“And now came the great question as to the reason why. Robbery had not been the object of the murder, for nothing was taken. Was it politics, then, or was it a woman? That was the question which confronted me. I was inclined from the first to the latter supposition. Political assassins are only too glad to do their work and to fly. This murder had, on the contrary, been done most deliberately, and the perpetrator had left his tracks all over the room, showing that he had been there all the time. It must have been a private wrong, and not a political one, which called for such a methodical revenge. When the inscription was discovered upon the wall, I was more inclined than ever to my opinion. The thing was too evidently a blind. When the ring was found, however, it settled the question. Clearly the murderer had used it to remind his victim of some dead or absent woman. It was at this point that I asked Gregson whether he had inquired in his telegram to Cleveland as to any particular point in Mr. Drebber’s former career. He answered, you remember, in the negative.

「そして次に動機という大きな問題に差し掛かった◆盗みというのは殺人の目的ではなかった / 何も盗られていないので◆では政治か / それとも女か / これは僕が直面した問題だった◆僕は前者より後者の想定に気持ちが傾いていた◆政治的暗殺者はただ仕事をして逃げれば納得する◆この殺人犯は / それとは逆に / すごく入念に行っている / そして加害者は部屋中に跡を残している / これは彼はずっとそこにいたことを意味する◆これは私的な悪行だったに違いない / 政治的なものではなく / それにはこんな念入りな復讐は必要ない◆壁に文字が書かれているのが見つかった時 / 僕はさらに自分の意見に傾いた◆これは紛れもなく目くらましだ◆しかし、指輪が見つかった時 / これで問題の決着がついた◆明らかに殺人犯は / それを被害者に死んだか連れ去られた女性を思い出させるために使った◆僕がグレッグソンに聞いたのはこの時だ / クリーブランドへの電報で問い合わせたかどうか / ドレバー氏のこれまでの経歴で何か特殊な点について◆彼は答えた / 覚えているように / やっていないと」

“I then proceeded to make a careful examination of the room, which confirmed me in my opinion as to the murderer’s height, and furnished me with the additional details as to the Trichinopoly cigar and the length of his nails. I had already come to the conclusion, since there were no signs of a struggle, that the blood which covered the floor had burst from the murderer’s nose in his excitement. I could perceive that the track of blood coincided with the track of his feet. It is seldom that any man, unless he is very full-blooded, breaks out in this way through emotion, so I hazarded the opinion that the criminal was probably a robust and ruddy-faced man. Events proved that I had judged correctly.

「僕はその後、部屋を慎重に調べることにした / それで僕は自分の意見を立証した / 殺人者の身長について / そして僕にさらなる詳細をもたらした / トリチノポリ葉巻と爪の長さについて◆僕は既にこの結論に達していた / 格闘の跡がないので / 床一面に散らばった血は / 殺人犯の鼻から興奮したときに噴出したと◆僕は読み取る事が出来た / 血の跡は彼の足跡と一致していると◆これはめったにない事だ / 非常に血の気が多くない限り / 興奮してこんなに噴き出すというのは / だから僕は思い切って言ってみた / 犯罪者はおそらく頑丈で赤ら顔の男だと◆その後の成り行きは僕が正しく判定した事を証明した」

“Having left the house, I proceeded to do what Gregson had neglected. I telegraphed to the head of the police at Cleveland, limiting my inquiry to the circumstances connected with the marriage of Enoch Drebber. The answer was conclusive. It told me that Drebber had already applied for the protection of the law against an old rival in love, named Jefferson Hope, and that this same Hope was at present in Europe. I knew now that I held the clue to the mystery in my hand, and all that remained was to secure the murderer.

「家を後にして / 僕はグレッグソンがかまけていたことを進めた◆僕はクリーブランドの警察署長に電報を打った / 照会を限定して / イーノック・ドレバーの結婚に関係した状況のみに◆返事は決定的だった◆それは教えてくれた / ドレバーはすでに法による保護を申し立てていた / 古い恋敵に対して / ジェファーソン・ホープという名前の / そしてこのホープという男が現在ヨーロッパにいると◆僕はここでこの謎の手がかりを握ったと分かった / そして残っているのは殺人犯を確保するだけだと」

“I had already determined in my own mind that the man who had walked into the house with Drebber was none other than the man who had driven the cab. The marks in the road showed me that the horse had wandered on in a way which would have been impossible had there been anyone in charge of it. Where, then, could the driver be, unless he were inside the house? Again, it is absurd to suppose that any sane man would carry out a deliberate crime under the very eyes, as it were, of a third person, who was sure to betray him. Lastly, supposing one man wished to dog another through London, what better means could he adopt than to turn cabdriver? All these considerations led me to the irresistible conclusion that Jefferson Hope was to be found among the jarveys of the Metropolis.

「僕は既に心の中で確信していた / ドレバーと一緒に部屋の中に入ったのは / 辻馬車を運転してきた男以外にないと◆道の足跡は示していた / 馬がウロウロしていた事を / ありえない風に / もし誰かが管理していたなら◆では、御者はどこに行っていたのか / あの家の中でないなら？ / さらに / こう仮定するのはばかげている / まともな男が手の込んだ犯罪をするだろうというのは / まさに目の前で / 言ってみれば / 第三の男の / 間違いなく秘密を漏らすに決まっている◆最後に / ある男が別の男をロンドン中つけまわしたいと思うなら / 辻馬車の御者になる以上にどんな手段を講じられただろう / これら全ての考察は / 僕を抗しがたい結論へと導く / ジェファーソン・ホープはこの大都会の御者達の中で見つかる」

“If he had been one, there was no reason to believe that he had ceased to be. On the contrary, from his point of view, any sudden change would be likely to draw attention to himself. He would probably, for a time at least, continue to perform his duties. There was no reason to suppose that he was going under an assumed name. Why should he change his name in a country where no one knew his original one? I therefore organized my street Arab detective corps, and sent them systematically to every cab proprietor in London until they ferreted out the man that I wanted. How well they succeeded, and how quickly I took advantage of it, are still fresh in your recollection. The murder of Stangerson was an incident which was entirely unexpected, but which could hardly in any case have been prevented. Through it, as you know, I came into possession of the pills, the existence of which I had already surmised. You see, the whole thing is a chain of logical sequences without a break or flaw.”

「もし彼がその一人であれば / 彼がそれをやめたと信じる理由はなにもない◆反対に / 彼の立場からすれば / 突然辞めれば彼自身に注目が集まるだろう◆彼はおそらく / 少なくともしばらくは / 自分の仕事を続ける◆彼が偽名を使っていたと仮定する理由はない◆なぜ自分の名前を変えなければならないか / 彼の元々の名前を誰も知らない国にいるのに / 僕はそれゆえ僕の浮浪少年探偵団を組織し / ロンドンの辻馬車経営者全てに体系的に送り込んだ / 彼らが僕が追っている男を見つけ出すまで◆いかに彼らが上手くやったか / そしていかにすばやく僕がそれを生かしたか / これはいまだに君の記憶に新しいところだろう◆スタンガーソンの殺害は / 完全に予想しない事件だったが / しかしどうしたところで防ぐ事はまずできなかっただろう◆その中で / 知っての通り / 丸薬を入手する事となった / 僕が既にその存在を推測していた◆分かるだろう / 全ての出来事は論理的な順序の連鎖で / 途切れも欠陥もないと」