福尔摩斯-恐怖谷 The Valley of Fear（3）

Chapter III.,The Tragedy of Birlstone,Now for a moment I will ask leave to remove my own insignificant ¹ personality and to describe events which occurred before we arrived upon the scene by the light of knowledge which came to us afterwards. Only in this way can I make the reader appreciate the people concerned and the strange setting in which their fate was cast.,The village of Birlstone is a small and very ancient cluster of half-timbered cottages on the northern border of the county of Sussex. For centuries it had remained unchanged; but within the last few years its picturesque ³ appearance and situation have attracted a number of well-to-do residents, whose villas ⁴ peep out from the woods around. These woods are locally supposed to be the extreme fringe of the great Weald forest, which thins away until it reaches the northern chalk downs. A number of small shops have come into being to meet the wants of the increased population; so there seems some prospect ⁵ that Birlstone may soon grow from an ancient village into a modern town. It is the centre for a considerable area of country, since Tunbridge Wells, the nearest place of importance, is ten or twelve miles to the eastward ⁶, over the borders of Kent.,About half a mile from the town, standing ⁷ in an old park famous for its huge beech ⁸ trees, is the ancient Manor ⁹ House of Birlstone. Part of this venerable building dates back to the time of the first crusade, when Hugo de Capus built a fortalice in the centre of the estate, which had been granted to him by the Red King. This was destroyed by fire in 1543, and some of its smoke-blackened corner stones were used when, in Jacobean times, a brick country house rose upon the ruins of the feudal ¹⁰ castle.,The Manor House, with its many gables and its small diamond-paned windows, was still much as the builder had left it in the early seventeenth century. Of the double moats which had guarded its more warlike predecessor ¹¹, the outer had been allowed to dry up, and served the humble ¹² function of a kitchen garden. The inner one was still there, and lay forty feet in breadth, though now only a few feet in depth, round the whole house. A small stream fed it and continued beyond it, so that the sheet of water, though turbid ¹³, was never ditch-like or unhealthy. The ground floor windows were within a foot of the surface of the water.,The house had been untenanted for some years and was threatening to moulder ¹⁶ into a picturesque decay when the Douglases took possession of it. This family consisted of only two individuals—John Douglas and his wife. Douglas was a remarkable ¹⁷ man, both in character and in person. In age he may have been about fifty, with a strong-jawed, rugged ¹⁹ face, a grizzling moustache, peculiarly keen gray eyes, and a wiry, vigorous figure which had lost nothing of the strength and activity of youth. He was cheery and genial ²⁰ to all, but somewhat offhand ²¹ in his manners, giving the impression that he had seen life in social strata ²² on some far lower horizon than the county society of Sussex.,Yet, though looked at with some curiosity and reserve by his more cultivated neighbours, he soon acquired a great popularity among the villagers, subscribing ²³ handsomely to all local objects, and attending their smoking concerts and other functions, where, having a remarkably ²⁴ rich tenor ²⁵ voice, he was always ready to oblige with an excellent song. He appeared to have plenty of money, which was said to have been gained in the California gold fields, and it was clear from his own talk and that of his wife that he had spent a part of his life in America.,The good impression which had been produced by his generosity ²⁶ and by his democratic manners was increased by a reputation gained for utter indifference ²⁷ to danger. Though a wretched rider, he turned out at every meet, and took the most amazing falls in his determination to hold his own with the best. When the vicarage caught fire he distinguished ²⁸ himself also by the fearlessness with which he reentered the building to save property, after the local fire brigade had given it up as impossible. Thus it came about that John Douglas of the Manor House had within five years won himself quite a reputation in Birlstone.,His wife, too, was popular with those who had made her acquaintance; though, after the English fashion, the callers upon a stranger who settled in the county without introductions were few and far between. This mattered the less to her, as she was retiring by disposition ²⁹, and very much absorbed, to all appearance, in her husband and her domestic duties. It was known that she was an English lady who had met Mr. Douglas in London, he being at that time a widower ³⁰. She was a beautiful woman, tall, dark, and slender, some twenty years younger than her husband, a disparity which seemed in no wise to mar ¹⁸ the contentment of their family life.,It was remarked sometimes, however, by those who knew them best, that the confidence between the two did not appear to be complete, since the wife was either very reticent ³¹ about her husband's past life, or else, as seemed more likely, was imperfectly informed about it. It had also been noted ³² and commented upon by a few observant people that there were signs sometimes of some nerve-strain upon the part of Mrs. Douglas, and that she would display acute uneasiness if her absent husband should ever be particularly late in his return. On a quiet countryside, where all gossip is welcome, this weakness of the lady of the Manor House did not pass without remark, and it bulked larger upon people's memory when the events arose which gave it a very special significance.,This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。,Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭 。