Then I felt my fear and unhappiness disappear,as I knew that I was no longer alone in my responsibility for Sir Henry.The dangers all around me did not seem so frightening.The cool voice could belong to only one man in the world.'Holmes!'I cried.'Holmes!'
I went outside the hut,and there was Holmes.He was sit ting on a stone,and his grey eyes were dancing with amuse ment.He was thin and worn,but bright and wideawake.His skin was brown from the wind and the sun.But his chin was smooth,and his shirt was white.He did not look like a man who had been living in the middle of the moor.
'I have never been so glad to see anyone in my life,'I said,'nor so surprised.'
'I am surprised,too,'Holmes said,as he shook me warmly by the hand.'How did you find me?'
I told him about Frankland,and how I had seen the boy with the food.
Holmes went into the hut,and looked at the food,and at the note with it.' I guess that you have been to see Mrs Laura Lyons,' he said,and when I told him that he was right,he went on:' When we put together everything that each of us has discovered,I expect we shall know almost everything about this case.'
'But how did you get here?'I asked him.'And what have you been doing? I thought you had to finish your case in Lon don.'
'That is what I wanted you to think,'he said.
'Then you have tricked me,and have no confidence in me,' I said.I was upset and angry because he had not told me his plans.
'I am sorry if it seems I have tricked you,my dear Watson.I did not want our enemy to know I was here,but I wanted to be near enough to make sure that you and Sir Henry were safe.You are a kind person—too kind to leave me alone out here in bad weather.Our enemy would guess I was here if he saw you coming out with food,or with important news.You have been a very real help to me.Your letters with all their valuable information have been brought to me.You have done excellent work,and without you I would not have all the im portant details I needed.'
Holmes' warm words of thanks made me feel much happier,and I saw that he was right.
'That's better,'he said,as he saw the shadow lift from my face.'Now tell me about your visit to Mrs Laura Lyons.'
I told Holmes everything Mrs Lyons had said.
This is all very important,'Holmes said.'It answers ques tions I have been unable to answer、Did you know that Mrs Lyons and Stapleton are very close friends? They often meet,and they write to each other.Perhaps I can use this informa tion to turn Stapleton's wife against him…'
'His wife?'I asked.'Who and where is she?'
'The lady called Miss Stapleton,who pretends to be his sister,is really his wife,'said Holmes.
'Good heavens,Holmes!Are you sure?If she is his wife,why did Stapleton allow Sir Henry to fall in love with her?' 'Sir Henry hurt nobody except himself when he fell in love with her.Stapleton took care that Sir Henry did not make love to her.I repeat that the lady is his wife,and not his sister.They came here only two years ago,and before that he had owned a school in the north of England.He told you that,and you told me in your letter.I checked on the school,and found that the man who had owned it went away with his wife when the school closed.They changed their name,but the couple who were described to me were without doubt the Stapletons.''But why do they pretend to be brother and sister?' I asked.'Because Stapleton thought that she would be very much more useful to him if she appeared to be a free woman.'
Suddenly I saw behind Stapleton's smiling face a heart with murder in it.'So he is our enemy!He is the man who followed us in London! And the warning note to Sir Henry came form Miss Stapleton.'
'Exactly,'said Holmes.
'But if Miss Stapleton is really his wife,why is he a close friend of Mrs Laura Lyons?'
'Your excellent work has given us the answer to that ques tion,Watson When you told me that Mrs Lyons was getting a divorce,I realized that she hoped to marry Stapleton.He told her that he was unmarried,and that he wanted to make her his wife.When she learns the truth,she may decide to help us.We must go and see her tomorrow.'
'One last question,Holmes,'I said.'What is Stapleton try ing to do?'
Holmes dropped his voice as he answered:'Murder,cold blooded murder.That is what Stapleton is trying to do.Do not ask me for details.I am about to catch him in a trap.There is only one danger——that he will act before I am ready.Another day,or perhaps two,and I shall complete my case.Until then you must guard Sir Henry very closely.You should be with him today.However,what you have discovered is very valuable.'
As he finished speaking,an awful scream——a long cry of pain and horror——broke the silence of the moor.The sound turned my blood to ice.
'Oh,my God,'I whispered.'What is that?'
Holmes had jumped to his feet.'Where is it,Watson?' he whispered,and I could see that he was shaken by the scream.
The hopeless cry came again,louder,nearer,and more terrible than before.With it came a new sound——deep and frightening.'The hound!'cried Holmes.'Come,Watson,come!Great heavens!If we are too late…'
有那么一小會(huì)兒我既喘不過(guò)氣來(lái)也動(dòng)彈不了身子。后來(lái)，我覺(jué)得我的恐怖與不快之情消失了，因?yàn)槲抑牢也辉偈仟?dú)自承擔(dān)對(duì)亨利爵士的責(zé)任了。四伏的危機(jī)似乎不那么令人恐懼了。這種冷冰冰的聲音在世上只可能屬于一個(gè)人。
“福爾摩斯！”我喊道。“福爾摩斯！”
我走出小屋，那兒便是福爾摩斯。他正坐在一塊石頭上，他那灰色的眼珠高興地轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)起來(lái)。他顯得又瘦又累，可是既機(jī)靈又清醒。他的皮膚由于風(fēng)沙和日曬的侵襲變成了棕色。但是他的下巴刮得光光的，襯衫也很干凈。他看上去并不像是一位在沼地里居住的人。
“在我的一生里，還從來(lái)沒(méi)有因?yàn)榭匆娙魏稳诉@么快活過(guò)，”我說(shuō)道。“也從來(lái)沒(méi)有這么吃驚過(guò)。”
“我也感到很吃驚，”福爾摩斯一邊說(shuō)著，一邊溫和地與我握手。“你是如何找到我的？”
我告訴他有關(guān)弗蘭克蘭的事情，還有我是如何看到帶著食品的男孩的。
福爾摩斯進(jìn)了石屋，并看了看食品．還看了看與它在一起的那個(gè)紙條。“我揣測(cè)你已去見過(guò)勞拉·萊昂絲太太了，”他說(shuō)道，并在我告訴他他說(shuō)對(duì)了時(shí)繼續(xù)說(shuō)道：“如果我們把每人發(fā)現(xiàn)的一切湊到一起，我期望我們就能知道有關(guān)這個(gè)案子的幾乎一切內(nèi)情了。”
“可是你是怎么到這兒來(lái)的呢？”我對(duì)他問(wèn)道。“還有，你一直在干什么？我以為你得在倫敦辦完你手頭的那個(gè)案子呢。”
“那正是我希望你所想的，”他說(shuō)道。
“那么說(shuō)，你是在騙我，并不信任我呵！”我說(shuō)道。我因他沒(méi)有告訴我他的計(jì)劃而又煩又惱。
“如果看上去是我對(duì)你耍了什么花招的話，那就請(qǐng)你原諒我吧，我親愛(ài)的華生。我不想叫咱們的對(duì)手知道我就在此地，但是我又想在此附近來(lái)保證你和亨利爵士安然無(wú)恙。你是個(gè)好心腸的人——好得都到了不能容忍我獨(dú)自一人在此身處惡劣的露天環(huán)境之中。如果咱們的對(duì)手看到你帶著食物出來(lái)了或帶著重要的消息出來(lái)了，他就會(huì)猜到我在此地。你一直對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)是種無(wú)可估量的幫助。你的那些有著價(jià)值無(wú)比的信息的信件都已被送到我這兒。你干得很出色，要是沒(méi)有你我就不會(huì)得到我所需要的那一切詳情了。”
福爾摩斯的那些溫暖的感謝話語(yǔ)使我覺(jué)得高興多了，我還意識(shí)到他是對(duì)的。
“這樣就好了，”他看到陰影已從我的臉上消失時(shí)這么說(shuō)道。“現(xiàn)在告訴我你造訪勞拉·萊昂絲太太的情況吧。”
我把萊昂絲太太所講的全部?jī)?nèi)容告訴了福爾摩斯。
“這點(diǎn)至關(guān)重要，”福爾摩斯說(shuō)道。“它回答了我一直不能回答的那些問(wèn)題。你已知道萊昂絲太太和斯臺(tái)普頓是關(guān)系密切的朋友了吧？他們常見面，還常通信。也許我可以用這條信息使斯臺(tái)普頓的妻子與他作對(duì)……”
“他的妻子？”我問(wèn)道。“她是誰(shuí)，又在哪兒呢？”
“那位被稱做斯臺(tái)普頓小姐、裝作是他妹妹的女士其實(shí)是他的妻子，”福爾摩斯講道。
“天哪，福爾摩斯！你敢肯定嗎？如果她是他的妻子的話，他為何讓亨利爵士愛(ài)上了她呢？”
“亨利爵士墜入情網(wǎng)之時(shí)，他除了對(duì)本人之外對(duì)誰(shuí)都不會(huì)構(gòu)成傷害。斯臺(tái)普頓曾特別留意避免亨利爵士對(duì)她調(diào)情。我再說(shuō)一遍，那位女士就是他的妻子，而不是他的妹妹。他們?cè)趦赡曛安艁?lái)到這兒，但是在那之前他曾在英格蘭北部辦過(guò)一所學(xué)校。他告訴你那些事，你又在信中講給了我。我將那個(gè)學(xué)校調(diào)查了一下，還發(fā)現(xiàn)辦學(xué)校的那個(gè)男子在學(xué)�？缗_(tái)之后就和他的妻子一道遠(yuǎn)走高飛了。他們更改了姓名，但是被描述給我的那對(duì)夫婦無(wú)疑就是斯臺(tái)普頓一家。”
“但是，他們?yōu)楹我b扮成兄妹呢？”我問(wèn)道。
“因?yàn)樗古_(tái)普頓早就想到了，如果她看似一個(gè)單身的自由女子就會(huì)對(duì)他要有用得多。”
我突然從斯臺(tái)普頓的笑臉之后看到了他那暗藏殺機(jī)的狠毒心腸。“那么說(shuō)他就是我們的敵人啰！他就是在倫敦尾隨咱們的那個(gè)人！還有，送給亨利爵士的那個(gè)警告性的紙條是由斯臺(tái)普頓小姐發(fā)出的。”
“正是，”福爾摩斯講道。
“但是，如果斯臺(tái)普頓小姐真是他的妻子的話，他為何會(huì)是勞拉·萊昂絲太太的親密的朋友呢？”
“你杰出的工作已給我們提供了這個(gè)問(wèn)題的答案，華生。當(dāng)你告訴我萊昂斯太太計(jì)劃離婚時(shí)，我便意識(shí)到她是希望嫁給斯臺(tái)普頓的。他告訴她他還是未婚，而且想娶她為妻。她獲悉事情的真相時(shí)，也許會(huì)下定決心幫助我們。我們明天必須去見她。”
“還有最后一個(gè)問(wèn)題，福爾摩斯。”我講道，“斯臺(tái)普頓到底想干什么呢？”
福爾摩斯在回答時(shí)放低了聲調(diào)：
“謀殺，殘忍至極的謀殺。那便是斯臺(tái)普頓的企圖所在。別問(wèn)我細(xì)節(jié)了。我將設(shè)個(gè)陷阱將其抓獲�，F(xiàn)在只有一個(gè)危險(xiǎn)了——他說(shuō)不定會(huì)在我準(zhǔn)備就緒之前就行動(dòng)了。再過(guò)一天，或者也許是兩天，我就要辦完這個(gè)案子。在那以前，你必須注意保護(hù)好亨利爵士。你今天就該和他在一起。不過(guò)，你的發(fā)現(xiàn)很有價(jià)值。”
他說(shuō)完話時(shí)，一聲可怕的尖叫聲——一聲很長(zhǎng)的、痛苦和恐懼的喊叫打破了沼地上的沉靜。這個(gè)聲音使我毛骨悚然。
“哦，我的上帝，”我低聲說(shuō)道。“那是怎么回事？”
福爾摩斯已猛地站了起來(lái)。“是哪一邊，華生？”他低聲問(wèn)道，我知道他被尖叫聲震驚了。
絕望的喊聲又傳來(lái)了，比以往更大些，距離更近些，也更恐怖些。和它一起傳來(lái)的還有一種新的聲音——既低沉又恐怖。
“是獵犬！”福爾摩斯喊道。“來(lái)呀，華生，來(lái)呀！天哪！要是咱們來(lái)不及……”
