I felt a moment of fear as Mortimer spoke these words.Holmes sat forward in his excitement,and his eyes showed he was very interested indeed.
'Why did nobody else see these footprints?'he asked.
'The footprints were about twenty metres from the body,and nobody thought of looking so far away,'Mortimer replied.
'Are there many sheep dogs on the moor?'asked Holmes.
'Yes,but this was no sheep dog.The footprints were very large indeed—enormous,'Mortimer answered.
'But it had not gone near the body?'
'No.'
'What kind of night was it?'Holmes asked.
'It was wet and cold,though it wasn't actually raining.'
'Describe the Alley to me.'
'The Alley is a path between two long yew hedges.The hedges are small trees that were planted very close together.They are about four metres high.The distance between the two yew hedges is about seven metres.Down the middle is a path of small stones.The path is about three metres wide,with grass on each side of it.'
'I understand there is a gate through the hedge in one place,'said Holmes.
'Yes,there is a small gate,which leads to the moor.'
'Is there any other opening through the hedge?'
'No.'
'So you can enter or leave the Yew Alley only from the Hall,or through the moor gate?'asked Holmes.
'There is a way out through a summer house at the far end.'
'Had Sir Charles reached the summer house?'
'No.He lay about fifty metres from it,'said Mortimer.
'Now,Dr Mortimer,this is important.You say that the footprints you saw were on the path and not on the grass?'
'No footprints could show on the grass,'said Mortimer.
'Were they on the same side of the path as the moor gate?'
'Yes.They were.'
'I find that very interesting indeed.Another question:was the moor gate closed?'
'Yes.It was closed and locked.'
'How high is it?'asked Holmes.
'It is just over a metre high.'
'Then anyone could climb over it?'
'Yes.'
'What prints did you see by the moor gate?'
'Sir Charles seems to have stood there for five or ten min utes,'said Mortimer.'I know that because his cigar had burned down and the ash had dropped twice off the end of it.'
'Excellent,'said Holmes.'This man is a very good detective,Watson.'
'Sir Charles had left his footprints all over that little bit of the path where he was standing.I couldn't see any other prints.'
Sherlock Holmes hit his knee with his hand angrily.
'I like to look closely at these things myself,'he said.'Oh,Dr Mortimer,why didn't you call me immediately?'
'Mr Holmes,the best detective in the world can't help with some things,'said Mortimer.
'You mean things that are outside the laws of nature—su pernatural things?'asked Holmes.
'I didn't say so exactly,'replied Mortimer.'But since Sir Charles died,I have heard about a number of things that seem to be supernatural.Several people have seen an animal on the moor that looks like an enormous hound.They all agree that it was a huge creature,which shone with a strange light like a ghost.I have questioned these people carefully.They are all sensible people.They all tell the same story.Although they have only seen the creature far away,it is exactly like the hell hound of the Baskerville story.The people are very frightened,and only the bravest man will cross the moor at night.'
'And you,a man of science,believe that the creature is supernatural—something from another world?'asked Holmes.
'I don't know what to believe,'said Dr Mortimer.
'But you must agree that the footprints were made by a liv ing creature,not a ghost?'
'When the hound first appeared two hundred and fifty years ago,it was real enough to tear out Sir Hugo's throat…but it was a supernatural hellhound,'said Dr Mortimer.
'If you think that Sir Charles' death was caused by some thing supernatural,my detective work can't help you,'said Holmes,rather coldly.
'Perhaps,'said Mortimer.'But you can help me by advis ing me what to do for Sir Henry Baskerville.He arrives in Lon don by train in exactly,'Dr Mortimer looked at his watch,'one hour and a quarter.'
'Sir Henry is now head of the Baskerville family?'asked Holmes.
'Yes,'said Dr Mortimer.'He is the last of the Baskervilles.The family lawyers contacted him in the USA.He has come to England immediately by ship.He landed this morning.Now,Mr Holmes,what do you advise me to do with him?'
'Why should he not go to the family home?'asked Holmes.
'Because so many Baskervilles who go there die horrible deaths.But Sir Charles'good work must go on.If it doesn't,all the people on the Baskerville lands will be much poorer.If the Baskerville family leaves the Hall,that is what will happen.I don't know what to do.That is why I came to you for advice.'
Holmes though for a little while.Then he said:'You think it is too dangerous for any Baskerville to live at the Hall because of this supernatural hellhound.Well,I think you should go and meet Sir Henry Baskerville.Say nothing to him about this.I shall give you my advice in twentyfour hours.At ten o'clock tomorrow morning,Dr Mortimer,I would like you to bring Sir Henry Baskerville here.'
Dr Mortimer got up from his chair.As he was leaving the room,Holmes said:'One more question,Dr Mortimer.You said that before Sir Charles'death several people saw this strange creature on the moor?'
'Three people did,'said Mortimer.
'Did anyone see it after the death?'
'I haven't heard of anyone.'
'Thank you,Dr Mortimer.Good morning.'
After Mortimer had left us,Holmes sat down in his chair.He looked pleased.He always looked pleased when a case interest ed him.
I knew that he needed to be alone to think about all that he had heard.I went out for the day,and came back to find the room full of thick smoke from Holmes'pipe.
'What do you think of this case?'I asked him.
'It is hard to say.Take,for example,the change in the foot prints.Did Sir Charles walk on his toes down the Alley?Only a stupid person is likely to believe that.The truth is he was run ning—running for his life.He ran until his heart stopped and he fell dead.'
'What was he running from?'I asked.
'That is the difficult question,'said Holmes.'I think he was mad with fear before he began to run.He didn't know what he was doing.That explains why he ran away from the house instead of towards it.He was running away from help.The next question:who was he waiting for that night?And why was he waiting in the Yew Alley and not in the house?'
'You think he was waiting for someone?'
'Sir Charles was old and unwell.We can understand why he took a walk each evening.But why did he stand in the cold,on wet ground,for five or ten minutes?Dr Mortimer cleverly noted the cigar ash,so we know how long Sir Charles stood there.We know that he kept away from the moor,so it's un likely that he waited at the moor gate every evening.I am be ginning to understand some things,Watson.But I'll think no more about it until we meet Dr Mortimer and Sir Henry Baskerville in the morning.Please give me my violin.'
And Holmes began to play his violin.He had done all the thinking he could.Now he needed more details of the case to help him.
摩梯末說出這些話時(shí)我感到一陣恐懼。福爾摩斯驚異地向前探著身子坐著，他的兩眼也表明他對(duì)這件事真的很感興趣。
“為什么沒有別人看到這些爪印呢？”他問道。
“這些爪印距尸體約二十米之遠(yuǎn)，也沒有人想到要查看這么遠(yuǎn)的地方，”摩梯末回答道。
“沼地里有許多牧羊犬嗎？”福爾摩斯問道。
“有，但是這絕不是牧羊犬。爪印的確很大——極大。”摩梯末回答道。
“但是它并沒有接近過尸體吧？”
“沒有。”
“那是個(gè)什么樣的夜晚？”福爾摩斯問道。
“又潮又冷，盡管并沒真正下雨。”
“把那個(gè)小道描述給我聽聽。”
“那個(gè)小道是位于兩排長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的水松樹籬之間的一條小路。樹籬是種得很密的矮小的樹種。它們大約有四米高。兩排水松樹籬之間的距離大約為七米。在樹籬中間是一條由小石子鋪就的小道。這條小道大約為三米寬，兩旁都種著草。”
“我想樹籬的某處有一個(gè)柵門通道吧，”福爾摩斯說道。
“是的，有一個(gè)小門，它通向沼地。”
“樹籬之中還有其他的通道嗎？”
“沒有。”
“因此，要想從水松小道里進(jìn)出就只能經(jīng)由莊園或是由開向沼地的柵門啰？”福爾摩斯問道。
“穿過遠(yuǎn)處另一頭的涼亭還有一個(gè)出口。”
“查爾斯爵士走到那里了嗎？”
“沒有。他倒下的地方距那里約五十米，”摩梯末說道。
“我說，摩梯末醫(yī)生，這點(diǎn)是很重要的。您說您所看到爪印是在小道上而不是在草地上吧？”
“草地上看不到爪印，”摩梯末道。
“是在與開向沼地的柵門同一路邊上嗎？”
“是的。是在與柵門同一路邊上。”
“我發(fā)現(xiàn)這確實(shí)有趣。還有一個(gè)問題：柵門是關(guān)著的嗎？”
“是的。它關(guān)著，還鎖上了。”
“門有多高？”福爾摩斯問道。
“剛一米出頭高。”
“那么說，任何人都能爬過去啰？”
“是的。”
“你在柵門處看到了什么痕跡？”
“查爾斯爵士似乎在那里站了五至十分鐘，”摩梯末說道。“我之所以知道這個(gè)，是因?yàn)樗�抽的那支雪茄是點(diǎn)著的，煙蒂處還曾兩次掉下煙灰。”
“太妙了，”福爾摩斯道。“此人是位好偵探，華生。”
“查爾斯爵士在他所站的那一小片路面上到處都留下了自己的腳印。我看不出其他痕跡。”
歇洛克·福爾摩斯生氣地用手敲了敲自己的膝蓋。
“我想親自去仔細(xì)查看一番這些事情，”他說道。“唉，摩梯末醫(yī)生，你為何當(dāng)時(shí)不馬上叫我去呢？”
“福爾摩斯先生，連世上最好的偵探對(duì)有些事情也是無能為力的。”摩梯末說道。
“您是指那些超乎自然規(guī)律——超自然的事情啰？”福爾摩斯問道。
“我并不完全是這個(gè)意思，”摩梯末回答道。“可是，自從查爾斯爵士死后，我就聽到了一些似乎超自然的事情。有人曾在沼地上看到一個(gè)類似一條碩大的獵犬的動(dòng)物。他們都認(rèn)為那是一只大家伙，它像幽靈似地發(fā)著一種奇怪的光。我曾仔細(xì)地詢問過那些人。他們都很明智。他們都講了同一個(gè)故事。雖然他們都只是從遠(yuǎn)處見過那個(gè)畜生，但它的樣子的確像巴斯克維爾故事中的那只地獄之犬。人們現(xiàn)在都非常害怕，只有最大膽的人才敢在夜間走過沼地。”
“那么您，一位從事科學(xué)工作的人，相信這個(gè)東西是超乎自然的——是從另一個(gè)世界而來的家伙嗎？”福爾摩斯問道。
“我也不知道應(yīng)該相信什么，”摩梯末醫(yī)生道。
“但是您總得承認(rèn)那些爪印是活生生的東西而不是鬼怪留下的吧？”
“那條獵犬在250年前最初出現(xiàn)時(shí)，它撕斷了雨果爵士的喉嚨，這真有其事……但是它是一條超乎自然的惡犬，”摩梯末醫(yī)生說道。
“要是您認(rèn)為查爾斯爵士的死是某種超自然因素造成的話，那我的偵探工作可幫不了您什么忙，”福爾摩斯相當(dāng)冷淡地說道。
“也許吧，”摩梯末道。“可是您能幫助我，建議我該為亨利·巴斯克維爾爵爾做些什么。他將正好在，”摩梯末看了看他的表，“1小時(shí)15分鐘之后乘火車抵達(dá)倫敦。”
“亨利爵士現(xiàn)在是巴斯克維爾家族的主人嗎？”福爾摩斯問道。
“對(duì)了，”摩梯末道。“他是巴斯克維爾家族的最后一位成員。家族的律師們與他在美國聯(lián)系上了。他已立即乘船前來英格蘭。他是今早靠岸的。現(xiàn)在，福爾摩斯先生，您建議我對(duì)他做些什么呢？”
“為什么他不應(yīng)該到他祖祖輩輩居住的家里去呢？”福爾摩斯問道。
“因?yàn)榘退箍司S爾家族里去了那兒的這么多人都令人恐怖地死去了。可是查爾斯爵士的慈善工作必須繼續(xù)下去。否則的話，巴斯克維爾家族所擁有的土地上的人們將要窮困得多。要是巴斯克維爾家族離開園的話，那將是即將發(fā)生的事實(shí)。我不知道該怎么辦。這便是我前來向您討教的原因。”
福爾摩斯考慮了一小會(huì)兒。然后他說：“您認(rèn)為由于那條神秘的惡犬因而巴斯克維爾家的人住在那個(gè)莊園里都不安全。唔，我認(rèn)為您該去接亨利·巴斯克維爾爵士。對(duì)他只字不提這些。24小時(shí)之后我將給您提供我的建議。明天早上10點(diǎn)鐘時(shí)，摩梯末醫(yī)生，我希望您能偕亨利·巴斯克維爾爵士同來此處。”
摩梯末醫(yī)生從椅子上站起身來。在他即將離開之時(shí)，福爾摩斯說道：“再問您一個(gè)問題，摩梯末醫(yī)生。您曾經(jīng)說過，在查爾斯爵士死去之前曾有幾個(gè)人在沼地上看到那個(gè)奇怪的動(dòng)物吧？”
“有三個(gè)人看到過，”摩梯末道。
“在他死去之后有人看到過嗎？”
“我還沒有聽說過。”
“謝謝您，摩梯末醫(yī)生。早安。”
摩梯末從我們這兒走之后，福爾摩斯在他的座位上坐了下來。他顯得很高興。每當(dāng)有案件讓他感興趣時(shí)他總是露出高興的樣子。
我知道他需要獨(dú)自一人思考一下他所聽到的東西。整個(gè)白天我就出去了，回來時(shí)發(fā)現(xiàn)滿屋都是福爾摩斯的煙斗里冒出來的濃煙。
“對(duì)這個(gè)案子你是怎么想的？”我問他。
“很難說。就拿腳印的變化來說吧。查爾斯爵士是踮著腳沿小路走的嗎？只有傻爪才可能相信這種說法。事情的真相是，他當(dāng)時(shí)在奔跑——為了逃命。他一直跑到心臟停止跳動(dòng)并倒地而死為止。”
“他是為了逃避什么才跑的呢？”我問道。
“那就是難題所在。”福爾摩斯道，“我認(rèn)為他在開始跑之前已被嚇得神魂顛倒了。他并不知道自己當(dāng)時(shí)的舉動(dòng)。這就解釋了他為何不朝房子而朝相反的方向跑著的原因。他這么跑就離（能得到）幫助（的地方）越來越遠(yuǎn)。下一個(gè)問題是：當(dāng)晚他在等誰呢？還有，他為什么要在水松小道而不在房子里等人呢？”
“你認(rèn)為他是在等人嗎？”
“查爾斯爵士年事已高，身體又虛弱。我們可以理解他為什么會(huì)在每個(gè)傍晚出去散步。可是，他為何要在寒冷的夜里在潮濕的地面上站上五至十分鐘呢？摩梯末醫(yī)生很機(jī)敏地注意到了雪茄落下的煙灰，因此我們知曉了查爾斯爵士在那兒站立了多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。我們知道他是一向躲避沼地的。因此他不大可能每晚都在通向沼地的柵門前佇立等候著。我現(xiàn)在開始明白某些事情了，華生。可是，等明早見到摩梯末醫(yī)生和亨利·巴斯克維爾爵士后我再考慮這件事吧。請(qǐng)你把我的小提琴拿給我。”
福爾摩斯于是開始拉起了他的小提琴。凡是能考慮到的他都已考慮過了。現(xiàn)在他需要與該案件有關(guān)的更多的細(xì)節(jié)來幫助他偵探這個(gè)案子。