【導(dǎo)讀】Inasmuchasthesceneofthisstoryisthathistoricpile,BelpherCastle,inthecountyofHampshire,itwouldbeanagreeabletasktoopenitwithaleisurelydescriptionoftheplace,followedbysomenotesonthehistoryoftheEarlsofMarshmoreton,whohaveowneditsincethefifteenthcentury.Unfortunately,inthesedaysofrushandhurry,anovelistworksatadisadvantage.Hemustleapintothemiddleofhistalewithaslittledelayashewouldemployinboardingamovingt

　　

【正文】 o t he concl usi on t hat t hem i ddl e aged l ady of a det er m i ned cast of count enance who wasst andi ng near t he r ose gar den, t al ki ng t o t he gar dener and wat chi ngt he young coupl e st r ol l i ng on t he t er r a ce bel ow, was t he m ot her of t he pr et t y gi r l , and t hat she was sm i l i ng because t he l at t er hadr ecent l y be e engaged t o t he t al l , pl easant f aced yout h at her si de. Sher l ock Holmes hi msel f might have been mi sled. One can hear hi mexplaini ng the t hi ng to Watson in one of t hose l ightni ng fl ashes ofi nducti ve reasoni ng of hi s. amp。 quot。 It i s the only expl anati on, m y dear Watson. If t he lady were m er ely pl imenti ng the gar dener on hisrose garden, and i f her smi le wer e merel y caused by the excel lentappear ance of t hat r osegar den, there woul d be an answer ing smi leon the f ace of t he gar dener . But , as you see, he l ooks m orose andgloomy. amp。quot 。As a mat er of f act , t he gardener that is t o say, the st ocky,brown faced man i n shi rt sleeves and cordur oy tr ousers who wasf rowni ng int o a can of whal eoil soluti on was the Earl of Mar shmor et on, and t her e were two reasons for hi s gl oom. He hated t obe i nter upted whi le wor king, and, fur ther m or e, Lady Car ol i ne Byngal ways got on hi s ner ves, and never m or e so t han when, as now, shespecul a t ed on t he possi bi l i t y of a r om ance bet ween her st ep sonReggi e and hi s l or dshi p39。s daught er Maud. Onl y hi s i nti mates would have r ecognized in this curi ouscordur oy t r ouser ed f i gur e t he sevent h Ear l of Mar shm or et on. TheLor d Mar shm or et on who m ade i nt er m i t t ent appear ances i n London, whol unch ed am ong bi shops at t he At henaeum Cl ub wi t hout exci t i ngr em ar k, was a cor r ect l y dr essed gent l em an whom no one woul d havesuspect ed of cover i ng hi s st ur dy l egs i n anyt hi ng but t he f i nest cl ot h. But i f you wi l l gl ance at your copy of Who39。s Who, and t ur nup t he amp。 quot 。 M39。samp。 quot 。 , you wi l l f i nd i n t he space al l ot t ed t o t he Ear l t hewor ds amp。 quot 。 HobbyGar deni ngamp。 quot 。 . To whi ch, i n a bur st of m odest pr i de, hi sl or dshi p has added amp。 quot 。 Awar ded f i r st pr i ze f or Hybr i d Teas, Tem pl eFl ower Show, 1911amp。 quot 。 . The wor ds t el l t hei r own st or y. Lor d Mar shm or et on was t he m ost ent husi ast i c am at eur gar dener i n al and of ent husi ast i c am at eur gar dener s. He l i ved f or hi s gar den. The l ove which other men expend on their near est and dear est Lor dMarshmoreton lavished on seeds, r oses and loamy soil . The hat redwhich some of his or der f el f or Social ists and Demagogues Lor dMarshmoret on kept f or r oseslugs, r ose beetl es and the smal ,yel owi shwhi te i nsect whi ch is so depraved and si nister achar act er t hat i t goes thr ough lif e wi th an al ias bei ng som et im escal led a rose hopper and somet imes a t hri ps. A si mple soul, LordMar shm oretonmi ld and pl easant . Yet put him among the t hri ps, andhe becam e a deal er out of deat h and sl aught er , a destr oyer i n t heclass of At t il a the Hun and Genghis Khan. Thr ips f eed on t heunder si de of r ose l eaves, sucki ng t hei r j ui ce and causi ng t hem t ot ur n yel l ow。 and Lor d Mar shm or et on39。s vi ews on t hese t hi ngs wer e sor i gi d t hat he woul d have pour ed whal e oi l sol ut i on on hi sgr andm ot her i f he had f ound her on t he under si de of one of hi s r osel eaves sucki ng i t s j ui ce. The onl y t i m e i n t he day when he ceased t o be t he hor ny handedt oi l er and becam e t he ar i st ocr at was i n t he eveni ng af t er di nner , when, egged on by Lady Car ol i ne, who gave hi m no r est i n t hem at t er he woul d r et i r e t o hi s pr i vat e st udy and wor k on hi sHi st or y of t he Fam i l y, assi st ed by hi s abl e secr et ar y, Al i ceFar aday. Hi s pr ogr ess on t hat m assi ve wor k was, however , sl ow. Tenhour s i n t he open ai r m ade a m an dr owsy, and t oo of t en Lor dMar shm or et on woul d f al l asl eep i n m i d sent ence t o t he annoyance of Mi ss Far aday, who was a consci ent i ous gi r l and l i ked t o ear n her sal ar y. The coupl e on t he t er r ace had t ur ned. Reggi e Byng39。s f ace, as hebent over Maud, was ear nest and ani m at ed, and even f r om a di s t ancei t was possi bl e t o see how t he gi r l 39。s eyes l i t up at what he wassayi ng. She was hangi ng on hi s wor ds. Lady Car ol i ne39。s sm i l e becam em or e and m or e benevol ent . amp。 quot 。 They make a char mi ng pai r, she m urmur ed. amp。 quot 。I wonder what dear Reggi e is saying. Per haps at t hi s ver y m om ent She br oke of f wi th a si gh of content. She had had her t roubles overt hi s af ai r. Dear Reggi e, usualy so pl ast ic i n her hands, haddisplayed an unaccountable reluctance to of fer his agr eable self to Maudi n spit e of the f act that never, not even on t he publ icplat form whi ch she adorned so wel , had hi s stepmot her r easonedmor e clearl y than she did when poi nt ing out to him the advant agesof t he match. It was not that Reggi e disli ked Maud. He admi t edt hat she was a topper , on several occasions goi ng so far as todescr ibe her as amp。quot 。absol utely pr icelessamp。 quot 。. But he seemed r el uct ant t oask her to mar y him . How coul d Lady Car ol i ne know t hat Reggi e39。sent i r e wor l dor such of i t as was not occupi ed by r aci ng car s andgol f was f i l l ed by Al i ce Far aday? Reggi e had never t ol d her . Hehad not even t ol d Mi ss Far aday. amp。 quot 。 Per haps at t hi s ver y m om ent , amp。 quot 。 went on Lady Car ol i ne, amp。 quot 。 t he dear boyi s pr oposi ng t o her . amp。 quot 。 Lor d Mar shm or