巴斯克威尔的猎犬 巴斯克维尔的诅咒（11）

 

"Within the last few months it became increasingly plain to me that Sir Charles's nervoussystem was strained to the breaking point. He had taken this legend which I have read youexceedingly to heart -- so much so that, although he would walk in his own grounds, nothingwould induce him to go out upon the moor¹ at night. Incredible as it may appear to you, Mr.

Holmes, he was honestly convinced that a dreadful fate overhung his family, and certainly therecords which he was able to give of his ancestors were not encouraging. The idea of some ghastlypresence constantly haunted him, and on more than one occasion he has asked me whether I hadon my medical journeys at night ever seen any strange creature or heard the baying of a hound.

The latter question he put to me several times, and always with a voice which vibrated withexcitement.

“在最后的几个月里我看得愈来愈清楚， 查尔兹爵士的神经系统已经紧张到极点了。 他深信着我读给你听的那个传说——虽然他经常在自己的宅邸之内散步， 但一到晚上就说什么也不肯到沼地上去了。 福尔摩斯先生， 在你看来是那样的不可信， 可是， 他竟深信他的家已经是厄运临头了。 当然， 他由上辈得知的传说确实使人不快。 可怕的事就要在眼前出现的想法经常占据着他的身 心， 他不只一次地问过我， 是否在夜间出诊的途中看到过什么奇怪的东西， 或是听见过一只猎狗的嗥叫。 后边这个问题他曾问过我好多次， 而且总是带着惊慌颤抖的声调。

"I can well remember driving up to his house in the evening some three weeks before thefatal event. He chanced to be at his hall door. I had descended² from my gig and was standing³ infront of him, when I saw his eyes fix themselves over my shoulder and stare past me with anexpression of the most dreadful horror. I whisked round and had just time to catch a glimpse ofsomething which I took to be a large black calf⁴ passing at the head of the drive. So excited andalarmed was he that I was compelled to go down to the spot where the animal had been and lookaround for it. It was gone, however, and the incident appeared to make the worst impression uponhis mind. I stayed with him all the evening, and it was on that occasion, to explain the emotionwhich he had shown, that he confided⁵ to my keeping that narrative⁶ which I read to you when first Icame. I mention this small episode because it assumes some importance in view of the tragedywhich followed, but I was convinced at the time that the matter was entirely⁷ trivial and that hisexcitement had no justification⁸.

“我记得很清楚， 有一天傍晚我驾着马车到他家去， 那是在这件致命的事情发生以前约有三个星期的时候。 碰巧他正在正厅门前。 我已经从我的小马车上下来站在他的面前了， 我忽然看到他的眼里带着极端恐怖的表情， 死死地盯视着我的背后。 我猛然转过身 去， 刚刚来得及看到一个象大牛犊似的黑东西飞快地跑了过去。 他惊慌恐怖得那样厉害， 我不得不走到那动物曾经走过的地方四下寻找了 一番。 它已经跑了。 但是， 这件事似乎在他心中造成了极为恶劣的影响。 我陪着他呆了一晚， 就在那时， 为了解释他所表现的情绪， 他就把我刚来的时候读给您听的那篇记载托我保存了。 我所以要提到这一小小的插曲， 是因为它在随后发生的悲剧中可能有些重要性， 可是在当时， 我确实认为那只是一件微不足道的小事， 他的惊恐也是没有来由的。

 

1 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

2 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

5 confided   

v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
• He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露，他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。