“There was her statement, Watson, and to me, as you can imagine, it was like a light on a dark night. Everything which had been disconnected before began at once to assume its true place, and I had a shadowy presentiment of the whole sequence of events. My next step obviously was to find the man who had produced such a remarkable impression upon Mrs. Barclay. If he were still in Aldershot it should not be a very difficult matter. There are not such a very great number of civilians, and a deformed man was sure to have attracted attention. I spent a day in the search, and by evening – this very evening, Watson – I had run him down. The man’s name is Henry Wood, and he lives in lodgings in this same street in which the ladies met him. He has only been five days in the place. In the character of a registration-agent I had a most interesting gossip with his landlady. The man is by trade a conjurer and performer, going round the canteens after nightfall, and giving a little entertainment at each. He carries some creature about with him in that box, about which the landlady seemed to be in considerable trepidation, for she had never seen an animal like it. He uses it in some of his tricks according to her account. So much the woman was able to tell me, and also that it was a wonder the man lived, seeing how twisted he was, and that he spoke in a strange tongue sometimes, and that for the last two nights she had heard him groaning and weeping in his bedroom. He was all right, as far as money went, but in his deposit he had given her what looked like a bad florin. She showed it to me, Watson, and it was an Indian rupee.

「これが彼女の話だ / ワトソン / 僕にとっては / 想像できるように / 闇夜の中の一筋の光のようだった◆それまでバラバラだった全てが / すぐに本来の様相を帯び始めた / そして僕は全体の事件のつながりがおぼろげに見え始めたような気がした◆僕が次にとるのは明らかに男を見つけることだ / このように著しい印象をバークレイ夫人に与えた◆もし彼がまだオールダーショットにいるなら / まったく困難はないだろう◆それほど人口は多くない / そして体が変形した男は間違いなく注意を引いたはずだ◆僕は一日調査して / 夜までに / / 今晩だ / ワトソン / / 僕は男を突き止めた◆彼の名はヘンリー・ウッド / 夫人が会った同じ通りの下宿に住んでいる◆彼がそこに来て5日にしかならない◆登録代理人の肩書きで / 大家の女性と非常に面白い世間話をした◆この男は手品や曲芸を商売にしている / 夜がふけると売店や食堂に出かけ / ちょっとした娯楽をあちこちで提供する◆彼は箱の中に動物を入れて持ち歩いている / 大家の女性はそれに物凄く恐れをなしているようだ / 彼女はそんな動物は見たことがなかったので◆彼女の説明では男はそれを手品に使う◆大家の女性はこれだけ沢山の事を話せた / そしてあの男性が生きていけるのは驚きだとも言った / 彼がどんなに背骨が湾曲しているかを見れば / そして時々奇妙な言葉を使うと / そしてここ二晩 / 彼が寝室でうめいたりすすり泣いたりしているのを聞いたと◆彼は問題ない / お金を出している限りでは / しかし彼の前金として / 彼はフローリン銀貨の偽物に見えるものを渡していた◆彼女はそれを僕に見せてくれた / ワトソン / それはインドのルピーだった」

“So now, my dear fellow, you see exactly how we stand and why it is I want you. It is perfectly plain that after the ladies parted from this man he followed them at a distance, that he saw the quarrel between husband and wife through the window, that he rushed in, and that the creature which he carried in his box got loose. That is all very certain. But he is the only person in this world who can tell us exactly what happened in that room.”

「さあ今 / ワトソン / 君は正確に分かった / 僕たちの立場と僕が君になぜ頼み事をするか◆これは完全に明白だ / 女性達がこの男を分かれた後 / 男は離れたところから後をつけた / 彼は窓から夫婦が言い合いをしているところを見かける / 彼は走って行く / 彼が箱に入れて持ち運んでいた動物が逃げ出す◆これはすべてまず間違いない◆しかし彼がこの世でただ一人の人物だ / あの部屋で何が起きたかを正確に我々に話せる」

“And you intend to ask him?”

「君は彼を尋問するつもりなのか？」

“Most certainly – but in the presence of a witness.”

「もちろんそうだ / / しかし証人に同席して欲しい」

“And I am the witness?”

「僕が証人になるのか？」

“If you will be so good. If he can clear the matter up, well and good. If he refuses, we have no alternative but to apply for a warrant.”

「なってもいいというなら◆もし彼が全ての出来事を明確にするなら、それでよし◆もし彼が供述を拒めば / 逮捕状を請求する以外ない」

“But how do you know he’ll be there when we return?”

「しかし我々が行った時、彼がまだいるとどうして分かる？」

“You may be sure that I took some precautions. I have one of my Baker Street boys mounting guard over him who would stick to him like a burr, go where he might. We shall find him in Hudson Street to-morrow, Watson, and meanwhile I should be the criminal myself if I kept you out of bed any longer.”

「僕は用心をしておいたから多分大丈夫だと思う◆僕はベーカー街の子供の一人を彼の見張りにつけた / 彼がどこへ行こうとも離れないだろう◆明日、ハドソン街できっと彼に会えるだろう / ワトソン / それまでの間、僕が犯罪者になってしまう / もし君をこれ以上寝かさなければ」