Chapter15 回首案情-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 15 A Retrospection It was the end of November,and Holmes and I sat,upon a raw and foggy night,on either side of a blazing fire in our sitting-room in Baker Street.Since the tragic upshot of our visit to Devonshire he had been engaged in two affairs of the utmost importance,in the first of which he had exposed the atrocious conduct of Colonel Upwood in connection with the famous card scandal of the Nonpareil Club,while in the second he had defended the unfortunate Mme. Montpensier from the charge of murder which hung over her in connection with the death of her step-daughter,Mlle.Carere,the young lady who,as it will be remembered,was found six months later alive and married in New York.My friend was in excellent spirits over the success which had attended a succession of difficult and important cases,so that I was able to induce him to discuss the details of the Baskerville mystery.I had waited patiently for the opportunity, for I was aware that he would never permit cases to overlap,and that his clear and logical mind would not be drawn from its present work to dwell upon memories of the past.Sir Henry and Dr.Mortimer were,however,in London,on their way to that long voyage which had been recommended for the restoration of his shattered nerves.They had called upon us that very afternoon, so that it was natural that the subject should come up for discussion. “The whole course of events,”said Holmes,“from the point of view of the man who called himself Stapleton was simple and direct,although to us, who had no means in the beginning of knowing the motives of his actions and could only learn part of the facts,it all appeared exceedingly complex.I have ·300· 第十五章 回首案情 那是在11月底，一个阴郁寒冷、雾气弥漫的夜晚， 我和福尔摩斯一边一个端坐在贝克大街我们起居室燃烧 正旺的壁炉前。自从我们经历了德文郡那场悲剧的结局 之后，他又忙着侦办了两桩重大案件。第一桩案件中 他揭露了厄普伍德上校涉嫌臭名昭著的“完美俱乐部” 的纸牌作弊丑闻。第二桩案件中，他则保护了不幸的蒙 庞西耶夫人，洗刷了她的谋杀罪名，因为她先前被指控 谋杀了自己的继女卡雷尔小姐。但人们会记住，那位小 姐在六个月之后被发现仍然活着，而且在纽约结婚嫁人 了。我朋友因为连续成功破解了一系列扑朔迷离而又至 关重要的案件，所以显得精神抖擞。因此，我这才引得 ①induce lin'dju:s]v写引诱， 他谈一谈巴斯克维尔庄园谜案的种种细节。我一直在耐 诱使 心地等待着机会，因为我很清楚，他绝不愿意让案件相 ②overlap【,uvs'lap]v.重 叠 互搅合在一起，况且，他那清晰而富有逻辑性的头脑是 不会脱离案件而去追忆过去的事情的。不过，亨利爵士 和莫蒂默医生当时都在伦敦，正打算进行一次长途旅 行，以便让爵士那几近崩遗的神经得到恢复。刚好在当 天下午，他们登门来拜访我们，所以我们很自然地谈起 了那桩案件 “一系列事件的全过程，”福尔摩斯说，“在那个自 称是斯塔普尔顿的人看来，再简单不过了。但对我们来 说，一切都是那么错综复杂，因为我们刚开始时根本无 法弄清他行动的动机，而且只掌握了一部分事实。后 来，我和斯塔普尔顿夫人交谈过两次。通过交谈，我就 ·301 Chapter 15 A Retrospection had the advantage of two conversations with Mrs.Stapleton,and the case has now been so entirely cleared up that I am not aware that there is anything which has remained a secret to us.You will find a few notes upon the matter under the heading B in my indexed list of cases." "Perhaps you would kindly give me a sketch of the course of events from memory.” "Certainly,though I cannot guarantee that I carry all the facts in my mind. Intense mental concentration has a curious way of blotting out what has passed.The barrister who has his case at his fingers'ends and is able to argue with an expert upon his own subject finds that a week or two of the courts will drive it all out of his head once more.So each of my cases displaces the last, and Mlle.Carere has blurred my recollection of Baskerville Hall.To-morrow some other little problem may be submitted to my notice which will in turn dispossess the fair French lady and the infamous Upwood.So far as the case of the hound goes,however,I will give you the course of events as nearly as I can, and you will suggest anything which I may have forgotten. "My inquiries show beyond all question that the family portrait did not lie,and that this fellow was indeed a Baskerville.He was a son of that Rodger Baskerville,the younger brother of Sir Charles,who fled with a sinister reputation to South America,where he was said to have died unmarried.He did, as a matter of fact,marry,and had one child,this fellow,whose real name is the same as his father's.He married Beryl Garcia,one of the beauties of Costa Rica,and,having purloineda considerable sum of public money,he changed his name to Vandeleur and fled to England,where he established a school in the east of Yorkshire.His reason for attempting this special line of business was that he had struck up an acquaintance with a consumptive tutor upon the voyage home,and that he had used this man's ability to make the undertaking a success.Fraser,the tutor,died however,and the school which had begun well sank from disrepute into infamy.The Vandeleurs found it convenient to change their name to Stapleton,and he brought the remains of his fortune,his schemes for the future,and his taste for entomology to the south of England.I learn at the British Museum that he was a recognized authority upon the subject, and that the name of Vandeleur has been permanently attached to a certain moth ·302· 第十五章 回首案情 意识到本案已经基本上不存在什么谜团了。在我那部案 件目录索引栏的B字开头的栏目下面，你可以找到关于 本案的详情记录。” “你就行行好，根据回忆，给我讲述一下事情的大 致情况吧。” “当然可以，但是，我不能保证自己记住了全部事 实，因为在思想高度集中的时候，往事常常会在记忆中 消失。律师在处理手边的案件时，往往能够就该案的问 ①blot out抹掉，抹去 名barrister [berista]n.律师 题与专家展开辩论，但是，诉讼结束一两个礼拜之后， 则又会把案情忘得一干二净。因此，后来的案件会不断 地替代先前的案件在我脑海中所占据的位置，而卡雷尔 小姐一案也就使我对巴斯克维尔庄园一案的记忆变得模 糊起来了。等到了明天，说不定又会有某个案件交到我 的手上，同样将会替代那法国姑娘和臭名昭著的厄普伍 德两案的位置。不过，关于猎犬案，我会尽可能如实地 向你讲述它的全部过程的，如果我遗忘了什么，你就提 示一下吧 “我的调查确凿无疑地表明，巴斯克维尔家族的画 像是真实可信的，那个家伙确实是巴斯克维尔家族的成 员。其父亲就是查尔斯爵士的弟弟罗杰·巴斯克维尔， 他背负着一身臭名逃到了南美洲。传说他到了那儿后没 结婚就去世了，但实际上，他结婚成了家，还生了一个 孩子，孩子的真实姓名和他父亲的一样。他同一位哥斯 达黎加的美女贝丽尔·迦洛茜娅结了婚。他在攫取了一 ③purloin [po:lbim帖偷窃 大笔公款之后，改名换姓为范德勒，逃到了英格兰，并 在约克郡的东部开办了一所学校。他之所以会想到从事 这种特殊的事业.是因为他在乘船回国的途中，结识了 consumptive [kan'sAmp 一位罹患肺病的教师，他以为可以利用这位教师的力量 tiva.患肺结核的 成就一番事业。但是，那位名叫弗雷泽的教师亡故了， 那所开始发展得很不错的学校便因此日渐衰败，从名誉 不佳一直降落到臭名远扬。他们为了方便起见就改姓斯 分infamy ['infamil.声名 塔普尔顿，并带着所剩的财产，怀着对未来的设想，还 狼菇 有对昆虫学的爱好，移居到了英格兰南部。我在大英博 物馆查阅资料得知，他是该领域内公认的权威。范德勒 这个姓氏同某一种飞蛾产生了永久性的联系，因为那种 飞蛾是他在约克郡首次发现的。 ·303· Chapter 15 A Retrospection which he had,in his Yorkshire days,been the first to describe. "We now come to that portion of his life which has proved to be of such intense interest to us.The fellow had evidently made inquiry and found that only two lives intervened between him and a valuable estate.When he went to Devonshire his plans were,I believe,exceedingly hazy,but that he meant mischief from the first is evident from the way in which he took his wife with him in the character of his sister.The idea of using her as a decoy was clearly already in his mind,though he may not have been certain how the details of his plot were to be arranged.He meant in the end to have the estate,and he was ready to use any tool or run any risk for that end.His first act was to establish himself as near to his ancestral home as he could,and his second was to cultivate a friendship with Sir Charles Baskerville and with the neighbours. "The baronet himself told him about the family hound,and so prepared the way for his own death.Stapleton,as I will continue to call him,knew that the old man's heart was weak and that a shock would kill him.So much he had learned from Dr.Mortimer.He had heard also that Sir Charles was superstitious and had taken this grim legend very seriously.His ingenious mind instantly suggested a way by which the baronet could be done to death,and yet it would be hardly possible to bring home the guilt to the real murderer. "Having conceived the idea he proceeded to carry it out with considerable finesse2.An ordinary schemer would have been content to work with a savage hound.The use of artificial means to make the creature diabolical was a flash of genius upon his part.The dog he bought in London from Ross and Mangles,the dealers in Fulham Road.It was the strongest and most savage in their possession.He brought it down by the North Devon line and walked a great distance over the moor so as to get it home without exciting any remarks. He had already on his insect hunts learned to penetrate the Grimpen Mire,and so had found a safe hiding-place for the creature.Here he kennelled it and waited his chance. "But it was some time coming.The old gentleman could not be decoyed outside of his grounds at night.Several times Stapleton lurked about with his hound,but without avail.It was during these fruitless quests that he,or rather his ally,was seen by peasants,and that the legend of the demon dog received ·304· 第十五章回首案情 “我们现在要说到强烈吸引我们兴趣的那段生活了。 很显然，那家伙进行了一番调查后发现，只有两个人阻 碍他获得那笔庞大的财产。他去德文郡时，我认为他的 种种计划还很模糊，但从他把自己的夫人说成是自己的 妹妹这点来看，他显然从一开始就居心不良。很明显， 他早就想好了要用她做诱饵，尽管他当时也不确定实施 这个计划的具体细节。他的最终目的是攫取到财产，为 ①decoy ['di:koin.诱饵 此，他准备利用一切手段，或者甘冒任何风险。他首先 要做的就是在尽可能靠近他祖上庄园的地方安置下来。 其次是，同查尔斯·巴斯克维尔爵士以及邻居们友好 交往。 “从男爵亲口告诉了他有关那条家族猎犬的传说. 因而为自己铺下了一条通往死亡的道路。斯塔普尔顿」 我将一直这样称呼他，知道老人的心脏很衰弱，只要一 受惊吓就会死亡。他从莫蒂默医生那儿了解到了这些情 况。此外，他还听说查尔斯爵士非常迷信，对那个恐怖 的传说更是坚信不疑。他头脑精明，立刻就有了一个主 意，既可以置查尔斯爵士于死地，又能够使人们几乎无 法追查到真正的凶手。 “他想出了这样一个主意之后，便开始很精心地实 施了。平常的阴谋者拥有了一条凶狠的猎犬也就心满意 足了。但是，他却灵光一现，采用人为的手段，使那条 2 finesse Ifi'nes】n,谋略， 巧计 畜生变得像恶魔一般令人恐惧。他从伦敦富勒姆大街的 diabolical ['daiabolikall a. 罗斯一曼格尔斯商行买了一条大猎犬。那是他们所有犬 恶魔似的 中最强壮和最凶恶的一条。他乘坐北德文郡线路的火 车，为了掩人耳目，把猎犬弄回家，牵着猎犬在荒原上 走了很远的路程。他先前在捕捉昆虫时，已经熟悉了如 何穿过格林彭泥潭，同时也为那条畜生寻找了一个安全 的藏匿地点。于是把猎犬关在那儿，等待时机。 ④kennel['kenoll把（狗） “但是，过去了一段时间，无法把老绅士从自己的 关进狗窝 宅邸庭院里引诱出来。斯塔普尔顿几次牵着猎犬埋伏在 他家附近，但都没有结果。就在这一系列毫无结果的跟 踪过程中，它，准确地说是他的帮凶，被荒原上的农夫 看见了，关于魔鬼猎犬的传说从此也得到了新的证实。 他曾一度希望，自己的夫人可以去引诱查尔斯爵士，从 而把他推向死亡，但出乎他的预料，她很不顺从。她不 ·305· Chapter 15 A Retrospection a new confirmation.He had hoped that his wife might lure Sir Charles to his ruin,but here she proved unexpectedly independent.She would not endeavour to entangle the old gentleman in a sentimental attachment which might deliver him over to his enemy.Threats and even,I am sorry to say,blows refused to move her.She would have nothing to do with it,and for a time Stapleton was at a deadlock. "He found a way out of his difficulties through the chance that Sir Charles, who had conceived a friendship for him,made him the minister of his charity in the case of this unfortunate woman,Mrs.Laura Lyons.By representing himself as a single man he acquired complete influence over her,and he gave her to understand.that in the event of her obtaining a divorce from her husband he would marry her.His plans were suddenly brought to a head by his knowledge that Sir Charles was about to leave the Hall on the advice of Dr. Mortimer,with whose opinion he himself pretended to coincide.He must act at once,or his victim might get beyond his power.He therefore put pressure upon Mrs.Lyons to write this letter,imploring the old man to give her an interview on the evening before his departure for London.He then,by a specious argument,prevented her from going,and so had the chance for which he had waited. "Driving back in the evening from Coombe Tracey he was in time to get his hound,to treat it with his infernal paint,and to bring the beast round to the gate at which he had reason to expect that he would find the old gentleman waiting.The dog,incited by its master,sprang over the wicket-gate and pursued the unfortunate baronet,who fled screaming down the yew alley.In that gloomy tunnel it must indeed have been a dreadful sight to see that huge black creature, with its flaming jaws and blazing eyes,bounding after its victim.He fell dead at the end of the alley from heart disease and terror.The hound had kept upon the grassy border while the baronet had run down the path,so that no track but the man's was visible.On seeing him lying still the creature had probably approached to sniff at him,but finding him dead had turned away again.It was then that it left the print which was actually observed by Dr.Mortimer.The hound was called off and hurried away to its lair in the Grimpen Mire,and a mystery was left which puzzled the authorities,alarmed the countryside,and ·306· 第十五章 回首案情 肯设法让老绅士坠入情网，因为那样很可能让他落入死 敌的手里。威胁，甚至是我很不愿提起的殴打，都没能 让她屈服。她根本不愿意涉及其中，因此，在一段时间 里，斯塔普尔顿一筹莫展，计划受阻。 “后来，机会终于来了，查尔斯爵士同他建立起了 ①at a deadlock陷入困境 良好的关系，委托他对那个名叫劳拉·莱昂斯太太的 可怜女人实施慈善接济。这样一来，他在重重困境之 中找到了一条出路。他对外声称自己是单身汉，所以， 对她有了完全的影响力。他还使她相信，只要她能够 2 represent Lrepri'zent]v. 述 同自己的丈夫离婚，他就会娶她为妻。他听说查尔斯 爵士听从了莫蒂默医生的建议，正准备离开庄园，而 他本人也假装完全同意。这时候，他的计划突然到了 一个成败攸关的时刻。他必须立刻采取行动，否则 他对受害者可能就鞭长莫及了。因此，他给莱昂斯太 太施加压力，让她给老绅士写信，恳求老人在他动身 去伦敦的头天晚上与她见上一而。然后，他又用似乎 说得过去的理由阻止她前去赴约，因此，迎来了一个 他期待已久的机会。 ③specious「'spi:fas]a.似是 而非的 “傍晚时分，他从库姆特雷西乘车返回，及时赶到 了猎犬藏匿地，并把发光材料抹在它身上，然后牵着那 条畜生绕到了庄园栅门附近，因为他有理由相信他会找 到正在那儿等候的老绅士。猎犬在主人的怂恿下，一下 跃过了栅门，对不幸的从男爵紧追不舍。老爵士尖叫着 沿着紫杉树篱小道拼命逃跑。处在阴暗的树篱小道上， 加上看见一条体形巨大、皮毛鼢黑、嘴巴眼睛都冒着火 光的畜生在身后跳跃着前行，确实会感到非常恐惧。因 此，他跑到树篱小道尽头时，便因心脏病和恐惧而倒地 身亡了。猎犬一直沿着小草茂盛的路边跑，而爵土是在 小道上跑，所以道路除了人的脚印外看不到任何其他脚 印。猎犬看到他躺倒后设有任何动静，或许还凑近去嗅 了嗅，但当它发现他已死去后，便掉头走了。也正是在 那个时候，它留下了一些爪印，后来确实被莫蒂默医生 注意到了。猎犬被呼唤离开了，并匆忙地被赶回了设在 格林彭泥潭的犬窝。这样一来，就留下了一个谜团，它 让警方感到莫名其妙，让整个地区的人们感到惶恐不 安，最后我们加入了对案情的调查。 ·307· Chapter 15 A Retrospection finally brought the case within the scope of our observation. "So much for the death of Sir Charles Baskerville.You perceive the devilish cunning of it,for really it would be almost impossible to make a case against the real murderer.His only accomplice was one who could never give him away,and the grotesque,inconceivable nature of the device only served to make it more effective.Both of the women concerned in the case, Mrs.Stapleton and Mrs.Laura Lyons,were left with a strong suspicion against Stapleton.Mrs.Stapleton knew that he had designs upon the old man,and also of the existence of the hound.Mrs.Lyons knew neither of these things, but had been impressed by the death occurring at the time of an uncancelled appointment which was only known to him.However,both of them were under his influence,and he had nothing to fear from them.The first half of his task was successfully accomplished,but the more difficult still remained. "It is possible that Stapleton did not know of the existence of an heir in Canada.In any case he would very soon learn it from his friend Dr.Mortimer, and he was told by the latter all details about the arrival of Henry Baskerville. Stapleton's first idea was that this young stranger from Canada might possibly be done to death in London without coming down to Devonshire at all.He distrusted his wife ever since she had refused to help him in laying a trap for the old man,and he dared not leave her long out of his sight for fear he should lose his influence over her.It was for this reason that he took her to London with him.They lodged,I find,at the Mexborough Private Hotel,in Craven Street, which was actually one of those called upon by my agent in search of evidence. Here he kept his wife imprisoned in her room while he,disguised in a beard, followed Dr.Mortimer to Baker Street and afterwards to the station and to the Northumberland Hotel.His wife had some inkling of his plans;but she had such a fear of her husband-a fear founded upon brutal ill-treatment-that she dare not write to warn the man whom she knew to be in danger.If the letter should fall into Stapleton's hands her own life would not be safe.Eventually, as we know,she adopted the expedient of cutting out the words which would form the message,and addressing the letter in a disguised hand.It reached the baronet,and gave him the first warning of his danger. "It was very essential for Stapleton to get some article of Sir Henry's attire ·308· 第十五章回首案情 “关于查尔斯·巴斯克维尔爵士死亡的情况就讲述 到这儿。你可以想象得到，案件中的手段有多么狠毒和 狡诈，说实在的，我们几乎不可能对真正的凶手提起诉 Daccomplice [o'kAmplis]n. 讼。他唯一的同谋是永远都不会把他的秘密泄露出去 司谋，帮凶 的，而他那奇特而难以想象的手法也让其阴谋更加高效 地进行。两位与案件有关联的女人，斯塔普尔顿夫人和 劳拉·莱昂斯太太，对斯塔普尔顿都极为怀疑。斯塔普 尔顿夫人知道他在设计暗算老人，也知道那条猎犬的存 在。莱昂斯太太对这两方面的情况都不知情，但她对爵 士的猝死一定印象深刻，因为惨剧正好发生在自己爽约 的时间里，而约会的事情只有他一个人知道，因此，她 是心存怀疑的。不过，两个女人都受到了斯塔普尔顿的 控制，而他对她们则有恃无恐。他那阴谋的前半部分成 功地完成了，但留下了更加棘手的另一半。 “斯塔普尔顿可能并不知道，巴克斯维尔家族在加 拿大还有一个继承人。但不管怎么说，他很快就从他的 朋友莫蒂默医生那里得知了这一情况。莫蒂默医生把享 利·巴斯克维尔即将到来的种种细节全都告诉了他。斯 塔普尔顿的第一反应就是，那个从加拿大来的陌生年轻 人或许压根儿就到不了德文郡，他一到伦敦就可能把他 给灭了。自从他夫人拒绝帮助他设陷阱谋害老爵士之 后，他就不再信任她了，而且也不敢让夫人长时间离开 自己的视线，担心会失去对她的控制。正因为如此，他 便把她带在身边，一同到了伦敦。我发现，他们住在克 雷文大街的梅克斯伯勒私人旅馆里，就是我曾经派人去 寻找证据的那些旅馆中的一家。他把自己的夫人软禁在 她的房间里，而他却乔装改扮蓄着胡子，尾随莫蒂默医 ②inkling ['inklin]n.模期的 生到了贝克大街，然后又去了车站，还到过诺森伯兰旅 想法 馆。他夫人对他的阴谋略知一二，但她很害怕丈夫一 那是一种受过残暴虐待后产生的恐惧，以至于她不敢写 信提醒那个她知道正处在危险之中的男人。如果那封信 落到了斯塔普尔顿的手上，她自己也就性命难保了。最 后，正如我们所知道的那样，她采用一种应急的办法： 从报纸上剪下一些文字，拼凑成了那封短信，还用伪装 的笔迹写下了收信人的地址。那封信被送到了从男爵手 上，他因此得到了第一次危险的警示 ·309·