前言

秘方简介

常用词列表

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 1. Mr. Sherlock Holmes

Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occasions when he was up all night, was seated at the break‧fast 早餐 table. I stood upon the hearth 炉-rug 小块地毯 and picked up the stick which our visitor 访问者 had left behind him the night before. It was a fine, thick piece of wood, bulbous-headed, of the sort which is known as a “Penang lawyer.” Just under the head was a broad silver 银 band nearly an inch across. “To James Mortimer, M.R.C.S., from his friends of the C.C.H.,” was engraved 雕刻 upon it, with the date “1884.” It was just such a stick as the old-fashioned family practitioner 从业者 used to carry—dignified 褒, solid, and reassuring 再保证.

“Well, Watson, what do you make of it?”

Holmes was sitting with his back to me, and I had given him no sign of my occupation 占用.

“How did you know what I was doing? I believe you have eyes in the back of your head.”

“I have, at least, a well-polished 擦光, silver 银-plated 盘子 coffee-pot 罐 in front of me,” said he. “But, tell me, Watson, what do you make of our visitor 访问者’s stick? Since we have been so unfortunate 不幸的 as to miss him and have no notion 概念 of his errand 使命, this accidental 偶然 souvenir 纪念品 becomes of importance. Let me hear you reconstruct 重建 the man by an examination 检查 of it.”

“I think,” said I, following as far as I could the methods 方法 of my companion 同伴, “that Dr. Mortimer is a successful 成功, elderly 年老的；上了年纪的 medical man, well-esteemed 尊重 since those who know him give him this mark of their appreciation 升值.”

“Good!” said Holmes. “Excellent!”

“I think also that the probability 可能性 is in favour of his being a country practitioner 从业者 who does a great deal of his visiting on foot.”

“Why so?”

“Because this stick, though originally 本来 a very hand‧some 英俊 one has been so knocked 敲 about that I can hardly imagine a town practitioner 从业者 carrying it. The thick-iron 铁器 ferrule is worn wear down, so it is evident 明显 that he has done a great amount of walking with it.”

“Perfectly sound!” said Holmes.

“And then again, there is the ‘friends of the C.C.H.’ I should guess that to be the Something Hunt, the local hunt to whose 谁的 members he has possibly given some surgical 外科 assistance 帮助, and which has made him a small presentation 介绍 in return.”

“Really, Watson, you excel 高强 your‧self 你自己,” said Holmes, pushing back his chair and lighting a cigarette 香烟，纸烟. “I am bound 必定；跳 to say that in all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own small achievements 成就 you have habitually 惯常的 underrated your own abilities. It may be that you are not your‧self 你自己 luminous, but you are a conductor 导体 of light. Some people without possessing 拥有 genius 天才 have a remark‧able 非凡的；奇异的；引人注目的 power of stimulating 刺激 it. I confess 供认, my dear fellow, that I am very much in your debt 债务.”

He had never said as much before, and I must admit that his words gave me keen 热切的 pleasure, for I had often been piqued by his indifference 漠不关心 to my admiration 钦佩 and to the attempts which I had made to give publicity 公开 to his methods 方法. I was proud, too, to think that I had so far mastered his system as to apply it in a way which earned his approval 批准；同意；赞成. He now took the stick from my hands and examined it for a few minutes with his naked 裸 eyes. Then with an expression of interest he laid down his cigarette 香烟，纸烟, and carrying the cane 甘蔗 to the window, he looked over it again with a convex lens 镜片.

“Interesting, though elementary 初级,” said he as he returned to his favourite corner of the settee. “There are certainly one or two indications 迹象 upon the stick. It gives us the basis for several deductions 扣除.”

“Has anything escaped me?” I asked with some self 自己-importance. “I trust that there is nothing of consequence 后果 which I have over‧look 俯瞰?”

“I am afraid, my dear Watson, that most of your conclusions 结论 were erroneous 错误. When I said that you stimulated 刺激 me I meant, to be frank 坦率, that in noting your fallacies I was occasionally 偶尔，间或；有时 guided towards the truth. Not that you are entirely wrong in this instance 例. The man is certainly a country practitioner 从业者. And he walks a good deal.”

“Then I was right.”

“To that extent.”

“But that was all.”

“No, no, my dear Watson, not all—by no means all. I would suggest, for example, that a presentation 介绍 to a doctor is more likely to come from a hospital than from a hunt, and that when the initials 初始 ‘C.C.’ are placed before that hospital the words ‘Charing Cross’ very naturally 自然地 suggest themselves.”

“You may be right.”

“The probability 可能性 lies in that direction. And if we take this as a working hypothesis 假设 we have a fresh basis from which to start our construction 施工 of this unknown 未知 visitor.”

“Well, then, supposing that ‘C.C.H.’ does stand for ‘Charing Cross Hospital,’ what further inferences 推理 may we draw?”

“Do none suggest themselves? You know my methods 方法. Apply them!”

“I can only think of the obvious 明显 conclusion 结论 that the man has practised in town before going to the country.”

“I think that we might venture 企业；投机活动；商业冒险 a little farther than this. Look at it in this light. On what occasion would it be most probable that such a presentation 介绍 would be made? When would his friends unite to give him a pledge 保证 of their good will? Obviously 明显 at the moment when Dr. Mortimer withdrew from the service of the hospital in order to start a practice for himself. We know there has been a presentation 介绍. We believe there has been a change from a town hospital to a country practice. Is it, then, stretching our inference 推理 too far to say that the presentation 介绍 was on the occasion of the change?”

“It certainly seems probable.”

“Now, you will observe that he could not have been on the staff of the hospital, since only a man well-established 建立 in a London practice could hold such a position, and such a one would not drift 漂移 into the country. What was he, then? If he was in the hospital and yet not on the staff he could only have been a house-surgeon 外科医生 or a house-physician 医师—little more than a senior 前辈 student. And he left five years ago—the date is on the stick. So your grave 坟墓；严重的, middle-aged family practitioner 从业者 vanishes 消失 into thin air, my dear Watson, and there emerges 出现 a young fellow under thirty 三十, amiable 可亲, unambitious, absent 缺席的-minded, and the possessor 拥有者 of a favourite dog, which I should describe roughly as being larger than a terrier and smaller than a mastiff.”

I laughed incredulously as Sherlock Holmes leaned lean back in his settee and blew blow little wavering 动摇 rings of smoke up to the ceiling 天花板.

“As to the latter part, I have no means of checking you,” said I, “but at least it is not difficult to find out a few particulars about the man’s age and professional 专业的 career.” From my small medical shelf 架子 I took down the Medical Directory and turned up the name. There were several Mortimers, but only one who could be our visitor. I read his record aloud 高声.

“Mortimer, James, M.R.C.S., 1882, Grimpen, Dartmoor, Devon.
House-surgeon 外科医生, from 1882 to 1884, at Charing Cross Hospital.
Winner of the Jackson prize 奖赏 for Comparative Pathology,
with essay 短文 entitled 使有资格，允许 ‘Is Disease a Reversion?’ Corresponding
member of the Swedish Pathological Society. Author 作者 of
‘Some Freaks of Atavism’ (Lancet 1882). ‘Do We Progress?’
(Journal 日志 of Psychology, March 行军；三月, 1883). Medical Officer
for the parishes 教区 of Grimpen, Thorsley, and High Barrow.”

“No mention of that local hunt, Watson,” said Holmes with a mischievous smile, “but a country doctor, as you very astutely observed. I think that I am fairly justified 为…辩护；证明…正当；是…的正当理由 in my inferences 推理. As to the adjectives 形容词, I said, if I remember right, amiable 可亲, unambitious, and absent 缺席的-minded. It is my experience that it is only an amiable 可亲 man in this world who receives testimonials, only an unambitious one who abandons 放弃 a London career for the country, and only an absent-minded one who leaves his stick and not his visiting-card after waiting an hour in your room.”

“And the dog?”

“Has been in the habit 习惯 of carrying this stick behind his master. Being a heavy stick the dog has held it tightly 紧的 by the middle, and the marks of his teeth are very plainly visible 可以看见的；可视的. The dog’s jaw 下巴, as shown in the space between these marks, is too broad in my opinion for a terrier and not broad enough for a mastiff. It may have been—yes, by Jove, it is a curly 卷曲-haired spaniel.”

He had risen rise and paced 步伐，速度 the room as he spoke speak. Now he halted 停 in the recess 凹槽 of the window. There was such a ring of conviction 定罪 in his voice that I glanced 一瞥 up in surprise.

“My dear fellow, how can you possibly be so sure of that?”

“For the very simple reason that I see the dog himself on our very door-step, and there is the ring of its owner. Don’t move, I beg 乞讨 you, Watson. He is a professional 专业的 brother of yours, and your presence may be of assistance 帮助 to me. Now is the dramatic 戏剧性 moment of fate 命运, Watson, when you hear a step upon the stair 楼梯 which is walking into your life, and you know not whether for good or ill 生病. What does Dr. James Mortimer, the man of science, ask of Sherlock Holmes, the specialist 专家；专业人员 in crime 罪行? Come in!”

The appearance of our visitor was a surprise to me, since I had expected a typical 典型 country practitioner 从业者. He was a very tall, thin man, with a long nose like a beak 喙, which jutted 突出部分 out between two keen 热切的, gray eyes, set closely together and sparkling 火花 brightly from behind a pair of gold 金-rimmed 轮缘 glasses. He was clad 包层的 in a professional 专业的 but rather slovenly fashion, for his frock-coat was dingy and his trousers 长裤 frayed 磨损. Though young, his long back was already bowed 弓, and he walked with a forward thrust 推力 of his head and a general air of peering 窥视 benevolence. As he entered his eyes fell fall upon the stick in Holmes’s hand, and he ran towards it with an exclamation of joy 喜悦. “I am so very glad 高兴的,” said he. “I was not sure whether I had left it here or in the Shipping Office. I would not lose that stick for the world.”

“A presentation 介绍, I see,” said Holmes.

“Yes, sir 先生.”

“From Charing Cross Hospital?”

“From one or two friends there on the occasion of my marriage.”

“Dear, dear, that’s bad!” said Holmes, shaking his head.

Dr. Mortimer blinked 眨 through his glasses in mild 温柔的 astonishment 惊愕. “Why was it bad?”

“Only that you have disarranged our little deductions 扣除. Your marriage, you say?”

“Yes, sir 先生. I married, and so left the hospital, and with it all hopes of a consulting 咨询；请教；查阅 practice. It was necessary to make a home of my own.”

“Come, come, we are not so far wrong, after all,” said Holmes. “And now, Dr. James Mortimer—”

“Mister, sir, Mister—a humble 谦逊的 M.R.C.S.”

“And a man of precise 精确 mind, evidently 明显地.”

“A dabbler in science, Mr. Holmes, a picker up of shells 壳 on the shores of the great unknown 未知 ocean 洋. I presume 假设 that it is Mr. Sherlock Holmes whom 谁 I am addressing and not—”

“No, this is my friend Dr. Watson.”

“ Glad 高兴的 to meet you, sir 3. I have heard your name mentioned in connection with that of your friend. You interest me very much, Mr. Holmes. I had hardly expected so dolichocephalic a skull 头骨 or such well-marked supra-orbital development. Would you have any objection 反对 to my running my finger along your parietal fissure? A cast 投 of your skull 头骨, sir, until the original 原版的 is available, would be an ornament 装饰 to any anthropological museum 博物馆. It is not my intention to be fulsome, but I confess 供认 that I covet 贪图 your skull 头骨.”

Sherlock Holmes waved our strange visitor into a chair. “You are an enthusiast 爱好者 in your line of thought, I perceive 认为, sir, as I am in mine,” said he. “I observe from your fore‧finger 前面‧手指 that you make your own cigarettes 香烟，纸烟. Have no hesitation 犹豫 in lighting one.”

The man drew draw out paper and tobacco 烟草 and twirled the one up in the other with surprising dexterity. He had long, quivering 颤动 fingers as agile and rest‧less 不安 as the antennae of an insect 虫.

Holmes was silent, but his little darting 镖 glances 一瞥 showed me the interest which he took in our curious companion 同伴. “I presume 假设, sir,” said he at last, “that it was not merely for the purpose of examining my skull 头骨 that you have done me the honour to call here last night and again today?”

“No, sir, no; though I am happy to have had the opportunity of doing that as well. I came to you, Mr. Holmes, because I recognized that I am myself 我 an unpractical man and because I am suddenly con‧front 面对 with a most serious and extra‧ordinary 非凡的 problem. Recognizing, as I do, that you are the second highest expert 专家 in Europe—”

“Indeed, sir! May I inquire 打听 who has the honour to be the first?” asked Holmes with some asperity.

“To the man of precisely 精确地 scientific mind the work of Monsieur Bertillon must always appeal 上诉 strongly.”

“Then had you not better consult 咨询；请教；查阅 him?”

“I said, sir, to the precisely scientific mind. But as a practical man of affairs it is acknowledged 确认 that you stand alone. I trust, sir, that I have not inadvertently 不经意间—”

“Just a little,” said Holmes. “I think, Dr. Mortimer, you would do wisely 明智的；聪明的 if without more ado you would kindly tell me plainly what the exact nature of the problem is in which you demand my assistance 帮助.”

Chapter 2. The Curse of the Baskervilles

“I have in my pocket 口袋 a manuscript 手稿,” said Dr. James Mortimer.

“I observed it as you entered the room,” said Holmes.

“It is an old manuscript 手稿.”

“Early eighteenth century, unless it is a forgery.”

“How can you say that, sir?”

“You have presented an inch or two of it to my examination 检查 all the time that you have been talking. It would be a poor expert 专家 who could not give the date of a document 文件 within a decade 十 or so. You may possibly have read my little monograph 专着 upon the subject. I put that at 1730.”

“The exact date is 1742.” Dr. Mortimer drew it from his breast 乳房- pocket 口袋. “This family paper was committed 承诺 to my care by Sir Charles Baskerville, whose 谁的 sudden and tragic 悲惨 death some three months ago created so much excitement 激动 in Devonshire. I may say that I was his personal 个人 friend as well as his medical attend‧ant 服务员. He was a strong-minded man, sir, shrewd 精明, practical, and as unimaginative as I am myself 我. Yet he took this document 文件 very seriously, and his mind was prepared for just such an end as did eventually 终于 overtake him.”

Holmes stretched out his hand for the manuscript 手稿 and flat‧ten 变平 it upon his knee. “You will observe, Watson, the alter‧native 替代 use of the long s and the short. It is one of several indications 迹象 which enabled 启用 me to fix the date.”

I looked over his shoulder at the yellow paper and the faded 褪去 script 脚本. At the head was written: “Baskerville Hall,” and below in large, scrawling figures: “1742.”

“It appears to be a statement 声明 of some sort.”

“Yes, it is a statement 声明 of a certain legend 传说 which runs in the Baskerville family.”

“But I understand that it is something more modern and practical upon which you wish to consult 咨询；请教；查阅 me?”

“Most modern. A most practical, pressing matter, which must be decided within twenty 二十-four hours. But the manuscript 手稿 is short and is intimately 密切 connected 连接 with the affair. With your per‧mission 允许 I will read it to you.”

Holmes leaned back in his chair, placed his finger-tips 尖；窍门 together, and closed his eyes, with an air of resignation 辞职. Dr. Mortimer turned the manuscript 手稿 to the light and read in a high, cracking 破裂 voice the following curious, old-world narrative 叙述:

“Of the origin of the Hound of the Baskervilles there
have been many statements 声明, yet as I come in a direct
line from Hugo Baskerville, and as I had the story from
my father, who also had it from his, I have set it down
with all belief that it occurred 发生 even as is here set
forth. And I would have you believe, my sons, that the
same Justice which punishes 处罚 sin 罪 may also most graciously 亲切
for‧give 原谅 it, and that no ban 禁止 is so heavy but that by prayer
and repentance it may be removed 去掉. Learn then from this
story not to fear the fruits of the past, but rather to
be circumspect in the future, that those foul 犯规 passions 激情，热情；强烈情感
whereby 因此 our family has suffered so grievously may not
again be loosed to our undoing 解开.

“Know then that in the time of the Great Rebellion (the
history of which by the learned learn Lord Clarendon I most
ear‧nest 热心的 commend 表彰 to your attention) this Manor of
Baskerville was held by Hugo of that name, nor can it be
gainsaid that he was a most wild, profane, and god‧less 上帝‧少
man. This, in truth, his neighbours might have pardoned 宽恕；说啥？,
seeing that saints 圣 have never flourished 繁荣 in those parts,
but there was in him a certain wanton and cruel 残酷的 humour
which made his name a by-word through the West. It
chanced that this Hugo came to love (if, indeed, so dark
a passion 激情，热情；强烈情感 may be known under so bright a name) the daughter
of a yeoman who held lands near the Baskerville estate 房地产.
But the young maiden 少女, being discreet 慎重 and of good repute 名气,
would ever avoid him, for she feared his evil name. So
it came to pass that one Michaelmas this Hugo, with five
or six of his idle 无意义的 and wicked 邪恶的 companions 同伴, stole down upon
the farm and carried off the maiden 少女, her father and
brothers being from home, as he well knew. When they had
brought her to the Hall the maiden 少女 was placed in an upper
chamber 室, while Hugo and his friends sat sit down to a long
carouse, as was their nightly custom 习惯. Now, the poor lass
upstairs 楼上 was like to have her wits 风趣 turned at the singing
and shouting and terrible oaths 誓言 which came up to her from
below, for they say that the words used by Hugo Baskerville,
when he was in wine, were such as might blast 爆破 the man who
said them. At last in the stress 强调 of her fear she did that
which might have daunted 吓住 the bravest 勇敢的 or most active man,
for by the aid 援助 of the growth of ivy which covered (and
still covers) the south wall she came down from under the
eaves, and so home‧ward 家‧病房 across the moor 泊, there being three
leagues 联盟；联赛 betwixt the Hall and her father’s farm.

“It chanced that some little time later Hugo left his
guests to carry food and drink—with other worse things,
per‧chance 每个；依照‧机会—to his captive 俘虏, and so found the cage 笼子 empty
and the bird escaped. Then, as it would seem, he became
as one that hath a devil 魔鬼, for, rushing 仓促 down the stairs 楼梯
into the dining 吃饭-hall, he sprang upon the great table,
flagons and trenchers flying before him, and he cried
aloud 高声 before all the company that he would that very
night render 给予 his body and soul to the Powers of Evil if
he might but overtake the wench. And while the revellers
stood aghast at the fury 愤怒 of the man, one more wicked 邪恶的 or,
it may be, more drunken 醉 than the rest, cried out that
they should put the hounds 猎犬 upon her. Whereat Hugo ran
from the house, crying to his grooms 马夫 that they should
saddle 马鞍 his mare 母马 and unkennel the pack, and giving the
hounds 猎犬 a kerchief of the maid 女佣’s, he swung swing them to the
line, and so off full cry in the moon‧light 月光 over the moor 泊.

“Now, for some space the revellers stood agape, unable 无法
to understand all that had been done in such haste 匆忙. But
anon 不久 their bemused wits 风趣 awoke 醒着的:awake to the nature of the deed 行为
which was like to be done upon the moorlands. Everything
was now in an uproar, some calling for their pistols 手枪,
some for their horses, and some for another flask 烧瓶 of
wine. But at length some sense came back to their crazed 狂热
minds, and the whole of them, thirteen 十三 in number, took
horse and started in pursuit 追求. The moon shone 发光:shine clear above
them, and they rode ride swiftly 如飞 abreast, taking that course
which the maid 女佣 must needs have taken if she were to reach
her own home.

“They had gone a mile or two when they passed one of the
night shepherds 牧羊人 upon the moorlands, and they cried to
him to know if he had seen the hunt. And the man, as
the story goes, was so crazed 狂热 with fear that he could
scarce 缺乏的 speak, but at last he said that he had indeed seen
the unhappy 不快乐 maiden 少女, with the hounds 猎犬 upon her track 小路. ‘But
I have seen more than that,’ said he, ‘for Hugo Baskerville
passed me upon his black mare 母马, and there ran mute 静音 behind
him such a hound 猎犬 of hell 地狱 as God forbid 禁止 should ever be at
my heels 脚跟.’ So the drunken 醉 squires cursed 诅咒 the shepherd 牧羊人
and rode onward 向前. But soon their skins 皮 turned cold, for
there came a galloping 驰骋 across the moor 泊, and the black
mare 母马, dabbled with white froth, went past with trailing 乡间小道
bridle and empty saddle 马鞍. Then the revellers rode close
together, for a great fear was on them, but they still
followed over the moor 泊, though each, had he been alone,
would have been right glad to have turned his horse’s
head. Riding slowly in this fashion they came at last
upon the hounds 猎犬. These, though known for their valour
and their breed 养育；繁殖, were whimpering in a cluster 簇 at the
head of a deep dip 浸 or goyal, as we call it, upon the
moor 泊, some slinking away and some, with starting hackles
and staring eyes, gazing 凝视 down the narrow valley before them.

“The company had come to a halt 停, more sober 清醒 men, as you
may guess, than when they started. The most of them
would by no means advance, but three of them, the boldest 胆大的；醒目的,
or it may be the most drunken 醉, rode forward down the goyal.
Now, it opened into a broad space in which stood two of
those great stones, still to be seen there, which were
set by certain forgotten forget peoples in the days of old.
The moon was shining 发光 bright upon the clearing, and there
in the centre lay lie the unhappy 不快乐 maid 女佣 where she had fallen fall,
dead of fear and of fatigue 疲劳. But it was not the sight
of her body, nor yet was it that of the body of Hugo
Baskerville lying near her, which raised the hair upon
the heads of these three dare 敢- devil 魔鬼 roysterers, but it
was that, standing over Hugo, and plucking 采摘 at his throat,
there stood a foul 犯规 thing, a great, black beast 野兽, shaped
like a hound 猎犬, yet larger than any hound 猎犬 that ever mortal 凡人
eye has rested upon. And even as they looked the thing
tore tear the throat out of Hugo Baskerville, on which, as it
turned its blazing 火焰 eyes and dripping 滴 jaws 下巴 upon them, the
three shrieked 尖叫 with fear and rode for dear life, still
screaming 叫喊, across the moor 泊. One, it is said, died that
very night of what he had seen, and the other twain were
but broken break men for the rest of their days.

“Such is the tale 故事，不实之词, my sons, of the coming of the hound 猎犬
which is said to have plagued 鼠疫 the family so sorely 疼痛的 ever
since. If I have set it down it is because that which
is clearly known hath less terror 恐怖 than that which is but
hinted 暗示 at and guessed. Nor can it be denied 拒绝 that many
of the family have been unhappy 不快乐 in their deaths, which
have been sudden, bloody 血腥的；该死的；他妈的, and mysterious 神秘. Yet may we
shelter ourselves 我们自己 in the infinite 无穷 goodness 善良 of Providence,
which would not for‧ever 永远 punish 处罚 the innocent 无辜 beyond that
third or fourth generation 代 which is threatened in Holy 神圣的
Writ. To that Providence, my sons, I hereby 特此 commend 表彰
you, and I counsel 法律顾问 you by way of caution 小心 to for‧bear 为‧生；熊 from
crossing the moor 泊 in those dark hours when the powers of
evil are exalted.

“[This from Hugo Baskerville to his sons Rodger and John,
with instructions 指令 that they say nothing thereof 其 to their
sister 姐妹 Elizabeth.]”

When Dr. Mortimer had finished reading this singular 单数 narrative 叙述 he pushed his spectacles 场面；眼镜 up on his fore‧head 前额 and stared across at Mr. Sherlock Holmes. The latter yawned 打哈欠 and tossed 折腾 the end of his cigarette 香烟，纸烟 into the fire.

“Well?” said he.

“Do you not find it interesting?”

“To a collector 收藏家 of fairy 仙女 tales 故事，不实之词.”

Dr. Mortimer drew a folded 折叠 newspaper out of his pocket.

“Now, Mr. Holmes, we will give you something a little more recent. This is the Devon County 县 Chronicle of May 14th of this year. It is a short account of the facts elicited 引出 at the death of Sir Charles Baskerville which occurred 发生 a few days before that date.”

My friend leaned a little forward and his expression became intent 意图. Our visitor readjusted his glasses and began:

“The recent sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville, whose 谁的
name has been mentioned as the probable Liberal 自由主义的 candidate 候选人
for Mid-Devon at the next election, has cast 投 a gloom 愁云 over
the county 县. Though Sir Charles had resided 居住 at Baskerville
Hall for a comparatively 比较 short period his amiability of
character and extreme generosity 慷慨 had won win the affect‧ion 感情
and respect of all who had been brought into contact 联系 with
him. In these days of nouveaux riches it is refreshing 使恢复
to find a case where the scion of an old county 县 family
which has fallen upon evil days is able to make his own
for‧tune 命运 and to bring it back with him to restore 修复；使复位；使复职 the
fallen grandeur 富丽堂皇 of his line. Sir Charles, as is well known,
made large sums 和 of money in South African speculation 推测.
More wise 明智的；聪明的 than those who go on until the wheel turns
against them, he realized his gains and returned to England
with them. It is only two years since he took up his
residence 住宅 at Baskerville Hall, and it is common talk how
large were those schemes 方案 of reconstruction 重建 and improvement 起色
which have been interrupted 打断 by his death. Being himself
child‧less 小孩‧少, it was his openly expressed desire that the
whole country‧side 农村 should, within his own life‧time 一生, profit
by his good for‧tune 命运, and many will have personal 个人 reasons
for bewailing his untimely end. His generous 慷慨的 donations 捐款
to local and county 县 charities 慈善 have been frequently
chronicled 编年史 in these columns 柱.

“The circumstances 环境 connected with the death of Sir Charles
cannot be said to have been entirely cleared up by the
inquest, but at least enough has been done to dispose 部署 of
those rumours to which local superstition 迷信 has given rise.
There is no reason whatever to suspect 怀疑；嫌疑犯 foul 犯规 play, or to
imagine that death could be from any but natural 自然 causes.
Sir Charles was a widower 鳏夫, and a man who may be said to
have been in some ways of an eccentric 偏心 habit 习惯 of mind.
In spite 恶意 of his consider‧able 大量 wealth 财产 he was simple in his
personal 个人 tastes, and his indoor 室内的 servants 仆人 at Baskerville
Hall consisted 组成 of a married couple named Barrymore, the
husband acting as butler 男管家 and the wife as house‧keep 管家.
Their evidence 证据, corroborated by that of several friends,
tends to show that Sir Charles’s health has for some time
been impaired 妨害, and points especially to some affect‧ion 感情
of the heart, manifesting 表现 itself 本身 in changes of colour,
breathlessness, and acute 急性 attacks of nervous 担心的 depression 忧闷，压抑，不快乐.
Dr. James Mortimer, the friend and medical attend‧ant 服务员 of
the deceased 死亡, has given evidence 证据 to the same effect.

“The facts of the case are simple. Sir Charles Baskerville
was in the habit every night before going to bed of walking
down the famous 著名 yew alley 胡同 of Baskerville Hall. The evidence 证据
of the Barrymores shows that this had been his custom 习惯.
On the fourth of May Sir Charles had declared his intention
of starting next day for London, and had ordered Barrymore
to prepare his luggage 行李. That night he went out as usual
for his nocturnal walk, in the course of which he was in
the habit of smoking a cigar 雪茄. He never returned. At
twelve 十二 o’ clock 钟 Barrymore, finding the hall door still open,
became alarmed 警告, and, lighting a lantern 灯笼, went in search
of his master. The day had been wet 湿的, and Sir Charles’s
footmarks were easily traced 跟踪 down the alley 胡同. Halfway down
this walk there is a gate 门 which leads out on to the moor 泊.
There were indications 迹象 that Sir Charles had stood for some
little time here. He then proceeded 继续 down the alley 胡同, and
it was at the far end of it that his body was discovered.
One fact which has not been explained is the statement 声明
of Barrymore that his master’s foot‧print 脚印 altered 改变 their
character from the time that he passed the moor 泊- gate 门, and
that he appeared from thence onward 向前 to have been walking
upon his toes 脚趾. One Murphy, a gipsy horse-dealer 商人，商贩, was on
the moor 泊 at no great distance at the time, but he appears
by his own confession 承认 to have been the worse for drink.
He declares that he heard cries but is unable 无法 to state
from what direction they came. No signs of violence 暴力 were
to be discovered upon Sir Charles’s person, and though
the doctor’s evidence 证据 pointed to an almost incredible 难以置信
facial 面部 distortion 失真—so great that Dr. Mortimer refused at
first to believe that it was indeed his friend and patient
who lay before him—it was explained that that is a symptom 症状
which is not unusual 异常 in cases of dyspnoea and death from
cardiac 心脏的 exhaustion 衰竭. This explanation 说明 was borne bear out by
the post-mortem examination 检查, which showed long-standing
organic 有机 disease, and the coroner 验尸官’s jury 陪审团 returned a
verdict 判决书 in accordance 按照 with the medical evidence 证据. It is
well that this is so, for it is obviously 明显 of the utmost 极
importance that Sir Charles’s heir 继承者 should settle at the
Hall and continue the good work which has been so sadly 悲哀的
interrupted. Had the prosaic finding of the coroner 验尸官 not
finally put an end to the romantic 浪漫 stories which have been
whispered 低声说 in connection with the affair, it might have been
difficult to find a tenant 承租人 for Baskerville Hall. It is
understood understand that the next of kin 亲属 is Mr. Henry Baskerville,
if he be still alive 活的；有生命的, the son of Sir Charles Baskerville’s
younger brother. The young man when last heard of was
in America, and inquiries 调查 are being instituted 研究所 with a
view to informing him of his good for‧tune 命运.”

Dr. Mortimer refolded his paper and replaced it in his pocket. “Those are the public facts, Mr. Holmes, in connection with the death of Sir Charles Baskerville.”

“I must thank you,” said Sherlock Holmes, “for calling my attention to a case which certainly presents some features 特征 of interest. I had observed some newspaper comment 评论 at the time, but I was exceedingly 非常 pre‧occupy 全神贯注 by that little affair of the Vatican cameos, and in my anxiety 焦虑 to oblige 责成 the Pope I lost touch with several interesting English cases. This article, you say, contains all the public facts?”

“It does.”

“Then let me have the private ones.” He leaned back, put his finger-tips together, and assumed 承担 his most impassive and judicial 司法 expression.

“In doing so,” said Dr. Mortimer, who had begun to show signs of some strong emotion 情感, “I am telling that which I have not confided 信任 to anyone. My motive 动机 for with‧hold 扣压 it from the coroner 验尸官’s inquiry 调查 is that a man of science shrinks 收缩 from placing himself in the public position of seeming to indorse a popular superstition 迷信. I had the further motive 动机 that Baskerville Hall, as the paper says, would certainly remain untenanted if anything were done to increase its already rather grim 严峻 reputation 名气. For both these reasons I thought that I was justified in telling rather less than I knew, since no practical good could result from it, but with you there is no reason why I should not be perfectly frank 坦率.

“The moor 泊 is very sparsely 疏 inhabited 居住于, and those who live near each other are thrown throw very much together. For this reason I saw a good deal of Sir Charles Baskerville. With the exception of Mr. Frankland, of Lafter Hall, and Mr. Stapleton, the naturalist, there are no other men of education within many miles. Sir Charles was a retiring man, but the chance of his illness 疾病 brought us together, and a community of interests in science kept us so. He had brought back much scientific information from South Africa, and many a charming 魔力；使陶醉 evening we have spent spend together discussing the comparative 比较 anatomy 解剖学 of the Bushman and the Hottentot.

“Within the last few months it became increasingly 日益 plain to me that Sir Charles’s nervous 担心的 system was strained 压力 to the breaking point. He had taken this legend 传说 which I have read you exceedingly 非常 to heart—so much so that, although he would walk in his own grounds, nothing would induce 促使 him to go out upon the moor 泊 at night. Incredible as it may appear to you, Mr. Holmes, he was honestly 诚实的 convinced 说服 that a dreadful 可怕 fate 命运 overhung his family, and certainly the records which he was able to give of his ancestors 祖先 were not encouraging. The idea of some ghastly 阴森 presence constantly 总是；经常地，不断地 haunted 出没 him, and on more than one occasion he has asked me whether I had on my medical journeys 旅行 at night ever seen any strange creature 动物；生物 or heard the baying of a hound 猎犬. The latter question he put to me several times, and always with a voice which vibrated 颤动 with excitement 激动.

“I can well remember driving up to his house in the evening some three weeks before the fatal 致命 event. He chanced to be at his hall door. I had descended 下来 from my gig 演出 and was standing in front of him, when I saw his eyes fix themselves over my shoulder and stare past me with an expression of the most dreadful 可怕 horror 恐怖. I whisked 拂 round and had just time to catch a glimpse 一瞥 of something which I took to be a large black calf 小牛 passing at the head of the drive. So excited and alarmed was he that I was compelled 迫使 to go down to the spot where the animal had been and look around for it. It was gone, however, and the incident 事件 appeared to make the worst 生病:ill impression 印象 upon his mind. I stayed with him all the evening, and it was on that occasion, to explain the emotion 情感 which he had shown, that he confided 信任 to my keeping that narrative 叙述 which I read to you when first I came. I mention this small episode 事件 because it assumes 承担 some importance in view of the tragedy 悲剧 which followed, but I was convinced 说服 at the time that the matter was entirely trivial 不重要的 and that his excitement 激动 had no justification 理由.

“It was at my advice 劝告 that Sir Charles was about to go to London. His heart was, I knew, affected 影响, and the constant 不变 anxiety 焦虑 in which he lived, however chimerical the cause of it might be, was evidently 明显地 having a serious effect upon his health. I thought that a few months among the distractions 娱乐 of town would send him back a new man. Mr. Stapleton, a mutual 相互 friend who was much concerned at his state of health, was of the same opinion. At the last instant 瞬间 came this terrible catastrophe 灾难.

“On the night of Sir Charles’s death Barrymore the butler 男管家, who made the discovery 发现, sent send Perkins the groom 马夫 on horse‧back 马背 to me, and as I was sitting up late I was able to reach Baskerville Hall within an hour of the event. I checked and corroborated all the facts which were mentioned at the inquest. I followed the foot‧step 脚步 down the yew alley 胡同, I saw the spot at the moor 泊-gate where he seemed to have waited, I remarked the change in the shape of the prints after that point, I noted that there were no other foot‧step 脚步 save those of Barrymore on the soft gravel 碎石, and finally I carefully 小心 examined the body, which had not been touched until my arrival 到达. Sir Charles lay on his face, his arms out, his fingers dug 挖:dig into the ground grind, and his features 特征 convulsed with some strong emotion 情感 to such an extent that I could hardly have sworn 发誓:swear to his identity 身分. There was certainly no physical 物理 injury 伤 of any kind. But one false 虚伪的 statement 声明 was made by Barrymore at the inquest. He said that there were no traces 跟踪 upon the ground round the body. He did not observe any. But I did—some little distance off, but fresh and clear.”

“Footprints?”

“Footprints.”

“A man’s or a woman’s?”

Dr. Mortimer looked strangely at us for an instant 瞬间, and his voice sank 淹没:sink almost to a whisper 低声说 as he answered.

“Mr. Holmes, they were the foot‧print 脚印 of a gigantic 巨大 hound 猎犬!”

Chapter 3. The Problem

I confess 供认 at these words a shudder 不寒而栗 passed through me. There was a thrill 颤抖 in the doctor’s voice which showed that he was himself deeply moved by that which he told us. Holmes leaned forward in his excitement 激动 and his eyes had the hard, dry glitter 闪光 which shot shoot from them when he was keenly 热切的 interested.

“You saw this?”

“As clearly as I see you.”

“And you said nothing?”

“What was the use?”

“How was it that no one else saw it?”

“The marks were some twenty 二十 yards from the body and no one gave them a thought. I don’t suppose I should have done so had I not known this legend 传说.”

“There are many sheep 羊-dogs on the moor 泊?”

“No doubt, but this was no sheep-dog.”

“You say it was large?”

“Enormous 巨大.”

“But it had not approached the body?”

“No.”

“What sort of night was it?’

“ Damp 微湿的 and raw 生的.”

“But not actually raining?”

“No.”

“What is the alley 胡同 like?”

“There are two lines of old yew hedge 树篱, twelve 十二 feet high and impenetrable. The walk in the centre is about eight 八 feet across.”

“Is there anything between the hedges 树篱 and the walk?”

“Yes, there is a strip of grass 草 about six feet broad on either side.”

“I understand that the yew hedge 树篱 is penetrated 穿透 at one point by a gate?”

“Yes, the wicket 便门-gate which leads on to the moor 泊.”

“Is there any other opening?”

“None.”

“So that to reach the yew alley 胡同 one either has to come down it from the house or else to enter it by the moor 泊-gate?”

“There is an exit 出口 through a summer-house at the far end.”

“Had Sir Charles reached this?”

“No; he lay about fifty 五十 yards from it.”

“Now, tell me, Dr. Mortimer—and this is important—the marks which you saw were on the path 小路 and not on the grass 草?”

“No marks could show on the grass.”

“Were they on the same side of the path as the moor 泊-gate?”

“Yes; they were on the edge of the path on the same side as the moor 泊-gate.”

“You interest me exceedingly 非常. Another point. Was the wicket 便门-gate closed?”

“Closed and padlocked.”

“How high was it?”

“About four feet high.”

“Then anyone could have got over it?”

“Yes.”

“And what marks did you see by the wicket 便门-gate?”

“None in particular.”

“Good heaven 天! Did no one examine?”

“Yes, I examined, myself 我.”

“And found nothing?”

“It was all very confused 使困窘. Sir Charles had evidently 明显地 stood there for five or ten 十 minutes.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because the ash 灰 had twice 两次 dropped from his cigar 雪茄.”

“Excellent! This is a colleague 同事, Watson, after our own heart. But the marks?”

“He had left his own marks all over that small patch 补丁 of gravel 碎石. I could discern 辨别 no others.”

Sherlock Holmes struck strike his hand against his knee with an impatient 不耐烦 gesture 手势.

“If I had only been there!” he cried. “It is evidently 明显地 a case of extra‧ordinary 非凡的 interest, and one which presented immense 极大的 opportunities to the scientific expert 专家. That gravel 碎石 page upon which I might have read so much has been long ere this smudged by the rain and defaced by the clogs 阻塞 of curious peasants 农. Oh, Dr. Mortimer, Dr. Mortimer, to think that you should not have called me in! You have indeed much to answer for.”

“I could not call you in, Mr. Holmes, without disclosing 透露 these facts to the world, and I have already given my reasons for not wishing to do so. Besides, besides—”

“Why do you hesitate 犹豫?”

“There is a realm 领域 in which the most acute 急性 and most experienced of detectives 侦探 is help‧less 无助.”

“You mean that the thing is super‧natural 超自然?”

“I did not positively 积极 say so.”

“No, but you evidently 明显地 think it.”

“Since the tragedy 悲剧, Mr. Holmes, there have come to my ears several incidents 事件 which are hard to reconcile 调和 with the settled order of Nature.”

“For example?”

“I find that before the terrible event occurred 发生 several people had seen a creature 动物；生物 upon the moor 泊 which corresponds 对应 with this Baskerville demon 恶魔, and which could not possibly be any animal known to science. They all agreed that it was a huge 巨大 creature, luminous, ghastly 阴森, and spectral 光谱. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed country‧man 农村人, one a farrier, and one a moor‧land 泊‧陆地；着陆 farmer, who all tell the same story of this dreadful 可怕 apparition, exactly corresponding 对应 to the hell 地狱-hound 猎犬 of the legend 传说. I assure 向…保证；肯定地说 you that there is a reign 统治 of terror 恐怖 in the district, and that it is a hardy 耐寒 man who will cross the moor 泊 at night.”

“And you, a trained man of science, believe it to be super‧natural 超自然?”

“I do not know what to believe.”

Holmes shrugged 耸 his shoulders. “I have hitherto 迄今 con‧fine 局限 my investigations 调查 to this world,” said he. “In a modest 谦虚的 way I have combated 战斗 evil, but to take on the Father of Evil himself would, perhaps, be too ambitious 有雄心的 a task 任务. Yet you must admit that the foot‧mark 脚；英尺‧斑点；标注 is material.”

“The original 原版的 hound 猎犬 was material enough to tug 拖船 a man’s throat out, and yet he was diabolical as well.”

“I see that you have quite gone over to the supernaturalists. But now, Dr. Mortimer, tell me this. If you hold these views, why have you come to consult 咨询；请教；查阅 me at all? You tell me in the same breath that it is use‧less 无用 to investigate 调查 Sir Charles’s death, and that you desire me to do it.”

“I did not say that I desired you to do it.”

“Then, how can I assist 帮助；协助；援助 you?”

“By advising me as to what I should do with Sir Henry Baskerville, who arrives at Waterloo Station”—Dr. Mortimer looked at his watch—“in exactly one hour and a quarter.”

“He being the heir 继承者?”

“Yes. On the death of Sir Charles we inquired 打听 for this young gentle‧man 先生 and found that he had been farming in Canada. From the accounts which have reached us he is an excellent fellow in every way. I speak now not as a medical man but as a trustee 受托人 and executor of Sir Charles’s will.”

“There is no other claim‧ant 索赔, I presume 假设?”

“None. The only other kinsman whom 谁 we have been able to trace 跟踪 was Rodger Baskerville, the youngest of three brothers of whom poor Sir Charles was the elder 年长的. The second brother, who died young, is the father of this lad 小伙子 Henry. The third, Rodger, was the black sheep 羊 of the family. He came of the old masterful Baskerville strain 压力 and was the very image 图片, they tell me, of the family picture of old Hugo. He made England too hot to hold him, fled to Central 中央 America, and died there in 1876 of yellow fever 发热. Henry is the last of the Baskervilles. In one hour and five minutes I meet him at Waterloo Station. I have had a wire that he arrived at Southampton this morning. Now, Mr. Holmes, what would you advise me to do with him?”

“Why should he not go to the home of his fathers?”

“It seems natural 自然, does it not? And yet, consider that every Baskerville who goes there meets with an evil fate 命运. I feel sure that if Sir Charles could have spoken speak with me before his death he would have warned me against bringing this, the last of the old race, and the heir 继承者 to great wealth 财产, to that deadly place. And yet it cannot be denied 拒绝 that the prosperity 繁荣 of the whole poor, bleak 苍凉 country‧side 农村 depends upon his presence. All the good work which has been done by Sir Charles will crash 碰撞 to the ground if there is no tenant 承租人 of the Hall. I fear lest 免得 I should be swayed 摇摆 too much by my own obvious 明显 interest in the matter, and that is why I bring the case before you and ask for your advice 劝告.”

Holmes considered for a little time.

“Put into plain words, the matter is this,” said he. “In your opinion there is a diabolical agency which makes Dartmoor an unsafe 不安全 abode for a Baskerville—that is your opinion?”

“At least I might go the length of saying that there is some evidence 证据 that this may be so.”

“Exactly. But surely, if your super‧natural 超自然 theory 理论 be correct, it could work the young man evil in London as easily as in Devonshire. A devil 魔鬼 with merely local powers like a parish 教区 vestry would be too inconceivable a thing.”

“You put the matter more flippantly, Mr. Holmes, than you would probably do if you were brought into personal 个人 contact 联系 with these things. Your advice, then, as I understand it, is that the young man will be as safe in Devonshire as in London. He comes in fifty 五十 minutes. What would you recommend?”

“I recommend, sir, that you take a cab 出租车, call off your spaniel who is scratching 刮 at my front door, and proceed 继续 to Waterloo to meet Sir Henry Baskerville.”

“And then?”

“And then you will say nothing to him at all until I have made up my mind about the matter.”

“How long will it take you to make up your mind?”

“Twenty-four hours. At ten 十 o’ clock 钟 tomorrow, Dr. Mortimer, I will be much obliged 责成 to you if you will call upon me here, and it will be of help to me in my plans for the future if you will bring Sir Henry Baskerville with you.”

“I will do so, Mr. Holmes.” He scribbled 涂 the appointment 约定 on his shirt 衬衫-cuff 袖口 and hurried off in his strange, peering 窥视, absent 3-minded fashion. Holmes stopped him at the head of the stair 楼梯.

“Only one more question, Dr. Mortimer. You say that before Sir Charles Baskerville’s death several people saw this apparition upon the moor 泊?”

“Three people did.”

“Did any see it after?”

“I have not heard of any.”

“Thank you. Good-morning.”

Holmes returned to his seat with that quiet look of inward 向内的 satisfaction 满足 which meant that he had a congenial task 任务 before him.

“Going out, Watson?”

“Unless I can help you.”

“No, my dear fellow, it is at the hour of action that I turn to you for aid 援助. But this is splendid 壮观的, really unique 独特 from some points of view. When you pass Bradley’s, would you ask him to send up a pound of the strongest shag tobacco 烟草? Thank you. It would be as well if you could make it convenient 方便的 not to return before evening. Then I should be very glad to compare impressions 印象 as to this most interesting problem which has been submitted 给 to us this morning.”

I knew that seclusion and solitude 孤独 were very necessary for my friend in those hours of intense 强烈的，极度的 mental 心理 concentration 浓度 during which he weighed 称重 every particle of evidence 证据, constructed 构造 alter‧native 替代 theories 理论, balanced one against the other, and made up his mind as to which points were essential and which immaterial. I therefore spent the day at my club and did not return to Baker Street until evening. It was nearly nine 九 o’ clock 钟 when I found myself 我 in the sitting-room once more.

My first impression 印象 as I opened the door was that a fire had broken out, for the room was so filled with smoke that the light of the lamp 灯 upon the table was blurred 模糊 by it. As I entered, however, my fears were set at rest, for it was the acrid fumes 烟 of strong coarse 粗鄙的 tobacco 烟草 which took me by the throat and set me coughing 咳嗽. Through the haze 阴霾 I had a vague 模糊 vision 视力 of Holmes in his dressing-gown 袍 coiled 盘 up in an arm‧chair 扶手椅 with his black clay pipe 管子 between his lips. Several rolls of paper lay around him.

“Caught catch cold, Watson?” said he.

“No, it’s this poisonous 有毒 atmosphere 大气层.”

“I suppose it is pretty thick, now that you mention it.”

“Thick! It is intolerable 无法忍受.”

“Open the window, then! You have been at your club all day, I perceive 认为.”

“My dear Holmes!”

“Am I right?”

“Certainly, but how?”

He laughed at my bewildered 困惑 expression. “There is a delightful 愉快 freshness about you, Watson, which makes it a pleasure to exercise any small powers which I possess 拥有 at your expense. A gentle‧man 先生 goes forth on a showery and miry day. He returns immaculate 完美 in the evening with the gloss 掩饰 still on his hat and his boots 靴；鞋. He has been a fixture 夹具 therefore all day. He is not a man with intimate 亲密 friends. Where, then, could he have been? Is it not obvious 明显?”

“Well, it is rather obvious 明显.”

“The world is full of obvious 明显 things which nobody by any chance ever observes. Where do you think that I have been?”

“A fixture 夹具 also.”

“On the contrary 相反, I have been to Devonshire.”

“In spirit?”

“Exactly. My body has remained in this arm‧chair 扶手椅 and has, I regret 后悔 to observe, consumed 消耗 in my absence 缺席 two large pots 罐 of coffee and an incredible 难以置信 amount of tobacco 3. After you left I sent down to Stamford’s for the Ordnance map 地图 of this portion 一部分；一份 of the moor 泊, and my spirit has hovered 徘徊 over it all day. I flatter myself 我 that I could find my way about.”

“A large-scale map, I presume 假设?”

“Very large.”

He unrolled one section 部分 and held it over his knee. “Here you have the particular district which concerns us. That is Baskerville Hall in the middle.”

“With a wood round it?”

“Exactly. I fancy 想像 the yew alley 胡同, though not marked under that name, must stretch along this line, with the moor 泊, as you perceive 认为, upon the right of it. This small clump 丛 of buildings here is the hamlet 村庄 of Grimpen, where our friend Dr. Mortimer has his head‧quarter 总部. Within a radius 半径 of five miles there are, as you see, only a very few scattered 散落 dwellings 住. Here is Lafter Hall, which was mentioned in the narrative 叙述. There is a house indicated 表明 here which may be the residence 住宅 of the naturalist—Stapleton, if I remember right, was his name. Here are two moor‧land 泊‧陆地；着陆 farm‧house 农家, High Tor and Foulmire. Then four‧teen 十四 miles away the great convict 定罪 prison of Princetown. Between and around these scattered points extends the desolate 荒凉, life‧less 生活‧少 moor 泊. This, then, is the stage upon which tragedy 悲剧 has been played, and upon which we may help to play it again.”

“It must be a wild place.”

“Yes, the setting is a worthy 值得 one. If the devil 3 did desire to have a hand in the affairs of men—”

“Then you are your‧self 你自己 inclining 倾斜 to the super‧natural 超自然 explanation 说明.”

“The devil’s agents may be of flesh 肉 and blood, may they not? There are two questions waiting for us at the outset 开始. The one is whether any crime 罪行 has been committed 承诺 at all; the second is, what is the crime and how was it committed 承诺? Of course, if Dr. Mortimer’s surmise should be correct, and we are dealing with forces outside the ordinary laws of Nature, there is an end of our investigation 调查. But we are bound 必定；跳 to exhaust 排气 all other hypotheses before falling back upon this one. I think we’ll shut 关闭 that window again, if you don’t mind. It is a singular 单数 thing, but I find that a concentrated 集中 atmosphere 大气层 helps a concentration 浓度 of thought. I have not pushed it to the length of getting into a box to think, but that is the logical 合乎逻辑 out‧come 结果 of my convictions 定罪. Have you turned the case over in your mind?”

“Yes, I have thought a good deal of it in the course of the day.”

“What do you make of it?”

“It is very bewildering 困惑.”

“It has certainly a character of its own. There are points of distinction 区别 about it. That change in the foot‧print 脚印, for example. What do you make of that?”

“Mortimer said that the man had walked on tiptoe down that portion 一部分；一份 of the alley 胡同.”

“He only repeated what some fool had said at the inquest. Why should a man walk on tiptoe down the alley 胡同?”

“What then?”

“He was running, Watson—running desperately 拼命, running for his life, running until he burst 爆裂 his heart—and fell dead upon his face.”

“Running from what?”

“There lies our problem. There are indications 迹象 that the man was crazed 狂热 with fear before ever he began to run.”

“How can you say that?”

“I am presuming 假设 that the cause of his fears came to him across the moor 泊. If that were so, and it seems most probable, only a man who had lost his wits 风趣 would have run from the house instead of towards it. If the gipsy’s evidence 证据 may be taken as true, he ran with cries for help in the direction where help was least likely to be. Then, again, whom 谁 was he waiting for that night, and why was he waiting for him in the yew alley 胡同 rather than in his own house?”

“You think that he was waiting for someone?”

“The man was elderly and infirm. We can understand his taking an evening stroll 漫步, but the ground was damp 微湿的 and the night inclement. Is it natural 自然 that he should stand for five or ten 十 minutes, as Dr. Mortimer, with more practical sense than I should have given him credit 信用 for, deduced 推断 from the cigar 雪茄 ash 灰?”

“But he went out every evening.”

“I think it unlikely 不会 that he waited at the moor 泊-gate every evening. On the contrary 相反, the evidence 证据 is that he avoided the moor 泊. That night he waited there. It was the night before he made his departure 离开 for London. The thing takes shape, Watson. It becomes coherent 相干. Might I ask you to hand me my violin 小提琴, and we will postpone 使延期 all further thought upon this business until we have had the advantage of meeting Dr. Mortimer and Sir Henry Baskerville in the morning.”

Chapter 4. Sir Henry Baskerville

Our break‧fast 早餐 table was cleared early, and Holmes waited in his dressing-gown 袍 for the promised interview 访问. Our clients 客户 were punctual 准时 to their appointment 约定, for the clock 3 had just struck ten 十 when Dr. Mortimer was shown up, followed by the young baronet. The latter was a small, alert 警报, dark-eyed man about thirty 三十 years of age, very sturdily 粗壮 built, with thick black eye‧brow 眉 and a strong, pugnacious face. He wore wear a ruddy-tinted 着色 tweed suit and had the weather-beaten beat appearance of one who has spent most of his time in the open air, and yet there was something in his steady eye and the quiet assurance 保证 of his bearing which indicated 表明 the gentleman.

“This is Sir Henry Baskerville,” said Dr. Mortimer.

“Why, yes,” said he, “and the strange thing is, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, that if my friend here had not proposed coming round to you this morning I should have come on my own account. I understand that you think out little puzzles 使迷惑, and I’ve had one this morning which wants more thinking out than I am able to give it.”

“Pray take a seat, Sir Henry. Do I understand you to say that you have your‧self 你自己 had some remark‧able 非凡的；奇异的；引人注目的 experience since you arrived in London?”

“Nothing of much importance, Mr. Holmes. Only a joke 笑话, as like as not. It was this letter, if you can call it a letter, which reached me this morning.”

He laid an envelope 信封 upon the table, and we all bent bend over it. It was of common quality, grayish in colour. The address, “Sir Henry Baskerville, Northumberland Hotel,” was printed in rough characters; the post-mark “Charing Cross,” and the date of posting the preceding 优于 evening.

“Who knew that you were going to the Northumberland Hotel?” asked Holmes, glancing 一瞥 keenly across at our visitor.

“No one could have known. We only decided after I met Dr. Mortimer.”

“But Dr. Mortimer was no doubt already stopping there?”

“No, I had been staying with a friend,” said the doctor.

“There was no possible indication 迹象 that we intended to go to this hotel.”

“Hum! Someone seems to be very deeply interested in your movements 运动.” Out of the envelope 信封 he took a half-sheet of foolscap paper folded into four. This he opened and spread flat upon the table. Across the middle of it a single sentence 句子 had been formed by the expedient of pasting 粘贴；面团 printed words upon it. It ran:

As you value your life or your reason keep away from the moor 泊.

The word “moor 泊” only was printed in ink 墨水.

“Now,” said Sir Henry Baskerville, “perhaps you will tell me, Mr. Holmes, what in thunder 雷声 is the meaning of that, and who it is that takes so much interest in my affairs?”

“What do you make of it, Dr. Mortimer? You must allow that there is nothing super‧natural 超自然 about this, at any rate?”

“No, sir, but it might very well come from someone who was convinced 说服 that the business is super‧natural 超自然.”

“What business?” asked Sir Henry sharply. “It seems to me that all you gentlemen know a great deal more than I do about my own affairs.”

“You shall share our knowledge before you leave this room, Sir Henry. I promise you that,” said Sherlock Holmes. “We will con‧fine 局限 ourselves 我们自己 for the present with your per‧mission 允许 to this very interesting document 文件, which must have been put together and posted yesterday evening. Have you yesterday’s Times, Watson?”

“It is here in the corner.”

“Might I trouble you for it—the inside page, please, with the leading articles?” He glanced 一瞥 swiftly 如飞 over it, running his eyes up and down the columns 柱. “Capital article this on free trade. Permit me to give you an extract 提取 from it.

‘You may be cajoled into imagining that your own special
trade or your own industry will be encouraged by a
protective 保护的 tariff 关税, but it stands to reason that such
legislation 立法 must in the long run keep away wealth 财产 from the
country, diminish 减少 the value of our imports 进口, and lower the
general conditions of life in this island.’

“What do you think of that, Watson?” cried Holmes in high glee, rubbing 擦 his hands together with satisfaction 满足. “Don’t you think that is an admirable 令人钦佩 sentiment 情绪?”

Dr. Mortimer looked at Holmes with an air of professional 专业的 interest, and Sir Henry Baskerville turned a pair of puzzled 使迷惑 dark eyes upon me.

“I don’t know much about the tariff 关税 and things of that kind,” said he, “but it seems to me we’ve got a bit 一点 off the trail 乡间小道 so far as that note is concerned.”

“On the contrary 相反, I think we are particularly hot upon the trail, Sir Henry. Watson here knows more about my methods 方法 than you do, but I fear that even he has not quite grasped 把握 the significance 重要性 of this sentence 句子.”

“No, I confess 3 that I see no connection.”

“And yet, my dear Watson, there is so very close a connection that the one is extracted 提取 out of the other. ‘You,’ ‘your,’ ‘your,’ ‘life,’ ‘reason,’ ‘value,’ ‘keep away,’ ‘from the.’ Don’t you see now whence these words have been taken?”

“By thunder 雷声, you’re right! Well, if that isn’t smart 聪明!” cried Sir Henry.

“If any possible doubt remained it is settled by the fact that ‘keep away’ and ‘from the’ are cut out in one piece.”

“Well, now—so it is!”

“Really, Mr. Holmes, this exceeds 超过 anything which I could have imagined,” said Dr. Mortimer, gazing 凝视 at my friend in amazement 惊愕. “I could understand anyone saying that the words were from a newspaper; but that you should name which, and add that it came from the leading article, is really one of the most remark‧able 非凡的；奇异的；引人注目的 things which I have ever known. How did you do it?”

“I presume 假设, Doctor, that you could tell the skull 头骨 of a negro from that of an Esquimau?”

“Most certainly.”

“But how?”

“Because that is my special hobby 爱好. The differences are obvious 明显. The supra-orbital crest 波峰, the facial 面部 angle, the maxillary curve, the—”

“But this is my special hobby 爱好, and the differences are equally obvious 明显. There is as much difference to my eyes between the leaded bourgeois 资产阶级 type of a Times article and the slovenly print of an evening half-penny 便士 paper as there could be between your negro and your Esquimau. The detect‧ion 发现 of types is one of the most elementary 初级 branches of knowledge to the special expert 专家 in crime, though I confess that once when I was very young I confused the Leeds Mercury with the Western Morning News. But a Times leader is entirely distinctive 独特, and these words could have been taken from nothing else. As it was done yesterday the strong probability 可能性 was that we should find the words in yesterday’s issue.”

“So far as I can follow you, then, Mr. Holmes,” said Sir Henry Baskerville, “someone cut out this message with a scissors 剪刀—”

“ Nail 钉子- scissors,” said Holmes. “You can see that it was a very short-bladed 刀片 scissors, since the cutter had to take two snips over ‘keep away.’”

“That is so. Someone, then, cut out the message with a pair of short-bladed scissors, pasted 粘贴；面团 it with paste 粘贴；面团—”

“Gum,” said Holmes.

“With gum 胶 on to the paper. But I want to know why the word ‘moor 泊’ should have been written?”

“Because he could not find it in print. The other words were all simple and might be found in any issue, but ‘moor 泊’ would be less common.”

“Why, of course, that would explain it. Have you read anything else in this message, Mr. Holmes?”

“There are one or two indications 迹象, and yet the utmost 极 pains have been taken to remove 去掉 all clues 线索. The address, you observe is printed in rough characters. But the Times is a paper which is seldom 很少 found in any hands but those of the highly educated 教育. We may take it, therefore, that the letter was composed by an educated man who wished to pose 以…身份出现，造成 as an uneducated one, and his effort to conceal 隐藏 his own writing suggests that that writing might be known, or come to be known, by you. Again, you will observe that the words are not gummed 胶 on in an accurate 准确的；精确的；正确的 line, but that some are much higher than others. ‘Life,’ for example is quite out of its proper place. That may point to carelessness or it may point to agitation 搅动 and hurry upon the part of the cutter. On the whole I incline 倾斜 to the latter view, since the matter was evidently 明显地 important, and it is unlikely 不会 that the composer of such a letter would be care‧less 粗心. If he were in a hurry it opens up the interesting question why he should be in a hurry, since any letter posted up to early morning would reach Sir Henry before he would leave his hotel. Did the composer fear an interruption 中断—and from whom 4?”

“We are coming now rather into the region 地区 of guess‧work 推测‧工作,” said Dr. Mortimer.

“Say, rather, into the region 地区 where we balance probabilities 可能性 and choose the most likely. It is the scientific use of the imagination 想像力, but we have always some material basis on which to start our speculation 推测. Now, you would call it a guess, no doubt, but I am almost certain that this address has been written in a hotel.”

“How in the world can you say that?”

“If you examine it carefully 小心 you will see that both the pen 笔 and the ink 墨水 have given the writer trouble. The pen has spluttered twice 两次 in a single word and has run dry three times in a short address, showing that there was very little ink in the bottle. Now, a private pen or ink-bottle is seldom 很少 allowed to be in such a state, and the combination 组合 of the two must be quite rare. But you know the hotel ink 4 and the hotel pen 3, where it is rare to get anything else. Yes, I have very little hesitation 犹豫 in saying that could we examine the waste-paper baskets 篮 of the hotels around Charing Cross until we found the remains of the mutilated Times leader we could lay our hands straight upon the person who sent this singular 单数 message. Halloa! Halloa! What’s this?”

He was carefully 小心 examining the foolscap, upon which the words were pasted, holding it only an inch or two from his eyes.

“Well?”

“Nothing,” said he, throwing it down. “It is a blank 空白 half-sheet of paper, without even a water-mark upon it. I think we have drawn draw as much as we can from this curious letter; and now, Sir Henry, has anything else of interest happened to you since you have been in London?”

“Why, no, Mr. Holmes. I think not.”

“You have not observed anyone follow or watch you?”

“I seem to have walked right into the thick of a dime 十分钱 novel 小说,” said our visitor. “Why in thunder 雷声 should anyone follow or watch me?”

“We are coming to that. You have nothing else to report to us before we go into this matter?”

“Well, it depends upon what you think worth reporting.”

“I think anything out of the ordinary routine 惯例，常规；例行公事 of life well worth reporting.”

Sir Henry smiled. “I don’t know much of British life yet, for I have spent nearly all my time in the States and in Canada. But I hope that to lose one of your boots is not part of the ordinary routine of life over here.”

“You have lost one of your boots?”

“My dear sir,” cried Dr. Mortimer, “it is only mislaid. You will find it when you return to the hotel. What is the use of troubling Mr. Holmes with trifles 琐事 of this kind?”

“Well, he asked me for anything outside the ordinary routine.”

“Exactly,” said Holmes, “however foolish 傻 the incident 事件 may seem. You have lost one of your boots, you say?”

“Well, mislaid it, anyhow 总之. I put them both outside my door last night, and there was only one in the morning. I could get no sense out of the chap 皴裂 who cleans them. The worst of it is that I only bought buy the pair last night in the Strand, and I have never had them on.”

“If you have never worn them, why did you put them out to be cleaned?”

“They were tan 黄褐色 boots and had never been varnished 漆. That was why I put them out.”

“Then I understand that on your arrival 到达 in London yesterday you went out at once and bought a pair of boots?”

“I did a good deal of shopping. Dr. Mortimer here went round with me. You see, if I am to be squire down there I must dress the part, and it may be that I have got a little care‧less 粗心 in my ways out West. Among other things I bought these brown boots—gave six dollars for them—and had one stolen before ever I had them on my feet.”

“It seems a singularly 单数 use‧less 无用 thing to steal,” said Sherlock Holmes. “I confess that I share Dr. Mortimer’s belief that it will not be long before the missing boot 靴；鞋 is found.”

“And, now, gentlemen,” said the baronet with decision, “it seems to me that I have spoken quite enough about the little that I know. It is time that you kept your promise and gave me a full account of what we are all driving at.”

“Your request is a very reasonable one,” Holmes answered. “Dr. Mortimer, I think you could not do better than to tell your story as you told it to us.”

Thus encouraged, our scientific friend drew his papers from his pocket and presented the whole case as he had done upon the morning before. Sir Henry Baskerville listened with the deepest attention and with an occasional 偶然 exclamation of surprise.

“Well, I seem to have come into an inheritance 遗产 with a vengeance 复仇,” said he when the long narrative 叙述 was finished. “Of course, I’ve heard of the hound 猎犬 ever since I was in the nursery 婴儿室；苗圃. It’s the pet 宠物 story of the family, though I never thought of taking it seriously before. But as to my uncle 叔叔’s death—well, it all seems boiling 煮沸 up in my head, and I can’t get it clear yet. You don’t seem quite to have made up your mind whether it’s a case for a police‧man 警察 or a clergy‧man 牧师.”

“ Precisely 精确地.”

“And now there’s this affair of the letter to me at the hotel. I suppose that fits into its place.”

“It seems to show that someone knows more than we do about what goes on upon the moor 泊,” said Dr. Mortimer.

“And also,” said Holmes, “that someone is not ill 生病-disposed 部署 towards you, since they warn you of danger.”

“Or it may be that they wish, for their own purposes, to scare 惊恐 me away.”

“Well, of course, that is possible also. I am very much indebted 感激的 to you, Dr. Mortimer, for introducing me to a problem which presents several interesting alter‧native 替代. But the practical point which we now have to decide, Sir Henry, is whether it is or is not advisable 可取 for you to go to Baskerville Hall.”

“Why should I not go?”

“There seems to be danger.”

“Do you mean danger from this family fiend or do you mean danger from human beings 蜜蜂?”

“Well, that is what we have to find out.”

“ Whichever 任何一个 it is, my answer is fixed. There is no devil in hell 地狱, Mr. Holmes, and there is no man upon earth who can prevent me from going to the home of my own people, and you may take that to be my final 最后 answer.” His dark brows 眉头 knitted 针织 and his face flushed 红晕 to a dusky red as he spoke. It was evident 明显 that the fiery 火热 temper 性情 of the Baskervilles was not extinct 绝种 in this their last representative. “ Meanwhile 同时,” said he, “I have hardly had time to think over all that you have told me. It’s a big thing for a man to have to understand and to decide at one sitting. I should like to have a quiet hour by myself 我 to make up my mind. Now, look here, Mr. Holmes, it’s half-past eleven 十一 now and I am going back right away to my hotel. Suppose you and your friend, Dr. Watson, come round and lunch 午餐 with us at two. I’ll be able to tell you more clearly then how this thing strikes me.”

“Is that convenient 方便的 to you, Watson?”

“Perfectly.”

“Then you may expect us. Shall I have a cab 出租车 called?”

“I’d prefer to walk, for this affair has flurried 慌张 me rather.”

“I’ll join you in a walk, with pleasure,” said his companion 同伴.

“Then we meet again at two o’clock. Au revoir, and good-morning!”

We heard the steps of our visitors 访问者 descend 下来 the stair and the bang 砰 of the front door. In an instant Holmes had changed from the languid dreamer to the man of action.

“Your hat and boots, Watson, quick! Not a moment to lose!” He rushed 仓促 into his room in his dressing-gown 袍 and was back again in a few seconds in a frock-coat. We hurried together down the stairs and into the street. Dr. Mortimer and Baskerville were still visible 可以看见的；可视的 about two hundred 百 yards ahead of us in the direction of Oxford Street.

“Shall I run on and stop them?”

“Not for the world, my dear Watson. I am perfectly satisfied with your company if you will tolerate 容忍 mine. Our friends are wise 明智的；聪明的, for it is certainly a very fine morning for a walk.”

He quickened 加速 his pace 步伐，速度 until we had decreased 减少 the distance which divided us by about half. Then, still keeping a hundred 百 yards behind, we followed into Oxford Street and so down Regent Street. Once our friends stopped and stared into a shop window, upon which Holmes did the same. An instant after‧ward 之后 he gave a little cry of satisfaction 满足, and, following the direction of his eager 渴望的 eyes, I saw that a hansom cab 出租车 with a man inside which had halted 停 on the other side of the street was now proceeding 继续 slowly onward 向前 again.

“There’s our man, Watson! Come along! We’ll have a good look at him, if we can do no more.”

At that instant I was aware 知道的 of a bushy black beard 胡须 and a pair of piercing 刺穿 eyes turned upon us through the side window of the cab 出租车. Instantly the trap‧door 陷阱；诱骗‧门 at the top flew fly up, something was screamed 叫喊 to the driver, and the cab 出租车 flew madly 疯狂的 off down Regent Street. Holmes looked eagerly 渴望的 round for another, but no empty one was in sight. Then he dashed 短跑 in wild pursuit 追求 amid 际 the stream of the traffic 交通, but the start was too great, and already the cab 出租车 was out of sight.

“There now!” said Holmes bitterly as he emerged 出现 panting 喘气 and white with vexation from the tide 潮汐 of vehicles 车辆. “Was ever such bad luck and such bad management 管理, too? Watson, Watson, if you are an honest 诚实的 man you will record this also and set it against my successes!”

“Who was the man?”

“I have not an idea.”

“A spy 间谍?”

“Well, it was evident 明显 from what we have heard that Baskerville has been very closely shadowed by someone since he has been in town. How else could it be known so quickly that it was the Northumberland Hotel which he had chosen choose? If they had followed him the first day I argued that they would follow him also the second. You may have observed that I twice 两次 strolled 漫步 over to the window while Dr. Mortimer was reading his legend 传说.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“I was looking out for loiterers in the street, but I saw none. We are dealing with a clever 聪明的 man, Watson. This matter cuts very deep, and though I have not finally made up my mind whether it is a benevolent or a malevolent agency which is in touch with us, I am conscious always of power and design. When our friends left I at once followed them in the hopes of marking down their invisible 无形 attend‧ant 服务员. So wily was he that he had not trusted himself upon foot, but he had availed 果 himself of a cab 出租车 so that he could loiter behind or dash 短跑 past them and so escape their notice. His method 方法 had the additional 额外 advantage that if they were to take a cab 出租车 he was all ready to follow them. It has, however, one obvious 明显 disadvantage 坏处.”

“It puts him in the power of the cabman.”

“Exactly.”

“What a pity 怜悯 we did not get the number!”

“My dear Watson, clumsy 笨拙 as I have been, you surely do not seriously imagine that I neglected 疏忽 to get the number? No. 2704 is our man. But that is no use to us for the moment.”

“I fail to see how you could have done more.”

“On observing the cab 出租车 I should have instantly 瞬间 turned and walked in the other direction. I should then at my leisure 闲暇 have hired 聘用 a second cab 出租车 and followed the first at a respectful 尊敬的 distance, or, better still, have driven drive to the Northumberland Hotel and waited there. When our unknown 未知 had followed Baskerville home we should have had the opportunity of playing his own game upon himself and seeing where he made for. As it is, by an indiscreet eagerness, which was taken advantage of with extra‧ordinary 非凡的 quickness and energy 能源 by our opponent 反对者；对手；敌手, we have betrayed 背叛 ourselves 我们自己 and lost our man.”

We had been sauntering slowly down Regent Street during this conversation, and Dr. Mortimer, with his companion 3, had long vanished 消失 in front of us.

“There is no object in our following them,” said Holmes. “The shadow has departed 离开 and will not return. We must see what further cards we have in our hands and play them with decision. Could you swear 发誓 to that man’s face within the cab 出租车?”

“I could swear only to the beard 胡须.”

“And so could I—from which I gather that in all probability 可能性 it was a false 虚伪的 one. A clever 聪明的 man upon so delicate 微妙的；纤弱的 an errand 使命 has no use for a beard save to conceal 隐藏 his features 特征. Come in here, Watson!”

He turned into one of the district messenger 信使 offices, where he was warmly greeted 欢迎 by the manager.

“Ah, Wilson, I see you have not forgotten the little case in which I had the good fortune 3 to help you?”

“No, sir, indeed I have not. You saved my good name, and perhaps my life.”

“My dear fellow, you exaggerate 夸大. I have some recollection 回忆, Wilson, that you had among your boys a lad 小伙子 named Cartwright, who showed some ability during the investigation 调查.”

“Yes, sir, he is still with us.”

“Could you ring him up?—thank you! And I should be glad to have change of this five-pound note.”

A lad 小伙子 of four‧teen 十四, with a bright, keen 热切的 face, had obeyed 服从 the summons 召唤 of the manager. He stood now gazing 凝视 with great reverence at the famous 著名 detective 侦探.

“Let me have the Hotel Directory,” said Holmes. “Thank you! Now, Cartwright, there are the names of twenty 二十-three hotels here, all in the immediate neighbourhood of Charing Cross. Do you see?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You will visit each of these in turn.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You will begin in each case by giving the outside porter 搬运工 one shilling 一毛钱. Here are twenty 二十-three shillings 一毛钱.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You will tell him that you want to see the waste-paper of yesterday. You will say that an important telegram 电报 has miscarried and that you are looking for it. You understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“But what you are really looking for is the centre page of the Times with some holes cut in it with scissors 4. Here is a copy of the Times. It is this page. You could easily recognize it, could you not?”

“Yes, sir.”

“In each case the outside porter 搬运工 will send for the hall porter 搬运工, to whom 5 also you will give a shilling 一毛钱. Here are twenty 二十-three shillings. You will then learn in possibly twenty 二十 cases out of the twenty 二十-three that the waste of the day before has been burned burn or removed 去掉. In the three other cases you will be shown a heap 堆 of paper and you will look for this page of the Times among it. The odds 奇 are enormously 巨大 against your finding it. There are ten 十 shillings over in case of emergencies 急. Let me have a report by wire at Baker Street before evening. And now, Watson, it only remains for us to find out by wire the identity 身分 of the cabman, No. 2704, and then we will drop into one of the Bond 键 Street picture galleries 画廊 and fill in the time until we are due at the hotel.”