04-01-01-巴斯克维尔猎犬 [24]
．But there is one thing I don't understand．How did Selden know that the hound was following him？ We know he ran a long way．He was screaming for a long time before he fell，and we could hear that he was running as he screamed．So the hound was a long way behind him when he began to run．How could he see it in the dark？ How did he know it was there，until it was close be- hind him？'
'I cannot answer that，'I said，' but there is something else I don' t understand．Why was the hound out on the moor tonight？Stapleton would not let it go out unless he thought Sir Henry was there．'
'We may know the answer to that question very soon，'said Holmes．'Here comes Stapleton．'
His sharp eyes had seen a figure moving in the darkness in front of us，and the man came closer，I could see that it was indeed Stapleton．
'We must be very careful not to show that we suspect him，'Holmes warned me．
Stapleton stopped when he saw us，and then walked forward again．'Dr Watson，is that you？I didn't expect to see you on the moor at this time of night But，dear me，what's this？ Somebody hurt？ Not—don't tell me that it's our friend Sir Henry！'
He went past me and bent over the dead man．I heard him breathe in quickly．
'Who…who is this？' he asked，his voice shaking．
'It's Selden，the escaped prisoner．'
Stapleton quickly managed to hide the look of surprise and disappointment on his face as he turned towards us．He looked sharply from Holmes to me．'Dear me！ How terrible！ How did he die？'
'We think he broke his neck by falling over the edge of these rocks，'I said．
'I heard a cry，and that is why I came out．I was worried about Sir Henry，'Stapleton said．
'Why were you worried about Sir Henry？'I asked．
'Because I had invited him to my house．When he did not come I was surprised．Then，when I heard cries on the moor，I began to worry about him．I wonder'—his eyes went quickly from my face to Holmes'—' did you hear anything else at all？'
'No，'said Holmes．'Did you？'
'No，'said Stapleton．
'What do you mean，then？'
'Oh，you know the stories about the supernatural hound．I wondered if it had been here tonight．'
'We heard nothing of that kind，'I said．
'How do you think this poor man fell to his death？'Staple- ton asked．
'I think cold and hunger，and his fear that the police would catch him，drove him mad．He ran round the moor in his mad- ness，and fell over this edge，'I said．
'Do you agree，Mr Sherlock Holmes？'asked Stapleton．
'You're quick to guess who I am，'said Holmes．
'We're been expecting you ever since Dr Watson arrived．'
'I have no doubt my friend is right about the way Selden died，'said Holmes．'It' s a sad death，but it will not prevent me from returning to London tomorrow．'
'Before you return，will you be able to explain the mysteries that we've experienced here？'
'I am not always as successful as I hope．I need facts，not stories of the supernatural．This hasn' t been a good case for me．
Stapleton looked hard at him，but Holmes had spoken very seriously and his words sounded true．
We covered the body．Then Stapleton turned to go home，and Holmes and I walked towards Baskerville Hall．
'He's a very clever man，and a dangerous enemy，who will be difficult to trap，' said Holmes．' Look how he controlled his disappointment when he found that the dead man was not Sir Henry．'
'I'm sorry that he has seen you，'I said．
'So am I，but there was nothing we could do about it．Now he knows I am here he may be more careful，or he may act more quickly than he planned．'
'Why can't we give him to the police at once？'
'Because we can't prove anything against him．Sir Charles was found dead because his heart failed．Again，tonight we could not prove that there was a hound．Selden died from a fall．We have no case at present．We shall see Mrs Lyons to- morrow，and she may help us．But whatever happens，I have my own plan．There will be some danger，but by the end of to-morrow I hope to have won this battle．'
He would say nothing else．
'Are you coming to the Hall？'I asked．
'Yes，'he replied．'There is no reason for me to hide any longer
'I cannot answer that，'I said，' but there is something else I don' t understand．Why was the hound out on the moor tonight？Stapleton would not let it go out unless he thought Sir Henry was there．'
'We may know the answer to that question very soon，'said Holmes．'Here comes Stapleton．'
His sharp eyes had seen a figure moving in the darkness in front of us，and the man came closer，I could see that it was indeed Stapleton．
'We must be very careful not to show that we suspect him，'Holmes warned me．
Stapleton stopped when he saw us，and then walked forward again．'Dr Watson，is that you？I didn't expect to see you on the moor at this time of night But，dear me，what's this？ Somebody hurt？ Not—don't tell me that it's our friend Sir Henry！'
He went past me and bent over the dead man．I heard him breathe in quickly．
'Who…who is this？' he asked，his voice shaking．
'It's Selden，the escaped prisoner．'
Stapleton quickly managed to hide the look of surprise and disappointment on his face as he turned towards us．He looked sharply from Holmes to me．'Dear me！ How terrible！ How did he die？'
'We think he broke his neck by falling over the edge of these rocks，'I said．
'I heard a cry，and that is why I came out．I was worried about Sir Henry，'Stapleton said．
'Why were you worried about Sir Henry？'I asked．
'Because I had invited him to my house．When he did not come I was surprised．Then，when I heard cries on the moor，I began to worry about him．I wonder'—his eyes went quickly from my face to Holmes'—' did you hear anything else at all？'
'No，'said Holmes．'Did you？'
'No，'said Stapleton．
'What do you mean，then？'
'Oh，you know the stories about the supernatural hound．I wondered if it had been here tonight．'
'We heard nothing of that kind，'I said．
'How do you think this poor man fell to his death？'Staple- ton asked．
'I think cold and hunger，and his fear that the police would catch him，drove him mad．He ran round the moor in his mad- ness，and fell over this edge，'I said．
'Do you agree，Mr Sherlock Holmes？'asked Stapleton．
'You're quick to guess who I am，'said Holmes．
'We're been expecting you ever since Dr Watson arrived．'
'I have no doubt my friend is right about the way Selden died，'said Holmes．'It' s a sad death，but it will not prevent me from returning to London tomorrow．'
'Before you return，will you be able to explain the mysteries that we've experienced here？'
'I am not always as successful as I hope．I need facts，not stories of the supernatural．This hasn' t been a good case for me．
Stapleton looked hard at him，but Holmes had spoken very seriously and his words sounded true．
We covered the body．Then Stapleton turned to go home，and Holmes and I walked towards Baskerville Hall．
'He's a very clever man，and a dangerous enemy，who will be difficult to trap，' said Holmes．' Look how he controlled his disappointment when he found that the dead man was not Sir Henry．'
'I'm sorry that he has seen you，'I said．
'So am I，but there was nothing we could do about it．Now he knows I am here he may be more careful，or he may act more quickly than he planned．'
'Why can't we give him to the police at once？'
'Because we can't prove anything against him．Sir Charles was found dead because his heart failed．Again，tonight we could not prove that there was a hound．Selden died from a fall．We have no case at present．We shall see Mrs Lyons to- morrow，and she may help us．But whatever happens，I have my own plan．There will be some danger，but by the end of to-morrow I hope to have won this battle．'
He would say nothing else．
'Are you coming to the Hall？'I asked．
'Yes，'he replied．'There is no reason for me to hide any longer