Chapter13 布下罗网-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《福尔摩斯探案经典之巴斯克维尔的猎犬The Hound of the Baskervilles》

Chapter 13 Fixing the Nets "We're at close grips at last,"said Holmes as we walked together across the moor."What a nerve the fellow has!How he pulled himself together in the face of what must have been a paralyzing shock when he found that the wrong man had fallen a victim to his plot.I told you in London,Watson,and I tell you now again,that we have never had a foeman more worthy of our steel.” "I am sorry that he has seen you." "And so was I at first.But there was no getting out of it." "What effect do you think it will have upon his plans now that he knows you are here?" "It may cause him to be more cautious,or it may drive him to desperate measures at once.Like most clever criminals,he may be too confident in his own cleverness and imagine that he has completely deceived us." "Why should we not arrest him at once?" "My dear Watson,you were born to be a man of action.Your instinct is always to do something energetic.But supposing,for argument's sake,that we had him arrested to-night,what on earth the better off should we be for that? We could prove nothing against him.There's the devilish cunning of it!If he were acting through a human agent we could get some evidence,but if we were to drag this great dog to the light of day it would not help us in putting a rope round the neck of its master." “Surely we have a case.” ·254· 第十三章 布下罗网 “我们终于要同他面对面较量了，”我们一同走过荒 ①nerve[n:vm.精神力 原时，福尔摩斯说，“那家伙的内心可是够强大的啊！ 量，胆量 当他发现自己的阴谋导致了错误的对象遇害时，本应惊 慌失措，震惊不已，但他却表现得十分镇静！我在伦敦 时就告诉过你的，华生，现在还要对你重申一次，我们 从未遇到过比这个更加值得较量的对手。” “我感到遗憾的是，他已经看见你了。” “我开始也是这么想来着，但是，这是没有办法的 事情。” “他现在既然知道你来了，你认为这样对于他的计 划会有什么影响吗？ “他可能会更加谨慎从事，或者铤而走险。像大多 数聪明的罪犯一样，他可能会高估自己的智慧，心里会 以为自己的伎俩已经蒙蔽住了我们。” “我们为何不立刻速捕他呢？” “亲爱的华生啊，你天生就是个爱行动的人，你的本 能总是促使你淋漓尽致地采取行动。但是，我们可以探 讨一下，如果我们今晚把他给逮捕了，那我们究竟能够 取得什么进展呢？我们没有任何可以控告他的证据。这 ②devilish'[devalif]ad.极 端，非常 其中施用了魔鬼一样狡猾的伎俩，如果他是通过人来进 行犯罪活动的，那我们倒还可以获得一些证据。但我们 如果在光天化日之下把那条打猎犬拉出来，对我们是毫 无作用的，我们根本无法把绳索捆在其主人的脖子上。” “我们肯定有证据的。” ·255· Chapter 13 Fixing the Nets "Not a shadow of one-only surmise and conjecture.We should be laughed out of court if we came with such a story and such evidence." "There is Sir Charles's death." "Found dead without a mark upon him.You and I know that he died of sheer fright,and we know also what frightened him;but how are we to get twelve stolid jurymen to know it?What signs are there of a hound?Where are the marks of its fangs?Of course we know that a hound does not bite a dead body and that Sir Charles was dead before ever the brute overtook him. But we have to prove all this,and we are not in a position to do it." “Well,then,to-night??” "We are not much better off to-night.Again,there was no direct connection between the hound and the man's death.We never saw the hound. We heard it,but we could not prove that it was running upon this man's trail.There is a complete absence of motive.No,my dear fellow;we must reconcile ourselves to the fact that we have no case at present,and that it is worth our while to run any risk in order to establish one." "And how do you propose to do so?" "I have great hopes of what Mrs.Laura Lyons may do for us when the position of affairs is made clear to her.And I have my own plan as well. Sufficient for to-morrow is the evil thereof;but I hope before the day is past to have the upper hand at last." I could draw nothing further from him,and he walked,lost in thought,as far as the Baskerville gates. “Are you coming up?” "Yes;I see no reason for further concealment.But one last word,Watson. Say nothing of the hound to Sir Henry.Let him think that Selden's death was as Stapleton would have us believe.He will have a better nerve for the ordeal which he will have to undergo to-morrow,when he is engaged,if I remember your report aright④，to dine with these people..” “And so am I..” "Then you must excuse yourself and he must go alone.That will be easily arranged.And now,if we are too late for dinner,I think that we are both ready for our suppers.” ·256· 第十三章布下罗网 @surmise【's:maizl n.猜 “连个影儿都没有啊一只不过是一些主观臆断和 测，臆测 猜测而已。如果我们在法庭上就只呈现这么一段故事和 这么一个证据，那我们一定会受到人们的喇笑，让人给 轰出来的。” “查尔斯爵士的猝死就是证据啊。” ②stolid['stolid]a.古板的， “他被人发现死亡时，身上没有一点儿痕迹。你我 固执的 都知道他纯粹是被吓死的，也知道了是什么东西使他感 到恐惧的，但是，我们怎样才能让十二位顽固不化的陪 审员也相信呢？猎犬留下了什么痕迹？犬牙印子在哪儿 呢？我们当然清楚，猎犬是不会咬尸体的，而且查尔斯 爵士早在那畜生追上之前就已经死了。我们必须把这一 切都加以证明，但是，我们眼下还无法证明啊。” “是啊，那么，今天晚上的事情呢？” “今天晚上，我们的状况也好不到哪儿去。还是老 问题，那人的死和猎犬之间没有什么直接关联。我们都 没看见那条猎犬。我们确实听到了声音，但也无法证明 它就在那人身后追赶，而且毫无杀人动机。亲爱的伙计 啊，那是行不通的，我们必须让自己认清现实：我们目 前还没有证据。而为了寻找到证据，任何冒险行动都是 值得我们试一试的。” “你觉得我们该怎么办呢？” ③thereof Loearav]ad.关于 那 “我对劳拉·莱昂斯太太抱有很大的希望，只要我 们把实情对她讲清楚，她便可能帮上我们的大忙。此 外，我也做好了计划，那就让罪恶势力明天再猖狂一 天，但愿明天结束前，我们能够控制住局势。” 我从他嘴里根本再问不出什么东西来了，他一边走 一边陷入沉思，就这样一直走到了巴斯克维尔庄园的大 门口。 “你也进去吗？” “对，我看没有什么理由再躲躲藏藏了。不过，华 生，我还有最后一句话：猎犬的事你对亨利爵士要缄口 ④aright [o'rait]ad.正确地 不言。让他把塞尔登死因想成斯塔普尔顿希望我们相信 的那样。这样一来，他将会以更加坚强的意志来经受明 天的苦难了。如果我没把你的报告记错的话，他已经约 好明天去斯塔普尔顿家去吃晚饭的。” “他们也约了我。” ·257· Chapter 13 Fixing the Nets Sir Henry was more pleased than surprised to see Sherlock Holmes,for he had for some days been expecting that recent events would bring him down from London.He did raise his eyebrows,however,when he found that my friend had neither any luggage nor any explanations for its absence.Between us we soon supplied his wants,and then over a belated supper we explained to the baronet as much of our experience as it seemed desirable that he should know.But first I had the unpleasant duty of breaking the news to Barrymore and his wife.To him it may have been an unmitigated relief,but she wept bitterly in her apron.To all the world he was the man of violence,half animal and half demon;but to her he always remained the little wilful boy of her own girlhood,the child who had clung to her hand.Evil indeed is the man who has not one woman to mourn him. "I've been moping in the house all day since Watson went off in the morning,"said the baronet."I guess I should have some credit,for I have kept my promise.If I hadn't sworn not to go about alone I might have had a more lively evening,for I had a message from Stapleton asking me over there." "I have no doubt that you would have had a more lively evening,"said Holmes drily."By the way,I don't suppose you appreciate that we have been mourning over you as having broken your neck?" Sir Henry opened his eyes."How was that?" "This poor wretch was dressed in your clothes.I fear your servant who gave them to him may get into trouble with the police." "That is unlikely.There was no mark on any of them,as far as I know." "That's lucky for him-in fact,it's lucky for all of you,since you are all on the wrong side of the law in this matter.I am not sure that as a conscientious detective my first duty is not to arrest the whole household.Watson's reports are most incriminating③documents.” "But how about the case?"asked the baronet."Have you made anything out of the tangle?I don't know that Watson and I are much the wiser since we came down.” "I think that I shall be in a position to make the situation rather more clear to you before long.It has been an exceedingly difficult and most complicated business.There are several points upon which we still want light-but it is ·258· 第十三章布下罗网 “那你得替自己找个理由推辞掉，让他一个人独 自前往。这个事情很容易办成。对了，如果我们错过 了吃晚饭的时间的话，那我们两个人就一同吃点夜宵 吧。” 亨利爵士见到夏洛克·福尔摩斯后，与其说是惊 讶，还不如说是高兴，因为几天来，他一直在盼望着， 近来发生了这么些事情，希望他会从伦敦赶过来。不 过，当他看到我的朋友既没有带任何行李，又没有对 D unmitigated [.An'mitigei tid]a..全然的，十足的 此作任何解释的时候，他倒是真的扬起了眉头。我们 很快就给他提供了生活必需品，然后，我们在吃推迟 了的晚餐时，把我们的遭遇中从男爵似乎应该知道的 那部分向他作了解释。不过在此之前，我还履行了令 人沮丧的责任：把情况告诉了巴里摩尔夫妇。对巴里 ②mope【maup],没精打采 摩尔说来，这或许是一件让人如释重负的事，但他太 地度过 太听后便用围裙捂着脸，失声痛哭了起来。对整个社 会来说，他是个凶狠残暴之徒，半是动物半是魔鬼。 但在她的心目中，他永远都是她童年记忆中的那个任 性的、紧抓着她的手不放的小孩子。这个人确实罪孽 深重，死后连个替他守丧的女人都没有。 “华生医生一早就出门了，我在家里苦闷了一整 天，”从男爵说，“我觉得自已应该受到赞扬才是，因为 我遵守了诺言。如果不是因为我起过誓，保证绝不单独 外出，我这个晚上也许能过得偷快得多，因为我收到了 斯塔普尔顿捎过来的信，他邀请我上他那儿去。” “我相信，如果您去了，那确实会是一个比较愉快 的夜晚，”福尔摩斯说着，态度显得很冷淡，“啊，对 了，我们刚才一直以为是您摔断了脖子而伤心不已呢， 我想您不会因此而感到不愉快吧？” incriminate [in'krimineit] 亨利爵士睁大了眼睛，“怎么回事啊？” v控告：控诉 “那个死去的坏蛋穿的是您的衣服，可能是您家的 仆人送过去的吧，恐怕警察会来找他的麻烦呢。” “这不可能，那些衣服没有一件上面有记号，这我 是知道的。” “那算他运气—事实上，你们都有运气，因为从 法律角度来说，你们在这件事情上是有过错的。作为一 个公正的侦探，我可以肯定，我的首要职责就是把你们 ·259· Chapter 13 Fixing the Nets coming all the same.” "We've had one experience,as Watson has no doubt told you.We heard the hound on the moor,so I can swear that it is not all empty superstition.I had something to do with dogs when I was out West,and I know one when I hear one.If you can muzzle that one and put him on a chain I'll be ready to swear you are the greatest detective of all time." "I think I will muzzle him and chain him all right if you will give me your help." "Whatever you tell me to do I will do." "Very good;and I will ask you also to do it blindly,without always asking the reason.” “Just as you like.” "If you will do this I think the chances are that our little problem will soon be solved.I have no doubt--" He stopped suddenly and stared fixedly up over my head into the air.The lamp beat upon his face,and so intent was it and so still that it might have been that of a clear-cut classical statue,a personification of alertness and expectation. "What is it?"we both cried. I could see as he looked down that he was repressing some internal emotion.His features were still composed,but his eyes shone with amused exultation. "Excuse the admiration of a connoisseur,"said he as he waved his hand towards the line of portraits which covered the opposite wall."Watson won't allow that I know anything of art,but that is mere jealousy because our views upon the subject differ.Now,these are a really very fine series of portraits." "Well,I'm glad to hear you say so,"said Sir Henry,glancing with some surprise at my friend."I don't pretend to know much about these things,and I'd be a better judge of a horse or a steer than of a picture.I didn't know that you found time for such things." "I know what is good when I see it,and I see it now.That's a Kneller,I'll swear,that lady in the blue silk over yonder,and the stout gentleman with the wig ought to be a Reynolds.They are all family portraits,I presume?" ·260· 第十三章 布下罗风 全家逮捕。华生的报告就是非常有力的定罪证明。” “但是，案件进展如何啊？”从男爵问，“在这一团 乱麻里，您理出了些头绪吗？我觉得，我和华生两个人 到这儿后并没有掌握更多情况。” “我认为，我不久就可以把案情向您讲述清楚的。 这确实是一桩难度极大而且极为复杂的案件。我们现在 还有一些问题没有弄明白一但不久就会全明白的。” “我们曾经亲身体验过一次，这点华生无疑早就告 诉您了吧。我们有一次在荒原上听到了猎犬的叫声， 所以我敢保证，那个传说不完全是空穴来风。我在美 国西部时，跟犬类有过一些接触，我听到它们的声音 可以辨认出来。如果您能够给犬戴上笼头，套上铁链， 那我就可以起誓作证，您是有史以来最最伟大的大侦 探。” “我觉得，我一定能给它藏上笼头，套上铁链的， 前提是您要给我一些帮助。” “不管您叫我做什么，我都一定照办。” “很好，我还要请您不折不扣地服从我，不要老是 问为什么。” “全听您的。” “如果您愿意这样做，我想我们的小问题很快就能 解决了。我深信—” 他突然打住不说了，眼睛牢牢盯着我的头的上方。 灯光照在他的脸上，那样专注，纹丝不动，就像是一 Dconnoisseur [kona'sa:]n 尊经典的线条清晰的雕像—纯粹就是机敏和期待的 (艺术品等的)鉴赏家 化身。 “什么东西？”我们两人齐声问。 当他朝下看时，我看得出，他正在抑制着自己内在 的情感。他的表情仍然非常镇定，但是，他的眼睛里充 满了喜悦的神情。 “请原谅，我在鉴赏画作呢，”他说着，一边挥手指 ②steer(sti]n.肉用公牛， 菜牛 着对面墙上挂着的那排肖像画，“华生认为，我不懂艺 术。但是，这纯粹是心理不平衡，因为我们对艺术的看 法大不相同。是啊，这些人物肖像画很有水平啊。” “啊，听到您这么说，我很高兴，”亨利爵士说，同 时目光惊讶地看了看我朋友，“关于这些画作，我不敢 ·261· Chapter 13 Fixing the Nets “Every one.” “Do you know the names? "Barrymore has been coaching me in them,and I think I can say my lessons fairly well.” “Who is the gentleman with the telescope??” "That is Rear-Admiral Baskerville,who served under Rodney in the West Indies.The man with the blue coat and the roll of paper is Sir William Baskerville,who was Chairman of Committees of the House of Commons under Pitt.” "And this Cavalier opposite to me-the one with the black velvet and the lace?" "Ah,you have a right to know about him.That is the cause of all the mischief,the wicked Hugo,who started the Hound of the Baskervilles.We're not likely to forget him." I gazed with interest and some surprise upon the portrait. "Dear me!"said Holmes,"he seems a quiet,meek-mannered man enough, but I dare say that there was a lurking devil in his eyes.I had pictured him as a more robust and ruffianly°person.” “There's no doubt about the authenticity②，for the name and the date, 1647,are on the back of the canvas." Holmes said little more,but the picture of the old roysterer seemed to have a fascination for him,and his eyes were continually fixed upon it during supper.It was not until later,when Sir Henry had gone to his room,that I was able to follow the trend of his thoughts.He led me back into the banqueting- hall,his bedroom candle in his hand,and he held it up against the time-stained portrait on the wall. “Do you see anything there??” I looked at the broad plumed hat,the curling love-locks,the white lace collar,and the straight,severe face which was framed between them.It was not a brutal countenance,but it was prim,hard,and stern,with a firm-set, thin-lipped mouth,and a coldly intolerant eye. "Is it like anyone you know?" "There is something of Sir Henry about the jaw." ·262· 第十三章 布下罗风 冒充内行。我对马或牛知道得比较多，对画不懂。我先 前真不知道，您竞然会有工夫关注这些东西。” “我只要看一眼，就能看出好坏来。我敢发誓，那 边那幅穿着蓝色绸缎衣服的女性画像出自内勒爵士之 手，而那个结实的戴着假发的绅士画像应该是雷诺兹画 的。我看，这些都是您家族成员的画像吧？” “每一幅都是。” “您知道他们的名字吗？” “巴里摩尔一直在给我介绍他们，我认为，自己还 是记得很熟的。” “那位手拿望远镜的绅士是谁？” “他是巴斯克维尔海军少将，在西印度群岛任职于 罗德尼的麾下。那个身穿蓝色大衣、拿着纸卷的是威 廉·巴斯克维尔爵士，在皮特任首相的内阁里，任下议 院委员会的主席。” “还有我正对面的那位保王党成员—就是那位身 穿黑色天鹅绒礼服、身披绶带的绅士是谁啊？” “啊，您可得了解他一品性恶劣的雨果。他是一 切灾难的源头，巴斯克维尔猎犬的传说就是从他开始 ruffianly ['rAfianli]a.凶狠 的：残暴的 的。我们不可能忘记他。” authenticity Lo:0en'tisoti] 我目不转睛地盯着肖像画看，充满了兴趣，还带着 n.可靠性；真实性 几分惊奇。 ③roysterer'roistoro]n.喝 酒喧闹者 “天哪！”福尔摩斯说，“他看上去是个态度平静 性格温和的人啊，但我可以说，他的眼睛里暗藏着乖戾 的神色。我先前把他想象成是一个更加壮实和凶残的 人。” “这幅画像的真实性是毋庸置疑的，因为在画布的 背面还写有画中人物的姓名和年代‘1647’。” 福尔摩斯没再多说什么，但是，他对那张老酒鬼的 肖像画好像着了迷似的。我们用餐时，他的眼睛仍然不 ④lovc-lock ['lAvlok]n.前额 卷发 停地盯着它看。直到后来，亨利爵士回自己房间去了， 我才跟上了他的思路。他手里拿着卧室里的蜡烛把我领 countenance [kauntanans] 面容 回到餐厅，随后，便把蜡烛高高地举起，照着墙上一张 因年代久远而略徽褪色的肖像画上。 “你从那上面看出了什么吗？” 我看着那饰有羽毛的宽檐帽，卷曲的发穗，镶着白 ·263·