福爾摩斯探案經典:《恐怖谷》第3章Part4
"We'd best put it back on the rug where we found it," said the sergeant, scratching his puzzled head in his perplexity. "It will want the best brains in the force to get to the bottom of this thing. It will be a London job before it is finished." He raised the hand lamp and walked slowly round the room.
"Hullo!" he cried, excitedly, drawing the window curtain to one side. "What o'clock were those curtains drawn?"
"When the lamps were lit," said the butler. "It would be shortly after four."
"Someone had been hiding here, sure enough." He held down the light, and the marks of muddy boots were very visible in the corner. "I'm bound to say this bears out your theory, Mr. Barker. It looks as if the man got into the house after four when the curtains were drawn, and before six when the bridge was raised. He slipped into this room, because it was the first that he saw. There was no other place where he could hide, so he popped in behind this curtain. That all seems clear enough. It is likely that his main idea was to burgle the house; but Mr. Douglas chanced to come upon him, so he murdered him and escaped."
"That's how I read it," said Barker. "But, I say, aren't we wasting precious time? Couldn't we start out and scout the country before the fellow gets away?"
The sergeant considered for a moment. "There are no trains before six in the morning; so he can't get away by rail. If he goes by road with his legs all dripping, it's odds that someone will notice him. Anyhow, I can't leave here myself until I am relieved. But I think none of you should go until we see more clearly how we all stand."
The doctor had taken the lamp and was narrowly scrutinizing the body.
"What's this mark?" he asked. "Could this have any connection with the crime?"
“我們最好還是把鐵錘放回發現它時的原地吧，"警官茫然不解，用手搔着頭說道，“只有頭腦極爲靈敏的警探才能弄清這件事情的真相。還是請倫敦警探來清理這個案子吧。"他舉起了燈，環屋慢慢地走着。
“喂！"警官興奮地把窗簾拉向一旁，大聲說道，“窗簾是幾點鐘拉上的呢？”
“在點起燈來的時候，"管家回答道，"四點鐘剛過沒多久。”“完全可以肯定，有人藏在這裏，"警官又把燈拿低了。在牆角那裏，長統靴子泥污的痕跡非常明顯。
“我敢肯定，巴克先生，這就完全證實了你的推測。看來，兇手是四點鐘以後窗簾已經拉上，六點鐘以前吊橋還沒吊起來的時候溜進屋裏來的。他溜進了這間屋子，因爲這是他首先看到的一間。他沒有別的地方可以藏身，所以就躲到這個窗簾後面。這一切看來非常明顯。看樣子，他主要是想盜竊室內的財物。可是道格拉斯先生正巧碰上了他，所以他就下了毒手，溜之大吉。”
“我也是這樣想的，"巴克說道，“不過，我說，我們是不是在白白浪費寶貴的時間？我們爲何不趁兇手還沒走遠，把這個村鎮搜查一番呢？”
警官想了一想，說道：“早晨六點種以前沒有火車，所以他決不能乘火車逃走。假如他兩腿水淋淋地在大路上步行，大約人們會注意上他的。在沒有人來和我換班以前，我無論如何也不能離開這兒。但我認爲你們在水落石出以前，也是不便走開的。”
伍德醫生拿起燈，仔細地檢查屍體。
“這是什麼記號？"他問道，“這可和案情有什麼關係嗎？”
