XI. The adventure of the Beryl Coronet

XI. THE ADVENTURE OF THE BERYL CORONET

The grey pavement had been cleaned and scraped刮,擦;挖, but was still dangerously slippery

Waggled搖動;搖擺 his head, and writhed his face into the most
extraordinary contortions

unseat剝奪...的席位;使下臺(或退職,退位)

in a successful banking business as much depends upon our being able to find remunerative付酬的;有利可圖的 investments for our funds as upon our increasing our connection and the number of our depositors.

unimpeachable無可指責的;無可懷疑的;清白的

advancing預付 money

without further parley討論

beryls【礦】綠寶石

incalculable不可計算的,數不清的;不可估量的

the worth of the coronet冠狀頭飾

I already regretted having ever consented to take charge of it.

it was too late to alter the matter now, so I locked it up in my private safe

groom馬伕, 英國宮廷的侍從官 and my page男侍,聽差

So much for the servants. (關於佣人的事說到此為止)

wayward任性的;剛愎的,倔強的

men with long purses金錢,資財,財源[U][S1] and expensive habits.

squander浪費,揮霍 money on the turf

a man of the world to his finger-tips, one who had been everywhere, seen everything, a brilliant talker, and a man of great personal beauty.

Yet when I think of him in cold blood蓄意而殘忍地, far away from the glamour of his presence

if anyone could have drawn him into the right path it would have been she, and that his marriage might have changed his whole life

"Now, Mr. Holmes, you know the people who live under my roof, and
I shall continue with my miserable story.

burgled (burglarize: (美】破門盜竊;撬竊

farthing四分之一便士[C]

lucid 透明的;清澈的, 清楚易懂的,明晰的

blackguard惡棍

'You have called me names enough,' said he, 'I will not stand it
any longer…'

I will leave your house in the morning and make my own way in the world.

I shall have this matter probed刺探;徹底調查to the bottom.

the whole house was astir已起床

at the sight of the coronet and of Arthur's face, she read the
whole story

my honour was atstake在危急關頭

make your guilt more heinous可憎的;兇惡的

unravelling可憎的;兇惡的the matter.

My God, what shall I do! I have lost my honour, my gems, and my son
in one night. Oh, what shall I do!

He put a hand on either side of his head and rocked himself to
and fro, droning低沈單調地說to himself like a child whose grief has got
beyond words.

The whole garden has already been minutely examined.

is such a theory tenable(學說等)站得住腳的,經得起批判的?

thicket灌林叢;雜木林[C]

thoroughfare大街,大道;幹線道路[C]

she went straight to her uncle and passed her hand over his head with a sweet womanly caress.

You know what woman's instincts are.

in the gloom黑暗;陰暗;昏暗[U]

dressing-room更衣室;化妝室

a large bureau【英】寫字臺,書桌

a long mirror

lumber-room破舊東西堆藏室

break it off折斷;(使)斷開

"I do not know what to think. It is all dark to me." -"But perhaps it may grow lighter as we go."

inscrutable不可理解的;不可思議的;不可測知的

The banker wrung絞,擰 (wring) his hands.

I understand that you give me carte blanche全權委任(狀) to act for you

loafer遊手好閒的人, 平跟船鞋

I may be on the trail跟蹤;追獵 in this matter

I may be following a will-o'-the-wisp (Ignis fatuus鬼火, 幻想, ghost-light, spook-light, orb: A mysterious light associated with spirits, found in various folklore tales)

He chucked扔,拋[C] it down into a corner

helped himself to a cup of tea

"How are you getting on?" --"Oh, so so. Nothing to complain of.”

disreputable骯髒的;破舊的clothes

congenial適合的;舒適的hunt

be away for days and nights on end連續地

he was hot upon a scent (獵物的)遺臭;蹤跡,線索[C][S1]

as fresh and trim整齊的,端正的as possible

his face was now pinched使疼痛;使苦惱;使消瘦[H][(+with)] and fallen in

his hair seemed to me at least a shade (色彩的)濃淡,色度[C] whiter

a weariness and lethargy不活潑;無生氣

"I do not know what I have done to be so severely tried," said
he. "Only two days ago I was a happy and prosperous man, without
a care in the world. Now I am left to a lonely and dishonoured
age. One sorrow comes close upon the heels of another…"

I cannot, with this thought in my mind, ever again be happy under your roof

the debt is not to me

When he breathed his vows to her, as he had done to a hundred before her, she flattered herself that she alone had touched his heart.

there are women in whom the love of a lover extinguishes all
other loves, and I think that she must have been one.

one of the servants' escapade越軌行為;惡作劇with her wooden-legged lover

scuffle扭打;亂鬥

outline of an instep腳背;鞋背

who else could outweigh the love and gratitude which she must
feel to you?

for the lad could not say a word without compromising連累,危及his
own family.

so astute狡猾的,詭計多端的a villain

he tried to bluster恐嚇,脅迫and took down a life-preserver【英】(用以自衛的)保命用具from the wall

after much chaffering講價,談生意I got our stones at 1000 pounds apiece