“I had thought that it meant that we were to dig, but now, of course, I saw at once that I was wrong. ‘There is a cellar under this then?’ I cried.

「僕はそれはそこを掘るという意味だと考えていた / しかし今 / もちろん / 僕はすぐに自分が間違っていたと分かった◆『それではこの下に地下室があるのか？』 / 僕は叫んだ」

“ ‘Yes, and as old as the house. Down here, through this door.’

「『そうだ / 家が出来た時からのものだ◆そこへ降りよう / この扉を通って』」

“We went down a winding stone stair, and my companion, striking a match, lit a large lantern which stood on a barrel in the corner. In an instant it was obvious that we had at last come upon the true place, and that we had not been the only people to visit the spot recently.

「我々は曲がりくねった石の階段を降りた / そしてマスグレーヴが / マッチを擦って / 真中に立っていた樽の上の大きなランタンに火をつけた◆その瞬間 / 我々が遂に正しい場所にたどり着いたことは明白だった / そして我々だけが最近この場所を訪れた人間でなかったことは」

“It had been used for the storage of wood, but the billets, which had evidently been littered over the floor, were now piled at the sides, so as to leave a clear space in the middle. In this space lay a large and heavy flagstone with a rusted iron ring in the centre to which a thick shepherd’s-check muffler was attached.

「そこは薪の貯蔵室として使われていた / しかし、おそらく床に散らばっていただろう薪は / 今は横に積み上げられていた / 真中の部分を片付けるために◆その場所に / 大きくて重い敷石があり / 真中に錆びた鉄の輪がついていた / そこに白黒のチェックのマフラーが結ばれていた」

“ ‘By Jove!’ cried my client. ‘That’s Brunton’s muffler. I have seen it on him and could swear to it. What has the villain been doing here?’

「『なんだ！』 / マスグレーヴは叫んだ◆『これはブラントンのマフラーだ◆間違いなくこれをあいつが巻いているのを見たことがある◆あの悪党はここで何をしていたんだ？』」

“At my suggestion a couple of the county police were summoned to be present, and I then endeavoured to raise the stone by pulling on the cravat. I could only move it slightly, and it was with the aid of one of the constables that I succeeded at last in carrying it to one side. A black hole yawned beneath into which we all peered, while Musgrave, kneeling at the side, pushed down the lantern.

「僕の提案で / 地元警察官が二人立会いに呼ばれた / そして僕はマフラーを引っ張ってその石を持ち上げようとした◆ちょっと動かせただけだった / そして警官の一人の助けを借りて / 僕は遂に片側に寄せることに成功した◆黒い穴がぽっかりと開き我々は皆覗き込んだ / マスグレーヴは / 片側にひざまずいて / ランタンを下に降ろしていた」

“A small chamber about seven feet deep and four feet square lay open to us. At one side of this was a squat, brass-bound wooden box, the lid of which was hinged upward, with this curious old-fashioned key projecting from the lock. It was furred outside by a thick layer of dust, and damp and worms had eaten through the wood, so that a crop of livid fungi was growing on the inside of it. Several discs of metal, old coins apparently, such as I hold here, were scattered over the bottom of the box, but it contained nothing else.

「深さ7フィートで4フィート各の小さな部屋が開いていた◆この部屋の片側に / 縁に真鍮がついた木箱があった / 蓋は蝶番のところから開かれていた / 鍵穴に奇妙な古臭い鍵が刺さっていた◆外側は分厚い埃の層に覆われ / 湿気と虫に木が食われていた / そのために鉛色のカビが内側に広がっていた◆金属の円盤がいくつか / おそらく古いコインと思われる / 僕がここに持っているような / 箱の底に散らばっていた / しかしそれ以外には何も入っていなかった」

“At the moment, however, we had no thought for the old chest, for our eyes were riveted upon that which crouched beside it. It was the figure of a man, clad in a suit of black, who squatted down upon his hams with his forehead sunk upon the edge of the box and his two arms thrown out on each side of it. The attitude had drawn all the stagnant blood to the face, and no man could have recognized that distorted liver-coloured countenance; but his height, his dress, and his hair were all sufficient to show my client, when we had drawn the body up, that it was indeed his missing butler. He had been dead some days, but there was no wound or bruise upon his person to show how he had met his dreadful end. When his body had been carried from the cellar we found ourselves still confronted with a problem which was almost as formidable as that with which we had started.

「しかし、その時 / 我々はその古い箱のことは考えなかった / 我々の目はその側にかがんでいるものに釘付けになったからだ◆それは男の体で / 黒い服に身を包んだ / 彼は足を折り曲げてうずくまっていた / 箱の端に額を埋め / 箱の両側に手を伸ばしていた◆この姿勢がすべての停滞した血液を顔に集め / だれもこの変形した赤黒い顔の見分けがつかなかった / しかし身長と / 服装と / 髪 / 全てはマスグレーヴには十分に示していた / 我々が死体を引き揚げた時 / それが確かに失踪した執事だった事を◆彼は死後数日経っていた / しかし傷もあざも体になく / 彼がどのようにして恐ろしい最期を遂げたかを示していた◆彼の死体が地下室から取り出した時 / 我々はまだある問題に直面していることが分かった / それは我々が開始した問題と同じくらい手ごわいものだった」