El signe dels quatre

Sherlock Holmes tog sin flaske fra hjørnet af kaminhylden og sin injektionssprøjte fra dens nette etui af marokin.

Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantel-piece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case.

Med sine lange,

With his long,

hvide,

white,

nervøse fingre satte han den fine nål på

nervous fingers he adjusted the delicate needle,

og smøgede sit venstre skjorteærme op.

and rolled back his left shirt-cuff.

En lille stund hvilede hans blik eftertænksomt på den senede underarm og det håndled, der var oversået med ar efter utallige stik.

For some little time his eyes rested thoughtfully upon the sinewy forearm and wrist all dotted and scarred with innumerable puncture-marks.

Til sidst stødte han den skarpe spids ind,

Finally he thrust the sharp point home,

trykkede det lille stempel ned

pressed down the tiny piston,

og sank tilbage i den fløjlsbetrukne lænestol med et langt, tilfreds suk.

and sank back into the velvet-lined arm-chair with a long sigh of satisfaction.

Tre gange om dagen i mange måneder havde jeg overværet denne forestilling,

Three times a day for many months I had witnessed this performance,

men vanen havde ikke forsonet mig med den.

but custom had not reconciled my mind to it.

Tværtimod,

On the contrary,

dag for dag var jeg blevet mere irriteret ved synet,

from day to day I had become more irritable at the sight,

og hver nat nagede min samvittighed mig ved tanken om, at jeg havde manglet modet til at protestere.

and my conscience swelled nightly within me at the thought that I had lacked the courage to protest.

Gang på gang havde jeg svoret, at jeg ville lette mit hjerte i den sag,

Again and again I had registered a vow that I should deliver my soul upon the subject,

men der var noget i min ledsagers kølige,

but there was that in the cool,

ligegyldige væsen, som gjorde ham til den sidste, man ville tillade sig den mindste frihed over for.

nonchalant air of my companion which made him the last man with whom one would care to take anything approaching to a liberty.

Hans store evner,

His great powers,

hans mesterlige optræden

his masterly manner,

og den erfaring, jeg havde gjort med hans mange usædvanlige egenskaber,

and the experience which I had had of his many extraordinary qualities,

alt dette gjorde mig forsagt og tilbageholdende med at gå ham imod.

all made me diffident and backward in crossing him.

Men den eftermiddag,

Yet upon that afternoon,

hvad enten det var den Beaune, jeg havde drukket til frokost,

whether it was the Beaune which I had taken with my lunch,

eller den ekstra irritation, som hans yderst besindige væremåde vakte,

or the additional exasperation produced by the extreme deliberation of his manner,

følte jeg pludselig, at jeg ikke kunne holde det ud længere.

I suddenly felt that I could hold out no longer.