On the very day that I had come to this conclusion, I was standing at the Criterion Bar, when someone tapped me on the shoulder, and turning round I recognized young Stamford, who had been a dresser(/'drɛsɚ/n.化妝師；裹傷員) under me at Bart’s. The sight of a friendly face in the great wilderness(/'wɪldɚnəs/n.茫茫一片,茫茫人海) of London is a pleasant thing indeed(/ɪn’did/ adv.真正地；甚至) to a lonely man. In old days Stamford had never been a particular(特別的) crony( /'kroni/n. 密友；好朋友) of mine, but now I hailed him with enthusiasm
( /ɛn’θuzɪæzəm/n. 熱情),and he, in his turn, appeared to be delighted( /dɪ’laɪtɪd/adj. 高興的) to see me. In the exuberance（/ɪg’zjʊbərəns/n. 豐富 (感情等的)過度(或極度)表現） of my joy, I asked him to lunch with me at the Holborn, and we started off together in a hansom.（ /'hænsəm/n. 出租馬車）
就在我決定這樣做的那天，我正站在克萊梯利安酒吧門前的時候，忽然有人拍了拍我的肩膀。我回頭一看， 原來是小斯坦弗。他是我在巴茨時的一個助手。在這茫茫人海的倫敦城中，居然能夠碰到一個熟人，對於一個孤獨的人來說，確是一件令人非常愉快的事。斯坦弗當日並不是和我特別要好的朋友，但現在我竟熱情地向他招呼起來。他見到我，似乎也很高興。我在狂喜之餘，立刻邀他到侯本餐廳去吃午飯；於是我們就一同乘車前往。
“Whatever have you been doing with yourself, Watson?” he asked in undisguised wonder, as we rattled（/'rætl/ vi. 喋喋不休地講話）through the crowded London streets.“You are as thin as a lath（ /læθ/n. 板條；瘦人） and as brown as a nut.”
當我們的車子轔轔地穿過倫敦熱鬧街道的時候，他很驚破地問我：“華生，你近來幹些什麼？看你面黃肌瘦，只剩了一把骨頭了。”
I gave him a short sketch（ /skɛtʃ/n. 素描；略圖；梗概） of my adventures, and had hardly concluded it by the time that we reached our destination.（ /,destɪ’neɪʃ(ə)n/）
我把我的危險經歷簡單地對他敘述了一下。我的話還沒有講完，我們就到達了目的地。
“Poor devil!”（ /'dɛvl/n.冒失鬼） he said, commiseratingly（ 憐憫地）, after he had listened to my misfortunes（不幸）. “What are you up to now?”
“Looking for lodgings,”（ /'lɑdʒɪŋ/n.寄宿處） I answered. “Trying to solve the problem as to whether it is possible to get comfortable rooms at a reasonable price.”
他聽完了我的不幸遭遇以後，憐憫地說：“可憐的傢伙！你現在作何打算呢？”我回答說：“我想找個住處，打算租幾間價錢不高而又舒適一些的房子，不知道這個問題能不能夠解決。”
“That’s a strange thing,” remarked my companion; “you are the second man today that has used that expression to me.”
我的夥伴說：“這真是怪事，今天你是第二個對我說這樣話的人了。”
“And who was the first?” I asked.
“A fellow who is working at the chemical laboratory（ /ˈlæbrəˌtɔrɪ/ n. 實驗室，研究室） up at the hospital. He was bemoaning himself this morning because he could not get someone to go halves with him in some nice rooms which he had found, and which were too much for his purse.”
我問道：“頭一個是誰？”
“是一個在醫院化驗室工作的。今天早晨他還在唉聲嘆氣，因爲他找到了幾間好房子，但是，租金很貴，他一個人住不起，又找不到人跟他合租。”
“By Jove!” I cried; “if he really wants someone to share the rooms and the expense, I am the very man for him. I should prefer having a partner to being alone.”
我說：“好啊，如果他真的要找個人合住的話，我倒正是他要找的人。我覺得有個伴兒比獨自一個兒住要好 的多。”
Young Stamford looked rather strangely at me over his wineglass.“You don’t know Sherlock Holmes yet,” he said; “perhaps you would not care for him as a constant companion.”
“Why, what is there against him?”
小斯坦弗從酒杯上很驚破地望着我，他說：“你還不知道歇洛克•福爾摩斯吧，否則你也許會不願意和他作 一個長年相處的夥伴哩。”
“爲什麼，難道他有什麼不好的地方嗎？”
“Oh, I didn’t say there was anything against him. He is a little queer（ /kwɪr/ adj. 奇怪的） in his ideas–an enthusiast（ /ɪn’θuzɪæst/n. 愛好者，熱心家） in some branches of science. As far as I know he is a decent（/'disnt/adj. 正派的） fellow enough.”
“A medical student, I suppose?” said I.
“哦，我不是說他有什麼不好的地方。他只是思想上有些古怪而已——他老是孜孜不倦地在研究一些科學。
據我所知，他倒是個很正派的人。”
我說：“也許他是一個學醫的吧？”
“No–I have no idea what he intends（打算） to go in for. I believe he is well up in anatomy（ /ə’nætəmi/n.解剖學）, and he is a first-class chemist; but, as far as I know, he has never taken out any systematic medical classes. His studies are very desultory（ /'des(ə)lt(ə)rɪ / adj. 斷斷續續的）and eccentric（/ɪk’sɛntrɪk/ n. 古怪的人）, but he has amassed （ /ə’mæs/ vt. 積聚，積累）a lot of out-of-the-way knowledge which would astonish his professors.
“不是，我一點也摸不清他在鑽研些什麼。我相信他精於解剖學，又是個第一流的藥劑師。但是，據我了 解，他從來沒有系統地學過醫學。他所研究的東西非常雜亂，不成系統，並且也很離破；但是他卻積累了不少 稀破古怪的知識，足以使他的教授都感到驚訝。”
“Did you never ask him what he was going in for?” I asked.
“No; he is not a man that it is easy to draw out, though he can be communicative enough when the fancy seizes him.”
我問道：“你從來沒有問過他在鑽研些什麼嗎？”
“沒有，他是不輕易說出心裏話的，雖然在他高興的時候，他也是滔滔不絕地很愛說話。”