Знак четырех / The Sign of the Four

‘At this instant a horrible change came over his expression; his eyes stared wildly, his jaw dropped, and he yelled in a voice which I can never forget, “Keep him out! For Christ’s sake keep him out!” We both stared round at the window behind us upon which his gaze was fixed. A face was looking in at us out of the darkness. We could see the whitening of the nose where it was pressed against the glass. It was a bearded, hairy face, with wild cruel eyes and an expression of concentrated malevolence. My brother and I rushed towards the window, but the man was gone. When we returned to my father his head had dropped and his pulse had ceased to beat.

‘We searched the garden that night but found no sign of the intruder save that just under the window a single footmark was visible in the flower-bed. But for that one trace, we might have thought that our imaginations had conjured up that wild, fierce face. We soon, however, had another and a more striking proof that there were secret agencies at work all round us. The window of my father’s room was found open in the morning, his cupboards and boxes had been rifled, and upon his chest was fixed a torn piece of paper with the words “The sign of the four” scrawled across it. What the phrase meant or who our secret visitor may have been, we never knew. As far as we can judge, none of my father’s property had been actually stolen, though everything had been turned out. My brother and I naturally associated this peculiar incident with the fear which haunted my father during his life, but it is still a complete mystery to us.’

The little man stopped to relight his hookah and puffed thoughtfully for a few moments. We had all sat absorbed, listening to his extraordinary narrative. At the short account of her father’s death Miss Morstan had turned deadly white, and for a moment I feared that she was about to faint.[43] She rallied, however, on drinking a glass of water which I quietly poured out for her from a Venetian carafe upon the side-table. Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his chair with an abstracted expression and the lids drawn low over his glittering eyes. As I glanced at him I could not but think how on that very day he had complained bitterly of the commonplaceness of life. Here at least was a problem which would tax his sagacity to the utmost.[44] Mr. Thaddeus Sholto looked from one to the other of us with an obvious pride at the effect which his story had produced and then continued between the puffs of his overgrown pipe.

‘My brother and I,’ said he, ‘were, as you may imagine, much excited as to the treasure which my father had spoken of. For weeks and for months we dug and delved in every part of the garden without discovering its whereabouts. It was maddening to think that the hiding-place was on his very lips at the moment that he died. We could judge the splendour of the missing riches by the chaplet which he had taken out. Over this chaplet my brother Bartholomew and I had some little discussion. The pearls were evidently of great value, and he was averse to part with them, for, between friends, my brother was himself a little inclined to my father’s fault. He thought, too, that if we parted with the chaplet it might give rise to gossip and finally bring us into trouble. It was all that I could do to persuade him to let me find out Miss Morstan’s address and send her a detached pearl at fixed intervals so that at least she might never feel destitute.’

‘It was a kindly thought,’ said our companion earnestly; ‘it was extremely good of you.’

The little man waved his hand deprecatingly.

‘We were your trustees,’ he said; ‘that was the view which I took of it, though Brother Bartholomew could not altogether see it in that light. We had plenty of money ourselves. I desired no more. Besides, it would have been such bad taste to have treated a young lady in so scurvy a fashion. “Le mauvais goût mène au crime.”[45] The French have a very neat way of putting these things. Our difference of opinion on this subject went so far that I thought it best to set up rooms for myself; so I left Pondicherry Lodge, taking the old khitmutgar and Williams with me. Yesterday, however, I learned that an event of extreme importance has occurred. The treasure has been discovered. I instantly communicated with Miss Morstan, and it only remains for us to drive out to Norwood and demand our share. I explained my views last night to Brother Bartholomew, so we shall be expected, if not welcome, visitors.’

Mr. Thaddeus Sholto ceased and sat twitching on his luxurious settee. We all remained silent, with our thoughts upon the new development which the mysterious business had taken. Holmes was the first to spring to his feet.

‘You have done well, sir, from first to last,’ said he. ‘It is possible that we may be able to make you some small return by throwing some light upon that which is still dark to you. But, as Miss Morstan remarked just now, it is late, and we had best put the matter through without delay.’

Our new acquaintance very deliberately coiled up the tube of his hookah and produced from behind a curtain a very long befrogged topcoat with astrakhan collar and cuffs.[46] This he buttoned tightly up in spite of the extreme closeness[47] of the night and finished his attire by putting on a rabbit-skin cap with hanging lappets which covered the ears, so that no part of him was visible save his mobile and peaky face.

‘My health is somewhat fragile,’ he remarked as he led the way down the passage. ‘I am compelled to be a valetudinarian.’

Our cab was awaiting us outside, and our programme was evidently prearranged, for the driver started off at once at a rapid pace. Thaddeus Sholto talked incessantly in a voice which rose high above the rattle of the wheels.

‘Bartholomew is a clever fellow,’ said he. ‘How do you think he found out where the treasure was? He had come to the conclusion that it was somewhere indoors, so he worked out all the cubic space of the house and made measurements everywhere so that not one inch should be unaccounted for.[48] Among other things, he found that the height of the building was seventy-four feet, but on adding together the heights of all the separate rooms and making every allowance for the space between, which he ascertained by borings, he could not bring the total to more than seventy feet. There were four feet unaccounted for. These could only be at the top of the building. He knocked a hole, therefore, in the lath and plaster ceiling of the highest room, and there, sure enough, he came upon another little garret above it, which had been sealed up and was known to no one. In the centre stood the treasure-chest resting upon two rafters. He lowered it through the hole, and there it lies. He computes the value of the jewels at not less than half a million sterling.’

At the mention of this gigantic sum we all stared at one another open-eyed. Miss Morstan, could we secure her rights, would change from a needy governess to the richest heiress in England. Surely it was the place of a loyal friend to rejoice at such news, yet I am ashamed to say that selfishness took me by the soul and that my heart turned as heavy as lead within me. I stammered out some few halting words of congratulation and then sat downcast, with my head drooped, deaf to the babble of our new acquaintance. He was clearly a confirmed hypochondriac, and I was dreamily conscious that he was pouring forth interminable trains of symptoms, and imploring information as to the composition and action of innumerable quack nostrums, some of which he bore about in a leather case in his pocket. I trust that he may not remember any of the answers which I gave him that night. Holmes declares that he overheard me caution him against the great danger of taking more than two drops of castor-oil, while I recommended strychnine in large doses as a sedative. However that may be, I was certainly relieved when our cab pulled up with a jerk and the coachman sprang down to open the door.

‘This, Miss Morstan, is Pondicherry Lodge,’ said Mr. Thaddeus Sholto as he handed her out.

Chapter 5: The Tragedy of Pondicherry Lodge

It was nearly eleven o’clock when we reached this final stage of our night’s adventures. We had left the damp fog of the great city behind us, and the night was fairly fine. A warm wind blew from the westward, and heavy clouds moved slowly across the sky, with half a moon peeping occasionally through the rifts. It was clear enough to see for some distance, but Thaddeus Sholto took down one of the sidelamps from the carriage to give us a better light upon our way.

Pondicherry Lodge stood in its own grounds and was girt round with a very high stone wall topped with broken glass. A single narrow iron-clamped door formed the only means of entrance. On this our guide knocked with a peculiar postman-like rat-tat.

‘Who is there?’ cried a gruff voice from within.

‘It is I, McMurdo. You surely know my knock by this time.’

There was a grumbling sound and a clanking and jarring of keys. The door swung heavily back, and a short, deep-chested man stood in the opening, with the yellow light of the lantern shining upon his protruded face and twinkling, distrustful eyes.

‘That you, Mr. Thaddeus? But who are the others? I had no orders about them from the master.’

‘No, McMurdo? You surprise me! I told my brother last night that I should bring some friends.’

‘He hain’t been out o’ his rooms[49] to-day, Mr. Thaddeus, and I have no orders. You know very well that I must stick to regulations. I can let you in, but your friends they must just stop where they are.’

This was an unexpected obstacle. Thaddeus Sholto looked about him in a perplexed and helpless manner.

‘This is too bad of you, McMurdo!’ he said. ‘If I guarantee them, that is enough for you. There is the young lady, too. She cannot wait on the public road at this hour.’

‘Very sorry, Mr. Thaddeus,’ said the porter inexorably. ‘Folk may be friends o’ yours, and yet no friend o’ the master’s. He pays me well to do my duty, and my duty I’ll do. I don’t know none o’ your friends.’

‘Oh, yes you do, McMurdo,’ cried Sherlock Holmes genially. ‘I don’t think you can have forgotten me. Don’t you remember that amateur who fought three rounds with you at Alison’s rooms on the night of your benefit four years back?’

‘Not Mr. Sherlock Holmes!’ roared the prize-fighter. ‘God’s truth! how could I have mistook you? If instead o’ standin’ there so quiet you had just stepped up and given me that cross-hit of yours[50] under the jaw, I’d ha’ known you without a question. Ah, you’re one that has wasted your gifts, you have! You might have aimed high, if you had joined the fancy.[51]’

‘You see, Watson, if all else fails me, I have still one of the scientific professions open to me,’ said Holmes, laughing. ‘Our friend won’t keep us out in the cold now, I am sure.’

‘In you come, sir, in you come – you and your friends,’ he answered. ‘Very sorry, Mr. Thaddeus, but orders are very strict. Had to be certain of your friends before I let them in.’

Inside, a gravel path wound through desolate grounds to a huge clump of a house, square and prosaic, all plunged in shadow save where a moonbeam struck one corner and glimmered in a garret window. The vast size of the building, with its gloom and its deathly silence, struck a chill to the heart. Even Thaddeus Sholto seemed ill at ease, and the lantern quivered and rattled in his hand.

‘I cannot understand it,’ he said. ‘There must be some mistake. I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here, and yet there is no light in his window. I do not know what to make of it.’

‘Does he always guard the premises in this way?’ asked Holmes.

‘Yes; he has followed my father’s custom. He was the favourite son you know, and I sometimes think that my father may have told him more than he ever told me. That is Bartholomew’s window up there where the moonshine strikes. It is quite bright, but there is no light from within, I think.’

‘None,’ said Holmes. ‘But I see the glint of a light in that little window beside the door.’

‘Ah, that is the housekeeper’s room. That is where old Mrs. Bernstone sits. She can tell us all about it. But perhaps you would not mind waiting here for a minute or two, for if we all go in together, and she has had no word of our coming, she may be alarmed. But, hush! what is that?’

He held up the lantern, and his hand shook until the circles of light flickered and wavered all round us. Miss Morstan seized my wrist, and we all stood, with thumping hearts, straining our ears. From the great black house there sounded through the silent night the saddest and most pitiful of sounds – the shrill, broken whimpering of a frightened woman.

‘It is Mrs. Bernstone,’ said Sholto. ‘She is the only woman in the house. Wait here. I shall be back in a moment.’

He hurried for the door and knocked in his peculiar way. We could see a tall old woman admit him and sway with pleasure at the very sight of him.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

Примечания

1

Morocco case– футляр из кожи особой выделки.

2

His eyes rested– его взгляд остановился.

3

Здесь homeупотребляется в значении «куда надо (куда хотел/собирался)».

4

My conscience swelled nightly within me– совесть мучила меня по ночам.

5

Airздесь используется в значении «поведение, манера» (что-то такое было в его манере).

6

Beaune– сорт вина (названного в честь города Бон, «винной столицы Бургундии»).

7

Имеется в виду Вторая англо-афганская война (1878–1880), в результате которой Великобритания укрепила свои позиции в этом регионе. (прим. ред.)

8

I cannot afford to throw any extra strain upon it. – Не могу себе позволить подвергать его (здоровье) еще бóльшим испытаниям.

9

Secondary action is a matter of small moment– здесь: побочный эффект – это нечто несущественное.

10

Surelythe game is hardly worth the candle – hardlyозначает «едва ли, вряд ли» (вряд ли такая игра стоит свеч).

11

Are out of their depths– выражение означает «быть в растерянности, не знать, что делать».

12

Claim no credit– не требую никакой награды.

13

The fifth proposition of Euclid– пятый постулат Евклида, (аксиома параллельности, одна из аксиом классической планиметрии).

14

A Jezail– тип длинноствольного ружья ручного производства на Среднем Востоке (в Афганистане) до начала ХХ в.

15

Magnifiques, coup-de-maitres and tours-de-force– со всеми этими «великолепно», «мастерски», и «талантливо». (фр.)

16

Wantупотребляется в значении «недоставать»: Ему всего лишь не хватает знаний.

17

Indian lunkah– сорт сигары (из табака, выращиваемого на островах, lankaна хинди).

18

Trichinopoly– Тируччираппалли, город на юге Индии (и сорт местного табака).

19

Bird’s-eye– сорт очень крепкого трубочного табака (говорят, что обеспечивает эффект «высоты птичьего полета»).

20

Plaster of Paris– гипс.

21

In the name of all that is wonderful– во имя всего святого.

22

Was often at low water– выражение соответствует русскому «частенько был «на мели».

23

Limited means– ограниченные средства.

24

One of the officers in charge of the convict-guard– один из офицеров, отвечающих за охрану осужденных.

25

Be distrustful– не доверять; образовано от существительного trust– вера, доверие.

26

You are a wronged woman– С вами обошлись несправедливо (от wrong– неправильный).

27

One of the most remarkable ever penned– один из самых выдающихся, которые когда-либо были написаны.

28

It is Winwood Reade’s Martyrdom of Man– Уильям Уинвуд Рид (1838–1875) – британский философ и антрополог. Его книга «Крестный путь человека» (The Martyrdom of Man, 1872) исследовала западную цивилизацию методами естественных наук.

29

Will-o’-the-wisps– блуждающие огни.

30

They were thrown a great deal together– они проводили много времени вместе.

31

Beshawled, bediamonded women– женщины в шалях и бриллиантах.

32

I lost my bearings– Я потерял ориентацию, не знал, где я.

33

Knew nothing save that we seemed to be going a very long way– здесь saveиспользуется в значении «кроме»: ничего не знал, кроме того, что мы, кажется, уехали очень далеко.

34

Khitmutgar– слуга-индиец, обычно мусульманин, помощник дворецкого.

35

Mitral valve– митральный клапан (сердечный).

36

Can show a bold front to– могли бы выступить единым фронтом.

37

The landscape is a genuine Corot, and though a connoisseur might perhaps throw a doubt upon that Salvator Rosa, there cannot be the least question about the Bouguereau. – Пейзаж – это подлинник Коро, и хотя эксперт мог бы усомниться в том, что вон та картина принадлежит кисти Сальватора Розы, по поводу Бугро не может быть никаких сомнений. (Камиль Коро и Вильям Бугро – французские художники, Сальватор Роза – итальянский).

38

I had quite high words with him – Мы с ним здорово поругались.

39

How we all stand to each other– здесь: как мы все связаны друг с другом.

40

Never for an instant did we suspect – здесь didиспользуется для усиления значения suspect: мы даже на мгновение не могли предположитью

41

Canvassing for orders– собирая заказы.

42

Who is the wiser? – Идиома «кто узнает?»

43

She was about to faint – be about to do smthозначает «вот-вот», «на грани»: она сейчас упадет в обморок.

44

Would tax his sagacity to the utmost– в полной мере подвергнет свою проницательность испытаниям.

45

Дурной вкус ведет к преступлению. (фр.)

46

Befrogged topcoat with astrakhan collar and cuffs – с застежками в виде витых шнуров и с каракулевыми воротником и манжетами.

47

Closeness– здесь означает «духота».

48

Not one inch should be unaccounted for– ни один дюйм не должен был остаться неучтенным.

49

He hain’t been out o’ his rooms – he hasn’t been out of his rooms (просторечное произношение).

50

That cross-hit of yours– этот ваш прямой (удар в челюсть).

51

You might have aimed high, if you had joined the fancy. – Вы могли бы достичь больших высот, если бы стали одним из боксеров-любителей.