It was in the summer of '89, not long after my marriage, that the events occurred which I am now about to summarize.

我现在要扼要讲讲的故事发生在我结婚后不久的一八八九年的夏天。

I had returned to civil practice and had finally abandoned Holmes in his Baker Street rooms,

我那时已重新开业行医，并且终于把福尔摩斯一个人舍弃在贝克街的寓所里，

although I continually visited him and occasionally even persuaded him to forego his Bohemian habits so far as to come and visit us.

虽然我还不时地探望他，甚至偶尔还劝说他去掉他那豪放不羁的习性来我家作客。

My practice had steadily increased, and as I happened to live at no very great distance from Paddington Station,

我的业务蒸蒸日上，凑巧我的住处离帕丁顿车站不远，

I got a few patients from among the officials.

有几位铁路员工就到我这里来看病。

One of these, whom I had cured of a painful and lingering disease,

由于我治好了他们当中一位所患的痛苦缠绵的病，

was never weary of advertising my virtues and of endeavouring to send me on every sufferer over whom he might have any influence.

他就不厌其烦地到处大肆宣传我的医术，尽量将他能够对之施加影响的每一个病人都送到我这里来诊治。

One morning, at a little before seven o'clock,

一天早晨，将近七点钟的时候，

I was awakened by the maid tapping at the door to announce that two men had come from Paddington and were waiting in the consulting-room.

我被女佣人的敲门声吵醒。她对我说，从帕丁顿来了两个人，正在诊室里等候。

I dressed hurriedly, for I knew by experience that railway cases were seldom trivial, and hastened downstairs.

我急忙穿上衣服，匆匆下楼，因为经验告诉我，铁路上来的人，病情大都是相当严重的。

As I descended, my old ally, the guard, came out of the room and closed the door tightly behind him.

我下楼后，我的老伙伴--那个铁路警察从诊室里走了出来，并随手把门紧紧地关上。

"I've got him here," he whispered, jerking his thumb over his shoulder; "he's all right."

"我把他带到这儿来了，"他把大拇指举到肩头朝后指指，悄悄地说："他现在问题不大了。"

"What is it, then?" I asked, for his manner suggested that it was some strange creature which he had caged up in my room.

"这是怎么回事？"我问道，因为他的举止使我感到似乎他把一个怪物关在我的房间里了。

"It's a new patient," he whispered. "I thought I'd bring him round myself; then he couldn't slip away.

"是一个新病人，"他悄悄地说，"我认为我最好还是亲自把他送来，这样他就溜不掉了。

There he is, all safe and sound. I must go now, Doctor; I have my dooties, just the same as you."

我现在就得走，大夫，我和你一样，还得值班去，他现在在里边安然无恙了。"

And off he went, this trusty tout, without even giving me time to thank him.

说完，这位忠实的介绍人，甚至不让我有向他道谢的机会，就一下子走掉了。