04-01-01-巴斯克维尔猎犬 [23]
”他说道。
“那么说，你是在骗我，并不信任我呵！”我说道。我因他没有告诉我他的计划而又烦又恼。
“如果看上去是我对你耍了什么花招的话，那就请你原谅我吧，我亲爱的华生。我不想叫咱们的对手知道我就在此地，但是我又想在此附近来保证你和亨利爵士安然无恙。你是个好心肠的人——好得都到了不能容忍我独自一人在此身处恶劣的露天环境之中。如果咱们的对手看到你带着食物出来了或带着重要的消息出来了，他就会猜到我在此地。你一直对我来说是种无可估量的帮助。你的那些有着价值无比的信息的信件都已被送到我这儿。你干得很出色，要是没有你我就不会得到我所需要的那一切详情了。”
福尔摩斯的那些温暖的感谢话语使我觉得高兴多了，我还意识到他是对的。
“这样就好了，”他看到阴影已从我的脸上消失时这么说道。“现在告诉我你造访劳拉·莱昂丝太太的情况吧。”
我把莱昂丝太太所讲的全部内容告诉了福尔摩斯。
“这点至关重要，”福尔摩斯说道。“它回答了我一直不能回答的那些问题。你已知道莱昂丝太太和斯台普顿是关系密切的朋友了吧？他们常见面，还常通信。也许我可以用这条信息使斯台普顿的妻子与他作对……”
“他的妻子？”我问道。“她是谁，又在哪儿呢？”
“那位被称做斯台普顿小姐、装作是他妹妹的女士其实是他的妻子，”福尔摩斯讲道。
“天哪，福尔摩斯！你敢肯定吗？如果她是他的妻子的话，他为何让亨利爵士爱上了她呢？”
“亨利爵士坠入情网之时，他除了对本人之外对谁都不会构成伤害。斯台普顿曾特别留意避免亨利爵士对她调情。我再说一遍，那位女士就是他的妻子，而不是他的妹妹。他们在两年之前才来到这儿，但是在那之前他曾在英格兰北部办过一所学校。他告诉你那些事，你又在信中讲给了我。我将那个学校调查了一下，还发现办学校的那个男子在学校跨台之后就和他的妻子一道远走高飞了。他们更改了姓名，但是被描述给我的那对夫妇无疑就是斯台普顿一家。”
“但是，他们为何要装扮成兄妹呢？”我问道。
“因为斯台普顿早就想到了，如果她看似一个单身的自由女子就会对他要有用得多。”
我突然从斯台普顿的笑脸之后看到了他那暗藏杀机的狠毒心肠。“那么说他就是我们的敌人啰！他就是在伦敦尾随咱们的那个人！还有，送给亨利爵士的那个警告性的纸条是由斯台普顿小姐发出的。”
“正是，”福尔摩斯讲道。
“但是，如果斯台普顿小姐真是他的妻子的话，他为何会是劳拉·莱昂丝太太的亲密的朋友呢？”
“你杰出的工作已给我们提供了这个问题的答案，华生。当你告诉我莱昂斯太太计划离婚时，我便意识到她是希望嫁给斯台普顿的。他告诉她他还是未婚，而且想娶她为妻。她获悉事情的真相时，也许会下定决心帮助我们。我们明天必须去见她。”
“还有最后一个问题，福尔摩斯。”我讲道，“斯台普顿到底想干什么呢？”
福尔摩斯在回答时放低了声调：
“谋杀，残忍至极的谋杀。那便是斯台普顿的企图所在。别问我细节了。我将设个陷阱将其抓获。现在只有一个危险了——他说不定会在我准备就绪之前就行动了。再过一天，或者也许是两天，我就要办完这个案子。在那以前，你必须注意保护好亨利爵士。你今天就该和他在一起。不过，你的发现很有价值。”
他说完话时，一声可怕的尖叫声——一声很长的、痛苦和恐惧的喊叫打破了沼地上的沉静。这个声音使我毛骨悚然。
“哦，我的上帝，”我低声说道。“那是怎么回事？”
福尔摩斯已猛地站了起来。“是哪一边，华生？”他低声问道，我知道他被尖叫声震惊了。
绝望的喊声又传来了，比以往更大些，距离更近些，也更恐怖些。和它一起传来的还有一种新的声音——既低沉又恐怖。
“是猎犬！”福尔摩斯喊道。“来呀，华生，来呀！天哪！要是咱们来不及……”
■ 14 Death on the Moor
Holmes started running over the moor，and I followed him．From somewhere in front of us came one more hopeless scream．It was followed by the sound of something falling heavily．We stopped and listened．
I saw Holmes put his hand to his head.' He has won，Wat-son．We' re too late.I was mad not to act sooner．And you，Watson，look what happens when you leave the man I asked you to guard．But if the worst has happened，we shall see that Stapleton doesn't go free．'
We ran through the dark towards the place where the cries had come from．We reached a rocky edge from which a steep side fell away.Below us we saw the body of a man．He was ly-ing with his face down on the ground．He had fallen on his head，which was bent under him，and his neck was broken．Holmes lit a match．We saw with horror the blood running out onto the ground from his head．
We both remembered clearly the suit the man was wearing．It was a thick，red-brown country suit．It was the suit Sir Hen-ry had been wearing on the morning when we first met him in Baker Street．We saw it for a moment and then the match went out.Our hearts turned sick and cold inside us．
'The devil！The murderer！I shall never forgive myself for leaving Sir Henry alone，'I whispered angrily．
'It's more my fault than yours，'said Holmes．'I have let this good man die because I was busy with the last details of my case．It is the greatest mistake I have ever made．But why did he come out onto the moor？I told him it would lead to his death．Now both Sir Henry and his uncle have been murdered．By heavens，clever as he is，I shall trap Stapleton before another day is past．'
With heavy hearts we stood on either side of the broken body．Then Holmes bent over the body and began to move it．All of a sudden he began to laugh and jump up and down．
'Look at the face！'he shouted，hitting me on the back．'It is not Sir Henry．It's Selden，the escaped prisoner．'
We turned the body over．There was no doubt about it．I had seen the face before，on the night Sir Henry and I had chased Selden over the moor．Then I suddenly remembered，and everything became clear．Sir Henry had told me how he gave his old clothes to Barrymore．I realized that this suit had been among the clothes Barrymore had left for Selden，and I told Holmes．
'Then the clothes have caused the death of the poor man．The hound had been given something of Sir Henry's to smell so that it would pick up his scent and follow him．I think that is why the shoe was taken from the hotel in London．So the hound followed the scent and bunted this man
“那么说，你是在骗我，并不信任我呵！”我说道。我因他没有告诉我他的计划而又烦又恼。
“如果看上去是我对你耍了什么花招的话，那就请你原谅我吧，我亲爱的华生。我不想叫咱们的对手知道我就在此地，但是我又想在此附近来保证你和亨利爵士安然无恙。你是个好心肠的人——好得都到了不能容忍我独自一人在此身处恶劣的露天环境之中。如果咱们的对手看到你带着食物出来了或带着重要的消息出来了，他就会猜到我在此地。你一直对我来说是种无可估量的帮助。你的那些有着价值无比的信息的信件都已被送到我这儿。你干得很出色，要是没有你我就不会得到我所需要的那一切详情了。”
福尔摩斯的那些温暖的感谢话语使我觉得高兴多了，我还意识到他是对的。
“这样就好了，”他看到阴影已从我的脸上消失时这么说道。“现在告诉我你造访劳拉·莱昂丝太太的情况吧。”
我把莱昂丝太太所讲的全部内容告诉了福尔摩斯。
“这点至关重要，”福尔摩斯说道。“它回答了我一直不能回答的那些问题。你已知道莱昂丝太太和斯台普顿是关系密切的朋友了吧？他们常见面，还常通信。也许我可以用这条信息使斯台普顿的妻子与他作对……”
“他的妻子？”我问道。“她是谁，又在哪儿呢？”
“那位被称做斯台普顿小姐、装作是他妹妹的女士其实是他的妻子，”福尔摩斯讲道。
“天哪，福尔摩斯！你敢肯定吗？如果她是他的妻子的话，他为何让亨利爵士爱上了她呢？”
“亨利爵士坠入情网之时，他除了对本人之外对谁都不会构成伤害。斯台普顿曾特别留意避免亨利爵士对她调情。我再说一遍，那位女士就是他的妻子，而不是他的妹妹。他们在两年之前才来到这儿，但是在那之前他曾在英格兰北部办过一所学校。他告诉你那些事，你又在信中讲给了我。我将那个学校调查了一下，还发现办学校的那个男子在学校跨台之后就和他的妻子一道远走高飞了。他们更改了姓名，但是被描述给我的那对夫妇无疑就是斯台普顿一家。”
“但是，他们为何要装扮成兄妹呢？”我问道。
“因为斯台普顿早就想到了，如果她看似一个单身的自由女子就会对他要有用得多。”
我突然从斯台普顿的笑脸之后看到了他那暗藏杀机的狠毒心肠。“那么说他就是我们的敌人啰！他就是在伦敦尾随咱们的那个人！还有，送给亨利爵士的那个警告性的纸条是由斯台普顿小姐发出的。”
“正是，”福尔摩斯讲道。
“但是，如果斯台普顿小姐真是他的妻子的话，他为何会是劳拉·莱昂丝太太的亲密的朋友呢？”
“你杰出的工作已给我们提供了这个问题的答案，华生。当你告诉我莱昂斯太太计划离婚时，我便意识到她是希望嫁给斯台普顿的。他告诉她他还是未婚，而且想娶她为妻。她获悉事情的真相时，也许会下定决心帮助我们。我们明天必须去见她。”
“还有最后一个问题，福尔摩斯。”我讲道，“斯台普顿到底想干什么呢？”
福尔摩斯在回答时放低了声调：
“谋杀，残忍至极的谋杀。那便是斯台普顿的企图所在。别问我细节了。我将设个陷阱将其抓获。现在只有一个危险了——他说不定会在我准备就绪之前就行动了。再过一天，或者也许是两天，我就要办完这个案子。在那以前，你必须注意保护好亨利爵士。你今天就该和他在一起。不过，你的发现很有价值。”
他说完话时，一声可怕的尖叫声——一声很长的、痛苦和恐惧的喊叫打破了沼地上的沉静。这个声音使我毛骨悚然。
“哦，我的上帝，”我低声说道。“那是怎么回事？”
福尔摩斯已猛地站了起来。“是哪一边，华生？”他低声问道，我知道他被尖叫声震惊了。
绝望的喊声又传来了，比以往更大些，距离更近些，也更恐怖些。和它一起传来的还有一种新的声音——既低沉又恐怖。
“是猎犬！”福尔摩斯喊道。“来呀，华生，来呀！天哪！要是咱们来不及……”
■ 14 Death on the Moor
Holmes started running over the moor，and I followed him．From somewhere in front of us came one more hopeless scream．It was followed by the sound of something falling heavily．We stopped and listened．
I saw Holmes put his hand to his head.' He has won，Wat-son．We' re too late.I was mad not to act sooner．And you，Watson，look what happens when you leave the man I asked you to guard．But if the worst has happened，we shall see that Stapleton doesn't go free．'
We ran through the dark towards the place where the cries had come from．We reached a rocky edge from which a steep side fell away.Below us we saw the body of a man．He was ly-ing with his face down on the ground．He had fallen on his head，which was bent under him，and his neck was broken．Holmes lit a match．We saw with horror the blood running out onto the ground from his head．
We both remembered clearly the suit the man was wearing．It was a thick，red-brown country suit．It was the suit Sir Hen-ry had been wearing on the morning when we first met him in Baker Street．We saw it for a moment and then the match went out.Our hearts turned sick and cold inside us．
'The devil！The murderer！I shall never forgive myself for leaving Sir Henry alone，'I whispered angrily．
'It's more my fault than yours，'said Holmes．'I have let this good man die because I was busy with the last details of my case．It is the greatest mistake I have ever made．But why did he come out onto the moor？I told him it would lead to his death．Now both Sir Henry and his uncle have been murdered．By heavens，clever as he is，I shall trap Stapleton before another day is past．'
With heavy hearts we stood on either side of the broken body．Then Holmes bent over the body and began to move it．All of a sudden he began to laugh and jump up and down．
'Look at the face！'he shouted，hitting me on the back．'It is not Sir Henry．It's Selden，the escaped prisoner．'
We turned the body over．There was no doubt about it．I had seen the face before，on the night Sir Henry and I had chased Selden over the moor．Then I suddenly remembered，and everything became clear．Sir Henry had told me how he gave his old clothes to Barrymore．I realized that this suit had been among the clothes Barrymore had left for Selden，and I told Holmes．
'Then the clothes have caused the death of the poor man．The hound had been given something of Sir Henry's to smell so that it would pick up his scent and follow him．I think that is why the shoe was taken from the hotel in London．So the hound followed the scent and bunted this man