福爾摩斯的缺點之一——真的，如果你能把它叫做缺點的話——就是：在計劃實現之前，他極不願將他的全部計劃告訴任何人。無疑的，一部分是因為他本人高傲的天性，喜歡支配一切並使他周圍的人們感到驚訝，一部分也是由於他本行工作上所需的謹慎，他從來不願隨便冒險。這樣常常使那些做他的委託人和助手的人感到非常難堪，我就有過不止一次這樣的不快的經歷，可是再沒有比這次長時間地在黑暗中駕車前進更使人感到難受了。嚴重的考驗就在我們的眼前，我們的全部行動已經進入了最後的階段，可是福爾摩斯什麼也沒有說，而我則只能主觀地推測他行動的方向是如何如何。 後來我們的面孔感到了冷風的吹拂，狹窄的車道兩旁黑洞洞的，都是一無所有的空間，我這才知道我們又回到沼地裡來了。期待着將要發生的一切的那種心情，使我周身的神經都激動起來，馬每走一步，車輪每轉一周，都使我們更加接近了冒險的極峰。
One of Sherlock Holmes's defects--if, indeed, one may call it a defect--was that he was exceedingly loath to communicate his full plans to any other person until the instant of their fulfilment. Partly it came no doubt from his own masterful nature, which loved to dominate and surprise those who were around him. Partly also from his professional caution, which urged him never to take any chances. The result, however, was very trying for those who were acting as his agents and assistants. I had often suffered under it, but never more so than during that long drive in the darkness. The great ordeal was in front of us; at last we were about to make our final effort, and yet Holmes had said nothing, and I could only surmise what his course of action would be. My nerves thrilled with anticipation when at last the cold wind upon our faces and the dark, void spaces on either side of the narrow road told me that we were back upon the moor once again. Every stride of the horses and every turn of the wheels was taking us nearer to our supreme adventure.
由於有僱來的馬車伕在場，我們不能暢所欲言，只好談一些無聊的瑣碎小事，而實際上我們的神經都已因情感的激動和焦慮被弄得非常緊張了。當我們經過了弗蘭克蘭的家，離莊園，也就是那出事地點已癒來愈近了的時候，才總算度過了那段不自然的緊張狀態，我的心情也才舒暢了下來。我們沒有把車趕到樓房門前，在靠近車道的大門口的地方就下了車。付了車錢，並讓車伕馬上回到庫姆·特雷西去，然後，我們就向梅利琵宅邸走去了。
Our conversation was hampered by the presence of the driver of the hired wagonette, so that we were forced to talk of trivial matters when our nerves were tense with emotion and anticipation. It was a relief to me, after that unnatural restraint, when we at last passed Frankland's house and knew that we were drawing near to the Hall and to the scene of action. We did not drive up to the door but got down near the gate of the avenue. The wagonette was paid off and ordered to return to Coombe Tracey forthwith, while we started to walk to Merripit House.
“你帶著武器嗎，雷斯垂德？”
"Are you armed, Lestrade?"
那矮個兒偵探微笑了一下。
The little detective smiled.
“只要我穿著褲子，屁股後面就有個口袋，既然有這個口袋，我就要在裡面擱點什麼。”
"As long as I have my trousers I have a hip-pocket, and as long as I have my hip-pocket I have something in it."
“好啊！我的朋友和我也都作好應急的準備了。”
"Good! My friend and I are also ready for emergencies."
“你對這件事瞞得可真夠嚴密呀，福爾摩斯先生。現在咱們幹什麼呢？”
"You're mighty close about this affair, Mr. Holmes. What's the game now?"
“就等着吧。”
"A waiting game."
“我說，這裡可真不是個使人高興的地方，”那偵探說著就打了個冷戰，向四周望望那陰暗的山坡和在格林盆泥潭上面積成的霧海。“我看到了咱們前面一所房子裡的燈光了。”
"My word, it does not seem a very cheerful place," said the detective with a shiver, glancing round him at the gloomy slopes of the hill and at the huge lake of fog which lay over the Grimpen Mire. "I see the lights of a house ahead of us."
“那是梅利琵宅邸，也就是我們這次旅程的終點了。現在我要求你們一定得用足尖走路，說話也只能低聲耳語。”
"That is Merripit House and the end of our journey. I must request you to walk on tiptoe and not to talk above a whisper."
我們繼續沿著小徑前進，看樣子我們是要到那房子那裡去，可是到了離房子約兩百碼的地方，福爾摩斯就把我們叫住了。
We moved cautiously along the track as if we were bound for the house, but Holmes halted us when we were about two hundred yards from it.
“就在這裡好了。”他說道，“右側的這些山石是絶妙的屏障。”
"This will do," said he. "These rocks upon the right make an admirable screen."
“咱們就在這裡等嗎？”
"We are to wait here?"
“對了，咱們就要在這裡作一次小規模的伏擊。雷斯垂德，到這條溝裡來吧。華生，你曾經到那所房子裡面去過吧，是不是？你能說出各個房間的位置嗎？這一頭的幾個格子窗是什麼屋的窗戶？”
"Yes, we shall make our little ambush here. Get into this hollow, Lestrade. You have been inside the house, have you not, Watson? Can you tell the position of the rooms? What are those latticed windows at this end?"
“我想是廚房的窗子。”
"I think they are the kitchen windows."
“再往那邊那個很亮的呢？”
"And the one beyond, which shines so brightly?"
“那一定是飯廳。”
"That is certainly the dining-room."
“百葉窗是拉起來的。你最熟悉這裡的地形。悄悄地走過去，看看他們正在做什麼，可是千萬不要讓他們知道有人在監視着他們！”
"The blinds are up. You know the lie of the land best. Creep forward quietly and see what they are doing--but for heaven's sake don't let them know that they are watched!"
我輕輕地順着小徑走去，彎身藏在一堵矮牆的後面，矮牆周圍是長得很糟的果木林。藉著陰影我到了一個地方，從那裡可以直接望進沒有掛窗帘的窗口。
I tiptoed down the path and stooped behind the low wall which surrounded the stunted orchard. Creeping in its shadow I reached a point whence I could look straight through the uncurtained window.
屋裡只有亨利爵士和斯台普吞兩個人。他們面對面坐在一張圓桌的兩邊，側面向着我。兩人都在吸着雪茄，面前還放著咖啡和葡萄酒。斯台普吞正在興緻勃勃地談論着，而準男爵卻是面色蒼白，心不在焉，也許是因為他想到要獨自一人穿過那不祥的沼地，心頭感到沉重。
There were only two men in the room, Sir Henry and Stapleton. They sat with their profiles towards me on either side of the round table. Both of them were smoking cigars, and coffee and wine were in front of them. Stapleton was talking with animation, but the baronet looked pale and distrait. Perhaps the thought of that lonely walk across the ill-omened moor was weighing heavily upon his mind.
正當我望着他們的時候，斯台普吞忽然站了起來，離開了房間，同時亨利爵士又斟滿了酒杯，向後靠在椅背上，噴吐着雪茄煙。我聽到一聲門的吱咯聲和皮鞋踏在石子路上發出的清脆的聲音，腳步聲走過了我所蹲着的那堵牆另一面的小路。由牆頭一望，我看到那位生物學家在果木林角上的一所小房的門口站住了，鑰匙在鎖眼裡擰了一下，他一進去，裡面就發出了一陣奇怪的扭打的聲音。他在裡面只獃了一分鐘左右，後來我又聽到擰了一下鑰匙，他又順原路回到屋裡去了。我看到他和他的客人又在一起了，於是我又悄悄地回到我的夥伴們等我的地方，告訴了他們我所看到的情形。
As I watched them Stapleton rose and left the room, while Sir Henry filled his glass again and leaned back in his chair, puffing at his cigar. I heard the creak of a door and the crisp sound of boots upon gravel. The steps passed along the path on the other side of the wall under which I crouched. Looking over, I saw the naturalist pause at the door of an out-house in the corner of the orchard. A key turned in a lock, and as he passed in there was a curious scuffling noise from within. He was only a minute or so inside, and then I heard the key turn once more and he passed me and re-entered the house. I saw him rejoin his guest, and I crept quietly back to where my companions were waiting to tell them what I had seen.
“華生，你是說那位女士不在嗎？”在我報告完了之後，福爾摩斯問道。
"You say, Watson, that the lady is not there?" Holmes asked, when I had finished my report.
“是的。”
"No."
“那麼，她會在哪裡呢？除了廚房之外哪一間屋子都沒有燈光啊！”
"Where can she be, then, since there is no light in any other room except the kitchen?"
“我想不出她在哪裡。”
"I cannot think where she is."
我曾說過的那種大格林盆泥潭上的濃厚的白霧，這時正向我們這個方向慢慢飄了過來，積聚起來，就好象在我們的旁邊豎起一堵牆似的，雖低但是很厚，而且界線也很分明。再被月光一照，看上去就象一片閃閃發光的冰原，還有遠方的一個個突起的岩崗，就象是在冰原上生出來的岩石一樣。福爾摩斯的臉轉向那邊，一面望着緩緩飄行的濃霧，一面口中不耐煩地嘟囔着：
I have said that over the great Grimpen Mire there hung a dense, white fog. It was drifting slowly in our direction, and banked itself up like a wall on that side of us, low, but thick and well defined. The moon shone on it, and it looked like a great shimmering ice-field, with the heads of the distant tors as rocks borne upon its surface. Holmes's face was turned towards it, and he muttered impatiently as he watched its sluggish drift.
“霧正在向咱們這邊前進呢，華生！”
"It's moving towards us, Watson."
“情況嚴重嗎？”
"Is that serious?"
“確實很嚴重，說不定會打亂我的計劃呢。現在，他獃不了很久了，已經十點鐘了。咱們能否成功和他的性命安危可能都要決定於他是否在濃霧遮住小路之前出來了。”
"Very serious, indeed--the one thing upon earth which could have disarranged my plans. He can't be very long, now. It is already ten o'clock. Our success and even his life may depend upon his coming out before the fog is over the path."
我們的頭頂上，夜空皎潔而美好，星星閃耀着明澈的冷光，半個月亮高懸在空中，使整個沼地都浸沉在柔和而朦朧的光線之中。我們面前就是房屋的黑影，它那鋸齒形的屋頂和矗立的煙囪的輪廓，被星光燦爛的天空清晰地襯託了出來。 下面那些窗戶裡射出了幾道寬寬的金黃色的燈光，向着果木林和沼地的方向照去。其中的一道忽然滅了，說明僕人們已經離開了廚房；只剩下了飯廳裡的燈光，裡面的兩個人還在抽着雪茄閒談。一個是蓄意謀殺的主人，一個是毫無所知的客人。
The night was clear and fine above us. The stars shone cold and bright, while a half-moon bathed the whole scene in a soft, uncertain light. Before us lay the dark bulk of the house, its serrated roof and bristling chimneys hard outlined against the silver-spangled sky. Broad bars of golden light from the lower windows stretched across the orchard and the moor. One of them was suddenly shut off. The servants had left the kitchen. There only remained the lamp in the dining-room where the two men, the murderous host and the unconscious guest, still chatted over their cigars.
遮住了沼地一半的大霧，白花花的象羊毛似的一片，每一分鐘都在愈來愈近地向房屋飄了過來，先到的一些淡薄的霧氣已經在發着金黃色光芒的方形窗前滾動了。果木林後面的牆已經看不到了，可是樹木的上半部依然屹立在一股白色水氣渦流的上面。在我們守望着的時候，滾滾的濃霧已經爬到了房子的兩角，並且慢慢地堆積成了一堵厚牆，二樓象是一條奇怪的、浮游在可怕的海上的船。福爾摩斯用手急切地拍着面前的岩石，不耐煩地跺着腳。
Every minute that white woolly plain which covered one half of the moor was drifting closer and closer to the house. Already the first thin wisps of it were curling across the golden square of the lighted window. The farther wall of the orchard was already invisible, and the trees were standing out of a swirl of white vapour. As we watched it the fog-wreaths came crawling round both corners of the house and rolled slowly into one dense bank, on which the upper floor and the roof floated like a strange ship upon a shadowy sea. Holmes struck his hand passionately upon the rock in front of us and stamped his feet in his impatience.
“如果他在一刻鐘之內再不出來，這條小路就要被遮住了，再過半小時，咱們把手伸到面前都要看不到了。”
"If he isn't out in a quarter of an hour the path will be covered. In half an hour we won't be able to see our hands in front of us."
“咱們要不要向後退到一處較高的地方去呢？”
"Shall we move farther back upon higher ground?"
“對了，我想這樣也好。”
"Yes, I think it would be as well."
因此，當濃霧向我們流過來的時候，我們就向後退一退，這樣一直退到了離房子有半裡遠的地方。可是那片上面閃耀着月光的濃白色的海洋，還在繼續慢慢地、堅決地向着我們這個方向推進着。
So as the fog-bank flowed onward we fell back before it until we were half a mile from the house, and still that dense white sea, with the moon silvering its upper edge, swept slowly and inexorably on.
“咱們走得太遠了，”福爾摩斯說道，“他會在走近咱們之前就被人追上的。咱們可不能冒這個危險，一定得不惜任何代價堅守在這裡。”他跪了下去，把耳朵貼在地面上。“感謝上帝，我想我已聽到他走來了。”
"We are going too far," said Holmes. "We dare not take the chance of his being overtaken before he can reach us. At all costs we must hold our ground where we are." He dropped on his knees and clapped his ear to the ground. "Thank God, I think that I hear him coming."
一陣急速的腳步聲打破了沼地的寂靜。我們蹲在亂石之間，專心致志地盯着面前那段上緣呈銀白色的霧牆。腳步聲愈來愈響了，我們所期待的人穿過濃霧，就好象穿過一層簾幕似地在那裡走着。當他走出了濃霧，站在被星光照耀着的清朗的夜色中的時候，他驚慌地向四周望瞭望，然後又迅速地順着小路走來，經過了離我們隱藏之處很近的地方以後，就向着我們背後那漫長的山坡走去了。他一邊走，一邊心神不寧地左轉右轉地向後望着。
A sound of quick steps broke the silence of the moor. Crouching among the stones we stared intently at the silver-tipped bank in front of us. The steps grew louder, and through the fog, as through a curtain, there stepped the man whom we were awaiting. He looked round him in surprise as he emerged into the clear, starlit night. Then he came swiftly along the path, passed close to where we lay, and went on up the long slope behind us. As he walked he glanced continually over either shoulder, like a man who is ill at ease.
“噓！”福爾摩斯噓了一聲，我聽到了尖細而清脆的扳開手槍機頭的聲音，“注意，它來了！”
"Hist!" cried Holmes, and I heard the sharp click of a cocking pistol. "Look out! It's coming!"
由徐徐前進的霧牆裡傳來了不斷的輕輕的叭嗒叭嗒的聲音。那雲狀的濃霧距我們藏匿的地方不到五十碼遠，我們三個人都死死地朝那裡瞪大着眼睛，不知道那裡將出現什麼可怕的東西。我當時正在福爾摩斯的肘旁，我朝他的臉上望了一眼。他面色蒼白，但顯出狂喜的神情，雙眼在月光照耀之下閃閃發光。忽然間，他兩眼猛地向前死死盯住了一點，雙唇因驚異而大張着。就在那時，雷斯垂德恐怖得叫了一聲就伏在地上了。我跳了起來，我那已經變得不靈活的手緊抓着手槍。在霧影中向我們竄來的那形狀可怕的東西嚇得我魂飛天外。確是一隻獵狗，一隻黑得象煤炭似的大獵狗，但並不是一隻人們平常看到過的那種狗。它那張着的嘴裡向外噴着火，眼睛也亮得象冒火一樣，嘴頭、頸毛和脖子下部都在閃爍發光。象那個突然由霧障裡向我們竄過來的黑色的軀體和猙獰的狗臉，就是瘋子在最怪誕的夢裡也不會看到比這傢伙更凶惡、更可怕和更象魔鬼的東西了。
There was a thin, crisp, continuous patter from somewhere in the heart of that crawling bank. The cloud was within fifty yards of where we lay, and we glared at it, all three, uncertain what horror was about to break from the heart of it. I was at Holmes's elbow, and I glanced for an instant at his face. It was pale and exultant, his eyes shining brightly in the moonlight. But suddenly they started forward in a rigid, fixed stare, and his lips parted in amazement. At the same instant Lestrade gave a yell of terror and threw himself face downward upon the ground. I sprang to my feet, my inert hand grasping my pistol, my mind paralyzed by the dreadful shape which had sprung out upon us from the shadows of the fog. A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog.
那只巨大的黑傢伙，跨着大步，順着小路竄了下去，緊緊地追趕着我們的朋友。我們被這個幽靈驚得竟發獃到了這樣的程度，在我們的神志恢復之前，它已從我們的面前跑過去了。後來，福爾摩斯和我兩人一起開了槍，那傢伙難聽地吼了一聲，說明至少是有一槍已經打中了。可是它並沒有停住腳步，還是繼續向前竄去。在小路上遠遠的地方，我們看到亨利爵士正回頭望着，在月光照耀之下，他面如白紙，恐怖得揚起手來，絶望地瞪眼望着那只對他窮追不捨的可怕的傢伙。
With long bounds the huge black creature was leaping down the track, following hard upon the footsteps of our friend. So paralyzed were we by the apparition that we allowed him to pass before we had recovered our nerve. Then Holmes and I both fired together, and the creature gave a hideous howl, which showed that one at least had hit him. He did not pause, however, but bounded onward. Far away on the path we saw Sir Henry looking back, his face white in the moonlight, his hands raised in horror, glaring helplessly at the frightful thing which was hunting him down.
那獵狗的痛苦的嗥叫已完全消除了我們的恐懼。只要它怕打，它就不是什麼鬼怪，我們既能打傷它，也就能殺死它。 我從沒見過誰能象福爾摩斯在那天夜裡跑得那樣快。我是一向被人稱作飛毛腿的，可是他竟象我趕過那矮個的公家偵探一樣地把我給落在後面了。在我們沿著小路飛奔前進的時候，我們聽到前面亨利爵士發出來的一聲接連一聲的喊叫和那獵狗發出的深沉的吼聲。當我趕到的時候，正好看到那野獸竄起來，把準男爵撲倒在地上要咬他的咽喉。在這萬分危急的當兒，福爾摩斯一連氣就把左輪手槍裡的五顆子彈都打進了那傢伙的側腹。那狗發出了最後一聲痛苦的呼叫並向空中凶狠地咬了一口，隨後就四腳朝天地躺了下去，瘋狂地亂蹬了一陣，便側身癱下去不動了。我喘着氣彎身下去，把手槍頂着那可怕的淡淡發光的狗頭，可是再摳扳機也沒有什麼用了，大獵狗已經死了。
But that cry of pain from the hound had blown all our fears to the winds. If he was vulnerable he was mortal, and if we could wound him we could kill him. Never have I seen a man run as Holmes ran that night. I am reckoned fleet of foot, but he outpaced me as much as I outpaced the little professional. In front of us as we flew up the track we heard scream after scream from Sir Henry and the deep roar of the hound. I was in time to see the beast spring upon its victim, hurl him to the ground, and worry at his throat. But the next instant Holmes had emptied five barrels of his revolver into the creature's flank. With a last howl of agony and a vicious snap in the air, it rolled upon its back, four feet pawing furiously, and then fell limp upon its side. I stooped, panting, and pressed my pistol to the dreadful, shimmering head, but it was useless to press the trigger. The giant hound was dead.
亨利爵士躺在他摔倒的地方，失去了知覺。我們把他的衣領解開，當福爾摩斯看到了爵士身上並無傷痕，說明拯救還是及時的時候，他便感激地禱告起來。我們朋友的眼皮已經抖動起來了，他還有氣無力地想要挪動一下。雷斯垂德把他那白蘭地酒瓶塞進準男爵的上下牙齒中間，他那兩隻驚恐的眼睛向上瞧著我們。
Sir Henry lay insensible where he had fallen. We tore away his collar, and Holmes breathed a prayer of gratitude when we saw that there was no sign of a wound and that the rescue had been in time. Already our friend's eyelids shivered and he made a feeble effort to move. Lestrade thrust his brandy-flask between the baronet's teeth, and two frightened eyes were looking up at us.
“我的上帝啊！”他輕聲說道，“那是什麼？究竟是什麼東西啊？”
"My God!" he whispered. "What was it? What, in heaven's name, was it?"
“不管它是什麼，反正它已經死了，”福爾摩斯說道，“我們已經把您家的妖魔永遠地消滅了。”
"It's dead, whatever it is," said Holmes. "We've laid the family ghost once and forever."
躺在我們面前的四肢伸開的屍體，單就那身體的大小和它的力量來說，就已經很可怕了。它不是純種血狸，也不是純種的獒犬，倒象是這兩類的混合種，外貌可怕而又凶暴，並且大得象個牝獅。即使是現在，在它死了不動的時候，那張大嘴好象還在向外滴嗒着藍色的火焰，那小小的、深陷而殘忍的眼睛周圍現出了一圈火環。我摸了摸它那發光的嘴頭，一抬起手來，我的手指也在黑暗中發出光來。
In mere size and strength it was a terrible creature which was lying stretched before us. It was not a pure bloodhound and it was not a pure mastiff; but it appeared to be a combination of the two--gaunt, savage, and as large as a small lioness. Even now, in the stillness of death, the huge jaws seemed to be dripping with a bluish flame and the small, deep-set, cruel eyes were ringed with fire. I placed my hand upon the glowing muzzle, and as I held them up my own fingers smouldered and gleamed in the darkness.
“是磷。”我說。
"Phosphorus," I said.
“這種佈置多麼狡猾啊，”福爾摩斯一邊說著，一邊聞着那只死狗，“並沒有能影響它嗅覺的氣味。我們太抱歉了，亨利爵士，竟使你受到這樣的驚嚇。我本想捉的是一隻平常的獵狗，萬沒有想到會是這樣的一隻。霧也使我們未能截住它。”
"A cunning preparation of it," said Holmes, sniffing at the dead animal. "There is no smell which might have interfered with his power of scent. We owe you a deep apology, Sir Henry, for having exposed you to this fright. I was prepared for a hound, but not for such a creature as this. And the fog gave us little time to receive him."
“您總算是救了我的性命了。”
"You have saved my life."
“可是卻讓您冒了這樣一次大險。您還能站起來嗎？”
"Having first endangered it. Are you strong enough to stand?"
“再給我喝一口白蘭地，我就什麼都不怕了。啊，請您扶我起來吧。根據您的意見，咱們該怎麼辦呢？”
"Give me another mouthful of that brandy and I shall be ready for anything. So! Now, if you will help me up. What do you propose to do?"
“把您留在這裡好了。今晚您已經不適于再作進一步的冒險了。如果您願意等一等的話，我們之中總有一個會陪着您回到莊園去的。”
"To leave you here. You are not fit for further adventures to-night. If you will wait, one or other of us will go back with you to the Hall."
他想掙扎着站起來，可是他還蒼白得厲害，四肢也都在哆嗦。我們扶着他走到一塊石頭旁邊，他坐下用顫抖着的雙手蒙着臉。
He tried to stagger to his feet; but he was still ghastly pale and trembling in every limb. We helped him to a rock, where he sat shivering with his face buried in his hands.
“我們現在非得離開您不可了，”福爾摩斯說道，“剩下的事還非得去幹不可，每一分鐘都很重要。證據已經齊全了，現在只需要抓那個人了。”
"We must leave you now," said Holmes. "The rest of our work must be done, and every moment is of importance. We have our case, and now we only want our man.
“要想在房子裡頭找到他只有千分之一的可能，”當我們又順着小路迅速地走回去的時候，他接著說道，“那些槍聲已經告訴了他——鬼把戲完蛋了。”
"It's a thousand to one against our finding him at the house," he continued as we retraced our steps swiftly down the path. "Those shots must have told him that the game was up."
“那時，咱們離他還有一段路，這場霧可能會把槍聲擋住呢。”
"We were some distance off, and this fog may have deadened them."
“他一定是追隨着那只獵狗，好指揮它——這點你們完全可以相信。不，不，現在他已經走了！可是咱們還是搜查一下房子，肯定一下的好。”
"He followed the hound to call him off--of that you may be certain. No, no, he's gone by this time! But we'll search the house and make sure."
前門開着，我們一沖而入，匆忙地由這間屋走進那間屋，在過道里遇到了一個驚恐萬分的、衰老的男仆。除了飯廳之外，哪裡也沒有燈光。福爾摩斯急忙地把燈弄亮，房子裡面沒有一個角落未被找遍，但是絲毫沒有看到我們所追尋的那人的蹤影，最後在二樓上發現有一間寢室的門被鎖了起來。
The front door was open, so we rushed in and hurried from room to room to the amazement of a doddering old manservant, who met us in the passage. There was no light save in the dining-room, but Holmes caught up the lamp and left no corner of the house unexplored. No sign could we see of the man whom we were chasing. On the upper floor, however, one of the bedroom doors was locked.
“裡面有人！”雷斯垂德喊了起來，“我聽到裡面有東西在動。把這門打開！”
"There's someone in here," cried Lestrade. "I can hear a movement. Open this door!"
從裡面傳出了低弱的呻吟和沙沙的聲音。福爾摩斯用腳底板往門鎖上面一蹬，一下子就把門踢開了。我們三人端着手槍衝進屋去。
A faint moaning and rustling came from within. Holmes struck the door just over the lock with the flat of his foot and it flew open. Pistol in hand, we all three rushed into the room.
可是屋裡並沒有我們想要找的那個不顧一切、膽大妄為的壞蛋。面前卻是一件非常奇怪而又想象不到的東西，我們驚愕得獃立在那裡望着。
But there was no sign within it of that desperate and defiant villain whom we expected to see. Instead we were faced by an object so strange and so unexpected that we stood for a moment staring at it in amazement.
這間屋子被佈置成小博物館的樣子，牆上裝着一排安着玻璃蓋的小匣，裏邊裝的全是蝴蝶和飛蛾，那個詭計多端和危險的人把採集這些東西當作了娛樂消遣。在屋子中間有一根直立的木樁，是什麼時候為了支持橫貫屋頂、被蟲蛀了的舊梁木才豎起來的。這根柱子上面捆着一個人，那人被布單捆綁得不能出聲，你無法馬上看出來是男是女。一條手巾繞着脖子系在背後的柱子上，另一條手巾矇住了面孔的下半部，上面露出了兩隻黑眼睛——眼中充滿了痛苦與羞恥的表情，還帶著可怕的懷疑——死盯着我們。一會兒的功夫，我們就把那人嘴上和身上捆着的東西都解了下來，斯台普吞太太就在我們的面前倒了下去。當她那美麗的頭下垂在胸前的時候，我在她的脖子上看到了清晰的紅色鞭痕。
The room had been fashioned into a small museum, and the walls were lined by a number of glass-topped cases full of that collection of butterflies and moths the formation of which had been the relaxation of this complex and dangerous man. In the centre of this room there was an upright beam, which had been placed at some period as a support for the old worm-eaten baulk of timber which spanned the roof. To this post a figure was tied, so swathed and muffled in the sheets which had been used to secure it that one could not for the moment tell whether it was that of a man or a woman. One towel passed round the throat and was secured at the back of the pillar. Another covered the lower part of the face, and over it two dark eyes--eyes full of grief and shame and a dreadful questioning--stared back at us. In a minute we had torn off the gag, unswathed the bonds, and Mrs. Stapleton sank upon the floor in front of us. As her beautiful head fell upon her chest I saw the clear red weal of a whiplash across her neck.
“這畜生！”福爾摩斯喊道，“喂，雷斯垂德，你的白蘭地呢？把她安置在椅子上！她已因受虐待和疲竭而昏過去了。”
"The brute!" cried Holmes. "Here, Lestrade, your brandy-bottle! Put her in the chair! She has fainted from ill-usage and exhaustion."
她又睜開了眼睛。
She opened her eyes again.
“他安全了嗎？”她問道，“他跑掉了嗎？”
"Is he safe?" she asked. "Has he escaped?"
“他從我們手裡是逃不掉的，太太。”
"He cannot escape us, madam."
“不是，不是，我不是指我丈夫。亨利爵士呢？他安全嗎？”
"No, no, I did not mean my husband. Sir Henry? Is he safe?"
“他很安全。”
"Yes."
“那只獵狗呢？”
"And the hound?"
“已經死了。”
"It is dead."
她發出了一聲長長的滿意的嘆息。
She gave a long sigh of satisfaction.
“感謝上帝！感謝上帝！噢，這個壞蛋！看他是怎樣待我的呀！”她猛地拉起袖子露出胳臂來，我們驚恐地看到臂上傷痕纍纍。“可是這算不了什麼——算不了什麼！他折磨了、污損了我的心靈。只要我還存在着希望，他依然愛我的話，無論是虐待、寂寞、受騙的生活或是其他，我都能忍受，可是現在我明白了，就這一點說來，我也是他的欺騙對象和作惡的工具。”她說著說著就突然痛心地哭了起來。
"Thank God! Thank God! Oh, this villain! See how he has treated me!" She shot her arms out from her sleeves, and we saw with horror that they were all mottled with bruises. "But this is nothing--nothing! It is my mind and soul that he has tortured and defiled. I could endure it all, ill-usage, solitude, a life of deception, everything, as long as I could still cling to the hope that I had his love, but now I know that in this also I have been his dupe and his tool." She broke into passionate sobbing as she spoke.
“您對他已一無好感了，太太，”福爾摩斯說道，“那末，請告訴我們，在哪裡可以找到他吧。如果您曾幫着他做過壞事的話，現在就來幫助我們以贖前愆吧。”
"You bear him no good will, madam," said Holmes. "Tell us then where we shall find him. If you have ever aided him in evil, help us now and so atone."
“他只能逃到一個地方去，”她回答道，“在泥潭中心的一個小島上，有一座舊時的錫礦，他就是把獵狗藏在那裡的，他還在那裡做了準備，以供躲避之用。他一定會向那裡跑的。”
"There is but one place where he can have fled," she answered. "There is an old tin mine on an island in the heart of the mire. It was there that he kept his hound and there also he had made preparations so that he might have a refuge. That is where he would fly."
霧牆象雪白的羊毛似的緊圍在窗口外面。福爾摩斯端着燈走向窗前。
The fog-bank lay like white wool against the window. Holmes held the lamp towards it.
“看，”他說道，“今晚誰也找不出走進格林盆泥潭的道路的。”
"See," said he. "No one could find his way into the Grimpen Mire to-night."
她拍着手大笑起來。她的眼裡和牙齒上都閃爍着可怕的狂喜的光芒。
She laughed and clapped her hands. Her eyes and teeth gleamed with fierce merriment.
“他也許能找到走進去的路，可是永遠也別打算再出來了，”她喊了起來，“他今晚怎麼能看得見那些木棍路標呢？是他和我兩個人一起插的，用來標明穿過泥潭的小路，啊，如果我今天能夠都給他拔掉有多好啊，那樣您就真的能任意處置他了！”
"He may find his way in, but never out," she cried. "How can he see the guiding wands to-night? We planted them together, he and I, to mark the pathway through the mire. Oh, if I could only have plucked them out to-day. Then indeed you would have had him at your mercy!"
顯然，在霧氣消散之前，任何追逐都是枉費心機的。當時我們留下了雷斯垂德，讓他照看房子，而福爾摩斯和我就和準男爵一起回到巴斯克維爾莊園去了。關於斯台普吞家人的實情再也不能瞞着他了，當他聽到了他所熱愛的女人的真情的時候，竟能勇敢地承受了這個打擊。可是夜間那場冒險的震驚已經使他的神經受了創傷，天亮之前他發起高燒來，神志昏迷地躺在床上，摩梯末醫生被請了來照顧他。他們倆已經決定了，在亨利爵士恢復飽滿的精神之前就要一起去作一次環球旅行，要知道他在變成這份不祥的財產的主人以前，他是個多麼精神飽滿的人啊。
It was evident to us that all pursuit was in vain until the fog had lifted. Meanwhile we left Lestrade in possession of the house while Holmes and I went back with the baronet to Baskerville Hall. The story of the Stapletons could no longer be withheld from him, but he took the blow bravely when he learned the truth about the woman whom he had loved. But the shock of the night's adventures had shattered his nerves, and before morning he lay delirious in a high fever, under the care of Dr. Mortimer. The two of them were destined to travel together round the world before Sir Henry had become once more the hale, hearty man that he had been before he became master of that ill-omened estate.
現在我要很快地結束這段奇特的故事了，在故事裡我想使讀者也體會一下那些極端的恐怖和模糊的臆測，這些東西長時期地使我們的心上蒙了一層陰影，而結局竟是如此的悲慘。在那獵狗死後第二天的早晨，霧散了，我們由斯台普吞太太引導着到了他們找到過一條貫穿泥沼的小路的地方。看著她帶領我們追蹤她丈夫時所表現出來的急切心情和喜悅，使我們體會到這個女人過去的生活是多麼地可怕。我們讓她留在一個窄長的半島似的、堅實的泥煤質的地面上站着。愈往泥沼裡面走，這塊地面就變得愈窄。從這塊地面的盡頭處起就這裡一根那裡一根地插着小木棍，沿著這些小木棍就是那條陌生人無法走過的，曲曲折折的，由一堆亂樹叢到另一堆亂樹叢的，蜿蜒在漂着綠沫的水窪和污濁的泥坑之間的小路，繁茂的蘆葦和青蔥多汁而又粘滑的水草散髮着腐朽的臭味，濃重的濁氣迎面襲來，我們不只一次地失足，陷入沒膝的、黑色的、顫動着的泥坑裡，走了數碼之遠，泥還是粘粘地沾在腳上甩不下去。在我們走着的時候，那些泥一直死死地拖住我們的腳跟。當我們陷入泥裡的時候，就象是有一隻惡毒的手把我們拖向污泥的深處，而且抓得那樣緊那樣堅決。
只有一次，我們看到了一點痕跡，說明曾有人在我們之先穿過了那條危險的路。在粘土地上的一堆棉草中間露着一件黑色的東西。福爾摩斯由小路上向旁邊只邁了一步，想要抓住那件東西，就陷入了泥潭，直陷到了腰那樣深。如果不是我們在那裡把他拉了出來的話，他就再也不會站到堅硬的陸地上來了。他舉起一隻黑色的高筒皮鞋，裡面印着“麥爾斯·多倫多”。
And now I come rapidly to the conclusion of this singular narrative, in which I have tried to make the reader share those dark fears and vague surmises which clouded our lives so long and ended in so tragic a manner. On the morning after the death of the hound the fog had lifted and we were guided by Mrs. Stapleton to the point where they had found a pathway through the bog. It helped us to realize the horror of this woman's life when we saw the eagerness and joy with which she laid us on her husband's track. We left her standing upon the thin peninsula of firm, peaty soil which tapered out into the widespread bog. From the end of it a small wand planted here and there showed where the path zigzagged from tuft to tuft of rushes among those green-scummed pits and foul quagmires which barred the way to the stranger. Rank reeds and lush, slimy water-plants sent an odour of decay and a heavy miasmatic vapour onto our faces, while a false step plunged us more than once thigh-deep into the dark, quivering mire, which shook for yards in soft undulations around our feet. Its tenacious grip plucked at our heels as we walked, and when we sank into it it was as if some malignant hand was tugging us down into those obscene depths, so grim and purposeful was the clutch in which it held us. Once only we saw a trace that someone had passed that perilous way before us. From amid a tuft of cotton grass which bore it up out of the slime some dark thing was projecting. Holmes sank to his waist as he stepped from the path to seize it, and had we not been there to drag him out he could never have set his foot upon firm land again. He held an old black boot in the air. "Meyers, Toronto," was printed on the leather inside.
“這個泥浴還是值得一洗的，”他說道，“這就是咱們的朋友亨利爵士失去的那只皮鞋。”
"It is worth a mud bath," said he. "It is our friend Sir Henry's missing boot."
“一定是斯台普吞逃跑時丟在那裡的。”
"Thrown there by Stapleton in his flight."
“正是。他讓獵狗聞了鞋味去追蹤之後還把鞋留在手邊，當他知道把戲已經被拆穿了而逃跑的時候，仍把它緊抓在手裡，在逃跑的途中就丟在這裡了。我們知道，至少一直到這裡為止他還是安全的。”
"Exactly. He retained it in his hand after using it to set the hound upon the track. He fled when he knew the game was up, still clutching it. And he hurled it away at this point of his flight. We know at least that he came so far in safety."
我們雖然可以作很多推測，可是永遠也不能知道比這更多的情況了，在沼地里根本無法找出腳印來。因為冒上來的泥漿很快就把它蓋上了。一過了最後的一段泥淖小路，走到堅實的土地上的時候，我們就都急切地尋找起腳印來了，可是一點影子也沒有看到。如果大地並沒有說謊的話，那麼斯台普吞就是昨天在掙扎着穿過濃霧走向他那隱蔽之所的小島時並沒有能達到目的地。在格林盆大泥潭中心的某個地方，大泥淖的污濁的黃泥漿已經把他吞了進去。這個殘忍的、心腸冰冷的人就這樣地永遠被埋葬了。
But more than that we were never destined to know, though there was much which we might surmise. There was no chance of finding footsteps in the mire, for the rising mud oozed swiftly in upon them, but as we at last reached firmer ground beyond the morass we all looked eagerly for them. But no slightest sign of them ever met our eyes. If the earth told a true story, then Stapleton never reached that island of refuge towards which he struggled through the fog upon that last night. Somewhere in the heart of the great Grimpen Mire, down in the foul slime of the huge morass which had sucked him in, this cold and cruel-hearted man is forever buried.
在他隱藏他那兇猛的夥伴的、四周被泥潭所環繞的小島上，我們找到了很多他所遺留下的痕跡。一隻大的駕駛盤和一個一半裝滿了垃圾的豎坑，說明這是一個被廢棄不用的礦坑的遺址。旁邊還有支離破碎的礦工小屋的遺蹟，開礦的人們無疑地是被周圍泥潭的惡臭給熏跑了。在一個小房裡，有一隻馬蹄鐵、一條鎖鏈和一些啃過的骨頭，說明那裡就是隱藏過那只畜生的地方。一具骨架，躺在斷垣殘壁之間，上面還粘着一團棕色的毛。
Many traces we found of him in the bog-girt island where he had hid his savage ally. A huge driving-wheel and a shaft half-filled with rubbish showed the position of an abandoned mine. Beside it were the crumbling remains of the cottages of the miners, driven away no doubt by the foul reek of the surrounding swamp. In one of these a staple and chain with a quantity of gnawed bones showed where the animal had been confined. A skeleton with a tangle of brown hair adhering to it lay among the debris.
“一隻狗！”福爾摩斯說道，“天哪，是一隻捲毛長耳獚犬。 可憐的摩梯末再也看不到他所寵愛的那只狗了。嗯，我不相信這裡還有什麼我們還沒有弄清楚的秘密。他可以把他的獵狗藏起來，可是他不能使它不出聲，因此才出來了那些叫聲，甚至在白天聽來也不很好聽。在急需的時候，他可以把那獵狗關在梅利琵房外的小屋裡去，可是這樣做總是很冒險的，而且只有在他認為一切均已準備就緒的時候，他才敢這樣做。這只鐵罐裡的糊狀的東西，無疑地就是抹在那畜生身上的發光的混合物。當然，他所以採取這種方法，是因為受到了世代相傳的關於魔狗的故事的啟發，並居心要嚇死查爾茲老爵士的原故。難怪那可憐的惡鬼似的逃犯，一看到這樣一隻畜生在沼地的黑暗之中一竄一竄地由後面追了上來，就會象我們的朋友一樣，一面跑一面狂呼，就連我們自己說不定也會那樣呢。這確實是個狡猾的陰謀，因為這樣不僅可以把要謀害的人置於死地，而且能使農民不敢深入調查這樣一隻畜生。在沼地裡很多人都見過這只獵狗，哪個見過它的農民還敢於過問呢？我在倫敦曾經說過，華生，現在我再說一遍，咱們從來還沒有協助追捕過比躺在那邊的他更為危險的人物呢。”——他向着廣袤而色彩斑駁的、散佈着綠色斑點的泥潭揮舞着他那長長的臂膀，泥潭向遠處伸延着，直到和赤褐色的沼地的山坡連成一片。
"A dog!" said Holmes. "By Jove, a curly-haired spaniel. Poor Mortimer will never see his pet again. Well, I do not know that this place contains any secret which we have not already fathomed. He could hide his hound, but he could not hush its voice, and hence came those cries which even in daylight were not pleasant to hear. On an emergency he could keep the hound in the out-house at Merripit, but it was always a risk, and it was only on the supreme day, which he regarded as the end of all his efforts, that he dared do it. This paste in the tin is no doubt the luminous mixture with which the creature was daubed. It was suggested, of course, by the story of the family hell-hound, and by the desire to frighten old Sir Charles to death. No wonder the poor devil of a convict ran and screamed, even as our friend did, and as we ourselves might have done, when he saw such a creature bounding through the darkness of the moor upon his track. It was a cunning device, for, apart from the chance of driving your victim to his death, what peasant would venture to inquire too closely into such a creature should he get sight of it, as many have done, upon the moor? I said it in London, Watson, and I say it again now, that never yet have we helped to hunt down a more dangerous man than he who is lying yonder"--he swept his long arm towards the huge mottled expanse of green-splotched bog which stretched away until it merged into the russet slopes of the moor.