It is a matter of history, however, that a little time was still to elapse before the Tiger of San Pedro should meet with his deserts. Wily and bold, he and his companion threw their pursuer off their track by entering a lodging-house in Edmonton Street and leaving by the back-gate into Curzon Square. From that day they were seen no more in England. Some six months afterwards the Marquess of Montalva and Signor Rulli, his secretary, were both murdered in their rooms at the Hotel Escurial at Madrid. The crime was ascribed to Nihilism, and the murderers were never arrested. Inspector Baynes visited us at Baker Street with a printed description of the dark face of the secretary, and of the masterful features, the magnetic black eyes, and the tufted brows of his master. We could not doubt that justice, if belated, had come at last.

しかし、周知の事実であるが / まだ少し時間が必要だった / サンペドロの虎が当然の報いを受けるまでに◆ずる賢く大胆にも / 彼と彼の仲間は追跡者を振り切った / エドモントン街の下宿屋に入り / 裏門からカーゾンスクエアに出ることによって◆この日以降、彼らの姿をイギリスで見たものはいない◆約六ヵ月後 / モンタビラ侯爵と彼の秘書のルッリ氏は / マドリッドのエスコリアルホテルの部屋で殺害された◆犯罪は虚無主義者の者と見られた / そして殺人犯は逮捕されなかった◆ベインズ警部はベーカー街を訪れた / 人相書きを持って / 秘書の黒い顔 / 横柄な顔立ち / 魅力的な黒い目 / そして主人のふさふさした眉◆疑う事はできなかった / 遅ればせながら遂に正義が成されたことを

“A chaotic case, my dear Watson,” said Holmes over an evening pipe. “It will not be possible for you to present it in that compact form which is dear to your heart. It covers two continents, concerns two groups of mysterious persons, and is further complicated by the highly respectable presence of our friend, Scott Eccles, whose inclusion shows me that the deceased Garcia had a scheming mind and a well-developed instinct of self-preservation. It is remarkable only for the fact that amid a perfect jungle of possibilities we, with our worthy collaborator, the inspector, have kept our close hold on the essentials and so been guided along the crooked and winding path. Is there any point which is not quite clear to you?”

「混乱した事件だった / ワトソン」 / ホームズは夜のパイプをふかしながら言った◆「これは君には無理だろう / 君が愛する簡潔な様式で表現することは◆これは二つの大陸にまたがり / 謎めいた人間達の二つのグループが関係し / そしてさらに複雑になっている / 極めて尊敬すべき我らが友人スコット・エクルズの存在によって / 彼を巻き込んだことは僕に示した / 故ガルシアが計画を立てていたことを / そして自己防衛の本能に秀でていたことを◆これは並外れている / この事実だけで / 可能性の完全なジャングルの中 / 我々は / 尊敬すべき協力者の警部と共に / 重要な点をしっかりと握り続け / そして曲がりくねった道を案内した◆まだ君にとってはっきりしない点があるかな？」

“The object of the mulatto cook’s return?”

「混血のコックが戻った理由は？」

“I think that the strange creature in the kitchen may account for it. The man was a primitive savage from the backwoods of San Pedro, and this was his fetish. When his companion and he had fled to some prearranged retreat – already occupied, no doubt by a confederate – the companion had persuaded him to leave so compromising an article of furniture. But the mulatto’s heart was with it, and he was driven back to it next day, when, on reconnoitring through the window, he found policeman Walters in possession. He waited three days longer, and then his piety or his superstition drove him to try once more. Inspector Baynes, who, with his usual astuteness, had minimized the incident before me, had really recognized its importance and had left a trap into which the creature walked. Any other point, Watson?”

「台所の奇妙な生き物がその理由かもしれないと思う◆あの男はサンペドロ辺境から来た未開の野蛮人だ / そしてあれは彼の崇拝物だ◆彼の仲間と彼があらかじめ用意された避難場所に逃げた時 / / 間違いなくそこには既に共犯者がいた / / 仲間は彼をなだめすかして / こんなに体面の悪い品物を残していくように説得した◆しかし混血児の気持ちはそれから離れなかった / そして次の日に戻って来ることになった / 窓越しに中を偵察した時 / 彼は警官のウォルターズが占拠しているのを見つけた◆彼は三日間ずっと待った / そして彼の迷信に対する信心がもう一度やってみるようにとかきたてた◆ベインズ警部は / 持ち前の抜け目なさで / 僕の前ではその出来事を過小評価し / 実際にはその重要性を確信して / あの男がやって来る場所に罠を仕掛けた◆他に何かあるか / ワトソン？」

“The torn bird, the pail of blood, the charred bones, all the mystery of that weird kitchen?”

「ちぎられた鳥 / バケツの血 / 焼けた骨 / あの気味悪い台所がすべて謎だ」

Holmes smiled as he turned up an entry in his notebook.

ホームズは微笑んで彼の手帳の項目をひっくり返した

“I spent a morning in the British Museum reading up that and other points. Here is a quotation from Eckermann’s Voodooism and the Negroid Religions:

「僕はその事や他の点について調べるために大英博物館で午前中を費やした◆ここにエッカーマンのブーディズムと黒人崇拝の引用がある」

The true voodoo-worshipper attempts nothing of importance without certain sacrifices which are intended to propitiate his unclean gods. In extreme cases these rites take the form of human sacrifices followed by cannibalism. The more usual victims are a white cock, which is plucked in pieces alive, or a black goat, whose throat is cut and body burned.

真のブードゥ教崇拝者は大事な事をしようとはしない / 決まった生贄なしには / 彼らの不浄の神をなだめる目的で◆極端な場合には / この儀式は人間の生贄とその後の食人という形式をとる◆より一般的な犠牲は生きたまま引きちぎった白い雄鶏 / または喉を掻き切って骨を焼いた黒ヤギである

“So you see our savage friend was very orthodox in his ritual. It is grotesque, Watson,” Holmes added, as he slowly fastened his notebook, “but, as I have had occasion to remark, there is but one step from the grotesque to the horrible.”

「これで我らの野蛮な友人は彼の儀式に非常に忠実だったと分かるだろう◆これは、グロテスクだ / ワトソン」 / 彼は付け加えた / ゆっくりと手帳を閉めながら / 「しかし / 僕は言った事があっただろう / グロテスクから恐怖まではほんの一歩に過ぎないと」