“Halloa, Watson! Where have you dropped from?” said he. “You don’t mean to say that you came after me in spite of all?”

「やあ、ワトソン！ / どこから降りてきたんだ？」 / 彼は言った◆「よりによって僕の後をつけてきたと言うんじゃないだろうな？」

I explained everything to him: how I had found it impossible to remain behind, how I had followed him, and how I had witnessed all that had occurred. For an instant his eyes blazed at me, but my frankness disarmed his anger, and he broke at last into a rather rueful laugh.

私は全てを彼に説明した / いかに私が残っていられないと思ったか / いかに私が彼を追いかけてきたか / そしていかに私が起きたこと全てを目撃したか◆一瞬彼の目は私に怒りを見せた / しかし私が率直に話したので彼の怒りは和んだ / そして彼はついにちょっと痛ましい笑い声を上げた

“You would have thought the middle of that prairie a fairly safe place for a man to be private,” said he, “but, by thunder, the whole countryside seems to have been out to see me do my wooing – and a mighty poor wooing at that! Where had you engaged a seat?”

「考えるだろうに / 草原の真中は間違いなく人目につかない安全な場所だと」 / 彼は言った / 「しかし / まったく / しかしこの田舎の住人全体が表に出てきたようだな / 私が求婚するところを見に / / それにしてもなんと言う惨めな求婚だ！ / どの席に君は予約をとっていたんだ？」

“I was on that hill.”

「あの丘の上だ」

“Quite in the back row, eh? But her brother was well up to the front. Did you see him come out on us?”

「やけに後ろだな、だろ？ / 彼女の兄は真正面の近くだった◆彼が我々の所へやってきたのを見たか？」

“Yes, I did.”

「ああ、見たよ」

“Did he ever strike you as being crazy – this brother of hers?”

「頭がおかしいと思ったことはないか / / 彼女の兄を？」

“I can’t say that he ever did.”

「それはないと思う」

“I dare say not. I always thought him sane enough until to-day, but you can take it from me that either he or I ought to be in a strait-jacket. What’s the matter with me, anyhow? You’ve lived near me for some weeks, Watson. Tell me straight, now! Is there anything that would prevent me from making a good husband to a woman that I loved?”

「たぶんそうだろう◆今日までずっと彼はまともだと思っていた / しかし真剣に言うが / 彼か僕のどちらかが拘束衣を着なければならないと◆しかし僕に何の問題がある？ / 君は数週間僕の近くで暮らしている / ワトソン◆さあ、率直に言ってくれ！ / 何か私を阻むものがあるかどうか / 私が愛している女性のいい夫となることから？」

“I should say not.”

「それはないだろう」

“He can’t object to my worldly position, so it must be myself that he has this down on. What has he against me? I never hurt man or woman in my life that I know of. And yet he would not so much as let me touch the tips of her fingers.”

「世俗的立場に対して反対することはないだろう / だから彼が敵対するのは私自身でなくてはならない◆なぜ彼は私に敵対するんだ？ / 私は男であれ女であれ知り合いになった人間を傷つけたりしない◆それなのに / 彼は私に彼女の指先さえも触れさせようとしない」

“Did he say so?”

「彼はそう言ったのか？」

“That, and a deal more. I tell you, Watson, I’ve only known her these few weeks, but from the first I just felt that she was made for me, and she, too – she was happy when she was with me, and that I’ll swear. There’s a light in a woman’s eyes that speaks louder than words. But he has never let us get together, and it was only to-day for the first time that I saw a chance of having a few words with her alone. She was glad to meet me, but when she did it was not love that she would talk about, and she wouldn’t have let me talk about it either if she could have stopped it. She kept coming back to it that this was a place of danger, and that she would never be happy until I had left it. I told her that since I had seen her I was in no hurry to leave it, and that if she really wanted me to go, the only way to work it was for her to arrange to go with me. With that I offered in as many words to marry her, but before she could answer, down came this brother of hers, running at us with a face on him like a madman. He was just white with rage, and those light eyes of his were blazing with fury. What was I doing with the lady? How dared I offer her attentions which were distasteful to her? Did I think that because I was a baronet I could do what I liked? If he had not been her brother I should have known better how to answer him. As it was I told him that my feelings towards his sister were such as I was not ashamed of, and that I hoped that she might honour me by becoming my wife. That seemed to make the matter no better, so then I lost my temper too, and I answered him rather more hotly than I should perhaps, considering that she was standing by. So it ended by his going off with her, as you saw, and here am I as badly puzzled a man as any in this county. Just tell me what it all means, Watson, and I’ll owe you more than ever I can hope to pay.”

「ああ / もっといっぱいな◆いいか、ワトソン / 僕は彼女をこの数週間しか知らない / しかし最初から / 私は彼女は僕のために生まれてきたと感じた / そして彼女もだ / / 彼女は私と一緒にいて幸せだった / 誓って言える◆女性の目の光は言葉以上に雄弁だ◆しかし彼は決して私達を一緒にさせない / やっと今日だ / 初めて / 彼女一人の時にちょっと言葉を交わす機会を得たのは◆彼女は私に会えて喜んでいた / しかし彼女と会った時 / 彼女が話したかったのは愛ではなく / そして彼女は私にもそれを言わせようとしない / もし彼女が止められるなら◆彼女はいつもこの話題に戻り続ける / ここは危ない場所だ / そして私がここを離れるまで決して安心できないだろうと◆私は彼女に話した / 私が彼女に出会ったのだから / 私は急いで去るつもりはない / そしてもし彼女が本当に私に出て行って欲しいのなら / 彼女にとってただ一つの有効な方法は私と一緒に出て行く準備をすることだと◆それと同時に私は彼女に結婚して欲しいと言葉を尽くして申し込んだ / しかし彼女が返答する前に / 兄がやってきた / 狂った人間のような形相で私達の方に走ってきて◆彼は怒りで血の気が引いていた / そして彼の目の光は憤慨で燃えたぎっていた◆私があの女性に何をしていたというのだろう？ / 私が思い切って彼女に結婚を申し込んだのが彼女には不愉快だとでも？　 / 私が準男爵だから何でも思い通りになると思っていたのだろうか？ / もし彼があの人の兄でなければ / 私はもう少し上手く返答できていただろう◆実際は / 私は彼に言った / 妹さんに対する私の気持ちは / まったく恥じるようなものではなく / 私は彼女が私の妻になってくれたら光栄だと思っていると◆これを言っても事態はまったくよくならなかった / それで私も冷静さを失ってしまった / そして私はおそらくそうするべきだった以上にちょっと感情的に応答した / 彼女がその場に居る事を考えれば◆それで彼が妹と去っていく結末になった / 君が見たように / それで今私はこうしてる / この地方で一番当惑した男として◆一体どういうことなのか教えて欲しい / ワトソン / そうすれば私はこれ以上なくありがたい」