Артур Дойл - Приключения Шерлока Холмса / The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (сборник)

“The windows of the three rooms open out upon the park. That fatal night Dr. Roylott had gone to his room early, though we knew that he had not gone to bed, for my sister was troubled by the smell of the strong Indian cigars which he smoked. She left her room, therefore, and came into mine, where she sat for some time, talking about her approaching wedding. At eleven o’clock she rose to leave me, but she paused at the door and looked back.

“ ‘Tell me, Helen,’ said she, ‘have you ever heard anyone whistle at night?’

“ ‘Never. But why?’ said I.

“ ‘Because during the last few nights I have always, about three in the morning, heard a low, clear whistle. I cannot tell where it came from – perhaps from the next room, perhaps from the park. I thought that I would ask you whether you had heard it.’

‘No, I have not. It must be those gypsies in the park[10].’

“ ‘Very likely. And if it were in the park, it is strange that you did not hear it also.’

“ ‘Ah, but I do not hear anything when I am asleep.’

She smiled back at me, closed my door, and a few moments later I heard her key turn in the lock.”

“Did you always lock yourselves in at night?” asked Holmes.

“Always.”

“And why?”

“I think that I said that the doctor kept a cheetah and a baboon. We had no feeling of security if our doors were not locked.”

“I see. But forgive me for interrupting you. Please continue your story.”

Exercises

1. Answer the questions:

1. What did you learn about the Roylotts of Stoke Moran?

2. Why did Dr. Roylott return to England from India a gloomy and disappointed man?

3. How did it happen that Dr. Roylott lived in Stoke Moran with his two stepdaughters?

4. Who else lived in the house?

5. What were the relations between Dr. Roylott and other people in the village?

6. Why weren’t Julia and Helen happy?

7. How did it happen that Julia became engaged to be married?

8. What did you learn about the house where Julia’s tragic death occurred?

9. What did the sisters speak about before Julia’s death?

10. Why did the sisters lock their bedrooms?

Think and say

1. Was Dr. Roylott a good doctor? Would you like him to be your family doctor? Why do you think so?

2. Was it easy for the sisters to marry? Why do you think so?

2. Find the following phrases in the text and reproduce situations from the text with them. Give Russian equivalents.

1. to be left

2. to leave smth to smb

3. to make friends with smb

4. to be / become engaged to smb

engagement (to smb)

5. to open out on / upon / into

3. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences so as to use the phrases above.

1. Tony is a very sociable boy, he can become the friend of anybody.

2. How long before the wedding did they agree to get married?

3. It was only after his aunt’s death that Robert learned he would get her house after her death.

4. After he paid all his debts, no more money remained.

5. Their room faces the park, so they have a very nice view.

6. Have you heard that John has broken off his agreement to marry June? – I didn’t even know that they agreed to marry.

7. After Miss Stoner’s sister died, she remained alone with her stepfather.

4. Complete the sentences with phrases above in the correct form.

1. Susan doesn’t want her bedroom… the sea. She says the noise of the sea won’t let her sleep.

2. There were a lot of shops in the street a few years ago. But only two… The others have been closed.

3. I didn’t know that Alex and Anne… to be married.

4. When Bob came to a new school, he wanted… his new classmates.

5. Peter’s father… him his gold watch, and Peter always wears it.

6. Walter gave Alice an… ring. They are to be married next month.

7. After her children married, Mrs Sykes… alone in her big house.

III

“I could not sleep that night. I had a vague feeling that something bad was coming. It was a wild night. The wind was very strong outside, and the rain was beating against the windows. Suddenly, there was a wild scream of a terrified woman. I knew that it was my sister’s voice. I got out of my bed, and rushed into the corridor. As I opened my door I seemed to hear a low whistle, such as my sister described, and a few moments later a strange sound, as if metal had fallen. As I ran down the corridor, my sister’s door was unlocked, and opened slowly. By the light of the corridor-lamp I saw my sister appear in the doorway, her face pale with terror, she could hardly stand. I ran to her and threw my arms round her, but at that moment she fell to the ground. She seemed to be in terrible pain. As I bent over her she suddenly cried out in a voice which I shall never forget, ‘Oh, my God! Helen! It was the band! The speckled band!’ There was something else which she wanted to say, and she pointed her finger at the door of the doctor’s room, but she could not speak. I called loudly for my stepfather, and I saw him running from his room. When he reached my sister’s side she was unconscious, and though he sent for a doctor from the village, she died without having recovered her consciousness[11].”

“One moment,” said Holmes, “are you sure about this whistle and metallic sound?”

“That was what the police asked me. I believe I heard it, but I may have made a mistake.[12]”

“Was your sister dressed?”

“No, she was in her night-dress. In her right hand wе found a burnt match, and in her left a match-box.”

“It shows that she struck a light and looked about her when she heard a noise. That is important. And what conclusions did the police come to?”

“They investigated the case with great care, for Dr. Roylott had a very bad reputation, but they were unable to find any satisfactory cause of death. The door was locked on the inside, and the windows were blocked. The walls and the floor were examined, with no result. It is clear, therefore, that my sister was alone when she met her end. Besides, there were no marks of any violence upon her.”

“How about poison?”

“The doctors examined her for it, but without any result.”

“What do you think your sister died of, then?”

“I believe she died of fear and nervous shock, though what frightened her I cannot imagine.”

“Were there gypsies in the park at the time?”

“Yes, there are nearly always some there.”

“Ah, and what did you think of her last words – a speckled band?”

“Sometimes I have thought that she spoke of some band of people, perhaps of the gypsies in the park. So many of them wear the speckled handkerchiefs over their heads.”

Holmes shook his head like a man who was not satisfied.

“Two years have passed since then, and my life has been lonelier than ever. A month ago, however, a dear friend, whom I have known for many years, asked my hand in marriage. His name is Armitage – Percy Armitage. My stepfather has nothing against the marriage, and we are to be married in spring. Two days ago some repairs were started in the house, and I had to move into the room in which my sister died, and to sleep in the bed in which she slept. Imagine, then, terror when last night I suddenly heard the low whistle which my sister had heard before her death. I got up and lit the lamp, but saw nothing unusual in the room. I was too frightened to go to bed again, however, so I dressed, and as soon as it was daylight I left the house, got a dog-cart and drove to the station, from where I have come on this morning to see you and to ask your advice.”

“You have done well,” said my friend. “But have you told me all?”

“Yes, all.”

“Miss Roylott, you have not.”

“Why, what do you mean?”

For answer Holmes took her hand that lay upon our visitor’s knee. The marks of a very strong hand were printed on it.

“Your stepfather has been cruel to you,” said Holmes.

“He is a hard man,” she said, “and perhaps he hardly knows his own strength.”

There was a long silence, during which Holmes looked into the fire.

“This is a very deep business[13],” he said at last. “There are a thousand details which I should like to know before I decide what to do. We have not a moment to lose. If we come to Stoke Moran to-day, would it be possible for us to see these rooms without the knowledge[14] of your stepfather?”

“He spoke of going to town to-day upon some most important business. It is probable that he will be away all day. We have a housekeeper now, but she is old and foolish.”

“Perfect. You are not against this trip, Watson?”

“No, I am not.”

“Then we shall both come. What are you going to do yourself?”

“I have one or two things to do now in town. But I shall return by the twelve o’clock train, and I shall be there in time for your coming.”

Exercises

1. Answer the questions:

1. Why couldn’t Helen sleep that night?

2. What sounds did Helen Stoner hear that night?

3. What did Julia look like when she came into the corridor?

4. How did Julia die?

5. What did Helen think Julia’s last words meant?

6. What did the police investigation show? Was it careful?

7. What were Helen’s plans for the near future?

8. Why was she terrified?

9. What was Sherlock Holmes going to do?

10. Why was Sherlock Holmes interested in Dr. Roylott’s plans for that day?

Think and say

1. Did Dr. Roylott love his stepdaughters?

2. Why was the police investigation without any results?

2. Find the following phrases in the text and reproduce situations from the text with them. Give Russian equivalents.

1. to be in pain

2. to come to a conclusion

3. (to find) the cause of death

4. to die of smth

5. to move to another place / into another room

3. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences so as to use the phrases above.

1. We saw that the man was suffering terribly, but all we could do was to call an ambulance.

2. Sherlock Holmes decided that it was a very deep business.

3. Her grandmother got pneumonia and died.

4. The police examined the dead man but couldn’t say why he died.

5. I was surprised to hear that Simon had gone to live in another flat. He always said it was a very good flat.

6. The police made an absolutely wrong decision as to why the man died because they didn’t have enough information.

7. Julia Stoner could not talk because she was suffering from pain.

4. Complete the sentences with the phrases above in the correct form.

1. In old days when a patient… the doctor gave him some alcohol to drink.

2. In the 19th century thousands of people all over Europe… tuberculosis.

3. Helen Stoner was afraid… the room where her sister had died.

4. If you want to know somebody’s…, you have to see the death certificate.

5. After a long discussion the doctors… that the patient didn’t need an operation.

6. If you…, take the pill.

7. Don’t worry, people don’t… such temperature.

IV

“And what do you think of it all, Watson?” asked Sherlock Holmes after Miss Stoner left the room.

“It seems to me to be a most dark and gloomy business.”

“Dark enough and gloomy enough.”

“If the lady is correct when she said that no one could get into the room from the outside, then there is no doubt that her sister was alone when she met her end.”

“What about these whistles, and the very strange words of the dying woman?”

“I have no idea.”

“Whistles at night, a band of gypsies in the park, the fact that the doctor has an interest in preventing his stepdaughter’s marriage, the dying woman’s words, the fact that Miss Helen Stoner heard a metallic sound… Probably it was caused by the gypsies’ attempt to force the window.”

“But what, then, did the gypsies do?”

“I cannot imagine.”

“That is why we are going to Stoke Moran today. I want to see whether we can explain all this. But what in the name of the devil![15]”

Our door suddenly opened, and a very big man was in the doorway. So tall was he that his hat reached the doorway. A large face, marked with every evil passion[16], was turned from one to the other of us.

“Which of you is Holmes?” asked the man.

“This is my name, sir,” said my companion in a low voice.

“I am Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of Stoke Moran.”

“Ah, Doctor,” said Holmes. “Please take your seat.”

“I will do nothing of the kind[17]. My stepdaughter has been here. I have followed her. What has she said to you?”

“It is a little cold for the time of the year,” said Holmes.

“Ha! You put me off, do you?” said our new visitor. “I know you, you scoundrel! I have heard of you before.”

My friend smiled.

“Your words are most pleasant,” said he. “When you go out close the door, for the open door makes the room cold.”

“I will go when I have said what I want. I know that Miss Stoner has been here. I followed her! I am a dangerous man! See here.”

He took the poker, and bent it with his very strong hands.

“Keep yourself out of my grip,” he said, threw the poker, and went out of the room.

“He seems a very friendly person,” said Holmes, laughing. “I am not so big, but my grip is as strong as his own.” He took the poker and straightened it out again.

“Fancy his having the insolence to confound me with the official detective force! This incident gives zest to our investigation, however, and I only trust that our little friend will not suffer from her imprudence in allowing this brute to trace her. And now, Watson, we shall order breakfast, and afterwards I shall walk down to Doctors’ Commons, where I hope to get some data which may help us in this matter.”