though I see you have got his coat-tails.” -- Мне кажется, с моим приятелем все в порядке, хотя я вижу, что у вас есть его фалды.

“There are three men waiting for him at the door,” said Holmes.

“Oh, indeed! «О, действительно! You seem to have done the thing very completely. Вы, кажется, сделали вещь очень полностью. I must compliment you.” Я должен сделать тебе комплимент».

“And I you,” Holmes answered. “Your red-headed idea was very new and effective.”

“You'll see your pal again presently,” said Jones. — Вы скоро снова увидите своего приятеля, — сказал Джонс. “He's quicker at climbing down holes than I am. — Он быстрее меня залезает в норы. Just hold out while I fix the derbies.” Просто подожди, пока я починю дерби».

“I beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands,” remarked our prisoner as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists. «Прошу вас, не прикасайтесь ко мне своими грязными руками», — заметил наш арестант, когда на его запястьях зазвенели наручники. “You may not be aware that I have royal blood in my veins. «Возможно, вы не знаете, что в моих жилах течет королевская кровь. Have the goodness, also, when you address me always to say ‘sir' and ‘please. Будьте также добры, когда вы обращаетесь ко мне, всегда говорите «сэр» и «пожалуйста». '”

“All right,” said Jones with a stare and a snigger. — Хорошо, — сказал Джонс, глядя и хихикая. “Well, would you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab to carry your Highness to the police-station?” — Не могли бы вы, сэр, подняться наверх, где мы можем взять кэб, чтобы отвезти ваше высочество в полицейский участок?

“That is better,” said John Clay serenely. He made a sweeping bow to the three of us and walked quietly off in the custody of the detective.

“Really, Mr. Holmes,” said Mr. Merryweather as we followed them from the cellar, “I do not know how the bank can thank you or repay you. -- В самом деле, мистер Холмс, -- сказал мистер Мерривезер, когда мы последовали за ними из подвала, -- я не знаю, как банк может отблагодарить вас или отплатить вам. There is no doubt that you have detected and defeated in the most complete manner one of the most determined attempts at bank robbery that have ever come within my experience.” Нет никаких сомнений в том, что вы обнаружили и самым полным образом отразили одну из самых решительных попыток ограбления банка, которые когда-либо случались в моей жизни.

“I have had one or two little scores of my own to settle with Mr. John Clay,” said Holmes. — У меня было одно или два личных счетов, которые нужно было рассчитать с мистером Джоном Клеем, — сказал Холмс. “I have been at some small expense over this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund, but beyond that I am amply repaid by having had an experience which is in many ways unique, and by hearing the very remarkable narrative of the Red-headed League.” «В связи с этим я понес небольшие расходы, которые, как я ожидаю, возместит банк, но помимо этого я с лихвой окупился тем, что получил во многих отношениях уникальный опыт, а также услышал замечательное повествование Красного возглавляемая Лигой».

“You see, Watson,” he explained in the early hours of the morning as we sat over a glass of whisky and soda in Baker Street, “it was perfectly obvious from the first that the only possible object of this rather fantastic business of the advertisement of the League, and the copying of the Encyclopædia, must be to get this not over-bright pawnbroker out of the way for a number of hours every day. «Видите ли, Ватсон, — объяснил он ранним утром, когда мы сидели за стаканом виски с содовой на Бейкер-стрит, — с самого начала было совершенно очевидно, что единственная возможная цель этого довольно фантастического реклама Лиги и переписывание Энциклопедии должно быть направлено на то, чтобы этот не слишком умный ростовщик убирался с дороги на несколько часов каждый день. It was a curious way of managing it, but, really, it would be difficult to suggest a better. Это был любопытный способ управления им, но, действительно, было бы трудно предложить лучший. The method was no doubt suggested to Clay's ingenious mind by the colour of his accomplice's hair. Этот метод, без сомнения, был подсказан изобретательному уму Клея цветом волос его сообщника. The £ 4 a week was a lure which must draw him, and what was it to them, who were playing for thousands? 4 фунта стерлингов в неделю были приманкой, которая должна была привлечь его, и что им было до них, которые играли на тысячи? They put in the advertisement, one rogue has the temporary office, the other rogue incites the man to apply for it, and together they manage to secure his absence every morning in the week. From the time that I heard of the assistant having come for half wages, it was obvious to me that he had some strong motive for securing the situation.” С того момента, как я услышал о помощнике, пришедшем за половинной зарплатой, для меня стало очевидным, что у него был какой-то сильный мотив для обеспечения ситуации».

“But how could you guess what the motive was?” — Но как ты мог догадаться, каков был мотив?

“Had there been women in the house, I should have suspected a mere vulgar intrigue. «Если бы в доме были женщины, я бы заподозрил вульгарную интригу. That, however, was out of the question. Однако об этом не могло быть и речи. The man's business was a small one, and there was nothing in his house which could account for such elaborate preparations, and such an expenditure as they were at. Бизнес этого человека был небольшим, и в его доме не было ничего, что могло бы объяснить такие тщательные приготовления и такие расходы, на которые они были направлены. It must, then, be something out of the house. Значит, это должно быть что-то вне дома. What could it be? I thought of the assistant's fondness for photography, and his trick of vanishing into the cellar. Я подумал о пристрастии ассистента к фотографии и о его уловке исчезнуть в подвале. The cellar! There was the end of this tangled clue. Это был конец этой запутанной подсказки. Then I made inquiries as to this mysterious assistant and found that I had to deal with one of the coolest and most daring criminals in London. Затем я навел справки об этом таинственном помощнике и обнаружил, что имею дело с одним из самых крутых и смелых преступников в Лондоне. He was doing something in the cellar—something which took many hours a day for months on end. Он что-то делал в подвале, что занимало много часов в день в течение многих месяцев подряд. What could it be, once more? I could think of nothing save that he was running a tunnel to some other building.

“So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action. «Так далеко я попал, когда мы отправились осматривать место действия. I surprised you by beating upon the pavement with my stick. I was ascertaining whether the cellar stretched out in front or behind. Я проверял, простирался ли подвал спереди или сзади. It was not in front. Then I rang the bell, and, as I hoped, the assistant answered it. We have had some skirmishes, but we had never set eyes upon each other before. I hardly looked at his face. Я почти не смотрел ему в лицо. His knees were what I wished to see. You must yourself have remarked how worn, wrinkled, and stained they were. They spoke of those hours of burrowing. Они говорили о тех часах рытья. The only remaining point was what they were burrowing for. Единственным оставшимся вопросом было то, для чего они рыли. I walked round the corner, saw the City and Suburban Bank abutted on our friend's premises, and felt that I had solved my problem. Я свернул за угол, увидел Городской и Пригородный Банк, упирающийся в помещение нашего друга, и почувствовал, что решил свою проблему. When you drove home after the concert I called upon Scotland Yard and upon the chairman of the bank directors, with the result that you have seen.” Когда вы поехали домой после концерта, я зашел в Скотланд-Ярд и к председателю правления банка, и результат вы видели.

“And how could you tell that they would make their attempt to-night?” I asked. -- А откуда вы могли знать, что они предпримут попытку сегодня ночью? Я попросил.

“Well, when they closed their League offices that was a sign that they cared no longer about Mr. Jabez Wilson's presence—in other words, that they had completed their tunnel. But it was essential that they should use it soon, as it might be discovered, or the bullion might be removed. Но было важно, чтобы они использовали его как можно скорее, так как он мог быть обнаружен, или слиток мог быть изъят. Saturday would suit them better than any other day, as it would give them two days for their escape. For all these reasons I expected them to come to-night.” По всем этим причинам я ожидал, что они придут сегодня ночью.

“You reasoned it out beautifully,” I exclaimed in unfeigned admiration. — Вы прекрасно рассуждаете, — воскликнул я с нескрываемым восхищением. “It is so long a chain, and yet every link rings true.” «Это такая длинная цепь, и все же каждое звено звучит правдоподобно».

“It saved me from ennui,” he answered, yawning. -- Это спасло меня от скуки, -- ответил он, зевая. “Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me. Я уже чувствую, как он приближается ко мне. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. Моя жизнь проходит в одном долгом усилии сбежать от обыденности существования. These little problems help me to do so.” Эти маленькие проблемы помогают мне в этом».

“And you are a benefactor of the race,” said I. -- А вы -- благодетель расы, -- сказал я.

He shrugged his shoulders. Он пожал плечами. “Well, perhaps, after all, it is of some little use,” he remarked. -- Ну, может быть, все-таки толку от него мало, -- заметил он. “‘L'homme c'est rien—l'œuvre c'est tout,' as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand.” «L'homme c'est rien — l'uvre c'est tout», как писал Гюстав Флобер Жорж Санд.