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I drove out of Newtown and went to begin my search for the mysterious man on the moor.There were hundreds of the old stone huts on the moor.Barrymore did not know in which of them the mysterious man was living.I had seen the man on the night when Sir Henry and I had chased Selden,so I decided to start my search near that place.
The path I took ran past Mr Frankland's house,and I saw him standing at his gate He called to me,and invited me to go in and have a drink with him.He had been arguing with the police,and was angry with them.He began to tell me about it.
'But they will be sorry,'he said.'I could tell them where to look for the escaped prisoner,but I am not going to help them.You see,I have been searching the moors with my telescope,and although I have not actually seen the prisoner,I have seen the person who is taking him food.'
I thought of Barrymore and Mrs Barrymore's worried faces.But Mr Frankland's next words showed me that I did not need to worry.
'You will be surprised to hear that a young boy takes food to the prisoner.The boy goes by at about the same time each day,and he is always carrying a bag.Who else can he be going to see—except the prisoner?Come and look through my tele scope,and you will see that I am right.It is about this time each day that the boy goes by.'
We went up onto the roof,and we did not have to wait long.There was someone moving on a hill in front of the house.I looked through the telescope and saw a small boy with a bag over his shoulder.He looked around to make sure that noboay was following him,and then he disappeared over the hill.
'Remember that I don't want the police to know my secret,Dr Watson,'Frankland reminded me.'I'm too angry with them at the moment to help them.'
I agreed not to tell the police,and said goodbye.I walked along the road while Frankland was watching me,but as soon as I was round the corner,I went towards the hill where we had seen the boy.
The sun was already going down when I reached the top of the hill.I could not see the boy,and there was nothing else in that lonely place Beneath me on the other side of the hill was a circle of old stone huts.In the middle of the circle was one hut that had a better roof than the others,so it would keep out the wind and the rain.This must be the place where the mysteri ous man was hiding!I would soon know his secret.
As I walked towards the hut,I saw that someone had certainly been using it.A path had been worn up to the door.I took my revolver out of my pocket,and checked that it was ready to fire.I walked quickly and quietly up to the hut,and looked inside.The place was empty.
But this was certainly where the man lived.As I looked round the hut,I knew that the mysterious man must have a very strong character.No other person could live in conditions as bad as these.There were some blankets on a flat stone where the man slept.There had been a fire in one corner.There were some cooking pots,and a large bowl half full of wa ter.In the middle of the hut was another large flat stone which was used as a table,and on it was the bag the boy had been carrying.Under the bag I saw a piece of paper with writing on it.Quickly,I picked up the paper and read what was written on it.It said:'Dr Watson has gone to Newtown.'
I realized that the mysterious man had told someone to watch me,and this was a message from his spy.Was the man a dangerous enemy? Or was he a friend who was watching us to make sure we were safe?I decided I would not leave the hut until I knew.
Outside,the sun was low in the sky.Everything looked calm and peaceful in the golden evening light.But I did not feel peaceful or calm.I felt frightened as I waited for the mysterious man.
Then I heard footstePS coming towards the hut.As they came closer,I moved into the darkest corner of the hut.I did not want the man to see me until I had looked closely at him.The footstePS stopped,and I could hear nothing at all.Then the man began to move again,and the footstePS came closer.A shadow fell across the door of the hut.
'It's a lovely evening,my dear Watson,'said a voice I knew well.'I really think you will enjoy it more out here.'
我驶出了纽顿，去开始搜寻沼地上的那位神秘人士。沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。白瑞摩不知道那位神秘人士住在其中的哪一栋里。在我与查尔斯爵士追赶塞尔登的那个晚上我曾见过那个人，所以我决定从那个地方附近开始找起。
我所走的这条小路经过弗兰克兰先生的家，我还看到他正站在门口。他叫我一声，并邀请我进屋和他喝一杯。他一直与警方争讼着，而且对警方十分气愤。他开始告诉我这些事情。
“但是他们将会后悔的，”他说道。“我本来能告诉他们该到哪里去找那个逃犯，但是我不想帮他们的忙。您是知道的，我一直在用我的望远镜搜寻这些沼地，而且虽然我没有真正地看到过那个罪犯，但是我已经看见了给他带饭的那个人。”
我想到了白瑞摩及其太太焦虑的面容。但是，弗兰克兰下边的话语向我表明我不必为此担忧了。
“当您听到一个小男孩给罪犯送食物的时候，您一定会感到吃惊吧。那个男孩每天都在同一时间经过，还总提着一个包。他还会去见谁呢——除了那个罪犯之外？过来，向我的望远镜里瞧瞧，您就会知道我是对的。每天就在这个时分那个男孩路过此处。”
我们到了屋顶上，我们并不需久等。有人正在屋前的小山上移动着。我透过望远镜观察并看到肩上扛着一个包的小男孩。他向四处张望着以确保没人跟踪他，后来就在山那边不见了。
“记住：我不想叫警方知道我的秘密，华生医生，”费兰克兰提醒我说。“我现在对他们太生气了，以至于都不想帮他们的忙。”
我同意不告诉警方并道了别。弗兰克兰望着我时我便顺着大路走，但是一转过弯我就朝着看到小男孩的那座小山走去。
当我到达山顶时，太阳已经就要落山了。我看不见那个小男孩，在这个荒凉的地方也没有旁人。在我下面的山坡的另一旁有一些围成一圈的古老的石屋。中间有一栋屋顶比其他的要好一些的石屋，因此它可以挡风避雨。这一定就是那位神秘人士的藏身之处了。我不久就可知晓他的秘密了。
当我朝着石屋走去时，我意识到一定有人用过这地方。一条小路已被人踩出，一直通向房门。我从衣兜里取出了左轮手枪，并确认它可以随时射发了。我快速、轻盈地向小屋走去，并向屋里望了望。里面空空如也。
但是这显然是那个人居住的地方。我在石屋四周察看着，知道那位神秘人士一定有着坚强的性格。再无旁人可以在如此恶劣的条件下住下去了。在那人睡觉的石板上放着几条毛毯。小屋的一角曾生过火。屋角有一些餐锅和一个装了半碗水的大碗。在小屋的中央另有一块平平的、被当做桌子用了的石板，桌上放着那个男孩扛着的那个包。我在包下看到了一张写着字的纸。我赶快拿起纸来，看看上面写些什么内容。上面写着：“华生医生已去纽顿了。”
我意识到那位神秘人士已叫人去监视我，这便是从他的密探那里得来的消息。那他是个危险的敌人呢，还是密切关注着我们以确保我们安全的朋友呢？我下定决心，不弄清一切决不离开这小屋。
外面，太阳已经落得很低了。在金色的夕阳的照耀下，一切都显得那么安详、恬静。可是我丝毫感受不到这种宁静。我在等待那位神秘人士之时感到很害怕。
后来，我听到了走向小屋的脚步声。当声音逼近时，我挪到了小屋里最阴暗的角落。在我没有仔细看清那人之前我并不想叫他看见我。脚步声停住了，我也什么都听不到了。后来，那个人又开始走动起来，脚步声也愈来愈近了。一条黑影由石屋的门那里投射进来。
“真是个可爱的傍晚，我亲爱的华生，”我很熟悉的一个声音说道。“我真觉得你到外边这儿来要享受些。”