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A Double Barreled Detective Story by Mark Twain, PART II. CHAPTER II.

PART II. CHAPTER II.

At eight o'clock that evening two persons were groping their way past Flint Buckner's cabin in the frosty gloom. They were Sherlock Holmes and his nephew.

"Stop here in the road a moment, uncle," said Fetlock, "while I run to my cabin; I won't be gone a minute." He asked for something—the uncle furnished it—then he disappeared in the darkness, but soon returned, and the talking-walk was resumed. By nine o'clock they had wandered back to the tavern. They worked their way through the billiard-room, where a crowd had gathered in the hope of getting a glimpse of the Extraordinary Man. A royal cheer was raised. Mr. Holmes acknowledged the compliment with a series of courtly bows, and as he was passing out his nephew said to the assemblage,

"Uncle Sherlock's got some work to do, gentlemen, that 'll keep him till twelve or one; but he'll be down again then, or earlier if he can, and hopes some of you'll be left to take a drink with him." "By George, he's just a duke, boys! Three cheers for Sherlock Holmes, the greatest man that ever lived!" shouted Ferguson. "Hip, hip, hip—" "Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah! Tiger!" The uproar shook the building, so hearty was the feeling the boys put into their welcome. Upstairs the uncle reproached the nephew gently, saying,

"What did you get me into that engagement for?" "I reckon you don't want to be unpopular, do you, uncle? Well, then, don't you put on any exclusiveness in a mining-camp, that's all. The boys admire you; but if you was to leave without taking a drink with them, they'd set you down for a snob. And, besides, you said you had home talk enough in stock to keep us up and at it half the night." The boy was right, and wise—the uncle acknowledged it. The boy was wise in another detail which he did not mention—except to himself: "Uncle and the others will come handy—in the way of nailing an alibi where it can't be budged." He and his uncle talked diligently about three hours. Then, about midnight, Fetlock stepped down-stairs and took a position in the dark a dozen steps from the tavern, and waited. Five minutes later Flint Buckner came rocking out of the billiard-room and almost brushed him as he passed.

"I've got him!" muttered the boy. He continued to himself, looking after the shadowy form: "Good-by—good-by for good, Flint Buckner; you called my mother a—well, never mind what; it's all right, now; you're taking your last walk, friend." He went musing back into the tavern. "From now till one is an hour. We'll spend it with the boys; it's good for the alibi." He brought Sherlock Holmes to the billiard-room, which was jammed with eager and admiring miners; the guest called the drinks, and the fun began. Everybody was happy; everybody was complimentary; the ice was soon broken; songs, anecdotes, and more drinks followed, and the pregnant minutes flew. At six minutes to one, when the jollity was at its highest—

BOOM!

There was silence instantly. The deep sound came rolling and rumbling from peak to peak up the gorge, then died down, and ceased. The spell broke, then, and the men made a rush for the door, saying,

"Something's blown up!" Outside, a voice in the darkness said, "It's away down the gorge; I saw the flash." The crowd poured down the canyon—Holmes, Fetlock, Archy Stillman, everybody. They made the mile in a few minutes. By the light of a lantern they found the smooth and solid dirt floor of Flint Buckner's cabin; of the cabin itself not a vestige remained, not a rag nor a splinter. Nor any sign of Flint. Search-parties sought here and there and yonder, and presently a cry went up.

"Here he is!" It was true. Fifty yards down the gulch they had found him—that is, they had found a crushed and lifeless mass which represented him. Fetlock Jones hurried thither with the others and looked.

The inquest was a fifteen-minute affair. Ham Sandwich, foreman of the jury, handed up the verdict, which was phrased with a certain unstudied literary grace, and closed with this finding, to wit: that "deceased came to his death by his own act or some other person or persons unknown to this jury not leaving any family or similar effects behind but his cabin which was blown away and God have mercy on his soul amen." Then the impatient jury rejoined the main crowd, for the storm-centre of interest was there—Sherlock Holmes. The miners stood silent and reverent in a half-circle, inclosing a large vacant space which included the front exposure of the site of the late premises. In this considerable space the Extraordinary Man was moving about, attended by his nephew with a lantern. With a tape he took measurements of the cabin site; of the distance from the wall of chaparral to the road; of the height of the chaparral bushes; also various other measurements. He gathered a rag here, a splinter there, and a pinch of earth yonder, inspected them profoundly, and preserved them. He took the "lay" of the place with a pocket-compass, allowing two seconds for magnetic variation. He took the time (Pacific) by his watch, correcting it for local time. He paced off the distance from the cabin site to the corpse, and corrected that for tidal differentiation. He took the altitude with a pocket-aneroid, and the temperature with a pocket-thermometer. Finally he said, with a stately bow:

"It is finished. Shall we return, gentlemen?" He took up the line of march for the tavern, and the crowd fell into his wake, earnestly discussing and admiring the Extraordinary Man, and interlarding guesses as to the origin of the tragedy and who the author of it might he.

"My, but it's grand luck having him here—hey, boys?" said Ferguson.

"It's the biggest thing of the century," said Ham Sandwich. "It 'll go all over the world; you mark my words." "You bet!" said Jake Parker, the blacksmith. "It 'll boom this camp. Ain't it so, Wells-Fargo?" "Well, as you want my opinion—if it's any sign of how I think about it, I can tell you this: yesterday I was holding the Straight Flush claim at two dollars a foot; I'd like to see the man that can get it at sixteen today." "Right you are, Wells-Fargo! It's the grandest luck a new camp ever struck. Say, did you see him collar them little rags and dirt and things? What an eye! He just can't overlook a clue—'tain't in him." "That's so. And they wouldn't mean a thing to anybody else; but to him, why, they're just a book—large print at that." "Sure's you're born! Them odds and ends have got their little old secret, and they think there ain't anybody can pull it; but, land! when he sets his grip there they've got to squeal, and don't you forget it." "Boys, I ain't sorry, now, that he wasn't here to roust out the child; this is a bigger thing, by a long sight. Yes, sir, and more tangled up and scientific and intellectual." "I reckon we're all of us glad it's turned out this way. Glad? 'George! it ain't any name for it. Dontchuknow, Archy could 've learnt something if he'd had the nous to stand by and take notice of how that man works the system. But no; he went poking up into the chaparral and just missed the whole thing." "It's true as gospel; I seen it myself. Well, Archy's young. He'll know better one of these days." "Say, boys, who do you reckon done it?" That was a difficult question, and brought out a world of unsatisfying conjecture. Various men were mentioned as possibilities, but one by one they were discarded as not being eligible. No one but young Hillyer had been intimate with Flint Buckner; no one had really had a quarrel with him; he had affronted every man who had tried to make up to him, although not quite offensively enough to require bloodshed. There was one name that was upon every tongue from the start, but it was the last to get utterance—Fetlock Jones's. It was Pat Riley that mentioned it.

"Oh, well," the boys said, "of course we've all thought of him, because he had a million rights to kill Flint Buckner, and it was just his plain duty to do it. But all the same there's two things we can't get around, for one thing, he hasn't got the sand; and for another, he wasn't anywhere near the place when it happened." "I know it," said Pat. "He was there in the billiard-room with us when it happened." "Yes, and was there all the time for an hour before it happened." "It's so. And lucky for him, too. He'd have been suspected in a minute if it hadn't been for that."

PART II. CHAPTER II. TEIL II. KAPITEL II. ЧАСТЬ II. ГЛАВА II.

At eight o'clock that evening two persons were groping their way past Flint Buckner's cabin in the frosty gloom. О восьмій годині вечора двоє людей навпомацки пробиралися повз хатину Флінта Бакнера в морозній темряві. They were Sherlock Holmes and his nephew. Це були Шерлок Холмс і його племінник.

"Stop here in the road a moment, uncle," said Fetlock, "while I run to my cabin; I won't be gone a minute." "Зупиніться на дорозі на хвилинку, дядьку, - сказав Фетлок, - я збігаю до своєї хатини, я не відлучуся ні на хвилину". He asked for something—the uncle furnished it—then he disappeared in the darkness, but soon returned, and the talking-walk was resumed. Він щось попросив - дядько приніс, а потім зник у темряві, але незабаром повернувся, і розмова-прогулянка відновилася. By nine o'clock they had wandered back to the tavern. До дев'ятої години вони повернулися до таверни. They worked their way through the billiard-room, where a crowd had gathered in the hope of getting a glimpse of the Extraordinary Man. Вони пройшли через більярдну, де зібрався натовп в надії побачити Надзвичайну Людину. A royal cheer was raised. Піднялося королівське вітання. Mr. Holmes acknowledged the compliment with a series of courtly bows, and as he was passing out his nephew said to the assemblage, |||||||||polite and formal||||||||||||| Містер Холмс подякував за комплімент низкою ввічливих поклонів, а коли він відключався, його племінник звернувся до присутніх,

"Uncle Sherlock's got some work to do, gentlemen, that 'll keep him till twelve or one; but he'll be down again then, or earlier if he can, and hopes some of you'll be left to take a drink with him." |Sherlock's|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| "У дядька Шерлока є робота, джентльмени, яка затримає його до дванадцятої або до першої, але він повернеться пізніше або раніше, якщо зможе, і сподівається, що дехто з вас залишиться випити з ним". "By George, he's just a duke, boys! "Клянусь Джорджем, он просто герцог, ребята! "Клянуся Джорджем, він просто герцог, хлопці! Three cheers for Sherlock Holmes, the greatest man that ever lived!" Тричі ура Шерлоку Холмсу, найвеличнішій людині, яка коли-небудь жила!" shouted Ferguson. "Hip, hip, hip—" "Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah! Tiger!" Тигр!" The uproar shook the building, so hearty was the feeling the boys put into their welcome. Від галасу здригнулася вся будівля, настільки щирим було почуття, яке хлопці вклали у своє привітання. Upstairs the uncle reproached the nephew gently, saying, |||scolded|||| Нагорі дядько м'яко дорікнув племіннику, сказавши

"What did you get me into that engagement for?" "Навіщо ти втягнув мене в ці заручини?" "I reckon you don't want to be unpopular, do you, uncle? "Ти ж не хочеш бути непопулярним, дядьку? Well, then, don't you put on any exclusiveness in a mining-camp, that's all. |||||||exclusivity|||||| Ну, тоді не варто робити з себе виняткового в майнінг-таборі, ось і все. The boys admire you; but if you was to leave without taking a drink with them, they'd set you down for a snob. ||||||||||||||||||||||social climber Хлопці захоплюються тобою, але якщо ти підеш, не випивши з ними, вони вважатимуть тебе снобом. And, besides, you said you had home talk enough in stock to keep us up and at it half the night." И, кроме того, вы сказали, что у вас в запасе достаточно домашних разговоров, чтобы мы не спали всю ночь". І, крім того, ви сказали, що у вас в запасі достатньо домашніх розмов, щоб ми не спали по півночі". The boy was right, and wise—the uncle acknowledged it. Хлопчик був правий і мудрий - дядько визнав це. The boy was wise in another detail which he did not mention—except to himself: "Uncle and the others will come handy—in the way of nailing an alibi where it can't be budged." |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||moved Мальчик был мудр еще в одной детали, которую он не упоминал, разве что про себя: "Дядя и остальные пригодятся, чтобы прибить алиби там, где его невозможно сдвинуть с места". Хлопець виявився мудрим ще в одній деталі, про яку не згадував - хіба що для себе: "Дядько та інші стануть у пригоді, щоб забезпечити алібі там, де його не можна зрушити з місця". He and his uncle talked diligently about three hours. |||||with great effort||| Вони з дядьком старанно розмовляли близько трьох годин. Then, about midnight, Fetlock stepped down-stairs and took a position in the dark a dozen steps from the tavern, and waited. Потім, близько опівночі, Фетлок спустився вниз, зайняв позицію в темряві за десяток кроків від таверни і став чекати. Five minutes later Flint Buckner came rocking out of the billiard-room and almost brushed him as he passed. Через п'ять хвилин з більярдної вийшов Флінт Бакнер і ледь не зачепив його, коли проходив повз.

"I've got him!" "Я знайшов його!" muttered the boy. пробурмотів хлопчик. He continued to himself, looking after the shadowy form: "Good-by—good-by for good, Flint Buckner; you called my mother a—well, never mind what; it's all right, now; you're taking your last walk, friend." Він продовжував говорити, дивлячись услід тіні: "Прощавай-прощавай назавжди, Флінт Бакнер; ти назвав мою матір... ну, неважливо як; тепер все гаразд; ти йдеш на свою останню прогулянку, друже". He went musing back into the tavern. ||pondering|||| Він повернувся в роздумах до таверни. "From now till one is an hour. "Відтепер до першої години - година. We'll spend it with the boys; it's good for the alibi." Ми проведемо його з хлопцями, це добре для алібі". He brought Sherlock Holmes to the billiard-room, which was jammed with eager and admiring miners; the guest called the drinks, and the fun began. Він привів Шерлока Холмса до більярдної, яка була переповнена нетерплячими і захопленими шахтарями; гість назвав напої, і забава почалася. Everybody was happy; everybody was complimentary; the ice was soon broken; songs, anecdotes, and more drinks followed, and the pregnant minutes flew. |||||praising|||||||||||||||| Все были счастливы, все говорили комплименты, лед вскоре был сломан, последовали песни, анекдоты, еще больше выпивки, и беременные минуты полетели. Всі були щасливі, всі говорили компліменти, крига скоро скресла, почалися пісні, анекдоти, ще більше випивки, і вагітні хвилини пролетіли непомітно. At six minutes to one, when the jollity was at its highest— |||||||merriment|||| О шостій хвилині на першу, коли веселощі були на найвищому рівні...

BOOM!

There was silence instantly. Миттєво запанувала тиша. The deep sound came rolling and rumbling from peak to peak up the gorge, then died down, and ceased. ||||rolling|||||||||||||| Глибокий звук котився і гуркотів з вершини на вершину ущелини, потім стихав і припинявся. The spell broke, then, and the men made a rush for the door, saying, Тогда заклинание разрушилось, и мужчины бросились к двери, приговаривая, Тоді чари розвіялися, і чоловіки кинулися до дверей, кажучи

"Something's blown up!" Outside, a voice in the darkness said, "It's away down the gorge; I saw the flash." |||||||||||gorge|||| Ззовні голос у темряві сказав: "Це далеко в ущелині, я бачив спалах". The crowd poured down the canyon—Holmes, Fetlock, Archy Stillman, everybody. Натовп висипав у каньйон - Холмс, Фетлок, Арчі Стіллман, усі. They made the mile in a few minutes. Вони подолали милю за кілька хвилин. By the light of a lantern they found the smooth and solid dirt floor of Flint Buckner's cabin; of the cabin itself not a vestige remained, not a rag nor a splinter. ||||||||||||||||||||||||trace|||||||wood fragment При світлі ліхтаря вони знайшли гладку і тверду земляну підлогу хатини Флінта Бакнера; від самої хатини не залишилося жодного сліду, ні ганчірки, ні скалки. Nor any sign of Flint. І жодних ознак Флінта. Search-parties sought here and there and yonder, and presently a cry went up. ||searched|||||over there|||||| Поисковые отряды искали то тут, то там, то там, и вскоре раздался крик. Пошукові загони шукали тут і там, аж раптом пролунав крик.

"Here he is!" It was true. Fifty yards down the gulch they had found him—that is, they had found a crushed and lifeless mass which represented him. ||||narrow ravine||||||||||||||||| За п'ятдесят ярдів нижче по яру вони знайшли його - тобто, вони знайшли розчавлену і бездиханну масу, яка представляла його. Fetlock Jones hurried thither with the others and looked. Фетлок Джонс поспішив туди разом з іншими і подивився.

The inquest was a fifteen-minute affair. |investigation||||| Допит тривав п'ятнадцять хвилин. Ham Sandwich, foreman of the jury, handed up the verdict, which was phrased with a certain unstudied literary grace, and closed with this finding, to wit: that "deceased came to his death by his own act or some other person or persons unknown to this jury not leaving any family or similar effects behind but his cabin which was blown away and God have mercy on his soul amen." ||jury leader||||||||||||||natural effortless|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Голова суду присяжних Хам Сендвіч виніс вердикт, який був сформульований з якоюсь невивченою літературною витонченістю, і завершився таким висновком: "Покійний помер від власного вчинку або іншої особи чи осіб, невідомих цим присяжним, не залишивши після себе сім'ї або подібних наслідків, окрім своєї хатини, яка була підірвана, і нехай Господь змилується над його душею, амінь.". Then the impatient jury rejoined the main crowd, for the storm-centre of interest was there—Sherlock Holmes. Затем нетерпеливые присяжные присоединились к основной толпе, ведь центр бурного интереса был именно там - Шерлок Холмс. Потім нетерпляче журі приєдналося до основного натовпу, адже там був центр інтересу - Шерлок Холмс. The miners stood silent and reverent in a half-circle, inclosing a large vacant space which included the front exposure of the site of the late premises. |||||respectful|||||surrounding|||||||||||||||| Шахтарі стояли мовчки і благоговійно півколом, охоплюючи великий вільний простір, який включав передню експозицію місця колишнього приміщення. In this considerable space the Extraordinary Man was moving about, attended by his nephew with a lantern. По этому значительному пространству передвигался Необыкновенный Человек в сопровождении своего племянника с фонарем. У цьому чималому просторі пересувався Надзвичайний Чоловік, якого супроводжував його племінник з ліхтарем. With a tape he took measurements of the cabin site; of the distance from the wall of chaparral to the road; of the height of the chaparral bushes; also various other measurements. |||||||||||||||||shrubland|||||||||||||| За допомогою рулетки він виміряв місце для хатини; відстань від стіни чапарралю до дороги; висоту кущів чапарралю; а також різні інші виміри. He gathered a rag here, a splinter there, and a pinch of earth yonder, inspected them profoundly, and preserved them. |||||||||||||over there|||||| Він зібрав ганчірку тут, скалку там, щіпку землі там, ретельно оглянув їх і зберіг. He took the "lay" of the place with a pocket-compass, allowing two seconds for magnetic variation. |||lay||||||||||||| Він виміряв місце за допомогою кишенькового компаса, даючи дві секунди на зміну магнітного поля. He took the time (Pacific) by his watch, correcting it for local time. Він виміряв час (тихоокеанський) за своїм годинником, скоригувавши його на місцевий час. He paced off the distance from the cabin site to the corpse, and corrected that for tidal differentiation. |||||||||||||||||differentiation Він виміряв відстань від місця знаходження каюти до трупа і скоригував її з урахуванням припливів і відливів. He took the altitude with a pocket-aneroid, and the temperature with a pocket-thermometer. |||||||aneroid barometer|||||||thermometer Висоту він вимірював кишеньковим анероїдом, а температуру - кишеньковим термометром. Finally he said, with a stately bow: Нарешті він сказав, статечно вклонившись:

"It is finished. "Все закінчено. Shall we return, gentlemen?" He took up the line of march for the tavern, and the crowd fell into his wake, earnestly discussing and admiring the Extraordinary Man, and interlarding guesses as to the origin of the tragedy and who the author of it might he. |||||||||||||||||seriously||||||||interspersing|||||||||||||||| Він попрямував до таверни, і натовп рушив за ним, щиро обговорюючи і захоплюючись Незвичайною Людиною, і переплітаючи здогадки про походження трагедії і про те, хто міг би бути її автором.

"My, but it's grand luck having him here—hey, boys?" "Боже, але це велика удача, що він тут, так, хлопці?" said Ferguson.

"It's the biggest thing of the century," said Ham Sandwich. "It 'll go all over the world; you mark my words." "Це піде по всьому світу, згадайте мої слова". "You bet!" said Jake Parker, the blacksmith. "It 'll boom this camp. Ain't it so, Wells-Fargo?" "Well, as you want my opinion—if it's any sign of how I think about it, I can tell you this: yesterday I was holding the Straight Flush claim at two dollars a foot; I'd like to see the man that can get it at sixteen today." "Що ж, якщо вам потрібна моя думка - якщо це хоч якось відображає те, що я думаю про це, то я можу сказати вам ось що: вчора я тримав стрейт-флеш по два долари за фунт; я хотів би побачити людину, яка зможе отримати його сьогодні за шістнадцять". "Right you are, Wells-Fargo! It's the grandest luck a new camp ever struck. Це найбільша удача, яка коли-небудь траплялася новому табору. Say, did you see him collar them little rags and dirt and things? Вы видели, как он надевает на них тряпки, грязь и прочее? Скажіть, ви бачили, як він надягав нашийник на ці маленькі ганчірки, бруд і все таке? What an eye! He just can't overlook a clue—'tain't in him." ||||||it isn't|| Він просто не може не помітити підказку - вона в ньому". "That's so. And they wouldn't mean a thing to anybody else; but to him, why, they're just a book—large print at that." Для когось іншого вони б нічого не означали, але для нього вони просто книжковий великий шрифт". "Sure's you're born! Sure is|| "Звичайно, ти народився! Them odds and ends have got their little old secret, and they think there ain't anybody can pull it; but, land! У цих диваків є своя маленька стара таємниця, і вони думають, що ніхто не зможе її розгадати; але, земля! when he sets his grip there they've got to squeal, and don't you forget it." |||||||||make a noise||||| коли він накладає хватку, вони повинні верещати, і не забувайте про це". "Boys, I ain't sorry, now, that he wasn't here to roust out the child; this is a bigger thing, by a long sight. ||||||||||rouse|||||||||||| "Хлопці, я не шкодую, що його не було тут, щоб визволити дитину; це набагато важливіша річ. Yes, sir, and more tangled up and scientific and intellectual." Так, сер, і більш заплутаним, науковим та інтелектуальним". "I reckon we're all of us glad it's turned out this way. |think believe suppose|||||||||| "Думаю, ми всі раді, що все так склалося. Glad? 'George! it ain't any name for it. Це не має назви. Dontchuknow, Archy could 've learnt something if he'd had the nous to stand by and take notice of how that man works the system. Дончук знає, що Арчі міг би чогось навчитися, якби мав мужність стояти поруч і спостерігати за тим, як цей чоловік працює в системі. But no; he went poking up into the chaparral and just missed the whole thing." ||||||||shrubland|||||| Але ні, він пішов зазирнути в капелу і просто все пропустив". "It's true as gospel; I seen it myself. |||truth|||| Well, Archy's young. He'll know better one of these days." Одного дня він зрозуміє, що це не так". "Say, boys, who do you reckon done it?" That was a difficult question, and brought out a world of unsatisfying conjecture. Это был сложный вопрос, который породил целый мир неудовлетворительных догадок. Це було складне питання, і воно породило цілий світ незадовільних здогадок. Various men were mentioned as possibilities, but one by one they were discarded as not being eligible. ||||||||||||||||qualified No one but young Hillyer had been intimate with Flint Buckner; no one had really had a quarrel with him; he had affronted every man who had tried to make up to him, although not quite offensively enough to require bloodshed. ||||||||||||||||||||||insulted||||||||||||||||||violence killing Никто, кроме молодого Хиллиера, не был близок с Флинтом Бакнером; никто по-настоящему не ссорился с ним; он оскорблял каждого, кто пытался загладить свою вину, хотя и не настолько обидно, чтобы требовать кровопролития. Ніхто, крім молодого Гіллера, не мав інтимних стосунків з Флінтом Бакнером; ніхто з ним по-справжньому не сварився; він ображав кожного, хто намагався загладити свою провину, хоча й не настільки образливо, щоб вимагати кровопролиття. There was one name that was upon every tongue from the start, but it was the last to get utterance—Fetlock Jones's. |||||||||||||||||||spoken aloud|| Одно имя было на слуху с самого начала, но его произнесли последним - имя Фетлока Джонса. Було одне ім'я, яке було на язиці від самого початку, але його вимовили останнім - Фетлок Джонс. It was Pat Riley that mentioned it. |||Riley|||

"Oh, well," the boys said, "of course we've all thought of him, because he had a million rights to kill Flint Buckner, and it was just his plain duty to do it. "О, ну, - сказали хлопці, - звичайно, ми всі про нього подумали, адже він мав мільйон прав вбити Флінта Бакнера, і зробити це було його прямим обов'язком". But all the same there's two things we can't get around, for one thing, he hasn't got the sand; and for another, he wasn't anywhere near the place when it happened." Но все же есть две вещи, которые мы не можем обойти: во-первых, у него нет песка, а во-вторых, его не было поблизости, когда это случилось". Але все одно є дві речі, які ми не можемо обійти: по-перше, у нього немає піску, а по-друге, його не було поруч з тим місцем, коли це сталося". "I know it," said Pat. "He was there in the billiard-room with us when it happened." "Yes, and was there all the time for an hour before it happened." "It's so. And lucky for him, too. He'd have been suspected in a minute if it hadn't been for that." Якби не це, його б запідозрили за хвилину".