I.ASCANDALINBOHEMIA
I.
ToSherlockHolmessheis
vedno
alwaysthewoman.Ihave
redko
seldomheardhimmentionherpod
underanyothername.Inhiseyessheeclipses
in
andpredominatesthewholeofhersex.ItwasnotthathefeltanyemotionakintoloveforIreneAdler.
Allemotions,
in
andthatoneparticularly,wereabhorrenttohiscold,precisevendar
butadmirablybalancedmind.Hewas,Itakeit,the
najbolj
mostperfectreasoningandobservingstroj
machinethattheworldhasseen,vendar
butasaloverhewouldhaveplacedhimselfinafalsepoložaj
position.Heneverspokeofthesofterpassions,save
z
withagibeandasneer.Theywereadmirablethingsfortheobserver—excellentfordrawingthe
zavese
veilfrommen’smotivesandactions.Toda
Butforthetrainedreasonertoadmitsuchintrusionsintohisowndelicatein
andfinelyadjustedtemperamentwastointroduceadistractingfactorki
whichmightthrowadoubtuponvse
allhismentalresults.Gritin
je
asensitiveinstrument,oracrackinoneofhisownhigh-powerlenses,wouldnotbebolj
moredisturbingthanastrongemotioninje
anaturesuchashis.In
Andyettherewasbuteno
onewomantohim,andthatženska
womanwasthelateIreneAdler,ofdubiousin
andquestionablememory.Ihadseen
malo
littleofHolmeslately.Mymarriagehaddriftedusawayfromeachother.
Myowncomplete
sreča
happiness,andthehome-centredinterestswhichriseupokrog
aroundthemanwhofirstfindshimselfmasterofhisownestablishment,weredovolj
sufficienttoabsorballmypozornost
attention,whileHolmes,wholoathedvsako
everyformofsocietywithhiswholeBohemiandušo
soul,remainedinourlodgingsinBaker
BakerStreet,buriedamonghisoldbooks,in
andalternatingfromweektotedna
weekbetweencocaineandambition,je
thedrowsinessofthedrug,in
andthefierceenergyofhisownkeennarave
nature.Hewasstill,asever,
globoko
deeplyattractedbythestudyofcrime,in
andoccupiedhisimmensefacultiesin
andextraordinarypowersofobservationinfollowingoutteh
thoseclues,andclearingupteh
thosemysterieswhichhadbeenabandonedasbrezupno
hopelessbytheofficialpolice.FromtimetotimeIheardsomevagueaccountofhisdoings:
ofhissummonstoOdessainthe
primeru
caseoftheTrepoffmurder,ofhisclearingupofthesingulartragedyoftheAtkinsonbrothersatTrincomalee,in
andfinallyofthemissionki
whichhehadaccomplishedsodelicatelyin
andsuccessfullyforthereigningdružino
familyofHolland.Beyondthesesignsofhisactivity,however,
ki
whichImerelysharedwithallthereadersofthedailytiska
press,Iknewlittleofmyformerfriendin
andcompanion.Onenight—itwasonthetwentiethof
Marca
March,1888—Iwasreturningfromajourneytoapatient(forIhadzdaj
nowreturnedtocivilpractice),ko
whenmywayledmeskozi
throughBakerStreet.AsIpassedthewell-remembered
vrat
door,whichmustalwaysbeassociatedinmymislih
mindwithmywooing,ands
withthedarkincidentsoftheStudyinScarlet,Iwasseizeds
withakeendesiretoseeHolmesše enkrat
again,andtoknowhowhewasemployinghisizjemne
extraordinarypowers.Hisroomswerebrilliantlylit,
in
and,evenasIlookednavzgor
up,Isawhistall,sparefigurepassdvakrat
twiceinadarksilhouetteproti
againsttheblind.Hewaspacingthe
sobi
roomswiftly,eagerly,withhisglavo
headsunkuponhischestin
andhishandsclaspedbehindnjim
him.Tome,whoknewhis
vsako
everymoodandhabit,hisattitudein
andmannertoldtheirownstory.Hewasatwork
spet
again.Hehadrisenoutofhisdrug-createddreams
in
andwashotuponthevonju
scentofsomenewproblem.Irang
je
thebellandwasshownuptoje
thechamberwhichhadformerlybeeninpartmyown.His
način
mannerwasnoteffusive.It
redko
seldomwas;buthewasglad,I
mislim
think,toseeme.With
skoraj
hardlyawordspoken,butz
withakindlyeye,hewavedmetoanarmchair,threwacrosshiscaseofcigars,in
andindicatedaspiritcasein
andagasogeneinthekotu
corner.Thenhestoodbeforethe
ognjem
fireandlookedmeoverinhissingularintrospectivefashion.“Wedlocksuitsyou,”heremarked.
“I
mislim
think,Watson,thatyouhaveputonsedem
sevenandahalfpoundsodkar
sinceIsawyou.”“Seven!”
Ianswered.
“Indeed,Ishouldhavethoughta
malo
littlemore.Justatriflemore,Ifancy,Watson.
In
Andinpracticeagain,Iobserve.Youdidnot
povedal
tellmethatyouintendedtoiti
gointoharness.”“Then,howdoyouknow?”
“Iseeit,Ideduceit.
Kako
HowdoIknowthatyouhavebeengettingyourselfzelo
verywetlately,andthatyouhaveanajbolj
mostclumsyandcarelessservantgirl?”“My
dragi
dearHolmes,”saidI,“thisispreveč
toomuch.Youwouldcertainlyhavebeenburned,hadyouliveda
nekaj
fewcenturiesago.Itis
res
truethatIhadacountrywalkonČetrtek
Thursdayandcamehomeinadreadfulmess,toda
butasIhavechangedmyclothesIcan’tpredstavljati
imaginehowyoudeduceit.AstoMaryJane,sheisincorrigible,
in
andmywifehasgivenherobvestilo
notice,butthere,again,Ine
failtoseehowyouworkitout.”Hechuckledtohimself
in
andrubbedhislong,nervoushandsskupaj
together.“Itissimplicityitself,”saidhe;
“myeyestellme
da
thatontheinsideofyourleftshoe,justkjer
wherethefirelightstrikesit,theusnje
leatherisscoredbysixskoraj
almostparallelcuts.Obviouslytheyhavebeencausedby
nekdo
someonewhohasverycarelesslyscrapedroundje
theedgesofthesoleinordertoremovecrustedmudfromit.Zato
Hence,yousee,mydoubledeductionda
thatyouhadbeenoutinvileweather,in
andthatyouhadaparticularlymalignantboot-slittingprimerek
specimenoftheLondonslavey.Astoyourpractice,
če
ifagentlemanwalksintomyroomssmellingofiodoform,withačrno
blackmarkofnitrateofsilveruponhisdesni
rightforefinger,andabulgeonthedesni
rightsideofhistop-hattoshowkje
wherehehassecretedhisstethoscope,Imustbedull,indeed,če
ifIdonotpronouncehimtobeanactivememberofthemedicalprofession.”Icouldnothelplaughingatthe
lahkoto
easewithwhichheexplainedhisproces
processofdeduction.“WhenIhearyougiveyourreasons,”Iremarked,“the
stvar
thingalwaysappearstometobesoridiculouslysimplethatIcouldzlahka
easilydoitmyself,thoughateachsuccessiveinstanceofyourreasoningIambaffleddokler
untilyouexplainyourprocess.In
AndyetIbelievethatmyeyesareasdobre
goodasyours.”“Quiteso,”heanswered,lightingacigarette,
in
andthrowinghimselfdownintoanarmchair.“Yousee,butyoudonotobserve.
Thedistinctionis
jasna
clear.Forexample,youhave
pogosto
frequentlyseenthestepswhichleadupfromthehalltoto
thisroom.”“Frequently.”
“Howoften?”
“Well,
nekaj
somehundredsoftimes.”“Thenhowmanyarethere?”
“Howmany?
Idon’tknow.”
“Quiteso!
Youhavenotobserved.
In
Andyetyouhaveseen.To
Thatisjustmypoint.Zdaj
Now,Iknowthatthereareseventeensteps,ker
becauseIhavebothseenin
andobserved.Bytheway,
ker
sinceyouareinterestedinti
theselittleproblems,andsinceyouaregooddovolj
enoughtochronicleoneordve
twoofmytriflingexperiences,youlahko
maybeinterestedinthis.”Hethrewovera
list
sheetofthick,pink-tintednotepaperki
whichhadbeenlyingopenuponthetable.“Itcamebythelastpost,”saidhe.
“Readitaloud.”
Je
Thenotewasundated,andbrez
withouteithersignatureoraddress.“There
bo
willcalluponyouto-night,ataquartertoeighto’clock,”itsaid,“agospod
gentlemanwhodesirestoconsultyouuponamatteroftheverydeepestmoment.Yourrecentservicesto
eno
oneoftheroyalhousesofEvropi
Europehaveshownthatyouareeno
onewhomaysafelybetrustedwithmatterswhichareofanimportancewhichcantežko
hardlybeexaggerated.Thisaccountofyouwehavefrom
vseh
allquartersreceived.Beinyourchamberthenatthathour,
in
anddonottakeitamissče
ifyourvisitorwearamask.”“Thisis
res
indeedamystery,”Iremarked.“Whatdoyouimagine
da
thatitmeans?”“Ihaveno
podatkov
datayet.Itisacapital
napaka
mistaketotheorisebeforeonehasdata.Insensiblyonebeginstotwistfactstosuittheories,insteadoftheoriestosuitfacts.
Ampak
Butthenoteitself.Whatdoyoudeducefromit?”
I
previdno
carefullyexaminedthewriting,andje
thepaperuponwhichitwaswritten.“Theman
ki
whowroteitwaspresumablydobro
welltodo,”Iremarked,endeavouringtoimitatemycompanion’sprocesses.“Suchpapercouldnotbeboughtunder
pol
halfacrownapacket.Itispeculiarly
močna
strongandstiff.”“Peculiar—thatistheveryword,”saidHolmes.
“ItisnotanEnglishpaperatall.
Holdituptothelight.”
Ididso,
in
andsawalarge“E”z
withasmall“g,”a“P,”in
andalarge“G”withasmall“t”wovenintotheteksturo
textureofthepaper.“Whatdoyoumakeofthat?”
askedHolmes.
“The
ime
nameofthemaker,nodvoma
doubt;orhismonogram,rather.”
“Notatall.
The‘G’
z
withthesmall‘t’standsfor‘Gesellschaft,’kar
whichistheGermanfor‘Company.’Itisacustomarycontractionkot
likeour‘Co.’‘P,’ofseveda
course,standsfor‘Papier.’Nowforthe‘Eg.’LetusglanceatourContinentalGazetteer.”Hetook
dol
downaheavybrownvolumefromhisshelves.“Eglow,Eglonitz—hereweare,Egria.
ItisinaGerman-speakingcountry—inBohemia,notfarfromCarlsbad.
‘Remarkableasbeing
je
thesceneofthedeathofWallenstein,in
andforitsnumerousglass-factoriesin
andpaper-mills.’Ha,ha,myfant
boy,whatdoyoumakeofthat?”Hiseyessparkled,
in
andhesentupagreatmodri
bluetriumphantcloudfromhiscigarette.“ThepaperwasmadeinBohemia,”Isaid.
“Precisely.
In
AndthemanwhowrotethenoteisaGerman.Doyounotethepeculiarconstructionofthesentence—‘Thisaccountofyouwehavefrom
vseh
allquartersreceived.’AFrenchmanorRussiancouldnothavewrittento
that.ItistheGerman
ki
whoissouncourteoustohisverbs.It
samo
onlyremains,therefore,todiscoverwhatiswantedbyta
thisGermanwhowritesuponBoemski
Bohemianpaperandpreferswearingamasko
masktoshowinghisface.In
Andherehecomes,ifIamnotmotim
mistaken,toresolveallourdoubts.”Ashespoketherewasthe
ostro
sharpsoundofhorses’hoofsin
andgratingwheelsagainstthecurb,followedbyaostro
sharppullatthebell.Holmeswhistled.
“Apair,bythesound,”saidhe.
“Yes,”hecontinued,glancingoutofthe
okno
window.“Anicelittlebrougham
in
andapairofbeauties.A
sto
hundredandfiftyguineasapiece.There’s
denar
moneyinthiscase,Watson,če
ifthereisnothingelse.”“I
mislim
thinkthatIhadbettergo,Holmes.”“Notabit,
Doktor
Doctor.Staywhereyouare.
Iamlost
brez
withoutmyBoswell.Andthispromisestobe
zanimivo
interesting.Itwouldbea
škoda
pitytomissit.”“Butyourclient—”.
“Nevermind
ga
him.Imaywantyour
pomoč
help,andsomayhe.Tukaj
Herehecomes.Sitdowninthatarmchair,
Doktor
Doctor,andgiveusyourbestattention.”A
počasi
slowandheavystep,whichhadbeenhearduponthestopnicah
stairsandinthepassage,pausedtakoj
immediatelyoutsidethedoor.Thentherewas
je
aloudandauthoritativetap.“Comein!”
saidHolmes.
A
moški
manenteredwhocouldhardlyhavebeenmanj
lessthansixfeetsixinchesinheight,s
withthechestandlimbsofaHercules.Hisdresswasrich
z
witharichnesswhichwould,inEngland,belookeduponasakintobadokusu
taste.Heavybandsofastrakhanwereslashedacrossthesleeves
in
andfrontsofhisdouble-breastedcoat,medtem ko
whilethedeepbluecloakki
whichwasthrownoverhisshoulderswaslinedwithflame-colouredsilkin
andsecuredattheneckwithabroochki
whichconsistedofasingleflamingberyl.Boots
ki
whichextendedhalfwayuphiscalves,in
andwhichweretrimmedatje
thetopswithrichbrownkrzno
fur,completedtheimpressionofbarbaricopulenceki
whichwassuggestedbyhiswholevidez
appearance.Hecarriedabroad-brimmed
klobuk
hatinhishand,whileheworeacrosstheupperdelu
partofhisface,extendingnavzdol
downpastthecheekbones,ačrno
blackvizardmask,whichhehadočitno
apparentlyadjustedthatverymoment,forhisroki
handwasstillraisedtoitasheentered.Fromthelower
dela
partofthefaceheappearedtobeačlovek
manofstrongcharacter,withathick,hanginglip,in
andalong,straightchinsuggestiveofresolucijo
resolutionpushedtothelengthofobstinacy.“Youhadmynote?”
heasked
z
withadeepharshvoicein
andastronglymarkedGermanaccent.“Itoldyou
da
thatIwouldcall.”Helookedfrom
enega
onetotheotherofnas
us,asifuncertainwhichtonaslov
address.“Praytakeaseat,”saidHolmes.
“Thisismy
prijatelj
friendandcolleague,Dr.Watson,ki
whoisoccasionallygoodenoughtopomaga
helpmeinmycases.WhomhaveIthehonourtoaddress?”
“You
lahko
mayaddressmeastheCountVonKramm,aČeški
Bohemiannobleman.Iunderstandthat
ta
thisgentleman,yourfriend,isačlovek
manofhonouranddiscretion,whomIlahko
maytrustwithamatterofthemostextremeimportance.Če
Ifnot,Ishouldmuchraje
prefertocommunicatewithyoualone.”I
vstal
rosetogo,butHolmescaughtmebyje
thewristandpushedmenazaj
backintomychair.“Itisboth,
ali
ornone,”saidhe.“You
lahko
maysaybeforethisgentlemankarkoli
anythingwhichyoumaysaytome.”Je
TheCountshruggedhisbroadshoulders.“ThenImustbegin,”said
je
he,“bybindingyoubothtoabsolutesecrecyfordve
twoyears;attheendofthat
časa
timethematterwillbeofne
noimportance.Atpresentitisnottoomuchto
reči
saythatitisofsuchweightitlahko
mayhaveaninfluenceuponEuropeanhistory.”“Ipromise,”saidHolmes.
“AndI.”
“Youwillexcuse
tej
thismask,”continuedourstrangeobiskovalec
visitor.“Theaugustpersonwhoemploysmewisheshis
agent
agenttobeunknowntoyou,in
andImayconfessatoncethatthenaslov
titlebywhichIhavepravkar
justcalledmyselfisnotravno
exactlymyown.”“Iwasawareofit,”saidHolmesdryly.
“Thecircumstancesareofgreatdelicacy,
in
andeveryprecautionhastobetakentoquenchwhatmightgrowtobeanimmenseškandal
scandalandseriouslycompromiseoneofthereigningfamiliesofEvropi
Europe.Tospeakplainly,thematterimplicatesthe
veliko
greatHouseofOrmstein,hereditarykingsofBohemia.”“Iwasalsoawareofthat,”murmuredHolmes,settlinghimselfdowninhisarmchair
in
andclosinghiseyes.Our
obiskovalec
visitorglancedwithsomeapparentsurpriseatje
thelanguid,loungingfigureofje
themanwhohadbeenbrez
nodoubtdepictedtohimasje
themostincisivereasonerandnajbolj
mostenergeticagentinEurope.Holmes
počasi
slowlyreopenedhiseyesandlookedimpatientlyathisgiganticclient.“Ifyour
Veličanstvo
Majestywouldcondescendtostateyourcase,”heremarked,“Ishouldbebettersposoben
abletoadviseyou.”The
moški
mansprangfromhischairin
andpacedupanddownje
theroominuncontrollableagitation.Then,withagestureof
obupa
desperation,hetorethemaskfromhisfacein
andhurledituponthetla
ground.“Youareright,”hecried;
“Iamthe
Kralj
King.WhyshouldIattempttoconcealit?”
“Why,indeed?”
murmuredHolmes.
“Your
Veličanstvo
MajestyhadnotspokenbeforeIwasawareda
thatIwasaddressingWilhelmGottsreichSigismondvonOrmstein,GrandDukeofCassel-Felstein,in
andhereditaryKingofBohemia.”“Butyou
lahko
canunderstand,”saidourstrangeobiskovalec
visitor,sittingdownoncemorein
andpassinghishandoverhisvisoko
highwhiteforehead,“youcanunderstandthatIamnotaccustomedtodoingsuchbusinessinmyownperson.Vendar
YetthematterwassodelicatethatIcouldnotconfideittoanagentwithoutputtingmyselfinhismoč
power.IhavecomeincognitofromPragueforthepurposeofconsultingyou.”
“Then,prayconsult,”saidHolmes,shuttinghiseyes
enkrat
oncemore.“Thefactsare
kratko
brieflythese:Somefiveyearsago,
med
duringalengthyvisittoWarsaw,Imadetheacquaintanceofthewell-knownadventuress,IreneAdler.The
ime
nameisnodoubtfamiliartoyou.”“Kindlylookherupinmyindex,Doctor,”murmuredHolmeswithoutopeninghiseyes.
Formanyyearshehadadopteda
sistem
systemofdocketingallparagraphsconcerningmenin
andthings,sothatitwastežko
difficulttonameasubjectali
orapersononwhichhecouldnotatoncefurnishinformation.In
tem
thiscaseIfoundherbiographysandwichedinmed
betweenthatofaHebrewrabbiin
andthatofastaff-commanderwhohadwrittenamonographuponthedeep-seafishes.“Letmesee!”
saidHolmes.
“Hum!
Rodil
BorninNewJerseyinje
theyear1858.Contralto—hum!
LaScala,hum!
Prima
PrimadonnaImperialOperaofWarsaw—yes!Retiredfromoperaticstage—ha!
LivinginLondon—quiteso!
Your
Veličanstvo
Majesty,asIunderstand,becameentangleds
withthisyoungperson,wrotehernekaj
somecompromisingletters,andiszdaj
nowdesirousofgettingthoselettersback.”“Preciselyso.
Ampak
Buthow—”.