よみうち英語Read the classics by typingNotes Scene 16: Whistle and Clang
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Notes on this scene
When Helen finishes describing Julia's last moments, Holmes begins asking questions. Is she certain about the whistle and the metallic sound heard that night? Helen says the coroner asked the same things. Holmes then questions her closely about Julia's clothing and the objects found in her hands, listening for every precise detail.
Japanese in this scene
- ちょっと待ってください
- ちょっと makes the interruption less abrupt: Holmes asks Helen to pause while he checks the certainty of the two sounds.
- たしかに聞いた
- たしかに expresses Helen's strong sense that she really heard the sound, although she immediately admits she may have been mistaken.
- たしかに聞いたという強い印象
- という turns ‘I certainly heard it’ into the content of Helen's strong impression.
- いいえ
- いいえ directly rejects Holmes's suggestion. Helen clarifies that Julia was wearing her nightclothes, not ordinary clothes, when she emerged.
Background
- inquest
- An inquest was a formal investigation by a coroner and jury into a sudden or unexplained death. It could establish a legal cause without holding a criminal trial.
Full text: original English and Japanese translation
"One moment," said Holmes, "are you sure about this whistle and metallic sound? Could you swear to it?"
「ちょっと待ってください」とホームズは言った。「その口笛と金属音は、たしかですか？誓って言えますか？」
"That was what the county coroner asked me at the inquiry. It is my strong impression that I heard it, and yet, among the crash of the gale and the creaking of an old house, I may possibly have been deceived."
「それは、郡の検死官が審問の席で私にたずねたことです。たしかに聞いたという強い印象はあるのですが、強風の轟きや古い屋敷のきしむ音の中で、聞き違えた可能性もあります」
"Was your sister dressed?"
「お姉さんは服を着ていましたか？」
"No, she was in her night-dress. In her right hand was found the charred stump of a match, and in her left a match-box."
「いいえ、寝間着姿でした。右手には焦げたマッチ棒の燃えさしが、左手にはマッチ箱が握られていました」
"Showing that she had struck a light and looked about her when the alarm took place. That is important. And what conclusions did the coroner come to?"
「つまり、異変が起きたとき、明かりをつけて周囲を見回したということだ。これは重要だ。それで、検死官はどんな結論に達したのですか？」