The extract from my private diary which forms the last chapter has brought my narrative up to the 18th of October, a time when these strange events began to move swiftly towards their terrible conclusion. The incidents of the next few days are indelibly graven upon my recollection, and I can tell them without reference to the notes made at the time. I start then from the day which succeeded that upon which I had established two facts of great importance, the one that Mrs. Laura Lyons of Coombe Tracey had written to Sir Charles Baskerville and made an appointment with him at the very place and hour that he met his death, the other that the lurking man upon the moor was to be found among the stone huts upon the hill-side. With these two facts in my possession I felt that either my intelligence or my courage must be deficient if I could not throw some further light upon these dark places.
用摘錄我日記的方法寫成的上一章，已經敘述到十月十八日了。那時正是這些怪事開始迅速發展，快要接近可怕的結局的時候。隨後幾天所發生的事情都已難忘地銘刻在我的記憶之中，不用參考當時所作的記錄我就能說得出來。我就從明確了兩個極為重要的事實的次日說起吧。所說的兩個事實之一，就是庫姆·特雷西的勞拉·萊昂絲太太曾經給查爾茲·巴斯克維爾爵士寫過信，並約定在他死去的那個地點和時間相見；另一個就是潛藏在沼地裡的那個人，可以在山邊的石頭房子裡面找到。掌握了這兩個情況之後，我覺得如果我還不能使疑案稍露端倪，那我一定不是低能就是缺乏勇氣了。
I had no opportunity to tell the baronet what I had learned about Mrs. Lyons upon the evening before, for Dr. Mortimer remained with him at cards until it was very late. At breakfast, however, I informed him about my discovery, and asked him whether he would care to accompany me to Coombe Tracey. At first he was very eager to come, but on second thoughts it seemed to both of us that if I went alone the results might be better. The more formal we made the visit the less information we might obtain. I left Sir Henry behind, therefore, not without some prickings of conscience, and drove off upon my new quest.
昨天傍晚，未能得到機會把我當時所瞭解到的關於萊昂絲太太的事告訴準男爵，因為摩梯末醫生和他玩牌一直玩到很晚。今天早飯時，我才把我的發現告訴了他，並問他是否願意陪我到庫姆·特雷西去。起初他很急於要去，可是經過重新考慮之後，我們兩人都覺得，如果我單獨去，結果會更好一些。因為訪問的形式愈是鄭重其事，我們所能得知的情況就會愈少。於是我就把亨利爵士留在家裡了，心中難免稍感不安地駕車出發去進行新的探索了。
When I reached Coombe Tracey I told Perkins to put up the horses, and I made inquiries for the lady whom I had come to interrogate. I had no difficulty in finding her rooms, which were central and well appointed. A maid showed me in without ceremony, and as I entered the sitting-room a lady, who was sitting before a Remington typewriter, sprang up with a pleasant smile of welcome. Her face fell, however, when she saw that I was a stranger, and she sat down again and asked me the object of my visit.
在到了庫姆·特雷西以後，我叫波金斯把馬匹安置好，然後就去探聽我此來所要探訪的那位女士了。我很容易地就找到了她的住所，位置適中，陳設也好。一個女仆很隨便地把我領了進去，在我走進客廳的時候，一位坐在一架雷明吞牌打字機前的女士迅速地站了起來，笑容可掬地對我表示了歡迎；可是當她看出我是個陌生人的時候，她的面容又恢復了原狀，重新坐了下來，並問我來訪的目的。
The first impression left by Mrs. Lyons was one of extreme beauty. Her eyes and hair were of the same rich hazel colour, and her cheeks, though considerably freckled, were flushed with the exquisite bloom of the brunette, the dainty pink which lurks at the heart of the sulphur rose. Admiration was, I repeat, the first impression. But the second was criticism. There was something subtly wrong with the face, some coarseness of expression, some hardness, perhaps, of eye, some looseness of lip which marred its perfect beauty. But these, of course, are after-thoughts. At the moment I was simply conscious that I was in the presence of a very handsome woman, and that she was asking me the reasons for my visit. I had not quite understood until that instant how delicate my mission was.
萊昂絲太太給人的第一個印象就是極端的美麗。她的兩眼和頭髮都發深棕色，雙頰上雖有不少雀斑，然而有着對棕色皮膚的人說來恰到好處的紅潤，如同在微黃的玫瑰花心裡隱現着悅目的粉紅色似的。我再重複一遍，首先產生的印象就是讚歎。可是隨後就發現了缺點，那面孔上有些說不出來的不對頭的地方，有些粗獷的表情，也許眼神有些生硬，嘴唇有些鬆弛，這些都破壞了那一無瑕疵的美貌。當然了，這些都是事後的想法，當時我只知道我是站在一個非常漂亮的女人的面前，聽著她問我來訪的目的。直到那時我才真的認識到我的任務是多麼的棘手。
"I have the pleasure," said I, "of knowing your father." It was a clumsy introduction, and the lady made me feel it.
“我有幸地，”我說道，“認識您的父親。”
這樣的自我介紹作得很笨，我由那女人的反應上感覺得出來。
"There is nothing in common between my father and me," she said. "I owe him nothing, and his friends are not mine. If it were not for the late Sir Charles Baskerville and some other kind hearts I might have starved for all that my father cared."
“我父親和我之間沒有什麼關係，”她說道，“我什麼也不虧欠他，他的朋友也不是我的朋友。如果沒有已故的查爾茲·巴斯克維爾爵士和一些別的好心腸的人的話，我也許早就餓死了，我父親根本就沒把我放在心上。”
"It was about the late Sir Charles Baskerville that I have come here to see you."
“我是因為有關已故的查爾茲·巴斯克維爾爵士的事才到這裡來找您的。”
The freckles started out on the lady's face.
驚嚇之下，女士的面孔變得蒼白起來，雀斑因而變得更加明顯了。
"What can I tell you about him?" she asked, and her fingers played nervously over the stops of her typewriter.
“關於他的事我能告訴您什麼呢？”她問道。她的手指神經質地玩弄着她那打字機上的標點符號字鍵。
"You knew him, did you not?"
“您認識他，是嗎？”
"I have already said that I owe a great deal to his kindness. If I am able to support myself it is largely due to the interest which he took in my unhappy situation."
“我已經說過了，我非常感激他對於我的厚意。如果說我還能自立生活的話，那主要是由於他對我的可悲的處境的關心了。”
"Did you correspond with him?"
“您和他通過信嗎？”
The lady looked quickly up with an angry gleam in her hazel eyes.
女士迅速地抬起頭來，棕色的眼睛裡閃着憤怒的光芒。
"What is the object of these questions?" she asked sharply.
“您問這些問題用意何在呢？”她厲聲問道。
"The object is to avoid a public scandal. It is better that I should ask them here than that the matter should pass outside our control."
“目的在於避免醜聞的傳播。我在這裡問總比讓事情傳出去弄得無法收拾要好一些吧。”
She was silent and her face was still very pale. At last she looked up with something reckless and defiant in her manner.
她沉默不語，她的面孔依然很蒼白。最後她帶著不顧一切和挑戰的神色抬起頭來。
"Well, I'll answer," she said. "What are your questions?"
“好吧，我回答吧，”她說道，“您的問題是什麼？”
"Did you correspond with Sir Charles?"
“您和查爾茲爵士通過信嗎？”
"I certainly wrote to him once or twice to acknowledge his delicacy and his generosity."
“我確實給他寫過一兩次信，感謝他的體貼和慷慨。”
"Have you the dates of those letters?"
“發信的日期您還記得嗎？”
"No."
“不記得了。”
"Have you ever met him?"
“您和他會過面嗎？”
"Yes, once or twice, when he came into Coombe Tracey. He was a very retiring man, and he preferred to do good by stealth."
“會過面，在他到庫姆·特雷西來的時候會過一兩次面。他是個很不愛出頭露面的人，他寧願暗地裡做好事。”
"But if you saw him so seldom and wrote so seldom, how did he know enough about your affairs to be able to help you, as you say that he has done?"
“可是，如果您很少看到他而又很少給他寫信的話，關於您的事他怎麼會知道得那樣多，以致象您所說的那樣來幫助您呢？”
She met my difficulty with the utmost readiness.
她毫不猶豫地回答了這個我認為是難於回答的問題。
"There were several gentlemen who knew my sad history and united to help me. One was Mr. Stapleton, a neighbour and intimate friend of Sir Charles's. He was exceedingly kind, and it was through him that Sir Charles learned about my affairs."
“有幾個紳士知道我的可悲的經歷，他們共同幫助了我。 一個是斯台普吞先生，他是查爾茲爵士的近鄰和密友，他心腸好極了，查爾茲爵士是通過他才知道我的事的。”
I knew already that Sir Charles Baskerville had made Stapleton his almoner upon several occasions, so the lady's statement bore the impress of truth upon it.
我知道查爾茲·巴斯克維爾爵士曾有幾次邀請斯台普吞負責為他分發救濟金，因此女士的話聽來倒似乎真實。
"Did you ever write to Sir Charles asking him to meet you?" I continued.
“您曾經寫過信給查爾茲爵士請他和您見面嗎？”我繼續問道。
Mrs. Lyons flushed with anger again.
萊昂絲太太又氣得臉紅起來。
"Really, sir, this is a very extraordinary question."
“先生，這真是豈有此理的問題。”
"I am sorry, madam, but I must repeat it."
“我很抱歉，太太，可是我不得不重複它。”
"Then I answer, certainly not."
“那麼我就回答吧，肯定沒有過。”
"Not on the very day of Sir Charles's death?"
“就是在查爾茲爵士死的那天也沒有過嗎？”
The flush had faded in an instant, and a deathly face was before me. Her dry lips could not speak the "No" which I saw rather than heard.
臉上的紅色馬上褪了下去，在我面前出現了一副死灰的面孔。她那焦枯的嘴唇已說不出那“沒有”來了。與其說我聽到了，不如說我是看出來了。
"Surely your memory deceives you," said I. "I could even quote a passage of your letter. It ran 'Please, please, as you are a gentleman, burn this letter, and be at the gate by ten o'clock.'"
“一定是您的記憶愚弄了您，”我說道，“我甚至能夠背出您那封信中的一段來，是這樣的：‘您是一位君子，請您千萬將此信燒掉，並在十點鐘的時候到柵門那裡去。’”
I thought that she had fainted, but she recovered herself by a supreme effort.
當時，我以為她已經暈過去了，可是她竟盡了最大的努力使自己恢復了鎮靜。
"Is there no such thing as a gentleman?" she gasped.
“難道天下就沒有一個真正的君子嗎？！”她的呼吸變得急促起來。
"You do Sir Charles an injustice. He did burn the letter. But sometimes a letter may be legible even when burned. You acknowledge now that you wrote it?"
“您冤枉查爾茲爵士了。他確已把信燒掉了，可是有時雖是一封燒了的信還是可以認得出來的。您現在承認您曾寫過這封信了嗎！”
"Yes, I did write it," she cried, pouring out her soul in a torrent of words. "I did write it. Why should I deny it? I have no reason to be ashamed of it. I wished him to help me. I believed that if I had an interview I could gain his help, so I asked him to meet me."
“是的，我寫過，”她喊道，同時把滿腹的心事都滔滔不絶地說了出來，“是我寫的。我幹什麼要否認這事呢？我沒有理由要因此而感到可恥，我希望他能幫助我，我相信如果我能親自和他見面的話，就可能得到他的協助，因此我才請求他和我見面的。”
"But why at such an hour?"
“可是為什麼約在這樣一個時間呢？”
"Because I had only just learned that he was going to London next day and might be away for months. There were reasons why I could not get there earlier."
“因為那時我剛知道他第二天就要到倫敦去，而且一去也許就是幾個月。由於其他原因我又不能早一點到那裡去。”
"But why a rendezvous in the garden instead of a visit to the house?"
“可是為什麼要在花園裡會面而不到房子裡面去拜訪呢？”
"Do you think a woman could go alone at that hour to a bachelor's house?"
“您想，一個女人能在那個時候單獨到一個單身漢的家裡去嗎？”
"Well, what happened when you did get there?"
“噢，您到那裡去了以後，發生了什麼事沒有？”
"I never went."
“我並沒有去。”
"Mrs. Lyons!"
“萊昂絲太太！”
"No, I swear it to you on all I hold sacred. I never went. Something intervened to prevent my going."
“沒有去，我拿一切我認為是最神聖的東西向您發誓。我沒有去。有一件事使我不能去了。”
"What was that?"
“那是件什麼事呢？”
"That is a private matter. I cannot tell it."
“那是一件私事，我不能說。”
"You acknowledge then that you made an appointment with Sir Charles at the very hour and place at which he met his death, but you deny that you kept the appointment."
“那麼，您承認您曾和查爾茲爵士約定在那正是他死去的時間和地點相會，可是您又否認您曾守約前往。”
"That is the truth."
“這是實情。”
Again and again I cross-questioned her, but I could never get past that point.
我一再地盤問了她，可是往下再也問不出什麼東西來了。
"Mrs. Lyons," said I, as I rose from this long and inconclusive interview, "you are taking a very great responsibility and putting yourself in a very false position by not making an absolutely clean breast of all that you know. If I have to call in the aid of the police you will find how seriously you are compromised. If your position is innocent, why did you in the first instance deny having written to Sir Charles upon that date?"
“萊昂絲太太，”最後我結束了這次既長而又毫無結果的拜訪，站起來說道，“由於您不肯全部徹底地說出您所知道的事，使您負起了嚴重的責任，並已把您自己置於非常危險的地位。如果我不得不叫來警察協助的話，您就會知道您受着多麼大的嫌疑了。如果您是清白無罪的話，那為什麼最初要否認在那一天您曾寫信給查爾茲爵士呢？”
"Because I feared that some false conclusion might be drawn from it and that I might find myself involved in a scandal."
“因為我恐怕從那問題上得出什麼不正確的結論來，那樣我就可能被牽連到一件醜聞中去了。”
"And why were you so pressing that Sir Charles should destroy your letter?"
“那麼您為什麼那樣迫切地要求查爾茲爵士把您的信毀掉呢？”
"If you have read the letter you will know."
“如果您已經讀過那封信的話，您就應該知道了。”
"I did not say that I had read all the letter."
“我並沒有說我讀過信的全部啊。”
"You quoted some of it."
“您卻引用了其中的一部分。”
"I quoted the postscript. The letter had, as I said, been burned and it was not all legible. I ask you once again why it was that you were so pressing that Sir Charles should destroy this letter which he received on the day of his death."
“我只引用了附筆，我說過，那封信已被燒掉了，而且並非全信都能辨認。我還要問您，為什麼您那樣迫切地要求查爾茲爵士把他臨死那天所收到的這封信毀掉呢？”
"The matter is a very private one."
“因為這是一件純屬私人之間的事。”
"The more reason why you should avoid a public investigation."
“更重要的原因恐怕是您要避免公開的追究調查吧。”
"I will tell you, then. If you have heard anything of my unhappy history you will know that I made a rash marriage and had reason to regret it."
“那麼我就告訴您吧，如果您曾聽過任何關於我的悲慘的經歷的話，您就會知道我曾經草率地結過婚，事後當然又因此而懊悔。”
"I have heard so much."
“我聽到過很多了。”
"My life has been one incessant persecution from a husband whom I abhor. The law is upon his side, and every day I am faced by the possibility that he may force me to live with him. At the time that I wrote this letter to Sir Charles I had learned that there was a prospect of my regaining my freedom if certain expenses could be met. It meant everything to me--peace of mind, happiness, self-respect--everything. I knew Sir Charles's generosity, and I thought that if he heard the story from my own lips he would help me."
“我過着不斷遭受我已厭惡透頂的丈夫迫害的生活。法律袒護着他，每天我都面臨着被迫和他同居的可能。在我給查爾茲爵士寫這封信的時候，我聽說如果我能支付一筆錢的話，我就可能重獲自由了。這就是我所想望的一切——心地寧靜、幸福、自尊——這就是一切。我知道查爾茲爵士是慷慨的，而且我想，如果他聽我親口講出這事的話，他就一定會幫助我。”
"Then how is it that you did not go?"
“那麼您為什麼又沒有去呢？”
"Because I received help in the interval from another source."
“因為就在那時候，我又從別處得到幫助了。”
"Why then, did you not write to Sir Charles and explain this?"
“那麼，為什麼您沒有寫信給查爾茲爵士解釋這件事呢？”
"So I should have done had I not seen his death in the paper next morning."
“如果第二天早晨我沒有在報上看到他的噩耗的話，我一定會這樣做的。”
The woman's story hung coherently together, and all my questions were unable to shake it. I could only check it by finding if she had, indeed, instituted divorce proceedings against her husband at or about the time of the tragedy.
那女人的敘述前後相符，我提盡了所有的問題也找不出破綻來。我只能調查一下，是否恰在悲劇發生的時候或是接近悲劇發生的時候，她確曾通過法律程序向她丈夫提出過離婚訴訟。
It was unlikely that she would dare to say that she had not been to Baskerville Hall if she really had been, for a trap would be necessary to take her there, and could not have returned to Coombe Tracey until the early hours of the morning. Such an excursion could not be kept secret. The probability was, therefore, that she was telling the truth, or, at least, a part of the truth. I came away baffled and disheartened. Once again I had reached that dead wall which seemed to be built across every path by which I tried to get at the object of my mission. And yet the more I thought of the lady's face and of her manner the more I felt that something was being held back from me. Why should she turn so pale? Why should she fight against every admission until it was forced from her? Why should she have been so reticent at the time of the tragedy? Surely the explanation of all this could not be as innocent as she would have me believe. For the moment I could proceed no farther in that direction, but must turn back to that other clue which was to be sought for among the stone huts upon the moor.
看來，如果她真的去過巴斯克維爾莊園的話，恐怕她不見得敢說她沒有去過。因為她總得坐馬車才能到那裡去，這樣的話，要到第二天清晨她才能回到庫姆·特雷西，這樣一次遠行是無法保守秘密的。因此，最大的可能就是，她說的是實話，或者說至少有一部分是實情。我垂頭喪氣地回來了，這是再度的碰壁，這堵牆好象是修在每一條我想通過它而抵達目的地的路上似的。可是我愈想象那女士的面孔和她的神情，我就愈覺得她還有些東西是瞞着我的。為什麼她的臉要變得那樣蒼白呢？為什麼她每次都要竭力否認而只有到了迫不得已的時候才承認呢？在悲劇發生的時候，為什麼她那樣保持沉默呢？當然羅，對這些問題的解釋並非象她解釋給我聽的那樣簡單。目前，沿此方向我已無法再前進一步，只好轉到沼地裡的石屋去搜尋其他線索了。
And that was a most vague direction. I realized it as I drove back and noted how hill after hill showed traces of the ancient people. Barrymore's only indication had been that the stranger lived in one of these abandoned huts, and many hundreds of them are scattered throughout the length and breadth of the moor. But I had my own experience for a guide since it had shown me the man himself standing upon the summit of the Black Tor. That then should be the centre of my search. From there I should explore every hut upon the moor until I lighted upon the right one. If this man were inside it I should find out from his own lips, at the point of my revolver if necessary, who he was and why he had dogged us so long. He might slip away from us in the crowd of Regent Street, but it would puzzle him to do so upon the lonely moor. On the other hand, if I should find the hut and its tenant should not be within it I must remain there, however long the vigil, until he returned. Holmes had missed him in London. It would indeed be a triumph for me if I could run him to earth, where my master had failed.
可是這也是個希望極為渺茫的方向，在我回去的路上我感到了這一點。我看到一座山接着一座山，上面都有古時人們生活的遺蹟。白瑞摩只不過說那個人住在這些廢棄不用的小房之中的一幢裡，這種小房子成百成千地散佈在整個的沼地裡。幸而我曾看見過那人站在黑岩崗的絶頂上，我不妨就先以此作為線索，把我看到過他的那個地方作為進行搜尋的中心。我應當從那裡開始查看沼地裡的每一幢小房，直至找到我要找的那幢為止。如果那人獃在房內的話，我要讓他親口說明他是誰，為什麼要這麼長時期地跟蹤我們，必要時甚至不惜用我的手槍逼着他說。在攝政街的人群裡他也許能從我們的手中溜跑，可是在這樣荒漠的沼地裡，恐怕他就會感到不知如何是好了。但是如果我找到了那小房而那人不在房裡的話，不管需要熬多久的夜，我也要在那裡等着，直到他回來為止。在倫敦，福爾摩斯讓他溜跑了，在我的師傅失敗之後，如果我能將他查出的話，對我說來確是一個很大的勝利。
Luck had been against us again and again in this inquiry, but now at last it came to my aid. And the messenger of good fortune was none other than Mr. Frankland, who was standing, gray-whiskered and red-faced, outside the gate of his garden, which opened on to the high road along which I travelled.
我們在對這個案件進行調查的工作中，運氣一再地不佳，可是現在我竟時來運轉了，而送來好運道的使者不是別人，恰是弗蘭克蘭先生。他鬍鬚花白，面色紅潤，正站在他那花園的門口，那園門端正地開向我要走過的大道。
"Good-day, Dr. Watson," cried he with unwonted good humour, "you must really give your horses a rest, and come in to have a glass of wine and to congratulate me."
“好啊，華生醫生，”他興緻勃勃地喊道，“您真得讓您的馬休息一下了，進來喝一杯酒祝賀我吧。”
My feelings towards him were very far from being friendly after what I had heard of his treatment of his daughter, but I was anxious to send Perkins and the wagonette home, and the opportunity was a good one. I alighted and sent a message to Sir Henry that I should walk over in time for dinner. Then I followed Frankland into his dining-room.
在聽到他如何對待他的女兒以後，我對他實在說不上還有什麼好感，可是我正急於想把波斯金和馬車遣回家去，這確實是個好機會。我下了車，給亨利爵士寫了個便條，說明我要在晚飯時分散步回去。然後我就跟着弗蘭克蘭先生走進了他的飯廳。*
"It is a great day for me, sir--one of the red-letter days of my life," he cried with many chuckles. "I have brought off a double event. I mean to teach them in these parts that law is law, and that there is a man here who does not fear to invoke it. I have established a right of way through the centre of old Middleton's park, slap across it, sir, within a hundred yards of his own front door. What do you think of that? We'll teach these magnates that they cannot ride roughshod over the rights of the commoners, confound them! And I've closed the wood where the Fernworthy folk used to picnic. These infernal people seem to think that there are no rights of property, and that they can swarm where they like with their papers and their bottles. Both cases decided, Dr. Watson, and both in my favour. I haven't had such a day since I had Sir John Morland for trespass, because he shot in his own warren."
“對我說來可真是個了不起的一天啊，先生，是我一生裡的一個大喜的日子，”他不停地格格地笑着，一面喊道，“我已了結兩件案子了。我一定要教訓一下這裡的人們，讓他們知道，法律就是法律。這兒竟還有個不怕打官司的人呢。我已證實了有一條公路整整穿過老米多吞的花園的中心，先生，離他的前門不到一百碼。您對這點覺得如何？咱們真得教訓教訓這幫大人物了，讓他們知道知道，不能任意蹂躪平民的權利，這些個混蛋！我還封閉了一片弗恩沃西家的人常去野餐的樹林。這些無法無天的人們似乎認為產權根本不存在，他們可以到處亂鑽，隨處亂丟爛紙空瓶。華生醫生，這兩件案子我都勝訴了。從約翰·摩蘭爵士因為在自己的鳥獸畜養場裡放槍而被我告發以來，我還沒有過象這樣得意的一天呢。”
"How on earth did you do that?"
“您究竟是怎樣控告他的呢？”
"Look it up in the books, sir. It will repay reading--Frankland v. Morland, Court of Queen's Bench. It cost me 200 pounds, but I got my verdict."
“看看記錄吧，先生。值得看一看的——弗蘭克蘭對摩蘭。 高等法院。這場官司破費了我二百鎊，可是我勝訴了。”
"Did it do you any good?"
“您得到什麼好處了呢？”
"None, sir, none. I am proud to say that I had no interest in the matter. I act entirely from a sense of public duty. I have no doubt, for example, that the Fernworthy people will burn me in effigy to-night. I told the police last time they did it that they should stop these disgraceful exhibitions. The County Constabulary is in a scandalous state, sir, and it has not afforded me the protection to which I am entitled. The case of Frankland v. Regina will bring the matter before the attention of the public. I told them that they would have occasion to regret their treatment of me, and already my words have come true."
“什麼也沒有，先生，什麼好處也沒有得到。我感到驕傲的就是在我做這些事的時候，絲毫也沒有考慮到個人的利益。 我的行為完全是由對社會的責任感所推動的。我確信，譬如說吧，弗恩沃西家的人今晚就可能把我紮成草人燒掉，上回他們那樣做的時候，我就報告了警察，告訴他們應該制止這些可恥的行為。縣裡的警察局真丟人，先生，他們並沒有給我應有的保護。弗蘭克蘭對女王政府的訴訟案，不久就會引起社會上的注意了。我告訴過他們，他們那樣對待我總有一天要後悔的，我的話現在果然應驗了。”
"How so?" I asked.
“怎麼就能這樣呢？”我問道。
The old man put on a very knowing expression.
老頭擺出了一副很自鳴得意的表情來。
"Because I could tell them what they are dying to know; but nothing would induce me to help the rascals in any way."
“因為我本來能告訴他們一件他們所迫切想要知道的事情，可是，無論如何，我是不肯幫那些壞蛋的忙的。”
I had been casting round for some excuse by which I could get away from his gossip, but now I began to wish to hear more of it. I had seen enough of the contrary nature of the old sinner to understand that any strong sign of interest would be the surest way to stop his confidences.
我本來一直在想找個脫身的藉口，不再聽他那些閒扯，可是，現在我又希望多聽一些了。我很清楚這個老荒唐鬼的異乎常情的怪脾氣，只要你一表現出強烈的興趣來，就一定會引起他的懷疑而停止不說了。
"Some poaching case, no doubt?" said I, with an indifferent manner.
“肯定是件偷獵的案子吧？”我帶著漠不關心的神氣說道。
"Ha, ha, my boy, a very much more important matter than that! What about the convict on the moor?"
“啊哈，老兄，是一件比這重要得多的事啊！在沼地裡的那個犯人怎麼樣了？”
I started. "You don't mean that you know where he is?" said I.
我聽了大吃一驚。“難道說您知道他在哪裡嗎？”我說道。
"I may not know exactly where he is, but I am quite sure that I could help the police to lay their hands on him. Has it never struck you that the way to catch that man was to find out where he got his food, and so trace it to him?"
“雖然我並不知道他確實是在哪裡，可是我肯定地知道，我能幫助警察把他抓住。難道您從沒有想到過抓這個人的辦法就是先找出他從哪裡弄到食物，然後再根據這條線索去找到他嗎？”
He certainly seemed to be getting uncomfortably near the truth. "No doubt," said I; "but how do you know that he is anywhere upon the moor?"
他的話確已癒加使人不安地接近了事實。“當然羅，”我說道，“可是您怎麼知道他確實是在沼地裡呢？”
"I know it because I have seen with my own eyes the messenger who takes him his food."
“我知道，因為我親眼看到過那個給他送飯的人。”
My heart sank for Barrymore. It was a serious thing to be in the power of this spiteful old busybody. But his next remark took a weight from my mind.
我為白瑞摩擔起心來。被這樣一個專好惹是生非、愛管閒事的老頭抓住了小辮，確是一件很可怕的事。可是他底下那句話又使我感到如釋重負了。
"You'll be surprised to hear that his food is taken to him by a child. I see him every day through my telescope upon the roof. He passes along the same path at the same hour, and to whom should he be going except to the convict?"
“當您聽到他的食物是一個小孩給他送去的時候，您一定會感吃驚吧。我每天都從屋頂上的那架望遠鏡裡看到他，他每天都在同一時間走過同一條道路；除了到那罪犯那裡去之外，他還會到誰那裡去呢？”
Here was luck indeed! And yet I suppressed all appearance of interest. A child! Barrymore had said that our unknown was supplied by a boy. It was on his track, and not upon the convict's, that Frankland had stumbled. If I could get his knowledge it might save me a long and weary hunt. But incredulity and indifference were evidently my strongest cards.
這可真是運氣！我抑制住自己對這件事感覺興趣的一切表現。一個小孩！白瑞摩曾經說過，我們弄不清楚的那個人是由一個小孩給他送東西的。弗蘭克蘭所發現的是他的線索，而不是那逃犯的線索。如果我能從那裡瞭解到他所知道的事，就可以省得我作長久而疲憊的追蹤了。可是，顯然我還必須對此表示懷疑和淡漠。
"I should say that it was much more likely that it was the son of one of the moorland shepherds taking out his father's dinner."
“我想很可能是個沼地牧人的兒子在給他父親送飯吧。”
The least appearance of opposition struck fire out of the old autocrat. His eyes looked malignantly at me, and his gray whiskers bristled like those of an angry cat.
稍有不同意的表示，就能把這老專刺激得冒起火來。他兩眼惡意地望着我，灰白鬍子象發怒的貓似地豎了起來。
"Indeed, sir!" said he, pointing out over the wide-stretching moor. "Do you see that Black Tor over yonder? Well, do you see the low hill beyond with the thornbush upon it? It is the stoniest part of the whole moor. Is that a place where a shepherd would be likely to take his station? Your suggestion, sir, is a most absurd one."
“真的，先生！”他說道，同時向外面廣袤的沼地指着，“您看到了那邊的那個黑色的岩崗了嗎？啊，您看到了遠處那長滿荊棘的矮山嗎？那是整個沼地裡岩石最多的部分了。難道那裡會是牧人駐腳的地方嗎？先生！您的想法真是荒謬透頂了。”
I meekly answered that I had spoken without knowing all the facts. My submission pleased him and led him to further confidences.
我順從着他回答說，我是因為不瞭解全部事實才這樣說的。我的服輸使他大為高興，也就使他更願意多說一些了。
"You may be sure, sir, that I have very good grounds before I come to an opinion. I have seen the boy again and again with his bundle. Every day, and sometimes twice a day, I have been able--but wait a moment, Dr. Watson. Do my eyes deceive me, or is there at the present moment something moving upon that hill- side?"
“您可以相信，先生，在我提出一個肯定的意見的時候，我是有了很充分的根據的。我一再地看到過那孩子拿着他那卷東西，每天一次，有時每天兩次，我都能……等一等，華生醫生。是我的眼花呢，還是在那山坡上現在有什麼東西在動着？”
It was several miles off, but I could distinctly see a small dark dot against the dull green and gray.
約有幾里遠的樣子，可是在暗綠的和灰色的背景襯托之下，我能清楚地看到一個小黑點。
"Come, sir, come!" cried Frankland, rushing upstairs. "You will see with your own eyes and judge for yourself."
“來呀，先生，來呀！”弗蘭克蘭邊喊邊向樓上衝去，“您可以先親眼看看，然後再自己去判斷吧。”
The telescope, a formidable instrument mounted upon a tripod, stood upon the flat leads of the house. Frankland clapped his eye to it and gave a cry of satisfaction.
那望遠鏡是一個裝在一隻三角架上的龐大的儀器，就放在平坦的鉛板屋頂上。弗蘭克蘭把眼湊了上去，發出了滿意的呼聲。
"Quick, Dr. Watson, quick, before he passes over the hill!"
“快呀，華生醫生，快來，不要等他過了山呀！”
There he was, sure enough, a small urchin with a little bundle upon his shoulder, toiling slowly up the hill. When he reached the crest I saw the ragged uncouth figure outlined for an instant against the cold blue sky. He looked round him with a furtive and stealthy air, as one who dreads pursuit. Then he vanished over the hill.
真的，他就在那裡呢，一個肩上扛着一小卷東西的孩子，正在費力地慢慢向山上走着。當他走到最高點的時候，在暗藍色的天空的襯托下，一瞬間我看到了那衣衫不整的陌生人。他鬼鬼祟祟地向四周望着，好象是怕被人跟蹤似的。後來就在山那邊不見了。
"Well! Am I right?"
“哈，我說得對不對？”
"Certainly, there is a boy who seems to have some secret errand."
“當然了，那個小孩好象負有什麼秘密使命似的。”
"And what the errand is even a county constable could guess. But not one word shall they have from me, and I bind you to secrecy also, Dr. Watson. Not a word! You understand!"
“至於是什麼樣的使命，就連一個縣裡的警察都能猜得出來，可是我一個字也不會告訴他們，我要求您也保守秘密，華生醫生。一個字也不要泄露，您明白嗎！”
"Just as you wish."
“遵命就是了。”
"They have treated me shamefully--shamefully. When the facts come out in Frankland v. Regina I venture to think that a thrill of indignation will run through the country. Nothing would induce me to help the police in any way. For all they cared it might have been me, instead of my effigy, which these rascals burned at the stake. Surely you are not going! You will help me to empty the decanter in honour of this great occasion!"
“他們對待我太不象話——太不象話了。等弗蘭克蘭對女王政府的訟案的內情公佈之後，我敢說，全國都會因而大為憤怒的。無論如何，我也不肯幫警察的忙的。他們要管的是我本人，而不是象徵我的、被這群流氓捆在柱子上燒掉的草人。您不要走哇！您得幫助我喝乾這瓶來慶祝這個偉大的勝利！”
But I resisted all his solicitations and succeeded in dissuading him from his announced intention of walking home with me. I kept the road as long as his eye was on me, and then I struck off across the moor and made for the stony hill over which the boy had disappeared. Everything was working in my favour, and I swore that it should not be through lack of energy or perseverance that I should miss the chance which fortune had thrown in my way.
我謝絶了他的一切懇求，而且成功地打消了他的要陪我散步回家的想法。在他望得見我的時候，我一直是順着大路走，然後我突然離開了大道，穿過沼地，向那孩子消失不見的那座山上走去。對我說來事事都很順利，我敢發誓，我絶不會因為缺乏精神和毅力而錯過命運之神給我送到眼前來的機會。
The sun was already sinking when I reached the summit of the hill, and the long slopes beneath me were all golden-green on one side and gray shadow on the other. A haze lay low upon the farthest sky-line, out of which jutted the fantastic shapes of Belliver and Vixen Tor. Over the wide expanse there was no sound and no movement. One great gray bird, a gull or curlew, soared aloft in the blue heaven. He and I seemed to be the only living things between the huge arch of the sky and the desert beneath it. The barren scene, the sense of loneliness, and the mystery and urgency of my task all struck a chill into my heart. The boy was nowhere to be seen. But down beneath me in a cleft of the hills there was a circle of the old stone huts, and in the middle of them there was one which retained sufficient roof to act as a screen against the weather. My heart leaped within me as I saw it. This must be the burrow where the stranger lurked. At last my foot was on the threshold of his hiding place--his secret was within my grasp.
在我抵達山頂的時候，太陽已經就要落下去了，腳下的山坡向陽的一面變成了金綠色，而另一面則完全被灰暗的陰影籠罩了。在極遠的天際線上，呈現出一抹蒼茫的暮色，在暮色中突出來的就是奇形怪狀的貝利弗和維克森岩崗。在無邊無際的大地上，一無動靜。一隻灰雁，也許是一隻海鷗或麻鷸翱翔在高高的藍色天空之中。在廣大無邊的蒼穹和下面荒蕪的大地之間，它和我好象就是這裡僅有的生物了。荒漠的景色，孤獨的感覺和我的神秘而急迫的使命使我不禁打起寒戰來。哪裡也看不到那個孩子，可是在我下面的一個山溝裡有一些環繞成圈的古老石屋，中間有一棟還有着能夠使人免于日曬雨淋的屋頂。我一看到它，心房就不禁為之一跳，這一定就是那個人藏匿的地方了。我的腳終於踏上了他那藏身之所的門檻了——他的秘密可被我抓住了。
As I approached the hut, walking as warily as Stapleton would do when with poised net he drew near the settled butterfly, I satisfied myself that the place had indeed been used as a habitation. A vague pathway among the boulders led to the dilapidated opening which served as a door. All was silent within. The unknown might be lurking there, or he might be prowling on the moor. My nerves tingled with the sense of adventure. Throwing aside my cigarette, I closed my hand upon the butt of my revolver and, walking swiftly up to the door, I looked in. The place was empty.
當我慢慢接近小屋的時候，我走得小心而又謹慎，就象是斯台普吞高舉着捕蝶網慢慢走近落穩了的蝴蝶似的。我深為滿意的是這地方確曾被用作居住之所。亂石之間有一條隱約可見的小路，通向破爛得要塌的當作門用的開口。那個不知來由的人可能正藏在那裡，或者正在沼地裡蕩來蕩去。冒險的感覺使我的神經大為興奮，我把煙頭拋在一旁，手摸着我那支左輪的槍柄，迅速地走到門口，我向屋裡望了一望，裡面空空的。
But there were ample signs that I had not come upon a false scent. This was certainly where the man lived. Some blankets rolled in a waterproof lay upon that very stone slab upon which Neolithic man had once slumbered. The ashes of a fire were heaped in a rude grate. Beside it lay some cooking utensils and a bucket half-full of water. A litter of empty tins showed that the place had been occupied for some time, and I saw, as my eyes became accustomed to the checkered light, a pannikin and a half-full bottle of spirits standing in the corner. In the middle of the hut a flat stone served the purpose of a table, and upon this stood a small cloth bundle--the same, no doubt, which I had seen through the telescope upon the shoulder of the boy. It contained a loaf of bread, a tinned tongue, and two tins of preserved peaches. As I set it down again, after having examined it, my heart leaped to see that beneath it there lay a sheet of paper with writing upon it. I raised it, and this was what I read, roughly scrawled in pencil:--
可是有很多跡象可以說明，我並沒有找錯地方。這裡一定是那個人住的地方。一塊防雨布包着幾條毛毯，放在新石器時代的人曾經睡過覺的那塊石板上，在一個粗陋的石框裡還有一堆燒過的灰燼，旁邊放著一些廚房用具還有半桶水。一堆亂七八糟的空罐頭盒說明，那人在這屋裡已經住了些時候了。當我的眼睛習慣了這種透過樹葉照下來的紛亂的點點陽光之後，我又在屋角裡看到了一隻金屬小杯和半瓶酒。在小屋的中央有一塊平平的石頭被當桌子用了，上面有個小布包——無疑的就是我從望遠鏡裡看到的小孩肩上的那卷。裡面有一塊麵包、一聽牛舌和兩聽桃罐頭。當我察看完畢重新放下的時候，心裡一跳，因為我看到下面還有一張寫着字的紙。
我拿了起來，上面有用鉛筆潦潦草草寫成的：
Dr. Watson has gone to Coombe Tracey.
“華生醫生曾到庫姆·特雷西去過。”
For a minute I stood there with the paper in my hands thinking out the meaning of this curt message. It was I, then, and not Sir Henry, who was being dogged by this secret man. He had not followed me himself, but he had set an agent--the boy, perhaps--upon my track, and this was his report. Possibly I had taken no step since I had been upon the moor which had not been observed and reported. Always there was this feeling of an unseen force, a fine net drawn round us with infinite skill and delicacy, holding us so lightly that it was only at some supreme moment that one realized that one was indeed entangled in its meshes.
我手裡拿着那張紙，在那裡站了足有一分鐘之久，思考這張短信的寓意何在。那麼說這個秘密的人所跟蹤的並不是亨利爵士而是我了。他並沒有親自對我跟蹤，而是派了一個人——也許就是那個孩子——跟着我，這就是他所寫的報告。
可能從我到了沼地以來，沒有一步行動是未被他看到並報告了上去的。我總感覺到有一股看不見的力量，象一張密密的網似的，無比巧妙地圍住了我們，把我們攏得這樣松，是為了到極端緊要的關頭時，才讓我們知道自己真的已被糾纏在網眼裡了。
If there was one report there might be others, so I looked round the hut in search of them. There was no trace, however, of anything of the kind, nor could I discover any sign which might indicate the character or intentions of the man who lived in this singular place, save that he must be of Spartan habits and cared little for the comforts of life. When I thought of the heavy rains and looked at the gaping roof I understood how strong and immutable must be the purpose which had kept him in that inhospitable abode. Was he our malignant enemy, or was he by chance our guardian angel? I swore that I would not leave the hut until I knew.
既然有了一份報告，就可能還有，於是我就在屋裡到處搜尋起來。可是毫無蹤影，也沒有發現任何足以說明住在這個奇怪地方的人的特點和意圖的跡象。只有一點可以確定，就是他一定有着斯巴達人式的習慣，對生活中的舒適不大介意。 我看了看這開着大口的屋頂，再想一想那天的傾盆大雨，就更深切地瞭解到他那要想達到目的的意志是多麼地堅定不移，正因為有了這樣的意志，他才能住在這種不舒適的地方。
他真是我們的狠毒的敵人呢，還是正巧是保護我們的天使呢？
我下了決心，不弄清一切，決不離開這小屋。
Outside the sun was sinking low and the west was blazing with scarlet and gold. Its reflection was shot back in ruddy patches by the distant pools which lay amid the great Grimpen Mire. There were the two towers of Baskerville Hall, and there a distant blur of smoke which marked the village of Grimpen. Between the two, behind the hill, was the house of the Stapletons. All was sweet and mellow and peaceful in the golden evening light, and yet as I looked at them my soul shared none of the peace of nature but quivered at the vagueness and the terror of that interview which every instant was bringing nearer. With tingling nerves, but a fixed purpose, I sat in the dark recess of the hut and waited with sombre patience for the coming of its tenant.
外面，太陽已經落得很低了，西面放射着火紅和金色的餘輝，天光照着散佈在遠處格林盆大泥潭中的水窪，反射出片片的紅光。在那邊可以看到巴斯克維爾莊園的兩座塔樓，遠處有一帶朦朧的煙氣，說明那裡就是格林盆村，在這兩處的中間，那小山背後就是斯台普吞家的房子。在傍晚金黃色的餘光照耀下，一切都顯得那樣美好、醉人而又恬靜。可是在我看到這景色的時候，內心裡不僅絲毫不能感受大自然的寧靜，反而還因愈益迫近的會面所引起的茫然和恐懼的心理而發抖。我的神經在悸動，但是決心堅定，我在小屋裡坐在黑暗的深處，耐心地等待屋主人的來臨。
And then at last I heard him. Far away came the sharp clink of a boot striking upon a stone. Then another and yet another, coming nearer and nearer. I shrank back into the darkest corner, and cocked the pistol in my pocket, determined not to discover myself until I had an opportunity of seeing something of the stranger. There was a long pause which showed that he had stopped. Then once more the footsteps approached and a shadow fell across the opening of the hut.
後來，我終於聽到他走來了，遠處傳來了皮鞋走在石頭上所發出來的得得聲，一步又一步地愈走愈近了。我退回到最黑的屋角去，手在口袋裏把左輪的槍機扳好，我決定在能看清這人以前不使自己露面。那聲音停住了很久，說明他站住了；後來腳步聲又向前走來，一條黑影由石屋的開口處投射進來。
"It is a lovely evening, my dear Watson," said a well-known voice. "I really think that you will be more comfortable outside than in."
“真是個可愛的黃昏，親愛的華生，”一個很熟悉的聲音說，“我真覺得你到外邊來要比獃在裡面舒服得多呢。”