The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

"'I wish you, John,' said my uncle, 'to witness my will. I leave my estate, with all its advantages and all its disadvantages, to my brother, your father, whence it will, no doubt, descend to you. If you can enjoy it in peace, well and good! If you find you cannot, take my advice, my boy, and leave it to your deadliest enemy. I am sorry to give you such a two-edged thing, but I can't say what turn things are going to take. Kindly sign the paper where Mr. Fordham shows you.'

"I signed the paper as directed, and the lawyer took it away with him. The singular incident made, as you may think, the deepest impression upon me, and I pondered over it and turned it every way in my mind without being able to make anything of it. Yet I could not shake off the vague feeling of dread which it left behind, though the sensation grew less keen as the weeks passed and nothing happened to disturb the usual routine of our lives. I could see a change in my uncle, however. He drank more than ever, and he was less inclined for any sort of society. Most of his time he would spend in his room, with the door locked upon the inside, but sometimes he would emerge in a sort of drunken frenzy and would burst out of the house and tear about the garden with a revolver in his hand, screaming out that he was afraid of no man, and that he was not to be cooped up, like a sheep in a pen, by man or devil. When these hot fits were over however, he would rush tumultuously in at the door and lock and bar it behind him, like a man who can brazen it out no longer against the terror which lies at the roots of his soul. At such times I have seen his face, even on a cold day, glisten with moisture, as though it were new raised from a basin.

"Well, to come to an end of the matter, Mr. Holmes, and not to abuse your patience, there came a night when he made one of those drunken sallies from which he never came back. We found him, when we went to search for him, face downward in a little green-scummed pool, which lay at the foot of the garden. There was no sign of any violence, and the water was but two feet deep, so that the jury, having regard to his known eccentricity, brought in a verdict of 'suicide.' But I, who knew how he winced from the very thought of death, had much ado to persuade myself that he had gone out of his way to meet it. The matter passed, however, and my father entered into possession of the estate, and of some 14,000 pounds, which lay to his credit at the bank."

"One moment," Holmes interposed, "your statement is, I foresee, one of the most remarkable to which I have ever listened. Let me have the date of the reception by your uncle of the letter, and the date of his supposed suicide."

"The letter arrived on March 10, 1883. His death was seven weeks later, upon the night of May 2d."

"Thank you. Pray proceed."

"When my father took over the Horsham property, he, at my request, made a careful examination of the attic, which had been always locked up. We found the brass box there, although its contents had been destroyed. On the inside of the cover was a paper label, with the initials of K. K. K. repeated upon it, and 'Letters, memoranda, receipts, and a register' written beneath. These, we presume, indicated the nature of the papers which had been destroyed by Colonel Openshaw. For the rest, there was nothing of much importance in the attic save a great many scattered papers and note-books bearing upon my uncle's life in America. Some of them were of the war time and showed that he had done his duty well and had borne the repute of a brave soldier. Others were of a date during the reconstruction of the Southern states, and were mostly concerned with politics, for he had evidently taken a strong part in opposing the carpet-bag politicians who had been sent down from the North.

"Well, it was the beginning of '84 when my father came to live at Horsham, and all went as well as possible with us until the January of '85. On the fourth day after the new year I heard my father give a sharp cry of surprise as we sat together at the breakfast-table. There he was, sitting with a newly opened envelope in one hand and five dried orange pips in the outstretched palm of the other one. He had always laughed at what he called my cock-and-bull story about the colonel, but he looked very scared and puzzled now that the same thing had come upon himself.

"'Why, what on earth does this mean, John?' he stammered.

"My heart had turned to lead. 'It is K. K. K.,' said I.

"He looked inside the envelope. 'So it is,' he cried. 'Here are the very letters. But what is this written above them?'

"'Put the papers on the sundial,' I read, peeping over his shoulder.

"'What papers? What sundial?' he asked.

"'The sundial in the garden. There is no other,' said I; 'but the papers must be those that are destroyed.'

"'Pooh!' said he, gripping hard at his courage. 'We are in a civilized land here, and we can't have tomfoolery of this kind. Where does the thing come from?'

"'From Dundee,' I answered, glancing at the postmark.

"'Some preposterous practical joke,' said he. 'What have I to do with sundials and papers? I shall take no notice of such nonsense.'

"'I should certainly speak to the police,' I said.

"'And be laughed at for my pains. Nothing of the sort.'

"'Then let me do so?'

"'No, I forbid you. I won't have a fuss made about such nonsense.'

"It was in vain to argue with him, for he was a very obstinate man. I went about, however, with a heart which was full of forebodings.

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Adventure V. The Five Orange Pips (4) (с подсказками)

"'I wish you, John,' said my uncle, 'to witness ['wItnIs] (быть свидетелем) my will (завещание). I leave my estate (поместье), with all its advantages and all its disadvantages ["dIsqd'vRntIGIz] (досл. недостатки), to my brother, your father, whence [wens] (зд. впоследствии) it will, no doubt, descend [dI'send] (will ~ - перейдет) to you. If you can enjoy it in peace, well and good! If you find you cannot, take my advice, my boy, and leave it to your deadliest ['dedlIIst] (самому смертельному) enemy. I am sorry to give you such a two-edged [tH-eGd] (неоднозначная) thing, but I can't say what turn things are going to take. Kindly ['kaIndlI] (будь любезен) sign the paper where Mr. Fordham shows you.'

"I signed the paper as directed, and the lawyer took it away with him. The singular ['sINgjulq] (old-fash странный) incident made, as you may think, the deepest ['dJpIst] (глубочайшее) impression upon me, and I pondered ['pPndqd] over (обдумал) it and turned it every way in my mind without being able to make anything of it. Yet I could not shake off the vague [veIg] (смутное) feeling of dread [dred] (страха) which it left behind, though the sensation [sen'seIS(q)n] (ощущение) grew less keen [kJn] (острое) as the weeks passed and nothing happened to disturb [dIs'tE:b] (помешать) the usual routine [rH'tJn] (привычное течение) of our lives. I could see a change in my uncle, however. He drank more than ever, and he was less inclined [In'klaInd] (был меньше склонен) for any sort of society. Most of his time he would spend in his room, with the door locked [lPkt] (запертая) upon the inside, but sometimes he would emerge in a sort of drunken ['drANkqn] (пьяное) frenzy ['frenzI] (исступление) and would burst [bE:st] (вырывался) out of the house and tear about the garden with a revolver [rI'vPlvq] in his hand, screaming ['skrJmIN] (выкрикивая) out that he was afraid of no man, and that he was not to be cooped [kHpt] up (coop up ? держать в заперти), like a sheep [SJp] (овца) in a pen [pen] (в загоне), by man or devil ['dev(q)l] (дьявол). When these hot fits (приступы) were over however, he would rush [rAS] (would ~ - бросался) tumultuously [tjH'mAlCuqsli] (возбужденно) in at the door and lock [lPk] (would ~ - запирал на ключ) and bar (would ~ - запирал на засов) it behind him, like a man who can brazen ['breIzn] it out (может держаться вызывающе) no longer ['lPNq] (больше не ?) against the terror ['terq] (ужаса) which lies at the roots [rHts] (поселился в, досл. лежит у корней) of his soul [squl] (душа). At such times I have seen his face, even on a cold day, glisten ['glIsn] (блестело) with moisture ['mOIsCq] (от влаги), as though it were new raised from a basin ['beIsn] (таз).

"Well, to come to an end of the matter, Mr. Holmes, and not to abuse [q'bjHz] (злоупотреблять) your patience ['peISqns] (терпение), there came a night when he made one of those drunken ['drANkqn] (пьяные) sallies ['sxliz] (выходки) from which he never came back. We found him, when we went to search for him, face downward ['daunwqd] (упавший лицом вниз) in a little green-scummed [grJn-skAmd] (покрытый зеленой пеной) pool, which lay at the foot of the garden. There was no sign of any violence, and the water was but two feet deep, so that the jury ['GuqrI] (присяжные), having regard to his known eccentricity ["eksen'trIsIti] brought in a verdict ['vE:dIkt] of 'suicide' ['sHIsaId] (самоубийство). But I, who knew how he winced [wInst] (морщился) from the very thought of death, had much ado [q'dH] to persuade myself (с большим трудом убедил себя) that he had gone out of his way to meet it. The matter passed, however, and my father entered into possession [pq'zeS(q)n] (владение) of the estate, and of some 14,000 pounds, which lay to his credit at the bank."

"One moment," Holmes interposed ["Intq'pquzd] (перебил), "your statement is, I foresee [fL'sJ] (предвижу), one of the most remarkable [rI'mRkqbl] (замечательные) to which I have ever listened. Let me have the date of the reception [rI'sepSqn] (получение) by your uncle of the letter, and the date of his supposed suicide ['sHIsaId] (предполагаемое самоубийство)."

"The letter arrived on March 10, 1883. His death was seven weeks later, upon the night of May 2d."

"Thank you. Pray [preI] (прошу) proceed [prq'si:d] (продолжать)."

"When my father took over the Horsham property, he, at my request, made a careful examination of the attic ['xtIk] (чердак), which had been always locked [lPkt] up (заперт). We found the brass [brRs] (медная) box there, although its contents had been destroyed. On the inside of the cover was a paper label ['leIbl] (этикетка), with the initials [I'nIS(q)lz] (инициалы) of K. K. K. repeated upon it, and 'Letters, memoranda ["memq'rxndq] (записи), receipts [rI'sJts] (расписки), and a register' written beneath. These, we presume [prI'zjHm] (полагаем), indicated (указывали на) the nature of the papers which had been destroyed by Colonel ['kE:nl] (полковник) Openshaw. For the rest, there was nothing of much importance in the attic ['xtIk] (чердак) save (кроме) a great many scattered ['skxtqd] (разбросанные) papers and note-books bearing upon my uncle's life in America. Some of them were of the war time and showed that he had done his duty well and had borne [bLn] the repute [rI'pju:t] (имел репутацию) of a brave soldier. Others were of a date during the reconstruction ["rJkqn'trAkSqn] of the Southern states, and were mostly ['mqustlI] (в основном) concerned with politics, for he had evidently ['evIdqntli] (очевидно) taken a strong part in opposing [q'pquzIN] (противостояние) the carpet-bag ['kRpIt-bxg] љpoliticians ["pPlI'tIS(q)nz] (политические проходимцы) who had been sent down from the North.

"Well, it was the beginning of '84 when my father came to live at Horsham, and all went as well as possible with us until the January of '85. On the fourth day after the new year I heard my father give a sharp [SRp] (резкий) cry of surprise as we sat together at the breakfast-table. There he was, sitting with a newly ['nju:lI] (только что) opened envelope ['envqlqup] (конверт) in one hand and five dried [draId] (высохшие) orange pips [pIps] (зернышки) in the outstretched [aut'streCt] (раскрытая) palm [pRm] (ладонь) of the other one. He had always laughed at what he called my cock-and-bull ["kPk qnd 'bul] story (небылица) about the colonel ['kE:nl] (полковник), but he looked very scared [skeqd] (напуганный) and puzzled [pAzld] (озадаченный) now that the same thing had come upon himself.

"'Why, what on earth does this mean, John?' he stammered ['stxmqd] (спросил заикаясь).

"My heart had turned to lead (свинец). 'It is K. K. K.,' said I.

"He looked inside the envelope ['envqlqup] (конверт). 'So it is,' he cried. 'Here are the very letters. But what is this written above them?'

"'Put the papers on the sundial ['sAndaIql] (солнечные часы),' I read, peeping ['pJpIN] (заглядывая) over his shoulder.

"'What papers? What sundial ['sAndaIql] (солнечные часы)?' he asked.

"'The sundial ['sAndaIql] (солнечные часы) in the garden. There is no other,' said I; 'but the papers must be those that are destroyed.'

"'Pooh!' said he, gripping ['grIpIN] (досл. ухватившись) hard at his courage ['kArIG] (храбрость). 'We are in a civilized ['sIv(q)laIzd] (цивилизованная) land here, and we can't have tomfoolery [tPm'fHlqri] (розыгрыш) of this kind. Where does the thing come from?'

"'From Dundee,' I answered, glancing ['glRnsIN] (взглянув) at the postmark ['pqustmRk] (штемпель).

"'Some preposterous [prI'pPst(q)rqs] (нелепая) practical joke [dZquk] (шутка),' said he. 'What have I to do with sundials ['sAndaIqlz] (солнечные часы) and papers? I shall take no notice of such nonsense ['nPnsqns].'

"'I should certainly speak to the police,' I said.

"'And be laughed at for my pains. Nothing of the sort.'

"'Then let me do so?'

"'No, I forbid [fq'bId] (запрещаю) you. I won't have a fuss [fAs] (шум) made about such nonsense ['nPnsqns].'

"It was in vain [veIn] (бессмысленно) to argue with him, for he was a very obstinate ['PbstInIt] (упрямый) man. I went about, however, with a heart which was full of forebodings [fL'bqudINz] (дурные предчувствия).

To be continued...

Обработка Марины Горчаковой <mar_go at tamkon dot ru> при технической поддержке Алексея Винидиктова

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