【英文原著类】The Adventure of the Dying Detective(垂死侦探历险记).pdf

The Adventure of the Dying Detective
The Adventure of the
Dying Detective
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1
The Adventure of the Dying Detective
Mrs. Hudson, the landlady of Sherlock Holmes, was a long- suffering
woman. Not only was her first-floor flat invaded at all hours by throngs
of singular and often undesirable characters but her remarkable lodger
showed an eccentricity and irregularity in his life which must have sorely
tried her patience. His incredible untidiness, his addiction to music at
strange hours, his occasional revolver practice within doors, his weird and
often malodorous scientific experiments, and the atmosphere of violence
and danger which hung around him made him the very worst tenant in
London. On the other hand, his payments were princely. I have no doubt
that the house might have been purchased at the price which Holmes paid
for his rooms during the years that I was with him.
The landlady stood in the deepest awe of him and never dared to
interfere with him, however outrageous his proceedings might seem. She
was fond of him, too, for he had a remarkable gentleness and courtesy in
his dealings with women. He disliked and distrusted the sex, but he was
always a chivalrous opponent. Knowing how genuine was her regard for
him, I listened earnestly to her story when she came to my rooms in the
second year of my married life and told me of the sad condition to which
my poor friend was reduced.
"He's dying, Dr. Watson," said she. "For three days he has been
sinking, and I doubt if he will last the day. He would not let me get a
doctor. This morning when I saw his bones sticking out of his face and
his great bright eyes looking at me I could stand no more of it. 'With
your leave or without it, Mr. Holmes, I am going for a doctor this very
hour,' said I. 'Let it be Watson, then,' said he. I wouldn't waste an hour
ing to him, sir, or you may not see him alive."
I was horrified for I had heard nothing of his illness. I