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S H ERL O O L ES
.
TH E
. 3 H A U O \V O F
‘
CK H M .
TH E H O UN D O F TH E
BA S K E R V I L L E S
AN O TH E R ADV E N T U RE OF
OLM ES
!
S H ERLOCK H
A . CO N A N D O YL E
A U T H OR OF
“
M I CA H CL A R KE ,
" “
TH E wa r n : C O M P A N Y,
” “
RODN E Y S T ON E ,
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m m: B E RN A C, E T C
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.
LO N D O N
GE O RGE N E W NES ,
LI MI TED
S O UT H A M P T O N S TR EE T ,
STR A N D
1902
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‘
O L ES
.
TH E S H A D O \V O F SH E R LO C K H M .
TH E H O UN D O F TH E
BA S K E R V I L L E S
AN O T H E R ADV E N T U R E OF
S H ERLOCK H OLM ES
A . CO N A N D O Y L E
A U T H OR OF
“
M I CA H CLA RKE ,
" “
THE wa r n . CO M P A N Y,
” “
R O DN EY S T ON E ,
“ UN "
CLE B E RN A C
, E TC ,
LO N D O N
G EO RG E W NES
N E ,
LI MI TED
S O UT H A M P T O N S T R EE T STR A N D
,
1902
58 9 th e S ame Zl u tb o r .
MC H C R E
I A LA K
TH E W T E C O M P
.
HI AN Y
O N E ON E
.
R D Y ST
E ER C M
.
UN C L B NA : A e mo ry o f th e E mp i r e
TH E T R G E D
.
TH E O O S O
A Y OF K R K
TH E R E EE
.
F UG S
TH E G R E T H D W
.
A S A O
D E T RE H ER H O LM E
.
A V N U S OF S LO C K S
E R O E
.
O
M MO I S O F S H E R L C K H LM S
OU
.
TH E S I GN OF F R
C R LET
.
A S T U DY I N S A
TH E E ON E
.
F I RM O F G I R D L ST
P R TE
.
TH E A AS I
E OT GE R R D
.
X PL I S O F B R l G A DI E R A
C PTA TH E P O L E T R
AI N OF "
S A
O U N TH E R E D L M P
.
R D A
TH E T R U N O E TT E
.
S A K M R L RS
TH E O S R L E W
.
D I NG OF AFF S HA
CT O
.
SO N GS OF A I N
U ET
.
A D
TH E R EE G
.
G N FLA .
I t wa s to y ou r a cco u n t f
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f] . C ON /I N DO YLE .
H I N DH E A D,
H A S L E M ER E .
58 9 th e S ame a u th o r .
MC H C R E
I A LA K
TH E W TE COM P
.
HI AN Y
O N E ON E
.
R D Y ST
E ER C M
.
UN C L B NA : A e mo ry o f t h e E m p we
TH E TR GE D
.
TH E O OS O
A Y OF K R K
T H E R E EE
.
F UG S
TH E GRE T H D W
.
A S A O
D E T RE H ER H O LM E
.
A V N U S OF S LO C K S
E R H ER O E
.
M MO I S O F S LO C K H LM S
OU
.
TH E S I GN O F F R
C R LET
.
A S T U DY I N S A
TH E E ON E
.
F I RM O F G I R D L ST
P R TE
.
TH E A AS I
E OT GE R R D
.
X PL I S O F B R l G A Dl E R A
C PTA T H E PO LE T R
AI N O F "
S A
OU N TH E L M P
.
R D RE D A
TH E T R U N O ETT E
.
S A K M R L RS
TH E O S R LE W
.
D I NG OF AFF S HA
CT O
.
SO N GS OF A I N
U ET
.
A D
T H E R EE G
.
G N FLA .
Mr DE AR R OBI N S ON ,
I t wa s to y ou r a cco u n t f
o a
Co u ntry legen d tb o t i lo ts t l wes its in cep

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a e o
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19 64
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tb zs an d or
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A . C ON AN DO YLE .
H X N DH E A D,
H A S L E M ER E .
C O N T E N T S
CH A P T R E
1 .S ERL CMR . H O K H O LM E S
II THE U R E T HE
. C S OF B A S K E R V I L LE S
I I I THE R LE M
. P OB
SI R H E NRY BA K E RV I LL E S
V TH R EE B R E N TH R E A D
. OK S
VI BA K E R V I LL E H A LL
. S
VI I THE S TA P L E T N M
. O S OF E R R I PI T H OU S E
VI I I . EP RT D R W T
FI RST R O OF . A S ON
IX SE C N D EP RT D R W T O
. O R O OF . A S N
X . TR ACT EX T HE DR W T O
FR O M D I AR Y O F . A S N
X I THE MA N T HE
. ON TO R
X II D EA T
. T HE M R H ON OO
X III . T HE N
FI X ING E TS
HE T T HE A K E RV I LL E
H O UN D O F B S S
E TR PE CT I N
A R OS O
C O N TE N T S
C H A PT E R
I SHE R L C H LM E
. MR . O K O S
II THE CU R E T HE
. S OF B A S K E R V I L LE S
I I I THE R LE M
. P OB
IV SI R H E NRY BA K ERV I LL E
. S
V TH R EE B R E N TH R E A D
. OK S
VI BA E R V LL E H A LL
. SK I
VI I THE S TA P L ET N M
. O S OF E R R I PI T H OU S E
V I I I I R T EP RT D R W T
. F S R O OF . A S ON
IX SE C N D EP R T D R W T O
. O R O OF . A S N
X T R A CT
. E T HE D
X DR W T O FR O M I AR Y O F . A S N
X I THE MA N T HE
. ON TO R
X II D T
. T HE M R
EA H ON OO
X III . T HE NFI X ING E TS
X IV HE H U D T HE BA K ERV I LLE
. T O N OF S S
X V . ETR PE CT I N
A R OS O
LI S T OF I LL U S T R AT I O N S
THE S W SHE R L C K H L M E
H ADO OF O O S F r o u tz sp i ece
‘
TO F A C E PAG E
THE E I N T HE CE N TR E LA Y T HE U
R N H A PPY MA I D
WHE R E H A D A LL E
SHE F N
SI R H E NRY BA K E R V LL E S I
“
THE R E M N W T N!
’
S O UR A ,
A SO CO M E ALO N G
”
HE HE L D O D U TY B T
AN L D, S OO IN ON E OF H I S
H A N DS
W E L C M E SI R H E NRY 1
O ,
”
HE T O OK U S TO S H O W U S TH E SP O T
THE Y W E A LLE Y
O V R T HE C W R O KS A S TH R US I O UT AN E V I L Y E LL O W
'
E
CEFA u .
I W T HE F
SA I GU R E OF A MA N UP O N T HE TO R
C L PPE D
F R AN K LAN D A ms E YE TO I T, AND GA VE
A CR Y OF SA T I S FA C T I ON
THE R E UP N ST NE
HE S AT O A O
THE H U N D T HE BA K E R V I LL E
O OF S S
HE L ED R U ND
O OK S URPR E
O HI M IN I S
H L M E E M P T IE D I V E B R E L
O S F AR S OF H I S R E V O LV E R
N T T HE R E A T U R E
I O C
’
S S I DE
M RSS T P LET N N
. A T HE L R
O SA K UP O N F OO
THE H O UND OF THE
B A S K E RV I LLES
C H AP T E R I
MR . S ERL
H O CK H O LM ES
R . H O LM E S wh o
S H E R LO C K ,
was usually very late in the m o r n

ings save upon t hose not infrequen t occa
,
sions when he stayed up a ll night was seated ,
at the breakfast table I stood u p o n the .
hearth rug and picked up the stick which

-
our V I S I tO I had left behind him the night

‘
before I t was a fi n e thick piece of wood

.
, ,
bulbous headed of the sort which is known

-
,
as a Penang lawyer J ust under the head

.
”
was a broad silver band nearly an inch ,
across . To James M ort imer

“
,
B
The H o u nd o f th e B aske r v ill es
from his friends of the wa s en
graved upon it with the date , It

was just such a stick as the o l d fashioned -
—
family practitioner used t o carry dig n ifi e d ,
s olid and reassuring

,
.
Well Watson wha t do you mak e o f it

, ,
?
H olmes was sitting with his back to me ,
and I had give n him no sign of my o c c u

pa don .
H ow did you know wha t I was doing

I believe you have eyes i n the back of your
head ”
I have a t l east a weI I pol ished si l ver

, ,
-
,
plated coffee pot in front of me said h e

-
,
”
.
B ut tell me Watson what d o you make

, , ,
of our visitor s stick ? Since we have been

’
so unfortunate as to miss him and have no

n otion of his errand this accidental souvenir ,
becomes of importa nce Le t me hear you .
reconstruct the man by an exami nation

”
o f it 0
fol l ow i ng so far as I
I think said ,
I ,
c ou l d the methods of my companion that ,
D r M ortimer is a successful elderly medical

.
2
Th e H o u nd o f th e B aske r vil les
a c igarette I a m bound to say that in a ll
.
the accoun t s which y o have been so g oo d u
a s t o give of my own small achievements
you have habitually underrated your own

abilities I t may be that you are no t your
.
self luminous but you are a conductor of

,
light S om e people without possessing genius

.
have a remarkable power of stimulating it .
I confess my dear fe ll o w that I a m ve ry

, ,
much in your debt .

"
H e h ad never said as much before and ,
I m u s t admi t that his words gave me keen

pleasure for I had often been piqued by his
,
indifference to my admiration and t o the

attemp t s which I had made to give publicity
to his me thods I was prou d too to think
.
, ,
that I had so far mastered his system as to

a pp l y it in a way whi c h earned his approval .
H e now t oo k the s t ick from my hands and

examined it for a few minutes with h is naked
e y es Then w i th an expression of interest
.
, ,
he laid down his cigarette and c a rry i n g the , ,
cane to the win do w he l ooked o ve r it aga i n

,
wi t h a c onve x l ens .
4
Mr . Sh e rloc k H olmes
I nteresting though elementary said
, ,
h e as he returned to his favourite c orn e r of

,
the sett ee There are certainly one or two

.
indications upon the stick I t gives u s the

basis for several deductions .
Has anything escaped me

“ P I asked ”
,
with some self importance -

I trust that .
“
there is nothing of consequence which I

have overlooked
I a m afraid my dear Watson that most
“
, ,
of your conclusions were e rron e ou s When .
I said that you stimulated me I meant to be ,
frank that i n noting your fallacies I was

,
occasionally guided towards the t ruth N o t .
that you are entirely wrong in this instance .
The man is certainly a country practitioner .
And he walks a goo d deal .

"
Then I was right .

”
To that extent .
”
B ut that was all .
N o no my dear Wa t son no t a ll
, , ,
by no means all I would sugges t for

.
,
example that a presentation to a doctor is

,
more l ik el y to come from an hospital than

T h e H oun d o f th e B aske r v ill es
from a hun t and that when the i nitials
, C C . .
’
are placed before that h ospital the words

‘
Charing Cross ve ry na t ural l y suggest
th emselves .
You may be rig ht .
T h e probability lies in th a t direction .
And if we t ake t his as a working hypothesis

w e have a fres h basis from which to star t
o u r construction of t his unknown visitor
”
.
“
Well then supposing that
, ,
does stand for Char i ng Cross H ospital

‘ ’
w hat further inferences may we dra w P

“
D o none suggest themselves ? You
k now my methods A pp l y them .
“
I can on l y think of th e obvious con
c l u s io n t ha t t h e man has practised i n t own
before going t o t he country .

”
“
I th i nk that we might venture a l ittle
farther t han this L oo k at i t in thi s l ight
. .
O n what occasion would it be most probab l e

t ha t suc h a presentation wou l d be made ?
W hen wou l d h is friends unite to give h im

a pledge of t heir g oo d will 9 O b vi ou sl y at
the momen t when D r Mor timer withdrew .
6
Mr . Sh e rloc k H olm es
from t he service of the hospital in orde r to
start in practice for himself We kno w .
there has been a presentation We believe

there has been a cha n g e from a town
hospita l to a co u n try practice I s it then .
, ,
stretching our inference too fa r to say that

the presenta tion wa s on the occasion of the
change
I t certain l y seems probable .
N o w you will observe that he could

,
no t ha v e been on the so f of the hospital ‘

u ,
since on l y a man well established i n a -
London practice could ho l d such a position ,
and such a one would not drift into the -
country What was h e then

.
? I f he was
,
in the hospital and yet not on the staff he ,
could on l y have been a house surgeon or a -
—
house physician little mor e than a senior
-
—
student And he left fi v e y e a r s ago the
.
date is on the stick S o your g r a v e

. ,
middle aged fa m i l y practitioner vanishes

-
into thin a i r m y dear Watson and there

, ,
emerges a youn g fello w un de r thirty ,
amiable unambitious absent minded an d

, ,
-
,
from a hun t and tha t when the initials
, CC . .
’
are placed before that h ospital the words

‘
Charing Cross ve ry naturally su ggest
t hemsel v es .
You may be rig ht .
T h e probabi l ity l ies in t ha t d i rection .
And if we take this as a working hypothesis

w e have a fresh basis from which to s t ar t
o u r construction of t his u nknown visitor
”
.
“
Well then supposing tha t
, ,
does stand for Charing Cross H ospi t al

‘
,
’
what further in ferences may we draw

“
D o none suggest themselves ? You
know my me t hods A pp l y them .
“
I can on l y t hink of th e obvious con
e l us i on t ha t t h e man h as prac t ised in t own
before going to the country .

”
“
I think that we might venture a l ittle
farther than this L oo k at i t in thi s light
. .
O n what occasion would it be most probab l e

t ha t such a presentation would be made ?
W hen wo u l d his friends unite to give him

a pledge of t heir g oo d will P O b v i ou sl y at
the momen t when D r Mor timer w i thdrew.
6
Mr . Sh e rloc k H ol m es
from the service of the hospital in orde r to
start in practic e for himself We kno w .
there has been a presentation We believe .
there has been a chan g e from a town

hospital to a coun try practice I s it then .
, ,
stretching our inference too far to say that

the presentati on was on the occasion of the
change
It certainly seems probable .
N o w you wil l observe that he could

,
no t ha v e been on the st y? of the hospital a ,
since on l y a m a n well established in a -
London practice could hold such a position ,
and such a one would n o t dr ift into the '
country What was h e then ? I f he was

.
,
i n the hospital and yet not on the staff he ,
could on l y have been a house surgeon or a -
—
house physician little mor e than a senior
-
—
student And he left fi v e y e a r s ago the
.
date is on the stick S o your grave

. ,
middle aged fa m i l y practitioner vanishes

-
into thin air my dear Watson and there

, ,
emerges a youn g fello w un d e r thirty ,
amiable unambitious absent minded an d

, ,
-
,
Th e H oun d o f th e B aske r v ill es
the possessor of a favouri t e dog wh i ch I ,
s hould describe rou g hl y as be i ng larger t han
a terrier and smal l er than a mastiff .

”
I l aughed i n c red u l ou sl y as S her l oc k

H olmes leaned back i n h is settee and blew
little waver i ng r i n gs of smok e u p to the
ceiling .
A s t o the latter par t I have no means ,
of checking you said I but at leas t it is

,
”
,
n o t diffi c u l t t o fi n d out a few particu l ars

about the man s age and professiona l career
’
.
”
F rom my sma ll medica l she l f I t ook

down the M edica l D irectory and turned up
the name There were several Mort imers
.
,
but on l y one wh o could be our visitor I .
read his r e c or d a l oud .
M ortimer J ames ,
1 882
, ,
C r i mp e n Dartmoor D evon
, H ouse su r
, .
geon from 1 8 8 2 to 1 8 8 4 a t Charing Cross

, ,
H ospital Winner of t he Jackson Prize for

.
Comparative P a t hology with essay entit l ed ,
I s Disease a R eversion P Corresponding ’
m e mb e r of the S wedish P atho l ogical Society .
A uthor o f S om e Frea k s o f Atavism

‘ '
8
the space be t ween t hese m a rk s is t oo bro ad ,
in my opini o n for a terrier and n o t bro ad

enough for a mastiff I t may h ave been .
s by J ove it i s a curly haired spaniel

”
e -
y , , .
H e had risen and paced the room as he

spoke N o w he halted in t he recess of t he
.
window There was su ch a r i n g of con

.
v ic t io n i n h is voice t hat I glanced up in

surprise .
My dear fellow h o w can you po ss i b l y

,
b e so sure of that
For the ve ry simp l e reason t ha t I see
t he do g himself on our v e ry doorstep an d ,
th ere is the r i n g of its owner D on t mo ve .

’
I beg you Watson ,

H e is a professional
.
brother of your s an d your presence may ,
be of a ssistance to me N ow i s the dra .
matic moment of fate Watson when you , ,
hear a step upon the s tair which is walking

i nto your l ife and you know not whether
,
fo r g oo d or i ll What does D r J ames

. .
M ortimer the man of science ask of S her

, ,
lock H o l mes t he specia l ist in crime ? C om e

,
in !
o
Mr . Sh e rloc k H olm es
The appearance of our visitor was a
s urprise to me since I had expected a ,
typical country practitioner H e was a v e ry . ,
tall thin m a n with a l on g nose l ike a beak

, , ,
which shot out between two keen g r y ,

e
eyes set closely together and sparkling

,
brightl y from behind a pair of g o l d r i mm ed -
gl a sses H e was clad in a pro fessional

.
bu t ra t her s l o v e n l y fashion for his fro ck ,
coat wa s d i n gy and his trousers fr a y ed .
Though youn g his l on g back was al r ead y

,
bowed and he walked with a for ward thrust

,
of his head and a general air of peering

benevolence As he entered his eyes fell
.
upon the stick in H olmes s hand and he ’
ran towards it with an exclamation of

joy.
so ve ry glad said h e
I a m I was , .
“
not sure whether I had left it here or in

t he Shipping O ffi c e I wo u ld not l ose th at .
stick for the world .

”
A presentation I see said H o l me s

“
, , .
Yes sir , .
”
F rom Charing Cross H osp it a l

1 1
T h e H oun d o f t h e B aske r vill e s
F rom one or t wo friends there on t he
oc ca sion of my marriage .
"
“
D ear dear t ha t s bad ! sa i d H o l mes
, ,
’
shaking his head .
D r M ortimer blinked t hroug h his gl asse s

.
in mild astonishmen t .
Why wa s it bad
O n l y t hat you have disarranged our
little deductions Your marriage you .
,
say P
Yes s i r I married and so l eft th e

, .
,
hospital and with i t al l h opes of a consul t ing

,
prac t ice I t wa s necessary t o make a h om e

.
of my own .
Com e come we are no t so far wrong

, ,
after all said H olmes

,
”
A nd now D r .
“
, .
j ames M or t imer n
—
M is t er sir M is t er a humb l e
, ,
And a man o f precise mind evident l y , .
A dabb l er in science M r H olmes a , .

,
pi c ker up of she ll s on the shore s of t he

great unknown ocean I presume tha t it .
is M r S herlock H olmes whom I a m a d

.
dressin g and no t n
12
Mr
Sh e rloc k H olm es
.
N this is my friend D r Watson

0, . .
Glad t o mee t you sir I have heard , .
you name mentioned in connection with that

of your friend You in t erest me ve ry much
.
,
M r H olmes
. I had h a rd l y expec t ed so
.
dolichocephalic a skull or such wel l marked -
supra orbital development Would you have

-
.
any objection t o my running my fi n g e r along

y our parie t al fi s su r e ? A cast of your skull ,
sir un t i l the origina l is available would

, ,
be an ornamen t to any anthropological

museum I t is not my intention to be
.
fu l some bu t I confess that I covet your

,
sku l l .
”
S herlock H olmes waved our s t range

v i sitor into a chair .
You are an enthusias t in your line of

thought I perceive sir as I a m in mi ne
, , , ,
”
said h e I observe from your fo r e fi ge r

.
“
n
that you make your own cigarettes H ave .
no hesitation in lighting one .

”
The man drew ou t paper and t obacco

a n d twirled the one up in the other with
s urpr i sing de x t eri t y H e had long quiver

.
,
I tt
ing fi n ge r s as agile a n d rest l ess as the
antenn ae o f an insec t .
H olmes was silen t bu t h i s l itt l e darting

,
gl ances sho wed me the interest which he

took i n our curious companion .
I presume sir said he a t las t that

, ,
”
,
i t was not m e re l y for the purpose of

examining my skull tha t you have done me
the honour to call here l ast night and agai n
to day
- ?
N o sir no ; t hough I a m happy t o

“
, ,
have had the opportunity of doing that as

wel l I came t o you Mr H olmes because
.
, .
,
I recogn ise that I a m my s e l f an unpractical

m a n and because I a m suddenly confron t e d
,
with a mos t serio s and extraordinary pro

u
blem R ecognising as I do that you are

.
, ,
the second highest exper t in E urop e 3)
I ndeed sir ! M ay I inquire wh o h a s

“
,
the honour to be t he fi r st P asked H olmes ”
with some asperity .
To the man of prec i se l y s c ie n tifi c mind

the work of M onsieur B er t i l lon mus t a l ways
appeal s t rongly .
”
14
Mr . Sh e rloc k H ol m es
Then had you no t better consult him
I said sir to the precisely c ie tific
, , s n
mind B ut as a practical man of affairs it

.
is acknowl edged that you stand alone I .
trus t sir that I have not inadvertently

, ,
“
J ust a little said H olmes
,
”
I think
.
“
,
D r M ortimer you would do wisely if with

. ,
out mor e ado you would ki n d l y tell m e

p l a i n l y wha t the exact nature of the prob l e m
is in which you demand my assis tance .
”
C H A PT ER I I
TH E C UR S E O F TH E BA S K E R V I LL E S
H A V E in my pocket a manuscript ,
said D r James M ortimer. .
I observed it as you en t ered t he room ,
sa id H o l mes .
I t is a n o ld manuscript .
E a r l y e igh t eent h c en t ury u n l ess it i s ,
a forg e y
r .
Howc an you say tha t s i r ? ,
You h ave presented an i nc h or two

of it to my examinatio all the t ime t h at you
n
h ave been t a l king I t would be a poor

.
expert wh cou l d not give the date of a

o
documen t wi t hi n a decade or o You may s .
p ossibly hav e read my l itt l e mono g r a p h

up o n t h e subje ct I put that a t.
The exa ct da t e is 74 D r Mor t imer

1 2 . .
d e w i t fr om h is breast po c k et
r This -
.
16
T h e H oun d o f th e B aske r vill es
a passion may be known u nder so brigh t a
name ) t he daughter of a y e om a n w h o held
l ands near the B askerville esta te B u t t he .
youn g maiden bei n g discreet and of goo d

,
repute would ever avoid h im for she feared

, ,
his evil name S o i t came t o pa s s t hat one

.
M ichaelmas this H u g o wi th fi v e or six of

,
his idle and wicked companions sto l e down ,
upon t h e fa rm and carried o ff the maiden ,
her father and brothers being from home ,
as h e well knew W h e n they had brought

.
her t o the H al l the maiden wa s placed in an

upper chamber while H u go and his friends
,
sa t down t o a long carouse as wa s their ,
nig htl y custom N o w t he poor lass upstairs

.
,
wa s like to have her wi t s t urned a t the

singing and shouting and t errible oaths
which came up t o her from below fo r they ,
say that the words used by H u g o B askervi ll e ,
when he was in wine were such as migh t

,
b l as t the man wh o said t he m A t l as t in .
the s t ress of her fear she did t hat which

migh t have daunted t he bravest or mos t
a ct ive m a n
,
for by the aid of the growth
20
T h e C ur se o f th e B aske r v ill es
of ivy which covered ! and still covers ) t he
south wall she came down from under the
,
eaves and so homeward across the moor

, ,
there being three leagues betwix t the Hall

and her father s fa rm ’
.
I t cha n ced tha t some l ittl e t ime l at er

H u g o left his guests to c a rry food and drink
— wi t h other worse things p e r c h a n c e to his,
m
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 rush , ,
ing down the stairs into the dining hall he -

,
sprang u pon the great table fl g o n s and ,

a
trenchers fl y i n g before h im and he cried ,
aloud before all the c omp a ny that h e would

t h at v e ry nigh t render h is bo d y and soul t o
the P owers of E vi l if he might but overtake
the wench A nd while the revellers stood
.
aghas t at t he fury of th e m a n one mor e ,
wicked o r it may b e mor e drunken than the

, ,
rest cried out that they should put the

,
b ounds upon her Wherea t H u g o ran from

.
the house c ry i n g to his g room s tha t they

,
shou l d saddle his m a r e and unkenne l t he

21
T h e H oun d o f t h e B aske r v ill es
pac k and giving the hounds a k erc h ief of
,
t he maid s he swu n g them t o t he l ine and so

’
, ,
o ff fu ll cry in t he moonlight over the moor .
N o w for some S pace t h e reve ll ers stood

,
a gape unable to understand all t ha t had

,
been done in suc h has t e B u t anon t heir .
bemused wi t s awoke to t he na t ure o f t he

deed w h ic h wa s l ike t o be done upon th e
moorl ands E verything wa s now in an u p
.
ro a r some calling for t h eir pis t o l s some for

, ,
th ei r h orses a nd some for anoth er flask of

,
wine B u t a t l ength some s e nse came back

.
to t heir cra z ed m i nds and t he who l e o f th em

, ,
t hir t een i n numb e r t ook horse a n d star t ed

,
i n pursui t T he moon shone clear above

'
t hem and t hey rode swift l y abreast t aking

, ,
t ha t course w h ic h the ma i d mus t needs have

t aken if s h e were t o reach her own h ome .
“
They had gone a mile or two when
they passed one of t he nigh t shepherds upon
the moorlands and they cried to him t o
,
know i f h e had seen t he hun t A nd th e .
m a n as t he story goes was so crazed wi th

, ,
fear t h a t h e cou l d scarce speak bu t a t l as t ,
22
T h e C ur se o f th e B aske r vill es
he said that he had in deed seen t he un h a ppy
maiden with t he hounds upon her track
, .
‘
B ut I have seen mor e t han that said ,
’
he fo r H u go B askervil l e passed me upon

,
‘
his black mare and t here ran mute b e hind

,
him such a hound of hell a s God forbid

should ever be a t my heels .
’
S o the drunken squires cursed the shep

“
h erd and rode onwards B ut soon their .
ski ns t urned co l d for there came a sound of,
galloping across the moor and the b l ack ,
mare dabbled with white froth went past

, ,
with t railing brid l e and empty saddle Then .
the reve ll ers rode close t ogether for a great ,
fear was on them but they s t ill followed over

,
the moor though eac h had he been alone

, , ,
would have been right g l ad t o have turned

his horse s head R iding slowly in this
’
.
fashion they came at last upon the hounds

, .
These t hough known for their valour a n d

,
their breed were whimpering in a clus ter a t

,
the head of a deep lip or g oy al as we cal l c ,
it upon the moor some slinking a wa y and

, ,
some with starting hackles and staring

,
23
eyes g az i n g down the narrow va l ley be fore
,
them .
The c omp a ny h ad c ome t o a halt mor e ,
sober men as you may guess t ha n when

, ,
they started The most of them would by

.
no means advance bu t three o f them the

, ,
bo l dest o r i t may b e the mos t drunken

, , , ,
rod e forward down t he g oy al N o w it .

,
opened in t o a broad space i n w h ich s t ood .
two of t hose grea t s t ones sti ll to be s een ,
there which were se t by certain forgot ten

,
peop l es in the da y s of old The moo n wa s .
shinin g bright upon the c l earing and t here ,
in t h e centre l ay the un h a ppy ma i d where

she had fal l en dead of fear and of fati g ue
, .
B ut i t was no t t he sigh t of her bo d y nor ye t ,
was i t t ha t of t he bo d y of H u g o B asker
ville l y i n g near her which raised the hair
,
u pon the h eads of t hese three dare dev il -
roys t erers b u t it was that standing over

, ,
H u g o a n d p l ucking a t h is throat there

, ,
s t ood a fou l thi n g a great black beast

, , ,
shaped l i k e a h ound yet larger t h an any,
h ound th a t ever mortal eye h as rested upon .
24
f . 2 4
.
“ T H ERE I N THE C EN T RE L AY TH E U N H A P PY M AI D W HE R E
SHE F A LL EN
”
H AD .
by wa y of caution t o forb ear from cross i ng
the moor i n t hose dark h ours when t he
powers of evi l are exa lt ed .
“
[This from H u g o B askervi ll e t o hi s sons
R odger and John wit h instruc t ions t hat t hey
,
s a y nothing t hereof t o t heir sis t er
When Dr M or t imer h ad fi n ish e d r eading

.
t his singu l ar narrative h e pushed h i s spec

ta c les up o n his forehead a n d s t ared across
a t M r Sherl ock H olmes

. The l at ter .
y awned and t ossed th e end o f hi s c i g are tt e
into t he fi r e .
Wel l s a i d h e .
D o you n o t fi n d it i n t eres ti ng
To a collector of fairy t al es -
.
”
D r M ort imer dre w a fo l ded news paper

.
o u t of his pocket .
“
N o w M r H o l mes we will give you
, .
,
someth ing a l ittl e mor e recent T his i s the .
D o w n Co u mf C k m o l e o f Ju n e 1 4th of t his
'
y r o
y ea r I t is a short accoun t of t he facts

.
e l icited at t he death of S ir Charl es B askerville

which occurred a few day s before t hat da t e .
"
26
M y friend leaned a lit tl e for ward and his
expression became intent Our visitor t e
.
adjusted his glasses and began
The recent sudden death of S ir Charles

B askerville whose name has been mentioned
,
as the probable Liberal candidate for M id

Devon at the nex t elec t ion has cast a gl oom
,
o ver the county . Though S ir Charles had

resided a t B askerville H al l for a compara
tiv e l y short period his amiability of character
and extreme generosity had won the affection

and respect of all wh o had been brought
into con t act with him I n these da y s of
.
u o u o o u x r z o uos it is refreshing to fi n d a
’
case where the scion of an old county fa m i l y

which has fallen upon evil day s is able t o
make his own fortune and to bring i t back
with him to restore the fallen grandeur of
h is line S ir Charles as is well known
.
, ,
made large sums of mon e y in South African

speculation M ore wise than those who g o
.
on until the wheel turns against them he ,
realised his gains and returned to E nglan d

2 7
with them I t i s on l y two years since he
.
took up h is residence at B askerville H all ,
and it is c ommon talk how large were those

schemes o f reconstruction a n d improvement
which have been interrupted by his death .
B eing himself chi l dless i t was his O p e n l y

,
expressed desire that t h e who l e countryside

should within his o wn lifetime p r o fi t b y h is
, , ,
g oo d fortune and m a ny wi ll have persona l

,
reasons for bewailing his u ntimely end H is .
generous donations to loca l and county

charities have been frequently chron i cled in
these co l umns .
“
The circumstances connected with the
death of S ir Charles cannot be said to h ave
been entirely c l eared up by the inquest but ,
a t least enough has been done to dispose

of those rumour s to which l oca l superstition
has given rise There is no reason w h atever
.
to suspect foul p l a y or to imagine tha t death

,
could be from any bu t na t ural causes S ir .
Charles was a widower and a man who m a y

,
be said to have been in some ways of an

eccen t ric habit of mind I n spite of h is
.
28
T h e C ur se o f th e Ba ske r vfl l e s
considerable wealth he was simple in his

personal tastes and his indoor servants at
,
B askerv ille H al l consisted of a married couple

named Ba rrymor e the husband acting as
,
butler and the wife as housekeeper Their .
evidence corroborated by that of several

,
friends tends to show that Sir Charles s

,
’
health has for some time been impaired and ,
points especially to some affection of the

heart manifesti g itself in changes of colour
,
n ,
breathlessness and acute at tacks of nervous

,
depression Dr J ames Mortimer the friend

. .
,
and medical attendant of the deceased has ,
given evidence to the sa m e effect .
The facts of t he case are simple S ir .
Charles B askerville was in the habi t every

night before going to bed of walki n g down
the famous Y e w A ll e y of B askerville H all .
The evidence of the Ba rrymore sho ws that s
this had been his custom O the 4th of . n
J une S ir Charles had declared his intention

of starting next day for London and had ,
o rdered Ba rrymor e to prepare his luggage .
That night he went out as usual for his

29
Th e H oun d o f th e B aske r vill es
nocturna l walk i n t he course of which he
,
was in the hab i t o f smoking a cigar H e .
never re turned A t t we l ve o c l ock Ba rry

.
’
mor e fi n din g t h e hal l door sti ll open became

, ,
a l armed and l igh t ing a l an t ern wen t in

, , ,
search of his mas t er T h e day had been .
we t and S i r C h ar l es s footmarks were easily

’
traced down th e Al l ey H al fway down .
this wa l k there is a gate whic h leads ou t

o n t o the moor T h ere were indications
.
t ha t S ir Charl es had s t ood for some litt l e

time here H e th en proceeded down t he
.
A ll e y and i t was a t t he far end of i t t ha t

,
his bo d y wa s disco v ered O ne fact which .
h as no t bee n explained is the statement

of Ba rrymor e tha t his master s foo tprints ’
altered their character from the time t hat

he passed the moor ga t e and that he a p -
,
e a r e d from t hence onwards to have been

p
walking upon his toes One M urp h y a .
,
gi p sy horse deal er was on the moo r at no

-
,
great distance at the time bu t he a ppears ,
by his own confess i on to have been the

worse for drink H e decl ares tha t he h eard
.
3 0
cries; bu t is unable to state from what
direction they came N 0 signs of vio l e ce
. n
were to be discovered upon S ir Charles s ’
person and though t h e do ct or s evidence

,
’
pointed to an almos t incredible facial dis

t o r tio n — s o g reat tha t Dr Mortimer refused
.
a t fi r st to believe tha t it was indeed his

friend and pa t ien t who lay before him — it
wa s explained tha t tha t is a symptom which
i s not unusua l in cases of dyspnoea and
death from cardiac exhaustion This ex .
planation was borne out by the pos t mortem -
examination which showed l ong standing

,
-
organi c disease and the coroner s jury r e

,
’
turned a verdict in accordance with the

medica l evidence I t is well that this is s o
.
,
for it is ob vi ou sl y of the utmost importance

that S ir Charles s heir should settle at the
’
H all and continue t he g oo d work which has

been so sadly interrupted Had the prosaic
.
fi n din g of t he coroner not fi n a lly put an end

‘
to the roman t ic stories which have been

whispered in connection with the affair it
migh t h ave been diffi c lt t o fi n d a tenan t
u
3 1
for B askerville H a l l I t is understood t hat
.
the next o f kin is M r He nry B askervi l le i f

- -
.
,
he be stil l a l ive the son of S ir Charl es

,
B askerville s youn ge r brother The youn g

’
.
man when last heard of wa s i n America ,
and inquiries are being i nstitu t ed with a

v iew t o i nform i ng h im of h is g oo d fortune .
Dr M or ti mer refo l ded h is paper and

.
rep l aced i t in his pocket .
Those are t h e publi c fa ct s M r H o l mes , .

,
i n c onnec t ion with th e deat h of S ir Charl es

B askervil l e .
”
I mus t thank you said S herl oc k ,
H o l mes for calling my a t tention to a case

,
which certainly presents some fea t ures of

interes t I had observed some newspaper
.
commen t at t he time but I was exceedingly.
preoccupied by that li t tle affair of t he

V atican cameos and in my anxie ty to oblige
,
the Po pe I lost touch with severa l in t erest

i ng E ngl ish cases This artic l e you sa y
.
, ,
contains al l t he pub l ic fac t s

I t does .
3 2
I w a g o d dea l of S ir Charl es B asker
sa o
v i ll eWith the exception of Mr F r a n kla n d

. .
,
o f La ft e r H all and M r S tapleton the

, .
,
n at uralist there a r e no o ther men of educa

,
tion within m a ny miles S ir Charle s wa s .
a re t iring m a n bu t t he chance of his i ll ness

,
bro u gh t Us together and a community of ,
i n teres t s in science kept s s o H e had u .
brough t back much sc ie n tifi c information

from S outh Africa and m a ny a charming ,
e vening we h a ve spent toge t her discussing
the comparative anatomy of the B ushman

a n d the H otten t o t .
Within the las t fe w months i t becam e

i n c reasi n gly plai n to me that S ir Char l es s ’
n ervous system was strained to breaking
point H e had taken this l egend which I

.
have read y o u exceedingly to heart s o —

much so that al t hough he would wa l k i n
,
h is own grounds nothing would i nduce him

,
to go out upon t he moor at night I n .
c redible as it may appear to you M r , .
H olmes he wa s honestl y convince d that

,
a dreadfu l fate overhung his fa m il y and ,
34
certain l y the records whic h he was ab l e to
give of his ancestors were not encouraging .
The idea of some ghas tly presence constantly

haunte d him and on mor e than one occasio n
,
he has asked me whether I had on my

medica l journeys a t nigh t ever seen any
strange creature or heard the b ay i n g o f a
hound The l atte r question he put to me
.
severa l times and a l ways wi t h a voice which

,
vibrated with e x citement .
“
I c an well remember driv i ng up to his
house i n the evening some three weeks
,
before the fatal event H e chanced to be

.
at his hall door I had descended from my

.
gig and was standi n g in front of him when ,
I saw his eyes fi x themselves over my

shou l der and stare past me with an ex
,
pression 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 th e head of the
drive . S o excited and alarmed wa s he that
I was compelled to g o do wn to the spot
where t he animal had been and l oo k around
35
for it I t wa s gone however and th e
.
, ,
i nciden t appeared to make the wors t im

pression upo n his mind I stayed with h im .
a ll the evening and it was on tha t occas i on

, ,
t o explain the emotion which he had shown ,
tha t he c o n fi de d to my keeping that narrative

which I read to y o u when fi r st I came I .
mention this sma l l episode because it assumes

some i mportance i n view of the tragedy
which fo l lowed bu t I was convinced a t t he
,
time tha t t he matter was entirely trivia l and

tha t his excitement had no ju t ifi c a tio n s .
I t wa s at my advice that Sir Charl es

wa s about to g o to London H is heart was
.
,
I knew affected and t h e constant anx i ety

, ,
in which he l ived however chimeri ca l the

,
cause of i t migh t b e was ev i dently having

,
a serious effect upon his heal t h I t hought .
that a fe w months a mon g t he distra c tions

of town would send h im back a new m a n .
M r S t ap l eton a mu t ua l friend wh o wa s
.
,
much concerned at his sta t e of hea l th wa s ,
of t he same opinion A t the l ast i ns tant

.
came t his t errible catas t rophe .
3 6
T h e C ur se o f th e B aske r vill es
On the night of Sir Charles s deat h ’
Ba rrymore the butl er who made the dis ,
c o v er
y
, sen t P erkins t h e g roo m o n horseback
to me and as I was sitting up l ate I was

,
able t o reach B askerville H a l l wi thin an

hour of t he event I checked and corro
.
borated a ll t h e fac t s which were mentioned

a t the i nquest I followed the footsteps
.
down t he Yew A ll e y I saw the spot a t the

,
moor gate where he seemed to have waited

-
,
I remarked the change i n the shape of the

prints after tha t poin t I noted that there ,
were no other footsteps save those of Ba rry

more o n the soft gravel a n d fi n a lly I care ,
fu l l y examined the bo d y which had not ,
been touched until my arrival Sir Charles .
lay on his face his arms out his fi n g e r s dug

, ,
into the ground and his features convulsed

,
with some s t rong emotion t o such an extent

that I could hardly have sworn to his
identity There was certainly no physical
.
i njury of any kind B ut one false statement

.
wa s made by Ba r ry mor e at the inquest .
H e said tha t there were no traces upon th e
37
ground round t he bo d y H e did not observe
.
.
—
a ny B ut I did some l i tt le distan c e o ff ,
bu t fresh and clear .

”
Foo t prints P
F o o tp r in t s .
A man s or a woman s P
’ ’
Dr M ortimer looked strangely a t u s fo r

.
a n instan t and his voice sank a l mos t to a

,
whisper as he answered
“
M r H olmes they were
.
, footpri n ts
o f a g igan tic h ound
C HA PT E R I I I
TH E P R O BL E M
CO N F E S S that at these word s a

shudder passed t hrough me There .
was a thrill in the doctor s voice which ’
showed that he wa s himself deeply mo v e d

by that which he to l d u s H olmes leaned .
forward in his excitement and his eyes had ,
the hard dry glitter which shot from them

,
when he was keenly interes t ed .
You saw this P ”
As clearly as I see you .
And you said nothing ?
What was the use P ”
H o w was it that no one else s a w it P

"
The marks were some twenty yard s

from the bo d y and no one gave them a
,
thought . I don t suppose I should hav e

’
done so had I not known this legend .
39
Th e H ound o f th e B aske r vill e s
T here are m a ny s h eep dogs -
on th e
moo r P
No doub t b t this wa s no sheep dog
,
u -
.
”
You say i t wa s l arg e P

E normou s .
”
B u t it had no t approac h e d th e bo d y P
”
No .
Wha t sor t o f n igh t wa s it P

Da mp and raw .
B u t no t actual ly ra i n i ng P ”
”
No .
Wha t i s the a ll ey li ke P ”
There are two lines o f ol d y e w h edg e ,
t we l ve fee t h igh and impenetrable T h e .
wa l k in th e centre is about eight feet across .

”
“
I s t here anything be t ween the hedges
a n d the wal k
”
P
Yes t here is a s t r i p o f grass abou t 6 ft

, .
broad on either side .

”
I understand t hat the yew h ed ge i s

penetrated at one point by a ga t e P
Yes the w i cke t gate which l eads on t o
,
-
th e moor .
I s there any o t her opening P

40
"
And w h at marks did you s e e by t he
w i c k et gate
- P
N one in particular .
"
G oo d H eaven ! Did no one examine ? ”
Yes I examined myself

, .
And foun d nothing P ”
I t was al l ve ry confused S ir Charles .
had evi dently stood there for fi v e or t en

m inutes
”
.
H ow d o you kno w that P

B ecause th e ash had twice droppe d
from his cigar .
“
E xcellent ! This is a col l eague Wa tson , ,
after our own heart B ut t he marks

.
P
“
H e had l eft his own marks al l over
that small patch o f gravel I c ou l d dis .
cern no others .
”
S herl ock H o l mes struck h i s h and aga i ns t

his knee with an impatient gesture .
I f I had on l y been there ! he cried ”

.
I t is eviden t ly a case o f extraordinary

interest and one which presented immense
,
opportunities to the s c ie n tifi c expert That .
gravel page upon which I might have read

42
T h e P robl e m
so much has been l on g ere this smudged
by the rain and defaced by the clogs o f
cur i ous peasants Oh Dr Mortimer Dr
.
, .
, .
M ortimer t o t hink that you shou l d n ot

,
have called me in ! You h ave indeed much

t o answer for .
”
“
I c ould not call you in M r H olmes , .
,
without disclosing these facts to the world ,
and I have already given my reasons for

n o t wishing to d o so B esides besides
.
,
“
Wh y do you hesita t e P ”
There is a realm in which the most

acute and most experienced o f detectives i s
helpless .
You mean t h at the thing i s super

n a t ural P
”
I did not positively say s o .
N 0 but y o evidently think it

,
u .
S ince the tr a ge dy M r H olmes t here

, .
,
h ave c om e to my ears several incidents

w hich are hard to reconcile with the settled
order o f Nature .
”
For example P ”
I fi n d that before the terrib l e e ven t

43
Th e H ound o f t h e B aske r v ill e s
occurred several peop l e h ad seen a crea t u r e
upon t he moor wh i c h c orr e sponds wi th this
B askervi ll e de mon and which c ou l d not
,
possib l y be any anim a l known to science .
They al l agreed that i t wa s a huge c reat ure ,
l uminous ghas tl y a n d spec t ral I have

, , .
cross exami ned t hese m e n one o f th em a

-
,
hard headed coun t ryman one a farrier and

-
, ,
one a moorl a n d farmer wh o al l t e ll the same

,
sto r y o f t his dreadfu l apparition exac tl y ,
corresponding t o t he he ll hound o f th e -
legend I a ssu r e you t ha t t here i s a reign

.
o f t error i n the district and t ha t it is a h ardy

,
man wh o w i l l cross the moor at nigh t .

”
“
And you a trained man o f sc i ence
, ,
be l ieve it to be superna t ural P ”
I do not know wha t t o believe .
H olmes shrugged hi s shoulders I .

“
have hither t o c o n fi n e d my i nvestigat i ons t o

this world said h e,
”
I n a modes t wa y I
.
have comba t ed evil bu t t o t ak e on the,
Father o f E vi l himself wou l d perhaps be , ,
too ambitious a task Ye t you mus t admi t .
that the footmark is materia l .

”
44
T h e P robl e m
The original hound was ma t erial enough
t o tug a man s throat ou t and ye t h e was
’
diabolical as well .
“
I see that you have qu i te gone over
to the supernaturalists B t now Dr . u , .
M ortimer t ell me this If you hold t hese

, .
v i ews ,wh y have you c om e to consu lt me

at all ? You tell me in the same breath
tha t it i s useless to investigate S ir Charl es s ’
death and that you desire m e to do it

, .
"
“
I did not say that I desired you t o
Then how can I assist you ?

,
B y advising me as to what I shou l d

do with S ir H e nry B askerville who arrives ,
at Wa terloo Station Dr M ortimer looked .
a t his watch in exactly one hour a n d a

“
quarter .
”
H e being the heir P

Yes O u the death o f Sir Char l es we
.
i nquired for this youn g gentleman and foun d ,
that he had been farming in Canada F rom .
the accounts which have reached u s he is

an excellent fellow in every way I spea k .
45
The H ou n d o f t h e B aske r v ill e s
now no t as a medica l man bu t as a trustee
a n d executor o f S ir Charles s wi ll
’ "
.
“
There i s no other claima n t I pre ,
su m e P
N one .T h e on l y o th er k i n sman Wh om
we have been able to trace was R odger
B askervi ll e the youngest o f three brothers
,
o f whom poo r S ir Charl es was the e l der .
The second brother who died youn g is t he

, ,
father o f this lad H enry The t hird R odger.

, ,
wa s the black sheep o f t he fa m il y He .
came o f t he o l d masterfu l B askervil l e s t rain ,
and was the v e ry i mage they te ll me o f , ,
the fa m il y pic tur e o f o l d H u g o H e made .
E ngl and t oo ho t to hold him fled to Cen t ral ,
America and died there in 1 8 7 6 o f yello w

,
fever H e nry is the l ast o f the B asker

.
villes I n one hour and fi e minu t es I mee t

. v
h im a t Wa t er l oo S tation I hav e had a

wire t ha t he arrived at S ou th amp t on this
morn i n g N ow Mr H o l mes what wou l d
.
, .
,
y o u advise me to do with him P

“
Wh y shou l d he not go t o th e hom e o f
his fathers P "
46
T h e P robl e m
I t seems atural does it not n , And ?
yet consider that every B askerville wh o

,
goes there meets with an evil fate I feel .
sure that i f S ir Charles c ou l d have spoken

with me before his death he would have
warned m e against bringi n g this the last
o f the old race and the heir to great wealth
, ,
to that deadly place And y e t it cannot be

.
denied that the prosperity o f the whole poor ,
bleak country side depends upon his pre

-
sence All the g oo d work which has been

.
done by S ir Ch rles will crash to the g roun d

a
if there is n o tenant o f the H all I fear lest .
I should be swayed too much by m y own

obvious interest i n the m atter and that is ,
why I bring the case before you and ask

for your advice .
”
H olmes considered for a little t ime .
P t into plain words the matter is this

”
u , ,
said h e I n your op i n i on there is a dia

.
b lic a l a g e n c y which makes Dartmoor an

o
unsafe abode for a B a ske r ille th a t is your v w
op i n i on P ”
“
At l eas t I might g o the length o f
47
Th e H ound o f th e B aske r v ill es
say i ng th a t t h ere i s some evidence th a t
t his may be s o .
“
E xactl y B u t sure l y if your super
.
,
n atura l th eory be correc t it cou l d work t he

,
youn g man evil in L on d on a s easi l y as i n

Devonshire A dev il with merely l ocal
.
powers like a parish v es t ry wou l d b e too

i nconce i vab l e a thing .
You pu t t he ma tt er more fl ippa n tly ,
M r H o l mes t han you would prob a b l y do

.
,
if you were brought i nto persona l con tac t

w it h th ese t h ings Your advice t hen
.
, ,
a s I unders tand it i s t hat th e youn g man

,
wi ll be as safe i n D evons h ire as in L on d on .
H e comes in fi fty minu t es What wou l d

.
you recommend P
“
I recommend sir that you take a cab
, , ,
ca ll o ff your spanie l who is scratching a t my

,
fron t d oor and proceed t o Waterl oo t o meet

,
S ir He nry B askervil l e .
And then P
A nd t hen you wi ll say nothing t o h im
a t al l until I have made u p my m i n d abou t
the matt er.
48
Th e H ou n d o f t h e B aske r v ill es
G o i n g ou t Wa t son
,
P
Un l ess I can h elp you .
N 0 my dear fel l ow it is a t th e h our

, ,
o f a ction tha t I t urn t o you for aid B ut .
t h i s is splendid rea l ly unique from some

,
poin t s o f view When you pass B rad l ey s

.
’
wou l d you as k h im to send up a poun d o f

the s t ronges t shag t obacco ? Than k you “
I t wou l d be as we ll if you cou l d make

i t conven i en t no t t o re t urn before evening .
Then I shou l d be v ery glad to compare

impression s as to this mos t interesting
prob l em which h a s been subm i t t ed to u s ,
this morn i n g .
”
I knew t ha t sec l us i o n a n d s o lit ude were

very necessary for my friend i n t hose hours
o f in t ense menta l concen t ratio n during wh i ch
he weighed every particl e o f ev idence c on ,
struc t ed alternative theories ba l anced one ,
agains t t he other and made up his m i n d

,
as to which points were essentia l and which

immateria l I therefore spent t h e day at
.
my club and d i d not re t urn t o B aker S treet

,
u nt il evening I t wa s nearly n i ne o c l ock ’

.
5 0
T h e P robl e m
w h en I fou n d myself in the si t ting room -
once more .
My fi r st i mpression as I opened t he d oor

wa s that a fi r e had broken ou t for the ,
room wa s so fi lle d with smoke t ha t the

ligh t o f the lamp upon t he table was blurred
by it As I entered ho wever my fears
.
, ,
were se t at rest for it was the acrid fume s

,
o f s trong coarse tobacco which took me by

, ,
the throa t and set me coughing Through .
the h a e I had a vague vision o f H olme s

z
i n his dressi n g gown coi l ed up in an a rm

-
chair with h is black cl a y pipe between h is

lips S evera l roll s o f p aper lay a roun d him
. .
Caught cold Watson said h e

P
,
”
.
N o it s this poisonous atmosphere

’
, .
I suppose it is pre t ty thick now t ha t ,
o u mention it
”
y .
Thic k ! I t is intolerab l e .
Open t he window then ! You have ,
been at your club all da y I perceive , .

”
My dear Holmes
A m I righ t ?
”
Certainly but how ,
S I
Th e H o u nd o f th e B aske r v ill es
He l aughed a t my bewi l dered expression .
“
There is a de l ightfu l freshness about
you Watson which makes i t a p l easure to
, ,
exercise any smal l powers which I possess

a t your expense A gentl eman goes forth
.
on a showery and m i ry da y H re t urns . e
immacu l ate i n the evening wi th th e gloss

sti ll on his ha t and h i s boots H has . e
been a fi t therefore all da y H i s not

x u re . e
a m w i th intimate friends Where then

an .
, ,
could he have been P I s it not obvious P ”
Wel l i t is ra t her obvious

, .
”
The worl d i s fu ll o f obv i ous t hings

wh i ch nobo d y by any c h ance ever observes .
Where do y o u think tha t I have been P ”
A fi x tu r e a l so
"
.
O n t he con t rary I have been t o D evon

,
I n spiri t P ”
E xactly My bo d y h as rema i ned i n

.
this armchair and has I regre t to observe

, , ,
consumed in my absen c e t wo l arge pots o f

coffee and an incredible amount o f t obacco .
After you l eft I sent down t o S tanford s ’
5 2
T h e P robl e m
for the Ordnan c e map o f this portion o f t he
moor and my spirit has hovered over it
,
all da y I flatter myself tha t I could fi n d

.
my way about .
“
A large scal e m a p I presu me P
,
”
V ery large H e unrolled one sec ti on

.
’
and held it over his knee H ere you have .
the particular dis t rict which concerns u s .
That is B askerville H all in the middle .

”
“
With a wood roun d i t P ”
E xactly .I fa n c y the Yew Al l ey ,
though not marked under tha t name must ,
stretch along this line with the moor as , ,
you perceive upon the right o f it This

, .
small cl ump o f buildings here is the hamlet

o f C rimpen where our friend D r M ortimer
, .
has his headquarters Within a radius o f .
fi v e mi l es there a r e as you see on l y a very

, ,
few scattered d wellings H ere is L a fte r .
H all which wa s mentioned in the narrative

, .
There is a house indicated here which may

be the residen c e o f the naturalist— Stapleton ,
if I remember righ t was his name H ere , .
are two moorl a n d farmhouses H ig h Tor ,
53
Th e H ou n d o f th e B aske r v ill es
and F o u lm ir eT hen four t ee n mi l es away
.
th e grea t convict prison o f Prince t own .
B etween and around t hese s c attered points

extends the deso l ate l ifeless moor This , .
,
then is the stage upon whi c h t raged y has

,
been played and upon w h ic h we may help

,
t o p l a y it again .
”
I t mus t be a wi l d place .
Yes t he se tt ing is a wor th y one I f

, .
t he devi l did desire t o have a h and in th e

affairs o f men
“
Then you are yourse l f i n c l ining t o th e
supernatura l exp l anation .
”
The devil s agen t s may b e o f fles h and

’
b l oo d may t hey not P There are t wo ques

,
t i ons waitin g for u s at the ou t se t The .
o n e i s whe t her any crime has been commit t ed
a t a ll ; t h e second is what is th e crime and

,
how was it committed ? O f course if Dr , .
M ortimer s surmise shou l d be correct and

’
,
we are dea l ing with forces ou tside t he

ord i n a ry laws o f N ature t here is an end ,
o f our i nvestigation B u t we are boun d to

.
exhaus t all other hypotheses before fa ll ing

54
T h e P r o bl e m
back upon this one I think we ll shu t that
.
'
window again if you don t m i n d I t is a

,
’
.
singular thing but I fi d that a concentrated

, n
atmosphere helps a concentration o f thought .
I have not pushed i t t o the length o f gettin g

i nto a box to t h ink but that is the logical
,
outcome o f my convictions H ave you .
turned the case over in your m i n d P ”
“
Yes I have t h ough t a g oo d deal o f it
,
in the course o f t h e da y .
What do you make o f it P ”
I t is v e ry bewildering .
”
I t has certainly a character o f i t s own .
There are points o f distinction about it .
That change in the footprints for example , .
What do y o u make o f that P ”
M ortimer said that the man had walked

on tiptoe down that portion o f the alley .
”
“
H e on l y repeated what some foo l had
said at the inquest Why should a man
.
walk on tiptoe down the alley P ”
What then P
H e wa s runn i n g Watson — , running
desperately running for his l ife runn i n g
, ,
55
un til he burst his heart and fe ll dead upo n
his face .
R unn i n g from w h at P
There lies our problem There are .
i ndications that the man was crazed with fear

before ever he began to run .
”
H o w can you say that P

”
I a m presuming tha t the cause o f h i s

fears came to him across t he moor I f that .
were so and it seems mos t probable on l y

, ,
a man wh o had l ost his wi t s would have

run fr o m the ho u se i nstead o f t oward s it .
I f the gipsy s evidence may be t aken as

’
t rue he ran with cries for he l p i n the

,
direc t io n where he l p was l eas t likely to b e .
Then again whom wa s he waiti n g for that

, ,
nigh t and wh y was he waiting for h im in

,
the Yew A l ley rather than i n his own

house P
You think tha t he wa s waiting fo r
some one P
The man was elderl y and in fi r m We .
can understand his taking an eve n ing stroll ,
but the g roun d was da mp and the nigh t

5 6
S I R " 8 2V B AS K E R V I LL E .
C H A PT E R I V
SI R H E N RY BA S K E R V I LL E
URbreakfas t table wa s c l eared earl y

-
,
and H olmes waited in h is dressing

gown for t h e promised interview O u r .
clients were punctual to th eir appointment ,
for t h e c lock h ad j ust struck ten when D r .
M ortimer wa s s h own u p fol l owed by t h e ,
y oun g barone t T h e
. l a t ter was a smal l ,
alert dark eyed man about t h irty years o f

,
-
age very sturdi l y built wit h t h ick black

, ,
eyebrows and a strong pugnacious face , .
H e wore a rudd y tinted t weed suit and

-
,
h ad th e weat h er beaten appearance o f one

-
wh o h as sp ent most o f h is t ime in t h e open

air and y e t th ere wa s somet h ing in h is
,
steady eye and t h e quie t assurance o f h is

bearing w hi c h indicated t h e gent l eman .
T h is is S ir He nry B askerville sa i d
“
,
”
Dr M or t imer
. .
r 58
SI R H E N RY S E R V I LL E
BA K .
N orthumberland H o t el asked H olmes P ”
,
glanci n g keenly across at our visitor .
“
N o one could have known We on l y
decided after I met Dr M ortimer . .
B ut Dr M ortimer was no dou bt a l ready

.
, ,
stopping there P
N o I had been staying with a friend
, ,
said the doctor Ther e wa s no possib l e

.
“
ind i cation th a t we in t ended to go to t h is

ho t el .
”
“
H um ! S om e one seems to be ve ry
deeply interested in your movemen ts Out .
”
o f the envel ope he took a half shee t o f -
foolscap paper folded i nto four This h e .
opened and spread flat upon the t ab l e .
Across the middle o f it a single sentence

had been formed by the expedient o f pasting
pr i nted words upon it I t ran : As you .
“
value you r life or your reason keep away

from the moor The word m oor on l y
.
’ “
was printed in ink .
“
Now said Si r He nry B askervi l le
, ,
perhaps you will te ll me M r H olmes , .

,
what i n t hunder is the meani n g o f that and ,
60
Sir H enry B aske r v ill e
wh o it is that takes so much interes t i n my
a ffairs P
Wha t do you make o f it Dr Mortimer ? , .
You must allow that there is nothing super

na t ural about this at any rate P ,
“
N o sir but it might v e ry wel l come
, ,
from some one who was convinced that the

business is supernatural .
”
“
What business ? asked S ir He nry ”
sharp l y . I t seems t o 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 S ir H e nry I promise , .
you that said S herlock H olmes

, We .
“ ’
will c o n fi e ourse l ves for the present with

n ,
your permission to this ve ry interesting

,
document which must have been put to

,
gether and posted yesterday evening Have .
you yesterday s Ti mes Watson ’

P
,
”
I t is here in the corner .

”
—
M ight I tro u ble you for it t h e inside
page please w ith the leading articl es P
, ,
H e glanced swiftly over it r u nn i n g his eye s ,
61
up a d down t he co l umns
n Capita l ar t icl e .
t his on Free T rade Permi t me t o give .
y ou n extract
a from it You may be .
‘
caj o l ed i n t o imagining th a t your wn o
speci al t rade r your wn indus t ry wi ll b e o o
encouraged by a pro t e cti ve tariff bu t i t ,
stand s to reason th at such l egis l ation must

in the l o n g run k eep away wea l t h from t he
coun t ry diminish t he value o f our impor ts
, ,
and l ower the ge era l conditions o f l ife i n n
t h i island W h a t do you t hink o f that

s .
’
,
Wa t so ? cried H olmes i n h igh g l ee

n
”
, ,
rubbing his h ands together with sa t isfaction .
D on t you thin k tha t is an dmirab l e

’
a
s entimen t P
Dr M ortimer l ooked a t H o l mes w i t h an
.
a ir o f professiona l i nteres t and S ir He nry ,
B askerville turned pair o f pu z z l ed dar k a
e yes po me u n .
I don t kno w muc h abou t the t ariff and

“ ’
t hings o f tha t kind said h ; bu t i t seems ,

”
e
“
to me we ve go t a b i t o ff the t rai l so far as

’
th a t no t e is concerned .
”
O th e contrary I t hin k we are par

n ,
62
The H o u nd o f th e B aske r v ill es
it came from the l eading art i cl e i s really one
,
o f the mos t remarkable t hings which I have

e ver known . H o w did you do it P
“
I presume doctor that you c ou l d t e l l
, ,
the skull o f a negro from that o f an

E squimaux P
M ost cer t ainly.
B ut how P
B ecause that is my spec i al h obby The .
differences are obvious The supra orbital

.
-
crest the facia l angle t h e maxil l ary curve

, , ,
t he
B u t th is i s my special h obby and the ,
differences are equally obvious There is .
as much difference to my eyes be t ween the

l eaded bourgeois type o f a Ti mes article and
t he slovenly print o f an evening h alfpenny
paper as there could be between your negro
and your E squimaux The detection o f
.
types is one o f the most e l ementary branches

o f knowledge t o the special expert in crime ,
though I confess that once when I was v e ry

youn g I confused the L eeds [ Wo r ou ry with
the Woster u M o r n ing N ews B u t a Ti mes.
64
l eader is entirel y distinctive and these words ,
could have been taken fro m nothing else .
As it was done yesterday the strong pro

b a b ility was t h at we should fi n d the words
in yesterday s issue ’
.
”
S o far as I can follow you then

“
, ,
M r H o l mes said S ir H e nry B askervil l e

”
. , ,
“
some one cut out this message with a
s cissors
“
N a il scissors said H olmes
-
You can
, .
see tha t it was a v e ry shor t b l aded scissors -

,
since the cutter had to ta ke two snips over

keep away .
’
Tha t is so S om e one then cut out

“
.
, ,
th e message with a pair o f short b l aded -
sc i ssors pasted it with pas t e

,
G u m said H olmes
”
.
,
With gum on to the paper B ut I .
wan t to know why the word moor should

’
h ave been written P ”
B ecause he could not fi n d it in print .
The other words were all simple and might ,
be foun d in any issue but moor would b e ,
l ess c ommon .
”
65
Wh y o f course tha t wou l d expl ain
, ,
it
.
H ave you read any th ing e l se in this mes

sage M r H olmes
”
.
?
,
“
There a r e one or t wo i ndications and ,
yet the utmost pai ns have been taken t o

remove al l clues The address y o u observe
.
, ,
is printed i n rough characters B u t t he .
Ti mes is a paper which i s se l dom foun d in

any hands but those o f the highly educa t ed .
we may take it therefore that the letter

, ,
was composed by an e ducated man wh o

wished to pose as an uneducated one and ,
his effort t o conceal his own writing suggests

that that writin g might be known o r co m e ,
to be k nown by you Again y o u wil l

, .
,
o bserve that the words are not g umm ed on
in an accurate line but that some are much

,
higher than o thers Life for example is

.
‘
,
’
quite out o f i t s proper place That may .
p oint to care l essness or it may point to

agitation and h urry upon the par t o f the
cutter O n the whol e I inc l ine to the
.
latter view since t h e matter was evid e ntly

,
important and it is u nlike l y that the c o m

,
66
poser o f suc h a l etter would be carel ess .
If he were in a h urry it opens p the u
in t eresting question why he shou l d be in

a h urry since any lett er posted up to early
,
morn i n g would reach S ir He nry before he

would leave his hotel Did the composer .
—
fear an interruption and from whom P ”
“
We are c om i n g n o w rather into the
r egion o f guess work said D r Mortimer ”
-
. .
,
“
S a y rather into t he region where we
, ,
bal ance probabilities and choose the most

li k ely . I t is the s c ie n t ifi c use o f the
imagination bu t we have always some
,
material basis on which to start our specula

tions N o w you would call it a guess no
.
, ,
doubt but I a m almos t certain that this

,
address has been written in an ho tel .
H o w in the world can you say that P

I f you examine it carefully you will see
that both the pen and the i nk have given
the writer trouble The pen has spluttered
.
twice in a single word and has r u n dry ,
three times in a short address showing tha t ,
t here was ve ry l ittle ink in the bo ttl e N o w .

,
67
The H ound o f th e B aske r v ill es
a priva t e pen or ink bottl e is se l dom allowed
-
to be in such a state and the combination ,
o f the two must be quite ra re B u t you .
kno w the hotel ink and the hotel pen where ,
i t is rare to ge t anything else Yes I h ave .

,
v e ry littl e hesita t ion i n saying that could we

examine the wastepaper baskets o f the hote l s
roun d Charing Cross until we foun d t h e
remains o f the mutilated Tim s l eader we e
c ou l d lay our hands straight upon t he person

wh o sen t this singular message H alloa ! .
H a l loa What s this ’

P
H e wa s carefully examining the foo l scap ,
upon which the wo rds were pasted ho l ding ,
it on l y an inch or t wo from his eyes .
Well "
P
N o t hing said h e throwing it down

, , .
I t is a b l ank half sheet o f paper w i thou t

-
,
even a watermark upon it I think we have .
d rawn as much as we can from this curious

l e t ter ; and n o w S ir H e nry has anything
, ,
e l se o f interest happened to you since you

h ave been in L on d on P
“
Wh y no Mr H o l mes I th ink no t
, , . . .
68
Sir H enry B aske r vill e
You have no t observed any one fol l o w
or watch you P
“
I seem t o have wal ked right into the thick
o f a dime novel said our visitor
,
”
Why in .
thunder should any one follow or watch me ? ”
We are c om i n g to that You have .
nothing else to repo t to u s before we go r
into this matter P ”
“
Well it depends upon wha t you think
,
worth report ing .

”
“
I think anything ou t o f the or d i n a ry
r outine o f life well w orth reporting .
Sir He nry smiled I don t know muc h

.
’
o f B ritish li fe ye t for I have spent nearly

,
all my time in the S tates and i n Canada .
B ut I hope tha t to lose one o f your boots

i s not part o f the or d i n a ry routine o f life
over here .
”
You have lost one o f your boots P ”
My dear sir cried Dr Mortimer i t

,
”
.
,
is on l y mislaid You will fi n d it when you

.
return to the hotel What is the use o f .
troubling M r H olmes with tr ifl es o f th i s

.
kind P
69
Wel l he asked me for any th i n g outside
,
th e or d i n a ry routi ne .
”
E x actly said H o l mes however foo li s h

” “
, ,
th e in c ide n t may seem Y o u h ave l os t o n e

.
o f your boo t s you say P

,
We ll mislaid it anyho w I pu t t hem

“
, , .
bo t h ou t side my d oor l as t nigh t and t here ,
wa s o n l y one i n t he morn i n g I c ou l d get .
no s ense out o f th e c hap who c l eans them .
T h e wors t o f i t i s t h a t I on l y bough t th e
pair l ast nigh t i n th e S trand a n d I h ave ,
n ever had t hem o u .
I f you h ave never worn t he m wh y did

u
,
o u p u t them ou t to be cleaned P
”
y
They were t an boots and h ad never
“
,
been varnished Tha t wa s why I pu t th em

.
o ut
h en I understand that on you r arr i va l

T
i n L on d on yes t erday you wen t ou t a t o nce
and bough t a pair o f boots P ”
I did a g oo d dea l o f shoppi g D r

“
n . .
M ortimer h ere wen t roun d wi t h me You .
see if I m t o be squire down there I must

,
a
dress th e p ar t and i t may be th a t I h av e

,
7 0
Th e H o u nd o f th e B aske r v ill e s
l is tened wit h t he deepest at ten t ion an d w ith ,
an occasiona l exclamation o f surprise .
“
Well I seem to have come i n t o an
,
inheritance with a vengeance said h e when ,

”
,
the l on g narrative wa s fi n ish e d O f course .

,
I v e heard o f the hound ever since I wa s

’
in the nursery I t s the pet story o f th e.

’
fa m i l y t hough I never t hought o f taking i t

,
seriously before B u t as t o my uncle s deat h ’
—wel l it all seems boiling up in my head

.
, ,
and I can t get it clear yet You don t see m

’
.
’
quite t o have made up your m i n d whe th er

it s a case for a policeman or a c l ergy
’
man .
3)
P re ci se l y .
A nd now there s th i s affa i r o f t h e l etter ’
t o me a t the hotel I suppose tha t fi ts in to.
its place .
”
I t seems to show that some one knows

more than we do abou t wha t goes on upo n
t he moor said Dr M ortimer
,
”
. .
And also said H olmes t ha t some

“
, ,
one is no t ill disposed t owards you s i nc e

-
,
they warn you o f danger .
7 2
it may be t ha t they wish for the i r
Or ,
own purposes to scare me away

, .
”
“
Well o f course tha t is possib l e a l so
, , .
I a m ve ry much indebted to you Dr , .
Mortimer for introducing me to a prob l em

,
which presents several interesting alterna

t iv e s. B ut the prac t ical point which we
n o w have to decide Sir H e nry is whether
, ,
it is or is not advisable for you to go to

B askerville Hall .
”
Why should I no t go P ”
There seems to be da n ger .

’
Do you mean da n ger from th i s fa m il y

fi e n d or do you mean danger from human
beings P
Well that is what we have to h n d out
, .
Whic h ever it is my answer is fi x e d, .
There is no devi l in hell M r H olmes and , .

,
there is no man upon earth who can prevent

me from going to the home o f m y own
people and you may take tha t to be my
,
fi n a l answer H is dark brows knitted and

.
his face flushed to a d u sk y red as he spoke .
I t was ev i den t tha t the nery t emper o f the

73
B aske villes r no t extinct in t hi s their
wa s
las t representa t ive M eanwhile said h e .
“
, ,
“
I have h ardly had t i me to t h ink over al l
tha t you have told me I t s a big th ing ’
for a man to have t o understand and to

de c ide a t one sitting I shou l d l ike to have .
a quiet hour by myself to make up my mind .
N o w l oo k here M r H o l mes it s half past

’
-
, , .
,
eleven n o w and I a m going back righ t away

,
to my ho t el S uppose you an d your friend

.
,
D r Watson come ro un d and l unch with u s

.
,
a t two P I ll be ab l e to tel l y o u more c l early

’
t hen how this thing s t rikes me

”
.
I s tha t convenien t to y o u Watson ? ,
P erfectly
”
.
Then you may expect u s S hal l I h ave .
a cab cal l ed P
”
I d p refer t o wa l k for thi s affair h a s

’
“
,
flurried me rather .
”
I l l join you in a wa l k with p l easure

’
, ,
said his c omp a n i on .
Then we mee t again at t wo o c l ock '

.
A u revoir and g oo d morn i n g !

,
We h eard the steps o f o u r v i si tors

74
descend t he stair and the bang o f the front
d oor I n an instan t H o l mes had changed
.
from the l anguid dreamer to the man o f

a c tion .
A
Your hat and boots Watson quick ! , ,
N o t a moment to lose ! H e rushed into ”
his room in his dressing gown and was back -
again i n a fe w seconds in a frock coat We -

.
hurried together down t he stairs and into

the street Dr M or t imer and B askerville
. .
were still visible about two hundred yards

ahead o f u s in the direction o f Oxford S treet .
Shall I run on and stop them P

N ot for the world my dear Watson , .
I a m perfectly satis fi e d with your c omp a ny

i f you wil l tolerate mine Our friends are .
wise for i t is cer ta i nly a ve ry fi n e morn i n g

,
for a walk .
H e quickened his pace until we had

d ecreased the distance which divided u s 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 s t ared i nto a shop

75
Th e H o u nd o f t h e B aske r vill es
w i ndow upon wh i c h H o l mes did the same
,
.
A n instan t afterwards he g ave a l itt l e cry o f

sa ti sfaction and fo ll ow i ng the direction o f
, ,
his eager eyes I sa w t hat a hansom cab

,
with a man inside whic h had hal t ed on the

other side o f t h e stree t was n o w wa l k i ng
slow l y onwards again .
There s o u r m a n Wa tso n l C om e
’
alon g ! We ll h av e a g oo d l oo k a t him i f
’
we can do no m ore .
”
A t tha t ins t an t I wa s aware o f a bus h y

black beard and a pair o f piercing eye s
turned upon u s t hrough the side w i ndow o f
the cab I ns tan tl y the t rapdoor a t the top
.
flew u p some thing was screamed to th e

,
driver and the cab fl ew m ad l y o ff down

,
Regen t St ree t H o l mes l ooked e a gerl y roun d

.
for another bu t no empty one wa s in sight

, .
Then he dashed i n wi l d pursuit amid the

stream o f the t r a ffi c bu t t he start was too ,
great and already the cab wa s out o f sig ht

,
.
There now said H o l mes bitterly a s , ,
h e emerged panting and whi t e wit h vexatio n

from t he t ide o f v eh icl es Wa s e v er s u c h .
“
7 6
p 76
AT S O N ! ALON
.
“
TH ER E S
’
O UR M AN , W CO M E G .
”
or a ma l evo l en t a ge n c y w h ich is in t ouc h
wit h u s I a m consciou s a l ways o f power and
,
design When our friends left I a t once

.
fol l owed t h em in t he hopes o f marking down

their invisible a t tendant S o wily wa s h e .
tha t he h ad no t t rusted h imself upon foot ,
bu t h e had avai l ed himse l f o f a cab so t hat ,
h e cou l d loiter behin d or d a sh past t he m

and so escape their notice H is meth od had .
t h e additiona l advan ta ge tha t if t h ey were to

tak e a cab h e was al l ready to fol l o w them .
I t h as however one obviou s disadvantage

, , .
”
I t pu t s h im i n th e po wer o f th e
cabman .
“
E xactl y .
"
Wha t a pi ty we did n o t g e t th e
n umber !
”
My dear Wa t son c lu n isy as I h ave ,
been you sure l y do not seriously i magin e

,
t h a t I negl ected to get th e number ? 2 76 4 is

our man B ut t h a t is n o use t o u s for t he
momen t .
I fa il t o see h ow you c ou l d h a v e do n e
more .
7 8
Sir H enry B aske r vill e
observing the cab I should have
On
i nstantly turned and walked i n the other
direction I should then at my leisure have
.
hired a second cab and followed the fi r st at

a respectful distance o r be t ter still have
, , ,
driven t o the N orth umberland H otel and

waited there When our unknown h ad
.
followed B askerville home we should h ave

had the opportunity o f p l a y i n g h is own game
upon h imself and seeing W h ere he made for
, .
As it is by an indiscreet eagerness w h ich

, ,
was taken advan t age o f wit h extraordinary

q uickness and energy by our opponent we ,
have betrayed ourselves and lost our m a n .

”
We had been sauntering slowly down

R egent S treet during this conversation and ,
Dr Mortimer with his c omp a n i on had l on g

.
, ,
vanished in front o f u s .
There is n o object in our following

“
them said H olmes

, The shado w has
.
“
d eparted and will not return We must see .
what further cards we have in our hands ,
and p l a y them with decision Cou l d y o u .
swear to tha t man s face within th e cab P

’
79
I c ou l d s wear on l y to the beard .
—
And so could I from which I ga th er
that in al l probabi l i t y it was a false one A .
clever man upon so delicate an errand has

no use for a beard save t o concea l his
features C om e i n h ere Watson l
”
.
,
H e t urned in t o one o f t he dis t ric t

messenger o ffi c e s where he wa s warm l y ,
greeted by t he manager .
“
Ah W i lson I see y o u h ave n o t
, ,
forgotten the l ittle case i n whic h I had th e

goo d fortune t o hel p you P ”
N o sir indeed I have no t

, , You s a ved .
my g oo d name and perhaps my l ife

, .
”
My dear fel l ow you exaggerate I , .
hav e some recollec t ion Wilson tha t you , ,
had a mon g your boys a l ad named Cart

wri g h t wh o showed some abi l i ty durin g th e
,
i nvestigation .
Yes sir he i s s t i l l wi th u s
, , .
“
Could you ring h i m u p T h ank you !
?
And I should be gl ad to have change o f th is

fi v e pound note
”
- .
A l ad o f fourteen w ith a brigh t kee n , ,
80
o f t he Tim I t is t h is page You cou l d
es . .
'
e asi l y recognize it could you no t P ,
Yes sir
“
, .
”
I n each cas e th e ou t side por t er wi l l

send for the hal l port er to whom also you ,
wil l giv e a shill i ng H ere are twenty t hree

.
-
sh i l lings You wil l t hen l earn in possibly

.
twenty cases ou t o f the twenty three that -
the waste o f t he day before has been burned

or removed I n the three other cases y o u
.
wil l be s h own a heap o f paper and you will ,
l oo k for this page o f the Ti mes a mon g it .
The odds are e normou s l y aga i nst your fi n d

i ng it T h ere are t en s h illings over in ca s e
.
o f emergencies Let me have a report by .
wire a t B aker S tree t before evening And .
now Watson i t on l y remains for u s t o fi n d

, ,
ou t by wire the identity o f t h e cabman ,
N 0 2 70 4 and then we will drop into one o f

.
,
t h e B on d S tree t picture gal l eries and fi ll i n -
t he time un t i l we are due a t th e h o tel .

”
C H A PT E R V
TH RE E B RO K E N TH R EA D S
H E R LO C K H OL M E S had in a v e ry ,
remarkab le degree the power o f de ,
taching his m i n d at will For two hours the .
stra n ge business in which we had been in

vol v ed appeared to be forg o t ten and he was ,
entirely absorbed in the pictures o f the

mo de rn B elgian masters H e would talk o f .
nothi n g but art o f which he had the crudest

,
ideas from our leavi n g the gallery until we

,
foun d ourselves at the N o th m b e r l n d r u a
H otel .
“
Sir H e n ry B askerv ille is upstairs e x
p e c ti n
g you,
”
s aid the clerk H e as ked .
me to sho w y o u p at once whe n you came

u .
”
H ave you any objection t o my l ooking

a t y our re gister said H olmes
P .
N o t in the least
”
.
83
Th e H o u nd o f t h e B aske r v ill es
The boo k showed that two names h ad
been added after t hat o f B askervi ll e One .
was Theophilus Johnson a n d fa m il y o f N e w ,
castle ; t he other M rs O ldmo r e and ma i d o f

.
,
H igh Lodge A l ton

, .
S urely t hat mus t b e t he same Johnson

whom I used t o k now said H olmes to the ,
port er . A l awyer is he no t g rey headed

, ,
-
,
a n d wa l ks with a l imp P
N o sir this is M r J ohnson the coal

, , .
owner a ve ry ac t ive g entleman no t o l der

, ,
than yourself .
S ure l y you are mis taken abou t hi s

trade P
N o sir ; he h as u sed th is h o t e l for m a ny
,
years and he is ve ry wel l k n o wn t o u s

, .
"
Ah th a t settles it M rs O ldm o r e too

, . .
,
I seem to remember the n ame E xcuse my .
curiosity bu t often in ca lli ng upon one friend

,
one fi n ds another .
”
S he is an invalid l ad y s i r H er husband , .
wa s once M a yor o f Gloucester S he al ways .
comes to u s w h en she is i n town .
Thank you ; I a m afraid I c anno t claim

84
T hr ee B ro ke n T hr eads
her acquaintance We have established a
.
mos t impor tant fact by these questions ,
Watson he continued in a low voice as

,
”
, ,
we went ups tairs t ogether We know now .
tha t the peop l e wh o are so i nterested in our

friend hav e n o t settled down in his own
hote l Tha t means that whi l e they are as
.
,
we have seen ve ry anxious to watch him

, ,
they are equally anxious that he should not

see t h em N o w th i s is a most suggestive
.
,
fact
Wha t does i t s u gges t P ”
—
I t suggests halloa my dear fellow , ,
what on earth is the matter P

As we came round the top o f the s t airs we
h ad run up against S ir He nry B askerville
himse l f H is face w s flushed with anger
. a ,
and he held an old and dusty boo t in one o f

his han ds S o furious wa s he that he was
.
hardly articulate and when he did speak it

,
wa s in a much broader and more Western

dialect than any which we had heard from
him i n the morning .
S eem s t o m e they are p l ay i ng me for a

35
sucker i n t h is hote l he cried
. ., They ll ,
”
.
“ '
fi n d t hey ve started in t o mon k e y wit h t he

'
wron g man un l ess they are carefu l B y .
t hunder if that chap can t fi n d my missing

,
’
boo t there wi l l b e t rouble I c a n take a j oke . .
w ith the best M r H olmes bu t t hey ve g ot

'
.
, ,
a bit over t h e mark t his time .

”
S til l l oo k ing for your boo t P ”
Yes sir and mean to fi n d it

, , .
”
B u t sure l y you said tha t i t was a n e w

, ,
brown boot P
S o i t wa s sir And n o w it s a n o ld
“ ’
.
,
b la c k one .
Wha t I you don t mean t o say P

’ n
That s j us t wha t I do mean t o say I

’
.
—
on l y had three pairs i n t he wor l d the n e w
brown the o l d black and the paten t l ea t hers
, , ,
w h ich I a m wearing Last nigh t t hey t ook .
one o f my bro wn ones and t o d ay t hey have ,
sneaked one o f th e b l ack We l l have you .

,
got it S peak out man and don t s tand

?
, ,
'
staring !
A n agitated German wa i te r h ad a pp eared
upon t h e s cene .
86
with your uncle s death I a m no t sure that o f
’
al l the fi v e hundred cases o f capi t a l import

a nce which I have handled t h ere is one
whic h cuts so deep B ut we ho l d several
.
threads in our hands and the odds are that

,
one or o t her o f t hem guides u s to the trut h .
We may was t e time in following the wrong

one but sooner or l a ter we mus t c ome upon
,
the right .
”
We had a pleasant luncheon i n which l ittle

wa s said o f the business which had brought
u s together I t was in th e private sitting
.
room t o which we after wards repaired that

H olmes asked B askervill e wha t were h i s
intentions .
To go to B askerville H all .
A n d When P
”
“
A t t he end o f the w eek

”
.
O n t he who l e said H o l mes I th i nk

, ,
“
tha t your decision is a wise one I have .
amp l e evidence that you are be i ng dogged in

L on d on and amid the millions o f t his great
,
city it is diffi c u l t to discover who these

p eopl e a r e o r w h a t their objec t can b e I f .
88
their i ntentions are evil they might do you
a misch i ef and we should be powerless to
,
preven t it You did not know Dr M or

.
, .
timer that you were followed this morning

,
from my house P ”
Dr M ortimer star t ed violen tly

. Fo l .
“
lowed B y whom P ”
That unfortunately is what I cannot tell

, ,
you H ave you a mon g your neighbours or

.
acquaintances on Dartmoor any man with a

black full beard
,
P
— —
N o o r l et me see wh y yes Ba rry
, , .
more Sir Charles s butler is a man with a

,
’
full black beard

, .
"
H a ! Where is Ba rrymor e P
”
H e is in charge of the H all

”
.
We had best ascertain if he is really

there or if by any po ssibility he migh t be
,
in London .
H ow can you do that P

Give me a telegraph form I s all read y .
for S ir He nry P That w il l do Address to

’
.
M r Ba rrymor e B askerville H al l
.
, Which .
is th e neares t te l egraph o ffi c e ? C r i mpen -

.
89
V er y good w e wil l send a second wire to
,
!
t he postmaster G r impe n : Te l egram t o ,

‘
M r Ba rrym or e to be de l ivered into his

.
,
own hand I f absent p l ease return wire

.
,
t o S ir He nry B askerville N orthumberland ,
H otel Tha t should l et u s kno w before

.
’
evenin g whe ther Ba rrymor e i s a t hi s post

i n D evons h ire or not .
”
Tha t s s o said B as k er v i l le
’
,
”
By th e .
wa y Dr Mort i mer wh o is t his Ba rrymor e

, .
, ,
a nyhow P
H e is t he son o f t he o l d c a re t aker wh o ,
is dead They h ave l ooked after the H a l l

.
for four generation s now S o far as I know .

,
he and his wife are as respec t ab l e a coup l e

as any in t he county .
”
A t t he same t i me
“
said B askervil l e , ,
“
i t s clear enough t ha t so l ong as there are
’
none o f t he fa m i l y at the Hall these people

have a mighty fi n e h ome a n d nothing
to do .
T h a t is t rue .
Did Ba rrymor e p r o fi t at a ll by Si r
Charl es s w i l l P asked H o l mes
’
.
90
T h e H oun d o f t h e B aske r vil l es
was un t i l we came to exam i ne his securit ies .
The to tal value of the estate was close on t o

a mi ll ion .
D ear me ! I t i s a s t a k e for w h ich a man

migh t wel l p l a y a desperate game And one .
more ques t ion Dr M ortimer S upposing

, . .
t ha t anything happened to our youn g friend

—
here you will forgive the u np l easan t hypo
—
thesis who would inheri t the estate P ”
S ince R odger B askervi ll e S ir Charl es s

,
’
youn ge r brother died unmarr i ed the es tate

, ,
would descend to the Desmonds wh o are ,
distant cousins J ames Desmon d i s an

.
e l derly clergyman in Westmorland .

”
“
Thank you These details are a l l o f
.
grea t interes t H ave you met Mr James

. .
Desmond P ”
“
Yes ; he once came down t o visi t S ir
Charl es H e is a man of venerab l e appear
.
ance and of saintly life I remember t hat .
h e refused to accep t any se t tl ement from S ir

Charl es though he pressed it upon him
,
.
”
And this man o f simp l e t astes wou l d b e

th e heir t o Si r Charl es s t housands P’
9 2
Thr ee B ro ke n T hr eads
He wou l d be t he heir t o the esta t e ,
because that is entailed H e would also be .
the heir to the mon y unless it were willed

e
otherwise by the presen t owner who can o f , ,
course do what he likes with it

, .
”
“
A n d have you made your will Si r ,
He nry P
N o M r H olmes I have not I v e had
, .
,
.
’
no time for it was on l y yesterday that I

,
learned how matters stood B ut in any case .
I feel that the mon e y should go with the

title and estate That was my poor uncle s
.
’
idea H ow is the owner going to restore

.
the glories of the B askervilles if he has not

mon e y enough to keep up the property ?
H ouse l and and dollars must go together
, , .
”
Q uite so Well S ir H e nry I a m of one

.
, ,
mind wi th you as to the advisability of your

going down to Devonshire without delay .
There is on l y one provision which I must

make You certainly mus t not g o alone
. .
”
Dr M ortimer returns with me

. .
”
B u t Dr Mortimer has his practice to

.
a t tend to and his house is miles away from

,
93
T h e H oun d o f t h e B aske r vill es
y o urs Wi t h a ll th e goo d w ill i n the worl d
.
,
h e may be unable to he l p you N o S ir .

,
He nry you mus t take with you some one a

, ,
t rusty m a n wh o Will be always by your side

, .
’
Is it possible tha t you could come you r

se l f M r H o l mes
, .
P ”
I f ma t ters came t o a cr i sis I shou l d

e ndeavour t o be present i n person but you
can unders t and t hat with my e xtensive con
,
s u lt in g prac t ice and with t he constan t appeals
which reach me fro m m a ny quarters i t is ,
i mpossib l e for me t o be absen t from Londo n

for an in de fi n ite time A t the presen t ins tan t
.
one o f the mos t revered names i n E ngland

i s being besmirched by a blackmailer and ,
on l y I can stop a disastrous scandal You .
w il l see how impossib l e it i s for me t o g o

to Dartmoor .
Whom wou l d you recommend t hen ? ,
H olmes l aid his hand upon my arm .
I f my friend would undertake it th ere is

n o man who is better worth having a t your
side when you are i n a tight place N 0 one .
can say so more c o n fi de n tly t han I .
94
Perfect ly .
Then on Sa t urday unless you hear t o

,
the contrary we shall meet at the

,
train from Paddington .
We had risen to depart when B askervil l e

gave a cry of triumph and diving into one ,
of the corners of the room he drew a bro wn

boot from under a cabinet .
My missing boot he cried .
May al l our diffi c l tie s v anish a s u
easily 1 said Sherl ock H olmes

”
.
“
B ut it i s a ve ry singular thing Dr , .
M ortimer remarked .I searched this room

carefu ll y before lunch .
And so did I said B askervil l e E v e ry .
inch of it .
”
There wa s certain l y no boot in it t h en .
I n that case the waiter must have

placed it there while we were lunching .
The German wa s sent for but professed -
to know nothing of the mat t er nor could any ,
inquiry clear it u p Another item had been

.
added to tha t constant and apparently pur

o s e l e s s series of s ma l l mysteries w h ich had
p
9 6
T h r e e B ro ke n T h r e ads
succeeded each other so rapidly Setting .
aside the whole grim story of Sir Charles s ’
death we had a line of inexplicable i ncidents

all W i thin the limits of two day s which ,
included the receip t of the printed letter t he ,
black bearded spy in the hansom the loss of

-
,
the new brown boot the loss of the old black

,
boot and now the return of the n e w brown

,
boot H olmes sat in silence in the cab as

.
we drove back to B aker Street and I kne w ,
from his drawn brows and keen face t hat his

mind like my own was bu sy i n endeavouring
, ,
to frame some scheme into which all these

strange and apparently disconnected episodes
could be fi tte d All aft ernoon and late into the
.
evening he sat lost in tobacco and thought .
Just before dinner two telegrams were

handed in The fi r s t ran
.
H ave just heard that Ba rrymo r e is a t

—
the H all B A S K E RV I LL E
. .
’
The second
V isited twenty three ho t els as directed
-
,
but s orry to report unable t o trace cut sheet

of T mos C A RT WR I G H T ”
’
-
z . .
97
“
There g o two of my threads Watson , .
T h ere is nothing more stimulating t han a

case where everything goes against you .
We must cast round for another scent .
“
We h a v e s till the cabman wh o drove
x
the spy .
”
E xactly I have wired to ge t his name

.
and address from the O ffi c ia l R egistry I .
should no t be surprised if this were an

answer to my question .
”
The ring at the bell proved to be some

thing even more satisfactory than an answer ,
however for the door opened and a rough

,
looking fellow entered who wa s evidently

the man himself .
I got a message from the head o ffi c e that

,
a gent a t this address had been inquiring for

said h e I v e 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 m a n said H olmes ,

”
O n the .
“
contrary I have half a sovereign for you

,
9 8
My good fe ll ow this is a ve ry serious ,
bus i ness and you may fi n d yourself in a

,
pre t ty bad posi t ion if you try to hide a ny

thing from me You say that your fare told
.
you that he was a detective P

Yes h e did , .
”
When did he say this P

When he left me .
D id he say anything more P

H e mentioned his name
”
.
H o l mes cast a swift glance of t riumph

a t me .
“
O h he mentioned his name did b e
,
?
,
Tha t was imprudent Wha t wa s t he name .
tha t he mentioned P
H is name said t he cabman was M r
, , .
S herlock H olmes .
”
N ever have I seen my friend more c om

p l e te l
y taken aback than by the cabman s ’
reply F or an instant he sat in silent amaze

.
men t Then he burst in t o a hearty l augh

. .
“
A touch Watson , an undeniable '
touch l said h e ”
I feel a foil as quick and
.
“
supple as my own H e go t home upon .
1 00
me v e ry prettily that time S o his name wa s .
Sherlock H olmes was it ? ,
“
Yes sir that was the gentl eman s
, ,
’
E xcellent ! Tell me where you picked

him p
u and
, all that occu rred .
”
H e hailed me at half past nine in

“ -
Trafalgar S quare H e said th at he wa s 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

.
N orthumberla n d H otel and waited th ere

until t wo gentlem e n came out and took a
cab from the rank We followed their cab .
until it pulled up somewhere near here .

"
This v e ry door said H olmes

“
,
”
.
Well I couldn t be sure of that but I

,
’
dare say my fare kne w all about it We .
pulled up halfway down the street and

waited an hour and a half Then the t wo .
gentlemen passed u s walking and we , ,
followed down B aker Street and a l ong

I know said H olmes
“
,
”
.
10 1
U nti l we got three quarters down R egent -
S treet Then my gentleman threw up the

.
trap a n d h e cried that I should drive right

,
away to Waterl oo S tation as hard as I could

I w h i e d up the mare and we were
g o
.
pp ,
there under t he t en minutes Then he pa i d .
up his t wo guineas l ike a good one and , ,
away he wen t in t o the station O n l y jus t as .
h e wa s l eavi n g he turned round and said

I t m i gh t in t erest you to know that you have
been dr iv in g M r S herlock H olmes T h a t s
r
. .
’ ’
how I came to know t he name .

”
“
I see And you saw no more of
.
N o t after he went i n t o the station .
A nd how would you describe M r S her .
l ock H olmes P ”
The cabman scratched his head Well .

“
,
he wasn t al t ogether such an easy gentleman

’
to describe I d put him at forty years of

.
’
age an d he wa s of a middle height two or

, ,
three inches shorter than you sir H e was , .
dressed like a toff and he had a black beard

, ,
cu t square at the end and a pale face I , .
102
been ch eckmated in Lo don I can on l y n .
wish you be t ter luck in D evonsh i re B ut .
I m
’
not easy in my mind about it .
”
Abou t what P ”
Abou t sending you I t s an u gl y busi

.
’
ness Watson an u gl y dangerous business

, , , ,
and the more I see of it the less I l ike it .
Yes my dear fellow you may l augh but I

, , ,
give you my word that I shall b e ve ry glad

to have you back safe and sound in B aker
St ree t once more
.
”
1 04
C HAPTE R VI
BA S K E R V I LL E H A LL
IR H E N RY and
BA S K E R V L L E I
Dr M ortimer were r ead y upon the
.
appointed da y and we started as arranged

,
for Devonshire M Sherlock H olmes

. r .
drove with me to the station and gave me ,
his last parting injunction and advice , .
“
I will not bias your mind by suggesting
theories or suspicions Watson said h e ; I
, ,
“
wis h y o u simply to report facts in the fullest

possible manner to me and you can leave
me to do the theorizing .
P
What sor t of facts I asked .
Anything which may seem to have a

beari g however indirect pon the case
n , ,
u ,
and especially the relations between youn g

B askerville and his neighbours or any fresh ,
105
particulars concerning the death of Sir
Charles I have made some inquiries m y
.
self in the last few da y s bu t the resu l ts ,
have I fear been negative One thing

, , .
on l y appears to be certain and that is that ,
M r James Desmond who is the next heir

.
, ,
is an elderly gent l eman of a v e ry 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 S ir H e nry B askervi l le upon t he
moor .
”
Would i t no t be wel l in the fi r s t p l ace

“
to g e t rid of this Ba rrymor e couple P ”
B y no means You could not make a

.
greater mistake I f 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 N 0 no we will .
, ,
preserve t hem upon our list of suspects .
Then there is a groo m at the H all if I ,
remember right There are t wo moorland

.
farmers There is our friend Dr Mortimer

. .
,
106
gone out withou t keeping a sharp watch ,
and no one could have escaped our notice .

”
You have always kept toge t her I

“
,
presume P
E xcept yes terday afternoon I usually .
give up one day t o pure amusement when I

come to town so I spent it at the Museum
,
'
of t he College of Surgeons .
”
And I went to look at the folk in t he

park said B askerville
, B ut we had no .
“
trouble o f any kind .

”
I t was impr u dent all the same said , ,
H olmes shaki n g his head and l ooking ve ry

,
grave I beg S ir H e nry that you will not

.
“
, ,
g o about alone S ome grea t misfortune

. wil l
befall you if you do Did you get your o ther .
bo o t P
sir i t is gone for ever

No , , .
I ndeed That is e r y in te r estin g Wel l

. v .
,
good bye he added as the train began to

-
,
”
,
glide down the platform B ear in mind .

“
,
S ir H e nry one of the phrases in that queer

,
old legend which D r M ortimer has read to .
us ,
and avoid t he moor in those hours of
1 08
B aske r v ill e Ha ll
darknes s when the powers of evi l are
exalted .
”
I looked back at the p l atform when we

had left it far behind and saw the tall , ,
austere fi g r e of H olmes standing motionless

u
and gazing after u s .
The journ e y was a swift and p l easant

one and I spent it in making the more inti
,
mate acquaintance of my t wo companions and

in playi g with D r Mortimer s spaniel I n a
n .
’
.
v e ry few hours the bro wn earth had become

ru dd y the brick had changed to granite and
, ,
red cows grazed i n well hedged fi e l ds where -
the lush grasses and more luxuriant vegeta

tion spoke of a richer if a damper climate
, .
Youn g B askerville stared eagerly out of the

windo w and cried aloud with delight as b e
,
recognised the familiar features of the D evon

scenery .
I v e been over a good part o f the world

’
since I left it Dr Watson said h e ; but I

, .
,
”
have never seen a place to compare with it .
“
I never saw a Devonshire man who did
no t swear by his county I remarked ,
”
.
1 09
I t depends upon t he breed of men
quite as much as on the county said Dr ,
”
.
M ortimer .A glance a t our friend here

reveals the rounded h ead of the Celt which ,
carries inside it the Celtic enthusiasm and

power of attachmen t P oor S ir Charles s.
'
head wa s of a v e ry rare type h a l f Gaelic , ,
half I v e r n ia n i n its charac t eristics B ut y o u .
were ve ry youn g when you last saw B asker

ville H all were you not
,
P ”
I wa s a boy i n my teens at the t ime of

my father s death and had never seen the
’
Hall for he lived i n a litt l e co tt age on t h e

,
south coast : Thence I wen t straight to a

friend in America I te l l you it is al l as new
.
to me as it is to Dr Watson and I m as .
,
’
keen as possible to see the moor .

”
“
Are you ? Then your wish is easily
granted for there is your fi r st sight of the
,
moor said D r M or t imer pointing out of

,
”
.
,
the carriage windo w .
Over the green squares of the fi e lds an d

the low curve of a wood there rose in t h e
distance a g r e y melancholy hi l l with a
, ,
1 10
wi t h a pair of cobs was waiting Our coming .
was evidently a grea t event for station ,
master and porters clustered round s to u
c a rry out our luggage I t was a sweet simple

.
,
country spot b u t I was surprised to observe

,
that by the gate there stood two so l dierl y

men in dark uniforms who leaned upon their
,
short r ifl e s and glanced keenly at u s as we

passed The coachman a hard faced gnarl ed
.
,
-
,
little fellow saluted Sir H e nry B askerville

, ,
and in a few minutes we were fl y i n g swiftly

down the broad whi t e road R olling pasture .
lands curved upwards on either side of u s ,
and o l d gabled houses peeped out from amid

the thick green foliage but behind the peace
,
ful and sunli t country side there rose ever

-
,
dark against the evening sky the long , ,
gl oomy curve of the moor broken by the ,
jagged and sinister hills .
The wagonette swung round i n t o a side

road and we curved upwards through deep
,
lanes worn by centuries of wheels high banks ,
on either side heavy with dripping moss and

,
fles b y har t s t ongue ferns B ronzing bracken

’
-
.
1 12
B aske r v ill e Hall
and mot tl ed bramble gleamed in the l igh t
of the sinking sun S till steadily rising we
.
,
passed over a narrow grani t e bridge and ,
skirted a noisy s t rea m which gushed swiftly

down foaming and roaring amid the g re y
,
boulders B oth road and stream wound up

.
through a valley dense with scrub oak and

fir. A t every turning B askerville gave an
exc l amation of delight looking eagerly about
,
him and asking countless questions To his .
eyes all seemed beautiful but t o me a tinge ,
of melancholy lay upon the country side -

,
which bore so clearly the mark of the waning

y ea r Yellow leaves carpeted the lanes and
.
fl tte r e d down upon u s as we passed

u The .
rattle of our wheels died away as we drove

through drifts of rotting vegetation —sad
gifts as it seemed t o me for Nature to
, ,
throw before the carriage of the returning

heir of the B askervilles .
H alloa cried Dr Mortimer wha t is

.
,
this P ”
A steep curve of heath clad land an out -

,
l y i n g spur of the moor lay in front of u s , .
1 1 3
T h e H oun d o f th e B aske rv ill es
Ou the summi t hard and clear like an ,
equestrian statue upon its pedes t al was a ,
mounted soldier dark and ste m his ifl e , ,

r
poised r ead y over his forearm H e was .
wa t ching the road al ong wh i ch we travel l ed .
Wha t i s this P erkins P asked Dr ,

”
.
Mortimer .
Our driver hal f turned in his seat .
There s a convict escaped from P rince

’
town sir H e s been out t hree day s now

, .
’
and the warders watch every road and every

station bu t they ve had no sigh t of him yet
,
’
.
The farmers abou t here d on t l ike it sir and ’
, ,
that s a fac t
’
.
”
“
Well I unders tand t ha t they get fi v e
,
pounds if they can give information .

”
Yes sir but the chance of fi v e pounds is

, ,
bu t a poor thing compared t o the chance of

having your throat cut You see it isn t like .
,
’
any ordinary convict This is a m a n tha t .
w ould stick at nothing .
Who is h e then P
,
”
I t is S e l den the N o tt ing H ill mur ,
derer .
1 14
to t hreads of go l d and gl owing on the red
earth new turned by t h e plough and the
broad tangle of t he woodlands The road .
in fron t of u s grew b l eaker and wilder over

huge russet and o l ive s l opes sprinkled with ,
gian t boulders N ow and then we passed a

.
moorland co t tage wal l ed and roofed with

,
stone wit h no creeper t o break its harsh

,
outline S u dde n l y we l ooked down i nto a

cup like depression pa t ched with stunted
-
,
oaks and fi r s wh i ch h ad been t wisted and

ben t by t he fury of years of storm T wo .
high narrow t owers rose over t he t rees

, .
The driver poin t ed wi t h his whip .
B askervil l e H al l said h e , .
I ts master had risen and was s tar i ng wi t h

,
fl ushed cheeks and shining eyes A fe w .
minutes l a t er we had reached t he l odge

g a tes a maze o f fantastic tracery in wrough t
,
.
iron with weat h er bi tt en pillars on either

,
-
side blo t ched with l ichens and surmoun t ed

, ,
by the boars heads of t he B askervil l es The

’
.
lodge was a rui n of black granite and bared

ribs of ra ft ers bu t fac i ng it was a n ew
.
,
1 16
B aske r v ill e Ha ll
buildi n g half constructed the fi r st fruit of
, ,
S ir Charles s South African go l d

’
.
Through the gateway we pas sed into the

avenue where the wheels were again hushed
,
amid th e leaves and t he o l d t rees shot their

,
branches in a sombre tunnel over our heads .
B askerville shuddered as he l ooked up the

long dark drive t o where the house glim
,
m ered like a ghost at the farther end .
“
Was it here ? he asked i n a l o w
”
N o no the Yew A l ley is on the other

, ,
side .
The y oun g heir glanced round with a

gl oomy face .
It s no wonder my unc l e fe l t as iftr o u b le

’
were coming on him in such a p l ace as this ,

”
said h e I t s enough to scare any man

.
“ ’
.
I ll have a row o f electr i c lamps up h ere

’
inside of six months and you won t know it,

’
again with a thousand candle power S wa

,
- n
and E dison right here in front of t he hall

door .
The avenue opened in t o a broad expa nse

1 1 7
T h e H ou nd o f t h e B aske r v ill es
of tur f and t he house l ay before u s I n the
, .
fading light I could see t ha t the centre was a

heavy block of bui l d ing from whic h a porch
projected The whole fron t was draped i n
.
i vy with a pa t ch clipped bare here and there

,
where a w in dow or a coa t o f arms broke - -
through t he dark vei l F ro m this cen t ral

.
bloc k rose the twin towers ancient crene l , ,
lat ed a n d pierced wi t h m a ny loopholes To

, .
righ t and l eft o f the turrets were more

modern wings of b l ack granite A du ll light .
shone t hrough heavy mullioned windows and ,
from t he high chimn ey s which rose fro m t he

s t eep hi g h angl ed roof t here sprang a singl e
,
-
b l ack column of smoke .
We l come S ir He nry ! Welcome t o

“
,
B askervil l e H al l l ”
A t all man had stepped from the shadow of

the porch to open the door of the wagonette .
The fi gu r e of a woman was silhouet t ed

ag ains t t he yellow ligh t of the hall She .
came out and helped the man t o hand down

our bags .
You don t mind my driving s t rai ght

’
1 18
Baske r v ill e Ha ll
home S ir He nry
,
said Dr M or t imer
? ”
. .
My wife is expecting me .
S ur e l y you will stay and have some

dinner ?
“
N o I must g o I shall probably fi n d
, .
some work awaiting me I wou l d stay to .
show you over the house but Ba rrymor e will ,
be a better guide than I Good bye and .

-
,
n ever hesitate night or day to send for me
if I can be of service .
”
The wheels died away down the drive

while S ir He nry and I turned into t he hall ,
and the door clanged heavily behind u s I t .
was a fi n e apartment i n which we found

ourselves l arge lo fty and heavily raftered
, , ,
with huge balks of age blackened oak I n -

.
the great old fashi oned fi e p la c e behind the

-
r
h igh iron dogs a log fi e crackled and -

r
snapped S ir He nry and I held out our

.
hands to it for we were numb from our

,
long drive Then we gazed round u s at

.
the high thin window of old stained glass

, ,
the oak pan e lling the stags heads the

,
’
c o a ts o f arms upon the walls

~ -
all dim and ,
1 19
sombre in t he subdued ligh t of the cen t ra l
l amp .
“
I t s just as I i magined it said Sir He nry
’
, .
I s i t not the v e ry picture of an old fa m il y

home To t hink t ha t t h is shou l d be the
?
same hall in which for fi v e hundred years

my people have l ived ! I t str i kes me solemn
to think of it .
”
I saw his dark face lit up with a boy i sh

enthusiasm as he gazed about h i m T h e .
l igh t beat upon him where he stood bu t l ong ,
shadows t railed do wn the walls and hung

like a b l ack canopy above him B arrymore .
had returned from taki n g our luggage to our

rooms H e stood i n front of u s now with
.
the subdued manner of a well trained servant -

.
H e was a remarkable looking m a n tall hand

-
, ,
some with a square black beard and pale

, , ,
distinguished features .
Would you wish dinner to be served at

once sir
,
P
I s it read y P ”
I n a v e ry few minutes s i r You will fi n d

, .
hot water i n your rooms M y wife and I wil l

.
1 20
gave us a shock and made t hese surroundings
ve ry painful t o s I fear tha t we shall never
u .
again be easy i n our minds a t B askervi l le

H all
B u t what do you i n t end to do P
I h ave no doub t sir that we shall , ,
succeed i n estab l ishing ourse l ves in some

b usiness S ir Charles s generosity has given
.
’
u s t he means t o do s o And now sir .

, ,
perhaps I h a d best show you t o your rooms .

”
A square ba l us t raded ga l lery ran round

the top of t h e old ha l l approached by a ,
dou ble stair From t his cen t ra l poin t t wo

.
long c o r r ido r s e x te n de d t he whole l e ngth of

the bui l ding from W hich al l the bedrooms
,
opened M y own wa s in the same wing as

.
B askerville s and al most nex t door to it

’
.
These rooms appeared t o be much more

modern t han t he cen t ra l p ar t of the h ouse ,
and the brigh t paper and numerous cand l es

did something t o remove the sombre impres
sion which our arriva l had left upon my
mind .
B u t th e dining room whi ch opened out of

-
1 22
B aske r v ill e Hall
the hal l was a place of shadow and gloom .
I t was a long chamber with a step separating

the da i s where the fa m i l y sa t from the lower
portion reserved for their dependents A t .
one end a minstrels gallery overlooked it ’

.
Bl ack beams sho t across above our heads ,
with a smoke darkened ceiling beyond them

-
.
With rows of flaring torches to light it u p ,
and the colour and rude hilarity of an old

time banquet it might have softened ; but
,
now when t wo black clothed gentlemen sat

,
-
in the little circ l e of light thrown by a shade d

lamp one s voice became hu shed and one s
,
’ ’
spirit subdued A dim line of a n cestors i n

.
,
every variety of dress from the E lizabethan ,
knight to the b u ck of the R egency stared ,
down upon u s and daunted u s by their silent

c omp a ny We talked little and I for one
.
,
was glad when the meal was over and we

were able t o retire into the modern billiard
room and smoke a cigarette .
M y word it isn t a v e ry cheerful place

,
’
said S ir H e nry I suppose one can tone

.
“
down t o it but I feel a bit out of the picture

,
1 23
‘
a t present I don t wonder that my unc l e

.
’
go t a li t tl e jumpy if he lived a l l alone in suc h

a house as t his H owever if i t suits you we
.
, ,
will retire early to night and perhaps things

-
,
may seem more cheerful in the morning .

”
I dr e w aside my c urtains before I went

to bed and looked out from my window I r: .
opened upon t he grassy space w h ic h l ay in

front of the hall door B eyond t wo copses.
,
of trees moaned and swung in a rising wind .
A ha l f moon broke throug h the rifts of

racing clouds I n its co l d l igh t I saw beyond
.
the t rees a broken fringe of rocks and th e

l ong l ow curve of t he me l anchol y moor I
, .
c l osed the curtain feeling that my l as t

,
impression was in k eeping with t he rest .
And yet i t was not quite t he l as t I .
found myself weary and yet wakeful t ossing ,
restlessly from side to side seeking for the ,
sleep which wou l d not come Far away a .
chiming clock s truck ou t t he quar t ers of t he

hours but otherwise a deathly silence lay
,
upon the old h ouse And then suddenly i n

.
,
the ve ry dead of the nigh t t h ere came a ,
1 24
C H A PT E R V I I
TH E S A LE
T P TO NS OF M E R R I P I T H O US E
HE fresh beauty of the fo l lowing

morning did something to efface
from our minds t h e grim and g r e y impres
sion which had been left upon both of u s
by our fi rs t experience of B askerville H all .
As Sir He nry and I sat at breakfast the

sunligh t flooded in through the high mu l
lio n e d windows throwing watery patches of
,
f—
colour fro m the coats o arms which covered
-
them The dark panelling glo wed like

.
bronze in the golden r a y s and i t was hard

,
to realise that this was indeed the chamber

which had s t ruck such a gloom into our
souls upon the evening before .
“
I guess i t I S ourselves and not the
house that we have to blame ' said the ”
baronet . We were tired with our journey

1 26
T h e Sta pl e ton s o f M e r r ipit H ou se
and chi l led by our drive so we took a g r e y ,
view of the place N ow we are fresh a n d

.
well so it is all cheerfu l once more

, .
"
“
And yet it was not entirely a ques
tion of imagina t ion I answered ,
”
Did .
“
you for example happen to hear some

, ,
one a woman I think sobbing in the

, ,
night P
Tha t is curious for I did when I was
,
half a sle e p fa n c y that I heard something of

r
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 i t distinc t ly and I a m sure ,
tha t i t wa s really the sob of a woman .

”
We must ask about this righ t away .
H e rang the bell and asked B arrymore

whether he could account for our e xp e i r
ence . It seemed to me that the pallid

features of the but l er turned a shade paler
still as he lis t ened to his master s qu estion ’
.
There are on l y two women in the

house Sir H e nry he a n swered
, ,
”
One is .
“
the scul l ery maid wh o s l eeps in the o t her

-
,
12 7
win g The other is my wife and I can
.
,
answer for it that t he sound could no t have

come from her .
”
And yet he l ied as he said it for i t ,
chanced that after b reakfas t I met M rs .
B arrymore in the long corridor with t he

sun full upon her face S he wa s a l arge .
,
impassive heavy fea t ured woman w ith a

,
-
stern set expression of mou th B u t her

,
.
tel l tale eyes were red and glanced a t me

-
from between s wo ll en l ids I t wa s she .

,
then who wept in the night and if she did

, ,
so h er husband mus t kno w it Yet he h ad .
taken the obviou s risk of discovery in

declaring that i t was not so Why had he .
done this ? And why did she weep so

b it te r l y P Already round t his pale faced -
,
handsome black bearded man there was

,
-
gathering an atmosphere of mystery and of

gl oom I t was he who h d been the fi r st
. a
to discover the bo d y of S ir Charl es and ,
we had on l y his word for a l l the circum

stances which led up to the old man s death ’
.
Was i t possible that it was B arrymore after ,
1 28
m ore comp l ex case h ad come t o him in all
the long series of his sensational investiga
tions I prayed as I walked back along the
.
,
g re y lonely road that my friend might soon

, ,
be freed from his preoccupations and able

to come down to take t his heavy burden of
responsibility from my shoulders .
S u dde n l y my thoughts were interrup t ed

by the sound of runni n g feet behind me and
by a voice which called me by name I .
t urne d expecti n g to see D r M ortimer but

, .
,
to my surprise it was a stranger who wa s

pursui n g me H e was a small slim clean
.
, ,
shaven prim faced m a n flaxen haired and

,
-
,
-
l ean jawed between thirty and forty years

-
,
of age dressed in a g r e y suit and wearing

,
a straw hat A tin box for botanical S peci

.
m ens hung over his shoulder and he carried ,
a green b u tte r fi y net in one of his hands

-
.
You will I a m sure excuse my pre

, ,
sumption Dr Watson said h e as he came

,
.
,
”
t ,
panting up to where I stood H ere on .

“
the moor we are homely folk and do not ,
w ait for formal in t roductions You may .
132
T h e Stapl e ton s o f M e r r ipit H ou se
possibly have heard my na m e fro m our
mutual friend Mortimer I a m S tapleton
, .
,
of M e r ip it H ouse
r .
”
Your net and box wou l d hav e told me

as much said I
,
”
for I knew that Mr
,
.
Stapleton was a naturalist B ut how did .
you kno w me P
“
I have been calling on M ortimer and ,
he pointed you out to me from th e windo w

of his surgery as you passed As our road .
lay the same way I though t that I woul d

overtake you and introduce myself I trus t .
that Sir He nry is none the worse for his

journey P
H e is v e ry well t h ank you , .
We were all rather afraid that after the

sad death of S ir Charles the new baronet
might refuse to live here I t is asking mu c h .
of a wealthy man to come down and bury

himself in a place of this kind but I need n o t ,
tel l you that it means a v e ry great deal to

the country side S ir H e nry has I suppose
-
.
, ,
no superstitious fears i n the matter P

“
I do not t hink that it is likely .
I 33
Of course you know the l egend of the
fi e n d dog which haunts the fa m il y P
I have heard it .
”
I t is extraordinary how credulous the

peasants are about here ! Any number of
them are r ead y to s wear that they have
seen such a creature upon the moor He .
spoke with a smile but I seemed to read

,
i n his eyes that he took the mat t er more

seriously . The s tory took a great hol d
upon the imagination of Sir Charles and I ,
have no doubt that it led t o his t ra gic end .
B ut h o w P
H is nerves were so worked up that the
appearance of any dog might h ave had a
fatal effect upon h i s diseased heart I fa n cy .
that he really did see something of the kind

upon that last night in the Y e w Alley I .
feared that some disaster might occur for I ,
was v e ry fond of the o l d man and I knew

,
that his heart was weak .
H ow did you kno w t hat P

My friend Mortimer to l d me .
You think then tha t some do g pursued

, ,
I 34
He cannot leave t own a t presen t H e .
has o ther cases which engage his atten t ion .

”
“
What a pity ! H e might throw some
ligh t on that which is so dark to u s B ut .
as to your own researches if there is any

,
possible wa y in which I can be of service

to you I t rus t t hat you will command me
, .
I f I had any indication of the nature of your

suspicions or how you propose to investigat e
,
the case I might perhaps even now give

,
you some aid or advice .
“
I assure y o u that I a m simply here
upon a visit to my friend S ir H e nry and ,
that I need no help of any kind .
E xcel l ent said Stapleton You are

.
perfec t ly right to be wary and discreet I .
a m justly reproved for what I feel was an

un
j us tifi a b l e intrusio n
, and I promis e you
that I will not mention the matter again .
We had c ome to a point where a narro w

grassy path struck off from the road and
wound away across the moor A steep .
,
boulder sprinkled hil l l ay upon the right

-
which had i n bygone da y s been cu t into a

1 3 6
T h e St apl e ton s o f M e r r ipit H ou se
granite q u a rry The face which was turned
.
towards s formed a dark cliff with ferns

u ,
and brambles growing in its niches From .
over a distant rise there fl o te d a g r e y a
plume of smoke .
A moderate walk along this moor path

“ -
brings u s to M e r ip it H ouse said h e

r , .
P erhaps you will spare an hour that I may

have the pleasure of introducing you to my
sister .
My fi r st thought was that I should be by

S ir H enry s side B ut then I remembered
’
.
the pile of papers and bills with which his

study table was littered I t was certain .
that I could not help him with those A nd .
H olmes had expressly said that I should

stu dy the neighbours pon the moor I u .
accepted Stapleton s i nvitation and we

’
turned together down the path .
I t is a won derful place the moor said , ,
h e looking round over the undulating downs

, ,
long green rollers with crests of jagged

,
granite foami n g up into fantastic surges .
You never tire of the moor You cannot .
I S7
t h ink the wonderful secret swhich i t contains .
I t is so vast and so barren and so

, ,
mysterious .
”
You know it wel l t hen P ,
I have on l y been here two years The .
residents would call me a new comer We -

.
came shortly after S ir Charl es set tl ed B ut .
my tastes led me t o explore every part of

the country round and I should t hink tha t
,
there are few men who know it better than

I do.
”
I s it so hard to know P
Ve ry hard You see for ex a mp l e this
.
, ,
great plain to the north here with the queer ,
hills breaking out of it Do you observe .
anything remarkable about that P

I t would be a rare place for a gallop .
You would naturally think s o and the ,
thought has cost folk their lives before n o w .
You notice t hose bright green spots sca t tered

thickly over it P
Yes they seem more ferti l e than the
,
S tap l eton laughed . That is the great

1 3 8
i t s clutch I t s a bad p l ace the great
.
’
G r imp e n M ire .
And you say you can penetra t e i t P

Yes there are one or two paths which
,
a v e ry acti v e man can t ake I have found .
t hem out .
”
B ut why shou l d you wish to go in t o so

horrible a place P
“
Well y o u see the hil l s beyond ? They
,
are really islands cut off on all sides by the

impassable M ire which has crawled round
,
them i n the course of years That is where .
the rare plants and the b u tte r fl ie s are if you ,
have the wit to reach them .

”
I shall try my luck some da y .
H e looked at me with a surprised face .
For God s sake put such an idea ou t of

’
your mind said h e,

”
Your blood would .
“
be upon my head I assure you that there .
would no t be the least chance of your

coming back alive I t is on l y by remem
bering certain complex l andmarks that I
a m able to do it
”
.
“
H alloa I cried What is that P .
1 40
T h e Stapl e ton s o f M e r r ipit H ou se
A lo n g low moan indescribably sa d
, , ,
swept over the moor I t fi lle d 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

, .
Stapleto n looked at me with a curious

expression in his face .
Queer place the moor ' said h e , .
B ut what is it P ”
The peasants say it is the H ound of

the B askervilles calling for its pr e y I v e .
’
heard it once or twice be fore but never ,
quite so loud .
”
I looked round wi t h a chill of fear in ,
m y hear t at the h uge swelling plain mottled

, ,
with the green patches of rushes N othing .
stirred over the vast expanse save a pair

of ravens which croaked loudly from a tor
,
behind us .
“
You are an educated man You don t .
’
believe such nonsense as th a t P said I . .
What do you think is the cause of so

strange a sound P
1 41
~
“
B ogs make quee noises sometimes r .
I t s the mud settling or the water rising

’
, ,
or something .
N o no that was a living voice

, , .
Well perhaps it was Did y o u ever

, .
hear a bittern booming P

N o I never did
, .
e —
I t s a v ry rare bi r d pra c tically extinct
in E ngland now b t all things are possible
,
u
u pon the moor Yes I should not be sur

.
,
prised to learn that what w e have heard is

the cry of the last of the bitterns .
”
I t s the weirdest strangest t hing that

“ ’
ever I heard in my life .
Yes it s ra t her an un c a nny place

“
,
’
altogether Look at the hillside yonder

. .
What do you make of those P ”
The whole steep slope was covered with

g re y circular rings of s t one a score of them ,
at least .
P
What are t hey S heep pens P -
N 0 they are the homes of our worthy

,
ancestors P rehistoric man lived thickly on

.
the moor and as no one in particular has

,
1 42
green net waving in the air H is g re y .
clothes and jerky zig zag irregular progress

,
-
,
made him not unlike some huge moth him

self I wa s standing watching his pursuit
.
with a mixture of admiration for his extra

ordinary activity and fear lest he should
lose his footing i n the treacherous M ire ,
when I heard the sound of steps and t urn , ,
ing 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 Me r r ip it H ouse but the dip of ,
the moor had hid her un t il she was quite

close .
I could n o t doubt that this was t he M iss

S taple t on of whom I had been told since ,
ladies of any sort must be few upon the

moor and I remembered that I had heard
,
some one describe her as being a beauty .
The woman wh o approached me was

certainly that a n d of a most uncommon
,
ty pe There could not have been a greater

.
contrast be tween brother a n d s iste r for fi
S tap l e t on was neutral tinte d with light

-
,
I 44
T h e Stapl e t on s o f M e r r ipit H ou se
hair and g re y eyes while she wa darker ,
s
than n y brunette whom I have seen i n

a
E n gland slim elegant and tall She had

— , , .
a proud fi nely cut face so regular that it

, ,
might have seemed impassive were it not

for the sensitive mouth and the beautiful
dark eager eyes
, W ith her perfect fi gu r e
.
and elegant dress she was indeed a strange , ,
apparition upon a lonely moorland path .
H er eyes were on her brother as I turned ,
and then she quickened her pace towards

me . I had raised my hat and wa s about ,
to make some explanatory remark when ,
her o wn words turned all my thoughts into

a n e w channel .
G o back ! she said G o s t raight

“ ”
back to London instantly ,

.
I could on l y stare at her in s t upid surprise .
H er eyes blazed at me and she tapped the ,
ground impatiently with her foot .
Why should I g o back P I asked

“
.
I cannot explain She spoke in a lo w

.
”
eager voice w ith a curious lisp in her

,
u t terance B ut for God s sake do what

.
“ ’
1 45 ,
L
I ask you G o back and never se t foot
. ,
upon the moor again .

”
B ut I have on l y just come .
Man man she cried

,
Can you not .
tell when a warning is for your own good ?
G o back to London ! S tart to night ! Ge t -
away from this place at all costs ! H ush ,
my brother is comi n g ! Not a word of what

I have said Would you mind getting that
.
orchid for me among the mare s tails yonder ?

’
-
We are v e ry rich i n orchids on the moor ,
though of course you are rather l a t e t o

, ,
see the beauties of the place .
Stapleton had abandoned the chase and ,
came back to u s brea t hing hard and flushed

with his exertions .
H a l loa Be ry l ! said h e and it seemed

,
”
to me t hat the tone of his greeting wa s no t

altogether a cordial one .
We l l Jack you are ve ry hot

, , .
Yes I was chasi n g a Cy c lo p ide s H e

, .
is ve ry rare and seldom found i n the late

,
autumn What a pity that I shou l d have

.
missed him
1 46
Th e H oun d o f t h e B aske r v ill es
whe th er it is early or l a t e for the or ch ids .
B ut you wi ll come o n wi ll you not and, ,
see M e r r ip it House P ”
A short walk brought u s t o it a b l eak ,
moorland house once t he fa rm of some

,
grazier in the o l d prosperous days bu t n o w ,
put into repair and turned i nto a modern

dwe l ling A n orchard surrounded it but
.
,
the trees as is u sua l upon the moor were

, ,
stunted and nipped and the e ffect of t he

,
whole p l ace was mean and melancholy We .
were admit ted by a strange wizened r u s ty , ,
coated old manservan t who seemed in keep

,
ing wi th the house I nside ho wever there

.
, ,
were large rooms furnished wi t h an ele

gance i n which I seemed to recognise
the taste of t he l ad y As I looked from
.
their windows at the interminable granite

fl e c ke d moor rolling unbroken to the far t hest
horizon I could n o t bu t marvel at what
could have brought t his highly educated
man and this beau t iful woman to live i n
such a place .
Queer spo t t o choose is i t not said

?
,
1 48
T h e St apl e ton s o f M e r r ipit H ou se
h e, as if in answer t o my thought An d .
“
yet we manage to m ake ourselves fairly

happy do we n t Be ry l
, o P
,
”
Quite happy said she but there was

, ,
no ring of conviction in her words .
I had a school said Stapleton

“
,
It
”
.
wa s in the North c ountry The work to a .
man of my temperament was mecha ical n
and uninteresti n g but the privilege of living

,
with youth of helpi n g to mould those youn g

,
minds and of impressing them with one s ’
own character and ideals was v e ry dear to ,
me H owever the fates were against s

.
, u .
A serious epidemic broke out in the school ,

’
and three of the boys died I t never .
recovered from the blo w and much of my ,
capital was irretrievably swallowed u p And .
yet if it were not for the loss of the

,
charmi g co mpanionship of the boys I could

n ,
rejoice over my own misfortune for with , ,
my strong tastes for botany and zoology ,
I fi n d an unlimited fi el d of work here and ,
my sister is as devoted to Nature as I a m .
All t his Dr Watson has been bro u ght

, .
,
I 49
upon your head by your expression as you
s urveyed the moor ou t of our window
”
.
I t certainly did cross my mind that it

—
migh t be a li t tle dul l less for you perhaps , ,
than for your sis t er .
“
N o no I a m never du l l said she
, , , ,
quickly .
“
We have books we have our s tudies
, ,
and we have in t eres t ing neighbours Dr . .
M or t imer is a most l earned man in his own

line P oor S ir Charles was also an a d
.
mirab l e companion We knew him we l l

.
,
a n d miss him more than I c an t e l l D o .
y ou think tha t I should in t rude if I were

to call this afternoon and make the acquain t
—
ance of S ir H e nry P ”
I a m sure that he wou l d be delighted .
Then perhaps you wou l d mention that

I propose t o do so We may in our humble
.
way do something t o make things more

easy for him until he becomes accustomed
to h is n e w surroundings Will y o u come .
upstairs Dr Watson and inspect my col

,
.
,
l e ct ion of L e p ido p t e r a P I think it is the

1 5 0
was beautifully flushed with her exertions ,
and she held her hand to h er side .
I have run all the way i n order to cut

“
you off Dr Watson said she

, . I had not , .
even time to put on my hat I must not .
s t op or my brother m a y miss me I wanted

, .
to say to you how sorry I a m about the

s tupid mis t ake I made i n thinking that you
were S ir He nry Pl ease forget the words .
I said which have no app l ication wha t ever

,
t o you .
”
B u t I can t forget them M iss S tap l e

“ ’
to n ,
said I I a m S ir H enry s frien d
.
“ ’
and his welfare is a ve ry close concern o f

mine Tell me wh y it was that you were
.
so eager tha t S i r He nry should return to

London .
”
A woman s whim D r Watson When

’
“
. .
,
y ou kno w me better you will understand

t h a t I cannot always give reasons for wha t
I say or do .
”
“
N o no I remember the thr i l l in your
,
.
‘
v oice I remember the look i n your eyes
. .
P lease please be frank with me M iss

, , ,
1 5 2
T h e Stapl e to n s o f M e r r ipit H ou se
Stapleton for ever since I have been here
,
I h ave been conscious of shadows all round

me Life has become like that great C rimpen
.
M ire 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 y o u meant and I will promise to

,
convey your warning to S ir He nry .

”
A n expression of irresolution passed for

an instant over her face but her eyes had
,
hardened a gain when she answered me .
You make too much of it Dr Watson , .

,
said she My brother and I were v e ry

.
much shocked by the death of Sir Charles .
We knew him ve ry intimately for his ,
favourite walk was over the moor to our

house H e 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 he had
expressed I was distressed therefore when
.
, ,
another member of the fa m i l y came do wn

to live here and I felt tha t he should
,
be warned of the da n ger which he will

I S3
run T h a t wa s a ll which I i n t ended to
.
convey .
B u t wha t is t h e danger P
You know the story o f the hound P
I do not believe in such nonsense .
B u t I do I f you have any in fl u e n c e

.
wit h Sir He nry t ake h im away from a place

,
whic h h as a l ways been fa tal t o his fa m il y .
T h e worl d is wide Why shou l d he wish

.
t o l ive a t the place of danger P

B ecause i t is the place of danger Tha t .
is S ir H enry s nature I fear that u n l ess

’
.
y o u can give me some m o re de fi n ite in fo r
mation t han t his it would be impossib l e t o

get him to move .
”
I cannot say any t hi n g de fi n ite for I ,
do not know a n ything de fi n ite .
“
I would ask y o u one more question ,
M iss St ap l eton I f you meant no more than

.
t his when you fi r s t spoke t o me why shou l d ,
you no t wish your brother t o overhear wha t

y ou said ? There is nothing to which h e ,
or any one e l se could obj ec t

,
.
”
My bro ther is ve ry anxious to have

1 54
CHA P T E R V III
FI R ST R EPO RT OF DR . WA S T O N
R O M this point onwards I wi ll fo ll o w

the course of events by t ranscribing
my own letters to M r Sherlock H olmes .
which lie before me on the t able One .
p a ge is missi n g but otherwise they are

,
exactly as written and show my feelings

,
and suspicions of the moment more accurately

t han my m e mory clear as it is upon these
,
tragic events can possibly do

, .
B a ske r v i ll e H a ll , O c to b er 1 3 th .
MY D E AR H O L ME S ,
My previous le tt ers and t e l e

grams h ave kept you pre t ty well u p t o date - -
as to all that has occurred in this most

God forsaken corner of the world The
-
.
l onger one stays h ere the more does th e

1 56
F ir s t Re port o f D r Wa t s on .
spirit of the moor sink into one s soul its ’
vastness and also its grim charm When

,
.
you are once out upon its bosom you have

left all traces of modern E ngland behind you ,
but on the other hand you are conscious

everywhere of the homes and the work of
the prehistoric people O n 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 g r e y stone
.
hu t s against the scarred hillsides you leave

your o w age behind you and if you were
n ,
to see a skin clad hairy man crawl out fro m

-
,
the low door fi ttin g a flint tipped 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 .
a m no antiquarian but I could imagine that

,
they were some unwarlike and harried race

W ho were forced to accept that which none
other would o c c upy .
I 57
All this however is foreign t o t h e
, ,
mission on wh ich you sen t me and wil l ,
probably be ve ry uni n teres t ing to your

severe l y practical mind I can still remember
.
your complete indifference as to whether

the sun moved round the earth or the earth
round t h e sun Let me t he r efore re t urn t o
.
, ,
the fa ct s c o ncerning S ir He nry B askerville .
I f you have not had any report within

t he last few da ys it is because up til l to day -
there wa s nothing of import ance to rela t e .
Then a v e ry s r p r isin g circums t ance occurred

u ,
w h ic h I sha l l t ell you in due course B u t .

,
fi r st of all I mus t keep you i n touch w it h

,
some of the other factors i n the situation .
O ne of these concerning which I have

,
said lit tle is the escaped convict upon t he

,
moor There i s strong reason now to

.
be l ieve that he h as got righ t away whic h is ,
a c onsiderab l e relie f t o the lonely house

holders of t his distric t A for t night has .
passed si nce his flight dur i ng which h e has

,
not been seen an d nothing has been heard

of him I t i s surely inconceivab l e that he
.
1 5 8
The fact is tha t our friend the baronet
begins to display a considerable i n t erest in
our fair neighbour I t is no t t o be wondered
.
at,
for time hangs heavily in this lonely
spot to an active man l ike him and she is,
a v e ry fascinating and beautifu l woman .
There is something tropica l and exotic abou t

her which forms a singular co ntrast to her
cool and une mo t ional brother Yet he also
.
gives the idea of hidden fi r e s H e has

certainly a v e ry marked in fl u e n c e over her ,
for I have seen her continually glance at

him as she talked as if seeking approbation
for wha t she said I trust that he is kind
.
t o her There is a dry glitter in his eyes

.
,
and a fi r m set of his thin lips which go with

,
a positive and possibly a harsh nature You .
would fi n d h im an interesting study .
H e came over to call upon B askerville on

tha t fi r st da y and the ve ry next morning he
,
took u s both t o sho w u s the spo t where the

legend of the wicked H ugo is supposed to
have had its origin I t was an excursion of
.
some miles across the moor to a place w h ich

1 60
60
’“
OO S OT
1
f
“
HE T K U S 1 0 sn o w us THE P .
On our way back we stayed for lunch
at M e r r ip it H ouse and it was there tha t
,
S ir He nry made the acquaintance of Miss

S tapleton From the fi st moment that he
. r
saw her he appeared to be strongly attrac t ed

by h er and I a m muc h mistaken if the feel
,
ing was not mutual H e referred to her

.
again and again on our walk home and ,
since then hardly a da y has passed that we

have not seen something of the brother and
sister They dine here t o night and there
.
-
,
is some talk of our goi ng to t hem next

week O ne would imagine that such a
.
match would be v e ry welcome to S tapleton ,
and yet I have more than once caugh t a

look of the strongest disapprobation in his
face when S ir H e nry has been paying some
attention to his sister H e is much attached
.
to her no doubt and would lead a l onely

, ,
life without her but it would seem the

,
height of s e lfi s h n e ss if he were to stand in

the way of her making so brilliant a marriage .
Yet I m certain that he does not wish their

a
intimacy to ripen into love and I have ,
1 62
F ir s t R e port o f D r Wa t s on .
several times observed that he has taken

—
pains to prevent the m fro m being téf d i é e e -
‘
o .
B y the way your instr ctions to me never

,
u
to allow Sir H e nry to g o out alone will

become v e ry much more onerous if a l ove
affair were to be added to our other diffi culties .
My popularity would soon suffer if I were

to c a rry out your orders t o the letter .
—
T he other day Thursday to be more ,
—
exact Dr M ortimer lunched with u s H e
. .
has been excavating a barro w at Long

Down and has got a prehistoric skull which
,
h lls him with great joy N ever was there

.
such a single minded enthusiast as h e l The

-
Stapletons came in afterwards and the good ,
doctor took u s all to the Yew Alley at S ir ,
H enry s requ est to sho w u s exactly h o w

’
everything occurred upon that fatal night .
I t is a long dismal walk the Y e w Alley

, , ,
between two hi g h walls of clipped hedge ,
with a narrow band of grass upon either

side A t the far end is an old tumble down
.
,
-
summer house H alfway down is the moor

-
gate where the old gentleman left his cigar

,
1 63
asn I t is a whi t e wooden gate wi t h a l atch
1
. .
B eyond it lies the wide moor I remembered .
your theory of the affair and t ried to pic ture

,
al l that had occurred As the old man stood

.
there he sa w something coming across t he

moor some thing which te r r ifi e d him so tha t
,
he l ost his wits and ran and ran until h e

,
died of sheer horror and exhaustion There .
wa s the long gloomy t unnel down whic h he

,
fled A nd fro m what A sheep dog of t he

.
? -
moor ? O r a spectral h ound black si l ent , , ,
P
and monstrous Was t h ere a human agency
i n the matter P D id the pal e watchful ,
B arrymore know more than he cared to sa y ?
I t was all dim and vague bu t always there ,
i s the dark shadow of crime behind it .
One other neighbour I have me t since

I wrote l ast This is M r Frank l and of
. .
,
L a fte r H all wh o lives some four miles t o

,
the south of u s H e is an elderly m a n

.
,
red faced white haire d and chol eric H is

-
,
-
, .
passion is for t he B ritish l aw an d he has ,
spent a l arge fortune i n litigation He .
fi g h ts for the mere pleasure of fi g h tin g and ,
1 64
is equally r ead y to take up either side of a

question so that it is no wonder that he
,
has found it a costly amusement Some .
times he will shut up a right of way and

defy the parish to make him O pen it A t .
others he w ill with his own hands tear down

some other man s gate and declare that a
’
path has existed there from time imme

morial defying the owner to prosecute him
,
for trespass H e is learned in old manorial

.
and communal rights and he applies his ,
knowledge sometimes in favour of the

villagers of F e r n wo th y and somet i mes
r
against them so that he is periodically

,
either c a rried in triumph down the village

street or else burned in ffi gy according e ,
to his latest e x ploit H e 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 ,
good natured person and I on l y mention

-
,
him because you were part icular t ha t I

1 65
'
shou l d send some description of the people

who surround u s H e is curiously emp l oyed
.
at present for being an amateur astronomer

, , ,
he has an excel l ent 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 .
I f he would c o n fi n e his energies to this al l

would be well but there are rumours that
,
he intends t o prosecute Dr M o rtimer for .
opening a grave without the consent of the

next o f kin because he dug up the neolithic
- -
,
skull in the barro w on Long Down H e .
helps to keep our lives from being mono

tonous and gives a litt l e comic relief where
,
it is b ad l y needed .
And now having brought you up t o da t e

,
in the escaped convict the S tapletons Dr , , .
M ortimer and Frankland of L fte r H all

, , a ,
l et me end on t hat which is most importan t ,
and tell you more about the B arrymores and ,
especially about t h e surprising deve l opment

of last night .
F ir st of a ll abou t the t es t t e l egram whi ch ,
1 66
said h e I trust that they do not mean
.
“
that I have done anything to forfeit your

P ”
c o n fi de n c e
S ir He nry had to assure him that it wa s

no t so and pacify him by giving him a
considerable part of his old wardrobe the ,
London o tfi t ha ing now all arrived

u v .
M rs B arrymore is of interest t o me
. .
S he is a heavy solid person v e ry limited

, , ,
intensely respectable and inclined to be ,
puritanical You could hardly conceive a

.
less emotional subj ect Yet I have t o l d .
you how on the fi rst night here I h eard

, ,
her sobbing bit t erly and since then I have ,
more than once observed traces of tears

upon her face S ome deep sorrow gnaws
.
ever at her hear t Sometimes I wonder if .
she has a guilty m e mory which haunts her ,
and sometimes I suspect B arrymore of being

a domestic tyrant I have always felt that .
there wa s something singular and question

able in this man s character but the adventure
’
of last nig ht brings all my suspicions to a

head .
1 68
And yet i t may seem a small ma t ter in

itself You are aware that I a m not a v e ry
.
sound sleeper and since I have been on

,
guard in this house my slumbers have been

lighter than ever Last night about two i n .
,
the morning I was aroused by a stealthy

,
step passing my room I rose opened my .

,
door and peeped out A long black shado w

, .
was trailing down the corridor I t was .
thrown by a m n wh o walked softly down a
the passage with a candle held i n his hand .
H e was in shirt and trousers with no cover ,
ing to his feet I could mere ly see the .
outline but his height told me that i t was

-
B arrymore H e walked v e ry slowly and

.
circumspectly and there was something in

,
describably guilty and furtive i n his whole

appearance .
I have told y o u that the corridor is

broken by the balcony which runs round
the b all but that it is resumed upon the
,
farther side I w ite d until he had passed

. a
out of sight and then I fo llo we d him When

, .
I came round the balcony h e h ad reac h ed

1 69
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 N o w all these rooms are un fur
.
,
n is h e d and unoccupied so that his expedition

,
became more mysterious than ever The .
light shone s t eadily as if he were standin g

,
m otionless I crept down the passage as

.
n oiselessly as I could and peeped round the
corner of the door .
B arrymore was crouching at the w i ndo w ,
with the candle held against the glass H is .
r o fi l e was half turned towards me and his

p ,
face seemed t o be rigid w ith expectation as

he stared out into the bl a ckness of the moor .
For some minutes he s t ood watching in

t e n tl y
. Then he gave a deep groan and ,
with an impatient gesture he put out the

light I nstantly I m ade my way back to
.
my room and ve ry shortly came the stealthy

,
steps passing once more pon their return u
j ourney . Long afterwards when I had

fallen in t o a light sleep I heard a key turn
somewhere in a lock but I could no t te ll
,
1 7 0
C H A PT E R I X
S E CO N D R E P O R T DR W AT S O N]
[ or .
TH E LI G H T U PO N TH E MO O R
B a sker v i ll e H a ll , O c to b er 1 5 th .
Y D E AR H O LME S —
I wasIf ,
compelled to leave you without

much news during the early da ys of my
mission y o u must acknowle dge tha t I a m
making up for lost time and that events are
,
now cro wding thick and fast upon u In s .
my last report I ended pon my top note u
with B arrymore at the window and now I ,
have quite a budget already which will ,
unless I a m much mistaken considerably ,
surprise you Things have taken a turn

.
which I could not have anticipated In .
some ways they have within the l ast forty

eigh t hours be c ome m uc h clearer and in
1 7 2
S e con d R e port o f D r Wa t s on .
some ways they have become more com

plicated B ut I will tel l you all and you
.
,
shall judge for yourself .
B efore breakfast on the morning follo w

ing my adventure I went down the corridor
and examined the room in which B arrymore
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 hou se it com
mands the nearest outlook on to the moor .
There is an opening between two trees

w hich enables one from this point of vie w
to look right down upon it while from all
,
the other windows it is on l y a distan t

glimpse which can be obtained I t follows .
,
therefore that B arrymore since on l y this

, ,
window would serve his purpose mus t have ,
been looking out for something or some

bo d y pon the moor The night was v e ry
u .
dark so that I can hardly imagine how he

,
could have hoped to see any one I t had .
struck me that it wa s possible tha t some

love intri gue was on foot That would .
I 73
have accounted for his s t ealthy movements
and also for the uneasiness of his wife The .
man is a striking looking fello w ve ry we l l

-
,
equipped to steal the heart of a country girl ,
so that this theory seemed to have some

thing t o suppor t i t That opening of the
.
door whic h I had heard after I had returned

to my roo m migh t mean that he h ad gone
out to keep some clandestine appointment .
S o I reasoned with my s e l f in the morning ,
and I tell you the direction of m y suspicio n s ,
however much the result may have shown

that they were unfounded .
B ut whatever the true explanation of

B arrymore s movements might b e I felt tha t
’
the responsibility of keeping them to my se l f

until I could explain the m was more than I
could bear I had an i ntervie w with the
.
baronet in his study after breakfast and I ,
told him all that I had seen H e was l ess .
surprised than I had expected .
“
I knew that B arrymore walked abou t
nigh t s and I had a mind to speak to h im
,
about it said h e
,
”
Two or three times
.
“
1 74
with t he architec t who prepared the p l ans
for S ir Charles and with a contractor from
,
London so that we may ex pect great

,
changes to begin here soon There have .
been decorators and furnishers up fro m

P lymouth and it is evi dent that our friend
,
has large ideas and means to spare no pains

,
or expense to restore the grandeur of his

fa m i l y When the house is renovated and
.
refurnished all tha t he will need will be a

,
wife to make it complete B etween our .
selves there are pretty clear signs that this

,
will not be wanting if the l ad y is willing for ,
I have seldo m seen a man more i nfatuated

with a woman than he is with our beautifu l
neighbour M iss S tapleton
,
And yet the .
course of true love does not run quite as

smoothly as one would under the circum
stances expect To day for examp l e its
.
-
, ,
surface was broken by a v e ry u nexpected

ripple which has caused our friend consider
,
abl e perplexity and annoyance .
After the conversation which I have

quo t ed about B arrymore S ir He nry pu t on
,
1 7 6
his hat and prepared to g o out As a .
matter of course I did the same .
“
What are y o coming Watson
,
? u he ,
”
asked looking at me in a curious way

, .
“
That depends on whether you are
going on the moor said I ,
”
.
“
Yes I a m
, .
”
Well y o know what my in str u c

,
u
t ions are I a m sorry to intrude bu t you

.
,
h eard how earnestly H olmes insisted that

I should no t leave you and especially ,
that you should not go alone upon t he

moor .
S ir H e nry put his hand upon my shoulder ,
with a pleasant smile

My dear fello w said h e Ho l mes , ,
“
,
with all his wisdom did not foresee some ,
things which have happened since I have

been on the moor You understand me .
?
I a m sure that you are the last man in the

w orld who would wish to be a spoil sport I -
.
must g o out alone .

”
I t put me in a most awkward position .
I was at a loss what to say or what to do ,
1 77 N
and before I had made up my mind he
picked up h is cane an d was gone .
B ut when I came to think the matter

over my conscience reproached me bi t terly
for having on any pretext allowed h im to
o out of my sight I imagined what my
g .
feelings would be if I had to return to you

and to confess that some misfortune had
occurred through my disregard for your in
s t r u c tio n s
. I assure y o u my cheeks flushed
a t the v e ry thought I t might not even
.
now be too late to overtake him so I ,
set off at once in the direction o f Me r r ipit

H ouse.
I hurried along the road at the top of

my speed without seeing anything of S ir
H e nry unti l I came to t he point where the
,
moor path branches o ff There fearing that

.
,
perhaps I had come i n t he wrong direction ,
after all I mounted a hil l from which I

,
—
could command a view the same hill which
is cu t into the dark q u a rry Thence I saw
.
him a t once H e was on the moor path

.
,
about a quarter of a mile o ff and a l ad y,
1 7 8
d iffi c u l t
,
and tha t there was no t hi ng more
which I could do .
O ur friend S ir Henry and the l ad y had

, ,
halted on the path and were s tanding deep l y ,
absorbed in their conversa t ion when I was

’
suddenly aware tha t I was not the on l y

witness of their in t erview A wisp of green .
fl o a tin g in the air caught my eye and another ,
glance showed me that it wa s carried on a

stick by a man who was moving among the
broken ground I t wa s S tapleton with his
.
b u tte r fl y net
-
H e wa s v e ry much closer to
.
the pair than I was and he appeared to be ,
moving in their direction A t this instant .
S ir He nry sudden l y drew M iss Stapleton to

h is side H is arm wa s round her bu t it
.
,
s eemed t o me that she was straining away
from him with her face averted H e stooped .
h i head to hers and she raised one hand as

s ,
if in protest N ext moment I saw them spring

.
ap a rt and turn hurried l y round Stapleton .
was the cause of the interruption H e was .
running wildly towards them his absurd net ,
da n gling behind him H e gesticulated and .
1 80
S e con d R e por t o f D r Wa t s on .
almost danced with excitemen t in front of

the lovers What the scene meant I could
.
n ot imagine but it seemed to me that

,
Stapleton was abusing Sir H e nry who ,
offered explanations which became more,
a gry as the other refused to a ccept them

n .
The l ad y stood by in haughty silence .
Finally Stapleton turned u pon his heel

a n d beckoned in a peremptory way to his
sister who after an irresolute glance at

, ,
S ir He nry walked off by the side of her

,
brother The n aturalist s a n g ry esture

.
’
g
6
s
showed that the l ad y was included in h is

displeasure The baronet stood for a
.
minute looking after them and then he ,
walked slo wly back the way that he h a d

come his head hanging the v e ry picture o f
, ,
dejection .
What all this meant I could not imag ine ,
but I was deeply ashamed to have witnessed

so intimate a scene without my f iend s r
’
knowledge I ran down the hill therefore

. , ,
and met the baronet at the botto m H is .
face was flushed with anger and his bro ws

181
were wrinkled l ike one wh o is a t his wits
,
’
ends what t o do .
“
H alloa Watson ! Where h a ve you
,
dropped from said h e

P ”
You don t mean .
’
to say tha t you came after me in spite

of all P
I exp l ained everything t o him : how
I had found it impossible to remain behind ,
how I had followed h im and h o w I had ,
witnessed al l that had occurred For an .
instant his eyes blazed at me but my frank ,
n ess disarmed his anger and he broke at ,
last into a rather ruefu l l augh

g .
You would have t h ough t the middle of

that prairie a fairly safe place for a man to
b e private ,
”
said h e but by thunder t h e
,
“
, ,
w hole country side seems to have been out

-
t o see me do my wooing — and a mighty

poor wooing at that ! Where had you
e ngaged a s e a t P .
“
I was on that hill .
”
Quite in the back r o w e h P B ut her ,
brother was well up to t he fron t D id you .
s e e h im c ome out on s P u
1 82
was made for me and she t oo— s h e was
, ,
happy when she was with me and tha t I ll ,

’
swear There s a light in a woman s eyes

.
’ ’
that speaks louder than w ords B ut he has .
never let s get together and it was on l y

u ,
to day for the fi r st time that I saw a chance

-
of having a few words with her alone She .
was glad to meet me bu t when she did i t was

,
not love that she would talk about and she ,
wouldn t have let m e talk about it either if

’
she cou l d have stopped it She kept coming

.
back to it that this was a place of danger ,
and t hat 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 g o the on l y

way to work it was for her to arrange to g o
with me With that I offered i n as m a ny
.
words to m a rry her but before she could

,
answer down came this brother of hers r u n ,
ning at u s with a face on him like a madman .
H e was just white with rage and those light ,
e yes of his were blazing with fury What .
was I do i ng w i th the la dy P H ow dared

1 84
I offer her attentions which were distasteful

to her ? Did I think that because I was a
barone t I could do what I liked P I f 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 o f 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 b y S o it ended by his going off

.
with her as you s a w and here m I as

, , a
b ad l y puzzled a man as any i n this county .
Just tell me what it all means Watson and , ,
I ll o we you more than ever I can hope

’
to p a y.
”
I tried one or two explanations but , ,
indeed I was completely puzzled myself

, .
Our friend s title his fortune his g e his

’
, ,
a ,
character and his appearance are all in his

,
favour and I kno w nothi ng a gainst him

, ,
unless it be this dark fate which runs i n his

1 85
fa m il y T h a t his advances shou l d be rej ec t ed
.
so brusque l y without any refere nce to t he

lady s own wishes and that the l ad y shou l d
’
accept the situation without protest is v e ry ,
amazing H owever our conjectures were

.
,
set at res t by a visit from S t apleton himse l f

that v e ry afternoon H e had come to offer
.
apologies for his rudeness of the morning ,
and after a long private intervie w with .
S ir He nry in his study the upsho t of t heir

conversation was that the breach is quite
healed and that we are t o dine a t M e r r ip it
,
H ouse next Friday as a sign of it .
“
I don t say n o w that h e isn t a c r a y
’ ’
z
man said S ir He nry ; I can t forget the

,
“ ’
l ook i n his eyes when he ran at me this

morning but I must allow that no man
,
could make a more handsome apo l ogy t han

h e has done .
”
“
D id h e g ive any explana t ion of his
c o n du c t
P
is sis ter is everything in his life he

H ,
says That is natural enough and I a m

.
,
glad tha t he s h ould unders t and her va l ue .
1 86
friendship during t hat t ime without claiming
her love This I promised and so the
.
,
matter res t s .
S o there is one of our small mysteries

cleared u p I t is something to have touched
.
bottom anywhere in this bog i n which we

are fl o n de r in g We know n o w why Staple
u .
ton l ooked with disfavour upon his sis t er s '
sui t or— even when that suitor was so eligible

a one as S ir H enry A nd n o w I pass on .
t o another thread which I have extricated
out of the t angled ske in the mystery of the ,
sobs in the night of the tear stained face

,
-
of Mrs B arrymore of the secret journey of

.
,
the butler t o the western l attice windo w -

.
Congratulate me my dear H olmes and tell

, ,
me that I have no t disappointed you as an

—
agent that you do no t regret the con fidence
which you showed i n me when you sent
me down A ll t hese things have by one
.
night s work been t horoughly cleared

’
.
I have said b y one night s work but

“ ’
, ,
in truth i t was by two nights work for

,
’
on t he fi r st we drew en t irely b l ank I sat .
1 88
up with Sir H nry i n his room until nearly

e
three o clock in the morning but no sound

’
,
of any sort did we hear except the chiming

clock u pon the stairs I t was a most melan
.
c h o l y vigil and ended by each of u s falling

,
asleep in our chairs Fortunately we were

.
not discouraged and we determ i ned to try

,
a gain. T he next night we lowered the

lamp and sat s m oking cigarettes without ,
making the least sound I t was incredible .
how slowly the hours crawled b y 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 m y wander One struck
a .
,
and two and we had almost for the second

,
time g iven it up in despair when in an ,
instan t 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 tep in the passage

s .
V e ry stealthily we heard it pass along

u ntil it died away in the distance Then .
the baronet gently opened his door and ,
1 89
we set out i n pursuit Already our man .
had gone round the gallery and the corridor ,
was all in darkness S oftly we stole along

.
until we had come in t o the other wing We .
were just in time to catch a glimpse of t he

tall black bearded fi g r e his shoulders
,
-
u ,
rounded as he tip t oed down the passage

,
-
.
Then he passed through the same door as

before and the light of the candle framed
,
i t in the darkness and shot one single yello w

beam across the g l oom of the corridor We .
s h ffl e d cautiously towards it
u trying e v ery ,
plank before we dared to put our whole

weight upon it We had taken the pr e
.
caution of leaving our boots behind u s bu t , ,
even so the old boards snapped and creaked

,
beneath our t read S ometimes it seemed

.
impossible that he should fail to hear our

approach H owever the man is fortuna t ely
.
,
rather deaf and li e was entire l y preoccupied

,
i n that which he was doing When at last .
we reached the door and peeped through

we found him crouching at the windo w ,
candle in hand his white inten t face pressed

, ,
190
y o u trouble to tell it sooner rather than
later Come now N o lies What were
.
,
you doing at that windo w P

The fello w looked a t u s in a he l p l ess
way and h e wrung his hands together like
,
one who is in the last extremity of doubt

and misery .
I was doing no h arm sir I wa s

“
, .
holding a candle to the window .

”
And why were you ho l ding a candle

“
to the windo w P
’
a —
Don t sk me S ir H enry don t ask ,
’
me ! I give you my word sir that it is , ,
not my secret and that I cannot tell it I f

, .
i t concerned no one but m y self I would not

try to keep it fro m you .
A sudden idea occurred t o me and I ,
took the candle from the window sill where -

,
the butler had placed it .
H e must have been holding it as a

signal said I ,
”
Let u s see if there is
.
“
any answer .
I he l d it as he had done and s tared ou t ,
into the darkness o f the night V aguely .
192
S e con d R e port o f D r Wa t s o n .
I could discern the black bank of the trees

and the lighter expanse of the moor for ,
the moon wa s behind the clouds And .
then I gave a cry of exultation for a tiny ,
pin point of yello w light had suddenly t rans

-
fi x e d 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 windo w ,
Watso n ! cried the baronet ”

See the .
“
,
other moves also ! N ow you rascal do , ,
you de ny that it is a signal Come speak

?
,
u
p i Who is
“
your c o nfederate out yonder ,
and what is this con piracy that is going s
on P”
The man s face became openly d fi n t ’

e a .
I t is my business and not yours I will , .
n o t tell
”
.
T h en you l eave my emp l oyment right

away .
I 93
V e ry good sir I f I must I mus t
, . .
”
And you go in disgrace B y t hunder .

,
you may well be ashamed of yourself .
Your fa m i l y has lived with mine for over a

hundred years under this roof and here I ,
fi n d you deep in some dark plot against me .
N o no sir ; no not agains t you !

, , ,
”
I t was a woman s voice and M rs Ba rry

’
, .
more paler and more horror struck than her

,
-
husband, wa s standing at the door H er .
bulk y fi gu r e in a shaw l and skir t might

hav e been comic were it no t for the intensity
of feeling u pon her face .
“
We have to go E liza This i s t he , .
end of it You can pack our things said

.
,
”
the butler .
Oh John john have I brough t you t o

, , ,
th is
.
P —
I t is my doing S ir H enry all mine , .
H e 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 a t our
.
v e ry ga t es The light is a signal to him

.
I 94
in Then as he grew o l der h e me t
it .
, ,
wicked companions and the devi l en t ered ,
into him unti l he broke my mother s hear t

,
’
and dragged our name in the dirt From .
crime t o crime he sank lower and l ower ,
u ntil it is on l y t he m e r c y of God which

has snatched him from the scaffold ; bu t to
me sir he wa s always the l i t tle curly headed
, ,
-
boy that I had nursed and played with as ,
an e l der sis t er would That was why h e .
broke prison sir H e knew tha t I was , .
here and tha t we could not refuse to he l p

,
him When he dragged himse l f here one

.
night weary and starving with the warders

, ,
hard at his heels wha t could we do We P,
took him i n and fed h i m and cared for

him Then you re t urne d sir and my
.
, ,
brother thought he would be safer on the

moor than anywhere e l se unti l the hue and
cr
y was over so he lay in hiding
, there .
B u t every second night we made s u re if

he was s t ill t here by putting a ligh t in the
window and if t here wa s an answer my
,
husband t oo k ou t som e bread and mea t t o

196
S e con d R e port o f D r Wat s on .
him E e ry day we hoped that he w

. v as
gone but as l ong as he was there we could

,
no t desert him Tha t is the whole tr u t h

.
,
as I a m an honest Christian woman and ,
you will see tha t if there is blame i n the

ma tt er it does not lie with my husband ,
bu t with me for whose sake he has done

,
all that he has .

”
The woman s words came with an in t ense

’
earnestness which carried conviction with

them .
Is t his true B arrymore P ,
Yes S ir H enry E v e ry word of it

, . .
Well I cannot blame you for standing

,
by your own wife Forge t what I have .
said G o t o y our room you two and we

.
, ,
shall talk further about this matt er in the

morning .
When they were gone we looked out

of the windo w again S ir He nry had fl un g .
it O pen and the cold night wind bea t in

,
upon our faces Far away in the black .
distance there still glowed tha t one tiny

point of yellow l ight .
I 97
“
I wonder he dares said S ir H enry , .
I t may be so placed as to be on l y
v i sib l e from here .
”
V e ry l ikely H o w far do y o u thi n k

.
i t is P ”
Ou t by t he C l eft Tor I t hink , .
N o t more than a mi l e or t wo o ff .
Ha rd l y that .
”
Well it canno t be far if Barrymore

,
had t o c a rry ou t the food to it And he .
is wai ti ng this villain beside t h at cand l e

, , .
By th under Watson I a m g oin g ou t t o t ak e

, ,
t ha t man
T h e same t hough t had crossed my own
mind I t was not as if the B arrymores had
.
taken u s into their c o n fi de n c e Their secret .
h ad been forced from them The man was .
a danger to t he community an unmitiga t ed ,
scoundre l for whom there wa s neither pity

nor excuse We were on l y doing our duty
.
i n taking this chance of putting him back

w h ere he could do no harm With his .
bruta l and vio l ent nature others would ,
have t o pay the price if we held our h ands .
19 8
he is sai d t o be a despera t e fe ll o w We .
shal l t ake him by surprise and have h i m

a t our m e r c y before he can resist .
”
“
I sa y Watson said the barone t what
, ,
”
would H o l mes say t o t h i s ? H ow abou t

tha t h our of darkness in which the power
of evil is e xa lt ed P
A s if in answer to his words t h ere rose
suddenly ou t of t h e vas t g l oom of the moor
tha t s t range cry which I had already heard
upon the borders of t he great G r imp e n
M ire I t c ame with the wind through t h e
.
silence of the nigh t a l ong deep mu tter , , ,
t h en a rising howl and the n t he sad moan ,
in which i t died away Again and again .
i t sounded the w h o l e air throbbing with it

, ,
strident wi l d and menacing The baronet

, , .
caught my sleeve and his face gl immered ,
whi t e through the darkness .
Good heavens wha t s t hat Wa tson ?

,
’
I don t know I t s a sound th ey

’ ’
have on th e moor I heard it once .
before .
”
I t d i ed away and an abso l u t e s i lenc e

,
2 00
S e con d R e port o f D r Wa ts on .
closed in upon u s We stood straining our .
ears but nothing came

, .
“
Watson said t he barone t 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 t hey call this sound ? he ”
asked .
“
Who ?
The folk on the coun t ry side -
.
Oh they are ignorant people Why

, .
should you mind what t hey call it P

“
Tell me Watson What do they say
, .
of it P ”
I hesita ted bu t could no t es c ape the

,
question .
“
They say it is t he cry of the H ound
of the B askervilles .
”
H e groaned and wa s silent for a fe w

,
moments .
“
A hound it was he said at l as t bu t , ,
“
i t seemed to come from miles away over ,
yonder I think
, .
”
20 1
“
I t wa s hard t o say whence it ca me .
I t rose and fell with the w i nd I sn t .

’
tha t the direction of the grea t C rimpe n

Mire P
“
Yes it is , .
Well i t was up there Come now

, .
,
Watson didn t you t hink y ourself that i t

,
’
wa s the cry of a b ound ? I a m not a chi l d .
You need not fear to spea k the t ru th .

”
“
S tap l eton was wi t h me when I heard
it last H e said tha t it might be t he ca l ling
.
of a s t ra n ge bird .
“
N o no it was a hound My G o d
, , .
,
can there be some trut h in all these s t ories ?

I s it possib l e t h a t I a m really in danger
from so dark a cause You don t be l ieve
? ’
it do you Watson P
, ,
N o no , .
”
And yet it wa s one thing to l augh

abou t it in London and it is another t o ,
stand out here in the darkness of the moor

and to hear such a cry as that A nd my .
uncle ! There wa s the footprint of t he

b ound beside h im as he l a y I t al l h ts .
20 2
cou l d see whence it came and th en we ,
knew tha t we were indeed ve ry close A .
gut tering cand l e wa s s tuck i n a crevice of

t he rocks which flanked i t on eac h side so
as t o keep t he wind from it and a l so to ,
preven t it from being visible save i n t he ,
direction of B as k ervi ll e H a ll A bou l der

.
of grani t e concea l ed our approach and ,
crouching behind it we gazed over it a t t he

signa l l igh t I t was strange to see this
.
single cand l e burnin g there in the middle

of t h e moor with no sign of life near it
,
jus t t he one s t raigh t y el l ow flame and th e

gleam of the rock on each side of it .
“
What shall we do n o w ? whispered ”
S ir H enry .
“
Wai t here H e must be near his light
.
Le t u s see if we can ge t a glimpse o f him .
The words were hard l y ou t o f my mou th

w h en we both saw h i m Over the rocks in
.
,
t he crev i ce of which t he candle burned ,
t h ere wa s t h rus t out an ev il yel l ow face a ,
t errib l e an i ma l face all seamed and scored

,
w i th vile passions Fou l wit h mire with

.
,
2 04
P
O ER RO S
204
V TH E CK \V A S T H RUST O UT A N EV IL Y E L LO \V FA C E
and turned t o run A t the same momen t
.
by a l u ck y chance t he moon broke through

the clouds We rushed over the bro w of
.
the h ill and there was our man running wit h

,
great speed down t he other side springing ,
ov e r the s t ones in his way with the ac t ivity

of a m ountain goat A l u ck y l ong sho t of
.
my revolver m ight have c r l pple d h i m but ,
I had brough t it on l y to defend myself if

attacked and not to shoo t an unarmed man
,
wh o wa s running away .
We were both fair runners and i n good

condition bu t we soon found that we had
,
no chance of overtaking him We saw him .
for a long t ime in the moonlight unti l he

wa s on l y a small speck moving swiftly
among the boulders upon the side of a
dis t ant hill We ran and r a n until we were
.
completely blown bu t the space be t ween u s

,
grew ever wider Fi nally we stopped and

.
sat panting on two rocks while we watched ,
him disappearing in the distance .
And it wa s at this moment that ther e

occurred a most strange and unexpec ted
2 06
S e con d R e por t o f D r Wat s on .
t hin g We had risen from our rocks and

.
were turning t o g o home having abandoned ,
the hopeless chase The moon wa s low .
U pon the right and the jagged pinnacle of

,
a granite tor stoo d up gains t the lower a
curve of its silver disc There outlined as .

,
black as an ebony statue on that shining

background I saw the fi g r e of a man upon
, u
t he tor Do not think t hat it was a

.
delusion H olmes , I assure you tha t I have

.
never in my life seen anything more clearly .
As far as I could judge the fi g u r e was that ,
of a tall thin man H e 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 H e might have been .
the v e ry spirit of tha t terrible place I t was .
not the convict This man was far from

.
the place where the latter had disappeared .
B esides he was a much taller man With

, .
a cry of surprise I pointed him out to the

baronet but i n the instant during which I
,
had turned t o grasp his arm the man wa s

20 7
gone There wa s t he sharp p i nnacl e of
.
grani t e st il l cut t ing the l ower edge of the

moon but its peak bore no trace of that
,
silen t and motionless fi gu r e .
I wished to go in that direction and t o

search the t or but it was some dis tance
,
away .T h e baronet s nerves were s t ill

’
quivering from tha t c ry which recal led t he

,
d ark story of his family and he was not i n

,
the mood for fresh adventures H e h ad .
not seen this l onely man upon the t or and ,
could no t fee l th e thrill which his s t range

prese n ce and his comman ding attitude had
given to me A warder no doub t said
“ ”
.
, ,
he. The moor has been thick with t hem

since this fellow escaped Well perhaps
.
”
his explanation may be the right one but ,
I should like to have some further proof

of it To day we mean to communicate to
.
-
the P rincetown 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 S uc h are the adven t ures of l ast
.
208
S e con d R e port o f D r Wa t s on
.
night and you must acknowledge my dea r

, ,
H olmes that I have done you ve ry we ll in

,
the matter of a report Much of what I

.
tell yo is no doubt quite irrelevan t but

u ,
still I feel th a t it is best that I shou l d let

you have all the facts and leave y o u to
select for yourself those which will be of
most service t o you in helping you to your
concl sions We are certainly making some
u .
progress S o far as t h e B arrymores go we

.
,
h ave found the motive of their actions and ,
that has cleared up the situation ve ry much .
B ut the moor with its mysteries and its

s tra n ge inhabitants remains as inscrutable as
ever Perhaps in my next I may be able
.
to throw some light upon this also B es t .
of al l would i t be if you cou l d come down

to us.
2 09
C H A PT E R X
E X T R A CT FR O M TH E I
D AR Y OF DR . AS
W T O N
0 far I h ave been able t o quo t e from

the reports which I have forwarded
during these early da y s t o S herlock H olmes .
N o w however I have arr i ved at a poin t i n

, ,
my n arrative where I a m compelled to

abandon this me th od and t o tr u st once more
t o my recollections aided by the diary whic h
,
I kept at t he time A fe w extrac t s from

.
t h e l a tt er will c a rry me on to those scenes

which are indelibly fi x e d i n every detail
upon my m e mory I proceed then from
.
, ,
the morning which followed our abortive

chase of t he convic t and our other strange
experiences upon the moor .
O cto ber 1 6 tk A dul l and fo gg y da y

.
-
,
with a drizzle of rain The house is banked.
in with ro l ling clouds which rise n o w and ,
2 10
of Na t ure A spectra l hound which leaves
.
materia l foo t marks and fi lls t he air w i th its '
how l ing is sure l y no t t o be thought o f .
S taple t on may fal l i n with such a super

s titio n ,and M ortimer also ; but if I have
one quality upon ear t h it is common sense ,
and nothing wil l persuade me to be l ieve i n

such a thing To do so would be to des c end
.
t o the l evel of these poor peasants wh o are

not content wi th a mere fi e n d dog bu t must ,
needs describe him wi t h hell fi r e s h ooting -
from his mouth and eyes H o l mes wou l d

.
not l is t en t o such fancies and I a m his,
agen t B u t facts are facts and I have twice

.
,
heard t his crying upon the moor S uppose .
tha t there were rea ll y some huge hound

loose upon it ; tha t would g o far t o explain
everyth ing B u t where could s u ch a hound
.
lie concea l ed where did i t ge t i t s food

, ,
where did it come from how was it that no

,
one saw i t by da y ? I t mus t be confessed

tha t t he na t ural exp l ana t ion offers al most as
m a ny diffi c u l ties as the o t her A nd always
.
,
apart from th e hound there wa s t he fa ct o f

,
212
E x tr a ct from D i a ry o f D r Wa t s on .
the human agency in London the man in ,
the cab and the le t ter which warned Sir

,
He nry agains t the moor This a t least was

.
real but it might have been the work o f a

,
pro tecting friend a s easily as an enemy .
Where wa s tha t friend or enemy n o w P

H ad he remained in London or had he ,
followed u s down h e r e P Could h e — could

he be the stranger whom I had seen pon u
the T o r P
I t is t rue t ha t I have had on l y the one
g l ance a t him and ye t there are some things
,
to which I a m ready to swear H e is no .
one whom I have seen down here and I ,
have now met all the neighbours The .
fi g u r e was far taller than tha t of S tapleton ,
far thinner than that of Frankland Ba rry .
more it might possibly have been but we ,
had left him behind u s and I a m certain

,
that he co ld not have followed u s A

u .
stranger then is still dogging u s just as a ,
s t ra n ger had dogged u s in London We .
have never shaken him off I f I could lay

.
m y hands upon that man t hen at last we

,
2 13
Th e H ound o f th e B aske r vill es
m igh t find ourse l ves at the end of a ll our
d iffi c u ltie s To this one purpose I must
.
n o w devo t e a ll my e n ergies .
My fi r st i mpulse wa s t o t ell S ir He nry

all my plans My seco n d and wises t one
.
i s to p l a y my own game and speak as l ittle

a s possib l e t o any one H e is silent and
.
d istrai t . H i s nerves have bee n strange l y

s hake n by t ha t sound upo n the moor I .
wi ll say no t hing t o add to his anxieties but ,
I wi l l t ake my o wn s t eps t o at tain my

o wn end .
We h ad a sma ll scene th is morning after

do r ea kfa st B arrymore asked l eave t o speak
.
w i t h S ir H enry and they were closeted in

,
h is s t udy some litt l e time S it t ing in the

.
bi ll iard room I more t han once heard the

-
,
sound of voices ra i sed a nd I had a pretty

,
good idea w h a t t he point Wa s which was

under discussi on After a time the baronet
.
o pened his door and called for me .
B arrymore considers that he has a

grievance h e said ,
H e thinks that it
.
“
was unfa i r on our part t o hun t his brot h e r

2 14
no t hing You on l y wan t t o ge t a g limpse
.
of his face to see that Look at M r . .
Stap le t on s house for example with n o

’
, ,
one bu t himself to defend it There s no .

’
safe ty for any one un t i l he is under l ock

and key .
”
“
H e l l break into no house sir I give
’
, .
y ou my so l emn word upon th at And he .
wi ll never t rouble any one in th i s coun t ry

again I assure you S ir H e nry tha t in a
.
, ,
ve ry fe w da y s t he necessary arrangemen t s
wi ll h ave been made and he wil l be on h is
way t o Sou th America For God s sake .
’
sir I beg of you n o t t o le t the police know

,
t ha t he is s t ill on the moor They have .
given u p the chase there and he can l ie ,
quiet unti l the ship is ready for him You .
can t tell on him wi th ou t getting my wife

'
and me into troub l e I be g you sir t o say

.
, ,
nothing t o t h e po l ice .
“
Wha t do you sa y Watson P ,
I shru gged my shoulders I f he were .

“
safely out of the country it would relieve the

taxpayer of a burden .
”
2 16
B ut how about the chance of his hold

ing some one up before he goes P ”
H e would not do anything so mad ,
sir We have provided him with all that he

.
can want To commit a cri m e would be to

.
sho w where he was hiding .

”
That is true said Sir He nry

“
Well
,
”
.
,
B arrymore
God bless you sir and thank you from , ,
my heart ! I t wou l d have kill e d my poor

wife had he been taken again .
”
I guess we are aiding and abetting a

“
felony W tso n,
P B ut after what we have
a ,
heard I don t fee l as if I could give the

,
’
man p so there is an end of it All right

u ,
.
,
B arrymore you can g o , .

”
With a few broken words of grati t ude

the man turned but he hesitated and then
,
came back .
You ve been so kind to u s sir that I

“ ’
, ,
should like to do the best I can for you in

return I know somethin g Sir H enry and
.
, ,
perhaps I should have said it before but it ,
was long after the inques t that I found it

2 1
7
T h e H oun d o f th e B aske r vil les
ou t I v e never brea t hed a word about
.
’
it ye t to morta l man I t s about poor S ir .

’
Charles s dea th ’
.
”
The baronet and I were bot h upon o u r

fee t .
D o you know h o w he died P

N o sir I don t know that , ,
’
.
What then ,
I know why he was at t he ga t e at tha t

hour I t was to mee t a woman
. .
To meet a woman ! H e P ”
Yes sir , .
And the woman s name P ’ ”
I can t give you the name sir bu t I ’

, ,
can give you the initials H er in i tials were .
”
L L
. .
H ow do y o u know this B arrymore P ,
Well S ir H enry your uncle had a, ,
l e tter t ha t morning H e had u su all y a great .
m a ny l et t ers for h e was a public man and ,
we ll kno wn for his kind heart so tha t every ,
one who w a s in trouble was glad to turn to

h im B u t tha t mor n ing as it chanced t here
. , ,
wa s on l y this one l etter so I took the more ,
2 18
“
Well sir I took no particu l ar notice of
, ,
his l etters I should not have noticed this

.
one on l y it happened t o come alone .

”
“
A n d you have no idea who L L is P . .
N o sir N o more than you have

, . .
B ut I expec t if we could lay our hands

upon that l ad y we sh o u l d know more abou t
S ir Charles s dea t h ’
.
”
I cannot understand B arrymore h o w , ,
you came to concea l this importan t in fo r

mation .
"
“
Wel l sir it was i mmed i ate l y a fter t ha t
, ,
our o wn t rouble came t o u s And t hen .
again sir we were both of u s ve ry fond of

, ,
Sir Charles as we we l l migh t be considering

,
a ll tha t he has done for u s To rake t h is .
up couldn t help our poor master a n d it s

’
,
’
we l l t o go carefully when there s a l ad y i n ’
t he case E ven t he best of u s H
You though t i t might injure his repu

"
t a t io n P
We l l sir I though t no good cou l d come

, ,
of it B u t n o w you have been kind t o u s

. ,
and I feel as if i t would be t rea t ing you

2 20
unfairly not to tell you all tha t I know about

the matter .
V e ry good B arrymore ; you can g o

, .
When the butler had left s Sir He nry u
t urned t o me Well Watson what do

.
“
, ,
you think of this n e w light P

I t seems t o leave the darkness rather
blacker than before .
”
“
S o I think B ut if we can on l y tra c e
.
L L it s h ould clear up the whole business

. . .
We have gained that much We kno w that

there is some one who has the facts if we
can on l y fi n d her Wh at do y o u think we
.
shou l d do P
Le t H o l mes know al l about it at once .
I t will give him the clue for which he has

been seeking I a m much mistaken if it
.
does not bring him down .

”
I went at once to my room and dre w up

my report of the morning s conversation for ’
H olmes I t was evident to me that he had

.
been v e ry bu sy of late for the notes which I ,
had from B aker Street were few and short ,
with no c omments upon the i nformation

22 1
“
Well sir I took no particu l ar notice of
, ,
his l etters I shou l d no t have noticed t his

.
one on l y i t happened t o come a l one .

”
And you have no idea who L L is P

“
. .
N o sir N o more than you have

, . .
B ut I expec t if we could lay our hands

u pon that l ad y we sh o uld know more about
Sir Charles s death ’

.
”
I canno t unders t and B arrymore h o w , ,
you came t o concea l t his importan t in fo r

mation .
”
“
We ll sir it was i mmed i a te l y a fter t ha t
, ,
our own t rouble cam e t o u s And t hen .
again sir we were both of u s v e ry fond of

, ,
S ir Char l es as we well migh t be considering

,
a ll tha t he has done for u s To rake t h is .
u p couldn t help our poor mas t er a n d it s

’ ’
we l l t o go carefully when there s a l ad y i n ’
the case E ven t he best of u s

You though t i t mi gh t injure his repu
”
t a t io n P
Well sir I thought n o good cou l d come
, ,
of it B u t n o w you have been kind t o u s

.
,
and I feel as if it would be t reating you

2 20
which I had supp l ied and hard l y any r e
,
ference to my mission N o doubt h is black

.
mailing case is absorbing all his faculties .
And ye t this new factor must sure l y arrest

his atten t ion and renew his i n t eres t I wish .
that he were here .
Oofo éo r 1 7 ffi — All
. day to day th e ra i
-
n
poured down rus tling on the i vy and drip
,
ping from the eaves I tho u gh t of t he .
convic t ou t u pon the b l eak c o l d shelterless

, ,
moor P oor fellow ! Whatever h is crimes

.
,
he has suffered something to a t one for them .
And then I thought of that other one the —

face in the cab the figure agains t the moon
, .
—
Was he also out in that deluge t he unseen
watcher the man of darkness ? I n t he
,
evening I put o n my waterproof and I

walked far upon the sodden moor full of ,
dark imaginings the rain beating u pon my

,
face and the wind whistling about my ears .
God help those who wander into the Great

M ire now for even the fi r m u plands are
,
becoming a morass I found the black Tor

.
upon whic h I had seen the solitary wa t cher ,
222
E x t r a ct fr o m D i a ry o f D r Wa t s on .
and from its c ra ggy summit I looked out

myself across the melancholy downs R ain .
squalls drifted across their russe t face and ,
the heavy slate coloured clouds hung low

,
-
over the landscape trailing in g r e y wreaths

,
down the sides of the fantastic hills I n the .
distant hollow on the left half hidden by ,
the mist the two thin to wers of B askerville

,
H all rose above t he trees They were t he.
on l y signs of human life which I could see ,
save on l y those prehistoric huts which l ay

thickly upon the slopes of the hills No .
where was there any trace of that l onely

man whom I had seen on the same spot two
nights before .
As I walked back I was overtaken by

Dr M ortimer driving i n his dog cart over
.
-
a rough moorland track which led from the

,
outlying farmhouse of F o u lm ir e H e has .
been v e ry attentive to s and hardly a da y

u ,
has passed that he has not called at the

H all to see how we were getting o n H e .
insisted upon my climbing into his dog cart -
and he gave me a l ift homewards I found .
2 23
him much troubled over the disappearance
of his little spaniel I t had wandered on to
.
th e moor and had never come back I gave .
him such conso l ation as I might bu t I ,
thought of the pony on the C rimpen M ire ,
and I do no t fa n c y t h a t he w i ll see his l i ttl e

dog again .
“
By t h e wa y M ortimer said I as we
, , ,
jo lted along the rough road I suppose ,

“
there are few people l iving wi thi n driving

d i s t ance of t his whom y o u do no t kno w P
Ha r d l y a ny I think
, .
”
Can you then t el l me the name of

, ,
any woman whose ini t ials are L L P . .
H e t hought for a few minutes No .

“
,
said h e . There are a few gipsies and

“
l abouring folk for whom I can t answer but ’
among the farmers or gentry there i s no

one whose initia l s are those Wait a bit .
,
though he added after a pause

,
”
, There .
—
i s Laura Lyons her init i als are L L —but . .
s h e lives in Coombe Tracey

”
.
Who is she P I asked .
S h e is F r a n kla n d s daugh t er
’
.
2 24
him much troubled over the disappearance
of his little spaniel I t had wandered on to
.
th e moor and had never come back I gave .
h im such conso l ation as I migh t but I ,
thought of the pony on the C rimpen M ire ,
and I do no t fa n c y tha t he w i ll see his l i t tl e

dog again .
“
By t h e wa y M ortimer said I as we
, , ,
jo lted along t he rough road I suppose ,

“
t h ere are few people l iving wi thi n driving

d i s t ance of t his whom y o u do no t kno w P
Ha r d l y a ny I think
, .
”
Can you then t ell me the name of

, ,
any woman whose init i als are L L P . .
H e t hought for a few minutes No .

“
,
said h e . There are a few gipsies and

“
l abouring folk for whom I can t answer but ’
among the farmers or gen t ry there is no

one whose initia l s are those Wait a bit .
,
though he added after a pause

,
”
, There .
—
i s Laura Lyons her init i als are L L but . .
-
s h e lives in Coombe Tracey

”
.
Who is she P I asked .
S h e is F r a n kla n d s daught er
’
.
2 24
E x t r a c t from D i a ry o f D r Wa ts on
.
P
Wha t Old Frankl and t he crank P
E xactly She married an artist named
.
Lyons wh o came sketching on the moor

,
.
H e proved t o be a blackguard and deserted

her The fault from what I hear may not
.
, ,
have been entire l y on one side H er father .
refused to have anything to do with her ,
because she had married without his con

sent and perhaps for one or two other
,
reasons as well S o bet ween the old sinner

.
,
and the youn g one the girl has had a pretty

bad time .
”
H ow does she live P

I fa n c y old Frankland allows her a
pittance but it cannot be more for his own
, ,
affairs are consid rably involved Whatever e .
she may have deserved one could not allow ,
her to g o hope l essly to the bad H er story .
got about and several of the people here

,
did something to enable her to earn an

honest living Stapleton did for one and
.
,
S ir Charles for another I gave a t ifl e . r
myself I t was to set her u p in a type

.
writing business
”
.
225
He wan t ed t o know t h e objec t of my
inquiries but I m anaged t o satisfy his
,
curiosity without t elling him too much for ,
there is no reason why we should take any

one i nto our c o n fide n c e To morrow morn
.
-
ing I shall fi n d my way to Coombe Tracey ,
and if I can see this M rs Laura Lyons .

,
of equivocal reputation a l ong step will have

,
been made towards clearing one incident

in this chain of mysteries I a m cer tainly
.
developing the wisdom of the serpen t for ,
when M ortimer pressed his questions to an

inconvenient ex t e n t I asked him casual ly to
what t ype F r a n kla n d s skull be l onged and
’
so heard nothing but cranio l ogy for the res t

of our drive I have not lived for years
.
with Sherl ock H olmes for nothing .
I have on l y one other incident t o record

upon this t empestuous and mela n choly da y .
This wa s my conversation with B arrymore

just now which gives me one more strong
,
card which I can p l a y i n due time .
M ortimer had stayed to dinner and he ,
and the baronet played é cart é after wards .
2 26
N o sir , .
”
H ow do you know of him then P ,

"
S elden told me of him sir a wee k ago , ,
or more H e s i n hiding too but he s no t

.
’
, ,
’
a convict so far as I can make out I don t

, .
’
,
—
like it Dr Watson I te l l you straight sir
.
, ,
tha t I don t like it ’

H e spoke wi t h a .
sudden passion of earnestness .
N ow l is t en t o me B arrymore ! I have
, ,
no in t eres t in this matter but that of your

master I have come here with no objec t
.
except to help him Te ll me frankly what .

, ,
i t is t h at you don t l ike ’

.
”
B arrymore hes i tated for a moment as ,
if he regretted his outburst or found it ,
diffi c u lt to express his own feelings in

words
I t s al l these go i ngs o n sir he cried at
’
-
, , ,
l a st waving h i s hand towards the rain l ashed

,
-
window which faced the moor There s .

“ ’
foul p l a y somewhere and there s black ,

’
villainy brewing t o tha t I ll swear ! V e ry

,
’
glad I should b e sir to see S i r H e nry on , ,
his way back t o London a gain

2 28
E x t r a ct from D i a ry o f D r Wa t s on .
B u t wha t is i t tha t alarms you P

Look a t S ir Charl es s death ! That ’
was bad enough for al l tha t the coroner

,
said Look at the noises on t h e moor at

.
nigh t There s not a man would cross it

.
’
after sundown if he was paid for it Look .
at this stra n ger hiding out yonder a n d ,
watching and waiting ! Wha t s he waiting ’
for ? Wha t does i t mean ? It means no

good t o any one of the name of B askerville ,
and v e ry glad I shall be to be quit of it all

on the day that Sir H enry s new servants ’
are ready to take over the H all .

”
B ut about this stranger said I Can,

”
.
y ou tell me anything abou t him ? What

did S e l den sa y P D id he h n d ou t where he
hid or what he was doing
,
P
H e saw him once or t wice bu t he is a ,
deep one and gives nothing away A t fi r s t

, .
he thought that he wa s 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 h e could

,
not make out .
229
N o sir , .
H o w do you know of him then P

”
,
S elden to l d me of him sir a wee k ago , ,
or more H e s in hiding too but he s no t

.
’
, ,
’
a convict so far as I can make out I don t

, .
’
,
—
like it Dr Watson I tell you straight sir
.
, ,
tha t I don t like it H e spoke wi t h a

’
.
sudden passion of earnestness .
N o w l is t en t o me B arrymore ! I have
, ,
no in t eres t in this matter but that of your

master I have come here with no objec t
.
except to help him Te ll me frankly what .

, ,
i t is that you don t l ike ’

.
”
B arrymore hes i tated for a moment as ,
if he regretted his outburst or foun d it ,
diffi c lt to express his own feelings i n

u
words
I t s al l these goings o n sir he cried at
’
-
, , ,
l a st waving h i s hand towards the rain l ashed

,
-
window which faced the moor There s .

“ ’
foul p l a y somewhere and there s black ,

’
villainy brewing t o tha t I ll swear ! V e ry

,
’
glad I should b e sir to see S ir H e nry on , ,
his way back to London a gain

2 28
And where did h e say t ha t h e
lived P
Among the o l d houses on the hillside
the stone hu t s where the old fo l k used
to live .
”
B u t how abou t his food P

S elden found out that he has go t a l ad
who works for him and brings him al l he
'
needs . I dare say he goes t o Coombe

Tracey for wha t he wan t s .
V e ry good B arrymore We may t a l k

, .
fur ther of t his some other time .
When the butler had gone I walked over

to the b l ack window and I l ooked through
,
a blurred pane at the driving clouds and at

the tossing outline of the wind swep t trees -
.
I t i s a wild nigh t indoors and wha t must it

,
be in a stone hut upon the m o o r P What

passion of ha t red can i t be which l eads a
man t o lurk in such a place a t suc h a time P
And wha t deep and earnes t purpose can he
have which cal l s for such a trial ? There ,
in that b u t upon the moor seems to l ie the

,
ve ry centre of tha t problem which has vexed

2 30
E x tr a ct from D i a ry o f D r Wa t s o n
.
me so sorely I swear that another day

.
shall n o t have passed before I have done

all that man can do t o reach t he hear t o f
the mystery.
23 1
C H A PT E R X I
T E
H MAN ON TH E TO R
HE ex t rac t from my private diary w hi ch

forms the last chap t er has brough t
my narrative up to the 1 8 th of October a ,
time w h en t hese s t range even t s began t o

move swiftly t owards their t errible conclu
sion The incidents o f the next fe w da y s are
.
indelibly graven upon my reco ll ection and I ,
can tell them withou t reference t o the notes

made at the time I start then from the
.
, ,
day which succeeded that upon which I had

es t ablished two facts of great importance ,
the one that M rs Laura L yon s of Coombe

.
Tracey had written t o S ir Charl es B asker v i ll e

and made an appoin t men t with him at t he
v e ry place and hour that he me t his death ,
the other that the lurking man upon the

moor was to be found among t he stone huts
232
her rooms which were central and well
,
appointed A maid showed me i n with ou t

.
ceremony and as I entered the sitting room

,
-
a l ad y who was sitting before a R emington

,
typewriter sprang up with a pleasant smile

,
of welcome H er face fell however when

.
, ,
she saw that I was a stranger and she sat ,
down again and asked me the obj ect of my

v i si t
.
The fi r st impression left by M rs L yon s .
wa s one of extreme beauty H er 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 th e dainty pink which l urks at the
,
heart of the sulphur rose Admiration was .

,
I repeat the fi r st i m pression B ut the second

, .
was cri t icism T here was something subtl y

.
wrong w it h t he face some coarseness of,
expression some hardness perhaps of eye

, , , ,
some l ooseness of lip which marred its per

fe e t beauty B ut these of course are after
.
, ,
though t s A t the moment I wa s simply

.
conscious t hat I wa s in the presen c e o f a

2 34
T h e Ma n on th e T or
ve ry handsome woman and that she , wa s
asking me the reasons for my visit I had .
not quite understood until that instant h o w

delicate my mission was
I have the p l easure said I o f know , ,
“
ing your fa ther .

”
I t was a cl um y introduction and the

s ,
l ad y made me feel it .
There is nothing in common bet ween

my father and me she said ,
I owe him .
“
nothing and his friends are not mine I f it

,
.
were not for the late S ir Charles B askerville

and some other kind hearts I might have
starved for all that my father cared .
I t was about t he la t e S ir Charl es

B askerville t hat I have come here to see
”
y o u .
The freckles star t ed out on the lady s ’
face .
Wha t can I tell you about him P she

“ ”
asked and her fi n g e r s played nervo u sly over

,
the stops of her typewriter .
You knew him did you not P ,
I have already said that I owe a grea t

235
deal t o h is kindness I f I a m ab l e t o suppor t
.
myse l f it is largely due t o the in t eres t wh i ch

he too k in my unhappy situation .
”
Did you correspond with him ?
The l ad y l ooked quickly u p with an ,
a ng ry gl eam i n her hazel eyes .
Wha t is the obj ect of these questions P ”
she asked sharply .
The objec t is t o avoid a pub l ic scanda l .
I t is bet ter tha t I shou l d ask them here

than t ha t the ma tt er should pass ou t side our
c on t ro l
.
”
S he was si l ent and her face wa s ve ry

pa l e A t l as t she l ooked up with somethin g
.
reck l ess and de fi a n t in her manner .
Well I ll an swer she said

,
’
, Wh at .
are you r quest i ons P ”
Did you correspond with Si r C h arl es P

I cer t ain l y wro t e t o him once or twice to
ac k now l edge his delicacy and his generosity .
”
H ave you th e dates of those l e tters P

13
NO
H ave you ever me t h im P
“
Yes once or tw i ce when he came i nto
, ,
2 36
“
I am sorry madam bu t I mus t
, ,
re
pea t it .
Then I —
a n swer cer t ainl y no t .
N o t on the ve ry day of S ir C h arl es s ’
dea t h P ”
The flus h had faded i n an i ns t an t and a ,
dea th l y face was before me H er dry l ips .
could no t speak t h e N o which I saw

“
rather than heard .
“
S ur e l y your
m e mory deceives you said ,
I.
“
I cou l d even quote a passag e of your
l e tt er I t ran P l ease please as you are
.
,
‘
, ,
a gen tleman burn t his l etter and be at t he

, ,
ga t e by t en o clock ’
.
’
I t hough t tha t she had fain t ed bu t she ,
recovered herself by a supreme effort .
Is there no such thing as a gen tleman P

she gasped .
You do S ir Charl es an i njus t ice H e .
di d burn t he le t ter B ut sometimes a l e tt er .
may be l egible even when burned You .
acknowledge now that you wrote it P

Yes I did write it she cried pouring
“
, ,
”
ou t her soul in a t orrent of words I did .

“
2 3 8
T h e Ma n on th e Tor
write it Why should I d e ny
. I have it ?
no reason to be ashamed of it I wished him .
to h elp me I believed that if I had an

.
interview I could gain his help so I asked ,
him to meet me .
B ut why at such an hour P

B ecause I had on l y just learned that h e
was going to L o ndon next day and might be
away for months There wer e reasons why .
I could not get there earlier .

”
“
B ut wh y a rendezvous in the garden
instead of a visit to the house P ”
Do you think a woman could g o a l one

at that hour to a bachelor s house P ’
Well what happened when you did ge t

,
there P ”
“
I never wen t .
M rs L yon s ! .
N o I swear it to you on al l I ho l d
,
sacred I never went S omething intervened

.
to prevent my going .
What was that P ”
That is a private matter I canno t .
tell it .
”
2 39
You acknow l edge t hen tha t y o u made
, ,
an appoin t ment W ith S ir Charles a t the ve ry

hour and place a t whic h he met his dea th ,
but you de ny th a t you kep t t he appoin t

men t P
”
Tha t i s t he t ru t h .
Again and again I c ross questi oned h er

-
,
bu t I c ou l d never ge t pas t tha t poin t .
M rs Lyons said I as I rose from th is

.
,
”
,
l ong and inconclus i ve interv i ew you are ,
t aking a ve ry great responsibility and pu t ting

y ourself in a ve ry false posi t ion by n o t makin
g
an abso l u t e l y c l ean breas t of all tha t you
kno w I f I have to ca l l in t he aid o f the
.
police you will fi n d how seriously you are

compromised I f your position is innocent
.
,
wh y did you i n t he fi r s t ins t ance de ny

having writ t en t o S ir Charl es upon th a t
da t e ?
“
B ecause I feared th a t some fal se con
e lusion migh t be drawn from it and that I
,
migh t fi n d myse l f invo l ved in a scandal .

”
And why were you so pressing tha t Si r

Charl es should destroy your let t er P
2 40
You acknowl edge t hen t ha t y o u made
, ,
an appoin t ment with S ir Charles a t t he ve ry

hour and place a t which h e met his dea th ,
but you de ny th a t you kep t t he appoin t

”
m en t P
Tha t i s t he t ru t h.
Again and again I c ross ques ti oned h er

-
,
bu t I c ould never ge t pas t tha t poin t .
M rs Lyons said I as I rose from th is

.
,
”
,
long and inconclus i ve interview you are ,
t aking a ve ry grea t responsibility and pu t ting

y ourself in a ve ry fa l se posi t ion by n o t makin
g
an abso l u t e l y clean breas t of all tha t you
know I f I have to ca l l in t he aid o f t he
.
police you will h n d how ser i ously you are

compromised I f your position is innocent
.
,
wh y did you in the fi r st instance de ny

having writ t en to S ir Charl es upon th at
da t e ?
“
B ecause I feared t ha t some false con
c l u s io n migh t be drawn from it and that I
,
migh t fi n d myself invo l ved in a scandal .

”
And why were you so pressing that S ir

Charles should destroy your letter P ”
2 40
If you have read t he l e tt er you will
know .
“
I did no t say tha t I h ad read a ll t h e
l et t er .
”
You quoted some of it .
I quoted t he postscript The l etter had .

,
as I said been b u rned and it was no t all

, ,
legible I ask you once again why it was

.
that you were so pressing tha t S ir Charles

sho u l d destroy this letter which he received
on the day of his death .
”
The mat t er is a ve ry priva t e one .
The more reason why you shou l d avo i d

a public investigation .
”
“
I will tell you then I f you have heard
, .
anything of my unhappy history you wil l

know t ha t I made a rash marriage and had
reason to regret it .
"
“
I have heard so much .
My life has been one incessant perse

c u tio n from a husband wh om I abhor The .
l w is upon his side and eve ry day I a m

a ,
faced by the possibili ty tha t he may force me

to live with him A t the time tha t I wrot e
.
2 41 R
Th e H oun d o f t h e B aske r vill es
th i s l e tt er t o S ir C h arl es I had l earned th a t
t here w a prospec t o f my regaining my
as
freedom if certain expenses could be me t .
I t mean t every t hing t o me peace o f mind -

,
happiness se l f respec t—every th ing I kne w

,
-
.
S i r C h arles s generosi ty and I t hough t t ha t

’
if h e heard t he s t ory from my o w lips h e n
would help me .
”
Then how i s i t t ha t you did no t go P ”
B ecause I received help i n the i n t erva l

from ano t her source .
”
“
W h y t hen did you no t wr it e t o S ir
, ,
Charl es and explain t his P

“
S o I should h ave done h a d I no t s een
h is death i n the paper nex t morning
”
.
The woman s s t ory hung coherently to

’
gether and all my ques t ions were unable to

,
shake it I cou l d on l y check i t by fi n din g

.
i f she had i ndeed institu t ed divorce pro

, ,
c e e din g s agains t her h usband a t or about the
ti me of the t ragedy .
I t wa s unlikely t ha t she wou l d dare t o

say t hat she h ad no t been to B askerville
H al l if she really had been for a trap would ,
2 42
be necessary to take her there and cou l d not,
have return ed t o Coombe Tracey un t i l the

early hours of t he morning S uch an .
excursion could not be kep t secret The .
probabi l i t y was therefore t ha t she was

, ,
telling the t ruth o r a t least a part of the

, , ,
truth I came away b tfl e d and disheartened

. a .
Once again I had reached tha t dead wall

which seemed to be bui l t across every path
by which I tried to ge t at the object of my
mission And yet the more I tho u ght of the
.
lady s face and of her manner the more I felt

’
that something was being held back from

me Why should she turn so p al e P Why
.
should she fi g h t against every admi ssion

until i t was forced from her Why should
?
she have been so reticent at the time of the

tragedy S urely the explanation of all this
?
could no t 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 s t one hu t s upon
the moor .
2 43
And th a t wa s a mos t vague dire ct ion I .
real ised it as I drove ba c k and no ted h o w hi l l

after hill showed t races of th e ancien t peop l e .
B arrymore s o n l y indicatio n had been t ha t

’
t he stranger lived in one of t hese abandoned

hut s and m a ny hundreds of th em are
,
sca tt ered t hroughou t t he l eng t h and breadth

of t he moor B u t I had my own exper i ence
.
for a guide since i t had shown me t he man

,
h im se l f standing upon the summit of the

B lac k Tor That then shou l d be t he centre
.
, ,
of my search From there I shoul d explore

.
every hu t upon th e moor un t i l I l igh t ed upon

th e righ t one I f this man were inside it I
.
shou l d fi n d ou t from his o wn l ips a t t he ,
point of my revo l ver if necessary wh o he ,
wa s and why h e had do gged u s so long .
H e migh t slip away from u s i n t he crowd

of R egen t S treet bu t i t wou l d puz zl e him to
,
do so upon the lone l y moor O n the o t her .
hand if I shou l d h n d the hu t and its t enan t

, ,
shou l d no t be within it I mus t remain there

, ,
however long the vigil until h e re t urned , .
H olmes had missed him in London I t .
2 44
red l e tt er days of my l ife he cried w it h
-
, ,
m a ny c h uck les I h ave brought off a

.
“
doub l e even t I mean t o teach t hem in

.
the se par t s tha t law is l aw and that there is ,
a man here wh o does not fear to invoke it .
I have es tablished a righ t of wa y through the

cen t re o f o l d M iddleton s park slap across it
’
, ,
sir within a hundred y ards of his own front

,
door W h a t do you think o f tha t ? We l l

.
’
t ea c h th ese magnates t ha t they canno t ride

rough shod over t he righ t s of t he commoners
-
,
confound t hem ! And I ve c l osed the wood ’
where t he F e r n wo r th y fo l k used t o picnic .
These in ferna l people seem t o think t ha t

there are n o righ t s of property and tha t they ,
can swarm where t hey l ike with their papers

and t hei r bo t tles B o th cases decided Dr
.
, .
Wa tson and both in my favour I haven t

, .
'
h a d suc h a da y since I had S ir J ohn Morlan d

for t respass because h e sho t in his o wn
,
warren .
"
H o w on earth did you do t ha t P

”
Look it up i n t he books sir I t wil l , .
—
repay reading Frankland u M or l and Cour t .
,
2 46
of Queen s B ench I t cos t me 2 0 0 but I
’
.
,
got my verdict .
”
Did it do you any good P

N one sir none I m proud to say
, , . a
that I had no interest i n the ma t ter I act .
entirely from a sense of public duty I have .
no do u bt for example that the F e r n wo r th y

, ,
people will burn me in e ffi g y to night I t old -

.
the police last t ime t hey did it that t hey

should stop t hese disgracefu l exhibitions .
The county constabulary is in a scandalous

state sir and it has not afforded me the
, ,
protection to which I a m entitled The case .
o f Frankland R egina will bring the matte r

before the attention of the public I told .
t hem that they wou l d have occasion to

r egret their treatment of me and a l ready,
my words have come true .

”
H ow so P I asked
”
.
The old man put on a very know i ng

expression .
“
B ecause I could t ell them wha t they
are dying to know ; but nothing would in
duce me t o h elp the rascals i n any wa y .
2 47
T h e H oun d o f t h e B aske r vill es
I had been casting round for some excuse
by w h ich I cou l d ge t away from his g ossip ,
bu t now I began to wis h to h ear more of it .
I had seen enoug h of t he con t rary na t ure of

th e o l d sinner t o unders tand t hat any stron g
s i gn of in t eres t w ou l d be the sures t wa y t o
s t0 p h is c o n fi de n c e s
.
S ome poach i ng case no doub t P sa i d

,
I wi t h an indifferent manner
, .
“
H a h a my boy a very muc h more
, , ,
i mpor t an t ma tter than tha t ! Wha t abou t

the conv i c t on th e moor P”
I start ed
.
“
You don t mean t ha t you
’
k now w h ere h e is sa i d I
”
P .
“
I may not k now exac tl y where he i s ,
bu t I a m quite sure t h a t I cou l d h elp the

po l ice t o l ay t heir hands on h im H as i t .
never s t ruck you tha t t he way to catch tha t

m a n was t o fi n d ou t w here he g o t h i s food ,
and so t race i t t o him P

H e cer t ainly seemed t o be g et t i n g u n
c omfor tab l y near t h e t ruth N o doubt
.
“
,
”
said I ; bu t how do you k now th a t h e is

anywhere upon the moor P
2 48
I had been cas t ing roun d for some excuse
by W h ich I cou l d ge t away from his gossip ,
bu t now I began to W ish to h ear more of it .
I had seen enough of t he con t rary na t ure o f

th e o l d sinner t o understand t hat any s trong
sign o f in t eres t woul d b e the sures t w y t o a
s t0 p his c o n fi de n c e s
.
S ome poachi ng case n o doub t sa i d

,
I W it h an indifferen t manner
, .
H a h a my boy a very muc h mor e

, , ,
impor t an t ma t ter t han t ha t ! Wha t abou t

t he conv i c t on t h e moo r
I s t art ed
.
“
You don t mean tha t yo u
’
k n ow W here he is sa i d I .
“
I may not k now exac tl y W here he is ,
bu t I a m quite sure th a t I cou l d h elp the

police t o l ay t heir hands on him H as i t .
never s t ruck you tha t the way to catch tha t

man wa s t o fi n d ou t w here he g o t h i s food ,
a n d so t race i t to him
H e cer t ainly seemed t o be g et t ing u n

c omfor tab l y near the t ruth N o doubt
.
“
,
”
said I ; bu t how do you know t ha t h e is

anyw h ere u pon the moor
2 48
I know it because I have seen with my
own eyes the messenger who t akes him his
food .
”
M y hear t sank for B arrymore I t was a .
serious thing t o be in the power of this

spi t efu l old busybody B u t his next remark
.
took a weight from my mind .
You ll be surprised to hear that his

’
food is t aken t o him by a child I see him .
every day through my te l escope upon the

roof H e passes a l ong the same path a t
.
the same hour and to whom should he be

,
going except to the convic t P
H ere was luck indeed ! And ye t I sup

pressed all appearance of in t erest A child ! .
B arrymore had said tha t our unknown was

supplied by a boy I t was on his t rack and
.
,
not upon the convict s that Frankland had

’
stumbled I f I could get his knowledge i t

.
might save me a long and weary hunt B u t .
incredulity and indifference were evidently

my s t o n gest cards
r .
“
I should say that it was much more
l ikely that it was the son of one of the
2 49
moorl and s h epherds t aking ou t his father s ’
dinner .
”
T h e l eas t appearance of opposition s t ruc k

fi r e ou t of the old a utocra t H is eyes looked.
ma l ignantly at me and h is grey whiskers

,
br i st l ed l i k e t hose of an angry ca t .
I ndeed sir sai d h e pointing ou t over

, ,
t he w i de s t re t c h ing moor
-
Do y o u see t ha t
.
B l ack Tor over yonder ? Well do you see ,
the l ow h il l beyond with the thorn bush upon -
it I t is t he s t onies t part of t he who l e moor .
I s t ha t a p l ace where a shepherd wou l d be

l ike l y t o t ake h i s station Your sugges ti on ,
s i r i s a most absurd one

, .
”
I meek l y answered tha t I had spo k en

with out knowing al l the facts M y sub ~
.
mission pleased him and l ed him t o further

c o n fide n c e s .
You may be sure s i r tha t I have very , ,
good grounds before I come to an opinion .
I have seen t he boy again and again with his

bundle E very day and sometimes twice a
.
,
da y I have been able —but wait a moment

, ,
Dr Wa t son Do my eyes deceive me or

. .
,
2 5 0
Cer tain l y th ere i s a boy who seems t o
,
h ave some secre t errand .

”
A nd wha t t he errand i s even a coun t y

constable c ou l d guess B u t no t one w ord
.
shall they have from me and I bind you to,
secrecy also D r Watson N o t a word !

, . .
You unders t and

J us t as you wish .
They h ave t rea t ed me s h amefu ll y

shamefully When the facts come ou t in
.
Frank l and R egina I venture t o t hink t ha t

a t hri ll of i ndigna t ion wi l l run through t he
country N o th in g would induce me to h e l p
.
the po l i c e in any wa y For all t hey cared i t

.
migh t h ave been me instead of my e ffi gy

, ,
w h ich t h ese rasca l s burned a t the stake .
S urely you are no t going ! You wil l help

me t o emp t y t he decan t er in honour o f t his
grea t occas i on
B u t I resis t ed all his sol ici ta ti on s and
su cc eeded i n dissuading him from his a n
n o u n c e d in t ent i on of walking home with me .
I kep t t he road as l o n g as his eye was on

me and then I s t ruck off across the moor
,
2 5 2
and made for the stony hill over which
the boy had disappeared E verything was .
working in my favour and I swore that ,
it should not be through lack of energy

or perseverance tha t I should miss the
chance which Fortune had thro wn in my
wa y .
T h e sun was a l ready sinking when I

reached the summit of the hill and the ,
long slopes beneath me were all golden

green on one side and grey shado w on
the other A haze lay lo w upon the
.
far t hest sky line out of which jutted the

-
,
fanta stic shapes of B e lliv e r and V ixen Tor .
Over the wide expanse there was no sound

and no movement One great grey bird .
,
a gul l or curle w soared aloft in the blue

,
heaven H e 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
. .
B ut down beneath me in a cleft of the b ills

253
there was a circle of the o l d stone h u t s and ,
i n t he midd l e of them t here was o wh i ch ne
re t ained ffi i t roof to act as a s c reen

su c en
against the weather M y hear t l eaped within

.
me as I saw it This must be the burrow

.
where the stra n ger lurked A t las t my foo t .
was on t he thresho l d of his hiding p l ace—his -
secre t wa s within my grasp .
As I approached t he hut wal kin g as ,
warily as Stapleton would do when w ith

poised ne t he drew near the settled b u tte r fl y ,
I sa tisfi ed myself that the place had i ndeed

been used as a habitation A vague pathway .
among the boulders led to th e dilapidated

opening which served as a door Al l was .
silent within The unknown migh t be l urk

.
ing there or he might be prow l ing on the

,
moor My nerves tingled with the sen se of

.
ad v enture Thro wing aside my cigare tt e I

.
,
c l osed my hand upon the but t of my revo l ver ,
and walking swiftly u p t o the door I l oo k ed

, ,
in. The place was empty .
B ut there were ample signs that I had not

come upon a false scent This wa s cer tainly
.
2 54
For a minu t e I stood th ere with th e
paper in my hands t hinki ng ou t the meaning
o f t his cur t message I t wa s I th en and no t
.
, ,
S ir H enry wh o wa s being dogged by t his

,
secre t man H e had no t fo ll owed me him

.
se l f bu t he had se t an agent—the boy

, ,
—
perh aps upon my t rack and this wa s his ,
repor t P ossibly I h ad taken no s t ep since

.
I had bee n upon th e moor whic h had no t

been observed and repea t ed A l ways there .
was t h i s fee l ing o f an unseen force a fi n e ,
ne t drawn round u s w i th in fi n ite s k ill and

de l icacy ho l ding u s so lig h tl y t ha t it was
,
only a t some supreme momen t th a t one

rea li sed tha t one wa s i ndeed en tangl ed
in it s meshes .
I f t here wa s one repor t t here might be

o thers so I l ooked round th e hu t i n search
,
of the m There was no t race h owever o f

.
, ,
any t hing o f the kind nor c ou l d I discover

,
any sign w h ich migh t i ndica t e the charac ter

or i n t entions of t he man wh o l ived i n this
singular place save t ha t he mus t be of
,
S par tan h abi t s and cared l i t tl e for th e

,
256
comforts of life When I thought of t he
.
heavy rains and looked a t 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
.
e nemy or was he by chance o r guardian

,
u
angel ? I swore that I wou l d not leave the

hut until I kne w .
Outside the sun was sinking l ow an d the

west wa s blazing with scarlet and gold I ts .
r e fl e c t io n was shot back in ruddy patches by
the distant pools which lay amid the Great

G r im p e n M ire . There were the two tow e rs
of B askerville H all and there a distant
,
blur of smoke which marked the village of

G r im p e n
. B etween the two behind t he b ill
, ,
was the house of the Stapletons All was .
sweet and mel l ow and p e aceful 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 i ntervie w which every instant was
bringing nearer With tingling nerves b u t
.
,
a fi x e d purpose I sat in the dark recess o f

,
257 s
t he hu t and wai t ed w ith sombre pa t ience fo r
the coming of its tenant .
And t hen at las t I h eard him Far away .
c ame the sharp c l ink of a boo t s t riking upon
a s t one Then another and ye t another

.
,
coming nearer and nearer I s h rank back .
i n t o t he darkes t corner and cocked t he

,
pis t ol i n my pocke t de t ermined no t t o

,
discover myse l f un t il I had an oppor t uni ty of

seeing something of t he stranger There .
wa s a l on g pause which showed tha t he had

,
s t opped Then once more the foo t s t eps

.
approached and a shadow fe l l a cross t he

openi n g of t he h u t .
I t is a lovely evening my dear Wa t so n

, ,
said a wel l k n own voice

-
I really t hink
.
“
tha t you W i ll be more comfortab l e ou ts ide

than ih.
”
258
t he b t and wai t ed w ith sombre pa t ience f r
u o
the coming of its tenant .
And then at las t I h eard him Far away .
c ame t he sharp c l ink of boo t striking upon

a
a s t one Then another and ye t another

.
,
coming nearer and nearer I shrank back .
i n t o t he darkes t corner and cocked t he

,
p i s t o l in my pocke t de t ermined no t t o
,
discover myse l f un t il I had an oppor t uni ty of

seeing something of t he stra n ger There .
wa s a long pause which showed tha t he had

,
s t opped Then once more the foo t s t eps

.
approached and a shadow fe ll a cross th e

opening of the hut .
I t is a l ovely evening my dear Wa t so n

, ,
said a well k n own voice

-
I really think
.
“
t ha t you w ill be more comfor tab l e ou ts i de

than in .
”
258
C H A PT E R X I I
D EAT H ON TH E MO O R
OR a moment or two I sa t brea thless ,
hardly able to believe my ears Then .
my senses and my voice came back t o me ,
whi l e a crushing weight of responsibility

seeme d in an ins tant to be lifted from my
soul That cold incisive ironical voice
, ,
could belong t o bu t one man in al l t he

world
H o l mes I c r ie d H olmes ! “
Come out said h e and please be

, ,
careful w ith t he revolver .

”
I stooped under the rude lin t el and ,
there he sat upon a stone outside his grey ,
eyes dancing with amusement as they fel l

upon my astonished features H e was thin .
and worn bu t clear and aler t his keen face

, ,
bronzed by the sun and roughened by t he

2 59
wind I n his t weed suit and cl o t h cap he
.
looked l ike any o t her t ouris t upon t he moor ,
and he had contrived with t hat ca t l ike l ove

,
-
of personal c l ean l iness which was one of h is

characteristics t hat his chin should be as
,
smooth and his l inen as per fec t as i f he were

i n B aker Stree t .
I never wa s more gl ad t o see any one

i n my l ife said I as I wrun g him by th e
,
”
hand
O r more as t onished eh P
,
Wel l I mus t confess to it

, .
The surprise was not all on one side ,
I assure you I had n o idea th a t you had

.
found my occasional retreat still l ess t ha t ,
o u were inside i t until I was within t wenty

y
paces of the door .
My foo tprin t I presume P

,
N o Watson ; I fear t hat I could no t

,
under take t o recognise your foo tprint am i d

all t he footprin t s of t he worl d I f you .
seriously desire t o deceive me you mus t

change your tobacconist ; for when I see the
stub of a cigaret t e marked B rad l ey Oxford ,
2 60
Dea th on th e M oor
Stree t I know that my friend Watson is i n
,
the neighbourhood You will see it there .
beside the path You threw i t do wn no.

,
do b t a t that supreme momen t when you

u ,
charged into the emp ty hu t .

”
E xactly .
—
I thought as much and knowing your
admirable tenacity I was convinced that you
,
were sitting in ambush a weapon withi n ,
reach waiting for the te n an t to return S o

, .
you actually though t that I was t he

criminal P
“
I did no t know who you were but ,
I was determined to fi n d out .
E xcellent Watso n ! And how did you

,
l ocalise 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 P
“
Yes I saw you then
, .
And have no doubt searched a ll the

, ,
huts until you came to this one

“
N o your boy had b e en observed a n d
, ,
that gave me a guide where to l ook .

”
26:
The old gent l eman w it h the telescope ,
no doubt I could not make it out when

.
fi r st I sa w t he l igh t flashing upon the l ens

”
.
H e rose and peeped in t o the hu t H .

“
a,
I see tha t Cartwright has brough t up some

supplies What s t h is paper
.
’
S o you have
been t o Coombe Tracey have you P
,
“
Yes .
”
To see M rs Laura Lyons .
E xactly .
We ll done ! Our researc h es h ave evi

de n tl y been running on paralle l lines and ,
when we unite our resu l ts I expect we shall

have a fairly ful l knowle dge of the case .
”
“
Wel l I a m glad from my h ear t that
,
you are here for indeed the responsibility

,
and t he mys t ery were both becoming too

much for m y nerves B ut h o w in the name
.
o f wonder did you come here and wha t have ,
you been doing ? I thought tha t you were

in B aker Stree t work i ng ou t tha t case of
b l ackmailing .
”
That wa s wha t I w i shed you to think .
Then you use me and ye t do no t trus t

,
2 62
discovery You wou l d have wis h ed t o t ell
.
me something or i n your kindness you wou l d

,
have brough t me ou t some com for t or o ther ,
and so an unnecessary ris k wou l d be r u n .
I brough t Cart wrigh t down with me you —

remember the little chap a t t he E xpress
o ffi c e — and he has see n after my simp l e
wants : a l oaf of bread and a c l ean collar .
What does man want more H e has given

me an extra pair of eyes upo n a very ac t ive
pair of feet and both have been inva l uable
, .
”
Then my repor t s h ave al l been was t ed !

My voice trembled as I reca l led the pains
a n d the pride with w h ic h I h ad composed
them .
H o l mes took a bundle o f pap ers fro m his

pocke t .
H ere are your repor t s my dear fe ll o w

, ,
and very well thumbed I assure you I

, .
made excellen t arrangemen t s and they are

,
only delayed one day upon their wa y I .
must compliment you exceedingly upon the

zeal and the in t e l ligence w h ich you have
shown over an ex t raordinari l y diffi c u l t case .
”
2 64
I was sti ll rather raw over the decep t ion
w h ich had been practised upon me but the ,
warmt h of H olmes s praise drove my anger

’
from my mi nd I felt also in my heart that

.
h e was right in what he sai d and that it ,
was really best for our purpose that I should

not have known tha t he was upon the
moor .
“
That s better said h e seei n g t he
’
, ,
shadow rise from my face And now tell .

“
me the result of your visit to M rs Laura .
Ly ons—it was not diffi c l t for me to guess

u
that it was to see her that you h ad gone ,
fo r I a m already aware that she is th e one

person in Coombe Tracey who might be of
service to u s in the matter I n fact if you ,
had no t gone to day it is exceedingly pro

-
bable that I should have gone to morro w -

.
”
The sun had set and dusk was settling

over the moor The air had turned chill
.
,
and we w ithdre w into the b t for warmth u .
T here sitting together i n the twilight I

, ,
told H olmes of my conversation with the

lady S o interested was he that I had to
.
2 65
repeat some o f it t w i ce before h e wa s
sa t is fi e d .
This is most important said h e when , ,
I had concl uded I t fi lls up a gap which

.
I had been u nab l e to bridge in this most ,
complex affair You are aware perhaps

.
, ,
tha t a cl ose intimacy exists be t ween this

l ady and the man S tap l eton P .
I did not kno w of a close i nt i macy .
There can be no doubt about the

m at t er They mee t they write there is
.
, ,
a c o mpl e te u n de r sta n din g between them

s
.
N o w th i s puts a very powerfu l weapon

,
into our hands I f I could only use i t to

.
detach his wife

H is wife P .
I a m giving you some information now ,
in return fo r all that y o u have given me .
The l ady who has passed here as M iss

S tap l e t on i s in reality his wife .
Good heavens H o lmes ! Are you,
sure of wha t you say H o w could he have

permi tt ed S ir H enry t o fall i n l ove wi th
her ? ”
2 66
The shape of so m e mons t rous villainy ,
half seen half guessed loomed throug h the

, ,
darkness which had gir t me so l ong .
“
B ut are you sure of this H o l me s H ow
,
P .
do you kno w tha t the woman is his wife

B ecause h e so far forgo t himself as t o
tell you a t rue piece of autobiog raphy upon
the occasion when he fi r st me t you and I ,
dare say he has m a ny a t ime regret t ed i t

since H e wa s once a schoolmaster i n the
.
N orth o f E n gl and N o w there is n o one

.
,
more easy t o tra c e than a schoolmaster .
There are scholasti c agencies by which one

may identify any man wh o has been in the
profession A little investigation sho wed
.
me that a school had come to grief u nder

atrocious circumstances and tha t the m n
, a
—
wh o had owned it the n ame wa s different
had d i sappeared with his wife The .
descr i ptions agreed When I learned that

.
the missing man wa s devoted t o entomo l ogy

the ide n tific a tio n was comple t e .
”
The darkness wa s rising bu t muc h was ,
s t il l hidden by the shadows .
2 68
this woman is i n tr th his wife
If u ,
where does M rs Laura Lyons come in

.
P I .
”
asked .
“
That is one of the points upon which
your own researches have shed a light .
Your interv i ew with the lady has c l eared

the situat i on very much I did no t know .
about a projected divorce between herself

and her husband I n t hat case regarding
.
,
S tapleton as an unmarried man she count e d ,
no doubt upon becoming his wife .
And when she is undeceived P .
\V h y then we may fi n d t he l ady of

,
service I t must be our fi r st duty t o see

.
—
her both of u s— to morrow Don t you
-
.
’
think Wa tson that you are away from your

, ,
c harge rather l ong ? Your place shou l d be

a t B askerville H all .
The last red streaks had faded away in

the wes t an d night had settled upon the
moor A few faint stars were gleaming in
.
a violet sky .
One last question H olmes I said as , , ,
I rose Surely t here is no need of secrecy

.
2 69
be tween you and me Wha t is the mean .
ing of it all P What is he after

.
H olmes s voice sank as he answered

'
I t is mu rder \Va ts o n — r e fi e d,cold n ,
blo o ded deliberate murder D o not ask

, .
me for particulars M y ne t s a r e closing .
upon him even as his are u pon S ir H enry

, ,
and with your help he is al ready almost at

my mercy There is but one danger which
.
can th reaten u s I t is that h e should s trike

.
before we ar e ready to do 5 0 A nother day .
—
two at th e most and I have my cas e
comple t e but unti l th en guard your charge
,
as closely as ever a fond mother watched

her ailing child Your mission t o day h as.
-
s tifi e d itself and yet I could almost wish

ju ,
—
t h a t you had not l eft his side H ark
—
A terrible scream a pro l onged ye l l o f
horror and anguish burst out of t h e sil e nce
of the moor That frightful cry turned th e
.
blood to ice in my veins .
“
Oh my G od ! I gasped
,
Wha t i s”
.
“
it What does it mean P
H olm e s had sprung t o his fee t and I ,
2 7 0
Watso n come ! Great heavens i f we are
, ,
too late
H e had s t arted running swiftly over t he
moor and I had fol l owed at his hee l s B u t
, .
n o w from somewhere among the broken

ground immediate l y in front of u s there
came one last despairing yell and then a ,
dull heavy thud We halted and l istened

,
. .
N ot another sound broke t he heavy si l en c e

of the windless night .
I saw H olmes put his hand t o his fore

head like a man dis t racted H e stamped .
his fee t upon the ground .
“
H e h a s beaten u s Wa t son We are , .
t oo l ate .
”
N o no surely not !
, ,
Foo l that I was t o ho l d my hand .
And you Watson see what comes of

, ,
abandoning your charge ! B ut by H eaven , ,
if t he worst has happened we ll avenge ,

’
him ! ”
B li nd l y we ran through the gloom ,
blundering aga i nst bou l ders forcing our ,
wa y through gorse bushes panting up hills ,
2 7 2
and rushing down slopes heading al ways ,
i n the direction whence those dreadful

sounds h ad come A t every rise H olmes
.
looked eagerly round him but the shadows ,
were thick u pon the moor and no t hing

moved upon its dreary face .
Can you see anything P .
N o th in g .
"
B ut hark what is that

, ,
P .
A low moan had fallen upon our ears .
There it was again upon our left O n that

side a ridge of rocks ended in a sheer cliff ,
which overlooked a stone strewn slope -

.
O n its jagged face w as spread eagled some -
dark irregular objec t

, As we ran towards
.
it the vague outl ine hardened into a de fi n ite

s h ape I t was a prostrate man face down
.
wards upon the groun d the head doub l ed

,
under him a t a horrible a n gle the shoulders ,
rounded and the body hunched together as

if in the act of throwing a somersault S o .
grotesque was the attitude that I could not

for the ins t ant realise that that moan had
been the passing of his soul N o t a whisper .
,
2 73 T
no t a rus tl e rose now from t he dark fig u r e
,
over which we s t ooped H ol mes l aid h is .
hand upon him and he l d it up again with

, ,
an exclama t ion of horror The gleam of .
the mat ch which he s t ruck shone upon h is

c l o tt ed fi n ge r s and upon t he ghastl y pool
w hi ch widened slowly from the crushed
sku l l of t he vic t im And it shone upon
.
some thing e l se which tur n ed our hearts sick

—
and faint wi t h in u s the body of S ir H enry
B askervil l e
There was no chance o f either of u s
forge tt ing tha t peculiar ruddy t weed sui t
the very one which he had worn on the fi r s t
morning t hat we had seen him in B aker
S treet We ca u gh t the one clear glimpse
.
of it and t hen the ma t ch fl ickered and went

,
out even as th e hope had gone out of our

,
souls . H o l mes groaned and h is face ,
gli mmered whi t e through the darkness .
The bru t e ! t he bru t e ! I cried with ”

,
clenched h ands Oh H olmes I shall

.
“
, ,
never forgive myself for having l eft him to

his fate .
”
2 74
l atter since S ir H enry has evidentl y died
,
from t he fall B ut by heavens cunning as

.
, ,
he i s t he fellow shal l be in my power be fore

,
another day is past !

We stood with bitter hear t s on either
side of t he mangled body overwhelmed by ,
this sudden and irrevocable disaster which

had brought all our l ong and weary labours
to so piteous an end Then as t h e moo n .
,
rose we c l imbed to t he top o f the rocks

,
over which our poor friend had fallen and ,
from the summit we gazed ou t over t he

shadowy moor half silver and ha l f gl oom
, .
Far away miles o ff i n t he direction o f

, ,
C rimpen a single steady yello w l ight was

,
shining I t could only come from t he l one l y

.
abode o f the S tapletons With a bit ter .
curse I shook my fi st a t i t as I gazed .
“
Why sho l d we not seize him a t once
u ? "
Our case is not complete The fe ll o w .
is wary and cunn i ng to the l as t degree I t .
is no t wha t we know bu t wha t we can prove

, .
I f we make one false move the villain may

escape u s ye t .
”
2 7 6
What can we do
There W il l be plen t y for u s t o do to
morrow To night we can only perform the
.
-
last o ffi c e s to our poor friend .

”
Together we made our way down the

precipitous slope and approached the body ,
black and clear agains t t he silvered s t ones .
The agony of those con t orted li mbs struck

me with a spasm of pain and blurred my
eyes with tears .
We must send for help H olmes ! We,
canno t carry him al l the way to the H all .
Good heavens are you mad

,
P .
H e had uttered a cry and ben t over t h e

body N ow he was dancing and laughing
.
and wringing my hand Could this be my

.
stern self contained friend

,
- ? These were
hidden fi r e s indeed !
,
“
A beard ! A beard ! The man has a
beard !
A beard P
— —
I t is no t the baronet it is why it is ,
my neighbour the convict !

,
With feverish haste we h ad t urn e d t he

2 77
bo d y over and that dripp i ng b d w
, ea r
"
as
pointing up t o the cold clear moon There , .
cou l d be no doub t abou t the beetling fore

head the sunken animal eyes I t wa s in
, .
,
de e d th e same face which had glared upon

‘
me in t h e ligh t of t he candle fro m over the

r o c ké —the face of Se l den the criminal , .
Then i n an ins t ant i t was a ll c lear to me .
I remember ed h o w t he barone t had told

me t h a t he had handed his old w ardrobe t o
B arrymore B arrymore had passed i t on in
.
order t o help Selden i n his escape B oots .

,
s hirt
,
cap it was al l S ir H enry s The
— ’
.
’
t ragedy was stil l b l ack enough bu t this man ,
h a d a t leas t deserved death by the laws o f

h is country I t old H olmes how the matter
.
stood my hear t bubbling over with thankful

,
ness and joy .
“
Then t h e clothes h ave been t he poor
fellow s death said h e
’
,
”
I t is c l ear enough
.
that t he hound has been laid on from some

—
article of Sir H enry s the boot which was
’
abstrac t ed in the hotel in all probability,
and so ran t h is man down T h ere i s one .
2 78
no w i s wha t shal l w do wit h this poor
,
e
wre t c h s b dy P We cannot l eave it here

’
o .
to the foxes and the ravens .

”
I s gge st th a t we pu t i t i n one of th e
u
hu t s until we can communica t e with t he

po l ice .
"
“
E xac tly I have no doubt tha t you
.
and I could carry it so far H alloa Wa t son .

, ,
what s th is P I t s t he man himse l f by al l

’
.
’
,
that s wonderful and audacious ! N o t a

’
—
word t o show your suspicions not a word ,
or my p l ans crumb l e to the ground .
A fi gu r e wa s approaching u s over th e
moor and I saw the dul l red glo w of a
,
cigar The moon shone u pon him and I

.
,
could disti n guish the dapper shape and

jaun t y walk of t he naturalis t H e stopped .
when he saw u s and then came on again , .
“
Why D r Wa t son that s no t you is it
, .
P
,
’
, .
You are the las t man tha t I should have

expected to see out on the moor at this
time of nigh t B u t dear me what s th is P
.
, ,
’
.
P —
S omebody h u r t N o t don t t ell me tha t ’
it is our friend S ir H enry

2 80
He hurried past me and stooped ov e r
t he dead man I heard a sharp intake of
.
his breath and t he cigar fell from his fi n ge r s .
—
Who who s this he stammered
’
I t is S elden the man who escaped from

,
P rincetown
”
.
S tapleton turned a ghastl y face upon u s ,
bu t by a supreme effort he had overcome

his amazement and his disappointment H e .
l ooked sharply from H olmes to me .
Dear me ! What a very shocking

affair ! H ow did he die P ”
“
H e 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 .
bro ght me out I was uneasy abo t Sir

u . u
H enry .
“
Why about Sir H enry in particular P ”
I could not help asking .
B ecause I had suggested that he should

come over When he did not come I wa s
.
surprised and I naturally became al rmed

,
a
281
for his sa fety when I h eard cries u pon the
moor By the way his eyes darted again
.
-
from my face t o H olmes s did you hear ’

“
a n ything e l se besides a cry P .
N o said H olmes ; did you

,
”
P .
”
No .
What do you mean then ,
O h you know the s t ories t ha t t h e

,
peasants t el l abou t a phanto m hound and ,
so o u I t is sa i d to be heard at night upon

.
t he moor I was wondering if there were

.
any evidence of such a sound to nigh t -

.
”
We heard nothing o f the kind said I

-
,
”
.
An d what is your theory of this poor

fe ll ow s dea t h
’
“
I have no doubt that anxiety and
exp o sure have driven him off his head H e .
has rushed abou t the moor in a crazy s tate

and eve n tually fal l en over here and broken
his neck .
”
Tha t seems the mos t reasonab l e theory ,
said S tapleton an d he gave a sigh which I

,
took t o indicate his relief What do y o u .

“
think abou t it Mr Sherlock H o l mes 3

, .
”
2 82
fe ll ow t o my house bu t i t wou l d give my
,
sis ter such a frigh t t ha t I do not fee l

ju s tifi e d in doi n g it I think
. tha t if we put
something over his face he will be safe unti l
morning .
”
And so i t wa s arranged R esis ti ng

.
St aple t on s offer of hospitality H olmes and

’
I se t off t o B askerville Hal l l eaving the ,
na t ura l is t t o re t urn a l one Looking back

.
we s a w t h e fi g u r e moving slowly away over

t h e broad moor and behind him t ha t one
,
b l ack smudge on the silvered slope which

show e d where the man wa s lying wh o had
c ome so horribly t o his end .
“
We re a t c l ose grips a t l ast said
’
,
H olmes as we walked together across t he

,
moo r What a nerve the fel l ow has ! H ow

.
h e pu ll ed himself together i n t he face of

w h a t mus t have been a paralyzing shoc k
w h en he found that the wrong man had
fal l en a vic t im t o his p l o t I told you in
.
London Wa tson and I t e l l you now again

, , ,
tha t we have n ever had a foeman more

worthy of our s t eel .
”
2 84
Death on th e M oor
I m sorry tha t h e has seen you
a .
And so was I at fi r st B ut there wa s .
no getting out of it .
What effect do you think it will have

“
upon his p l ans n o w t hat he kno ws you are

,
here
“
I t may cause him t o be more cautious ,
or i t may drive h im to desperate measures

at once Like most clever crimina l s he
.
,
may be t oo c o n fi de n t in his own cleverness

and imagine tha t he has comple t ely dece i ved
us
W h y s h ou l d we not arrest him at

once
M y dear Watson you were born t o be,
a man of action Your instinct is always t o

.
do something energetic B ut supposing for .

,
argument s sake that we had him arrested

’
t o night wha t on eart h the better off should

-
,
w e be for t h a t P We could prove no t hin g

.
agains t him There s the devilish cunning

.
’
of it ! I f he were acting through a human

agen t we could get some evidence bu t if we ,
were t o drag this great dog to t he l igh t o f

2 85
day it would not help u s in pu tting a rope
round the neck of its master .
Sure l y we have a case .

”
N o t a shadow of one — on l y surmise

and c o njec ture We should be l aughed out
.
of court if we came with such a story and

such evidence .
There is S ir Charl es s dea t h ’
Found dead without a mark upon him .
You and I know that he died of sheer

fright and we kno w a l so what frightened
,
him ; but how are we to get twelve stolid

jurymen to know it ? What signs are t here
of a h o u n d .
P Where are the marks o f
i t s fangs ? O f course we kno w that a
,
hound does no t bite a dead bo d y and tha t ,
S ir Charles was dead before ever th e brute

overtook him B ut we have t o pr o ve al l
.
this and we are no t in a position t o do it

, .
”
Wel l then t o nig h t

, ,
-
We are not much be tt er off t o night -

.
Again there was no direc t connection b e

,
tween t he h ound an d t he m an s death We ’

.
never saw the hound We heard it ; but we

.
2 86
have a better nerve for t he ordeal whic h he
wil l have to undergo to morrow when he is
-
,
engaged if I remember your repor t aright

, ,
to dine with these peop l e .
And so a m I .
Then you mus t excuse yourse l f and h e

,
mus t g o alone That will be easily arranged

. .
And n o w if we are too l ate for dinner I

, ,
think t hat we are bo t h ready our

supp ers
.
2 88
C H A PT E R X III
I IN G
F X TH E NE ST
I R H E N R Y was more p l ea sed than

surprised to see Sherlock H olmes for ,
he had for some days been expecting that

recent events would bring him down from
London H e did raise his eyebrows how
.
,
ever when he found that my friend had

,
neither any l uggage nor any explanations for

its absence B etween u s we soon supplied
.
his wants and then over a belated supper

,
we explained to the barone t as much of our

experience as it seemed desirable that he
should kno w B ut fi r st I had the unpleasan t
.
duty of breaking the news of S e lde n s death ’
t o B arrymore and his wife To him it may

have been an unmitigated r elief but she ,
wept bitterly in her apron To all the .
world he wa s the man of vio l ence half ,
2 89 U
animal and h alf demon ; bu t t o her he
a l ways remained the l ittle wilful boy of her
own girlhoo d the child who had c lung t o
,
her hand E vil indeed is the man wh o has

.
not one woman t o mourn him .
I ve been m 0 ping in the house a ll day

’
since Watson went off i n t he morning said ,
the baronet I guess I shou l d have some

.
“
credi t for I have kep t my promise I f I

, .
hadn t sworn no t to go about alone I might

’
h ave had a more live l y evening for I had ,
a message from S taple t on asking me over

there .
”
“
I have no doub t t ha t you wou l d have
had a more lively evening said H ol mes ,
”
dri l y. By the way I don t suppose you

“
,
’
appreciate tha t we have been mourning o v er

you as having broken your nec k
S ir H enry opened his eyes H ow was .
tha t ? ”
This poor wretch was dressed in your

clothes I fe ar your ser ant who gave
. v
them to h im may get into troub l e w ith th e

pol ice .
”
290
Th e H o u n d o f th e Baske r vill es
is no t ll em pty u p
i tio n I ha d so me
s er s t .
thi n g t do w i th do gs wh e n I was o u t Wes t

c
,
and I h o w o n e w h e n I h ear o n e I f y o u .
ca n m a le t ha t o n e an d p u t h im o n a ch ai n
I ll b e ea dy to s wea r yo u a r e th e g rea te s t
'
de te c tiv o f a ll ti me
"
.
“
I h i n k I w ill mu zzl e h im a n d cha i n
hi m l l righ t i f yo u will gi v e me you r
a
h el p
\Va te v e r y o u t ell me to do I wi ll
V ey go o d ; an d I w ill ask y o u a ls o t o
do it lin d y w t o u l , ih t a l way s a s ki n g th e
reason .
’
J u s as
y o u li k e .
If w ill do thi s I th i n k th e ch an c es
"
o u
are th a ou r lit t l e p rob l e m w ill s oon b e

s o l v ed I ha v e no do ub t
.
H e to pp ed su dden l y an d
up o v e r my h ead i n t o
bea t u p o h is fa c e ,
so s t i ll h a t
cl ear c u-
a le r tn e s
Fix in g th e Ne t s
W h at is i t we bo t cr i ed .
I cou l d see as h e lo c e d down tha t h e

was repressing some in te t a l emotion H is .
features were sti ll comp t ed bu t h is eyes ,
shone wi t h amused e x u lta o n .
“
E xcuse t he a dm ir a o n o f a c o n n o is
seur said h e as he wav e his hand t owards
,
”
the line of por t ra i t s wi ch covered t he

opposite wa ll Wa tso n wo n t a l low that
.
“ ’
I know any t hing o f a r t bu t tha t is mere ,
jealousy because our vi e w upon the subjec t

,
di ffer N o w t h ese a r e rea l ly very fi n e

.
,
series of portraits .
”
“
Wel l I m glad t o ba r you say so
,
’
said S ir H enry glancing i th some surprise

,
t
at my friend I do n t ) r e te n d t o know
.
“ ’
much abou t these things ad I d be a better ,

’
j u dge of a h orse or a s te e t h a n of a picture .
I didn t know t hat you fo n d time for suc h

’
what is go d when I see it ,
now Th at a K ne l ler I ll
.
,
’
y i n the b lu B ilk over yonder ,
e n tl e m a n i t h t he wi ou g h t
g
29 3
T h e H oun d o f th e B aske r vil l es
i s not al l empty superstition I had some .
thing to do with dogs when I was ou t West '
and I know one when I hear one If you .
can muzzle that one and put him on a chain

I l l be ready t o swear you are the greatest
’
detective of all time .

”
“
I t hink I will m zzle him and chain
u
him all right if you will give me your

help
Wha t ever you t e ll me t o do I will
“
V ery good ; and I wil l ask you also to
do it blindly withou t always asking the
,
reason .
J ust as you like .
I f you will do this I think the chances

are that our l ittle problem will soon be
solved I have no doubt
.
I )
H e s t opped suddenly and stared fi x edly

up over my head in t o the air T h e lam p .
beat upon his face and so intent was it and

,
so s t ill t hat it might hav e been that of a

clear cu t classical statue a personi fi cation of
-
,
alertness and expecta tion .
29 2
t o be a R eynolds They are al l family .
por t raits I p ,
me P r e su .
E very one .
”
Do you know t h e names

B arrymore has been coaching me in
them and I think I can say my l essons
,
fairly well .
“
Who i s t h e gentl eman wit h t he t e l e
scope ? ”
“
Tha t is R ear Admira l B askervi ll e w h o
-
,
served under R odney in t he Wes t I ndies .
The man with the blue coa t and t he rol l

of paper is S ir William B askervil l e who ,
was Chairman of Commit t ees of t he House

of Commons under P i t t .
”
“
And t his Cavalier O pposite t o me—t he
one with the black velvet a n d the l ace ?
“
Ah you have a righ t t o know abou t
,
h im That is t he cause of all t h e mischief

.
,
the wicked H u g o wh o s t ar te d the H ound

,
of the B askervilles VVe r e not likely to .

’
forget him .
”
I gazed with i n t erest and some surprise

upon t he portrait .
294
F i xin g th e Ne t s
Dear me ! said H ol mes h e seems a ”
,
“
quie t meek mannered man enough but I

,
-
,
dare say that there was a lurking devil in

his eyes I had pic t ured him as a more
.
robust and r u fii a n ly person ’

.
There s no doubt about the authentici ty

’
for the name and t he da t e 1 647 are on the , ,
back of the canvas .
H olmes said littl e more but t he pic t ure ,
of the old roys t erer see med to h ave a fasci

nation for him and his eyes were continually
,
fi x e d upon it during supper I t was n o t

”
unti l later when S ir H enry had gone

,
to his room that I was able to follow the

,
t rend of his thoughts H e led me back .
into t he banquetin g hall his bedroom candle -

,
in his han d and he held it up agains t the

,
t ime stained portrait on the wal l

-
.
Do you see anything there

I looked at the broad pl med ha t the u ,
curli g love locks the white lace collar and

n -
, ,
the straight severe face which was framed

,
between them I t was not a brutal coun .
t e n n e but it wa s prim har d and ste m

a c , , , ,
29 5
t o be a R eynolds They are al l family .
portrai t s I presume
,
?
E very one .
”
Do you know t h e names

B arrymore has been coac h ing me i n
them and I t hink I can say my l essons
,
fairly well .
Who i s t h e gentl eman with the t e l e

scope ? ”
“
Tha t is R ear Admiral B askervil l e wh o
-
,
served under R odney in the Wes t I ndies .
The man with the blue coa t and the roll

of paper is S ir William B askervil l e who ,
was Chairman of Committees of t he House

of Commons under P i tt .
”
“ —
And t his Cavalier opposi t e t o me th e
one with the b l ack velvet and the l ace
“
Ah you have a right to know abou t
,
him Tha t is the cause of all th e mischief

.
,
the wicked H u g o wh o s t ar te d the H ound

,
of the B askervilles VVe r e no t l ikely to .

’
forget him .
”
I gazed with in teres t and some surprise

upon the portrait .
2 94
T h e H o u n d o f th e B aske r v ill es
w i th a se t t hin lipped mou th and a
firm -
,
-
,
coldly in t oleran t eye .
I s i t like any one you know

There is some thing o f S ir H enry abou t
t he jaw .
”
J us t a sugges ti on perhaps Bu t wai t , .
an ins tan t
H e stood upon a chair and ho l ding up ,
t he ligh t in his l eft hand he curv ed his ,
righ t arm over t he broad ha t and round

the l ong ringlets .
“
Good heavens ! I cr i ed in amaze ”
,
men t .
The face of St ap l e t on had sprung ou t

of t he canvas .
H a you see it now

, M y eyes have .
been t rained to examine faces and no t their

trimmings I t is the fi r st quality of a
.
crimina l investigator t ha t h e shou l d see

through a disguise .
”
“
B u t this is marve ll ous I t might be .
his portrai t .
”
Yes i t i s an i n t erestin g ins t ance o f

,
a t hrow back which appears t o be both

-
,
29 6
F i x in g th e Ne t s
physical and spiritual A study of family
.
portraits is enough to convert a man to

the doctrine of reincarnation The fellow .
—
is a B askerville that is eviden t .
With designs upon the succession .
E xactly This chance of the picture

.
has supplied u s with one of our mos t

obvious missing links We have him .
,
Wa t son we have him and I dare swear

, ,
that before to morrow night he will be

-
fl u tte r in g in our net as helpless as one of

his own b u tte r fl ie s A pin a cork and a
.
, ,
card and we add him to the B aker S t reet

,
collection
H e burst in t o one of his rare fi ts of
laughter as he turned away fro m the picture .
I have not heard him l augh often and it ,
has always boded ill to somebody .
I was up betimes in the morni n g bu t ,
Holmes was afoo t earlier still for I saw ,
him as I dressed coming p the drive u .
“
Yes we should have a full day to da y
,
-
,
he remarked and he rubbed his hands with

,
the Jo y of ac t ion The nets are all in

.
29
7
place and the drag is about t o begin
, .
We l l know before the da y i s out whether

’
we h ave caught our big l ean jawed pike ,

-
,
or whe t her he has go t t hro u gh the meshes

!
”
.
H ave you been on t he moor already P
I have sen t a repor t from C rimpen t o

P r i n c e t own a s t o t he death of S elden I .
think I can promise tha t none of you wil l

be t roub l ed i n the ma tter And I have also .
communica t ed wi t h my faithful Car twright ,
who would cer tain l y have pined away at t h e

door of my hu t as a dog does a t his master s ’
grave if I had no t set his mind at rest abou t

my safety .
What is t he next m ove

To see S ir H enry Ah here he i s ! . ,
Good morning H o l mes said the, ,

”
baronet . You l ook l ike a general who

“
is plann i n g a ba ttle wi t h his chief of the

staff
.
”
Tha t is th e exac t situation Wa t son .
was asking for orders .

”
And so do I .
”
V ery good You are engaged s I

.
,
a
29 8
There is no a l terna t ive ,
I assure
I saw by th e baronet s c l ouded brow ’
t ha t he was deep l y h ur t by wha t he regarded

as our desert ion .
“
When do you desire t o go he as k e d ,
coldly .
I mmedia t e l y after breakfas t We wi l l .
drive in t o Coombe Tracey bu t Wa t son ,
will leave his t h i ngs as a pledge t ha t

he will c om e back t o you Wa t son you .
,
wi ll send a no t e t o St ap l eton t o tel l

him t ha t you regre t t ha t y o u c anno t
c o me .
“
I have a good m i nd t o g o to London
with you said the baronet
,
”
Why shou l d .
I stay here a l one

“
B ecause i t is your pos t o f du ty Be .
cause you gave me your word t ha t you

would do as you were t o l d and I tel l you ,
to stay .
All righ t t hen I ll s tay

, ,
’
.
One more direc t ion ! I w i sh you t o

drive to M e r r ip it H ouse S end back your .
3 0 0
F ixin g th e N e ts
trap however and let them kno w that you
, ,
intend to walk home .

”
To wa l k across the moor P
Yes.
”
B ut that is the very t hing which you

h ave so often cautioned me not to do .
”
This t ime you may do i t with safety .
I f I had not every c o n fi de n c e in your nerve

and courage I would not s u ggest it but it ,
is essential t hat you shou l d do it .

”
“
Then I will do it .
”
And as you value your life do not g o ,
across the moor in any direction save along

the straight path which leads from M e r r ip it
H ouse to the C rimpen R oad and is your ,
natural way home .

”
“
I will do just what you say .
V ery good I should be glad to get

.
away as soo n after breakfast as possible so ,
as to reach London in the afternoon .

”
I was much astounded by this programme ,
though I remembered that H olmes had said

to Stapleton on the night before that his
visit would terminate n e xt day I t had no t .
3 0 1
T h e H oun d o f th e B aske rv ill es
crossed my mind however th a t he would
, ,
wish me t o go wi th him nor could I under ,
stand h o w we cou l d bo t h be absent a t a

moment which he h imse l f declared t o be
critical There wa s nothi n g for it however
.
, ,
but imp l icit obedience ; so we bade good bye -
t o our ruef l friend and a couple of hours

u ,
after wards we were a t the s tation of Coombe

Tracey a n d had dispatched the trap upon
its re t urn Journey A small boy wa s wai t in g
.
upon th e platform .
A ny orders sir ,
You wi l l take this train t o t own Car t ,
wright The momen t you arrive you wil l

.
send a wire t o S ir H enry B askerville i n ,
my name to say tha t if he fi n ds the pocket

,
book which I have dropped he is to send

it by registered pos t t o B aker St ree t .
Yes sir ,
.
And ask a t th e s tation o ffi c e i f t here

is a message for me .
”
The boy returned with a t e l eg ram which ,
H olmes handed t o me I t ran .
Wire received Coming down with

.
crossed my mind however tha t he wou l d
, ,
wis h me t o go wi th him nor cou l d I under ,
stand h o w we cou l d both be absen t a t a

moment W hich he h imse l f declared t o be
critica l There wa s nothi n g for it however
.
, ,
but imp l icit obedience ; so we bade good bye -
t o our ruefu l friend and a couple of hours

,
aft er wards we were a t the s tation of Coombe

Tracey a n d had dispatched the trap upon
its re t urn Journey A small boy wa s wai t ing
.
upon th e platform .
A ny orders sir ,
You wi l l take this train t o t own Car t ,
wright The moment you arrive you wil l

.
send a wire t o S ir H enry B askerville in ,
my name to say tha t if he fi n ds the pocke t

,
book which I have dropped he is to send

i t by registered post t o B aker St ree t .
Yes sir ,
.
”
And ask a t the s tation o ffi c e i f t here

is a message for me .
”
The boy returned with a t e l eg ram which ,
H olmes handed t o me I t ran .
W i re received Coming down with

.
u nsigned warran t Arrive fi v e forty
.
-
.
L E ST RA D E .
That is in answer to mine of this morn

ing H e is the best of the profe ssionals I
.
,
think and we may need his assistance

,
.
N o w Watson I think that we cannot employ

, ,
our time better than by calling upon yo ur

acquaintance M rs Laura Lyons
, . .
H is plan of campaign was beginning to

be evident H e would use the barone t 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 t elegram from London
.
,
if mentioned by S ir H enry to t he Stapletons ,
must remove the last suspicions from t heir

minds Already I seemed to see our nets
.
drawing closer round that lean jawed pike -

.
M rs Laura Lyons was in her o ffi c e and

.
,
Sherlock H olmes opened his interview wit h

a frankness and directness which considera bly
amazed her .
“
I a m investigating the circumstances
wh i ch at tended the dea t h of the late Sir
03
3
Charl es B askervi l le said h e My friend
, .
here Dr Wa t son has informed me of wha t

, .
,
you have communica t ed and also of wha t ,
you have wi t hhe l d in connection wi th th a t

ma tt er .
”
“
W h a t have I wi th he l d ? s h e asked ”
de fi a n tly .
You have confessed t hat you asked

S ir Charl es to be a t the ga t e a t t en o c l ock ’
.
We know tha t tha t wa s t he place and hour

of his dea th You have wit h held wha t the
.
connec ti o n is between t hese even t s .

”
There is no connec t ion .

”
I n t hat case t he coincidence mus t

indeed be an ex t raordinary one B ut I think .
t hat we s h al l succeed in establishing a con

n e c t io n after all I wish t o be perfectly
.
frank with you M rs Lyons We regard

, . .
this case as one of murder and the evidence ,
may implicate no t only your friend M r .
S taple t on but his wife as well

, .
”
The lady sprang from her chair H is .

“
wife she cried .
The fac t is no l onger a secret The .
3 4
0
S he gl anced a t t hem and then l ooked up ,
at us w ith t he se t rigid face of a despera t e

,
woman .
“
Mr . H o l mes she said this man h ad
, ,
offered me marriage on condi t io n t hat I

could ge t a divorce from my husband H e .
has l ied t o me t he vil l a i n m every con

, ,
c e iv a b l e wa
y . N o t one word of tru t h has
he ever t old me And wh y wh y .
P I -
.
imag i ned tha t a l l wa s for my o wn sake .
B ut now I see t ha t I was never any t hing

bu t a too l in his hands W h y sho u l d I .
preserve faith with hi m wh o never kep t any

with m e W h y s h ou l d I t ry t o shield him
P .
from t he consequences of his own wicked

acts Ask me wha t y o u l ike and there is
?
,
no thing which I shall hold back One t h i ng .
I swear t o you and t ha t is t h a t when

, ,
I wro t e t he l etter I never dreamed of any

harm t o the old gen tl eman wh o had been ,
my kindest friend .
I entirely be l ieve you madam sa i d , ,
S her l ock H olmes The reci tal of th ese

.
e v en t s must be very painful to yo u an d ,
3 0 6
perh aps it wil l make it easier if I t ell you
wha t occurred and you can chec k me if
,
I make any ma t eria l mistake The sendi n g .
of this l etter was suggested t o you by

S tapleton
H e dic t a t ed it
”
.
I presume tha t the reason h e gave wa s

that you wou l d receive he l p from S ir Charles
for the lega l expenses connect ed with your
divorce
E xactly.
And then after you had sen t the l e tt er

he dissuaded you fro m keeping the a ppoint
men t
H e t o l d me tha t i t wou l d h ur t his se l f
respec t tha t any other man should h n d t he
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 u s .
”
H e appears to be a very consistent

character And then you heard nothing
.
un t il y o u read t he reports of t he dea t h in

th e pa pe r
3 7
0
“
No .
And he made you swear to say nothing

abou t your ap p oin t men t wit h S ir Char l es P .
”
H e did H e said that the dea t h wa s a

.
very mys t er i ous one and tha t I should ,
certa in l y be suspec ted if the facts came out .
H e frigh t ened me in t o remaining silent

”
.
Quite so B u t you had your sus

.
ic io n s P
p .
S he hesi ta t ed and l ooked down I .

“
knew him she said ,

”
B ut if he had k ept
.
“
faith with me I shou l d a l ways have done

so w i th him .
”
“
I t hink t ha t on the whole you have had
a for tunate escape sa i d S herlock H olmes
,
”
.
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 morning now M rs Lyons and i t is , . ,
probable that you wi ll very s h ort l y hear from

u s again .
“
O ur case becomes rounded off and ,
diffi cu l ty after diffi c u lty t h ins away in front

3 0 8
“
No .
And he made you swear to say no thing

abou t your ap p o i n t men t with S ir Char l es P .
”
H e did H e said that the dea th wa s a

.
very mys t erious one and tha t I should ,
certain l y be suspected if the facts came out .
H e frightened me in t o remaining silent

”
.
Quite so B u t you had your sus

.
p ic io n s P
S he hes it a t ed and l ooked down I .

“
knew him she said ,

”
B ut if he had k ept
.
“
faith with me I shou l d a l ways have done

so w i th him .
”
“
I t hink t ha t on the who l e you h ave had
a for tunate escape sa i d Sherlock H olmes
,
”
.
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 morning n o w Mrs Lyons and i t is , . .
probable that you w ill very s h ort l y hear from

u s again .
Our case becomes rounded o ff and ,
diffi c u lty after diffi c u lty t h ins away in front
3 0 8
F i x in g th e Ne ts
of u s said H olme s 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 si n gle connected narra t ive one of
the mos t singular and sensation a l c rimes of
modern t imes St uden t s of criminology will
.
remember the analogous inciden t s in Grodno ,
in Little R ussia in the year 66 and of

,
’
,
course there are the A nderson murders in

N orth Carolina but this case possesses some
,
features which are entirely its own E ven .
now we have no c l ear case against this very

wily man B u t I shall be very much sur
.
prised if it is no t clear enough before we go

to bed this night .
The London express came ro a ring into

the station and a small wiry bulldog of a
, ,
man had sprung from a fi r st class 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 dea l since the days when they had
fi r st worked together I cou l d well r e
.
memb er t he scorn which t he theories of

3 09
the reasoner used t hen to exci t e in the
pra ctica l man .
Any t hing good h e asked .
The bigges t th ing for years said ,
H o l mes . We have two h ours before we

“
n eed t hink o f s t ar t i n g I t h ink we migh t

.
emp l oy i t i n ge t ting some dinner and t hen , ,
Les t rade we wil l take the London fo g o ut

,
o f your th roa t by givin g you a brea t h of the

pure nigh t a ir o f D artmoor N ever been
-
.
th e r e
.
P Ah wel l I don t suppos e you wil l
, ,
’
forge t your fi r st visi t .
3 10
CH A PT E R X I V
TH E H OU ND OF TH E B A S K E RV I LL E S
NE —
of S herlock H olmes s defec t s if ’
indeed one may cal l i t a

,
—
de ect was
f
that he was exceedingly loth t o communicate
his full plans to any other person unti l the
instant of the i r fu lfi lm e n t Partly it came
.
no doubt from his own masterfu l nat ure ,
which loved t o domina t e and surprise those

wh o were around him Partly also from his
.
professional caution which urged him never

,
to take any chances The result however

.
, ,
wa s 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 i n front of s ; at last we u
were about to make our fi n a l effort and yet ,
H olmes had said nothing and I could only ,
3 1 1
T h e H oun d o f th e B aske r v il les
surmise what his course of action would b e .
My nerves thri l led wi t h anticipation when a t

las t the co l d wind upon our faces and t he
dark void spaces on ei t her side of th e
,
narrow road to l d me that we were back

upon t he moor once again E very s t r i de of .
t he h orses and every t urn of t he w h ee l s wa s

taking u s nearer t o our su p reme adventure .
Our conversation was hampered by the

presence of the driver of the hired waggon
et t e so that we were forced t o t alk of t rivia l
,
ma t ters whe n our nerv es were tense wi th

emotion and an t icipation I t was a re l ief to
.
me after tha t unnatural restrain t when we

, ,
at last passed F r a n kla n d s house and kne w’
tha t we were drawing near to t he H al l and

to the scene of act ion We d id not driv e
.
up t o the door but got down near the ga t e

,
of the avenue The waggone tt e was paid o ff

.
and ordered to return to Coombe Tracey

forthwith while we started to walk to
,
Me r r ip it H ouse .
Are you armed Les trade ,
The little detec t ive smi l ed As l o ng .

“
3 12
as I have my trousers I h ave a hip pocket -
,
and as long as I have my hip pocket I -
have something in it .
“
Good ! My friend and I are a l so ready
for emergencies .
“
You re migh t y c l ose abou t this affair
’
M r H o l mes What s the game now

’ ”
.
P
A waiting game .
”
My word i t does not seem a very

,
cheerfu l p l ace said the detective wi th a

,
”
shiver glancing round him at the gl oomy

,
slopes of the hill and a t the huge lake

of fog which lay over the C rimpen M ire .
I see the lights of a house ahead of u s .

”
“
Tha t is Me r r ip it H ouse and the end
of our journey I must reques t you to wal k
.
on tiptoe and not t o talk above a whisper .

”
We moved cautiously along the track

as if we were bound for the house bu t ,
H olmes halted u s when we were abou t two

hundred yards from it .
This will do said h e , These rocks .

“
upon the right make an admirable screen .

”
We are to wait here P ”
3 13
“
Yes we sha l l make our l ittle ambush
,
here Get ; in t o this ho l low Lestrade You

.
, .
have been inside the house have you no t , ,
Wa tso n P
. Can you t e l l the position of the
r o o ms P Wha t are t hose lat t iced windows
at this end P .
I think t hey are the ki t ch en windows .
And t he one beyond which shines so ,
brig h t l y
Tha t is certain l y the dining room -
.
The bli n ds are u p You know the l ie

.
of t he land bes t Creep forward quietly

.
and see what they are doing but for —

H eaven s sake don t l e t t hem know that
’ ’
t hey are wa t c h ed
I t iptoed down the pa th and s t ooped
behind t he lo w wal l which surrounded the
s tun t ed orc h ard Creeping i n its s h adow
.
,
I reached a poin t whence I cou l d l ook

straigh t t h rough t he uncurta i ned windo w .
There were only two men i n t he room ,
Sir H enry and S tap l eton They sa t with .
their pr o fi le s t owards me on ei t her side

of the round table B oth of them were
.
3 14
You say Wa t son that the lady is not
, ,
there P .H olmes asked when I had fi n ish e d ,
my report .
a
NO
Where can she b e t hen since t here , ,
i s no ligh t in any other room excep t th e

ki t chen
I canno t think where she i s .
”
I have said tha t over the great C rimpen

M ire there hung a dense whi t e fog I t was , .
drifting slow l y in our direction and banked ,
itself up like a wall on that side of u s lo w , ,
bu t thick and well de fi n e d The moon .
shone on it and i t looked like a great

, .
shimmering ic e fi eld with the heads of the ,
dis tan t tors as rocks borne upon its surface .
H o l mes s face wa s t urned towards it and

’
he mut t ered impa ti en tl y as h e wa t ched it s

s l uggish drift .
I t s moving t owards u s Wa t son

’
, .
I s th at serious
V ery serious indeed —the one th i ng
,
upon earth which could have disarranged

my plans H e can t be very l ong now I t
.
’
, .
316
is a l ready ten o c l ock Our success and
’
.
even his life may depend upon his coming

ou t before the fog is over the path .
”
The nigh t was c l ear and fi n e above u s .
The stars shone cold and brigh t while a ,
half moon bathed the whole scene in a soft

-
,
uncer t ain light B efore u s lay the dark bulk

.
of the house i t s serra t ed roof and bristl ing

,
chimneys hard outlined against the si l ver

spangled s ky B road bars of golden light
.
from the l ower windows s t retched across

the orchard and the moor One of them .
was suddenly shut o ff The servants had .
left the ki t chen There only remained the

.
l amp i n the dining room where t he two men

-
,
the murderous hos t and the unconscious

guest still chat t ed over t heir cigars
, .
E very minute that white woolly plain

which covered one half of the moor was -
drifting closer and closer to the house .
Already the fi r t thin wisps of it were

s
curling across the golden square of the

lighted window The farther wall of the
.
orch a rd was a l ready invis i b l e and the trees ,
3 7 1
were s tanding o u t of a swir l o f w hit e vapour .
As we wa t ched i t the fog wreaths came -
craw l ing round bo t h corners of the house

and rolled s l owly in t o one dense bank on ,
which the upper floor and the roof floa t ed

l i k e a stra n ge ship u pon a shadowy sea .
H olmes struck his hand passionately u pon

the rock i n front of u s and s tamped h is ,
fee t in his impatience .
I i he isn t out i n a quart er of an

“ ’
hour t he pa t h will be c overed I n h a l f .
an hour we won t be ab l e to see our h ands

’
in fron t of u s
”
.
“
S hall we move farther bac k u po h
h igher ground P .
“
Yes I think it would be as well
,
.
S o as the fog bank fl o we d onwards w e

-
fe ll back before i t unti l we were h a l f a

mile from the house and s t il l tha t dense,
whi t e sea wi t h t he moon si l vering its upper

,
e dge swep t slowly and inexorably o n

, .
“
We are goin g t oo far said H olmes ,
”
.
We dare not take the c hance of his being

overtaken before he can rea ch u s A t al l .
18
3
costs we mus t hold our ground where we
are H e dropped on his knees and clapped
.
his ear to the ground Thank H eaven

.
“
,
I think tha t I hear him coming .

”
A sound of quick steps broke the silence

of the moor Crouching among the stones
.
,
we stared intently at t he silver tipped bank -
in front of s The s t eps gre w louder and

u .
,
through the fog as through a curtain there

, ,
stepped the man who m we were awaiting .
H e looked round him i n surprise as he

emerged into the clear s t arlit night Then
, .
he came swiftly along the path passed close ,
to where we lay and went on up the long

,
slope behind u s As he walked he gl anced

.
continually over either shoulder l ike a man ,
who is ill at ease .
H is t ! cried H olmes and I heard the

”
sharp click of a cocking pistol Look out ! .
I t s coming !
’
There was a t hin crisp continuous, ,
p t ter from somewhere in the heart of that

a
crawling bank T h e cloud was within fi fty

.
ards of wh e re we l ay and we glared at

y ,
3 19
it, all t hree uncer ta i n wha t horror was
,
about t o break from the heart o f it I .
wa s at H o l mes s e l bow and I glanced for

’
an i ns tan t at his fa c e I t was pal e and .
exu ltan t h i s eyes shin i ng brigh tl y in t he

,
moonligh t B u t suddenly t hey started for

.
ward in rigid fi x e d stare and his lips

, ,
parted in amazement A t t he same ins tan t.
Les t rade gave a yell of t error and th rew

himse l f face downwards upon the ground .
I sprang t o my fee t my iner t hand grasp ,
ing my pis t o l my mind para l yzed by t he

,
dreadfu l shape which had sprung ou t

upon u s from the shadows of the fog A .
h ound it wa s an eno r mous c oal b l ack

,
-
hound bu t not such a hound as morta l

,
eyes have ever seen Fire burs t from its .
open mou t h i t s eyes gl owed with a s mo u l

,
dering g l are i t s mu zz le and hack l es and

,
dewlap were ou tl ined in fl ic ker in g flame .
N ever i n the de l irious dream of a dis

ordered brai n cou l d anyt h ing more savage ,
more appalling more he ll ish be con , ,
c e iv e d than tha t dark form and savage

3 20
t rack w heard screa m aft er scream from
e
S ir H enry and the deep roar of the h ound .
I w
t
in t ime t o see t he beas t spring upon
as
it s v i cti m h ur l him t o the ground and

, ,
worry a t h is t hroa t B u t t he nex t insta t

. n
H olmes h ad emp t ied fi barre l s of h i s ve
re v o l ver i n t o th e creature s fl k With a ’

an .
l as t b ow l of agony and a vicious snap in

t he a i r it rol l ed upon it s back four feet ,
pawing fur i ous l y and then fe l l l imp upon

,
i t s ide
s I s t ooped panting and pressed
.
, ,
my pis t o l t o t he dreadful shimmerin g head , ,
bu t i t w us el ess t o press th e t rigger T h e

as .
g i an t hound w dead as .
S ir H enry l ay insens i b l e where he had

fa l len We t ore a way his col l ar and H o l mes
.
,
brea th ed a prayer of grati t ude when we saw

t ha t there was no sign of a wound and that
t he rescue h ad been i n time A l ready our .
fr i end s eye li ds s h i ered and he made a

’
v
feeb l e effor t t o move Les t rade t hrus t his .
brandy fl k be t ween the barone t s teeth

-
as
’
and t wo frightened eyes were l ooking up

at u s .
3 2 2
15
RE O L ER
.
322 .
H O LM E S E M PT I E D F I V E B A R R E L S O F H I S V V I N TO
T H E C RE A T U RE S S I D E
’
.
”
t o this frigh t I w prepared for a hound
. as ,
bu t no t for suc h a c rea t ure this And as .
the fog gave l it tl e t ime t o receive h i m

us .
”
You hav e saved my l ife .

”
H aving fi r st endangered it Are you .
s t rong enough t o s t and

“
G i ve me ano t her mou t hfu l of t ha t
brandy a n d I sh all be ready for anything
, .
S o ! N o w if you wil l h e l p me u p
,
Wh at .
do you p ropose t o do P .
“
To l eave you here You are no t fi t .
for further a dven t ures t o nigh t If you will

-
.
wai t one o r o th e r of u s wi l l go back wi th

,
you t o the H all .

”
H e t r i ed t o s t agger t o h i s fee t bu t h e
wa s s til l ghas tl y pa l e and t remb l ing i n every
limb We helped h im t o a rock where he
.
,
sa t shiver i ng w ith h is face bur i ed i n hi s

h ands .
We mus t l eave you n o w said H olmes , .
The res t of our work must be done and ,
every momen t is of importance We have .
our case an d now we only want our man

, .
I t s a thousand to one against our fi n din g

’
3 4
2
him at the h ouse he continued as we r e
, ,
traced our steps swiftly down the path .
“
Those sho t s mus t have t old h im tha t the
game wa s u p .
”
We were some distance o ff and th is fog ,
may have deadened t hem .

"
H e fo l lowed t he hound t o ca ll him off

—o f t hat you may be cer t ain N o no he s .
, ,
’
gone by thi s time ! B u t we ll searc h t he ’
house and make sure .
The fron t door was open so we rushed ,
in and h urried from room to room t o the ,
amazemen t of a doddering old manserv ant ,
who me t u s in t he passage There wa s no .
light save in the dining room but H o l mes -

,
caught up the l amp and left no corner of

,
the house unexplored N o sign could we .
see of the man w hom we were chasing O n .
the upper floor however one of the bedroom

, ,
doors was locked .
There s some one in here

’
cried
Lestrade . I can hear a movemen t Open .
this door !
A fain t moaning and rustli ng came fr om
3 5
2
w i thin H o l mes s t ruck t he door j us t over
.
t he l oc k w it h the fla t o f h is foo t and it flew

,
open P is t o l i n hand we a ll th ree rus h ed

.
,
i n to th e room .
B u t t here was no s i gn withi n it o f tha t

despera t e and de fia n t v ill ain w h om we
expec t ed t o see I ns t ea d we were fac e d by
.
an objec t so s t range and so unexpec t ed th a t

we s t ood for a momen t st ar i n g a t it i n
ama z emen t .
T h e room h ad been fas hi oned in t o a

sma ll museum a n d t he wa ll s were li ned by
,
a number of gl ass t opped case s fu ll o f th a t

-
col l ectio n o f bu tt er fl i es and moths t he for

mation o f whic h had been th e re l axa ti on o f
this com p l e x and da n gerous man I n th e .
cen t re of t hi s room th ere wa s an upri g h t

beam w hi ch had been p l aced a t some per i od
,
as a support for the o l d worm ea t en balk o f

-
timber w hi ch spanned th e roof To th is .
post a figu r e was t ie d so s wa thed and m u ffl e d

,
in the shee t s whi c h h ad been used t o secure

i t that one could no t for the moment tell
w h e th er i t wa s t ha t of a man or a woman .
3 26
One t owe l passed round the throat and was ,
secured a t the bac k of the pil l ar Ano th er .
covered the lower part of the face and over ,
—
it two dark eyes eyes full of grief and
shame and a dreadfu l ques t ioning stared —
back a t u s I n a minute we had t orn o ff
.
th e gag ,
unswa t hed t he bonds and M rs , .
S tap l et on san k upon the floor in fron t o f

us. As h er beau t ifu l head fe ll upon her
c h e s t I saw the cl ear red wea l o f a whip
las h a c ross her neck .
The bru t e ! cried H olme s ”

Here .
“
,
Les t rade your brandy bo t tl e ! P t h er in

,
-
u
the chair ! S h e has fa i n t ed from i ll usage -
and exhaus ti on .
”
S he opened h er eyes ag in f I s he a
'
“
safe .
P she asked Has he escaped
.
P .
He canno t escape u s madam , .
N o no I did not mean my husband

, , .
S ir H enry ? I s he s fe P a .
Yes .
And the hound

I t is dead .
”
She gave a l ong sigh o f satis fac t ion .
3 27
T h e H o u n d o f th e B aske r v ill es
Than k God ! Than k God ! Oh th is ,
villain I S ee h ow he h as t rea t ed me l S he
shot her arms ou t from h er s l eeves and we ,
saw wi t h h orror t ha t they were al l mo t tl ed

with bruises .
—
B u t this i s n o th i ng n o th in g l
I t i s my m i nd and sou l tha t h e h as tor t ured
and de fi le d I cou l d endure it a ll i ll usage
.
,
-
,
soli tude a life of deception every t hing as

, , ,
l ong as I cou l d s t i ll cling t o the h ope th a t

I had his l ove bu t now I know tha t in this
,
also I have been his dupe and his t ool .

”
S he broke i n t o pass i ona te sobb i ng as she

spoke .
You bear h im no good w i l l madam , ,
said H olmes Tel l u s then where we sha ll

.
, ,
fi n d him If you h ave ever aided him in

.
evi l help u s now and so atone

,
.
”
There is bu t one place where h e can

h ave fled she answered ”
,
There is an
.
“
old t i n m i ne on an island i n the heart of the

M ire I t wa s there tha t h e kep t h is hound
.
,
and there also he h ad made prepara t ions so

tha t he migh t have a refuge T h a t i s w h ere .
h e wou l d fl y .
3 2 8
T h e H oun d o f th e B asker vill es
n igh t s adven t ures had sha ttered h i s n erve s
’
,
and before morn i n g h e l ay de li rious in a

high fever under the care o f D r Mor ti mer
,
. .
The two o f th em were destined t o t rave l

t oge th er round the worl d before S i r H enry
h ad become on c e more t h e h al e h earty man ,
t ha t he had been be fore he be came mas t er

o f th a t ill omened es ta t e
-
.
And n o w I c ome rap i d l y t o the c onc l usio n

of this singu l ar narrat i ve in wh i c h I h av e ,
t ried t o make t he re ader share t h ose dark

fears and vague surmises w h ic h c l ouded our
l ives so l ong and ended in so t ragi c a
,
manner O n t he morning aft er t h e death

.
of t he h ound the fog h ad l ifted and we were

guided by M rs Stap l eton t o the poin t where
.
t hey had found a pa t h way through t h e bog .
I t h e l ped u s t o realis e t he h orror of t h i s

woman s life w h en we saw t he eagerness
’
and joy wit h wh i ch s h e l aid u s on her

husband s t rack We l eft her s tanding upon
’
.
the thin peninsu l a of fi r m peat y soil which ,
tapered ou t in t o the widespread bog From .
33 0
T h e H oun d o f th e B aske r v il l es
the end o f it a small wand p l an t ed here and
there showed where t he pa th zigzagged
from tuft t o t uft of rushes among t hose
green s c ummed pits and fou l quagmires
-
wh i ch barred t he way t o the s t range R ankr .
reeds and l ush s l imy wa ter plan t s sen t an

,
-
odour of decay and a heavy miasmatic

vapour i n t o our faces while a fa l se step
,
p l unged u s more t han once thigh deep in t o

-
the dark qui v eri ng m i re which s h ook for

, ,
yards i n soft undu l at ions around our fee t .
Its tena c ious grip p l ucked a t our hee l s as

we wa l ked and when we san k i n t o it i t wa s
,
as if some mal ignan t hand Wa s tugging u s

down in t o those obscene dep t hs so grim ,
and purposefu l was t he c l u t c h i n which it

he l d u s Once on l y we saw a t race t hat
.
some one h ad passed t ha t perilous way

before u s From amid a t uft of cot ton grass
.
-
whic h bore i t up ou t of t he s l ime some dark

thing was projecting H o l mes sank t o his
.
waist a s he s tepped from t he pa t h t o seize

it a nd had we no t been t here t o drag him
,
out he c ou l d never have s e t h i s foo t upon

3S I
firm l and agai n H e held an old b l ack boot
.
i n th e air . M eyers Toronto wa s pri nted

, ,
”
on the l eather in sid e .
I t is worth a mud bath said h e It

,
.
is our friend Sir Henry s missing boot ’

.
”
Thr o wn there by S ta p l eton in h is fligh t .

”
E xactly H e re tained i t in his hand

.
after us ing i t t o se t the hound upon his

tr a ck H e h e d when he k new the gam e
.
was u
p,
still c l utching it And he hurled
.
it away at t h is point of his fl ight we know .
at l eas t that he c a me so far in safety .

”
Bu t more than that we w ere never des

tined t o know th ough there was much which
,
we migh t surmise There was no chance of

.
h a ding foots t eps in th e mire for the risi n g ,
mud oozed swi ftly in upon them bu t as we ,
at l as t reached fi r m e r ground beyond the

mora s s we al l l ooked eagerly for them B ut .
no slightes t sign of th e m ever met our eyes .
I f the ear th told a tru e story then Stap l eton ,
never reached that is l and of refuge t owards

which he stru ggl ed through the fog upon
that l a s t nigh t S o mewhere in th e hea r t o f
.
33 2
even i n day l ig ht were no t p l easan t t o h ear .
O u an emerg ency h e c ou l d kee p th e h ound

i n th e ou t house a t Me r r ipit bu t i t wa s ,
a l ways a r i sk a n d it wa s on l y on t he
,
supreme da y w hi c h h e regarded as t he end

,
of a ll h i s e fl o r ts t ha t h e dared do it This
'
.
,
pas t e i n th e ti n is n o doub t th e l uminous

mix t ure w ith whi c h th e c rea t ure wa s daubed .
I t wa s su gges t ed o f c ourse by t he s t ory o f

, ,
the fam i ly he ll hound and by th e desire t o

-
,
fri gh ten o l d S ir C h arl es t o dea t h N o .
won der the poor dev il o f a c onvic t ran

and scre a med e v e n a s our fr i end did and
, ,
as we ourse l ve s mi g h t hav e done w h en h e ,
saw such a c rea t ure bounding t h rough th e

darknes s o f th e moor upon h is t rack I t .
wa s a c unn i ng dev i ce for a par t from th e , ,
c h ance of driv i n g your v i c t im t o h is dea th ,
wh a t peasan t wou l d ven tu re t o i nqu i re t oo

c l ose l y in t o suc h a c rea tu re s h ou l d h e ge t
sigh t o f it as many have done Upon th e
, ,
mo o r .
P I said it i n London Wa t son and I , ,
say it again now tha t ne v er ye t have we

,
helped to hun t down a more dangerous man

3 34
tha n he wh o is l ying yonder —h e swept
his long arm t owards t he huge mo ttled ex
panse of green sp l o t ched b og which stretched
-
away until i t merged i n t o the russe t slopes

of the moor .
335
C HAPT E R XV
A E SE
R TR O P CT I O N
T wa s th e end N ovember and H o l mes

‘
o f ,
and I sat upon a r a w and foggy night

, ,
on e ither side of a b l a z in g fi r e i n our si tt ing

room i n B aker S tree t S ince t he t ra g ic
.
ups h o t o f our v i si t t o Devons h ire h e h ad

been e ngaged in t wo affairs of the utmos t
importance in t he fi r st of whic h h e h ad
,
exposed t he a t rocious conduc t of Co l one l

U pwood in connec t ion w i th t he famous card
scanda l of th e N o n pa r e il C l ub whi l e in th e ,
second h e h ad de fended t he unfor t una t e

M me M on tpensier from th e charge of
.
murder wh i ch hung over h er i n connec t ion

wi th t he dea th of h er s t ep daugh t er M ll e
-
, .
Carere t he youn g l ady who as it w il l be

, ,
remembered was found six mont h s l a ter

,
a l ive and married in N e w York My friend .
33 6
c omp l ex I h ave had th e advan t age o f t wo
.
conversa t ion s wi th M rs St ap l e ton and the .

,
cas e h as n o w bee n so entire l y cl eared up

tha t I a m no t aware that t here is any thi ng
which has remained a secre t t o u s You .
.
wi l l fi n d a fe w n o t es u p on t he ma tter
under t he heading B in my i n dexed l is t o f
’
c a se sf
“
h aps you wou l d k i nd l y g iv e me
P er
a ske tc h o f t he c ourse of even t s from
memory .
“
Cer t ain l y th ough I c anno t guaran t ee
,
tha t I carry a ll t he fac t s i n my mind .
I n t ense men tal c oncentrat ion has a curi ous

wa y o f b l o t ting ou t wha t has passed The .
barrister who has h i s case a t his fi n ge r s end ’
and i s ab l e t o argue wi t h an exper t upon his

o wn s ubject fi n ds tha t a week or t wo o f t he
,
cour t s wi ll drive i t all ou t of his head on c e

more S o each of my cases disp l a c e s t he
.
l as t and M ll e Carere has b l urred my

,
.
reco ll ec t ion of B askervi l le Hall To morrow .

-
some other li ttl e problem may be submi t ted

to my no t ice w h ich will in turn dispossess
,
33 8
A R e t ro s p e c tion
the fair French l ady and the infamous
U pwood S o far as t he case of t he h ound
.
goes however I will give you the course

, ,
of even t s as nearly as I can and you ,
will suggest any thing which I may have

forgo tten .
My inquiries show beyond all ques t ion

that t he family portrait did not lie and that ,
this fel l ow was indeed a B askerville H e .
wa s a son of that R odger B askerville the ,
younger bro ther of S ir Charles wh o fled ,
with a sinister reputa t ion to S outh America ,
where he wa s said t o h ave died unmarried .
H e did as a ma tt er of fact marry and had

, , ,
one child this fellow whose real name is

, ,
the same as his father H e married B ery l .
Gar cia one of the beauties of Costa R ica

, ,
and having purl oined a considerable sum of

,
public money he change d his name to

,
V andeleur and fled to E ngland where he ,
established a school in the eas t of Yorkshire .
H is reason for attempting this special line

of business was that he had struck up an
acquaintance with a consumptive tutor upon
3 39
t he voyage home and t ha t he had used th i s
,
man s abi l i ty t o make t he under t aking a

’
success Fraser the t u t or died however

.
, , , ,
and the school which had begun we l l sank ,
from disrepute into infamy The V a n de le u r s .
foun d i t convenien t t o change th eir name to

S tap l e t on and h e brough t t h e remains o f
,
his fortune his sc h emes for t he fu t u re and

, ,
his tas t e for en t omo l ogy to the sou t h o f

E ngl and I l earn a t th e B ri t is h M useum
.
tha t h e was a recognised au thori ty upon th e

subject and tha t t he name of V ande l eur has
,
been permanen t ly attached to a cer tain mo th

w h ich h e had i n his Yorkshire days been
, ,
the fi r st to describe .
We now come t o t ha t port ion of h is li fe

w h ich has proved to be of such intense
in t eres t t o u s The fellow had evidentl y
.
made inquiry and found t ha t on l y t wo lives

,
in t ervened be t ween him and a valuable

es ta t e When he wen t t o Devonshire his
.
plans were I believe exceedingly hazy but

, , ,
that he meant mischief from the fi r st is

evident from the way in which he took his
3 49
Hav i n g conceived t he i dea he proceeded ,
to carry it ou t with considerab l e fi n e sse A n

i
.
ordinary schemer wo u ld h a e been con t ent v
to work with a savage hound The use .
of a r tifi c ia l means to make t h e creature

diabolica l was a fl a sh of genius upon his
part The dog he bough t i n London fro m
.
R oss and M angles the dealers in Fulha m

,
R oad I t was the strongest and mos t savage

.
i n th e i r possession H e brought i t down by

.
the N orth Devon l ine and wa l ked a great

,
distance over the moor so as to get i t home

,
without exciting any remarks H e had .
already o n his insec t hunts l earned t o

penetra t e the C rimpen M ire and so had ,
found a safe hiding place for the creature

-
.
H ere he kennel l ed it and wai t ed his

chance .
“
B u t i t wa s som e t i me c oming The .
old gentleman cou l d n o t be decoyed outside

of his grounds a t nigh t Severa l times .
Stapleto n lurked about wi t h his hound but ,
without avail I t was during these fruitless

.
quests that h e or rather his a l ly wa s seen

, ,
342
A R e tro s p e ction
by peasants and tha t the legend of t he
,
demon dog received a new c o n fi r ma tio n .
H e had hoped t hat h is wife mi gh t l ure S ir

Char l es to his ruin bu t here she proved
,
unexpect ed l y independen t She would not

.
endeavour t o entangle the old gentleman in

a sentimental attachmen t W hich might deliver
him over to his enemy Threats and even
.
,
I a m sorry t o say b l ows refused to move

,
her S he wou l d have no thing t o do wi t h

.
it and for a time Stapleton was a t a dead

,
lock
H e found a way out of his diffi c u l tie s
through the chance that S ir Charles wh o ,
had conceived a friendship for him made ,
him the minis t er of his chari t y in the case of

this unfortunate woman M rs Laura Lyons
, . .
By representing himself as a single man he ,
acquired complete in fl u e n c e over her and ,
he gave her to understand that i n the event

of her obtaining a divorce from her husband
he would marry her H is p l ans were sud
.
de n ly brought to a head by his knowledge

t hat S ir Charles was about to leave the Hal l
3 43
on t he adv ice o f Dr Mor timer w i th whose
.
,
opinion he himse l f pre t ended to coincide .
H e mus t ac t at once or his victim might ,
get beyond his power H e therefore put .
pressure upon M rs Lyons to write t his

.
le t ter imp l oring the o l d man t o give her

,
an in t erview on the evening before his

depar t ure for London H e then by a .
,
specious argument preven t ed h er fro m

,
going and so had the chanc e for which he

,
had waited .
“
Driving back in the even i ng from
Coombe Tracey he was in t i me t o get his
,
hound to t reat it with his inferna l paint and

, ,
t o bri n g the beast round to the gate a t

which he had reason to expect that he would
h n d the old gentleman waiting The dog .
,
incited by i ts master sprang over the wicket

,
gate and pursued the unfortunate barone t ,
wh o fled screaming down t he Y e w Alley .
I n that g l oomy tunne l it must indeed hav e

been a dreadfu l sight t o see tha t huge black
creature with i t s flaming jaws and blazing
,
eyes bounding after its victim H e fel l

,
.
3 44
Stapleton and M rs Laura Lyons were l eft
.
,
with a s t rong susp i cion agains t S tapleton .
Mrs S tap l eton knew that he had designs

.
upon the old man and also of the existen c e

,
of t he h ound Mrs Lyons kne w nei ther o f

. .
these things bu t had been impressed by the

,
death occurring a t the time of an u ncan c elled

appointment which was on l y known to him .
H owever bo t h of them w ere under his

,
in fl u e n c e and h e had nothing to fear from

,
them The fi r st ha l f of his task was success

.
fu ll y accomplished but the more diffi c u lt

,
still remained .
I t is possib l e tha t Staple t on did n o t

know of the existence of an heir in Canada .
I n any case he would very soon l earn i t

from his friend Dr M ortimer and h e wa s
.
,
told by the l a t ter al l detai l s about the arr i va l

of H enry B askerville S tap l e t on s fi r st idea
.
’
was that this youn g s t ranger from Canada

might possibly be done to death i n London
without coming do wn t o D evonshire at a l l .
H e dis t rusted his wife ever since she had

refused to help him in laying a trap for th e
346
old man and he dared no t leave her l ong
,
out of his sight for fear h e should lose his

in fl u e n c e over her I t was for this reason
.
that he took her to London with him They .
l odged I fi n d at the Mexborough P rivate

, ,
H otel in Craven Street w h ic h was ac t ually

, ,
one of those cal l ed upon by my agent i n

search of evidence H ere he kept his wife .
imprisoned i n her roo m while h e disguised ,
in a beard fol l owed Dr M ortimer to B aker

, .
Street and afterwards to the station and to

,
t he N orthumberland H otel H is wife had .
some inkling of his plans ; but she had such

a fear of her husband a fear founded upon -
bruta l ill treatment—tha t she dare no t write

-
to warn the man whom she kne w to be i n

danger I f the letter shou l d fall into Staple
.
ton s hands her own life would not be safe

’
E ventually 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 I t reached the .
baronet and gave him the fi r st warning of

,
his danger .
3 47
I t wa s very essentia l for S tap l e t on to
ge t some ar ti c l e of S ir H enry s a t tire so t h a t
'
in case h e wa s driven to use t h e dog h e ,
mig ht a l ways h ave t he means of se tti n g h im

upon h is t rack Wit h c h arac t er i s t i c prompt
.
ness and audaci ty h e se t abou t th is a t once ,
and we c anno t doubt th a t th e boots or

chambermaid of th e h o t e l was we ll bribed
to h elp h im in h is design By chance .
,
h owever th e fi r st boo t w h ich wa s procured

,
for him wa s a new one and t h erefore use l ess

, , ,
for h is purpose H e then h ad i t re t urned

.
—
and ob t ained anot h er a mos t ins t ruc t ive
1n c 1de n t since i t proved conclusively to my
,
mind tha t we were dea l ing wit h a real h ound ,
as no ot h er supposition cou l d explain th is

anxiety t o obtain an o l d boo t and th is
indifference t o a new one The more ou tr e
.
’
and grotesque an inciden t i s t h e more care

fu l l y it deserves t o be examined and the ,
very poin t w h ic h appears to complica t e a

case is wh en d u l y considered and sc ie n tifi
,
cal ly handled th e one w h ic h is mos t l ikely

,
to elucidate it .
3 48
case in London and t hat t herefore th ere
,
wa s no chance fo r him t here H e re t urned .
t o Dart moor a n d awai t ed the arr i va l of th e

baronet .
”
One moment ! sa i d I ”
You h ave no .
,
doub t described th e sequence of even t s

,
correc tl y bu t t here is one point whic h you

,
have l eft unexp l ained What became of t he

.
hound when i t s mas t er wa s i n London

“
I h ave given some at t en t ion t o t h i s
ma t ter and i t is undoubtedly of impor tance
, .
There can be no question t ha t St ap l e t on h ad

a c o n fi da n t t hough it is un l ikely th a t h e
,
ever placed h imself i n his power by s h ar i n g

al l his p l ans wi t h him There wa s an o l d
.
ma n s ervan t a t Me r r ipit H ouse whose nam e ,
wa s A n t hony H i s connec ti on wi t h th e
.
S tap l etons c an be t raced for s evera l years ,
as far back as the schoo l mas t eri n g days so ,
that he must have been aware that h is

mas t er and mistress were real l y husband and
W ife This m a n has disappeared and has
.
escaped from the country I t i s sugges t ive .
that Ant h ony is not a common name in

3 5°
E ngland w h ile A ntonio is so in all Spanish
,
or Spanish American countries The man

- .
,
like Mrs Staple t on herself spoke good

.
,
E nglish but with a curious lisping accen t

, .
I h ave myself se en this old man cross the

C rimpen M ire by the path which S t apleton
had marked out I t is very probable t h ere
.
,
fore tha t in the abs e nce of his mas t er it was

,
h e wh o cared for the hound t h ough he may ,
never have known the purpose for w h ich the

beast wa s used .
The S tapletons then went down to

Devonshire w h it h er they were soon fo l lowed
,
by S ir H enry and you One word now as .
to h ow I stood myself at t ha t t ime I t may .
possibly recur t o your m e mory that when

I examined t he paper upon w h ic h t he printed
words were fastened I made a close in sp e c
tion for t h e watermark I n doing so I held
.
i t wit h in a few inches of my eyes and was ,
conscious of a faint smel l of the scent known

as white j essamine There are seventy fi v e
.
-
perfu m es which i t is very necessary that a

,
crimina l exper t should be able to disti n guish

3S I
from eac h o th er and cases h ave more t han
,
once w i t h in m y own experience depended

,
upon th eir promp t reco g nition T h e scen t .
sugg es ted th e presen c e of a l ady and ,
a l ready my t houghts began t o turn towards

t h e S tap l e t ons Thus I h ad made cer tain
.
of t he hound and h ad guessed a t the

,
criminal before e v er we wen t t o t h e Wes t

coun t ry.
I t wa s my game t o wa t c h Stap l e t on .
I t was eviden t however t ha t I cou l d no t

, ,
do this i f I were wi t h you since he wou l d ,
be keen l y on his guard I deceived every .
bo d y t herefore y oursel f included and I

, , ,
came down secre tl y when I wa s supposed t o

be in London My hardships were no t so
.
grea t as you imagined t hough such t r ifl in g

,
de t ai l s mus t never interfere with t he in

v e s tiga tio n of a case I stayed for t he mos t
.
part a t Coombe Tracey and on l y used the ,
b t upon the moor when it wa s necessary to

u
be near the scene of action Cartwright had .
come down wi th me and in his disguise as

,
a coun t ry boy he was of great assistance to

35 2
attempt upon S ir H enry t ha t night which ,
ended in t he death of t he unfor t unate convic t ,
did no t he l p u s much in proving murder

against our man There seemed t o be no
.
a l terna t ive but to catch him red handed -

,
and t o do so we had t o use S ir H enry alone ,
and apparen tl y unprotec t ed as a bait We

, .
did so and at t he cost of a severe shoc k t o

,
our c li ent we succeeded in comp l e ti ng our

case and driv i ng S tapleton t o his des t ruction .
That S ir H enry s h ould have been exposed

t o this is I must confess a reproac h to my
, ,
management of th e case bu t we h ad no
,
means of foreseeing t he t err i b l e and para l yz i ng

spec ta cl e whi ch t he beas t presen t ed nor ,
could we predict th e fog whic h enab l ed h i m

t o b u rs t upon u s at such s h or t notice We .
succeeded i n our object a t a cost wh ic h bo th

t he spec i alis t and Dr M or t imer assure me
.
wil l be a t emporary one A l ong j ourney

.
may enable our friend t o recover not only

from his shattered nerves but also from ,
his wounded feelings H is love for the

.
lady wa s deep and sincere and to him the

,
3 54
sadde st part of al l this black business
was that he should have been deceived by
her
It only remains to indica t e the par t
which she had played throughout There .
can be no doub t tha t S tapleton exercised

an in fl u e n c e over her which may have been
l ove or may have been fear or very possibly
,
bo t h since they are by no means in c o m

,
patib l e emotions I t was at least absolute l y

.
, ,
eff ctive A t his command she consen ted

e .
to pass as his sister t hough he found the

,
limits of his power over her when he e n

de a v o u r e d to make her t he direct accessory
to murder S he was re ady t o warn Sir
.
H enry so far as she could without im

plicating her husband and again and again
,
she tried to do so Stap l eton himself seems

.
to have been capable of j ealousy and when ,
he saw the barone t paying court to t h e

lady even though it was part of his own
,
plan still he cou l d not help i nterrupting

,
with a passionate outburst which revealed

the h ery soul which his self contained -
355
manner so cleverly concealed . By e n
c o u r a in
g g the intimacy he made i t cer t ain
that S ir H enry would frequentl y come to
M e r r ip it H ouse and t ha t h e wou l d sooner
,
or l a t e r ge t the oppor t uni t y which he

desired O u t he day of th e cris i s however
.
, ,
his w i fe t urned sudden l y agains t h im S he .
h ad l earned somet hi n g of th e dea th of t h e

convi ct and s h e knew t h a t t h e h ound wa s
,
be i ng kept in t h e outh ous e on th e evening

t h a t S ir H enry wa s c oming to dinner Sh e .
taxed h er h usband wi th h is i n t ended crime ,
and a fur i ous s cene fo l lowed in w hi c h h e

,
s h owed h er for t h e fi r st t i me t h a t s h e h a d a
rival in hi s love H er fi de lity turned in an
.
instan t t o b itt er h atred and h e sa w t h a t s h e

,
wou l d be t ray h im H e tied h er u p t h ere

.
,
fore th a t s h e migh t h ave n o c h anc e of

,
warn i ng Si r H enry and he h oped no doubt

, , ,
tha t whe n the who l e coun t rys i de pu t down

t h e baronet s death t o th e curse of his
’
fami l y as t hey cer t a i n l y wou l d do h e could

, ,
win his w i fe back to accept an a ccomp l ished

fact and t o k eep si l ent upon wha t s h e kne w
,
.
35 6
I t is a form i dable diffi c u lty and I fear ,
that y o u ask too much when you expect me

to sol ve it The past and the present are
.
wi thi n the fi e ld of my inquiry bu t what a ,
man may do in t h e fu ture is a hard quest i o n

to answer M rs Stap l e t on has h eard her
. .
husband discuss t he prob l em on several

occasions There were three possib l e
.
courses H e migh t cl aim t he property from

.
S outh Amer i ca es t ab l ish his i den t ity before

,
th e B ritis h authori t ies there and so ob t ain ,
t he for tune withou t ever coming to E n gland

a t all ; or he might adop t an elaborate dis
guise durin g the short t ime tha t he need be
i n London ; o r aga i n he m ight furnish an
, ,
accomplice with the proofs and papers ,
putting him in as heir and retaining a claim,
upon some proportion o f his income We .
cannot doubt from what we k no w of h im

, ,
tha t h e wou l d have found some way ou t o f

the diffi c u l ty And n o w my dear Watson
.
, ,
we have had some weeks of severe work ,
and for one evening I think we may t urn, ,
our though t s into more p l easant channels .
35 8
A R e tro s p e c tion
I have a box for L es H g u en o fs H ave you u .
heard the D e R e s ke P M igh t I t rouble

z s .
you then to be ready i n half a n hour and we ,
can stop a t Ma r c in i s for a l i ttl e dinner on

’
the way P
TH E E ND
rnm u w BY WI L L I A M C LO “ E S A N D so u s, u m r no ,
'
LO N D O N AN D m ea n s.

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1

00117110 legen d floa t 11

Co u ntry legen d tb o t i lo ts t l wes its in cep

X III . T HE NFI X ING E TS

was usually very late in the m o r n

sions when he stayed up a ll night was seated ,

at the breakfast table I stood u p o n the .

hearth rug and picked up the stick which

our V I S I tO I had left behind him the night

before I t was a ﬁ n e thick piece of wood

bulbous headed of the sort which is known

as a Penang lawyer J ust under the head

was a broad silver band nearly an inch ,

across . To James M ort imer

graved upon it with the date , It

s olid and reassuring

Well Watson wha t do you mak e o f it

H olmes was sitting with his back to me ,

and I had give n him no sign of my o c c u

H ow did you know wha t I was doing

I have a t l east a weI I pol ished si l ver

plated coffee pot in front of me said h e

B ut tell me Watson what d o you make

of our visitor s stick ? Since we have been

so unfortunate as to miss him and have no

becomes of importa nce Le t me hear you .

reconstruct the man by an exami nation

c ou l d the methods of my companion that ,

D r M ortimer is a successful elderly medical

the accoun t s which y o have been so g oo d u

a s t o give of my own small achievements

you have habitually underrated your own

self luminous but you are a conductor of

light S om e people without possessing genius

have a remarkable power of stimulating it .

I confess my dear fe ll o w that I a m ve ry

much in your debt .

H e h ad never said as much before and ,

I m u s t admi t that his words gave me keen

indifference to my admiration and t o the

that I had so far mastered his system as to

H e now t oo k the s t ick from my hands and

he laid down his cigarette and c a rry i n g the , ,

cane to the win do w he l ooked o ve r it aga i n

h e as he returned to his favourite c orn e r of

the sett ee There are certainly one or two

indications upon the stick I t gives u s the

Has anything escaped me

with some self importance -

there is nothing of consequence which I

of your conclusions were e rron e ou s When .

I said that you stimulated me I meant to be ,

frank that i n noting your fallacies I was

occasionally guided towards the t ruth N o t .

that you are entirely wrong in this instance .

The man is certainly a country practitioner .

And he walks a goo d deal .

Then I was right .

B ut that was all .

by no means all I would sugges t for

example that a presentation to a doctor is

more l ik el y to come from an hospital than

are placed before that h ospital the words