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For a moment or two I could neither breathe nor move.
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…'
有那么一小会儿我既喘不过气来也动弹不了身子。后来，我觉得我的恐怖与不快之情消失了，因为我知道我不再是独自承担对亨利爵士的责任了。四伏的危机似乎不那么令人恐惧了。这种冷冰冰的声音在世上只可能属于一个人。
“福尔摩斯！”我喊道。“福尔摩斯！”
我走出小屋，那儿便是福尔摩斯。他正坐在一块石头上，他那灰色的眼珠高兴地转动起来。他显得又瘦又累，可是既机灵又清醒。他的皮肤由于风沙和日晒的侵袭变成了棕色。但是他的下巴刮得光光的，衬衫也很干净。他看上去并不像是一位在沼地里居住的人。
“在我的一生里，还从来没有因为看见任何人这么快活过，”我说道。“也从来没有这么吃惊过。”
“我也感到很吃惊，”福尔摩斯一边说着，一边温和地与我握手。“你是如何找到我的？”
我告诉他有关弗兰克兰的事情，还有我是如何看到带着食品的男孩的。
福尔摩斯进了石屋，并看了看食品．还看了看与它在一起的那个纸条。“我揣测你已去见过劳拉·莱昂丝太太了，”他说道，并在我告诉他他说对了时继续说道：“如果我们把每人发现的一切凑到一起，我期望我们就能知道有关这个案子的几乎一切内情了。”
“可是你是怎么到这儿来的呢？”我对他问道。“还有，你一直在干什么？我以为你得在伦敦办完你手头的那个案子呢。”
“那正是我希望你所想的，”他说道。
“那么说，你是在骗我，并不信任我呵！”我说道。我因他没有告诉我他的计划而又烦又恼。
“如果看上去是我对你耍了什么花招的话，那就请你原谅我吧，我亲爱的华生。我不想叫咱们的对手知道我就在此地，但是我又想在此附近来保证你和亨利爵士安然无恙。你是个好心肠的人——好得都到了不能容忍我独自一人在此身处恶劣的露天环境之中。如果咱们的对手看到你带着食物出来了或带着重要的消息出来了，他就会猜到我在此地。你一直对我来说是种无可估量的帮助。你的那些有着价值无比的信息的信件都已被送到我这儿。你干得很出色，要是没有你我就不会得到我所需要的那一切详情了。”
福尔摩斯的那些温暖的感谢话语使我觉得高兴多了，我还意识到他是对的。
“这样就好了，”他看到阴影已从我的脸上消失时这么说道。“现在告诉我你造访劳拉·莱昂丝太太的情况吧。”
我把莱昂丝太太所讲的全部内容告诉了福尔摩斯。
“这点至关重要，”福尔摩斯说道。“它回答了我一直不能回答的那些问题。你已知道莱昂丝太太和斯台普顿是关系密切的朋友了吧？他们常见面，还常通信。也许我可以用这条信息使斯台普顿的妻子与他作对……”
“他的妻子？”我问道。“她是谁，又在哪儿呢？”
“那位被称做斯台普顿小姐、装作是他妹妹的女士其实是他的妻子，”福尔摩斯讲道。
“天哪，福尔摩斯！你敢肯定吗？如果她是他的妻子的话，他为何让亨利爵士爱上了她呢？”
“亨利爵士坠入情网之时，他除了对本人之外对谁都不会构成伤害。斯台普顿曾特别留意避免亨利爵士对她调情。我再说一遍，那位女士就是他的妻子，而不是他的妹妹。他们在两年之前才来到这儿，但是在那之前他曾在英格兰北部办过一所学校。他告诉你那些事，你又在信中讲给了我。我将那个学校调查了一下，还发现办学校的那个男子在学校跨台之后就和他的妻子一道远走高飞了。他们更改了姓名，但是被描述给我的那对夫妇无疑就是斯台普顿一家。”
“但是，他们为何要装扮成兄妹呢？”我问道。
“因为斯台普顿早就想到了，如果她看似一个单身的自由女子就会对他要有用得多。”
我突然从斯台普顿的笑脸之后看到了他那暗藏杀机的狠毒心肠。“那么说他就是我们的敌人啰！他就是在伦敦尾随咱们的那个人！还有，送给亨利爵士的那个警告性的纸条是由斯台普顿小姐发出的。”
“正是，”福尔摩斯讲道。
“但是，如果斯台普顿小姐真是他的妻子的话，他为何会是劳拉·莱昂丝太太的亲密的朋友呢？”
“你杰出的工作已给我们提供了这个问题的答案，华生。当你告诉我莱昂斯太太计划离婚时，我便意识到她是希望嫁给斯台普顿的。他告诉她他还是未婚，而且想娶她为妻。她获悉事情的真相时，也许会下定决心帮助我们。我们明天必须去见她。”
“还有最后一个问题，福尔摩斯。”我讲道，“斯台普顿到底想干什么呢？”
福尔摩斯在回答时放低了声调：
“谋杀，残忍至极的谋杀。那便是斯台普顿的企图所在。别问我细节了。我将设个陷阱将其抓获。现在只有一个危险了——他说不定会在我准备就绪之前就行动了。再过一天，或者也许是两天，我就要办完这个案子。在那以前，你必须注意保护好亨利爵士。你今天就该和他在一起。不过，你的发现很有价值。”
他说完话时，一声可怕的尖叫声——一声很长的、痛苦和恐惧的喊叫打破了沼地上的沉静。这个声音使我毛骨悚然。
“哦，我的上帝，”我低声说道。“那是怎么回事？”
福尔摩斯已猛地站了起来。“是哪一边，华生？”他低声问道，我知道他被尖叫声震惊了。
绝望的喊声又传来了，比以往更大些，距离更近些，也更恐怖些。和它一起传来的还有一种新的声音——既低沉又恐怖。
“是猎犬！”福尔摩斯喊道。“来呀，华生，来呀！天哪！要是咱们来不及……”