| I knew that none had fallen since the evening before, and also that there had been a strong frost to preserve impressions. | Но едва Мэри скрылась за дверью своей комнаты, он бросился вниз полуодетый и босой, распахнул окно, выскочил в сад и помчался по дорожке; там, вдали, виднелся при свете луны чей-то темный силуэт. |
| I passed along the tradesmen's path, but found it all trampled down and indistinguishable. | Сэр Джордж Бэрнвелл попытался бежать, но Артур догнал его. |
| Just beyond it, however, at the far side of the kitchen door, a woman had stood and talked with a man, whose round impressions on one side showed that he had a wooden leg. | Между ними завязалась борьба. |
| I could even tell that they had been disturbed, for the woman had run back swiftly to the door, as was shown by the deep toe and light heel marks, while Wooden-leg had waited a little, and then had gone away. | Ваш сын тянул диадему за один конец, его противник - за другой. |
| I thought at the time that this might be the maid and her sweetheart, of whom you had already spoken to me, and inquiry showed it was so. | Ваш сын ударил сэра Джорджа и повредил ему бровь. |
| I passed round the garden without seeing anything more than random tracks, which I took to be the police; but when I got into the stable lane a very long and complex story was written in the snow in front of me. | Затем что-то неожиданно хрустнуло, и Артур почувствовал, что диадема у него в руках; он кинулся назад, закрыл окно и поднялся в вашу комнату. |
| "There was a double line of tracks of a booted man, and a second double line which I saw with delight belonged to a man with naked feet. | Только тут он заметил, что диадема погнута, и попытался распрямить ее. |
| I was at once convinced from what you had told me that the latter was your son. | В это время вошли вы. |
| The first had walked both ways, but the other had run swiftly, and as his tread was marked in places over the depression of the boot, it was obvious that he had passed after the other. | - Боже мой! |
| I followed them up and found they led to the hall window, where Boots had worn all the snow away while waiting. | Боже мой! - задыхаясь, повторял банкир. |
| Then I walked to the other end, which was a hundred yards or more down the lane. | - Артур был потрясен вашим несправедливым обвинением. |
| I saw where Boots had faced round, where the snow was cut up as though there had been a struggle, and, finally, where a few drops of blood had fallen, to show me that I was not mistaken. | Ведь, напротив, вы должны были бы благодарить его. |
| Boots had then run down the lane, and another little smudge of blood showed that it was he who had been hurt. | Он не мог рассказать вам правду, не предав Мэри, хотя она и не заслуживала снисхождения. |
| When he came to the highroad at the other end, I found that the pavement had been cleared, so there was an end to that clue. | Он вел себя как рыцарь и сохранил тайну. |
