巴斯克维尔的猎犬 巴斯克维尔的猎犬（17）

 

Many traces we found of him in the bog-girt island where he had hid his savage ally. A hugedriving-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 thefoul reek of the surrounding swamp. In one of these a staple and chain with a quantity of gnawedbones showed where the animal had been confined. A skeleton with a tangle of brown hairadhering to it lay among the debris.

在他隐藏他那凶猛的伙伴的、 四周被泥潭所环绕的小岛上， 我们找到了很多他所遗留下的痕迹。 一只大的驾驶盘和一个一半装满了垃圾的竖坑， 说明这是一个被废弃不用的矿坑的遗址。 旁边还有支离破碎的矿工小屋的遗迹， 开矿的人们无疑地是被周围泥潭的恶臭给熏跑了。 在一个小房里， 有一只马蹄铁、 一条锁链和一些啃过的骨头， 说明那里就是隐藏过那只畜生的地方。 一具骨架， 躺在断垣残壁之间， 上面还粘着一团棕色的毛。

"A dog!" said Holmes. "By Jove, a curly-haired spaniel. Poor Mortimer will never see his petagain. 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 evenin daylight were not pleasant to hear. On an emergency he could keep the hound in the out-houseat Merripit, but it was always a risk, and it was only on the supreme day, which he regarded as theend of all his efforts, that he dared do it. This paste in the tin is no doubt the luminous mixturewith which the creature was daubed. It was suggested, of course, by the story of the familyhell-hound, and by the desire to frighten old Sir Charles to death. No wonder the poor devil of aconvict ran and screamed, even as our friend did, and as we ourselves might have done, when hesaw such a creature bounding through the darkness of the moor upon his track. It was a cunningdevice, for, apart from the chance of driving your victim to his death, what peasant would ventureto inquire too closely into such a creature should he get sight of it, as many have done, upon themoor? I said it in London, Watson, and I say it again now, that never yet have we helped to huntdown a more dangerous man than he who is lying yonder" -- he swept his long arm towards thehuge mottled expanse of greensplotched bog which stretched away until it merged into the russetslopes of the moor.

“一只狗！” 福尔摩斯说道，“天哪， 是一只卷毛长耳獚犬。 可怜的摩梯末再也看不到他所宠爱的那只狗了。 嗯， 我不相信这里还有什么我们还没有弄清楚的秘密。 他可以把他的猎狗藏起来， 可是他不能使它不出声， 因此才出来了那些叫声， 甚至在白天听来也不很好听。

在急需的时候， 他可以把那猎狗关在梅利琵房外的小屋里去， 可是这样做总是很冒险的， 而且只有在他认为一切均已准备就绪的时候， 他才敢这样做。 这只铁罐里的糊状的东西， 无疑地就是抹在那畜生身 上的发光的混合物。 当然， 他所以采取这种方法， 是因为受到了世代相传的关于魔狗的故事的启发， 并居心要吓死查尔兹老爵士的原故。 难怪那可怜的恶鬼似的逃犯， 一看到这样一只畜生在沼地的黑暗之中一窜一窜地由后面追了上来， 就会象我们的朋友一样， 一面跑一面狂呼， 就连我们自己说不定也会那样呢。 这确实是个狡猾的阴谋， 因为这样不仅可以把要谋害的人置于死地， 而且能使农民不敢深入调查这样一只畜生。 在沼地里很多人都见过这只猎狗， 哪个见过它的农民还敢于过问呢？ 我在伦敦曾经说过， 华生， 现在我再说一遍， 咱们从来还没有协助追捕过比躺在那边的他更为危险的人物呢。” ——他向着广袤而色彩斑驳的、 散布着绿色斑点的泥潭挥舞着他那长长的臂膀， 泥潭向远处伸延着， 直到和赤褐色的沼地的山坡连成一片。