“Well, if I were to tell you all the adventures that my little chum and I went through, you would not thank me, for I would have you here until the sun was shining. Here and there we drifted about the world, something always turning up to keep us from London. All the time, however, I never lost sight of my purpose. I would dream of Sholto at night. A hundred times I have killed him in my sleep. At last, however, some three or four years ago, we found ourselves in England. I had no great difficulty in finding where Sholto lived, and I set to work to discover whether he had realized on the treasure, or if he still had it. I made friends with someone who could help me – I name no names, for I don’t want to get anyone else in a hole – and I soon found that he still had the jewels. Then I tried to get at him in many ways; but he was pretty sly and had always two prize-fighters, besides his sons and his khitmutgar, on guard over him.

「もし俺が全ての事件を話そうとしたら / 俺の小さな相棒と俺が経験した / あんた方はいい迷惑だろう / 日が昇るまであんた方をここに引き止めることになるからな◆俺たちは世界をあちこち流れていった / 何かがいつも俺たちをロンドンから遠ざけていたが◆しかし、この間中 / おれは決して目的を見失わなかった◆俺は夜にショルトの夢を見たもんだ◆寝ている間に100回もあいつを殺したよ◆しかし、遂に / 三、四年前に / 我々はイギリスに着いた◆ショルトが住んでいるところを見つけるのはわけなかった / そして俺は見つけようと仕事を始めた / 彼が財宝を金に替えたか / それともまだ持っているか◆俺は手助けしてくれる友人を作った / / 名前は言わんよ / 誰も同じ穴に引き釣り込みたくないからな / / そして俺はすぐに奴がまだ宝石を持っていることを発見した◆それから俺は奴を色んな方法で襲おうとした / しかし奴は非常にずる賢くいつも二人のボクサーを / 息子と給仕を別にしても / 警備に当たらせていた」

“One day, however, I got word that he was dying. I hurried at once to the garden, mad that he should slip out of my clutches like that, and, looking through the window, I saw him lying in his bed, with his sons on each side of him. I’d have come through and taken my chance with the three of them, only even as I looked at him his jaw dropped, and I knew that he was gone. I got into his room that same night, though, and I searched his papers to see if there was any record of where he had hidden our jewels. There was not a line, however, so I came away, bitter and savage as a man could be. Before I left I bethought me that if I ever met my Sikh friends again it would be a satisfaction to know that I had left some mark of our hatred; so I scrawled down the sign of the four of us, as it had been on the chart, and I pinned it on his bosom. It was too much that he should be taken to the grave without some token from the men whom he had robbed and befooled.

「しかし、ある日 / 俺は奴が死にかけているという話を聞いた◆俺はすぐに庭に駆けつけた / 奴が俺の手をこんな風にすり抜けることに狂い / そして / 窓から覗き込むと / 奴がベッドに横になっているのが見えた / 息子を両側に置いて◆俺がいちかばちか三人を相手にやりあっていただろう / ただ、俺が奴を見た時、奴の顎が落ち / そして俺は奴が死んだと分かっていなければ◆しかし俺は奴の部屋にその夜忍び込んだ / そして奴の書類を捜した / 奴が我々の財宝をどこに隠したか何か記録がないかと◆しかし、何一つなかった / だから俺は去った / 人ができ得る限りの悲痛と荒々しさで◆俺が去る前に / 俺は思いついた / もしおれがシーク教徒の友人達にまた会えば / これを知ると満足感を覚えるだろう / 俺が憎むべき相手に何らかの印を残していったと / だから俺は我々四人の印を殴り書きし / 図面に書いていたように / そして奴の胸にピンで止めた◆それはあんまりだ / 奴が墓穴に入るのは / 奴が盗みコケにした男達の印一つもなしに」

“We earned a living at this time by my exhibiting poor Tonga at fairs and other such places as the black cannibal. He would eat raw meat and dance his war-dance: so we always had a hatful of pennies after a day’s work. I still heard all the news from Pondicherry Lodge, and for some years there was no news to hear, except that they were hunting for the treasure. At last, however, came what we had waited for so long. The treasure had been found. It was up at the top of the house in Mr. Bartholomew Sholto’s chemical laboratory. I came at once and had a look at the place, but I could not see how, with my wooden leg, I was to make my way up to it. I learned, however, about a trapdoor in the roof, and also about Mr. Sholto’s supper-hour. It seemed to me that I could manage the thing easily through Tonga. I brought him out with me with a long rope wound round his waist. He could climb like a cat, and he soon made his way through the roof, but, as ill luck would have it, Bartholomew Sholto was still in the room, to his cost. Tonga thought he had done something very clever in killing him, for when I came up by the rope I found him strutting about as proud as a peacock. Very much surprised was he when I made at him with the rope’s end and cursed him for a little bloodthirsty imp. I took the treasure box and let it down, and then slid down myself, having first left the sign of the four upon the table to show that the jewels had come back at last to those who had most right to them. Tonga then pulled up the rope, closed the window, and made off the way that he had come.

「俺たちはこの時生計を立てていた / トンガを見世物にして / 人食い人種として祭りなどの場所で◆彼は生肉を食べて戦争の踊りを踊ったものだ / だから一日の仕事が終わったらいつも帽子はペニー硬貨でいっぱいだった◆俺はまだポンディシェリ・ロッジから全ての情報を聞いていた / そして数年間何のニュースも聞かれなかった / 彼らが財宝を探しているという事以外◆しかし遂に / 長い間待ち望んでいたものがやって来た◆財宝が見つかったのだ◆それは家の一番上にあった / バーソロミュー・ショルトの化学実験室に◆俺はすぐにその場所を見に言った / しかし俺は見つけられなかった / この木の義足で / 俺がそこまで上がる方法を◆しかし俺は知った / 天井の跳ね上げ戸のこと / そしてショルトの夕食の時刻を◆俺には思えた / トンガの助けがあれば簡単に事を運べると◆俺は彼を一緒に連れてきた / 彼の腰に長いロープを巻きつけて◆彼は猫のように登ることが出来た / そして彼はすぐに屋根を通って入った / しかし / 悪い事に / バーソロミュー・ショルトはまだ部屋の中にいて / 被害にあった◆トンガは彼を殺して何か非常に手柄を立てたと思った / 俺がロープをつたって上がった時 / 彼は孔雀のように誇り高く肩を張って歩いていたからだ◆彼は非常に驚いた / 俺がロープの端で襲い掛かった時 / 小さい血に飢えた悪魔とののしって◆俺は財宝の箱をとってそれを降ろした / それから自分は滑って降りた / 最初に四人の印を残して / テーブルの上に / この宝石が戻ったことを示して / 遂に最も権利を持っている者へ◆トンガはそれからロープを引き上げ / 窓を閉め / そして彼が入ったところから出て行った」

“I don’t know that I have anything else to tell you. I had heard a waterman speak of the speed of Smith’s launch, the Aurora, so I thought she would be a handy craft for our escape. I engaged with old Smith, and was to give him a big sum if he got us safe to our ship. He knew, no doubt, that there was some screw loose, but he was not in our secrets. All this is the truth, and if I tell it to you, gentlemen, it is not to amuse you – for you have not done me a very good turn – but it is because I believe the best defence I can make is just to hold back nothing, but let all the world know how badly I have myself been served by Major Sholto, and how innocent I am of the death of his son.”

「これ以上何か話す事があるか分からん◆俺はある船頭がスミスの船の速さについて言っているのを聞いた / オーロラ号だ / だから俺は俺たちが逃げるのに便利な船かもしれんと思った◆俺はスミスと契約し / そして彼に大金を払う事になっていた / もし彼が俺を無事に船に連れて行けば◆彼は知っていた / 疑いなく / 何か妙な事があると / しかし彼は俺たちの秘密には踏み込まなかった◆これは全て真実だ / そして俺がそれをあんた方に言うのは / それはあんた方を楽しませるためではない / / あんた方は俺に非常に親切にしたわけでもない / / しかしそれは俺が信じているからだ / 自分が出来る一番の弁護は / 何も隠し立てをせず / 世界全部に知ってもらう事だと / いかに俺がショルト少佐に酷い扱いを受けたか / そして俺が彼の息子の死にいかに法的責任がないか」