"It's all clear," he whispered. "Have you the chisel1 and the bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!"
Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of rending2 cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts. The light flashed upon the barrel of a revolver, but Holmes's hunting crop came down on the man's wrist, and the pistol clinked upon the stone floor.
"It's no use, John Clay," said Holmes blandly3. "You have no chance at all."
"So I see," the other answered with the utmost coolness. "I fancy that my pal4 is all right, though I see you have got his coat-tails."
"There are three men waiting for him at the door," said Holmes.
"Oh, indeed! You seem to have done the thing very completely. I must compliment you."
"And I you," Holmes answered. "Your red-headed idea was very new and effective."
"You'll see your pal again presently," said Jones. "He's quicker at climbing down holes than I am. Just hold out while I fix the derbies."
"I beg that you will not touch me with your filthy5 hands," remarked our prisoner as the handcuffs clattered6 upon his wrists. "You may not be aware that I have royal blood in my veins7. Have the goodness, also, when you address me always to say 'sir' and 'please.'"
"All right," said Jones with a stare and a snigger. "Well, would you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab to carry your Highness to the police-station?"
"That is better," said John Clay serenely8. He made a sweeping9 bow to the three of us and walked quietly off in the custody10 of the detective.
"Really, Mr. Holmes," said Mr. Merryweather as we followed them from the cellar, "I do not know how the bank can thank you or repay you. There is no doubt that you have detected and defeated in the most complete manner one of the most determined11 attempts at bank robbery that have ever come within my experience."
"I have had one or two little scores of my own to settle with Mr. John Clay," said Holmes. "I have been at some small expense over this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund12, but beyond that I am amply repaid by having had an experience which is in many ways unique, and by hearing the very remarkable13 narrative14 of the Red-headed League."
"You see, Watson," he explained in the early hours of the morning as we sat over a glass of whisky and soda15 in Baker16 Street, "it was perfectly17 obvious from the first that the only possible object of this rather fantastic business of the advertisement of the League, and the copying of the Encyclopaedia18, must be to get this not over-bright pawnbroker19 out of the way for a number of hours every day. It was a curious way of managing it, but, really, it would be difficult to suggest a better. The method was no doubt suggested to Clay's ingenious mind by the color of his accomplice's hair. The 4 pounds a week was a lure20 which must draw him, and what was it to them, who were playing for thousands? They put in the advertisement, one rogue21 has the temporary office, the other rogue incites22 the man to apply for it. and together they manage to secure his absence every morning in the week. From the time that I heard of the assistant having come for half wages, it was obvious to me that he had some strong motive23 for securing the situation."
"But how could you guess what the motive was?"
"Had there been women in the house, I should have suspected a mere24 vulgar intrigue25. That, however, was out of the question. The man's business was a small one, and there was nothing in his house which could account for such elaborate preparations, and such an expenditure26 as they were at. It must, then, be something out of the house. What could it be? I thought of the assistant's fondness for photography, and his trick of vanishing into the cellar. The cellar! There was the end of this tangled27 clew. Then I made inquiries28 as to this mysterious assistant and found that I had to deal with one of the coolest and most daring criminals in London. He was doing something in the cellar--something which took many hours a day for months on end. What could it be, once more? I could think of nothing save that he was running a tunnel to some other building.
"So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action. I surprised you by beating upon the pavement with my stick. I was ascertaining29 whether the cellar stretched out in front or behind. It was not in front. Then I rang the bell, and, as I hoped, the assistant answered it. We have had some skirmishes, but we had never set eyes upon each other before. I hardly looked at his face. His knees were what I wished to see. You must yourself have remarked how worn, wrinkled, and stained they were. They spoke30 of those hours of burrowing31. The only remaining point was what they were burrowing for. I walked round the corner, saw the City and Suburban32 Bank abutted33 on our friend's premises34, and felt that I had solved my problem. When you drove home after the concert I called upon Scotland Yard and upon the chairman of the bank directors, with the result that you have seen."
"And how could you tell that they would make their attempt to-night?" I asked.
"Well, when they closed their League offices that was a sign that they cared no longer about Mr. Jabez Wilson's presence--in other words, that they had completed their tunnel. But it was essential that they should use it soon, as it might be discovered, or the bullion35 might be removed. Saturday would suit them better than any other day, as it would give them two days for their escape. For all these reasons I expected them to come to-night."
"You reasoned it out beautifully," I exclaimed in unfeigned admiration36 "It is so long a chain, and yet every link rings true."
"It saved me from ennui," he answered, yawning. "Alas37! I already feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so."
"And you are a benefactor38 of the race," said I.
He shrugged39 his shoulders. "Well, perhaps, after all, it is of some little use," he remarked. " 'L'homme c'est rien--l'oeuvre c'est tout,' as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand."
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chisel
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| n.凿子；v.用凿子刻，雕，凿 | |
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rending
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| v.撕碎( rend的现在分词 )；分裂；（因愤怒、痛苦等而）揪扯（衣服或头发等）；（声音等）刺破 | |
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blandly
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| adv.温和地，殷勤地 | |
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pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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serenely
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| adv.安详地，宁静地，平静地 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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refund
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| v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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soda
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| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
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baker
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| n.面包师 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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encyclopaedia
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| n.百科全书 | |
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pawnbroker
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| n.典当商，当铺老板 | |
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lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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incites
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| 刺激，激励，煽动( incite的第三人称单数 ) | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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ascertaining
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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burrowing
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| v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的现在分词 )；翻寻 | |
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suburban
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| adj.城郊的，在郊区的 | |
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abutted
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| v.（与…）邻接( abut的过去式和过去分词 )；（与…）毗连；接触；倚靠 | |
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premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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bullion
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| n.金条，银条 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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benefactor
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| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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