As I watched him, I heard the sound of steps behind me. I turned and saw a woman near me on the path. I was sure she was Miss Stapleton. She was very beautiful. She was dark and tall, with a lovely face. Before I could say anything, she said:
正当我注视着他的时侯,我听到了身后的脚步声。我转过身去,看到路上离我不远处有一个女子。我敢肯定她便是斯台普顿小姐。她人很漂亮,肤色很深,身材纤长。我还没来得及开口说话,她便说道:
"Go back!Go straight back to London, immediately.I cannot tell you why, but please do what I ask you, and never come near the moor again.But my brother is coming.Not a word to him."
“回去吧!马上回到伦敦去。我不能告诉您缘由,可是请照我说的去做,千万不要再靠近沼地了。但是,我哥哥来了。对他什么也别说。”
Stapleton had caught the butterfly, and was walking bath to us.
斯台普顿已抓到了那只蝴蝶,正向我们这边走回来。
Hello, my dear, "he said to his sister, but it seemed to me that his voice was not completely friendly."I see that you two have already introduced yourselves."
“你好,我亲爱的,”他对他妹妹说道,可是就我看来他的语气并不怎么友好。“我看得出来你们俩已经做过自我介绍了。”
"Yes, "she said."I was telling Sir Henry that it was rather late in the year for him to see the true beauty of the moor."
“是啊,”她说道。“我正和亨利爵士说,他来得太晚了,已经看不到沼地的真正美丽之处了。”
"I am sorry, "I said."You have made a mistake.I'm not Sir Henry.I am a friend who is visiting him, and my name is Dr Watson."
“我很抱歉,”我说道。“您弄错了。我不是亨利爵士。我是来拜访他的一位朋友,我是华生医生。”
Miss Stapleton was clearly angry with herself."I'm sorry, " she said."Please forget what I said.But do come with us to our house."
斯台普顿小姐显然对自己很懊恼。“我很抱歉,”她说道。“请忘掉我所说的话。可是,您一定得和我们一道去屋里坐坐。”
The house was lonely and rather grim.I wondered why the two of them had come to live so far away from anyone else.Stapleton seemed to know what I was thinking, and said:"You may think this a lonely, strange place to live, but the moors are very interesting, and we enjoy it here.I owned a school in the north of England, but I had to close it.I miss the boys and girls but thefe is plenty to do here, and we have good neighbours.I hope Sir Henry will become one of them.May I visit the Hall this afternoon to meet him, do you think?"
这所房屋既偏僻又相当阴森。我纳闷他们俩为何到这种与他人相隔甚远的地方来居住。斯台普顿似乎知道我在想些什么,于是便说道:“您可能认为这儿要住人的话偏僻和奇特了些,可是这些沼地相当有趣,我们在这儿过得也很快活。我曾在英格兰北部办过一所学校,但是后来被迫关闭了。我很怀念那些孩子们,但在此处有许多事情都有待去做,而且我们还有很好的邻居们。我希望亨利爵士也会成为其中的一员。您认为我今天下午可否冒昧地去庄园拜访一下他呢?”
"I'm sure he will be very pleased to meet you, "I said."I must go back to the Hall now, and I shall tell him immediately."
“我敢说他一定会高兴见到您的,”我说道。“我现在得回庄园去了,我还打算立刻告诉他这个消息。”
I said goodbye to the Stapletons, and continued on the path back to the Hall.I had been walking for only a few minutes when I was surprised to see Miss Stapleton sitting on a rock ahead of me.She was breathing quickly, and I realized she had run by a quicker way to get ahead of me.
我与斯台普顿兄妹道了别,继续沿着回庄园的那条路向前走。没走几分钟便惊奇地看到斯台普顿小姐正坐在我前边的一块岩石上。她呼吸急促,我意识到她是为了赶在我前面而抄近路跑来的。