《巴斯克威尔猎犬》 20格林盆宅邸的斯台普顿兄妹(3)

"But you say you can go safely in and out of it?" I asked him.

“但是您不是说您能安全地进出其中吗？”我向他问道。

"Yes, there are a few paths, and I have found them. The low hills you can see are like islands surrounded by the marsh¹. That is where I can find the unusual plants and butterflies. And that's why I found my way through the marsh."

“是啊，其中有几条道，我都找到了。您所能看到的那些小山就像是被泥潭环绕着的小岛一样。那便是我能觅到稀有植物和稀世蝴蝶的处所。而且那便是我为何能在泥潭中找到了路的原因。”

"I shall try my luck one day, "I said.

“某天我也去碰碰运气，”我说道。

He looked at me in surprise."Please don't try, "he said."You would never return alive, and it would be my fault."

他带着惊讶的神情看着我。“千万别去试，”他说道。“您是不会活着回来的。那样就是我的错了。”

"Listen, "I said."What is that?"

“听听，”我说道。“是什么东西？”

A long, low cry, very deep and very sad, came over the moor².It filled the whole air.Then it died away.

一声又低又长、非常深沉、相当悲惨的叫声传遍了整个沼地。它响彻空中，接着便消逝了。

"What is it?" I asked, with a cold fear in my heart.

“这是什么？”我问道，心里害怕得直打冷战。

Stapleton had a strange look on his face."The people say it's the Hound³ of the Baskervilles, which is calling for something to hunt and kill.I've heard it once or twice before, but never so loud."

斯台普顿的脸上带着一种奇怪的神色。“人们说这是巴斯克维尔猎犬，它正在召唤猎物。我以前曾听到过一两次，可是声音从没有这么大过。”

"You are a man of science," I said. "You don't believe that, do you? Isn't there a natural explanation for the sound?"

“您是位科学工作者，”我说道。“谅您也不会相信这些，是吧？难道对这种声音就没有一个符合自然规律的解释吗？”

"A marsh makes strange noises sometimes.It is the water and the wet ground moving."

“泥潭有时会发出奇怪的声音。这是由于水和稀泥在移动。”

"But that was the voice of a living creature, "I said.

“可是那是动物发出的声音呀。”

"Well, perhaps it was.There are some very unusual birds on the moors⁴.It was most probably the cry of one of those."

“啊，也许是。沼地上有些稀有鸟类。极有可能是其中某一只的叫声。”

At that moment a small butterfly flew across the path in front of us."Excuse me, Dr⁵ Watson, "shouted Stapleton, and ran off to try to catch the butterfly.He ran quickly and followed the butterfly on to the marsh, but he knew exactly where he could go, and was not in any danger.

那时，一只小蝴蝶从我们面前飞过。“对不起，华生医生，”斯台普顿高喊着，同时跑开捉蝴蝶去了。他飞快地跑着，随着那只蝴蝶到了泥潭中，但是他知道自己的脚该落在哪儿，因此便没有什么危险。

1 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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》

5 Dr   

n.医生，大夫；博士(缩)（= Doctor）

参考例句：

• Dr.Williams instructs us in botany.威廉博士教我们植物学。
• The ward of the hospital is in the charge of Dr.Green.医院的这间病房由格林医生负责。