The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and a short thick man with a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases of his double chin,

进来的是莱桑德·斯塔克上校和一个身材矮胖、双下巴的褶痕上长着栗鼠胡须的人。

who was introduced to me as Mr. Ferguson.

上校向我介绍他是弗格森先生。

'This is my secretary and manager,' said the colonel.

'这位是我的秘书兼经理，'上校说，

'By the way, I was under the impression that I left this door shut just now. I fear that you have felt the draught.'

'顺便说一下，我记得我刚才是让这扇门关着的。我担心穿堂风吹着您。'

'On the contrary,' said I, 'I opened the door myself because I felt the room to be a little close.'

'恰恰相反，'我说，'是我自己把门打开的，因为我感到这个房间有点闷人。'

He shot one of his suspicious looks at me.

他狐疑地看了我一眼。

'Perhaps we had better proceed to business, then,' said he.

'那么，我们最好还是着手进行我们的事吧，'他说，

'Mr. Ferguson and I will take you up to see the machine.'

'弗格森先生和我准备领您到上面去看看机器。'

'I had better put my hat on, I suppose.'

'我想，我最好还是戴上帽子吧。'

'Oh, no, it is in the house.'

'噢，没有必要，就在这所房子里面。'

'What, you dig fuller's-earth in the house?'

'什么？你们在房子里挖漂白土？'

'No, no. This is only where we compress it. But never mind that.

'不，不。这只是我们压砖坯的地方。不过这无关紧要。

All we wish you to do is to examine the machine and to let us know what is wrong with it.'

我们希望您做的只是检查一下机器，并让我们知道是什么毛病。'

We went upstairs together, the colonel first with the lamp, the fat manager and I behind him.

我们一起上了楼，上校提着灯走在前面，胖经理和我跟在他后面。

It was a labyrinth of an old house, with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and little low doors,

这是一座迷宫似的古老房子，有许许多多走廊、过道、狭窄的盘旋式楼梯、低矮的小门，

the thresholds of which were hollowed out by the generations who had crossed them.

所有的门槛，由于几代人的践踏已凹陷了下去。

There were no carpets and no signs of any furniture above the ground floor,

在底层的地板上没有地毯，也没有安放过家具的痕迹，

while the plaster was peeling off the walls, and the damp was breaking through in green, unhealthy blotches.

墙上的灰泥已经剥落，绿色肮脏的污渍上还在冒出湿气。