Just as he spoke there came a strange cry from across the moor.It was the same cry I had heard when I was with Staple ton on the edge of the Great Grimpen Marsh.

'What is that noise?'asked Sir Henry.He stopped and put his hand on my arm to hold me back.

'I've heard it before,'I said.'Stapleton says it's the cry of a bird.'

'Watson,'said Sir Henry,his voice shaking,'it is the cry of a hound.What do the local people say it is?'

'They say it is the cry of the Hound of the Baskervilles,'I replied.

'Can there possibly be some truth in the story?'said Sir Henry.'Am I really in danger from such an evil thing?I think I am as brave as most men,but that sound froze my blood.But we have come out to catch that prisoner,and the Devil himself will not make me turn back.'

It was difficult to cross the moor in the dark,but at last we reached the light.It was standing on a rock.Suddenly an evil face,more like an animal than a man,looked at us from behind the rock.The escaped prisoner saw us and screamed as he turned to run.

Sir Henry and I were both good runners and very healthy men,but we soon realized that we had no chance of catching Selden.He knew the way,and was running for his life.Soon we had lost him in the dark,so we stopped and sat down,breathing heavily,to rest.

At that moment a very strange thing happened.The moon was low upon our right,and in its light we could see the top of a hill.On that hill,with the moon behind him,stood a tall,thin man.He was standing perfectly still.He was watching us.

It was not Selden,who had been running away from that hill.This man was much taller.With a cry of surprise I turned to Sir Henry.As I turned,the man disappeared.

I wanted to go across to the hill and search for him,but we were tired and I remembered that Sir Henry might be in dan ger.So we went back to Baskerville Hall.

Who was the tall man I had seen standing against the moon? Was he an enemy,or a friend who was watching over us?

I wished more and more that Holmes could leave London and come to Baskerville Hall.I wrote to him every few days and gave him the details of everything that happened and everyone I met.

斯台普顿先生于当日下午前来庄园拜访亨利爵士。第二天早晨，他带着我们去看了那个罪恶的雨果出事的地点。然后，我们在格林盆宅邸吃了午饭。亨利爵士显然认为斯台普顿小姐很漂亮。他的目光一直追随着她。他非常喜欢她，我还敢肯定她对他也有此同感。在我们回家的路上，他屡次谈到了她。自从第一次见面之后，我们便几乎每天都能见到斯台普顿兄妹。

不久之后，亨利爵士深深地爱上了漂亮的斯台普顿小姐，这点已相当明显了。我起初以为斯台普顿会为他的妹妹与亨利爵士的结合而大为高兴的。然而，我不久之后便意识到他并不想让他们之间的友谊发展为爱情。他想尽办法避免他俩有独处的机会。他们曾有一两次想方设法单独见面了，可是斯台普顿跟踪了他们，见他们在一起时并不高兴。

我很快又遇到了亨利爵士的另一位邻居。他是福兰克兰先生，住在庄园以南约四英里远的地方。他是一位面色红润、头发银白的老人。他有两个癖好。其一是争辩。他会和所有的人争论一番。其二是研究星相。他为此买了个很大的望远镜。数天来他一直在用这架望远镜注视着沼地。他希望能发现塞尔登，那位逃犯。两周以来没人见过那位囚犯，大家都以为他可能已经离开沼地了。

几天之后的一个晚上，我在凌晨两点钟左右时被一声响声弄醒了。我听见有人在我的门外轻声走动。我爬起身来，打开房门并向外张望。我看到白瑞摩正小心谨慎而又悄无声息地从我这边走开。我尽量无声无息地跟着他。他走进了一间没人住的卧室并把房门就那么开着。我悄悄地走到房门跟前并向里边瞧去。

白瑞摩正站在窗户旁。他手里拿着蜡烛，透过窗户盯着外面的沼地。他一动不动地站了几分钟，然后弄灭了蜡烛。

我赶快回到了我的房中。几分钟之后我听到白瑞摩轻轻地走过我的门口。

第二天早晨我将我所看到的情景告给了亨利爵士。

“我们得跟踪他并看看他在干些什么，”亨利爵士说道。“要是我们小心走动的话他是不会听见我们的。”

那天晚上我们坐在亨利爵士的房间里等着。大约在凌晨3点钟时，我们听到了卧室外面的脚步声。我们向外望去，看到了白瑞摩。我们尽量无声无息地跟踪着他。他同前一次一样，又到了那个房间里。我们来到房门旁边向里望去。白瑞摩手里拿着蜡烛，正望着窗外的沼地。这和我前一天夜里看到的情景一模一样。

亨利爵士走进屋里并且说道：“你在这里干什么呢，白瑞摩？”

白瑞摩赶快转过身来，脸上露出又惊又怕的神色。

“没干什么，爵爷，”他说道。由于他的手抖动着，墙壁上烛光里的人影也不停地上下跳动着。“是由于窗户，爵爷。我在夜间巡视是想看看窗户是否都已关好了，而这个窗户并没关好。”

“得了吧，白瑞摩，”亨利爵士说道。“不要撒谎。你用那个蜡烛干什么？你刚才可是把它举在窗口了。”

我突然灵机一动。“我想他那时是在传送信号，”我说道。“我们来看一下沼地上是否有人回答信号。”

我把蜡烛高举向窗口并注视着漆黑的外面。突然之间，一个光点从沼地那边回应着。

“就在那儿，”我喊道。我在窗户边前后晃动着蜡烛。沼地上的灯光也以同样的方式移动着以回应我们。

“我说，白瑞摩，沼地上的你的那个朋友是谁？发生着什么事情？”

上一页  [1] [2] [3]  下一页