这个故事发生在遍是沼泽石山的Dartmoor，巴斯克维尔庄园的主人Sir Charles Baskerville不明不白死去。整个庄园被一个恶毒的诅咒笼罩着——新一代的庄园主注定会被大如骏马的巨犬咬死。是真是假？继承人Sir Henry从加拿大回来继承遗产，危险立刻向他袭来，怪事接踵而至。Sir Henry应朋友Mr Stapleton之邀欣然赴宴，不料沼泽遇险，巴斯克维尔的猎犬在浓雾中窜出。真相终于大白。
Holmes got up early the next morning. He went to Grimpen Village and sent a telegram. When he returned to Baskerville Hall he was excited. “We shall go hunting tonight,” he said, “and Inspector Lestrade, from Scotland Yard will come with us.”
“Why are we waiting until tonight?” I asked. “You know who the murderer is, Holmes. Why can't we catch him before tonight ?”
“We must make sure we have the right man,” Holmes said. “We must wait. We will catch him tonight!”
Inspector Lestrade arrived from London at five o'clock. We met him at Grimpen Station. He was a short man, with bright eyes. He and Sherlock Holmes were good friends. He and Holmes talked together as we drove to Baskerville Hall.
At half past seven, when Sir Henry left the Hall, we were ready.
Sir Henry walked along the path across the Great Grimpen Mire, towards Merripit House. The Stapletons had asked him to come to dinner at eight o'clock.
The three of us followed him — Lestrade, Holmes and I. Each of us carried a revolver. We saw Sir Henry go into Merripit House. We waited below High Tor, about two hundred yards from the house.
The lights burned brightly in Merripit House and the curtains of the dining-room were open. We saw Sir Henry talking to Stapleton.
“Where is Miss Stapleton?” I said to Holmes. “Sir Henry has come to see her, not her brother.”
“Perhaps Stapleton wants to talk to Sir Henry alone,” Holmes said. “ But, look — the mist is rising. Soon we will not be able to see.”
I looked around. Thick white mist was rising from the Great Grimpen Mire.
“Shall we climb up the Tor?” I asked. “ Perhaps we will be able to see better from above the mist.”
We climbed a little way up the Tor. But the mist was so thick we could see only a few yards in front of us.
“I did not think of this,” said Holmes. “ Our plan may fail if we cannot see clearly. We must listen for1 any sounds from Merripit House.”
We waited in the mist and the moon came up. The white moonlight shone through the mist, but we could not see Merripit House or the path across the moor.
We listened. At last we heard a door open, then the sound of voices. Stapleton was saying good night to Sir Henry. Then we heard footsteps below the Tor. Someone was walking along a stony part of the path.
At the same time, we heard another sound. It was the sound of a metal, chain and came from Merripit House. Then we heard the deep howling sound of a huge dog.
“The Hound!” Holmes shouted. “Sir Henry! Sir Henry! Climb the Tor! We are here on the Tor! Hurry!”
Lestrade moved forward to help Sir Henry. But we could not see clearly in the mist.
“Keep back!” Holmes shouted to Lestrade.
Lestrade cried out and fired his revolver into the mist. We saw the yellow flash2 of the revolver and we heard the loud bang3. “It's coming?” Lestrade cried out. He fired again.
In the light of the flash, we saw a huge black shape.
Its eyes and jaws were burning bright with fire. It was a horrible huge monster4. It ran past Lestrade. We heard Sir Henry cry out.
We heard the sound of falling stones.
Holmes and I both fired our revolvers at the black shape. We heard a howl. We fired again and again. Then we moved forward carefully and climbed down the Tor.
Sir Henry was at the bottom of the Tor. He had fallen, but he was not hurt. He now stood up carefully.
“What was it, Mr Holmes?”he asked.“What was that thing in the mist?”
Holmes walked along the path, reloading5 his revolver with bullets. “We are safe,” he called back. “The dog is dead.”
I went to look. There on the path lay the largest black dog I have ever seen. Fire burned around the dog's eyes and mouth. Blood was pouring from its head.
“Could it have killed Sir Henry?” I asked.
“It would have frightened him,” said Holmes. “The path across the Great Grimpen Mire is narrow. If he had run in the dark, Sir Henry would have fallen into the mire and died.”
“But where did it come from?” I asked. “And why is its head burning with fire?”
“I believe it was kept in Merripit House,” said Holmes. “The fire is easy to explain.”
He touched the dog's head with his fingers. “It is a special paint,” he said. “Come. Let us find the murderer.”
We walked back to Merripit House. The door was open. Sir Henry went into the house. “Miss Stapleton!” he shouted. “Where is she? She did not join us for dinner.”
A sound came from one of the rooms. Sir Henry pushed the door open. Miss Stapleton lay on the bed. Her hands and feet were tied together. There was a cloth tied across her mouth.
Sir Henry cut the rope around her hands. Holmes took the cloth from her mouth.
“Where is your brother, Miss Stapleton?” Sir Henry asked.
Miss Stapleton looked at the floor. “ Gone,” she said. “My husband has gone.”
“Your husband!” shouted Sir Henry. “You are Mrs Stapleton?”
“Yes, I am his wife,” she said. “But his name is not Stapleton. He is the son of your dead uncle, Roger Baskerville. He is your cousin.”
Out on the moor we heard a terrible cry. We ran outside. The mist was thick on the Great Grimpen Mire. The cry came again, and then a loud scream. Then silence.
“I believe that the Great Grimpen Mire has taken your cousin,” Holmes said to Sir Henry. “He has fallen into the mire. We shall never find his body.”
“There are still some things I don't understand,” I said to Holmes.
“Tell me—who was Stapleton? Why did he want to kill Sir Henry?”
“It is simple, my dear Watson,” said Holmes. “Remember Sir Charles had two brothers. The youngest brother, Roger, was a bad man. He got into trouble over money and went to South America. He died in Venezuela6. He did not marry, so no one knew he had a son.”
“And this son called himself Stapleton?”
“Yes, and the son was both bad and clever. He wanted the Baskerville money. There were only two Baskervilles left alive—Sir Charles and Sir Henry. If they died, Baskerville Hall would belong to Stapleton.”
“What about his wife? Why did Stapleton say she was his sister ?”
“At first, Stapleton wanted her to marry Sir Charles or Sir Henry. That was a way of getting the money.”
“What an evil man!” I said. “But she did not want to help Stapleton. She tried to warn both of them, didn't she?”
“Yes, she tried to meet Sir Charles the night he died. But Stapleton found out. Stapleton waited for Sir Charles and frightened him to death with the black dog. Also, Mrs Stapleton sent the note to Sir Henry at the Northumberland Hotel. Then Sir Henry fell in love with Mrs Stapleton, so Stapleton was worried and angry. At last, Stapleton had to tie her up to stop her telling Sir Henry.”
“And Stapleton was the man with the black beard?”
“Yes, he tried to hide his face. He put on a beard when he followed Sir Henry in London.”
“What about the missing boots?” I asked.
“The dog and the boots go together,” Holmes said. “Stapleton knew the silly story about the Hound of the Baskervilles. And he knew that Sir Charles believed the story. So, Stapleton bought that huge black dog and let it walk on the moor at night.”
“But the boots,” I said. “What about the stolen boots?”
“Watson, you are very slow,” said Holmes. “It was a hunting dog. Hunting dogs will follow a smell. Stapleton wanted some of Sir Henry's clothes to give to the dog. He paid a waiter at the hotel to steal the boots. But the first boot did not work because it was new. It did not have Sir Henry's smell. Then, remember, the dog hunted Selden because Selden was wearing Sir Henry's old clothes.”
“What a strange story,” I said. “Stapleton was clever.”
“Yes, my dear Watson,” said Holmes. “I needed your help to catch him. Now, why don't you write about it? Perhaps you can call your story The Case of the Stolen Boot?”
1. listen for （有预期地）凝神倾听（某一特定的声音） 2． flash [fl?覸?蘩] n．闪光
3． bang n．砰的一声
4． monster n．怪物
5． reload v． 重新装上
6． Venezuela （国名）委内瑞拉