Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Hound of the Baskervilles
My dear Robinson
It was your account of a west country legend which first suggested the idea of
this little tale to my mind For this and for the help which you gave me in its
evolution all thanks
Yours most truly
A Conan Doyle
Chapter I
Mr Sherlock Holmes
Mr Sherlock Holmes who was usually very late in the mornings save upon those
not infrequent occasions when he was up all night was seated at the breakfast
table I stood upon the hearthrug and picked up the stick which our visitor had
left behind him the night before It was a fine thick piece of wood
bulbousheaded of the sort which is known as a Penang lawyer Just under the
head was a broad silver band nearly an inch across To James Mortimer
MRCS from his friends of the CCH was engraved upon it with the date
1884 It was just such a stick as the oldfashioned family practitioner used to
carry dignified solid and reassuring
»Well Watson what do you make of it«
Holmes was sitting with his back to me and I had given him no sign of my
occupation
»How did you know what I was doing I believe you have eyes in the back of
your head«
»I have at least a wellpolished silverplated coffeepot in front of
me« said he »But tell me Watson what do you make of our visitors stick
Since we have been so unfortunate as to miss him and have no notion of his
errand this accidental souvenir becomes of importance Let me hear you
reconstruct the man by an examination of it«
»I think« said I following as far as I could the methods of my companion
»that Dr Mortimer is a successful elderly medical man wellesteemed since
those who know him give him this mark of their appreciation«
»Good« said Holmes »Excellent«
»I think also that the probability is in favour of his being a country
practitioner who does a great deal of his visiting on foot«
»Why so«
»Because this stick though originally a very handsome one has been so
knocked about that I can hardly imagine a town practitioner carrying it The
thick iron ferrule is worn down so it is evident that he has done a great
amount of walking with it«
»Perfectly sound« said Holmes
»And then again there is the friends of the CCH I should guess that to
be the Something Hunt the local hunt to whose members he has possibly given
some surgical assistance and which has made him a small presentation in
return«
»Really Watson you excel yourself« said Holmes pushing back his chair
and lighting a cigarette »I am bound to say that in all the accounts which you
have been so good as to give of my own small achievements you have habitually
underrated your own abilities It may be that you are not yourself luminous but
you are a conductor of light Some people without possessing genius have a
remarkable power of stimulating it I confess my dear fellow that I am very
much in your debt«
He had never said as much before and I must admit that his words gave me
keen pleasure for I had often been piqued by his indifference to my admiration
and to the attempts which I had made to give publicity to his methods I was
proud too to think that I had so far mastered his system as to apply it in a
way which earned his approval He now took the stick from my hands and examined
it for a few minutes with his naked eyes Then with an expression of interest he
laid down his cigarette and carrying the cane to the window he looked over it
again with a convex lens
»Interesting though elementary« said he as he returned to his favourite
corner of the settee »There are certainly one or two indications upon the
stick It gives us the basis for several deductions«
»Has anything escaped me« I asked with some selfimportance »I trust that
there is nothing of consequence which I have overlooked«
»I am afraid my dear Watson that most of your conclusions were erroneous
When I said that you stimulated me I meant to be frank that in noting your
fallacies I was occasionally guided towards the truth Not that you are entirely
wrong in this instance The man is certainly a country practitioner And he
walks a good deal«
»Then I was right«
»To that extent«
»But that was all«
»No no my dear Watson not all by no means all I would suggest for
example that a presentation to a doctor is more likely to come from a hospital
than from a hunt and that when the initials CC are placed before that
hospital the words Charing Cross very naturally suggest themselves«
»You may be right«
»The probability lies in that direction And if we take this as a working
hypothesis we have a fresh basis from which to start our construction of this
unknown visitor«
»Well then supposing that CCH does stand for Charing Cross Hospital
what further inferences may we draw«
»Do none suggest themselves You know my methods Apply them«
»I can only think of the obvious conclusion that the man has practised in
town before going to the country«
»I think that we might venture a little farther than this Look at it in
this light On what occasion would it be most probable that such a presentation
would be made When would his friends unite to give him a pledge of their good
will Obviously at the moment when Dr Mortimer withdrew from the service of the
hospital in order to start in practice for himself We know there has been a
presentation We believe there has been a change from a town hospital to a
country practice Is it then stretching our inference too far to say that the
presentation was on the occasion of the change«
»It certainly seems probable«
»Now you will observe that he could not have been on the staff of the
hospital since only a man wellestablished in a London practice could hold such
a position and such a one would not drift into the country What was he then
If he was in the hospital and yet not on the staff he could only have been a
housesurgeon or a housephysician little more than a senior student And he
left five years ago the date is on the stick So your grave middleaged
family practitioner vanishes into thin air my dear Watson and there emerges a
young fellow under thirty amiable unambitious absentminded and the
possessor of a favourite dog which I should describe roughly as being larger
than a terrier and smaller than a mastiff«
I laughed incredulously as Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his settee and
blew little wavering rings of smoke up to the ceiling
»As to the latter part I have no means of checking you« said I »but at
least it is not difficult to find out a few particulars about the mans age and
professional career« From my small medical shelf I took down the Medical
Directory and turned up the name There were several Mortimers but only one who
could be our visitor I read his record aloud
»Mortimer James MRCS 1882 Grimpen Dartmoor Devon House
surgeon from 1882 to 1884 at Charing Cross Hospital Winner of the
Jackson prize for Comparative Pathology with essay entitled Is Disease
a Reversion Corresponding member of the Swedish Pathological Society
Author of Some Freaks of Atavism Lancet 1882 Do We Progress
Journal of Psychology March 1883 Medical Officer for the parishes of
Grimpen Thorsley and High Barrow«
»No mention of that local hunt Watson« said Holmes with a mischievous smile
»but a country doctor as you very astutely observed I think that I am fairly
justified in my inferences As to the adjectives I said if I remember right
amiable unambitious and absentminded It is my experience that it is only an
amiable man in this world who receives testimonials only an unambitious one who
abandons a London career for the country and only an absentminded one who
leaves his stick and not his visitingcard after waiting an hour in your room«
»And the dog«
»Has been in the habit of carrying this stick behind his master Being a
heavy stick the dog has held it tightly by the middle and the marks of his
teeth are very plainly visible The dogs jaw as shown in the space between
these marks is too broad in my opinion for a terrier and not broad enough for a
mastiff It may have been yes by Jove it is a curlyhaired spaniel«
He had risen and paced the room as he spoke Now he halted in the recess of
the window There was such a ring of conviction in his voice that I glanced up
in surprise
»My dear fellow how can you possibly be so sure of that«
»For the very simple reason that I see the dog himself on our very
doorstep and there is the ring of its owner Dont move I beg you Watson He
is a professional brother of yours and your presence may be of assistance to
me Now is the dramatic moment of fate Watson when you hear a step upon the
stair which is walking into your life and you know not whether for good or ill
What does Dr James Mortimer the man of science ask of Sherlock Holmes the
specialist in crime Come in«
The appearance of our visitor was a surprise to me since I had expected a
typical country practitioner He was a very tall thin man with a long nose
like a beak which jutted out between two keen gray eyes set closely together
and sparkling brightly from behind a pair of goldrimmed glasses He was clad in
a professional but rather slovenly fashion for his frockcoat was dingy and his
trousers frayed Though young his long back was already bowed and he walked
with a forward thrust of his head and a general air of peering benevolence As
he entered his eyes fell upon the stick in Holmess hand and he ran towards it
with an exclamation of joy »I am so very glad« said he »I was not sure
whether I had left it here or in the Shipping Office I would not lose that
stick for the world«
»A presentation I see« said Holmes
»Yes sir«
»From Charing Cross Hospital«
»From one or two friends there on the occasion of my marriage«
»Dear dear thats bad« said Holmes shaking his head
Dr Mortimer blinked through his glasses in mild astonishment
»Why was it bad«
»Only that you have disarranged our little deductions Your marriage you
say«
»Yes sir I married and so left the hospital and with it all hopes of a
consulting practice It was necessary to make a home of my own«
»Come come we are not so far wrong after all« said Holmes »And now Dr
James Mortimer «
»Mister sir Mister a humble MRCS«
»And a man of precise mind evidently«
»A dabbler in science Mr Holmes a picker up of shells on the shores of
the great unknown ocean I presume that it is Mr Sherlock Holmes whom I am
addressing and not «
»No this is my friend Dr Watson«
»Glad to meet you sir I have heard your name mentioned in connection with
that of your friend You interest me very much Mr Holmes I had hardly
expected so dolichocephalic a skull or such wellmarked supraorbital
development Would you have any objection to my running my finger along your
parietal fissure A cast of your skull sir until the original is available
would be an ornament to any anthropological museum It is not my intention to be
fulsome but I confess that I covet your skull«
Sherlock Holmes waved our strange visitor into a chair »You are an
enthusiast in your line of thought I perceive sir as I am in mine« said he
»I observe from your forefinger that you make your own cigarettes Have no
hesitation in lighting one«
The man drew out paper and tobacco and twirled the one up in the other with
surprising dexterity He had long quivering fingers as agile and restless as
the antennæ of an insect
Holmes was silent but his little darting glances showed me the interest
which he took in our curious companion
»I presume sir« said he at last »that it was not merely for the purpose
of examining my skull that you have done me the honour to call here last night
and again today«
»No sir no though I am happy to have had the opportunity of doing that as
well I came to you Mr Holmes because I recognized that I am myself an
unpractical man and because I am suddenly confronted with a most serious and
extraordinary problem Recognizing as I do that you are the second highest
expert in Europe «
»Indeed sir May I inquire who has the honour to be the first« asked
Holmes with some asperity
»To the man of precisely scientific mind the work of Monsieur Bertillon must
always appeal strongly«
»Then had you not better consult him«
»I said sir to the precisely scientific mind But as a practical man of
affairs it is acknowledged that you stand alone I trust sir that I have not
inadvertently «
»Just a little« said Holmes »I think Dr Mortimer you would do wisely if
without more ado you would kindly tell me plainly what the exact nature of the
problem is in which you demand my assistance«
Chapter II
The Curse of the Baskervilles
»I have in my pocket a manuscript« said Dr James Mortimer
»I observed it as you entered the room« said Holmes
»It is an old manuscript«
»Early eighteenth century unless it is a forgery«
»How can you say that sir«
»You have presented an inch or two of it to my examination all the time that
you have been talking It would be a poor expert who could not give the date of
a document within a decade or so You may possibly have read my little monograph
upon the subject I put that at 1730«
»The exact date is 1742« Dr Mortimer drew it from his breastpocket »This
family paper was committed to my care by Sir Charles Baskerville whose sudden
and tragic death some three months ago created so much excitement in Devonshire
I may say that I was his personal friend as well as his medical attendant He
was a strongminded man sir shrewd practical and as unimaginative as I am
myself Yet he took this document very seriously and his mind was prepared for
just such an end as did eventually overtake him«
Holmes stretched out his hand for the manuscript and flattened it upon his
knee
»You will observe Watson the alternative use of the long s and the short
It is one of several indications which enabled me to fix the date«
I looked over his shoulder at the yellow paper and the faded script At the
head was written »Baskerville Hall« and below in large scrawling figures
»1742«
»It appears to be a statement of some sort«
»Yes it is a statement of a certain legend which runs in the Baskerville
family«
»But I understand that it is something more modern and practical upon which
you wish to consult me«
»Most modern A most practical pressing matter which must be decided
within twentyfour hours But the manuscript is short and is intimately
connected with the affair With your permission I will read it to you«
Holmes leaned back in his chair placed his fingertips together and closed
his eyes with an air of resignation Dr Mortimer turned the manuscript to the
light and read in a high cracking voice the following curious oldworld
narrative
»Of the origin of the Hound of the Baskervilles there have been many
statements yet as I come in a direct line from Hugo Baskerville and as
I had the story from my father who also had it from his I have set it
down with all belief that it occurred even as is here set forth And I
would have you believe my sons that the same Justice which punishes
sin may also most graciously forgive it and that no ban is so heavy but
that by prayer and repentance it may be removed Learn then from this
story not to fear the fruits of the past but rather to be circumspect
in the future that those foul passions whereby our family has suffered
so grievously may not again be loosed to our undoing
Know then that in the time of the Great Rebellion the history of
which by the learned Lord Clarendon I most earnestly commend to your
attention this Manor of Baskerville was held by Hugo of that name nor
can it be gainsaid that he was a most wild profane and godless man
This in truth his neighbours might have pardoned seeing that saints
have never flourished in those parts but there was in him a certain
wanton and cruel humour which made his name a byword through the West
It chanced that this Hugo came to love if indeed so dark a passion
may be known under so bright a name the daughter of a yeoman who held
lands near the Baskerville estate But the young maiden being discreet
and of good repute would ever avoid him for she feared his evil name
So it came to pass that one Michaelmas this Hugo with five or six of
his idle and wicked companions stole down upon the farm and carried off
the maiden her father and brothers being from home as he well knew
When they had brought her to the Hall the maiden was placed in an upper
chamber while Hugo and his friends sat down to a long carouse as was
their nightly custom Now the poor lass upstairs was like to have her
wits turned at the singing and shouting and terrible oaths which came up
to her from below for they say that the words used by Hugo Baskerville
when he was in wine were such as might blast the man who said them At
last in the stress of her fear she did that which might have daunted the
bravest or most active man for by the aid of the growth of ivy which
covered and still covers the south wall she came down from under the
eaves and so homeward across the moor there being three leagues
betwixt the Hall and her fathers farm
It chanced that some little time later Hugo left his guests to carry
food and drink with other worse things perchance to his captive
and so found the cage empty and the bird escaped Then as it would
seem he became as one that hath a devil for rushing down the stairs
into the dininghall he sprang upon the great table flagons and
trenchers flying before him and he cried aloud before all the company
that he would that very night render his body and soul to the Powers of
Evil if he might but overtake the wench And while the revellers stood
aghast at the fury of the man one more wicked or it may be more
drunken than the rest cried out that they should put the hounds upon
her Whereat Hugo ran from the house crying to his grooms that they
should saddle his mare and unkennel the pack and giving the hounds a
kerchief of the maids he swung them to the line and so off full cry
in the moonlight over the moor
Now for some space the revellers stood agape unable to understand
all that had been done in such haste But anon their bemused wits awoke
to the nature of the deed which was like to be done upon the moorlands
Everything was now in an uproar some calling for their pistols some
for their horses and some for another flask of wine But at length some
sense came back to their crazed minds and the whole of them thirteen
in number took horse and started in pursuit The moon shone clear above
them and they rode swiftly abreast taking that course which the maid
must needs have taken if she were to reach her own home
They had gone a mile or two when they passed one of the night
shepherds upon the moorlands and they cried to him to know if he had
seen the hunt And the man as the story goes was so crazed with fear
that he could scarce speak but at last he said that he had indeed seen
the unhappy maiden with the hounds upon her track But I have seen more
than that said he for Hugo Baskerville passed me upon his black mare
and there ran mute behind him such a hound of hell as God forbid should
ever be at my heels So the drunken squires cursed the shepherd and rode
onward But soon their skins turned cold for there came a galloping
across the moor and the black mare dabbled with white froth went past
with trailing bridle and empty saddle Then the revellers rode close
together for a great fear was on them but they still followed over the
moor though each had he been alone would have been right glad to have
turned his horses head Riding slowly in this fashion they came at last
upon the hounds These though known for their valour and their breed
were whimpering in a cluster at the head of a deep dip or goyal as we
call it upon the moor some slinking away and some with starting
hackles and staring eyes gazing down the narrow valley before them
The company had come to a halt more sober men as you may guess
than when they started The most of them would by no means advance but
three of them the boldest or it may be the most drunken rode forward
down the goyal Now it opened into a broad space in which stood two of
those great stones still to be seen there which were set by certain
forgotten peoples in the days of old The moon was shining bright upon
the clearing and there in the centre lay the unhappy maid where she had
fallen dead of fear and of fatigue But it was not the sight of her
body nor yet was it that of the body of Hugo Baskerville lying near
her which raised the hair upon the heads of these three daredevil
roysterers but it was that standing over Hugo and plucking at his
throat there stood a foul thing a great black beast shaped like a
hound yet larger than any hound that ever mortal eye has rested upon
And even as they looked the thing tore the throat out of Hugo
Baskerville on which as it turned its blazing eyes and dripping jaws
upon them the three shrieked with fear and rode for dear life still
screaming across the moor One it is said died that very night of
what he had seen and the other twain were but broken men for the rest
of their days
Such is the tale my sons of the coming of the hound which is said
to have plagued the family so sorely ever since If I have set it down
it is because that which is clearly known hath less terror than that
which is but hinted at and guessed Nor can it be denied that many of
the family have been unhappy in their deaths which have been sudden
bloody and mysterious Yet may we shelter ourselves in the infinite
goodness of Providence which would not forever punish the innocent
beyond that third or fourth generation which is threatened in Holy Writ
To that Providence my sons I hereby commend you and I counsel you by
way of caution to forbear from crossing the moor in those dark hours
when the powers of evil are exalted
This from Hugo Baskerville to his sons Rodger and John with
instructions that they say nothing thereof to their sister Elizabeth«
When Dr Mortimer had finished reading this singular narrative he pushed his
spectacles up on his forehead and stared across at Mr Sherlock Holmes The
latter yawned and tossed the end of his cigarette into the fire
»Well« said he
»Do you not find it interesting«
»To a collector of fairy tales«
Dr Mortimer drew a folded newspaper out of his pocket
»Now Mr Holmes we will give you something a little more recent This is
the Devon County Chronicle of May 14th of this year It is a short account of
the facts elicited at the death of Sir Charles Baskerville which occurred a few
days before that date«
My friend leaned a little forward and his expression became intent Our
visitor readjusted his glasses and began
»The recent sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville whose name has been
mentioned as the probable Liberal candidate for MidDevon at the next
election has cast a gloom over the county Though Sir Charles had
resided at Baskerville Hall for a comparatively short period his
amiability of character and extreme generosity had won the affection and
respect of all who had been brought into contact with him In these days
of nouveaux riches it is refreshing to find a case where the scion of an
old county family which has fallen upon evil days is able to make his
own fortune and to bring it back with him to restore the fallen grandeur
of his line Sir Charles as is well known made large sums of money in
South African speculation More wise than those who go on until the
wheel turns against them he realized his gains and returned to England
with them It is only two years since he took up his residence at
Baskerville Hall and it is common talk how large were those schemes of
reconstruction and improvement which have been interrupted by his death
Being himself childless it was his openly expressed desire that the
whole countryside should within his own lifetime profit by his good
fortune and many will have personal reasons for bewailing his untimely
end His generous donations to local and county charities have been
frequently chronicled in these columns
The circumstances connected with the death of Sir Charles cannot be
said to have been entirely cleared up by the inquest but at least
enough has been done to dispose of those rumours to which local
superstition has given rise There is no reason whatever to suspect foul
play or to imagine that death could be from any but natural causes Sir
Charles was a widower and a man who may be said to have been in some
ways of an eccentric habit of mind In spite of his considerable wealth
he was simple in his personal tastes and his indoor servants at
Baskerville Hall consisted of a married couple named Barrymore the
husband acting as butler and the wife as housekeeper Their evidence
corroborated by that of several friends tends to show that Sir
Charless health has for some time been impaired and points especially
to some affection of the heart manifesting itself in changes of colour
breathlessness and acute attacks of nervous depression Dr James
Mortimer the friend and medical attendant of the deceased has given
evidence to the same effect
The facts of the case are simple Sir Charles Baskerville was in the
habit every night before going to bed of walking down the famous yew
alley of Baskerville Hall The evidence of the Barrymores shows that
this had been his custom On the fourth of May Sir Charles had declared
his intention of starting next day for London and had ordered Barrymore
to prepare his luggage That night he went out as usual for his
nocturnal walk in the course of which he was in the habit of smoking a
cigar He never returned At twelve oclock Barrymore finding the hall
door still open became alarmed and lighting a lantern went in search
of his master The day had been wet and Sir Charless footmarks were
easily traced down the alley Halfway down this walk there is a gate
which leads out on to the moor There were indications that Sir Charles
had stood for some little time here He then proceeded down the alley
and it was at the far end of it that his body was discovered One fact
which has not been explained is the statement of Barrymore that his
masters footprints altered their character from the time that he passed
the moorgate and that he appeared from thence onward to have been
walking upon his toes One Murphy a gipsy horsedealer was on the moor
at no great distance at the time but he appears by his own confession
to have been the worse for drink He declares that he heard cries but is
unable to state from what direction they came No signs of violence were
to be discovered upon Sir Charless person and though the doctors
evidence pointed to an almost incredible facial distortion so great
that Dr Mortimer refused at first to believe that it was indeed his
friend and patient who lay before him it was explained that that is a
symptom which is not unusual in cases of dyspnoea and death from cardiac
exhaustion This explanation was borne out by the postmortem
examination which showed longstanding organic disease and the
coroners jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical
evidence It is well that this is so for it is obviously of the utmost
importance that Sir Charless heir should settle at the Hall and
continue the good work which has been so sadly interrupted Had the
prosaic finding of the coroner not finally put an end to the romantic
stories which have been whispered in connection with the affair it
might have been difficult to find a tenant for Baskerville Hall It is
understood that the next of kin is Mr Henry Baskerville if he be still
alive the son of Sir Charles Baskervilles younger brother The young
man when last heard of was in America and inquiries are being
instituted with a view to informing him of his good fortune«
Dr Mortimer refolded his paper and replaced it in his pocket
»Those are the public facts Mr Holmes in connection with the death of Sir
Charles Baskerville«
»I must thank you« said Sherlock Holmes »for calling my attention to a
case which certainly presents some features of interest I had observed some
newspaper comment at the time but I was exceedingly preoccupied by that little
affair of the Vatican cameos and in my anxiety to oblige the Pope I lost touch
with several interesting English cases This article you say contains all the
public facts«
»It does«
»Then let me have the private ones« He leaned back put his fingertips
together and assumed his most impassive and judicial expression
»In doing so« said Dr Mortimer who had begun to show signs of some strong
emotion »I am telling that which I have not confided to anyone My motive for
withholding it from the coroners inquiry is that a man of science shrinks from
placing himself in the public position of seeming to indorse a popular
superstition I had the further motive that Baskerville Hall as the paper says
would certainly remain untenanted if anything were done to increase its already
rather grim reputation For both these reasons I thought that I was justified in
telling rather less than I knew since no practical good could result from it
but with you there is no reason why I should not be perfectly frank
The moor is very sparsely inhabited and those who live near each other are
thrown very much together For this reason I saw a good deal of Sir Charles
Baskerville With the exception of Mr Frankland of Lafter Hall and Mr
Stapleton the naturalist there are no other men of education within many
miles Sir Charles was a retiring man but the chance of his illness brought us
together and a community of interests in science kept us so He had brought
back much scientific information from South Africa and many a charming evening
we have spent together discussing the comparative anatomy of the Bushman and the
Hottentot
»Within the last few months it became increasingly plain to me that Sir
Charless nervous system was strained to the breaking point He had taken this
legend which I have read you exceedingly to heart so much so that although he
would walk in his own grounds nothing would induce him to go out upon the moor
at night Incredible as it may appear to you Mr Holmes he was honestly
convinced that a dreadful fate overhung his family and certainly the records
which he was able to give of his ancestors were not encouraging The idea of
some ghastly presence constantly haunted him and on more than one occasion he
has asked me whether I had on my medical journeys at night ever seen any strange
creature or heard the baying of a hound The latter question he put to me
several times and always with a voice which vibrated with excitement
I can well remember driving up to his house in the evening some three weeks
before the fatal event He chanced to be at his hall door I had descended from
my gig and was standing in front of him when I saw his eyes fix themselves over
my shoulder and stare past me with an expression of the most dreadful horror I
whisked round and had just time to catch a glimpse of something which I took to
be a large black calf passing at the head of the drive So excited and alarmed
was he that I was compelled to go down to the spot where the animal had been and
look around for it It was gone however and the incident appeared to make the
worst impression upon his mind I stayed with him all the evening and it was on
that occasion to explain the emotion which he had shown that he confided to my
keeping that narrative which I read to you when first I came I mention this
small episode because it assumes some importance in view of the tragedy which
followed but I was convinced at the time that the matter was entirely trivial
and that his excitement had no justification
It was at my advice that Sir Charles was about to go to London His heart
was I knew affected and the constant anxiety in which he lived however
chimerical the cause of it might be was evidently having a serious effect upon
his health I thought that a few months among the distractions of town would
send him back a new man Mr Stapleton a mutual friend who was much concerned
at his state of health was of the same opinion At the last instant came this
terrible catastrophe
On the night of Sir Charless death Barrymore the butler who made the
discovery sent Perkins the groom on horseback to me and as I was sitting up
late I was able to reach Baskerville Hall within an hour of the event I checked
and corroborated all the facts which were mentioned at the inquest I followed
the footsteps down the yew alley I saw the spot at the moorgate where he
seemed to have waited I remarked the change in the shape of the prints after
that point I noted that there were no other footsteps save those of Barrymore
on the soft gravel and finally I carefully examined the body which had not
been touched until my arrival Sir Charles lay on his face his arms out his
fingers dug into the ground and his features convulsed with some strong emotion
to such an extent that I could hardly have sworn to his identity There was
certainly no physical injury of any kind But one false statement was made by
Barrymore at the inquest He said that there were no traces upon the ground
round the body He did not observe any But I did some little distance off
but fresh and clear«
»Footprints«
»Footprints«
»A mans or a womans«
Dr Mortimer looked strangely at us for an instant and his voice sank
almost to a whisper as he answered
»Mr Holmes they were the footprints of a gigantic hound«
Chapter III
The Problem
I confess that at these words a shudder passed through me There was a thrill in
the doctors voice which showed that he was himself deeply moved by that which
he told us Holmes leaned forward in his excitement and his eyes had the hard
dry glitter which shot from them when he was keenly interested
»You saw this«
»As clearly as I see you«
»And you said nothing«
»What was the use«
»How was it that no one else saw it«
»The marks were some twenty yards from the body and no one gave them a
thought I dont suppose I should have done so had I not known this legend«
»There are many sheepdogs on the moor«
»No doubt but this was no sheepdog«
»You say it was large«
»Enormous«
»But it had not approached the body«
»No«
»What sort of night was it«
»Damp and raw«
»But not actually raining«
»No«
»What is the alley like«
»There are two lines of old yew hedge twelve feet high and impenetrable
The walk in the centre is about eight feet across«
»Is there anything between the hedges and the walk«
»Yes there is a strip of grass about six feet broad on either side«
»I understand that the yew hedge is penetrated at one point by a gate«
»Yes the wicketgate which leads on to the moor«
»Is there any other opening«
»None«
»So that to reach the yew alley one either has to come down it from the
house or else to enter it by the moorgate«
»There is an exit through a summerhouse at the far end«
»Had Sir Charles reached this«
»No he lay about fifty yards from it«
»Now tell me Dr Mortimer and this is important the marks which you
saw were on the path and not on the grass«
»No marks could show on the grass«
»Were they on the same side of the path as the moorgate«
»Yes they were on the edge of the path on the same side as the moorgate«
»You interest me exceedingly Another point Was the wicketgate closed«
»Closed and padlocked«
»How high was it«
»About four feet high«
»Then anyone could have got over it«
»Yes«
»And what marks did you see by the wicketgate«
»None in particular«
»Good heaven Did no one examine«
»Yes I examined myself«
»And found nothing«
»It was all very confused Sir Charles had evidently stood there for five or
ten minutes«
»How do you know that«
»Because the ash had twice dropped from his cigar«
»Excellent This is a colleague Watson after our own heart But the
marks«
»He had left his own marks all over that small patch of gravel I could
discern no others«
Sherlock Holmes struck his hand against his knee with an impatient gesture
»If I had only been there« he cried »It is evidently a case of
extraordinary interest and one which presented immense opportunities to the
scientific expert That gravel page upon which I might have read so much has
been long ere this smudged by the rain and defaced by the clogs of curious
peasants Oh Dr Mortimer Dr Mortimer to think that you should not have
called me in You have indeed much to answer for«
»I could not call you in Mr Holmes without disclosing these facts to the
world and I have already given my reasons for not wishing to do so Besides
besides «
»Why do you hesitate«
»There is a realm in which the most acute and most experienced or detectives
is helpless«
»You mean that the thing is supernatural«
»I did not positively say so«
»No but you evidently think it«
»Since the tragedy Mr Holmes there have come to my ears several incidents
which are hard to reconcile with the settled order of Nature«
»For example«
»I find that before the terrible event occurred several people had seen a
creature upon the moor which corresponds with this Baskerville demon and which
could not possibly be any animal known to science They all agreed that it was a
huge creature luminous ghastly and spectral I have crossexamined these men
one of them a hardheaded countryman one a farrier and one a moorland farmer
who all tell the same story of this dreadful apparition exactly corresponding
to the hellhound of the legend I assure you that there is a reign of terror in
the district and that it is a hardy man who will cross the moor at night«
»And you a trained man of science believe it to be supernatural «
»I do not know what to believe«
Holmes shrugged his shoulders
»I have hitherto confined my investigations to this world« said he »In a
modest way I have combated evil but to take on the Father of Evil himself
would perhaps be too ambitious a task Yet you must admit that the footmark is
material«
»The original hound was material enough to tug a mans throat out and yet
he was diabolical as well«
»I see that you have quite gone over to the supernaturalists But now Dr
Mortimer tell me this If you hold these views why have you come to consult me
at all You tell me in the same breath that it is useless to investigate Sir
Charless death and that you desire me to do it«
»I did not say that I desired you to do it«
»Then how can I assist you«
»By advising me as to what I should do with Sir Henry Baskerville who
arrives at Waterloo Station« Dr Mortimer looked at his watch »in exactly
one hour and a quarter«
»He being the heir«
»Yes On the death of Sir Charles we inquired for this young gentleman and
found that he had been farming in Canada From the accounts which have reached
us he is an excellent fellow in every way I speak now not as a medical man but
as a trustee and executor of Sir Charless will«
»There is no other claimant I presume«
»None The only other kinsman whom we have been able to trace was Rodger
Baskerville the youngest of three brothers of whom poor Sir Charles was the
elder The second brother who died young is the father of this lad Henry The
third Rodger was the black sheep of the family He came of the old masterful
Baskerville strain and was the very image they tell me of the family picture
of old Hugo He made England too hot to hold him fled to Central America and
died there in 1876 of yellow fever Henry is the last of the Baskervilles In
one hour and five minutes I meet him at Waterloo Station I have had a wire that
he arrived at Southampton this morning Now Mr Holmes what would you advise
me to do with him«
»Why should he not go to the home of his fathers«
»It seems natural does it not And yet consider that every Baskerville who
goes there meets with an evil fate I feel sure that if Sir Charles could have
spoken with me before his death he would have warned me against bringing this
the last of the old race and the heir to great wealth to that deadly place
And yet it cannot be denied that the prosperity of the whole poor bleak
countryside depends upon his presence All the good work which has been done by
Sir Charles will crash to the ground if there is no tenant of the Hall I fear
lest I should be swayed too much by my own obvious interest in the matter and
that is why I bring the case before you and ask for your advice«
Holmes considered for a little time
»Put into plain words the matter is this« said he »In your opinion there
is a diabolical agency which makes Dartmoor an unsafe abode for a Baskerville
that is your opinion«
»At least I might go the length of saying that there is some evidence that
this may be so«
»Exactly But surely if your supernatural theory be correct it could work
the young man evil in London as easily as in Devonshire A devil with merely
local powers like a parish vestry would be too inconceivable a thing«
»You put the matter more flippantly Mr Holmes than you would probably do
if you were brought into personal contact with these things Your advice then
as I understand it is that the young man will be as safe in Devonshire as in
London He comes in fifty minutes What would you recommend«
»I recommend sir that you take a cab call off your spaniel who is
scratching at my front door and proceed to Waterloo to meet Sir Henry
Baskerville«
»And then«
»And then you will say nothing to him at all until I have made up my mind
about the matter«
»How long will it take you to make up your mind«
»Twentyfour hours At ten oclock tomorrow Dr Mortimer I will be much
obliged to you if you will call upon me here and it will be of help to me in my
plans for the future if you will bring Sir Henry Baskerville with you«
»I will do so Mr Holmes« He scribbled the appointment on his shirtcuff
and hurried off in his strange peering absentminded fashion Holmes stopped
him at the head of the stair
»Only one more question Dr Mortimer You say that before Sir Charles
Baskervilles death several people saw this apparition upon the moor«
»Three people did«
»Did any see it after«
»I have not heard of any«
»Thank you Goodmorning«
Holmes returned to his seat with that quiet look of inward satisfaction
which meant that he had a congenial task before him
»Going out Watson«
»Unless I can help you«
»No my dear fellow it is at the hour of action that I turn to you for aid
But this is splendid really unique from some points of view When you pass
Bradleys would you ask him to send up a pound of the strongest shag tobacco
Thank you It would be as well if you could make it convenient not to return
before evening Then I should be very glad to compare impressions as to this
most interesting problem which has been submitted to us this morning«
I knew that seclusion and solitude were very necessary for my friend in
those hours of intense mental concentration during which he weighed every
particle of evidence constructed alternative theories balanced one against the
other and made up his mind as to which points were essential and which
immaterial I therefore spent the day at my club and did not return to Baker
Street until evening It was nearly nine oclock when I found myself in the
sittingroom once more
My first impression as I opened the door was that a fire had broken out for
the room was so filled with smoke that the light of the lamp upon the table was
blurred by it As I entered however my fears were set at rest for it was the
acrid fumes of strong coarse tobacco which took me by the throat and set me
coughing Through the haze I had a vague vision of Holmes in his dressinggown
coiled up in an armchair with his black clay pipe between his lips Several
rolls of paper lay around him
»Caught cold Watson« said he
»No its this poisonous atmosphere«
»I suppose it is pretty thick now that you mention it«
»Thick It is intolerable«
»Open the window then You have been at your club all day I perceive«
»My dear Holmes«
»Am I right«
»Certainly but how «
He laughed at my bewildered expression
»There is a delightful freshness about you Watson which makes it a
pleasure to exercise any small powers which I possess at your expense A
gentleman goes forth on a showery and miry day He returns immaculate in the
evening with the gloss still on his hat and his boots He has been a fixture
therefore all day He is not a man with intimate friends Where then could he
have been Is it not obvious«
»Well it is rather obvious«
»The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever
observes Where do you think that I have been«
»A fixture also«
»On the contrary I have been to Devonshire«
»In spirit«
»Exactly My body has remained in this armchair and has I regret to
observe consumed in my absence two large pots of coffee and an incredible
amount of tobacco After you left I sent down to Stamfords for the Ordnance map
of this portion of the moor and my spirit has hovered over it all day I
flatter myself that I could find my way about«
»A largescale map I presume«
»Very large« He unrolled one section and held it over his knee »Here you
have the particular district which concerns us That is Baskerville Hall in the
middle«
»With a wood round it«
»Exactly I fancy the yew alley though not marked under that name must
stretch along this line with the moor as you perceive upon the right of it
This small clump of buildings here is the hamlet of Grimpen where our friend
Dr Mortimer has his headquarters Within a radius of five miles there are as
you see only a very few scattered dwellings Here is Lafter Hall which was
mentioned in the narrative There is a house indicated here which may be the
residence of the naturalist Stapleton if I remember right was his name Here
are two moorland farmhouses High Tor and Foulmire Then fourteen miles away the
great convict prison of Princetown Between and around these scattered points
extends the desolate lifeless moor This then is the stage upon which tragedy
has been played and upon which we may help to play it again«
»It must be a wild place«
»Yes the setting is a worthy one If the devil did desire to have a hand in
the affairs of men «
»Then you are yourself inclining to the supernatural explanation«
»The devils agents may be of flesh and blood may they not There are two
questions waiting for us at the outset The one is whether any crime has been
committed at all the second is what is the crime and how was it committed Of
course if Dr Mortimers surmise should be correct and we are dealing with
forces outside the ordinary laws of Nature there is an end of our
investigation But we are bound to exhaust all other hypotheses before falling
back upon this one I think well shut that window again if you dont mind It
is a singular thing but I find that a concentrated atmosphere helps a
concentration of thought I have not pushed it to the length of getting into a
box to think but that is the logical outcome of my convictions Have you turned
the case over in your mind«
»Yes I have thought a good deal of it in the course of the day«
»What do you make of it«
»It is very bewildering«
»It has certainly a character of its own There are points of distinction
about it That change in the footprints for example What do you make of that«
»Mortimer said that the man had walked on tiptoe down that portion of the
alley«
»He only repeated what some fool had said at the inquest Why should a man
walk on tiptoe down the alley«
»What then«
»He was running Watson running desperately running for his life running
until he burst his heart and fell dead upon his face«
»Running from what«
»There lies our problem There are indications that the man was crazed with
fear before ever he began to run«
»How can you say that«
»I am presuming that the cause of his fears came to him across the moor If
that were so and it seems most probable only a man who had lost his wits would
have run from the house instead of towards it If the gipsys evidence may be
taken as true he ran with cries for help in the direction where help was least
likely to be Then again whom was he waiting for that night and why was he
waiting for him in the yew alley rather than in his own house«
»You think that he was waiting for someone«
»The man was elderly and infirm We can understand his taking an evening
stroll but the ground was damp and the night inclement Is it natural that he
should stand for five or ten minutes as Dr Mortimer with more practical sense
than I should have given him credit for deduced from the cigar ash«
»But he went out every evening«
»I think it unlikely that he waited at the moorgate every evening On the
contrary the evidence is that he avoided the moor That night he waited there
It was the night before he made his departure for London The thing takes shape
Watson It becomes coherent Might I ask you to hand me my violin and we will
postpone all further thought upon this business until we have had the advantage
of meeting Dr Mortimer and Sir Henry Baskerville in the morning«
Chapter IV
Sir Henry Baskerville
Our breakfast table was cleared early and Holmes waited in his dressinggown
for the promised interview Our clients were punctual to their appointment for
the clock had just struck ten when Dr Mortimer was shown up followed by the
young baronet The latter was a small alert darkeyed man about thirty years
of age very sturdily built with thick black eyebrows and a strong pugnacious
face He wore a ruddytinted tweed suit and had the weatherbeaten appearance of
one who has spent most of his time in the open air and yet there was something
in his steady eye and the quiet assurance of his bearing which indicated the
gentleman
»This is Sir Henry Baskerville« said Dr Mortimer
»Why yes« said he »and the strange thing is Mr Sherlock Holmes that if
my friend here had not proposed coming round to you this morning I should have
come on my own account I understand that you think out little puzzles and Ive
had one this morning which wants more thinking out than I am able to give it«
»Pray take a seat Sir Henry Do I understand you to say that you have
yourself had some remarkable experience since you arrived in London«
»Nothing of much importance Mr Holmes Only a joke as like as not It was
this letter if you can call it a letter which reached me this morning«
He laid an envelope upon the table and we all bent over it It was of
common quality grayish in colour The address Sir Henry Baskerville
Northumberland Hotel was printed in rough characters the postmark Charing
Cross and the date of posting the preceding evening
»Who knew that you were going to the Northumberland Hotel« asked Holmes
glancing keenly across at our visitor
»No one could have known We only decided after I met Dr Mortimer«
»But Dr Mortimer was no doubt already stopping there«
»No I had been staying with a friend« said the doctor »There was no
possible indication that we intended to go to this hotel«
»Hum Someone seems to be very deeply interested in your movements« Out of
the envelope he took a halfsheet of foolscap paper folded into four This he
opened and spread flat upon the table Across the middle of it a single sentence
had been formed by the expedient of pasting printed words upon it It ran
As you value your life or your reason
keep away from the moor
The word moor only was printed in ink
»Now« said Sir Henry Baskerville »perhaps you will tell me Mr Holmes
what in thunder is the meaning of that and who it is that takes so much
interest in my affairs«
»What do you make of it Dr Mortimer You must allow that there is nothing
supernatural about this at any rate«
»No sir but it might very well come from someone who was convinced that
the business is supernatural«
»What business« asked Sir Henry sharply »It seems to me that all you
gentlemen know a great deal more than I do about my own affairs«
»You shall share our knowledge before you leave this room Sir Henry I
promise you that« said Sherlock Holmes »We will confine ourselves for the
present with your permission to this very interesting document which must have
been put together and posted yesterday evening Have you yesterdays Times
Watson«
»It is here in the corner«
»Might I trouble you for it the inside page please with the leading
articles« He glanced swiftly over it running his eyes up and down the columns
»Capital article this on free trade Permit me to give you an extract from it
You may be cajoled into imagining that your own special trade or your
own industry will be encouraged by a protective tariff but it stands to
reason that such legislation must in the long run keep away wealth from
the country diminish the value of our imports and lower the general
conditions of life in this island
What do you think of that Watson« cried Holmes in high glee rubbing his hands
together with satisfaction »Dont you think that is an admirable sentiment«
Dr Mortimer looked at Holmes with an air of professional interest and Sir
Henry Baskerville turned a pair of puzzled dark eyes upon me
»I dont know much about the tariff and things of that kind« said be »but
it seems to me weve got a bit off the trail so far as that note is concerned«
»On the contrary I think we are particularly hot upon the trail Sir Henry
Watson here knows more about my methods than you do but I fear that even he has
not quite grasped the significance of this sentence«
»No I confess that I see no connection«
»And yet my dear Watson there is so very close a connection that the one
is extracted out of the other You your your life reason value keep away
from the Dont you see now whence these words have been taken«
»By thunder youre right Well if that isnt smart« cried Sir Henry
»If any possible doubt remained it is settled by the fact that keep away and
from the are cut out in one piece«
»Well now so it is«
»Really Mr Holmes this exceeds anything which I could have imagined«
said Dr Mortimer gazing at my friend in amazement »I could understand anyone
saying that the words were from a newspaper but that you should name which and
add that it came from the leading article is really one of the most remarkable
things which I have ever known How did you do it«
»I presume Doctor that you could tell the skull of a negro from that of an
Esquimau«
»Most certainly«
»But how«
»Because that is my special hobby The differences are obvious The
supraorbital crest the facial angle the maxillary curve the «
»But this is my special hobby and the differences are equally obvious
There is as much difference to my eyes between the leaded bourgeois type of a
Times article and the slovenly print of an evening halfpenny paper as there
could be between your negro and your Esquimau The detection of types is one of
the most elementary branches of knowledge to the special expert in crime though
I confess that once when I was very young I confused the Leeds Mercury with the
Western Morning News But a Times leader is entirely distinctive and these
words could have been taken from nothing else As it was done yesterday the
strong probability was that we should find the words in yesterdays issue«
»So far as I can follow you then Mr Holmes« said Sir Henry Baskerville
»someone cut out this message with a scissors «
»Nailscissors« said Holmes »You can see that it was a very shortbladed
scissors since the cutter had to take two snips over keep away«
»That is so Someone then cut out the message with a pair of shortbladed
scissors pasted it with paste «
»Gum« said Holmes
»With gum on to the paper But I want to know why the word moor should have
been written«
»Because he could not find it in print The other words were all simple and
might be found in any issue but moor would be less common«
»Why of course that would explain it Have you read anything else in this
message Mr Holmes«
»There are one or two indications and yet the utmost pains have been taken
to remove all clues The address you observe is printed in rough characters
But the Times is a paper which is seldom found in any hands but those of the
highly educated We may take it therefore that the letter was composed by an
educated man who wished to pose as an uneducated one and his effort to conceal
his own writing suggests that that writing might be known or come to be known
by you Again you will observe that the words are not gummed on in an accurate
line but that some are much higher than others Life for example is quite out
of its proper place That may point to carelessness or it may point to agitation
and hurry upon the part of the cutter On the whole I incline to the latter
view since the matter was evidently important and it is unlikely that the
composer of such a letter would be careless If he were in a hurry it opens up
the interesting question why he should be in a hurry since any letter posted up
to early morning would reach Sir Henry before he would leave his hotel Did the
composer fear an interruption and from whom«
»We are coming now rather into the region of guesswork« said Dr Mortimer
»Say rather into the region where we balance probabilities and choose the
most likely It is the scientific use of the imagination but we have always
some material basis on which to start our speculation Now you would call it a
guess no doubt but I am almost certain that this address has been written in a
hotel«
»How in the world can you say that«
»If you examine it carefully you will see that both the pen and the ink have
given the writer trouble The pen has spluttered twice in a single word and has
run dry three times in a short address showing that there was very little ink
in the bottle Now a private pen or inkbottle is seldom allowed to be in such
a state and the combination of the two must be quite rare But you know the
hotel ink and the hotel pen where it is rare to get anything else Yes I have
very little hesitation in saying that could we examine the wastepaper baskets
of the hotels around Charing Cross until we found the remains of the mutilated
Times leader we could lay our hands straight upon the person who sent this
singular message Halloa Halloa Whats this«
He was carefully examining the foolscap upon which the words were pasted
holding it only an inch or two from his eyes
»Well«
»Nothing« said he throwing it down »It is a blank halfsheet of paper
without even a watermark upon it I think we have drawn as much as we can from
this curious letter and now Sir Henry has anything else of interest happened
to you since you have been in London«
»Why no Mr Holmes I think not«
»You have not observed anyone follow or watch you«
»I seem to have walked right into the thick of a dime novel« said our
visitor »Why in thunder should anyone follow or watch me«
»We are coming to that You have nothing else to report to us before we go
into this matter«
»Well it depends upon what you think worth reporting«
»I think anything out of the ordinary routine of life well worth reporting«
Sir Henry smiled
»I dont know much of British life yet for I have spent nearly all my time
in the States and in Canada But I hope that to lose one of your boots is not
part of the ordinary routine of life over here«
»You have lost one of your boots«
»My dear sir« cried Dr Mortimer »it is only mislaid You will find it
when you return to the hotel What is the use of troubling Mr Holmes with
trifles of this kind«
»Well he asked me for anything outside the ordinary routine«
»Exactly« said Holmes »however foolish the incident may seem You have
lost one of your boots you say«
»Well mislaid it anyhow I put them both outside my door last night and
there was only one in the morning I could get no sense out of the chap who
cleans them The worst of it is that I only bought the pair last night in the
Strand and I have never had them on«
»If you have never worn them why did you put them out to be cleaned«
»They were tan boots and had never been varnished That was why I put them
out«
»Then I understand that on your arrival in London yesterday you went out at
once and bought a pair of boots«
»I did a good deal of shopping Dr Mortimer here went round with me You
see if I am to be squire down there I must dress the part and it may be that I
have got a little careless in my ways out West Among other things I bought
these brown boots gave six dollars for them and had one stolen before ever I
had them on my feet«
»It seems a singularly useless thing to steal« said Sherlock Holmes »I
confess that I share Dr Mortimers belief that it will not be long before the
missing boot is found«
»And now gentlemen« said the baronet with decision »it seems to me that
I have spoken quite enough about the little that I know It is time that you
kept your promise and gave me a full account of what we are all driving at«
»Your request is a very reasonable one« Holmes answered »Dr Mortimer I
think you could not do better than to tell your story as you told it to us«
Thus encouraged our scientific friend drew his papers from his pocket and
presented the whole case as he had done upon the morning before Sir Henry
Baskerville listened with the deepest attention and with an occasional
exclamation of surprise
»Well I seem to have come into an inheritance with a vengeance« said he
when the long narrative was finished »Of course Ive heard of the hound ever
since I was in the nursery Its the pet story of the family though I never
thought of taking it seriously before But as to my uncles death well it all
seems boiling up in my head and I cant get it clear yet You dont seem quite
to have made up your mind whether its a case for a policeman or a clergyman«
»Precisely«
»And now theres this affair of the letter to me at the hotel I suppose
that fits into its place«
»It seems to show that someone knows more than we do about what goes on upon
the moor« said Dr Mortimer
»And also« said Holmes »that someone is not illdisposed towards you
since they warn you of danger«
»Or it may be that they wish for their own purposes to scare me away«
»Well of course that is possible also I am very much indebted to you Dr
Mortimer for introducing me to a problem which presents several interesting
alternatives But the practical point which we now have to decide Sir Henry is
whether it is or is not advisable for you to go to Baskerville Hall«
»Why should I not go«
»There seems to be danger«
»Do you mean danger from this family fiend or do you mean danger from human
beings«
»Well that is what we have to find out«
»Whichever it is my answer is fixed There is no devil in hell Mr Holmes
and there is no man upon earth who can prevent me from going to the home of my
own people and you may take that to be my final answer« His dark brows knitted
and his face flushed to a dusky red as he spoke It was evident that the fiery
temper of the Baskervilles was not extinct in this their last representative
»Meanwhile« said he »I have hardly had time to think over all that you have
told me Its a big thing for a man to have to understand and to decide at one
sitting I should like to have a quiet hour by myself to make up my mind Now
look here Mr Holmes its halfpast eleven now and I am going back right away
to my hotel Suppose you and your friend Dr Watson come round and lunch with
us at two Ill be able to tell you more clearly then how this thing strikes
me«
»Is that convenient to you Watson«
»Perfectly«
»Then you may expect us Shall I have a cab called«
»Id prefer to walk for this affair has flurried me rather«
»Ill join you in a walk with pleasure« said his companion
»Then we meet again at two oclock Au revoir and goodmorning«
We heard the steps of our visitors descend the stair and the bang of the
front door In an instant Holmes had changed from the languid dreamer to the man
of action
»Your hat and boots Watson quick Not a moment to lose« He rushed into
his room in his dressinggown and was back again in a few seconds in a
frockcoat We hurried together down the stairs and into the street Dr
Mortimer and Baskerville were still visible about two hundred yards ahead of us
in the direction of Oxford Street
»Shall I run on and stop them«
»Not for the world my dear Watson I am perfectly satisfied with your
company if you will tolerate mine Our friends are wise for it is certainly a
very fine morning for a walk«
He quickened his pace until we had decreased the distance which divided us
by about half Then still keeping a hundred yards behind we followed into
Oxford Street and so down Regent Street Once our friends stopped and stared
into a shop window upon which Holmes did the same An instant afterwards he
gave a little cry of satisfaction and following the direction of his eager
eyes I saw that a hansom cab with a man inside which had halted on the other
side of the street was now proceeding slowly onward again
»Theres our man Watson Come along Well have a good look at him if we
can do no more«
At that instant I was aware of a bushy black beard and a pair of piercing
eyes turned upon us through the side window of the cab Instantly the trapdoor
at the top flew up something was screamed to the driver and the cab flew madly
off down Regent Street Holmes looked eagerly round for another but no empty
one was in sight Then he dashed in wild pursuit amid the stream of the traffic
but the start was too great and already the cab was out of sight
»There now« said Holmes bitterly as he emerged panting and white with
vexation from the tide of vehicles »Was ever such bad luck and such bad
management too Watson Watson if you are an honest man you will record this
also and set it against my successes«
»Who was the man«
»I have not an idea«
»A spy«
»Well it was evident from what we have heard that Baskerville has been very
closely shadowed by someone since he has been in town How else could it be
known so quickly that it was the Northumberland Hotel which he had chosen If
they had followed him the first day I argued that they would follow him also the
second You may have observed that I twice strolled over to the window while Dr
Mortimer was reading his legend«
»Yes I remember«
»I was looking out for loiterers in the street but I saw none We are
dealing with a clever man Watson This matter cuts very deep and though I have
not finally made up my mind whether it is a benevolent or a malevolent agency
which is in touch with us I am conscious always of power and design When our
friends left I at once followed them in the hopes of marking down their
invisible attendant So wily was he that he had not trusted himself upon foot
but he had availed himself of a cab so that he could loiter behind or dash past
them and so escape their notice His method had the additional advantage that if
they were to take a cab he was all ready to follow them It has however one
obvious disadvantage«
»It puts him in the power of the cabman«
»Exactly«
»What a pity we did not get the number«
»My dear Watson clumsy as I have been you surely do not seriously imagine
that I neglected to get the number No 2704 is our man But that is no use to us
for the moment«
»I fail to see how you could have done more«
»On observing the cab I should have instantly turned and walked in the other
direction I should then at my leisure have hired a second cab and followed the
first at a respectful distance or better still have driven to the
Northumberland Hotel and waited there When our unknown had followed Baskerville
home we should have had the opportunity of playing his own game upon himself and
seeing where he made for As it is by an indiscreet eagerness which was taken
advantage of with extraordinary quickness and energy by our opponent we have
betrayed ourselves and lost our man«
We had been sauntering slowly down Regent Street during this conversation
and Dr Mortimer with his companion had long vanished in front of us
»There is no object in our following them« said Holmes »The shadow has
departed and will not return We must see what further cards we have in our
hands and play them with decision Could you wear to that mans face within the
cab«
»I could swear only to the beard«
»And so could I from which I gather that in all probability it was a
false one A clever man upon so delicate an errand has no use for a beard save
to conceal his features Come in here Watson«
He turned into one of the district messenger offices where he was warmly
greeted by the manager
»Ah Wilson I see you have not forgotten the little case in which I had the
good fortune to help you«
»No sir indeed I have not You saved my good name and perhaps my life«
»My dear fellow you exaggerate I have some recollection Wilson that you
had among your boys a lad named Cartwright who showed some ability during the
investigation«
»Yes sir he is still with us«
»Could you ring him up thank you And I should be glad to have change of
this fivepound note«
A lad of fourteen with a bright keen face had obeyed the sum mons of the
manager He stood now gazing with great reverence at the famous detective
»Let me have the Hotel Directory« said Holmes »Thank you Now Cartwright
there are the names of twentythree hotels here all in the immediate
neighbourhood of Charing Cross Do you see«
»Yes sir«
»You will visit each of these in turn«
»Yes sir«
»You will begin in each case by giving the outside porter one shilling Here
are twentythree shillings«
»Yes sir«
»You will tell him that you want to see the wastepaper of yesterday You
will say that an important telegram has miscarried and that you are looking for
it You understand«
»Yes sir«
»But what you are really looking for is the centre page of the Times with
some holes cut in it with scissors Here is a copy of the Times It is this
page You could easily recognize it could you not«
»Yes sir«
»In each case the outside porter will send for the hall porter to whom also
you will give a shilling Here are twentythree shillings You will then learn
in possibly twenty cases out of the twentythree that the waste of the day
before has been burned or removed In the three other cases you will be shown a
heap of paper and you will look for this page of the Times among it The odds
are enormously against your finding it There are ten shillings over in case of
emergencies Let me have a report by wire at Baker Street before evening And
now Watson it only remains for us to find out by wire the identity of the
cabman No 2704 and then we will drop into one of the Bond Street picture
galleries and fill in the time until we are due at the hotel«
Chapter V
Three Broken Threads
Sherlock Holmes had in a very remarkable degree the power of detaching his
mind at will For two hours the strange business in which we had been involved
appeared to be forgotten and he was entirely absorbed in the pictures of the
modern Belgian masters He would talk of nothing but art of which he had the
crudest ideas from our leaving the gallery until we found ourselves at the
Northumberland Hotel
»Sir Henry Baskerville is upstairs expecting you« said the clerk »He asked
me to show you up at once when you came«
»Have you any objection to my looking at your register« said Holmes
»Not in the least«
The book showed that two names had been added after that of Baskerville One
was Theophilus Johnson and family of Newcastle the other Mrs Oldmore and
maid of High Lodge Alton
»Surely that must be the same Johnson whom I used to know« said Holmes to
the porter »A lawyer is he not grayheaded and walks with a limp«
»No sir this is Mr Johnson the coalowner a very active gentleman not
older than yourself«
»Surely you are mistaken about his trade«
»No sir he has used this hotel for many years and he is very well known
to us«
»Ah that settles it Mrs Oldmore too I seem to remember the name Excuse
my curiosity but often in calling upon one friend one finds another«
»She is an invalid lady sir Her husband was once mayor of Gloucester She
always comes to us when she is in town«
»Thank you I am afraid I cannot claim her acquaintance We have established
a most important fact by these questions Watson« he continued in a low voice
as we went upstairs together »We know now that the people who are so interested
in our friend have not settled down in his own hotel That means that while they
are as we have seen very anxious to watch him they are equally anxious that
he should not see them Now this is a most suggestive fact«
»What does it suggest«
»It suggests halloa my dear fellow what on earth is the matter«
As we came round the top of the stairs we had run up against Sir Henry
Baskerville himself His face was flushed with anger and he held an old and
dusty boot in one of his hands So furious was he that he was hardly articulate
and when he did speak it was in a much broader and more Western dialect than any
which we had heard from him in the morning
»Seems to me they are playing me for a sucker in this hotel« he cried
»Theyll find theyve started in to monkey with the wrong man unless they are
careful By thunder if that chap cant find my missing boot there will be
trouble I can take a joke with the best Mr Holmes but theyve got a bit over
the mark this time«
»Still looking for your boot«
»Yes sir and mean to find it«
»But surely you said that it was a new brown boot«
»So it was sir And now its an old black one«
»What you dont mean to say «
»Thats just what I do mean to say I only had three pairs in the world
the new brown the old black and the patent leathers which I am wearing Last
night they took one of my brown ones and today they have sneaked one of the
black Well have you got it Speak out man and dont stand staring«
An agitated German waiter had appeared upon the scene
»No sir I have made inquiry all over the hotel but I can hear no word of
it«
»Well either that boot comes back before sundown or Ill see the manager
and tell him that I go right straight out of this hotel«
»It shall be found sir I promise you that if you will have a little
patience it will be found«
»Mind it is for its the last thing of mine that Ill lose in this den of
thieves Well well Mr Holmes youll excuse my troubling you about such a
trifle «
»I think its well worth troubling about«
»Why you look very serious over it«
»How do you explain it«
»I just dont attempt to explain it It seems the very maddest queerest
thing that ever happened to me«
»The queerest perhaps « said Holmes thoughtfully
»What do you make of it yourself«
»Well I dont profess to understand it yet This case of yours is very
complex Sir Henry When taken in conjunction with your uncles death I am not
sure that of all the five hundred cases of capital importance which I have
handled there is one which cuts so deep But we hold several threads in our
hands and the odds are that one or other of them guides us to the truth We may
waste time in following the wrong one but sooner or later we must come upon the
right«
We had a pleasant luncheon in which little was said of the business which
had brought us together It was in the private sittingroom to which we
afterwards repaired that Holmes asked Baskerville what were his intentions
»To go to Baskerville Hall«
»And when«
»At the end of the week«
»On the whole« said Holmes »I think that your decision is a wise one I
have ample evidence that you are being dogged in London and amid the millions
of this great city it is difficult to discover who these people are or what
their object can be If their intentions are evil they might do you a mischief
and we should be powerless to prevent it You did not know Dr Mortimer that
you were followed this morning from my house«
Dr Mortimer started violently
»Followed By whom«
»That unfortunately is what I cannot tell you Have you among your
neighbours or acquaintances on Dartmoor any man with a black full beard«
»No or let me see why yes Barrymore Sir Charless butler is a man
with a full black beard«
»Ha Where is Barrymore«
»He is in charge of the Hall«
»We had best ascertain if he is really there or if by any possibility he
might be in London«
»How can you do that«
»Give me a telegraph form Is all ready for Sir Henry That will do Address
to Mr Barrymore Baskerville Hall What is the nearest telegraphoffice
Grimpen Very good we will send a second wire to the postmaster Grimpen
Telegram to Mr Barrymore to be delivered into his own hand If absent please
return wire to Sir Henry Baskerville Northumberland Hotel That should let us
know before evening whether Barrymore is at his post in Devonshire or not«
»Thats so« said Baskerville »By the way Dr Mortimer who is this
Barrymore anyhow«
»He is the son of the old caretaker who is dead They have looked after the
Hall for four generations now So far as I know he and his wife are as
respectable a couple as any in the county«
»At the same time« said Baskerville »its clear enough that so long as
there are none of the family at the Hall these people have a mighty fine home
and nothing to do«
»That is true«
»Did Barrymore profit at all by Sir Charless will« asked Holmes
»He and his wife had five hundred pounds each«
»Ha Did they know that they would receive this«
»Yes Sir Charles was very fond of talking about the provisions of his
will«
»That is very interesting«
»I hope« said Dr Mortimer »that you do not look with suspicious eyes upon
everyone who received a legacy from Sir Charles for I also had a thousand
pounds left to me«
»Indeed And anyone else«
»There were many insignificant sums to individuals and a large number of
public charities The residue all went to Sir Henry«
»And how much was the residue«
»Seven hundred and forty thousand pounds«
Holmes raised his eyebrows in surprise »I had no idea that so gigantic a
sum was involved« said he
»Sir Charles had the reputation of being rich but we did not know how very
rich he was until we came to examine his securities The total value of the
estate was close on to a million«
»Dear me It is a stake for which a man might well play a desperate game
And one more question Dr Mortimer Supposing that anything happened to our
young friend here you will forgive the unpleasant hypothesis who would
inherit the estate«
»Since Rodger Baskerville Sir Charless younger brother died unmarried
the estate would descend to the Desmonds who are distant cousins James Desmond
is an elderly clergyman in Westmoreland«
»Thank you These details are all of great interest Have you met Mr James
Desmond«
»Yes he once came down to visit Sir Charles He is a man of venerable
appearance and of saintly life I remember that he refused to accept any
settlement from Sir Charles though he pressed it upon him«
»And this man of simple tastes would be the heir to Sir Charless
thousands«
»He would be the heir to the estate because that is entailed He would also
be the heir to the money unless it were willed otherwise by the present owner
who can of course do what he likes with it«
»And have you made your will Sir Henry«
»No Mr Holmes I have not Ive had no time for it was only yesterday
that I learned how matters stood But in any case I feel that the money should
go with the title and estate That was my poor uncles idea How is the owner
going to restore the glories of the Baskervilles if he has not money enough to
keep up the property House land and dollars must go together«
»Quite so Well Sir Henry I am of one mind with you as to the advisability
of your going down to Devonshire without delay There is only one provision
which I must make You certainly must not go alone«
»Dr Mortimer returns with me«
»But Dr Mortimer has his practice to attend to and his house is miles away
from yours With all the goodwill in the world he may be unable to help you No
Sir Henry you must take with you someone a trusty man who will be always by
your side«
»Is it possible that you could come yourself Mr Holmes«
»If matters came to a crisis I should endeavour to be present in person but
you can understand that with my extensive consulting practice and with the
constant appeals which reach me from many quarters it is impossible for me to
be absent from London for an indefinite time At the present instant one of the
most revered names in England is being besmirched by a blackmailer and only I
can stop a disastrous scandal You will see how impossible it is for me to go to
Dartmoor«
»Whom would you recommend then«
Holmes laid his hand upon my arm
»If my friend would undertake it there is no man who is better worth having
at your side when you are in a tight place No one can say so more confidently
than I«
The proposition took me completely by surprise but before I had time to
answer Baskerville seized me by the hand and wrung it heartily
»Well now that is real kind of you Dr Watson« said he »You see how it
is with me and you know just as much about the matter as I do If you will come
down to Baskerville Hall and see me through Ill never forget it«
The promise of adventure had always a fascination for me and I was
complimented by the words of Holmes and by the eagerness with which the baronet
hailed me as a companion
»I will come with pleasure« said I »I do not know how I could employ my
time better«
»And you will report very carefully to me« said Holmes »When a crisis
comes as it will do I will direct how you shall act I suppose that by
Saturday all might be ready«
»Would that suit Dr Watson«
»Perfectly«
»Then on Saturday unless you hear to the contrary we shall meet at the
tenthirty train from Paddington«
We had risen to depart when Baskerville gave a cry of triumph and diving
into one of the corners of the room he drew a brown boot from under a cabinet
»My missing boot« he cried
»May all our difficulties vanish as easily« said Sherlock Holmes
»But it is a very singular thing« Dr Mortimer remarked »I searched this
room carefully before lunch«
»And so did I« said Baskerville »Every inch of it«
»There was certainly no boot in it then«
»In that case the waiter must have placed it there while we were lunching
The German was sent for but professed to know nothing of the matter nor
could any inquiry clear it up Another item had been added to that constant and
apparently purposeless series of small mysteries which had succeeded each other
so rapidly Setting aside the whole grim story of Sir Charless death we had a
line of inexplicable incidents all within the limits of two days which included
the receipt of the printed letter the blackbearded spy in the hansom the loss
of the new brown boot the loss of the old black boot and now the return of the
new brown boot Holmes sat in silence in the cab as we drove back to Baker
Street and I knew from his drawn brows and keen face that his mind like my
own was busy in endeavouring to frame some scheme into which all these strange
and apparently disconnected episodes could be fitted All afternoon and late
into the evening he sat lost in tobacco and thought
Just before dinner two telegrams were handed in The first ran
Have just heard that Barrymore is at the Hall
BASKERVILLE
The second
Visited twentythree hotels as directed but sorry to report unable to
trace cut sheet of Thimes
CARTWRIGHT
There go two of my threads Watson There is nothing more stimulating than a
case where everything goes against you We must cast round for another scent«
»We have still the cabman who drove the spy«
»Exactly I have wired to get his name and address from the Official
Registry I should not be surprised if this were an answer to my question«
The ring at the bell proved to be something even more satisfactory than an
answer however for the door opened and a roughlooking fellow entered who was
evidently the man himself
»I got a message from the head office that a gent at this address had been
inquiring for No 2704« said he »Ive driven my cab this seven years and never
a word of complaint I came here straight from the Yard to ask you to your face
what you had against me«
»I have nothing in the world against you my good man« said Holmes »On the
contrary I have half a sovereign for you if you will give me a clear answer to
my questions«
»Well Ive had a good day and no mistake« said the cabman with a grin
»What was it you wanted to ask sir«
»First of all your name and address in case I want you again«
»John Clayton 3 Turpey Street the Borough My cab is out of Shipleys
Yard near Waterloo Station«
Sherlock Holmes made a note of it
»Now Clayton tell me all about the fare who came and watched this house at
ten oclock this morning and afterwards followed the two gentlemen down Regent
Street«
The man looked surprised and a little embarrassed »Why theres no good my
telling you things for you seem to know as much as I do already« said he »The
truth is that the gentleman told me that he was a detective and that I was to
say nothing about him to anyone«
»My good fellow this is a very serious business and you may find yourself
in a pretty bad position if you try to hide anything from me You say that your
fare told you that he was a detective«
»Yes he did«
»When did he say this«
»When he left me«
»Did he say anything more«
»He mentioned his name«
Holmes cast a swift glance of triumph at me »Oh he mentioned his name did
he That was imprudent What was the name that he mentioned«
»His name« said the cabman »was Mr Sherlock Holmes«
Never have I seen my friend more completely taken aback than by the cabmans
reply For an instant he sat in silent amazement Then he burst into a hearty
laugh
»A touch Watson an undeniable touch« said he »I feel a foil as quick
and supple as my own He got home upon me very prettily that time So his name
was Sherlock Holmes was it«
»Yes sir that was the gentlemans name«
»Excellent Tell me where you picked him up and all that occurred«
»He hailed me at halfpast nine in Trafalgar Square He said that he was a
detective and he offered me two guineas if I would do exactly what he wanted
all day and ask no questions I was glad enough to agree First we drove down to
the Northumberland Hotel and waited there until two gentlemen came out and took
a cab from the rank We followed their cab until it pulled up somewhere near
here«
»This very door« said Holmes
»Well I couldnt be sure of that but I dare say my fare knew all about it
We pulled up halfway down the street and waited an hour and a half Then the two
gentlemen passed us walking and we followed down Baker Street and along «
»I know« said Holmes
»Until we got threequarters down Regent Street Then my gentleman threw up
the trap and he cried that I should drive right away to Waterloo Station as
hard as I could go I whipped up the mare and we were there under the ten
minutes Then he paid up his two guineas like a good one and away he went into
the station Only just as he was leaving he turned round and he said It might
interest you to know that you have been driving Mr Sherlock Holmes Thats how
I come to know the name«
»I see And you saw no more of him«
»Not after he went into the station«
»And how would you describe Mr Sherlock Holmes«
The cabman scratched his head »Well he wasnt altogether such an easy
gentleman to describe Id put him at forty years of age and he was of a middle
height two or three inches shorter than you sir He was dressed like a toff
and he had a black beard cut square at the end and a pale face I dont know
as I could say more than that«
»Colour of his eyes«
»No I cant say that«
»Nothing more that you can remember«
»No sir nothing«
»Well then here is your halfsovereign Theres another one waiting for
you if you can bring any more information Goodnight«
»Goodnight sir and thank you«
John Clayton departed chuckling and Holmes turned to me with a shrug of his
shoulders and a rueful smile
»Snap goes our third thread and we end where we began« said he »The
cunning rascal He knew our number knew that Sir Henry Baskerville had
consulted me spotted who I was in Regent Street conjectured that I had got the
number of the cab and would lay my hands on the driver and so sent back this
audacious message I tell you Watson this time we have got a foeman who is
worthy of our steel Ive been checkmated in London I can only wish you better
luck in Devonshire But Im not easy in my mind about it«
»About what«
»About sending you Its an ugly business Watson an ugly dangerous
business and the more I see of it the less I like it Yes my dear fellow you
may laugh but I give you my word that I shall be very glad to have you back
safe and sound in Baker Street once more«
Chapter VI
Baskerville Hall
Sir Henry Baskerville and Dr Mortimer were ready upon the appointed day and we
started as arranged for Devonshire Mr Sherlock Holmes drove with me to the
station and gave me his last parting injunctions and advice
»I will not bias your mind by suggesting theories or suspicions Watson«
said he »I wish you simply to report facts in the fullest possible manner to
me and you can leave me to do the theorizing«
»What sort of facts« I asked
»Anything which may seem to have a bearing however indirect upon the case
and especially the relations between young Baskerville and his neighbours or any
fresh particulars concerning the death of Sir Charles I have made some
inquiries myself in the last few days but the results have I fear been
negative One thing only appears to be certain and that is that Mr James
Desmond who is the next heir is an elderly gentleman of a very amiable
disposition so that this persecution does not arise from him I really think
that we may eliminate him entirely from our calculations There remain the
people who will actually surround Sir Henry Baskerville upon the moor«
»Would it not be well in the first place to get rid of this Barrymore
couple«
»By no means You could not make a greater mistake If they are innocent it
would be a cruel injustice and if they are guilty we should be giving up all
chance of bringing it home to them No no we will preserve them upon our list
of suspects Then there is a groom at the Hall if I remember right There are
two moorland farmers There is our friend Dr Mortimer whom I believe to be
entirely honest and there is his wife of whom we know nothing There is this
naturalist Stapleton and there is his sister who is said to be a young lady
of attractions There is Mr Frankland of Lafter Hall who is also an unknown
factor and there are one or two other neighbours These are the folk who must
be your very special study«
»I will do my best«
»You have arms I suppose«
»Yes I thought it as well to take them«
»Most certainly Keep your revolver near you night and day and never relax
your precautions«
Our friends had already secured a firstclass carriage and were waiting for
us upon the platform
»No we have no news of any kind« said Dr Mortimer in answer to my
friends questions »I can swear to one thing and that is that we have not been
shadowed during the last two days We have never gone out without keeping a
sharp watch and no one could have escaped our notice«
»You have always kept together I presume«
»Except yesterday afternoon I usually give up one day to pure amusement
when I come to town so I spent it at the Museum of the College of Surgeons«
»And I went to look at the folk in the park« said Baskerville »But we had
no trouble of any kind«
»It was imprudent all the same« said Holmes shaking his head and looking
very grave »I beg Sir Henry that you will not go about alone Some great
misfortune will befall you if you do Did you get your other boot«
»No sir it is gone forever«
»Indeed That is very interesting Well goodbye« he added as the train
began to glide down the platform »Bear in mind Sir Henry one of the phrases
in that queer old legend which Dr Mortimer has read to us and avoid the moor in
those hours of darkness when the powers of evil are exalted«
I looked back at the platform when we had left it far behind and saw the
tall austere figure of Holmes standing motionless and gazing after us
The journey was a swift and pleasant one and I spent it in making the more
intimate acquaintance of my two companions and in playing with Dr Mortimers
spaniel In a very few hours the brown earth had become ruddy the brick had
changed to granite and red cows grazed in wellhedged fields where the lush
grasses and more luxuriant vegetation spoke of a richer if a damper climate
Young Baskerville stared eagerly out of the window and cried aloud with delight
as he recognized the familiar features of the Devon scenery
»Ive been over a good part of the world since I left it Dr Watson« said
he »but I have never seen a place to compare with it«
»I never saw a Devonshire man who did not swear by his county« I remarked
»It depends upon the breed of men quite as much as on the county« said Dr
Mortimer »A glance at our friend here reveals the rounded head of the Celt
which carries inside it the Celtic enthusiasm and power of attachment Poor Sir
Charless head was of a very rare type half Gaelic half Ivernian in its
characteristics But you were very young when you last saw Baskerville Hall
were you not«
»I was a boy in my teens at the time of my fathers death and had never seen
the Hall for he lived in a little cottage on the South Coast Thence I went
straight to a friend in America I tell you it is all as new to me as it is to
Dr Watson and Im as keen as possible to see the moor«
»Are you Then your wish is easily granted for there is your first sight of
the moor« said Dr Mortimer pointing out of the carriage window
Over the green squares of the fields and the low curve of a wood there rose
in the distance a gray melancholy hill with a strange jagged summit dim and
vague in the distance like some fantastic landscape in a dream Baskerville sat
for a long time his eyes fixed upon it and I read upon his eager face how much
it meant to him this first sight of that strange spot where the men of his
blood had held sway so long and left their mark so deep There he sat with his
tweed suit and his American accent in the corner of a prosaic railwaycarriage
and yet as I looked at his dark and expressive face I felt more than ever how
true a descendant he was of that long line of highblooded fiery and masterful
men There were pride valour and strength in his thick brows his sensitive
nostrils and his large hazel eyes If on that forbidding moor a difficult and
dangerous quest should lie before us this was at least a comrade for whom one
might venture to take a risk with the certainty that he would bravely share it
The train pulled up at a small wayside station and we all descended
Outside beyond the low white fence a wagonette with a pair of cobs was
waiting Our coming was evidently a great event for stationmaster and porters
clustered round us to carry out our luggage It was a sweet simple country
spot but I was surprised to observe that by the gate there stood two soldierly
men in dark uniforms who leaned upon their short rifles and glanced keenly at us
as we passed The coachman a hardfaced gnarled little fellow saluted Sir
Henry Baskerville and in a few minutes we were flying swiftly down the broad
white road Rolling pasture lands curved upward on either side of us and old
gabled houses peeped out from amid the thick green foliage but behind the
peaceful and sunlit countryside there rose ever dark against the evening sky
the long gloomy curve of the moor broken by the jagged and sinister hills
The wagonette swung round into a side road and we curved upward through
deep lanes worn by centuries of wheels high banks on either side heavy with
dripping moss and fleshy hartstongue ferns Bronzing bracken and mottled
bramble gleamed in the light of the sinking sun Still steadily rising we
passed over a narrow granite bridge and skirted a noisy stream which gushed
swiftly down foaming and roaring amid the gray boulders Both road and stream
wound up through a valley dense with scrub oak and fir At every turn
Baskerville gave an exclamation of delight looking eagerly about him and asking
countless questions To his eyes all seemed beautiful but to me a tinge of
melancholy lay upon the countryside which bore so clearly the mark of the
waning year Yellow leaves carpeted the lanes and fluttered down upon us as we
passed The rattle of our wheels died away as we drove through drifts of rotting
vegetation sad gifts as it seemed to me for Nature to throw before the
carriage of the returning heir of the Baskervilles
»Halloa« cried Dr Mortimer »what is this«
A steep curve of heathclad land an outlying spur of the moor lay in front
of us On the summit hard and clear like an equestrian statue upon its
pedestal was a mounted soldier dark and stern his rifle poised ready over his
forearm He was watching the road along which we travelled
»What is this Perkins« asked Dr Mortimer
Our driver half turned in his seat
»Theres a convict escaped from Princetown sir Hes been out three days
now and the warders watch every road and every station but theyve had no
sight of him yet The farmers about here dont like it sir and thats a fact«
»Well I understand that they get five pounds if they can give information«
»Yes sir but the chance of five pounds is but a poor thing compared to the
chance of having your throat cut You see it isnt like any ordinary convict
This is a man that would stick at nothing«
»Who is he then«
»It is Selden the Notting Hill murderer«
I remembered the case well for it was one in which Holmes had taken an
interest on account of the peculiar ferocity of the crime and the wanton
brutality which had marked all the actions of the assassin The commutation of
his death sentence had been due to some doubts as to his complete sanity so
atrocious was his conduct Our wagonette had topped a rise and in front of us
rose the huge expanse of the moor mottled with gnarled and craggy cairns and
tors A cold wind swept down from it and set us shivering Somewhere there on
that desolate plain was lurking this fiendish man hiding in a burrow like a
wild beast his heart full of malignancy against the whole race which had cast
him out It needed but this to complete the grim suggestiveness of the barren
waste the chilling wind and the darkling sky Even Baskerville fell silent and
pulled his overcoat more closely around him
We had left the fertile country behind and beneath us We looked back on it
now the slanting rays of a low sun turning the streams to threads of gold and
glowing on the red earth new turned by the plough and the broad tangle of the
woodlands The road in front of us grew bleaker and wilder over huge russet and
olive slopes sprinkled with giant boulders Now and then we passed a moorland
cottage walled and roofed with stone with no creeper to break its harsh
outline Suddenly we looked down into a cuplike depression patched with stunted
oaks and firs which had been twisted and bent by the fury of years of storm Two
high narrow towers rose over the trees The driver pointed with his whip
»Baskerville Hall« said he
Its master had risen and was staring with flushed cheeks and shining eyes A
few minutes later we had reached the lodgegates a maze of fantastic tracery in
wrought iron with weatherbitten pillars on either side blotched with lichens
and surmounted by the boars heads of the Baskervilles The lodge was a ruin of
black granite and bared ribs of rafters but facing it was a new building half
constructed the first fruit of Sir Charless South African gold
Through the gateway we passed into the avenue where the wheels were again
hushed amid the leaves and the old trees shot their branches in a sombre tunnel
over our heads Baskerville shuddered as he looked up the long dark drive to
where the house glimmered like a ghost at the farther end
»Was it here« he asked in a low voice
»No no the yew alley is on the other side«
The young heir glanced round with a gloomy face
»Its no wonder my uncle felt as if trouble were coming on him in such a
place as this« said he »Its enough to scare any man Ill have a row of
electric lamps up here inside of six months and you wont know it again with a
thousand candlepower Swan and Edison right here in front of the hall door«
The avenue opened into a broad expanse of turf and the house lay before us
In the fading light I could see that the centre was a heavy block of building
from which a porch projected The whole front was draped in ivy with a patch
clipped bare here and there where a window or a coat of arms broke through the
dark veil From this central block rose the twin towers ancient crenellated
and pierced with many loopholes To right and left of the turrets were more
modern wings of black granite A dull light shone through heavy mullioned
windows and from the high chimneys which rose from the steep highangled roof
there sprang a single black column of smoke
»Welcome Sir Henry Welcome to Baskerville Hall«
A tall man had stepped from the shadow of the porch to open the door of the
wagonette The figure of a woman was silhouetted against the yellow light of the
hall She came out and helped the man to hand down our bags
»You dont mind my driving straight home Sir Henry« said Dr Mortimer »My
wife is expecting me«
»Surely you will stay and have some dinner«
»No I must go I shall probably find some work awaiting me I would stay to
show you over the house but Barrymore will be a better guide than I Goodbye
and never hesitate night or day to send for me if I can be of service«
The wheels died away down the drive while Sir Henry and I turned into the
hall and the door clanged heavily behind us It was a fine apartment in which
we found ourselves large lofty and heavily raftered with huge baulks of
ageblackened oak In the great oldfashioned fireplace behind the high iron
dogs a logfire crackled and snapped Sir Henry and I held out our hands to it
for we were numb from our long drive Then we gazed round us at the high thin
window of old stained glass the oak panelling the stags heads the coats of
arms upon the walls all dim and sombre in the subdued light of the central
lamp
»Its just as I imagined it« said Sir Henry »Is it not the very picture of
an old family home To think that this should be the same hall in which for five
hundred years my people have lived It strikes me solemn to think of it«
I saw his dark face lit up with a boyish enthusiasm as he gazed about him
The light beat upon him where he stood but long shadows trailed down the walls
and hung like a black canopy above him Barrymore had returned from taking our
luggage to our rooms He stood in front of us now with the subdued manner of a
welltrained servant He was a remarkablelooking man tall handsome with a
square black beard and pale distinguished features
»Would you wish dinner to be served at once sir«
»Is it ready«
»In a very few minutes sir You will find hot water in your rooms My wife
and I will be happy Sir Henry to stay with you until you have made your fresh
arrangements but you will understand that under the new conditions this house
will require a considerable staff«
»What new conditions«
»I only meant sir that Sir Charles led a very retired life and we were
able to look after his wants You would naturally wish to have more company
and so you will need changes in your household«
»Do you mean that your wife and you wish to leave«
»Only when it is quite convenient to you sir«
»But your family have been with us for several generations have they not I
should be sorry to begin my life here by breaking an old family connection«
I seemed to discern some signs of emotion upon the butlers white face
»I feel that also sir and so does my wife But to tell the truth sir we
were both very much attached to Sir Charles and his death gave us a shock and
made these surroundings very painful to us I fear that we shall never again be
easy in our minds at Baskerville Hall«
»But what do you intend to do«
»I have no doubt sir that we shall succeed in establishing ourselves in
some business Sir Charless generosity has given us the means to do so And
now sir perhaps I had best show you to your rooms«
A square balustraded gallery ran round the top of the old hall approached
by a double stair From this central point two long corridors extended the whole
length of the building from which all the bedrooms opened My own was in the
same wing as Baskervilles and almost next door to it These rooms appeared to
be much more modern than the central part of the house and the bright paper and
numerous candles did something to remove the sombre impression which our arrival
had left upon my mind
But the diningroom which opened out of the hall was a place of shadow and
gloom It was a long chamber with a step separating the dais where the family
sat from the lower portion reserved for their dependents At one end a
minstrels gallery overlooked it Black beams shot across above our heads with
a smokedarkened ceiling beyond them With rows of flaring torches to light it
up and the colour and rude hilarity of an oldtime banquet it might have
softened but now when two blackclothed gentlemen sat in the little circle of
light thrown by a shaded lamp ones voice became hushed and ones spirit
subdued A dim line of ancestors in every variety of dress from the
Elizabethan knight to the buck of the Regency stared down upon us and daunted
us by their silent company We talked little and I for one was glad when the
meal was over and we were able to retire into the modern billiardroom and smoke
a cigarette
»My word it isnt a very cheerful place« said Sir Henry »I suppose one
can tone down to it but I feel a bit out of the picture at present I dont
wonder that my uncle got a little jumpy if he lived all alone in such a house as
this However if it suits you we will retire early tonight and perhaps
things may seem more cheerful in the morning«
I drew aside my curtains before I went to bed and looked out from my window
It opened upon the grassy space which lay in front of the hall door Beyond two
copses of trees moaned and swung in a rising wind A half moon broke through the
rifts of racing clouds In its cold light I saw beyond the trees a broken fringe
of rocks and the long low curve of the melancholy moor I closed the curtain
feeling that my last impression was in keeping with the rest
And yet it was not quite the last I found myself weary and yet wakeful
tossing restlessly from side to side seeking for the sleep which would not
come Far away a chiming clock struck out the quarters of the hours but
otherwise a deathly silence lay upon the old house And then suddenly in the
very dead of the night there came a sound to my ears clear resonant and
unmistakable It was the sob of a woman the muffled strangling gasp of one who
is torn by an uncontrollable sorrow I sat up in bed and listened intently The
noise could not have been far away and was certainly in the house For half an
hour I waited with every nerve on the alert but there came no other sound save
the chiming clock and the rustle of the ivy on the wall
Chapter VII
The Stapletons of Merripit House
The fresh beauty of the following morning did something to efface from our minds
the grim and gray impression which had been left upon both of us by our first
experience of Baskerville Hall As Sir Henry and I sat at breakfast the sunlight
flooded in through the high mullioned windows throwing watery patches of colour
from the coats of arms which covered them The dark panelling glowed like bronze
in the golden rays and it was hard to realize that this was indeed the chamber
which had struck such a gloom into our souls upon the evening before
»I guess it is ourselves and not the house that we have to blame« said the
baronet »We were tired with our journey and chilled by our drive so we took a
gray view of the place Now we are fresh and well so it is all cheerful once
more«
»And yet it was not entirely a question of imagination« I answered »Did
you for example happen to hear someone a woman I think sobbing in the
night«
»That is curious for I did when I was half asleep fancy that I heard
something of the sort I waited quite a time but there was no more of it so I
concluded that it was all a dream«
»I heard it distinctly and I am sure that it was really the sob of a
woman«
»We must ask about this right away« He rang the bell and asked Barrymore
whether he could account for our experience It seemed to me that the pallid
features of the butler turned a shade paler still as he listened to his masters
question
»There are only two women in the house Sir Henry« he answered »One is the
scullerymaid who sleeps in the other wing The other is my wife and I can
answer for it that the sound could not have come from her«
And yet he lied as he said it for it chanced that after breakfast I met
Mrs Barrymore in the long corridor with the sun full upon her face She was a
large impassive heavyfeatured woman with a stern set expression of mouth But
her telltale eyes were red and glanced at me from between swollen lids It was
she then who wept in the night and if she did so her husband must know it
Yet he had taken the obvious risk of discovery in declaring that it was not so
Why had he done this And why did she weep so bitterly Already round this
palefaced handsome blackbearded man there was gathering an atmosphere of
mystery and of gloom It was he who had been the first to discover the body of
Sir Charles and we had only his word for all the circumstances which led up to
the old mans death Was it possible that it was Barrymore after all whom we
had seen in the cab in Regent Street The beard might well have been the same
The cabman had described a somewhat shorter man but such an impression might
easily have been erroneous How could I settle the point forever Obviously the
first thing to do was to see the Grimpen postmaster and find whether the test
telegram had really been placed in Barrymores own hands Be the answer what it
might I should at least have something to report to Sherlock Holmes
Sir Henry had numerous papers to examine after breakfast so that the time
was propitious for my excursion It was a pleasant walk of four miles along the
edge of the moor leading me at last to a small gray hamlet in which two larger
buildings which proved to be the inn and the house of Dr Mortimer stood high
above the rest The postmaster who was also the village grocer had a clear
recollection of the telegram
»Certainly sir« said he »I had the telegram delivered to Mr Barrymore
exactly as directed«
»Who delivered it«
»My boy here James you delivered that telegram to Mr Barrymore at the
Hall last week did you not«
»Yes father I delivered it«
»Into his own hands« I asked
»Well he was up in the loft at the time so that I could not put it into
his own hands but I gave it into Mrs Barrymores hands and she promised to
deliver it at once«
»Did you see Mr Barrymore«
»No sir I tell you he was in the loft«
»If you didnt see him how do you know he was in the loft«
»Well surely his own wife ought to know where he is« said the postmaster
testily »Didnt he get the telegram If there is any mistake it is for Mr
Barrymore himself to complain«
It seemed hopeless to pursue the inquiry any farther but it was clear that
in spite of Holmess ruse we had no proof that Barrymore had not been in London
all the time Suppose that it were so suppose that the same man had been the
last who had seen Sir Charles alive and the first to dog the new heir when he
returned to England What then Was he the agent of others or had he some
sinister design of his own What interest could he have in persecuting the
Baskerville family I thought of the strange warning clipped out of the leading
article of the Times Was that his work or was it possibly the doing of someone
who was bent upon counteracting his schemes The only conceivable motive was
that which had been suggested by Sir Henry that if the family could be scared
away a comfortable and permanent home would be secured for the Barrymores But
surely such an explanation as that would be quite inadequate to account for the
deep and subtle scheming which seemed to be weaving an invisible net round the
young baronet Holmes himself had said that no more complex case had come to him
in all the long series of his sensational investigations I prayed as I walked
back along the gray lonely road that my friend might soon be freed from his
preoccupations and able to come down to take this heavy burden of responsibility
from my shoulders
Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of running feet behind me
and by a voice which called me by name I turned expecting to see Dr Mortimer
but to my surprise it was a stranger who was pursuing me He was a small slim
cleanshaven primfaced man flaxenhaired and leanjawed between thirty and
forty years of age dressed in a gray suit and wearing a straw hat A tin box
for botanical specimens hung over his shoulder and he carried a green butterfly
net in one of his hands
»You will I am sure excuse my presumption Dr Watson« said he as he came
panting up to where I stood »Here on the moor we are homely folk and do not
wait for formal introductions You may possibly have heard my name from our
mutual friend Mortimer I am Stapleton of Merripit House«
»Your net and box would have told me as much« said I »for I knew that Mr
Stapleton was a naturalist But how did you know me«
»I have been calling on Mortimer and he pointed you out to me from the
window of his surgery as you passed As our road lay the same way I thought that
I would overtake you and introduce myself I trust that Sir Henry is none the
worse for his journey«
»He is very well thank you«
»We were all rather afraid that after the sad death of Sir Charles the new
baronet might refuse to live here It is asking much of a wealthy man to come
down and bury himself in a place of this kind but I need not tell you that it
means a very great deal to the countryside Sir Henry has I suppose no
superstitious fears in the matter«
»I do not think that it is likely«
»Of course you know the legend of the fiend dog which haunts the family«
»I have heard it«
»It is extraordinary how credulous the peasants are about here Any number
of them are ready to swear that they have seen such a creature upon the moor«
He spoke with a smile but I seemed to read in his eyes that he took the matter
more seriously »The story took a great hold upon the imagination of Sir
Charles and I have no doubt that it led to his tragic end«
»But how«
»His nerves were so worked up that the appearance of any dog might have had
a fatal effect upon his diseased heart I fancy that he really did see something
of the kind upon that last night in the yew alley I feared that some disaster
might occur for I was very fond of the old man and I knew that his heart was
weak«
»How did you know that«
»My friend Mortimer told me«
»You think then that some dog pursued Sir Charles and that he died of
fright in consequence«
»Have you any better explanation«
»I have not come to any conclusion«
»Has Mr Sherlock Holmes«
The words took away my breath for an instant but a glance at the placid
face and steadfast eyes of my companion showed that no surprise was intended
»It is useless for us to pretend that we do not know you Dr Watson« said
he »The records of your detective have reached us here and you could not
celebrate him without being known yourself When Mortimer told me your name he
could not deny your identity If you are here then it follows that Mr Sherlock
Holmes is interesting himself in the matter and I am naturally curious to know
what view he may take«
»I am afraid that I cannot answer that question«
»May I ask if he is going to honour us with a visit himself«
»He cannot leave town at present He has other cases which engage his
attention«
»What a pity He might throw some light on that which is so dark to us But
as to your own researches if there is any possible way in which I can be of
service to you I trust that you will command me If I had any indication of the
nature of your suspicions or how you propose to investigate the case I might
perhaps even now give you some aid or advice«
»I assure you that I am simply here upon a visit to my friend Sit Henry
and that I need no help of any kind«
»Excellent« said Stapleton »You are perfectly right to be wary and
discreet I am justly reproved for what I feel was an unjustifiable intrusion
and I promise you that I will not mention the matter again«
We had come to a point where a narrow grassy path struck off from the road
and wound away across the moor A steep bouldersprinkled hill lay upon the
right which had in bygone days been cut into a granite quarry The face which
was turned towards us formed a dark cliff with ferns and brambles growing in
its niches From over a distant rise there floated a gray plume of smoke
»A moderate walk along this moorpath brings us to Merripit House« said he
»Perhaps you will spare an hour that I may have the pleasure of introducing you
to my sister«
My first thought was that I should be by Sir Henrys side But then I
remembered the pile of papers and bills with which his study table was littered
It was certain that I could not help with those And Holmes had expressly said
that I should study the neighbours upon the moor I accepted Stapletons
invitation and we turned together down the path
»It is a wonderful place the moor« said he looking round over the
undulating downs long green rollers with crests of jagged granite foaming up
into fantastic surges »You never tire of the moor You cannot think the
wonderful secrets which it contains It is so vast and so barren and so
mysterious«
»You know it well then«
»I have only been here two years The residents would call me a newcomer We
came shortly after Sir Charles settled But my tastes led me to explore every
part of the country round and I should think that there are few men who know it
better than I do«
»Is it hard to know«
»Very hard You see for example this great plain to the north here with
the queer hills breaking out of it Do you observe anything remarkable about
that«
»It would be a rare place for a gallop«
»You would naturally think so and the thought has cost several their lives
before now You notice those bright green spots scattered thickly over it«
»Yes they seem more fertile than the rest«
Stapleton laughed
»That is the great Grimpen Mire« said he »A false step yonder means death
to man or beast Only yesterday I saw one of the moor ponies wander into it He
never came out I saw his head for quite a long time craning out of the
boghole but it sucked him down at last Even in dry seasons it is a danger to
cross it but after these autumn rains it is an awful place And yet I can find
my way to the very heart of it and return alive By George there is another of
those miserable ponies«
Something brown was rolling and tossing among the green sedges Then a long
agonized writhing neck shot upward and a dreadful cry echoed over the moor It
turned me cold with horror but my companions nerves seemed to be stronger than
mine
»Its gone« said he »The mire has him Two in two days and many more
perhaps for they get in the way of going there in the dry weather and never
know the difference until the mire has them in its clutches Its a bad place
the great Grimpen Mire«
»And you say you can penetrate it«
»Yes there are one or two paths which a very active man can take I have
found them out«
»But why should you wish to go into so horrible a place«
»Well you see the hills beyond They are really islands cut off on all
sides by the impassable mire which has crawled round them in the course of
years That is where the rare plants and the butterflies are if you have the
wit to reach them«
»I shall try my luck some day«
He looked at me with a surprised face
»For Gods sake put such an idea out of your mind« said he »Your blood
would be upon my head I assure you that there would not be the least chance of
your coming back alive It is only by remembering certain complex landmarks that
I am able to do it«
»Halloa« I cried »What is that«
A long low moan indescribably sad swept over the moor It filled the
whole air and yet it was impossible to say whence it came From a dull murmur
it swelled into a deep roar and then sank back into a melancholy throbbing
murmur once again Stapleton looked at me with a curious expression in his face
»Queer place the moor« said he
»But what is it«
»The peasants say it is the Hound of the Baskervilles calling for its prey
Ive heard it once or twice before but never quite so loud«
I looked round with a chill of fear in my heart at the huge swelling
plain mottled with the green patches of rushes Nothing stirred over the vast
expanse save a pair of ravens which croaked loudly from a tor behind us
»You are an educated man You dont believe such nonsense as that« said I
»What do you think is the cause of so strange a sound«
»Bogs make queer noises sometimes Its the mud settling or the water
rising or something«
»No no that was a living voice«
»Well perhaps it was Did you ever hear a bittern booming«
»No I never did«
»Its a very rare bird practically extinct in England now but all
things are possible upon the moor Yes I should not be surprised to learn that
what we have heard is the cry of the last of the bitterns«
»Its the weirdest strangest thing that ever I heard in my life«
»Yes its rather an uncanny place altogether Look at the hillside yonder
What do you make of those«
The whole steep slope was covered with gray circular rings of stone a score
of them at least
»What are they Sheeppens«
»No they are the homes of our worthy ancestors Prehistoric man lived
thickly on the moor and as no one in particular has lived there since we find
all his little arrangements exactly as he left them These are his wigwams with
the roofs off You can even see his hearth and his couch if you have the
curiosity to go inside«
»But it is quite a town When was it inhabited«
»Neolithic man no date«
»What did he do«
»He grazed his cattle on these slopes and he learned to dig for tin when
the bronze sword began to supersede the stone axe Look at the great trench in
the opposite hill That is his mark Yes you will find some very singular
points about the moor Dr Watson Oh excuse me an instant It is surely
Cyclopides«
A small fly or moth had fluttered across our path and in an instant
Stapleton was rushing with extraordinary energy and speed in pursuit of it To
my dismay the creature flew straight for the great mire and my acquaintance
never paused for an instant bounding from tuft to tuft behind it his green net
waving in the air His gray clothes and jerky zigzag irregular progress made
him not unlike some huge moth himself I was standing watching his pursuit with
a mixture of admiration for his extraordinary activity and fear lest he should
lose his footing in the treacherous mire when I heard the sound of steps and
turning round found a woman near me upon the path She had come from the
direction in which the plume of smoke indicated the position of Merripit House
but the dip of the moor had hid her until she was quite close
I could not doubt that this was the Miss Stapleton of whom I had been told
since ladies of any sort must be few upon the moor and I remembered that I had
heard someone describe her as being a beauty The woman who approached me was
certainly that and of a most uncommon type There could not have been a greater
contrast between brother and sister for Stapleton was neutral tinted with
light hair and gray eyes while she was darker than any brunette whom I have
seen in England slim elegant and tall She had a proud finely cut face so
regular that it might have seemed impassive were it not for the sensitive mouth
and the beautiful dark eager eyes With her perfect figure and elegant dress
she was indeed a strange apparition upon a lonely moorland path Her eyes were
on her brother as I turned and then she quickened her pace towards me I had
raised my hat and was about to make some explanatory remark when her own words
turned all my thoughts into a new channel
»Go back« she said »Go straight back to London instantly«
I could only stare at her in stupid surprise Her eyes blazed at me and she
tapped the ground impatiently with her foot
»Why should I go back« I asked
»I cannot explain« She spoke in a low eager voice with a curious lisp in
her utterance »But for Gods sake do what I ask you Go back and never set foot
upon the moor again«
»But I have only just come«
»Man man« she cried »Can you not tell when a warning is for your own
good Go back to London Start tonight Get away from this place at all costs
Hush my brother is coming Not a word of what I have said Would you mind
getting that orchid for me among the marestails yonder We are very rich in
orchids on the moor though of course you are rather late to see the beauties
of the place«
Stapleton had abandoned the chase and came back to us breathing hard and
flushed with his exertions
»Halloa Beryl« said he and it seemed to me that the tone of his greeting
was not altogether a cordial one
»Well Jack you are very hot«
»Yes I was chasing a Cyclopides He is very rare and seldom found in the
late autumn What a pity that I should have missed him« He spoke unconcernedly
but his small light eyes glanced incessantly from the girl to me
»You have introduced yourselves I can see«
»Yes I was telling Sir Henry that it was rather late for him to see the
true beauties of the moor«
»Why who do you think this is«
»I imagine that it must be Sir Henry Baskerville«
»No no« said I »Only a humble commoner but his friend My name is Dr
Watson«
A flush of vexation passed over her expressive face »We have been talking
at cross purposes« said she
»Why you had not very much time for talk« her brother remarked with the
same questioning eyes
»I talked as if Dr Watson were a resident instead of being merely a
visitor« said she »It cannot much matter to him whether it is early or late
for the orchids But you will come on will you not and see Merripit House«
A short walk brought us to it a bleak moorland house once the farm of some
grazier in the old prosperous days but now put into repair and turned into a
modern dwelling An orchard surrounded it but the trees as is usual upon the
moor were stunted and nipped and the effect of the whole place was mean and
melancholy We were admitted by a strange wizened rustycoated old manservant
who seemed in keeping with the house Inside however there were large rooms
furnished with an elegance in which I seemed to recognize the taste of the lady
As I looked from their windows at the interminable graniteflecked moor rolling
unbroken to the farthest horizon I could not but marvel at what could have
brought this highly educated man and this beautiful woman to live in such a
place
»Queer spot to choose is it not« said he as if in answer to my thought
»And yet we manage to make ourselves fairly happy do we not Beryl«
»Quite happy« said she but there was no ring of conviction in her words
»I had a school« said Stapleton »It was in the north country The work to
a man of my temperament was mechanical and uninteresting but the privilege of
living with youth of helping to mould those young minds and of impressing them
with ones own character and ideals was very dear to me However the fates were
against us A serious epidemic broke out in the school and three of the boys
died It never recovered from the blow and much of my capital was irretrievably
swallowed up And yet if it were not for the loss of the charming companionship
of the boys I could rejoice over my own misfortune for with my strong tastes
for botany and zoology I find an unlimited field of work here and my sister is
as devoted to Nature as I am All this Dr Watson has been brought upon your
head by your expression as you surveyed the moor out of our window«
»It certainly did cross my mind that it might be a little dull less for
you perhaps than for your sister«
»No no I am never dull« said she quickly
»We have books we have our studies and we have interesting neighbours Dr
Mortimer is a most learned man in his own line Poor Sir Charles was also an
admirable companion We knew him well and miss him more than I can tell Do you
think that I should intrude if I were to call this afternoon and make the
acquaintance of Sir Henry«
»I am sure that he would be delighted«
»Then perhaps you would mention that I propose to do so We may in our
humble way do something to make things more easy for him until he becomes
accustomed to his new surroundings Will you come upstairs Dr Watson and
inspect my collection of Lepidoptera I think it is the most complete one in the
southwest of England By the time that you have looked through them lunch will
be almost ready«
But I was eager to get back to my charge The melancholy of the moor the
death of the unfortunate pony the weird sound which had been associated with
the grim legend of the Baskervilles all these things tinged my thoughts with
sadness Then on the top of these more or less vague impressions there had come
the definite and distinct warning of Miss Stapleton delivered with such intense
earnestness that I could not doubt that some grave and deep reason lay behind
it I resisted all pressure to stay for lunch and I set off at once upon my
return journey taking the grassgrown path by which we had come
It seems however that there must have been some short cut for those who
knew it for before I had reached the road I was astounded to see Miss Stapleton
sitting upon a rock by the side of the track Her face was beautifully flushed
with her exertions and she held her hand to her side
»I have run all the way in order to cut you off Dr Watson« said she »I
had not even time to put on my hat I must not stop or my brother may miss me
I wanted to say to you how sorry I am about the stupid mistake I made in
thinking that you were Sir Henry Please forget the words I said which have no
application whatever to you«
»But I cant forget them Miss Stapleton« said I »I am Sir Henrys friend
and his welfare is a very close concern of mine Tell me why it was that you
were so eager that Sir Henry should return to London«
»A womans whim Dr Watson When you know me better you will understand
that I cannot always give reasons for what I say or do«
»No no I remember the thrill in your voice I remember the look in your
eyes Please please be frank with me Miss Stapleton for ever since I have
been here I have been conscious of shadows all round me Life has become like
that great Grimpen Mire with little green patches everywhere into which one may
sink and with no guide to point the track Tell me then what it was that you
meant and I will promise to convey your warning to Sir Henry«
An expression of irresolution passed for an instant over her face but her
eyes had hardened again when she answered me
»You make too much of it Dr Watson« said she »My brother and I were very
much shocked by the death of Sir Charles We knew him very intimately for his
favourite walk was over the moor to our house He was deeply impressed with the
curse which hung over his family and when this tragedy came I naturally felt
that there must be some grounds for the fears which he had expressed I was
distressed therefore when another member of the family came down to live here
and I felt that he should be warned of the danger which he will run That was
all which I intended to convey«
»But what is the danger«
»You know the story of the hound«
»I do not believe in such nonsense«
»But I do If you have any influence with Sir Henry take him away from a
place which has always been fatal to his family The world is wide Why should
he wish to live at the place of danger«
»Because it is the place of danger That is Sir Henrys nature I fear that
unless you can give me some more definite information than this it would be
impossible to get him to move«
»I cannot say anything definite for I do not know anything definite«
»I would ask you one more question Miss Stapleton If you meant no more
than this when you first spoke to me why should you not wish your brother to
overhear what you said There is nothing to which he or anyone else could
object«
»My brother is very anxious to have the Hall inhabited for he thinks that
it is for the good of the poor folk upon the moor He would be very angry if he
knew that I had said anything which might induce Sir Henry to go away But I
have done my duty now and I will say no more I must get back or he will miss
me and suspect that I have seen you Goodbye« She turned and had disappeared
in a few minutes among the scattered boulders while I with my soul full of
vague fears pursued my way to Baskerville Hall
Chapter VIII
First Report of Dr Watson
From this point onward I will follow the course of events by transcribing my own
letters to Mr Sherlock Holmes which lie before me on the table One page is
missing but otherwise they are exactly as written and show my feelings and
suspicions of the moment more accurately than my memory clear as it is upon
these tragic events can possibly do
Baskerville Hall October 13th
My dear Holmes
My previous letters and telegrams have kept you pretty well up to date as to
all that has occurred in this most Godforsaken corner of the world The longer
one stays here the more does the spirit of the moor sink into ones soul its
vastness and also its grim charm When you are once out upon its bosom you have
left all traces of modern England behind you but on the other hand you are
conscious everywhere of the homes and the work of the prehistoric people On all
sides of you as you walk are the houses of these forgotten folk with their
graves and the huge monoliths which are supposed to have marked their temples
As you look at their gray stone huts against the scarred hillsides you leave
your own age behind you and if you were to see a skinclad hairy man crawl out
from the low door fitting a flinttipped arrow on to the string of his bow you
would feel that his presence there was more natural than your own The strange
thing is that they should have lived so thickly on what must always have been
most unfruitful soil I am no antiquarian but I could imagine that they were
some unwarlike and harried race who were forced to accept that which none other
would occupy
All this however is foreign to the mission on which you sent me and will
probably be very uninteresting to your severely practical mind I can still
remember your complete indifference as to whether the sun moved round the earth
or the earth round the sun Let me therefore return to the facts concerning
Sir Henry Baskerville
If you have not had any report within the last few days it is because up to
today there was nothing of importance to relate Then a very surprising
circumstance occurred which I shall tell you in due course But first of all
I must keep you in touch with some of the other factors in the situation
One of these concerning which I have said little is the escaped convict
upon the moor There is strong reason now to believe that he has got right away
which is a considerable relief to the lonely householders of this district A
fortnight has passed since his flight during which he has not been seen and
nothing has been heard of him It is surely inconceivable that he could have
held out upon the moor during all that time Of course so far as his
concealment goes there is no difficulty at all Any one of these stone huts
would give him a hidingplace But there is nothing to eat unless he were to
catch and slaughter one of the moor sheep We think therefore that he has
gone and the outlying farmers sleep the better in consequence
We are four ablebodied men in this household so that we could take good
care of ourselves but I confess that I have had uneasy moments when I have
thought of the Stapletons They live miles from any help There are one maid an
old manservant the sister and the brother the latter not a very strong man
They would be helpless in the hands of a desperate fellow like this Notting Hill
criminal if he could once effect an entrance Both Sir Henry and I were
concerned at their situation and it was suggested that Perkins the groom should
go over to sleep there but Stapleton would not hear of it
The fact is that our friend the baronet begins to display a considerable
interest in our fair neighbour It is not to be wondered at for time hangs
heavily in this lonely spot to an active man like him and she is a very
fascinating and beautiful woman There is something tropical and exotic about
her which forms a singular contrast to her cool and unemotional brother Yet he
also gives the idea of hidden fires He has certainly a very marked influence
over her for I have seen her continually glance at him as she talked as if
seeking approbation for what she said I trust that he is kind to her There is
a dry glitter in his eyes and a firm set of his thin lips which goes with a
positive and possibly a harsh nature You would find him an interesting study
He came over to call upon Baskerville on that first day and the very next
morning he took us both to show us the spot where the legend of the wicked Hugo
is supposed to have had its origin It was an excursion of some miles across the
moor to a place which is so dismal that it might have suggested the story We
found a short valley between rugged tors which led to an open grassy space
flecked over with the white cotton grass In the middle of it rose two great
stones worn and sharpened at the upper end until they looked like the huge
corroding fangs of some monstrous beast In every way it corresponded with the
scene of the old tragedy Sir Henry was much interested and asked Stapleton more
than once whether he did really believe in the possibility of the interference
of the supernatural in the affairs of men He spoke lightly but it was evident
that he was very much in earnest Stapleton was guarded in his replies but it
was easy to see that he said less than he might and that he would not express
his whole opinion out of consideration for the feelings of the baronet He told
us of similar cases where families had suffered from some evil influence and
he left us with the impression that he shared the popular view upon the matter
On our way back we stayed for lunch at Merripit House and it was there that
Sir Henry made the acquaintance of Miss Stapleton From the first moment that he
saw her he appeared to be strongly attracted by her and I am much mistaken if
the feeling was not mutual He referred to her again and again on our walk home
and since then hardly a day has passed that we have not seen something of the
brother and sister They dine here tonight and there is some talk of our going
to them next week One would imagine that such a match would be very welcome to
Stapleton and yet I have more than once caught a look of the strongest
disapprobation in his face when Sir Henry has been paying some attention to his
sister He is much attached to her no doubt and would lead a lonely life
without her but it would seem the height of selfishness if he were to stand in
the way of her making so brilliant a marriage Yet I am certain that he does not
wish their intimacy to ripen into love and I have several times observed that
he has taken pains to prevent them from being têteàtête By the way your
instructions to me never to allow Sir Henry to go out alone will become very
much more onerous if a love affair were to be added to our other difficulties
My popularity would soon suffer if I were to carry out your orders to the
letter
The other day Thursday to be more exact Dr Mortimer lunched with us
He has been excavating a barrow at Long Down and has got a prehistoric skull
which fills him with great joy Never was there such a singleminded enthusiast
as he The Stapletons came in afterwards and the good doctor took us all to the
yew alley at Sir Henrys request to show us exactly how everything occurred upon
that fatal night It is a long dismal walk the yew alley between two high
walls of clipped hedge with a narrow band of grass upon either side At the far
end is an old tumbledown summerhouse Halfway down is the moorgate where the
old gentleman left his cigarash It is a white wooden gate with a latch Beyond
it lies the wide moor I remembered your theory of the affair and tried to
picture all that had occurred As the old man stood there he saw something
coming across the moor something which terrified him so that he lost his wits
and ran and ran until he died of sheer horror and exhaustion There was the
long gloomy tunnel down which he fled And from what A sheepdog of the moor
Or a spectral hound black silent and monstrous Was there a human agency in
the matter Did the pale watchful Barrymore know more than he cared to say It
was all dim and vague but always there is the dark shadow of crime behind it
One other neighbour I have met since I wrote last This is Mr Frankland of
Lafter Hall who lives some four miles to the south of us He is an elderly man
redfaced whitehaired and choleric His passion is for the British law and
he has spent a large fortune in litigation He fights for the mere pleasure of
fighting and is equally ready to take up either side of a question so that it
is no wonder that he has found it a costly amusement Sometimes he will shut up
a right of way and defy the parish to make him open it At others he will with
his own hands tear down some other mans gate and declare that a path has
existed there from time immemorial defying the owner to prosecute him for
trespass He is learned in old manorial and communal rights and he applies his
knowledge sometimes in favour of the villagers of Fernworthy and sometimes
against them so that he is periodically either carried in triumph down the
village street or else burned in effigy according to his latest exploit He is
said to have about seven lawsuits upon his hands at present which will probably
swallow up the remainder of his fortune and so draw his sting and leave him
harmless for the future Apart from the law he seems a kindly goodnatured
person and I only mention him because you were particular that I should send
some description of the people who surround us He is curiously employed at
present for being an amateur astronomer he has an excellent telescope with
which he lies upon the roof of his own house and sweeps the moor all day in the
hope of catching a glimpse of the escaped convict If he would confine his
energies to this all would be well but there are rumours that he intends to
prosecute Dr Mortimer for opening a grave without the consent of the next of
kin because he dug up the neolithic skull in the barrow on Long Down He helps
to keep our lives from being monotonous and gives a little comic relief where it
is badly needed
And now having brought you up to date in the escaped convict the
Stapletons Dr Mortimer and Frankland of Lafter Hall let me end on that
which is most important and tell you more about the Barrymores and especially
about the surprising development of last night
First of all about the test telegram which you sent from London in order to
make sure that Barrymore was really here I have already explained that the
testimony of the postmaster shows that the test was worthless and that we have
no proof one way or the other I told Sir Henry how the matter stood and he at
once in his downright fashion had Barrymore up and asked him whether he had
received the telegram himself Barrymore said that he had
»Did the boy deliver it into your own hands« asked Sir Henry
Barrymore looked surprised and considered for a little time
»No« said he »I was in the boxroom at the time and my wife brought it up
to me«
»Did you answer it yourself«
»No I told my wife what to answer and she went down to write it«
In the evening he recurred to the subject of his own accord
»I could not quite understand the object of your questions this morning Sir
Henry« said he »I trust that they do not mean that I have done anything to
forfeit your confidence«
Sir Henry had to assure him that it was not so and pacify him by giving him
a considerable part of his old wardrobe the London outfit having now all
arrived
Mrs Barrymore is of interest to me She is a heavy solid person very
limited intensely respectable and inclined to be puritanical You could hardly
conceive a less emotional subject Yet I have told you how on the first night
here I heard her sobbing bitterly and since then I have more than once
observed traces of tears upon her face Some deep sorrow gnaws ever at her
heart Sometimes I wonder if she has a guilty memory which haunts her and
sometimes I suspect Barrymore of being a domestic tyrant I have always felt
that there was something singular and questionable in this mans character but
the adventure of last night brings all my suspicions to a head
And yet it may seem a small matter in itself You are aware that I am not a
very sound sleeper and since I have been on guard in this house my slumbers
have been lighter than ever Last night about two in the morning I was aroused
by a stealthy step passing my room I rose opened my door and peeped out A
long black shadow was trailing down the corridor It was thrown by a man who
walked softly down the passage with a candle held in his hand He was in shirt
and trousers with no covering to his feet I could merely see the outline but
his height told me that it was Barrymore He walked very slowly and
circumspectly and there was something indescribably guilty and furtive in his
whole appearance
I have told you that the corridor is broken by the balcony which runs round
the ball but that it is resumed upon the farther side I waited until he had
passed out of sight and then I followed him When I came round the balcony he
had reached the end of the farther corridor and I could see from the glimmer of
light through an open door that he had entered one of the rooms Now all these
rooms are unfurnished and unoccupied so that his expedition became more
mysterious than ever The light shone steadily as if he were standing
motionless I crept down the passage as noiselessly as I could and peeped round
the corner of the door
Barrymore was crouching at the window with the candle held against the
glass His profile was half turned towards me and his face seemed to be rigid
with expectation as he stared out into the blackness of the moor For some
minutes he stood watching intently Then he gave a deep groan and with an
impatient gesture he put out the light Instantly I made my way back to my room
and very shortly came the stealthy steps passing once more upon their return
journey Long afterwards when I had fallen into a light sleep I heard a key turn
somewhere in a lock but I could not tell whence the sound came What it all
means I cannot guess but there is some secret business going on in this house
of gloom which sooner or later we shall get to the bottom of I do not trouble
you with my theories for you asked me to furnish you only with facts I have
had a long talk with Sir Henry this morning and we have made a plan of campaign
founded upon my observations of last night I will not speak about it just now
but it should make my next report interesting reading
Chapter IX
Second Report of Dr Watson
The Light upon the Moor
Baskerville Hall Oct 15th
My dear Holmes
If I was compelled to leave you without much news during the early days of
my mission you must acknowledge that I am making up for lost time and that
events are now crowding thick and fast upon us In my last report I ended upon
my top note with Barrymore at the window and now I have quite a budget already
which will unless I am much mistaken considerably surprise you Things have
taken a turn which I could not have anticipated In some ways they have within
the last fortyeight hours become much clearer and in some ways they have become
more complicated But I will tell you all and you shall judge for yourself
Before breakfast on the morning following my adventure I went down the
corridor and examined the room in which Barrymore had been on the night before
The western window through which he had stared so intently has I noticed one
peculiarity above all other windows in the house it commands the nearest
outlook on to the moor There is an opening between two trees which enables one
from this point of view to look right down upon it while from all the other
windows it is only a distant glimpse which can be obtained It follows
therefore that Barrymore since only this window would serve the purpose must
have been looking out for something or somebody upon the moor The night was
very dark so that I can hardly imagine how he could have hoped to see anyone
It had struck me that it was possible that some love intrigue was on foot That
would have accounted for his stealthy movements and also for the uneasiness of
his wife The man is a strikinglooking fellow very well equipped to steal the
heart of a country girl so that this theory seemed to have something to support
it That opening of the door which I had heard after I had returned to my room
might mean that he had gone out to keep some clandestine appointment So I
reasoned with myself in the morning and I tell you the direction of my
suspicions however much the result may have shown that they were unfounded
But whatever the true explanation of Barrymores movements might be I felt
that the responsibility of keeping them to myself until I could explain them was
more than I could bear I had an interview with the baronet in his study after
breakfast and I told him all that I had seen He was less surprised than I had
expected
»I knew that Barrymore walked about nights and I had a mind to speak to him
about it« said he »Two or three times I have heard his steps in the passage
coming and going just about the hour you name«
»Perhaps then he pays a visit every night to that particular window« I
suggested
»Perhaps he does If so we should be able to shadow him and see what it is
that he is after I wonder what your friend Holmes would do if he were here«
»I believe that he would do exactly what you now suggest« said I »He would
follow Barrymore and see what he did«
»Then we shall do it together«
»But surely he would hear us«
»The man is rather deaf and in any case we must take our chance of that
Well sit up in my room tonight and wait until he passes« Sir Henry rubbed his
hands with pleasure and it was evident that he hailed the adventure as a relief
to his somewhat quiet life upon the moor
The baronet has been in communication with the architect who prepared the
plans for Sir Charles and with a contractor from London so that we may expect
great changes to begin here soon There have been decorators and furnishers up
from Plymouth and it is evident that our friend has large ideas and means to
spare no pains or expense to restore the grandeur of his family When the house
is renovated and refurnished all that he will need will be a wife to make it
complete Between ourselves there are pretty clear signs that this will not be
wanting if the lady is willing for I have seldom seen a man more infatuated
with a woman than he is with our beautiful neighbour Miss Stapleton And yet
the course of true love does not run quite as smoothly as one would under the
circumstances expect Today for example its surface was broken by a very
unexpected ripple which has caused our friend considerable perplexity and
annoyance
After the conversation which I have quoted about Barrymore Sir Henry put on
his hat and prepared to go out As a matter of course I did the same
»What are you coming Watson« he asked looking at me in a curious way
»That depends on whether you are going on the moor« said I
»Yes I am«
»Well you know what my instructions are I am sorry to intrude but you
heard how earnestly Holmes insisted that I should not leave you and especially
that you should not go alone upon the moor«
Sir Henry put his hand upon my shoulder with a pleasant smile
»My dear fellow« said he »Holmes with all his wisdom did not foresee
some things which have happened since I have been on the moor You understand
me I am sure that you are the last man in the world who would wish to be a
spoilsport I must go out alone«
It put me in a most awkward position I was at a loss what to say or what to
do and before I had made up my mind he picked up his cane and was gone
But when I came to think the matter over my conscience reproached me
bitterly for having on any pretext allowed him to go out of my sight I imagined
what my feelings would be if I had to return to you and to confess that some
misfortune had occurred through my disregard for your instructions I assure you
my cheeks flushed at the very thought It might not even now be too late to
overtake him so I set off at once in the direction of Merripit House
I hurried along the road at the top of my speed without seeing anything of
Sir Henry until I came to the point where the moor path branches off There
fearing that perhaps I had come in the wrong direction after all I mounted a
hill from which I could command a view the same hill which is cut into the
dark quarry Thence I saw him at once He was on the moor path about a quarter
of a mile off and a lady was by his side who could only be Miss Stapleton It
was clear that there was already an understanding between them and that they had
met by appointment They were walking slowly along in deep conversation and I
saw her making quick little movements of her hands as if she were very earnest
in what she was saying while he listened intently and once or twice shook his
head in strong dissent I stood among the rocks watching them very much puzzled
as to what I should do next To follow them and break into their intimate
conversation seemed to be an outrage and yet my clear duty was never for an
instant to let him out of my sight To act the spy upon a friend was a hateful
task Still I could see no better course than to observe him from the hill and
to clear my conscience by confessing to him afterwards what I had done It is
true that if any sudden danger had threatened him I was too far away to be of
use and yet I am sure that you will agree with me that the position was very
difficult and that there was nothing more which I could do
Our friend Sir Henry and the lady had halted on the path and were standing
deeply absorbed in their conversation when I was suddenly aware that I was not
the only witness of their interview A wisp of green floating in the air caught
my eye and another glance showed me that it was carried on a stick by a man who
was moving among the broken ground It was Stapleton with his butterflynet He
was very much closer to the pair than I was and he appeared to be moving in
their direction At this instant Sir Henry suddenly drew Miss Stapleton to his
side His arm was round her but it seemed to me that she was straining away
from him with her face averted He stooped his head to hers and she raised one
hand as if in protest Next moment I saw them spring apart and turn hurriedly
round Stapleton was the cause of the interruption He was running wildly
towards them his absurd net dangling behind him He gesticulated and almost
danced with excitement in front of the lovers What the scene meant I could not
imagine but it seemed to me that Stapleton was abusing Sir Henry who offered
explanations which became more angry as the other refused to accept them The
lady stood by in haughty silence Finally Stapleton turned upon his heel and
beckoned in a peremptory way to his sister who after an irresolute glance at
Sir Henry walked off by the side of her brother The naturalists angry
gestures showed that the lady was included in his displeasure The baronet stood
for a minute looking after them and then he walked slowly back the way that he
had come his head hanging the very picture of dejection
What all this meant I could not imagine but I was deeply ashamed to have
witnessed so intimate a scene without my friends knowledge I ran down the hill
therefore and met the baronet at the bottom His face was flushed with anger and
his brows were wrinkled like one who is at his wits ends what to do
»Halloa Watson Where have you dropped from« said he »You dont mean to
say that you came after me in spite of all«
I explained everything to him how I had found it impossible to remain
behind how I had followed him and how I had witnessed all that had occurred
For an instant his eyes blazed at me but my frankness disarmed his anger and
he broke at last into a rather rueful laugh
»You would have thought the middle of that prairie a fairly safe place for a
man to be private« said he »but by thunder the whole countryside seems to
have been out to see me do my wooing and a mighty poor wooing at that Where
had you engaged a seat«
»I was on that hill«
»Quite in the back row eh But her brother was well up to the front Did
you see him come out on us«
»Yes I did«
»Did he ever strike you as being crazy this brother of hers«
»I cant say that he ever did«
»I dare say not I always thought him sane enough until today but you can
take it from me that either he or I ought to be in a straitjacket Whats the
matter with me anyhow Youve lived near me for some weeks Watson Tell me
straight now Is there anything that would prevent me from making a good
husband to a woman that I loved«
»I should say not«
»He cant object to my worldly position so it must be myself that he has
this down on What has he against me I never hurt man or woman in my life that
I know of And yet he would not so much as let me touch the tips of her
fingers«
»Did he say so«
»That and a deal more I tell you Watson Ive only known her these few
weeks but from the first I just felt that she was made for me and she too
she was happy when she was with me and that Ill swear Theres a light in a
womans eyes that speaks louder than words But he has never let us get
together and it was only today for the first time that I saw a chance of
having a few words with her alone She was glad to meet me but when she did it
was not love that she would talk about and she wouldnt have let me talk about
it either if she could have stopped it She kept coming back to it that this was
a place of danger and that she would never be happy until I had left it I told
her that since I had seen her I was in no hurry to leave it and that if she
really wanted me to go the only way to work it was for her to arrange to go
with me With that I offered in as many words to marry her but before she could
answer down came this brother of hers running at us with a face on him like a
madman He was just white with rage and those light eyes of his were blazing
with fury What was I doing with the lady How dared I offer her attentions
which were distasteful to her Did I think that because I was a baronet I could
do what I liked If he had not been her brother I should have known better how
to answer him As it was I told him that my feelings towards his sister were
such as I was not ashamed of and that I hoped that she might honour me by
becoming my wife That seemed to make the matter no better so then I lost my
temper too and I answered him rather more hotly than I should perhaps
considering that she was standing by So it ended by his going off with her as
you saw and here am I as badly puzzled a man as any in this county Just tell
me what it all means Watson and Ill owe you more than ever I can hope to
pay«
I tried one or two explanations but indeed I was completely puzzled
myself Our friends title his fortune his age his character and his
appearance are all in his favour and I know nothing against him unless it be
this dark fate which runs in his family That his advances should be rejected so
brusquely without any reference to the ladys own wishes and that the lady
should accept the situation without protest is very amazing However our
conjectures were set at rest by a visit from Stapleton himself that very
afternoon He had come to offer apologies for his rudeness of the morning and
after a long private interview with Sir Henry in his study the upshot of their
conversation was that the breach is quite healed and that we are to dine at
Merripit House next Friday as a sign of it
»I dont say now that he isnt a crazy man« said Sir Henry »I cant forget
the look in his eyes when he ran at me this morning but I must allow that no
man could make a more handsome apology than he has done«
»Did he give any explanation of his conduct«
»His sister is everything in his life he says That is natural enough and
I am glad that he should understand her value They have always been together
and according to his account he has been a very lonely man with only her as a
companion so that the thought of losing her was really terrible to him He had
not understood he said that I was becoming attached to her but when he saw
with his own eyes that it was really so and that she might be taken away from
him it gave him such a shock that for a time he was not responsible for what he
said or did He was very sorry for all that had passed and he recognized how
foolish and how selfish it was that he should imagine that he could hold a
beautiful woman like his sister to himself for her whole life If she had to
leave him he had rather it was to a neighbour like myself than to anyone else
But in any case it was a blow to him and it would take him some time before he
could prepare himself to meet it He would withdraw all opposition upon his part
if I would promise for three months to let the matter rest and to be content
with cultivating the ladys friendship during that time without claiming her
love This I promised and so the matter rests«
So there is one of our small mysteries cleared up It is something to have
touched bottom anywhere in this bog in which we are floundering We know now why
Stapleton looked with disfavour upon his sisters suitor even when that suitor
was so eligible a one as Sir Henry And now I pass on to another thread which I
have extricated out of the tangled skein the mystery of the sobs in the night
of the tearstained face of Mrs Barrymore of the secret journey of the butler
to the western lattice window Congratulate me my dear Holmes and tell me that
I have not disappointed you as an agent that you do not regret the confidence
which you showed in me when you sent me down All these things have by one
nights work been thoroughly cleared
I have said »by one nights work« but in truth it was by two nights
work for on the first we drew entirely blank I sat up with Sir Henry in his
rooms until nearly three oclock in the morning but no sound of any sort did we
hear except the chiming clock upon the stairs It was a most melancholy vigil
and ended by each of us falling asleep in our chairs Fortunately we were not
discouraged and we determined to try again The next night we lowered the lamp
and sat smoking cigarettes without making the least sound It was incredible how
slowly the hours crawled by and yet we were helped through it by the same sort
of patient interest which the hunter must feel as he watches the trap into which
he hopes the game may wander One struck and two and we had almost for the
second time given it up in despair when in an instant we both sat bolt upright
in our chairs with all our weary senses keenly on the alert once more We had
heard the creak of a step in the passage
Very stealthily we heard it pass along until it died away in the distance
Then the baronet gently opened his door and we set out in pursuit Already our
man had gone round the gallery and the corridor was all in darkness Softly we
stole along until we had come into the other wing We were just in time to catch
a glimpse of the tall blackbearded figure his shoulders rounded as he tiptoed
down the passage Then he passed through the same door as before and the light
of the candle framed it in the darkness and shot one single yellow beam across
the gloom of the corridor We shuffled cautiously towards it trying every plank
before we dared to put our whole weight upon it We had taken the precaution of
leaving our boots behind us but even so the old boards snapped and creaked
beneath our tread Sometimes it seemed impossible that he should fail to hear
our approach However the man is fortunately rather deaf and he was entirely
preoccupied in that which he was doing When at last we reached the door and
peeped through we found him crouching at the window candle in hand his white
intent face pressed against the pane exactly as I had seen him two nights
before
We had arranged no plan of campaign but the baronet is a man to whom the
most direct way is always the most natural He walked into the room and as he
did so Barrymore sprang up from the window with a sharp hiss of his breath and
stood livid and trembling before us His dark eyes glaring out of the white
mask of his face were full of horror and astonishment as he gazed from Sir
Henry to me
»What are you doing here Barrymore«
»Nothing sir« His agitation was so great that he could hardly speak and
the shadows sprang up and down from the shaking of his candle »It was the
window sir I go round at night to see that they are fastened«
»On the second floor«
»Yes sir all the windows«
»Look here Barrymore« said Sir Henry sternly »we have made up our minds
to have the truth out of you so it will save you trouble to tell it sooner
rather than later Come now No lies What were you doing at that window«
The fellow looked at us in a helpless way and he wrung his hands together
like one who is in the last extremity of doubt and misery
»I was doing no harm sir I was holding a candle to the window«
»And why were you holding a candle to the window«
»Dont ask me Sir Henry dont ask me I give you my word sir that it is
not my secret and that I cannot tell it If it concerned no one but myself I
would not try to keep it from you«
A sudden idea occurred to me and I took the candle from the trembling hand
of the butler
»He must have been holding it as a signal« said I »Let us see if there is
any answer« I held it as he had done and stared out into the darkness of the
night Vaguely I could discern the black bank of the trees and the lighter
expanse of the moor for the moon was behind the clouds And then I gave a cry
of exultation for a tiny pinpoint of yellow light had suddenly transfixed the
dark veil and glowed steadily in the centre of the black square framed by the
window
»There it is« I cried
»No no sir it is nothing nothing at all« the butler broke in »I
assure you sir «
»Move your light across the window Watson« cried the baronet »See the
other moves also Now you rascal do you deny that it is a signal Come speak
up Who is your confederate out yonder and what is this conspiracy that is
going on«
The mans face became openly defiant
»It is my business and not yours I will not tell«
»Then you leave my employment right away«
»Very good sir If I must I must«
»And you go in disgrace By thunder you may well be ashamed of yourself
Your family has lived with mine for over a hundred years under this roof and
here I find you deep in some dark plot against me«
»No no sir no not against you« It was a womans voice and Mrs
Barrymore paler and more horrorstruck than her husband was standing at the
door Her bulky figure in a shawl and skirt might have been comic were it not
for the intensity of feeling upon her face
»We have to go Eliza This is the end of it You can pack our things« said
the butler
»Oh John John have I brought you to this It is my doing Sir Henry all
mine He has done nothing except for my sake and because I asked him«
»Speak out then What does it mean«
»My unhappy brother is starving on the moor We cannot let him perish at our
very gates The light is a signal to him that food is ready for him and his
light out yonder is to show the spot to which to bring it«
»Then your brother is «
»The escaped convict sir Selden the criminal«
»Thats the truth sir« said Barrymore »I said that it was not my secret
and that I could not tell it to you But now you have heard it and you will see
that if there was a plot it was not against you«
This then was the explanation of the stealthy expeditions at night and the
light at the window Sir Henry and I both stared at the woman in amazement Was
it possible that this stolidly respectable person was of the same blood as one
of the most notorious criminals in the country
»Yes sir my name was Selden and he is my younger brother We humoured him
too much when he was a lad and gave him his own way in everything until he came
to think that the world was made for his pleasure and that he could do what he
liked in it Then as he grew older he met wicked companions and the devil
entered into him until he broke my mothers heart and dragged our name in the
dirt From crime to crime he sank lower and lower until it is only the mercy of
God which has snatched him from the scaffold but to me sir he was always the
little curlyheaded boy that I had nursed and played with as an elder sister
would That was why he broke prison sir He knew that I was here and that we
could not refuse to help him When he dragged himself here one night weary and
starving with the warders hard at his heels what could we do We took him in
and fed him and cared for him Then you returned sir and my brother thought he
would be safer on the moor than anywhere else until the hue and cry was over so
he lay in hiding there But every second night we made sure if he was still
there by putting a light in the window and if there was an answer my husband
took out some bread and meat to him Every day we hoped that he was gone but as
long as he was there we could not desert him That is the whole truth as I am
an honest Christian woman and you will see that if there is blame in the matter
it does not lie with my husband but with me for whose sake he has done all that
he has«
The womans words came with an intense earnestness which carried conviction
with them
»Is this true Barrymore«
»Yes Sir Henry Every word of it«
»Well I cannot blame you for standing by your own wife Forget what I have
said Go to your room you two and we shall talk further about this matter in
the morning«
When they were gone we looked out of the window again Sir Henry had flung
it open and the cold night wind beat in upon our faces Far away in the black
distance there still glowed that one tiny point of yellow light
»I wonder he dares« said Sir Henry
»It may be so placed as to be only visible from here«
»Very likely How far do you think it is«
»Out by the Cleft Tor I think«
»Not more than a mile or two off«
»Hardly that«
»Well it cannot be far if Barrymore had to carry out the food to it And he
is waiting this villain beside that candle By thunder Watson I am going out
to take that man«
The same thought had crossed my own mind It was not as if the Barrymores
had taken us into their confidence Their secret had been forced from them The
man was a danger to the community an unmitigated scoundrel for whom there was
neither pity nor excuse We were only doing our duty in taking this chance of
putting him back where he could do no harm With his brutal and violent nature
others would have to pay the price if we held our hands Any night for example
our neighbours the Stapletons might be attacked by him and it may have been the
thought of this which made Sir Henry so keen upon the adventure
»I will come« said I
»Then get your revolver and put on your boots The sooner we start the
better as the fellow may put out his light and be off«
In five minutes we were outside the door starting upon our expedition We
hurried through the dark shrubbery amid the dull moaning of the autumn wind and
the rustle of the falling leaves The night air was heavy with the smell of damp
and decay Now and again the moon peeped out for an instant but clouds were
driving over the face of the sky and just as we came out on the moor a thin
rain began to fall The light still burned steadily in front
»Are you armed« I asked
»I have a huntingcrop«
»We must close in on him rapidly for he is said to be a desperate fellow
We shall take him by surprise and have him at our mercy before he can resist«
»I say Watson« said the baronet »what would Holmes say to this How about
that hour of darkness in which the power of evil is exalted«
As if in answer to his words there rose suddenly out of the vast gloom of
the moor that strange cry which I had already heard upon the borders of the
great Grimpen Mire It came with the wind through the silence of the night a
long deep mutter then a rising howl and then the sad moan in which it died
away Again and again it sounded the whole air throbbing with it strident
wild and menacing The baronet caught my sleeve and his face glimmered white
through the darkness
»My God whats that Watson«
»I dont know Its a sound they have on the moor I heard it once before«
It died away and an absolute silence closed in upon us We stood straining
our ears but nothing came
»Watson« said the baronet »it was the cry of a hound«
My blood ran cold in my veins for there was a break in his voice which told
of the sudden horror which had seized him
»What do they call this sound« he asked
»Who«
»The folk on the countryside«
»Oh they are ignorant people Why should you mind what they call it«
»Tell me Watson What do they say of it«
I hesitated but could not escape the question
»They say it is the cry of the Hound of the Baskervilles«
He groaned and was silent for a few moments
»A hound it was« he said at last »but it seemed to come from miles away
over yonder I think«
»It was hard to say whence it came«
»It rose and fell with the wind Isnt that the direction of the great
Grimpen Mire«
»Yes it is«
»Well it was up there Come now Watson didnt you think yourself that it
was the cry of a hound I am not a child You need not fear to speak the truth«
»Stapleton was with me when I heard it last He said that it might be the
calling of a strange bird«
»No no it was a hound My God can there be some truth in all these
stories Is it possible that I am really in danger from so dark a cause You
dont believe it do you Watson«
»No no«
»And yet it was one thing to laugh about it in London and it is another to
stand out here in the darkness of the moor and to hear such a cry as that And
my uncle There was the footprint of the hound beside him as he lay It all fits
together I dont think that I am a coward Watson but that sound seemed to
freeze my very blood Feel my hand«
It was as cold as a block of marble
»Youll be all right tomorrow«
»I dont think Ill get that cry out of my head What do you advise that we
do now«
»Shall we turn back«
»No by thunder we have come out to get our man and we will do it We
after the convict and a hellhound as likely as not after us Come on Well
see it through if all the fiends of the pit were loose upon the moor«
We stumbled slowly along in the darkness with the black loom of the craggy
hills around us and the yellow speck of light burning steadily in front There
is nothing so deceptive as the distance of a light upon a pitchdark night and
sometimes the glimmer seemed to be far away upon the horizon and sometimes it
might have been within a few yards of us But at last we could see whence it
came and then we knew that we were indeed very close A guttering candle was
stuck in a crevice of the rocks which flanked it on each side so as to keep the
wind from it and also to prevent it from being visible save in the direction of
Baskerville Hall A boulder of granite concealed our approach and crouching
behind it we gazed over it at the signal light It was strange to see this
single candle burning there in the middle of the moor with no sign of life near
it just the one straight yellow flame and the gleam of the rock on each side
of it
»What shall we do now« whispered Sir Henry
»Wait here He must be near his light Let us see if we can get a glimpse of
him«
The words were hardly out of my mouth when we both saw him Over the rocks
in the crevice of which the candle burned there was thrust out an evil yellow
face a terrible animal face all seamed and scored with vile passions Foul
with mire with a bristling beard and hung with matted hair it might well have
belonged to one of those old savages who dwelt in the burrows on the hillsides
The light beneath him was reflected in his small cunning eyes which peered
fiercely to right and left through the darkness like a crafty and savage animal
who has heard the steps of the hunters
Something had evidently aroused his suspicions It may have been that
Barrymore had some private signal which we had neglected to give or the fellow
may have had some other reason for thinking that all was not well but I could
read his fears upon his wicked face Any instant he might dash out the light and
vanish in the darkness I sprang forward therefore and Sir Henry did the same
At the same moment the convict screamed out a curse at us and hurled a rock
which splintered up against the boulder which had sheltered us I caught one
glimpse of his short squat strongly built figure as he sprang to his feet and
turned to run At the same moment by a lucky chance the moon broke through the
clouds We rushed over the brow of the hill and there was our man running with
great speed down the other side springing over the stones in his way with the
activity of a mountain goat A lucky long shot of my revolver might have
crippled him but I had brought it only to defend myself if attacked and not to
shoot an unarmed man who was running away
We were both swift runners and in fairly good training but we soon found
that we had no chance of overtaking him We saw him for a long time in the
moonlight until he was only a small speck moving swiftly among the boulders upon
the side of a distant hill We ran and ran until we were completely blown but
the space between us grew ever wider Finally we stopped and sat panting on two
rocks while we watched him disappearing in the distance
And it was at this moment that there occurred a most strange and unexpected
thing We had risen from our rocks and were turning to go home having abandoned
the hopeless chase The moon was low upon the right and the jagged pinnacle of
a granite tor stood up against the lower curve of its silver disc There
outlined as black as an ebony statue on that shining background I saw the
figure of a man upon the tor Do not think that it was a delusion Holmes I
assure you that I have never in my life seen anything more clearly As far as I
could judge the figure was that of a tall thin man He stood with his legs a
little separated his arms folded his head bowed as if he were brooding over
that enormous wilderness of peat and granite which lay before him He might have
been the very spirit of that terrible place It was not the convict This man
was far from the place where the latter had disappeared Besides he was a much
taller man With a cry of surprise I pointed him out to the baronet but in the
instant during which I had turned to grasp his arm the man was gone There was
the sharp pinnacle of granite still cutting the lower edge of the moon but its
peak bore no trace of that silent and motionless figure
I wished to go in that direction and to search the tor but it was some
distance away The baronets nerves were still quivering from that cry which
recalled the dark story of his family and he was not in the mood for fresh
adventures He had not seen this lonely man upon the tor and could not feel the
thrill which his strange presence and his commanding attitude had given to me
»A warder no doubt« said he »The moor has been thick with them since this
fellow escaped« Well perhaps his explanation may be the right one but I
should like to have some further proof of it Today we mean to communicate to
the Princetown people where they should look for their missing man but it is
hard lines that we have not actually had the triumph of bringing him back as our
own prisoner Such are the adventures of last night and you must acknowledge
my dear Holmes that I have done you very well in the matter of a report Much
of what I tell you is no doubt quite irrelevant but still I feel that it is
best that I should let you have all the facts and leave you to select for
yourself those which will be of most service to you in helping you to your
conclusions We are certainly making some progress So far as the Barrymores go
we have found the motive of their actions and that has cleared up the situation
very much But the moor with its mysteries and its strange inhabitants remains
as inscrutable as ever Perhaps in my next I may be able to throw some light
upon this also Best of all would it be if you could come down to us In any
case you will hear from me again in the course of the next few days
Chapter X
Extract from the Diary of Dr Watson
So far I have been able to quote from the reports which I have forwarded during
these early days to Sherlock Holmes Now however I have arrived at a point in
my narrative where I am compelled to abandon this method and to trust once more
to my recollections aided by the diary which I kept at the time A few extracts
from the latter will carry me on to those scenes which are indelibly fixed in
every detail upon my memory I proceed then from the morning which followed
our abortive chase of the convict and our other strange experiences upon the
moor
October 16th A dull and foggy day with a drizzle of rain The house is
banked in with rolling clouds which rise now and then to show the dreary curves
of the moor with thin silver veins upon the sides of the hills and the
distant boulders gleaming where the light strikes upon their wet faces It is
melancholy outside and in The baronet is in a black reaction after the
excitements of the night I am conscious myself of a weight at my heart and a
feeling of impending danger ever present danger which is the more terrible
because I am unable to define it
And have I not cause for such a feeling Consider the long sequence of
incidents which have all pointed to some sinister influence which is at work
around us There is the death of the last occupant of the Hall fulfilling so
exactly the conditions of the family legend and there are the repeated reports
from peasants of the appearance of a strange creature upon the moor Twice I
have with my own ears heard the sound which resembled the distant baying of a
hound It is incredible impossible that it should really be outside the
ordinary laws of nature A spectral hound which leaves material footmarks and
fills the air with its howling is surely not to be thought of Stapleton may
fall in with such a superstition and Mortimer also but if I have one quality
upon earth it is common sense and nothing will persuade me to believe in such a
thing To do so would be to descend to the level of these poor peasants who are
not content with a mere fiend dog but must needs describe him with hellfire
shooting from his mouth and eyes Holmes would not listen to such fancies and I
am his agent But facts are facts and I have twice heard this crying upon the
moor Suppose that there were really some huge hound loose upon it that would
go far to explain everything But where could such a hound lie concealed where
did it get its food where did it come from how was it that no one saw it by
day It must be confessed that the natural explanation offers almost as many
difficulties as the other And always apart from the hound there is the fact
of the human agency in London the man in the cab and the letter which warned
Sir Henry against the moor This at least was real but it might have been the
work of a protecting friend as easily as of an enemy Where is that friend or
enemy now Has he remained in London or has he followed us down here Could he
could he be the stranger whom I saw upon the tor
It is true that I have had only the one glance at him and yet there are
some things to which I am ready to swear He is no one whom I have seen down
here and I have now met all the neighbours The figure was far taller than that
of Stapleton far thinner than that of Frankland Barrymore it might possibly
have been but we had left him behind us and I am certain that he could not
have followed us A stranger then is still dogging us just as a stranger dogged
us in London We have never shaken him off If I could lay my hands upon that
man then at last we might find ourselves at the end of all our difficulties To
this one purpose I must now devote all my energies
My first impulse was to tell Sir Henry all my plans My second and wisest
one is to play my own game and speak as little as possible to anyone He is
silent and distrait His nerves have been strangely shaken by that sound upon
the moor I will say nothing to add to his anxieties but I will take my own
steps to attain my own end
We had a small scene this morning after breakfast Barrymore asked leave to
speak with Sir Henry and they were closeted in his study some little time
Sitting in the billiardroom I more than once heard the sound of voices raised
and I had a pretty good idea what the point was which was under discussion
After a time the baronet opened his door and called for me
»Barrymore considers that he has a grievance« he said »He thinks that it
was unfair on our part to hunt his brotherinlaw down when he of his own free
will had told us the secret«
The butler was standing very pale but very collected before us
»I may have spoken too warmly sir« said he »and if I have I am sure that
I beg your pardon At the same time I was very much surprised when I heard you
two gentlemen come back this morning and learned that you had been chasing
Selden The poor fellow has enough to fight against without my putting more upon
his track«
»If you had told us of your own free will it would have been a different
thing« said the baronet »you only told us or rather your wife only told us
when it was forced from you and you could not help yourself«
»I didnt think you would have taken advantage of it Sir Henry indeed I
didnt«
»The man is a public danger There are lonely houses scattered over the
moor and he is a fellow who would stick at nothing You only want to get a
glimpse of his face to see that Look at Mr Stapletons house for example
with no one but himself to defend it Theres no safety for anyone until he is
under lock and key«
»Hell break into no house sir I give you my solemn word upon that But he
will never trouble anyone in this country again I assure you Sir Henry that
in a very few days the necessary arrangements will have been made and he will be
on his way to South America For Gods sake sir I beg of you not to let the
police know that he is still on the moor They have given up the chase there
and he can lie quiet until the ship is ready for him You cant tell on him
without getting my wife and me into trouble I beg you sir to say nothing to
the police«
»What do you say Watson«
I shrugged my shoulders »If he were safely out of the country it would
relieve the taxpayer of a burden«
»But how about the chance of his holding someone up before he goes«
»He would not do anything so mad sir We have provided him with all that he
can want To commit a crime would be to show where he was hiding«
»That is true« said Sir Henry »Well Barrymore «
»God bless you sir and thank you from my heart It would have killed my
poor wife had he been taken again«
»I guess we are aiding and abetting a felony Watson But after what we
have heard I dont feel as if I could give the man up so there is an end of
it All right Barrymore you can go«
With a few broken words of gratitude the man turned but he hesitated and
then came back
»Youve been so kind to us sir that I should like to do the best I can for
you in return I know something Sir Henry and perhaps I should have said it
before but it was long after the inquest that I found it out Ive never
breathed a word about it yet to mortal man Its about poor Sir Charless
death«
The baronet and I were both upon our feet »Do you know how he died«
»No sir I dont know that«
»What then«
»I know why he was at the gate at that hour It was to meet a woman«
»To meet a woman He«
»Yes sir«
»And the womans name«
»I cant give you the name sir but I can give you the initials Her
initials were LL«
»How do you know this Barrymore«
»Well Sir Henry your uncle had a letter that morning He had usually a
great many letters for he was a public man and well known for his kind heart
so that everyone who was in trouble was glad to turn to him But that morning
as it chanced there was only this one letter so I took the more notice of it
It was from Coombe Tracey and it was addressed in a womans hand«
»Well«
»Well sir I thought no more of the matter and never would have done had
it not been for my wife Only a few weeks ago she was cleaning out Sir Charless
study it had never been touched since his death and she found the ashes of a
burned letter in the back of the grate The greater part of it was charred to
pieces but one little slip the end of a page hung together and the writing
could still be read though it was gray on a black ground It seemed to us to be
a postscript at the end of the letter and it said Please please as you are a
gentleman burn this letter and be at the gate by ten oclock Beneath it were
signed the initials LL«
»Have you got that slip«
»No sir it crumbled all to bits after we moved it«
»Had Sir Charles received any other letters in the same writing«
»Well sir I took no particular notice of his letters I should not have
noticed this one only it happened to come alone«
»And you have no idea who LL is«
»No sir No more than you have But I expect if we could lay our hands upon
that lady we should know more about Sir Charless death«
»I cannot understand Barrymore how you came to conceal this important
information«
»Well sir it was immediately after that our own trouble came to us And
then again sir we were both of us very fond of Sir Charles as we well might
be considering all that he has done for us To rake this up couldnt help our
poor master and its well to go carefully when theres a lady in the case Even
the best of us «
»You thought it might injure his reputation«
»Well sir I thought no good could come of it But now you have been kind
to us and I feel as if it would be treating you unfairly not to tell you all
that I know about the matter«
»Very good Barrymore you can go« When the butler had left us Sir Henry
turned to me »Well Watson what do you think of this new light«
»It seems to leave the darkness rather blacker than before«
»So I think But if we can only trace LL it should clear up the whole
business We have gained that much We know that there is someone who has the
facts if we can only find her What do you think we should do«
»Let Holmes know all about it at once It will give him the clue for which
he has been seeking I am much mistaken if it does not bring him down«
I went at once to my room and drew up my report of the mornings
conversation for Holmes It was evident to me that he had been very busy of
late for the notes which I had from Baker Street were few and short with no
comments upon the information which I had supplied and hardly any reference to
my mission No doubt his blackmailing case is absorbing all his faculties And
yet this new factor must surely arrest his attention and renew his interest I
wish that he were here
October 17th All day today the rain poured down rustling on the ivy and
dripping from the eaves I thought of the convict out upon the bleak cold
shelterless moor Poor devil Whatever his crimes he has suffered something to
atone for them And then I thought of that other one the face in the cab the
figure against the moon Was he also out in that deluge the unseen watcher
the man of darkness In the evening I put on my waterproof and I walked far upon
the sodden moor full of dark imaginings the rain beating upon my face and the
wind whistling about my ears God help those who wander into the great mire now
for even the firm uplands are becoming a morass I found the black tor upon
which I had seen the solitary watcher and from its craggy summit I looked out
myself across the melancholy downs Rain squalls drifted across their russet
face and the heavy slatecoloured clouds hung low over the landscape trailing
in gray wreaths down the sides of the fantastic hills In the distant hollow on
the left half hidden by the mist the two thin towers of Baskerville Hall rose
above the trees They were the only signs of human life which I could see save
only those prehistoric huts which lay thickly upon the slopes of the hills
Nowhere was there any trace of that lonely man whom I had seen on the same spot
two nights before
As I walked back I was overtaken by Dr Mortimer driving in his dogcart
over a rough moorland track which led from the outlying farmhouse of Foulmire
He has been very attentive to us and hardly a day has passed that he has not
called at the Hall to see how we were getting on He insisted upon my climbing
into his dogcart and he gave me a lift homeward I found him much troubled
over the disappearance of his little spaniel It had wandered on to the moor and
had never come back I gave him such consolation as I might but I thought of
the pony on the Grimpen Mire and I do not fancy that he will see his little dog
again
»By the way Mortimer« said I as we jolted along the rough road »I suppose
there are few people living within driving distance of this whom you do not
know«
»Hardly any I think«
»Can you then tell me the name of any woman whose initials are LL«
He thought for a few minutes
»No« said he »There are a few gipsies and labouring folk for whom I cant
answer but among the farmers or gentry there is no one whose initials are
those Wait a bit though« he added after a pause »There is Laura Lyons her
initials are LL but she lives in Coombe Tracey«
»Who is she« I asked
»She is Franklands daughter«
»What Old Frankland the crank«
»Exactly She married an artist named Lyons who came sketching on the moor
He proved to be a blackguard and deserted her The fault from what I hear may
not have been entirely on one side Her father refused to have anything to do
with her because she had married without his consent and perhaps for one or two
other reasons as well So between the old sinner and the young one the girl has
had a pretty bad time«
»How does she live«
»I fancy old Frankland allows her a pittance but it cannot be more for his
own affairs are considerably involved Whatever she may have deserved one could
not allow her to go hopelessly to the bad Her story got about and several of
the people here did something to enable her to earn an honest living Stapleton
did for one and Sir Charles for another I gave a trifle myself It was to set
her up in a typewriting business«
He wanted to know the object of my inquiries but I managed to satisfy his
curiosity without telling him too much for there is no reason why we should
take anyone into our confidence Tomorrow morning I shall find my way to Coombe
Tracey and if I can see this Mrs Laura Lyons of equivocal reputation a long
step will have been made towards clearing one incident in this chain of
mysteries I am certainly developing the wisdom of the serpent for when
Mortimer pressed his questions to an inconvenient extent I asked him casually to
what type Franklands skull belonged and so heard nothing but craniology for
the rest of our drive I have not lived for years with Sherlock Holmes for
nothing
I have only one other incident to record upon this tempestuous and
melancholy day This was my conversation with Barrymore just now which gives me
one more strong card which I can play in due time
Mortimer had stayed to dinner and he and the baronet played écarté
afterwards The butler brought me my coffee into the library and I took the
chance to ask him a few questions
»Well« said I »has this precious relation of yours departed or is he
still lurking out yonder«
»I dont know sir I hope to Heaven that he has gone for he has brought
nothing but trouble here Ive not heard of him since I left out food for him
last and that was three days ago«
»Did you see him then«
»No sir but the food was gone when next I went that way«
»Then he was certainly there«
»So you would think sir unless it was the other man who took it«
I sat with my coffeecup halfway to my lips and stared at Barrymore
»You know that there is another man then«
»Yes sir there is another man upon the moor«
»Have you seen him«
»No sir«
»How do you know of him then«
»Selden told me of him sir a week ago or more Hes in hiding too but
hes not a convict as far as I can make out I dont like it Dr Watson I
tell you straight sir that I dont like it« He spoke with a sudden passion of
earnestness
»Now listen to me Barrymore I have no interest in this matter but that of
your master I have come here with no object except to help him Tell me
frankly what it is that you dont like«
Barrymore hesitated for a moment as if he regretted his outburst or found
it difficult to express his own feelings in words
»Its all these goingson sir« he cried at last waving his hand towards
the rainlashed window which faced the moor »Theres foul play somewhere and
theres black villainy brewing to that Ill swear Very glad I should be sir
to see Sir Henry on his way back to London again«
»But what is it that alarms you«
»Look at Sir Charless death That was bad enough for all that the coroner
said Look at the noises on the moor at night Theres not a man would cross it
after sundown if he was paid for it Look at this stranger hiding out yonder
and watching and waiting Whats he waiting for What does it mean It means no
good to anyone of the name of Baskerville and very glad I shall be to be quit
of it all on the day that Sir Henrys new servants are ready to take over the
Hall«
»But about this stranger« said I »Can you tell me anything about him What
did Selden say Did he find out where he hid or what he was doing«
»He saw him once or twice but he is a deep one and gives nothing away At
first he thought that he was the police but soon he found that he had some lay
of his own A kind of gentleman he was as far as he could see but what he was
doing he could not make out«
»And where did he say that he lived«
»Among the old houses on the hillside the stone huts where the old folk
used to live«
»But how about his food«
»Selden found out that he has got a lad who works for him and brings all he
needs I dare say he goes to Coombe Tracey for what he wants«
»Very good Barrymore We may talk further of this some other time« When
the butler had gone I walked over to the black window and I looked through a
blurred pane at the driving clouds and at the tossing outline of the windswept
trees It is a wild night indoors and what must it be in a stone hut upon the
moor What passion of hatred can it be which leads a man to lurk in such a place
at such a time And what deep and earnest purpose can he have which calls for
such a trial There in that hut upon the moor seems to lie the very centre of
that problem which has vexed me so sorely I swear that another day shall not
have passed before I have done all that man can do to reach the heart of the
mystery
Chapter XI
The Man on the Tor
The extract from my private diary which forms the last chapter has brought my
narrative up to the eighteenth of October a time when these strange events
began to move swiftly towards their terrible conclusion The incidents of the
next few days are indelibly graven upon my recollection and I can tell them
without reference to the notes made at the time I start them from the day which
succeeded that upon which I had established two facts of great importance the
one that Mrs Laura Lyons of Coombe Tracey had written to Sir Charles
Baskerville and made an appointment with him at the very place and hour that he
met his death the other that the lurking man upon the moor was to be found
among the stone huts upon the hillside With these two facts in my possession I
felt that either my intelligence or my courage must be deficient if I could not
throw some further light upon these dark places
I had no opportunity to tell the baronet what I had learned about Mrs Lyons
upon the evening before for Dr Mortimer remained with him at cards until it
was very late At breakfast however I informed him about my discovery and
asked him whether he would care to accompany me to Coombe Tracey At first he
was very eager to come but on second thoughts it seemed to both of us that if I
went alone the results might be better The more formal we made the visit the
less information we might obtain I left Sir Henry behind therefore not
without some prickings of conscience and drove off upon my new quest
When I reached Coombe Tracey I told Perkins to put up the horses and I made
inquiries for the lady whom I had come to interrogate I had no difficulty in
finding her rooms which were central and well appointed A maid showed me in
without ceremony and as I entered the sittingroom a lady who was sitting
before a Remington typewriter sprang up with a pleasant smile of welcome Her
face fell however when she saw that I was a stranger and she sat down again
and asked me the object of my visit
The first impression left by Mrs Lyons was one of extreme beauty Her eyes
and hair were of the same rich hazel colour and her cheeks though considerably
freckled were flushed with the exquisite bloom of the brunette the dainty pink
which lurks at the heart of the sulphur rose Admiration was I repeat the
first impression But the second was criticism There was something subtly wrong
with the face some coarseness of expression some hardness perhaps of eye
some looseness of lip which marred its perfect beauty But these of course are
afterthoughts At the moment I was simply conscious that I was in the presence
of a very handsome woman and that she was asking me the reasons for my visit I
had not quite understood until that instant how delicate my mission was
»I have the pleasure« said I »of knowing your father«
It was a clumsy introduction and the lady made me feel it
»There is nothing in common between my father and me« she said »I owe him
nothing and his friends are not mine If it were not for the late Sir Charles
Baskerville and some other kind hearts I might have starved for all that my
father cared«
»It was about the late Sir Charles Baskerville that I have come here to see
you«
The freckles started out on the ladys face
»What can I tell you about him« she asked and her fingers played nervously
over the stops of her typewriter
»You knew him did you not«
»I have already said that I owe a great deal to his kindness If I am able
to support myself it is largely due to the interest which he took in my unhappy
situation«
»Did you correspond with him«
The lady looked quickly up with an angry gleam in her hazel eyes
»What is the object of these questions« she asked sharply
»The object is to avoid a public scandal It is better that I should ask
them here than that the matter should pass outside our control«
She was silent and her face was still very pale At last she looked up with
something reckless and defiant in her manner
»Well Ill answer« she said »What are your questions«
»Did you correspond with Sir Charles«
»I certainly wrote to him once or twice to acknowledge his delicacy and his
generosity«
»Have you the dates of those letters«
»No«
»Have you ever met him«
»Yes once or twice when he came into Coombe Tracey He was a very retiring
man and he preferred to do good by stealth«
»But if you saw him so seldom and wrote so seldom how did he know enough
about your affairs to be able to help you as you say that he has done«
She met my difficulty with the utmost readiness
»There were several gentlemen who knew my sad history and united to help me
One was Mr Stapleton a neighbour and intimate friend of Sir Charless He was
exceedingly kind and it was through him that Sir Charles learned about my
affairs«
I knew already that Sir Charles Baskerville had made Stapleton his almoner
upon several occasions so the ladys statement bore the impress of truth upon
it
»Did you ever write to Sir Charles asking him to meet you« I continued
Mrs Lyon flushed with anger again
»Really sir this is a very extraordinary question«
»I am sorry madam but I must repeat it«
»Then I answer certainly not«
»Not on the very day of Sir Charless death«
The flush had faded in an instant and a deathly face was before me Her dry
lips could not speak the »No« which I saw rather than heard
»Surely your memory deceives you« said I »I could even quote a passage of
your letter It ran Please please as you are a gentleman burn this letter
and be at the gate by ten oclock«
I thought that she had fainted but she recovered herself by a supreme
effort
»Is there no such thing as a gentleman« she gasped
»You do Sir Charles an injustice He did burn the letter But sometimes a
letter may be legible even when burned You acknowledge now that you wrote it«
»Yes I did write it« she cried pouring out her soul in a torrent of
words »I did write it Why should I deny it I have no reason to be ashamed of
it I wished him to help me I believed that if I had an interview I could gain
his help so I asked him to meet me«
»But why at such an hour«
»Because I had only just learned that he was going to London next day and
might be away for months There were reasons why I could not get there earlier«
»But why a rendezvous in the garden instead of a visit to the house«
»Do you think a woman could go alone at that hour to a bachelors house«
»Well what happened when you did get there«
»I never went«
»Mrs Lyons«
»No I swear it to you on all I hold sacred I never went Something
intervened to prevent my going«
»What was that«
»That is a private matter I cannot tell it«
»You acknowledge then that you made an appointment with Sir Charles at the
very hour and place at which he met his death but you deny that you kept the
appointment«
»That is the truth«
Again and again I crossquestioned her but I could never get past that
point
»Mrs Lyons« said I as I rose from this long and inconclusive interview
»you are taking a very great responsibility and putting yourself in a very false
position by not making an absolutely clean breast of all that you know If I
have to call in the aid of the police you will find how seriously you are
compromised If your position is innocent why did you in the first instance
deny having written to Sir Charles upon that date«
»Because I feared that some false conclusion might be drawn from it and that
I might find myself involved in a scandal«
»And why were you so pressing that Sir Charles should destroy your letter«
»If you have read the letter you will know«
»I did not say that I had read all the letter«
»You quoted some of it«
»I quoted the postscript The letter had as I said been burned and it was
not all legible I ask you once again why it was that you were so pressing that
Sir Charles should destroy this letter which he received on the day of his
death«
»The matter is a very private one«
»The more reason why you should avoid a public investigation«
»I will tell you then If you have heard anything of my unhappy history you
will know that I made a rash marriage and had reason to regret it«
»I have heard so much«
»My life has been one incessant persecution from a husband whom I abhor The
law is upon his side and every day I am faced by the possibility that he may
force me to live with him At the time that I wrote this letter to Sir Charles I
had learned that there was a prospect of my regaining my freedom if certain
expenses could be met It meant everything to me peace of mind happiness
selfrespect everything I knew Sir Charless generosity and I thought that
if he heard the story from my own lips he would help me«
»Then how is it that you did not go«
»Because I received help in the interval from another source«
»Why then did you not write to Sir Charles and explain this«
»So I should have done had I not seen his death in the paper next morning«
The womans story hung coherently together and all my questions were unable
to shake it I could only check it by finding if she had indeed instituted
divorce proceedings against her husband at or about the time of the tragedy
It was unlikely that she would dare to say that she had not been to
Baskerville Hall if she really had been for a trap would be necessary to take
her there and could not have returned to Coombe Tracey until the early hours of
the morning Such an excursion could not be kept secret The probability was
therefore that she was telling the truth or at least a part of the truth I
came away baffled and disheartened Once again I had reached that dead wall
which seemed to be built across every path by which I tried to get at the object
of my mission And yet the more I thought of the ladys face and of her manner
the more I felt that something was being held back from me Why should she turn
so pale Why should she fight against every admission until it was forced from
her Why should she have been so reticent at the time of the tragedy Surely the
explanation of all this could not be as innocent as she would have me believe
For the moment I could proceed no farther in that direction but must turn back
to that other clue which was to be sought for among the stone huts upon the
moor
And that was a most vague direction I realized it as I drove back and noted
how hill after hill showed traces of the ancient people Barrymores only
indication had been that the stranger lived in one of these abandoned huts and
many hundreds of them are scattered throughout the length and breadth of the
moor But I had my own experience for a guide since it had shown me the man
himself standing upon the summit of the Black Tor That then should be the
centre of my search From there I should explore every hut upon the moor until I
lighted upon the right one If this man were inside it I should find out from
his own lips at the point of my revolver if necessary who he was and why he
had dogged us so long He might slip away from us in the crowd of Regent Street
but it would puzzle him to do so upon the lonely moor On the other hand if I
should find the hut and its tenant should not be within it I must remain there
however long the vigil until he returned Holmes had missed him in London It
would indeed be a triumph for me if I could run him to earth where my master had
failed
Luck had been against us again and again in this inquiry but now at last it
came to my aid And the messenger of good fortune was none other than Mr
Frankland who was standing graywhiskered and redfaced outside the gate of
his garden which opened on to the highroad along which I travelled
»Goodday Dr Watson« cried he with unwonted good humour »you must really
give your horses a rest and come in to have a glass of wine and to congratulate
me«
My feelings toward him were very far from being friendly after what I had
heard of his treatment of his daughter but I was anxious to send Perkins and
the wagonette home and the opportunity was a good one I alighted and sent a
message to Sir Henry that I should walk over in time for dinner Then I followed
Frankland into his diningroom
»It is a great day for me sir one of the redletter days of my life« he
cried with many chuckles »I have brought off a double event I mean to teach
them in these parts that law is law and that there is a man here who does not
fear to invoke it I have established a right of way through the centre of old
Middletons park slap across it sir within a hundred yards of his own front
door What do you think of that Well teach these magnates that they cannot
ride roughshod over the rights of the commoners confound them And Ive closed
the wood where the Fernworthy folk used to picnic These infernal people seem to
think that there are no rights of property and that they can swarm where they
like with their papers and their bottles Both cases decided Dr Watson and
both in my favour I havent had such a day since I had Sir John Morland for
trespass because he shot in his own warren«
»How on earth did you do that«
»Look it up in the books sir It will repay reading Frankland v Morland
Court of Queens Bench It cost me £200 but I got my verdict«
»Did it do you any good«
»None sir none I am proud to say that I had no interest in the matter I
act entirely from a sense of public duty I have no doubt for example that the
Fernworthy people will burn me in effigy tonight I told the police last time
they did it that they should stop these disgraceful exhibitions The County
Constabulary is in a scandalous state sir and it has not afforded me the
protection to which I am entitled The case of Frankland v Regina will bring
the matter before the attention of the public I told them that they would have
occasion to regret their treatment of me and already my words have come true«
»How so« I asked
The old man put on a very knowing expression
»Because I could tell them what they are dying to know but nothing would
induce me to help the rascals in any way«
I had been casting round for some excuse by which I could get away from his
gossip but now I began to wish to hear more of it I had seen enough of the
contrary nature of the old sinner to understand that any strong sign of interest
would be the surest way to stop his confidences
»Some poaching case no doubt« said I with an indifferent manner
»Ha ha my boy a very much more important matter than that What about the
convict on the moor«
I started »You dont mean that you know where he is« said I
»I may not know exactly where he is but I am quite sure that I could help
the police to lay their hands on him Has it never struck you that the way to
catch that man was to find out where he got his food and so trace it to him«
He certainly seemed to be getting uncomfortably near the truth »No doubt«
said I »but how do you know that he is anywhere upon the moor«
»I know it because I have seen with my own eyes the messenger who takes him
his food«
My heart sank for Barrymore It was a serious thing to be in the power of
this spiteful old busybody But his next remark took a weight from my mind
»Youll be surprised to hear that his food is taken to him by a child I see
him every day through my telescope upon the roof He passes along the same path
at the same hour and to whom should he be going except to the convict«
Here was luck indeed And yet I suppressed all appearance of interest A
child Barrymore had said that our unknown was supplied by a boy It was on his
track and not upon the convicts that Frank land had stumbled If I could get
his knowledge it might save me a long and weary hunt But incredulity and
indifference were evidently my strongest cards
»I should say that it was much more likely that it was the son of one of the
moorland shepherds taking out his fathers dinner«
The least appearance of opposition struck fire out of the old autocrat His
eyes looked malignantly at me and his gray whiskers bristled like those of an
angry cat
»Indeed sir« said he pointing out over the widestretching moor »Do you
see that Black Tor over yonder Well do you see the low hill beyond with the
thornbush upon it It is the stoniest part of the whole moor Is that a place
where a shepherd would be likely to take his station Your suggestion sir is a
most absurd one«
I meekly answered that I had spoken without knowing all the facts My
submission pleased him and led him to further confidences
»You may be sure sir that I have very good grounds before I come to an
opinion I have seen the boy again and again with his bundle Every day and
sometimes twice a day I have been able but wait a moment Dr Watson Do my
eyes deceive me or is there at the present moment something moving upon that
hillside«
It was several miles off but I could distinctly see a small dark dot
against the dull green and gray
»Come sir come« cried Frankland rushing upstairs »You will see with
your own eyes and judge for yourself«
The telescope a formidable instrument mounted upon a tripod stood upon the
flat leads of the house Frankland clapped his eye to it and gave a cry of
satisfaction
»Quick Dr Watson quick before he passes over the hill«
There he was sure enough a small urchin with a little bundle upon his
shoulder toiling slowly up the hill When he reached the crest I saw the ragged
uncouth figure outlined for an instant against the cold blue sky He looked
round him with a furtive and stealthy air as one who dreads pursuit Then he
vanished over the hill
»Well Am I right«
»Certainly there is a boy who seems to have some secret errand«
»And what the errand is even a county constable could guess But not one
word shall they have from me and I bind you to secrecy also Dr Watson Not a
word You understand«
»Just as you wish«
»They have treated me shamefully shamefully When the facts come out in
Frankland v Regina I venture to think that a thrill of indignation will run
through the country Nothing would induce me to help the police in any way For
all they cared it might have been me instead of my effigy which these rascals
burned at the stake Surely you are not going You will help me to empty the
decanter in honour of this great occasion«
But I resisted all his solicitations and succeeded in dissuading him from
his announced intention of walking home with me I kept the road as long as his
eye was on me and then I struck off across the moor and made for the stony hill
over which the boy had disappeared Everything was working in my favour and I
swore that it should not be through lack of energy or perseverance that I should
miss the chance which fortune had thrown in my way
The sun was already sinking when I reached the summit of the hill and the
long slopes beneath me were all goldengreen on one side and gray shadow on the
other A haze lay low upon the farthest skyline out of which jutted the
fantastic shapes of Belliver and Vixen Tor Over the wide expanse there was no
sound and no movement One great gray bird a gull or curlew soared aloft in
the blue heaven He and I seemed to be the only living things between the huge
arch of the sky and the desert beneath it The barren scene the sense of
loneliness and the mystery and urgency of my task all struck a chill into my
heart The boy was nowhere to be seen But down beneath me in a cleft of the
hills there was a circle of the old stone huts and in the middle of them there
was one which retained sufficient roof to act as a screen against the weather
My heart leaped within me as I saw it This must be the burrow where the
stranger lurked At last my foot was on the threshold of his hiding place his
secret was within my grasp
As I approached the hut walking as warily as Stapleton would do when with
poised net he drew near the settled butterfly I satisfied myself that the place
had indeed been used as a habitation A vague pathway among the boulders led to
the dilapidated opening which served as a door All was silent within The
unknown might be lurking there or he might be prowling on the moor My nerves
tingled with the sense of adventure Throwing aside my cigarette I closed my
hand upon the butt of my revolver and walking swiftly up to the door I looked
in The place was empty
But there were ample signs that I had not come upon a false scent This was
certainly where the man lived Some blankets rolled in a waterproof lay upon
that very stone slab upon which neolithic man had once slumbered The ashes of a
fire were heaped in a rude grate Beside it lay some cooking utensils and a
bucket halffull of water A litter of empty tins showed that the place had been
occupied for some time and I saw as my eyes became accustomed to the checkered
light a pannikin and a halffull bottle of spirits standing in the corner In
the middle of the hut a flat stone served the purpose of a table and upon this
stood a small cloth bundle the same no doubt which I had seen through the
telescope upon the shoulder of the boy It contained a loaf of bread a tinned
tongue and two tins of preserved peaches As I set it down again after having
examined it my heart leaped to see that beneath it there lay a sheet of paper
with writing upon it I raised it and this was what I read roughly scrawled in
pencil »Dr Watson has gone to Coombe Tracey«
For a minute I stood there with the paper in my hands thinking out the
meaning of this curt message It was I then and not Sir Henry who was being
dogged by this secret man He had not followed me himself but he had set an
agent the boy perhaps upon my track and this was his report Possibly I
had taken no step since I had been upon the moor which had not been observed and
reported Always there was this feeling of an unseen force a fine net drawn
round us with infinite skill and delicacy holding us so lightly that it was
only at some supreme moment that one realized that one was indeed entangled in
its meshes
If there was one report there might be others so I looked round the hut in
search of them There was no trace however of anything of the kind nor could
I discover any sign which might indicate the character or intentions of the man
who lived in this singular place save that he must be of Spartan habits and
cared little for the comforts of life When I thought of the heavy rains and
looked at the gaping roof I understood how strong and immutable must be the
purpose which had kept him in that inhospitable abode Was he our malignant
enemy or was he by chance our guardian angel I swore that I would not leave
the hut until I knew
Outside the sun was sinking low and the west was blazing with scarlet and
gold Its reflection was shot back in ruddy patches by the distant pools which
lay amid the great Grimpen Mire There were the two towers of Baskerville Hall
and there a distant blur of smoke which marked the village of Grimpen Between
the two behind the hill was the house of the Stapletons All was sweet and
mellow and peaceful in the golden evening light and yet as I looked at them my
soul shared none of the peace of Nature but quivered at the vagueness and the
terror of that interview which every instant was bringing nearer With tingling
nerves but a fixed purpose I sat in the dark recess of the hut and waited with
sombre patience for the coming of its tenant
And then at last I heard him Far away came the sharp clink of a boot
striking upon a stone Then another and yet another coming nearer and nearer I
shrank back into the darkest corner and cocked the pistol in my pocket
determined not to discover myself until I had an opportunity of seeing something
of the stranger There was a long pause which showed that he had stopped Then
once more the footsteps approached and a shadow fell across the opening of the
hut
»It is a lovely evening my dear Watson« said a wellknown voice »I really
think that you will be more comfortable outside than in«
Chapter XII
Death on the Moor
For a moment or two I sat breathless hardly able to believe my ears Then my
senses and my voice came back to me while a crushing weight of responsibility
seemed in an instant to be lifted from my soul That cold incisive ironical
voice could belong to but one man in all the world
»Holmes« I cried »Holmes«
»Come out« said he »and please be careful with the revolver«
I stooped under the rude lintel and there he sat upon a stone outside his
gray eyes dancing with amusement as they fell upon my astonished features He
was thin and worn but clear and alert his keen face bronzed by the sun and
roughened by the wind In his tweed suit and cloth cap he looked like any other
tourist upon the moor and he had contrived with that catlike love of personal
cleanliness which was one of his characteristics that his chin should be as
smooth and his linen as perfect as if he were in Baker Street
»I never was more glad to see anyone in my life« said I as I wrung him by
the hand
»Or more astonished eh«
»Well I must confess to it«
»The surprise was not all on one side I assure you I had no idea that you
had found my occasional retreat still less that you were inside it until I was
within twenty paces of the door«
»My footprint I presume«
»No Watson I fear that I could not undertake to recognize your footprint
amid all the footprints of the world If you seriously desire to deceive me you
must change your tobacconist for when I see the stub of a cigarette marked
Bradley Oxford Street I know that my friend Watson is in the neighbourhood
You will see it there beside the path You threw it down no doubt at that
supreme moment when you charged into the empty hut«
»Exactly«
»I thought as much and knowing your admirable tenacity I was convinced
that you were sitting in ambush a weapon within reach waiting for the tenant
to return So you actually thought that I was the criminal«
»I did not know who you were but I was determined to find out«
»Excellent Watson And how did you localize me You saw me perhaps on the
night of the convict hunt when I was so imprudent as to allow the moon to rise
behind me«
»Yes I saw you then«
»And have no doubt searched all the huts until you came to this one«
»No your boy had been observed and that gave me a guide where to look«
»The old gentleman with the telescope no doubt I could not make it out
when first I saw the light flashing upon the lens« He rose and peeped into the
hut »Ha I see that Cartwright has brought up some supplies Whats this paper
So you have been to Coombe Tracey have you«
»Yes«
»To see Mrs Laura Lyons«
»Exactly«
»Well done Our researches have evidently been running on parallel lines
and when we unite our results I expect we shall have a fairly full knowledge of
the case«
»Well I am glad from my heart that you are here for indeed the
responsibility and the mystery were both becoming too much for my nerves But
how in the name of wonder did you come here and what have you been doing I
thought that you were in Baker Street working out that case of blackmailing«
»That was what I wished you to think«
»Then you use me and yet do not trust me« I cried with some bitterness »I
think that I have deserved better at your hands Holmes«
»My dear fellow you have been invaluable to me in this as in many other
cases and I beg that you will forgive me if I have seemed to play a trick upon
you In truth it was partly for your own sake that I did it and it was my
appreciation of the danger which you ran which led me to come down and examine
the matter for myself Had I been with Sir Henry and you it is confident that my
point of view would have been the same as yours and my presence would have
warned our very formidable opponents to be on their guard As it is I have been
able to get about as I could not possibly have done had I been living in the
Hall and I remain an unknown factor in the business ready to throw in all my
weight at a critical moment«
»But why keep me in the dark«
»For you to know could not have helped us and might possibly have led to my
discovery You would have wished to tell me something or in your kindness you
would have brought me out some comfort or other and so an unnecessary risk
would be run I brought Cartwright down with me you remember the little chap
at the express office and he has seen after my simple wants a loaf of bread
and a clean collar What does man want more He has given me an extra pair of
eyes upon a very active pair of feet and both have been invaluable«
»Then my reports have all been wasted« My voice trembled as I recalled
the pains and the pride with which I had composed them
Holmes took a bundle of papers from his pocket
»Here are your reports my dear fellow and very well thumbed I assure you
I made excellent arrangements and they are only delayed one day upon their way
I must compliment you exceedingly upon the zeal and the intelligence which you
have shown over an extraordinarily difficult case«
I was still rather raw over the deception which had been practised upon me
but the warmth of Holmess praise drove my anger from my mind I felt also in my
heart that he was right in what he said and that it was really best for our
purpose that I should not have known that he was upon the moor
»Thats better« said he seeing the shadow rise from my face »And now tell
me the result of your visit to Mrs Laura Lyons it was not difficult for me to
guess that it was to see her that you had gone for I am already aware that she
is the one person in Coombe Tracey who might be of service to us in the matter
In fact if you had not gone today it is exceedingly probable that I should
have gone tomorrow«
The sun had set and dusk was settling over the moor The air had turned
chill and we withdrew into the hut for warmth There sitting together in the
twilight I told Holmes of my conversation with the lady So interested was he
that I had to repeat some of it twice before he was satisfied
»This is most important« said he when I had concluded »It fills up a gap
which I had been unable to bridge in this most complex affair You are aware
perhaps that a close intimacy exists between this lady and the man Stapleton«
»I did not know of a close intimacy«
»There can be no doubt about the matter They meet they write there is a
complete understanding between them Now this puts a very powerful weapon into
our hands If I could only use it to detach his wife «
»His wife«
»I am giving you some information now in return for all that you have given
me The lady who has passed here as Miss Stapleton is in reality his wife«
»Good heavens Holmes Are you sure of what you say How could he have
permitted Sir Henry to fall in love with her«
»Sir Henrys falling in love could do no harm to anyone except Sir Henry He
took particular care that Sir Henry did not make love to her as you have
yourself observed I repeat that the lady is his wife and not his sister«
»But why this elaborate deception«
»Because he foresaw that she would be very much more useful to him in the
character of a free woman«
All my unspoken instincts my vague suspicions suddenly took shape and
centred upon the naturalist In that impassive colourless man with his straw
hat and his butterflynet I seemed to see something terrible a creature of
infinite patience and craft with a smiling face and a murderous heart
»It is he then who is our enemy it is he who dogged us in London«
»So I read the riddle«
»And the warning it must have come from her«
»Exactly«
The shape of some monstrous villainy half seen half guessed loomed
through the darkness which had girt me so long
»But are you sure of this Holmes How do you know that the woman is his
wife«
»Because he so far forgot himself as to tell you a true piece of
autobiography upon the occasion when he first met you and I dare say he has
many a time regretted it since He was once a schoolmaster in the north of
England Now there is no one more easy to trace than a schoolmaster There are
scholastic agencies by which one may identify any man who has been in the
profession A little investigation showed me that a school had come to grief
under atrocious circumstances and that the man who had owned it the name was
different had disappeared with his wife The descriptions agreed When I
learned that the missing man was devoted to entomology the identification was
complete«
The darkness was rising but much was still hidden by the shadows
»If this woman is in truth his wife where does Mrs Laura Lyons come in« I
asked
»That is one of the points upon which your own researches have shed a light
Your interview with the lady has cleared the situation very much I did not know
about a projected divorce between herself and her husband In that case
regarding Stapleton as an unmarried man she counted no doubt upon becoming his
wife«
»And when she is undeceived«
»Why then we may find the lady of service It must be our first duty to see
her both of us tomorrow Dont you think Watson that you are away from
your charge rather long Your place should be at Baskerville Hall«
The last red streaks had faded away in the west and night had settled upon
the moor A few faint stars were gleaming in a violet sky
»One last question Holmes« I said as I rose »Surely there is no need of
secrecy between you and me What is the meaning of it all What is he after«
Holmess voice sank as he answered
»It is murder Watson refined coldblooded deliberate murder Do not ask
me for particulars My nets are closing upon him even as his are upon Sir
Henry and with your help he is already almost at my mercy There is but one
danger which can threaten us It is that he should strike before we are ready to
do so Another day two at the most and I have my case complete but until
then guard your charge as closely as ever a fond mother watched her ailing
child Your mission today has justified itself and yet I could almost wish
that you had not left his side Hark«
A terrible scream a prolonged yell of horror and anguish burst out of the
silence of the moor That frightful cry turned the blood to ice in my veins
»Oh my God« I gasped »What is it What does it mean«
Holmes had sprung to his feet and I saw his dark athletic outline at the
door of the hut his shoulders stooping his head thrust forward his face
peering into the darkness
»Hush« he whispered »Hush«
The cry had been loud on account of its vehemence but it had pealed out
from somewhere far off on the shadowy plain Now it burst upon our ears nearer
louder more urgent than before
»Where is it« Holmes whispered and I knew from the thrill of his voice
that he the man of iron was shaken to the soul »Where is it Watson«
»There I think« I pointed into the darkness
»No there«
Again the agonized cry swept through the silent night louder and much
nearer than ever And a new sound mingled with it a deep muttered rumble
musical and yet menacing rising and falling like the low constant murmur of
the sea
»The hound« cried Holmes »Come Watson come Great heavens if we are too
late«
He had started running swiftly over the moor and I had followed at his
heels But now from somewhere among the broken ground immediately in front of us
there came one last despairing yell and then a dull heavy thud We halted and
listened Not another sound broke the heavy silence of the windless night
I saw Holmes put his hand to his forehead like a man distracted He stamped
his feet upon the ground
»He has beaten us Watson We are too late«
»No no surely not«
»Fool that I was to hold my hand And you Watson see what comes of
abandoning your charge But by Heaven if the worst has happened well avenge
him«
Blindly we ran through the gloom blundering against boulders forcing our
way through gorse bushes panting up hills and rushing down slopes heading
always in the direction whence those dreadful sounds had come At every rise
Holmes looked eagerly round him but the shadows were thick upon the moor and
nothing moved upon its dreary face
»Can you see anything«
»Nothing«
»But hark what is that«
A low moan had fallen upon our ears There it was again upon our left On
that side a ridge of rocks ended in a sheer cliff which overlooked a
stonestrewn slope On its jagged face was spreadeagled some dark irregular
object As we ran towards it the vague outline hardened into a definite shape
It was a prostrate man face downward upon the ground the head doubled under him
at a horrible angle the shoulders rounded and the body hunched together as if
in the act of throwing a somersault So grotesque was the attitude that I could
not for the instant realize that that moan had been the passing of his soul Not
a whisper not a rustle rose now from the dark figure over which we stooped
Holmes laid his hand upon him and held it up again with an exclamation of
horror The gleam of the match which he struck shone upon his clotted fingers
and upon the ghastly pool which widened slowly from the crushed skull of the
victim And it shone upon something else which turned our hearts sick and faint
within us the body of Sir Henry Baskerville
There was no chance of either of us forgetting that peculiar ruddy tweed
suit the very one which he had worn on the first morning that we had seen him
in Baker Street We caught the one clear glimpse of it and then the match
flickered and went out even as the hope had gone out of our souls Holmes
groaned and his face glimmered white through the darkness
»The brute the brute« I cried with clenched hands »Oh Holmes I shall
never forgive myself for having left him to his fate«
»I am more to blame than you Watson In order to have my case well rounded
and complete I have thrown away the life of my client It is the greatest blow
which has befallen me in my career But how could I know how could I know
that he would risk his life alone upon the moor in the face of all my warnings«
»That we should have heard his screams my God those screams and yet
have been unable to save him Where is this brute of a hound which drove him to
his death It may be lurking among these rocks at this instant And Stapleton
where is he He shall answer for this deed«
»He shall I will see to that Uncle and nephew have been murdered the one
frightened to death by the very sight of a beast which he thought to be
supernatural the other driven to his end in his wild flight to escape from it
But now we have to prove the connection between the man and the beast Save from
what we heard we cannot even swear to the existence of the latter since Sir
Henry has evidently died from the fall But by heavens cunning as he is the
fellow shall be in my power before another day is past«
We stood with bitter hearts on either side of the mangled body overwhelmed
by this sudden and irrevocable disaster which had brought all our long and weary
labours to so piteous an end Then as the moon rose we climbed to the top of the
rocks over which our poor friend had fallen and from the summit we gazed out
over the shadowy moor half silver and half gloom Far away miles off in the
direction of Grimpen a single steady yellow light was shining It could only
come from the lonely abode of the Stapletons With a bitter curse I shook my
fist at it as I gazed
»Why should we not seize him at once«
»Our case is not complete The fellow is wary and cunning to the last
degree It is not what we know but what we can prove If we make one false move
the villain may escape us yet«
»What can we do«
»There will be plenty for us to do tomorrow Tonight we can only perform
the last offices to our poor friend«
Together we made our way down the precipitous slope and approached the body
black and clear against the silvered stones The agony of those contorted limbs
struck me with a spasm of pain and blurred my eyes with tears
»We must send for help Holmes We cannot carry him all the way to the Hall
Good heavens are you mad«
He had uttered a cry and bent over the body Now he was dancing and laughing
and wringing my hand Could this be my stern selfcontained friend These were
hidden fires indeed
»A beard A beard The man has a beard«
»A beard«
»It is not the baronet it is why it is my neighbour the convict«
With feverish haste we had turned the body over and that dripping beard was
pointing up to the cold clear moon There could be no doubt about the beetling
forehead the sunken animal eyes It was indeed the same face which had glared
upon me in the light of the candle from over the rock the face of Selden the
criminal
Then in an instant it was all clear to me I remembered how the baronet had
told me that he had handed his old wardrobe to Barrymore Barrymore had passed
it on in order to help Selden in his escape Boots shirt cap it was all Sir
Henrys The tragedy was still black enough but this man had at least deserved
death by the laws of his country I told Holmes how the matter stood my heart
bubbling over with thankfulness and joy
»Then the clothes have been the poor devils death« said he »It is clear
enough that the hound has been laid on from some article of Sir Henrys the
boot which was abstracted in the hotel in all probability and so ran this man
down There is one very singular thing however How came Selden in the
darkness to know that the hound was on his trail«
»He heard him«
»To hear a hound upon the moor would not work a hard man like this convict
into such a paroxysm of terror that he would risk recapture by screaming wildly
for help By his cries he must have run a long way after he knew the animal was
on his track How did he know«
»A greater mystery to me is why this hound presuming that all our
conjectures are correct «
»I presume nothing«
»Well then why this hound should be loose to I suppose that it does not
always run loose upon the moor Stapleton would not let it go unless he had
reason to think that Sir Henry would be there«
»My difficulty is the more formidable of the two for I think that we shall
very shortly get an explanation of yours while mine may remain forever a
mystery The question now is what shall we do with this poor wretchs body We
cannot leave it here to the foxes and the ravens«
»I suggest that we put it in one of the huts until we can communicate with
the police«
»Exactly I have no doubt that you and I could carry it so far Halloa
Watson whats this Its the man himself by all thats wonderful and
audacious Not a word to show your suspicions not a word or my plans crumble
to the ground«
A figure was approaching us over the moor and I saw the dull red glow of a
cigar The moon shone upon him and I could distinguish the dapper shape and
jaunty walk of the naturalist He stopped when he saw us and then came on
again
»Why Dr Watson thats not you is it You are the last man that I should
have expected to see out on the moor at this time of night But dear me whats
this Somebody hurt Not dont tell me that it is our friend Sir Henry« He
hurried past me and stooped over the dead man I heard a sharp intake of his
breath and the cigar fell from his fingers
»Who whos this« he stammered
»It is Selden the man who escaped from Princetown«
Stapleton turned a ghastly face upon us but by a supreme effort he had
overcome his amazement and his disappointment He looked sharply from Holmes to
me
»Dear me What a very shocking affair How did he die«
»He appears to have broken his neck by falling over these rocks My friend
and I were strolling on the moor when we heard a cry«
»I heard a cry also That was what brought me out I was uneasy about Sir
Henry«
»Why about Sir Henry in particular« I could not help asking
»Because I had suggested that he should come over When he did not come I
was surprised and I naturally became alarmed for his safety when I heard cries
upon the moor By the way« his eyes darted again from my face to Holmess
»did you hear anything else besides a cry«
»No« said Holmes »did you«
»No«
»What do you mean then«
»Oh you know the stories that the peasants tell about a phantom hound and
so on It is said to be heard at night upon the moor I was wondering if there
were any evidence of such a sound tonight«
»We heard nothing of the kind« said I
»And what is your theory of this poor fellows death«
»I have no doubt that anxiety and exposure have driven him off his head He
has rushed about the moor in a crazy state and eventually fallen over here and
broken his neck«
»That seems the most reasonable theory« said Stapleton and he gave a sigh
which I took to indicate his relief »What do you think about it Mr Sherlock
Holmes«
My friend bowed his compliments
»You are quick at identification« said he
»We have been expecting you in these parts since Dr Watson came down You
are in time to see a tragedy«
»Yes indeed I have no doubt that my friends explanation will cover the
facts I will take an unpleasant remembrance back to London with me tomorrow«
»Oh you return tomorrow«
»That is my intention«
»I hope your visit has cast some light upon those occurrences which have
puzzled us«
Holmes shrugged his shoulders
»One cannot always have the success for which one hopes An investigator
needs facts and not legends or rumours It has not been a satisfactory case«
My friend spoke in his frankest and most unconcerned manner Stapleton still
looked hard at him Then he turned to me
»I would suggest carrying this poor fellow to my house but it would give my
sister such a fright that I do not feel justified in doing it I think that if
we put something over his face he will be safe until morning«
And so it was arranged Resisting Stapletons offer of hospitality Holmes
and I set off to Baskerville Hall leaving the naturalist to return alone
Looking back we saw the figure moving slowly away over the broad moor and
behind him that one black smudge on the silvered slope which showed where the
man was lying who had come so horribly to his end
Chapter XIII
Fixing the Nets
»Were at close grips at last« said Holmes as we walked together across the
moor »What a nerve the fellow has How he pulled himself together in the face
of what must have been a paralyzing shock when he found that the wrong man had
fallen a victim to his plot I told you in London Watson and I tell you now
again that we have never had a foeman more worthy of our steel«
»I am sorry that he has seen you«
»And so was I at first But there was no getting out of it«
»What effect do you think it will have upon his plans now that he knows you
are here«
»It may cause him to be more cautious or it may drive him to desperate
measures at once Like most clever criminals he may be too confident in his own
cleverness and imagine that he has completely deceived us«
»Why should we not arrest him at once«
»My dear Watson you were born to be a man of action Your instinct is
always to do something energetic But supposing for arguments sake that we
had him arrested tonight what on earth the better off should we be for that
We could prove nothing against him Theres the devilish cunning of it If he
were acting through a human agent we could get some evidence but if we were to
drag this great dog to the light of day it would not help us in putting a rope
round the neck of its master«
»Surely we have a case«
»Not a shadow of one only surmise and conjecture We should be laughed out
of court if we came with such a story and such evidence«
»There is Sir Charless death«
»Found dead without a mark upon him You and I know that he died of sheer
fright and we know also what frightened him but how are we to get twelve
stolid jurymen to know it What signs are there of a hound Where are the marks
of its fangs Of course we know that a hound does not bite a dead body and that
Sir Charles was dead before ever the brute overtook him But we have to prove
all this and we are not in a position to do it«
»Well then tonight«
»We are not much better off tonight Again there was no direct connection
between the hound and the mans death We never saw the hound We heard it but
we could not prove that it was running upon this mans trail There is a
complete absence of motive No my dear fellow we must reconcile ourselves to
the fact that we have no case at present and that it is worth our while to run
any risk in order to establish one«
»And how do you propose to do so«
»I have great hopes of what Mrs Laura Lyons may do for us when the position
of affairs is made clear to her And I have my own plan as well Sufficient for
tomorrow is the evil thereof but I hope before the day is past to have the
upper hand at last«
I could draw nothing further from him and he walked lost in thought as
far as the Baskerville gates
»Are you coming up«
»Yes I see no reason for further concealment But one last word Watson
Say nothing of the hound to Sir Henry Let him think that Seldens death was as
Stapleton would have us believe He will have a better nerve for the ordeal
which he will have to undergo tomorrow when he is engaged if I remember your
report aright to dine with these people«
»And so am I«
»Then you must excuse yourself and he must go alone That will be easily
arranged And now if we are too late for dinner I think that we are both ready
for our suppers«
Sir Henry was more pleased than surprised to see Sherlock Holmes for he had
for some days been expecting that recent events would bring him down from
London He did raise his eyebrows however when he found that my friend had
neither any luggage nor any explanations for its absence Between us we soon
supplied his wants and then over a belated supper we explained to the baronet
as much of our experience as it seemed desirable that he should know But first
I had the unpleasant duty of breaking the news to Barrymore and his wife To him
it may have been an unmitigated relief but she wept bitterly in her apron To
all the world he was the man of violence half animal and half demon but to her
he always remained the little wilful boy of her own girlhood the child who had
clung to her hand Evil indeed is the man who has not one woman to mourn him
»Ive been moping in the house all day since Watson went off in the
morning« said the baronet »I guess I should have some credit for I have kept
my promise If I hadnt sworn not to go about alone I might have had a more
lively evening for I had a message from Stapleton asking me over there«
»I have no doubt that you would have had a more lively evening« said Holmes
drily »By the way I dont suppose you appreciate that we have been mourning
over you as having broken your neck«
Sir Henry opened his eyes »How was that«
»This poor wretch was dressed in your clothes I fear your servant who gave
them to him may get into trouble with the police«
»That is unlikely There was no mark on any of them as far as I know«
»Thats lucky for him in fact its lucky for all of you since you are
all on the wrong side of the law in this matter I am not sure that as a
conscientious detective my first duty is not to arrest the whole household
Watsons reports are most incriminating documents«
»But how about the case« asked the baronet »Have you made anything out of
the tangle I dont know that Watson and I are much the wiser since we came
down«
»I think that I shall be in a position to make the situation rather more
clear to you before long It has been an exceedingly difficult and most
complicated business There are several points upon which we still want light
but it is coming all the same«
»Weve had one experience as Watson has no doubt told you We heard the
hound on the moor so I can swear that it is not all empty superstition I had
something to do with dogs when I was out West and I know one when I hear one
If you can muzzle that one and put him on a chain Ill be ready to swear you are
the greatest detective of all time«
»I think I will muzzle him and chain him all right if you will give me your
help«
»Whatever you tell me to do I will do«
»Very good and I will ask you also to do it blindly without always asking
the reason«
»Just as you like«
»If you will do this I think the chances are that our little problem will
soon be solved I have no doubt «
He stopped suddenly and stared fixedly up over my head into the air The
lamp beat upon his face and so intent was it and so still that it might have
been that of a clearcut classical statue a personification of alertness and
expectation
»What is it« we both cried
I could see as he looked down that he was repressing some internal emotion
His features were still composed but his eyes shone with amused exultation
»Excuse the admiration of a connoisseur« said he as he waved his hand
towards the line of portraits which covered the opposite wall »Watson wont
allow that I know anything of art but that is mere jealousy because our views
upon the subject differ Now these are a really very fine series of portraits«
»Well Im glad to hear you say so« said Sir Henry glancing with some
surprise at my friend »I dont pretend to know much about these things and Id
be a better judge of a horse or a steer than of a picture I didnt know that
you found time for such things«
»I know what is good when I see it and I see it now Thats a Kneller Ill
swear that lady in the blue silk over yonder and the stout gentleman with the
wig ought to be a Reynolds They are all family portraits I presume«
»Every one«
»Do you know the names«
»Barrymore has been coaching me in them and I think I can say my lessons
fairly well«
»Who is the gentleman with the telescope«
»That is RearAdmiral Baskerville who served under Rodney in the West
Indies The man with the blue coat and the roll of paper is Sir William
Baskerville who was Chairman of Committees of the House of Commons under Pitt«
»And this Cavalier opposite to me the one with the black velvet and the
lace«
»Ah you have a right to know about him That is the cause of all the
mischief the wicked Hugo who started the Hound of the Baskervilles Were not
likely to forget him«
I gazed with interest and some surprise upon the portrait
»Dear me« said Holmes »he seems a quiet meekmannered man enough but I
dare say that there was a lurking devil in his eyes I had pictured him as a
more robust and ruffianly person«
»Theres no doubt about the authenticity for the name and the date 1647
are on the back of the canvas«
Holmes said little more but the picture of the old roysterer seemed to have
a fascination for him and his eyes were continually fixed upon it during
supper It was not until later when Sir Henry had gone to his room that I was
able to follow the trend of his thoughts He led me back into the
banquetinghall his bedroom candle in his hand and he held it up against the
timestained portrait on the wall
»Do you see anything there«
I looked at the broad plumed hat the curling lovelocks the white lace
collar and the straight severe face which was framed between them It was not
a brutal countenance but it was prim hard and stern with a firmset
thinlipped mouth and a coldly intolerant eye
»Is it like anyone you know«
»There is something of Sir Henry about the jaw«
»Just a suggestion perhaps But wait an instant« He stood upon a chair
and holding up the light in his left hand he curved his right arm over the
broad hat and round the long ringlets
»Good heavens« I cried in amazement
The face of Stapleton had sprung out of the canvas
»Ha you see it now My eyes have been trained to examine faces and not
their trimmings It is the first quality of a criminal investigator that he
should see through a disguise«
»But this is marvellous It might be his portrait«
»Yes it is an interesting instance of a throwback which appears to be both
physical and spiritual A study of family portraits is enough to convert a man
to the doctrine of reincarnation The fellow is a Baskerville that is
evident«
»With designs upon the succession«
»Exactly This chance of the picture has supplied us with one of our most
obvious missing links We have him Watson we have him and I dare swear that
before tomorrow night he will be fluttering in our net as helpless as one of
his own butterflies A pin a cork and a card and we add him to the Baker
Street collection« He burst into one of his rare fits of laughter as he turned
away from the picture I have not heard him laugh often and it has always boded
ill to somebody
I was up betimes in the morning but Holmes was afoot earlier still for I
saw him as I dressed coming up the drive
»Yes we should have a full day today« he remarked and he rubbed his
hands with the joy of action »The nets are all in place and the drag is about
to begin Well know before the day is out whether we have caught our big
leanjawed pike or whether he has got through the meshes«
»Have you been on the moor already«
»I have sent a report from Grimpen to Princetown as to the death of Selden
I think I can promise that none of you will be troubled in the matter And I
have also communicated with my faithful Cartwright who would certainly have
pined away at the door of my hut as a dog does at his masters grave if I had
not set his mind at rest about my safety«
»What is the next move«
»To see Sir Henry Ah here he is«
»Goodmorning Holmes« said the baronet »You look like a general who is
planning a battle with his chief of the staff«
»That is the exact situation Watson was asking for orders«
»And so do I«
»Very good You are engaged as I understand to dine with our friends the
Stapletons tonight«
»I hope that you will come also They are very hospitable people and I am
sure that they would be very glad to see you«
»I fear that Watson and I must go to London«
»To London«
»Yes I think that we should be more useful there at the present juncture«
The baronets face perceptibly lengthened
»I hoped that you were going to see me through this business The Hall and
the moor are not very pleasant places when one is alone«
»My dear fellow you must trust me implicitly and do exactly what I tell
you You can tell your friends that we should have been happy to have come with
you but that urgent business required us to be in town We hope very soon to
return to Devonshire Will you remember to give them that message«
»If you insist upon it«
»There is no alternative I assure you«
I saw by the baronets clouded brow that he was deeply hurt by what he
regarded as our desertion
»When do you desire to go« he asked coldly
»Immediately after breakfast We will drive in to Coombe Tracey but Watson
will leave his things as a pledge that he will come back to you Watson you
will send a note to Stapleton to tell him that you regret that you cannot come«
»I have a good mind to go to London with you« said the baronet »Why should
I stay here alone«
»Because it is your post of duty Because you gave me your word that you
would do as you were told and I tell you to stay«
»All right then Ill stay«
»One more direction I wish you to drive to Merripit House Send back your
trap however and let them know that you intend to walk home«
»To walk across the moor«
»Yes«
»But that is the very thing which you have so often cautioned me not to do«
»This time you may do it with safety If I had not every confidence in your
nerve and courage I would not suggest it but it is essential that you should do
it«
»Then I will do it«
»And as you value your life do not go across the moor in any direction save
along the straight path which leads from Merripit House to the Grimpen Road and
is your natural way home«
»I will do just what you say«
»Very good I should be glad to get away as soon after breakfast as
possible so as to reach London in the afternoon«
I was much astounded by this programme though I remembered that Holmes had
said to Stapleton on the night before that his visit would terminate next day
It had not crossed my mind however that he would wish me to go with him nor
could I understand how we could both be absent at a moment which he himself
declared to be critical There was nothing for it however but implicit
obedience so we bade goodbye to our rueful friend and a couple of hours
afterwards we were at the station of Coombe Tracey and had dispatched the trap
upon its return journey A small boy was waiting upon the platform
»Any orders sir«
»You will take this train to town Cartwright The moment you arrive you
will send a wire to Sir Henry Baskerville in my name to say that if he finds
the pocketbook which I have dropped he is to send it by registered post to Baker
Street«
»Yes sir«
»And ask at the station office if there is a message for me«
The boy returned with a telegram which Holmes handed to me It ran
Wire received Coming down with unsigned warrant Arrive fiveforty
LESTRADE
»That is in answer to mine of this morning He is the best of the professionals
I think and we may need his assistance Now Watson I think that we cannot
employ our time better than by calling upon your acquaintance Mrs Laura
Lyons«
His plan of campaign was beginning to be evident He would use the baronet
in order to convince the Stapletons that we were really gone while we should
actually return at the instant when we were likely to be needed That telegram
from London if mentioned by Sir Henry to the Stapletons must remove the last
suspicions from their minds Already I seemed to see our nets drawing closer
around that leanjawed pike
Mrs Laura Lyons was in her office and Sherlock Holmes opened his interview
with a frankness and directness which considerably amazed her
»I am investigating the circumstances which attended the death of the late
Sir Charles Baskerville« said he »My friend here Dr Watson has informed me
of what you have communicated and also of what you have withheld in connection
with that matter«
»What have I withheld« she asked defiantly
»You have confessed that you asked Sir Charles to be at the gate at ten
oclock We know that that was the place and hour of his death You have
withheld what the connection is between these events«
»There is no connection«
»In that case the coincidence must indeed be an extraordinary one But I
think that we shall succeed in establishing a connection after all I wish to
be perfectly frank with you Mrs Lyons We regard this case as one of murder
and the evidence may implicate not only your friend Mr Stapleton but his wife
as well«
The lady sprang from her chair
»His wife« she cried
»The fact is no longer a secret The person who has passed for his sister is
really his wife«
Mrs Lyons had resumed her seat Her hands were grasping the arms of her
chair and I saw that the pink nails had turned white with the pressure of her
grip
»His wife« she said again »His wife He is not a married man«
Sherlock Holmes shrugged his shoulders
»Prove it to me Prove it to me And if you can do so « The fierce flash
of her eyes said more than any words
»I have come prepared to do so« said Holmes drawing several papers from
his pocket »Here is a photograph of the couple taken in York four years ago It
is indorsed Mr and Mrs Vandeleur but you will have no difficulty in
recognizing him and her also if you know her by sight Here are three written
descriptions by trustworthy witnesses of Mr and Mrs Vandeleur who at that
time kept St Olivers private school Read them and see if you can doubt the
identity of these people«
She glanced at them and then looked up at us with the set rigid face of a
desperate woman
»Mr Holmes« she said »this man had offered me marriage on condition that
I could get a divorce from my husband He has lied to me the villain in every
conceivable way Not one word of truth has he ever told me And why why I
imagined that all was for my own sake But now I see that I was never anything
but a tool in his hands Why should I preserve faith with him who never kept any
with me Why should I try to shield him from the consequences of his own wicked
acts Ask me what you like and there is nothing which I shall hold back One
thing I swear to you and that is that when I wrote the letter I never dreamed
of any harm to the old gentleman who had been my kindest friend«
»I entirely believe you madam« said Sherlock Holmes »The recital of these
events must be very painful to you and perhaps it will make it easier if I tell
you what occurred and you can check me if I make any material mistake The
sending of this letter was suggested to you by Stapleton«
»He dictated it«
»I presume that the reason he gave was that you would receive help from Sir
Charles for the legal expenses connected with your divorce«
»Exactly«
»And then after you had sent the letter he dissuaded you from keeping the
appointment«
»He told me that it would hurt his selfrespect that any other man should
find the money for such an object and that though he was a poor man himself he
would devote his last penny to removing the obstacles which divided us«
»He appears to be a very consistent character And then you heard nothing
until you read the reports of the death in the paper«
»No«
»And he made you swear to say nothing about your appointment with Sir
Charles«
»He did He said that the death was a very mysterious one and that I should
certainly be suspected if the facts came out He frightened me into remaining
silent«
»Quite so But you had your suspicions«
She hesitated and looked down
»I knew him« she said »But if he had kept faith with me I should always
have done so with him«
»I think that on the whole you have had a fortunate escape« said Sherlock
Holmes »You have had him in your power and he knew it and yet you are alive
You have been walking for some months very near to the edge of a precipice We
must wish you good now Mrs Lyons and it is probable that you will very
shortly hear from us again«
»Our case becomes rounded off and difficulty after difficulty thins away in
front of us« said Holmes as we stood waiting for the arrival of the express
from town »I shall soon be in the position of being able to put into a single
connected narrative one of the most singular and sensational crimes of modern
times Students of criminology will remember the analogous incidents in Godno
in Little Russia in the year 66 and of course there are the Anderson murders
in North Carolina but this case possesses some features which are entirely its
own Even now we have no clear case against this very wily man But I shall be
very much surprised if it is not clear enough before we go to bed this night«
The London express came roaring into the station and a small wiry bulldog
of a man had sprung from a firstclass carriage We all three shook hands and I
saw at once from the reverential way in which Lestrade gazed at my companion
that he had learned a good deal since the days when they had first worked
together I could well remember the scorn which the theories of the reasoner
used then to excite in the practical man
»Anything good« he asked
»The biggest thing for years« said Holmes »We have two hours before we
need think of starting I think we might employ it in getting some dinner and
then Lestrade we will take the London fog out of your throat by giving you a
breath of the pure night air of Dartmoor Never been there Ah well I dont
suppose you will forget your first visit«
Chapter XIV
The Hound of the Baskervilles
One of Sherlock Holmess defects if indeed one may call it a defect was
that he was exceedingly loath to communicate his full plans to any other person
until the instant of their fulfilment Partly it came no doubt from his own
masterful nature which loved to dominate and surprise those who were around
him Partly also from his professional caution which urged him never to take
any chances The result however was very trying for those who were acting as
his agents and assistants I had often suffered under it but never more so than
during that long drive in the darkness The great ordeal was in front of us at
last we were about to make our final effort and yet Holmes had said nothing
and I could only surmise what his course of action would be My nerves thrilled
with anticipation when at last the cold wind upon our faces and the dark void
spaces on either side of the narrow road told me that we were back upon the moor
once again Every stride of the horses and every turn of the wheels was taking
us nearer to our supreme adventure
Our conversation was hampered by the presence of the driver of the hired
wagonette so that we were forced to talk of trivial matters when our nerves
were tense with emotion and anticipation It was a relief to me after that
unnatural restraint when we at last passed Franklands house and knew that we
were drawing near to the Hall and to the scene of action We did not drive up to
the door but got down near the gate of the avenue The wagonette was paid off
and ordered to return to Coombe Tracey forthwith while we started to walk to
Merripit House
»Are you armed Lestrade«
The little detective smiled
»As long as I have my trousers I have a hippocket and as long as I have my
hippocket I have something in it«
»Good My friend and I are also ready for emergencies«
»Youre mighty close about this affair Mr Holmes Whats the game now«
»A waiting game«
»My word it does not seem a very cheerful place« said the detective with a
shiver glancing round him at the gloomy slopes of the hill and at the huge lake
of fog which lay over the Grimpen Mire »I see the lights of a house ahead of
us«
»That is Merripit House and the end of our journey I must request you to
walk on tiptoe and not to talk above a whisper«
We moved cautiously along the track as if we were bound for the house but
Holmes halted us when we were about two hundred yards from it
»This will do« said he »These rocks upon the right make an admirable
screen«
»We are to wait here«
»Yes we shall make our little ambush here Get into this hollow Lestrade
You have been inside the house have you not Watson Can you tell the position
of the rooms What are those latticed windows at this end«
»I think they are the kitchen windows«
»And the one beyond which shines so brightly«
»That is certainly the diningroom«
»The blinds are up You know the lie of the land best Creep forward quietly
and see what they are doing but for heavens sake dont let them know that
they are watched«
I tiptoed down the path and stooped behind the low wall which surrounded the
stunted orchard Creeping in its shadow I reached a point whence I could look
straight through the uncurtained window
There were only two men in the room Sir Henry and Stapleton They sat with
their profiles towards me on either side of the round table Both of them were
smoking cigars and coffee and wine were in front of them Stapleton was talking
with animation but the baronet looked pale and distrait Perhaps the thought of
that lonely walk across the illomened moor was weighing heavily upon his mind
As I watched them Stapleton rose and left the room while Sir Henry filled
his glass again and leaned back in his chair puffing at his cigar I heard the
creak of a door and the crisp sound of boots upon gravel The steps passed along
the path on the other side of the wall under which I crouched Looking over I
saw the naturalist pause at the door of an outhouse in the corner of the
orchard A key turned in a lock and as he passed in there was a curious
scuffling noise from within He was only a minute or so inside and then I heard
the key turn once more and he passed me and reëntered the house I saw him
rejoin his guest and I crept quietly back to where my companions were waiting
to tell them what I had seen
»You say Watson that the lady is not there« Holmes asked when I had
finished my report
»No«
»Where can she be then since there is no light in any other room except
the kitchen«
»I cannot think where she is«
I have said that over the great Grimpen Mire there hung a dense white fog
It was drifting slowly in our direction and banked itself up like a wall on that
side of us low but thick and well defined The moon shone on it and it looked
like a great shimmering icefield with the heads of the distant tors as rocks
borne upon its surface Holmess face was turned towards it and he muttered
impatiently as he watched its sluggish drift
»Its moving towards us Watson«
»Is that serious«
»Very serious indeed the one thing upon earth which could have
disarranged my plans He cant be very long now It is already ten oclock Our
success and even his life may depend upon his coming out before the fog is over
the path«
The night was clear and fine above us The stars shone cold and bright
while a halfmoon bathed the whole scene in a soft uncertain light Before us
lay the dark bulk of the house its serrated roof and bristling chimneys hard
outlined against the silverspangled sky Broad bars of golden light from the
lower windows stretched across the orchard and the moor One of them was
suddenly shut off The servants had left the kitchen There only remained the
lamp in the diningroom where the two men the murderous host and the
unconscious guest still chatted over their cigars
Every minute that white woolly plain which covered onehalf of the moor was
drifting closer and closer to the house Already the first thin wisps of it were
curling across the golden square of the lighted window The farther wall of the
orchard was already invisible and the trees were standing out of a swirl of
white vapour As we watched it the fogwreaths came crawling round both corners
of the house and rolled slowly into one dense bank on which the upper floor and
the roof floated like a strange ship upon a shadowy sea Holmes struck his hand
passionately upon the rock in front of us and stamped his feet in his
impatience
»If he isnt out in a quarter of an hour the path will be covered In half
an hour we wont be able to see our hands in front of us«
»Shall we move farther back upon higher ground«
»Yes I think it would be as well«
So as the fogbank flowed onward we fell back before it until we were half a
mile from the house and still that dense white sea with the moon silvering its
upper edge swept slowly and inexorably on
»We are going too far« said Holmes »We dare not take the chance of his
being overtaken before he can reach us At all costs we must hold our ground
where we are« He dropped on his knees and clapped his ear to the ground »Thank
God I think that I hear him coming«
A sound of quick steps broke the silence of the moor Crouching among the
stones we stared intently at the silvertipped bank in front of us The steps
grew louder and through the fog as through a curtain there stepped the man
whom we were awaiting He looked round him in surprise as he emerged into the
clear starlit night Then he came swiftly along the path passed close to where
we lay and went on up the long slope behind us As he walked he glanced
continually over either shoulder like a man who is ill at ease
»Hist« cried Holmes and I heard the sharp click of a cocking pistol »Look
out Its coming«
There was a thin crisp continuous patter from somewhere in the heart of
that crawling bank The cloud was within fifty yards of where we lay and we
glared at it all three uncertain what horror was about to break from the heart
of it I was at Holmess elbow and I glanced for an instant at his face It was
pale and exultant his eyes shining brightly in the moonlight But suddenly they
started forward in a rigid fixed stare and his lips parted in amazement At
the same instant Lestrade gave a yell of terror and threw himself face downward
upon the ground I sprang to my feet my inert hand grasping my pistol my mind
paralyzed by the dreadful shape which had sprung out upon us from the shadows of
the fog A hound it was an enormous coalblack hound but not such a hound as
mortal eyes have ever seen Fire burst from its open mouth its eyes glowed with
a smouldering glare its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in
flickering flame Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could
anything more savage more appalling more hellish be conceived than that dark
form and savage face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog
With long bounds the huge black creature was leaping down the track
following hard upon the footsteps of our friend So paralyzed were we by the
apparition that we allowed him to pass before we had recovered our nerve Then
Holmes and I both fired together and the creature gave a hideous howl which
showed that one at least had hit him He did not pause however but bounded
onward Far away on the path we saw Sir Henry looking back his face white in
the moonlight his hands raised in horror glaring helplessly at the frightful
thing which was hunting him down
But that cry of pain from the hound had blown all our fears to the winds If
he was vulnerable he was mortal and if we could wound him we could kill him
Never have I seen a man run as Holmes ran that night I am reckoned fleet of
foot but he outpaced me as much as I outpaced the little professional In front
of us as we flew up the track we heard scream after scream from Sir Henry and
the deep roar of the hound I was in time to see the beast spring upon its
victim hurl him to the ground and worry at his throat But the next instant
Holmes had emptied five barrels of his revolver into the creatures flank With
a last howl of agony and a vicious snap in the air it rolled upon its back
four feet pawing furiously and then fell limp upon its side I stooped
panting and pressed my pistol to the dreadful shimmering head but it was
useless to press the trigger The giant hound was dead
Sir Henry lay insensible where he had fallen We tore away his collar and
Holmes breathed a prayer of gratitude when we saw that there was no sign of a
wound and that the rescue had been in time Already our friends eyelids
shivered and he made a feeble effort to move Lestrade thrust his brandyflask
between the baronets teeth and two frightened eyes were looking up at us
»My God« he whispered »What was it What in heavens name was it«
»Its dead whatever it is« said Holmes »Weve laid the family ghost once
and forever«
In mere size and strength it was a terrible creature which was lying
stretched before us It was not a pure bloodhound and it was not a pure mastiff
but it appeared to be a combination of the two gaunt savage and as large as
a small lioness Even now in the stillness of death the huge jaws seemed to be
dripping with a bluish flame and the small deepset cruel eyes were ringed
with fire I placed my hand upon the glowing muzzle and as I held them up my
own fingers smouldered and gleamed in the darkness
»Phosphorus« I said
»A cunning preparation of it« said Holmes sniffing at the dead animal
»There is no smell which might have interfered with his power of scent We owe
you a deep apology Sir Henry for having exposed you to this fright I was
prepared for a hound but not for such a creature as this And the fog gave us
little time to receive him«
»You have saved my life«
»Having first endangered it Are you strong enough to stand«
»Give me another mouthful of that brandy and I shall be ready for anything
So Now if you will help me up What do you propose to do«
»To leave you here You are not fit for further adventures tonight If you
will wait one or other of us will go back with you to the Hall«
He tried to stagger to his feet but he was still ghastly pale and trembling
in every limb We helped him to a rock where he sat shivering with his face
buried in his hands
»We must leave you now« said Holmes »The rest of our work must be done
and every moment is of importance We have our case and now we only want our
man«
»Its a thousand to one against our finding him at the house« he continued
as we retraced our steps swiftly down the path »Those shots must have told him
that the game was up«
»We were some distance off and this fog may have deadened them«
»He followed the hound to call him off of that you may be certain No no
hes gone by this time But well search the house and make sure«
The front door was open so we rushed in and hurried from room to room to
the amazement of a doddering old manservant who met us in the passage There
was no light save in the diningroom but Holmes caught up the lamp and left no
corner of the house unexplored No sign could we see of the man whom we were
chasing On the upper floor however one of the bedroom doors was locked
»Theres someone in here« cried Lestrade »I can hear a movement Open this
door«
A faint moaning and rustling came from within Holmes struck the door just
over the lock with the flat of his foot and it flew open Pistol in hand we all
three rushed into the room
But there was no sign within it of that desperate and defiant villain whom
we expected to see Instead we were faced by an object so strange and so
unexpected that we stood for a moment staring at it in amazement
The room had been fashioned into a small museum and the walls were lined by
a number of glasstopped cases full of that collection of butterflies and moths
the formation of which had been the relaxation of this complex and dangerous
man In the centre of this room there was an upright beam which had been placed
at some period as a support for the old wormeaten baulk of timber which spanned
the roof To this post a figure was tied so swathed and muffled in the sheets
which had been used to secure it that one could not for the moment tell whether
it was that of a man or a woman One towel passed round the throat and was
secured at the back of the pillar Another covered the lower part of the face
and over it two dark eyes eyes full of grief and shame and a dreadful
questioning stared back at us In a minute we had torn off the gag unswathed
the bonds and Mrs Stapleton sank upon the floor in front of us As her
beautiful head fell upon her chest I saw the clear red weal of a whiplash across
her neck
»The brute« cried Holmes »Here Lestrade your brandybottle Put her in
the chair She has fainted from illusage and exhaustion« She opened her eyes
again
»Is he safe« she asked »Has he escaped«
»He cannot escape us madam«
»No no I did not mean my husband Sir Henry Is he safe«
»Yes«
»And the hound«
»It is dead«
She gave a long sigh of satisfaction
»Thank God Thank God Oh this villain See how he has treated me« She
shot her arms out from her sleeves and we saw with horror that they were all
mottled with bruises »But this is nothing nothing It is my mind and soul
that he has tortured and defiled I could endure it all illusage solitude a
life of deception everything as long as I could still cling to the hope that I
had his love but now I know that in this also I have been his dupe and his
tool« She broke into passionate sobbing as she spoke
»You bear him no goodwill madam« said Holmes »Tell us then where we shall
find him If you have ever aided him in evil help us now and so atone«
»There is but one place where he can have fled« she answered »There is an
old tin mine on an island in the heart of the mire It was there that he kept
his hound and there also he had made preparations so that he might have a
refuge That is where he would fly«
The fogbank lay like white wool against the window Holmes held the lamp
towards it
»See« said he »No one could find his way into the Grimpen Mire tonight«
She laughed and clapped her hands Her eyes and teeth gleamed with fierce
merriment
»He may find his way in but never out« she cried »How can he see the
guiding wands tonight We planted them together he and I to mark the pathway
through the mire Oh if I could only have plucked them out today Then indeed
you would have had him at your mercy«
It was evident to us that all pursuit was in vain until the fog had lifted
Meanwhile we left Lestrade in possession of the house while Holmes and I went
back with the baronet to Baskerville Hall The story of the Stapletons could no
longer be withheld from him but he took the blow bravely when he learned the
truth about the woman whom he had loved But the shock of the nights adventures
had shattered his nerves and before morning he lay delirious in a high fever
under the care of Dr Mortimer The two of them were destined to travel together
round the world before Sir Henry had become once more the hale hearty man that
he had been before he became master of that illomened estate
And now I come rapidly to the conclusion of this singular narrative in which I
have tried to make the reader share those dark fears and vague surmises which
clouded our lives so long and ended in so tragic a manner On the morning after
the death of the hound the fog had lifted and we were guided by Mrs Stapleton
to the point where they had found a pathway through the bog It helped us to
realize the horror of this womans life when we saw the eagerness and joy with
which she laid us on her husbands track We left her standing upon the thin
peninsula of firm peaty soil which tapered out into the widespread bog From
the end of it a small wand planted here and there showed where the path
zigzagged from tuft to tuft of rushes among those greenscummed pits and foul
quagmires which barred the way to the stranger Rank reeds and lush slimy
waterplants sent an odour of decay and a heavy miasmatic vapour onto our faces
while a false step plunged us more than once thighdeep into the dark quivering
mire which shook for yards in soft undulations around our feet Its tenacious
grip plucked at our heels as we walked and when we sank into it it was as if
some malignant hand was tugging us down into those obscene depths so grim and
purposeful was the clutch in which it held us Once only we saw a trace that
someone had passed that perilous way before us From amid a tuft of cottongrass
which bore it up out of the slime some dark thing was projecting Holmes sank to
his waist as he stepped from the path to seize it and had we not been there to
drag him out he could never have set his foot upon firm land again He held an
old black boot in the air Meyers Toronto was printed on the leather inside
»It is worth a mud bath« said he »It is our friend Sir Henrys missing
boot«
»Thrown there by Stapleton in his flight«
»Exactly He retained it in his hand after using it to set the hound upon
the track He fled when he knew the game was up still clutching it And he
hurled it away at this point of his flight We know at least that he came so far
in safety«
But more than that we were never destined to know though there was much
which we might surmise There was no chance of finding footsteps in the mire
for the rising mud oozed swiftly in upon them but as we at last reached firmer
ground beyond the morass we all looked eagerly for them But no slightest sign
of them ever met our eyes If the earth told a true story then Stapleton never
reached that island of refuge towards which he struggled through the fog upon
that last night Somewhere in the heart of the great Grimpen Mire down in the
foul slime of the huge morass which had sucked him in this cold and
cruelhearted man is forever buried
Many traces we found of him in the boggirt island where he had hid his
savage ally A huge drivingwheel and a shaft halffilled with rubbish showed
the position of an abandoned mine Beside it were the crumbling remains of the
cottages of the miners driven away no doubt by the foul reek of the surrounding
swamp In one of these a staple and chain with a quantity of gnawed bones showed
where the animal had been confined A skeleton with a tangle of brown hair
adhering to it lay among the débris
»A dog« said Holmes »By Jove a curlyhaired spaniel Poor Mortimer will
never see his pet again Well I do not know that this place contains any secret
which we have not already fathomed He could hide his hound but he could not
hush its voice and hence came those cries which even in daylight were not
pleasant to hear On an emergency he could keep the hound in the outhouse at
Merripit but it was always a risk and it was only on the supreme day which he
regarded as the end of all his efforts that he dared do it This paste in the
tin is no doubt the luminous mixture with which the creature was daubed It was
suggested of course by the story of the family hell and by the desire to
frighten old Sir Charles to death No wonder the poor devil of a convict ran and
screamed even as our friend did and as we ourselves might have done when he
saw such a creature bounding through the darkness of the moor upon his track It
was a cunning device for apart from the chance of driving your victim to his
death what peasant would venture to inquire too closely into such a creature
should he get sight of it as many have done upon the moor I said it in
London Watson and I say it again now that never yet have we helped to hunt
down a more dangerous man than he who is lying yonder« he swept his long arm
towards the huge mottled expanse of greensplotched bog which stretched away
until it merged into the russet slopes of the moor
Chapter XV
A Retrospection
It was the end of November and Holmes and I sat upon a raw and foggy night on
either side of a blazing fire in our sittingroom in Baker Street Since the
tragic upshot of our visit to Devonshire he had been engaged in two affairs of
the utmost importance in the first of which he had exposed the atrocious
conduct of Colonel Upwood in connection with the famous card scandal of the
Nonpareil Club while in the second he had defended the unfortunate Mme
Montpensier from the charge of murder which hung over her in connection with the
death of her stepdaughter Mlle Carère the young lady who as it will be
remembered was found six months later alive and married in New York My friend
was in excellent spirits over the success which had attended a succession of
difficult and important cases so that I was able to induce him to discuss the
details of the Baskerville mystery I had waited patiently for the opportunity
for I was aware that he would never permit cases to overlap and that his clear
and logical mind would not be drawn from its present work to dwell upon memories
of the past Sir Henry and Dr Mortimer were however in London on their way
to that long voyage which had been recommended for the restoration of his
shattered nerves They had called upon us that very afternoon so that it was
natural that the subject should come up for discussion
»The whole course of events« said Holmes »from the point of view of the
man who called himself Stapleton was simple and direct although to us who had
no means in the beginning of knowing the motives of his actions and could only
learn part of the facts it all appeared exceedingly complex I have had the
advantage of two conversations with Mrs Stapleton and the case has now been so
entirely cleared up that I am not aware that there is anything which has
remained a secret to us You will find a few notes upon the matter under the
heading B in my indexed list of cases«
»Perhaps you would kindly give me a sketch of the course of events from
memory«
»Certainly though I cannot guarantee that I carry all the facts in my mind
Intense mental concentration has a curious way of blotting out what has passed
The barrister who has his case at his fingers ends and is able to argue with an
expert upon his own subject finds that a week or two of the courts will drive it
all out of his head once more So each of my cases displaces the last and Mlle
Carère has blurred my recollection of Baskerville Hall Tomorrow some other
little problem may be submitted to my notice which will in turn dispossess the
fair French lady and the infamous Upwood So far as the case of the hound goes
however I will give you the course of events as nearly as I can and you will
suggest anything which I may have forgotten
My inquiries show beyond all question that the family portrait did not lie
and that this fellow was indeed a Baskerville He was a son of that Rodger
Baskerville the younger brother of Sir Charles who fled with a sinister
reputation to South America where he was said to have died unmarried He did
as a matter of fact marry and had one child this fellow whose real name is
the same as his fathers He married Beryl Garcia one of the beauties of Costa
Rica and having purloined a considerable sum of public money he changed his
name to Vandeleur and fled to England where he established a school in the east
of Yorkshire His reason for attempting this special line of business was that
he had struck up an acquaintance with a consumptive tutor upon the voyage home
and that he had used this mans ability to make the undertaking a success
Fraser the tutor died however and the school which had begun well sank from
disrepute into infamy The Vandeleurs found it convenient to change their name
to Stapleton and he brought the remains of his fortune his schemes for the
future and his taste for entomology to the south of England I learn at the
British Museum that he was a recognized authority upon the subject and that the
name of Vandeleur has been permanently attached to a certain moth which he had
in his Yorkshire days been the first to describe
We now come to that portion of his life which has proved to be of such
intense interest to us The fellow had evidently made inquiry and found that
only two lives intervened between him and a valuable estate When he went to
Devonshire his plans were I believe exceedingly hazy but that he meant
mischief from the first is evident from the way in which he took his wife with
him in the character of his sister The idea of using her as a decoy was clearly
already in his mind though he may not have been certain how the details of his
plot were to be arranged He meant in the end to have the estate and he was
ready to use any tool or run any risk for that end His first act was to
establish himself as near to his ancestral home as he could and his second was
to cultivate a friendship with Sir Charles Baskerville and with the neighbours
The baronet himself told him about the family hound and so prepared the way
for his own death Stapleton as I will continue to call him knew that the old
mans heart was weak and that a shock would kill him So much he had learned
from Dr Mortimer He had heard also that Sir Charles was superstitious and had
taken this grim legend very seriously His ingenious mind instantly suggested a
way by which the baronet could be done to death and yet it would be hardly
possible to bring home the guilt to the real murderer
Having conceived the idea he proceeded to carry it out with considerable
finesse An ordinary schemer would have been content to work with a savage
hound The use of artificial means to make the creature diabolical was a flash
of genius upon his part The dog he bought in London from Ross and Mangles the
dealers in Fulham Road It was the strongest and most savage in their
possession He brought it down by the North Devon line and walked a great
distance over the moor so as to get it home without exciting any remarks He had
already on his insect hunts learned to penetrate the Grimpen Mire and so had
found a safe hidingplace for the creature Here he kennelled it and waited his
chance
But it was some time coming The old gentleman could not be decoyed outside
of his grounds at night Several times Stapleton lurked about with his hound
but without avail It was during these fruitless quests that he or rather his
ally was seen by peasants and that the legend of the demon dog received a new
confirmation He had hoped that his wife might lure Sir Charles to his ruin but
here she proved unexpectedly independent She would not endeavour to entangle
the old gentleman in a sentimental attachment which might deliver him over to
his enemy Threats and even I am sorry to say blows refused to move her She
would have nothing to do with it and for a time Stapleton was at a deadlock
He found a way out of his difficulties through the chance that Sir Charles
who had conceived a friendship for him made him the minister of his charity in
the case of this unfortunate woman Mrs Laura Lyons By representing himself as
a single man he acquired complete influence over her and he gave her to
understand that in the event of her obtaining a divorce from her husband he
would marry her His plans were suddenly brought to a head by his knowledge that
Sir Charles was about to leave the Hall on the advice of Dr Mortimer with
whose opinion he himself pretended to coincide He must act at once or his
victim might get beyond his power He therefore put pressure upon Mrs Lyons to
write this letter imploring the old man to give her an interview on the evening
before his departure for London He then by a specious argument prevented her
from going and so had the chance for which he had waited
Driving back in the evening from Coombe Tracey he was in time to get his
hound to treat it with his infernal paint and to bring the beast round to the
gate at which he had reason to expect that he would find the old gentleman
waiting The dog incited by its master sprang over the wicketgate and pursued
the unfortunate baronet who fled screaming down the yew alley In that gloomy
tunnel it must indeed have been a dreadful sight to see that huge black
creature with its flaming jaws and blazing eyes bounding after its victim He
fell dead at the end of the alley from heart disease and terror The hound had
kept upon the grassy border while the baronet had run down the path so that no
track but the mans was visible On seeing him lying still the creature had
probably approached to sniff at him but finding him dead had turned away again
It was then that it left the print which was actually observed by Dr Mortimer
The hound was called off and hurried away to its lair in the Grimpen Mire and a
mystery was left which puzzled the authorities alarmed the countryside and
finally brought the case within the scope of our observation
So much for the death of Sir Charles Baskerville You perceive the devilish
cunning of it for really it would be almost impossible to make a case against
the real murderer His only accomplice was one who could never give him away
and the grotesque inconceivable nature of the device only served to make it
more effective Both of the women concerned in the case Mrs Stapleton and Mrs
Laura Lyons were left with a strong suspicion against Stapleton Mrs Stapleton
knew that he had designs upon the old man and also of the existence of the
hound Mrs Lyons knew neither of these things but had been impressed by the
death occurring at the time of an uncancelled appointment which was only known
to him However both of them were under his influence and he had nothing to
fear from them The first half of his task was successfully accomplished but
the more difficult still remained
It is possible that Stapleton did not know of the existence of an heir in
Canada In any case he would very soon learn it from his friend Dr Mortimer
and he was told by the latter all details about the arrival of Henry
Baskerville Stapletons first idea was that this young stranger from Canada
might possibly be done to death in London without coming down to Devonshire at
all He distrusted his wife ever since she had refused to help him in laying a
trap for the old man and he dared not leave her long out of his sight for fear
he should lose his influence over her It was for this reason that he took her
to London with him They lodged I find at the Mexborough Private Hotel in
Craven Street which was actually one of those called upon by my agent in search
of evidence Here he kept his wife imprisoned in her room while he disguised in
a beard followed Dr Mortimer to Baker Street and afterwards to the station and
to the Northumberland Hotel His wife had some inkling of his plans but she had
such a fear of her husband a fear founded upon brutal illtreatment that she
dare not write to warn the man whom she knew to be in danger If the letter
should fall into Stapletons hands her own life would not be safe Eventually
as we know she adopted the expedient of cutting out the words which would form
the message and addressing the letter in a disguised hand It reached the
baronet and gave him the first warning of his danger
It was very essential for Stapleton to get some article of Sir Henrys
attire so that in case he was driven to use the dog he might always have the
means of setting him upon his track With characteristic promptness and audacity
he set about this at once and we cannot doubt that the boots or chambermaid of
the hotel was well bribed to help him in his design By chance however the
first boot which was procured for him was a new one and therefore useless for
his purpose He then had it returned and obtained another a most instructive
incident since it proved conclusively to my mind that we were dealing with a
real hound as no other supposition could explain this anxiety to obtain an old
boot and this indifference to a new one The more outré and grotesque an
incident is the more carefully it deserves to be examined and the very point
which appears to complicate a case is when duly considered and scientifically
handled the one which is most likely to elucidate it
Then we had the visit from our friends next morning shadowed always by
Stapleton in the cab From his knowledge of our rooms and of my appearance as
well as from his general conduct I am inclined to think that Stapletons career
of crime has been by no means limited to this single Baskerville affair It is
suggestive that during the last three years there have been four considerable
burglaries in the west country for none of which was any criminal ever
arrested The last of these at Folkestone Court in May was remarkable for the
coldblooded pistolling of the page who surprised the masked and solitary
burglar I cannot doubt that Stapleton recruited his waning resources in this
fashion and that for years he has been a desperate and dangerous man
We had an example of his readiness of resource that morning when he got away
from us so successfully and also of his audacity in sending back my own name to
me through the cabman From that moment he understood that I had taken over the
case in London and that therefore there was no chance for him there He
returned to Dartmoor and awaited the arrival of the baronet«
»One moment« said I »You have no doubt described the sequence of events
correctly but there is one point which you have left unexplained What became
of the hound when its master was in London«
»I have given some attention to this matter and it is undoubtedly of
importance There can be no question that Stapleton had a confidant though it
is unlikely that he ever placed himself in his power by sharing all his plans
with him There was an old manservant at Merripit House whose name was Anthony
His connection with the Stapletons can be traced for several years as far back
as the schoolmastering days so that he must have been aware that his master
and mistress were really husband and wife This man has disappeared and has
escaped from the country It is suggestive that Anthony is not a common name in
England while Antonio is so in all Spanish or SpanishAmerican countries The
man like Mrs Stapleton herself spoke good English but with a curious lisping
accent I have myself seen this old man cross the Grimpen Mire by the path which
Stapleton had marked out It is very probable therefore that in the absence of
his master it was he who cared for the hound though he may never have known the
purpose for which the beast was used
The Stapletons then went down to Devonshire whither they were soon followed
by Sir Henry and you One word now as to how I stood myself at that time It may
possibly recur to your memory that when I examined the paper upon which the
printed words were fastened I made a close inspection for the watermark In
doing so I held it within a few inches of my eyes and was conscious of a faint
smell of the scent known as white jessamine There are seventyfive perfumes
which it is very necessary that a criminal expert should be able to distinguish
from each other and cases have more than once within my own experience depended
upon their prompt recognition The scent suggested the presence of a lady and
already my thoughts began to turn towards the Stapletons Thus I had made
certain of the hound and had guessed at the criminal before ever we went to the
west country
It was my game to watch Stapleton It was evident however that I could not
do this if I were with you since he would be keenly on his guard I deceived
everybody therefore yourself included and I came down secretly when I was
supposed to be in London My hardships were not so great as you imagined though
such trifling details must never interfere with the investigation of a case I
stayed for the most part at Coombe Tracey and only used the hut upon the moor
when it was necessary to be near the scene of action Cartwright had come down
with me and in his disguise as a country boy he was of great assistance to me
I was dependent upon him for food and clean linen When I was watching
Stapleton Cartwright was frequently watching you so that I was able to keep my
hand upon all the strings
I have already told you that your reports reached me rapidly being
forwarded instantly from Baker Street to Coombe Tracey They were of great
service to me and especially that one incidentally truthful piece of biography
of Stapletons I was able to establish the identity of the man and the woman
and knew at last exactly how I stood The case had been considerably complicated
through the incident of the escaped convict and the relations between him and
the Barrymores This also you cleared up in a very effective way though I had
already come to the same conclusions from my own observations
By the time that you discovered me upon the moor I had a complete knowledge
of the whole business but I had not a case which could go to a jury Even
Stapletons attempt upon Sir Henry that night which ended in the death of the
unfortunate convict did not help us much in proving murder against our man
There seemed to be no alternative but to catch him redhanded and to do so we
had to use Sir Henry alone and apparently unprotected as a bait We did so
and at the cost of a severe shock to our client we succeeded in completing our
case and driving Stapleton to his destruction That Sir Henry should have been
exposed to this is I must confess a reproach to my management of the case but
we had no means of foreseeing the terrible and paralyzing spectacle which the
beast presented nor could we predict the fog which enabled him to burst upon us
at such short notice We succeeded in our object at a cost which both the
specialist and Dr Mortimer assure me will be a temporary one A long journey
may enable our friend to recover not only from his shattered nerves but also
from his wounded feelings His love for the lady was deep and sincere and to
him the saddest part of all this black business was that he should have been
deceived by her
It only remains to indicate the part which she had played throughout There
can be no doubt that Stapleton exercised an influence over her which may have
been love or may have been fear or very possibly both since they are by no
means incompatible emotions It was at least absolutely effective At his
command she consented to pass as his sister though he found the limits of his
power over her when he endeavoured to make her the direct accessory to murder
She was ready to warn Sir Henry so far as she could without implicating her
husband and again and again she tried to do so Stapleton himself seems to have
been capable of jealousy and when he saw the baronet paying court to the lady
even though it was part of his own plan still he could not help interrupting
with a passionate outburst which revealed the fiery soul which his
selfcontained manner so cleverly concealed By encouraging the intimacy he made
it certain that Sir Henry would frequently come to Merripit House and that he
would sooner or later get the opportunity which he desired On the day of the
crisis however his wife turned suddenly against him She had learned something
of the death of the convict and she knew that the hound was being kept in the
outhouse on the evening that Sir Henry was coming to dinner She taxed her
husband with his intended crime and a furious scene followed in which he showed
her for the first time that she had a rival in his love Her fidelity turned in
an instant to bitter hatred and he saw that she would betray him He tied her
up therefore that she might have no chance of warning Sir Henry and he hoped
no doubt that when the whole countryside put down the baronets death to the
curse of his family as they certainly would do he could win his wife back to
accept an accomplished fact and to keep silent upon what she knew In this I
fancy that in any case he made a miscalculation and that if we had not been
there his doom would none the less have been sealed A woman of Spanish blood
does not condone such an injury so lightly And now my dear Watson without
referring to my notes I cannot give you a more detailed account of this curious
case I do not know that anything essential has been left unexplained«
»He could not hope to frighten Sir Henry to death as he had done the old
uncle with his bogie hound«
»The beast was savage and halfstarved If its appearance did not frighten
its victim to death at least it would paralyze the resistance which might be
offered«
»No doubt There only remains one difficulty If Stapleton came into the
succession how could he explain the fact that he the heir had been living
unannounced under another name so close to the property How could he claim it
without causing suspicion and inquiry«
»It is a formidable difficulty and I fear that you ask too much when you
expect me to solve it The past and the present are within the field of my
inquiry but what a man may do in the future is a hard question to answer Mrs
Stapleton has heard her husband discuss the problem on several occasions There
were three possible courses He might claim the property from South America
establish his identity before the British authorities there and so obtain the
fortune without ever coming to England at all or he might adopt an elaborate
disguise during the short time that he need be in London or again he might
furnish an accomplice with the proofs and papers putting him in as heir and
retaining a claim upon some proportion of his income We cannot doubt from what
we know of him that he would have found some way out of the difficulty And now
my dear Watson we have had some weeks of severe work and for one evening I
think we may turn our thoughts into more pleasant channels I have a box for
Les Huguenots Have you heard the De Reszkes Might I trouble you then to be
ready in half an hour and we can stop at Marcinis for a little dinner on the
way«