A Study in Scarlet — Page 8
" he said cordially, gripping my hand with a strength for which I should hardly have given him credit.
» dit-il cordialement, serrant ma main avec une force à laquelle je n'aurais guère pu m'attendre de sa part.
"You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive."
« Vous avez été en Afghanistan, je le vois. »
"How on earth did you know that?" I asked in astonishment.
« Comment diable le saviez-vous ? » demandai-je avec étonnement.
"Never mind," said he, chuckling to himself.
« Peu importe, » dit-il en riant sous cape.
"The question now is about hæmoglobin.
« La question à présent porte sur l'hémoglobine.
No doubt you see the significance of this discovery of mine?"
Vous voyez sans doute l'importance de ma découverte ? »
"It is interesting, chemically, no doubt," I answered, "but practically——"
« C'est intéressant, chimiquement, sans doute, » répondis-je, « mais pratiquement — »
"Why, man, it is the most practical medico-legal discovery for years.
« Mais, mon ami, c'est la découverte médico-légale la plus pratique depuis des années.
Don't you see that it gives us an infallible test for blood stains.
Ne voyez-vous pas que cela nous fournit un test infaillible pour les taches de sang ?
Come over here now!"
Venez par ici maintenant ! »
He seized me by the coat-sleeve in his eagerness, and drew me over to the table at which he had been working.
Dans son empressement, il me saisit par la manche et m'entraîna vers la table à laquelle il avait travaillé.
"Let us have some fresh blood," he said, digging a long bodkin into his finger, and drawing off the resulting drop of blood in a chemical pipette.
« Procurons-nous du sang frais, » dit-il, enfonçant une longue alène dans son doigt et recueillant la goutte de sang ainsi obtenue dans une pipette de chimiste.
"Now, I add this small quantity of blood to a litre of water.
« À présent, j'ajoute cette petite quantité de sang à un litre d'eau.
You perceive that the resulting mixture has the appearance of pure water.
Vous constatez que le mélange ainsi obtenu a l'apparence de l'eau pure.
The proportion of blood cannot be more than one in a million.
La proportion de sang ne peut dépasser une partie sur un million.
I have no doubt, however, that we shall be able to obtain the characteristic reaction."
Je ne doute pas, cependant, que nous soyons en mesure d'obtenir la réaction caractéristique. »
As he spoke, he threw into the vessel a few white crystals, and then added some drops of a transparent fluid.
Ce disant, il jeta dans le récipient quelques cristaux blancs, puis ajouta quelques gouttes d'un liquide transparent.
In an instant the contents assumed a dull mahogany colour, and a brownish dust was precipitated to the bottom of the glass jar.
En un instant, le contenu prit une teinte terne d'acajou, et une poussière brunâtre se déposa au fond du bocal en verre.
"Ha!
« Ha !
Vocabulary
- dit
- Said; past tense of 'dire', to say.
- cordialement
- Cordially; in a warm and friendly manner.
- serrant
- Squeezing or gripping tightly; present participle of 'serrer'.
- main
- Hand; the body part at end of arm.
- force
- Strength or force; physical power or energy.
- laquelle
- Which; feminine singular relative pronoun.
- aurais
- Would have; conditional tense of 'avoir'.
- guère
- Hardly; scarcely; used in negative constructions.
- attendre
- To expect or to wait; common French verb.
- part
- Part or side; de sa part means 'from him/her'.
- diable
- Devil; used in exclamations like 'comment diable'.
- saviez
- Knew; second person plural imperfect of 'savoir'.
- demandai
- Asked; first person singular simple past of 'demander'.
- étonnement
- Astonishment; surprise or amazement at something unexpected.
- importe
- Matters; 'peu importe' means 'it doesn't matter'.
- riant
- Laughing; present participle of 'rire'.
- cape
- Cape or cloak; 'rire sous cape' means to laugh secretly.
- présent
- Present; current; referring to the current moment.
- porte
- Concerns or bears on; third person of 'porter'.
- hémoglobine
- Hemoglobin; protein in red blood cells carrying oxygen.
- doute
- Doubt; 'sans doute' means no doubt or probably.
- importance
- Importance; significance of something noteworthy.
- découverte
- Discovery; something newly found or revealed.
- intéressant
- Interesting; capturing attention or curiosity.
- chimiquement
- Chemically; in a chemical manner or sense.
- répondis
- Replied; first person singular simple past of 'répondre'.
- pratiquement
- Practically; in a practical or nearly complete sense.
- médico
- Medico; prefix relating to medicine or medical field.
- légale
- Legal or forensic; relating to law and medicine.
- pratique
- Practical; useful in real-world application.
- depuis
- Since or for; preposition indicating duration or origin.
- cela
- That; demonstrative pronoun referring to something mentioned.
- fournit
- Provides or supplies; third person singular of 'fournir'.
- infaillible
- Infallible; never failing, completely reliable and certain.
- taches
- Stains or spots; marks left on a surface.
- sang
- Blood; the red fluid circulating in the body.
- Venez
- Come; imperative second person plural of 'venir'.
- empressement
- Eagerness; enthusiastic haste or keen willingness.
- saisit
- Grabbed or seized; simple past of 'saisir'.
- manche
- Sleeve; the part of a garment covering the arm.
- entraîna
- Led or dragged; simple past of 'entraîner'.
- Procurons
- Let us get; first person plural imperative of 'procurer'.
- frais
- Fresh; new or recently obtained.
- enfonçant
- Plunging or pushing in; present participle of 'enfoncer'.
- alène
- Awl; a pointed tool for piercing small holes.
- doigt
- Finger; one of the digits on a hand.
- recueillant
- Collecting; gathering carefully; present participle of 'recueillir'.
- goutte
- Drop; a small amount of liquid.
- ainsi
- Thus; in this way; consequently.
- obtenue
- Obtained; feminine past participle of 'obtenir'.
- pipette
- Pipette; a thin tube for transferring small liquid amounts.
- chimiste
- Chemist; a scientist who studies or works with chemistry.
- ajoute
- Add; first person singular present of 'ajouter'.
- quantité
- Quantity; an amount or measure of something.
- constatez
- Notice or observe; second person plural of 'constater'.
- mélange
- Mixture; a combination of two or more substances.
- obtenu
- Obtained; past participle of 'obtenir'.
- apparence
- Appearance; the way something looks externally.
- pure
- Pure; clean, unmixed, or free from contamination.
- proportion
- Proportion; relative share or ratio of a quantity.
- dépasser
- To exceed or surpass; to go beyond a limit.
- partie
- Part; a portion or fraction of a whole.
- cependant
- However; nevertheless; used to introduce a contrast.
- soyons
- Let us be; first person plural imperative of 'être'.
- mesure
- Measure; en mesure de means capable of doing.
- obtenir
- To obtain; to get or acquire something.
- réaction
- Reaction; a response to a chemical or other process.
- caractéristique
- Characteristic; a distinguishing or identifying feature.
- disant
- Saying; present participle of 'dire'.
- jeta
- Threw; simple past of 'jeter'.
- récipient
- Container; a vessel used to hold substances.
- quelques
- Some; a few; small indefinite number of things.
- cristaux
- Crystals; solid substances with regular molecular structure.
- puis
- Then; next; adverb indicating sequence of actions.
- ajouta
- Added; third person singular simple past of 'ajouter'.
- gouttes
- Drops; small amounts of liquid falling or added.
- liquide
- Liquid; a fluid substance that flows freely.
- transparent
- Transparent; clear, allowing light to pass through.
- instant
- Instant or moment; a very brief period of time.
- contenu
- Content; what is contained inside something.
- prit
- Took on; simple past of 'prendre'.
- teinte
- Tint or hue; a shade or color of something.
- terne
- Dull; lacking brightness or luster.
- acajou
- Mahogany; a reddish-brown wood or color.
- poussière
- Dust; fine dry particles settling on surfaces.
- brunâtre
- Brownish; somewhat brown in color or appearance.
- déposa
- Settled or deposited; simple past of 'déposer'.
- fond
- Bottom; the lowest part of a container.
- bocal
- Jar; a wide-mouthed glass container.
- verre
- Glass; a transparent material or drinking vessel.
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