Приключения Шерлока Холмса / The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (сборник)
Шрифт:
“‘If it really annoys you, Hilton, we might go and travel, you and I, and so avoid this nuisance.’
“‘What? It means that we will leave our own house because of some jokers?’ I said. ‘The whole county will be laughing at us.’
“‘Well, come to bed,’ she said, ‘and we can discuss it in the morning.’
“Suddenly, as she spoke, I saw that her pale face became paler, and her hand grabbed mine. Something was moving in the shadow of the tool-house. I saw a dark figure which stopped in front of the door. I took my revolver and was going to run out, when my wife tried to stop me and held me with her arms. I tried to get rid of her, but she held me very desperately. At last I broke free [112] , but by the time I had opened the door and reached the house the man disappeared. He had left some dancing men, but their arrangement was the same, which the previous and which I have copied on that paper. I couldn’t find that man anywhere, although I ran all over the garden. But the amazing thing is that he must have been there all the time, because when I examined the door again, he had drawn some more of his pictures under the line which I had already seen.”
112
to break free –
“Do you have that fresh drawing?”
“Yes, it is very short, but I made a copy of it, and here it is.”
Again he showed a paper. The new dance was in this form:
“Tell me,” said Holmes – and I could see that he was very much excited – “was this an addition to the first, or did it appear separately?”
“It was on a different panel of the door.”
“Excellent! This is very important for us. It fills me with hopes. Now, Mr. Hilton Cubitt, please continue your interesting story.”
“I have nothing more to say, Mr. Holmes, except that I was angry with my wife that night. She held me when I could catch this terrible man. She said that she feared that he could hurt me. For a second an idea came to my mind that perhaps what she really feared was that I could hurt him. I could not doubt that she knew who this man was and what he meant by these strange symbols. But my wife has such a tone in her voice, Mr. Holmes, and a look in her eyes which forbid doubt – I am sure that she told me the truth. That’s it, and now I want your advice, what I should do. My own idea is to ask my farm friends to hide in the garden, and when this man comes again we can give him such a lesson [113] that he will leave us in peace.”
113
to give somebody a lesson – проучить
“I fear it will not be enough,” said Holmes. “How long can you stay in London?”
“I must come back today. I can’t leave my wife alone all night. She is very nervous and begged me to come back.”
“I think you are right. But then we could return together in a day or two. Anyway, leave me these papers, and I think that I’ll visit your house soon. And we’ll be able to throw some light on [114] your case.”
Sherlock Holmes looked professionally calm until our visitor had left us. But it was easy for me, who knew him so well, to see that he was very excited. The moment that Hilton Cubitt’s left, my friend rushed to the table, laid out all the pieces of paper containing dancing men in front of him and began examining them.
114
to throw some light on something –
For two hours I watched him – he was very busy copying dancing men and writing letters, he was so completely occupied with this task that he had evidently forgotten about me. Sometimes he was making progress [115] and whistled or sang something. Sometimes he became puzzled, and could sit for hours looking absent-minded. Finally he jumped up from his chair with a cry of satisfaction, and walked up and down the room rubbing his hands together. Then he wrote a long telegram.
115
to make progress – делать успехи
“If my answer to this is right, you will have a very pretty case to your collection, Watson,” he said. “I think that we should go down to Norfolk tomorrow. And we will finally solve this puzzle, which worries our friend so much.”
Of course I was filled with curiosity, but I knew that Holmes liked to make his conclusions at his own time and in his own way. So I waited.
Exercises
1. When did Mr. Cubitt visit Sherlock Holmes again?
1) The next day
2) A week later
3) A month later
4) Two weeks later
2. Why did Mr. Cubitt look worried and depressed?
1) His wife was very afraid.
2) This business was getting on his nerves.
3) He didn’t like London.
4) Sherlock Holmes couldn’t help him.
3. Why couldn’t Mr. Cubitt just talk to his wife and find out the truth?
1) He was afraid of his wife.
2) He was scary and he didn’t want to scary her off.
3) He had no time for it.
4) He was a clumsy man in these things.
4. What did he find out?
1) He brought some new drawings of dancing men and saw the man who drew them.
2) He caught the joker – it was his stable-boy.
3) He didn’t find out anything.
4) He found out that there were several men who drew these pictures.
5. What was Mrs. Cubitt’s suggestion?
1) To hide and wait
2) To travel in order to avoid this nuisance
3) To sell the house
4) To call the police
6. Why was Mr. Cubitt angry with his wife?
1) She didn’t want to come to bed.
2) She didn’t want to talk to him.
3) She told him that she knew this man.
4) She held him when he could catch this man.
7. What did Sherlock Holmes do when Mr. Cubitt left?
1) He was tired and went to bed.
2) He decided to have dinner and then started working.
3) He started working, he was very busy copying dancing men and writing letters.
4) He solved the riddle very quickly and wrote a long telegram.
8. Why didn’t Sherlock Holmes share his ideas with Dr. Watson?
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