《巴斯克威尔猎犬》 03巴斯克维尔家族的手稿(2)

Some of Hugo's drunken friends told him to let the hounds² chase her，and so he ran from the house and unlocked³ the dogs．Then he jumped onto his black horse，and rode off over the moor⁴ with the hounds running and crying around him.

雨果的那些已经喝得酩酊大醉的朋友们让他把猎狗放出去追她，因此他就从屋里跑出去把狗放了出来。接着，他跳在了那匹黑马的背上，由那群狂奔乱吼的狗簇拥着在沼地上策马而去。

Hugo's friends fetched their horses and followed him．There were thirteen of them．After a mile or two they passed an old farmer and asked him if he had seen Sir Hugo and the hounds．The man looked half mad with fear and spoke⁵ with difficulty．He said that he had seen the girl and the hounds running close behind her．Sir Hugo had been riding just behind the hounds．'But I have seen more than that，'the old man said．'Behind Sir Hugo I saw a huge and terrible hound¹ running silently．May God keep me safe from that hound of hell．'

雨果的朋友们找到了自己的马匹，跟着他追去了。他们一共是13个人。在他们跑了一两英里路之后，遇到了一位老农夫，便问他看到了雨果爵士与他的那群猎狗没有。这个人看上去被吓得有些发疯，几乎都说不出话来。他说他曾看到过那位少女以及一群紧追她不放的猎犬。雨果爵士就骑着马跟在这些猎犬后面。“但是我看到的还不止这些，”这位老人说道。“我看到一条硕大而可怕的猎犬正一声不吭地跟在他的后面。但愿上帝别让这条地狱之犬伤害我！”

The thirteen men laughed at the old man and rode on．But their laughter soon stopped when they saw Sir Hugo's horse running wildly towards them without a rider．

这13个人对这位老人嘲笑了一番，接着又策马前往。但是当他们不久看到雨果爵士的那匹马身上无人并独自朝他们狂奔而来时就笑不出声来了。

The thirteen men moved closer together as they rode on．They were suddenly afraid．Over the moor they went until，at last，they caught up with the hounds．

这13个人向前骑着马，同时一致向紧靠了靠。他们突然间感到很害怕。他们在这片沼地上一直朝前骑着，直到最终赶上了那群猎狗。

Everyone in the county knew that the Baskerville hounds were brave and strong．But now they were stand- ing at the head of a deep valley in the moor with their ears and tails down．They were very frightened．Hugo's friends stopped．Most of them would not go on，but three were brave enough to go down into the valley．

巴斯克维尔家的猎犬骁勇而又强壮，在郡里是家喻户晓的。但它们这时却耷拉着双耳和尾巴站在沼地里的一条深谷的尽头。它们十分惊恐。雨果的这帮朋友们停了下来。他们大多数人都不愿意再往前骑了，但有三人胆大到朝山谷里走了过去的地步。

The valley had a wide flat floor．In the middle of the flat ground stood two great stones．They had stood there for thousands of years．The moon was shining brightly on the great stones，and between them，on the flat ground，lay the girl．She had fallen there，dead of fear and exhaus- tion．Sir Hugo's body was lying near her．But it was not the sight of Sir Hugo or the girl that filled the men with fear．It was the sight of the huge animal that was standing⁶ over Sir Hugo．Its teeth were at his throat．It was a great black creature that looked like a hound．But it was larger than any hound they had ever seen．

这个山谷的底部是一片宽阔的平地。在平地的中央立着两根大石柱。它们已经在那儿竖立了几千年之久。月光明朗地照在这两根大石柱上，而那位少女就躺在它们之间的平地上。她已因惊恐和疲惫倒地而死。雨果爵士的尸体躺在她旁边。但是，使这些人毛骨悚然的不是那位少女或雨果爵士的那幅景象，而是站在雨果爵士身旁的一只形体硕大的畜生。它的牙齿撕扯着他的喉咙。它是一个样子像猎狗的又大又黑的畜生。可是他们谁也没见过这么大的猎犬。

As they watched，it tore out Hugo Baskerville's throat．Then it turned towards them．Its eyes were burning brightly．Its body shone with a strange light．Blood ran from its mouth．The men screamed and kicked their horses. They rode back up the valley as fast as they could go．Later that night one died from the horror he had seen．The other two were mad for the rest of their lives．

在他们注视的时侯，它撕扯断了雨果·巴斯克维尔的喉咙。然后，它转过身来面朝着他们。它的眼睛冒着火。身体也闪烁着一种奇特的光芒。鲜血从它的嘴里淌了出来。这几个人大叫起来并且踢起马来。他们调转马头以最快的速度跑出了山谷。在这之后，其中的一个人就在当天夜里因自己所看到的恐怖景象而吓死了，另外两个则终身精神失常。

That was the first time the Hound appeared，my sons．It has been seen many times since then，and many of the Baskervilles have died in strange and terrible ways．Be- cause of this I warn you not to cross the moors⁷ at night．The Devil finds it easy to do his work when the world is dark．

那就是那只猎犬初次露面的经过，我的孩子们。从那以后，人们曾多次目睹过它的踪迹，而且巴斯克维尔家族里有许多人都以蹊跷和恐怖的方式死去。因此，我警告你们不要在黑夜里走过沼地。魔鬼发现黑夜时正易于它嚣张一番。

1 hound   

n.猎狗，卑鄙的人；vt.用猎狗追，追逐

参考例句：

• The hound found the trail of the rabbit.猎狗发现了兔子的踪迹。
• The police have promised to hound down those responsible for the explosion.警方已保证要追查此次爆炸事件有责任的人员。

2 hounds   

猎狗，猎犬( hound的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The huntsman was whipping in his pack of hounds. 猎人正在用鞭子把他那群猎犬赶到一处。
• The hunter has twenty more hounds. 那猎人有二十几条猎狗。

3 unlocked   

v.开锁( unlock的过去式和过去分词 )；开启；揭开；开着，解开

参考例句：

• Don't leave your desk unlocked. 请不要忘记锁好办公桌。
• On no account should you leave the door unlocked. 你无论如何也不应该不锁门。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 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。

7 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》