4 The Light on the Moor

Chapter 4 The Light on the Moor The following day, Jack Stapleton invited Sir Henry and me for lunch. From the moment they met, Sir Henry and Miss Stapleton seemed drawn to each other. On the way back, he talked of little else but her. Over the following days, there were further meetings and their romance blossomed. I thought her brother would be pleased with the match, yet he seemed strangely unhappy about it. One night, a week after our arrival at Baskerville Hall, I was woken at around two in the morning by footsteps outside my room. I rose, opened my door, and peeped out. I saw Barrymore walking down the passage with a candle in his hand. Wondering what he was up to, I followed as quietly as I could and watched him enter one of the empty bedrooms. I peered in through the open doorway and saw him crouching by the window with the candle held

第四章沼地上的光第二天，杰克·斯台普顿邀请我和亨利爵士共进午餐。 从他们相遇的那一刻起，亨利爵士和斯台普顿小姐似乎就互相吸引了。 在回来的路上，除了她，他什么也没说。 在接下来的几天里，他们又见了几次面，他们的爱情开始开花结果。 我原以为她哥哥会对这门亲事感到高兴，然而奇怪的是，他似乎对此不高兴。 在我们到达巴斯克维尔庄园一周之后的一天晚上，我在凌晨两点左右被房外的脚步声吵醒了。 我站起来，打开门，向外张望。 我看见白瑞摩手里拿着蜡烛走过过道。 我不知道他在干什么，就尽量悄悄地跟着他，看着他走进一间空卧室。 我从敞开的门口往里看，看见他手拿蜡烛蹲在窗边

close to the glass. For several minutes he remained there, gazing out at the blackness of the moor. Then, with a deep sigh, he rose to his feet. I quickly returned to my room before he saw me. I told Sir Henry about what I'd seen, and the following night we sat up in my room in case Barrymore decided to make another secret journey. Shortly after the clock chimed two, we heard his footsteps in the corridor. Softly, we stole after him and watched him enter the same empty bedroom and hold his candle to the window. Sir Henry suddenly marched into the room and demanded to know what he was doing.

靠近玻璃。他在那儿呆了几分钟，凝视着外面漆黑的沼地。 然后，他深深地叹了口气，站了起来。 在他看见我之前，我迅速回到了我的房间。 我把我所看到的一切告诉了亨利爵士，第二天晚上我们在我的房间里一直坐到深夜，以防白瑞摩决定再进行一次秘密旅行。 钟敲两点后不久，我们听到他在走廊里的脚步声。 我们悄悄地跟在他后面，看着他走进那间空荡荡的卧室，把蜡烛举到窗前。 亨利爵士突然走进房间，要求知道他在干什么。

Barrymore sprang up in surprise. "Nothing, sir! Just checking the window was fastened." "Don't lie, Barrymore!" said Sir Henry. "Why were you holding a candle to the window?" The butler lapsed into sullen silence. Then I saw something: a tiny pinpoint of light in the darkness of the moor. "What's that?" I asked. Barrymore said nothing. "Answer us or leave this house forever!" said Sir Henry. "It's my fault," said a woman's voice. We turned to see Mrs. Barrymore standing at the door. She looked pale and shaken. "Selden, the escaped convict, is out there starving on the moor," she said. "He signals to us, and we bring him food and clothing." We stared at her in amazement. "But Selden's a dangerous criminal!" cried Sir Henry. "He's also my brother," she said.

白瑞摩吃惊地跳了起来。 “没什么,先生!只是检查一下窗户是不是关好了。” “别撒谎了，白瑞摩！”亨利爵士说道。 “你为什么拿着蜡烛对着窗户？”管家闷闷不乐地沉默了。 接着，我看见了什么东西：黑暗的沼地里有一点小小的光亮。 “那是什么?”我问。白瑞摩什么也没说。 “回答我们，否则就永远离开这所房子！”亨利爵士说道。 “是我的错，”一个女人的声音说。 我们转过身来，看见白瑞摩太太站在门口。 她脸色苍白，浑身发抖。 “塞尔登，那个逃犯，正在沼地里挨饿呢，”她说。 “他向我们发出信号，我们就给他送去食物和衣服。” 我们惊奇地盯着她。 “可是塞尔登是个危险的罪犯！”亨利爵士喊道。 “他也是我的兄弟，”她说。

Sir Henry and I put on our boots and coats and went outside, aiming for the yellow light on the moor. I had my revolver and Sir Henry had his riding crop. As we walked through the darkness, there arose that strange howl I'd heard before—a deep, wild moan that filled the air. It chilled the blood in my veins. "What the devil was that, Watson?" "A sound that's sometimes heard on the moor." We stumbled on, eventually reaching the source of the light: a guttering candle in a crevice of rock. Then we saw him—Selden—a savage, filthy man with matted hair and small, cunning

亨利爵士和我穿上靴子和大衣，走到外面，瞄准沼地上的黄色灯光。 我有我的左轮手枪，亨利爵士有他的马鞭。 当我们在黑暗中行走时，响起了我以前听到过的那种奇怪的嚎叫——一种深沉、狂野的呻吟声，弥漫在空气中。 我血管里的血都凉了。 “那到底是怎么回事，华生？”“一种在沼地上有时能听到的声音。” 我们踉踉跄跄地走着，终于找到了光源：岩石缝隙里一根摇曳的蜡烛。 然后我们看到了他——塞尔登——一个野蛮、肮脏、头发乱蓬蓬、身材矮小、狡猾的人

eyes. He took off when he spotted us, bolting over the brow of a hill. We gave chase, but he was too fast and was soon swallowed by the night. We leaned against a rock, catching our breath. As we started for home, I saw a figure standing on a hill, silhouetted by the moon. It wasn't Selden—this man was taller and thinner. I pointed him out to Sir Henry, but when I looked back, he was gone.

眼睛。他一看见我们就跑掉了，飞快地翻过了山头。 我们追赶他，但他跑得太快，很快就被夜色吞没了。 我们靠在一块岩石上，喘着气。 当我们动身回家时，我看见一个人影站在山上，月光映衬出他的剪影。 这不是塞尔登——这个人更高更瘦。 我把他指给亨利爵士看，可是当我回头看时，他已经不见了。

Next morning, Sir Henry told Barrymore he'd have to tell the police about Selden. Barrymore begged him not to, saying it would break his wife's heart if her brother went back to prison. He swore that Selden wouldn't hurt anyone, and in a few days, he'd be on a ship bound for South America and gone forever.

第二天早晨，亨利爵士对白瑞摩说，他必须把塞尔登的事告诉警察。 白瑞摩恳求他不要这样做，说如果他的哥哥再次入狱，他妻子会很伤心的。 他发誓塞尔登不会伤害任何人，几天后，他就会登上一艘开往南美的船，永远消失了。