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Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 13. Fixing the Nets

“We’re at close grips 握 at last,” said Holmes as we walked together across the moor 泊. “What a nerve 神经 the fellow has! How he pulled himself together in the face of what must have been a paralyzing 瘫痪 shock when he found that the wrong man had fallen fall a victim 受害者 to his plot 情节. I told you in London, Watson, and I tell you now again, that we have never had a foeman more worthy 值得 of our steel 钢.”

“I am sorry 对不起的 that he has seen you.”

“And so was I at first. But there was no getting out of it.”

“What effect do you think it will have upon his plans now that he knows you are here?”

“It may cause him to be more cautious 小心的, or it may drive him to desperate 殊死 measures at once. Like most clever 聪明的 criminals 罪犯, he may be too confident 确信的 in his own cleverness and imagine that he has completely deceived 欺诈 us.”

“Why should we not arrest 逮捕 him at once?”

“My dear Watson, you were born bear to be a man of action. Your instinct 直觉 is always to do something energetic 有活力. But supposing, for argument 论据’s sake 缘故, that we had him arrested 逮捕 tonight 今晚, what on earth the better off should we be for that? We could prove nothing against him. There’s the devilish cunning 狡猾 of it! If he were acting through a human agent we could get some evidence 证据, but if we were to drag 拖拽 this great dog to the light of day it would not help us in putting a rope 粗绳 round the neck of its master.”

“Surely we have a case.”

“Not a shadow of one—only surmise and conjecture 推测. We should be laughed out of court if we came with such a story and such evidence 证据.”

“There is Sir 先生 Charles’s death.”

“Found dead without a mark upon him. You and I know that he died of sheer fright 恐怖, and we know also what frightened 使惊恐 him, but how are we to get twelve 十二 stolid jurymen to know it? What signs are there of a hound 猎犬? Where are the marks of its fangs? Of course we know that a hound 猎犬 does not bite 咬 a dead body and that Sir 先生 Charles was dead before ever the brute 畜生 overtook him. But we have to prove all this, and we are not in a position to do it.”

“Well, then, tonight 今晚?”

“We are not much better off tonight. Again, there was no direct connection between the hound 猎犬 and the man’s death. We never saw the hound 猎犬. We heard it, but we could not prove that it was running upon this man’s trail 乡间小道. There is a complete absence 缺席 of motive 动机. No, my dear fellow; we must reconcile 调和 ourselves 我们自己 to the fact that we have no case at present, and that it is worth our while to run any risk in order to establish 建立 one.”

“And how do you propose to do so?”

“I have great hopes of what Mrs. Laura Lyons may do for us when the position of affairs is made clear to her. And I have my own plan as well. Sufficient 足够 for tomorrow is the evil thereof 其; but I hope before the day is past to have the upper hand at last.”

I could draw nothing further from him, and he walked, lost in thought, as far as the Baskerville gates 门.

“Are you coming up?”

“Yes; I see no reason for further concealment. But one last word, Watson. Say nothing of the hound 猎犬 to Sir 先生 Henry. Let him think that Selden’s death was as Stapleton would have us believe. He will have a better nerve 神经 for the ordeal 考验 which he will have to undergo 经历 tomorrow, when he is engaged 从事, if I remember your report aright, to dine 吃饭 with these people.”

“And so am I.”

“Then you must excuse 原谅 your‧self 你自己 and he must go alone. That will be easily arranged. And now, if we are too late for dinner, I think that we are both ready for our suppers 晚饭.”

Sir 3 Henry was more pleased than surprised to see Sherlock Holmes, for he had for some days been expecting that recent events would bring him down from London. He did raise his eye‧brow 眉, however, when he found that my friend had neither any luggage 行李 nor any explanations 说明 for its absence 缺席. Between us we soon supplied his wants, and then over a belated supper 晚饭 we explained to the baronet as much of our experience as it seemed desirable 合意 that he should know. But first I had the unpleasant 不愉快 duty of breaking the news to Barrymore and his wife. To him it may have been an unmitigated relief, but she wept weep bitterly in her apron 围裙. To all the world he was the man of violence 暴力, half animal and half demon 恶魔; but to her he always remained the little wilful boy of her own girl‧hood 女孩‧引擎罩, the child who had clung to her hand. Evil indeed is the man who has not one woman to mourn 悼 him.

“I’ve been moping 拖把 in the house all day since Watson went off in the morning,” said the baronet. “I guess I should have some credit 信用, for I have kept my promise. If I hadn’t sworn 发誓:swear not to go about alone I might have had a more lively evening, for I had a message from Stapleton asking me over there.”

“I have no doubt that you would have had a more lively evening,” said Holmes drily. “By the way, I don’t suppose you appreciate 欣赏 that we have been mourning 悼 over you as having broken break your neck?”

Sir Henry opened his eyes. “How was that?”

“This poor wretch 不幸的人 was dressed in your clothes. I fear your servant 仆人 who gave them to him may get into trouble with the police.”

“That is unlikely 不会. There was no mark on any of them, as far as I know.”

“That’s lucky 幸运 for him—in fact, it’s lucky 幸运 for all of you, since you are all on the wrong side of the law in this matter. I am not sure that as a conscientious 有良心 detective 侦探 my first duty is not to arrest 逮捕 the whole house‧hold 家庭. Watson’s reports are most incriminating documents 文件.”

“But how about the case?” asked the baronet. “Have you made anything out of the tangle 纠纷? I don’t know that Watson and I are much the wiser 明智的；聪明的 since we came down.”

“I think that I shall be in a position to make the situation rather more clear to you before long. It has been an exceedingly 非常 difficult and most complicated 使复杂化 business. There are several points upon which we still want light—but it is coming all the same.”

“We’ve had one experience, as Watson has no doubt told you. We heard the hound 猎犬 on the moor 泊, so I can swear 发誓 that it is not all empty superstition 迷信. I had something to do with dogs when I was out West, and I know one when I hear one. If you can muzzle that one and put him on a chain I’ll be ready to swear you are the greatest detective 侦探 of all time.”

“I think I will muzzle him and chain him all right if you will give me your help.”

“Whatever you tell me to do I will do.”

“Very good; and I will ask you also to do it blindly, without always asking the reason.”

“Just as you like.”

“If you will do this I think the chances are that our little problem will soon be solved 解决. I have no doubt—”

He stopped suddenly and stared fixedly up over my head into the air. The lamp 灯 beat upon his face, and so intent 意图 was it and so still that it might have been that of a clear-cut classical 古典 statue 雕像, a personification of alertness and expectation 期望.

“What is it?” we both cried.

I could see as he looked down that he was repressing 抑 some internal 内部 emotion 情感. His features 特征 were still composed, but his eyes shone 发光:shine with amused 使人发笑 exultation.

“ Excuse 原谅 the admiration 钦佩 of a connoisseur,” said he as he waved his hand towards the line of portraits 肖像 which covered the opposite wall. “Watson won win’t allow that I know anything of art but that is mere jealousy 妒忌 because our views upon the subject differ 不同. Now, these are a really very fine series 系列 of portraits 肖像.”

“Well, I’m glad 高兴的 to hear you say so,” said Sir Henry, glancing 一瞥 with some surprise at my friend. “I don’t pretend 假装 to know much about these things, and I’d be a better judge of a horse or a steer 驾驶 than of a picture. I didn’t know that you found time for such things.”

“I know what is good when I see it, and I see it now. That’s a Kneller, I’ll swear 发誓, that lady in the blue silk 丝 over yonder, and the stout 肥硕 gentle‧man 先生 with the wig 假发 ought to be a Reynolds. They are all family portraits 肖像, I presume 假设?”

“Every one.”

“Do you know the names?”

“Barrymore has been coaching 教练 me in them, and I think I can say my lessons 教训 fairly well.”

“Who is the gentleman with the telescope 望远镜?”

“That is Rear-Admiral Baskerville, who served under Rodney in the West Indies. The man with the blue coat and the roll of paper is Sir William Baskerville, who was Chairman of Committees of the House of Commons under Pitt.”

“And this Cavalier opposite to me—the one with the black velvet 丝绒 and the lace 花边?”

“Ah, you have a right to know about him. That is the cause of all the mischief 恶作剧, the wicked 邪恶的 Hugo, who started the Hound of the Baskervilles. We’re not likely to forget him.”

I gazed 凝视 with interest and some surprise upon the portrait 肖像.

“Dear me!” said Holmes, “he seems a quiet, meek-mannered man enough, but I dare 敢 say that there was a lurking 匿伏 devil 魔鬼 in his eyes. I had pictured him as a more robust 强大的 and ruffianly person.”

“There’s no doubt about the authenticity 真伪, for the name and the date, 1647, are on the back of the canvas 帆布.”

Holmes said little more, but the picture of the old roysterer seemed to have a fascination 魅力 for him, and his eyes were continually 不断 fixed upon it during supper 晚饭. It was not until later, when Sir Henry had gone to his room, that I was able to follow the trend 趋势 of his thoughts. He led me back into the banqueting 宴会-hall, his bed‧room 卧室 candle 蜡烛 in his hand, and he held it up against the time-stained portrait 肖像 on the wall.

“Do you see anything there?”

I looked at the broad plumed 羽 hat, the curling 一绺鬈发 love-locks, the white lace 花边 collar 衣领, and the straight, severe 严峻的 face which was framed between them. It was not a brutal 野蛮 countenance 面容, but it was prim, hard, and stern 严肃, with a firm-set, thin-lipped mouth, and a coldly intolerant eye.

“Is it like anyone you know?”

“There is something of Sir Henry about the jaw 下巴.”

“Just a suggestion 建议, perhaps. But wait an instant 瞬间!” He stood upon a chair, and, holding up the light in his left hand, he curved his right arm over the broad hat and round the long ringlets.

“Good heavens 天!” I cried in amazement 惊愕.

The face of Stapleton had sprung out of the canvas 帆布.

“Ha, you see it now. My eyes have been trained to examine faces and not their trimmings 修剪. It is the first quality of a criminal 罪犯 investigator that he should see through a disguise 伪装.”

“But this is marvellous. It might be his portrait 肖像.”

“Yes, it is an interesting instance 例 of a throw‧back 投掷‧背；往回, which appears to be both physical 物理 and spiritual 精神. A study of family portraits 肖像 is enough to convert 转变 a man to the doctrine 教义 of reincarnation. The fellow is a Baskerville—that is evident 明显.”

“With designs upon the success‧ion 演替.”

“Exactly. This chance of the picture has supplied us with one of our most obvious 明显 missing links 链接. We have him, Watson, we have him, and I dare 敢 swear 3 that before tomorrow night he will be fluttering 扑 in our net 网 as help‧less 无助 as one of his own butter‧fly 蝴蝶. A pin 钉, a cork 软木塞, and a card, and we add him to the Baker Street collection!” He burst 爆裂 into one of his rare fits of laughter 笑 as he turned away from the picture. I have not heard him laugh often, and it has always boded ill 生病 to somebody.

I was up betimes in the morning, but Holmes was afoot earlier still, for I saw him as I dressed, coming up the drive.

“Yes, we should have a full day today,” he remarked, and he rubbed 擦 his hands with the joy 喜悦 of action. “The nets 网 are all in place, and the drag 拖拽 is about to begin. We’ll know before the day is out whether we have caught catch our big, leanjawed pike, or whether he has got through the meshes 网孔.”

“Have you been on the moor 泊 already?”

“I have sent send a report from Grimpen to Princetown as to the death of Selden. I think I can promise that none of you will be troubled in the matter. And I have also communicated 通信 with my faithful 可信 Cartwright, who would certainly have pined 松树 away at the door of my hut 小屋, as a dog does at his master’s grave 坟墓；严重的, if I had not set his mind at rest about my safety 安全.”

“What is the next move?”

“To see Sir Henry. Ah, here he is!”

“Good-morning, Holmes,” said the baronet. “You look like a general who is planning a battle with his chief of the staff.”

“That is the exact situation. Watson was asking for orders.”

“And so do I.”

“Very good. You are engaged 从事, as I understand, to dine 吃饭 with our friends the Stapletons tonight 3.”

“I hope that you will come also. They are very hospitable people, and I am sure that they would be very glad 高兴的 to see you.”

“I fear that Watson and I must go to London.”

“To London?”

“Yes, I think that we should be more useful 有用 there at the present juncture 契机.”

The baronet’s face perceptibly lengthened 延长.

“I hoped that you were going to see me through this business. The Hall and the moor 泊 are not very pleasant places when one is alone.”

“My dear fellow, you must trust me implicitly 隐式 and do exactly what I tell you. You can tell your friends that we should have been happy to have come with you, but that urgent 急迫的 business required us to be in town. We hope very soon to return to Devonshire. Will you remember to give them that message?”

“If you insist 咬定 upon it.”

“There is no alter‧native 替代, I assure 向…保证；肯定地说 you.”

I saw by the baronet’s clouded brow 眉头 that he was deeply hurt 损害 by what he regarded as our desert‧ion 沙漠；抛弃‧离子.

“When do you desire to go?” he asked coldly.

“Immediately after break‧fast 早餐. We will drive in to Coombe Tracey, but Watson will leave his things as a pledge 保证 that he will come back to you. Watson, you will send a note to Stapleton to tell him that you regret 后悔 that you cannot come.”

“I have a good mind to go to London with you,” said the baronet. “Why should I stay here alone?”

“Because it is your post of duty. Because you gave me your word that you would do as you were told, and I tell you to stay.”

“All right, then, I’ll stay.”

“One more direction! I wish you to drive to Merripit House. Send back your trap 陷阱；诱骗, however, and let them know that you intend to walk home.”

“To walk across the moor 泊?”

“Yes.”

“But that is the very thing which you have so often cautioned 小心 me not to do.”

“This time you may do it with safety 安全. If I had not every confidence 信心 in your nerve 神经 and courage 勇气 I would not suggest it, but it is essential that you should do it.”

“Then I will do it.”

“And as you value your life do not go across the moor 泊 in any direction save along the straight path 小路 which leads from Merripit House to the Grimpen Road, and is your natural 自然 way home.”

“I will do just what you say.”

“Very good. I should be glad to get away as soon after break‧fast 早餐 as possible, so as to reach London in the afternoon.”

I was much astounded 惊奇 by this programme, though I remembered that Holmes had said to Stapleton on the night before that his visit would terminate 终止 next day. It had not crossed my mind however, that he would wish me to go with him, nor could I understand how we could both be absent 缺席的 at a moment which he himself declared to be critical 危急. There was nothing for it, however, but implicit 含蓄 obedience 遵守; so we bade good-bye 再见 to our rueful friend, and a couple of hours after‧ward 之后 we were at the station of Coombe Tracey and had dispatched 调度 the trap 陷阱；诱骗 upon its return journey 旅行. A small boy was waiting upon the platform 平台.

“Any orders, sir?”

“You will take this train to town, Cartwright. The moment you arrive you will send a wire to Sir Henry Baskerville, in my name, to say that if he finds the pocket‧book 口袋‧书 which I have dropped he is to send it by registered 寄存器 post to Baker Street.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And ask at the station office if there is a message for me.”

The boy returned with a telegram 电报, which Holmes handed to me. It ran:

Wire received. Coming down with unsigned war‧rant 保证. Arrive five-forty 四十. Lestrade.

“That is in answer to mine of this morning. He is the best of the professionals 专业的, I think, and we may need his assistance 帮助. Now, Watson, I think that we cannot employ our time better than by calling upon your acquaintance 熟人, Mrs. Laura Lyons.”

His plan of campaign 运动 was beginning to be evident 明显. He would use the baronet in order to convince 说服 the Stapletons that we were really gone, while we should actually return at the instant 瞬间 when we were likely to be needed. That telegram 电报 from London, if mentioned by Sir Henry to the Stapletons, must remove 去掉 the last suspicions 怀疑 from their minds. Already I seemed to see our nets drawing closer around that leanjawed pike.

Mrs. Laura Lyons was in her office, and Sherlock Holmes opened his interview 访问 with a frankness and directness which consider‧able 相当 amazed 惊奇 her.

“I am investigating 调查 the circumstances 环境 which attended the death of the late Sir Charles Baskerville,” said he. “My friend here, Dr. Watson, has informed me of what you have communicated 通信, and also of what you have withheld in connection with that matter.”

“What have I withheld?” she asked defiantly 目中无人.

“You have confessed 供认 that you asked Sir Charles to be at the gate 门 at ten 十 o’ clock 钟. We know that that was the place and hour of his death. You have withheld what the connection is between these events.”

“There is no connection.”

“In that case the coincidence 巧合 must indeed be an extra‧ordinary 非凡的 one. But I think that we shall succeed in establishing 建立 a connection, after all. I wish to be perfectly frank 坦率 with you, Mrs. Lyons. We regard this case as one of murder, and the evidence 证据 may implicate 连累 not only your friend Mr. Stapleton but his wife as well.”

The lady sprang from her chair.

“His wife!” she cried.

“The fact is no longer a secret. The person who has passed for his sister 姐妹 is really his wife.”

Mrs. Lyons had resumed 恢复 her seat. Her hands were grasping 把握 the arms of her chair, and I saw that the pink 粉红色的 nails 钉子 had turned white with the pressure of her grip 握.

“His wife!” she said again. “His wife! He is not a married man.”

Sherlock Holmes shrugged 耸 his shoulders.

“Prove it to me! Prove it to me! And if you can do so—!”

The fierce 凶猛的 flash 使闪光 of her eyes said more than any words.

“I have come prepared to do so,” said Holmes, drawing several papers from his pocket 口袋. “Here is a photograph 照片 of the couple taken in York four years ago. It is indorsed ‘Mr. and Mrs. Vandeleur,’ but you will have no difficulty in recognizing him, and her also, if you know her by sight. Here are three written descriptions by trust‧worthy 可靠 witnesses of Mr. and Mrs. Vandeleur, who at that time kept St. Oliver’s private school. Read them and see if you can doubt the identity 身分 of these people.”

She glanced 一瞥 at them, and then looked up at us with the set, rigid 死板 face of a desperate 殊死 woman.

“Mr. Holmes,” she said, “this man had offered me marriage on condition that I could get a divorce 离婚 from my husband. He has lied lie to me, the villain 恶棍, in every conceivable 可以想象 way. Not one word of truth has he ever told me. And why—why? I imagined that all was for my own sake 缘故. But now I see that I was never anything but a tool in his hands. Why should I preserve faith with him who never kept any with me? Why should I try to shield 盾 him from the consequences 后果 of his own wicked 邪恶的 acts? Ask me what you like, and there is nothing which I shall hold back. One thing I swear to you, and that is that when I wrote the letter I never dreamed dream of any harm 损害 to the old gentleman, who had been my kindest friend.”

“I entirely believe you, madam 夫人,” said Sherlock Holmes. “The recital 演奏会 of these events must be very painful 痛苦 to you, and perhaps it will make it easier if I tell you what occurred 发生, and you can check me if I make any material mistake. The sending of this letter was suggested to you by Stapleton?”

“He dictated 听写 it.”

“I presume 假设 that the reason he gave was that you would receive help from Sir Charles for the legal 法律 expenses connected 连接 with your divorce 离婚?”

“Exactly.”

“And then after you had sent the letter he dissuaded you from keeping the appointment 约定?”

“He told me that it would hurt 损害 his self 自己-respect that any other man should find the money for such an object, and that though he was a poor man himself he would devote 奉献 his last penny 便士 to removing 去掉 the obstacles 障碍 which divided us.”

“He appears to be a very consistent 一贯 character. And then you heard nothing until you read the reports of the death in the paper?”

“No.”

“And he made you swear to say nothing about your appointment 约定 with Sir Charles?”

“He did. He said that the death was a very mysterious 神秘 one, and that I should certainly be suspected 怀疑；嫌疑犯 if the facts came out. He frightened me into remaining silent.”

“Quite so. But you had your suspicions?”

She hesitated 犹豫 and looked down.

“I knew him,” she said. “But if he had kept faith with me I should always have done so with him.”

“I think that on the whole you have had a fortunate 侥幸的 escape,” said Sherlock Holmes. “You have had him in your power and he knew it, and yet you are alive 活的；有生命的. You have been walking for some months very near to the edge of a precipice. We must wish you good-morning now, Mrs. Lyons, and it is probable that you will very shortly hear from us again.”

“Our case becomes rounded off, and difficulty after difficulty thins away in front of us,” said Holmes as we stood waiting for the arrival 到达 of the express from town. “I shall soon be in the position of being able to put into a single connected narrative 叙述 one of the most singular 单数 and sensational 轰动的 crimes 罪行 of modern times. Students of criminology will remember the analogous 类似 incidents 事件 in Godno, in Little Russia, in the year ‘66, and of course there are the Anderson murders in North Carolina, but this case possesses 拥有 some features 特征 which are entirely its own. Even now we have no clear case against this very wily man. But I shall be very much surprised if it is not clear enough before we go to bed this night.”

The London express came roaring 咆哮 into the station, and a small, wiry bull‧dog 公牛‧狗 of a man had sprung from a first-class carriage 运输. We all three shook shake hands, and I saw at once from the reverential way in which Lestrade gazed 凝视 at my companion 同伴 that he had learned learn a good deal since the days when they had first worked together. I could well remember the scorn 鄙视 which the theories 理论 of the reasoner used then to excite in the practical man.

“Anything good?” he asked.

“The biggest thing for years,” said Holmes. “We have two hours before we need think of starting. I think we might employ it in getting some dinner and then, Lestrade, we will take the London fog 多雾路段 out of your throat by giving you a breath of the pure night air of Dartmoor. Never been there? Ah, well, I don’t suppose you will forget your first visit.”

Chapter 14. The Hound of the Baskervilles

One of Sherlock Holmes’s defects 缺陷—if, indeed, one may call it a defect 缺陷—was that he was exceedingly 非常 loath to communicate 通信 his full plans to any other person until the instant of their fulfilment. Partly it came no doubt from his own masterful nature, which loved to dominate 支配 and surprise those who were around him. Partly also from his professional 专业的 caution 小心, which urged him never to take any chances. The result, however, was very trying for those who were acting as his agents and assistants 助理. I had often suffered under it, but never more so than during that long drive in the darkness 黑暗. The great ordeal 考验 was in front of us; at last we were about to make our final 最后 effort, and yet Holmes had said nothing, and I could only surmise what his course of action would be. My nerves 神经 thrilled 颤抖 with anticipation 预期 when at last the cold wind upon our faces and the dark, void 空虚 spaces on either side of the narrow road told me that we were back upon the moor 泊 once again. Every stride 迈 of the horses and every turn of the wheels was taking us nearer to our supreme 最高 adventure 冒险活动.

Our conversation was hampered 阻碍 by the presence of the driver of the hired 聘用 wagonette, so that we were forced to talk of trivial 不重要的 matters when our nerves 神经 were tense 紧张 with emotion 情感 and anticipation 预期. It was a relief to me, after that unnatural 不自然 restraint 克制, when we at last passed Frankland’s house and knew that we were drawing near to the Hall and to the scene of action. We did not drive up to the door but got down near the gate 门 of the avenue. The wagonette was paid off and ordered to return to Coombe Tracey forth‧with 向前‧和, while we started to walk to Merripit House.

“Are you armed, Lestrade?”

The little detective 侦探 smiled. “As long as I have my trousers 长裤 I have a hip 臀部- pocket 口袋, and as long as I have my hip 臀部-pocket I have something in it.”

“Good! My friend and I are also ready for emergencies 急.”

“You’re mighty 威武 close about this affair, Mr. Holmes. What’s the game now?”

“A waiting game.”

“My word, it does not seem a very cheerful 快乐 place,” said the detective 侦探 with a shiver 发抖, glancing 一瞥 round him at the gloomy 阴沉 slopes 斜坡 of the hill and at the huge 巨大 lake of fog 多雾路段 which lay lie over the Grimpen Mire. “I see the lights of a house ahead of us.”

“That is Merripit House and the end of our journey 旅行. I must request you to walk on tiptoe and not to talk above a whisper 低声说.”

We moved cautiously 小心的 along the track 小路 as if we were bound 必定；跳 for the house, but Holmes halted 停 us when we were about two hundred 百 yards from it.

“This will do,” said he. “These rocks upon the right make an admirable 令人钦佩 screen.”

“We are to wait here?”

“Yes, we shall make our little ambush 伏击 here. Get into this hollow 空的, Lestrade. You have been inside the house, have you not, Watson? Can you tell the position of the rooms? What are those latticed 格子 windows at this end?”

“I think they are the kitchen windows.”

“And the one beyond, which shines 发光 so brightly?”

“That is certainly the dining 吃饭-room.”

“The blinds are up. You know the lie of the land best. Creep 爬行 forward quietly and see what they are doing—but for heaven 天’s sake don’t let them know that they are watched!”

I tiptoed down the path 小路 and stooped 哈腰 behind the low wall which surrounded the stunted 特技 orchard 果园. Creeping in its shadow I reached a point whence I could look straight through the uncurtained window.

There were only two men in the room, Sir Henry and Stapleton. They sat sit with their profiles 简短的描述 towards me on either side of the round table. Both of them were smoking cigars 雪茄, and coffee and wine were in front of them. Stapleton was talking with animation 动画, but the baronet looked pale and distrait. Perhaps the thought of that lonely 孤独的 walk across the ill 生病-omened moor 泊 was weighing 称重 heavily 很大，沉重地 upon his mind.

As I watched them Stapleton rose rise and left the room, while Sir Henry filled his glass again and leaned lean back in his chair, puffing 噗 at his cigar 雪茄. I heard the creak 吱吱 of a door and the crisp 脆 sound of boots 靴；鞋 upon gravel 碎石. The steps passed along the path on the other side of the wall under which I crouched 蹲伏. Looking over, I saw the naturalist pause 暂停 at the door of an out-house in the corner of the orchard 果园. A key turned in a lock, and as he passed in there was a curious scuffling noise 噪音 from within. He was only a minute or so inside, and then I heard the key turn once more and he passed me and reentered the house. I saw him rejoin 归队 his guest, and I crept 爬行:creep quietly back to where my companions 同伴 were waiting to tell them what I had seen.

“You say, Watson, that the lady is not there?” Holmes asked when I had finished my report.

“No.”

“Where can she be, then, since there is no light in any other room except the kitchen?”

“I cannot think where she is.”

I have said that over the great Grimpen Mire there hung a dense 稠密, white fog 多雾路段. It was drifting 漂移 slowly in our direction and banked itself 本身 up like a wall on that side of us, low but thick and well defined 确定. The moon shone 发光:shine on it, and it looked like a great shimmering 发微光 ice 冰-field, with the heads of the distant 遥远的 tors as rocks borne bear upon its surface. Holmes’s face was turned towards it, and he muttered 咕哝 impatiently 不耐烦 as he watched its sluggish 迟缓 drift 漂移.

“It’s moving towards us, Watson.”

“Is that serious?”

“Very serious, indeed—the one thing upon earth which could have disarranged my plans. He can’t be very long, now. It is already ten 十 o’ clock 钟. Our success and even his life may depend upon his coming out before the fog 多雾路段 is over the path.”

The night was clear and fine above us. The stars shone 发光:shine cold and bright, while a half-moon bathed 沐浴 the whole scene in a soft, uncertain 不确定 light. Before us lay the dark bulk 块 of the house, its serrated roof and bristling 鬃 chimneys 烟囱 hard out‧line 概述；轮廓线 against the silver 银-spangled sky. Broad bars of golden 金色的 light from the lower windows stretched across the orchard 果园 and the moor 泊. One of them was suddenly shut 关闭 off. The servants 仆人 had left the kitchen. There only remained the lamp 灯 in the dining-room where the two men, the murderous 杀 host 主人 and the unconscious 无意识 guest, still chatted 聊 over their cigars 雪茄.

Every minute that white woolly 羊毛 plain which covered one-half of the moor 泊 was drifting 漂移 closer and closer to the house. Already the first thin wisps of it were curling across the golden 金色的 square of the lighted window. The farther wall of the orchard 果园 was already invisible 无形, and the trees were standing out of a swirl 漩涡 of white vapour. As we watched it the fog 多雾路段-wreaths came crawling 爬行 round both corners of the house and rolled slowly into one dense 稠密 bank on which the upper floor and the roof floated 漂浮 like a strange ship upon a shadowy 神出鬼没 sea. Holmes struck strike his hand passionately 热情 upon the rock in front of us and stamped 邮票 his feet in his impatience 不耐烦.

“If he isn’t out in a quarter of an hour the path will be covered. In half an hour we won’t be able to see our hands in front of us.”

“Shall we move farther back upon higher ground grind?”

“Yes, I think it would be as well.”

So as the fog 多雾路段-bank flowed onward 向前 we fell fall back before it until we were half a mile from the house, and still that dense 稠密 white sea, with the moon silvering 银 its upper edge, swept sweep slowly and inexorably on.

“We are going too far,” said Holmes. “We dare not take the chance of his being overtaken before he can reach us. At all costs we must hold our ground where we are.” He dropped on his knees and clapped 拍 his ear to the ground. “Thank God, I think that I hear him coming.”

A sound of quick steps broke break the silence of the moor 泊. Crouching among the stones we stared intently 意图 at the silver 银-tipped 尖；窍门 bank in front of us. The steps grew grow louder 响亮的, and through the fog 多雾路段, as through a curtain 窗帘, there stepped the man whom 谁 we were awaiting 等待. He looked round him in surprise as he emerged 出现 into the clear, starlit night. Then he came swiftly 如飞 along the path, passed close to where we lay, and went on up the long slope 斜坡 behind us. As he walked he glanced 一瞥 continually 不断 over either shoulder, like a man who is ill at ease 轻松.

“Hist!” cried Holmes, and I heard the sharp click 点击 of a cocking 公鸡 pistol 手枪. “Look out! It’s coming!”

There was a thin, crisp 脆, continuous 连续 patter 拍 from somewhere in the heart of that crawling 爬行 bank. The cloud was within fifty 五十 yards of where we lay, and we glared 强光 at it, all three, uncertain 不确定 what horror 恐怖 was about to break from the heart of it. I was at Holmes’s elbow 弯头, and I glanced 一瞥 for an instant at his face. It was pale and exultant, his eyes shining 发光 brightly in the moon‧light 月光. But suddenly they started forward in a rigid 死板, fixed stare, and his lips parted in amazement 惊愕. At the same instant Lestrade gave a yell 叫喊 of terror 恐怖 and threw throw himself face down‧ward 向下 upon the ground. I sprang to my feet, my inert hand grasping 把握 my pistol 手枪, my mind paralyzed 瘫痪 by the dreadful 可怕 shape which had sprung out upon us from the shadows of the fog 多雾路段. A hound 猎犬 it was, an enormous 巨大 coal 煤-black hound 猎犬, but not such a hound 猎犬 as mortal 凡人 eyes have ever seen. Fire burst 爆裂 from its open mouth, its eyes glowed 辉光 with a smouldering glare 强光, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering 闪烁 flame 火焰. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered 混乱 brain could anything more savage 野蛮人, more appalling 惊恐, more hellish be conceived 构想 than that dark form and savage 野蛮人 face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog 多雾路段.

With long bounds 必定；跳 the huge 巨大 black creature 动物；生物 was leaping 飞跃 down the track 小路, following hard upon the foot‧step 脚步 of our friend. So paralyzed 瘫痪 were we by the apparition that we allowed him to pass before we had recovered 恢复 our nerve 神经. Then Holmes and I both fired together, and the creature gave a hideous 可怕 howl 嗥, which showed that one at least had hit him. He did not pause 暂停, however, but bounded 必定；跳 onward 向前. Far away on the path we saw Sir Henry looking back, his face white in the moon‧light 月光, his hands raised in horror 恐怖, glaring 强光 help‧less 无助 at the frightful thing which was hunting him down. But that cry of pain from the hound 猎犬 had blown blow all our fears to the winds. If he was vulnerable 弱势 he was mortal 凡人, and if we could wound 创伤 him we could kill him. Never have I seen a man run as Holmes ran that night. I am reckoned 估计 fleet 舰队 of foot, but he outpaced me as much as I outpaced the little professional 专业的. In front of us as we flew fly up the track we heard scream 叫喊 after scream from Sir Henry and the deep roar 咆哮 of the hound 猎犬. I was in time to see the beast 野兽 spring upon its victim 受害者, hurl 投 him to the ground, and worry at his throat. But the next instant Holmes had emptied five barrels 桶 of his revolver 围绕 into the creature 动物；生物’s flank 侧翼. With a last howl 嗥 of agony 痛苦 and a vicious 恶毒 snap 卡 in the air, it rolled upon its back, four feet pawing 爪子 furiously 疯狂, and then fell limp 跛行 upon its side. I stooped 哈腰, panting 喘气, and pressed my pistol 手枪 to the dreadful 可怕, shimmering 发微光 head, but it was use‧less 无用 to press the trigger 触发. The giant 巨人 hound 猎犬 was dead.

Sir Henry lay insensible where he had fallen. We tore tear away his collar 衣领, and Holmes breathed 呼吸 a prayer of gratitude 感谢 when we saw that there was no sign of a wound 创伤 and that the rescue 营救 had been in time. Already our friend’s eyelids 眼皮 shivered 发抖 and he made a feeble 微弱 effort to move. Lestrade thrust 推力 his brandy 白兰地-flask 烧瓶 between the baronet’s teeth, and two frightened eyes were looking up at us.

“My God!” he whispered 低声说. “What was it? What, in heaven 天’s name, was it?”

“It’s dead, whatever it is,” said Holmes. “We’ve laid the family ghost 鬼 once and for‧ever 永远.”

In mere size and strength it was a terrible creature 3 which was lying stretched before us. It was not a pure blood‧hound 血‧猎犬 and it was not a pure mastiff; but it appeared to be a combination 组合 of the two—gaunt, savage 野蛮人, and as large as a small lioness. Even now in the stillness of death, the huge 巨大 jaws 下巴 seemed to be dripping 滴 with a bluish flame 火焰 and the small, deep-set, cruel 残酷的 eyes were ringed with fire. I placed my hand upon the glowing 辉光 muzzle, and as I held them up my own fingers smouldered and gleamed 闪光 in the darkness 黑暗.

“Phosphorus,” I said.

“A cunning 狡猾 preparation 制备 of it,” said Holmes, sniffing 吸气 at the dead animal. “There is no smell which might have interfered 干预 with his power of scent 香味. We owe 欠…债 you a deep apology 道歉认错, Sir Henry, for having exposed 暴露 you to this fright 恐怖. I was prepared for a hound 猎犬, but not for such a creature as this. And the fog 多雾路段 gave us little time to receive him.”

“You have saved my life.”

“Having first end‧anger 危害 it. Are you strong enough to stand?”

“Give me another mouthful of that brandy 白兰地 and I shall be ready for anything. So! Now, if you will help me up. What do you propose to do?”

“To leave you here. You are not fit for further adventures 冒险活动 tonight. If you will wait, one or other of us will go back with you to the Hall.”

He tried to stagger 错开 to his feet; but he was still ghastly 阴森 pale and trembling 发抖 in every limb 肢. We helped him to a rock, where he sat shivering 发抖 with his face buried 埋葬 in his hands.

“We must leave you now,” said Holmes. “The rest of our work must be done, and every moment is of importance. We have our case, and now we only want our man.

“It’s a thou‧sand 千 to one against our finding him at the house,” he continued as we retraced our steps swiftly 如飞 down the path. “Those shots must have told him that the game was up.”

“We were some distance off, and this fog 多雾路段 may have deadened them.”

“He followed the hound 猎犬 to call him off—of that you may be certain. No, no, he’s gone by this time! But we’ll search the house and make sure.”

The front door was open, so we rushed 仓促 in and hurried from room to room to the amazement 惊愕 of a doddering old man‧servant 男人‧仆人, who met us in the passage. There was no light save in the dining-room, but Holmes caught up the lamp 灯 and left no corner of the house unexplored. No sign could we see of the man whom 谁 we were chasing 追. On the upper floor, however, one of the bed‧room 卧室 doors was locked.

“There’s someone in here,” cried Lestrade. “I can hear a movement 运动. Open this door!”

A faint 微弱的 moaning 呻吟 and rustling 沙沙 came from within. Holmes struck the door just over the lock with the flat of his foot and it flew open. Pistol in hand, we all three rushed into the room.

But there was no sign within it of that desperate 殊死 and defiant 目中无人 villain 恶棍 whom 谁 we expected to see. Instead we were faced by an object so strange and so unexpected 意外 that we stood for a moment staring at it in amazement 惊愕.

The room had been fashioned into a small museum 博物馆, and the walls were lined by a number of glass-topped cases full of that collection of butter‧fly 蝴蝶 and moths 蛾 the formation 结构；形状；形成方式；组成方式 of which had been the relaxation 松弛 of this complex 复杂 and dangerous 危险 man. In the centre of this room there was an upright 直立的 beam 梁, which had been placed at some period as a support for the old worm 虫-eaten baulk of timber 木材 which spanned 跨度 the roof. To this post a figure was tied, so swathed and muffled in the sheets which had been used to secure 安全 it that one could not for the moment tell whether it was that of a man or a woman. One towel 毛巾 passed round the throat and was secured 安全 at the back of the pillar 支柱. Another covered the lower part of the face, and over it two dark eyes—eyes full of grief 哀思 and shame 羞愧 and a dreadful 可怕 questioning—stared back at us. In a minute we had torn tear off the gag 插科打诨, unswathed the bonds 键, and Mrs. Stapleton sank 淹没:sink upon the floor in front of us. As her beautiful 美丽 head fell upon her chest 胸部 I saw the clear red weal of a whip‧lash 鞭打‧睫毛 across her neck.

“The brute 畜生!” cried Holmes. “Here, Lestrade, your brandy 白兰地-bottle! Put her in the chair! She has fainted 微弱的 from ill-usage 用法 and exhaustion 衰竭.”

She opened her eyes again.

“Is he safe?” she asked. “Has he escaped?”

“He cannot escape us, madam 夫人.”

“No, no, I did not mean my husband. Sir Henry? Is he safe?”

“Yes.”

“And the hound 猎犬?”

“It is dead.”

She gave a long sigh 叹 of satisfaction 满足.

“Thank God! Thank God! Oh, this villain 恶棍! See how he has treated me!” She shot shoot her arms out from her sleeves 袖, and we saw with horror 恐怖 that they were all mottled with bruises 挫伤. “But this is nothing—nothing! It is my mind and soul that he has tortured 拷打 and defiled. I could endure 忍受 it all, ill-usage 用法, solitude 孤独, a life of deception 骗局, everything, as long as I could still cling to the hope that I had his love, but now I know that in this also I have been his dupe and his tool.” She broke into passionate 多情 sobbing 哭泣 as she spoke speak.

“You bear him no good will, madam 夫人,” said Holmes. “Tell us then where we shall find him. If you have ever aided 助手 him in evil, help us now and so atone.”

“There is but one place where he can have fled,” she answered. “There is an old tin 锡 mine on an island in the heart of the mire. It was there that he kept his hound 猎犬 and there also he had made preparations 制备 so that he might have a refuge 避难所. That is where he would fly.”

The fog 多雾路段-bank lay like white wool 羊毛 against the window. Holmes held the lamp 3 towards it.

“See,” said he. “No one could find his way into the Grimpen Mire tonight.”

She laughed and clapped 拍 her hands. Her eyes and teeth gleamed 闪光 with fierce 凶猛的 merriment.

“He may find his way in, but never out,” she cried. “How can he see the guiding wands tonight? We planted them together, he and I, to mark the path‧way 路 through the mire. Oh, if I could only have plucked 采摘 them out today. Then indeed you would have had him at your mercy 宽容!”

It was evident 明显 to us that all pursuit 追求 was in vain 徒劳的 until the fog 多雾路段 had lifted. Meanwhile 同时 we left Lestrade in possession 所有物 of the house while Holmes and I went back with the baronet to Baskerville Hall. The story of the Stapletons could no longer be withheld from him, but he took the blow bravely 勇敢的 when he learned the truth about the woman whom 谁 he had loved. But the shock of the night’s adventures had shattered 打碎 his nerves 神经, and before morning he lay delirious in a high fever 发热 under the care of Dr. Mortimer. The two of them were destined 注定 to travel together round the world before Sir Henry had become once more the hale, hearty 爽朗 man that he had been before he became master of that ill-omened estate 房地产.

And now I come rapidly to the conclusion 结论 of this singular 单数 narrative 叙述, in which I have tried to make the reader share those dark fears and vague 模糊 surmises which clouded our lives so long and ended in so tragic 悲惨 a manner. On the morning after the death of the hound 猎犬 the fog 多雾路段 had lifted and we were guided by Mrs. Stapleton to the point where they had found a path‧way 路 through the bog 沼泽. It helped us to realize the horror 恐怖 of this woman’s life when we saw the eagerness and joy 喜悦 with which she laid us on her husband’s track. We left her standing upon the thin peninsula 半岛 of firm, peaty soil which tapered 锥体 out into the wide‧spread 广泛 bog 沼泽. From the end of it a small wand 苍白 planted here and there showed where the path zigzagged from tuft to tuft of rushes 仓促 among those green-scummed pits 坑 and foul 犯规 quagmires which barred the way to the stranger. Rank 排列 reeds 芦苇 and lush 青葱的, slimy water-plants sent an odour of decay 腐烂 and a heavy miasmatic vapour onto our faces, while a false 虚伪的 step plunged 跳水 us more than once thigh 大腿-deep into the dark, quivering 颤动 mire, which shook for yards in soft undulations around our feet. Its tenacious grip 握 plucked 采摘 at our heels 脚跟 as we walked, and when we sank into it it was as if some malignant 恶性 hand was tugging 拖船 us down into those obscene 猥亵 depths, so grim 严峻 and purposeful was the clutch 离合器 in which it held us. Once only we saw a trace 跟踪 that someone had passed that perilous way before us. From amid 际 a tuft of cotton 棉 grass 草 which bore bear it up out of the slime some dark thing was projecting 项目. Holmes sank to his waist 腰 as he stepped from the path to seize 抓住 it, and had we not been there to drag him out he could never have set his foot upon firm land again. He held an old black boot 靴；鞋 in the air. “Meyers, Toronto,” was printed on the leather 皮 inside.

“It is worth a mud 泥 bath 沐浴,” said he. “It is our friend Sir Henry’s missing boot.”

“Thrown throw there by Stapleton in his flight 飞行.”

“Exactly. He retained 保留 it in his hand after using it to set the hound 猎犬 upon the track. He fled when he knew the game was up, still clutching 离合器 it. And he hurled 投 it away at this point of his flight 飞行. We know at least that he came so far in safety.”

But more than that we were never destined 注定 to know, though there was much which we might surmise. There was no chance of finding foot‧step 脚步 in the mire, for the rising mud 泥 oozed 沁 swiftly 如飞 in upon them, but as we at last reached firmer ground beyond the morass we all looked eagerly 渴望的 for them. But no slightest sign of them ever met our eyes. If the earth told a true story, then Stapleton never reached that island of refuge 避难所 towards which he struggled through the fog 多雾路段 upon that last night. Somewhere in the heart of the great Grimpen Mire, down in the foul 犯规 slime of the huge 巨大 morass which had sucked 吮吸 him in, this cold and cruel 残酷的-hearted man is for‧ever 永远 buried.

Many traces 跟踪 we found of him in the bog 沼泽-girt island where he had hid hide his savage 野蛮人 ally 联盟；盟友. A huge 巨大 driving-wheel and a shaft 轴 half-filled with rubbish 垃圾 showed the position of an abandoned 放弃 mine. Beside it were the crumbling 崩溃 remains of the cottages 小屋 of the miners 矿工, driven drive away no doubt by the foul 犯规 reek of the surrounding swamp 沼泽. In one of these a staple 钉书针 and chain with a quantity 量 of gnawed bones 骨头 showed where the animal had been con‧fine 局限. A skeleton 骨架 with a tangle 纠纷 of brown hair adhering 附着 to it lay among the debris 废墟.

“A dog!” said Holmes. “By Jove, a curly 卷曲-haired spaniel. Poor Mortimer will never see his pet 宠物 again. Well, I do not know that this place contains any secret which we have not already fathomed. He could hide his hound 猎犬, but he could not hush 嘘 its voice, and hence 因此 came those cries which even in day‧light 日光 were not pleasant to hear. On an emergency 急 he could keep the hound 猎犬 in the out-house at Merripit, but it was always a risk, and it was only on the supreme 最高 day, which he regarded as the end of all his efforts, that he dared 敢 do it. This paste 粘贴；面团 in the tin 锡 is no doubt the luminous mixture 混合 with which the creature was daubed. It was suggested, of course, by the story of the family hell 地狱-hound 猎犬, and by the desire to frighten 使惊恐 old Sir Charles to death. No wonder the poor devil 魔鬼 of a convict 定罪 ran and screamed 叫喊, even as our friend did, and as we ourselves 我们自己 might have done, when he saw such a creature bounding 必定；跳 through the darkness 黑暗 of the moor 泊 upon his track. It was a cunning 狡猾 device 设备, for, apart 相隔 from the chance of driving your victim 受害者 to his death, what peasant 农 would venture 企业；投机活动；商业冒险 to inquire 打听 too closely into such a creature should he get sight of it, as many have done, upon the moor 泊? I said it in London, Watson, and I say it again now, that never yet have we helped to hunt down a more dangerous 危险 man than he who is lying yonder”—he swept his long arm towards the huge 巨大 mottled expanse 广阔 of green-splotched bog 沼泽 which stretched away until it merged 合并 into the russet slopes of the moor 泊.

Chapter 15. A Retrospection

It was the end of November, and Holmes and I sat, upon a raw 生的 and foggy night, on either side of a blazing 火焰 fire in our sitting-room in Baker Street. Since the tragic 悲惨 upshot of our visit to Devonshire he had been engaged 从事 in two affairs of the utmost 极 importance, in the first of which he had exposed 暴露 the atrocious conduct 进行 of Colonel Upwood in connection with the famous 著名 card scandal 丑闻 of the Nonpareil Club, while in the second he had defended the unfortunate 不幸的 Mme. Montpensier from the charge of murder which hung over her in connection with the death of her step-daughter, Mlle. Carere, the young lady who, as it will be remembered, was found six months later alive 活的；有生命的 and married in New York. My friend was in excellent spirits over the success which had attended a success‧ion 演替 of difficult and important cases, so that I was able to induce 促使 him to discuss the details of the Baskerville mystery. I had waited patiently for the opportunity for I was aware 知道的 that he would never permit cases to over‧lap 交叠, and that his clear and logical 合乎逻辑 mind would not be drawn draw from its present work to dwell 住 upon memories of the past. Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer were, however, in London, on their way to that long voyage 旅行 which had been recommended for the restoration 恢复 of his shattered 打碎 nerves 神经. They had called upon us that very afternoon, so that it was natural 自然 that the subject should come up for discussion.

“The whole course of events,” said Holmes, “from the point of view of the man who called himself Stapleton was simple and direct, although to us, who had no means in the beginning of knowing the motives 动机 of his actions and could only learn part of the facts, it all appeared exceedingly 非常 complex 复杂. I have had the advantage of two conversations with Mrs. Stapleton, and the case has now been so entirely cleared up that I am not aware 知道的 that there is anything which has remained a secret to us. You will find a few notes upon the matter under the heading B in my indexed 指数 list of cases.”

“Perhaps you would kindly give me a sketch 草图 of the course of events from memory.”

“Certainly, though I cannot guarantee 保证 that I carry all the facts in my mind. Intense 强烈的，极度的 mental 心理 concentration 浓度 has a curious way of blotting 斑点 out what has passed. The barrister 律师 who has his case at his fingers’ ends and is able to argue with an expert 专家 upon his own subject finds that a week or two of the courts will drive it all out of his head once more. So each of my cases displaces 顶替 the last, and Mlle. Carere has blurred 模糊 my recollection 回忆 of Baskerville Hall. Tomorrow some other little problem may be submitted 给 to my notice which will in turn dispossess the fair French lady and the infamous 臭名昭著 Upwood. So far as the case of the hound 猎犬 goes, however, I will give you the course of events as nearly as I can, and you will suggest anything which I may have forgotten forget.

“My inquiries 调查 show beyond all question that the family portrait 肖像 did not lie, and that this fellow was indeed a Baskerville. He was a son of that Rodger Baskerville, the younger brother of Sir Charles, who fled with a sinister 险恶 reputation 名气 to South America, where he was said to have died unmarried 未婚. He did, as a matter of fact, marry, and had one child, this fellow, whose 谁的 real name is the same as his father’s. He married Beryl Garcia, one of the beauties of Costa Rica, and, having purloined a consider‧able 大量 sum 和 of public money, he changed his name to Vandeleur and fled to England, where he established 建立 a school in the east of Yorkshire. His reason for attempting this special line of business was that he had struck up an acquaintance 熟人 with a consumptive tutor 导师 upon the voyage 旅行 home, and that he had used this man’s ability to make the under‧take 承担 a success. Fraser, the tutor 导师, died however, and the school which had begun well sank from disrepute into infamy. The Vandeleurs found it convenient 方便的 to change their name to Stapleton, and he brought the remains of his for‧tune 命运, his schemes 方案 for the future, and his taste for entomology to the south of England. I learned at the British Museum 博物馆 that he was a recognized authority 权威 upon the subject, and that the name of Vandeleur has been permanently 永久 attached 连接 to a certain moth 蛾 which he had, in his Yorkshire days, been the first to describe.

“We now come to that portion 一部分；一份 of his life which has proved to be of such intense 强烈的，极度的 interest to us. The fellow had evidently 明显地 made inquiry 调查 and found that only two lives intervened 干预 between him and a valuable 贵重的 estate 房地产. When he went to Devonshire his plans were, I believe, exceedingly 非常 hazy, but that he meant mischief 恶作剧 from the first is evident 明显 from the way in which he took his wife with him in the character of his sister 姐妹. The idea of using her as a decoy was clearly already in his mind, though he may not have been certain how the details of his plot 情节 were to be arranged. He meant in the end to have the estate 房地产, and he was ready to use any tool or run any risk for that end. His first act was to establish 建立 himself as near to his ancestral 祖 home as he could, and his second was to cultivate 耕作 a friend‧ship 友情 with Sir Charles Baskerville and with the neighbours.

“The baronet himself told him about the family hound 猎犬, and so prepared the way for his own death. Stapleton, as I will continue to call him, knew that the old man’s heart was weak and that a shock would kill him. So much he had learned from Dr. Mortimer. He had heard also that Sir Charles was superstitious and had taken this grim 严峻 legend 传说 very seriously. His ingenious 巧妙 mind instantly 瞬间 suggested a way by which the baronet could be done to death, and yet it would be hardly possible to bring home the guilt to the real murderer.

“Having conceived 构想 the idea he proceeded 继续 to carry it out with consider‧able 大量 finesse. An ordinary schemer 方案 would have been content to work with a savage 野蛮人 hound 猎犬. The use of artificial 人造的 means to make the creature diabolical was a flash 使闪光 of genius 天才 upon his part. The dog he bought buy in London from Ross and Mangles, the dealers 商人，商贩 in Fulham Road. It was the strongest and most savage 野蛮人 in their possession 所有物. He brought it down by the North Devon line and walked a great distance over the moor 泊 so as to get it home without exciting any remarks. He had already on his insect 虫 hunts learned to penetrate 穿透 the Grimpen Mire, and so had found a safe hiding-place for the creature. Here he kennelled it and waited his chance.

“But it was some time coming. The old gentleman could not be decoyed outside of his grounds at night. Several times Stapleton lurked 匿伏 about with his hound 猎犬, but without avail 果. It was during these fruit‧less 成果‧少 quests 寻求 that he, or rather his ally 联盟；盟友, was seen by peasants 农, and that the legend 传说 of the demon 恶魔 dog received a new confirmation 确认. He had hoped that his wife might lure 饵 Sir Charles to his ruin 破坏, but here she proved unexpectedly 不料 independent 独立. She would not endeavour to entangle the old gentleman in a sentimental 感伤 attachment 附件 which might deliver him over to his enemy. Threats and even, I am sorry 对不起的 to say, blows refused to move her. She would have nothing to do with it, and for a time Stapleton was at a dead‧lock 僵局.

“He found a way out of his difficulties through the chance that Sir Charles, who had conceived 构想 a friend‧ship 友情 for him, made him the minister of his charity 慈善 in the case of this unfortunate 不幸的 woman, Mrs. Laura Lyons. By representing himself as a single man he acquired 获得 complete influence over her, and he gave her to understand that in the event of her obtaining 获得 a divorce 离婚 from her husband he would marry her. His plans were suddenly brought to a head by his knowledge that Sir Charles was about to leave the Hall on the advice 劝告 of Dr. Mortimer, with whose 谁的 opinion he himself pretended 假装 to coincide 重合. He must act at once, or his victim 受害者 might get beyond his power. He therefore put pressure upon Mrs. Lyons to write this letter, imploring the old man to give her an interview 访问 on the evening before his departure 离开 for London. He then, by a specious argument 论据, prevented her from going, and so had the chance for which he had waited.

“Driving back in the evening from Coombe Tracey he was in time to get his hound 猎犬, to treat it with his infernal paint, and to bring the beast 野兽 round to the gate at which he had reason to expect that he would find the old gentleman waiting. The dog, incited 煽动 by its master, sprang over the wicket 便门-gate and pursued 追求 the unfortunate 不幸的 baronet, who fled screaming 叫喊 down the yew alley 胡同. In that gloomy 阴沉 tunnel 隧道 it must indeed have been a dreadful 可怕 sight to see that huge 巨大 black creature, with its flaming 火焰 jaws and blazing 火焰 eyes, bounding after its victim 受害者. He fell dead at the end of the alley 胡同 from heart disease and terror 恐怖. The hound 猎犬 had kept upon the grassy 绿色的 border 边；界 while the baronet had run down the path, so that no track but the man’s was visible 可以看见的；可视的. On seeing him lying still the creature had probably approached to sniff 吸气 at him, but finding him dead had turned away again. It was then that it left the print which was actually observed by Dr. Mortimer. The hound 猎犬 was called off and hurried away to its lair in the Grimpen Mire, and a mystery was left which puzzled 使迷惑 the authorities 权威, alarmed 警告 the country‧side 农村, and finally brought the case within the scope 范围 of our observation 意见.

“So much for the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. You perceive 认为 the devilish cunning 狡猾 of it, for really it would be almost impossible to make a case against the real murderer. His only accomplice was one who could never give him away, and the grotesque 奇怪的, inconceivable nature of the device 设备 only served to make it more effective. Both of the women concerned in the case, Mrs. Stapleton and Mrs. Laura Lyons, were left with a strong suspicion 怀疑 against Stapleton. Mrs. Stapleton knew that he had designs upon the old man, and also of the existence of the hound 猎犬. Mrs. Lyons knew neither of these things, but had been impressed 给…留下深刻印象；使钦佩 by the death occurring 发生 at the time of an uncancelled appointment 约定 which was only known to him. However, both of them were under his influence, and he had nothing to fear from them. The first half of his task 任务 was successfully 顺利 accomplished 完成；实现；达到；做到 but the more difficult still remained.

“It is possible that Stapleton did not know of the existence of an heir 继承者 in Canada. In any case he would very soon learn it from his friend Dr. Mortimer, and he was told by the latter all details about the arrival 到达 of Henry Baskerville. Stapleton’s first idea was that this young stranger from Canada might possibly be done to death in London without coming down to Devonshire at all. He distrusted 怀疑 his wife ever since she had refused to help him in laying a trap for the old man, and he dared not leave her long out of his sight for fear he should lose his influence over her. It was for this reason that he took her to London with him. They lodged 存放, I find, at the Mexborough Private Hotel, in Craven Street, which was actually one of those called upon by my agent in search of evidence 证据. Here he kept his wife imprisoned 监禁 in her room while he, disguised 伪装 in a beard 胡须, followed Dr. Mortimer to Baker Street and after‧ward 之后 to the station and to the Northumberland Hotel. His wife had some inkling of his plans; but she had such a fear of her husband—a fear founded upon brutal 野蛮 ill-treatment 治疗—that she dare not write to warn the man whom 4 she knew to be in danger. If the letter should fall into Stapleton’s hands her own life would not be safe. Eventually 终于, as we know, she adopted the expedient of cutting out the words which would form the message, and addressing the letter in a disguised 伪装 hand. It reached the baronet, and gave him the first warning of his danger.

“It was very essential for Stapleton to get some article of Sir Henry’s attire 服装 so that, in case he was driven to use the dog, he might always have the means of setting him upon his track. With characteristic 特性 promptness and audacity he set about this at once, and we cannot doubt that the boots or chamber 室-maid 女佣 of the hotel was well bribed 贿赂 to help him in his design. By chance, however, the first boot 靴；鞋 which was pro‧cure 促成 for him was a new one and, therefore, use‧less 无用 for his purpose. He then had it returned and obtained 获得 another—a most instructive 教育性 incident 事件, since it proved conclusively 确凿 to my mind that we were dealing with a real hound 猎犬, as no other sup‧position SUP‧位置 could explain this anxiety 焦虑 to obtain 获得 an old boot and this indifference 漠不关心 to a new one. The more outre and grotesque 奇怪的 an incident 事件 is the more carefully 小心 it deserves 应受 to be examined, and the very point which appears to complicate 使复杂化 a case is, when duly 适时地 considered and scientifically handled, the one which is most likely to elucidate it.

“Then we had the visit from our friends next morning, shadowed always by Stapleton in the cab 出租车. From his knowledge of our rooms and of my appearance, as well as from his general conduct 进行, I am inclined 倾斜 to think that Stapleton’s career of crime 罪行 has been by no means limited to this single Baskerville affair. It is suggestive 提示 that during the last three years there have been four consider‧able 大量 burglaries 窃案 in the west country, for none of which was any criminal 罪犯 ever arrested. The last of these, at Folkestone Court, in May, was remark‧able 非凡的；奇异的；引人注目的 for the cold-blooded pistolling 手枪 of the page, who surprised the masked 面具 and solitary 孤 burglar 窃贼. I cannot doubt that Stapleton recruited 招聘，吸收；征募新兵 his waning 没落 resources 资源 in this fashion, and that for years he has been a desperate 殊死 and dangerous 危险 man.

“We had an example of his readiness 准备就绪 of resource 资源 that morning when he got away from us so successfully 顺利, and also of his audacity in sending back my own name to me through the cabman. From that moment he understood understand that I had taken over the case in London, and that therefore there was no chance for him there. He returned to Dartmoor and awaited 等待 the arrival 到达 of the baronet.”

“One moment!” said I. “You have, no doubt, described the sequence 序列 of events correctly, but there is one point which you have left unexplained. What became of the hound 猎犬 when its master was in London?”

“I have given some attention to this matter and it is undoubtedly 无疑 of importance. There can be no question that Stapleton had a confidant, though it is unlikely 不会 that he ever placed himself in his power by sharing all his plans with him. There was an old man‧servant 男人‧仆人 at Merripit House, whose 谁的 name was Anthony. His connection with the Stapletons can be traced 跟踪 for several years, as far back as the school-mastering days, so that he must have been aware 知道的 that his master and mistress 情妇 were really husband and wife. This man has disappeared 不见 and has escaped from the country. It is suggestive 提示 that Anthony is not a common name in England, while Antonio is so in all Spanish or Spanish-American countries. The man, like Mrs. Stapleton her‧self 她自己, spoke good English, but with a curious lisping accent 口音. I have myself 我 seen this old man cross the Grimpen Mire by the path which Stapleton had marked out. It is very probable, therefore, that in the absence of his master it was he who cared for the hound 猎犬, though he may never have known the purpose for which the beast 野兽 was used.

“The Stapletons then went down to Devonshire, whither they were soon followed by Sir Henry and you. One word now as to how I stood myself 我 at that time. It may possibly recur 复发 to your memory that when I examined the paper upon which the printed words were fastened 系牢 I made a close inspection 检查 for the water-mark. In doing so I held it within a few inches of my eyes, and was conscious of a faint 微弱的 smell of the scent 香味 known as white jessamine. There are seventy 七十-five per‧fume 香水, which it is very necessary that a criminal 罪犯 expert 专家 should be able to distinguish from each other, and cases have more than once within my own experience depended upon their prompt 敏捷的 recognition 认识. The scent suggested the presence of a lady, and already my thoughts began to turn towards the Stapletons. Thus I had made certain of the hound 猎犬, and had guessed at the criminal 3 before ever we went to the west country.

“It was my game to watch Stapleton. It was evident 明显, however, that I could not do this if I were with you, since he would be keenly 热切的 on his guard. I deceived everybody, therefore, your‧self 你自己 included, and I came down secretly when I was supposed to be in London. My hard‧ship 苦 were not so great as you imagined, though such trifling 琐事 details must never interfere 干预 with the investigation 调查 of a case. I stayed for the most part at Coombe Tracey, and only used the hut 小屋 upon the moor 泊 when it was necessary to be near the scene of action. Cartwright had come down with me, and in his disguise 伪装 as a country boy he was of great assistance 帮助 to me. I was dependent upon him for food and clean linen 麻布. When I was watching Stapleton, Cartwright was frequently watching you, so that I was able to keep my hand upon all the strings 绳子.

“I have already told you that your reports reached me rapidly, being forwarded instantly from Baker Street to Coombe Tracey. They were of great service to me, and especially that one incidentally 顺便 truthful 真实 piece of biography 传 of Stapleton’s. I was able to establish 建立 the identity 身分 of the man and the woman and knew at last exactly how I stood. The case had been consider‧able 相当 complicated through the incident 事件 of the escaped convict 定罪 and the relations between him and the Barrymores. This also you cleared up in a very effective way, though I had already come to the same conclusions 结论 from my own observations 意见.

“By the time that you discovered me upon the moor 泊 I had a complete knowledge of the whole business, but I had not a case which could go to a jury 陪审团. Even Stapleton’s attempt upon Sir Henry that night which ended in the death of the unfortunate 不幸的 convict 定罪 did not help us much in proving murder against our man. There seemed to be no alter‧native 替代 but to catch him red-handed, and to do so we had to use Sir Henry, alone and apparently 据…所知；看来；据说；听说 unprotected, as a bait 饵. We did so, and at the cost of a severe 严峻的 shock to our client 客户 we succeeded in completing our case and driving Stapleton to his destruction 破坏. That Sir Henry should have been exposed 暴露 to this is, I must confess 供认, a reproach 责备 to my management 管理 of the case, but we had no means of fore‧see 预料 the terrible and paralyzing 瘫痪 spectacle 场面；眼镜 which the beast 野兽 presented, nor could we predict 预测 the fog 多雾路段 which enabled 启用 him to burst upon us at such short notice. We succeeded in our object at a cost which both the specialist 专家；专业人员 and Dr. Mortimer assure 向…保证；肯定地说 me will be a temporary 临时 one. A long journey 旅行 may enable 启用 our friend to recover 恢复 not only from his shattered 打碎 nerves 神经 but also from his wounded 创伤 feelings. His love for the lady was deep and sincere 真诚的, and to him the saddest 悲哀的 part of all this black business was that he should have been deceived by her.

“It only remains to indicate 表明 the part which she had played through‧out 始终. There can be no doubt that Stapleton exercised an influence over her which may have been love or may have been fear, or very possibly both, since they are by no means incompatible 不相容 emotions 情感. It was, at least, absolutely effective. At his command she consented 同意 to pass as his sister, though he found the limits of his power over her when he endeavoured to make her the direct accessory 附件 to murder. She was ready to warn Sir Henry so far as she could without implicating 连累 her husband, and again and again she tried to do so. Stapleton himself seems to have been cap‧able 能 of jealousy 妒忌, and when he saw the baronet paying court to the lady, even though it was part of his own plan, still he could not help interrupting 打断 with a passionate 多情 out‧burst 突发 which revealed 揭示 the fiery 火热 soul which his self 自己-contained manner so cleverly 聪明的 concealed 隐藏. By encouraging the intimacy 亲密关系 he made it certain that Sir Henry would frequently come to Merripit House and that he would sooner or later get the opportunity which he desired. On the day of the crisis 危机, however, his wife turned suddenly against him. She had learned something of the death of the convict 定罪, and she knew that the hound 猎犬 was being kept in the out‧house 出‧房屋 on the evening that Sir Henry was coming to dinner. She taxed her husband with his intended crime 罪行, and a furious 狂怒 scene followed in which he showed her for the first time that she had a rival 对手 in his love. Her fidelity 保真度 turned in an instant to bitter hatred 仇恨, and he saw that she would betray 背叛 him. He tied her up, therefore, that she might have no chance of warning Sir Henry, and he hoped, no doubt, that when the whole country‧side 农村 put down the baronet’s death to the curse 诅咒 of his family, as they certainly would do, he could win his wife back to accept an accomplished fact and to keep silent upon what she knew. In this I fancy 想像 that in any case he made a miscalculation, and that, if we had not been there, his doom 厄运 would none the less have been sealed 封上，海豹. A woman of Spanish blood does not condone such an injury 伤 so lightly. And now, my dear Watson, without referring to my notes, I cannot give you a more detailed account of this curious case. I do not know that anything essential has been left unexplained.”

“He could not hope to frighten 使惊恐 Sir Henry to death as he had done the old uncle 叔叔 with his bogie hound 猎犬.”

“The beast 4 was savage 野蛮人 and half-starved 饿死. If its appearance did not frighten its victim 受害者 to death, at least it would paralyze 瘫痪 the resistance 抵抗 which might be offered.”

“No doubt. There only remains one difficulty. If Stapleton came into the success‧ion 演替, how could he explain the fact that he, the heir 继承者, had been living unannounced under another name so close to the property? How could he claim it without causing suspicion 怀疑 and inquiry 调查?”

“It is a formidable 强大 difficulty, and I fear that you ask too much when you expect me to solve 解决 it. The past and the present are within the field of my inquiry, but what a man may do in the future is a hard question to answer. Mrs. Stapleton has heard her husband discuss the problem on several occasions. There were three possible courses. He might claim the property from South America, establish 建立 his identity 身分 before the British authorities 权威 there and so obtain 获得 the for‧tune 命运 without ever coming to England at all, or he might adopt an elaborate 阐述 disguise 伪装 during the short time that he need be in London; or, again, he might furnish an accomplice with the proofs 证明 and papers, putting him in as heir 继承者, and retaining 保留 a claim upon some proportion 比例 of his income 收入. We cannot doubt from what we know of him that he would have found some way out of the difficulty. And now, my dear Watson, we have had some weeks of severe work, and for one evening, I think, we may turn our thoughts into more pleasant channels 渠道. I have a box for ‘Les Huguenots.’ Have you heard the De Reszkes? Might I trouble you then to be ready in half an hour, and we can stop at Marcini’s for a little dinner on the way?”