The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 — Page 3
"Oh, good heavens! who ever heard of such an idea?"
"¡Oh, cielos! ¿quién ha oído jamás semejante idea?"
"A little too self-evident."
"Un poco demasiado evidente."
"Ha! ha! ha—ha! ha! ha!—ho! ho! ho!" roared our visitor, profoundly amused, "oh, Dupin, you will be the death of me yet!"
"¡Ja! ¡ja! ¡ja—ja! ¡ja! ¡ja!—¡jo! ¡jo! ¡jo!" rugió nuestro visitante, profundamente divertido, «¡oh, Dupin, acabará usted conmigo!»
"And what, after all, is the matter on hand?" I asked.
«¿Y cuál es, después de todo, el asunto que nos ocupa?», pregunté.
"Why, I will tell you," replied the Prefect, as he gave a long, steady and contemplative puff, and settled himself in his chair.
«Pues bien, se lo diré», respondió el Prefecto, mientras daba una larga, pausada y meditativa calada, y se acomodaba en su silla.
"I will tell you in a few words; but, before I begin, let me caution you that this is an affair demanding the greatest secrecy, and that I should most probably lose the position I now hold, were it known that I confided it to any one."
«Se lo diré en pocas palabras; pero, antes de comenzar, permítame advertirle que este es un asunto que exige el mayor secreto, y que muy probablemente perdería el cargo que ahora ocupo si se supiera que lo he confiado a alguien.»
"Proceed," said I.
«Continúe», dije.
"Or not," said Dupin.
«O no», dijo Dupin.
"Well, then; I have received personal information, from a very high quarter, that a certain document of the last importance has been purloined from the royal apartments.
«Pues bien; he recibido información personal, procedente de una instancia muy elevada, de que cierto documento de la mayor importancia ha sido sustraído de las cámaras reales.
The individual who purloined it is known; this beyond a doubt; he was seen to take it.
El individuo que lo sustrajo es conocido; esto está fuera de toda duda; se le vio tomarlo.
It is known, also, that it still remains in his possession."
Se sabe, asimismo, que aún permanece en su poder.»
"How is this known?" asked Dupin.
«¿Cómo se sabe esto?», preguntó Dupin.
"It is clearly inferred," replied the Prefect, "from the nature of the document, and from the non-appearance of certain results which would at once arise from its passing out of the robber's possession; that is to say, from his employing it as he must design in the end to employ it.
«Se deduce claramente», respondió el Prefecto, «de la naturaleza del documento, y de la no aparición de ciertos resultados que surgirían de inmediato si saliera de la posesión del ladrón; es decir, del uso que él debe tener en mente hacerle a fin de cuentas.
Vocabulary
- cielos
- Heavens; exclamation expressing surprise or dismay.
- quién
- Who; interrogative pronoun referring to a person.
- ha
- Has; third-person singular of haber (auxiliary verb).
- oído
- Heard; past participle of oír, to hear.
- jamás
- Never; strong negation referring to any time.
- semejante
- Such; similar or of that kind.
- idea
- Idea; a thought or concept in mind.
- poco
- A little; small amount or degree.
- demasiado
- Too much; exceeding an appropriate amount.
- evidente
- Evident; obvious or clearly apparent.
- rugió
- Roared; spoke loudly with great force.
- nuestro
- Our; possessive adjective, first-person plural.
- visitante
- Visitor; person who comes to see someone.
- profundamente
- Deeply; in a profound or intense manner.
- divertido
- Amused; entertained or finding something funny.
- acabará
- Will finish; future tense of acabar, to end.
- usted
- You; formal second-person singular pronoun.
- conmigo
- With me; prepositional pronoun, first person.
- cuál
- Which/what; interrogative pronoun asking for specification.
- después
- After; following in time or order.
- todo
- All/everything; referring to the whole.
- asunto
- Matter/affair; a subject or issue at hand.
- nos
- Us; first-person plural object pronoun.
- ocupa
- Concerns/occupies; third-person singular of ocupar.
- pregunté
- I asked; first-person preterite of preguntar.
- Pues
- Well; filler word introducing or continuing speech.
- bien
- Well/good; adverb indicating something is correct.
- diré
- I will tell; first-person future of decir.
- respondió
- Responded; third-person preterite of responder.
- Prefecto
- Prefect; title of a high-ranking official.
- mientras
- While; conjunction indicating simultaneous actions.
- daba
- Was giving/taking; imperfect of dar.
- larga
- Long; adjective describing extended length or duration.
- pausada
- Slow/measured; done with deliberate pauses.
- meditativa
- Meditative; thoughtful and deeply reflective.
- calada
- Puff/drag; inhalation from a pipe or cigarette.
- acomodaba
- Was settling; making oneself comfortable in seat.
- silla
- Chair; a piece of furniture for sitting.
- pocas
- Few; small number, feminine plural form.
- palabras
- Words; units of language used in speech.
- pero
- But; conjunction expressing contrast or exception.
- antes
- Before; earlier in time or order.
- comenzar
- To begin; infinitive meaning to start something.
- permítame
- Allow me; polite request for permission to speak.
- advertirle
- To warn you; infinitive of advertir with pronoun.
- este
- This; demonstrative adjective or pronoun, masculine.
- exige
- Requires/demands; third-person singular of exigir.
- mayor
- Greater/greater degree; comparative adjective of grande.
- secreto
- Secret; something kept hidden from others.
- muy
- Very; adverb intensifying adjectives or adverbs.
- probablemente
- Probably; indicating likelihood or probability.
- perdería
- Would lose; conditional tense of perder.
- cargo
- Position/post; official role or responsibility held.
- ahora
- Now; at the present moment.
- ocupo
- I hold/occupy; first-person singular of ocupar.
- si
- If; conjunction introducing a conditional clause.
- supiera
- Knew; imperfect subjunctive of saber.
- he
- I have; first-person singular of haber.
- confiado
- Confided/trusted; past participle of confiar.
- alguien
- Someone; indefinite pronoun referring to an unspecified person.
- Continúe
- Continue; formal imperative of continuar, to go on.
- dije
- I said; first-person preterite of decir.
- dijo
- He/she said; third-person preterite of decir.
- recibido
- Received; past participle of recibir.
- información
- Information; data or knowledge about something.
- personal
- Personal; relating to or concerning an individual.
- procedente
- Coming from; originating or arriving from a source.
- instancia
- Authority/instance; a level or level of power.
- elevada
- High/elevated; of superior rank or importance.
- cierto
- Certain; a particular or specific thing.
- documento
- Document; an official or important written paper.
- importancia
- Importance; the quality of being significant.
- sido
- Been; past participle of ser, to be.
- sustraído
- Stolen/removed; past participle of sustraer.
- cámaras
- Chambers/rooms; private rooms in a royal residence.
- reales
- Royal; relating to the king or royal family.
- individuo
- Individual/person; a particular person, often suspicious.
- sustrajo
- Stole/removed; third-person preterite of sustraer.
- conocido
- Known; past participle of conocer, to know.
- esto
- This; neuter demonstrative pronoun.
- está
- Is; third-person singular of estar, to be.
- fuera
- Outside/beyond; indicating something is out of range.
- toda
- All/every; adjective indicating totality, feminine.
- duda
- Doubt; uncertainty about something.
- vio
- Saw; third-person preterite of ver.
- tomarlo
- To take it; infinitive of tomar with pronoun.
- sabe
- Knows; third-person singular of saber.
- asimismo
- Also/likewise; in addition to what was said.
- aún
- Still/yet; indicating continuation of a state.
- permanece
- Remains; third-person singular of permanecer.
- poder
- Power/possession; ability or control over something.
- Cómo
- How; interrogative adverb asking about manner.
- preguntó
- Asked; third-person preterite of preguntar.
- deduce
- Deduces; infers logically from available evidence.
- claramente
- Clearly; in a clear and evident manner.
- naturaleza
- Nature; the essential character of something.
- aparición
- Appearance/emergence; the act of appearing or arising.
- ciertos
- Certain; specific or particular, masculine plural.
- resultados
- Results; outcomes or consequences of actions.
- surgirían
- Would arise; conditional tense of surgir.
- inmediato
- Immediate; happening right away without delay.
- saliera
- Left/went out; imperfect subjunctive of salir.
- posesión
- Possession; the state of having or owning something.
- ladrón
- Thief; a person who steals from others.
- decir
- To say/tell; infinitive of the verb decir.
- uso
- Use; the act of employing something for a purpose.
- debe
- Must/should; third-person singular of deber.
- tener
- To have; infinitive expressing possession or obligation.
- mente
- Mind; the faculty of thought and reasoning.
- hacerle
- To do to him/her; infinitive of hacer with pronoun.
- fin
- End/purpose; conclusion or goal of something.
- cuentas
- Accounts; reckoning or explanation of actions.
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →