The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes — Page 12
Then, with a gesture of desperation, he tore the mask from his face and hurled it upon the ground.
Entonces, con un gesto de desesperación, se arrancó la máscara del rostro y la arrojó al suelo.
"You are right," he cried; "I am the King.
«Tiene usted razón», exclamó; «soy el Rey.
Why should I attempt to conceal it?"
¿Por qué habría de intentar ocultarlo?»
"Why, indeed?" murmured Holmes.
«¿Por qué, en efecto?», murmuró Holmes.
"Your Majesty had not spoken before I was aware that I was addressing Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein, and hereditary King of Bohemia."
«Su Majestad no había pronunciado palabra antes de que yo me diera cuenta de que me dirigía a Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, Gran Duque de Cassel-Felstein y Rey hereditario de Bohemia.»
"But you can understand," said our strange visitor, sitting down once more and passing his hand over his high white forehead, "you can understand that I am not accustomed to doing such business in my own person.
«Pero usted puede comprender», dijo nuestro extraño visitante, sentándose de nuevo y pasándose la mano por su alta y blanca frente, «puede usted comprender que no estoy acostumbrado a ocuparme personalmente de tales asuntos.
Yet the matter was so delicate that I could not confide it to an agent without putting myself in his power.
Sin embargo, el asunto era tan delicado que no podía confiárselo a un agente sin ponerme en su poder.
I have come _incognito_ from Prague for the purpose of consulting you."
He venido de incógnito desde Praga con el propósito de consultarle.»
"Then, pray consult," said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more.
«Entonces, le ruego que consulte», dijo Holmes, cerrando los ojos de nuevo.
"The facts are briefly these: Some five years ago, during a lengthy visit to Warsaw, I made the acquaintance of the well-known adventuress, Irene Adler.
«Los hechos son, en resumen, los siguientes: hace unos cinco años, durante una larga visita a Varsovia, trabé conocimiento con la conocida aventurera Irene Adler.
The name is no doubt familiar to you."
El nombre le resultará sin duda familiar.»
"Kindly look her up in my index, Doctor," murmured Holmes without opening his eyes.
«Tenga la bondad de buscarla en mi índice, Doctor», murmuró Holmes sin abrir los ojos.
For many years he had adopted a system of docketing all paragraphs concerning men and things, so that it was difficult to name a subject or a person on which he could not at once furnish information.
Durante muchos años había adoptado un sistema de registrar todos los recortes referentes a personas y cosas, de modo que resultaba difícil mencionar un tema o una persona sobre los que no pudiera facilitar información de inmediato.
Vocabulary
- Entonces
- Then; used to indicate a consequence or transition
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or manner
- un
- A, an; indefinite article masculine singular
- gesto
- Gesture; a movement expressing feeling or meaning
- de
- Of, from; common Spanish preposition
- desesperación
- Desperation; state of hopelessness or extreme distress
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive verbs
- arrancó
- Tore off, ripped away; past tense of arrancar
- la
- The; definite article feminine singular
- máscara
- Mask; a covering worn to disguise the face
- del
- Of the; contraction of de and el
- rostro
- Face; a formal or literary word for face
- y
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- arrojó
- Threw, hurled; past tense of arrojar
- al
- To the; contraction of a and el
- suelo
- Floor, ground; the surface one walks on
- Tiene
- Has, have; third-person singular of tener
- usted
- You; formal second-person singular pronoun
- razón
- Reason, right; tener razón means to be correct
- exclamó
- Exclaimed; past tense of exclamar
- soy
- I am; first-person singular present of ser
- el
- The; definite article masculine singular
- Rey
- King; male monarch or ruler of a kingdom
- Por
- For, by, because of; versatile Spanish preposition
- qué
- What, why; interrogative or exclamatory word
- habría
- Would have; conditional form of haber
- intentar
- To try, to attempt; infinitive verb
- ocultarlo
- To hide it; infinitive ocultar with direct object pronoun
- en
- In, on, at; common Spanish preposition of location
- efecto
- Effect; en efecto means indeed or in fact
- murmuró
- Murmured; past tense of murmurar
- Su
- His, her, your, their; possessive adjective
- Majestad
- Majesty; royal title used to address a monarch
- no
- No, not; basic negation word in Spanish
- había
- Had; past perfect auxiliary form of haber
- pronunciado
- Pronounced, spoken; past participle of pronunciar
- palabra
- Word; a unit of spoken or written language
- antes
- Before, previously; adverb indicating prior time
- que
- That, than, who; very common conjunction or pronoun
- yo
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun
- me
- Me, myself; first-person singular object pronoun
- diera
- Gave; past subjunctive of dar
- cuenta
- Account, count; darse cuenta means to realize
- dirigía
- Was addressing, directing; imperfect of dirigir
- a
- To, at; very common Spanish preposition
- Gran
- Grand, great; adjective indicating large importance
- Duque
- Duke; a high-ranking nobleman or royal title
- hereditario
- Hereditary; passed down through family lineage
- Pero
- But; conjunction indicating contrast or exception
- puede
- Can, is able to; third-person singular of poder
- comprender
- To understand, to comprehend; infinitive verb
- dijo
- Said; third-person singular preterite of decir
- nuestro
- Our; first-person plural possessive adjective
- extraño
- Strange, odd; adjective describing something unusual
- visitante
- Visitor; a person who visits a place or person
- sentándose
- Sitting down; reflexive gerund of sentar
- nuevo
- New, again; de nuevo means once again
- pasándose
- Passing over; reflexive gerund of pasar
- mano
- Hand; the body part at the end of the arm
- por
- Through, by, for; common Spanish preposition
- alta
- High, tall; feminine adjective indicating height
- blanca
- White; feminine adjective describing the color white
- frente
- Forehead; the front part of the face above eyes
- estoy
- I am; first-person singular present of estar
- acostumbrado
- Accustomed, used to; past participle of acostumbrar
- ocuparme
- To take care of myself; reflexive infinitive of ocupar
- personalmente
- Personally; adverb meaning in person or oneself
- tales
- Such, such as; plural adjective meaning of that kind
- asuntos
- Matters, affairs; plural noun for issues or matters
- Sin
- Without; preposition indicating absence of something
- embargo
- Sin embargo means however or nevertheless
- asunto
- Matter, affair, issue; a topic or concern
- era
- Was; third-person singular imperfect of ser
- tan
- So, as; adverb used in comparisons or intensifying
- delicado
- Delicate, sensitive; adjective for something requiring care
- podía
- Could, was able to; imperfect of poder
- confiárselo
- To entrust it to him; infinitive with pronouns attached
- agente
- Agent; a person who acts on behalf of another
- sin
- Without; preposition indicating lack of something
- ponerme
- To put myself; reflexive infinitive of poner
- poder
- Power, ability; also infinitive meaning to be able
- He
- I have; first-person singular present perfect of haber
- venido
- Come; past participle of venir
- incógnito
- Incognito; in disguise or with identity concealed
- desde
- From, since; preposition indicating origin or start
- propósito
- Purpose, intention; a goal or reason for action
- consultarle
- To consult you; infinitive consultar with pronoun
- le
- Him, her, you; indirect object pronoun third person
- ruego
- I beg, I request; first-person singular of rogar
- consulte
- Consult; subjunctive or imperative form of consultar
- cerrando
- Closing; present participle of cerrar
- los
- The; definite article masculine plural
- ojos
- Eyes; the organs used for seeing
- Los
- The; definite article masculine plural
- hechos
- Facts, deeds; plural noun from hacer meaning events
- son
- Are; third-person plural present of ser
- resumen
- Summary; a brief overview of key information
- siguientes
- Following, next; plural adjective meaning subsequent
- hace
- Ago, makes; hace cinco años means five years ago
- unos
- Some, about; indefinite article masculine plural
- cinco
- Five; the cardinal number between four and six
- años
- Years; plural of año meaning calendar year
- durante
- During; preposition indicating a period of time
- una
- A, an; indefinite article feminine singular
- larga
- Long; feminine adjective indicating great length or duration
- visita
- Visit; a trip made to see a person or place
- trabé
- I struck up; past tense of trabar meaning to form
- conocimiento
- Acquaintance, knowledge; awareness or familiarity with something
- conocida
- Known, well-known; feminine past participle of conocer
- aventurera
- Adventuress; a woman who seeks adventure or intrigue
- El
- The; definite article masculine singular
- nombre
- Name; a word by which someone is known
- resultará
- Will result, will turn out; future of resultar
- duda
- Doubt; sin duda means without a doubt
- familiar
- Familiar; known or recognized from prior experience
- Tenga
- Have, hold; formal imperative of tener
- bondad
- Kindness, goodness; tenga la bondad means please
- buscarla
- To look it up, find her; infinitive with pronoun
- mi
- My; first-person singular possessive adjective
- índice
- Index; an alphabetical list for quick reference
- Doctor
- Doctor; a person with a medical or academic doctorate
- abrir
- To open; infinitive verb meaning to open something
- Durante
- During; preposition indicating time span
- muchos
- Many; plural masculine adjective indicating large quantity
- adoptado
- Adopted; past participle of adoptar
- sistema
- System; an organized method or set of procedures
- registrar
- To record, to register; infinitive verb
- todos
- All, every; masculine plural adjective or pronoun
- recortes
- Clippings, cutouts; pieces cut from newspapers or magazines
- referentes
- Referring to, relating to; plural adjective from referir
- personas
- People, persons; plural of persona
- cosas
- Things; plural of cosa, a general noun
- modo
- Mode, way, manner; de modo que means so that
- resultaba
- Turned out, resulted; imperfect of resultar
- difícil
- Difficult, hard; adjective describing something not easy
- mencionar
- To mention; to bring up or refer to briefly
- tema
- Topic, theme, subject; a matter being discussed
- o
- Or; basic disjunctive conjunction in Spanish
- persona
- Person; an individual human being
- sobre
- On, about, over; preposition with multiple meanings
- pudiera
- Could, might; past subjunctive of poder
- facilitar
- To provide, to facilitate; to make something easier or available
- información
- Information; data or knowledge provided or learned
- inmediato
- Immediate; happening without delay or right away
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