 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 green-splotched 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 sitting-room 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 step-daughter, 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.
