I confess at these words a shudder passed through me. There was a thrill 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 and his eyes had the hard, dry glitter which shot from them when he was keenly interested.
坦白地說，一聽到這些話，我渾身都發抖了，醫生的聲調也在發顫，這說明連他都被親口說給我們聽的那件事所深深地激動了。福爾摩斯驚異地向前探着身，兩眼顯出當他對一件事極感興趣時所特有的炯炯發光的專注的眼神。
"You saw this?"
“您真看到了嗎？”
"As clearly as I see you."
“清楚得就象現在我看見您一樣。”
"And you said nothing?"
“您什麼也沒有說嗎？”
"What was the use?"
“說又有什麼用呢！”
"How was it that no one else saw it?"
“為什麼別人就沒有看到呢？”
"The marks were some twenty 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."
“爪印距屍體約有二十碼，沒有人注意到。我想如果我不知道這件傳說的話，恐怕也不會發現它。”
"There are many sheep-dogs on the moor?"
“沼地裡有很多看羊的狗嗎？”
"No doubt, but this was no sheep-dog."
“當然有很多，但是這只並不是看羊狗。”
"You say it was large?"
“您說它很大嗎？”
"Enormous."
“大極了。”
"But it had not approached the body?"
“它沒有接近屍體嗎？”
"No."
“沒有。”
"What sort of night was it?'
“那是個什麼樣的夜晚？”
"Damp and raw."
“又潮又冷。”
"But not actually raining?"
“並沒有下雨吧？”
"No."
“沒有。”
"What is the Alley like?"
“夾道是什麼樣的？”
"There are two lines of old yew hedge, twelve feet high and impenetrable. The walk in the centre is about eight feet across."
“有兩行水松老樹籬，高十二英呎，種得很密，人不能通過，中間有一條八英呎寬的小路。”
"Is there anything between the hedges and the walk?"
“在樹籬和小路之間還有什麼東西嗎？”
"Yes, there is a strip of grass about six feet broad on either side."
“有的，在小路兩旁各有一條約六英呎寬的草地。”
"I understand that the yew hedge is penetrated at one point by a gate?"
“我想那樹籬有一處是被柵門切斷了的吧？”
"Yes, the wicket-gate which leads on to the moor."
“有的，就是對著沼地開的那個柵門。”
"Is there any other opening?"
“還有其他的開口嗎？”
"None."
“沒有了。”
"So that to reach the Yew Alley one either has to come down it from the house or else to enter it by the moor-gate?"
“這樣說來，要想到水松夾道里來，只能從宅邸或是由開向沼地的柵門進去羅？”
"There is an exit through a summer-house at the far end."
“穿過另一頭的涼亭還有一個出口。”
"Had Sir Charles reached this?"
“查爾茲爵士走到那裡沒有？”
"No; he lay about fifty yards from it."
“沒有，他躺下的地方距離那里約有五十碼。”
"Now, tell me, Dr. Mortimer--and this is important--the marks which you saw were on the path and not on the grass?"
“現在，摩梯末醫生，請告訴我——這是很重要的一點——你所看到的腳印是在小路上而不是在草地上吧？”
"No marks could show on the grass."
“草地上看不到任何痕跡。”
"Were they on the same side of the path as the moor-gate?"
“是在小路上靠近開向沼地的柵門那一面嗎？”
"Yes; they were on the edge of the path on the same side as the moor-gate."
“是的，是在柵門那一面的路邊上。”
"You interest me exceedingly. Another point. Was the wicket-gate closed?"
“您的話引起了我極大的興趣。還有一點，柵門是關着的嗎？”
"Closed and padlocked."
“關着，而且還用鎖鎖着呢。”
"How high was it?"
“門有多高？”
"About four feet high."
“四英呎左右。”
"Then anyone could have got over it?"
“那麼說，任何人都能爬過來了？”
"Yes."
“是的。”
"And what marks did you see by the wicket-gate?"
“您在柵門上看到了什麼痕跡嗎？”
"None in particular."
“沒有什麼特別的痕跡。”
"Good heaven! Did no one examine?"
“怪了！沒有人檢查過嗎？”
"Yes, I examined myself."
“檢查過，是我親自檢查的。”
"And found nothing?"
“什麼也沒有發現嗎？”
"It was all very confused. Sir Charles had evidently stood there for five or ten minutes."
“簡直把人搞得胡裡湖涂；顯然查爾茲爵士曾在那裡站過五分鐘到十分鐘的樣子。”
"How do you know that?"
“您怎麼知道的呢？”
"Because the ash had twice dropped from his cigar."
“因為從他的雪茄上曾兩次掉下煙灰來。”
"Excellent! This is a colleague, Watson, after our own heart. But the marks?"
“太妙了，華生，簡直是個同行，思路和咱們一樣。可是腳印呢？”
"He had left his own marks all over that small patch of gravel. I could discern no others."
“在那一小片沙礫地面上到處都留下了他的腳印；我看不出來有別人的腳印。”
Sherlock Holmes struck his hand against his knee with an impatient gesture.
歇洛克·福爾摩斯帶著不耐煩的神情敲着膝蓋。
"If I had only been there!" he cried. "It is evidently a case of extraordinary interest, and one which presented immense opportunities to the scientific expert. That gravel page upon which I might have read so much has been long ere this smudged by the rain and defaced by the clogs of curious peasants. Oh, Dr. Mortimer, Dr. Mortimer, to think that you should not have called me in! You have indeed much to answer for."
“要是我在那裡該多好！”他喊道，“顯然這是一個極有意思的案件，它為犯罪學專家提供了進行研究工作的廣泛的好機會。我本可在那片沙礫地面上看出不少線索來的；但是，現在那些痕跡已被雨水和愛看熱閙的農民的木鞋所消滅了。啊！ 摩梯末醫生，摩梯末醫生啊，當時您為什麼不叫我去呢！說真的，您該對這件事負責。”
"I could not call you in, Mr. Holmes, without disclosing these facts to the world, and I have already given my reasons for not wishing to do so. Besides, besides --"
“福爾摩斯先生，我無法既請了您去，而又不把這些真相暴露于世，而且我也已經說明不願這樣做的原因了。同時，同時——”
"Why do you hesitate?"
“為什麼您猶豫不說呢？”
"There is a realm in which the most acute and most experienced of detectives is helpless."
“有的問題，就連最精明老練的偵探也是毫無辦法的。”
"You mean that the thing is supernatural?"
“您是說，這是一件神怪的事情嗎？”
"I did not positively say so."
“我並沒有肯定這樣說。”
"No, but you evidently think it."
“您是沒有肯定這樣說。但是，顯然您是這樣想的。”
"Since the tragedy, Mr. Holmes, there have come to my ears several incidents which are hard to reconcile with the settled order of Nature."
“福爾摩斯先生，自從這件悲劇發生之後，我曾聽到過一些很難與自然法則相符合的事情。”
"For example?"
“請舉例說吧。”
"I find that before the terrible event occurred several people had seen a creature upon the moor which corresponds with this Baskerville demon, and which could not possibly be any animal known to science. They all agreed that it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and one a moorland farmer, who all tell the same story of this dreadful apparition, exactly corresponding to the hell-hound of the legend. I assure you that there is a reign of terror in the district, and that it is a hardy man who will cross the moor at night."
“我知道在這可怕的事情發生之前，就有些人曾在沼地裡看到過跟所說的這個巴斯克維爾的怪物形狀相同的動物，而且決不是科學界所已知道的獸類。他們異口同聲地說是一隻大傢伙，發着光，猙獰得象魔鬼似的。我曾盤問過那些人；其中有一個是精明的鄉下人，一個是馬掌鐵匠，還有一個是沼地裡的農戶；他們都說了關於這個可怕的幽靈的相同的故事，完全和傳說之中的猙獰可怕的獵狗相符。您可以相信，全區都被恐懼所籠罩了，敢在夜晚走過沼地的真可以算是大膽的人了。”
"And you, a trained man of science, believe it to be supernatural?"
“難道您——一個有着科學素養的人，會相信這是神怪的事嗎？”
"I do not know what to believe."
“我也不知道應該相信什麼。”
Holmes shrugged his shoulders.
福爾摩斯聳了聳肩。
"I have hitherto confined my investigations to this world," said he. "In a modest way I have combated evil, but to take on the Father of Evil himself would, perhaps, be too ambitious a task. Yet you must admit that the footmark is material."
“至今為止，我的調查工作的範圍還僅限於人世，”他說，“我只與罪惡做了稍許的鬥爭。但是，要接觸到萬惡之神，也許就不是我之力所能及的了。但是無論如何，您總得承認，腳印是實實在在的吧。”
"The original hound was material enough to tug a man's throat out, and yet he was diabolical as well."
“這只古怪的獵狗確是實在得足以撕碎人的喉嚨了，可是它又確實象是妖魔。”
"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 me at all? You tell me in the same breath that it is useless to investigate Sir Charles's death, and that you desire me to do it."
“我看得出來，您已經非常傾向于超自然論者了。可是，摩梯末醫生，現在請您告訴我，您既持有這種看法，為什麼還來找我呢？您以同樣的口氣對我說，對查爾茲爵士的死進行調查是毫無用處的，而您卻又希望我去調查。”
"I did not say that I desired you to do it."
“我並沒有說過希望您去調查啊。”
"Then, how can I assist you?"
“那麼，我怎樣才能幫助您呢？”
"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."
“希望您告訴我，對於即將抵達滑鐵盧車站的亨利·巴斯克維爾爵士應該怎麼辦呢？”摩梯末醫生看了看他的表，“他在一個鐘頭零一刻鐘之內就要到了。”
"He being the heir?"
“他就是繼承人嗎？”
"Yes. On the death of Sir Charles we inquired for this young gentleman 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 not as a medical man but as a trustee and executor of Sir Charles's will."
“對了，查爾茲爵士死後，我們對這位年輕的紳士進行了調查，才發現他一直就在加拿大務農。根據我們的瞭解，由種種方面看來，他都是個很好的人。我現在不是作為一個醫生，而是作為查爾茲爵士遺囑的受託人和執行人說話的。”
"There is no other claimant, I presume?"
“我想沒有其他申請繼承的人了吧？”
"None. The only other kinsman whom we have been able to trace was Rodger Baskerville, the youngest of three brothers of whom poor Sir Charles was the elder. The second brother, who died young, is the father of this lad Henry. The third, Rodger, was the black sheep of the family. He came of the old masterful Baskerville strain, and was the very image, they tell me, of the family picture of old Hugo. He made England too hot to hold him, fled to Central America, and died there in 1876 of yellow fever. 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?"
“沒有了。在他的親屬之中，我們唯一能夠追溯到的另一個人就是羅傑·巴斯克維爾了。他是兄弟三個之中最年輕的一個，查爾茲爵士是最年長的一個，年輕時就死了的二哥就是亨利這孩子的父親。三弟羅傑是家中的壞種，他和那專橫的老巴斯克維爾可真是一脈相傳；據他們說，他長得和家中的老修果的畫像維妙維肖。他閙得在英格蘭站不住腳了，逃到了美洲中部，一八七六年生黃熱病死在那裡。亨利已是巴斯克維爾家最後僅存的子嗣。在一小時零五分鐘之後，我就要在滑鐵盧車站見到他了。我接到了一份電報，說他已于今晨抵達南安普敦。福爾摩斯先生，現在您打算讓我對他怎麼辦呢？”*
"Why should he not go to the home of his fathers?"
“為什麼不讓他到他祖祖輩輩居住的家裡去呢？”
"It seems natural, does it not? And yet, consider that every Baskerville who goes there meets with an evil fate. I feel sure that if Sir Charles could have spoken with me before his death he would have warned me against bringing this, the last of the old race, and the heir to great wealth, to that deadly place. And yet it cannot be denied that the prosperity of the whole poor, bleak country-side depends upon his presence. All the good work which has been done by Sir Charles will crash to the ground if there is no tenant of the Hall. I fear lest I should be swayed too much by my own obvious interest in the matter, and that is why I bring the case before you and ask for your advice."
“看來似乎很應該，不是嗎？可是考慮到每個巴斯克維爾家的人，只要到那裡去，就會遭到可怕的命運。我想，如果查爾茲爵士在死前還來得及能和我說話的話，他一定會警告我，不要把這古老家族的最後一人和巨富的繼承者帶到這個致命的地方來。可是，不可否認的，整個貧困、荒涼的鄉區的繁榮幸福都系於他的來臨了。如果莊園裡沒有個主人，查爾茲爵士做過的一切善行就會全部煙消雲散。由於我個人顯然對這事很關心，恐怕我個人的看法對此事影響過大，所以才將這案件向您提出來，並徵求您的意見。”
Holmes considered for a little time.
福爾摩斯考慮了一會兒。
"Put into plain words, the matter is this," said he. "In your opinion there is a diabolical agency which makes Dartmoor an unsafe abode for a Baskerville--that is your opinion?"
“簡單說來，事情是這樣的，”他說，“您的意見是說，有一種魔鬼般的力量，使達特沼地變成了巴斯克維爾家人居處不安之所——這就是您的意見嗎？”
"At least I might go the length of saying that there is some evidence that this may be so."
“至少我可以說，有些跡象說明可能是這樣的。”
"Exactly. But surely, if your supernatural theory be correct, it could work the young man evil in London as easily as in Devonshire. A devil with merely local powers like a parish vestry would be too inconceivable a thing."
“是的。可是肯定地說，如果您那神怪的說法是正確的話，那麼，這青年人在倫敦就會象在德文郡一樣地倒霉。一個魔鬼，竟會象教區禮拜堂似的，只在本地施展權威，那簡直太難以想象了。”
"You put the matter more flippantly, Mr. Holmes, than you would probably do if you were brought into personal contact 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 minutes. What would you recommend?"
“福爾摩斯先生，如果您親身接觸到這些事情，也許您就不會這樣輕率地下斷語了。根據我的理解，您的意見是：這位青年在德文郡會和在倫敦同樣的安全。他在五十分鐘內就要到了，您說該怎麼辦呢？”
"I recommend, sir, that you take a cab, call off your spaniel who is scratching at my front door, and proceed to Waterloo to meet Sir Henry Baskerville."
“先生，我建議您坐上一輛出租馬車，叫走您那只正在抓撓我前門的長耳獵犬，到滑鐵盧去接亨利·巴斯克維爾爵士。”
"And then?"
“然後呢？”
"And then you will say nothing to him at all until I have made up my mind about the matter."
“然後，在我對此事作出決定之前，什麼也不要告訴他。”
"How long will it take you to make up your mind?"
“您要用多長時間才能作出決定呢？”
"Twenty-four hours. At ten o'clock to-morrow, Dr. Mortimer, I will be much obliged 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."
“二十四小時。如果您能在明天十點鐘到這裡來找我的話，摩梯末醫生，那我真是太感謝您了；而且如果您能偕亨利·巴斯克維爾爵士同來的話，那就會更有助於我作出未來的計劃了。”
"I will do so, Mr. Holmes." He scribbled the appointment on his shirtcuff and hurried off in his strange, peering, absent-minded fashion. Holmes stopped him at the head of the stair.
“我一定這樣作，福爾摩斯先生。”他把這約會用鉛筆寫在袖口上，然後就帶著他那怪異的、凝目而視和心不在焉的樣子匆忙地走了。當他走到樓梯口時，福爾摩斯又把他叫住了。
"Only one more question, Dr. Mortimer. You say that before Sir Charles Baskerville's death several people saw this apparition upon the moor?"
“再問您一個問題，摩梯末醫生，您說在查爾茲·巴斯克維爾爵士死前，曾有幾個人在沼地裡看見過這個鬼怪嗎？”
"Three people did."
“有三個人看見過。”
"Did any see it after?"
“後來又有人看見過嗎？”
"I have not heard of any."
“我還沒有聽說過。”
"Thank you. Good morning."
“謝謝您，早安。”
Holmes returned to his seat with that quiet look of inward satisfaction which meant that he had a congenial task before him.
福爾摩斯帶著安靜的、內心滿足的神情回到他的座位上去，這表示他已找到了合乎口味的工作了。
"Going out, Watson?"
“要出去嗎，華生？”
"Unless I can help you."
“是啊，不過如果能對你有幫助的話，我就不出去。”
"No, my dear fellow, it is at the hour of action that I turn to you for aid. But this is splendid, really unique from some points of view. When you pass Bradley's, would you ask him to send up a pound of the strongest shag tobacco? Thank you. It would be as well if you could make it convenient not to return before evening. Then I should be very glad to compare impressions as to this most interesting problem which has been submitted to us this morning."
“不，我親愛的夥伴，只有在採取行動的時候，我才會求助於你呢。真妙啊，從某些觀點看來，這件事實在特別。在你路過布萊德雷商店的時候，請你叫他們送一磅濃烈的板煙來好嗎？謝謝你。如果對你方便的話，請你在黃昏前不要回來，我很想在這段時間裡把早上獲得的有關這極為有趣的案件的種種印象比較一下。”
I knew that seclusion and solitude were very necessary for my friend in those hours of intense mental concentration during which he weighed every particle of evidence, constructed alternative theories, 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 o'clock when I found myself in the sitting-room once more.
我知道，在精神高度集中，權衡點滴證據，作出不同的假設，把它們對比一下，最後再確定哪幾點是重要的，哪些是不真實的時候，閉門獨處，苦思終日，對我朋友說來是極為必要的。因此我就把時間全部消磨在俱樂部裡了，黃昏前一直也沒有回到貝克街去。在將近九點鐘的時候，我才又坐在休息室裡了。
My first impression 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 upon the table was blurred by it. As I entered, however, my fears were set at rest, for it was the acrid fumes of strong coarse tobacco which took me by the throat and set me coughing. Through the haze I had a vague vision of Holmes in his dressing-gown coiled up in an armchair with his black clay pipe between his lips. Several rolls of paper lay around him.
我打開門，第一個感覺就是好象着了火似的，因為滿屋都是煙，連檯燈的燈光都看不清了。走進去以後，我總算放下了心，因為濃烈的粗板煙氣嗆得我的嗓子咳了起來。透過煙霧，我模模糊糊地看到福爾摩斯穿著睡衣的身影蜷臥在安樂椅中，口裡銜着黑色的陶制煙斗，周圍放著一捲一捲的紙。
"Caught cold, Watson?" said he.
“着涼了嗎，華生？”他說。
"No, it's this poisonous atmosphere."
“沒有，都是這有毒的空氣搞的。”
"I suppose it is pretty thick, now that you mention it."
“啊，你說得對，我想空氣也確實是夠濃的了。”
"Thick! It is intolerable."
“濃得簡直無法忍受。”
"Open the window, then! You have been at your club all day, I perceive."
“那麼，就打開窗子吧！我看得出來，你整天都獃在俱樂部裡吧？”
"My dear Holmes!"
“我親愛的福爾摩斯！”
"Am I right?"
“我說得對嗎？”
"Certainly, but how?"
“當然了，可是怎麼——”
He laughed at my bewildered expression.
他譏笑着我那莫名其妙的神情。
"There is a delightful freshness about you, Watson, which makes it a pleasure to exercise any small powers which I possess at your expense. A gentleman goes forth on a showery and miry day. He returns immaculate in the evening with the gloss still on his hat and his boots. He has been a fixture therefore all day. He is not a man with intimate friends. Where, then, could he have been? Is it not obvious?"
“華生，因為你帶著一身輕鬆愉快的神情，使我很想耍耍小把戲拿你開開心。一位紳士在泥濘的雨天出了門；晚上回來的時候，身上卻乾乾淨淨，帽上、鞋上依然發着亮光，他一定是整天獃坐未動。他還是個沒有親近朋友的人，這麼說來，他還會到哪裡去過呢？這不是很明顯的事嗎？”
"Well, it is rather obvious."
“對，相當明顯。”
"The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes. Where do you think that I have been?"
“世界上有的是沒有人看得出來的明顯的事。你以為我是獃在什麼地方的？”
"A fixture also."
“這不是獃在這裡沒有動嗎？”
"On the contrary, I have been to Devonshire."
“正相反，我到德文郡去過了。”
"In spirit?"
“‘魂靈’去了吧？”
"Exactly. My body has remained in this arm-chair and has, I regret to observe, consumed in my absence two large pots of coffee and an incredible amount of tobacco. After you left I sent down to Stamford's for the Ordnance map of this portion of the moor, and my spirit has hovered over it all day. I flatter myself that I could find my way about."
“正是，我的肉體一直是坐在這只安樂椅裡。可是遺憾的是，我竟在‘魂靈’已遠遠飛走的期間喝掉了兩大壺咖啡，抽了多得難以相信的煙草。你走了以後，我派人去斯坦弗警局取來了繪有沼地這一地區的地圖，我的‘魂靈’就在這張地圖上轉了一天。我自信對那個地區的道路已瞭如指掌了。”
"A large scale map, I presume?"
“我想該是一張很詳細的地圖吧？”
"Very large." He unrolled one section and held it over his knee. "Here you have the particular district which concerns us. That is Baskerville Hall in the middle."
“很詳細。”他把地圖打開了一部分放在膝頭上。“這裡就是與我們特別有關係的地區。中間的地方就是巴斯克維爾莊園。”
"With a wood round it?"
“周圍是被樹林圍繞着的嗎？”
"Exactly. I fancy the Yew Alley, though not marked under that name, must stretch along this line, with the moor, as you perceive, upon the right of it. This small clump of buildings here is the hamlet of Grimpen, where our friend Dr. Mortimer has his headquarters. Within a radius of five miles there are, as you see, only a very few scattered dwellings. Here is Lafter Hall, which was mentioned in the narrative. There is a house indicated here which may be the residence of the naturalist--Stapleton, if I remember right, was his name. Here are two moorland farm-houses, High Tor and Foulmire. Then fourteen miles away the great convict prison of Princetown. Between and around these scattered points extends the desolate, lifeless moor. This, then, is the stage upon which tragedy has been played, and upon which we may help to play it again."
“是的。我想那條水松夾道，雖然在這兒並沒有註明，一定是沿著這條綫伸展下去的；而沼地呢，你可以看得出來，是在它的右側。這一小堆房子就是格林盆村，咱們的朋友摩梯末醫生的住宅就在這裡。在半徑五里之內，你看得到，只有很少幾座零星散佈的房屋。這裡就是事件裡提到過的賴福特莊園。這裡有一所註明了的房屋，可能就是那位生物學家的住宅；如果我沒有記錯的話，他姓斯台普吞。這裡是兩家沼地的農舍，高陶和弗麥爾。十四英里以外就是王子鎮的大監獄。在這些分散的各點之間和周圍伸延着荒漠淒涼的沼地。這裡就是曾經演出悲劇的舞台，也許靠我們的幫助，在這舞台上還會演出些好戲呢。”
"It must be a wild place."
“這一定是個荒野之地。”
"Yes, the setting is a worthy one. If the devil did desire to have a hand in the affairs of men ----"
“啊，左近的環境可真太合適了，如果魔鬼真想插足於人世間的事情的話……”
"Then you are yourself inclining to the supernatural explanation."
“這麼說，你自己也傾向于神怪的說法了。”
"The devil's agents may be of flesh and blood, may they not? There are two questions waiting for us at the outset. The one is whether any crime has been committed at all; the second is, what is the crime and how was it committed? 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. But we are bound to exhaust all other hypotheses before falling back upon this one. I think we'll shut that window again, if you don't mind. It is a singular thing, but I find that a concentrated atmosphere helps a concentration of thought. I have not pushed it to the length of getting into a box to think, but that is the logical outcome of my convictions. Have you turned the case over in your mind?"
“魔鬼的代理人也許是血肉之軀呢，難道不會嗎？咱們面臨着兩個問題：第一，究竟是不是發生過犯罪的事實；第二，究竟是什麼性質的罪行和這罪行是怎樣進行的？當然羅，如果摩梯末醫生的疑慮是正確的話，我們就要和超乎一般自然法則的勢力打交道了；那樣，我們的調查工作也就算是到了頭了。但是我們只有在各種假設都被推翻之後，才能再回到這條路上來探索。如果你不反對的話，我想咱們得關上那窗戶了。很奇怪，我總覺得濃厚的空氣能使人們的思想集中。雖然我還沒有到非鑽進箱子去才能思考的地步，可是我相信，如果再繼續發展下去的話，勢必會得到那樣的結果呢。這件案子，你在腦子裡思考過了嗎？”
"Yes, I have thought a good deal of it in the course of the day."
“是的，白天的時候我想得很多。”
"What do you make of it?"
“你的看法怎麼樣呢？”
"It is very bewildering."
“太撲朔迷離了。”
"It has certainly a character of its own. There are points of distinction about it. That change in the footprints, for example. What do you make of that?"
“這案件確有其獨特之處。它有幾個突出的地方。譬如說吧，那足跡的變化，對這一點你的看法是怎樣的呢？”
"Mortimer said that the man had walked on tiptoe down that portion of the alley."
“摩梯末說過，那人在那一段夾道上是用足尖走路的。”
"He only repeated what some fool had said at the inquest. Why should a man walk on tiptoe down the alley?"
“他不過是重複了一個傻瓜在驗屍時說過的話。為什麼一個人會沿著夾道用足尖走路呢？”
"What then?"
“那麼，該怎樣解釋呢？”
"He was running, Watson--running desperately, running for his life, running until he burst his heart and fell dead upon his face."
“他是跑着呢，華生——拚命地跑着，他在逃命，一直跑到心臟破裂伏在地上死去為止。”
"Running from what?"
“他是為了逃避什麼才跑的呢？”
"There lies our problem. There are indications that the man was crazed with fear before ever he began to run."
“咱們的問題就在這裡。種種跡象都說明，這人在開始跑以前已經嚇得發瘋了。”
"How can you say that?"
“你為什麼這樣說呢？”
"I am presuming that the cause of his fears came to him across the moor. If that were so, and it seems most probable, only a man who had lost his wits would have run from the house instead of towards it. If the gipsy's evidence may be taken as true, he ran with cries for help in the direction where help was least likely to be. Then, again, whom was he waiting for that night, and why was he waiting for him in the Yew Alley rather than in his own house?"
“據我想象他恐懼的原因是來自沼地的。如果是這樣的話，看來最可能的是：只有一個被嚇得神魂顛倒的人才會不向房子而向相反的方向跑。如果那吉卜賽人的證詞可以被認為是真實的話，他就是邊跑邊呼救命，而他所跑的方向卻正是最不可能得到救助的方向。還有就是，當晚他在等誰呢？為什麼他要在水松夾道而不在自己的房子裡等人呢？”
"You think that he was waiting for someone?"
“你認為他是在等人嗎？”
"The man was elderly and infirm. We can understand his taking an evening stroll, but the ground was damp and the night inclement. Is it natural that he should stand for five or ten minutes, as Dr. Mortimer, with more practical sense than I should have given him credit for, deduced from the cigar ash?"
“那人年事較長並且身體虛弱，我們可以理解，他會在傍晚時分散散步的；可是地面潮濕而夜裡又那樣冷。摩梯末醫生的智慧確是值得我大大讚賞的；他根據雪茄煙灰所得出的結論，說明他竟站了五分鐘或十分鐘的時間，難道這是很自然的事嗎？”
"But he went out every evening."
“可是他每天晚上都出去啊！”
"I think it unlikely that he waited at the moor-gate every evening. On the contrary, the evidence is that he avoided the moor. That night he waited there. It was the night before he made his departure for London. The thing takes shape, Watson. It becomes coherent. Might I ask you to hand me my violin, and we will postpone all further thought upon this business until we have had the advantage of meeting Dr. Mortimer and Sir Henry Baskerville in the morning."
“我不以為他每天晚上都在通向沼地的門前佇立等待。相反的，有證據能說明他是躲避沼地的。那天晚上他是在那裡等過的，而且是在他要出發到倫敦去的前一個晚上。事情已經略具端倪了，華生，變得前後相符了。請你把我的小提琴拿給我，這件事等咱們明晨和摩梯末醫生與亨利·巴斯克維爾爵士見面時再進一步考慮吧。”