📝 您未登录，登录后完成练习可保存成绩、查看最佳记录。
总字符
0
正确字符
0
错误字符
0
错误率
0.00%
耗时(秒)
0
速度 WPM
0
0 / 66
1"But his voice was just a little too coaxing. He overdid it. I was keenly on my guard against him. "'I was foolish
2enough to go into the empty wing,' I answered. 'But it is so lonely and eerie in this dim light that I was frightened
3and ran out again. Oh, it is so dreadfully still in there!' "'Only that?' said he, looking at me keenly. "'Why, what did
4you think?' I asked. "'Why do you think that I lock this door?' "'I am sure that I do not know.' "'It is to keep people
5out who have no business there. Do you see?' He was still smiling in the most amiable manner. "'I am sure if I had
6known--' "'Well, then, you know now. And if you ever put your foot over that threshold again'--here in an instant the
7smile hardened into a grin of rage, and he glared down at me with the face of a demon--'I'll throw you to the mastiff.'
8"I was so terrified that I do not know what I did. I suppose that I must have rushed past him into my room. I remember
9nothing until I found myself lying on my bed trembling all over. Then I thought of you, Mr. Holmes. I could not live
10there longer without some advice. I was frightened of the house, of the man, of the woman, of the servants, even of the
11child. They were all horrible to me. If I could only bring you down all would be well. Of course I might have fled from
12the house, but my curiosity was almost as strong as my fears. My mind was soon made up. I would send you a wire. I put
13on my hat and cloak, went down to the office, which is about half a mile from the house, and then returned, feeling very
14much easier. A horrible doubt came into my mind as I approached the door lest the dog might be loose, but I remembered
15that Toller had drunk himself into a state of insensibility that evening, and I knew that he was the only one in the
16household who had any influence with the savage creature, or who would venture to set him free. I slipped in in safety
17and lay awake half the night in my joy at the thought of seeing you. I had no difficulty in getting leave to come into
18Winchester this morning, but I must be back before three o'clock, for Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle are going on a visit, and
19will be away all the evening, so that I must look after the child. Now I have told you all my adventures, Mr. Holmes,
20and I should be very glad if you could tell me what it all means, and, above all, what I should do." Holmes and I had
21listened spellbound to this extraordinary story. My friend rose now and paced up and down the room, his hands in his
22pockets, and an expression of the most profound gravity upon his face. "Is Toller still drunk?" he asked. "Yes. I heard
23his wife tell Mrs. Rucastle that she could do nothing with him." "That is well. And the Rucastles go out to-night?"
24"Yes." "Is there a cellar with a good strong lock?" "Yes, the wine-cellar." "You seem to me to have acted all through
25this matter like a very brave and sensible girl, Miss Hunter. Do you think that you could perform one more feat? I
26should not ask it of you if I did not think you a quite exceptional woman." "I will try. What is it?" "We shall be at
27the Copper Beeches by seven o'clock, my friend and I. The Rucastles will be gone by that time, and Toller will, we hope,
28be incapable. There only remains Mrs. Toller, who might give the alarm. If you could send her into the cellar on some
29errand, and then turn the key upon her, you would facilitate matters immensely." "I will do it." "Excellent! We shall
30then look thoroughly into the affair. Of course there is only one feasible explanation. You have been brought there to
31personate someone, and the real person is imprisoned in this chamber. That is obvious. As to who this prisoner is, I
32have no doubt that it is the daughter, Miss Alice Rucastle, if I remember right, who was said to have gone to America.
33You were chosen, doubtless, as resembling her in height, figure, and the colour of your hair. Hers had been cut off,
34very possibly in some illness through which she has passed, and so, of course, yours had to be sacrificed also. By a
35curious chance you came upon her tresses. The man in the road was undoubtedly some friend of hers--possibly her
36fiancé--and no doubt, as you wore the girl's dress and were so like her, he was convinced from your laughter, whenever
37he saw you, and afterwards from your gesture, that Miss Rucastle was perfectly happy, and that she no longer desired his
38attentions. The dog is let loose at night to prevent him from endeavouring to communicate with her. So much is fairly
39clear. The most serious point in the case is the disposition of the child." "What on earth has that to do with it?" I
40ejaculated. "My dear Watson, you as a medical man are continually gaining light as to the tendencies of a child by the
41study of the parents. Don't you see that the converse is equally valid. I have frequently gained my first real insight
42into the character of parents by studying their children. This child's disposition is abnormally cruel, merely for
43cruelty's sake, and whether he derives this from his smiling father, as I should suspect, or from his mother, it bodes
44evil for the poor girl who is in their power." "I am sure that you are right, Mr. Holmes," cried our client. "A thousand
45things come back to me which make me certain that you have hit it. Oh, let us lose not an instant in bringing help to
46this poor creature." "We must be circumspect, for we are dealing with a very cunning man. We can do nothing until seven
47o'clock. At that hour we shall be with you, and it will not be long before we solve the mystery." We were as good as our
48word, for it was just seven when we reached the Copper Beeches, having put up our trap at a wayside public-house. The
49group of trees, with their dark leaves shining like burnished metal in the light of the setting sun, were sufficient to
50mark the house even had Miss Hunter not been standing smiling on the door-step. "Have you managed it?" asked Holmes. A
51loud thudding noise came from somewhere downstairs. "That is Mrs. Toller in the cellar," said she. "Her husband lies
52snoring on the kitchen rug. Here are his keys, which are the duplicates of Mr. Rucastle's." "You have done well indeed!"
53cried Holmes with enthusiasm. "Now lead the way, and we shall soon see the end of this black business." We passed up the
54stair, unlocked the door, followed on down a passage, and found ourselves in front of the barricade which Miss Hunter
55had described. Holmes cut the cord and removed the transverse bar. Then he tried the various keys in the lock, but
56without success. No sound came from within, and at the silence Holmes' face clouded over. "I trust that we are not too
57late," said he. "I think, Miss Hunter, that we had better go in without you. Now, Watson, put your shoulder to it, and
58we shall see whether we cannot make our way in." It was an old rickety door and gave at once before our united strength.
59Together we rushed into the room. It was empty. There was no furniture save a little pallet bed, a small table, and a
60basketful of linen. The skylight above was open, and the prisoner gone. "There has been some villainy here," said
61Holmes; "this beauty has guessed Miss Hunter's intentions and has carried his victim off." "But how?" "Through the
62skylight. We shall soon see how he managed it." He swung himself up onto the roof. "Ah, yes," he cried, "here's the end
63of a long light ladder against the eaves. That is how he did it." "But it is impossible," said Miss Hunter; "the ladder
64was not there when the Rucastles went away." "He has come back and done it. I tell you that he is a clever and dangerous
65man. I should not be very much surprised if this were he whose step I hear now upon the stair. I think, Watson, that it
66would be as well for you to have your pistol ready."
🎉 全部完成！共 66 行