“Well, when Dr. Barnicot came down this morning he was astonished to find that his house had been burgled during the night, but that nothing had been taken save the plaster head from the hall. It had been carried out and had been dashed savagely against the garden wall, under which its splintered fragments were discovered.”

Holmes rubbed his hands.

“This is certainly very novel,” said he.

“I thought it would please you. But I have not got to the end yet. Dr. Barnicot was due at his surgery at twelve o’clock, and you can imagine his amazement when, on arriving there, he found that the window had been opened in the night and that the broken pieces of his second bust were strewn all over the room. It had been smashed to atoms where it stood. In neither case were there any signs which could give us a clue as to the criminal or lunatic who had done the mischief. Now, Mr. Holmes, you have got the facts.”

“They are singular (они необычны), not to say grotesque (чтобы не сказать причудливы; grotesque — гротескный; абсурдный, причудливый),” said Holmes. “May I ask whether the two busts smashed in Dr. Barnicot’s rooms (можно спросить = хотелось бы знать, являлись ли два бюста, разбитые в комнатах доктора Барникота; whether — ли /вводит косвенный вопрос/) were the exact duplicates of the one (точными копиями того бюста; one — слово-заместитель /во избежание повторения ранее упомянутого существительного/) which was destroyed in Morse Hudson’s shop (который был разбит в лавке Морза Хадсона)?”

“They were taken from the same mould (их отливали в одной и той же форме; to take-took-taken; mould — шаблон, образец; литейная форма; to mould — отливать форму, формовать).”

“Such a fact must tell against the theory (такой факт должен опровергать версию; to tell against — свидетельствовать против; говорить не в пользу кого-либо/чего-либо; theory — теория; предположение, версия) that the man who breaks them (что человек, который разбивает их) is influenced by any general hatred of Napoleon (действует под влиянием некоей всеобъемлющей ненависти к Наполеону; general — /все/общий, обычный; полный; influence — влияние, /воз/действие). Considering how many hundreds of statues of the great Emperor must exist in London (учитывая, сколько: «как много» сотен изваяний великого императора находится в Лондоне; to consider — рассматривать; принимать во внимание, учитывать; to exist — существовать; быть, иметь место), it is too much to suppose such a coincidence (трудно допустить подобное случайное стечение обстоятельств; too much — чересчур, слишком; coincidence — совпадение; случайное стечение обстоятельств) as that a promiscuous iconoclast should chance to begin upon three specimens of the same bust (что неразборчивый «иконоборец» случайно начал с трех экземпляров одного и того же бюста; promiscuous — беспорядочный, неразборчивый /в знакомствах, связях и т. п./; iconoclast — иконоборец; chance — шанс, вероятность; случай/ность/; to chance — случаться; решиться /на что-либо/, рискнуть).”

grotesque [ru'tesk], theory ['r], exist ['zst], coincidence [ku'nsdns], promiscuous [pr'mskjus], iconoclast [a'knklaest], specimen ['spesmn]

“They are singular, not to say grotesque,” said Holmes. “May I ask whether the two busts smashed in Dr. Barnicot’s rooms were the exact duplicates of the one which was destroyed in Morse Hudson’s shop?”

“They were taken from the same mould.”