Lestrade shrugged¹ his shoulders. "I am afraid that my colleague has been a little quick in forming his conclusions," he said.

"But he is right. Oh! I know that he is right. James never did it. And about his quarrel with his father, I am sure that the reason why he would not speak about it to the coroner was because I was concerned in it."

"In what way?" asked Holmes.

"It is no time for me to hide anything. James and his father had many disagreements about me. Mr. McCarthy was very anxious that there should be a marriage between us. James and I have always loved each other as brother and sister; but of course he is young and has seen very little of life yet, and--and--well, he naturally did not wish to do anything like that yet. So there were quarrels, and this, I am sure, was one of them."

"And your father?" asked Holmes. "Was he in favor of such a union?"

"No, he was averse² to it also. No one but Mr. McCarthy was in favor of it." A quick blush passed over her fresh young face as Holmes shot one of his keen, questioning glances at her.

"Thank you for this information," said he. "May I see your father if I call to-morrow?"

"I am afraid the doctor won't allow it."

"The doctor?"

"Yes, have you not heard? Poor father has never been strong for years back, but this has broken him down completely. He has taken to his bed, and Dr. Willows³ says that he is a wreck⁴ and that his nervous system is shattered. Mr. McCarthy was the only man alive who had known dad in the old days in Victoria."

"Ha! In Victoria! That is important."

"Yes, at the mines."

"Quite so; at the gold-mines, where, as I understand, Mr. Turner made his money."

"Yes, certainly."

"Thank you, Miss Turner. You have been of material assistance to me."

"You will tell me if you have any news to-morrow. No doubt you will go to the prison to see James. Oh, if you do, Mr. Holmes, do tell him that I know him to be innocent."

"I will, Miss Turner."

"I must go home now, for dad is very ill, and he misses me so if I leave him. Good-bye, and God help you in your undertaking⁵." She hurried from the room as impulsively

点击收听单词发音  

1 shrugged
vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。 She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 averse
adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的
参考例句：
I don't smoke cigarettes,but I'm not averse to the occasional cigar.我不吸烟，但我不反对偶尔抽一支雪茄。 We are averse to such noisy surroundings.我们不喜欢这么吵闹的环境。

3 willows
n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木
参考例句：
The willows along the river bank look very beautiful. 河岸边的柳树很美。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Willows are planted on both sides of the streets. 街道两侧种着柳树。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 wreck
n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难
参考例句：
Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。 No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

5 undertaking
n.保证，许诺，事业
参考例句：
He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。 He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

6 impulsively
adv.冲动地
参考例句：
She leant forward and kissed him impulsively. 她倾身向前，感情冲动地吻了他。 Every good, true, vigorous feeling I had gathered came impulsively round him. 我的一切良好、真诚而又强烈的感情都紧紧围绕着他涌现出来。

7 rattle
v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓
参考例句：
The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。 She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

8 puny
adj.微不足道的，弱小的
参考例句：
The resources at the central banks' disposal are simply too puny.中央银行掌握的资金实在太少了。 Antonio was a puny lad,and not strong enough to work.安东尼奥是个瘦小的小家伙，身体还不壮，还不能干活。

9 entirely
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
参考例句：
The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。 His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 calamity
n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件
参考例句：
Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。 The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

11 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

12 glade
n.林间空地，一片表面有草的沼泽低地
参考例句：
In the midst of a glade were several huts.林中的空地中间有几间小木屋。 The family had their lunch in the glade.全家在林中的空地上吃了午饭。

13 deposition
n.免职，罢官；作证；沉淀；沉淀物
参考例句：
It was this issue which led to the deposition of the king.正是这件事导致了国王被废黜。 This leads to calcium deposition in the blood-vessels.这导致钙在血管中沉积。

14 peculiar
adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的
参考例句：
He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。 He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

15 delirium
n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋
参考例句：
In her delirium, she had fallen to the floor several times. 她在神志不清的状态下几次摔倒在地上。 For the next nine months, Job was in constant delirium.接下来的九个月，约伯处于持续精神错乱的状态。

16 delirious
adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的
参考例句：
He was delirious,murmuring about that matter.他精神恍惚，低声叨念着那件事。 She knew that he had become delirious,and tried to pacify him.她知道他已经神志昏迷起来了，极力想使他镇静下来。

17 innocence
n.无罪；天真；无害
参考例句：
There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。 The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。