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He flicked the horse with his whip, and we dashed away through the endless
succession of sombre and deserted streets, which widened gradually, until we
were flying across a broad balustraded bridge, with the murky river flowing
sluggishly beneath us. Beyond lay another dull wilderness of bricks and mortar,
its silence broken only by the heavy, regular footfall of the policeman, or the
songs and shouts of some belated party of revellers. A dull wrack was drifting
slowly across the sky, and a star or two twinkled dimly here and there through
the rifts of the clouds. Holmes drove in silence, with his head sunk upon his
breast, and the air of a man who is lost in thought, while I sat beside him,
curious to learn what this new quest might be which seemed to tax his powers so
sorely, and yet afraid to break in upon the current of his thoughts. We had
driven several miles, and were beginning to get to the fringe of the belt of
suburban villas, when he shook himself, shrugged his shoulders, and lit up his
pipe with the air of a man who has satisfied himself that he is acting for the
best.
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Il donna un léger coup de fouet et nous nous engageâmes dans un dédale de
rues sombres et désertes pour aboutir au large pont, jeté sur la rivière
fangeuse. Plus loin, un autre grand espace couvert de briques et de mortier,
espace silencieux dans lequel résonnaient seuls le pas lourd et régulier du
sergent de ville, ou les chants et les cris de quelque joyeux viveur attardé.
De gros nuages sombres s’amoncelaient dans le ciel, laissant à peine
entrevoir quelques étoiles. Holmes ne parlait pas ; la tête penchée sur
la poitrine, il semblait absorbé par ses réflexions, tandis que moi, assis à
côté de lui, je grillais d’apprendre quel était le nouveau problème sur
lequel se concentraient toutes ses facultés. Je n’osais pourtant
l’interroger. Nous avions déjà parcouru plusieurs milles et atteint les
faubourgs, peuplés de nombreuses villas, lorsque mon compagnon, se secouant
tout à coup, haussa les épaules et alluma sa pipe d’un air satisfait.
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