Údolí strachu

Estava massa absort en els seus propis pensaments per respondre de seguida al meu retret.

He was too much absorbed with his own thoughts to give any immediate answer to my remonstrance.

Recolzava el cap a la mà,

He leaned upon his hand,

amb l’esmorzar intacte al davant,

with his untasted breakfast before him,

i mirava fixament el tros de paper que acabava de treure del sobre.

and he stared at the slip of paper which he had just drawn from its envelope.

Després va agafar el sobre mateix,

Then he took the envelope itself,

el va alçar a contrallum

held it up to the light,

i en va examinar amb molta cura tant l’exterior com la solapa.

and very carefully studied both the exterior and the flap.

—És la lletra de Porlock

“It is Porlock’s writing,”

—va dir, pensatiu —.

said he thoughtfully.

Difícilment puc dubtar que sigui la lletra de Porlock,

“I can hardly doubt that it is Porlock’s writing,

tot i que només l’he vista dues vegades.

though I have seen it only twice before.

Aquesta e a la grega, amb aquella floritura tan peculiar a dalt, és inconfusible.

The Greek e with the peculiar top flourish is distinctive.

Però si és Porlock,

But if it is Porlock,

ha de ser una cosa de la màxima importància.

then it must be something of the very first importance.”

Parlava més per a si mateix que per a mi;

He was speaking to himself rather than to me;

però el meu enuig es va esvair davant l’interès que despertaven aquelles paraules.

but my vexation disappeared in the interest which the words awakened.

—I qui és, doncs, Porlock?

“Who then is Porlock?”

—vaig preguntar.

I asked.

—Porlock,

“Porlock,

Watson,

Watson,

és un pseudònim,

is a nom-de-plume,

un simple senyal d’identificació;

a mere identification mark;

però al darrere s’amaga una personalitat esmunyedissa i evasiva.

but behind it lies a shifty and evasive personality.

En una carta anterior em va dir francament que aquell nom no era el seu,

In a former letter he frankly informed me that the name was not his own,

i em va desafiar a trobar-lo mai entre els milions d’ànimes que formiguegen en aquesta gran ciutat.

and defied me ever to trace him among the teeming millions of this great city.

Porlock és important,

Porlock is important,

no pas per ell mateix,

not for himself,

sinó pel gran home amb qui està en contacte.

but for the great man with whom he is in touch.

Imagineu-vos el peix pilot amb el tauró,

Picture to yourself the pilot fish with the shark,

el xacal amb el lleó: qualsevol criatura insignificant en companyia d’una altra de temible;

the jackal with the lion—anything that is insignificant in companionship with what is formidable:

i no tan sols temible,

not only formidable,

Watson,

Watson,

sinó sinistra, sinistra en grau suprem.

but sinister—in the highest degree sinister.

És aquí on entra dins el meu camp.

That is where he comes within my purview.

M’heu sentit parlar del professor Moriarty?

You have heard me speak of Professor Moriarty?”