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+Project Gutenberg's The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Hound of the Baskervilles
+
+Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
+
+Posting Date: October 10, 2010
+Release Date: February, 2002 [Etext #3070]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by This etext was produced by P. K.Pehtla <ppehtla@nfld.com>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+The Hound of the Baskervilles
+
+by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
+
+
+
+
+  CONTENTS
+
+  Chapter 1--Mr. Sherlock Holmes
+  Chapter 2--The Curse of the Baskervilles
+  Chapter 3--The Problem
+  Chapter 4--Sir Henry Baskerville
+  Chapter 5--Three Broken Threads
+  Chapter 6--Baskerville Hall
+  Chapter 7--The Stapletons of Merripit House
+  Chapter 8--First Report of Dr. Watson
+  Chapter 9--The Light Upon The Moor
+  Chapter 10--Extract from the Diary of Dr. Watson
+  Chapter 11--The Man on the Tor
+  Chapter 12--Death on the Moor
+  Chapter 13--Fixing the Nets
+  Chapter 14--The Hound of the Baskervilles
+  Chapter 15--A Retrospection
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 1
+
+Mr. Sherlock Holmes
+
+
+Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings,
+save upon those not infrequent occasions when he was up all
+night, was seated at the breakfast table. I stood upon the
+hearth-rug and picked up the stick which our visitor had left
+behind him the night before. It was a fine, thick piece of wood,
+bulbous-headed, of the sort which is known as a "Penang lawyer."
+Just under the head was a broad silver band nearly an inch
+across. "To James Mortimer, M.R.C.S., from his friends of the
+C.C.H.," was engraved upon it, with the date "1884." It was just
+such a stick as the old-fashioned family practitioner used to
+carry--dignified, solid, and reassuring.
+
+"Well, Watson, what do you make of it?"
+
+Holmes was sitting with his back to me, and I had given him no
+sign of my occupation.
+
+"How did you know what I was doing? I believe you have eyes in
+the back of your head."
+
+"I have, at least, a well-polished, silver-plated coffee-pot in
+front of me," said he. "But, tell me, Watson, what do you make of
+our visitor's stick? Since we have been so unfortunate as to miss
+him and have no notion of his errand, this accidental souvenir
+becomes of importance. Let me hear you reconstruct the man by an
+examination of it."
+
+"I think," said I, following as far as I could the methods of my
+companion, "that Dr. Mortimer is a successful, elderly medical
+man, well-esteemed since those who know him give him this mark of
+their appreciation."
+
+"Good!" said Holmes. "Excellent!"
+
+"I think also that the probability is in favour of his being a
+country practitioner who does a great deal of his visiting on
+foot."
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"Because this stick, though originally a very handsome one has
+been so knocked about that I can hardly imagine a town
+practitioner carrying it. The thick-iron ferrule is worn down, so
+it is evident that he has done a great amount of walking with
+it."
+
+"Perfectly sound!" said Holmes.
+
+"And then again, there is the 'friends of the C.C.H.' I should
+guess that to be the Something Hunt, the local hunt to whose
+members he has possibly given some surgical assistance, and which
+has made him a small presentation in return."
+
+"Really, Watson, you excel yourself," said Holmes, pushing back
+his chair and lighting a cigarette. "I am bound to say that in
+all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own
+small achievements you have habitually underrated your own
+abilities. It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but you
+are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius
+have a remarkable power of stimulating it. I confess, my dear
+fellow, that I am very much in your debt."
+
+He had never said as much before, and I must admit that his words
+gave me keen pleasure, for I had often been piqued by his
+indifference to my admiration and to the attempts which I had
+made to give publicity to his methods. I was proud, too, to think
+that I had so far mastered his system as to apply it in a way
+which earned his approval. He now took the stick from my hands
+and examined it for a few minutes with his naked eyes. Then with
+an expression of interest he laid down his cigarette, and
+carrying the cane to the window, he looked over it again with a
+convex lens.
+
+"Interesting, though elementary," said he as he returned to his
+favourite corner of the settee. "There are certainly one or two
+indications upon the stick. It gives us the basis for several
+deductions."
+
+"Has anything escaped me?" I asked with some self-importance. "I
+trust that there is nothing of consequence which I have
+overlooked?"
+
+"I am afraid, my dear Watson, that most of your conclusions were
+erroneous. When I said that you stimulated me I meant, to be
+frank, that in noting your fallacies I was occasionally guided
+towards the truth. Not that you are entirely wrong in this
+instance. The man is certainly a country practitioner. And he
+walks a good deal."
+
+"Then I was right."
+
+"To that extent."
+
+"But that was all."
+
+"No, no, my dear Watson, not all--by no means all. I would
+suggest, for example, that a presentation to a doctor is more
+likely to come from a hospital than from a hunt, and that when
+the initials 'C.C.' are placed before that hospital the words
+'Charing Cross' very naturally suggest themselves."
+
+"You may be right."
+
+"The probability lies in that direction. And if we take this as a
+working hypothesis we have a fresh basis from which to start our
+construction of this unknown visitor."
+
+"Well, then, supposing that 'C.C.H.' does stand for 'Charing
+Cross Hospital,' what further inferences may we draw?"
+
+"Do none suggest themselves? You know my methods. Apply them!"
+
+"I can only think of the obvious conclusion that the man has
+practised in town before going to the country."
+
+"I think that we might venture a little farther than this. Look
+at it in this light. On what occasion would it be most probable
+that such a presentation would be made? When would his friends
+unite to give him a pledge of their good will? Obviously at the
+moment when Dr. Mortimer withdrew from the service of the
+hospital in order to start in practice for himself. We know there
+has been a presentation. We believe there has been a change from
+a town hospital to a country practice. Is it, then, stretching
+our inference too far to say that the presentation was on the
+occasion of the change?"
+
+"It certainly seems probable."
+
+"Now, you will observe that he could not have been on the staff
+of the hospital, since only a man well-established in a London
+practice could hold such a position, and such a one would not
+drift into the country. What was he, then? If he was in the
+hospital and yet not on the staff he could only have been a
+house-surgeon or a house-physician--little more than a senior
+student. And he left five years ago--the date is on the stick. So
+your grave, middle-aged family practitioner vanishes into thin
+air, my dear Watson, and there emerges a young fellow under
+thirty, amiable, unambitious, absent-minded, and the possessor of
+a favourite dog, which I should describe roughly as being larger
+than a terrier and smaller than a mastiff."
+
+I laughed incredulously as Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his
+settee and blew little wavering rings of smoke up to the ceiling.
+
+"As to the latter part, I have no means of checking you," said I,
+"but at least it is not difficult to find out a few particulars
+about the man's age and professional career." From my small
+medical shelf I took down the Medical Directory and turned up the
+name. There were several Mortimers, but only one who could be our
+visitor. I read his record aloud.
+
+"Mortimer, James, M.R.C.S., 1882, Grimpen, Dartmoor,
+Devon. House-surgeon, from 1882 to 1884, at Charing Cross
+Hospital. Winner of the Jackson prize for Comparative Pathology,
+with essay entitled 'Is Disease a Reversion?' Corresponding
+member of the Swedish Pathological Society. Author of 'Some
+Freaks of Atavism' (Lancet 1882). 'Do We Progress?' (Journal of
+Psychology, March, 1883). Medical Officer for the parishes of
+Grimpen, Thorsley, and High Barrow."
+
+"No mention of that local hunt, Watson," said Holmes with a
+mischievous smile, "but a country doctor, as you very astutely
+observed. I think that I am fairly justified in my inferences. As
+to the adjectives, I said, if I remember right, amiable,
+unambitious, and absent-minded. It is my experience that it is
+only an amiable man in this world who receives testimonials, only
+an unambitious one who abandons a London career for the country,
+and only an absent-minded one who leaves his stick and not his
+visiting-card after waiting an hour in your room."
+
+"And the dog?"
+
+"Has been in the habit of carrying this stick behind his master.
+Being a heavy stick the dog has held it tightly by the middle,
+and the marks of his teeth are very plainly visible. The dog's
+jaw, as shown in the space between these marks, is too broad in
+my opinion for a terrier and not broad enough for a mastiff. It
+may have been--yes, by Jove, it is a curly-haired spaniel."
+
+He had risen and paced the room as he spoke. Now he halted in the
+recess of the window. There was such a ring of conviction in his
+voice that I glanced up in surprise.
+
+"My dear fellow, how can you possibly be so sure of that?"
+
+"For the very simple reason that I see the dog himself on our
+very door-step, and there is the ring of its owner. Don't move, I
+beg you, Watson. He is a professional brother of yours, and your
+presence may be of assistance to me. Now is the dramatic moment
+of fate, Watson, when you hear a step upon the stair which is
+walking into your life, and you know not whether for good or ill.
+What does Dr. James Mortimer, the man of science, ask of Sherlock
+Holmes, the specialist in crime? Come in!"
+
+The appearance of our visitor was a surprise to me, since I had
+expected a typical country practitioner. He was a very tall, thin
+man, with a long nose like a beak, which jutted out between two
+keen, gray eyes, set closely together and sparkling brightly from
+behind a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He was clad in a
+professional but rather slovenly fashion, for his frock-coat was
+dingy and his trousers frayed. Though young, his long back was
+already bowed, and he walked with a forward thrust of his head
+and a general air of peering benevolence. As he entered his eyes
+fell upon the stick in Holmes's hand, and he ran towards it with
+an exclamation of joy. "I am so very glad," said he. "I was not
+sure whether I had left it here or in the Shipping Office. I
+would not lose that stick for the world."
+
+"A presentation, I see," said Holmes.
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"From Charing Cross Hospital?"
+
+"From one or two friends there on the occasion of my marriage."
+
+"Dear, dear, that's bad!" said Holmes, shaking his head.
+
+Dr. Mortimer blinked through his glasses in mild astonishment.
+
+"Why was it bad?"
+
+"Only that you have disarranged our little deductions. Your
+marriage, you say?"
+
+"Yes, sir. I married, and so left the hospital, and with it all
+hopes of a consulting practice. It was necessary to make a home
+of my own."
+
+"Come, come, we are not so far wrong, after all," said Holmes.
+"And now, Dr. James Mortimer ------"
+
+"Mister, sir, Mister--a humble M.R.C.S."
+
+"And a man of precise mind, evidently."
+
+"A dabbler in science, Mr. Holmes, a picker up of shells on the
+shores of the great unknown ocean. I presume that it is Mr.
+Sherlock Holmes whom I am addressing and not ------"
+
+"No, this is my friend Dr. Watson."
+
+"Glad to meet you, sir. I have heard your name mentioned in
+connection with that of your friend. You interest me very much,
+Mr. Holmes. I had hardly expected so dolichocephalic a skull or
+such well-marked supra-orbital development. Would you have any
+objection to my running my finger along your parietal fissure? A
+cast of your skull, sir, until the original is available, would
+be an ornament to any anthropological museum. It is not my
+intention to be fulsome, but I confess that I covet your skull."
+
+Sherlock Holmes waved our strange visitor into a chair. "You are
+an enthusiast in your line of thought, I perceive, sir, as I am
+in mine," said he. "I observe from your forefinger that you make
+your own cigarettes. Have no hesitation in lighting one."
+
+The man drew out paper and tobacco and twirled the one up in the
+other with surprising dexterity. He had long, quivering fingers
+as agile and restless as the antennae of an insect.
+
+Holmes was silent, but his little darting glances showed me the
+interest which he took in our curious companion.
+
+"I presume, sir," said he at last, "that it was not merely for
+the purpose of examining my skull that you have done me the
+honour to call here last night and again to-day?"
+
+"No, sir, no; though I am happy to have had the opportunity of
+doing that as well. I came to you, Mr. Holmes, because I
+recognized that I am myself an unpractical man and because I am
+suddenly confronted with a most serious and extraordinary
+problem. Recognizing, as I do, that you are the second highest
+expert in Europe ------"
+
+"Indeed, sir! May I inquire who has the honour to be the first?"
+asked Holmes with some asperity.
+
+"To the man of precisely scientific mind the work of Monsieur
+Bertillon must always appeal strongly."
+
+"Then had you not better consult him?"
+
+"I said, sir, to the precisely scientific mind. But as a
+practical man of affairs it is acknowledged that you stand alone.
+I trust, sir, that I have not inadvertently ------"
+
+"Just a little," said Holmes. "I think, Dr. Mortimer, you would
+do wisely if without more ado you would kindly tell me plainly
+what the exact nature of the problem is in which you demand my
+assistance."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 2
+
+The Curse of the Baskervilles
+
+
+"I have in my pocket a manuscript," said Dr. James Mortimer.
+
+"I observed it as you entered the room," said Holmes.
+
+"It is an old manuscript."
+
+"Early eighteenth century, unless it is a forgery."
+
+"How can you say that, sir?"
+
+"You have presented an inch or two of it to my examination all
+the time that you have been talking. It would be a poor expert
+who could not give the date of a document within a decade or so.
+You may possibly have read my little monograph upon the subject.
+I put that at 1730."
+
+"The exact date is 1742." Dr. Mortimer drew it from his
+breast-pocket. "This family paper was committed to my care by Sir
+Charles Baskerville, whose sudden and tragic death some three
+months ago created so much excitement in Devonshire. I may say
+that I was his personal friend as well as his medical attendant.
+He was a strong-minded man, sir, shrewd, practical, and as
+unimaginative as I am myself. Yet he took this document very
+seriously, and his mind was prepared for just such an end as did
+eventually overtake him."
+
+Holmes stretched out his hand for the manuscript and flattened it
+upon his knee.
+
+"You will observe, Watson, the alternative use of the long s and
+the short. It is one of several indications which enabled me to
+fix the date."
+
+I looked over his shoulder at the yellow paper and the faded
+script. At the head was written: "Baskerville Hall," and below in
+large, scrawling figures: "1742."
+
+"It appears to be a statement of some sort."
+
+"Yes, it is a statement of a certain legend which runs in the
+Baskerville family."
+
+"But I understand that it is something more modern and practical
+upon which you wish to consult me?"
+
+"Most modern. A most practical, pressing matter, which must be
+decided within twenty-four hours. But the manuscript is short and
+is intimately connected with the affair. With your permission I
+will read it to you."
+
+Holmes leaned back in his chair, placed his finger-tips together,
+and closed his eyes, with an air of resignation. Dr. Mortimer
+turned the manuscript to the light and read in a high, cracking
+voice the following curious, old-world narrative:--
+
+"Of the origin of the Hound of the Baskervilles there have been
+many statements, yet as I come in a direct line from Hugo
+Baskerville, and as I had the story from my father, who also had
+it from his, I have set it down with all belief that it occurred
+even as is here set forth. And I would have you believe, my sons,
+that the same Justice which punishes sin may also most graciously
+forgive it, and that no ban is so heavy but that by prayer and
+repentance it may be removed. Learn then from this story not to
+fear the fruits of the past, but rather to be circumspect in the
+future, that those foul passions whereby our family has suffered
+so grievously may not again be loosed to our undoing.
+
+"Know then that in the time of the Great Rebellion (the history
+of which by the learned Lord Clarendon I most earnestly commend
+to your attention) this Manor of Baskerville was held by Hugo of
+that name, nor can it be gainsaid that he was a most wild,
+profane, and godless man. This, in truth, his neighbours might
+have pardoned, seeing that saints have never flourished in those
+parts, but there was in him a certain wanton and cruel humour
+which made his name a byword through the West. It chanced that
+this Hugo came to love (if, indeed, so dark a passion may be
+known under so bright a name) the daughter of a yeoman who held
+lands near the Baskerville estate. But the young maiden, being
+discreet and of good repute, would ever avoid him, for she
+feared his evil name. So it came to pass that one Michaelmas
+this Hugo, with five or six of his idle and wicked companions,
+stole down upon the farm and carried off the maiden, her father
+and brothers being from home, as he well knew. When they had
+brought her to the Hall the maiden was placed in an upper
+chamber, while Hugo and his friends sat down to a long carouse,
+as was their nightly custom. Now, the poor lass upstairs was like
+to have her wits turned at the singing and shouting and terrible
+oaths which came up to her from below, for they say that the
+words used by Hugo Baskerville, when he was in wine, were such as
+might blast the man who said them. At last in the stress of her
+fear she did that which might have daunted the bravest or most
+active man, for by the aid of the growth of ivy which covered
+(and still covers) the south wall she came down from under the
+eaves, and so homeward across the moor, there being three leagues
+betwixt the Hall and her father's farm.
+
+"It chanced that some little time later Hugo left his guests to
+carry food and drink--with other worse things, perchance--to his
+captive, and so found the cage empty and the bird escaped. Then,
+as it would seem, he became as one that hath a devil, for,
+rushing down the stairs into the dining-hall, he sprang upon the
+great table, flagons and trenchers flying before him, and he
+cried aloud before all the company that he would that very night
+render his body and soul to the Powers of Evil if he might but
+overtake the wench. And while the revellers stood aghast at the
+fury of the man, one more wicked or, it may be, more drunken than
+the rest, cried out that they should put the hounds upon her.
+Whereat Hugo ran from the house, crying to his grooms that they
+should saddle his mare and unkennel the pack, and giving the
+hounds a kerchief of the maid's, he swung them to the line, and
+so off full cry in the moonlight over the moor.
+
+"Now, for some space the revellers stood agape, unable to
+understand all that had been done in such haste. But anon their
+bemused wits awoke to the nature of the deed which was like to be
+done upon the moorlands. Everything was now in an uproar, some
+calling for their pistols, some for their horses, and some for
+another flask of wine. But at length some sense came back to
+their crazed minds, and the whole of them, thirteen in number,
+took horse and started in pursuit. The moon shone clear above
+them, and they rode swiftly abreast, taking that course which the
+maid must needs have taken if she were to reach her own home.
+
+"They had gone a mile or two when they passed one of the night
+shepherds upon the moorlands, and they cried to him to know if he
+had seen the hunt. And the man, as the story goes, was so crazed
+with fear that he could scarce speak, but at last he said that he
+had indeed seen the unhappy maiden, with the hounds upon her
+track. 'But I have seen more than that,' said he, 'for Hugo
+Baskerville passed me upon his black mare, and there ran mute
+behind him such a hound of hell as God forbid should ever be at
+my heels.' So the drunken squires cursed the shepherd and rode
+onward. But soon their skins turned cold, for there came a
+galloping across the moor, and the black mare, dabbled with white
+froth, went past with trailing bridle and empty saddle. Then the
+revellers rode close together, for a great fear was on them, but
+they still followed over the moor, though each, had he been
+alone, would have been right glad to have turned his horse's
+head. Riding slowly in this fashion they came at last upon the
+hounds. These, though known for their valour and their breed,
+were whimpering in a cluster at the head of a deep dip or goyal,
+as we call it, upon the moor, some slinking away and some, with
+starting hackles and staring eyes, gazing down the narrow valley
+before them.
+
+"The company had come to a halt, more sober men, as you may
+guess, than when they started. The most of them would by no means
+advance, but three of them, the boldest, or it may be the most
+drunken, rode forward down the goyal. Now, it opened into a broad
+space in which stood two of those great stones, still to be seen
+there, which were set by certain forgotten peoples in the days of
+old. The moon was shining bright upon the clearing, and there in
+the centre lay the unhappy maid where she had fallen, dead of
+fear and of fatigue. But it was not the sight of her body, nor
+yet was it that of the body of Hugo Baskerville lying near her,
+which raised the hair upon the heads of these three daredevil
+roysterers, but it was that, standing over Hugo, and plucking at
+his throat, there stood a foul thing, a great, black beast,
+shaped like a hound, yet larger than any hound that ever mortal
+eye has rested upon. And even as they looked the thing tore the
+throat out of Hugo Baskerville, on which, as it turned its
+blazing eyes and dripping jaws upon them, the three shrieked with
+fear and rode for dear life, still screaming, across the moor.
+One, it is said, died that very night of what he had seen, and
+the other twain were but broken men for the rest of their days.
+
+"Such is the tale, my sons, of the coming of the hound which is
+said to have plagued the family so sorely ever since. If I have
+set it down it is because that which is clearly known hath less
+terror than that which is but hinted at and guessed. Nor can it
+be denied that many of the family have been unhappy in their
+deaths, which have been sudden, bloody, and mysterious. Yet may
+we shelter ourselves in the infinite goodness of Providence,
+which would not forever punish the innocent beyond that third or
+fourth generation which is threatened in Holy Writ. To that
+Providence, my sons, I hereby commend you, and I counsel you by
+way of caution to forbear from crossing the moor in those dark
+hours when the powers of evil are exalted.
+
+"[This from Hugo Baskerville to his sons Rodger and John, with
+instructions that they say nothing thereof to their sister
+Elizabeth.]"
+
+When Dr. Mortimer had finished reading this singular narrative he
+pushed his spectacles up on his forehead and stared across at Mr.
+Sherlock Holmes. The latter yawned and tossed the end of his
+cigarette into the fire.
+
+"Well?" said he.
+
+"Do you not find it interesting?"
+
+"To a collector of fairy tales."
+
+Dr. Mortimer drew a folded newspaper out of his pocket.
+
+"Now, Mr. Holmes, we will give you something a little more
+recent. This is the Devon County Chronicle of May 14th of this
+year. It is a short account of the facts elicited at the death of
+Sir Charles Baskerville which occurred a few days before that
+date."
+
+My friend leaned a little forward and his expression became
+intent. Our visitor readjusted his glasses and began:--
+
+"The recent sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville, whose name
+has been mentioned as the probable Liberal candidate for
+Mid-Devon at the next election, has cast a gloom over the county.
+Though Sir Charles had resided at Baskerville Hall for a
+comparatively short period his amiability of character and
+extreme generosity had won the affection and respect of all who
+had been brought into contact with him. In these days of _nouveaux
+riches_ it is refreshing to find a case where the scion of an old
+county family which has fallen upon evil days is able to make his
+own fortune and to bring it back with him to restore the fallen
+grandeur of his line. Sir Charles, as is well known, made large
+sums of money in South African speculation. More wise than those
+who go on until the wheel turns against them, he realized his
+gains and returned to England with them. It is only two years
+since he took up his residence at Baskerville Hall, and it is
+common talk how large were those schemes of reconstruction and
+improvement which have been interrupted by his death. Being
+himself childless, it was his openly expressed desire that the
+whole country-side should, within his own lifetime, profit by his
+good fortune, and many will have personal reasons for bewailing
+his untimely end. His generous donations to local and county
+charities have been frequently chronicled in these columns.
+
+"The circumstances connected with the death of Sir Charles
+cannot be said to have been entirely cleared up by the inquest,
+but at least enough has been done to dispose of those rumours to
+which local superstition has given rise. There is no reason
+whatever to suspect foul play, or to imagine that death could be
+from any but natural causes. Sir Charles was a widower, and a man
+who may be said to have been in some ways of an eccentric habit
+of mind. In spite of his considerable wealth he was simple in his
+personal tastes, and his indoor servants at Baskerville Hall
+consisted of a married couple named Barrymore, the husband acting
+as butler and the wife as housekeeper. Their evidence,
+corroborated by that of several friends, tends to show that Sir
+Charles's health has for some time been impaired, and points
+especially to some affection of the heart, manifesting itself in
+changes of colour, breathlessness, and acute attacks of nervous
+depression. Dr. James Mortimer, the friend and medical attendant
+of the deceased, has given evidence to the same effect.
+
+"The facts of the case are simple. Sir Charles Baskerville was in
+the habit every night before going to bed of walking down the
+famous Yew Alley of Baskerville Hall. The evidence of the
+Barrymores shows that this had been his custom. On the 4th of May
+Sir Charles had declared his intention of starting next day for
+London, and had ordered Barrymore to prepare his luggage. That
+night he went out as usual for his nocturnal walk, in the course
+of which he was in the habit of smoking a cigar. He never
+returned. At twelve o'clock Barrymore, finding the hall door
+still open, became alarmed, and, lighting a lantern, went in
+search of his master. The day had been wet, and Sir Charles's
+footmarks were easily traced down the Alley. Half-way down this
+walk there is a gate which leads out on to the moor. There were
+indications that Sir Charles had stood for some little time here.
+He then proceeded down the Alley, and it was at the far end of it
+that his body was discovered. One fact which has not been
+explained is the statement of Barrymore that his master's
+footprints altered their character from the time that he passed
+the moor-gate, and that he appeared from thence onward to have
+been walking upon his toes. One Murphy, a gipsy horse-dealer, was
+on the moor at no great distance at the time, but he appears by
+his own confession to have been the worse for drink. He declares
+that he heard cries, but is unable to state from what
+direction they came. No signs of violence were to be discovered
+upon Sir Charles's person, and though the doctor's evidence
+pointed to an almost incredible facial distortion--so great that
+Dr. Mortimer refused at first to believe that it was indeed his
+friend and patient who lay before him--it was explained that that
+is a symptom which is not unusual in cases of dyspnoea and death
+from cardiac exhaustion. This explanation was borne out by the
+post-mortem examination, which showed long-standing organic
+disease, and the coroner's jury returned a verdict in accordance
+with the medical evidence. It is well that this is so, for it is
+obviously of the utmost importance that Sir Charles's heir should
+settle at the Hall and continue the good work which has been so
+sadly interrupted. Had the prosaic finding of the coroner not
+finally put an end to the romantic stories which have been
+whispered in connection with the affair, it might have been
+difficult to find a tenant for Baskerville Hall. It is understood
+that the next of kin is Mr. Henry Baskerville, if he be still
+alive, the son of Sir Charles Baskerville's younger brother. The
+young man when last heard of was in America, and inquiries are
+being instituted with a view to informing him of his good
+fortune."
+
+Dr. Mortimer refolded his paper and replaced it in his pocket.
+
+"Those are the public facts, Mr. Holmes, in connection with the
+death of Sir Charles Baskerville."
+
+"I must thank you," said Sherlock Holmes, "for calling my
+attention to a case which certainly presents some features of
+interest. I had observed some newspaper comment at the time, but
+I was exceedingly preoccupied by that little affair of the
+Vatican cameos, and in my anxiety to oblige the Pope I lost touch
+with several interesting English cases. This article, you say,
+contains all the public facts?"
+
+"It does."
+
+"Then let me have the private ones." He leaned back, put his
+finger-tips together, and assumed his most impassive and judicial
+expression.
+
+"In doing so," said Dr. Mortimer, who had begun to show signs of
+some strong emotion, "I am telling that which I have not confided
+to anyone. My motive for withholding it from the coroner's
+inquiry is that a man of science shrinks from placing himself in
+the public position of seeming to indorse a popular superstition.
+I had the further motive that Baskerville Hall, as the paper
+says, would certainly remain untenanted if anything were done to
+increase its already rather grim reputation. For both these
+reasons I thought that I was justified in telling rather less
+than I knew, since no practical good could result from it, but
+with you there is no reason why I should not be perfectly frank.
+
+"The moor is very sparsely inhabited, and those who live near
+each other are thrown very much together. For this reason I saw a
+good deal of Sir Charles Baskerville. With the exception of Mr.
+Frankland, of Lafter Hall, and Mr. Stapleton, the naturalist,
+there are no other men of education within many miles. Sir
+Charles was a retiring man, but the chance of his illness brought
+us together, and a community of interests in science kept us so.
+He had brought back much scientific information from South
+Africa, and many a charming evening we have spent together
+discussing the comparative anatomy of the Bushman and the
+Hottentot.
+
+"Within the last few months it became increasingly plain to me
+that Sir Charles's nervous system was strained to the breaking
+point. He had taken this legend which I have read you exceedingly
+to heart--so much so that, although he would walk in his own
+grounds, nothing would induce him to go out upon the moor at
+night. Incredible as it may appear to you, Mr. Holmes, he was
+honestly convinced that a dreadful fate overhung his family, and
+certainly the records which he was able to give of his ancestors
+were not encouraging. The idea of some ghastly presence
+constantly haunted him, and on more than one occasion he has
+asked me whether I had on my medical journeys at night ever seen
+any strange creature or heard the baying of a hound. The latter
+question he put to me several times, and always with a voice
+which vibrated with excitement.
+
+"I can well remember driving up to his house in the evening some
+three weeks before the fatal event. He chanced to be at his hall
+door. I had descended from my gig and was standing in front of
+him, when I saw his eyes fix themselves over my shoulder, and
+stare past me with an expression of the most dreadful horror. I
+whisked round and had just time to catch a glimpse of something
+which I took to be a large black calf passing at the head of the
+drive. So excited and alarmed was he that I was compelled to go
+down to the spot where the animal had been and look around for
+it. It was gone, however, and the incident appeared to make the
+worst impression upon his mind. I stayed with him all the
+evening, and it was on that occasion, to explain the emotion
+which he had shown, that he confided to my keeping that narrative
+which I read to you when first I came. I mention this small
+episode because it assumes some importance in view of the tragedy
+which followed, but I was convinced at the time that the matter
+was entirely trivial and that his excitement had no
+justification.
+
+"It was at my advice that Sir Charles was about to go to London.
+His heart was, I knew, affected, and the constant anxiety in
+which he lived, however chimerical the cause of it might be, was
+evidently having a serious effect upon his health. I thought that
+a few months among the distractions of town would send him back a
+new man. Mr. Stapleton, a mutual friend who was much concerned at
+his state of health, was of the same opinion. At the last instant
+came this terrible catastrophe.
+
+"On the night of Sir Charles's death Barrymore the butler, who
+made the discovery, sent Perkins the groom on horseback to me,
+and as I was sitting up late I was able to reach Baskerville Hall
+within an hour of the event. I checked and corroborated all the
+facts which were mentioned at the inquest. I followed the
+footsteps down the Yew Alley, I saw the spot at the moor-gate
+where he seemed to have waited, I remarked the change in the
+shape of the prints after that point, I noted that there were no
+other footsteps save those of Barrymore on the soft gravel, and
+finally I carefully examined the body, which had not been touched
+until my arrival. Sir Charles lay on his face, his arms out, his
+fingers dug into the ground, and his features convulsed with some
+strong emotion to such an extent that I could hardly have sworn
+to his identity. There was certainly no physical injury of any
+kind. But one false statement was made by Barrymore at the
+inquest. He said that there were no traces upon the ground round
+the body. He did not observe any. But I did--some little distance
+off, but fresh and clear."
+
+"Footprints?"
+
+"Footprints."
+
+"A man's or a woman's?"
+
+Dr. Mortimer looked strangely at us for an instant, and his voice
+sank almost to a whisper as he answered:--
+
+"Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!"
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 3
+
+The Problem
+
+
+I confess at these words a shudder passed through me. There was a
+thrill in the doctor's voice which showed that he was himself
+deeply moved by that which he told us. Holmes leaned forward in
+his excitement and his eyes had the hard, dry glitter which shot
+from them when he was keenly interested.
+
+"You saw this?"
+
+"As clearly as I see you."
+
+"And you said nothing?"
+
+"What was the use?"
+
+"How was it that no one else saw it?"
+
+"The marks were some twenty yards from the body and no one gave
+them a thought. I don't suppose I should have done so had I not
+known this legend."
+
+"There are many sheep-dogs on the moor?"
+
+"No doubt, but this was no sheep-dog."
+
+"You say it was large?"
+
+"Enormous."
+
+"But it had not approached the body?"
+
+"No."
+
+"What sort of night was it?'
+
+"Damp and raw."
+
+"But not actually raining?"
+
+"No."
+
+"What is the Alley like?"
+
+"There are two lines of old yew hedge, twelve feet high and
+impenetrable. The walk in the centre is about eight feet across."
+
+"Is there anything between the hedges and the walk?"
+
+"Yes, there is a strip of grass about six feet broad on either
+side."
+
+"I understand that the yew hedge is penetrated at one point by a
+gate?"
+
+"Yes, the wicket-gate which leads on to the moor."
+
+"Is there any other opening?"
+
+"None."
+
+"So that to reach the Yew Alley one either has to come down it
+from the house or else to enter it by the moor-gate?"
+
+"There is an exit through a summer-house at the far end."
+
+"Had Sir Charles reached this?"
+
+"No; he lay about fifty yards from it."
+
+"Now, tell me, Dr. Mortimer--and this is important--the
+marks which you saw were on the path and not on the grass?"
+
+"No marks could show on the grass."
+
+"Were they on the same side of the path as the moor-gate?"
+
+"Yes; they were on the edge of the path on the same side as the
+moor-gate."
+
+"You interest me exceedingly. Another point. Was the wicket-gate
+closed?"
+
+"Closed and padlocked."
+
+"How high was it?"
+
+"About four feet high."
+
+"Then anyone could have got over it?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And what marks did you see by the wicket-gate?"
+
+"None in particular."
+
+"Good heaven! Did no one examine?"
+
+"Yes, I examined myself."
+
+"And found nothing?"
+
+"It was all very confused. Sir Charles had evidently stood there
+for five or ten minutes."
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+"Because the ash had twice dropped from his cigar."
+
+"Excellent! This is a colleague, Watson, after our own heart. But
+the marks?"
+
+"He had left his own marks all over that small patch of gravel. I
+could discern no others."
+
+Sherlock Holmes struck his hand against his knee with an
+impatient gesture.
+
+"If I had only been there!" he cried. "It is evidently a case of
+extraordinary interest, and one which presented immense
+opportunities to the scientific expert. That gravel page upon
+which I might have read so much has been long ere this smudged by
+the rain and defaced by the clogs of curious peasants. Oh, Dr.
+Mortimer, Dr. Mortimer, to think that you should not have called
+me in! You have indeed much to answer for."
+
+"I could not call you in, Mr. Holmes, without disclosing these
+facts to the world, and I have already given my reasons for not
+wishing to do so. Besides, besides --"
+
+"Why do you hesitate?"
+
+"There is a realm in which the most acute and most experienced of
+detectives is helpless."
+
+"You mean that the thing is supernatural?"
+
+"I did not positively say so."
+
+"No, but you evidently think it."
+
+"Since the tragedy, Mr. Holmes, there have come to my ears
+several incidents which are hard to reconcile with the settled
+order of Nature."
+
+"For example?"
+
+"I find that before the terrible event occurred several people
+had seen a creature upon the moor which corresponds with this
+Baskerville demon, and which could not possibly be any animal
+known to science. They all agreed that it was a huge creature,
+luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men,
+one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and one a
+moorland farmer, who all tell the same story of this dreadful
+apparition, exactly corresponding to the hell-hound of the
+legend. I assure you that there is a reign of terror in the
+district, and that it is a hardy man who will cross the moor at
+night."
+
+"And you, a trained man of science, believe it to be
+supernatural?"
+
+"I do not know what to believe."
+
+Holmes shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"I have hitherto confined my investigations to this world," said
+he. "In a modest way I have combated evil, but to take on the
+Father of Evil himself would, perhaps, be too ambitious a task.
+Yet you must admit that the footmark is material."
+
+"The original hound was material enough to tug a man's throat
+out, and yet he was diabolical as well."
+
+"I see that you have quite gone over to the supernaturalists. But
+now, Dr. Mortimer, tell me this. If you hold these views, why
+have you come to consult me at all? You tell me in the same
+breath that it is useless to investigate Sir Charles's death, and
+that you desire me to do it."
+
+"I did not say that I desired you to do it."
+
+"Then, how can I assist you?"
+
+"By advising me as to what I should do with Sir Henry
+Baskerville, who arrives at Waterloo Station"--Dr. Mortimer
+looked at his watch--"in exactly one hour and a quarter."
+
+"He being the heir?"
+
+"Yes. On the death of Sir Charles we inquired for this young
+gentleman and found that he had been farming in Canada. From the
+accounts which have reached us he is an excellent fellow in every
+way. I speak not as a medical man but as a trustee and executor
+of Sir Charles's will."
+
+"There is no other claimant, I presume?"
+
+"None. The only other kinsman whom we have been able to trace was
+Rodger Baskerville, the youngest of three brothers of whom poor
+Sir Charles was the elder. The second brother, who died young, is
+the father of this lad Henry. The third, Rodger, was the black
+sheep of the family. He came of the old masterful Baskerville
+strain, and was the very image, they tell me, of the family
+picture of old Hugo. He made England too hot to hold him, fled to
+Central America, and died there in 1876 of yellow fever. Henry is
+the last of the Baskervilles. In one hour and five minutes I meet
+him at Waterloo Station. I have had a wire that he arrived at
+Southampton this morning. Now, Mr. Holmes, what would you advise
+me to do with him?"
+
+"Why should he not go to the home of his fathers?"
+
+"It seems natural, does it not? And yet, consider that every
+Baskerville who goes there meets with an evil fate. I feel sure
+that if Sir Charles could have spoken with me before his death he
+would have warned me against bringing this, the last of the old
+race, and the heir to great wealth, to that deadly place. And yet
+it cannot be denied that the prosperity of the whole poor, bleak
+country-side depends upon his presence. All the good work which
+has been done by Sir Charles will crash to the ground if there is
+no tenant of the Hall. I fear lest I should be swayed too much by
+my own obvious interest in the matter, and that is why I bring
+the case before you and ask for your advice."
+
+Holmes considered for a little time.
+
+"Put into plain words, the matter is this," said he. "In your
+opinion there is a diabolical agency which makes Dartmoor an
+unsafe abode for a Baskerville--that is your opinion?"
+
+"At least I might go the length of saying that there is some
+evidence that this may be so."
+
+"Exactly. But surely, if your supernatural theory be correct, it
+could work the young man evil in London as easily as in
+Devonshire. A devil with merely local powers like a parish
+vestry would be too inconceivable a thing."
+
+"You put the matter more flippantly, Mr. Holmes, than you would
+probably do if you were brought into personal contact with these
+things. Your advice, then, as I understand it, is that the young
+man will be as safe in Devonshire as in London. He comes in fifty
+minutes. What would you recommend?"
+
+"I recommend, sir, that you take a cab, call off your spaniel who
+is scratching at my front door, and proceed to Waterloo to meet
+Sir Henry Baskerville."
+
+"And then?"
+
+"And then you will say nothing to him at all until I have made up
+my mind about the matter."
+
+"How long will it take you to make up your mind?"
+
+"Twenty-four hours. At ten o'clock to-morrow, Dr. Mortimer, I
+will be much obliged to you if you will call upon me here, and it
+will be of help to me in my plans for the future if you will
+bring Sir Henry Baskerville with you."
+
+"I will do so, Mr. Holmes." He scribbled the appointment on his
+shirtcuff and hurried off in his strange, peering, absent-minded
+fashion. Holmes stopped him at the head of the stair.
+
+"Only one more question, Dr. Mortimer. You say that before Sir
+Charles Baskerville's death several people saw this apparition
+upon the moor?"
+
+"Three people did."
+
+"Did any see it after?"
+
+"I have not heard of any."
+
+"Thank you. Good morning."
+
+Holmes returned to his seat with that quiet look of inward
+satisfaction which meant that he had a congenial task before him.
+
+"Going out, Watson?"
+
+"Unless I can help you."
+
+"No, my dear fellow, it is at the hour of action that I turn to
+you for aid. But this is splendid, really unique from some points
+of view. When you pass Bradley's, would you ask him to send up a
+pound of the strongest shag tobacco? Thank you. It would be as
+well if you could make it convenient not to return before
+evening. Then I should be very glad to compare impressions as to
+this most interesting problem which has been submitted to us this
+morning."
+
+I knew that seclusion and solitude were very necessary for my
+friend in those hours of intense mental concentration during
+which he weighed every particle of evidence, constructed
+alternative theories, balanced one against the other, and made up
+his mind as to which points were essential and which immaterial.
+I therefore spent the day at my club and did not return to Baker
+Street until evening. It was nearly nine o'clock when I found
+myself in the sitting-room once more.
+
+My first impression as I opened the door was that a fire had
+broken out, for the room was so filled with smoke that the light
+of the lamp upon the table was blurred by it. As I entered,
+however, my fears were set at rest, for it was the acrid fumes of
+strong coarse tobacco which took me by the throat and set me
+coughing. Through the haze I had a vague vision of Holmes in his
+dressing-gown coiled up in an armchair with his black clay pipe
+between his lips. Several rolls of paper lay around him.
+
+"Caught cold, Watson?" said he.
+
+"No, it's this poisonous atmosphere."
+
+"I suppose it is pretty thick, now that you mention it."
+
+"Thick! It is intolerable."
+
+"Open the window, then! You have been at your club all day, I
+perceive."
+
+"My dear Holmes!"
+
+"Am I right?"
+
+"Certainly, but how?"
+
+He laughed at my bewildered expression.
+
+"There is a delightful freshness about you, Watson, which makes
+it a pleasure to exercise any small powers which I possess at
+your expense. A gentleman goes forth on a showery and miry day.
+He returns immaculate in the evening with the gloss still on his
+hat and his boots. He has been a fixture therefore all day. He is
+not a man with intimate friends. Where, then, could he have been?
+Is it not obvious?"
+
+"Well, it is rather obvious."
+
+"The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance
+ever observes. Where do you think that I have been?"
+
+"A fixture also."
+
+"On the contrary, I have been to Devonshire."
+
+"In spirit?"
+
+"Exactly. My body has remained in this arm-chair and has, I
+regret to observe, consumed in my absence two large pots of
+coffee and an incredible amount of tobacco. After you left I sent
+down to Stamford's for the Ordnance map of this portion of the
+moor, and my spirit has hovered over it all day. I flatter myself
+that I could find my way about."
+
+"A large scale map, I presume?"
+
+"Very large." He unrolled one section and held it over his knee.
+"Here you have the particular district which concerns us. That is
+Baskerville Hall in the middle."
+
+"With a wood round it?"
+
+"Exactly. I fancy the Yew Alley, though not marked under that
+name, must stretch along this line, with the moor, as you
+perceive, upon the right of it. This small clump of buildings
+here is the hamlet of Grimpen, where our friend Dr. Mortimer has
+his headquarters. Within a radius of five miles there are, as you
+see, only a very few scattered dwellings. Here is Lafter Hall,
+which was mentioned in the narrative. There is a house indicated
+here which may be the residence of the naturalist--Stapleton, if
+I remember right, was his name. Here are two moorland
+farm-houses, High Tor and Foulmire. Then fourteen miles away the
+great convict prison of Princetown. Between and around these
+scattered points extends the desolate, lifeless moor. This, then,
+is the stage upon which tragedy has been played, and upon which
+we may help to play it again."
+
+"It must be a wild place."
+
+"Yes, the setting is a worthy one. If the devil did desire to
+have a hand in the affairs of men ----"
+
+"Then you are yourself inclining to the supernatural
+explanation."
+
+"The devil's agents may be of flesh and blood, may they not?
+There are two questions waiting for us at the outset. The one is
+whether any crime has been committed at all; the second is, what
+is the crime and how was it committed? Of course, if Dr.
+Mortimer's surmise should be correct, and we are dealing with
+forces outside the ordinary laws of Nature, there is an end of
+our investigation. But we are bound to exhaust all other
+hypotheses before falling back upon this one. I think we'll shut
+that window again, if you don't mind. It is a singular thing, but
+I find that a concentrated atmosphere helps a concentration of
+thought. I have not pushed it to the length of getting into a box
+to think, but that is the logical outcome of my convictions. Have
+you turned the case over in your mind?"
+
+"Yes, I have thought a good deal of it in the course of the day."
+
+"What do you make of it?"
+
+"It is very bewildering."
+
+"It has certainly a character of its own. There are points of
+distinction about it. That change in the footprints, for example.
+What do you make of that?"
+
+"Mortimer said that the man had walked on tiptoe down that
+portion of the alley."
+
+"He only repeated what some fool had said at the inquest. Why
+should a man walk on tiptoe down the alley?"
+
+"What then?"
+
+"He was running, Watson--running desperately, running for his
+life, running until he burst his heart and fell dead upon his
+face."
+
+"Running from what?"
+
+"There lies our problem. There are indications that the man was
+crazed with fear before ever he began to run."
+
+"How can you say that?"
+
+"I am presuming that the cause of his fears came to him across
+the moor. If that were so, and it seems most probable, only a man
+who had lost his wits would have run from the house instead of
+towards it. If the gipsy's evidence may be taken as true, he ran
+with cries for help in the direction where help was least likely
+to be. Then, again, whom was he waiting for that night, and why
+was he waiting for him in the Yew Alley rather than in his own
+house?"
+
+"You think that he was waiting for someone?"
+
+"The man was elderly and infirm. We can understand his taking an
+evening stroll, but the ground was damp and the night inclement.
+Is it natural that he should stand for five or ten minutes, as
+Dr. Mortimer, with more practical sense than I should have given
+him credit for, deduced from the cigar ash?"
+
+"But he went out every evening."
+
+"I think it unlikely that he waited at the moor-gate every
+evening. On the contrary, the evidence is that he avoided the
+moor. That night he waited there. It was the night before he made
+his departure for London. The thing takes shape, Watson. It
+becomes coherent. Might I ask you to hand me my violin, and we
+will postpone all further thought upon this business until we
+have had the advantage of meeting Dr. Mortimer and Sir Henry
+Baskerville in the morning."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 4
+
+Sir Henry Baskerville
+
+
+Our breakfast-table was cleared early, and Holmes waited in his
+dressing-gown for the promised interview. Our clients were
+punctual to their appointment, for the clock had just struck ten
+when Dr. Mortimer was shown up, followed by the young baronet.
+The latter was a small, alert, dark-eyed man about thirty years
+of age, very sturdily built, with thick black eyebrows and a
+strong, pugnacious face. He wore a ruddy-tinted tweed suit and
+had the weather-beaten appearance of one who has spent most of
+his time in the open air, and yet there was something in his
+steady eye and the quiet assurance of his bearing which indicated
+the gentleman.
+
+"This is Sir Henry Baskerville," said Dr. Mortimer.
+
+"Why, yes," said he, "and the strange thing is, Mr. Sherlock
+Holmes, that if my friend here had not proposed coming round to
+you this morning I should have come on my own account. I
+understand that you think out little puzzles, and I've had one
+this morning which wants more thinking out than I am able to give
+it."
+
+"Pray take a seat, Sir Henry. Do I understand you to say that you
+have yourself had some remarkable experience since you arrived in
+London?"
+
+"Nothing of much importance, Mr. Holmes. Only a joke, as like as
+not. It was this letter, if you can call it a letter, which
+reached me this morning."
+
+He laid an envelope upon the table, and we all bent over it. It
+was of common quality, grayish in colour. The address, "Sir Henry
+Baskerville, Northumberland Hotel," was printed in rough
+characters; the postmark "Charing Cross," and the date of posting
+the preceding evening.
+
+"Who knew that you were going to the Northumberland Hotel?" asked
+Holmes, glancing keenly across at our visitor.
+
+"No one could have known. We only decided after I met Dr.
+Mortimer."
+
+"But Dr. Mortimer was no doubt already stopping there?"
+
+"No, I had been staying with a friend," said the doctor. "There
+was no possible indication that we intended to go to this hotel."
+
+"Hum! Someone seems to be very deeply interested in your
+movements." Out of the envelope he took a half-sheet of foolscap
+paper folded into four. This he opened and spread flat upon the
+table. Across the middle of it a single sentence had been formed
+by the expedient of pasting printed words upon it. It ran: "As
+you value your life or your reason keep away from the moor." The
+word "moor" only was printed in ink.
+
+"Now," said Sir Henry Baskerville, "perhaps you will tell me, Mr.
+Holmes, what in thunder is the meaning of that, and who it is
+that takes so much interest in my affairs?"
+
+"What do you make of it, Dr. Mortimer? You must allow that there
+is nothing supernatural about this, at any rate?"
+
+"No, sir, but it might very well come from someone who was
+convinced that the business is supernatural."
+
+"What business?" asked Sir Henry sharply. "It seems to me that
+all you gentlemen know a great deal more than I do about my own
+affairs."
+
+"You shall share our knowledge before you leave this room, Sir
+Henry. I promise you that," said Sherlock Holmes. "We will
+confine ourselves for the present with your permission to this
+very interesting document, which must have been put together and
+posted yesterday evening. Have you yesterday's Times, Watson?"
+
+"It is here in the corner."
+
+"Might I trouble you for it--the inside page, please, with the
+leading articles?" He glanced swiftly over it, running his eyes
+up and down the columns. "Capital article this on free trade.
+Permit me to give you an extract from it. 'You may be cajoled
+into imagining that your own special trade or your own industry
+will be encouraged by a protective tariff, but it stands to
+reason that such legislation must in the long run keep away
+wealth from the country, diminish the value of our imports, and
+lower the general conditions of life in this island.' What do you
+think of that, Watson?" cried Holmes in high glee, rubbing his
+hands together with satisfaction. "Don't you think that is an
+admirable sentiment?"
+
+Dr. Mortimer looked at Holmes with an air of professional
+interest, and Sir Henry Baskerville turned a pair of puzzled dark
+eyes upon me.
+
+"I don't know much about the tariff and things of that kind,"
+said he; "but it seems to me we've got a bit off the trail so far
+as that note is concerned."
+
+"On the contrary, I think we are particularly hot upon the trail,
+Sir Henry. Watson here knows more about my methods than you do,
+but I fear that even he has not quite grasped the significance of
+this sentence."
+
+"No, I confess that I see no connection."
+
+"And yet, my dear Watson, there is so very close a connection
+that the one is extracted out of the other. 'You,' 'your,'
+'your,' 'life,' 'reason,' 'value,' 'keep away,' 'from the.' Don't
+you see now whence these words have been taken?"
+
+"By thunder, you're right! Well, if that isn't smart!" cried Sir
+Henry.
+
+"If any possible doubt remained it is settled by the fact that
+'keep away' and 'from the' are cut out in one piece."
+
+"Well, now--so it is!"
+
+"Really, Mr. Holmes, this exceeds anything which I could have
+imagined," said Dr. Mortimer, gazing at my friend in amazement.
+"I could understand anyone saying that the words were from a
+newspaper; but that you should name which, and add that it came
+from the leading article, is really one of the most remarkable
+things which I have ever known. How did you do it?"
+
+"I presume, Doctor, that you could tell the skull of a negro from
+that of an Esquimau?"
+
+"Most certainly."
+
+"But how?"
+
+"Because that is my special hobby. The differences are obvious.
+The supra-orbital crest, the facial angle, the maxillary curve,
+the --"
+
+"But this is my special hobby, and the differences are equally
+obvious. There is as much difference to my eyes between the
+leaded bourgeois type of a Times article and the slovenly print
+of an evening half-penny paper as there could be between your
+negro and your Esquimau. The detection of types is one of the
+most elementary branches of knowledge to the special expert in
+crime, though I confess that once when I was very young I
+confused the Leeds Mercury with the Western Morning News. But a
+Times leader is entirely distinctive, and these words could have
+been taken from nothing else. As it was done yesterday the strong
+probability was that we should find the words in yesterday's
+issue."
+
+"So far as I can follow you, then, Mr. Holmes," said Sir Henry
+Baskerville, "someone cut out this message with a scissors--"
+
+"Nail-scissors," said Holmes. "You can see that it was a very
+short-bladed scissors, since the cutter had to take two snips
+over 'keep away.'"
+
+"That is so. Someone, then, cut out the message with a pair of
+short-bladed scissors, pasted it with paste--"
+
+"Gum," said Holmes.
+
+"With gum on to the paper. But I want to know why the word 'moor'
+should have been written?"
+
+"Because he could not find it in print. The other words were all
+simple and might be found in any issue, but 'moor' would be less
+common."
+
+"Why, of course, that would explain it. Have you read anything
+else in this message, Mr. Holmes?"
+
+"There are one or two indications, and yet the utmost pains have
+been taken to remove all clues. The address, you observe is
+printed in rough characters. But the Times is a paper which is
+seldom found in any hands but those of the highly educated. We
+may take it, therefore, that the letter was composed by an
+educated man who wished to pose as an uneducated one, and his
+effort to conceal his own writing suggests that that writing
+might be known, or come to be known, by you. Again, you will
+observe that the words are not gummed on in an accurate line, but
+that some are much higher than others. 'Life,' for example is
+quite out of its proper place. That may point to carelessness or
+it may point to agitation and hurry upon the part of the cutter.
+On the whole I incline to the latter view, since the matter was
+evidently important, and it is unlikely that the composer of such
+a letter would be careless. If he were in a hurry it opens up the
+interesting question why he should be in a hurry, since any
+letter posted up to early morning would reach Sir Henry before he
+would leave his hotel. Did the composer fear an interruption--and
+from whom?"
+
+"We are coming now rather into the region of guesswork," said Dr.
+Mortimer.
+
+"Say, rather, into the region where we balance probabilities and
+choose the most likely. It is the scientific use of the
+imagination, but we have always some material basis on which to
+start our speculation. Now, you would call it a guess, no doubt,
+but I am almost certain that this address has been written in a
+hotel."
+
+"How in the world can you say that?"
+
+"If you examine it carefully you will see that both the pen and
+the ink have given the writer trouble. The pen has spluttered
+twice in a single word, and has run dry three times in a short
+address, showing that there was very little ink in the bottle.
+Now, a private pen or ink-bottle is seldom allowed to be in such
+a state, and the combination of the two must be quite rare. But
+you know the hotel ink and the hotel pen, where it is rare to get
+anything else. Yes, I have very little hesitation in saying that
+could we examine the waste-paper baskets of the hotels around
+Charing Cross until we found the remains of the mutilated Times
+leader we could lay our hands straight upon the person who sent
+this singular message. Halloa! Halloa! What's this?"
+
+He was carefully examining the foolscap, upon which the words
+were pasted, holding it only an inch or two from his eyes.
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Nothing," said he, throwing it down. "It is a blank half-sheet
+of paper, without even a water-mark upon it. I think we have
+drawn as much as we can from this curious letter; and now, Sir
+Henry, has anything else of interest happened to you since you
+have been in London?"
+
+"Why, no, Mr. Holmes. I think not."
+
+"You have not observed anyone follow or watch you?"
+
+"I seem to have walked right into the thick of a dime novel,"
+said our visitor. "Why in thunder should anyone follow or watch
+me?"
+
+"We are coming to that. You have nothing else to report to us
+before we go into this matter?"
+
+"Well, it depends upon what you think worth reporting."
+
+"I think anything out of the ordinary routine of life well worth
+reporting."
+
+Sir Henry smiled.
+
+"I don't know much of British life yet, for I have spent nearly
+all my time in the States and in Canada. But I hope that to lose
+one of your boots is not part of the ordinary routine of life
+over here."
+
+"You have lost one of your boots?"
+
+"My dear sir," cried Dr. Mortimer, "it is only mislaid. You will
+find it when you return to the hotel. What is the use of
+troubling Mr. Holmes with trifles of this kind?"
+
+"Well, he asked me for anything outside the ordinary routine."
+
+"Exactly," said Holmes, "however foolish the incident may seem.
+You have lost one of your boots, you say?"
+
+"Well, mislaid it, anyhow. I put them both outside my door last
+night, and there was only one in the morning. I could get no
+sense out of the chap who cleans them. The worst of it is that I
+only bought the pair last night in the Strand, and I have never
+had them on."
+
+"If you have never worn them, why did you put them out to be
+cleaned?"
+
+"They were tan boots and had never been varnished. That was why I
+put them out."
+
+"Then I understand that on your arrival in London yesterday you
+went out at once and bought a pair of boots?"
+
+"I did a good deal of shopping. Dr. Mortimer here went round with
+me. You see, if I am to be squire down there I must dress the
+part, and it may be that I have got a little careless in my ways
+out West. Among other things I bought these brown boots--gave six
+dollars for them--and had one stolen before ever I had them on my
+feet."
+
+"It seems a singularly useless thing to steal," said Sherlock
+Holmes. "I confess that I share Dr. Mortimer's belief that it
+will not be long before the missing boot is found."
+
+"And, now, gentlemen," said the baronet with decision, "it seems
+to me that I have spoken quite enough about the little that I
+know. It is time that you kept your promise and gave me a full
+account of what we are all driving at."
+
+"Your request is a very reasonable one," Holmes answered. "Dr.
+Mortimer, I think you could not do better than to tell your story
+as you told it to us."
+
+Thus encouraged, our scientific friend drew his papers from his
+pocket, and presented the whole case as he had done upon the
+morning before. Sir Henry Baskerville listened with the deepest
+attention, and with an occasional exclamation of surprise.
+
+"Well, I seem to have come into an inheritance with a vengeance,"
+said he when the long narrative was finished. "Of course, I've
+heard of the hound ever since I was in the nursery. It's the pet
+story of the family, though I never thought of taking it
+seriously before. But as to my uncle's death--well, it all seems
+boiling up in my head, and I can't get it clear yet. You don't
+seem quite to have made up your mind whether it's a case for a
+policeman or a clergyman."
+
+"Precisely."
+
+"And now there's this affair of the letter to me at the hotel. I
+suppose that fits into its place."
+
+"It seems to show that someone knows more than we do about what
+goes on upon the moor," said Dr. Mortimer.
+
+"And also," said Holmes, "that someone is not ill-disposed
+towards you, since they warn you of danger."
+
+"Or it may be that they wish, for their own purposes, to scare me
+away."
+
+"Well, of course, that is possible also. I am very much indebted
+to you, Dr. Mortimer, for introducing me to a problem which
+presents several interesting alternatives. But the practical
+point which we now have to decide, Sir Henry, is whether it is or
+is not advisable for you to go to Baskerville Hall."
+
+"Why should I not go?"
+
+"There seems to be danger."
+
+"Do you mean danger from this family fiend or do you mean danger
+from human beings?"
+
+"Well, that is what we have to find out."
+
+"Whichever it is, my answer is fixed. There is no devil in hell,
+Mr. Holmes, and there is no man upon earth who can prevent me
+from going to the home of my own people, and you may take that to
+be my final answer." His dark brows knitted and his face flushed
+to a dusky red as he spoke. It was evident that the fiery temper
+of the Baskervilles was not extinct in this their last
+representative. "Meanwhile," said he, "I have hardly had time to
+think over all that you have told me. It's a big thing for a man
+to have to understand and to decide at one sitting. I should like
+to have a quiet hour by myself to make up my mind. Now, look
+here, Mr. Holmes, it's half-past eleven now and I am going back
+right away to my hotel. Suppose you and your friend, Dr. Watson,
+come round and lunch with us at two. I'll be able to tell you
+more clearly then how this thing strikes me."
+
+"Is that convenient to you, Watson?"
+
+"Perfectly."
+
+"Then you may expect us. Shall I have a cab called?"
+
+"I'd prefer to walk, for this affair has flurried me rather."
+
+"I'll join you in a walk, with pleasure," said his companion.
+
+"Then we meet again at two o'clock. Au revoir, and good-morning!"
+
+We heard the steps of our visitors descend the stair and the bang
+of the front door. In an instant Holmes had changed from the
+languid dreamer to the man of action.
+
+"Your hat and boots, Watson, quick! Not a moment to lose!" He
+rushed into his room in his dressing-gown and was back again in a
+few seconds in a frock-coat. We hurried together down the stairs
+and into the street. Dr. Mortimer and Baskerville were still
+visible about two hundred yards ahead of us in the direction of
+Oxford Street.
+
+"Shall I run on and stop them?"
+
+"Not for the world, my dear Watson. I am perfectly satisfied with
+your company if you will tolerate mine. Our friends are wise, for
+it is certainly a very fine morning for a walk."
+
+He quickened his pace until we had decreased the distance which
+divided us by about half. Then, still keeping a hundred yards
+behind, we followed into Oxford Street and so down Regent Street.
+Once our friends stopped and stared into a shop window, upon
+which Holmes did the same. An instant afterwards he gave a little
+cry of satisfaction, and, following the direction of his eager
+eyes, I saw that a hansom cab with a man inside which had halted
+on the other side of the street was now proceeding slowly onward
+again.
+
+"There's our man, Watson! Come along! We'll have a good look at
+him, if we can do no more."
+
+At that instant I was aware of a bushy black beard and a pair of
+piercing eyes turned upon us through the side window of the cab.
+Instantly the trapdoor at the top flew up, something was screamed
+to the driver, and the cab flew madly off down Regent Street.
+Holmes looked eagerly round for another, but no empty one was in
+sight. Then he dashed in wild pursuit amid the stream of the
+traffic, but the start was too great, and already the cab was out
+of sight.
+
+"There now!" said Holmes bitterly as he emerged panting and white
+with vexation from the tide of vehicles. "Was ever such bad luck
+and such bad management, too? Watson, Watson, if you are an
+honest man you will record this also and set it against my
+successes!"
+
+"Who was the man?"
+
+"I have not an idea."
+
+"A spy?"
+
+"Well, it was evident from what we have heard that Baskerville
+has been very closely shadowed by someone since he has been in
+town. How else could it be known so quickly that it was the
+Northumberland Hotel which he had chosen? If they had followed
+him the first day I argued that they would follow him also the
+second. You may have observed that I twice strolled over to the
+window while Dr. Mortimer was reading his legend."
+
+"Yes, I remember."
+
+"I was looking out for loiterers in the street, but I saw none.
+We are dealing with a clever man, Watson. This matter cuts very
+deep, and though I have not finally made up my mind whether it is
+a benevolent or a malevolent agency which is in touch with us, I
+am conscious always of power and design. When our friends left I
+at once followed them in the hopes of marking down their
+invisible attendant. So wily was he that he had not trusted
+himself upon foot, but he had availed himself of a cab so that he
+could loiter behind or dash past them and so escape their notice.
+His method had the additional advantage that if they were to take
+a cab he was all ready to follow them. It has, however, one
+obvious disadvantage."
+
+"It puts him in the power of the cabman."
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"What a pity we did not get the number!"
+
+"My dear Watson, clumsy as I have been, you surely do not
+seriously imagine that I neglected to get the number? No. 2704 is
+our man. But that is no use to us for the moment."
+
+"I fail to see how you could have done more."
+
+"On observing the cab I should have instantly turned and walked
+in the other direction. I should then at my leisure have hired a
+second cab and followed the first at a respectful distance, or,
+better still, have driven to the Northumberland Hotel and waited
+there. When our unknown had followed Baskerville home we should
+have had the opportunity of playing his own game upon himself and
+seeing where he made for. As it is, by an indiscreet eagerness,
+which was taken advantage of with extraordinary quickness and
+energy by our opponent, we have betrayed ourselves and lost our
+man."
+
+We had been sauntering slowly down Regent Street during this
+conversation, and Dr. Mortimer, with his companion, had long
+vanished in front of us.
+
+"There is no object in our following them," said Holmes. "The
+shadow has departed and will not return. We must see what further
+cards we have in our hands and play them with decision. Could you
+swear to that man's face within the cab?"
+
+"I could swear only to the beard."
+
+"And so could I--from which I gather that in all probability it
+was a false one. A clever man upon so delicate an errand has no
+use for a beard save to conceal his features. Come in here,
+Watson!"
+
+He turned into one of the district messenger offices, where he
+was warmly greeted by the manager.
+
+"Ah, Wilson, I see you have not forgotten the little case in
+which I had the good fortune to help you?"
+
+"No, sir, indeed I have not. You saved my good name, and perhaps
+my life."
+
+"My dear fellow, you exaggerate. I have some recollection,
+Wilson, that you had among your boys a lad named Cartwright, who
+showed some ability during the investigation."
+
+"Yes, sir, he is still with us."
+
+"Could you ring him up?--thank you! And I should be glad to have
+change of this five-pound note."
+
+A lad of fourteen, with a bright, keen face, had obeyed the
+summons of the manager. He stood now gazing with great reverence
+at the famous detective.
+
+"Let me have the Hotel Directory," said Holmes. "Thank you! Now,
+Cartwright, there are the names of twenty-three hotels here, all
+in the immediate neighbourhood of Charing Cross. Do you see?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"You will visit each of these in turn."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"You will begin in each case by giving the outside porter one
+shilling. Here are twenty-three shillings."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"You will tell him that you want to see the waste-paper of
+yesterday. You will say that an important telegram has miscarried
+and that you are looking for it. You understand?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"But what you are really looking for is the centre page of the
+Times with some holes cut in it with scissors. Here is a copy of
+the Times. It is this page. You could easily recognize it, could
+you not?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"In each case the outside porter will send for the hall porter,
+to whom also you will give a shilling. Here are twenty-three
+shillings. You will then learn in possibly twenty cases out of
+the twenty-three that the waste of the day before has been burned
+or removed. In the three other cases you will be shown a heap of
+paper and you will look for this page of the Times among it. The
+odds are enormously against your finding it. There are ten
+shillings over in case of emergencies. Let me have a report by
+wire at Baker Street before evening. And now, Watson, it only
+remains for us to find out by wire the identity of the cabman,
+No. 2704, and then we will drop into one of the Bond Street
+picture galleries and fill in the time until we are due at the
+hotel."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 5
+
+Three Broken Threads
+
+
+Sherlock Holmes had, in a very remarkable degree, the power of
+detaching his mind at will. For two hours the strange business in
+which we had been involved appeared to be forgotten, and he was
+entirely absorbed in the pictures of the modern Belgian masters.
+He would talk of nothing but art, of which he had the crudest
+ideas, from our leaving the gallery until we found ourselves at
+the Northumberland Hotel.
+
+"Sir Henry Baskerville is upstairs expecting you," said the
+clerk. "He asked me to show you up at once when you came."
+
+"Have you any objection to my looking at your register?" said
+Holmes.
+
+"Not in the least."
+
+The book showed that two names had been added after that of
+Baskerville. One was Theophilus Johnson and family, of Newcastle;
+the other Mrs. Oldmore and maid, of High Lodge, Alton.
+
+"Surely that must be the same Johnson whom I used to know," said
+Holmes to the porter. "A lawyer, is he not, gray-headed, and
+walks with a limp?"
+
+"No, sir; this is Mr. Johnson, the coal-owner, a very active
+gentleman, not older than yourself."
+
+"Surely you are mistaken about his trade?"
+
+"No, sir! he has used this hotel for many years, and he is very
+well known to us."
+
+"Ah, that settles it. Mrs. Oldmore, too; I seem to remember the
+name. Excuse my curiosity, but often in calling upon one friend
+one finds another."
+
+"She is an invalid lady, sir. Her husband was once mayor of
+Gloucester. She always comes to us when she is in town."
+
+"Thank you; I am afraid I cannot claim her acquaintance. We have
+established a most important fact by these questions, Watson," he
+continued in a low voice as we went upstairs together. "We know
+now that the people who are so interested in our friend have not
+settled down in his own hotel. That means that while they are, as
+we have seen, very anxious to watch him, they are equally anxious
+that he should not see them. Now, this is a most suggestive
+fact."
+
+"What does it suggest?"
+
+"It suggests--halloa, my dear fellow, what on earth is the
+matter?"
+
+As we came round the top of the stairs we had run up against Sir
+Henry Baskerville himself. His face was flushed with anger, and
+he held an old and dusty boot in one of his hands. So furious was
+he that he was hardly articulate, and when he did speak it was in
+a much broader and more Western dialect than any which we had
+heard from him in the morning.
+
+"Seems to me they are playing me for a sucker in this hotel," he
+cried. "They'll find they've started in to monkey with the wrong
+man unless they are careful. By thunder, if that chap can't find
+my missing boot there will be trouble. I can take a joke with the
+best, Mr. Holmes, but they've got a bit over the mark this time."
+
+"Still looking for your boot?"
+
+"Yes, sir, and mean to find it."
+
+"But, surely, you said that it was a new brown boot?"
+
+"So it was, sir. And now it's an old black one."
+
+"What! you don't mean to say----?"
+
+"That's just what I do mean to say. I only had three pairs in the
+world--the new brown, the old black, and the patent leathers,
+which I am wearing. Last night they took one of my brown ones,
+and to-day they have sneaked one of the black. Well, have you got
+it? Speak out, man, and don't stand staring!"
+
+An agitated German waiter had appeared upon the scene.
+
+"No, sir; I have made inquiry all over the hotel, but I can hear
+no word of it."
+
+"Well, either that boot comes back before sundown or I'll see the
+manager and tell him that I go right straight out of this hotel."
+
+"It shall be found, sir--I promise you that if you will have a
+little patience it will be found."
+
+"Mind it is, for it's the last thing of mine that I'll lose in
+this den of thieves. Well, well, Mr. Holmes, you'll excuse my
+troubling you about such a trifle----"
+
+"I think it's well worth troubling about."
+
+"Why, you look very serious over it."
+
+"How do you explain it?"
+
+"I just don't attempt to explain it. It seems the very maddest,
+queerest thing that ever happened to me."
+
+"The queerest perhaps----" said Holmes, thoughtfully.
+
+"What do you make of it yourself?"
+
+"Well, I don't profess to understand it yet. This case of yours
+is very complex, Sir Henry. When taken in conjunction with your
+uncle's death I am not sure that of all the five hundred cases of
+capital importance which I have handled there is one which cuts
+so deep. But we hold several threads in our hands, and the odds
+are that one or other of them guides us to the truth. We may
+waste time in following the wrong one, but sooner or later we
+must come upon the right."
+
+We had a pleasant luncheon in which little was said of the
+business which had brought us together. It was in the private
+sitting-room to which we afterwards repaired that Holmes asked
+Baskerville what were his intentions.
+
+"To go to Baskerville Hall."
+
+"And when?"
+
+"At the end of the week."
+
+"On the whole," said Holmes, "I think that your decision is a
+wise one. I have ample evidence that you are being dogged in
+London, and amid the millions of this great city it is difficult
+to discover who these people are or what their object can be. If
+their intentions are evil they might do you a mischief, and we
+should be powerless to prevent it. You did not know, Dr. Mortimer,
+that you were followed this morning from my house?"
+
+Dr. Mortimer started violently.
+
+"Followed! By whom?"
+
+"That, unfortunately, is what I cannot tell you. Have you among
+your neighbours or acquaintances on Dartmoor any man with a
+black, full beard?"
+
+"No--or, let me see--why, yes. Barrymore, Sir Charles's butler,
+is a man with a full, black beard."
+
+"Ha! Where is Barrymore?"
+
+"He is in charge of the Hall."
+
+"We had best ascertain if he is really there, or if by any
+possibility he might be in London."
+
+"How can you do that?"
+
+"Give me a telegraph form. 'Is all ready for Sir Henry?' That
+will do. Address to Mr. Barrymore, Baskerville Hall. What is the
+nearest telegraph-office? Grimpen. Very good, we will send a
+second wire to the postmaster, Grimpen: 'Telegram to Mr.
+Barrymore to be delivered into his own hand. If absent, please
+return wire to Sir Henry Baskerville, Northumberland Hotel.' That
+should let us know before evening whether Barrymore is at his
+post in Devonshire or not."
+
+"That's so," said Baskerville. "By the way, Dr. Mortimer, who is
+this Barrymore, anyhow?"
+
+"He is the son of the old caretaker, who is dead. They have
+looked after the Hall for four generations now. So far as I know,
+he and his wife are as respectable a couple as any in the
+county."
+
+"At the same time," said Baskerville, "it's clear enough that so
+long as there are none of the family at the Hall these people
+have a mighty fine home and nothing to do."
+
+"That is true."
+
+"Did Barrymore profit at all by Sir Charles's will?" asked
+Holmes.
+
+"He and his wife had five hundred pounds each."
+
+"Ha! Did they know that they would receive this?"
+
+"Yes; Sir Charles was very fond of talking about the provisions
+of his will."
+
+"That is very interesting."
+
+"I hope," said Dr. Mortimer, "that you do not look with
+suspicious eyes upon everyone who received a legacy from Sir
+Charles, for I also had a thousand pounds left to me."
+
+"Indeed! And anyone else?"
+
+"There were many insignificant sums to individuals, and a large
+number of public charities. The residue all went to Sir Henry."
+
+"And how much was the residue?"
+
+"Seven hundred and forty thousand pounds."
+
+Holmes raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I had no idea that so
+gigantic a sum was involved," said he.
+
+"Sir Charles had the reputation of being rich, but we did not
+know how very rich he was until we came to examine his
+securities. The total value of the estate was close on to a
+million."
+
+"Dear me! It is a stake for which a man might well play a
+desperate game. And one more question, Dr. Mortimer. Supposing
+that anything happened to our young friend here--you will forgive
+the unpleasant hypothesis!--who would inherit the estate?"
+
+"Since Rodger Baskerville, Sir Charles's younger brother died
+unmarried, the estate would descend to the Desmonds, who are
+distant cousins. James Desmond is an elderly clergyman in
+Westmoreland."
+
+"Thank you. These details are all of great interest. Have you met
+Mr. James Desmond?"
+
+"Yes; he once came down to visit Sir Charles. He is a man of
+venerable appearance and of saintly life. I remember that he
+refused to accept any settlement from Sir Charles, though he
+pressed it upon him."
+
+"And this man of simple tastes would be the heir to Sir Charles's
+thousands."
+
+"He would be the heir to the estate because that is entailed. He
+would also be the heir to the money unless it were willed
+otherwise by the present owner, who can, of course, do what he
+likes with it."
+
+"And have you made your will, Sir Henry?"
+
+"No, Mr. Holmes, I have not. I've had no time, for it was only
+yesterday that I learned how matters stood. But in any case I
+feel that the money should go with the title and estate. That was
+my poor uncle's idea. How is the owner going to restore the
+glories of the Baskervilles if he has not money enough to keep up
+the property? House, land, and dollars must go together."
+
+"Quite so. Well, Sir Henry, I am of one mind with you as to the
+advisability of your going down to Devonshire without delay.
+There is only one provision which I must make. You certainly must
+not go alone."
+
+"Dr. Mortimer returns with me."
+
+"But Dr. Mortimer has his practice to attend to, and his house is
+miles away from yours. With all the good will in the world he may
+be unable to help you. No, Sir Henry, you must take with you
+someone, a trusty man, who will be always by your side."
+
+"Is it possible that you could come yourself, Mr. Holmes?"
+
+"If matters came to a crisis I should endeavour to be present in
+person; but you can understand that, with my extensive consulting
+practice and with the constant appeals which reach me from many
+quarters, it is impossible for me to be absent from London for an
+indefinite time. At the present instant one of the most revered
+names in England is being besmirched by a blackmailer, and only I
+can stop a disastrous scandal. You will see how impossible it is
+for me to go to Dartmoor."
+
+"Whom would you recommend, then?"
+
+Holmes laid his hand upon my arm.
+
+"If my friend would undertake it there is no man who is better
+worth having at your side when you are in a tight place. No one
+can say so more confidently than I."
+
+The proposition took me completely by surprise, but before I had
+time to answer, Baskerville seized me by the hand and wrung it
+heartily.
+
+"Well, now, that is real kind of you, Dr. Watson," said he. "You
+see how it is with me, and you know just as much about the matter
+as I do. If you will come down to Baskerville Hall and see me
+through I'll never forget it."
+
+The promise of adventure had always a fascination for me, and I
+was complimented by the words of Holmes and by the eagerness with
+which the baronet hailed me as a companion.
+
+"I will come, with pleasure," said I. "I do not know how I could
+employ my time better."
+
+"And you will report very carefully to me," said Holmes. "When a
+crisis comes, as it will do, I will direct how you shall act. I
+suppose that by Saturday all might be ready?"
+
+"Would that suit Dr. Watson?"
+
+"Perfectly."
+
+"Then on Saturday, unless you hear to the contrary, we shall meet
+at the 10:30 train from Paddington."
+
+We had risen to depart when Baskerville gave a cry, of triumph,
+and diving into one of the corners of the room he drew a brown
+boot from under a cabinet.
+
+"My missing boot!" he cried.
+
+"May all our difficulties vanish as easily!" said Sherlock
+Holmes.
+
+"But it is a very singular thing," Dr. Mortimer remarked. "I
+searched this room carefully before lunch."
+
+"And so did I," said Baskerville. "Every inch of it."
+
+"There was certainly no boot in it then."
+
+"In that case the waiter must have placed it there while we were
+lunching."
+
+The German was sent for but professed to know nothing of the
+matter, nor could any inquiry clear it up. Another item had been
+added to that constant and apparently purposeless series of small
+mysteries which had succeeded each other so rapidly. Setting
+aside the whole grim story of Sir Charles's death, we had a line
+of inexplicable incidents all within the limits of two days,
+which included the receipt of the printed letter, the
+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 new
+brown boot. Holmes sat in silence in the cab as we drove back to
+Baker Street, and I knew from his drawn brows and keen face that
+his mind, like my own, was busy in endeavouring to frame some
+scheme into which all these strange and apparently disconnected
+episodes could be fitted. All afternoon and late into the evening
+he sat lost in tobacco and thought.
+
+Just before dinner two telegrams were handed in. The first ran:--
+
+"Have just heard that Barrymore is at the Hall.--BASKERVILLE."
+The second:--
+
+"Visited twenty-three hotels as directed, but sorry, to report
+unable to trace cut sheet of Times.--CARTWRIGHT."
+
+"There go two of my threads, Watson. There is nothing more
+stimulating than a case where everything goes against you. We
+must cast round for another scent."
+
+"We have still the cabman who drove the spy."
+
+"Exactly. I have wired to get his name and address from the
+Official Registry. I should not be surprised if this were an
+answer to my question."
+
+The ring at the bell proved to be something even more
+satisfactory than an answer, however, for the door opened and a
+rough-looking fellow entered who was evidently the man himself.
+
+"I got a message from the head office that a gent at this address
+had been inquiring for 2704," said he. "I've driven my cab this
+seven years and never a word of complaint. I came here straight
+from the Yard to ask you to your face what you had against me."
+
+"I have nothing in the world against you, my good man," said
+Holmes. "On the contrary, I have half a sovereign for you if you
+will give me a clear answer to my questions."
+
+"Well, I've had a good day and no mistake," said the cabman, with
+a grin. "What was it you wanted to ask, sir?"
+
+"First of all your name and address, in case I want you again."
+
+"John Clayton, 3 Turpey Street, the Borough. My cab is out of
+Shipley's Yard, near Waterloo Station."
+
+Sherlock Holmes made a note of it.
+
+"Now, Clayton, tell me all about the fare who came and watched
+this house at ten o'clock this morning and afterwards followed
+the two gentlemen down Regent Street."
+
+The man looked surprised and a little embarrassed. "Why, there's
+no good my telling you things, for you seem to know as much as I
+do already," said he. "The truth is that the gentleman told me
+that he was a detective and that I was to say nothing about him
+to anyone."
+
+"My good fellow, this is a very serious business, and you may
+find yourself in a pretty bad position if you try to hide
+anything from me. You say that your fare told you that he was a
+detective?"
+
+"Yes, he did."
+
+"When did he say this?"
+
+"When he left me."
+
+"Did he say anything more?"
+
+"He mentioned his name."
+
+Holmes cast a swift glance of triumph at me. "Oh, he mentioned
+his name, did he? That was imprudent. What was the name that he
+mentioned?"
+
+"His name," said the cabman, "was Mr. Sherlock Holmes."
+
+Never have I seen my friend more completely taken aback than by
+the cabman's reply. For an instant he sat in silent amazement.
+Then he burst into a hearty laugh.
+
+"A touch, Watson--an undeniable touch!" said he. "I feel a foil
+as quick and supple as my own. He got home upon me very prettily
+that time. So his name was Sherlock Holmes, was it?"
+
+"Yes, sir, that was the gentleman's name."
+
+"Excellent! Tell me where you picked him up and all that
+occurred."
+
+"He hailed me at half-past nine in Trafalgar Square. He said that
+he was a detective, and he offered me two guineas if I would do
+exactly what he wanted all day and ask no questions. I was glad
+enough to agree. First we drove down to the Northumberland Hotel
+and waited there until two gentlemen came out and took a cab from
+the rank. We followed their cab until it pulled up somewhere near
+here."
+
+"This very door," said Holmes.
+
+"Well, I couldn't be sure of that, but I dare say my fare knew
+all about it. We pulled up half-way down the street and waited an
+hour and a half. Then the two gentlemen passed us, walking, and
+we followed down Baker Street and along ----"
+
+"I know," said Holmes.
+
+"Until we got three-quarters down Regent Street. Then my
+gentleman threw up the trap, and he cried that I should drive
+right away to Waterloo Station as hard as I could go. I whipped
+up the mare and we were there under the ten minutes. Then he paid
+up his two guineas, like a good one, and away he went into the
+station. Only just as he was leaving he turned round and he said:
+'It might interest you to know that you have been driving Mr.
+Sherlock Holmes.' That's how I come to know the name."
+
+"I see. And you saw no more of him?"
+
+"Not after he went into the station."
+
+"And how would you describe Mr. Sherlock Holmes?"
+
+The cabman scratched his head. "Well, he wasn't altogether such
+an easy gentleman to describe. I'd put him at forty years of age,
+and he was of a middle height, two or three inches shorter than
+you, sir. He was dressed like a toff, and he had a black beard,
+cut square at the end, and a pale face. I don't know as I could
+say more than that."
+
+"Colour of his eyes?"
+
+"No, I can't say that."
+
+"Nothing more that you can remember?"
+
+"No, sir; nothing."
+
+"Well, then, here is your half-sovereign. There's another one
+waiting for you if you can bring any more information. Good
+night!"
+
+"Good night, sir, and thank you!"
+
+John Clayton departed chuckling, and Holmes turned to me with a
+shrug of his shoulders and a rueful smile.
+
+"Snap goes our third thread, and we end where we began," said he.
+"The cunning rascal! He knew our number, knew that Sir Henry
+Baskerville had consulted me, spotted who I was in Regent Street,
+conjectured that I had got the number of the cab and would lay my
+hands on the driver, and so sent back this audacious message. I
+tell you, Watson, this time we have got a foeman who is worthy of
+our steel. I've been checkmated in London. I can only wish you
+better luck in Devonshire. But I'm not easy in my mind about it."
+
+"About what?"
+
+"About sending you. It's an ugly business, Watson, an ugly
+dangerous business, and the more I see of it the less I like it.
+Yes, my dear fellow, you may laugh, but I give you my word that I
+shall be very glad to have you back safe and sound in Baker
+Street once more."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 6
+
+Baskerville Hall
+
+
+Sir Henry Baskerville and Dr. Mortimer were ready upon the
+appointed day, and we started as arranged for Devonshire. Mr.
+Sherlock Holmes drove with me to the station and gave me his last
+parting injunctions and advice.
+
+"I will not bias your mind by suggesting theories or suspicions,
+Watson," said he; "I wish you simply to report facts in the
+fullest possible manner to me, and you can leave me to do the
+theorizing."
+
+"What sort of facts?" I asked.
+
+"Anything which may seem to have a bearing however indirect upon
+the case, and especially the relations between young Baskerville
+and his neighbours or any fresh particulars concerning the death
+of Sir Charles. I have made some inquiries myself in the last few
+days, but the results have, I fear, been negative. One thing only
+appears to be certain, and that is that Mr. James Desmond, who is
+the next heir, is an elderly gentleman of a very amiable
+disposition, so that this persecution does not arise from him. I
+really think that we may eliminate him entirely from our
+calculations. There remain the people who will actually surround
+Sir Henry Baskerville upon the moor."
+
+"Would it not be well in the first place to get rid of this
+Barrymore couple?"
+
+"By no means. You could not make a greater mistake. If they are
+innocent it would be a cruel injustice, and if they are guilty we
+should be giving up all chance of bringing it home to them. No,
+no, we will preserve them upon our list of suspects. Then there
+is a groom at the Hall, if I remember right. There are two
+moorland farmers. There is our friend Dr. Mortimer, whom I
+believe to be entirely honest, and there is his wife, of whom we
+know nothing. There is this naturalist, Stapleton, and there is
+his sister, who is said to be a young lady of attractions. There
+is Mr. Frankland, of Lafter Hall, who is also an unknown factor,
+and there are one or two other neighbours. These are the folk who
+must be your very special study."
+
+"I will do my best."
+
+"You have arms, I suppose?"
+
+"Yes, I thought it as well to take them."
+
+"Most certainly. Keep your revolver near you night and day, and
+never relax your precautions."
+
+Our friends had already secured a first-class carriage and were
+waiting for us upon the platform.
+
+"No, we have no news of any kind," said Dr. Mortimer in answer to
+my friend's questions. "I can swear to one thing, and that is
+that we have not been shadowed during the last two days. We have
+never gone out without keeping a sharp watch, and no one could
+have escaped our notice."
+
+"You have always kept together, I presume?"
+
+"Except yesterday afternoon. I usually give up one day to pure
+amusement when I come to town, so I spent it at the Museum of the
+College of Surgeons."
+
+"And I went to look at the folk in the park," said Baskerville.
+"But we had no trouble of any kind."
+
+"It was imprudent, all the same," said Holmes, shaking his head
+and looking very grave. "I beg, Sir Henry, that you will not go
+about alone. Some great misfortune will befall you if you do. Did
+you get your other boot?"
+
+"No, sir, it is gone forever."
+
+"Indeed. That is very interesting. Well, good-bye," he added as
+the train began to glide down the platform. "Bear in mind, Sir
+Henry, one of the phrases in that queer old legend which Dr.
+Mortimer has read to us, and avoid the moor in those hours of
+darkness when the powers of evil are exalted."
+
+I looked back at the platform when we had left it far behind, and
+saw the tall, austere figure of Holmes standing motionless and
+gazing after us.
+
+The journey was a swift and pleasant one, and I spent it in
+making the more intimate acquaintance of my two companions and in
+playing with Dr. Mortimer's spaniel. In a very few hours the
+brown earth had become ruddy, the brick had changed to granite,
+and red cows grazed in well-hedged fields where the lush grasses
+and more luxuriant vegetation spoke of a richer, if a damper,
+climate. Young Baskerville stared eagerly out of the window, and
+cried aloud with delight as he recognized the familiar features
+of the Devon scenery.
+
+"I've been over a good part of the world since I left it, Dr.
+Watson," said he; "but I have never seen a place to compare with
+it."
+
+"I never saw a Devonshire man who did not swear by his county," I
+remarked.
+
+"It depends upon the breed of men quite as much as on the
+county," said Dr. Mortimer. "A glance at our friend here reveals
+the rounded head of the Celt, which carries inside it the Celtic
+enthusiasm and power of attachment. Poor Sir Charles's head was
+of a very rare type, half Gaelic, half Ivernian in its
+characteristics. But you were very young when you last saw
+Baskerville Hall, were you not?"
+
+"I was a boy in my 'teens at the time of my father's death, and
+had never seen the Hall, for he lived in a little cottage on the
+South Coast. Thence I went straight to a friend in America. I
+tell you it is all as new to me as it is to Dr. Watson, and I'm
+as keen as possible to see the moor."
+
+"Are you? Then your wish is easily granted, for there is your
+first sight of the moor," said Dr. Mortimer, pointing out of the
+carriage window.
+
+Over the green squares of the fields and the low curve of a wood
+there rose in the distance a gray, melancholy hill, with a
+strange jagged summit, dim and vague in the distance, like some
+fantastic landscape in a dream. Baskerville sat for a long time,
+his eyes fixed upon it, and I read upon his eager face how much
+it meant to him, this first sight of that strange spot where the
+men of his blood had held sway so long and left their mark so
+deep. There he sat, with his tweed suit and his American accent,
+in the corner of a prosaic railway-carriage, and yet as I looked
+at his dark and expressive face I felt more than ever how true a
+descendant he was of that long line of high-blooded, fiery, and
+masterful men. There were pride, valour, and strength in his
+thick brows, his sensitive nostrils, and his large hazel eyes. If
+on that forbidding moor a difficult and dangerous quest should
+lie before us, this was at least a comrade for whom one might
+venture to take a risk with the certainty that he would bravely
+share it.
+
+The train pulled up at a small wayside station and we all
+descended. Outside, beyond the low, white fence, a wagonette with
+a pair of cobs was waiting. Our coming was evidently a great
+event, for station-master and porters clustered round us to carry
+out our luggage. It was a sweet, simple country spot, but I was
+surprised to observe that by the gate there stood two soldierly
+men in dark uniforms, who leaned upon their short rifles and
+glanced keenly at us as we passed. The coachman, a hard-faced,
+gnarled little fellow, saluted Sir Henry Baskerville, and in a
+few minutes we were flying swiftly down the broad, white road.
+Rolling pasture lands curved upward on either side of us, and old
+gabled houses peeped out from amid the thick green foliage, but
+behind the peaceful and sunlit country-side there rose ever, dark
+against the evening sky, the long, gloomy curve of the moor,
+broken by the jagged and sinister hills.
+
+The wagonette swung round into a side road, and we curved upward
+through deep lanes worn by centuries of wheels, high banks on
+either side, heavy with dripping moss and fleshy hart's-tongue
+ferns. Bronzing bracken and mottled bramble gleamed in the light
+of the sinking sun. Still steadily rising, we passed over a
+narrow granite bridge, and skirted a noisy stream which gushed
+swiftly down, foaming and roaring amid the gray boulders. Both
+road and stream wound up through a valley dense with scrub oak
+and fir. At every turn Baskerville gave an exclamation of
+delight, looking eagerly about him and asking countless
+questions. To his eyes all seemed beautiful, but to me a tinge of
+melancholy lay upon the country-side, which bore so clearly the
+mark of the waning year. Yellow leaves carpeted the lanes and
+fluttered down upon us as we passed. The rattle of our wheels
+died away as we drove through drifts of rotting vegetation--sad
+gifts, as it seemed to me, for Nature to throw before the
+carriage of the returning heir of the Baskervilles.
+
+"Halloa!" cried Dr. Mortimer, "what is this?"
+
+A steep curve of heath-clad land, an outlying spur of the moor,
+lay in front of us. On the summit, hard and clear like an
+equestrian statue upon its pedestal, was a mounted soldier, dark
+and stern, his rifle poised ready over his forearm. He was
+watching the road along which we travelled.
+
+"What is this, Perkins?" asked Dr. Mortimer.
+
+Our driver half turned in his seat.
+
+"There's a convict escaped from Princetown, sir. He's been out
+three days now, and the warders watch every road and every
+station, but they've had no sight of him yet. The farmers about
+here don't like it, sir, and that's a fact."
+
+"Well, I understand that they get five pounds if they can give
+information."
+
+"Yes, sir, but the chance of five pounds is but a poor thing
+compared to the chance of having your throat cut. You see, it
+isn't like any ordinary convict. This is a man that would stick
+at nothing."
+
+"Who is he, then?"
+
+"It is Selden, the Notting Hill murderer."
+
+I remembered the case well, for it was one in which Holmes had
+taken an interest on account of the peculiar ferocity of the
+crime and the wanton brutality which had marked all the actions
+of the assassin. The commutation of his death sentence had been
+due to some doubts as to his complete sanity, so atrocious was
+his conduct. Our wagonette had topped a rise and in front of us
+rose the huge expanse of the moor, mottled with gnarled and
+craggy cairns and tors. A cold wind swept down from it and set us
+shivering. Somewhere there, on that desolate plain, was lurking
+this fiendish man, hiding in a burrow like a wild beast, his
+heart full of malignancy against the whole race which had cast
+him out. It needed but this to complete the grim suggestiveness
+of the barren waste, the chilling wind, and the darkling sky.
+Even Baskerville fell silent and pulled his overcoat more closely
+around him.
+
+We had left the fertile country behind and beneath us. We looked
+back on it now, the slanting rays of a low sun turning the
+streams to threads of gold and glowing on the red earth new
+turned by the plough and the broad tangle of the woodlands. The
+road in front of us grew bleaker and wilder over huge russet and
+olive slopes, sprinkled with giant boulders. Now and then we
+passed a moorland cottage, walled and roofed with stone, with no
+creeper to break its harsh outline. Suddenly we looked down into
+a cup-like depression, patched with stunted oaks and firs which
+had been twisted and bent by the fury of years of storm. Two
+high, narrow towers rose over the trees. The driver pointed with
+his whip.
+
+"Baskerville Hall," said he.
+
+Its master had risen and was staring with flushed cheeks and
+shining eyes. A few minutes later we had reached the lodge-gates,
+a maze of fantastic tracery in wrought iron, with weather-bitten
+pillars on either side, blotched with lichens, and surmounted by
+the boars' heads of the Baskervilles. The lodge was a ruin of
+black granite and bared ribs of rafters, but facing it was a new
+building, half constructed, the first fruit of Sir Charles's
+South African gold.
+
+Through the gateway we passed into the avenue, where the wheels
+were again hushed amid the leaves, and the old trees shot their
+branches in a sombre tunnel over our heads. Baskerville shuddered
+as he looked up the long, dark drive to where the house glimmered
+like a ghost at the farther end.
+
+"Was it here?" he asked in a low voice.
+
+"No, no, the Yew Alley is on the other side."
+
+The young heir glanced round with a gloomy face.
+
+"It's no wonder my uncle felt as if trouble were coming on him in
+such a place as this," said he. "It's enough to scare any man.
+I'll have a row of electric lamps up here inside of six months,
+and you won't know it again, with a thousand candle-power Swan
+and Edison right here in front of the hall door."
+
+The avenue opened into a broad expanse of turf, and the house lay
+before us. In the fading light I could see that the centre was a
+heavy block of building from which a porch projected. The whole
+front was draped in ivy, with a patch clipped bare here and there
+where a window or a coat-of-arms broke through the dark veil.
+From this central block rose the twin towers, ancient,
+crenelated, and pierced with many loopholes. To right and left of
+the turrets were more modern wings of black granite. A dull light
+shone through heavy mullioned windows, and from the high chimneys
+which rose from the steep, high-angled roof there sprang a single
+black column of smoke.
+
+"Welcome, Sir Henry! Welcome to Baskerville Hall!"
+
+A tall man had stepped from the shadow of the porch to open the
+door of the wagonette. The figure of a woman was silhouetted
+against the yellow light of the hall. She came out and helped the
+man to hand down our bags.
+
+"You don't mind my driving straight home, Sir Henry?" said Dr.
+Mortimer. "My wife is expecting me."
+
+"Surely you will stay and have some dinner?"
+
+"No, I must go. I shall probably find some work awaiting me. I
+would stay to show you over the house, but Barrymore will be a
+better guide than I. Good-bye, and never hesitate night or day to
+send for me if I can be of service."
+
+The wheels died away down the drive while Sir Henry and I turned
+into the hall, and the door clanged heavily behind us. It was a
+fine apartment in which we found ourselves, large, lofty, and
+heavily raftered with huge balks of age-blackened oak. In the
+great old-fashioned fireplace behind the high iron dogs a
+log-fire crackled and snapped. Sir Henry and I held out our hands
+to it, for we were numb from our long drive. Then we gazed round
+us at the high, thin window of old stained glass, the oak
+panelling, the stags' heads, the coats-of-arms upon the walls,
+all dim and sombre in the subdued light of the central lamp.
+
+"It's just as I imagined it," said Sir Henry. "Is it not the very
+picture of an old family home? To think that this should be the
+same hall in which for five hundred years my people have lived.
+It strikes me solemn to think of it."
+
+I saw his dark face lit up with a boyish enthusiasm as he gazed
+about him. The light beat upon him where he stood, but long
+shadows trailed down the walls and hung like a black canopy above
+him. Barrymore had returned from taking our luggage to our rooms.
+He stood in front of us now with the subdued manner of a
+well-trained servant. He was a remarkable-looking man, tall,
+handsome, with a square black beard and pale, distinguished
+features.
+
+"Would you wish dinner to be served at once, sir?"
+
+"Is it ready?"
+
+"In a very few minutes, sir. You will find hot water in your
+rooms. My wife and I will be happy, Sir Henry, to stay with you
+until you have made your fresh arrangements, but you will
+understand that under the new conditions this house will require
+a considerable staff."
+
+"What new conditions?"
+
+"I only meant, sir, that Sir Charles led a very retired life, and
+we were able to look after his wants. You would, naturally, wish
+to have more company, and so you will need changes in your
+household."
+
+"Do you mean that your wife and you wish to leave?"
+
+"Only when it is quite convenient to you, sir."
+
+"But your family have been with us for several generations, have
+they not? I should be sorry to begin my life here by breaking an
+old family connection."
+
+I seemed to discern some signs of emotion upon the butler's white
+face.
+
+"I feel that also, sir, and so does my wife. But to tell the
+truth, sir, we were both very much attached to Sir Charles, and
+his death gave us a shock and made these surroundings very
+painful to us. I fear that we shall never again be easy in our
+minds at Baskerville Hall."
+
+"But what do you intend to do?"
+
+"I have no doubt, sir, that we shall succeed in establishing
+ourselves in some business. Sir Charles's generosity has given us
+the means to do so. And now, sir, perhaps I had best show you to
+your rooms."
+
+A square balustraded gallery ran round the top of the old hall,
+approached by a double stair. From this central point two long
+corridors extended the whole length of the building, from which
+all the bedrooms opened. My own was in the same wing as
+Baskerville's and almost next door to it. These rooms appeared to
+be much more modern than the central part of the house, and the
+bright paper and numerous candles did something to remove the
+sombre impression which our arrival had left upon my mind.
+
+But the dining-room which opened out of the hall was a place of
+shadow and gloom. It was a long chamber with a step separating
+the dais where the family sat from the lower portion reserved for
+their dependents. At one end a minstrel's gallery overlooked it.
+Black beams shot across above our heads, with a smoke-darkened
+ceiling beyond them. With rows of flaring torches to light it up,
+and the colour and rude hilarity of an old-time banquet, it might
+have softened; but now, when two black-clothed gentlemen sat in
+the little circle of light thrown by a shaded lamp, one's voice
+became hushed and one's spirit subdued. A dim line of ancestors,
+in every variety of dress, from the Elizabethan knight to the
+buck of the Regency, stared down upon us and daunted us by their
+silent company. We talked little, and I for one was glad when the
+meal was over and we were able to retire into the modern
+billiard-room and smoke a cigarette.
+
+"My word, it isn't a very cheerful place," said Sir Henry. "I
+suppose one can tone down to it, but I feel a bit out of the
+picture at present. I don't wonder that my uncle got a little
+jumpy if he lived all alone in such a house as this. However, if
+it suits you, we will retire early to-night, and perhaps things
+may seem more cheerful in the morning."
+
+I drew aside my curtains before I went to bed and looked out from
+my window. It opened upon the grassy space which lay in front of
+the hall door. Beyond, two copses of trees moaned and swung in a
+rising wind. A half moon broke through the rifts of racing
+clouds. In its cold light I saw beyond the trees a broken fringe
+of rocks, and the long, low curve of the melancholy moor. I
+closed the curtain, feeling that my last impression was in
+keeping with the rest.
+
+And yet it was not quite the last. I found myself weary and yet
+wakeful, tossing restlessly from side to side, seeking for the
+sleep which would not come. Far away a chiming clock struck out
+the quarters of the hours, but otherwise a deathly silence lay
+upon the old house. And then suddenly, in the very dead of the
+night, there came a sound to my ears, clear, resonant, and
+unmistakable. It was the sob of a woman, the muffled, strangling
+gasp of one who is torn by an uncontrollable sorrow. I sat up in
+bed and listened intently. The noise could not have been far away
+and was certainly in the house. For half an hour I waited with
+every nerve on the alert, but there came no other sound save the
+chiming clock and the rustle of the ivy on the wall.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 7
+
+The Stapletons of Merripit House
+
+
+The fresh beauty of the following morning did something to efface
+from our minds the grim and gray impression which had been left
+upon both of us by our first experience of Baskerville Hall. As
+Sir Henry and I sat at breakfast the sunlight flooded in through
+the high mullioned windows, throwing watery patches of colour
+from the coats of arms which covered them. The dark panelling
+glowed like bronze in the golden rays, and it was hard to realize
+that this was indeed the chamber which had struck such a gloom
+into our souls upon the evening before.
+
+"I guess it is ourselves and not the house that we have to
+blame!" said the baronet. "We were tired with our journey and
+chilled by our drive, so we took a gray view of the place. Now we
+are fresh and well, so it is all cheerful once more."
+
+"And yet it was not entirely a question of imagination," I
+answered. "Did you, for example, happen to hear someone, a woman
+I think, sobbing in the night?"
+
+"That is curious, for I did when I was half asleep fancy that I
+heard something of the sort. I waited quite a time, but there was
+no more of it, so I concluded that it was all a dream."
+
+"I heard it distinctly, and I am sure that it was really the sob
+of a woman."
+
+"We must ask about this right away." He rang the bell and asked
+Barrymore whether he could account for our experience. It seemed
+to me that the pallid features of the butler turned a shade paler
+still as he listened to his master's question.
+
+"There are only two women in the house, Sir Henry," he answered.
+"One is the scullery-maid, who sleeps in the other wing. The
+other is my wife, and I can answer for it that the sound could
+not have come from her."
+
+And yet he lied as he said it, for it chanced that after
+breakfast I met Mrs. Barrymore in the long corridor with the sun
+full upon her face. She was a large, impassive, heavy-featured
+woman with a stern set expression of mouth. But her tell-tale
+eyes were red and glanced at me from between swollen lids. It was
+she, then, who wept in the night, and if she did so her husband
+must know it. Yet he had taken the obvious risk of discovery in
+declaring that it was not so. Why had he done this? And why did
+she weep so bitterly? Already round this pale-faced, handsome,
+black-bearded man there was gathering an atmosphere of mystery
+and of gloom. It was he who had been the first to discover the
+body of Sir Charles, and we had only his word for all the
+circumstances which led up to the old man's death. Was it
+possible that it was Barrymore after all whom we had seen in the
+cab in Regent Street? The beard might well have been the same.
+The cabman had described a somewhat shorter man, but such an
+impression might easily have been erroneous. How could I settle
+the point forever? Obviously the first thing to do was to see the
+Grimpen postmaster, and find whether the test telegram had really
+been placed in Barrymore's own hands. Be the answer what it
+might, I should at least have something to report to Sherlock
+Holmes.
+
+Sir Henry had numerous papers to examine after breakfast, so that
+the time was propitious for my excursion. It was a pleasant walk
+of four miles along the edge of the moor, leading me at last to a
+small gray hamlet, in which two larger buildings, which proved to
+be the inn and the house of Dr. Mortimer, stood high above the
+rest. The postmaster, who was also the village grocer, had a
+clear recollection of the telegram.
+
+"Certainly, sir," said he, "I had the telegram delivered to Mr.
+Barrymore exactly as directed."
+
+"Who delivered it?"
+
+"My boy here. James, you delivered that telegram to Mr. Barrymore
+at the Hall last week, did you not?"
+
+"Yes, father, I delivered it."
+
+"Into his own hands?" I asked.
+
+"Well, he was up in the loft at the time, so that I could not put
+it into his own hands, but I gave it into Mrs. Barrymore's hands,
+and she promised to deliver it at once."
+
+"Did you see Mr. Barrymore?"
+
+"No, sir; I tell you he was in the loft."
+
+"If you didn't see him, how do you know he was in the loft?"
+
+"Well, surely his own wife ought to know where he is," said the
+postmaster testily. "Didn't he get the telegram? If there is any
+mistake it is for Mr. Barrymore himself to complain."
+
+It seemed hopeless to pursue the inquiry any farther, but it was
+clear that in spite of Holmes's ruse we had no proof that
+Barrymore had not been in London all the time. Suppose that it
+were so--suppose that the same man had been the last who had seen
+Sir Charles alive, and the first to dog the new heir when he
+returned to England. What then? Was he the agent of others or had
+he some sinister design of his own? What interest could he have
+in persecuting the Baskerville family? I thought of the strange
+warning clipped out of the leading article of the Times. Was that
+his work or was it possibly the doing of someone who was bent
+upon counteracting his schemes? The only conceivable motive was
+that which had been suggested by Sir Henry, that if the family
+could be scared away a comfortable and permanent home would be
+secured for the Barrymores. But surely such an explanation as
+that would be quite inadequate to account for the deep and subtle
+scheming which seemed to be weaving an invisible net round the
+young baronet. Holmes himself had said that no more complex case
+had come to him in all the long series of his sensational
+investigations. I prayed, as I walked back along the gray, lonely
+road, that my friend might soon be freed from his preoccupations
+and able to come down to take this heavy burden of responsibility
+from my shoulders.
+
+Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of running
+feet behind me and by a voice which called me by name. I turned,
+expecting to see Dr. Mortimer, but to my surprise it was a
+stranger who was pursuing me. He was a small, slim, clean-shaven,
+prim-faced man, flaxen-haired and lean-jawed, between thirty and
+forty years of age, dressed in a gray suit and wearing a straw
+hat. A tin box for botanical specimens hung over his shoulder and
+he carried a green butterfly-net in one of his hands.
+
+"You will, I am sure, excuse my presumption, Dr. Watson," said
+he, as he came panting up to where I stood. "Here on the moor we
+are homely folk and do not wait for formal introductions. You may
+possibly have heard my name from our mutual friend, Mortimer. I
+am Stapleton, of Merripit House."
+
+"Your net and box would have told me as much," said I, "for I
+knew that Mr. Stapleton was a naturalist. But how did you know
+me?"
+
+"I have been calling on Mortimer, and he pointed you out to me
+from the window of his surgery as you passed. As our road lay the
+same way I thought that I would overtake you and introduce
+myself. I trust that Sir Henry is none the worse for his
+journey?"
+
+"He is very well, thank you."
+
+"We were all rather afraid that after the sad death of Sir
+Charles the new baronet might refuse to live here. It is asking
+much of a wealthy man to come down and bury himself in a place of
+this kind, but I need not tell you that it means a very great
+deal to the country-side. Sir Henry has, I suppose, no
+superstitious fears in the matter?"
+
+"I do not think that it is likely."
+
+"Of course you know the legend of the fiend dog which haunts the
+family?"
+
+"I have heard it."
+
+"It is extraordinary how credulous the peasants are about here!
+Any number of them are ready to swear that they have seen such a
+creature upon the moor." He spoke with a smile, but I seemed to
+read in his eyes that he took the matter more seriously. "The
+story took a great hold upon the imagination of Sir Charles, and
+I have no doubt that it led to his tragic end."
+
+"But how?"
+
+"His nerves were so worked up that the appearance of any dog
+might have had a fatal effect upon his diseased heart. I fancy
+that he really did see something of the kind upon that last night
+in the Yew Alley. I feared that some disaster might occur, for I
+was very fond of the old man, and I knew that his heart was
+weak."
+
+"How did you know that?"
+
+"My friend Mortimer told me."
+
+"You think, then, that some dog pursued Sir Charles, and that he
+died of fright in consequence?"
+
+"Have you any better explanation?"
+
+"I have not come to any conclusion."
+
+"Has Mr. Sherlock Holmes?"
+
+The words took away my breath for an instant, but a glance at the
+placid face and steadfast eyes of my companion showed that no
+surprise was intended.
+
+"It is useless for us to pretend that we do not know you, Dr.
+Watson," said he. "The records of your detective have reached us
+here, and you could not celebrate him without being known
+yourself. When Mortimer told me your name he could not deny your
+identity. If you are here, then it follows that Mr. Sherlock
+Holmes is interesting himself in the matter, and I am naturally
+curious to know what view he may take."
+
+"I am afraid that I cannot answer that question."
+
+"May I ask if he is going to honour us with a visit himself?"
+
+"He cannot leave town at present. He has other cases which engage
+his attention."
+
+"What a pity! He might throw some light on that which is so dark
+to us. But as to your own researches, if there is any possible
+way in which I can be of service to you I trust that you will
+command me. If I had any indication of the nature of your
+suspicions or how you propose to investigate the case, I might
+perhaps even now give you some aid or advice."
+
+"I assure you that I am simply here upon a visit to my friend,
+Sir Henry, and that I need no help of any kind."
+
+"Excellent!" said Stapleton. "You are perfectly right to be wary
+and discreet. I am justly reproved for what I feel was an
+unjustifiable intrusion, and I promise you that I will not
+mention the matter again."
+
+We had come to a point where a narrow grassy path struck off from
+the road and wound away across the moor. A steep,
+boulder-sprinkled hill lay upon the right which had in bygone
+days been cut into a granite quarry. The face which was turned
+towards us formed a dark cliff, with ferns and brambles growing
+in its niches. From over a distant rise there floated a gray
+plume of smoke.
+
+"A moderate walk along this moor-path brings us to Merripit
+House," said he. "Perhaps you will spare an hour that I may have
+the pleasure of introducing you to my sister."
+
+My first thought was that I should be by Sir Henry's side. But
+then I remembered the pile of papers and bills with which his
+study table was littered. It was certain that I could not help
+with those. And Holmes had expressly said that I should study the
+neighbours upon the moor. I accepted Stapleton's invitation, and
+we turned together down the path.
+
+"It is a wonderful place, the moor," said he, looking round over
+the undulating downs, long green rollers, with crests of jagged
+granite foaming up into fantastic surges. "You never tire of the
+moor. You cannot think the wonderful secrets which it contains.
+It is so vast, and so barren, and so mysterious."
+
+"You know it well, then?"
+
+"I have only been here two years. The residents would call me a
+newcomer. We came shortly after Sir Charles settled. But my
+tastes led me to explore every part of the country round, and I
+should think that there are few men who know it better than I
+do."
+
+"Is it hard to know?"
+
+"Very hard. You see, for example, this great plain to the north
+here with the queer hills breaking out of it. Do you observe
+anything remarkable about that?"
+
+"It would be a rare place for a gallop."
+
+"You would naturally think so and the thought has cost several
+their lives before now. You notice those bright green spots
+scattered thickly over it?"
+
+"Yes, they seem more fertile than the rest."
+
+Stapleton laughed.
+
+"That is the great Grimpen Mire," said he. "A false step yonder
+means death to man or beast. Only yesterday I saw one of the moor
+ponies wander into it. He never came out. I saw his head for
+quite a long time craning out of the bog-hole, but it sucked him
+down at last. Even in dry seasons it is a danger to cross it, but
+after these autumn rains it is an awful place. And yet I can find
+my way to the very heart of it and return alive. By George, there
+is another of those miserable ponies!"
+
+Something brown was rolling and tossing among the green sedges.
+Then a long, agonized, writhing neck shot upward and a dreadful
+cry echoed over the moor. It turned me cold with horror, but my
+companion's nerves seemed to be stronger than mine.
+
+"It's gone!" said he. "The mire has him. Two in two days, and
+many more, perhaps, for they get in the way of going there in the
+dry weather, and never know the difference until the mire has
+them in its clutches. It's a bad place, the great Grimpen Mire."
+
+"And you say you can penetrate it?"
+
+"Yes, there are one or two paths which a very active man can
+take. I have found them out."
+
+"But why should you wish to go into so horrible a place?"
+
+"Well, you see the hills beyond? They are really islands cut off
+on all sides by the impassable mire, which has crawled round them
+in the course of years. That is where the rare plants and the
+butterflies are, if you have the wit to reach them."
+
+"I shall try my luck some day."
+
+He looked at me with a surprised face.
+
+"For God's sake put such an idea out of your mind," said he.
+"Your blood would be upon my head. I assure you that there would
+not be the least chance of your coming back alive. It is only by
+remembering certain complex landmarks that I am able to do it."
+
+"Halloa!" I cried. "What is that?"
+
+A long, low moan, indescribably sad, swept over the moor. It
+filled the whole air, and yet it was impossible to say whence it
+came. From a dull murmur it swelled into a deep roar, and then
+sank back into a melancholy, throbbing murmur once again.
+Stapleton looked at me with a curious expression in his face.
+
+"Queer place, the moor!" said he.
+
+"But what is it?"
+
+"The peasants say it is the Hound of the Baskervilles calling for
+its prey. I've heard it once or twice before, but never quite so
+loud."
+
+I looked round, with a chill of fear in my heart, at the huge
+swelling plain, mottled with the green patches of rushes. Nothing
+stirred over the vast expanse save a pair of ravens, which
+croaked loudly from a tor behind us.
+
+"You are an educated man. You don't believe such nonsense as
+that?" said I. "What do you think is the cause of so strange a
+sound?"
+
+"Bogs make queer noises sometimes. It's the mud settling, or the
+water rising, or something."
+
+"No, no, that was a living voice."
+
+"Well, perhaps it was. Did you ever hear a bittern booming?"
+
+"No, I never did."
+
+"It's a very rare bird--practically extinct--in England now, but
+all things are possible upon the moor. Yes, I should not be
+surprised to learn that what we have heard is the cry of the last
+of the bitterns."
+
+"It's the weirdest, strangest thing that ever I heard in my
+life."
+
+"Yes, it's rather an uncanny place altogether. Look at the hill-
+side yonder. What do you make of those?"
+
+The whole steep slope was covered with gray circular rings of
+stone, a score of them at least.
+
+"What are they? Sheep-pens?"
+
+"No, they are the homes of our worthy ancestors. Prehistoric man
+lived thickly on the moor, and as no one in particular has lived
+there since, we find all his little arrangements exactly as he
+left them. These are his wigwams with the roofs off. You can even
+see his hearth and his couch if you have the curiosity to go
+inside.
+
+"But it is quite a town. When was it inhabited?"
+
+"Neolithic man--no date."
+
+"What did he do?"
+
+"He grazed his cattle on these slopes, and he learned to dig for
+tin when the bronze sword began to supersede the stone axe. Look
+at the great trench in the opposite hill. That is his mark. Yes,
+you will find some very singular points about the moor, Dr.
+Watson. Oh, excuse me an instant! It is surely Cyclopides."
+
+A small fly or moth had fluttered across our path, and in an
+instant Stapleton was rushing with extraordinary energy and speed
+in pursuit of it. To my dismay the creature flew straight for the
+great mire, and my acquaintance never paused for an instant,
+bounding from tuft to tuft behind it, his green net waving in the
+air. His gray clothes and jerky, zigzag, irregular progress made
+him not unlike some huge moth himself. I was standing watching
+his pursuit with a mixture of admiration for his extraordinary
+activity and fear lest he should lose his footing in the
+treacherous mire, when I heard the sound of steps, and turning
+round found a woman near me upon the path. She had come from the
+direction in which the plume of smoke indicated the position of
+Merripit House, but the dip of the moor had hid her until she was
+quite close.
+
+I could not doubt that this was the Miss Stapleton of whom I had
+been told, since ladies of any sort must be few upon the moor,
+and I remembered that I had heard someone describe her as being a
+beauty. The woman who approached me was certainly that, and of a
+most uncommon type. There could not have been a greater contrast
+between brother and sister, for Stapleton was neutral tinted,
+with light hair and gray eyes, while she was darker than any
+brunette whom I have seen in England--slim, elegant, and tall.
+She had a proud, finely cut face, so regular that it might have
+seemed impassive were it not for the sensitive mouth and the
+beautiful dark, eager eyes. With her perfect figure and elegant
+dress she was, indeed, a strange apparition upon a lonely
+moorland path. Her eyes were on her brother as I turned, and then
+she quickened her pace towards me. I had raised my hat and was
+about to make some explanatory remark, when her own words turned
+all my thoughts into a new channel.
+
+"Go back!" she said. "Go straight back to London, instantly."
+
+I could only stare at her in stupid surprise. Her eyes blazed at
+me, and she tapped the ground impatiently with her foot.
+
+"Why should I go back?" I asked.
+
+"I cannot explain." She spoke in a low, eager voice, with a
+curious lisp in her utterance. "But for God's sake do what I ask
+you. Go back and never set foot upon the moor again."
+
+"But I have only just come."
+
+"Man, man!" she cried. "Can you not tell when a warning is for
+your own good? Go back to London! Start to-night! Get away from
+this place at all costs! Hush, my brother is coming! Not a word
+of what I have said. Would you mind getting that orchid for me
+among the mares-tails yonder? We are very rich in orchids on the
+moor, though, of course, you are rather late to see the beauties
+of the place."
+
+Stapleton had abandoned the chase and came back to us breathing
+hard and flushed with his exertions.
+
+"Halloa, Beryl!" said he, and it seemed to me that the tone of
+his greeting was not altogether a cordial one.
+
+"Well, Jack, you are very hot."
+
+"Yes, I was chasing a Cyclopides. He is very rare and seldom
+found in the late autumn. What a pity that I should have missed
+him!" He spoke unconcernedly, but his small light eyes glanced
+incessantly from the girl to me.
+
+"You have introduced yourselves, I can see."
+
+"Yes. I was telling Sir Henry that it was rather late for him to
+see the true beauties of the moor."
+
+"Why, who do you think this is?"
+
+"I imagine that it must be Sir Henry Baskerville."
+
+"No, no," said I. "Only a humble commoner, but his friend. My
+name is Dr. Watson."
+
+A flush of vexation passed over her expressive face. "We have
+been talking at cross purposes," said she.
+
+"Why, you had not very much time for talk," her brother remarked
+with the same questioning eyes.
+
+"I talked as if Dr. Watson were a resident instead of being
+merely a visitor," said she. "It cannot much matter to him
+whether it is early or late for the orchids. But you will come
+on, will you not, and see Merripit House?"
+
+A short walk brought us to it, a bleak moorland house, once the
+farm of some grazier in the old prosperous days, but now put into
+repair and turned into a modern dwelling. An orchard surrounded
+it, but the trees, as is usual upon the moor, were stunted and
+nipped, and the effect of the whole place was mean and
+melancholy. We were admitted by a strange, wizened, rusty-coated
+old manservant, who seemed in keeping with the house. Inside,
+however, there were large rooms furnished with an elegance in
+which I seemed to recognize the taste of the lady. As I looked
+from their windows at the interminable granite-flecked moor
+rolling unbroken to the farthest horizon I could not but marvel
+at what could have brought this highly educated man and this
+beautiful woman to live in such a place.
+
+"Queer spot to choose, is it not?" said he as if in answer to my
+thought. "And yet we manage to make ourselves fairly happy, do we
+not, Beryl?"
+
+"Quite happy," said she, but there was no ring of conviction in
+her words.
+
+"I had a school," said Stapleton. "It was in the north country.
+The work to a man of my temperament was mechanical and
+uninteresting, but the privilege of living with youth, of helping
+to mould those young minds, and of impressing them with one's own
+character and ideals, was very dear to me. However, the fates
+were against us. A serious epidemic broke out in the school and
+three of the boys died. It never recovered from the blow, and
+much of my capital was irretrievably swallowed up. And yet, if it
+were not for the loss of the charming companionship of the boys,
+I could rejoice over my own misfortune, for, with my strong
+tastes for botany and zoology, I find an unlimited field of work
+here, and my sister is as devoted to Nature as I am. All this,
+Dr. Watson, has been brought upon your head by your expression as
+you surveyed the moor out of our window."
+
+"It certainly did cross my mind that it might be a little
+dull--less for you, perhaps, than for your sister."
+
+"No, no, I am never dull," said she, quickly.
+
+"We have books, we have our studies, and we have interesting
+neighbours. Dr. Mortimer is a most learned man in his own line.
+Poor Sir Charles was also an admirable companion. We knew him
+well, and miss him more than I can tell. Do you think that I
+should intrude if I were to call this afternoon and make the
+acquaintance of Sir Henry?"
+
+"I am sure that he would be delighted."
+
+"Then perhaps you would mention that I propose to do so. We may
+in our humble way do something to make things more easy for him
+until he becomes accustomed to his new surroundings. Will you
+come upstairs, Dr. Watson, and inspect my collection of
+Lepidoptera? I think it is the most complete one in the
+south-west of England. By the time that you have looked through
+them lunch will be almost ready."
+
+But I was eager to get back to my charge. The melancholy of the
+moor, the death of the unfortunate pony, the weird sound which
+had been associated with the grim legend of the Baskervilles, all
+these things tinged my thoughts with sadness. Then on the top of
+these more or less vague impressions there had come the definite
+and distinct warning of Miss Stapleton, delivered with such
+intense earnestness that I could not doubt that some grave and
+deep reason lay behind it. I resisted all pressure to stay for
+lunch, and I set off at once upon my return journey, taking the
+grass-grown path by which we had come.
+
+It seems, however, that there must have been some short cut for
+those who knew it, for before I had reached the road I was
+astounded to see Miss Stapleton sitting upon a rock by the side
+of the track. Her face was beautifully flushed with her
+exertions, and she held her hand to her side.
+
+"I have run all the way in order to cut you off, Dr. Watson,"
+said she. "I had not even time to put on my hat. I must not stop,
+or my brother may miss me. I wanted to say to you how sorry I am
+about the stupid mistake I made in thinking that you were Sir
+Henry. Please forget the words I said, which have no application
+whatever to you."
+
+"But I can't forget them, Miss Stapleton," said I. "I am Sir
+Henry's friend, and his welfare is a very close concern of mine.
+Tell me why it was that you were so eager that Sir Henry should
+return to London."
+
+"A woman's whim, Dr. Watson. When you know me better you will
+understand that I cannot always give reasons for what I say or
+do."
+
+"No, no. I remember the thrill in your voice. I remember the look
+in your eyes. Please, please, be frank with me, Miss Stapleton,
+for ever since I have been here I have been conscious of shadows
+all round me. Life has become like that great Grimpen Mire, with
+little green patches everywhere into which one may sink and with
+no guide to point the track. Tell me then what it was that you
+meant, and I will promise to convey your warning to Sir Henry."
+
+An expression of irresolution passed for an instant over her
+face, but her eyes had hardened again when she answered me.
+
+"You make too much of it, Dr. Watson," said she. "My brother and
+I were very much shocked by the death of Sir Charles. We knew him
+very intimately, for his favourite walk was over the moor to our
+house. He was deeply impressed with the curse which hung over the
+family, and when this tragedy came I naturally felt that there
+must be some grounds for the fears which he had expressed. I was
+distressed therefore when another member of the family came down
+to live here, and I felt that he should be warned of the danger
+which he will run. That was all which I intended to convey.
+
+"But what is the danger?"
+
+"You know the story of the hound?"
+
+"I do not believe in such nonsense."
+
+"But I do. If you have any influence with Sir Henry, take him
+away from a place which has always been fatal to his family. The
+world is wide. Why should he wish to live at the place of
+danger?"
+
+"Because it is the place of danger. That is Sir Henry's nature. I
+fear that unless you can give me some more definite information
+than this it would be impossible to get him to move."
+
+"I cannot say anything definite, for I do not know anything
+definite."
+
+"I would ask you one more question, Miss Stapleton. If you meant
+no more than this when you first spoke to me, why should you not
+wish your brother to overhear what you said? There is nothing to
+which he, or anyone else, could object."
+
+"My brother is very anxious to have the Hall inhabited, for he
+thinks it is for the good of the poor folk upon the moor. He
+would be very angry if he knew that I have said anything which
+might induce Sir Henry to go away. But I have done my duty now
+and I will say no more. I must get back, or he will miss me and
+suspect that I have seen you. Good-bye!" She turned and had
+disappeared in a few minutes among the scattered boulders, while
+I, with my soul full of vague fears, pursued my way to
+Baskerville Hall.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 8
+
+First Report of Dr. Watson
+
+
+From this point onward I will follow the course of events by
+transcribing my own letters to Mr. Sherlock Holmes which lie
+before me on the table. One page is missing, but otherwise they
+are exactly as written and show my feelings and suspicions of the
+moment more accurately than my memory, clear as it is upon these
+tragic events, can possibly do.
+
+BASKERVILLE HALL, October 13th.
+
+MY DEAR HOLMES,--My previous letters and telegrams have kept you
+pretty well up to date as to all that has occurred in this most
+God-forsaken corner of the world. The longer one stays here the
+more does the 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 England behind you, but
+on the other hand you are conscious everywhere of the homes and
+the work of the prehistoric people. On all sides of you as you
+walk are the houses of these forgotten folk, with their graves
+and the huge monoliths which are supposed to have marked their
+temples. As you look at their gray stone huts against the scarred
+hill-sides you leave your own age behind you, and if you were to
+see a skin-clad, hairy man crawl out from the low door fitting 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 am no antiquarian,
+but I could imagine that they were some unwarlike and harried
+race who were forced to accept that which none other would
+occupy.
+
+All this, however, is foreign to the mission on which you sent me
+and will probably be very uninteresting to your severely
+practical mind. I can still remember your complete indifference
+as to whether the sun moved round the earth or the earth round
+the sun. Let me, therefore, return to the facts concerning Sir
+Henry Baskerville.
+
+If you have not had any report within the last few days it is
+because up to to-day there was nothing of importance to relate.
+Then a very surprising circumstance occurred, which I shall tell
+you in due course. But, first of all, I must keep you in touch
+with some of the other factors in the situation.
+
+One of these, concerning which I have said little, is the escaped
+convict upon the moor. There is strong reason now to believe that
+he has got right away, which is a considerable relief to the
+lonely householders of this district. A fortnight has passed
+since his flight, during which he has not been seen and nothing
+has been heard of him. It is surely inconceivable that he could
+have held out upon the moor during all that time. Of course, so
+far as his concealment goes there is no difficulty at all. Any
+one of these stone huts would give him a hiding-place. But there
+is nothing to eat unless he were to catch and slaughter one of
+the moor sheep. We think, therefore, that he has gone, and the
+outlying farmers sleep the better in consequence.
+
+We are four able-bodied men in this household, so that we could
+take good care of ourselves, but I confess that I have had uneasy
+moments when I have thought of the Stapletons. They live miles
+from any help. There are one maid, an old manservant, the sister,
+and the brother, the latter not a very strong man. They would be
+helpless in the hands of a desperate fellow like this Notting
+Hill criminal, if he could once effect an entrance. Both Sir
+Henry and I were concerned at their situation, and it was
+suggested that Perkins the groom should go over to sleep there,
+but Stapleton would not hear of it.
+
+The fact is that our friend, the baronet, begins to display a
+considerable interest in our fair neighbour. It is not to be
+wondered at, for time hangs heavily in this lonely spot to an
+active man like him, and she is a very fascinating and beautiful
+woman. There is something tropical and exotic about her which
+forms a singular contrast to her cool and unemotional brother.
+Yet he also gives the idea of hidden fires. He has certainly a
+very marked influence over her, for I have seen her continually
+glance at him as she talked as if seeking approbation for what
+she said. I trust that he is kind to her. There is a dry glitter
+in his eyes, and a firm set of his thin lips, which goes with a
+positive and possibly a harsh nature. You would find him an
+interesting study.
+
+He came over to call upon Baskerville on that first day, and the
+very next morning he took us both to show us the spot where the
+legend of the wicked Hugo is supposed to have had its origin. It
+was an excursion of some miles across the moor to a place which
+is so dismal that it might have suggested the story. We found a
+short valley between rugged tors which led to an open, grassy
+space flecked over with the white cotton grass. In the middle of
+it rose two great stones, worn and sharpened at the upper end,
+until they looked like the huge corroding fangs of some monstrous
+beast. In every way it corresponded with the scene of the old
+tragedy. Sir Henry was much interested and asked Stapleton more
+than once whether he did really believe in the possibility of the
+interference of the supernatural in the affairs of men. He spoke
+lightly, but it was evident that he was very much in earnest.
+Stapleton was guarded in his replies, but it was easy to see that
+he said less than he might, and that he would not express his
+whole opinion out of consideration for the feelings of the
+baronet. He told us of similar cases, where families had suffered
+from some evil influence, and he left us with the impression that
+he shared the popular view upon the matter.
+
+On our way back we stayed for lunch at Merripit House, and it was
+there that Sir Henry made the acquaintance of Miss Stapleton.
+From the first moment that he saw her he appeared to be strongly
+attracted by her, and I am much mistaken if the feeling was not
+mutual. He referred to her again and again on our walk home, and
+since then hardly a day has passed that we have not seen
+something of the brother and sister. They dine here to-night, and
+there is some talk of our going to them next week. One would
+imagine that such a match would be very welcome to Stapleton, and
+yet I have more than once caught a look of the strongest
+disapprobation in his face when Sir Henry has been paying some
+attention to his sister. He is much attached to her, no doubt,
+and would lead a lonely life without her, but it would seem the
+height of selfishness if he were to stand in the way of her
+making so brilliant a marriage. Yet I am certain that he does not
+wish their intimacy to ripen into love, and I have several times
+observed that he has taken pains to prevent them from being
+_tête-à-tête_. By the way, your instructions to me never to allow
+Sir Henry to go out alone will become very much more onerous if a
+love affair were to be added to our other difficulties. My
+popularity would soon suffer if I were to carry out your orders
+to the letter.
+
+The other day--Thursday, to be more exact--Dr. Mortimer lunched
+with us. He has been excavating a barrow at Long Down, and has
+got a prehistoric skull which fills him with great joy. Never was
+there such a single-minded enthusiast as he! The Stapletons came
+in afterwards, and the good doctor took us all to the Yew Alley,
+at Sir Henry's request, to show us exactly how everything
+occurred upon that fatal night. It is a long, dismal walk, the
+Yew Alley, between two high walls of clipped hedge, with a narrow
+band of grass upon either side. At the far end is an old
+tumble-down summer-house. Half-way down is the moor-gate, where
+the old gentleman left his cigar-ash. It is a white wooden gate
+with a latch. Beyond it lies the wide moor. I remembered your
+theory of the affair and tried to picture all that had occurred.
+As the old man stood there he saw something coming across the
+moor, something which terrified him so that he lost his wits, and
+ran and ran until he died of sheer horror and exhaustion. There
+was the long, gloomy tunnel down which he fled. And from what? A
+sheep-dog of the moor? Or a spectral hound, black, silent, and
+monstrous? Was there a human agency in the matter? Did the pale,
+watchful Barrymore know more than he cared to say? It was all dim
+and vague, but always there is the dark shadow of crime behind
+it.
+
+One other neighbour I have met since I wrote last. This is Mr.
+Frankland, of Lafter Hall, who lives some four miles to the south
+of us. He is an elderly man, red-faced, white-haired, and
+choleric. His passion is for the British law, and he has spent a
+large fortune in litigation. He fights for the mere pleasure of
+fighting and is equally ready to take up either side of a
+question, so that it is no wonder that he has found it a costly
+amusement. Sometimes he will shut up a right of way and defy the
+parish to make him open it. At others he will with his own hands
+tear down some other man's gate and declare that a path has
+existed there from time immemorial, defying the owner to
+prosecute him for trespass. He is learned in old manorial and
+communal rights, and he applies his knowledge sometimes in favour
+of the villagers of Fernworthy and sometimes against them, so
+that he is periodically either carried in triumph down the
+village street or else burned in effigy, according to his latest
+exploit. He is said to have about seven lawsuits upon his hands
+at present, which will probably swallow up the remainder of his
+fortune and so draw his sting and leave him harmless for the
+future. Apart from the law he seems a kindly, good-natured
+person, and I only mention him because you were particular that I
+should send some description of the people who surround us. He is
+curiously employed at present, for, being an amateur astronomer,
+he has an excellent telescope, with which he lies upon the roof
+of his own house and sweeps the moor all day in the hope of
+catching a glimpse of the escaped convict. If he would confine
+his energies to this all would be well, but there are rumours
+that he intends to prosecute Dr. Mortimer for opening a grave
+without the consent of the next-of-kin, because he dug up the
+Neolithic skull in the barrow on Long Down. He helps to keep our
+lives from being monotonous and gives a little comic relief where
+it is badly needed.
+
+And now, having brought you up to date in the escaped convict,
+the Stapletons, Dr. Mortimer, and Frankland, of Lafter Hall, let
+me end on that which is most important and tell you more about
+the Barrymores, and especially about the surprising development
+of last night.
+
+First of all about the test telegram, which you sent from London
+in order to make sure that Barrymore was really here. I have
+already explained that the testimony of the postmaster shows that
+the test was worthless and that we have no proof one way or the
+other. I told Sir Henry how the matter stood, and he at once, in
+his downright fashion, had Barrymore up and asked him whether he
+had received the telegram himself. Barrymore said that he had.
+
+"Did the boy deliver it into your own hands?" asked Sir Henry.
+
+Barrymore looked surprised, and considered for a little time.
+
+"No," said he, "I was in the box-room at the time, and my wife
+brought it up to me."
+
+"Did you answer it yourself?"
+
+"No; I told my wife what to answer and she went down to write
+it."
+
+In the evening he recurred to the subject of his own accord.
+
+"I could not quite understand the object of your questions this
+morning, Sir Henry," said he. "I trust that they do not mean that
+I have done anything to forfeit your confidence?"
+
+Sir Henry had to assure him that it was not so and pacify him by
+giving him a considerable part of his old wardrobe, the London
+outfit having now all arrived.
+
+Mrs. Barrymore is of interest to me. She is a heavy, solid
+person, very limited, intensely respectable, and inclined to be
+puritanical. You could hardly conceive a less emotional subject.
+Yet I have told you how, on the first night here, I heard her
+sobbing bitterly, and since then I have more than once observed
+traces of tears upon her face. Some deep sorrow gnaws ever at her
+heart. Sometimes I wonder if she has a guilty memory which haunts
+her, and sometimes I suspect Barrymore of being a domestic
+tyrant. I have always felt that there was something singular and
+questionable in this man's character, but the adventure of last
+night brings all my suspicions to a head.
+
+And yet it may seem a small matter in itself. You are aware that
+I am not a very sound sleeper, and since I have been on guard in
+this house my slumbers have been lighter than ever. Last night,
+about two in the morning, I was aroused by a stealthy step
+passing my room. I rose, opened my door, and peeped out. A long
+black shadow was trailing down the corridor. It was thrown by a
+man who walked softly down the passage with a candle held in his
+hand. He was in shirt and trousers, with no covering to his feet.
+I could merely see the outline, but his height told me that it
+was Barrymore. He walked very slowly and circumspectly, and there
+was something indescribably guilty and furtive in his whole
+appearance.
+
+I have told you that the corridor is broken by the balcony which
+runs round the hall, but that it is resumed upon the farther
+side. I waited until he had passed out of sight and then I
+followed him. When I came round the balcony he had reached the
+end of the farther corridor, and I could see from the glimmer of
+light through an open door that he had entered one of the rooms.
+Now, all these rooms are unfurnished and unoccupied, so that his
+expedition became more mysterious than ever. The light shone
+steadily as if he were standing motionless. I crept down the
+passage as noiselessly as I could and peeped round the corner of
+the door.
+
+Barrymore was crouching at the window with the candle held
+against the glass. His profile was half turned towards me, and
+his face seemed to be rigid with expectation as he stared out
+into the blackness of the moor. For some minutes he stood
+watching intently. Then he gave a deep groan and with an
+impatient gesture he put out the light. Instantly I made my way
+back to my room, and very shortly came the stealthy steps passing
+once more upon their return journey. Long afterwards when I had
+fallen into a light sleep I heard a key turn somewhere in a lock,
+but I could not tell whence the sound came. What it all means I
+cannot guess, but there is some secret business going on in this
+house of gloom which sooner or later we shall get to the bottom
+of. I do not trouble you with my theories, for you asked me to
+furnish you only with facts. I have had a long talk with Sir
+Henry this morning, and we have made a plan of campaign founded
+upon my observations of last night. I will not speak about it
+just now, but it should make my next report interesting reading.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 9
+
+(Second Report of Dr. Watson)
+
+THE LIGHT UPON THE MOOR
+
+BASKERVILLE HALL, Oct. 15th.
+
+
+MY DEAR HOLMES,--If I was compelled to leave you without much
+news during the early days of my mission you must acknowledge
+that I am making up for lost time, and that events are now
+crowding thick and fast upon us. In my last report I ended upon
+my top note with Barrymore at the window, and now I have quite a
+budget already which will, unless I am much mistaken,
+considerably surprise you. Things have taken a turn which I could
+not have anticipated. In some ways they have within the last
+forty-eight hours become much clearer and in some ways they have
+become more complicated. But I will tell you all and you shall
+judge for yourself.
+
+Before breakfast on the morning following my adventure I went
+down the corridor and examined the room in which Barrymore had
+been on the night before. The western window through which he had
+stared so intently has, I noticed, one peculiarity above all
+other windows in the house--it commands the nearest outlook on
+the moor. There is an opening between two trees which enables one
+from this point of view to look right down upon it, while from
+all the other windows it is only a distant glimpse which can be
+obtained. It follows, therefore, that Barrymore, since only this
+window would serve the purpose, must have been looking out for
+something or somebody upon the moor. The night was very dark, so
+that I can hardly imagine how he could have hoped to see anyone.
+It had struck me that it was possible that some love intrigue was
+on foot. That would have accounted for his stealthy movements and
+also for the uneasiness of his wife. The man is a
+striking-looking fellow, very well equipped to steal the heart of
+a country girl, so that this theory seemed to have something to
+support it. That opening of the door which I had heard after I
+had returned to my room might mean that he had gone out to keep
+some clandestine appointment. So I reasoned with myself in the
+morning, and I tell you the direction of my suspicions, however
+much the result may have shown that they were unfounded.
+
+But whatever the true explanation of Barrymore's movements might
+be, I felt that the responsibility of keeping them to myself
+until I could explain them was more than I could bear. I had an
+interview with the baronet in his study after breakfast, and I
+told him all that I had seen. He was less surprised than I had
+expected.
+
+"I knew that Barrymore walked about nights, and I had a mind to
+speak to him about it," said he. "Two or three times I have heard
+his steps in the passage, coming and going, just about the hour
+you name."
+
+"Perhaps then he pays a visit every night to that particular
+window," I suggested.
+
+"Perhaps he does. If so, we should be able to shadow him, and see
+what it is that he is after. I wonder what your friend Holmes
+would do, if he were here."
+
+"I believe that he would do exactly what you now suggest," said
+I. "He would follow Barrymore and see what he did."
+
+"Then we shall do it together."
+
+"But surely he would hear us."
+
+"The man is rather deaf, and in any case we must take our chance
+of that. We'll sit up in my room to-night and wait until he
+passes." Sir Henry rubbed his hands with pleasure, and it was
+evident that he hailed the adventure as a relief to his somewhat
+quiet life upon the moor.
+
+The baronet has been in communication with the architect who
+prepared the plans for Sir Charles, and with a contractor from
+London, so that we may expect great changes to begin here soon.
+There have been decorators and furnishers up from Plymouth, and
+it is evident that our friend has large ideas, and means to spare
+no pains or expense to restore the grandeur of his family. When
+the house is renovated and refurnished, all that he will need
+will be a wife to make it complete. Between ourselves there are
+pretty clear signs that this will not be wanting if the lady is
+willing, for I have seldom seen a man more infatuated with a
+woman than he is with our beautiful neighbour, Miss Stapleton.
+And yet the course of true love does not run quite as smoothly as
+one would under the circumstances expect. To-day, for example,
+its surface was broken by a very unexpected ripple, which has
+caused our friend considerable perplexity and annoyance.
+
+After the conversation which I have quoted about Barrymore, Sir
+Henry put on his hat and prepared to go out. As a matter of
+course I did the same.
+
+"What, are you coming, Watson?" he asked, looking at me in a
+curious way.
+
+"That depends on whether you are going on the moor," said I.
+
+"Yes, I am."
+
+"Well, you know what my instructions are. I am sorry to intrude,
+but you heard how earnestly Holmes insisted that I should not
+leave you, and especially that you should not go alone upon the
+moor."
+
+Sir Henry put his hand upon my shoulder with a pleasant smile.
+
+"My dear fellow," said he, "Holmes, with all his wisdom, did not
+foresee some things which have happened since I have been on the
+moor. You understand me? I am sure that you are the last man in
+the world who would wish to be a spoil-sport. I must go out
+alone."
+
+It put me in a most awkward position. I was at a loss what to say
+or what to do, and before I had made up my mind he picked up his
+cane and was gone.
+
+But when I came to think the matter over my conscience reproached
+me bitterly for having on any pretext allowed him to go out of my
+sight. I imagined what my feelings would be if I had to return to
+you and to confess that some misfortune had occurred through my
+disregard for your instructions. I assure you my cheeks flushed
+at the very thought. It might not even now be too late to
+overtake him, so I set off at once in the direction of Merripit
+House.
+
+I hurried along the road at the top of my speed without seeing
+anything of Sir Henry, until I came to the point where the moor
+path branches off. There, fearing that perhaps I had come in the
+wrong direction after all, I mounted a hill from which I could
+command a view--the same hill which is cut into the dark quarry.
+Thence I saw him at once. He was on the moor path, about a
+quarter of a mile off, and a lady was by his side who could only
+be Miss Stapleton. It was clear that there was already an
+understanding between them and that they had met by appointment.
+They were walking slowly along in deep conversation, and I saw
+her making quick little movements of her hands as if she were
+very earnest in what she was saying, while he listened intently,
+and once or twice shook his head in strong dissent. I stood among
+the rocks watching them, very much puzzled as to what I should do
+next. To follow them and break into their intimate conversation
+seemed to be an outrage, and yet my clear duty was never for an
+instant to let him out of my sight. To act the spy upon a friend
+was a hateful task. Still, I could see no better course than to
+observe him from the hill, and to clear my conscience by
+confessing to him afterwards what I had done. It is true that if
+any sudden danger had threatened him I was too far away to be of
+use, and yet I am sure that you will agree with me that the
+position was very difficult, and that there was nothing more
+which I could do.
+
+Our friend, Sir Henry, and the lady had halted on the path and
+were standing deeply absorbed in their conversation, when I was
+suddenly aware that I was not the only witness of their
+interview. A wisp of green floating in the air caught my eye, and
+another glance showed me that it was carried on a stick by a man
+who was moving among the broken ground. It was Stapleton with his
+butterfly-net. He was very much closer to the pair than I was,
+and he appeared to be moving in their direction. At this instant
+Sir Henry suddenly drew Miss Stapleton to his side. His arm was
+round her, but it seemed to me that she was straining away from
+him with her face averted. He stooped his head to hers, and she
+raised one hand as if in protest. Next moment I saw them spring
+apart and turn hurriedly round. Stapleton was the cause of the
+interruption. He was running wildly towards them, his absurd net
+dangling behind him. He gesticulated and almost danced with
+excitement in front of the lovers. What the scene meant I could
+not imagine, but it seemed to me that Stapleton was abusing Sir
+Henry, who offered explanations, which became more angry as the
+other refused to accept them. The lady stood by in haughty
+silence. Finally Stapleton turned upon his heel and beckoned in a
+peremptory way to his sister, who, after an irresolute glance at
+Sir Henry, walked off by the side of her brother. The
+naturalist's angry gestures showed that the lady was included in
+his displeasure. The baronet stood for a minute looking after
+them, and then he walked slowly back the way that he had come,
+his head hanging, the very picture of dejection.
+
+What all this meant I could not imagine, but I was deeply ashamed
+to have witnessed so intimate a scene without my friend's
+knowledge. I ran down the hill therefore and met the baronet at
+the bottom. His face was flushed with anger and his brows were
+wrinkled, like one who is at his wit's ends what to do.
+
+"Halloa, Watson! Where have you dropped from?" said he. "You don't
+mean to say that you came after me in spite of all?"
+
+I explained everything to him: how I had found it impossible to
+remain behind, how I had followed him, and how I had witnessed
+all that had occurred. For an instant his eyes blazed at me, but
+my frankness disarmed his anger, and he broke at last into a
+rather rueful laugh.
+
+"You would have thought the middle of that prairie a fairly safe
+place for a man to be private," said he, "but, by thunder, the
+whole country-side seems to have been out to see me do my
+wooing--and a mighty poor wooing at that! Where had you engaged a
+seat?"
+
+"I was on that hill."
+
+"Quite in the back row, eh? But her brother was well up to the
+front. Did you see him come out on us?"
+
+"Yes, I did."
+
+"Did he ever strike you as being crazy--this brother of hers?"
+
+"I can't say that he ever did."
+
+"I dare say not. I always thought him sane enough until to-day,
+but you can take it from me that either he or I ought to be in a
+strait-jacket. What's the matter with me, anyhow? You've lived
+near me for some weeks, Watson. Tell me straight, now! Is there
+anything that would prevent me from making a good husband to a
+woman that I loved?"
+
+"I should say not."
+
+"He can't object to my worldly position, so it must be myself
+that he has this down on. What has he against me? I never hurt
+man or woman in my life that I know of. And yet he would not so
+much as let me touch the tips of her fingers."
+
+"Did he say so?"
+
+"That, and a deal more. I tell you, Watson, I've only known her
+these few weeks, but from the first I just felt that she was made
+for me, and she, too--she was happy when she was with me, and
+that I'll swear. There's a light in a woman's eyes that speaks
+louder than words. But he has never let us get together, and it
+was only to-day for the first time that I saw a chance of having
+a few words with her alone. She was glad to meet me, but when she
+did it was not love that she would talk about, and she wouldn't
+have let me talk about it either if she could have stopped it.
+She kept coming back to it that this was a place of danger, and
+that she would never be happy until I had left it. I told her
+that since I had seen her I was in no hurry to leave it, and that
+if she really wanted me to go, the only way to work it was for
+her to arrange to go with me. With that I offered in as many
+words to marry her, but before she could answer, down came this
+brother of hers, running at us with a face on him like a madman.
+He was just white with rage, and those light eyes of his were
+blazing with fury. What was I doing with the lady? How dared I
+offer her attentions which were distasteful to her? Did I think
+that because I was a baronet I could do what I liked? If he had
+not been her brother I should have known better how to answer
+him. As it was I told him that my feelings towards his sister
+were such as I was not ashamed of, and that I hoped that she
+might honour me by becoming my wife. That seemed to make the
+matter no better, so then I lost my temper too, and I answered
+him rather more hotly than I should perhaps, considering that she
+was standing by. So it ended by his going off with her, as you
+saw, and here am I as badly puzzled a man as any in this county.
+Just tell me what it all means, Watson, and I'll owe you more
+than ever I can hope to pay."
+
+I tried one or two explanations, but, indeed, I was completely
+puzzled myself. Our friend's title, his fortune, his age, his
+character, and his appearance are all in his favour, and I know
+nothing against him unless it be this dark fate which runs in his
+family. That his advances should be rejected so brusquely without
+any reference to the lady's own wishes, and that the lady should
+accept the situation without protest, is very amazing. However,
+our conjectures were set at rest by a visit from Stapleton
+himself that very afternoon. He had come to offer apologies for
+his rudeness of the morning, and after a long private interview
+with Sir Henry in his study, the upshot of their conversation was
+that the breach is quite healed, and that we are to dine at
+Merripit House next Friday as a sign of it.
+
+"I don't say now that he isn't a crazy man," said Sir Henry; "I
+can't forget the look in his eyes when he ran at me this morning,
+but I must allow that no man could make a more handsome apology
+than he has done."
+
+"Did he give any explanation of his conduct?"
+
+"His sister is everything in his life, he says. That is natural
+enough, and I am glad that he should understand her value. They
+have always been together, and according to his account he has
+been a very lonely man with only her as a companion, so that the
+thought of losing her was really terrible to him. He had not
+understood, he said, that I was becoming attached to her, but
+when he saw with his own eyes that it was really so, and that she
+might be taken away from him, it gave him such a shock that for a
+time he was not responsible for what he said or did. He was very
+sorry for all that had passed, and he recognized how foolish and
+how selfish it was that he should imagine that he could hold a
+beautiful woman like his sister to himself for her whole life. If
+she had to leave him he had rather it was to a neighbour like
+myself than to anyone else. But in any case it was a blow to him,
+and it would take him some time before he could prepare himself
+to meet it. He would withdraw all opposition upon his part if I
+would promise for three months to let the matter rest and to be
+content with cultivating the lady's friendship during that time
+without claiming her love. This I promised, and so the matter
+rests."
+
+So there is one of our small mysteries cleared up. It is
+something to have touched bottom anywhere in this bog in which we
+are floundering. We know now why Stapleton looked with disfavour
+upon his sister's suitor--even when that suitor was so eligible a
+one as Sir Henry. And now I pass on to another thread which I
+have extricated out of the tangled skein, the mystery of the sobs
+in the night, of the tear-stained face of Mrs. Barrymore, of the
+secret journey of the butler to the western lattice window.
+Congratulate me, my dear Holmes, and tell me that I have not
+disappointed you as an agent--that you do not regret the
+confidence which you showed in me when you sent me down. All
+these things have by one night's work been thoroughly cleared.
+
+I have said "by one night's work," but, in truth, it was by two
+nights' work, for on the first we drew entirely blank. I sat up
+with Sir Henry in his rooms until nearly three o'clock in the
+morning, but no sound of any sort did we hear except the chiming
+clock upon the stairs. It was a most melancholy vigil, and ended
+by each of us falling asleep in our chairs. Fortunately we were
+not discouraged, and we determined to try again. The next night
+we lowered the lamp, and sat smoking cigarettes without making
+the least sound. It was incredible how slowly the hours crawled
+by, and yet we were helped through it by the same sort of patient
+interest which the hunter must feel as he watches the trap into
+which he hopes the game may wander. One struck, and two, and we
+had almost for the second time given it up in despair, when in an
+instant we both sat bolt upright in our chairs, with all our
+weary senses keenly on the alert once more. We had heard the
+creak of a step in the passage.
+
+Very stealthily we heard it pass along until it died away in the
+distance. Then the baronet gently opened his door and we set out
+in pursuit. Already our man had gone round the gallery, and the
+corridor was all in darkness. Softly we stole along until we had
+come into the other wing. We were just in time to catch a glimpse
+of the tall, black-bearded figure, his shoulders rounded, as he
+tip-toed down the passage. Then he passed through the same door
+as before, and the light of the candle framed it in the darkness
+and shot one single yellow beam across the gloom of the corridor.
+We shuffled cautiously towards it, trying every plank before we
+dared to put our whole weight upon it. We had taken the
+precaution of leaving our boots behind us, but, even so, the old
+boards snapped and creaked beneath our tread. Sometimes it seemed
+impossible that he should fail to hear our approach. However, the
+man is fortunately rather deaf, and he was entirely preoccupied
+in that which he was doing. When at last we reached the door and
+peeped through we found him crouching at the window, candle in
+hand, his white, intent face pressed against the pane, exactly as
+I had seen him two nights before.
+
+We had arranged no plan of campaign, but the baronet is a man to
+whom the most direct way is always the most natural. He walked
+into the room, and as he did so Barrymore sprang up from the
+window with a sharp hiss of his breath and stood, livid and
+trembling, before us. His dark eyes, glaring out of the white
+mask of his face, were full of horror and astonishment as he
+gazed from Sir Henry to me.
+
+"What are you doing here, Barrymore?"
+
+"Nothing, sir." His agitation was so great that he could hardly
+speak, and the shadows sprang up and down from the shaking of his
+candle. "It was the window, sir. I go round at night to see that
+they are fastened."
+
+"On the second floor?"
+
+"Yes, sir, all the windows."
+
+"Look here, Barrymore," said Sir Henry, sternly; "we have made up
+our minds to have the truth out of you, so it will save you
+trouble to tell it sooner rather than later. Come, now! No lies!
+What were you doing at that window?"
+
+The fellow looked at us in a helpless way, and he wrung his hands
+together like one who is in the last extremity of doubt and
+misery.
+
+"I was doing no harm, sir. I was holding a candle to the window."
+
+"And why were you holding a candle to the window?"
+
+"Don't ask me, Sir Henry--don't ask me! I give you my word, sir,
+that it is not my secret, and that I cannot tell it. If it
+concerned no one but myself I would not try to keep it from you."
+
+A sudden idea occurred to me, and I took the candle from the
+trembling hand of the butler.
+
+"He must have been holding it as a signal," said I. "Let us see
+if there is any answer." I held it as he had done, and stared out
+into the darkness of the night. Vaguely I could discern the black
+bank of the trees and the lighter expanse of the moor, for the
+moon was behind the clouds. And then I gave a cry of exultation,
+for a tiny pin-point of yellow light had suddenly transfixed the
+dark veil, and glowed steadily in the centre of the black square
+framed by the window.
+
+"There it is!" I cried.
+
+"No, no, sir, it is nothing--nothing at all!" the butler broke
+in; "I assure you, sir ----"
+
+"Move your light across the window, Watson!" cried the baronet.
+"See, the other moves also! Now, you rascal, do you deny that it
+is a signal? Come, speak up! Who is your confederate out yonder,
+and what is this conspiracy that is going on?"
+
+The man's face became openly defiant.
+
+"It is my business, and not yours. I will not tell."
+
+"Then you leave my employment right away."
+
+"Very good, sir. If I must I must."
+
+"And you go in disgrace. By thunder, you may well be ashamed of
+yourself. Your family has lived with mine for over a hundred
+years under this roof, and here I find you deep in some dark plot
+against me."
+
+"No, no, sir; no, not against you!" It was a woman's voice, and
+Mrs. Barrymore, paler and more horror-struck than her husband,
+was standing at the door. Her bulky figure in a shawl and skirt
+might have been comic were it not for the intensity of feeling
+upon her face.
+
+"We have to go, Eliza. This is the end of it. You can pack our
+things," said the butler.
+
+"Oh, John, John, have I brought you to this? It is my doing, Sir
+Henry--all mine. He has done nothing except for my sake and
+because I asked him."
+
+"Speak out, then! What does it mean?"
+
+"My unhappy brother is starving on the moor. We cannot let him
+perish at our very gates. The light is a signal to him that food
+is ready for him, and his light out yonder is to show the spot to
+which to bring it."
+
+"Then your brother is --"
+
+"The escaped convict, sir--Selden, the criminal."
+
+"That's the truth, sir," said Barrymore. "I said that it was not
+my secret and that I could not tell it to you. But now you have
+heard it, and you will see that if there was a plot it was not
+against you."
+
+This, then, was the explanation of the stealthy expeditions at
+night and the light at the window. Sir Henry and I both stared at
+the woman in amazement. Was it possible that this stolidly
+respectable person was of the same blood as one of the most
+notorious criminals in the country?
+
+"Yes, sir, my name was Selden, and he is my younger brother. We
+humoured him too much when he was a lad, and gave him his own way
+in everything until he came to think that the world was made for
+his pleasure, and that he could do what he liked in it. Then as
+he grew older he met wicked companions, and the devil entered
+into him until he broke my mother's heart and dragged our name in
+the dirt. From crime to crime he sank lower and lower, until it
+is only the mercy of God which has snatched him from the
+scaffold; but to me, sir, he was always the little curly-headed
+boy that I had nursed and played with, as an elder sister would.
+That was why he broke prison, sir. He knew that I was here and
+that we could not refuse to help him. When he dragged himself
+here one night, weary and starving, with the warders hard at his
+heels, what could we do? We took him in and fed him and cared for
+him. Then you returned, sir, and my brother thought he would be
+safer on the moor than anywhere else until the hue and cry was
+over, so he lay in hiding there. But every second night we made
+sure if he was still there by putting a light in the window, and
+if there was an answer my husband took out some bread and meat to
+him. Every day we hoped that he was gone, but as long as he was
+there we could not desert him. That is the whole truth, as I am
+an honest Christian woman, and you will see that if there is
+blame in the matter it does not lie with my husband, but with me,
+for whose sake he has done all that he has."
+
+The woman's words came with an intense earnestness which carried
+conviction with them.
+
+"Is this true, Barrymore?"
+
+"Yes, Sir Henry. Every word of it."
+
+"Well, I cannot blame you for standing by your own wife. Forget
+what I have said. Go to your room, you two, and we shall talk
+further about this matter in the morning."
+
+When they were gone we looked out of the window again. Sir Henry
+had flung it open, and the cold night wind beat in upon our
+faces. Far away in the black distance there still glowed that one
+tiny point of yellow light.
+
+"I wonder he dares," said Sir Henry.
+
+"It may be so placed as to be only visible from here."
+
+"Very likely. How far do you think it is?"
+
+"Out by the Cleft Tor, I think."
+
+"Not more than a mile or two off."
+
+"Hardly that."
+
+"Well, it cannot be far if Barrymore had to carry out the food to
+it. And he is waiting, this villain, beside that candle. By
+thunder, Watson, I am going out to take that man!"
+
+The same thought had crossed my own mind. It was not as if the
+Barrymores had taken us into their confidence. Their secret had
+been forced from them. The man was a danger to the community, an
+unmitigated scoundrel for whom there was neither pity nor excuse.
+We were only doing our duty in taking this chance of putting him
+back where he could do no harm. With his brutal and violent
+nature, others would have to pay the price if we held our hands.
+Any night, for example, our neighbours the Stapletons might be
+attacked by him, and it may have been the thought of this which
+made Sir Henry so keen upon the adventure.
+
+"I will come," said I.
+
+"Then get your revolver and put on your boots. The sooner we
+start the better, as the fellow may put out his light and be
+off."
+
+In five minutes we were outside the door, starting upon our
+expedition. We hurried through the dark shrubbery, amid the dull
+moaning of the autumn wind and the rustle of the falling leaves.
+The night air was heavy with the smell of damp and decay. Now and
+again the moon peeped out for an instant, but clouds were driving
+over the face of the sky, and just as we came out on the moor a
+thin rain began to fall. The light still burned steadily in
+front.
+
+"Are you armed?" I asked.
+
+"I have a hunting-crop."
+
+"We must close in on him rapidly, for he is said to be a
+desperate fellow. We shall take him by surprise and have him at
+our mercy before he can resist."
+
+"I say, Watson," said the baronet, "what would Holmes say to
+this? How about that hour of darkness in which the power of evil
+is exalted?"
+
+As if in answer to his words there rose suddenly out of the vast
+gloom of the moor that strange cry which I had already heard upon
+the borders of the great Grimpen Mire. It came with the wind
+through the silence of the night, a long, deep mutter, then a
+rising howl, and then the sad moan in which it died away. Again
+and again it sounded, the whole air throbbing with it, strident,
+wild, and menacing. The baronet caught my sleeve and his face
+glimmered white through the darkness.
+
+"My God, what's that, Watson?"
+
+"I don't know. It's a sound they have on the moor. I heard it
+once before."
+
+It died away, and an absolute silence closed in upon us. We stood
+straining our ears, but nothing came.
+
+"Watson," said the baronet, "it was the cry of a hound."
+
+My blood ran cold in my veins, for there was a break in his voice
+which told of the sudden horror which had seized him.
+
+"What do they call this sound?" he asked.
+
+"Who?"
+
+"The folk on the country-side."
+
+"Oh, they are ignorant people. Why should you mind what they call
+it?"
+
+"Tell me, Watson. What do they say of it?"
+
+I hesitated but could not escape the question.
+
+"They say it is the cry of the Hound of the Baskervilles."
+
+He groaned and was silent for a few moments.
+
+"A hound it was," he said, at last, "but it seemed to come from
+miles away, over yonder, I think."
+
+"It was hard to say whence it came."
+
+"It rose and fell with the wind. Isn't that the direction of the
+great Grimpen Mire?"
+
+"Yes, it is."
+
+"Well, it was up there. Come now, Watson, didn't you think
+yourself that it was the cry of a hound? I am not a child. You
+need not fear to speak the truth."
+
+"Stapleton was with me when I heard it last. He said that it
+might be the calling of a strange bird."
+
+"No, no, it was a hound. My God, can there be some truth in all
+these stories? Is it possible that I am really in danger from so
+dark a cause? You don't believe it, do you, Watson?"
+
+"No, no."
+
+"And yet it was one thing to laugh about it in London, and it is
+another to stand out here in the darkness of the moor and to hear
+such a cry as that. And my uncle! There was the footprint of the
+hound beside him as he lay. It all fits together. I don't think
+that I am a coward, Watson, but that sound seemed to freeze my
+very blood. Feel my hand!"
+
+It was as cold as a block of marble.
+
+"You'll be all right to-morrow."
+
+"I don't think I'll get that cry out of my head. What do you
+advise that we do now?"
+
+"Shall we turn back?"
+
+"No, by thunder; we have come out to get our man, and we will do
+it. We after the convict, and a hell-hound, as likely as not,
+after us. Come on! We'll see it through if all the fiends of the
+pit were loose upon the moor."
+
+We stumbled slowly along in the darkness, with the black loom of
+the craggy hills around us, and the yellow speck of light burning
+steadily in front. There is nothing so deceptive as the distance
+of a light upon a pitch-dark night, and sometimes the glimmer
+seemed to be far away upon the horizon and sometimes it might
+have been within a few yards of us. But at last we could see
+whence it came, and then we knew that we were indeed very close.
+A guttering candle was stuck in a crevice of the rocks which
+flanked it on each side so as to keep the wind from it and also
+to prevent it from being visible, save in the direction of
+Baskerville Hall. A boulder of granite concealed our approach, and
+crouching behind it we gazed over it at the signal light. It was
+strange to see this single candle burning there in the middle of
+the moor, with no sign of life near it--just the one straight
+yellow flame and the gleam of the rock on each side of it.
+
+"What shall we do now?" whispered Sir Henry.
+
+"Wait here. He must be near his light. Let us see if we can get a
+glimpse of him."
+
+The words were hardly out of my mouth when we both saw him. Over
+the rocks, in the crevice of which the candle burned, there was
+thrust out an evil yellow face, a terrible animal face, all
+seamed and scored with vile passions. Foul with mire, with a
+bristling beard, and hung with matted hair, it might well have
+belonged to one of those old savages who dwelt in the burrows on
+the hillsides. The light beneath him was reflected in his small,
+cunning eyes which peered fiercely to right and left through the
+darkness, like a crafty and savage animal who has heard the steps
+of the hunters.
+
+Something had evidently aroused his suspicions. It may have been
+that Barrymore had some private signal which we had neglected to
+give, or the fellow may have had some other reason for thinking
+that all was not well, but I could read his fears upon his wicked
+face. Any instant he might dash out the light and vanish in the
+darkness. I sprang forward therefore, and Sir Henry did the same.
+At the same moment the convict screamed out a curse at us and
+hurled a rock which splintered up against the boulder which had
+sheltered us. I caught one glimpse of his short, squat, strongly-
+built figure as he sprang to his feet and turned to run. At the
+same moment by a lucky chance the moon broke through the clouds.
+We rushed over the brow of the hill, and there was our man
+running with great speed down the other side, springing over the
+stones in his way with the activity of a mountain goat. A lucky
+long shot of my revolver might have crippled him, but I had
+brought it only to defend myself if attacked, and not to shoot an
+unarmed man who was running away.
+
+We were both swift runners and in fairly good training, but we
+soon found that we had no chance of overtaking him. We saw him
+for a long time in the moonlight until he was only a small speck
+moving swiftly among the boulders upon the side of a distant
+hill. We ran and ran until we were completely blown, but the
+space between us grew ever wider. Finally we stopped and sat
+panting on two rocks, while we watched him disappearing in the
+distance.
+
+And it was at this moment that there occurred a most strange and
+unexpected thing. We had risen from our rocks and were turning to
+go home, having abandoned the hopeless chase. The moon was low
+upon the right, and the jagged pinnacle of a granite tor stood up
+against the lower curve of its silver disc. There, outlined as
+black as an ebony statue on that shining back-ground, I saw the
+figure of a man upon the tor. Do not think that it was a
+delusion, Holmes. I assure you that I have never in my life seen
+anything more clearly. As far as I could judge, the figure was
+that of a tall, thin man. He stood with his legs a little
+separated, his arms folded, his head bowed, as if he were
+brooding over that enormous wilderness of peat and granite which
+lay before him. He might have been the very spirit of that
+terrible place. It was not the convict. This man was far from the
+place where the latter had disappeared. Besides, he was a much
+taller man. With a cry of surprise I pointed him out to the
+baronet, but in the instant during which I had turned to grasp
+his arm the man was gone. There was the sharp pinnacle of granite
+still cutting the lower edge of the moon, but its peak bore no
+trace of that silent and motionless figure.
+
+I wished to go in that direction and to search the tor, but it
+was some distance away. The baronet's nerves were still quivering
+from that cry, which recalled the dark story of his family, and
+he was not in the mood for fresh adventures. He had not seen this
+lonely man upon the tor and could not feel the thrill which his
+strange presence and his commanding attitude had given to me. "A
+warder, no doubt," said he. "The moor has been thick with them
+since this fellow escaped." Well, perhaps his explanation may be
+the right one, but I should like to have some further proof of
+it. To-day we mean to communicate to the Princetown people where
+they should look for their missing man, but it is hard lines that
+we have not actually had the triumph of bringing him back as our
+own prisoner. Such are the adventures of last night, and you must
+acknowledge, my dear Holmes, that I have done you very well in
+the matter of a report. Much of what I tell you is no doubt quite
+irrelevant, but still I feel that it is best that I should let
+you have all the facts and leave you to select for yourself those
+which will be of most service to you in helping you to your
+conclusions. We are certainly making some progress. So far as the
+Barrymores go we have found the motive of their actions, and that
+has cleared up the situation very much. But the moor with its
+mysteries and its strange inhabitants remains as inscrutable as
+ever. Perhaps in my next I may be able to throw some light upon
+this also. Best of all would it be if you could come down to us.
+In any case you will hear from me again in the course of the next
+few days.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 10
+
+Extract from the Diary of Dr. Watson
+
+
+So far I have been able to quote from the reports which I have
+forwarded during these early days to Sherlock Holmes. Now,
+however, I have arrived at a point in my narrative where I am
+compelled to abandon this method and to trust once more to my
+recollections, aided by the diary which I kept at the time. A few
+extracts from the latter will carry me on to those scenes which
+are indelibly fixed in every detail upon my memory. I proceed,
+then, from the morning which followed our abortive chase of the
+convict and our other strange experiences upon the moor.
+
+OCTOBER 16TH.--A dull and foggy day with a drizzle of rain. The
+house is banked in with rolling clouds, which rise now and then
+to show the dreary curves of the moor, with thin, silver veins
+upon the sides of the hills, and the distant boulders gleaming
+where the light strikes upon their wet faces. It is melancholy
+outside and in. The baronet is in a black reaction after the
+excitements of the night. I am conscious myself of a weight at my
+heart and a feeling of impending danger--ever present danger,
+which is the more terrible because I am unable to define it.
+
+And have I not cause for such a feeling? Consider the long
+sequence of incidents which have all pointed to some sinister
+influence which is at work around us. There is the death of the
+last occupant of the Hall, fulfilling so exactly the conditions
+of the family legend, and there are the repeated reports from
+peasants of the appearance of a strange creature upon the moor.
+Twice I have with my own ears heard the sound which resembled the
+distant baying of a hound. It is incredible, impossible, that it
+should really be outside the ordinary laws of nature. A spectral
+hound which leaves material footmarks and fills the air with its
+howling is surely not to be thought of. Stapleton may fall in
+with such a superstition, and Mortimer also; but if I have one
+quality upon earth it is common-sense, and nothing will persuade
+me to believe in such a thing. To do so would be to descend to
+the level of these poor peasants, who are not content with a mere
+fiend dog but must needs describe him with hell-fire shooting
+from his mouth and eyes. Holmes would not listen to such fancies,
+and I am his agent. But facts are facts, and I have twice heard
+this crying upon the moor. Suppose that there were really some
+huge hound loose upon it; that would go far to explain
+everything. But where could such a hound lie concealed, where did
+it get its food, where did it come from, how was it that no one
+saw it by day? It must be confessed that the natural explanation
+offers almost as many difficulties as the other. And always,
+apart from the hound, there is the fact of the human agency in
+London, the man in the cab, and the letter which warned Sir Henry
+against the moor. This at least was real, but it might have been
+the work of a protecting friend as easily as of an enemy. Where
+is that friend or enemy now? Has he remained in London, or has he
+followed us down here? Could he--could he be the stranger whom I
+saw upon the tor?
+
+It is true that I have had only the one glance at him, and yet
+there are some things to which I am ready to swear. He is no one
+whom I have seen down here, and I have now met all the
+neighbours. The figure was far taller than that of Stapleton, far
+thinner than that of Frankland. Barrymore it might possibly have
+been, but we had left him behind us, and I am certain that he
+could not have followed us. A stranger then is still dogging us,
+just as a stranger dogged us in London. We have never shaken him
+off. If I could lay my hands upon that man, then at last we might
+find ourselves at the end of all our difficulties. To this one
+purpose I must now devote all my energies.
+
+My first impulse was to tell Sir Henry all my plans. My second
+and wisest one is to play my own game and speak as little as
+possible to anyone. He is silent and distrait. His nerves have
+been strangely shaken by that sound upon the moor. I will say
+nothing to add to his anxieties, but I will take my own steps to
+attain my own end.
+
+We had a small scene this morning after breakfast. Barrymore
+asked leave to speak with Sir Henry, and they were closeted in
+his study some little time. Sitting in the billiard-room I more
+than once heard the sound of voices raised, and I had a pretty
+good idea what the point was which was under discussion. After a
+time the baronet opened his door and called for me.
+
+"Barrymore considers that he has a grievance," he said. "He
+thinks that it was unfair on our part to hunt his brother-in-law
+down when he, of his own free will, had told us the secret."
+
+The butler was standing very pale but very collected before us.
+
+"I may have spoken too warmly, sir," said he, "and if I have, I
+am sure that I beg your pardon. At the same time, I was very much
+surprised when I heard you two gentlemen come back this morning
+and learned that you had been chasing Selden. The poor fellow has
+enough to fight against without my putting more upon his track."
+
+"If you had told us of your own free will it would have been a
+different thing," said the baronet, "you only told us, or rather
+your wife only told us, when it was forced from you and you could
+not help yourself."
+
+"I didn't think you would have taken advantage of it, Sir
+Henry--indeed I didn't."
+
+"The man is a public danger. There are lonely houses scattered
+over the moor, and he is a fellow who would stick at nothing. You
+only want to get a glimpse of his face to see that. Look at Mr.
+Stapleton's house, for example, with no one but himself to defend
+it. There's no safety for anyone until he is under lock and key."
+
+"He'll break into no house, sir. I give you my solemn word upon
+that. But he will never trouble anyone in this country again. I
+assure you, Sir Henry, that in a very few days the necessary
+arrangements will have been made and he will be on his way to
+South America. For God's sake, sir, I beg of you not to let the
+police know that he is still on the moor. They have given up the
+chase there, and he can lie quiet until the ship is ready for
+him. You can't tell on him without getting my wife and me into
+trouble. I beg you, sir, to say nothing to the police."
+
+"What do you say, Watson?"
+
+I shrugged my shoulders. "If he were safely out of the country it
+would relieve the tax-payer of a burden."
+
+"But how about the chance of his holding someone up before he
+goes?"
+
+"He would not do anything so mad, sir. We have provided him with
+all that he can want. To commit a crime would be to show where he
+was hiding."
+
+"That is true," said Sir Henry. "Well, Barrymore --"
+
+"God bless you, sir, and thank you from my heart! It would have
+killed my poor wife had he been taken again."
+
+"I guess we are aiding and abetting a felony, Watson? But, after
+what we have heard I don't feel as if I could give the man up, so
+there is an end of it. All right, Barrymore, you can go."
+
+With a few broken words of gratitude the man turned, but he
+hesitated and then came back.
+
+"You've been so kind to us, sir, that I should like to do the
+best I can for you in return. I know something, Sir Henry, and
+perhaps I should have said it before, but it was long after the
+inquest that I found it out. I've never breathed a word about it
+yet to mortal man. It's about poor Sir Charles's death."
+
+The baronet and I were both upon our feet. "Do you know how he
+died?"
+
+"No, sir, I don't know that."
+
+"What then?"
+
+"I know why he was at the gate at that hour. It was to meet a
+woman."
+
+"To meet a woman! He?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"And the woman's name?"
+
+"I can't give you the name, sir, but I can give you the initials.
+Her initials were L. L."
+
+"How do you know this, Barrymore?"
+
+"Well, Sir Henry, your uncle had a letter that morning. He had
+usually a great many letters, for he was a public man and well
+known for his kind heart, so that everyone who was in trouble was
+glad to turn to him. But that morning, as it chanced, there was
+only this one letter, so I took the more notice of it. It was
+from Coombe Tracey, and it was addressed in a woman's hand."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Well, sir, I thought no more of the matter, and never would have
+done had it not been for my wife. Only a few weeks ago she was
+cleaning out Sir Charles's study--it had never been touched since
+his death--and she found the ashes of a burned letter in the back
+of the grate. The greater part of it was charred to pieces, but
+one little slip, the end of a page, hung together, and the
+writing could still be read, though it was gray on a black
+ground. It seemed to us to be a postscript at the end of the
+letter, and it said: 'Please, please, as you are a gentleman,
+burn this letter, and be at the gate by ten o clock. Beneath it
+were signed the initials L. L."
+
+"Have you got that slip?"
+
+"No, sir, it crumbled all to bits after we moved it."
+
+"Had Sir Charles received any other letters in the same writing?"
+
+"Well, sir, I took no particular notice of his letters. I should
+not have noticed this one, only it happened to come alone."
+
+"And you have no idea who L. L. is?"
+
+"No, sir. No more than you have. But I expect if we could lay our
+hands upon that lady we should know more about Sir Charles's
+death."
+
+"I cannot understand, Barrymore, how you came to conceal this
+important information."
+
+"Well, sir, it was immediately after that our own trouble came to
+us. And then again, sir, we were both of us very fond of Sir
+Charles, as we well might be considering all that he has done for
+us. To rake this up couldn't help our poor master, and it's well
+to go carefully when there's a lady in the case. Even the best of
+us ----"
+
+"You thought it might injure his reputation?"
+
+"Well, sir, I thought no good could come of it. But now you have
+been kind to us, and I feel as if it would be treating you
+unfairly not to tell you all that I know about the matter."
+
+"Very good, Barrymore; you can go." When the butler had left us
+Sir Henry turned to me. "Well, Watson, what do you think of this
+new light?"
+
+"It seems to leave the darkness rather blacker than before."
+
+"So I think. But if we can only trace L. L. it should clear up
+the whole business. We have gained that much. We know that there
+is someone who has the facts if we can only find her. What do you
+think we should do?"
+
+"Let Holmes know all about it at once. It will give him the clue
+for which he has been seeking. I am much mistaken if it does not
+bring him down."
+
+I went at once to my room and drew up my report of the morning's
+conversation for Holmes. It was evident to me that he had been
+very busy of late, for the notes which I had from Baker Street
+were few and short, with no comments upon the information which I
+had supplied and hardly any reference to my mission. No doubt his
+blackmailing case is absorbing all his faculties. And yet this
+new factor must surely arrest his attention and renew his
+interest. I wish that he were here.
+
+OCTOBER 17TH.--All day to-day the rain poured down, rustling on
+the ivy and dripping from the eaves. I thought of the convict out
+upon the bleak, cold, shelterless moor. Poor devil! Whatever his
+crimes, he has suffered something to atone for them. And then I
+thought of that other one--the face in the cab, the figure
+against the moon. Was he also out in that deluged--the unseen
+watcher, the man of darkness? In the evening I put on my
+waterproof and I walked far upon the sodden moor, full of dark
+imaginings, the rain beating upon my face and the wind whistling
+about my ears. God help those who wander into the great mire now,
+for even the firm uplands are becoming a morass. I found the
+black tor upon which I had seen the solitary watcher, and from
+its craggy summit I looked out myself across the melancholy
+downs. Rain squalls drifted across their russet face, and the
+heavy, slate-coloured clouds hung low over the landscape,
+trailing in gray wreaths down the sides of the fantastic hills.
+In the distant hollow on the left, half hidden by the mist, the
+two thin towers of Baskerville Hall rose above the trees. They
+were the only signs of human life which I could see, save only
+those prehistoric huts which lay thickly upon the slopes of the
+hills. Nowhere was there any trace of that lonely man whom I had
+seen on the same spot two nights before.
+
+As I walked back I was overtaken by Dr. Mortimer driving in his
+dog-cart over a rough moorland track which led from the outlying
+farmhouse of Foulmire. He has been very attentive to us, and
+hardly a day has passed that he has not called at the Hall to see
+how we were getting on. He insisted upon my climbing into his
+dog-cart, and he gave me a lift homeward. I found him much
+troubled over the disappearance of his little spaniel. It had
+wandered on to the moor and had never come back. I gave him such
+consolation as I might, but I thought of the pony on the Grimpen
+Mire, and I do not fancy that he will see his little dog again.
+
+"By the way, Mortimer," said I as we jolted along the rough road,
+"I suppose there are few people living within driving distance of
+this whom you do not know?"
+
+"Hardly any, I think."
+
+"Can you, then, tell me the name of any woman whose initials are
+L. L.?"
+
+He thought for a few minutes.
+
+"No," said he. "There are a few gipsies and labouring folk for
+whom I can't answer, but among the farmers or gentry there is no
+one whose initials are those. Wait a bit though," he added after
+a pause. "There is Laura Lyons--her initials are L. L.--but she
+lives in Coombe Tracey."
+
+"Who is she?" I asked.
+
+"She is Frankland's daughter."
+
+"What! Old Frankland the crank?"
+
+"Exactly. She married an artist named Lyons, who came sketching
+on the moor. He proved to be a blackguard and deserted her. The
+fault from what I hear may not have been entirely on one side.
+Her father refused to have anything to do with her because she
+had married without his consent, and perhaps for one or two other
+reasons as well. So, between the old sinner and the young one the
+girl has had a pretty bad time."
+
+"How does she live?"
+
+"I fancy old Frankland allows her a pittance, but it cannot be
+more, for his own affairs are considerably involved. Whatever she
+may have deserved one could not allow her to go hopelessly to the
+bad. Her story got about, and several of the people here did
+something to enable her to earn an honest living. Stapleton did
+for one, and Sir Charles for another. I gave a trifle myself. It
+was to set her up in a typewriting business."
+
+He wanted to know the object of my inquiries, but I managed to
+satisfy his curiosity without telling him too much, for there is
+no reason why we should take anyone into our confidence.
+To-morrow morning I shall find my way to Coombe Tracey, and if I
+can see this Mrs. Laura Lyons, of equivocal reputation, a long
+step will have been made towards clearing one incident in this
+chain of mysteries. I am certainly developing the wisdom of the
+serpent, for when Mortimer pressed his questions to an
+inconvenient extent I asked him casually to what type Frankland's
+skull belonged, and so heard nothing but craniology for the rest
+of our drive. I have not lived for years with Sherlock Holmes for
+nothing.
+
+I have only one other incident to record upon this tempestuous
+and melancholy day. This was my conversation with Barrymore just
+now, which gives me one more strong card which I can play in due
+time.
+
+Mortimer had stayed to dinner, and he and the baronet played
+ecarté afterwards. The butler brought me my coffee into the
+library, and I took the chance to ask him a few questions.
+
+"Well," said I, "has this precious relation of yours departed, or
+is he still lurking out yonder?"
+
+"I don't know, sir. I hope to heaven that he has gone, for he has
+brought nothing but trouble here! I've not heard of him since I
+left out food for him last, and that was three days ago."
+
+"Did you see him then?"
+
+"No, sir, but the food was gone when next I went that way."
+
+"Then he was certainly there?"
+
+"So you would think, sir, unless it was the other man who took
+it."
+
+I sat with my coffee-cup halfway to my lips and stared at
+Barrymore.
+
+"You know that there is another man then?"
+
+"Yes, sir; there is another man upon the moor."
+
+"Have you seen him?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"How do you know of him then?"
+
+"Selden told me of him, sir, a week ago or more. He's in hiding,
+too, but he's not a convict as far as I can make out. I don't
+like it, Dr. Watson--I tell you straight, sir, that I don't like
+it." He spoke with a sudden passion of earnestness.
+
+"Now, listen to me, Barrymore! I have no interest in this matter
+but that of your master. I have come here with no object except
+to help him. Tell me, frankly, what it is that you don't like."
+
+Barrymore hesitated for a moment, as if he regretted his
+outburst, or found it difficult to express his own feelings in
+words.
+
+"It's all these goings-on, sir," he cried at last, waving his
+hand towards the rain-lashed window which faced the moor. "There's
+foul play somewhere, and there's black villainy brewing, to that
+I'll swear! Very glad I should be, sir, to see Sir Henry on his
+way back to London again!"
+
+"But what is it that alarms you?"
+
+"Look at Sir Charles's death! That was bad enough, for all that
+the coroner said. Look at the noises on the moor at night.
+There's not a man would cross it after sundown if he was paid for
+it. Look at this stranger hiding out yonder, and watching and
+waiting! What's he waiting for? What does it mean? It means no
+good to anyone of the name of Baskerville, and very glad I shall
+be to be quit of it all on the day that Sir Henry's new servants
+are ready to take over the Hall."
+
+"But about this stranger," said I. "Can you tell me anything
+about him? What did Selden say? Did he find out where he hid, or
+what he was doing?"
+
+"He saw him once or twice, but he is a deep one, and gives
+nothing away. At first he thought that he was the police, but
+soon he found that he had some lay of his own. A kind of
+gentleman he was, as far as he could see, but what he was doing
+he could not make out."
+
+"And where did he say that he lived?"
+
+"Among the old houses on the hillside--the stone huts where the
+old folk used to live."
+
+"But how about his food?"
+
+"Selden found out that he has got a lad who works for him and
+brings him all he needs. I dare say he goes to Coombe Tracey for
+what he wants."
+
+"Very good, Barrymore. We may talk further of this some other
+time." When the butler had gone I walked over to the black
+window, and I looked through a blurred pane at the driving clouds
+and at the tossing outline of the wind-swept trees. It is a wild
+night indoors, and what must it be in a stone hut upon the moor.
+What passion of hatred can it be which leads a man to lurk in
+such a place at such a time! And what deep and earnest purpose
+can he have which calls for such a trial! There, in that hut upon
+the moor, seems to lie the very centre of that problem which has
+vexed me so sorely. I swear that another day shall not have
+passed before I have done all that man can do to reach the heart
+of the mystery.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 11
+
+The Man on the Tor
+
+
+The extract from my private diary which forms the last chapter
+has brought my narrative up to the 18th of October, a time when
+these strange events began to move swiftly towards their terrible
+conclusion. The incidents of the next few days are indelibly
+graven upon my recollection, and I can tell them without
+reference to the notes made at the time. I start then from the
+day which succeeded that upon which I had established two facts
+of great importance, the one that Mrs. Laura Lyons of Coombe
+Tracey had written to Sir Charles Baskerville and made an
+appointment with him at the very place and hour that he met his
+death, the other that the lurking man upon the moor was to be
+found among the stone huts upon the hill-side. With these two
+facts in my possession I felt that either my intelligence or my
+courage must be deficient if I could not throw some further light
+upon these dark places.
+
+I had no opportunity to tell the baronet what I had learned about
+Mrs. Lyons upon the evening before, for Dr. Mortimer remained
+with him at cards until it was very late. At breakfast, however,
+I informed him about my discovery, and asked him whether he would
+care to accompany me to Coombe Tracey. At first he was very eager
+to come, but on second thoughts it seemed to both of us that if I
+went alone the results might be better. The more formal we made
+the visit the less information we might obtain. I left Sir Henry
+behind, therefore, not without some prickings of conscience, and
+drove off upon my new quest.
+
+When I reached Coombe Tracey I told Perkins to put up the horses,
+and I made inquiries for the lady whom I had come to interrogate.
+I had no difficulty in finding her rooms, which were central and
+well appointed. A maid showed me in without ceremony, and as I
+entered the sitting-room a lady, who was sitting before a
+Remington typewriter, sprang up with a pleasant smile of welcome.
+Her face fell, however, when she saw that I was a stranger, and
+she sat down again and asked me the object of my visit.
+
+The first impression left by Mrs. Lyons was one of extreme
+beauty. Her eyes and hair were of the same rich hazel colour, and
+her cheeks, though considerably freckled, were flushed with the
+exquisite bloom of the brunette, the dainty pink which lurks at
+the heart of the sulphur rose. Admiration was, I repeat, the
+first impression. But the second was criticism. There was
+something subtly wrong with the face, some coarseness of
+expression, some hardness, perhaps, of eye, some looseness of lip
+which marred its perfect beauty. But these, of course, are
+after-thoughts. At the moment I was simply conscious that I was
+in the presence of a very handsome woman, and that she was asking
+me the reasons for my visit. I had not quite understood until
+that instant how delicate my mission was.
+
+"I have the pleasure," said I, "of knowing your father." It was a
+clumsy introduction, and the lady made me feel it.
+
+"There is nothing in common between my father and me," she said.
+"I owe him nothing, and his friends are not mine. If it were not
+for the late Sir Charles Baskerville and some other kind hearts I
+might have starved for all that my father cared."
+
+"It was about the late Sir Charles Baskerville that I have come
+here to see you."
+
+The freckles started out on the lady's face.
+
+"What can I tell you about him?" she asked, and her fingers
+played nervously over the stops of her typewriter.
+
+"You knew him, did you not?"
+
+"I have already said that I owe a great deal to his kindness. If
+I am able to support myself it is largely due to the interest
+which he took in my unhappy situation."
+
+"Did you correspond with him?"
+
+The lady looked quickly up with an angry gleam in her hazel eyes.
+
+"What is the object of these questions?" she asked sharply.
+
+"The object is to avoid a public scandal. It is better that I
+should ask them here than that the matter should pass outside our
+control."
+
+She was silent and her face was still very pale. At last she
+looked up with something reckless and defiant in her manner.
+
+"Well, I'll answer," she said. "What are your questions?"
+
+"Did you correspond with Sir Charles?"
+
+"I certainly wrote to him once or twice to acknowledge his
+delicacy and his generosity."
+
+"Have you the dates of those letters?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Have you ever met him?"
+
+"Yes, once or twice, when he came into Coombe Tracey. He was a
+very retiring man, and he preferred to do good by stealth."
+
+"But if you saw him so seldom and wrote so seldom, how did he
+know enough about your affairs to be able to help you, as you say
+that he has done?"
+
+She met my difficulty with the utmost readiness.
+
+"There were several gentlemen who knew my sad history and united
+to help me. One was Mr. Stapleton, a neighbour and intimate
+friend of Sir Charles's. He was exceedingly kind, and it was
+through him that Sir Charles learned about my affairs."
+
+I knew already that Sir Charles Baskerville had made Stapleton
+his almoner upon several occasions, so the lady's statement bore
+the impress of truth upon it.
+
+"Did you ever write to Sir Charles asking him to meet you?" I
+continued.
+
+Mrs. Lyons flushed with anger again.
+
+"Really, sir, this is a very extraordinary question."
+
+"I am sorry, madam, but I must repeat it."
+
+"Then I answer, certainly not."
+
+"Not on the very day of Sir Charles's death?"
+
+The flush had faded in an instant, and a deathly face was before
+me. Her dry lips could not speak the "No" which I saw rather than
+heard.
+
+"Surely your memory deceives you," said I. "I could even quote a
+passage of your letter. It ran 'Please, please, as you are a
+gentleman, burn this letter, and be at the gate by ten o'clock.'"
+
+I thought that she had fainted, but she recovered herself by a
+supreme effort.
+
+"Is there no such thing as a gentleman?" she gasped.
+
+"You do Sir Charles an injustice. He did burn the letter. But
+sometimes a letter may be legible even when burned. You
+acknowledge now that you wrote it?"
+
+"Yes, I did write it," she cried, pouring out her soul in a
+torrent of words. "I did write it. Why should I deny it? I have
+no reason to be ashamed of it. I wished him to help me. I
+believed that if I had an interview I could gain his help, so I
+asked him to meet me."
+
+"But why at such an hour?"
+
+"Because I had only just learned that he was going to London next
+day and might be away for months. There were reasons why I could
+not get there earlier."
+
+"But why a rendezvous in the garden instead of a visit to the
+house?"
+
+"Do you think a woman could go alone at that hour to a bachelor's
+house?"
+
+"Well, what happened when you did get there?"
+
+"I never went."
+
+"Mrs. Lyons!"
+
+"No, I swear it to you on all I hold sacred. I never went.
+Something intervened to prevent my going."
+
+"What was that?"
+
+"That is a private matter. I cannot tell it."
+
+"You acknowledge then that you made an appointment with Sir
+Charles at the very hour and place at which he met his death, but
+you deny that you kept the appointment."
+
+"That is the truth."
+
+Again and again I cross-questioned her, but I could never get
+past that point.
+
+"Mrs. Lyons," said I, as I rose from this long and inconclusive
+interview, "you are taking a very great responsibility and
+putting yourself in a very false position by not making an
+absolutely clean breast of all that you know. If I have to call
+in the aid of the police you will find how seriously you are
+compromised. If your position is innocent, why did you in the
+first instance deny having written to Sir Charles upon that
+date?"
+
+"Because I feared that some false conclusion might be drawn from
+it and that I might find myself involved in a scandal."
+
+"And why were you so pressing that Sir Charles should destroy
+your letter?"
+
+"If you have read the letter you will know."
+
+"I did not say that I had read all the letter."
+
+"You quoted some of it."
+
+"I quoted the postscript. The letter had, as I said, been burned
+and it was not all legible. I ask you once again why it was that
+you were so pressing that Sir Charles should destroy this letter
+which he received on the day of his death."
+
+"The matter is a very private one."
+
+"The more reason why you should avoid a public investigation."
+
+"I will tell you, then. If you have heard anything of my unhappy
+history you will know that I made a rash marriage and had reason
+to regret it."
+
+"I have heard so much."
+
+"My life has been one incessant persecution from a husband whom I
+abhor. The law is upon his side, and every day I am faced by the
+possibility that he may force me to live with him. At the time
+that I wrote this letter to Sir Charles I had learned that there
+was a prospect of my regaining my freedom if certain expenses
+could be met. It meant everything to me--peace of mind,
+happiness, self-respect--everything. I knew Sir Charles's
+generosity, and I thought that if he heard the story from my own
+lips he would help me."
+
+"Then how is it that you did not go?"
+
+"Because I received help in the interval from another source."
+
+"Why then, did you not write to Sir Charles and explain this?"
+
+"So I should have done had I not seen his death in the paper next
+morning."
+
+The woman's story hung coherently together, and all my questions
+were unable to shake it. I could only check it by finding if she
+had, indeed, instituted divorce proceedings against her husband
+at or about the time of the tragedy.
+
+It was unlikely that she would dare to say that she had not been
+to Baskerville Hall if she really had been, for a trap would be
+necessary to take her there, and could not have returned to
+Coombe Tracey until the early hours of the morning. Such an
+excursion could not be kept secret. The probability was,
+therefore, that she was telling the truth, or, at least, a part
+of the truth. I came away baffled and disheartened. Once again I
+had reached that dead wall which seemed to be built across every
+path by which I tried to get at the object of my mission. And yet
+the more I thought of the lady's face and of her manner the more
+I felt that something was being held back from me. Why should she
+turn so pale? Why should she fight against every admission until
+it was forced from her? Why should she have been so reticent at
+the time of the tragedy? Surely the explanation of all this could
+not be as innocent as she would have me believe. For the moment I
+could proceed no farther in that direction, but must turn back to
+that other clue which was to be sought for among the stone huts
+upon the moor.
+
+And that was a most vague direction. I realized it as I drove
+back and noted how hill after hill showed traces of the ancient
+people. Barrymore's only indication had been that the stranger
+lived in one of these abandoned huts, and many hundreds of them
+are scattered throughout the length and breadth of the moor. But
+I had my own experience for a guide since it had shown me the man
+himself standing upon the summit of the Black Tor. That then
+should be the centre of my search. From there I should explore
+every hut upon the moor until I lighted upon the right one. If
+this man were inside it I should find out from his own lips, at
+the point of my revolver if necessary, who he was and why he had
+dogged us so long. He might slip away from us in the crowd of
+Regent Street, but it would puzzle him to do so upon the lonely
+moor. On the other hand, if I should find the hut and its tenant
+should not be within it I must remain there, however long the
+vigil, until he returned. Holmes had missed him in London. It
+would indeed be a triumph for me if I could run him to earth,
+where my master had failed.
+
+Luck had been against us again and again in this inquiry, but now
+at last it came to my aid. And the messenger of good fortune was
+none other than Mr. Frankland, who was standing, gray-whiskered
+and red-faced, outside the gate of his garden, which opened on to
+the high road along which I travelled.
+
+"Good-day, Dr. Watson," cried he with unwonted good humour, "you
+must really give your horses a rest, and come in to have a glass
+of wine and to congratulate me."
+
+My feelings towards him were very far from being friendly after
+what I had heard of his treatment of his daughter, but I was
+anxious to send Perkins and the wagonette home, and the
+opportunity was a good one. I alighted and sent a message to Sir
+Henry that I should walk over in time for dinner. Then I followed
+Frankland into his dining-room.
+
+"It is a great day for me, sir--one of the red-letter days of my
+life," he cried with many chuckles. "I have brought off a double
+event. I mean to teach them in these parts that law is law, and
+that there is a man here who does not fear to invoke it. I have
+established a right of way through the centre of old Middleton's
+park, slap across it, sir, within a hundred yards of his own
+front door. What do you think of that? We'll teach these magnates
+that they cannot ride roughshod over the rights of the
+commoners, confound them! And I've closed the wood where the
+Fernworthy folk used to picnic. These infernal people seem to
+think that there are no rights of property, and that they can
+swarm where they like with their papers and their bottles. Both
+cases decided, Dr. Watson, and both in my favour. I haven't had
+such a day since I had Sir John Morland for trespass, because he
+shot in his own warren."
+
+"How on earth did you do that?"
+
+"Look it up in the books, sir. It will repay reading--Frankland
+v. Morland, Court of Queen's Bench. It cost me 200 pounds, but I
+got my verdict."
+
+"Did it do you any good?"
+
+"None, sir, none. I am proud to say that I had no interest in the
+matter. I act entirely from a sense of public duty. I have no
+doubt, for example, that the Fernworthy people will burn me in
+effigy to-night. I told the police last time they did it that
+they should stop these disgraceful exhibitions. The County
+Constabulary is in a scandalous state, sir, and it has not
+afforded me the protection to which I am entitled. The case of
+Frankland v. Regina will bring the matter before the attention of
+the public. I told them that they would have occasion to regret
+their treatment of me, and already my words have come true."
+
+"How so?" I asked.
+
+The old man put on a very knowing expression.
+
+"Because I could tell them what they are dying to know; but
+nothing would induce me to help the rascals in any way."
+
+I had been casting round for some excuse by which I could get
+away from his gossip, but now I began to wish to hear more of it.
+I had seen enough of the contrary nature of the old sinner to
+understand that any strong sign of interest would be the surest
+way to stop his confidences.
+
+"Some poaching case, no doubt?" said I, with an indifferent
+manner.
+
+"Ha, ha, my boy, a very much more important matter than that!
+What about the convict on the moor?"
+
+I started. "You don't mean that you know where he is?" said I.
+
+"I may not know exactly where he is, but I am quite sure that I
+could help the police to lay their hands on him. Has it never
+struck you that the way to catch that man was to find out where
+he got his food, and so trace it to him?"
+
+He certainly seemed to be getting uncomfortably near the truth.
+"No doubt," said I; "but how do you know that he is anywhere upon
+the moor?"
+
+"I know it because I have seen with my own eyes the messenger who
+takes him his food."
+
+My heart sank for Barrymore. It was a serious thing to be in the
+power of this spiteful old busybody. But his next remark took a
+weight from my mind.
+
+"You'll be surprised to hear that his food is taken to him by a
+child. I see him every day through my telescope upon the roof. He
+passes along the same path at the same hour, and to whom should
+he be going except to the convict?"
+
+Here was luck indeed! And yet I suppressed all appearance of
+interest. A child! Barrymore had said that our unknown was
+supplied by a boy. It was on his track, and not upon the
+convict's, that Frankland had stumbled. If I could get his
+knowledge it might save me a long and weary hunt. But incredulity
+and indifference were evidently my strongest cards.
+
+"I should say that it was much more likely that it was the son of
+one of the moorland shepherds taking out his father's dinner."
+
+The least appearance of opposition struck fire out of the old
+autocrat. His eyes looked malignantly at me, and his gray
+whiskers bristled like those of an angry cat.
+
+"Indeed, sir!" said he, pointing out over the wide-stretching
+moor. "Do you see that Black Tor over yonder? Well, do you see
+the low hill beyond with the thornbush upon it? It is the
+stoniest part of the whole moor. Is that a place where a shepherd
+would be likely to take his station? Your suggestion, sir, is a
+most absurd one."
+
+I meekly answered that I had spoken without knowing all the
+facts. My submission pleased him and led him to further
+confidences.
+
+"You may be sure, sir, that I have very good grounds before I
+come to an opinion. I have seen the boy again and again with his
+bundle. Every day, and sometimes twice a day, I have been
+able--but wait a moment, Dr. Watson. Do my eyes deceive me, or is
+there at the present moment something moving upon that hill-
+side?"
+
+It was several miles off, but I could distinctly see a small dark
+dot against the dull green and gray.
+
+"Come, sir, come!" cried Frankland, rushing upstairs. "You will
+see with your own eyes and judge for yourself."
+
+The telescope, a formidable instrument mounted upon a tripod,
+stood upon the flat leads of the house. Frankland clapped his eye
+to it and gave a cry of satisfaction.
+
+"Quick, Dr. Watson, quick, before he passes over the hill!"
+
+There he was, sure enough, a small urchin with a little bundle
+upon his shoulder, toiling slowly up the hill. When he reached
+the crest I saw the ragged uncouth figure outlined for an instant
+against the cold blue sky. He looked round him with a furtive and
+stealthy air, as one who dreads pursuit. Then he vanished over
+the hill.
+
+"Well! Am I right?"
+
+"Certainly, there is a boy who seems to have some secret errand."
+
+"And what the errand is even a county constable could guess. But
+not one word shall they have from me, and I bind you to secrecy
+also, Dr. Watson. Not a word! You understand!"
+
+"Just as you wish."
+
+"They have treated me shamefully--shamefully. When the facts come
+out in Frankland v. Regina I venture to think that a thrill of
+indignation will run through the country. Nothing would induce me
+to help the police in any way. For all they cared it might have
+been me, instead of my effigy, which these rascals burned at the
+stake. Surely you are not going! You will help me to empty the
+decanter in honour of this great occasion!"
+
+But I resisted all his solicitations and succeeded in dissuading
+him from his announced intention of walking home with me. I kept
+the road as long as his eye was on me, and then I struck off
+across the moor and made for the stony hill over which the boy
+had disappeared. Everything was working in my favour, and I swore
+that it should not be through lack of energy or perseverance that
+I should miss the chance which fortune had thrown in my way.
+
+The sun was already sinking when I reached the summit of the
+hill, and the long slopes beneath me were all golden-green on one
+side and gray shadow on the other. A haze lay low upon the
+farthest sky-line, out of which jutted the fantastic shapes of
+Belliver and Vixen Tor. Over the wide expanse there was no sound
+and no movement. One great gray bird, a gull or curlew, soared
+aloft in the blue heaven. He and I seemed to be the only living
+things between the huge arch of the sky and the desert beneath
+it. The barren scene, the sense of loneliness, and the mystery
+and urgency of my task all struck a chill into my heart. The boy
+was nowhere to be seen. But down beneath me in a cleft of the
+hills there was a circle of the old stone huts, and in the middle
+of them there was one which retained sufficient roof to act as a
+screen against the weather. My heart leaped within me as I saw
+it. This must be the burrow where the stranger lurked. At last my
+foot was on the threshold of his hiding place--his secret was
+within my grasp.
+
+As I approached the hut, walking as warily as Stapleton would do
+when with poised net he drew near the settled butterfly, I
+satisfied myself that the place had indeed been used as a
+habitation. A vague pathway among the boulders led to the
+dilapidated opening which served as a door. All was silent
+within. The unknown might be lurking there, or he might be
+prowling on the moor. My nerves tingled with the sense of
+adventure. Throwing aside my cigarette, I closed my hand upon the
+butt of my revolver and, walking swiftly up to the door, I looked
+in. The place was empty.
+
+But there were ample signs that I had not come upon a false
+scent. This was certainly where the man lived. Some blankets
+rolled in a waterproof lay upon that very stone slab upon which
+Neolithic man had once slumbered. The ashes of a fire were heaped
+in a rude grate. Beside it lay some cooking utensils and a bucket
+half-full of water. A litter of empty tins showed that the place
+had been occupied for some time, and I saw, as my eyes became
+accustomed to the checkered light, a pannikin and a half-full
+bottle of spirits standing in the corner. In the middle of the
+hut a flat stone served the purpose of a table, and upon this
+stood a small cloth bundle--the same, no doubt, which I had seen
+through the telescope upon the shoulder of the boy. It contained
+a loaf of bread, a tinned tongue, and two tins of preserved
+peaches. As I set it down again, after having examined it, my
+heart leaped to see that beneath it there lay a sheet of paper
+with writing upon it. I raised it, and this was what I read,
+roughly scrawled in pencil:--
+
+Dr. Watson has gone to Coombe Tracey.
+
+For a minute I stood there with the paper in my hands thinking
+out the meaning of this curt message. It was I, then, and not Sir
+Henry, who was being dogged by this secret man. He had not
+followed me himself, but he had set an agent--the boy,
+perhaps--upon my track, and this was his report. Possibly I had
+taken no step since I had been upon the moor which had not been
+observed and reported. Always there was this feeling of an unseen
+force, a fine net drawn round us with infinite skill and
+delicacy, holding us so lightly that it was only at some supreme
+moment that one realized that one was indeed entangled in its
+meshes.
+
+If there was one report there might be others, so I looked round
+the hut in search of them. There was no trace, however, of
+anything of the kind, nor could I discover any sign which might
+indicate the character or intentions of the man who lived in this
+singular place, save that he must be of Spartan habits and cared
+little for the comforts of life. When I thought of the heavy
+rains and looked at the gaping roof I understood how strong and
+immutable must be the purpose which had kept him in that
+inhospitable abode. Was he our malignant enemy, or was he by
+chance our guardian angel? I swore that I would not leave the hut
+until I knew.
+
+Outside the sun was sinking low and the west was blazing with
+scarlet and gold. Its reflection was shot back in ruddy patches
+by the distant pools which lay amid the great Grimpen Mire. There
+were the two towers of Baskerville Hall, and there a distant blur
+of smoke which marked the village of Grimpen. Between the two,
+behind the hill, was the house of the Stapletons. All was sweet
+and mellow and peaceful in the golden evening light, and yet as I
+looked at them my soul shared none of the peace of nature but
+quivered at the vagueness and the terror of that interview which
+every instant was bringing nearer. With tingling nerves, but a
+fixed purpose, I sat in the dark recess of the hut and waited
+with sombre patience for the coming of its tenant.
+
+And then at last I heard him. Far away came the sharp clink of a
+boot striking upon a stone. Then another and yet another, coming
+nearer and nearer. I shrank back into the darkest corner, and
+cocked the pistol in my pocket, determined not to discover myself
+until I had an opportunity of seeing something of the stranger.
+There was a long pause which showed that he had stopped. Then
+once more the footsteps approached and a shadow fell across the
+opening of the hut.
+
+"It is a lovely evening, my dear Watson," said a well-known
+voice. "I really think that you will be more comfortable outside
+than in."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 12
+
+Death on the Moor
+
+
+For a moment or two I sat breathless, hardly able to believe my
+ears. Then my senses and my voice came back to me, while a
+crushing weight of responsibility seemed in an instant to be
+lifted from my soul. That cold, incisive, ironical voice could
+belong to but one man in all the world.
+
+"Holmes!" I cried--"Holmes!"
+
+"Come out," said he, "and please be careful with the revolver."
+
+I stooped under the rude lintel, and there he sat upon a stone
+outside, his gray eyes dancing with amusement as they fell upon
+my astonished features. He was thin and worn, but clear and
+alert, his keen face bronzed by the sun and roughened by the
+wind. In his tweed suit and cloth cap he looked like any other
+tourist upon the moor, and he had contrived, with that cat-like
+love of personal cleanliness which was one of his
+characteristics, that his chin should be as smooth and his linen
+as perfect as if he were in Baker Street.
+
+"I never was more glad to see anyone in my life," said I, as I
+wrung him by the hand.
+
+"Or more astonished, eh?"
+
+"Well, I must confess to it."
+
+"The surprise was not all on one side, I assure you. I had no
+idea that you had found my occasional retreat, still less that
+you were inside it, until I was within twenty paces of the door."
+
+"My footprint, I presume?"
+
+"No, Watson; I fear that I could not undertake to recognize your
+footprint amid all the footprints of the world. If you seriously
+desire to deceive me you must change your tobacconist; for when I
+see the stub of a cigarette marked Bradley, Oxford Street, I know
+that my friend Watson is in the neighbourhood. You will see it
+there beside the path. You threw it down, no doubt, at that
+supreme moment when you charged into the empty hut."
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"I thought as much--and knowing your admirable tenacity I was
+convinced that you were sitting in ambush, a weapon within reach,
+waiting for the tenant to return. So you actually thought that I
+was the criminal?"
+
+"I did not know who you were, but I was determined to find out."
+
+"Excellent, Watson! And how did you localize me? You saw me,
+perhaps, on the night of the convict hunt, when I was so
+imprudent as to allow the moon to rise behind me?"
+
+"Yes, I saw you then."
+
+"And have no doubt searched all the huts until you came to this
+one?"
+
+"No, your boy had been observed, and that gave me a guide where
+to look."
+
+"The old gentleman with the telescope, no doubt. I could not make
+it out when first I saw the light flashing upon the lens." He
+rose and peeped into the hut. "Ha, I see that Cartwright has
+brought up some supplies. What's this paper? So you have been to
+Coombe Tracey, have you?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"To see Mrs. Laura Lyons?"
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"Well done! Our researches have evidently been running on
+parallel lines, and when we unite our results I expect we shall
+have a fairly full knowledge of the case."
+
+"Well, I am glad from my heart that you are here, for indeed the
+responsibility and the mystery were both becoming too much for my
+nerves. But how in the name of wonder did you come here, and what
+have you been doing? I thought that you were in Baker Street
+working out that case of blackmailing."
+
+"That was what I wished you to think."
+
+"Then you use me, and yet do not trust me!" I cried with some
+bitterness. "I think that I have deserved better at your hands,
+Holmes."
+
+"My dear fellow, you have been invaluable to me in this as in
+many other cases, and I beg that you will forgive me if I have
+seemed to play a trick upon you. In truth, it was partly for your
+own sake that I did it, and it was my appreciation of the danger
+which you ran which led me to come down and examine the matter
+for myself. Had I been with Sir Henry and you it is confident
+that my point of view would have been the same as yours, and my
+presence would have warned our very formidable opponents to be on
+their guard. As it is, I have been able to get about as I could
+not possibly have done had I been living in the Hall, and I
+remain an unknown factor in the business, ready to throw in all
+my weight at a critical moment."
+
+"But why keep me in the dark?"
+
+"For you to know could not have helped us, and might possibly
+have led to my discovery. You would have wished to tell me
+something, or in your kindness you would have brought me out some
+comfort or other, and so an unnecessary risk would be run. I
+brought Cartwright down with me--you remember the little chap at
+the express office--and he has seen after my simple wants: a loaf
+of bread and a clean collar. What does man want more? He has
+given me an extra pair of eyes upon a very active pair of feet,
+and both have been invaluable."
+
+"Then my reports have all been wasted!"--My voice trembled as I
+recalled the pains and the pride with which I had composed them.
+
+Holmes took a bundle of papers from his pocket.
+
+"Here are your reports, my dear fellow, and very well thumbed, I
+assure you. I made excellent arrangements, and they are only
+delayed one day upon their way. I must compliment you exceedingly
+upon the zeal and the intelligence which you have shown over an
+extraordinarily difficult case."
+
+I was still rather raw over the deception which had been
+practised upon me, but the warmth of Holmes's praise drove my
+anger from my mind. I felt also in my heart that he was right in
+what he said and that it was really best for our purpose that I
+should not have known that he was upon the moor.
+
+"That's better," said he, seeing the shadow rise from my face.
+"And now tell me the result of your visit to Mrs. Laura Lyons--it
+was not difficult for me to guess that it was to see her that you
+had gone, for I am already aware that she is the one person in
+Coombe Tracey who might be of service to us in the matter. In
+fact, if you had not gone to-day it is exceedingly probable that
+I should have gone to-morrow."
+
+The sun had set and dusk was settling over the moor. The air had
+turned chill and we withdrew into the hut for warmth. There,
+sitting together in the twilight, I told Holmes of my
+conversation with the lady. So interested was he that I had to
+repeat some of it twice before he was satisfied.
+
+"This is most important," said he when I had concluded. "It fills
+up a gap which I had been unable to bridge, in this most complex
+affair. You are aware, perhaps, that a close intimacy exists
+between this lady and the man Stapleton?"
+
+"I did not know of a close intimacy."
+
+"There can be no doubt about the matter. They meet, they write,
+there is a complete understanding between them. Now, this puts a
+very powerful weapon into our hands. If I could only use it to
+detach his wife----"
+
+"His wife?"
+
+"I am giving you some information now, in return for all that you
+have given me. The lady who has passed here as Miss Stapleton is
+in reality his wife."
+
+"Good heavens, Holmes! Are you sure of what you say? How could he
+have permitted Sir Henry to fall in love with her?"
+
+"Sir Henry's falling in love could do no harm to anyone except
+Sir Henry. He took particular care that Sir Henry did not make
+love to her, as you have yourself observed. I repeat that the
+lady is his wife and not his sister."
+
+"But why this elaborate deception?"
+
+"Because he foresaw that she would be very much more useful to
+him in the character of a free woman."
+
+All my unspoken instincts, my vague suspicions, suddenly took
+shape and centred upon the naturalist. In that impassive,
+colourless man, with his straw hat and his butterfly-net, I
+seemed to see something terrible--a creature of infinite patience
+and craft, with a smiling face and a murderous heart.
+
+"It is he, then, who is our enemy--it is he who dogged us in
+London?"
+
+"So I read the riddle."
+
+"And the warning--it must have come from her!"
+
+"Exactly."
+
+The shape of some monstrous villainy, half seen, half guessed,
+loomed through the darkness which had girt me so long.
+
+"But are you sure of this, Holmes? How do you know that the woman
+is his wife?"
+
+"Because he so far forgot himself as to tell you a true piece of
+autobiography upon the occasion when he first met you, and I
+dare say he has many a time regretted it since. He was once a
+schoolmaster in the north of England. Now, there is no one more
+easy to trace than a schoolmaster. There are scholastic agencies
+by which one may identify any man who has been in the profession.
+A little investigation showed me that a school had come to grief
+under atrocious circumstances, and that the man who had owned
+it--the name was different--had disappeared with his wife. The
+descriptions agreed. When I learned that the missing man was
+devoted to entomology the identification was complete."
+
+The darkness was rising, but much was still hidden by the
+shadows.
+
+"If this woman is in truth his wife, where does Mrs. Laura Lyons
+come in?" I asked.
+
+"That is one of the points upon which your own researches have
+shed a light. Your interview with the lady has cleared the
+situation very much. I did not know about a projected divorce
+between herself and her husband. In that case, regarding
+Stapleton as an unmarried man, she counted no doubt upon becoming
+his wife."
+
+"And when she is undeceived?"
+
+"Why, then we may find the lady of service. It must be our first
+duty to see her--both of us--to-morrow. Don't you think, Watson,
+that you are away from your charge rather long? Your place should
+be at Baskerville Hall."
+
+The last red streaks had faded away in the west and night had
+settled upon the moor. A few faint stars were gleaming in a
+violet sky.
+
+"One last question, Holmes," I said, as I rose. "Surely there is
+no need of secrecy between you and me. What is the meaning of it
+all? What is he after?"
+
+Holmes's voice sank as he answered:----
+
+"It is murder, Watson--refined, cold-blooded, deliberate murder.
+Do not ask me for particulars. My nets are closing upon him, even
+as his are upon Sir Henry, and with your help he is already
+almost at my mercy. There is but one danger which can threaten
+us. It is that he should strike before we are ready to do so.
+Another day--two at the most--and I have my case complete, but
+until then guard your charge as closely as ever a fond mother
+watched her ailing child. Your mission to-day has justified
+itself, and yet I could almost wish that you had not left his
+side. Hark!"
+
+A terrible scream--a prolonged yell of horror and anguish--burst
+out of the silence of the moor. That frightful cry turned the
+blood to ice in my veins.
+
+"Oh, my God!" I gasped. "What is it? What does it mean?"
+
+Holmes had sprung to his feet, and I saw his dark, athletic
+outline at the door of the hut, his shoulders stooping, his head
+thrust forward, his face peering into the darkness.
+
+"Hush!" he whispered. "Hush!"
+
+The cry had been loud on account of its vehemence, but it had
+pealed out from somewhere far off on the shadowy plain. Now it
+burst upon our ears, nearer, louder, more urgent than before.
+
+"Where is it?" Holmes whispered; and I knew from the thrill of
+his voice that he, the man of iron, was shaken to the soul.
+"Where is it, Watson?"
+
+"There, I think." I pointed into the darkness.
+
+"No, there!"
+
+Again the agonized cry swept through the silent night, louder and
+much nearer than ever. And a new sound mingled with it, a deep,
+muttered rumble, musical and yet menacing, rising and falling
+like the low, constant murmur of the sea.
+
+"The hound!" cried Holmes. "Come, Watson, come! Great heavens, if
+we are too late!"
+
+He had started running swiftly over the moor, and I had followed
+at his heels. But now from somewhere among the broken ground
+immediately in front of us there came one last despairing yell,
+and then a dull, heavy thud. We halted and listened. Not another
+sound broke the heavy silence of the windless night.
+
+I saw Holmes put his hand to his forehead like a man distracted.
+He stamped his feet upon the ground.
+
+"He has beaten us, Watson. We are too late."
+
+"No, no, surely not!"
+
+"Fool that I was to hold my hand. And you, Watson, see what comes
+of abandoning your charge! But, by Heaven, if the worst has
+happened, we'll avenge him!"
+
+Blindly we ran through the gloom, blundering against boulders,
+forcing our way through gorse bushes, panting up hills and
+rushing down slopes, heading always in the direction whence those
+dreadful sounds had come. At every rise Holmes looked eagerly
+round him, but the shadows were thick upon the moor, and nothing
+moved upon its dreary face.
+
+"Can you see anything?"
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"But, hark, what is that?"
+
+A low moan had fallen upon our ears. There it was again upon our
+left! On that side a ridge of rocks ended in a sheer cliff which
+overlooked a stone-strewn slope. On its jagged face was
+spread-eagled some dark, irregular object. As we ran towards it
+the vague outline hardened into a definite shape. It was a
+prostrate man face downward upon the ground, the head doubled
+under him at a horrible angle, the shoulders rounded and the body
+hunched together as if in the act of throwing a somersault. So
+grotesque was the attitude that I could not for the instant
+realize that that moan had been the passing of his soul. Not a
+whisper, not a rustle, rose now from the dark figure over which
+we stooped. Holmes laid his hand upon him, and held it up again,
+with an exclamation of horror. The gleam of the match which he
+struck shone upon his clotted fingers and upon the ghastly pool
+which widened slowly from the crushed skull of the victim. And it
+shone upon something else which turned our hearts sick and faint
+within us--the body of Sir Henry Baskerville!
+
+There was no chance of either of us forgetting that peculiar
+ruddy tweed suit--the very one which he had worn on the first
+morning that we had seen him in Baker Street. We caught the one
+clear glimpse of it, and then the match flickered and went out,
+even as the hope had gone out of our souls. Holmes groaned, and
+his face glimmered white through the darkness.
+
+"The brute! the brute!" I cried with clenched hands. "Oh Holmes,
+I shall never forgive myself for having left him to his fate."
+
+"I am more to blame than you, Watson. In order to have my case
+well rounded and complete, I have thrown away the life of my
+client. It is the greatest blow which has befallen me in my
+career. But how could I know--how could l know--that he would
+risk his life alone upon the moor in the face of all my
+warnings?"
+
+"That we should have heard his screams--my God, those
+screams!--and yet have been unable to save him! Where is this
+brute of a hound which drove him to his death? It may be lurking
+among these rocks at this instant. And Stapleton, where is he? He
+shall answer for this deed."
+
+"He shall. I will see to that. Uncle and nephew have been
+murdered--the one frightened to death by the very sight of a
+beast which he thought to be supernatural, the other driven to
+his end in his wild flight to escape from it. But now we have to
+prove the connection between the man and the beast. Save from
+what we heard, we cannot even swear to the existence of the
+latter, since Sir Henry has evidently died from the fall. But, by
+heavens, cunning as he is, the fellow shall be in my power before
+another day is past!"
+
+We stood with bitter hearts on either side of the mangled body,
+overwhelmed by this sudden and irrevocable disaster which had
+brought all our long and weary labours to so piteous an end.
+Then, as the moon rose we climbed to the top of the rocks over
+which our poor friend had fallen, and from the summit we gazed
+out over the shadowy moor, half silver and half gloom. Far away,
+miles off, in the direction of Grimpen, a single steady yellow
+light was shining. It could only come from the lonely abode of
+the Stapletons. With a bitter curse I shook my fist at it as I
+gazed.
+
+"Why should we not seize him at once?"
+
+"Our case is not complete. The fellow is wary and cunning to the
+last degree. It is not what we know, but what we can prove. If we
+make one false move the villain may escape us yet."
+
+"What can we do?"
+
+"There will be plenty for us to do to-morrow. To-night we can
+only perform the last offices to our poor friend."
+
+Together we made our way down the precipitous slope and
+approached the body, black and clear against the silvered stones.
+The agony of those contorted limbs struck me with a spasm of pain
+and blurred my eyes with tears.
+
+"We must send for help, Holmes! We cannot carry him all the way
+to the Hall. Good heavens, are you mad?"
+
+He had uttered a cry and bent over the body. Now he was dancing
+and laughing and wringing my hand. Could this be my stern,
+self-contained friend? These were hidden fires, indeed!
+
+"A beard! A beard! The man has a beard!"
+
+"A beard?"
+
+"It is not the baronet--it is--why, it is my neighbour, the
+convict!"
+
+With feverish haste we had turned the body over, and that
+dripping beard was pointing up to the cold, clear moon. There
+could be no doubt about the beetling forehead, the sunken animal
+eyes. It was indeed the same face which had glared upon me in the
+light of the candle from over the rock--the face of Selden, the
+criminal.
+
+Then in an instant it was all clear to me. I remembered how the
+baronet had told me that he had handed his old wardrobe to
+Barrymore. Barrymore had passed it on in order to help Selden in
+his escape. Boots, shirt, cap--it was all Sir Henry's. The
+tragedy was still black enough, but this man had at least
+deserved death by the laws of his country. I told Holmes how the
+matter stood, my heart bubbling over with thankfulness and joy.
+
+"Then the clothes have been the poor devil's death," said he. "It
+is clear enough that the hound has been laid on from some article
+of Sir Henry's--the boot which was abstracted in the hotel, in
+all probability--and so ran this man down. There is one very
+singular thing, however: How came Selden, in the darkness, to
+know that the hound was on his trail?"
+
+"He heard him."
+
+"To hear a hound upon the moor would not work a hard man like
+this convict into such a paroxysm of terror that he would risk
+recapture by screaming wildly for help. By his cries he must have
+run a long way after he knew the animal was on his track. How did
+he know?"
+
+"A greater mystery to me is why this hound, presuming that all
+our conjectures are correct --"
+
+"I presume nothing."
+
+"Well, then, why this hound should be loose to-night. I suppose
+that it does not always run loose upon the moor. Stapleton would
+not let it go unless he had reason to think that Sir Henry would
+be there."
+
+"My difficulty is the more formidable of the two, for I think
+that we shall very shortly get an explanation of yours, while
+mine may remain forever a mystery. The question now is, what
+shall we do with this poor wretch's body? We cannot leave it here
+to the foxes and the ravens."
+
+"I suggest that we put it in one of the huts until we can
+communicate with the police."
+
+"Exactly. I have no doubt that you and I could carry it so far.
+Halloa, Watson, what's this? It's the man himself, by all that's
+wonderful and audacious! Not a word to show your suspicions--not a
+word, or my plans crumble to the ground."
+
+A figure was approaching us over the moor, and I saw the dull red
+glow of a cigar. The moon shone upon him, and I could distinguish
+the dapper shape and jaunty walk of the naturalist. He stopped
+when he saw us, and then came on again.
+
+"Why, Dr. Watson, that's not you, is it? You are the last man
+that I should have expected to see out on the moor at this time
+of night. But, dear me, what's this? Somebody hurt? Not--don't
+tell me that it is our friend Sir Henry!" He hurried past me and
+stooped over the dead man. I heard a sharp intake of his breath
+and the cigar fell from his fingers.
+
+"Who--who's this?" he stammered.
+
+"It is Selden, the man who escaped from Princetown."
+
+Stapleton turned a ghastly face upon us, but by a supreme effort
+he had overcome his amazement and his disappointment. He looked
+sharply from Holmes to me.
+
+"Dear me! What a very shocking affair! How did he die?"
+
+"He appears to have broken his neck by falling over these rocks.
+My friend and I were strolling on the moor when we heard a cry."
+
+"I heard a cry also. That was what brought me out. I was uneasy
+about Sir Henry."
+
+"Why about Sir Henry in particular?" I could not help asking.
+
+"Because I had suggested that he should come over. When he did
+not come I was surprised, and I naturally became alarmed for his
+safety when I heard cries upon the moor. By the way"--his eyes
+darted again from my face to Holmes's--"did you hear anything
+else besides a cry?"
+
+"No," said Holmes; "did you?"
+
+"No."
+
+"What do you mean, then?"
+
+"Oh, you know the stories that the peasants tell about a phantom
+hound, and so on. It is said to be heard at night upon the moor.
+I was wondering if there were any evidence of such a sound
+to-night."
+
+"We heard nothing of the kind," said I.
+
+"And what is your theory of this poor fellow's death?"
+
+"I have no doubt that anxiety and exposure have driven him off
+his head. He has rushed about the moor in a crazy state and
+eventually fallen over here and broken his neck."
+
+"That seems the most reasonable theory," said Stapleton, and he
+gave a sigh which I took to indicate his relief. "What do you
+think about it, Mr. Sherlock Holmes?"
+
+My friend bowed his compliments.
+
+"You are quick at identification," said he.
+
+"We have been expecting you in these parts since Dr. Watson came
+down. You are in time to see a tragedy."
+
+"Yes, indeed. I have no doubt that my friend's explanation will
+cover the facts. I will take an unpleasant remembrance back to
+London with me to-morrow."
+
+"Oh, you return to-morrow?"
+
+"That is my intention."
+
+"I hope your visit has cast some light upon those occurrences
+which have puzzled us?"
+
+Holmes shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"One cannot always have the success for which one hopes. An
+investigator needs facts, and not legends or rumours. It has not
+been a satisfactory case."
+
+My friend spoke in his frankest and most unconcerned manner.
+Stapleton still looked hard at him. Then he turned to me.
+
+"I would suggest carrying this poor fellow to my house, but it
+would give my sister such a fright that I do not feel justified
+in doing it. I think that if we put something over his face he
+will be safe until morning."
+
+And so it was arranged. Resisting Stapleton's offer of
+hospitality, Holmes and I set off to Baskerville Hall, leaving
+the naturalist to return alone. Looking back we saw the figure
+moving slowly away over the broad moor, and behind him that one
+black smudge on the silvered slope which showed where the man was
+lying who had come so horribly to his end.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 13
+
+Fixing the Nets
+
+
+"We're at close grips at last," said Holmes as we walked together
+across the moor. "What a nerve the fellow has! How he pulled
+himself together in the face of what must have been a paralyzing
+shock when he found that the wrong man had fallen a victim to his
+plot. I told you in London, Watson, and I tell you now again,
+that we have never had a foeman more worthy of our steel."
+
+"I am sorry that he has seen you."
+
+"And so was I at first. But there was no getting out of it."
+
+"What effect do you think it will have upon his plans now that he
+knows you are here?"
+
+"It may cause him to be more cautious, or it may drive him to
+desperate measures at once. Like most clever criminals, he may be
+too confident in his own cleverness and imagine that he has
+completely deceived us."
+
+"Why should we not arrest him at once?"
+
+"My dear Watson, you were born to be a man of action. Your
+instinct is always to do something energetic. But supposing, for
+argument's sake, that we had him arrested to-night, what on earth
+the better off should we be for that? We could prove nothing
+against him. There's the devilish cunning of it! If he were
+acting through a human agent we could get some evidence, but if
+we were to drag this great dog to the light of day it would not
+help us in putting a rope round the neck of its master."
+
+"Surely we have a case."
+
+"Not a shadow of one--only surmise and conjecture. We should be
+laughed out of court if we came with such a story and such
+evidence."
+
+"There is Sir Charles's death."
+
+"Found dead without a mark upon him. You and I know that he died
+of sheer fright, and we know also what frightened him; but how
+are we to get twelve stolid jurymen to know it? What signs are
+there of a hound? Where are the marks of its fangs? Of course we
+know that a hound does not bite a dead body and that Sir Charles
+was dead before ever the brute overtook him. But we have to prove
+all this, and we are not in a position to do it."
+
+"Well, then, to-night?"
+
+"We are not much better off to-night. Again, there was no direct
+connection between the hound and the man's death. We never saw
+the hound. We heard it; but we could not prove that it was
+running upon this man's trail. There is a complete absence of
+motive. No, my dear fellow; we must reconcile ourselves to the
+fact that we have no case at present, and that it is worth our
+while to run any risk in order to establish one."
+
+"And how do you propose to do so?"
+
+"I have great hopes of what Mrs. Laura Lyons may do for us when
+the position of affairs is made clear to her. And I have my own
+plan as well. Sufficient for to-morrow is the evil thereof; but I
+hope before the day is past to have the upper hand at last."
+
+I could draw nothing further from him, and he walked, lost in
+thought, as far as the Baskerville gates.
+
+"Are you coming up?"
+
+"Yes; I see no reason for further concealment. But one last word,
+Watson. Say nothing of the hound to Sir Henry. Let him think that
+Selden's death was as Stapleton would have us believe. He will
+have a better nerve for the ordeal which he will have to undergo
+to-morrow, when he is engaged, if I remember your report aright,
+to dine with these people."
+
+"And so am I."
+
+"Then you must excuse yourself and he must go alone. That will be
+easily arranged. And now, if we are too late for dinner, I think
+that we are both ready for our suppers."
+
+Sir Henry was more pleased than surprised to see Sherlock Holmes,
+for he had for some days been expecting that recent events would
+bring him down from London. He did raise his eyebrows, however,
+when he found that my friend had neither any luggage nor any
+explanations for its absence. Between us we soon supplied his
+wants, and then over a belated supper we explained to the baronet
+as much of our experience as it seemed desirable that he should
+know. But first I had the unpleasant duty of breaking the news to
+Barrymore and his wife. To him it may have been an unmitigated
+relief, but she wept bitterly in her apron. To all the world he
+was the man of violence, half animal and half demon; but to her
+he always remained the little wilful boy of her own girlhood, the
+child who had clung to her hand. Evil indeed is the man who has
+not one woman to mourn him.
+
+"I've been moping in the house all day since Watson went off in
+the morning," said the baronet. "I guess I should have some
+credit, for I have kept my promise. If I hadn't sworn not to go
+about alone I might have had a more lively evening, for I had a
+message from Stapleton asking me over there."
+
+"I have no doubt that you would have had a more lively evening,"
+said Holmes drily. "By the way, I don't suppose you appreciate
+that we have been mourning over you as having broken your neck?"
+
+Sir Henry opened his eyes. "How was that?"
+
+"This poor wretch was dressed in your clothes. I fear your
+servant who gave them to him may get into trouble with the
+police."
+
+"That is unlikely. There was no mark on any of them, as far as I
+know."
+
+"That's lucky for him--in fact, it's lucky for all of you, since
+you are all on the wrong side of the law in this matter. I am not
+sure that as a conscientious detective my first duty is not to
+arrest the whole household. Watson's reports are most
+incriminating documents."
+
+"But how about the case?" asked the baronet. "Have you made
+anything out of the tangle? I don't know that Watson and I are
+much the wiser since we came down."
+
+"I think that I shall be in a position to make the situation
+rather more clear to you before long. It has been an exceedingly
+difficult and most complicated business. There are several points
+upon which we still want light--but it is coming all the same."
+
+"We've had one experience, as Watson has no doubt told you. We
+heard the hound on the moor, so I can swear that it is not all
+empty superstition. I had something to do with dogs when I was
+out West, and I know one when I hear one. If you can muzzle that
+one and put him on a chain I'll be ready to swear you are the
+greatest detective of all time."
+
+"I think I will muzzle him and chain him all right if you will
+give me your help."
+
+"Whatever you tell me to do I will do."
+
+"Very good; and I will ask you also to do it blindly, without
+always asking the reason."
+
+"Just as you like."
+
+"If you will do this I think the chances are that our little
+problem will soon be solved. I have no doubt----"
+
+He stopped suddenly and stared fixedly up over my head into the
+air. The lamp beat upon his face, and so intent was it and so
+still that it might have been that of a clear-cut classical
+statue, a personification of alertness and expectation.
+
+"What is it?" we both cried.
+
+I could see as he looked down that he was repressing some
+internal emotion. His features were still composed, but his eyes
+shone with amused exultation.
+
+"Excuse the admiration of a connoisseur," said he as he waved his
+hand towards the line of portraits which covered the opposite
+wall. "Watson won't allow that I know anything of art, but that
+is mere jealousy, because our views upon the subject differ. Now,
+these are a really very fine series of portraits."
+
+"Well, I'm glad to hear you say so," said Sir Henry, glancing
+with some surprise at my friend. "I don't pretend to know much
+about these things, and I'd be a better judge of a horse or a
+steer than of a picture. I didn't know that you found time for
+such things."
+
+"I know what is good when I see it, and I see it now. That's a
+Kneller, I'll swear, that lady in the blue silk over yonder, and
+the stout gentleman with the wig ought to be a Reynolds. They are
+all family portraits, I presume?"
+
+"Every one."
+
+"Do you know the names?"
+
+"Barrymore has been coaching me in them, and I think I can say my
+lessons fairly well."
+
+"Who is the gentleman with the telescope?"
+
+"That is Rear-Admiral Baskerville, who served under Rodney in the
+West Indies. The man with the blue coat and the roll of paper is
+Sir William Baskerville, who was Chairman of Committees of the
+House of Commons under Pitt."
+
+"And this Cavalier opposite to me--the one with the black velvet
+and the lace?"
+
+"Ah, you have a right to know about him. That is the cause of all
+the mischief, the wicked Hugo, who started the Hound of the
+Baskervilles. We're not likely to forget him."
+
+I gazed with interest and some surprise upon the portrait.
+
+"Dear me!" said Holmes, "he seems a quiet, meek-mannered man
+enough, but I dare say that there was a lurking devil in his
+eyes. I had pictured him as a more robust and ruffianly person."
+
+"There's no doubt about the authenticity, for the name and the
+date, 1647, are on the back of the canvas."
+
+Holmes said little more, but the picture of the old roysterer
+seemed to have a fascination for him, and his eyes were
+continually fixed upon it during supper. It was not until later,
+when Sir Henry had gone to his room, that I was able to follow
+the trend of his thoughts. He led me back into the
+banqueting-hall, his bedroom candle in his hand, and he held it
+up against the time-stained portrait on the wall.
+
+"Do you see anything there?"
+
+I looked at the broad plumed hat, the curling love-locks, the
+white lace collar, and the straight, severe face which was framed
+between them. It was not a brutal countenance, but it was prim,
+hard, and stern, with a firm-set, thin-lipped mouth, and a coldly
+intolerant eye.
+
+"Is it like anyone you know?"
+
+"There is something of Sir Henry about the jaw."
+
+"Just a suggestion, perhaps. But wait an instant!" He stood upon
+a chair, and, holding up the light in his left hand, he curved
+his right arm over the broad hat and round the long ringlets.
+
+"Good heavens!" I cried, in amazement.
+
+The face of Stapleton had sprung out of the canvas.
+
+"Ha, you see it now. My eyes have been trained to examine faces
+and not their trimmings. It is the first quality of a criminal
+investigator that he should see through a disguise."
+
+"But this is marvellous. It might be his portrait."
+
+"Yes, it is an interesting instance of a throwback, which appears
+to be both physical and spiritual. A study of family portraits is
+enough to convert a man to the doctrine of reincarnation. The
+fellow is a Baskerville--that is evident."
+
+"With designs upon the succession."
+
+"Exactly. This chance of the picture has supplied us with one of
+our most obvious missing links. We have him, Watson, we have him,
+and I dare swear that before to-morrow night he will be
+fluttering in our net as helpless as one of his own butterflies.
+A pin, a cork, and a card, and we add him to the Baker Street
+collection!" He burst into one of his rare fits of laughter as he
+turned away from the picture. I have not heard him laugh often,
+and it has always boded ill to somebody.
+
+I was up betimes in the morning, but Holmes was afoot earlier
+still, for I saw him as I dressed, coming up the drive.
+
+"Yes, we should have a full day to-day," he remarked, and he
+rubbed his hands with the joy of action. "The nets are all in
+place, and the drag is about to begin. We'll know before the day
+is out whether we have caught our big, lean-jawed pike, or
+whether he has got through the meshes."
+
+"Have you been on the moor already?"
+
+"I have sent a report from Grimpen to Princetown as to the death
+of Selden. I think I can promise that none of you will be
+troubled in the matter. And I have also communicated with my
+faithful Cartwright, who would certainly have pined away at the
+door of my hut, as a dog does at his master's grave, if I had not
+set his mind at rest about my safety."
+
+"What is the next move?"
+
+"To see Sir Henry. Ah, here he is!"
+
+"Good morning, Holmes," said the baronet. "You look like a
+general who is planning a battle with his chief of the staff."
+
+"That is the exact situation. Watson was asking for orders."
+
+"And so do I."
+
+"Very good. You are engaged, as I understand, to dine with our
+friends the Stapletons to-night."
+
+"I hope that you will come also. They are very hospitable people,
+and I am sure that they would be very glad to see you."
+
+"I fear that Watson and I must go to London."
+
+"To London?"
+
+"Yes, I think that we should be more useful there at the present
+juncture."
+
+The baronet's face perceptibly lengthened.
+
+"I hoped that you were going to see me through this business. The
+Hall and the moor are not very pleasant places when one is
+alone."
+
+"My dear fellow, you must trust me implicitly and do exactly what
+I tell you. You can tell your friends that we should have been
+happy to have come with you, but that urgent business required us
+to be in town. We hope very soon to return to Devonshire. Will
+you remember to give them that message?"
+
+"If you insist upon it."
+
+"There is no alternative, I assure you."
+
+I saw by the baronet's clouded brow that he was deeply hurt by
+what he regarded as our desertion.
+
+"When do you desire to go?" he asked coldly.
+
+"Immediately after breakfast. We will drive in to Coombe Tracey,
+but Watson will leave his things as a pledge that he will come
+back to you. Watson, you will send a note to Stapleton to tell
+him that you regret that you cannot come."
+
+"I have a good mind to go to London with you," said the baronet.
+"Why should I stay here alone?"
+
+"Because it is your post of duty. Because you gave me your word
+that you would do as you were told, and I tell you to stay."
+
+"All right, then, I'll stay."
+
+"One more direction! I wish you to drive to Merripit House. Send
+back your trap, however, and let them know that you intend to
+walk home."
+
+"To walk across the moor?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"But that is the very thing which you have so often cautioned me
+not to do."
+
+"This time you may do it with safety. If I had not every
+confidence in your nerve and courage I would not suggest it, but
+it is essential that you should do it."
+
+"Then I will do it."
+
+"And as you value your life do not go across the moor in any
+direction save along the straight path which leads from Merripit
+House to the Grimpen Road, and is your natural way home."
+
+"I will do just what you say."
+
+"Very good. I should be glad to get away as soon after breakfast
+as possible, so as to reach London in the afternoon."
+
+I was much astounded by this programme, though I remembered that
+Holmes had said to Stapleton on the night before that his visit
+would terminate next day. It had not crossed my mind, however,
+that he would wish me to go with him, nor could I understand how
+we could both be absent at a moment which he himself declared to
+be critical. There was nothing for it, however, but implicit
+obedience; so we bade good-bye to our rueful friend, and a couple
+of hours afterwards we were at the station of Coombe Tracey and
+had dispatched the trap upon its return journey. A small boy was
+waiting upon the platform.
+
+"Any orders, sir?"
+
+"You will take this train to town, Cartwright. The moment you
+arrive you will send a wire to Sir Henry Baskerville, in my name,
+to say that if he finds the pocket-book which I have dropped he
+is to send it by registered post to Baker Street."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"And ask at the station office if there is a message for me."
+
+The boy returned with a telegram, which Holmes handed to me. It
+ran: "Wire received. Coming down with unsigned warrant. Arrive
+five-forty.--LESTRADE."
+
+"That is in answer to mine of this morning. He is the best of the
+professionals, I think, and we may need his assistance. Now,
+Watson, I think that we cannot employ our time better than by
+calling upon your acquaintance, Mrs. Laura Lyons."
+
+His plan of campaign was beginning to be evident. He would use
+the baronet in order to convince the Stapletons that we were
+really gone, while we should actually return at the instant when
+we were likely to be needed. That telegram from London, if
+mentioned by Sir Henry to the Stapletons, must remove the last
+suspicions from their minds. Already I seemed to see our nets
+drawing closer around that lean-jawed pike.
+
+Mrs. Laura Lyons was in her office, and Sherlock Holmes opened
+his interview with a frankness and directness which considerably
+amazed her.
+
+"I am investigating the circumstances which attended the death of
+the late Sir Charles Baskerville," said he. "My friend here, Dr.
+Watson, has informed me of what you have communicated, and also
+of what you have withheld in connection with that matter."
+
+"What have I withheld?" she asked defiantly.
+
+"You have confessed that you asked Sir Charles to be at the gate
+at ten o'clock. We know that that was the place and hour of his
+death. You have withheld what the connection is between these
+events."
+
+"There is no connection."
+
+"In that case the coincidence must indeed be an extraordinary
+one. But I think that we shall succeed in establishing a
+connection after all. I wish to be perfectly frank with you, Mrs.
+Lyons. We regard this case as one of murder, and the evidence may
+implicate not only your friend Mr. Stapleton, but his wife as
+well."
+
+The lady sprang from her chair.
+
+"His wife!" she cried.
+
+"The fact is no longer a secret. The person who has passed for
+his sister is really his wife."
+
+Mrs. Lyons had resumed her seat. Her hands were grasping the arms
+of her chair, and I saw that the pink nails had turned white with
+the pressure of her grip.
+
+"His wife!" she said again. "His wife! He is not a married man."
+
+Sherlock Holmes shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Prove it to me! Prove it to me! And if you can do so --!" The
+fierce flash of her eyes said more than any words.
+
+"I have come prepared to do so," said Holmes, drawing several
+papers from his pocket. "Here is a photograph of the couple taken
+in York four years ago. It is indorsed 'Mr. and Mrs. Vandeleur,'
+but you will have no difficulty in recognizing him, and her also,
+if you know her by sight. Here are three written descriptions by
+trustworthy witnesses of Mr. and Mrs. Vandeleur, who at that time
+kept St. Oliver's private school. Read them and see if you can
+doubt the identity of these people."
+
+She glanced at them, and then looked up at us with the set, rigid
+face of a desperate woman.
+
+"Mr. Holmes," she said, "this man had offered me marriage on
+condition that I could get a divorce from my husband. He has lied
+to me, the villain, in every conceivable way. Not one word of
+truth has he ever told me. And why--why? I imagined that all was
+for my own sake. But now I see that I was never anything but a
+tool in his hands. Why should I preserve faith with him who never
+kept any with me? Why should I try to shield him from the
+consequences of his own wicked acts? Ask me what you like, and
+there is nothing which I shall hold back. One thing I swear to
+you, and that is that when I wrote the letter I never dreamed of
+any harm to the old gentleman, who had been my kindest friend."
+
+"I entirely believe you, madam," said Sherlock Holmes. "The
+recital of these events must be very painful to you, and perhaps
+it will make it easier if I tell you what occurred, and you can
+check me if I make any material mistake. The sending of this
+letter was suggested to you by Stapleton?"
+
+"He dictated it."
+
+"I presume that the reason he gave was that you would receive
+help from Sir Charles for the legal expenses connected with your
+divorce?"
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"And then after you had sent the letter he dissuaded you from
+keeping the appointment?"
+
+"He told me that it would hurt his self-respect that any other
+man should find the money for such an object, and that though he
+was a poor man himself he would devote his last penny to removing
+the obstacles which divided us."
+
+"He appears to be a very consistent character. And then you heard
+nothing until you read the reports of the death in the paper?"
+
+"No."
+
+"And he made you swear to say nothing about your appointment with
+Sir Charles?"
+
+"He did. He said that the death was a very mysterious one, and
+that I should certainly be suspected if the facts came out. He
+frightened me into remaining silent."
+
+"Quite so. But you had your suspicions?"
+
+She hesitated and looked down.
+
+"I knew him," she said. "But if he had kept faith with me I
+should always have done so with him."
+
+"I think that on the whole you have had a fortunate escape," said
+Sherlock Holmes. "You have had him in your power and he knew it,
+and yet you are alive. You have been walking for some months very
+near to the edge of a precipice. We must wish you good-morning
+now, Mrs. Lyons, and it is probable that you will very shortly
+hear from us again."
+
+"Our case becomes rounded off, and difficulty after difficulty
+thins away in front of us," said Holmes as we stood waiting for
+the arrival of the express from town. "I shall soon be in the
+position of being able to put into a single connected narrative
+one of the most singular and sensational crimes of modern times.
+Students of criminology will remember the analogous incidents in
+Godno, in Little Russia, in the year '66, and of course there are
+the Anderson murders in North Carolina, but this case possesses
+some features which are entirely its own. Even now we have no
+clear case against this very wily man. But I shall be very much
+surprised if it is not clear enough before we go to bed this
+night."
+
+The London express came roaring into the station, and a small,
+wiry bulldog of a man had sprung from a first-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 deal since the days when they had first worked together. I
+could well remember the scorn which the theories of the reasoner
+used then to excite in the practical man.
+
+"Anything good?" he asked.
+
+"The biggest thing for years," said Holmes. "We have two hours
+before we need think of starting. I think we might employ it in
+getting some dinner and then, Lestrade, we will take the London
+fog out of your throat by giving you a breath of the pure night
+air of Dartmoor. Never been there? Ah, well, I don't suppose you
+will forget your first visit."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 14
+
+The Hound of the Baskervilles
+
+
+One of Sherlock Holmes's defects--if, indeed, one may call it a
+defect--was that he was exceedingly loath to communicate his full
+plans to any other person until the instant of their fulfilment.
+Partly it came no doubt from his own masterful nature, which
+loved to dominate and surprise those who were around him. Partly
+also from his professional caution, which urged him never to take
+any chances. The result, however, was very trying for those who
+were acting as his agents and assistants. I had often suffered
+under it, but never more so than during that long drive in the
+darkness. The great ordeal was in front of us; at last we were
+about to make our final effort, and yet Holmes had said nothing,
+and I could only surmise what his course of action would be. My
+nerves thrilled with anticipation when at last the cold wind upon
+our faces and the dark, void spaces on either side of the narrow
+road told me that we were back upon the moor once again. Every
+stride of the horses and every turn of the wheels was taking us
+nearer to our supreme adventure.
+
+Our conversation was hampered by the presence of the driver of
+the hired wagonette, so that we were forced to talk of trivial
+matters when our nerves were tense with emotion and anticipation.
+It was a relief to me, after that unnatural restraint, when we at
+last passed Frankland's house and knew that we were drawing near
+to the Hall and to the scene of action. We did not drive up to
+the door but got down near the gate of the avenue. The wagonette
+was paid off and ordered to return to Coombe Tracey forthwith,
+while we started to walk to Merripit House.
+
+"Are you armed, Lestrade?"
+
+The little detective smiled.
+
+"As long as I have my trousers I have a hip-pocket, and as long
+as I have my hip-pocket I have something in it."
+
+"Good! My friend and I are also ready for emergencies."
+
+"You're mighty close about this affair, Mr. Holmes. What's the
+game now?"
+
+"A waiting game."
+
+"My word, it does not seem a very cheerful place," said the
+detective with a shiver, glancing round him at the gloomy slopes
+of the hill and at the huge lake of fog which lay over the
+Grimpen Mire. "I see the lights of a house ahead of us."
+
+"That is Merripit House and the end of our journey. I must
+request you to walk on tiptoe and not to talk above a whisper."
+
+We moved cautiously along the track as if we were bound for the
+house, but Holmes halted us when we were about two hundred yards
+from it.
+
+"This will do," said he. "These rocks upon the right make an
+admirable screen."
+
+"We are to wait here?"
+
+"Yes, we shall make our little ambush here. Get into this hollow,
+Lestrade. You have been inside the house, have you not, Watson?
+Can you tell the position of the rooms? What are those latticed
+windows at this end?"
+
+"I think they are the kitchen windows."
+
+"And the one beyond, which shines so brightly?"
+
+"That is certainly the dining-room."
+
+"The blinds are up. You know the lie of the land best. Creep
+forward quietly and see what they are doing--but for heaven's
+sake don't let them know that they are watched!"
+
+I tiptoed down the path and stooped behind the low wall which
+surrounded the stunted orchard. Creeping in its shadow I reached
+a point whence I could look straight through the uncurtained
+window.
+
+There were only two men in the room, Sir Henry and Stapleton.
+They sat with their profiles towards me on either side of the
+round table. Both of them were smoking cigars, and coffee and
+wine were in front of them. Stapleton was talking with animation,
+but the baronet looked pale and distrait. Perhaps the thought of
+that lonely walk across the ill-omened moor was weighing heavily
+upon his mind.
+
+As I watched them Stapleton rose and left the room, while Sir
+Henry filled his glass again and leaned back in his chair,
+puffing at his cigar. I heard the creak of a door and the crisp
+sound of boots upon gravel. The steps passed along the path on
+the other side of the wall under which I crouched. Looking over,
+I saw the naturalist pause at the door of an out-house in the
+corner of the orchard. A key turned in a lock, and as he passed
+in there was a curious scuffling noise from within. He was only a
+minute or so inside, and then I heard the key turn once more and
+he passed me and re-entered the house. I saw him rejoin his
+guest, and I crept quietly back to where my companions were
+waiting to tell them what I had seen.
+
+"You say, Watson, that the lady is not there?" Holmes asked, when
+I had finished my report.
+
+"No."
+
+"Where can she be, then, since there is no light in any other
+room except the kitchen?"
+
+"I cannot think where she is."
+
+I have said that over the great Grimpen Mire there hung a dense,
+white fog. It was drifting slowly in our direction, and banked
+itself up like a wall on that side of us, low, but thick and well
+defined. The moon shone on it, and it looked like a great
+shimmering ice-field, with the heads of the distant tors as rocks
+borne upon its surface. Holmes's face was turned towards it, and
+he muttered impatiently as he watched its sluggish drift.
+
+"It's moving towards us, Watson."
+
+"Is that serious?"
+
+"Very serious, indeed--the one thing upon earth which could have
+disarranged my plans. He can't be very long, now. It is already
+ten o'clock. Our success and even his life may depend upon his
+coming out before the fog is over the path."
+
+The night was clear and fine above us. The stars shone cold and
+bright, while a half-moon bathed the whole scene in a soft,
+uncertain light. Before us lay the dark bulk of the house, its
+serrated roof and bristling chimneys hard outlined against the
+silver-spangled sky. Broad bars of golden light from the lower
+windows stretched across the orchard and the moor. One of them
+was suddenly shut off. The servants had left the kitchen. There
+only remained the lamp in the dining-room where the two men, the
+murderous host and the unconscious guest, still chatted over
+their cigars.
+
+Every minute that white woolly plain which covered one half of
+the moor was drifting closer and closer to the house. Already the
+first thin wisps of it were curling across the golden square of
+the lighted window. The farther wall of the orchard was already
+invisible, and the trees were standing out of a swirl of white
+vapour. As we watched it the fog-wreaths came crawling round both
+corners of the house and rolled slowly into one dense bank, on
+which the upper floor and the roof floated like a strange ship
+upon a shadowy sea. Holmes struck his hand passionately upon the
+rock in front of us and stamped his feet in his impatience.
+
+"If he isn't out in a quarter of an hour the path will be
+covered. In half an hour we won't be able to see our hands in
+front of us."
+
+"Shall we move farther back upon higher ground?"
+
+"Yes, I think it would be as well."
+
+So as the fog-bank flowed onward we fell back before it until we
+were half a mile from the house, and still that dense white sea,
+with the moon silvering its upper edge, swept slowly and
+inexorably on.
+
+"We are going too far," said Holmes. "We dare not take the chance
+of his being overtaken before he can reach us. At all costs we
+must hold our ground where we are." He dropped on his knees and
+clapped his ear to the ground. "Thank God, I think that I hear
+him coming."
+
+A sound of quick steps broke the silence of the moor. Crouching
+among the stones we stared intently at the silver-tipped bank in
+front of us. The steps grew louder, and through the fog, as
+through a curtain, there stepped the man whom we were awaiting.
+He looked round him in surprise as he emerged into the clear,
+starlit night. Then he came swiftly along the path, passed close
+to where we lay, and went on up the long slope behind us. As he
+walked he glanced continually over either shoulder, like a man
+who is ill at ease.
+
+"Hist!" cried Holmes, and I heard the sharp click of a cocking
+pistol. "Look out! It's coming!"
+
+There was a thin, crisp, continuous patter from somewhere in the
+heart of that crawling bank. The cloud was within fifty yards of
+where we lay, and we glared at it, all three, uncertain what
+horror was about to break from the heart of it. I was at Holmes's
+elbow, and I glanced for an instant at his face. It was pale and
+exultant, his eyes shining brightly in the moonlight. But
+suddenly they started forward in a rigid, fixed stare, and his
+lips parted in amazement. At the same instant Lestrade gave a
+yell of terror and threw himself face downward upon the ground. I
+sprang to my feet, my inert hand grasping my pistol, my mind
+paralyzed by the dreadful shape which had sprung out upon us from
+the shadows of the fog. A hound it was, an enormous coal-black
+hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire
+burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering
+glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in
+flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered
+brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be
+conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us
+out of the wall of fog.
+
+With long bounds the huge black creature was leaping down the
+track, following hard upon the footsteps of our friend. So
+paralyzed were we by the apparition that we allowed him to pass
+before we had recovered our nerve. Then Holmes and I both fired
+together, and the creature gave a hideous howl, which showed that
+one at least had hit him. He did not pause, however, but bounded
+onward. Far away on the path we saw Sir Henry looking back, his
+face white in the moonlight, his hands raised in horror, glaring
+helplessly at the frightful thing which was hunting him down.
+
+But that cry of pain from the hound had blown all our fears to
+the winds. If he was vulnerable he was mortal, and if we could
+wound him we could kill him. Never have I seen a man run as
+Holmes ran that night. I am reckoned fleet of foot, but he
+outpaced me as much as I outpaced the little professional. In
+front of us as we flew up the track we heard scream after scream
+from Sir Henry and the deep roar of the hound. I was in time to
+see the beast spring upon its victim, hurl him to the ground, and
+worry at his throat. But the next instant Holmes had emptied five
+barrels of his revolver into the creature's flank. With a last
+howl of agony and a vicious snap in the air, it rolled upon its
+back, four feet pawing furiously, and then fell limp upon its
+side. I stooped, panting, and pressed my pistol to the dreadful,
+shimmering head, but it was useless to press the trigger. The
+giant hound was dead.
+
+Sir Henry lay insensible where he had fallen. We tore away his
+collar, and Holmes breathed a prayer of gratitude when we saw
+that there was no sign of a wound and that the rescue had been in
+time. Already our friend's eyelids shivered and he made a feeble
+effort to move. Lestrade thrust his brandy-flask between the
+baronet's teeth, and two frightened eyes were looking up at us.
+
+"My God!" he whispered. "What was it? What, in heaven's name, was
+it?"
+
+"It's dead, whatever it is," said Holmes. "We've laid the family
+ghost once and forever."
+
+In mere size and strength it was a terrible creature which was
+lying stretched before us. It was not a pure bloodhound and it
+was not a pure mastiff; but it appeared to be a combination of
+the two--gaunt, savage, and as large as a small lioness. Even
+now, in the stillness of death, the huge jaws seemed to be
+dripping with a bluish flame and the small, deep-set, cruel eyes
+were ringed with fire. I placed my hand upon the glowing muzzle,
+and as I held them up my own fingers smouldered and gleamed in
+the darkness.
+
+"Phosphorus," I said.
+
+"A cunning preparation of it," said Holmes, sniffing at the dead
+animal. "There is no smell which might have interfered with his
+power of scent. We owe you a deep apology, Sir Henry, for having
+exposed you to this fright. I was prepared for a hound, but not
+for such a creature as this. And the fog gave us little time to
+receive him."
+
+"You have saved my life."
+
+"Having first endangered it. Are you strong enough to stand?"
+
+"Give me another mouthful of that brandy and I shall be ready for
+anything. So! Now, if you will help me up. What do you propose to
+do?"
+
+"To leave you here. You are not fit for further adventures
+to-night. If you will wait, one or other of us will go back with
+you to the Hall."
+
+He tried to stagger to his feet; but he was still ghastly pale
+and trembling in every limb. We helped him to a rock, where he
+sat shivering with his face buried in his hands.
+
+"We must leave you now," said Holmes. "The rest of our work must
+be done, and every moment is of importance. We have our case, and
+now we only want our man.
+
+"It's a thousand to one against our finding him at the house," he
+continued as we retraced our steps swiftly down the path. "Those
+shots must have told him that the game was up."
+
+"We were some distance off, and this fog may have deadened them."
+
+"He followed the hound to call him off--of that you may be
+certain. No, no, he's gone by this time! But we'll search the
+house and make sure."
+
+The front door was open, so we rushed in and hurried from room to
+room to the amazement of a doddering old manservant, who met us
+in the passage. There was no light save in the dining-room, but
+Holmes caught up the lamp and left no corner of the house
+unexplored. No sign could we see of the man whom we were chasing.
+On the upper floor, however, one of the bedroom doors was locked.
+
+"There's someone in here," cried Lestrade. "I can hear a
+movement. Open this door!"
+
+A faint moaning and rustling came from within. Holmes struck the
+door just over the lock with the flat of his foot and it flew
+open. Pistol in hand, we all three rushed into the room.
+
+But there was no sign within it of that desperate and defiant
+villain whom we expected to see. Instead we were faced by an
+object so strange and so unexpected that we stood for a moment
+staring at it in amazement.
+
+The room had been fashioned into a small museum, and the walls
+were lined by a number of glass-topped cases full of that
+collection of butterflies and moths the formation of which had
+been the relaxation of this complex and dangerous man. In the
+centre of this room there was an upright beam, which had been
+placed at some period as a support for the old worm-eaten baulk
+of timber which spanned the roof. To this post a figure was tied,
+so swathed and muffled in the sheets which had been used to
+secure it that one could not for the moment tell whether it was
+that of a man or a woman. One towel passed round the throat and
+was secured at the back of the pillar. Another covered the lower
+part of the face, and over it two dark eyes--eyes full of grief
+and shame and a dreadful questioning--stared back at us. In a
+minute we had torn off the gag, unswathed the bonds, and Mrs.
+Stapleton sank upon the floor in front of us. As her beautiful
+head fell upon her chest I saw the clear red weal of a whiplash
+across her neck.
+
+"The brute!" cried Holmes. "Here, Lestrade, your brandy-bottle!
+Put her in the chair! She has fainted from ill-usage and
+exhaustion."
+
+She opened her eyes again.
+
+"Is he safe?" she asked. "Has he escaped?"
+
+"He cannot escape us, madam."
+
+"No, no, I did not mean my husband. Sir Henry? Is he safe?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And the hound?"
+
+"It is dead."
+
+She gave a long sigh of satisfaction.
+
+"Thank God! Thank God! Oh, this villain! See how he has treated
+me!" She shot her arms out from her sleeves, and we saw with
+horror that they were all mottled with bruises. "But this is
+nothing--nothing! It is my mind and soul that he has tortured and
+defiled. I could endure it all, ill-usage, solitude, a life of
+deception, everything, as long as I could still cling to the hope
+that I had his love, but now I know that in this also I have been
+his dupe and his tool." She broke into passionate sobbing as she
+spoke.
+
+"You bear him no good will, madam," said Holmes. "Tell us then
+where we shall find him. If you have ever aided him in evil, help
+us now and so atone."
+
+"There is but one place where he can have fled," she answered.
+"There is an old tin mine on an island in the heart of the mire.
+It was there that he kept his hound and there also he had made
+preparations so that he might have a refuge. That is where he
+would fly."
+
+The fog-bank lay like white wool against the window. Holmes held
+the lamp towards it.
+
+"See," said he. "No one could find his way into the Grimpen Mire
+to-night."
+
+She laughed and clapped her hands. Her eyes and teeth gleamed
+with fierce merriment.
+
+"He may find his way in, but never out," she cried. "How can he
+see the guiding wands to-night? We planted them together, he and
+I, to mark the pathway through the mire. Oh, if I could only have
+plucked them out to-day. Then indeed you would have had him at
+your mercy!"
+
+It was evident to us that all pursuit was in vain until the fog
+had lifted. Meanwhile we left Lestrade in possession of the house
+while Holmes and I went back with the baronet to Baskerville
+Hall. The story of the Stapletons could no longer be withheld
+from him, but he took the blow bravely when he learned the truth
+about the woman whom he had loved. But the shock of the night's
+adventures had shattered his nerves, and before morning he lay
+delirious in a high fever, under the care of Dr. Mortimer. The
+two of them were destined to travel together round the world
+before Sir Henry had become once more the hale, hearty man that
+he had been before he became master of that ill-omened estate.
+
+And now I come rapidly to the conclusion of this singular
+narrative, in which I have tried to make the reader share those
+dark fears and vague surmises which clouded our lives so long and
+ended in so tragic a manner. On the morning after the death of
+the hound the fog had lifted and we were guided by Mrs. Stapleton
+to the point where they had found a pathway through the bog. It
+helped us to realize the horror of this woman's life when we saw
+the eagerness and joy with which she laid us on her husband's
+track. We left her standing upon the thin peninsula of firm,
+peaty soil which tapered out into the widespread bog. From the
+end of it a small wand planted here and there showed where the
+path zigzagged from tuft to tuft of rushes among those
+green-scummed pits and foul quagmires which barred the way to the
+stranger. Rank reeds and lush, slimy water-plants sent an odour
+of decay and a heavy miasmatic vapour onto our faces, while a
+false step plunged us more than once thigh-deep into the dark,
+quivering mire, which shook for yards in soft undulations around
+our feet. Its tenacious grip plucked at our heels as we walked,
+and when we sank into it it was as if some malignant hand was
+tugging us down into those obscene depths, so grim and purposeful
+was the clutch in which it held us. Once only we saw a trace that
+someone had passed that perilous way before us. From amid a tuft
+of cotton grass which bore it up out of the slime some dark thing
+was projecting. Holmes sank to his waist as he stepped from the
+path to seize it, and had we not been there to drag him out he
+could never have set his foot upon firm land again. He held an
+old black boot in the air. "Meyers, Toronto," was printed on the
+leather inside.
+
+"It is worth a mud bath," said he. "It is our friend Sir Henry's
+missing boot."
+
+"Thrown there by Stapleton in his flight."
+
+"Exactly. He retained it in his hand after using it to set the
+hound upon the track. He fled when he knew the game was up, still
+clutching it. And he hurled it away at this point of his flight.
+We know at least that he came so far in safety."
+
+But more than that we were never destined to know, though there
+was much which we might surmise. There was no chance of finding
+footsteps in the mire, for the rising mud oozed swiftly in upon
+them, but as we at last reached firmer ground beyond the morass
+we all looked eagerly for them. But no slightest sign of them
+ever met our eyes. If the earth told a true story, then Stapleton
+never reached that island of refuge towards which he struggled
+through the fog upon that last night. Somewhere in the heart of
+the great Grimpen Mire, down in the foul slime of the huge morass
+which had sucked him in, this cold and cruel-hearted man is
+forever buried.
+
+Many traces we found of him in the bog-girt island where he had
+hid his savage ally. A huge driving-wheel and a shaft half-filled
+with rubbish showed the position of an abandoned mine. Beside it
+were the crumbling remains of the cottages of the miners, driven
+away no doubt by the foul reek of the surrounding swamp. In one
+of these a staple and chain with a quantity of gnawed bones
+showed where the animal had been confined. A skeleton with a
+tangle of brown hair adhering to it lay among the debris.
+
+"A dog!" said Holmes. "By Jove, a curly-haired spaniel. Poor
+Mortimer will never see his pet again. Well, I do not know that
+this place contains any secret which we have not already
+fathomed. He could hide his hound, but he could not hush its
+voice, and hence came those cries which even in daylight were not
+pleasant to hear. On an emergency he could keep the hound in the
+out-house at Merripit, but it was always a risk, and it was only
+on the supreme day, which he regarded as the end of all his
+efforts, that he dared do it. This paste in the tin is no doubt
+the luminous mixture with which the creature was daubed. It was
+suggested, of course, by the story of the family hell-hound, and
+by the desire to frighten old Sir Charles to death. No wonder the
+poor devil of a convict ran and screamed, even as our friend did,
+and as we ourselves might have done, when he saw such a creature
+bounding through the darkness of the moor upon his track. It was
+a cunning device, for, apart from the chance of driving your
+victim to his death, what peasant would venture to inquire too
+closely into such a creature should he get sight of it, as many
+have done, upon the moor? I said it in London, Watson, and I say
+it again now, that never yet have we helped to hunt down a more
+dangerous man than he who is lying yonder"--he swept his long arm
+towards the huge mottled expanse of green-splotched bog which
+stretched away until it merged into the russet slopes of the
+moor.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 15
+
+A Retrospection
+
+
+It was the end of November and Holmes and I sat, upon a raw and
+foggy night, on either side of a blazing fire in our sitting-room
+in Baker Street. Since the tragic upshot of our visit to
+Devonshire he had been engaged in two affairs of the utmost
+importance, in the first of which he had exposed the atrocious
+conduct of Colonel Upwood in connection with the famous card
+scandal of the Nonpareil Club, while in the second he had
+defended the unfortunate Mme. Montpensier from the charge of
+murder which hung over her in connection with the death of her
+step-daughter, Mlle. Carére, the young lady who, as it will be
+remembered, was found six months later alive and married in New
+York. My friend was in excellent spirits over the success which
+had attended a succession of difficult and important cases, so
+that I was able to induce him to discuss the details of the
+Baskerville mystery. I had waited patiently for the opportunity,
+for I was aware that he would never permit cases to overlap, and
+that his clear and logical mind would not be drawn from its
+present work to dwell upon memories of the past. Sir Henry and
+Dr. Mortimer were, however, in London, on their way to that long
+voyage which had been recommended for the restoration of his
+shattered nerves. They had called upon us that very afternoon, so
+that it was natural that the subject should come up for
+discussion.
+
+"The whole course of events," said Holmes, "from the point of
+view of the man who called himself Stapleton was simple and
+direct, although to us, who had no means in the beginning of
+knowing the motives of his actions and could only learn part of
+the facts, it all appeared exceedingly complex. I have had the
+advantage of two conversations with Mrs. Stapleton, and the case
+has now been so entirely cleared up that I am not aware that
+there is anything which has remained a secret to us. You will
+find a few notes upon the matter under the heading B in my
+indexed list of cases."
+
+"Perhaps you would kindly give me a sketch of the course of
+events from memory."
+
+"Certainly, though I cannot guarantee that I carry all the facts
+in my mind. Intense mental concentration has a curious way of
+blotting out what has passed. The barrister who has his case at
+his fingers' ends, and is able to argue with an expert upon his
+own subject finds that a week or two of the courts will drive it
+all out of his head once more. So each of my cases displaces the
+last, and Mlle. Carére has blurred my recollection of Baskerville
+Hall. To-morrow some other little problem may be submitted to my
+notice which will in turn dispossess the fair French lady and the
+infamous Upwood. So far as the case of the Hound goes, however, I
+will give you the course of events as nearly as I can, and you
+will suggest anything which I may have forgotten.
+
+"My inquiries show beyond all question that the family portrait
+did not lie, and that this fellow was indeed a Baskerville. He
+was a son of that Rodger Baskerville, the younger brother of Sir
+Charles, who fled with a sinister reputation to South America,
+where he was said to have died unmarried. He did, as a matter of
+fact, marry, and had one child, this fellow, whose real name is
+the same as his father's. He married Beryl Garcia, one of the
+beauties of Costa Rica, and, having purloined a considerable sum
+of public money, he changed his name to Vandeleur and fled to
+England, where he established a school in the east of Yorkshire.
+His reason for attempting this special line of business was that
+he had struck up an acquaintance with a consumptive tutor upon
+the voyage home, and that he had used this man's ability to make
+the undertaking a success. Fraser, the tutor, died however, and
+the school which had begun well sank from disrepute into infamy.
+The Vandeleurs found it convenient to change their name to
+Stapleton, and he brought the remains of his fortune, his schemes
+for the future, and his taste for entomology to the south of
+England. I learned at the British Museum that he was a recognized
+authority upon the subject, and that the name of Vandeleur has
+been permanently attached to a certain moth which he had, in his
+Yorkshire days, been the first to describe.
+
+"We now come to that portion of his life which has proved to be
+of such intense interest to us. The fellow had evidently made
+inquiry and found that only two lives intervened between him and
+a valuable estate. When he went to Devonshire his plans were, I
+believe, exceedingly hazy, but that he meant mischief from the
+first is evident from the way in which he took his wife with him
+in the character of his sister. The idea of using her as a decoy
+was clearly already in his mind, though he may not have been
+certain how the details of his plot were to be arranged. He meant
+in the end to have the estate, and he was ready to use any tool
+or run any risk for that end. His first act was to establish
+himself as near to his ancestral home as he could, and his second
+was to cultivate a friendship with Sir Charles Baskerville and
+with the neighbours.
+
+"The baronet himself told him about the family hound, and so
+prepared the way for his own death. Stapleton, as I will continue
+to call him, knew that the old man's heart was weak and that a
+shock would kill him. So much he had learned from Dr. Mortimer.
+He had heard also that Sir Charles was superstitious and had
+taken this grim legend very seriously. His ingenious mind
+instantly suggested a way by which the baronet could be done to
+death, and yet it would be hardly possible to bring home the
+guilt to the real murderer.
+
+"Having conceived the idea he proceeded to carry it out with
+considerable finesse. An ordinary schemer would have been content
+to work with a savage hound. The use of artificial means to make
+the creature diabolical was a flash of genius upon his part. The
+dog he bought in London from Ross and Mangles, the dealers in
+Fulham Road. It was the strongest and most savage in their
+possession. He brought it down by the North Devon line and walked
+a great distance over the moor so as to get it home without
+exciting any remarks. He had already on his insect hunts learned
+to penetrate the Grimpen Mire, and so had found a safe
+hiding-place for the creature. Here he kennelled it and waited
+his chance.
+
+"But it was some time coming. The old gentleman could not be
+decoyed outside of his grounds at night. Several times Stapleton
+lurked about with his hound, but without avail. It was during
+these fruitless quests that he, or rather his ally, was seen by
+peasants, and that the legend of the demon dog received a new
+confirmation. He had hoped that his wife might lure Sir Charles
+to his ruin, but here she proved unexpectedly independent. She
+would not endeavour to entangle the old gentleman in a
+sentimental attachment which might deliver him over to his enemy.
+Threats and even, I am sorry to say, blows refused to move her.
+She would have nothing to do with it, and for a time Stapleton
+was at a deadlock.
+
+"He found a way out of his difficulties through the chance that
+Sir Charles, who had conceived a friendship for him, made him the
+minister of his charity in the case of this unfortunate woman,
+Mrs. Laura Lyons. By representing himself as a single man he
+acquired complete influence over her, and he gave her to
+understand that in the event of her obtaining a divorce from her
+husband he would marry her. His plans were suddenly brought to a
+head by his knowledge that Sir Charles was about to leave the
+Hall on the advice of Dr. Mortimer, with whose opinion he himself
+pretended to coincide. He must act at once, or his victim might
+get beyond his power. He therefore put pressure upon Mrs. Lyons
+to write this letter, imploring the old man to give her an
+interview on the evening before his departure for London. He
+then, by a specious argument, prevented her from going, and so
+had the chance for which he had waited.
+
+"Driving back in the evening from Coombe Tracey he was in time to
+get his hound, to treat it with his infernal paint, and to bring
+the beast round to the gate at which he had reason to expect that
+he would find the old gentleman waiting. The dog, incited by its
+master, sprang over the wicket-gate and pursued the unfortunate
+baronet, who fled screaming down the Yew Alley. In that gloomy
+tunnel it must indeed have been a dreadful sight to see that huge
+black creature, with its flaming jaws and blazing eyes, bounding
+after its victim. He fell dead at the end of the alley from heart
+disease and terror. The hound had kept upon the grassy border
+while the baronet had run down the path, so that no track but the
+man's was visible. On seeing him lying still the creature had
+probably approached to sniff at him, but finding him dead had
+turned away again. It was then that it left the print which was
+actually observed by Dr. Mortimer. The hound was called off and
+hurried away to its lair in the Grimpen Mire, and a mystery was
+left which puzzled the authorities, alarmed the country-side, and
+finally brought the case within the scope of our observation.
+
+"So much for the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. You perceive
+the devilish cunning of it, for really it would be almost
+impossible to make a case against the real murderer. His only
+accomplice was one who could never give him away, and the
+grotesque, inconceivable nature of the device only served to make
+it more effective. Both of the women concerned in the case, Mrs.
+Stapleton and Mrs. Laura Lyons, were left with a strong suspicion
+against Stapleton. Mrs. Stapleton knew that he had designs upon
+the old man, and also of the existence of the hound. Mrs. Lyons
+knew neither of these things, but had been impressed by the death
+occurring at the time of an uncancelled appointment which was
+only known to him. However, both of them were under his
+influence, and he had nothing to fear from them. The first half
+of his task was successfully accomplished but the more difficult
+still remained.
+
+"It is possible that Stapleton did not know of the existence of
+an heir in Canada. In any case he would very soon learn it from
+his friend Dr. Mortimer, and he was told by the latter all
+details about the arrival of Henry Baskerville. Stapleton's first
+idea was that this young stranger from Canada might possibly be
+done to death in London without coming down to Devonshire at all.
+He distrusted his wife ever since she had refused to help him in
+laying a trap for the old man, and he dared not leave her long
+out of his sight for fear he should lose his influence over her.
+It was for this reason that he took her to London with him. They
+lodged, I find, at the Mexborough Private Hotel, in Craven
+Street, which was actually one of those called upon by my agent
+in search of evidence. Here he kept his wife imprisoned in her
+room while he, disguised in a beard, followed Dr. Mortimer to
+Baker Street and afterwards to the station and to the
+Northumberland Hotel. His wife had some inkling of his plans; but
+she had such a fear of her husband--a fear founded upon brutal
+ill-treatment--that she dare not write to warn the man whom she
+knew to be in danger. If the letter should fall into Stapleton's
+hands her own life would not be safe. Eventually, as we know, she
+adopted the expedient of cutting out the words which would form
+the message, and addressing the letter in a disguised hand. It
+reached the baronet, and gave him the first warning of his
+danger.
+
+"It was very essential for Stapleton to get some article of Sir
+Henry's attire so that, in case he was driven to use the dog, he
+might always have the means of setting him upon his track. With
+characteristic promptness and audacity he set about this at once,
+and we cannot doubt that the boots or chamber-maid of the hotel
+was well bribed to help him in his design. By chance, however,
+the first boot which was procured for him was a new one and,
+therefore, useless for his purpose. He then had it returned and
+obtained another--a most instructive incident, since it proved
+conclusively to my mind that we were dealing with a real hound,
+as no other supposition could explain this anxiety to obtain an
+old boot and this indifference to a new one. The more outre and
+grotesque an incident is the more carefully it deserves to be
+examined, and the very point which appears to complicate a case
+is, when duly considered and scientifically handled, the one
+which is most likely to elucidate it.
+
+"Then we had the visit from our friends next morning, shadowed
+always by Stapleton in the cab. From his knowledge of our rooms
+and of my appearance, as well as from his general conduct, I am
+inclined to think that Stapleton's career of crime has been by no
+means limited to this single Baskerville affair. It is suggestive
+that during the last three years there have been four
+considerable burglaries in the West Country, for none of which
+was any criminal ever arrested. The last of these, at Folkestone
+Court, in May, was remarkable for the cold-blooded pistoling of
+the page, who surprised the masked and solitary burglar. I cannot
+doubt that Stapleton recruited his waning resources in this
+fashion, and that for years he has been a desperate and dangerous
+man.
+
+"We had an example of his readiness of resource that morning when
+he got away from us so successfully, and also of his audacity in
+sending back my own name to me through the cabman. From that
+moment he understood that I had taken over the case in London,
+and that therefore there was no chance for him there. He returned
+to Dartmoor and awaited the arrival of the baronet."
+
+"One moment!" said I. "You have, no doubt, described the sequence
+of events correctly, but there is one point which you have left
+unexplained. What became of the hound when its master was in
+London?"
+
+"I have given some attention to this matter and it is undoubtedly
+of importance. There can be no question that Stapleton had a
+confidant, though it is unlikely that he ever placed himself in
+his power by sharing all his plans with him. There was an old
+manservant at Merripit House, whose name was Anthony. His
+connection with the Stapletons can be traced for several years,
+as far back as the schoolmastering days, so that he must have
+been aware that his master and mistress were really husband and
+wife. This man has disappeared and has escaped from the country.
+It is suggestive that Anthony is not a common name in England,
+while Antonio is so in all Spanish or Spanish-American countries.
+The man, like Mrs. Stapleton herself, spoke good English, but
+with a curious lisping accent. I have myself seen this old man
+cross the Grimpen Mire by the path which Stapleton had marked
+out. It is very probable, therefore, that in the absence of his
+master it was he who cared for the hound, though he may never
+have known the purpose for which the beast was used.
+
+"The Stapletons then went down to Devonshire, whither they were
+soon followed by Sir Henry and you. One word now as to how I
+stood myself at that time. It may possibly recur to your memory
+that when I examined the paper upon which the printed words were
+fastened I made a close inspection for the water-mark. In doing
+so I held it within a few inches of my eyes, and was conscious of
+a faint smell of the scent known as white jessamine. There are
+seventy-five perfumes, which it is very necessary that a criminal
+expert should be able to distinguish from each other, and cases
+have more than once within my own experience depended upon their
+prompt recognition. The scent suggested the presence of a lady,
+and already my thoughts began to turn towards the Stapletons.
+Thus I had made certain of the hound, and had guessed at the
+criminal before ever we went to the west country.
+
+"It was my game to watch Stapleton. It was evident, however, that
+I could not do this if I were with you, since he would be keenly
+on his guard. I deceived everybody, therefore, yourself included,
+and I came down secretly when I was supposed to be in London. My
+hardships were not so great as you imagined, though such trifling
+details must never interfere with the investigation of a case. I
+stayed for the most part at Coombe Tracey, and only used the hut
+upon the moor when it was necessary to be near the scene of
+action. Cartwright had come down with me, and in his disguise as
+a country boy he was of great assistance to me. I was dependent
+upon him for food and clean linen. When I was watching Stapleton,
+Cartwright was frequently watching you, so that I was able to
+keep my hand upon all the strings.
+
+"I have already told you that your reports reached me rapidly,
+being forwarded instantly from Baker Street to Coombe Tracey.
+They were of great service to me, and especially that one
+incidentally truthful piece of biography of Stapleton's. I was
+able to establish the identity of the man and the woman and knew
+at last exactly how I stood. The case had been considerably
+complicated through the incident of the escaped convict and the
+relations between him and the Barrymores. This also you cleared
+up in a very effective way, though I had already come to the same
+conclusions from my own observations.
+
+"By the time that you discovered me upon the moor I had a
+complete knowledge of the whole business, but I had not a case
+which could go to a jury. Even Stapleton's attempt upon Sir Henry
+that night which ended in the death of the unfortunate convict
+did not help us much in proving murder against our man. There
+seemed to be no alternative but to catch him red-handed, and to
+do so we had to use Sir Henry, alone and apparently unprotected,
+as a bait. We did so, and at the cost of a severe shock to our
+client we succeeded in completing our case and driving Stapleton
+to his destruction. That Sir Henry should have been exposed to
+this is, I must confess, a reproach to my management of the case,
+but we had no means of foreseeing the terrible and paralyzing
+spectacle which the beast presented, nor could we predict the fog
+which enabled him to burst upon us at such short notice. We
+succeeded in our object at a cost which both the specialist and
+Dr. Mortimer assure me will be a temporary one. A long journey
+may enable our friend to recover not only from his shattered
+nerves but also from his wounded feelings. His love for the lady
+was deep and sincere, and to him the saddest part of all this
+black business was that he should have been deceived by her.
+
+"It only remains to indicate the part which she had played
+throughout. There can be no doubt that Stapleton exercised an
+influence over her which may have been love or may have been
+fear, or very possibly both, since they are by no means
+incompatible emotions. It was, at least, absolutely effective. At
+his command she consented to pass as his sister, though he found
+the limits of his power over her when he endeavoured to make her
+the direct accessory to murder. She was ready to warn Sir Henry
+so far as she could without implicating her husband, and again
+and again she tried to do so. Stapleton himself seems to have
+been capable of jealousy, and when he saw the baronet paying
+court to the lady, even though it was part of his own plan, still
+he could not help interrupting with a passionate outburst which
+revealed the fiery soul which his self-contained manner so
+cleverly concealed. By encouraging the intimacy he made it
+certain that Sir Henry would frequently come to Merripit House
+and that he would sooner or later get the opportunity which he
+desired. On the day of the crisis, however, his wife turned
+suddenly against him. She had learned something of the death of
+the convict, and she knew that the hound was being kept in the
+out-house on the evening that Sir Henry was coming to dinner. She
+taxed her husband with his intended crime, and a furious scene
+followed, in which he showed her for the first time that she had
+a rival in his love. Her fidelity turned in an instant to bitter
+hatred and he saw that she would betray him. He tied her up,
+therefore, that she might have no chance of warning Sir Henry,
+and he hoped, no doubt, that when the whole country-side put down
+the baronet's death to the curse of his family, as they certainly
+would do, he could win his wife back to accept an accomplished
+fact and to keep silent upon what she knew. In this I fancy that
+in any case he made a miscalculation, and that, if we had not
+been there, his doom would none the less have been sealed. A
+woman of Spanish blood does not condone such an injury so
+lightly. And now, my dear Watson, without referring to my notes,
+I cannot give you a more detailed account of this curious case. I
+do not know that anything essential has been left unexplained."
+
+"He could not hope to frighten Sir Henry to death as he had done
+the old uncle with his bogie hound."
+
+"The beast was savage and half-starved. If its appearance did not
+frighten its victim to death, at least it would paralyze the
+resistance which might be offered."
+
+"No doubt. There only remains one difficulty. If Stapleton came
+into the succession, how could he explain the fact that he, the
+heir, had been living unannounced under another name so close to
+the property? How could he claim it without causing suspicion and
+inquiry?"
+
+"It is a formidable difficulty, and I fear that you ask too much
+when you expect me to solve it. The past and the present are
+within the field of my inquiry, but what a man may do in the
+future is a hard question to answer. Mrs. Stapleton has heard her
+husband discuss the problem on several occasions. There were
+three possible courses. He might claim the property from South
+America, establish his identity before the British authorities
+there and so obtain the fortune without ever coming to England at
+all; or he might adopt an elaborate disguise during the short
+time that he need be in London; or, again, he might furnish an
+accomplice with the proofs and papers, putting him in as heir,
+and retaining a claim upon some proportion of his income. We
+cannot doubt from what we know of him that he would have found
+some way out of the difficulty. And now, my dear Watson, we have
+had some weeks of severe work, and for one evening, I think, we
+may turn our thoughts into more pleasant channels. I have a box
+for 'Les Huguenots.' Have you heard the De Reszkes? Might I
+trouble you then to be ready in half an hour, and we can stop at
+Marcini's for a little dinner on the way?"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hound of the Baskervilles, by
+Arthur Conan Doyle
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+Project Gutenberg's The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle
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+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
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+Title: The Hound of the Baskervilles
+
+Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
+
+Release Date: October 11, 2010 [EBook #3070]
+
+Language: English
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+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES ***
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+<table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto" cellpadding="4" border="3">
+<tr>
+<td>
+THERE IS ANOTHER EDITION OF THIS TITLE WHICH MAY VIEWED AT EBOOK <big><b><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2852">
+[# 2852 ]</a></b></big>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<h1>The Hound of the Baskervilles</h1>
+
+<p class="c">by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle</p>
+
+<h3>CONTENTS</h3>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_1"><b>Chapter 1&mdash;Mr. Sherlock Holmes</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_2"><b>Chapter 2&mdash;The Curse of the Baskervilles</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_3"><b>Chapter 3&mdash;The Problem</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_4"><b>Chapter 4&mdash;Sir Henry Baskerville</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_5"><b>Chapter 5&mdash;Three Broken Threads</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_6"><b>Chapter 6&mdash;Baskerville Hall</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_7"><b>Chapter 7&mdash;The Stapletons of Merripit House</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_8"><b>Chapter 8&mdash;First Report of Dr. Watson</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_9"><b>Chapter 9&mdash;The Light Upon The Moor</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_10"><b>Chapter 10&mdash;Extract from the Diary of Dr. Watson</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_11"><b>Chapter 11&mdash;The Man on the Tor</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_12"><b>Chapter 12&mdash;Death on the Moor</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_13"><b>Chapter 13&mdash;Fixing the Nets</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_14"><b>Chapter 14&mdash;The Hound of the Baskervilles</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Chapter_15"><b>Chapter 15&mdash;A Retrospection</b></a></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_1" id="Chapter_1"></a>Chapter 1<br />
+<br />Mr. Sherlock Holmes</h3>
+
+<p>Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings,
+save upon those not infrequent occasions when he was up all
+night, was seated at the breakfast table. I stood upon the
+hearth-rug and picked up the stick which our visitor had left
+behind him the night before. It was a fine, thick piece of wood,
+bulbous-headed, of the sort which is known as a "Penang lawyer."
+Just under the head was a broad silver band nearly an inch
+across. "To James Mortimer, M.R.C.S., from his friends of the
+C.C.H.," was engraved upon it, with the date "1884." It was just
+such a stick as the old-fashioned family practitioner used to
+carry&mdash;dignified, solid, and reassuring.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Watson, what do you make of it?"</p>
+
+<p>Holmes was sitting with his back to me, and I had given him no
+sign of my occupation.</p>
+
+<p>"How did you know what I was doing? I believe you have eyes in
+the back of your head."</p>
+
+<p>"I have, at least, a well-polished, silver-plated coffee-pot in
+front of me," said he. "But, tell me, Watson, what do you make of
+our visitor's stick? Since we have been so unfortunate as to miss
+him and have no notion of his errand, this accidental souvenir
+becomes of importance. Let me hear you reconstruct the man by an
+examination of it."</p>
+
+<p>"I think," said I, following as far as I could the methods of my
+companion, "that Dr. Mortimer is a successful, elderly medical
+man, well-esteemed since those who know him give him this mark of
+their appreciation."</p>
+
+<p>"Good!" said Holmes. "Excellent!"</p>
+
+<p>"I think also that the probability is in favour of his being a
+country practitioner who does a great deal of his visiting on
+foot."</p>
+
+<p>"Why so?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because this stick, though originally a very handsome one has
+been so knocked about that I can hardly imagine a town
+practitioner carrying it. The thick-iron ferrule is worn down, so
+it is evident that he has done a great amount of walking with
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"Perfectly sound!" said Holmes.</p>
+
+<p>"And then again, there is the 'friends of the C.C.H.' I should
+guess that to be the Something Hunt, the local hunt to whose
+members he has possibly given some surgical assistance, and which
+has made him a small presentation in return."</p>
+
+<p>"Really, Watson, you excel yourself," said Holmes, pushing back
+his chair and lighting a cigarette. "I am bound to say that in
+all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own
+small achievements you have habitually underrated your own
+abilities. It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but you
+are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius
+have a remarkable power of stimulating it. I confess, my dear
+fellow, that I am very much in your debt."</p>
+
+<p>He had never said as much before, and I must admit that his words
+gave me keen pleasure, for I had often been piqued by his
+indifference to my admiration and to the attempts which I had
+made to give publicity to his methods. I was proud, too, to think
+that I had so far mastered his system as to apply it in a way
+which earned his approval. He now took the stick from my hands
+and examined it for a few minutes with his naked eyes. Then with
+an expression of interest he laid down his cigarette, and
+carrying the cane to the window, he looked over it again with a
+convex lens.</p>
+
+<p>"Interesting, though elementary," said he as he returned to his
+favourite corner of the settee. "There are certainly one or two
+indications upon the stick. It gives us the basis for several
+deductions."</p>
+
+<p>"Has anything escaped me?" I asked with some self-importance. "I
+trust that there is nothing of consequence which I have
+overlooked?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid, my dear Watson, that most of your conclusions were
+erroneous. When I said that you stimulated me I meant, to be
+frank, that in noting your fallacies I was occasionally guided
+towards the truth. Not that you are entirely wrong in this
+instance. The man is certainly a country practitioner. And he
+walks a good deal."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I was right."</p>
+
+<p>"To that extent."</p>
+
+<p>"But that was all."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, my dear Watson, not all&mdash;by no means all. I would
+suggest, for example, that a presentation to a doctor is more
+likely to come from a hospital than from a hunt, and that when
+the initials 'C.C.' are placed before that hospital the words
+'Charing Cross' very naturally suggest themselves."</p>
+
+<p>"You may be right."</p>
+
+<p>"The probability lies in that direction. And if we take this as a
+working hypothesis we have a fresh basis from which to start our
+construction of this unknown visitor."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, supposing that 'C.C.H.' does stand for 'Charing
+Cross Hospital,' what further inferences may we draw?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do none suggest themselves? You know my methods. Apply them!"</p>
+
+<p>"I can only think of the obvious conclusion that the man has
+practised in town before going to the country."</p>
+
+<p>"I think that we might venture a little farther than this. Look
+at it in this light. On what occasion would it be most probable
+that such a presentation would be made? When would his friends
+unite to give him a pledge of their good will? Obviously at the
+moment when Dr. Mortimer withdrew from the service of the
+hospital in order to start in practice for himself. We know there
+has been a presentation. We believe there has been a change from
+a town hospital to a country practice. Is it, then, stretching
+our inference too far to say that the presentation was on the
+occasion of the change?"</p>
+
+<p>"It certainly seems probable."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, you will observe that he could not have been on the staff
+of the hospital, since only a man well-established in a London
+practice could hold such a position, and such a one would not
+drift into the country. What was he, then? If he was in the
+hospital and yet not on the staff he could only have been a
+house-surgeon or a house-physician&mdash;little more than a senior
+student. And he left five years ago&mdash;the date is on the stick. So
+your grave, middle-aged family practitioner vanishes into thin
+air, my dear Watson, and there emerges a young fellow under
+thirty, amiable, unambitious, absent-minded, and the possessor of
+a favourite dog, which I should describe roughly as being larger
+than a terrier and smaller than a mastiff."</p>
+
+<p>I laughed incredulously as Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his
+settee and blew little wavering rings of smoke up to the ceiling.</p>
+
+<p>"As to the latter part, I have no means of checking you," said I,
+"but at least it is not difficult to find out a few particulars
+about the man's age and professional career." From my small
+medical shelf I took down the Medical Directory and turned up the
+name. There were several Mortimers, but only one who could be our
+visitor. I read his record aloud.</p>
+
+<p>"Mortimer, James, M.R.C.S., 1882, Grimpen, Dartmoor,
+Devon. House-surgeon, from 1882 to 1884, at Charing Cross
+Hospital. Winner of the Jackson prize for Comparative Pathology,
+with essay entitled 'Is Disease a Reversion?' Corresponding
+member of the Swedish Pathological Society. Author of 'Some
+Freaks of Atavism' (Lancet 1882). 'Do We Progress?' (Journal of
+Psychology, March, 1883). Medical Officer for the parishes of
+Grimpen, Thorsley, and High Barrow."</p>
+
+<p>"No mention of that local hunt, Watson," said Holmes with a
+mischievous smile, "but a country doctor, as you very astutely
+observed. I think that I am fairly justified in my inferences. As
+to the adjectives, I said, if I remember right, amiable,
+unambitious, and absent-minded. It is my experience that it is
+only an amiable man in this world who receives testimonials, only
+an unambitious one who abandons a London career for the country,
+and only an absent-minded one who leaves his stick and not his
+visiting-card after waiting an hour in your room."</p>
+
+<p>"And the dog?"</p>
+
+<p>"Has been in the habit of carrying this stick behind his master.
+Being a heavy stick the dog has held it tightly by the middle,
+and the marks of his teeth are very plainly visible. The dog's
+jaw, as shown in the space between these marks, is too broad in
+my opinion for a terrier and not broad enough for a mastiff. It
+may have been&mdash;yes, by Jove, it is a curly-haired spaniel."</p>
+
+<p>He had risen and paced the room as he spoke. Now he halted in the
+recess of the window. There was such a ring of conviction in his
+voice that I glanced up in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear fellow, how can you possibly be so sure of that?"</p>
+
+<p>"For the very simple reason that I see the dog himself on our
+very door-step, and there is the ring of its owner. Don't move, I
+beg you, Watson. He is a professional brother of yours, and your
+presence may be of assistance to me. Now is the dramatic moment
+of fate, Watson, when you hear a step upon the stair which is
+walking into your life, and you know not whether for good or ill.
+What does Dr. James Mortimer, the man of science, ask of Sherlock
+Holmes, the specialist in crime? Come in!"</p>
+
+<p>The appearance of our visitor was a surprise to me, since I had
+expected a typical country practitioner. He was a very tall, thin
+man, with a long nose like a beak, which jutted out between two
+keen, gray eyes, set closely together and sparkling brightly from
+behind a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He was clad in a
+professional but rather slovenly fashion, for his frock-coat was
+dingy and his trousers frayed. Though young, his long back was
+already bowed, and he walked with a forward thrust of his head
+and a general air of peering benevolence. As he entered his eyes
+fell upon the stick in Holmes's hand, and he ran towards it with
+an exclamation of joy. "I am so very glad," said he. "I was not
+sure whether I had left it here or in the Shipping Office. I
+would not lose that stick for the world."</p>
+
+<p>"A presentation, I see," said Holmes.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"From Charing Cross Hospital?"</p>
+
+<p>"From one or two friends there on the occasion of my marriage."</p>
+
+<p>"Dear, dear, that's bad!" said Holmes, shaking his head.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Mortimer blinked through his glasses in mild astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>"Why was it bad?"</p>
+
+<p>"Only that you have disarranged our little deductions. Your
+marriage, you say?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir. I married, and so left the hospital, and with it all
+hopes of a consulting practice. It was necessary to make a home
+of my own."</p>
+
+<p>"Come, come, we are not so far wrong, after all," said Holmes.
+"And now, Dr. James Mortimer &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Mister, sir, Mister&mdash;a humble M.R.C.S."</p>
+
+<p>"And a man of precise mind, evidently."</p>
+
+<p>"A dabbler in science, Mr. Holmes, a picker up of shells on the
+shores of the great unknown ocean. I presume that it is Mr.
+Sherlock Holmes whom I am addressing and not &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"No, this is my friend Dr. Watson."</p>
+
+<p>"Glad to meet you, sir. I have heard your name mentioned in
+connection with that of your friend. You interest me very much,
+Mr. Holmes. I had hardly expected so dolichocephalic a skull or
+such well-marked supra-orbital development. Would you have any
+objection to my running my finger along your parietal fissure? A
+cast of your skull, sir, until the original is available, would
+be an ornament to any anthropological museum. It is not my
+intention to be fulsome, but I confess that I covet your skull."</p>
+
+<p>Sherlock Holmes waved our strange visitor into a chair. "You are
+an enthusiast in your line of thought, I perceive, sir, as I am
+in mine," said he. "I observe from your forefinger that you make
+your own cigarettes. Have no hesitation in lighting one."</p>
+
+<p>The man drew out paper and tobacco and twirled the one up in the
+other with surprising dexterity. He had long, quivering fingers
+as agile and restless as the antennae of an insect.</p>
+
+<p>Holmes was silent, but his little darting glances showed me the
+interest which he took in our curious companion.</p>
+
+<p>"I presume, sir," said he at last, "that it was not merely for
+the purpose of examining my skull that you have done me the
+honour to call here last night and again to-day?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, no; though I am happy to have had the opportunity of
+doing that as well. I came to you, Mr. Holmes, because I
+recognized that I am myself an unpractical man and because I am
+suddenly confronted with a most serious and extraordinary
+problem. Recognizing, as I do, that you are the second highest
+expert in Europe &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, sir! May I inquire who has the honour to be the first?"
+asked Holmes with some asperity.</p>
+
+<p>"To the man of precisely scientific mind the work of Monsieur
+Bertillon must always appeal strongly."</p>
+
+<p>"Then had you not better consult him?"</p>
+
+<p>"I said, sir, to the precisely scientific mind. But as a
+practical man of affairs it is acknowledged that you stand alone.
+I trust, sir, that I have not inadvertently &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Just a little," said Holmes. "I think, Dr. Mortimer, you would
+do wisely if without more ado you would kindly tell me plainly
+what the exact nature of the problem is in which you demand my
+assistance."</p>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_2" id="Chapter_2"></a>Chapter 2<br /><br />
+The Curse of the Baskervilles</h3>
+
+<p>"I have in my pocket a manuscript," said Dr. James Mortimer.</p>
+
+<p>"I observed it as you entered the room," said Holmes.</p>
+
+<p>"It is an old manuscript."</p>
+
+<p>"Early eighteenth century, unless it is a forgery."</p>
+
+<p>"How can you say that, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"You have presented an inch or two of it to my examination all
+the time that you have been talking. It would be a poor expert
+who could not give the date of a document within a decade or so.
+You may possibly have read my little monograph upon the subject.
+I put that at 1730."</p>
+
+<p>"The exact date is 1742." Dr. Mortimer drew it from his
+breast-pocket. "This family paper was committed to my care by Sir
+Charles Baskerville, whose sudden and tragic death some three
+months ago created so much excitement in Devonshire. I may say
+that I was his personal friend as well as his medical attendant.
+He was a strong-minded man, sir, shrewd, practical, and as
+unimaginative as I am myself. Yet he took this document very
+seriously, and his mind was prepared for just such an end as did
+eventually overtake him."</p>
+
+<p>Holmes stretched out his hand for the manuscript and flattened it
+upon his knee.</p>
+
+<p>"You will observe, Watson, the alternative use of the long s and
+the short. It is one of several indications which enabled me to
+fix the date."</p>
+
+<p>I looked over his shoulder at the yellow paper and the faded
+script. At the head was written: "Baskerville Hall," and below in
+large, scrawling figures: "1742."</p>
+
+<p>"It appears to be a statement of some sort."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it is a statement of a certain legend which runs in the
+Baskerville family."</p>
+
+<p>"But I understand that it is something more modern and practical
+upon which you wish to consult me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Most modern. A most practical, pressing matter, which must be
+decided within twenty-four hours. But the manuscript is short and
+is intimately connected with the affair. With your permission I
+will read it to you."</p>
+
+<p>Holmes leaned back in his chair, placed his finger-tips together,
+and closed his eyes, with an air of resignation. Dr. Mortimer
+turned the manuscript to the light and read in a high, cracking
+voice the following curious, old-world narrative:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Of the origin of the Hound of the Baskervilles there have been
+many statements, yet as I come in a direct line from Hugo
+Baskerville, and as I had the story from my father, who also had
+it from his, I have set it down with all belief that it occurred
+even as is here set forth. And I would have you believe, my sons,
+that the same Justice which punishes sin may also most graciously
+forgive it, and that no ban is so heavy but that by prayer and
+repentance it may be removed. Learn then from this story not to
+fear the fruits of the past, but rather to be circumspect in the
+future, that those foul passions whereby our family has suffered
+so grievously may not again be loosed to our undoing.</p>
+
+<p>"Know then that in the time of the Great Rebellion (the history
+of which by the learned Lord Clarendon I most earnestly commend
+to your attention) this Manor of Baskerville was held by Hugo of
+that name, nor can it be gainsaid that he was a most wild,
+profane, and godless man. This, in truth, his neighbours might
+have pardoned, seeing that saints have never flourished in those
+parts, but there was in him a certain wanton and cruel humour
+which made his name a byword through the West. It chanced that
+this Hugo came to love (if, indeed, so dark a passion may be
+known under so bright a name) the daughter of a yeoman who held
+lands near the Baskerville estate. But the young maiden, being
+discreet and of good repute, would ever avoid him, for she
+feared his evil name. So it came to pass that one Michaelmas
+this Hugo, with five or six of his idle and wicked companions,
+stole down upon the farm and carried off the maiden, her father
+and brothers being from home, as he well knew. When they had
+brought her to the Hall the maiden was placed in an upper
+chamber, while Hugo and his friends sat down to a long carouse,
+as was their nightly custom. Now, the poor lass upstairs was like
+to have her wits turned at the singing and shouting and terrible
+oaths which came up to her from below, for they say that the
+words used by Hugo Baskerville, when he was in wine, were such as
+might blast the man who said them. At last in the stress of her
+fear she did that which might have daunted the bravest or most
+active man, for by the aid of the growth of ivy which covered
+(and still covers) the south wall she came down from under the
+eaves, and so homeward across the moor, there being three leagues
+betwixt the Hall and her father's farm.</p>
+
+<p>"It chanced that some little time later Hugo left his guests to
+carry food and drink&mdash;with other worse things, perchance&mdash;to his
+captive, and so found the cage empty and the bird escaped. Then,
+as it would seem, he became as one that hath a devil, for,
+rushing down the stairs into the dining-hall, he sprang upon the
+great table, flagons and trenchers flying before him, and he
+cried aloud before all the company that he would that very night
+render his body and soul to the Powers of Evil if he might but
+overtake the wench. And while the revellers stood aghast at the
+fury of the man, one more wicked or, it may be, more drunken than
+the rest, cried out that they should put the hounds upon her.
+Whereat Hugo ran from the house, crying to his grooms that they
+should saddle his mare and unkennel the pack, and giving the
+hounds a kerchief of the maid's, he swung them to the line, and
+so off full cry in the moonlight over the moor.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, for some space the revellers stood agape, unable to
+understand all that had been done in such haste. But anon their
+bemused wits awoke to the nature of the deed which was like to be
+done upon the moorlands. Everything was now in an uproar, some
+calling for their pistols, some for their horses, and some for
+another flask of wine. But at length some sense came back to
+their crazed minds, and the whole of them, thirteen in number,
+took horse and started in pursuit. The moon shone clear above
+them, and they rode swiftly abreast, taking that course which the
+maid must needs have taken if she were to reach her own home.</p>
+
+<p>"They had gone a mile or two when they passed one of the night
+shepherds upon the moorlands, and they cried to him to know if he
+had seen the hunt. And the man, as the story goes, was so crazed
+with fear that he could scarce speak, but at last he said that he
+had indeed seen the unhappy maiden, with the hounds upon her
+track. 'But I have seen more than that,' said he, 'for Hugo
+Baskerville passed me upon his black mare, and there ran mute
+behind him such a hound of hell as God forbid should ever be at
+my heels.' So the drunken squires cursed the shepherd and rode
+onward. But soon their skins turned cold, for there came a
+galloping across the moor, and the black mare, dabbled with white
+froth, went past with trailing bridle and empty saddle. Then the
+revellers rode close together, for a great fear was on them, but
+they still followed over the moor, though each, had he been
+alone, would have been right glad to have turned his horse's
+head. Riding slowly in this fashion they came at last upon the
+hounds. These, though known for their valour and their breed,
+were whimpering in a cluster at the head of a deep dip or goyal,
+as we call it, upon the moor, some slinking away and some, with
+starting hackles and staring eyes, gazing down the narrow valley
+before them.</p>
+
+<p>"The company had come to a halt, more sober men, as you may
+guess, than when they started. The most of them would by no means
+advance, but three of them, the boldest, or it may be the most
+drunken, rode forward down the goyal. Now, it opened into a broad
+space in which stood two of those great stones, still to be seen
+there, which were set by certain forgotten peoples in the days of
+old. The moon was shining bright upon the clearing, and there in
+the centre lay the unhappy maid where she had fallen, dead of
+fear and of fatigue. But it was not the sight of her body, nor
+yet was it that of the body of Hugo Baskerville lying near her,
+which raised the hair upon the heads of these three daredevil
+roysterers, but it was that, standing over Hugo, and plucking at
+his throat, there stood a foul thing, a great, black beast,
+shaped like a hound, yet larger than any hound that ever mortal
+eye has rested upon. And even as they looked the thing tore the
+throat out of Hugo Baskerville, on which, as it turned its
+blazing eyes and dripping jaws upon them, the three shrieked with
+fear and rode for dear life, still screaming, across the moor.
+One, it is said, died that very night of what he had seen, and
+the other twain were but broken men for the rest of their days.</p>
+
+<p>"Such is the tale, my sons, of the coming of the hound which is
+said to have plagued the family so sorely ever since. If I have
+set it down it is because that which is clearly known hath less
+terror than that which is but hinted at and guessed. Nor can it
+be denied that many of the family have been unhappy in their
+deaths, which have been sudden, bloody, and mysterious. Yet may
+we shelter ourselves in the infinite goodness of Providence,
+which would not forever punish the innocent beyond that third or
+fourth generation which is threatened in Holy Writ. To that
+Providence, my sons, I hereby commend you, and I counsel you by
+way of caution to forbear from crossing the moor in those dark
+hours when the powers of evil are exalted.</p>
+
+<p>"[This from Hugo Baskerville to his sons Rodger and John, with
+instructions that they say nothing thereof to their sister
+Elizabeth.]"</p>
+
+<p>When Dr. Mortimer had finished reading this singular narrative he
+pushed his spectacles up on his forehead and stared across at Mr.
+Sherlock Holmes. The latter yawned and tossed the end of his
+cigarette into the fire.</p>
+
+<p>"Well?" said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you not find it interesting?"</p>
+
+<p>"To a collector of fairy tales."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Mortimer drew a folded newspaper out of his pocket.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Mr. Holmes, we will give you something a little more
+recent. This is the Devon County Chronicle of May 14th of this
+year. It is a short account of the facts elicited at the death of
+Sir Charles Baskerville which occurred a few days before that
+date."</p>
+
+<p>My friend leaned a little forward and his expression became
+intent. Our visitor readjusted his glasses and began:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The recent sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville, whose name
+has been mentioned as the probable Liberal candidate for
+Mid-Devon at the next election, has cast a gloom over the county.
+Though Sir Charles had resided at Baskerville Hall for a
+comparatively short period his amiability of character and
+extreme generosity had won the affection and respect of all who
+had been brought into contact with him. In these days of <i>nouveaux
+riches</i> it is refreshing to find a case where the scion of an old
+county family which has fallen upon evil days is able to make his
+own fortune and to bring it back with him to restore the fallen
+grandeur of his line. Sir Charles, as is well known, made large
+sums of money in South African speculation. More wise than those
+who go on until the wheel turns against them, he realized his
+gains and returned to England with them. It is only two years
+since he took up his residence at Baskerville Hall, and it is
+common talk how large were those schemes of reconstruction and
+improvement which have been interrupted by his death. Being
+himself childless, it was his openly expressed desire that the
+whole country-side should, within his own lifetime, profit by his
+good fortune, and many will have personal reasons for bewailing
+his untimely end. His generous donations to local and county
+charities have been frequently chronicled in these columns.</p>
+
+<p>"The circumstances connected with the death of Sir Charles
+cannot be said to have been entirely cleared up by the inquest,
+but at least enough has been done to dispose of those rumours to
+which local superstition has given rise. There is no reason
+whatever to suspect foul play, or to imagine that death could be
+from any but natural causes. Sir Charles was a widower, and a man
+who may be said to have been in some ways of an eccentric habit
+of mind. In spite of his considerable wealth he was simple in his
+personal tastes, and his indoor servants at Baskerville Hall
+consisted of a married couple named Barrymore, the husband acting
+as butler and the wife as housekeeper. Their evidence,
+corroborated by that of several friends, tends to show that Sir
+Charles's health has for some time been impaired, and points
+especially to some affection of the heart, manifesting itself in
+changes of colour, breathlessness, and acute attacks of nervous
+depression. Dr. James Mortimer, the friend and medical attendant
+of the deceased, has given evidence to the same effect.</p>
+
+<p>"The facts of the case are simple. Sir Charles Baskerville was in
+the habit every night before going to bed of walking down the
+famous Yew Alley of Baskerville Hall. The evidence of the
+Barrymores shows that this had been his custom. On the 4th of May
+Sir Charles had declared his intention of starting next day for
+London, and had ordered Barrymore to prepare his luggage. That
+night he went out as usual for his nocturnal walk, in the course
+of which he was in the habit of smoking a cigar. He never
+returned. At twelve o'clock Barrymore, finding the hall door
+still open, became alarmed, and, lighting a lantern, went in
+search of his master. The day had been wet, and Sir Charles's
+footmarks were easily traced down the Alley. Half-way down this
+walk there is a gate which leads out on to the moor. There were
+indications that Sir Charles had stood for some little time here.
+He then proceeded down the Alley, and it was at the far end of it
+that his body was discovered. One fact which has not been
+explained is the statement of Barrymore that his master's
+footprints altered their character from the time that he passed
+the moor-gate, and that he appeared from thence onward to have
+been walking upon his toes. One Murphy, a gipsy horse-dealer, was
+on the moor at no great distance at the time, but he appears by
+his own confession to have been the worse for drink. He declares
+that he heard cries, but is unable to state from what
+direction they came. No signs of violence were to be discovered
+upon Sir Charles's person, and though the doctor's evidence
+pointed to an almost incredible facial distortion&mdash;so great that
+Dr. Mortimer refused at first to believe that it was indeed his
+friend and patient who lay before him&mdash;it was explained that that
+is a symptom which is not unusual in cases of dyspnoea and death
+from cardiac exhaustion. This explanation was borne out by the
+post-mortem examination, which showed long-standing organic
+disease, and the coroner's jury returned a verdict in accordance
+with the medical evidence. It is well that this is so, for it is
+obviously of the utmost importance that Sir Charles's heir should
+settle at the Hall and continue the good work which has been so
+sadly interrupted. Had the prosaic finding of the coroner not
+finally put an end to the romantic stories which have been
+whispered in connection with the affair, it might have been
+difficult to find a tenant for Baskerville Hall. It is understood
+that the next of kin is Mr. Henry Baskerville, if he be still
+alive, the son of Sir Charles Baskerville's younger brother. The
+young man when last heard of was in America, and inquiries are
+being instituted with a view to informing him of his good
+fortune."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Mortimer refolded his paper and replaced it in his pocket.</p>
+
+<p>"Those are the public facts, Mr. Holmes, in connection with the
+death of Sir Charles Baskerville."</p>
+
+<p>"I must thank you," said Sherlock Holmes, "for calling my
+attention to a case which certainly presents some features of
+interest. I had observed some newspaper comment at the time, but
+I was exceedingly preoccupied by that little affair of the
+Vatican cameos, and in my anxiety to oblige the Pope I lost touch
+with several interesting English cases. This article, you say,
+contains all the public facts?"</p>
+
+<p>"It does."</p>
+
+<p>"Then let me have the private ones." He leaned back, put his
+finger-tips together, and assumed his most impassive and judicial
+expression.</p>
+
+<p>"In doing so," said Dr. Mortimer, who had begun to show signs of
+some strong emotion, "I am telling that which I have not confided
+to anyone. My motive for withholding it from the coroner's
+inquiry is that a man of science shrinks from placing himself in
+the public position of seeming to indorse a popular superstition.
+I had the further motive that Baskerville Hall, as the paper
+says, would certainly remain untenanted if anything were done to
+increase its already rather grim reputation. For both these
+reasons I thought that I was justified in telling rather less
+than I knew, since no practical good could result from it, but
+with you there is no reason why I should not be perfectly frank.</p>
+
+<p>"The moor is very sparsely inhabited, and those who live near
+each other are thrown very much together. For this reason I saw a
+good deal of Sir Charles Baskerville. With the exception of Mr.
+Frankland, of Lafter Hall, and Mr. Stapleton, the naturalist,
+there are no other men of education within many miles. Sir
+Charles was a retiring man, but the chance of his illness brought
+us together, and a community of interests in science kept us so.
+He had brought back much scientific information from South
+Africa, and many a charming evening we have spent together
+discussing the comparative anatomy of the Bushman and the
+Hottentot.</p>
+
+<p>"Within the last few months it became increasingly plain to me
+that Sir Charles's nervous system was strained to the breaking
+point. He had taken this legend which I have read you exceedingly
+to heart&mdash;so much so that, although he would walk in his own
+grounds, nothing would induce him to go out upon the moor at
+night. Incredible as it may appear to you, Mr. Holmes, he was
+honestly convinced that a dreadful fate overhung his family, and
+certainly the records which he was able to give of his ancestors
+were not encouraging. The idea of some ghastly presence
+constantly haunted him, and on more than one occasion he has
+asked me whether I had on my medical journeys at night ever seen
+any strange creature or heard the baying of a hound. The latter
+question he put to me several times, and always with a voice
+which vibrated with excitement.</p>
+
+<p>"I can well remember driving up to his house in the evening some
+three weeks before the fatal event. He chanced to be at his hall
+door. I had descended from my gig and was standing in front of
+him, when I saw his eyes fix themselves over my shoulder, and
+stare past me with an expression of the most dreadful horror. I
+whisked round and had just time to catch a glimpse of something
+which I took to be a large black calf passing at the head of the
+drive. So excited and alarmed was he that I was compelled to go
+down to the spot where the animal had been and look around for
+it. It was gone, however, and the incident appeared to make the
+worst impression upon his mind. I stayed with him all the
+evening, and it was on that occasion, to explain the emotion
+which he had shown, that he confided to my keeping that narrative
+which I read to you when first I came. I mention this small
+episode because it assumes some importance in view of the tragedy
+which followed, but I was convinced at the time that the matter
+was entirely trivial and that his excitement had no
+justification.</p>
+
+<p>"It was at my advice that Sir Charles was about to go to London.
+His heart was, I knew, affected, and the constant anxiety in
+which he lived, however chimerical the cause of it might be, was
+evidently having a serious effect upon his health. I thought that
+a few months among the distractions of town would send him back a
+new man. Mr. Stapleton, a mutual friend who was much concerned at
+his state of health, was of the same opinion. At the last instant
+came this terrible catastrophe.</p>
+
+<p>"On the night of Sir Charles's death Barrymore the butler, who
+made the discovery, sent Perkins the groom on horseback to me,
+and as I was sitting up late I was able to reach Baskerville Hall
+within an hour of the event. I checked and corroborated all the
+facts which were mentioned at the inquest. I followed the
+footsteps down the Yew Alley, I saw the spot at the moor-gate
+where he seemed to have waited, I remarked the change in the
+shape of the prints after that point, I noted that there were no
+other footsteps save those of Barrymore on the soft gravel, and
+finally I carefully examined the body, which had not been touched
+until my arrival. Sir Charles lay on his face, his arms out, his
+fingers dug into the ground, and his features convulsed with some
+strong emotion to such an extent that I could hardly have sworn
+to his identity. There was certainly no physical injury of any
+kind. But one false statement was made by Barrymore at the
+inquest. He said that there were no traces upon the ground round
+the body. He did not observe any. But I did&mdash;some little distance
+off, but fresh and clear."</p>
+
+<p>"Footprints?"</p>
+
+<p>"Footprints."</p>
+
+<p>"A man's or a woman's?"</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Mortimer looked strangely at us for an instant, and his voice
+sank almost to a whisper as he answered:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!"</p>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_3" id="Chapter_3"></a>Chapter 3<br /><br />
+The Problem</h3>
+
+<p>I confess at these words a shudder passed through me. There was a
+thrill in the doctor's voice which showed that he was himself
+deeply moved by that which he told us. Holmes leaned forward in
+his excitement and his eyes had the hard, dry glitter which shot
+from them when he was keenly interested.</p>
+
+<p>"You saw this?"</p>
+
+<p>"As clearly as I see you."</p>
+
+<p>"And you said nothing?"</p>
+
+<p>"What was the use?"</p>
+
+<p>"How was it that no one else saw it?"</p>
+
+<p>"The marks were some twenty yards from the body and no one gave
+them a thought. I don't suppose I should have done so had I not
+known this legend."</p>
+
+<p>"There are many sheep-dogs on the moor?"</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt, but this was no sheep-dog."</p>
+
+<p>"You say it was large?"</p>
+
+<p>"Enormous."</p>
+
+<p>"But it had not approached the body?"</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"What sort of night was it?'</p>
+
+<p>"Damp and raw."</p>
+
+<p>"But not actually raining?"</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"What is the Alley like?"</p>
+
+<p>"There are two lines of old yew hedge, twelve feet high and
+impenetrable. The walk in the centre is about eight feet across."</p>
+
+<p>"Is there anything between the hedges and the walk?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, there is a strip of grass about six feet broad on either
+side."</p>
+
+<p>"I understand that the yew hedge is penetrated at one point by a
+gate?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, the wicket-gate which leads on to the moor."</p>
+
+<p>"Is there any other opening?"</p>
+
+<p>"None."</p>
+
+<p>"So that to reach the Yew Alley one either has to come down it
+from the house or else to enter it by the moor-gate?"</p>
+
+<p>"There is an exit through a summer-house at the far end."</p>
+
+<p>"Had Sir Charles reached this?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; he lay about fifty yards from it."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, tell me, Dr. Mortimer&mdash;and this is important&mdash;the
+marks which you saw were on the path and not on the grass?"</p>
+
+<p>"No marks could show on the grass."</p>
+
+<p>"Were they on the same side of the path as the moor-gate?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; they were on the edge of the path on the same side as the
+moor-gate."</p>
+
+<p>"You interest me exceedingly. Another point. Was the wicket-gate
+closed?"</p>
+
+<p>"Closed and padlocked."</p>
+
+<p>"How high was it?"</p>
+
+<p>"About four feet high."</p>
+
+<p>"Then anyone could have got over it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"And what marks did you see by the wicket-gate?"</p>
+
+<p>"None in particular."</p>
+
+<p>"Good heaven! Did no one examine?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I examined myself."</p>
+
+<p>"And found nothing?"</p>
+
+<p>"It was all very confused. Sir Charles had evidently stood there
+for five or ten minutes."</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because the ash had twice dropped from his cigar."</p>
+
+<p>"Excellent! This is a colleague, Watson, after our own heart. But
+the marks?"</p>
+
+<p>"He had left his own marks all over that small patch of gravel. I
+could discern no others."</p>
+
+<p>Sherlock Holmes struck his hand against his knee with an
+impatient gesture.</p>
+
+<p>"If I had only been there!" he cried. "It is evidently a case of
+extraordinary interest, and one which presented immense
+opportunities to the scientific expert. That gravel page upon
+which I might have read so much has been long ere this smudged by
+the rain and defaced by the clogs of curious peasants. Oh, Dr.
+Mortimer, Dr. Mortimer, to think that you should not have called
+me in! You have indeed much to answer for."</p>
+
+<p>"I could not call you in, Mr. Holmes, without disclosing these
+facts to the world, and I have already given my reasons for not
+wishing to do so. Besides, besides &mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you hesitate?"</p>
+
+<p>"There is a realm in which the most acute and most experienced of
+detectives is helpless."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean that the thing is supernatural?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did not positively say so."</p>
+
+<p>"No, but you evidently think it."</p>
+
+<p>"Since the tragedy, Mr. Holmes, there have come to my ears
+several incidents which are hard to reconcile with the settled
+order of Nature."</p>
+
+<p>"For example?"</p>
+
+<p>"I find that before the terrible event occurred several people
+had seen a creature upon the moor which corresponds with this
+Baskerville demon, and which could not possibly be any animal
+known to science. They all agreed that it was a huge creature,
+luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men,
+one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and one a
+moorland farmer, who all tell the same story of this dreadful
+apparition, exactly corresponding to the hell-hound of the
+legend. I assure you that there is a reign of terror in the
+district, and that it is a hardy man who will cross the moor at
+night."</p>
+
+<p>"And you, a trained man of science, believe it to be
+supernatural?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do not know what to believe."</p>
+
+<p>Holmes shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"I have hitherto confined my investigations to this world," said
+he. "In a modest way I have combated evil, but to take on the
+Father of Evil himself would, perhaps, be too ambitious a task.
+Yet you must admit that the footmark is material."</p>
+
+<p>"The original hound was material enough to tug a man's throat
+out, and yet he was diabolical as well."</p>
+
+<p>"I see that you have quite gone over to the supernaturalists. But
+now, Dr. Mortimer, tell me this. If you hold these views, why
+have you come to consult me at all? You tell me in the same
+breath that it is useless to investigate Sir Charles's death, and
+that you desire me to do it."</p>
+
+<p>"I did not say that I desired you to do it."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, how can I assist you?"</p>
+
+<p>"By advising me as to what I should do with Sir Henry
+Baskerville, who arrives at Waterloo Station"&mdash;Dr. Mortimer
+looked at his watch&mdash;"in exactly one hour and a quarter."</p>
+
+<p>"He being the heir?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. On the death of Sir Charles we inquired for this young
+gentleman and found that he had been farming in Canada. From the
+accounts which have reached us he is an excellent fellow in every
+way. I speak not as a medical man but as a trustee and executor
+of Sir Charles's will."</p>
+
+<p>"There is no other claimant, I presume?"</p>
+
+<p>"None. The only other kinsman whom we have been able to trace was
+Rodger Baskerville, the youngest of three brothers of whom poor
+Sir Charles was the elder. The second brother, who died young, is
+the father of this lad Henry. The third, Rodger, was the black
+sheep of the family. He came of the old masterful Baskerville
+strain, and was the very image, they tell me, of the family
+picture of old Hugo. He made England too hot to hold him, fled to
+Central America, and died there in 1876 of yellow fever. Henry is
+the last of the Baskervilles. In one hour and five minutes I meet
+him at Waterloo Station. I have had a wire that he arrived at
+Southampton this morning. Now, Mr. Holmes, what would you advise
+me to do with him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why should he not go to the home of his fathers?"</p>
+
+<p>"It seems natural, does it not? And yet, consider that every
+Baskerville who goes there meets with an evil fate. I feel sure
+that if Sir Charles could have spoken with me before his death he
+would have warned me against bringing this, the last of the old
+race, and the heir to great wealth, to that deadly place. And yet
+it cannot be denied that the prosperity of the whole poor, bleak
+country-side depends upon his presence. All the good work which
+has been done by Sir Charles will crash to the ground if there is
+no tenant of the Hall. I fear lest I should be swayed too much by
+my own obvious interest in the matter, and that is why I bring
+the case before you and ask for your advice."</p>
+
+<p>Holmes considered for a little time.</p>
+
+<p>"Put into plain words, the matter is this," said he. "In your
+opinion there is a diabolical agency which makes Dartmoor an
+unsafe abode for a Baskerville&mdash;that is your opinion?"</p>
+
+<p>"At least I might go the length of saying that there is some
+evidence that this may be so."</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly. But surely, if your supernatural theory be correct, it
+could work the young man evil in London as easily as in
+Devonshire. A devil with merely local powers like a parish
+vestry would be too inconceivable a thing."</p>
+
+<p>"You put the matter more flippantly, Mr. Holmes, than you would
+probably do if you were brought into personal contact with these
+things. Your advice, then, as I understand it, is that the young
+man will be as safe in Devonshire as in London. He comes in fifty
+minutes. What would you recommend?"</p>
+
+<p>"I recommend, sir, that you take a cab, call off your spaniel who
+is scratching at my front door, and proceed to Waterloo to meet
+Sir Henry Baskerville."</p>
+
+<p>"And then?"</p>
+
+<p>"And then you will say nothing to him at all until I have made up
+my mind about the matter."</p>
+
+<p>"How long will it take you to make up your mind?"</p>
+
+<p>"Twenty-four hours. At ten o'clock to-morrow, Dr. Mortimer, I
+will be much obliged to you if you will call upon me here, and it
+will be of help to me in my plans for the future if you will
+bring Sir Henry Baskerville with you."</p>
+
+<p>"I will do so, Mr. Holmes." He scribbled the appointment on his
+shirtcuff and hurried off in his strange, peering, absent-minded
+fashion. Holmes stopped him at the head of the stair.</p>
+
+<p>"Only one more question, Dr. Mortimer. You say that before Sir
+Charles Baskerville's death several people saw this apparition
+upon the moor?"</p>
+
+<p>"Three people did."</p>
+
+<p>"Did any see it after?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have not heard of any."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you. Good morning."</p>
+
+<p>Holmes returned to his seat with that quiet look of inward
+satisfaction which meant that he had a congenial task before him.</p>
+
+<p>"Going out, Watson?"</p>
+
+<p>"Unless I can help you."</p>
+
+<p>"No, my dear fellow, it is at the hour of action that I turn to
+you for aid. But this is splendid, really unique from some points
+of view. When you pass Bradley's, would you ask him to send up a
+pound of the strongest shag tobacco? Thank you. It would be as
+well if you could make it convenient not to return before
+evening. Then I should be very glad to compare impressions as to
+this most interesting problem which has been submitted to us this
+morning."</p>
+
+<p>I knew that seclusion and solitude were very necessary for my
+friend in those hours of intense mental concentration during
+which he weighed every particle of evidence, constructed
+alternative theories, balanced one against the other, and made up
+his mind as to which points were essential and which immaterial.
+I therefore spent the day at my club and did not return to Baker
+Street until evening. It was nearly nine o'clock when I found
+myself in the sitting-room once more.</p>
+
+<p>My first impression as I opened the door was that a fire had
+broken out, for the room was so filled with smoke that the light
+of the lamp upon the table was blurred by it. As I entered,
+however, my fears were set at rest, for it was the acrid fumes of
+strong coarse tobacco which took me by the throat and set me
+coughing. Through the haze I had a vague vision of Holmes in his
+dressing-gown coiled up in an armchair with his black clay pipe
+between his lips. Several rolls of paper lay around him.</p>
+
+<p>"Caught cold, Watson?" said he.</p>
+
+<p>"No, it's this poisonous atmosphere."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose it is pretty thick, now that you mention it."</p>
+
+<p>"Thick! It is intolerable."</p>
+
+<p>"Open the window, then! You have been at your club all day, I
+perceive."</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Holmes!"</p>
+
+<p>"Am I right?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, but how?"</p>
+
+<p>He laughed at my bewildered expression.</p>
+
+<p>"There is a delightful freshness about you, Watson, which makes
+it a pleasure to exercise any small powers which I possess at
+your expense. A gentleman goes forth on a showery and miry day.
+He returns immaculate in the evening with the gloss still on his
+hat and his boots. He has been a fixture therefore all day. He is
+not a man with intimate friends. Where, then, could he have been?
+Is it not obvious?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it is rather obvious."</p>
+
+<p>"The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance
+ever observes. Where do you think that I have been?"</p>
+
+<p>"A fixture also."</p>
+
+<p>"On the contrary, I have been to Devonshire."</p>
+
+<p>"In spirit?"</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly. My body has remained in this arm-chair and has, I
+regret to observe, consumed in my absence two large pots of
+coffee and an incredible amount of tobacco. After you left I sent
+down to Stamford's for the Ordnance map of this portion of the
+moor, and my spirit has hovered over it all day. I flatter myself
+that I could find my way about."</p>
+
+<p>"A large scale map, I presume?"</p>
+
+<p>"Very large." He unrolled one section and held it over his knee.
+"Here you have the particular district which concerns us. That is
+Baskerville Hall in the middle."</p>
+
+<p>"With a wood round it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly. I fancy the Yew Alley, though not marked under that
+name, must stretch along this line, with the moor, as you
+perceive, upon the right of it. This small clump of buildings
+here is the hamlet of Grimpen, where our friend Dr. Mortimer has
+his headquarters. Within a radius of five miles there are, as you
+see, only a very few scattered dwellings. Here is Lafter Hall,
+which was mentioned in the narrative. There is a house indicated
+here which may be the residence of the naturalist&mdash;Stapleton, if
+I remember right, was his name. Here are two moorland
+farm-houses, High Tor and Foulmire. Then fourteen miles away the
+great convict prison of Princetown. Between and around these
+scattered points extends the desolate, lifeless moor. This, then,
+is the stage upon which tragedy has been played, and upon which
+we may help to play it again."</p>
+
+<p>"It must be a wild place."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, the setting is a worthy one. If the devil did desire to
+have a hand in the affairs of men &mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Then you are yourself inclining to the supernatural
+explanation."</p>
+
+<p>"The devil's agents may be of flesh and blood, may they not?
+There are two questions waiting for us at the outset. The one is
+whether any crime has been committed at all; the second is, what
+is the crime and how was it committed? Of course, if Dr.
+Mortimer's surmise should be correct, and we are dealing with
+forces outside the ordinary laws of Nature, there is an end of
+our investigation. But we are bound to exhaust all other
+hypotheses before falling back upon this one. I think we'll shut
+that window again, if you don't mind. It is a singular thing, but
+I find that a concentrated atmosphere helps a concentration of
+thought. I have not pushed it to the length of getting into a box
+to think, but that is the logical outcome of my convictions. Have
+you turned the case over in your mind?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I have thought a good deal of it in the course of the day."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you make of it?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is very bewildering."</p>
+
+<p>"It has certainly a character of its own. There are points of
+distinction about it. That change in the footprints, for example.
+What do you make of that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mortimer said that the man had walked on tiptoe down that
+portion of the alley."</p>
+
+<p>"He only repeated what some fool had said at the inquest. Why
+should a man walk on tiptoe down the alley?"</p>
+
+<p>"What then?"</p>
+
+<p>"He was running, Watson&mdash;running desperately, running for his
+life, running until he burst his heart and fell dead upon his
+face."</p>
+
+<p>"Running from what?"</p>
+
+<p>"There lies our problem. There are indications that the man was
+crazed with fear before ever he began to run."</p>
+
+<p>"How can you say that?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am presuming that the cause of his fears came to him across
+the moor. If that were so, and it seems most probable, only a man
+who had lost his wits would have run from the house instead of
+towards it. If the gipsy's evidence may be taken as true, he ran
+with cries for help in the direction where help was least likely
+to be. Then, again, whom was he waiting for that night, and why
+was he waiting for him in the Yew Alley rather than in his own
+house?"</p>
+
+<p>"You think that he was waiting for someone?"</p>
+
+<p>"The man was elderly and infirm. We can understand his taking an
+evening stroll, but the ground was damp and the night inclement.
+Is it natural that he should stand for five or ten minutes, as
+Dr. Mortimer, with more practical sense than I should have given
+him credit for, deduced from the cigar ash?"</p>
+
+<p>"But he went out every evening."</p>
+
+<p>"I think it unlikely that he waited at the moor-gate every
+evening. On the contrary, the evidence is that he avoided the
+moor. That night he waited there. It was the night before he made
+his departure for London. The thing takes shape, Watson. It
+becomes coherent. Might I ask you to hand me my violin, and we
+will postpone all further thought upon this business until we
+have had the advantage of meeting Dr. Mortimer and Sir Henry
+Baskerville in the morning."</p>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_4" id="Chapter_4"></a>Chapter 4<br /><br />
+Sir Henry Baskerville</h3>
+
+<p>Our breakfast-table was cleared early, and Holmes waited in his
+dressing-gown for the promised interview. Our clients were
+punctual to their appointment, for the clock had just struck ten
+when Dr. Mortimer was shown up, followed by the young baronet.
+The latter was a small, alert, dark-eyed man about thirty years
+of age, very sturdily built, with thick black eyebrows and a
+strong, pugnacious face. He wore a ruddy-tinted tweed suit and
+had the weather-beaten appearance of one who has spent most of
+his time in the open air, and yet there was something in his
+steady eye and the quiet assurance of his bearing which indicated
+the gentleman.</p>
+
+<p>"This is Sir Henry Baskerville," said Dr. Mortimer.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes," said he, "and the strange thing is, Mr. Sherlock
+Holmes, that if my friend here had not proposed coming round to
+you this morning I should have come on my own account. I
+understand that you think out little puzzles, and I've had one
+this morning which wants more thinking out than I am able to give
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"Pray take a seat, Sir Henry. Do I understand you to say that you
+have yourself had some remarkable experience since you arrived in
+London?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing of much importance, Mr. Holmes. Only a joke, as like as
+not. It was this letter, if you can call it a letter, which
+reached me this morning."</p>
+
+<p>He laid an envelope upon the table, and we all bent over it. It
+was of common quality, grayish in colour. The address, "Sir Henry
+Baskerville, Northumberland Hotel," was printed in rough
+characters; the postmark "Charing Cross," and the date of posting
+the preceding evening.</p>
+
+<p>"Who knew that you were going to the Northumberland Hotel?" asked
+Holmes, glancing keenly across at our visitor.</p>
+
+<p>"No one could have known. We only decided after I met Dr.
+Mortimer."</p>
+
+<p>"But Dr. Mortimer was no doubt already stopping there?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I had been staying with a friend," said the doctor. "There
+was no possible indication that we intended to go to this hotel."</p>
+
+<p>"Hum! Someone seems to be very deeply interested in your
+movements." Out of the envelope he took a half-sheet of foolscap
+paper folded into four. This he opened and spread flat upon the
+table. Across the middle of it a single sentence had been formed
+by the expedient of pasting printed words upon it. It ran: "As
+you value your life or your reason keep away from the moor." The
+word "moor" only was printed in ink.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," said Sir Henry Baskerville, "perhaps you will tell me, Mr.
+Holmes, what in thunder is the meaning of that, and who it is
+that takes so much interest in my affairs?"</p>
+
+<p>"What do you make of it, Dr. Mortimer? You must allow that there
+is nothing supernatural about this, at any rate?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, but it might very well come from someone who was
+convinced that the business is supernatural."</p>
+
+<p>"What business?" asked Sir Henry sharply. "It seems to me that
+all you gentlemen know a great deal more than I do about my own
+affairs."</p>
+
+<p>"You shall share our knowledge before you leave this room, Sir
+Henry. I promise you that," said Sherlock Holmes. "We will
+confine ourselves for the present with your permission to this
+very interesting document, which must have been put together and
+posted yesterday evening. Have you yesterday's Times, Watson?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is here in the corner."</p>
+
+<p>"Might I trouble you for it&mdash;the inside page, please, with the
+leading articles?" He glanced swiftly over it, running his eyes
+up and down the columns. "Capital article this on free trade.
+Permit me to give you an extract from it. 'You may be cajoled
+into imagining that your own special trade or your own industry
+will be encouraged by a protective tariff, but it stands to
+reason that such legislation must in the long run keep away
+wealth from the country, diminish the value of our imports, and
+lower the general conditions of life in this island.' What do you
+think of that, Watson?" cried Holmes in high glee, rubbing his
+hands together with satisfaction. "Don't you think that is an
+admirable sentiment?"</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Mortimer looked at Holmes with an air of professional
+interest, and Sir Henry Baskerville turned a pair of puzzled dark
+eyes upon me.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know much about the tariff and things of that kind,"
+said he; "but it seems to me we've got a bit off the trail so far
+as that note is concerned."</p>
+
+<p>"On the contrary, I think we are particularly hot upon the trail,
+Sir Henry. Watson here knows more about my methods than you do,
+but I fear that even he has not quite grasped the significance of
+this sentence."</p>
+
+<p>"No, I confess that I see no connection."</p>
+
+<p>"And yet, my dear Watson, there is so very close a connection
+that the one is extracted out of the other. 'You,' 'your,'
+'your,' 'life,' 'reason,' 'value,' 'keep away,' 'from the.' Don't
+you see now whence these words have been taken?"</p>
+
+<p>"By thunder, you're right! Well, if that isn't smart!" cried Sir
+Henry.</p>
+
+<p>"If any possible doubt remained it is settled by the fact that
+'keep away' and 'from the' are cut out in one piece."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, now&mdash;so it is!"</p>
+
+<p>"Really, Mr. Holmes, this exceeds anything which I could have
+imagined," said Dr. Mortimer, gazing at my friend in amazement.
+"I could understand anyone saying that the words were from a
+newspaper; but that you should name which, and add that it came
+from the leading article, is really one of the most remarkable
+things which I have ever known. How did you do it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I presume, Doctor, that you could tell the skull of a negro from
+that of an Esquimau?"</p>
+
+<p>"Most certainly."</p>
+
+<p>"But how?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because that is my special hobby. The differences are obvious.
+The supra-orbital crest, the facial angle, the maxillary curve,
+the &mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"But this is my special hobby, and the differences are equally
+obvious. There is as much difference to my eyes between the
+leaded bourgeois type of a Times article and the slovenly print
+of an evening half-penny paper as there could be between your
+negro and your Esquimau. The detection of types is one of the
+most elementary branches of knowledge to the special expert in
+crime, though I confess that once when I was very young I
+confused the Leeds Mercury with the Western Morning News. But a
+Times leader is entirely distinctive, and these words could have
+been taken from nothing else. As it was done yesterday the strong
+probability was that we should find the words in yesterday's
+issue."</p>
+
+<p>"So far as I can follow you, then, Mr. Holmes," said Sir Henry
+Baskerville, "someone cut out this message with a scissors&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Nail-scissors," said Holmes. "You can see that it was a very
+short-bladed scissors, since the cutter had to take two snips
+over 'keep away.'"</p>
+
+<p>"That is so. Someone, then, cut out the message with a pair of
+short-bladed scissors, pasted it with paste&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Gum," said Holmes.</p>
+
+<p>"With gum on to the paper. But I want to know why the word 'moor'
+should have been written?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because he could not find it in print. The other words were all
+simple and might be found in any issue, but 'moor' would be less
+common."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, of course, that would explain it. Have you read anything
+else in this message, Mr. Holmes?"</p>
+
+<p>"There are one or two indications, and yet the utmost pains have
+been taken to remove all clues. The address, you observe is
+printed in rough characters. But the Times is a paper which is
+seldom found in any hands but those of the highly educated. We
+may take it, therefore, that the letter was composed by an
+educated man who wished to pose as an uneducated one, and his
+effort to conceal his own writing suggests that that writing
+might be known, or come to be known, by you. Again, you will
+observe that the words are not gummed on in an accurate line, but
+that some are much higher than others. 'Life,' for example is
+quite out of its proper place. That may point to carelessness or
+it may point to agitation and hurry upon the part of the cutter.
+On the whole I incline to the latter view, since the matter was
+evidently important, and it is unlikely that the composer of such
+a letter would be careless. If he were in a hurry it opens up the
+interesting question why he should be in a hurry, since any
+letter posted up to early morning would reach Sir Henry before he
+would leave his hotel. Did the composer fear an interruption&mdash;and
+from whom?"</p>
+
+<p>"We are coming now rather into the region of guesswork," said Dr.
+Mortimer.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, rather, into the region where we balance probabilities and
+choose the most likely. It is the scientific use of the
+imagination, but we have always some material basis on which to
+start our speculation. Now, you would call it a guess, no doubt,
+but I am almost certain that this address has been written in a
+hotel."</p>
+
+<p>"How in the world can you say that?"</p>
+
+<p>"If you examine it carefully you will see that both the pen and
+the ink have given the writer trouble. The pen has spluttered
+twice in a single word, and has run dry three times in a short
+address, showing that there was very little ink in the bottle.
+Now, a private pen or ink-bottle is seldom allowed to be in such
+a state, and the combination of the two must be quite rare. But
+you know the hotel ink and the hotel pen, where it is rare to get
+anything else. Yes, I have very little hesitation in saying that
+could we examine the waste-paper baskets of the hotels around
+Charing Cross until we found the remains of the mutilated Times
+leader we could lay our hands straight upon the person who sent
+this singular message. Halloa! Halloa! What's this?"</p>
+
+<p>He was carefully examining the foolscap, upon which the words
+were pasted, holding it only an inch or two from his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing," said he, throwing it down. "It is a blank half-sheet
+of paper, without even a water-mark upon it. I think we have
+drawn as much as we can from this curious letter; and now, Sir
+Henry, has anything else of interest happened to you since you
+have been in London?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no, Mr. Holmes. I think not."</p>
+
+<p>"You have not observed anyone follow or watch you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I seem to have walked right into the thick of a dime novel,"
+said our visitor. "Why in thunder should anyone follow or watch
+me?"</p>
+
+<p>"We are coming to that. You have nothing else to report to us
+before we go into this matter?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it depends upon what you think worth reporting."</p>
+
+<p>"I think anything out of the ordinary routine of life well worth
+reporting."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Henry smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know much of British life yet, for I have spent nearly
+all my time in the States and in Canada. But I hope that to lose
+one of your boots is not part of the ordinary routine of life
+over here."</p>
+
+<p>"You have lost one of your boots?"</p>
+
+<p>"My dear sir," cried Dr. Mortimer, "it is only mislaid. You will
+find it when you return to the hotel. What is the use of
+troubling Mr. Holmes with trifles of this kind?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, he asked me for anything outside the ordinary routine."</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly," said Holmes, "however foolish the incident may seem.
+You have lost one of your boots, you say?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, mislaid it, anyhow. I put them both outside my door last
+night, and there was only one in the morning. I could get no
+sense out of the chap who cleans them. The worst of it is that I
+only bought the pair last night in the Strand, and I have never
+had them on."</p>
+
+<p>"If you have never worn them, why did you put them out to be
+cleaned?"</p>
+
+<p>"They were tan boots and had never been varnished. That was why I
+put them out."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I understand that on your arrival in London yesterday you
+went out at once and bought a pair of boots?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did a good deal of shopping. Dr. Mortimer here went round with
+me. You see, if I am to be squire down there I must dress the
+part, and it may be that I have got a little careless in my ways
+out West. Among other things I bought these brown boots&mdash;gave six
+dollars for them&mdash;and had one stolen before ever I had them on my
+feet."</p>
+
+<p>"It seems a singularly useless thing to steal," said Sherlock
+Holmes. "I confess that I share Dr. Mortimer's belief that it
+will not be long before the missing boot is found."</p>
+
+<p>"And, now, gentlemen," said the baronet with decision, "it seems
+to me that I have spoken quite enough about the little that I
+know. It is time that you kept your promise and gave me a full
+account of what we are all driving at."</p>
+
+<p>"Your request is a very reasonable one," Holmes answered. "Dr.
+Mortimer, I think you could not do better than to tell your story
+as you told it to us."</p>
+
+<p>Thus encouraged, our scientific friend drew his papers from his
+pocket, and presented the whole case as he had done upon the
+morning before. Sir Henry Baskerville listened with the deepest
+attention, and with an occasional exclamation of surprise.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I seem to have come into an inheritance with a vengeance,"
+said he when the long narrative was finished. "Of course, I've
+heard of the hound ever since I was in the nursery. It's the pet
+story of the family, though I never thought of taking it
+seriously before. But as to my uncle's death&mdash;well, it all seems
+boiling up in my head, and I can't get it clear yet. You don't
+seem quite to have made up your mind whether it's a case for a
+policeman or a clergyman."</p>
+
+<p>"Precisely."</p>
+
+<p>"And now there's this affair of the letter to me at the hotel. I
+suppose that fits into its place."</p>
+
+<p>"It seems to show that someone knows more than we do about what
+goes on upon the moor," said Dr. Mortimer.</p>
+
+<p>"And also," said Holmes, "that someone is not ill-disposed
+towards you, since they warn you of danger."</p>
+
+<p>"Or it may be that they wish, for their own purposes, to scare me
+away."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, of course, that is possible also. I am very much indebted
+to you, Dr. Mortimer, for introducing me to a problem which
+presents several interesting alternatives. But the practical
+point which we now have to decide, Sir Henry, is whether it is or
+is not advisable for you to go to Baskerville Hall."</p>
+
+<p>"Why should I not go?"</p>
+
+<p>"There seems to be danger."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean danger from this family fiend or do you mean danger
+from human beings?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that is what we have to find out."</p>
+
+<p>"Whichever it is, my answer is fixed. There is no devil in hell,
+Mr. Holmes, and there is no man upon earth who can prevent me
+from going to the home of my own people, and you may take that to
+be my final answer." His dark brows knitted and his face flushed
+to a dusky red as he spoke. It was evident that the fiery temper
+of the Baskervilles was not extinct in this their last
+representative. "Meanwhile," said he, "I have hardly had time to
+think over all that you have told me. It's a big thing for a man
+to have to understand and to decide at one sitting. I should like
+to have a quiet hour by myself to make up my mind. Now, look
+here, Mr. Holmes, it's half-past eleven now and I am going back
+right away to my hotel. Suppose you and your friend, Dr. Watson,
+come round and lunch with us at two. I'll be able to tell you
+more clearly then how this thing strikes me."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that convenient to you, Watson?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perfectly."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you may expect us. Shall I have a cab called?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'd prefer to walk, for this affair has flurried me rather."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll join you in a walk, with pleasure," said his companion.</p>
+
+<p>"Then we meet again at two o'clock. Au revoir, and good-morning!"</p>
+
+<p>We heard the steps of our visitors descend the stair and the bang
+of the front door. In an instant Holmes had changed from the
+languid dreamer to the man of action.</p>
+
+<p>"Your hat and boots, Watson, quick! Not a moment to lose!" He
+rushed into his room in his dressing-gown and was back again in a
+few seconds in a frock-coat. We hurried together down the stairs
+and into the street. Dr. Mortimer and Baskerville were still
+visible about two hundred yards ahead of us in the direction of
+Oxford Street.</p>
+
+<p>"Shall I run on and stop them?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not for the world, my dear Watson. I am perfectly satisfied with
+your company if you will tolerate mine. Our friends are wise, for
+it is certainly a very fine morning for a walk."</p>
+
+<p>He quickened his pace until we had decreased the distance which
+divided us by about half. Then, still keeping a hundred yards
+behind, we followed into Oxford Street and so down Regent Street.
+Once our friends stopped and stared into a shop window, upon
+which Holmes did the same. An instant afterwards he gave a little
+cry of satisfaction, and, following the direction of his eager
+eyes, I saw that a hansom cab with a man inside which had halted
+on the other side of the street was now proceeding slowly onward
+again.</p>
+
+<p>"There's our man, Watson! Come along! We'll have a good look at
+him, if we can do no more."</p>
+
+<p>At that instant I was aware of a bushy black beard and a pair of
+piercing eyes turned upon us through the side window of the cab.
+Instantly the trapdoor at the top flew up, something was screamed
+to the driver, and the cab flew madly off down Regent Street.
+Holmes looked eagerly round for another, but no empty one was in
+sight. Then he dashed in wild pursuit amid the stream of the
+traffic, but the start was too great, and already the cab was out
+of sight.</p>
+
+<p>"There now!" said Holmes bitterly as he emerged panting and white
+with vexation from the tide of vehicles. "Was ever such bad luck
+and such bad management, too? Watson, Watson, if you are an
+honest man you will record this also and set it against my
+successes!"</p>
+
+<p>"Who was the man?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have not an idea."</p>
+
+<p>"A spy?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it was evident from what we have heard that Baskerville
+has been very closely shadowed by someone since he has been in
+town. How else could it be known so quickly that it was the
+Northumberland Hotel which he had chosen? If they had followed
+him the first day I argued that they would follow him also the
+second. You may have observed that I twice strolled over to the
+window while Dr. Mortimer was reading his legend."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I remember."</p>
+
+<p>"I was looking out for loiterers in the street, but I saw none.
+We are dealing with a clever man, Watson. This matter cuts very
+deep, and though I have not finally made up my mind whether it is
+a benevolent or a malevolent agency which is in touch with us, I
+am conscious always of power and design. When our friends left I
+at once followed them in the hopes of marking down their
+invisible attendant. So wily was he that he had not trusted
+himself upon foot, but he had availed himself of a cab so that he
+could loiter behind or dash past them and so escape their notice.
+His method had the additional advantage that if they were to take
+a cab he was all ready to follow them. It has, however, one
+obvious disadvantage."</p>
+
+<p>"It puts him in the power of the cabman."</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly."</p>
+
+<p>"What a pity we did not get the number!"</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Watson, clumsy as I have been, you surely do not
+seriously imagine that I neglected to get the number? No. 2704 is
+our man. But that is no use to us for the moment."</p>
+
+<p>"I fail to see how you could have done more."</p>
+
+<p>"On observing the cab I should have instantly turned and walked
+in the other direction. I should then at my leisure have hired a
+second cab and followed the first at a respectful distance, or,
+better still, have driven to the Northumberland Hotel and waited
+there. When our unknown had followed Baskerville home we should
+have had the opportunity of playing his own game upon himself and
+seeing where he made for. As it is, by an indiscreet eagerness,
+which was taken advantage of with extraordinary quickness and
+energy by our opponent, we have betrayed ourselves and lost our
+man."</p>
+
+<p>We had been sauntering slowly down Regent Street during this
+conversation, and Dr. Mortimer, with his companion, had long
+vanished in front of us.</p>
+
+<p>"There is no object in our following them," said Holmes. "The
+shadow has departed and will not return. We must see what further
+cards we have in our hands and play them with decision. Could you
+swear to that man's face within the cab?"</p>
+
+<p>"I could swear only to the beard."</p>
+
+<p>"And so could I&mdash;from which I gather that in all probability it
+was a false one. A clever man upon so delicate an errand has no
+use for a beard save to conceal his features. Come in here,
+Watson!"</p>
+
+<p>He turned into one of the district messenger offices, where he
+was warmly greeted by the manager.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, Wilson, I see you have not forgotten the little case in
+which I had the good fortune to help you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, indeed I have not. You saved my good name, and perhaps
+my life."</p>
+
+<p>"My dear fellow, you exaggerate. I have some recollection,
+Wilson, that you had among your boys a lad named Cartwright, who
+showed some ability during the investigation."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, he is still with us."</p>
+
+<p>"Could you ring him up?&mdash;thank you! And I should be glad to have
+change of this five-pound note."</p>
+
+<p>A lad of fourteen, with a bright, keen face, had obeyed the
+summons of the manager. He stood now gazing with great reverence
+at the famous detective.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me have the Hotel Directory," said Holmes. "Thank you! Now,
+Cartwright, there are the names of twenty-three hotels here, all
+in the immediate neighbourhood of Charing Cross. Do you see?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"You will visit each of these in turn."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"You will begin in each case by giving the outside porter one
+shilling. Here are twenty-three shillings."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"You will tell him that you want to see the waste-paper of
+yesterday. You will say that an important telegram has miscarried
+and that you are looking for it. You understand?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"But what you are really looking for is the centre page of the
+Times with some holes cut in it with scissors. Here is a copy of
+the Times. It is this page. You could easily recognize it, could
+you not?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"In each case the outside porter will send for the hall porter,
+to whom also you will give a shilling. Here are twenty-three
+shillings. You will then learn in possibly twenty cases out of
+the twenty-three that the waste of the day before has been burned
+or removed. In the three other cases you will be shown a heap of
+paper and you will look for this page of the Times among it. The
+odds are enormously against your finding it. There are ten
+shillings over in case of emergencies. Let me have a report by
+wire at Baker Street before evening. And now, Watson, it only
+remains for us to find out by wire the identity of the cabman,
+No. 2704, and then we will drop into one of the Bond Street
+picture galleries and fill in the time until we are due at the
+hotel."</p>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_5" id="Chapter_5"></a>Chapter 5<br /><br />
+Three Broken Threads</h3>
+
+<p>Sherlock Holmes had, in a very remarkable degree, the power of
+detaching his mind at will. For two hours the strange business in
+which we had been involved appeared to be forgotten, and he was
+entirely absorbed in the pictures of the modern Belgian masters.
+He would talk of nothing but art, of which he had the crudest
+ideas, from our leaving the gallery until we found ourselves at
+the Northumberland Hotel.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Henry Baskerville is upstairs expecting you," said the
+clerk. "He asked me to show you up at once when you came."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you any objection to my looking at your register?" said
+Holmes.</p>
+
+<p>"Not in the least."</p>
+
+<p>The book showed that two names had been added after that of
+Baskerville. One was Theophilus Johnson and family, of Newcastle;
+the other Mrs. Oldmore and maid, of High Lodge, Alton.</p>
+
+<p>"Surely that must be the same Johnson whom I used to know," said
+Holmes to the porter. "A lawyer, is he not, gray-headed, and
+walks with a limp?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; this is Mr. Johnson, the coal-owner, a very active
+gentleman, not older than yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"Surely you are mistaken about his trade?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir! he has used this hotel for many years, and he is very
+well known to us."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, that settles it. Mrs. Oldmore, too; I seem to remember the
+name. Excuse my curiosity, but often in calling upon one friend
+one finds another."</p>
+
+<p>"She is an invalid lady, sir. Her husband was once mayor of
+Gloucester. She always comes to us when she is in town."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you; I am afraid I cannot claim her acquaintance. We have
+established a most important fact by these questions, Watson," he
+continued in a low voice as we went upstairs together. "We know
+now that the people who are so interested in our friend have not
+settled down in his own hotel. That means that while they are, as
+we have seen, very anxious to watch him, they are equally anxious
+that he should not see them. Now, this is a most suggestive
+fact."</p>
+
+<p>"What does it suggest?"</p>
+
+<p>"It suggests&mdash;halloa, my dear fellow, what on earth is the
+matter?"</p>
+
+<p>As we came round the top of the stairs we had run up against Sir
+Henry Baskerville himself. His face was flushed with anger, and
+he held an old and dusty boot in one of his hands. So furious was
+he that he was hardly articulate, and when he did speak it was in
+a much broader and more Western dialect than any which we had
+heard from him in the morning.</p>
+
+<p>"Seems to me they are playing me for a sucker in this hotel," he
+cried. "They'll find they've started in to monkey with the wrong
+man unless they are careful. By thunder, if that chap can't find
+my missing boot there will be trouble. I can take a joke with the
+best, Mr. Holmes, but they've got a bit over the mark this time."</p>
+
+<p>"Still looking for your boot?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, and mean to find it."</p>
+
+<p>"But, surely, you said that it was a new brown boot?"</p>
+
+<p>"So it was, sir. And now it's an old black one."</p>
+
+<p>"What! you don't mean to say&mdash;&mdash;?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's just what I do mean to say. I only had three pairs in the
+world&mdash;the new brown, the old black, and the patent leathers,
+which I am wearing. Last night they took one of my brown ones,
+and to-day they have sneaked one of the black. Well, have you got
+it? Speak out, man, and don't stand staring!"</p>
+
+<p>An agitated German waiter had appeared upon the scene.</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; I have made inquiry all over the hotel, but I can hear
+no word of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, either that boot comes back before sundown or I'll see the
+manager and tell him that I go right straight out of this hotel."</p>
+
+<p>"It shall be found, sir&mdash;I promise you that if you will have a
+little patience it will be found."</p>
+
+<p>"Mind it is, for it's the last thing of mine that I'll lose in
+this den of thieves. Well, well, Mr. Holmes, you'll excuse my
+troubling you about such a trifle&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I think it's well worth troubling about."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you look very serious over it."</p>
+
+<p>"How do you explain it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I just don't attempt to explain it. It seems the very maddest,
+queerest thing that ever happened to me."</p>
+
+<p>"The queerest perhaps&mdash;&mdash;" said Holmes, thoughtfully.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you make of it yourself?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I don't profess to understand it yet. This case of yours
+is very complex, Sir Henry. When taken in conjunction with your
+uncle's death I am not sure that of all the five hundred cases of
+capital importance which I have handled there is one which cuts
+so deep. But we hold several threads in our hands, and the odds
+are that one or other of them guides us to the truth. We may
+waste time in following the wrong one, but sooner or later we
+must come upon the right."</p>
+
+<p>We had a pleasant luncheon in which little was said of the
+business which had brought us together. It was in the private
+sitting-room to which we afterwards repaired that Holmes asked
+Baskerville what were his intentions.</p>
+
+<p>"To go to Baskerville Hall."</p>
+
+<p>"And when?"</p>
+
+<p>"At the end of the week."</p>
+
+<p>"On the whole," said Holmes, "I think that your decision is a
+wise one. I have ample evidence that you are being dogged in
+London, and amid the millions of this great city it is difficult
+to discover who these people are or what their object can be. If
+their intentions are evil they might do you a mischief, and we
+should be powerless to prevent it. You did not know, Dr. Mortimer,
+that you were followed this morning from my house?"</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Mortimer started violently.</p>
+
+<p>"Followed! By whom?"</p>
+
+<p>"That, unfortunately, is what I cannot tell you. Have you among
+your neighbours or acquaintances on Dartmoor any man with a
+black, full beard?"</p>
+
+<p>"No&mdash;or, let me see&mdash;why, yes. Barrymore, Sir Charles's butler,
+is a man with a full, black beard."</p>
+
+<p>"Ha! Where is Barrymore?"</p>
+
+<p>"He is in charge of the Hall."</p>
+
+<p>"We had best ascertain if he is really there, or if by any
+possibility he might be in London."</p>
+
+<p>"How can you do that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Give me a telegraph form. 'Is all ready for Sir Henry?' That
+will do. Address to Mr. Barrymore, Baskerville Hall. What is the
+nearest telegraph-office? Grimpen. Very good, we will send a
+second wire to the postmaster, Grimpen: 'Telegram to Mr.
+Barrymore to be delivered into his own hand. If absent, please
+return wire to Sir Henry Baskerville, Northumberland Hotel.' That
+should let us know before evening whether Barrymore is at his
+post in Devonshire or not."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," said Baskerville. "By the way, Dr. Mortimer, who is
+this Barrymore, anyhow?"</p>
+
+<p>"He is the son of the old caretaker, who is dead. They have
+looked after the Hall for four generations now. So far as I know,
+he and his wife are as respectable a couple as any in the
+county."</p>
+
+<p>"At the same time," said Baskerville, "it's clear enough that so
+long as there are none of the family at the Hall these people
+have a mighty fine home and nothing to do."</p>
+
+<p>"That is true."</p>
+
+<p>"Did Barrymore profit at all by Sir Charles's will?" asked
+Holmes.</p>
+
+<p>"He and his wife had five hundred pounds each."</p>
+
+<p>"Ha! Did they know that they would receive this?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; Sir Charles was very fond of talking about the provisions
+of his will."</p>
+
+<p>"That is very interesting."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope," said Dr. Mortimer, "that you do not look with
+suspicious eyes upon everyone who received a legacy from Sir
+Charles, for I also had a thousand pounds left to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed! And anyone else?"</p>
+
+<p>"There were many insignificant sums to individuals, and a large
+number of public charities. The residue all went to Sir Henry."</p>
+
+<p>"And how much was the residue?"</p>
+
+<p>"Seven hundred and forty thousand pounds."</p>
+
+<p>Holmes raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I had no idea that so
+gigantic a sum was involved," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Charles had the reputation of being rich, but we did not
+know how very rich he was until we came to examine his
+securities. The total value of the estate was close on to a
+million."</p>
+
+<p>"Dear me! It is a stake for which a man might well play a
+desperate game. And one more question, Dr. Mortimer. Supposing
+that anything happened to our young friend here&mdash;you will forgive
+the unpleasant hypothesis!&mdash;who would inherit the estate?"</p>
+
+<p>"Since Rodger Baskerville, Sir Charles's younger brother died
+unmarried, the estate would descend to the Desmonds, who are
+distant cousins. James Desmond is an elderly clergyman in
+Westmoreland."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you. These details are all of great interest. Have you met
+Mr. James Desmond?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; he once came down to visit Sir Charles. He is a man of
+venerable appearance and of saintly life. I remember that he
+refused to accept any settlement from Sir Charles, though he
+pressed it upon him."</p>
+
+<p>"And this man of simple tastes would be the heir to Sir Charles's
+thousands."</p>
+
+<p>"He would be the heir to the estate because that is entailed. He
+would also be the heir to the money unless it were willed
+otherwise by the present owner, who can, of course, do what he
+likes with it."</p>
+
+<p>"And have you made your will, Sir Henry?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Mr. Holmes, I have not. I've had no time, for it was only
+yesterday that I learned how matters stood. But in any case I
+feel that the money should go with the title and estate. That was
+my poor uncle's idea. How is the owner going to restore the
+glories of the Baskervilles if he has not money enough to keep up
+the property? House, land, and dollars must go together."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite so. Well, Sir Henry, I am of one mind with you as to the
+advisability of your going down to Devonshire without delay.
+There is only one provision which I must make. You certainly must
+not go alone."</p>
+
+<p>"Dr. Mortimer returns with me."</p>
+
+<p>"But Dr. Mortimer has his practice to attend to, and his house is
+miles away from yours. With all the good will in the world he may
+be unable to help you. No, Sir Henry, you must take with you
+someone, a trusty man, who will be always by your side."</p>
+
+<p>"Is it possible that you could come yourself, Mr. Holmes?"</p>
+
+<p>"If matters came to a crisis I should endeavour to be present in
+person; but you can understand that, with my extensive consulting
+practice and with the constant appeals which reach me from many
+quarters, it is impossible for me to be absent from London for an
+indefinite time. At the present instant one of the most revered
+names in England is being besmirched by a blackmailer, and only I
+can stop a disastrous scandal. You will see how impossible it is
+for me to go to Dartmoor."</p>
+
+<p>"Whom would you recommend, then?"</p>
+
+<p>Holmes laid his hand upon my arm.</p>
+
+<p>"If my friend would undertake it there is no man who is better
+worth having at your side when you are in a tight place. No one
+can say so more confidently than I."</p>
+
+<p>The proposition took me completely by surprise, but before I had
+time to answer, Baskerville seized me by the hand and wrung it
+heartily.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, now, that is real kind of you, Dr. Watson," said he. "You
+see how it is with me, and you know just as much about the matter
+as I do. If you will come down to Baskerville Hall and see me
+through I'll never forget it."</p>
+
+<p>The promise of adventure had always a fascination for me, and I
+was complimented by the words of Holmes and by the eagerness with
+which the baronet hailed me as a companion.</p>
+
+<p>"I will come, with pleasure," said I. "I do not know how I could
+employ my time better."</p>
+
+<p>"And you will report very carefully to me," said Holmes. "When a
+crisis comes, as it will do, I will direct how you shall act. I
+suppose that by Saturday all might be ready?"</p>
+
+<p>"Would that suit Dr. Watson?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perfectly."</p>
+
+<p>"Then on Saturday, unless you hear to the contrary, we shall meet
+at the 10:30 train from Paddington."</p>
+
+<p>We had risen to depart when Baskerville gave a cry, of triumph,
+and diving into one of the corners of the room he drew a brown
+boot from under a cabinet.</p>
+
+<p>"My missing boot!" he cried.</p>
+
+<p>"May all our difficulties vanish as easily!" said Sherlock
+Holmes.</p>
+
+<p>"But it is a very singular thing," Dr. Mortimer remarked. "I
+searched this room carefully before lunch."</p>
+
+<p>"And so did I," said Baskerville. "Every inch of it."</p>
+
+<p>"There was certainly no boot in it then."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case the waiter must have placed it there while we were
+lunching."</p>
+
+<p>The German was sent for but professed to know nothing of the
+matter, nor could any inquiry clear it up. Another item had been
+added to that constant and apparently purposeless series of small
+mysteries which had succeeded each other so rapidly. Setting
+aside the whole grim story of Sir Charles's death, we had a line
+of inexplicable incidents all within the limits of two days,
+which included the receipt of the printed letter, the
+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 new
+brown boot. Holmes sat in silence in the cab as we drove back to
+Baker Street, and I knew from his drawn brows and keen face that
+his mind, like my own, was busy in endeavouring to frame some
+scheme into which all these strange and apparently disconnected
+episodes could be fitted. All afternoon and late into the evening
+he sat lost in tobacco and thought.</p>
+
+<p>Just before dinner two telegrams were handed in. The first ran:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Have just heard that Barrymore is at the Hall.&mdash;B<small>ASKERVILLE</small>."
+The second:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Visited twenty-three hotels as directed, but sorry, to report
+unable to trace cut sheet of Times.&mdash;C<small>ARTWRIGHT</small>."</p>
+
+<p>"There go two of my threads, Watson. There is nothing more
+stimulating than a case where everything goes against you. We
+must cast round for another scent."</p>
+
+<p>"We have still the cabman who drove the spy."</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly. I have wired to get his name and address from the
+Official Registry. I should not be surprised if this were an
+answer to my question."</p>
+
+<p>The ring at the bell proved to be something even more
+satisfactory than an answer, however, for the door opened and a
+rough-looking fellow entered who was evidently the man himself.</p>
+
+<p>"I got a message from the head office that a gent at this address
+had been inquiring for 2704," said he. "I've 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."</p>
+
+<p>"I have nothing in the world against you, my good man," said
+Holmes. "On the contrary, I have half a sovereign for you if you
+will give me a clear answer to my questions."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I've had a good day and no mistake," said the cabman, with
+a grin. "What was it you wanted to ask, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"First of all your name and address, in case I want you again."</p>
+
+<p>"John Clayton, 3 Turpey Street, the Borough. My cab is out of
+Shipley's Yard, near Waterloo Station."</p>
+
+<p>Sherlock Holmes made a note of it.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Clayton, tell me all about the fare who came and watched
+this house at ten o'clock this morning and afterwards followed
+the two gentlemen down Regent Street."</p>
+
+<p>The man looked surprised and a little embarrassed. "Why, there's
+no good my telling you things, for you seem to know as much as I
+do already," said he. "The truth is that the gentleman told me
+that he was a detective and that I was to say nothing about him
+to anyone."</p>
+
+<p>"My good fellow, this is a very serious business, and you may
+find yourself in a pretty bad position if you try to hide
+anything from me. You say that your fare told you that he was a
+detective?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, he did."</p>
+
+<p>"When did he say this?"</p>
+
+<p>"When he left me."</p>
+
+<p>"Did he say anything more?"</p>
+
+<p>"He mentioned his name."</p>
+
+<p>Holmes cast a swift glance of triumph at me. "Oh, he mentioned
+his name, did he? That was imprudent. What was the name that he
+mentioned?"</p>
+
+<p>"His name," said the cabman, "was Mr. Sherlock Holmes."</p>
+
+<p>Never have I seen my friend more completely taken aback than by
+the cabman's reply. For an instant he sat in silent amazement.
+Then he burst into a hearty laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"A touch, Watson&mdash;an undeniable touch!" said he. "I feel a foil
+as quick and supple as my own. He got home upon me very prettily
+that time. So his name was Sherlock Holmes, was it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, that was the gentleman's name."</p>
+
+<p>"Excellent! Tell me where you picked him up and all that
+occurred."</p>
+
+<p>"He hailed me at half-past nine in Trafalgar Square. He said that
+he was a detective, and he offered me two guineas if I would do
+exactly what he wanted all day and ask no questions. I was glad
+enough to agree. First we drove down to the Northumberland Hotel
+and waited there until two gentlemen came out and took a cab from
+the rank. We followed their cab until it pulled up somewhere near
+here."</p>
+
+<p>"This very door," said Holmes.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I couldn't be sure of that, but I dare say my fare knew
+all about it. We pulled up half-way down the street and waited an
+hour and a half. Then the two gentlemen passed us, walking, and
+we followed down Baker Street and along &mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I know," said Holmes.</p>
+
+<p>"Until we got three-quarters down Regent Street. Then my
+gentleman threw up the trap, and he cried that I should drive
+right away to Waterloo Station as hard as I could go. I whipped
+up the mare and we were there under the ten minutes. Then he paid
+up his two guineas, like a good one, and away he went into the
+station. Only just as he was leaving he turned round and he said:
+'It might interest you to know that you have been driving Mr.
+Sherlock Holmes.' That's how I come to know the name."</p>
+
+<p>"I see. And you saw no more of him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not after he went into the station."</p>
+
+<p>"And how would you describe Mr. Sherlock Holmes?"</p>
+
+<p>The cabman scratched his head. "Well, he wasn't altogether such
+an easy gentleman to describe. I'd put him at forty years of age,
+and he was of a middle height, two or three inches shorter than
+you, sir. He was dressed like a toff, and he had a black beard,
+cut square at the end, and a pale face. I don't know as I could
+say more than that."</p>
+
+<p>"Colour of his eyes?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I can't say that."</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing more that you can remember?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, here is your half-sovereign. There's another one
+waiting for you if you can bring any more information. Good
+night!"</p>
+
+<p>"Good night, sir, and thank you!"</p>
+
+<p>John Clayton departed chuckling, and Holmes turned to me with a
+shrug of his shoulders and a rueful smile.</p>
+
+<p>"Snap goes our third thread, and we end where we began," said he.
+"The cunning rascal! He knew our number, knew that Sir Henry
+Baskerville had consulted me, spotted who I was in Regent Street,
+conjectured that I had got the number of the cab and would lay my
+hands on the driver, and so sent back this audacious message. I
+tell you, Watson, this time we have got a foeman who is worthy of
+our steel. I've been checkmated in London. I can only wish you
+better luck in Devonshire. But I'm not easy in my mind about it."</p>
+
+<p>"About what?"</p>
+
+<p>"About sending you. It's an ugly business, Watson, an ugly
+dangerous business, and the more I see of it the less I like it.
+Yes, my dear fellow, you may laugh, but I give you my word that I
+shall be very glad to have you back safe and sound in Baker
+Street once more."</p>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_6" id="Chapter_6"></a>Chapter 6<br /><br />
+Baskerville Hall</h3>
+
+<p>Sir Henry Baskerville and Dr. Mortimer were ready upon the
+appointed day, and we started as arranged for Devonshire. Mr.
+Sherlock Holmes drove with me to the station and gave me his last
+parting injunctions and advice.</p>
+
+<p>"I will not bias your mind by suggesting theories or suspicions,
+Watson," said he; "I wish you simply to report facts in the
+fullest possible manner to me, and you can leave me to do the
+theorizing."</p>
+
+<p>"What sort of facts?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Anything which may seem to have a bearing however indirect upon
+the case, and especially the relations between young Baskerville
+and his neighbours or any fresh particulars concerning the death
+of Sir Charles. I have made some inquiries myself in the last few
+days, but the results have, I fear, been negative. One thing only
+appears to be certain, and that is that Mr. James Desmond, who is
+the next heir, is an elderly gentleman of a very amiable
+disposition, so that this persecution does not arise from him. I
+really think that we may eliminate him entirely from our
+calculations. There remain the people who will actually surround
+Sir Henry Baskerville upon the moor."</p>
+
+<p>"Would it not be well in the first place to get rid of this
+Barrymore couple?"</p>
+
+<p>"By no means. You could not make a greater mistake. If they are
+innocent it would be a cruel injustice, and if they are guilty we
+should be giving up all chance of bringing it home to them. No,
+no, we will preserve them upon our list of suspects. Then there
+is a groom at the Hall, if I remember right. There are two
+moorland farmers. There is our friend Dr. Mortimer, whom I
+believe to be entirely honest, and there is his wife, of whom we
+know nothing. There is this naturalist, Stapleton, and there is
+his sister, who is said to be a young lady of attractions. There
+is Mr. Frankland, of Lafter Hall, who is also an unknown factor,
+and there are one or two other neighbours. These are the folk who
+must be your very special study."</p>
+
+<p>"I will do my best."</p>
+
+<p>"You have arms, I suppose?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I thought it as well to take them."</p>
+
+<p>"Most certainly. Keep your revolver near you night and day, and
+never relax your precautions."</p>
+
+<p>Our friends had already secured a first-class carriage and were
+waiting for us upon the platform.</p>
+
+<p>"No, we have no news of any kind," said Dr. Mortimer in answer to
+my friend's questions. "I can swear to one thing, and that is
+that we have not been shadowed during the last two days. We have
+never gone out without keeping a sharp watch, and no one could
+have escaped our notice."</p>
+
+<p>"You have always kept together, I presume?"</p>
+
+<p>"Except yesterday afternoon. I usually give up one day to pure
+amusement when I come to town, so I spent it at the Museum of the
+College of Surgeons."</p>
+
+<p>"And I went to look at the folk in the park," said Baskerville.
+"But we had no trouble of any kind."</p>
+
+<p>"It was imprudent, all the same," said Holmes, shaking his head
+and looking very grave. "I beg, Sir Henry, that you will not go
+about alone. Some great misfortune will befall you if you do. Did
+you get your other boot?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, it is gone forever."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed. That is very interesting. Well, good-bye," he added as
+the train began to glide down the platform. "Bear in mind, Sir
+Henry, one of the phrases in that queer old legend which Dr.
+Mortimer has read to us, and avoid the moor in those hours of
+darkness when the powers of evil are exalted."</p>
+
+<p>I looked back at the platform when we had left it far behind, and
+saw the tall, austere figure of Holmes standing motionless and
+gazing after us.</p>
+
+<p>The journey was a swift and pleasant one, and I spent it in
+making the more intimate acquaintance of my two companions and in
+playing with Dr. Mortimer's spaniel. In a very few hours the
+brown earth had become ruddy, the brick had changed to granite,
+and red cows grazed in well-hedged fields where the lush grasses
+and more luxuriant vegetation spoke of a richer, if a damper,
+climate. Young Baskerville stared eagerly out of the window, and
+cried aloud with delight as he recognized the familiar features
+of the Devon scenery.</p>
+
+<p>"I've been over a good part of the world since I left it, Dr.
+Watson," said he; "but I have never seen a place to compare with
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"I never saw a Devonshire man who did not swear by his county," I
+remarked.</p>
+
+<p>"It depends upon the breed of men quite as much as on the
+county," said Dr. Mortimer. "A glance at our friend here reveals
+the rounded head of the Celt, which carries inside it the Celtic
+enthusiasm and power of attachment. Poor Sir Charles's head was
+of a very rare type, half Gaelic, half Ivernian in its
+characteristics. But you were very young when you last saw
+Baskerville Hall, were you not?"</p>
+
+<p>"I was a boy in my 'teens at the time of my father's death, and
+had never seen the Hall, for he lived in a little cottage on the
+South Coast. Thence I went straight to a friend in America. I
+tell you it is all as new to me as it is to Dr. Watson, and I'm
+as keen as possible to see the moor."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you? Then your wish is easily granted, for there is your
+first sight of the moor," said Dr. Mortimer, pointing out of the
+carriage window.</p>
+
+<p>Over the green squares of the fields and the low curve of a wood
+there rose in the distance a gray, melancholy hill, with a
+strange jagged summit, dim and vague in the distance, like some
+fantastic landscape in a dream. Baskerville sat for a long time,
+his eyes fixed upon it, and I read upon his eager face how much
+it meant to him, this first sight of that strange spot where the
+men of his blood had held sway so long and left their mark so
+deep. There he sat, with his tweed suit and his American accent,
+in the corner of a prosaic railway-carriage, and yet as I looked
+at his dark and expressive face I felt more than ever how true a
+descendant he was of that long line of high-blooded, fiery, and
+masterful men. There were pride, valour, and strength in his
+thick brows, his sensitive nostrils, and his large hazel eyes. If
+on that forbidding moor a difficult and dangerous quest should
+lie before us, this was at least a comrade for whom one might
+venture to take a risk with the certainty that he would bravely
+share it.</p>
+
+<p>The train pulled up at a small wayside station and we all
+descended. Outside, beyond the low, white fence, a wagonette with
+a pair of cobs was waiting. Our coming was evidently a great
+event, for station-master and porters clustered round us to carry
+out our luggage. It was a sweet, simple country spot, but I was
+surprised to observe that by the gate there stood two soldierly
+men in dark uniforms, who leaned upon their short rifles and
+glanced keenly at us as we passed. The coachman, a hard-faced,
+gnarled little fellow, saluted Sir Henry Baskerville, and in a
+few minutes we were flying swiftly down the broad, white road.
+Rolling pasture lands curved upward on either side of us, and old
+gabled houses peeped out from amid the thick green foliage, but
+behind the peaceful and sunlit country-side there rose ever, dark
+against the evening sky, the long, gloomy curve of the moor,
+broken by the jagged and sinister hills.</p>
+
+<p>The wagonette swung round into a side road, and we curved upward
+through deep lanes worn by centuries of wheels, high banks on
+either side, heavy with dripping moss and fleshy hart's-tongue
+ferns. Bronzing bracken and mottled bramble gleamed in the light
+of the sinking sun. Still steadily rising, we passed over a
+narrow granite bridge, and skirted a noisy stream which gushed
+swiftly down, foaming and roaring amid the gray boulders. Both
+road and stream wound up through a valley dense with scrub oak
+and fir. At every turn Baskerville gave an exclamation of
+delight, looking eagerly about him and asking countless
+questions. To his eyes all seemed beautiful, but to me a tinge of
+melancholy lay upon the country-side, which bore so clearly the
+mark of the waning year. Yellow leaves carpeted the lanes and
+fluttered down upon us as we passed. The rattle of our wheels
+died away as we drove through drifts of rotting vegetation&mdash;sad
+gifts, as it seemed to me, for Nature to throw before the
+carriage of the returning heir of the Baskervilles.</p>
+
+<p>"Halloa!" cried Dr. Mortimer, "what is this?"</p>
+
+<p>A steep curve of heath-clad land, an outlying spur of the moor,
+lay in front of us. On the summit, hard and clear like an
+equestrian statue upon its pedestal, was a mounted soldier, dark
+and stern, his rifle poised ready over his forearm. He was
+watching the road along which we travelled.</p>
+
+<p>"What is this, Perkins?" asked Dr. Mortimer.</p>
+
+<p>Our driver half turned in his seat.</p>
+
+<p>"There's a convict escaped from Princetown, sir. He's been out
+three days now, and the warders watch every road and every
+station, but they've had no sight of him yet. The farmers about
+here don't like it, sir, and that's a fact."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I understand that they get five pounds if they can give
+information."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, but the chance of five pounds is but a poor thing
+compared to the chance of having your throat cut. You see, it
+isn't like any ordinary convict. This is a man that would stick
+at nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"Who is he, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is Selden, the Notting Hill murderer."</p>
+
+<p>I remembered the case well, for it was one in which Holmes had
+taken an interest on account of the peculiar ferocity of the
+crime and the wanton brutality which had marked all the actions
+of the assassin. The commutation of his death sentence had been
+due to some doubts as to his complete sanity, so atrocious was
+his conduct. Our wagonette had topped a rise and in front of us
+rose the huge expanse of the moor, mottled with gnarled and
+craggy cairns and tors. A cold wind swept down from it and set us
+shivering. Somewhere there, on that desolate plain, was lurking
+this fiendish man, hiding in a burrow like a wild beast, his
+heart full of malignancy against the whole race which had cast
+him out. It needed but this to complete the grim suggestiveness
+of the barren waste, the chilling wind, and the darkling sky.
+Even Baskerville fell silent and pulled his overcoat more closely
+around him.</p>
+
+<p>We had left the fertile country behind and beneath us. We looked
+back on it now, the slanting rays of a low sun turning the
+streams to threads of gold and glowing on the red earth new
+turned by the plough and the broad tangle of the woodlands. The
+road in front of us grew bleaker and wilder over huge russet and
+olive slopes, sprinkled with giant boulders. Now and then we
+passed a moorland cottage, walled and roofed with stone, with no
+creeper to break its harsh outline. Suddenly we looked down into
+a cup-like depression, patched with stunted oaks and firs which
+had been twisted and bent by the fury of years of storm. Two
+high, narrow towers rose over the trees. The driver pointed with
+his whip.</p>
+
+<p>"Baskerville Hall," said he.</p>
+
+<p>Its master had risen and was staring with flushed cheeks and
+shining eyes. A few minutes later we had reached the lodge-gates,
+a maze of fantastic tracery in wrought iron, with weather-bitten
+pillars on either side, blotched with lichens, and surmounted by
+the boars' heads of the Baskervilles. The lodge was a ruin of
+black granite and bared ribs of rafters, but facing it was a new
+building, half constructed, the first fruit of Sir Charles's
+South African gold.</p>
+
+<p>Through the gateway we passed into the avenue, where the wheels
+were again hushed amid the leaves, and the old trees shot their
+branches in a sombre tunnel over our heads. Baskerville shuddered
+as he looked up the long, dark drive to where the house glimmered
+like a ghost at the farther end.</p>
+
+<p>"Was it here?" he asked in a low voice.</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, the Yew Alley is on the other side."</p>
+
+<p>The young heir glanced round with a gloomy face.</p>
+
+<p>"It's no wonder my uncle felt as if trouble were coming on him in
+such a place as this," said he. "It's enough to scare any man.
+I'll have a row of electric lamps up here inside of six months,
+and you won't know it again, with a thousand candle-power Swan
+and Edison right here in front of the hall door."</p>
+
+<p>The avenue opened into a broad expanse of turf, and the house lay
+before us. In the fading light I could see that the centre was a
+heavy block of building from which a porch projected. The whole
+front was draped in ivy, with a patch clipped bare here and there
+where a window or a coat-of-arms broke through the dark veil.
+From this central block rose the twin towers, ancient,
+crenelated, and pierced with many loopholes. To right and left of
+the turrets were more modern wings of black granite. A dull light
+shone through heavy mullioned windows, and from the high chimneys
+which rose from the steep, high-angled roof there sprang a single
+black column of smoke.</p>
+
+<p>"Welcome, Sir Henry! Welcome to Baskerville Hall!"</p>
+
+<p>A tall man had stepped from the shadow of the porch to open the
+door of the wagonette. The figure of a woman was silhouetted
+against the yellow light of the hall. She came out and helped the
+man to hand down our bags.</p>
+
+<p>"You don't mind my driving straight home, Sir Henry?" said Dr.
+Mortimer. "My wife is expecting me."</p>
+
+<p>"Surely you will stay and have some dinner?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I must go. I shall probably find some work awaiting me. I
+would stay to show you over the house, but Barrymore will be a
+better guide than I. Good-bye, and never hesitate night or day to
+send for me if I can be of service."</p>
+
+<p>The wheels died away down the drive while Sir Henry and I turned
+into the hall, and the door clanged heavily behind us. It was a
+fine apartment in which we found ourselves, large, lofty, and
+heavily raftered with huge balks of age-blackened oak. In the
+great old-fashioned fireplace behind the high iron dogs a
+log-fire crackled and snapped. Sir Henry and I held out our hands
+to it, for we were numb from our long drive. Then we gazed round
+us at the high, thin window of old stained glass, the oak
+panelling, the stags' heads, the coats-of-arms upon the walls,
+all dim and sombre in the subdued light of the central lamp.</p>
+
+<p>"It's just as I imagined it," said Sir Henry. "Is it not the very
+picture of an old family home? To think that this should be the
+same hall in which for five hundred years my people have lived.
+It strikes me solemn to think of it."</p>
+
+<p>I saw his dark face lit up with a boyish enthusiasm as he gazed
+about him. The light beat upon him where he stood, but long
+shadows trailed down the walls and hung like a black canopy above
+him. Barrymore had returned from taking our luggage to our rooms.
+He stood in front of us now with the subdued manner of a
+well-trained servant. He was a remarkable-looking man, tall,
+handsome, with a square black beard and pale, distinguished
+features.</p>
+
+<p>"Would you wish dinner to be served at once, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"Is it ready?"</p>
+
+<p>"In a very few minutes, sir. You will find hot water in your
+rooms. My wife and I will be happy, Sir Henry, to stay with you
+until you have made your fresh arrangements, but you will
+understand that under the new conditions this house will require
+a considerable staff."</p>
+
+<p>"What new conditions?"</p>
+
+<p>"I only meant, sir, that Sir Charles led a very retired life, and
+we were able to look after his wants. You would, naturally, wish
+to have more company, and so you will need changes in your
+household."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean that your wife and you wish to leave?"</p>
+
+<p>"Only when it is quite convenient to you, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"But your family have been with us for several generations, have
+they not? I should be sorry to begin my life here by breaking an
+old family connection."</p>
+
+<p>I seemed to discern some signs of emotion upon the butler's white
+face.</p>
+
+<p>"I feel that also, sir, and so does my wife. But to tell the
+truth, sir, we were both very much attached to Sir Charles, and
+his death gave us a shock and made these surroundings very
+painful to us. I fear that we shall never again be easy in our
+minds at Baskerville Hall."</p>
+
+<p>"But what do you intend to do?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have no doubt, sir, that we shall succeed in establishing
+ourselves in some business. Sir Charles's generosity has given us
+the means to do so. And now, sir, perhaps I had best show you to
+your rooms."</p>
+
+<p>A square balustraded gallery ran round the top of the old hall,
+approached by a double stair. From this central point two long
+corridors extended the whole length of the building, from which
+all the bedrooms opened. My own was in the same wing as
+Baskerville's and almost next door to it. These rooms appeared to
+be much more modern than the central part of the house, and the
+bright paper and numerous candles did something to remove the
+sombre impression which our arrival had left upon my mind.</p>
+
+<p>But the dining-room which opened out of the hall was a place of
+shadow and gloom. It was a long chamber with a step separating
+the dais where the family sat from the lower portion reserved for
+their dependents. At one end a minstrel's gallery overlooked it.
+Black beams shot across above our heads, with a smoke-darkened
+ceiling beyond them. With rows of flaring torches to light it up,
+and the colour and rude hilarity of an old-time banquet, it might
+have softened; but now, when two black-clothed gentlemen sat in
+the little circle of light thrown by a shaded lamp, one's voice
+became hushed and one's spirit subdued. A dim line of ancestors,
+in every variety of dress, from the Elizabethan knight to the
+buck of the Regency, stared down upon us and daunted us by their
+silent company. We talked little, and I for one was glad when the
+meal was over and we were able to retire into the modern
+billiard-room and smoke a cigarette.</p>
+
+<p>"My word, it isn't a very cheerful place," said Sir Henry. "I
+suppose one can tone down to it, but I feel a bit out of the
+picture at present. I don't wonder that my uncle got a little
+jumpy if he lived all alone in such a house as this. However, if
+it suits you, we will retire early to-night, and perhaps things
+may seem more cheerful in the morning."</p>
+
+<p>I drew aside my curtains before I went to bed and looked out from
+my window. It opened upon the grassy space which lay in front of
+the hall door. Beyond, two copses of trees moaned and swung in a
+rising wind. A half moon broke through the rifts of racing
+clouds. In its cold light I saw beyond the trees a broken fringe
+of rocks, and the long, low curve of the melancholy moor. I
+closed the curtain, feeling that my last impression was in
+keeping with the rest.</p>
+
+<p>And yet it was not quite the last. I found myself weary and yet
+wakeful, tossing restlessly from side to side, seeking for the
+sleep which would not come. Far away a chiming clock struck out
+the quarters of the hours, but otherwise a deathly silence lay
+upon the old house. And then suddenly, in the very dead of the
+night, there came a sound to my ears, clear, resonant, and
+unmistakable. It was the sob of a woman, the muffled, strangling
+gasp of one who is torn by an uncontrollable sorrow. I sat up in
+bed and listened intently. The noise could not have been far away
+and was certainly in the house. For half an hour I waited with
+every nerve on the alert, but there came no other sound save the
+chiming clock and the rustle of the ivy on the wall.</p>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_7" id="Chapter_7"></a>Chapter 7<br /><br />
+The Stapletons of Merripit House</h3>
+
+<p>The fresh beauty of the following morning did something to efface
+from our minds the grim and gray impression which had been left
+upon both of us by our first experience of Baskerville Hall. As
+Sir Henry and I sat at breakfast the sunlight flooded in through
+the high mullioned windows, throwing watery patches of colour
+from the coats of arms which covered them. The dark panelling
+glowed like bronze in the golden rays, and it was hard to realize
+that this was indeed the chamber which had struck such a gloom
+into our souls upon the evening before.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess it is ourselves and not the house that we have to
+blame!" said the baronet. "We were tired with our journey and
+chilled by our drive, so we took a gray view of the place. Now we
+are fresh and well, so it is all cheerful once more."</p>
+
+<p>"And yet it was not entirely a question of imagination," I
+answered. "Did you, for example, happen to hear someone, a woman
+I think, sobbing in the night?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is curious, for I did when I was half asleep fancy that I
+heard something of the sort. I waited quite a time, but there was
+no more of it, so I concluded that it was all a dream."</p>
+
+<p>"I heard it distinctly, and I am sure that it was really the sob
+of a woman."</p>
+
+<p>"We must ask about this right away." He rang the bell and asked
+Barrymore whether he could account for our experience. It seemed
+to me that the pallid features of the butler turned a shade paler
+still as he listened to his master's question.</p>
+
+<p>"There are only two women in the house, Sir Henry," he answered.
+"One is the scullery-maid, who sleeps in the other wing. The
+other is my wife, and I can answer for it that the sound could
+not have come from her."</p>
+
+<p>And yet he lied as he said it, for it chanced that after
+breakfast I met Mrs. Barrymore in the long corridor with the sun
+full upon her face. She was a large, impassive, heavy-featured
+woman with a stern set expression of mouth. But her tell-tale
+eyes were red and glanced at me from between swollen lids. It was
+she, then, who wept in the night, and if she did so her husband
+must know it. Yet he had taken the obvious risk of discovery in
+declaring that it was not so. Why had he done this? And why did
+she weep so bitterly? Already round this pale-faced, handsome,
+black-bearded man there was gathering an atmosphere of mystery
+and of gloom. It was he who had been the first to discover the
+body of Sir Charles, and we had only his word for all the
+circumstances which led up to the old man's death. Was it
+possible that it was Barrymore after all whom we had seen in the
+cab in Regent Street? The beard might well have been the same.
+The cabman had described a somewhat shorter man, but such an
+impression might easily have been erroneous. How could I settle
+the point forever? Obviously the first thing to do was to see the
+Grimpen postmaster, and find whether the test telegram had really
+been placed in Barrymore's own hands. Be the answer what it
+might, I should at least have something to report to Sherlock
+Holmes.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Henry had numerous papers to examine after breakfast, so that
+the time was propitious for my excursion. It was a pleasant walk
+of four miles along the edge of the moor, leading me at last to a
+small gray hamlet, in which two larger buildings, which proved to
+be the inn and the house of Dr. Mortimer, stood high above the
+rest. The postmaster, who was also the village grocer, had a
+clear recollection of the telegram.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, sir," said he, "I had the telegram delivered to Mr.
+Barrymore exactly as directed."</p>
+
+<p>"Who delivered it?"</p>
+
+<p>"My boy here. James, you delivered that telegram to Mr. Barrymore
+at the Hall last week, did you not?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, father, I delivered it."</p>
+
+<p>"Into his own hands?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, he was up in the loft at the time, so that I could not put
+it into his own hands, but I gave it into Mrs. Barrymore's hands,
+and she promised to deliver it at once."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you see Mr. Barrymore?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; I tell you he was in the loft."</p>
+
+<p>"If you didn't see him, how do you know he was in the loft?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, surely his own wife ought to know where he is," said the
+postmaster testily. "Didn't he get the telegram? If there is any
+mistake it is for Mr. Barrymore himself to complain."</p>
+
+<p>It seemed hopeless to pursue the inquiry any farther, but it was
+clear that in spite of Holmes's ruse we had no proof that
+Barrymore had not been in London all the time. Suppose that it
+were so&mdash;suppose that the same man had been the last who had seen
+Sir Charles alive, and the first to dog the new heir when he
+returned to England. What then? Was he the agent of others or had
+he some sinister design of his own? What interest could he have
+in persecuting the Baskerville family? I thought of the strange
+warning clipped out of the leading article of the Times. Was that
+his work or was it possibly the doing of someone who was bent
+upon counteracting his schemes? The only conceivable motive was
+that which had been suggested by Sir Henry, that if the family
+could be scared away a comfortable and permanent home would be
+secured for the Barrymores. But surely such an explanation as
+that would be quite inadequate to account for the deep and subtle
+scheming which seemed to be weaving an invisible net round the
+young baronet. Holmes himself had said that no more complex case
+had come to him in all the long series of his sensational
+investigations. I prayed, as I walked back along the gray, lonely
+road, that my friend might soon be freed from his preoccupations
+and able to come down to take this heavy burden of responsibility
+from my shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of running
+feet behind me and by a voice which called me by name. I turned,
+expecting to see Dr. Mortimer, but to my surprise it was a
+stranger who was pursuing me. He was a small, slim, clean-shaven,
+prim-faced man, flaxen-haired and lean-jawed, between thirty and
+forty years of age, dressed in a gray suit and wearing a straw
+hat. A tin box for botanical specimens hung over his shoulder and
+he carried a green butterfly-net in one of his hands.</p>
+
+<p>"You will, I am sure, excuse my presumption, Dr. Watson," said
+he, as he came panting up to where I stood. "Here on the moor we
+are homely folk and do not wait for formal introductions. You may
+possibly have heard my name from our mutual friend, Mortimer. I
+am Stapleton, of Merripit House."</p>
+
+<p>"Your net and box would have told me as much," said I, "for I
+knew that Mr. Stapleton was a naturalist. But how did you know
+me?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have been calling on Mortimer, and he pointed you out to me
+from the window of his surgery as you passed. As our road lay the
+same way I thought that I would overtake you and introduce
+myself. I trust that Sir Henry is none the worse for his
+journey?"</p>
+
+<p>"He is very well, thank you."</p>
+
+<p>"We were all rather afraid that after the sad death of Sir
+Charles the new baronet might refuse to live here. It is asking
+much of a wealthy man to come down and bury himself in a place of
+this kind, but I need not tell you that it means a very great
+deal to the country-side. Sir Henry has, I suppose, no
+superstitious fears in the matter?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do not think that it is likely."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course you know the legend of the fiend dog which haunts the
+family?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have heard it."</p>
+
+<p>"It is extraordinary how credulous the peasants are about here!
+Any number of them are ready to swear that they have seen such a
+creature upon the moor." He spoke with a smile, but I seemed to
+read in his eyes that he took the matter more seriously. "The
+story took a great hold upon the imagination of Sir Charles, and
+I have no doubt that it led to his tragic end."</p>
+
+<p>"But how?"</p>
+
+<p>"His nerves were so worked up that the appearance of any dog
+might have had a fatal effect upon his diseased heart. I fancy
+that he really did see something of the kind upon that last night
+in the Yew Alley. I feared that some disaster might occur, for I
+was very fond of the old man, and I knew that his heart was
+weak."</p>
+
+<p>"How did you know that?"</p>
+
+<p>"My friend Mortimer told me."</p>
+
+<p>"You think, then, that some dog pursued Sir Charles, and that he
+died of fright in consequence?"</p>
+
+<p>"Have you any better explanation?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have not come to any conclusion."</p>
+
+<p>"Has Mr. Sherlock Holmes?"</p>
+
+<p>The words took away my breath for an instant, but a glance at the
+placid face and steadfast eyes of my companion showed that no
+surprise was intended.</p>
+
+<p>"It is useless for us to pretend that we do not know you, Dr.
+Watson," said he. "The records of your detective have reached us
+here, and you could not celebrate him without being known
+yourself. When Mortimer told me your name he could not deny your
+identity. If you are here, then it follows that Mr. Sherlock
+Holmes is interesting himself in the matter, and I am naturally
+curious to know what view he may take."</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid that I cannot answer that question."</p>
+
+<p>"May I ask if he is going to honour us with a visit himself?"</p>
+
+<p>"He cannot leave town at present. He has other cases which engage
+his attention."</p>
+
+<p>"What a pity! He might throw some light on that which is so dark
+to us. But as to your own researches, if there is any possible
+way in which I can be of service to you I trust that you will
+command me. If I had any indication of the nature of your
+suspicions or how you propose to investigate the case, I might
+perhaps even now give you some aid or advice."</p>
+
+<p>"I assure you that I am simply here upon a visit to my friend,
+Sir Henry, and that I need no help of any kind."</p>
+
+<p>"Excellent!" said Stapleton. "You are perfectly right to be wary
+and discreet. I am justly reproved for what I feel was an
+unjustifiable intrusion, and I promise you that I will not
+mention the matter again."</p>
+
+<p>We had come to a point where a narrow grassy path struck off from
+the road and wound away across the moor. A steep,
+boulder-sprinkled hill lay upon the right which had in bygone
+days been cut into a granite quarry. The face which was turned
+towards us formed a dark cliff, with ferns and brambles growing
+in its niches. From over a distant rise there floated a gray
+plume of smoke.</p>
+
+<p>"A moderate walk along this moor-path brings us to Merripit
+House," said he. "Perhaps you will spare an hour that I may have
+the pleasure of introducing you to my sister."</p>
+
+<p>My first thought was that I should be by Sir Henry's side. But
+then I remembered the pile of papers and bills with which his
+study table was littered. It was certain that I could not help
+with those. And Holmes had expressly said that I should study the
+neighbours upon the moor. I accepted Stapleton's invitation, and
+we turned together down the path.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a wonderful place, the moor," said he, looking round over
+the undulating downs, long green rollers, with crests of jagged
+granite foaming up into fantastic surges. "You never tire of the
+moor. You cannot think the wonderful secrets which it contains.
+It is so vast, and so barren, and so mysterious."</p>
+
+<p>"You know it well, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have only been here two years. The residents would call me a
+newcomer. We came shortly after Sir Charles settled. But my
+tastes led me to explore every part of the country round, and I
+should think that there are few men who know it better than I
+do."</p>
+
+<p>"Is it hard to know?"</p>
+
+<p>"Very hard. You see, for example, this great plain to the north
+here with the queer hills breaking out of it. Do you observe
+anything remarkable about that?"</p>
+
+<p>"It would be a rare place for a gallop."</p>
+
+<p>"You would naturally think so and the thought has cost several
+their lives before now. You notice those bright green spots
+scattered thickly over it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, they seem more fertile than the rest."</p>
+
+<p>Stapleton laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"That is the great Grimpen Mire," said he. "A false step yonder
+means death to man or beast. Only yesterday I saw one of the moor
+ponies wander into it. He never came out. I saw his head for
+quite a long time craning out of the bog-hole, but it sucked him
+down at last. Even in dry seasons it is a danger to cross it, but
+after these autumn rains it is an awful place. And yet I can find
+my way to the very heart of it and return alive. By George, there
+is another of those miserable ponies!"</p>
+
+<p>Something brown was rolling and tossing among the green sedges.
+Then a long, agonized, writhing neck shot upward and a dreadful
+cry echoed over the moor. It turned me cold with horror, but my
+companion's nerves seemed to be stronger than mine.</p>
+
+<p>"It's gone!" said he. "The mire has him. Two in two days, and
+many more, perhaps, for they get in the way of going there in the
+dry weather, and never know the difference until the mire has
+them in its clutches. It's a bad place, the great Grimpen Mire."</p>
+
+<p>"And you say you can penetrate it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, there are one or two paths which a very active man can
+take. I have found them out."</p>
+
+<p>"But why should you wish to go into so horrible a place?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you see the hills beyond? They are really islands cut off
+on all sides by the impassable mire, which has crawled round them
+in the course of years. That is where the rare plants and the
+butterflies are, if you have the wit to reach them."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall try my luck some day."</p>
+
+<p>He looked at me with a surprised face.</p>
+
+<p>"For God's sake put such an idea out of your mind," said he.
+"Your blood would be upon my head. I assure you that there would
+not be the least chance of your coming back alive. It is only by
+remembering certain complex landmarks that I am able to do it."</p>
+
+<p>"Halloa!" I cried. "What is that?"</p>
+
+<p>A long, low moan, indescribably sad, swept over the moor. It
+filled the whole air, and yet it was impossible to say whence it
+came. From a dull murmur it swelled into a deep roar, and then
+sank back into a melancholy, throbbing murmur once again.
+Stapleton looked at me with a curious expression in his face.</p>
+
+<p>"Queer place, the moor!" said he.</p>
+
+<p>"But what is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"The peasants say it is the Hound of the Baskervilles calling for
+its prey. I've heard it once or twice before, but never quite so
+loud."</p>
+
+<p>I looked round, with a chill of fear in my heart, at the huge
+swelling plain, mottled with the green patches of rushes. Nothing
+stirred over the vast expanse save a pair of ravens, which
+croaked loudly from a tor behind us.</p>
+
+<p>"You are an educated man. You don't believe such nonsense as
+that?" said I. "What do you think is the cause of so strange a
+sound?"</p>
+
+<p>"Bogs make queer noises sometimes. It's the mud settling, or the
+water rising, or something."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, that was a living voice."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, perhaps it was. Did you ever hear a bittern booming?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I never did."</p>
+
+<p>"It's a very rare bird&mdash;practically extinct&mdash;in England now, but
+all things are possible upon the moor. Yes, I should not be
+surprised to learn that what we have heard is the cry of the last
+of the bitterns."</p>
+
+<p>"It's the weirdest, strangest thing that ever I heard in my
+life."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it's rather an uncanny place altogether. Look at the hill-
+side yonder. What do you make of those?"</p>
+
+<p>The whole steep slope was covered with gray circular rings of
+stone, a score of them at least.</p>
+
+<p>"What are they? Sheep-pens?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, they are the homes of our worthy ancestors. Prehistoric man
+lived thickly on the moor, and as no one in particular has lived
+there since, we find all his little arrangements exactly as he
+left them. These are his wigwams with the roofs off. You can even
+see his hearth and his couch if you have the curiosity to go
+inside.</p>
+
+<p>"But it is quite a town. When was it inhabited?"</p>
+
+<p>"Neolithic man&mdash;no date."</p>
+
+<p>"What did he do?"</p>
+
+<p>"He grazed his cattle on these slopes, and he learned to dig for
+tin when the bronze sword began to supersede the stone axe. Look
+at the great trench in the opposite hill. That is his mark. Yes,
+you will find some very singular points about the moor, Dr.
+Watson. Oh, excuse me an instant! It is surely Cyclopides."</p>
+
+<p>A small fly or moth had fluttered across our path, and in an
+instant Stapleton was rushing with extraordinary energy and speed
+in pursuit of it. To my dismay the creature flew straight for the
+great mire, and my acquaintance never paused for an instant,
+bounding from tuft to tuft behind it, his green net waving in the
+air. His gray clothes and jerky, zigzag, irregular progress made
+him not unlike some huge moth himself. I was standing watching
+his pursuit with a mixture of admiration for his extraordinary
+activity and fear lest he should lose his footing in the
+treacherous mire, when I heard the sound of steps, and turning
+round found a woman near me upon the path. She had come from the
+direction in which the plume of smoke indicated the position of
+Merripit House, but the dip of the moor had hid her until she was
+quite close.</p>
+
+<p>I could not doubt that this was the Miss Stapleton of whom I had
+been told, since ladies of any sort must be few upon the moor,
+and I remembered that I had heard someone describe her as being a
+beauty. The woman who approached me was certainly that, and of a
+most uncommon type. There could not have been a greater contrast
+between brother and sister, for Stapleton was neutral tinted,
+with light hair and gray eyes, while she was darker than any
+brunette whom I have seen in England&mdash;slim, elegant, and tall.
+She had a proud, finely cut face, so regular that it might have
+seemed impassive were it not for the sensitive mouth and the
+beautiful dark, eager eyes. With her perfect figure and elegant
+dress she was, indeed, a strange apparition upon a lonely
+moorland path. Her eyes were on her brother as I turned, and then
+she quickened her pace towards me. I had raised my hat and was
+about to make some explanatory remark, when her own words turned
+all my thoughts into a new channel.</p>
+
+<p>"Go back!" she said. "Go straight back to London, instantly."</p>
+
+<p>I could only stare at her in stupid surprise. Her eyes blazed at
+me, and she tapped the ground impatiently with her foot.</p>
+
+<p>"Why should I go back?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot explain." She spoke in a low, eager voice, with a
+curious lisp in her utterance. "But for God's sake do what I ask
+you. Go back and never set foot upon the moor again."</p>
+
+<p>"But I have only just come."</p>
+
+<p>"Man, man!" she cried. "Can you not tell when a warning is for
+your own good? Go back to London! Start to-night! Get away from
+this place at all costs! Hush, my brother is coming! Not a word
+of what I have said. Would you mind getting that orchid for me
+among the mares-tails yonder? We are very rich in orchids on the
+moor, though, of course, you are rather late to see the beauties
+of the place."</p>
+
+<p>Stapleton had abandoned the chase and came back to us breathing
+hard and flushed with his exertions.</p>
+
+<p>"Halloa, Beryl!" said he, and it seemed to me that the tone of
+his greeting was not altogether a cordial one.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Jack, you are very hot."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I was chasing a Cyclopides. He is very rare and seldom
+found in the late autumn. What a pity that I should have missed
+him!" He spoke unconcernedly, but his small light eyes glanced
+incessantly from the girl to me.</p>
+
+<p>"You have introduced yourselves, I can see."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. I was telling Sir Henry that it was rather late for him to
+see the true beauties of the moor."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, who do you think this is?"</p>
+
+<p>"I imagine that it must be Sir Henry Baskerville."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no," said I. "Only a humble commoner, but his friend. My
+name is Dr. Watson."</p>
+
+<p>A flush of vexation passed over her expressive face. "We have
+been talking at cross purposes," said she.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you had not very much time for talk," her brother remarked
+with the same questioning eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"I talked as if Dr. Watson were a resident instead of being
+merely a visitor," said she. "It cannot much matter to him
+whether it is early or late for the orchids. But you will come
+on, will you not, and see Merripit House?"</p>
+
+<p>A short walk brought us to it, a bleak moorland house, once the
+farm of some grazier in the old prosperous days, but now put into
+repair and turned into a modern dwelling. An orchard surrounded
+it, but the trees, as is usual upon the moor, were stunted and
+nipped, and the effect of the whole place was mean and
+melancholy. We were admitted by a strange, wizened, rusty-coated
+old manservant, who seemed in keeping with the house. Inside,
+however, there were large rooms furnished with an elegance in
+which I seemed to recognize the taste of the lady. As I looked
+from their windows at the interminable granite-flecked moor
+rolling unbroken to the farthest horizon I could not but marvel
+at what could have brought this highly educated man and this
+beautiful woman to live in such a place.</p>
+
+<p>"Queer spot to choose, is it not?" said he as if in answer to my
+thought. "And yet we manage to make ourselves fairly happy, do we
+not, Beryl?"</p>
+
+<p>"Quite happy," said she, but there was no ring of conviction in
+her words.</p>
+
+<p>"I had a school," said Stapleton. "It was in the north country.
+The work to a man of my temperament was mechanical and
+uninteresting, but the privilege of living with youth, of helping
+to mould those young minds, and of impressing them with one's own
+character and ideals, was very dear to me. However, the fates
+were against us. A serious epidemic broke out in the school and
+three of the boys died. It never recovered from the blow, and
+much of my capital was irretrievably swallowed up. And yet, if it
+were not for the loss of the charming companionship of the boys,
+I could rejoice over my own misfortune, for, with my strong
+tastes for botany and zoology, I find an unlimited field of work
+here, and my sister is as devoted to Nature as I am. All this,
+Dr. Watson, has been brought upon your head by your expression as
+you surveyed the moor out of our window."</p>
+
+<p>"It certainly did cross my mind that it might be a little
+dull&mdash;less for you, perhaps, than for your sister."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, I am never dull," said she, quickly.</p>
+
+<p>"We have books, we have our studies, and we have interesting
+neighbours. Dr. Mortimer is a most learned man in his own line.
+Poor Sir Charles was also an admirable companion. We knew him
+well, and miss him more than I can tell. Do you think that I
+should intrude if I were to call this afternoon and make the
+acquaintance of Sir Henry?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am sure that he would be delighted."</p>
+
+<p>"Then perhaps you would mention that I propose to do so. We may
+in our humble way do something to make things more easy for him
+until he becomes accustomed to his new surroundings. Will you
+come upstairs, Dr. Watson, and inspect my collection of
+Lepidoptera? I think it is the most complete one in the
+south-west of England. By the time that you have looked through
+them lunch will be almost ready."</p>
+
+<p>But I was eager to get back to my charge. The melancholy of the
+moor, the death of the unfortunate pony, the weird sound which
+had been associated with the grim legend of the Baskervilles, all
+these things tinged my thoughts with sadness. Then on the top of
+these more or less vague impressions there had come the definite
+and distinct warning of Miss Stapleton, delivered with such
+intense earnestness that I could not doubt that some grave and
+deep reason lay behind it. I resisted all pressure to stay for
+lunch, and I set off at once upon my return journey, taking the
+grass-grown path by which we had come.</p>
+
+<p>It seems, however, that there must have been some short cut for
+those who knew it, for before I had reached the road I was
+astounded to see Miss Stapleton sitting upon a rock by the side
+of the track. Her face was beautifully flushed with her
+exertions, and she held her hand to her side.</p>
+
+<p>"I have run all the way in order to cut you off, Dr. Watson,"
+said she. "I had not even time to put on my hat. I must not stop,
+or my brother may miss me. I wanted to say to you how sorry I am
+about the stupid mistake I made in thinking that you were Sir
+Henry. Please forget the words I said, which have no application
+whatever to you."</p>
+
+<p>"But I can't forget them, Miss Stapleton," said I. "I am Sir
+Henry's friend, and his welfare is a very close concern of mine.
+Tell me why it was that you were so eager that Sir Henry should
+return to London."</p>
+
+<p>"A woman's whim, Dr. Watson. When you know me better you will
+understand that I cannot always give reasons for what I say or
+do."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no. I remember the thrill in your voice. I remember the look
+in your eyes. Please, please, be frank with me, Miss Stapleton,
+for ever since I have been here I have been conscious of shadows
+all round me. Life has become like that great Grimpen Mire, with
+little green patches everywhere into which one may sink and with
+no guide to point the track. Tell me then what it was that you
+meant, and I will promise to convey your warning to Sir Henry."</p>
+
+<p>An expression of irresolution passed for an instant over her
+face, but her eyes had hardened again when she answered me.</p>
+
+<p>"You make too much of it, Dr. Watson," said she. "My brother and
+I were very much shocked by the death of Sir Charles. We knew him
+very intimately, for his favourite walk was over the moor to our
+house. He was deeply impressed with the curse which hung over the
+family, and when this tragedy came I naturally felt that there
+must be some grounds for the fears which he had expressed. I was
+distressed therefore when another member of the family came down
+to live here, and I felt that he should be warned of the danger
+which he will run. That was all which I intended to convey.</p>
+
+<p>"But what is the danger?"</p>
+
+<p>"You know the story of the hound?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do not believe in such nonsense."</p>
+
+<p>"But I do. If you have any influence with Sir Henry, take him
+away from a place which has always been fatal to his family. The
+world is wide. Why should he wish to live at the place of
+danger?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because it is the place of danger. That is Sir Henry's nature. I
+fear that unless you can give me some more definite information
+than this it would be impossible to get him to move."</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot say anything definite, for I do not know anything
+definite."</p>
+
+<p>"I would ask you one more question, Miss Stapleton. If you meant
+no more than this when you first spoke to me, why should you not
+wish your brother to overhear what you said? There is nothing to
+which he, or anyone else, could object."</p>
+
+<p>"My brother is very anxious to have the Hall inhabited, for he
+thinks it is for the good of the poor folk upon the moor. He
+would be very angry if he knew that I have said anything which
+might induce Sir Henry to go away. But I have done my duty now
+and I will say no more. I must get back, or he will miss me and
+suspect that I have seen you. Good-bye!" She turned and had
+disappeared in a few minutes among the scattered boulders, while
+I, with my soul full of vague fears, pursued my way to
+Baskerville Hall.</p>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_8" id="Chapter_8"></a>Chapter 8<br /><br />
+First Report of Dr. Watson</h3>
+
+<p>From this point onward I will follow the course of events by
+transcribing my own letters to Mr. Sherlock Holmes which lie
+before me on the table. One page is missing, but otherwise they
+are exactly as written and show my feelings and suspicions of the
+moment more accurately than my memory, clear as it is upon these
+tragic events, can possibly do.</p>
+
+<p class="r">
+<span class="smcap">Baskerville Hall</span>, October 13th.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">MY DEAR HOLMES,</span>&mdash;My previous letters and telegrams have kept you
+pretty well up to date as to all that has occurred in this most
+God-forsaken corner of the world. The longer one stays here the
+more does the 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 England behind you, but
+on the other hand you are conscious everywhere of the homes and
+the work of the prehistoric people. On all sides of you as you
+walk are the houses of these forgotten folk, with their graves
+and the huge monoliths which are supposed to have marked their
+temples. As you look at their gray stone huts against the scarred
+hill-sides you leave your own age behind you, and if you were to
+see a skin-clad, hairy man crawl out from the low door fitting 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 am no antiquarian,
+but I could imagine that they were some unwarlike and harried
+race who were forced to accept that which none other would
+occupy.</p>
+
+<p>All this, however, is foreign to the mission on which you sent me
+and will probably be very uninteresting to your severely
+practical mind. I can still remember your complete indifference
+as to whether the sun moved round the earth or the earth round
+the sun. Let me, therefore, return to the facts concerning Sir
+Henry Baskerville.</p>
+
+<p>If you have not had any report within the last few days it is
+because up to to-day there was nothing of importance to relate.
+Then a very surprising circumstance occurred, which I shall tell
+you in due course. But, first of all, I must keep you in touch
+with some of the other factors in the situation.</p>
+
+<p>One of these, concerning which I have said little, is the escaped
+convict upon the moor. There is strong reason now to believe that
+he has got right away, which is a considerable relief to the
+lonely householders of this district. A fortnight has passed
+since his flight, during which he has not been seen and nothing
+has been heard of him. It is surely inconceivable that he could
+have held out upon the moor during all that time. Of course, so
+far as his concealment goes there is no difficulty at all. Any
+one of these stone huts would give him a hiding-place. But there
+is nothing to eat unless he were to catch and slaughter one of
+the moor sheep. We think, therefore, that he has gone, and the
+outlying farmers sleep the better in consequence.</p>
+
+<p>We are four able-bodied men in this household, so that we could
+take good care of ourselves, but I confess that I have had uneasy
+moments when I have thought of the Stapletons. They live miles
+from any help. There are one maid, an old manservant, the sister,
+and the brother, the latter not a very strong man. They would be
+helpless in the hands of a desperate fellow like this Notting
+Hill criminal, if he could once effect an entrance. Both Sir
+Henry and I were concerned at their situation, and it was
+suggested that Perkins the groom should go over to sleep there,
+but Stapleton would not hear of it.</p>
+
+<p>The fact is that our friend, the baronet, begins to display a
+considerable interest in our fair neighbour. It is not to be
+wondered at, for time hangs heavily in this lonely spot to an
+active man like him, and she is a very fascinating and beautiful
+woman. There is something tropical and exotic about her which
+forms a singular contrast to her cool and unemotional brother.
+Yet he also gives the idea of hidden fires. He has certainly a
+very marked influence over her, for I have seen her continually
+glance at him as she talked as if seeking approbation for what
+she said. I trust that he is kind to her. There is a dry glitter
+in his eyes, and a firm set of his thin lips, which goes with a
+positive and possibly a harsh nature. You would find him an
+interesting study.</p>
+
+<p>He came over to call upon Baskerville on that first day, and the
+very next morning he took us both to show us the spot where the
+legend of the wicked Hugo is supposed to have had its origin. It
+was an excursion of some miles across the moor to a place which
+is so dismal that it might have suggested the story. We found a
+short valley between rugged tors which led to an open, grassy
+space flecked over with the white cotton grass. In the middle of
+it rose two great stones, worn and sharpened at the upper end,
+until they looked like the huge corroding fangs of some monstrous
+beast. In every way it corresponded with the scene of the old
+tragedy. Sir Henry was much interested and asked Stapleton more
+than once whether he did really believe in the possibility of the
+interference of the supernatural in the affairs of men. He spoke
+lightly, but it was evident that he was very much in earnest.
+Stapleton was guarded in his replies, but it was easy to see that
+he said less than he might, and that he would not express his
+whole opinion out of consideration for the feelings of the
+baronet. He told us of similar cases, where families had suffered
+from some evil influence, and he left us with the impression that
+he shared the popular view upon the matter.</p>
+
+<p>On our way back we stayed for lunch at Merripit House, and it was
+there that Sir Henry made the acquaintance of Miss Stapleton.
+From the first moment that he saw her he appeared to be strongly
+attracted by her, and I am much mistaken if the feeling was not
+mutual. He referred to her again and again on our walk home, and
+since then hardly a day has passed that we have not seen
+something of the brother and sister. They dine here to-night, and
+there is some talk of our going to them next week. One would
+imagine that such a match would be very welcome to Stapleton, and
+yet I have more than once caught a look of the strongest
+disapprobation in his face when Sir Henry has been paying some
+attention to his sister. He is much attached to her, no doubt,
+and would lead a lonely life without her, but it would seem the
+height of selfishness if he were to stand in the way of her
+making so brilliant a marriage. Yet I am certain that he does not
+wish their intimacy to ripen into love, and I have several times
+observed that he has taken pains to prevent them from being
+<i>tête-à-tête</i>. By the way, your instructions to me never to allow
+Sir Henry to go out alone will become very much more onerous if a
+love affair were to be added to our other difficulties. My
+popularity would soon suffer if I were to carry out your orders
+to the letter.</p>
+
+<p>The other day&mdash;Thursday, to be more exact&mdash;Dr. Mortimer lunched
+with us. He has been excavating a barrow at Long Down, and has
+got a prehistoric skull which fills him with great joy. Never was
+there such a single-minded enthusiast as he! The Stapletons came
+in afterwards, and the good doctor took us all to the Yew Alley,
+at Sir Henry's request, to show us exactly how everything
+occurred upon that fatal night. It is a long, dismal walk, the
+Yew Alley, between two high walls of clipped hedge, with a narrow
+band of grass upon either side. At the far end is an old
+tumble-down summer-house. Half-way down is the moor-gate, where
+the old gentleman left his cigar-ash. It is a white wooden gate
+with a latch. Beyond it lies the wide moor. I remembered your
+theory of the affair and tried to picture all that had occurred.
+As the old man stood there he saw something coming across the
+moor, something which terrified him so that he lost his wits, and
+ran and ran until he died of sheer horror and exhaustion. There
+was the long, gloomy tunnel down which he fled. And from what? A
+sheep-dog of the moor? Or a spectral hound, black, silent, and
+monstrous? Was there a human agency in the matter? Did the pale,
+watchful Barrymore know more than he cared to say? It was all dim
+and vague, but always there is the dark shadow of crime behind
+it.</p>
+
+<p>One other neighbour I have met since I wrote last. This is Mr.
+Frankland, of Lafter Hall, who lives some four miles to the south
+of us. He is an elderly man, red-faced, white-haired, and
+choleric. His passion is for the British law, and he has spent a
+large fortune in litigation. He fights for the mere pleasure of
+fighting and is equally ready to take up either side of a
+question, so that it is no wonder that he has found it a costly
+amusement. Sometimes he will shut up a right of way and defy the
+parish to make him open it. At others he will with his own hands
+tear down some other man's gate and declare that a path has
+existed there from time immemorial, defying the owner to
+prosecute him for trespass. He is learned in old manorial and
+communal rights, and he applies his knowledge sometimes in favour
+of the villagers of Fernworthy and sometimes against them, so
+that he is periodically either carried in triumph down the
+village street or else burned in effigy, according to his latest
+exploit. He is said to have about seven lawsuits upon his hands
+at present, which will probably swallow up the remainder of his
+fortune and so draw his sting and leave him harmless for the
+future. Apart from the law he seems a kindly, good-natured
+person, and I only mention him because you were particular that I
+should send some description of the people who surround us. He is
+curiously employed at present, for, being an amateur astronomer,
+he has an excellent telescope, with which he lies upon the roof
+of his own house and sweeps the moor all day in the hope of
+catching a glimpse of the escaped convict. If he would confine
+his energies to this all would be well, but there are rumours
+that he intends to prosecute Dr. Mortimer for opening a grave
+without the consent of the next-of-kin, because he dug up the
+Neolithic skull in the barrow on Long Down. He helps to keep our
+lives from being monotonous and gives a little comic relief where
+it is badly needed.</p>
+
+<p>And now, having brought you up to date in the escaped convict,
+the Stapletons, Dr. Mortimer, and Frankland, of Lafter Hall, let
+me end on that which is most important and tell you more about
+the Barrymores, and especially about the surprising development
+of last night.</p>
+
+<p>First of all about the test telegram, which you sent from London
+in order to make sure that Barrymore was really here. I have
+already explained that the testimony of the postmaster shows that
+the test was worthless and that we have no proof one way or the
+other. I told Sir Henry how the matter stood, and he at once, in
+his downright fashion, had Barrymore up and asked him whether he
+had received the telegram himself. Barrymore said that he had.</p>
+
+<p>"Did the boy deliver it into your own hands?" asked Sir Henry.</p>
+
+<p>Barrymore looked surprised, and considered for a little time.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said he, "I was in the box-room at the time, and my wife
+brought it up to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you answer it yourself?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; I told my wife what to answer and she went down to write
+it."</p>
+
+<p>In the evening he recurred to the subject of his own accord.</p>
+
+<p>"I could not quite understand the object of your questions this
+morning, Sir Henry," said he. "I trust that they do not mean that
+I have done anything to forfeit your confidence?"</p>
+
+<p>Sir Henry had to assure him that it was not so and pacify him by
+giving him a considerable part of his old wardrobe, the London
+outfit having now all arrived.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Barrymore is of interest to me. She is a heavy, solid
+person, very limited, intensely respectable, and inclined to be
+puritanical. You could hardly conceive a less emotional subject.
+Yet I have told you how, on the first night here, I heard her
+sobbing bitterly, and since then I have more than once observed
+traces of tears upon her face. Some deep sorrow gnaws ever at her
+heart. Sometimes I wonder if she has a guilty memory which haunts
+her, and sometimes I suspect Barrymore of being a domestic
+tyrant. I have always felt that there was something singular and
+questionable in this man's character, but the adventure of last
+night brings all my suspicions to a head.</p>
+
+<p>And yet it may seem a small matter in itself. You are aware that
+I am not a very sound sleeper, and since I have been on guard in
+this house my slumbers have been lighter than ever. Last night,
+about two in the morning, I was aroused by a stealthy step
+passing my room. I rose, opened my door, and peeped out. A long
+black shadow was trailing down the corridor. It was thrown by a
+man who walked softly down the passage with a candle held in his
+hand. He was in shirt and trousers, with no covering to his feet.
+I could merely see the outline, but his height told me that it
+was Barrymore. He walked very slowly and circumspectly, and there
+was something indescribably guilty and furtive in his whole
+appearance.</p>
+
+<p>I have told you that the corridor is broken by the balcony which
+runs round the hall, but that it is resumed upon the farther
+side. I waited until he had passed out of sight and then I
+followed him. When I came round the balcony he had reached the
+end of the farther corridor, and I could see from the glimmer of
+light through an open door that he had entered one of the rooms.
+Now, all these rooms are unfurnished and unoccupied, so that his
+expedition became more mysterious than ever. The light shone
+steadily as if he were standing motionless. I crept down the
+passage as noiselessly as I could and peeped round the corner of
+the door.</p>
+
+<p>Barrymore was crouching at the window with the candle held
+against the glass. His profile was half turned towards me, and
+his face seemed to be rigid with expectation as he stared out
+into the blackness of the moor. For some minutes he stood
+watching intently. Then he gave a deep groan and with an
+impatient gesture he put out the light. Instantly I made my way
+back to my room, and very shortly came the stealthy steps passing
+once more upon their return journey. Long afterwards when I had
+fallen into a light sleep I heard a key turn somewhere in a lock,
+but I could not tell whence the sound came. What it all means I
+cannot guess, but there is some secret business going on in this
+house of gloom which sooner or later we shall get to the bottom
+of. I do not trouble you with my theories, for you asked me to
+furnish you only with facts. I have had a long talk with Sir
+Henry this morning, and we have made a plan of campaign founded
+upon my observations of last night. I will not speak about it
+just now, but it should make my next report interesting reading.</p>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_9" id="Chapter_9"></a>Chapter 9<br /><br />
+(Second Report of Dr. Watson)<br /><br />THE LIGHT UPON THE MOOR</h3>
+
+<p class="r">B<small>ASKERVILLE</small> H<small>ALL</small>, Oct. 15th.</p>
+
+<p>MY DEAR HOLMES,&mdash;If I was compelled to leave you without much
+news during the early days of my mission you must acknowledge
+that I am making up for lost time, and that events are now
+crowding thick and fast upon us. In my last report I ended upon
+my top note with Barrymore at the window, and now I have quite a
+budget already which will, unless I am much mistaken,
+considerably surprise you. Things have taken a turn which I could
+not have anticipated. In some ways they have within the last
+forty-eight hours become much clearer and in some ways they have
+become more complicated. But I will tell you all and you shall
+judge for yourself.</p>
+
+<p>Before breakfast on the morning following my adventure I went
+down the corridor and examined the room in which Barrymore had
+been on the night before. The western window through which he had
+stared so intently has, I noticed, one peculiarity above all
+other windows in the house&mdash;it commands the nearest outlook on
+the moor. There is an opening between two trees which enables one
+from this point of view to look right down upon it, while from
+all the other windows it is only a distant glimpse which can be
+obtained. It follows, therefore, that Barrymore, since only this
+window would serve the purpose, must have been looking out for
+something or somebody upon the moor. The night was very dark, so
+that I can hardly imagine how he could have hoped to see anyone.
+It had struck me that it was possible that some love intrigue was
+on foot. That would have accounted for his stealthy movements and
+also for the uneasiness of his wife. The man is a
+striking-looking fellow, very well equipped to steal the heart of
+a country girl, so that this theory seemed to have something to
+support it. That opening of the door which I had heard after I
+had returned to my room might mean that he had gone out to keep
+some clandestine appointment. So I reasoned with myself in the
+morning, and I tell you the direction of my suspicions, however
+much the result may have shown that they were unfounded.</p>
+
+<p>But whatever the true explanation of Barrymore's movements might
+be, I felt that the responsibility of keeping them to myself
+until I could explain them was more than I could bear. I had an
+interview with the baronet in his study after breakfast, and I
+told him all that I had seen. He was less surprised than I had
+expected.</p>
+
+<p>"I knew that Barrymore walked about nights, and I had a mind to
+speak to him about it," said he. "Two or three times I have heard
+his steps in the passage, coming and going, just about the hour
+you name."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps then he pays a visit every night to that particular
+window," I suggested.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps he does. If so, we should be able to shadow him, and see
+what it is that he is after. I wonder what your friend Holmes
+would do, if he were here."</p>
+
+<p>"I believe that he would do exactly what you now suggest," said
+I. "He would follow Barrymore and see what he did."</p>
+
+<p>"Then we shall do it together."</p>
+
+<p>"But surely he would hear us."</p>
+
+<p>"The man is rather deaf, and in any case we must take our chance
+of that. We'll sit up in my room to-night and wait until he
+passes." Sir Henry rubbed his hands with pleasure, and it was
+evident that he hailed the adventure as a relief to his somewhat
+quiet life upon the moor.</p>
+
+<p>The baronet has been in communication with the architect who
+prepared the plans for Sir Charles, and with a contractor from
+London, so that we may expect great changes to begin here soon.
+There have been decorators and furnishers up from Plymouth, and
+it is evident that our friend has large ideas, and means to spare
+no pains or expense to restore the grandeur of his family. When
+the house is renovated and refurnished, all that he will need
+will be a wife to make it complete. Between ourselves there are
+pretty clear signs that this will not be wanting if the lady is
+willing, for I have seldom seen a man more infatuated with a
+woman than he is with our beautiful neighbour, Miss Stapleton.
+And yet the course of true love does not run quite as smoothly as
+one would under the circumstances expect. To-day, for example,
+its surface was broken by a very unexpected ripple, which has
+caused our friend considerable perplexity and annoyance.</p>
+
+<p>After the conversation which I have quoted about Barrymore, Sir
+Henry put on his hat and prepared to go out. As a matter of
+course I did the same.</p>
+
+<p>"What, are you coming, Watson?" he asked, looking at me in a
+curious way.</p>
+
+<p>"That depends on whether you are going on the moor," said I.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I am."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you know what my instructions are. I am sorry to intrude,
+but you heard how earnestly Holmes insisted that I should not
+leave you, and especially that you should not go alone upon the
+moor."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Henry put his hand upon my shoulder with a pleasant smile.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear fellow," said he, "Holmes, with all his wisdom, did not
+foresee some things which have happened since I have been on the
+moor. You understand me? I am sure that you are the last man in
+the world who would wish to be a spoil-sport. I must go out
+alone."</p>
+
+<p>It put me in a most awkward position. I was at a loss what to say
+or what to do, and before I had made up my mind he picked up his
+cane and was gone.</p>
+
+<p>But when I came to think the matter over my conscience reproached
+me bitterly for having on any pretext allowed him to go out of my
+sight. I imagined what my feelings would be if I had to return to
+you and to confess that some misfortune had occurred through my
+disregard for your instructions. I assure you my cheeks flushed
+at the very thought. It might not even now be too late to
+overtake him, so I set off at once in the direction of Merripit
+House.</p>
+
+<p>I hurried along the road at the top of my speed without seeing
+anything of Sir Henry, until I came to the point where the moor
+path branches off. There, fearing that perhaps I had come in the
+wrong direction after all, I mounted a hill from which I could
+command a view&mdash;the same hill which is cut into the dark quarry.
+Thence I saw him at once. He was on the moor path, about a
+quarter of a mile off, and a lady was by his side who could only
+be Miss Stapleton. It was clear that there was already an
+understanding between them and that they had met by appointment.
+They were walking slowly along in deep conversation, and I saw
+her making quick little movements of her hands as if she were
+very earnest in what she was saying, while he listened intently,
+and once or twice shook his head in strong dissent. I stood among
+the rocks watching them, very much puzzled as to what I should do
+next. To follow them and break into their intimate conversation
+seemed to be an outrage, and yet my clear duty was never for an
+instant to let him out of my sight. To act the spy upon a friend
+was a hateful task. Still, I could see no better course than to
+observe him from the hill, and to clear my conscience by
+confessing to him afterwards what I had done. It is true that if
+any sudden danger had threatened him I was too far away to be of
+use, and yet I am sure that you will agree with me that the
+position was very difficult, and that there was nothing more
+which I could do.</p>
+
+<p>Our friend, Sir Henry, and the lady had halted on the path and
+were standing deeply absorbed in their conversation, when I was
+suddenly aware that I was not the only witness of their
+interview. A wisp of green floating in the air caught my eye, and
+another glance showed me that it was carried on a stick by a man
+who was moving among the broken ground. It was Stapleton with his
+butterfly-net. He was very much closer to the pair than I was,
+and he appeared to be moving in their direction. At this instant
+Sir Henry suddenly drew Miss Stapleton to his side. His arm was
+round her, but it seemed to me that she was straining away from
+him with her face averted. He stooped his head to hers, and she
+raised one hand as if in protest. Next moment I saw them spring
+apart and turn hurriedly round. Stapleton was the cause of the
+interruption. He was running wildly towards them, his absurd net
+dangling behind him. He gesticulated and almost danced with
+excitement in front of the lovers. What the scene meant I could
+not imagine, but it seemed to me that Stapleton was abusing Sir
+Henry, who offered explanations, which became more angry as the
+other refused to accept them. The lady stood by in haughty
+silence. Finally Stapleton turned upon his heel and beckoned in a
+peremptory way to his sister, who, after an irresolute glance at
+Sir Henry, walked off by the side of her brother. The
+naturalist's angry gestures showed that the lady was included in
+his displeasure. The baronet stood for a minute looking after
+them, and then he walked slowly back the way that he had come,
+his head hanging, the very picture of dejection.</p>
+
+<p>What all this meant I could not imagine, but I was deeply ashamed
+to have witnessed so intimate a scene without my friend's
+knowledge. I ran down the hill therefore and met the baronet at
+the bottom. His face was flushed with anger and his brows were
+wrinkled, like one who is at his wit's ends what to do.</p>
+
+<p>"Halloa, Watson! Where have you dropped from?" said he. "You don't
+mean to say that you came after me in spite of all?"</p>
+
+<p>I explained everything to him: how I had found it impossible to
+remain behind, how I had followed him, and how I had witnessed
+all that had occurred. For an instant his eyes blazed at me, but
+my frankness disarmed his anger, and he broke at last into a
+rather rueful laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"You would have thought the middle of that prairie a fairly safe
+place for a man to be private," said he, "but, by thunder, the
+whole country-side seems to have been out to see me do my
+wooing&mdash;and a mighty poor wooing at that! Where had you engaged a
+seat?"</p>
+
+<p>"I was on that hill."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite in the back row, eh? But her brother was well up to the
+front. Did you see him come out on us?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I did."</p>
+
+<p>"Did he ever strike you as being crazy&mdash;this brother of hers?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can't say that he ever did."</p>
+
+<p>"I dare say not. I always thought him sane enough until to-day,
+but you can take it from me that either he or I ought to be in a
+strait-jacket. What's the matter with me, anyhow? You've lived
+near me for some weeks, Watson. Tell me straight, now! Is there
+anything that would prevent me from making a good husband to a
+woman that I loved?"</p>
+
+<p>"I should say not."</p>
+
+<p>"He can't object to my worldly position, so it must be myself
+that he has this down on. What has he against me? I never hurt
+man or woman in my life that I know of. And yet he would not so
+much as let me touch the tips of her fingers."</p>
+
+<p>"Did he say so?"</p>
+
+<p>"That, and a deal more. I tell you, Watson, I've only known her
+these few weeks, but from the first I just felt that she was made
+for me, and she, too&mdash;she was happy when she was with me, and
+that I'll swear. There's a light in a woman's eyes that speaks
+louder than words. But he has never let us get together, and it
+was only to-day for the first time that I saw a chance of having
+a few words with her alone. She was glad to meet me, but when she
+did it was not love that she would talk about, and she wouldn't
+have let me talk about it either if she could have stopped it.
+She kept coming back to it that this was a place of danger, and
+that she would never be happy until I had left it. I told her
+that since I had seen her I was in no hurry to leave it, and that
+if she really wanted me to go, the only way to work it was for
+her to arrange to go with me. With that I offered in as many
+words to marry her, but before she could answer, down came this
+brother of hers, running at us with a face on him like a madman.
+He was just white with rage, and those light eyes of his were
+blazing with fury. What was I doing with the lady? How dared I
+offer her attentions which were distasteful to her? Did I think
+that because I was a baronet I could do what I liked? If he had
+not been her brother I should have known better how to answer
+him. As it was I told him that my feelings towards his sister
+were such as I was not ashamed of, and that I hoped that she
+might honour me by becoming my wife. That seemed to make the
+matter no better, so then I lost my temper too, and I answered
+him rather more hotly than I should perhaps, considering that she
+was standing by. So it ended by his going off with her, as you
+saw, and here am I as badly puzzled a man as any in this county.
+Just tell me what it all means, Watson, and I'll owe you more
+than ever I can hope to pay."</p>
+
+<p>I tried one or two explanations, but, indeed, I was completely
+puzzled myself. Our friend's title, his fortune, his age, his
+character, and his appearance are all in his favour, and I know
+nothing against him unless it be this dark fate which runs in his
+family. That his advances should be rejected so brusquely without
+any reference to the lady's own wishes, and that the lady should
+accept the situation without protest, is very amazing. However,
+our conjectures were set at rest by a visit from Stapleton
+himself that very afternoon. He had come to offer apologies for
+his rudeness of the morning, and after a long private interview
+with Sir Henry in his study, the upshot of their conversation was
+that the breach is quite healed, and that we are to dine at
+Merripit House next Friday as a sign of it.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't say now that he isn't a crazy man," said Sir Henry; "I
+can't forget the look in his eyes when he ran at me this morning,
+but I must allow that no man could make a more handsome apology
+than he has done."</p>
+
+<p>"Did he give any explanation of his conduct?"</p>
+
+<p>"His sister is everything in his life, he says. That is natural
+enough, and I am glad that he should understand her value. They
+have always been together, and according to his account he has
+been a very lonely man with only her as a companion, so that the
+thought of losing her was really terrible to him. He had not
+understood, he said, that I was becoming attached to her, but
+when he saw with his own eyes that it was really so, and that she
+might be taken away from him, it gave him such a shock that for a
+time he was not responsible for what he said or did. He was very
+sorry for all that had passed, and he recognized how foolish and
+how selfish it was that he should imagine that he could hold a
+beautiful woman like his sister to himself for her whole life. If
+she had to leave him he had rather it was to a neighbour like
+myself than to anyone else. But in any case it was a blow to him,
+and it would take him some time before he could prepare himself
+to meet it. He would withdraw all opposition upon his part if I
+would promise for three months to let the matter rest and to be
+content with cultivating the lady's friendship during that time
+without claiming her love. This I promised, and so the matter
+rests."</p>
+
+<p>So there is one of our small mysteries cleared up. It is
+something to have touched bottom anywhere in this bog in which we
+are floundering. We know now why Stapleton looked with disfavour
+upon his sister's suitor&mdash;even when that suitor was so eligible a
+one as Sir Henry. And now I pass on to another thread which I
+have extricated out of the tangled skein, the mystery of the sobs
+in the night, of the tear-stained face of Mrs. Barrymore, of the
+secret journey of the butler to the western lattice window.
+Congratulate me, my dear Holmes, and tell me that I have not
+disappointed you as an agent&mdash;that you do not regret the
+confidence which you showed in me when you sent me down. All
+these things have by one night's work been thoroughly cleared.</p>
+
+<p>I have said "by one night's work," but, in truth, it was by two
+nights' work, for on the first we drew entirely blank. I sat up
+with Sir Henry in his rooms until nearly three o'clock in the
+morning, but no sound of any sort did we hear except the chiming
+clock upon the stairs. It was a most melancholy vigil, and ended
+by each of us falling asleep in our chairs. Fortunately we were
+not discouraged, and we determined to try again. The next night
+we lowered the lamp, and sat smoking cigarettes without making
+the least sound. It was incredible how slowly the hours crawled
+by, and yet we were helped through it by the same sort of patient
+interest which the hunter must feel as he watches the trap into
+which he hopes the game may wander. One struck, and two, and we
+had almost for the second time given it up in despair, when in an
+instant we both sat bolt upright in our chairs, with all our
+weary senses keenly on the alert once more. We had heard the
+creak of a step in the passage.</p>
+
+<p>Very stealthily we heard it pass along until it died away in the
+distance. Then the baronet gently opened his door and we set out
+in pursuit. Already our man had gone round the gallery, and the
+corridor was all in darkness. Softly we stole along until we had
+come into the other wing. We were just in time to catch a glimpse
+of the tall, black-bearded figure, his shoulders rounded, as he
+tip-toed down the passage. Then he passed through the same door
+as before, and the light of the candle framed it in the darkness
+and shot one single yellow beam across the gloom of the corridor.
+We shuffled cautiously towards it, trying every plank before we
+dared to put our whole weight upon it. We had taken the
+precaution of leaving our boots behind us, but, even so, the old
+boards snapped and creaked beneath our tread. Sometimes it seemed
+impossible that he should fail to hear our approach. However, the
+man is fortunately rather deaf, and he was entirely preoccupied
+in that which he was doing. When at last we reached the door and
+peeped through we found him crouching at the window, candle in
+hand, his white, intent face pressed against the pane, exactly as
+I had seen him two nights before.</p>
+
+<p>We had arranged no plan of campaign, but the baronet is a man to
+whom the most direct way is always the most natural. He walked
+into the room, and as he did so Barrymore sprang up from the
+window with a sharp hiss of his breath and stood, livid and
+trembling, before us. His dark eyes, glaring out of the white
+mask of his face, were full of horror and astonishment as he
+gazed from Sir Henry to me.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you doing here, Barrymore?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing, sir." His agitation was so great that he could hardly
+speak, and the shadows sprang up and down from the shaking of his
+candle. "It was the window, sir. I go round at night to see that
+they are fastened."</p>
+
+<p>"On the second floor?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, all the windows."</p>
+
+<p>"Look here, Barrymore," said Sir Henry, sternly; "we have made up
+our minds to have the truth out of you, so it will save you
+trouble to tell it sooner rather than later. Come, now! No lies!
+What were you doing at that window?"</p>
+
+<p>The fellow looked at us in a helpless way, and he wrung his hands
+together like one who is in the last extremity of doubt and
+misery.</p>
+
+<p>"I was doing no harm, sir. I was holding a candle to the window."</p>
+
+<p>"And why were you holding a candle to the window?"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't ask me, Sir Henry&mdash;don't ask me! I give you my word, sir,
+that it is not my secret, and that I cannot tell it. If it
+concerned no one but myself I would not try to keep it from you."</p>
+
+<p>A sudden idea occurred to me, and I took the candle from the
+trembling hand of the butler.</p>
+
+<p>"He must have been holding it as a signal," said I. "Let us see
+if there is any answer." I held it as he had done, and stared out
+into the darkness of the night. Vaguely I could discern the black
+bank of the trees and the lighter expanse of the moor, for the
+moon was behind the clouds. And then I gave a cry of exultation,
+for a tiny pin-point of yellow light had suddenly transfixed the
+dark veil, and glowed steadily in the centre of the black square
+framed by the window.</p>
+
+<p>"There it is!" I cried.</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, sir, it is nothing&mdash;nothing at all!" the butler broke
+in; "I assure you, sir &mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Move your light across the window, Watson!" cried the baronet.
+"See, the other moves also! Now, you rascal, do you deny that it
+is a signal? Come, speak up! Who is your confederate out yonder,
+and what is this conspiracy that is going on?"</p>
+
+<p>The man's face became openly defiant.</p>
+
+<p>"It is my business, and not yours. I will not tell."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you leave my employment right away."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good, sir. If I must I must."</p>
+
+<p>"And you go in disgrace. By thunder, you may well be ashamed of
+yourself. Your family has lived with mine for over a hundred
+years under this roof, and here I find you deep in some dark plot
+against me."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, sir; no, not against you!" It was a woman's voice, and
+Mrs. Barrymore, paler and more horror-struck than her husband,
+was standing at the door. Her bulky figure in a shawl and skirt
+might have been comic were it not for the intensity of feeling
+upon her face.</p>
+
+<p>"We have to go, Eliza. This is the end of it. You can pack our
+things," said the butler.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, John, John, have I brought you to this? It is my doing, Sir
+Henry&mdash;all mine. He has done nothing except for my sake and
+because I asked him."</p>
+
+<p>"Speak out, then! What does it mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"My unhappy brother is starving on the moor. We cannot let him
+perish at our very gates. The light is a signal to him that food
+is ready for him, and his light out yonder is to show the spot to
+which to bring it."</p>
+
+<p>"Then your brother is &mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"The escaped convict, sir&mdash;Selden, the criminal."</p>
+
+<p>"That's the truth, sir," said Barrymore. "I said that it was not
+my secret and that I could not tell it to you. But now you have
+heard it, and you will see that if there was a plot it was not
+against you."</p>
+
+<p>This, then, was the explanation of the stealthy expeditions at
+night and the light at the window. Sir Henry and I both stared at
+the woman in amazement. Was it possible that this stolidly
+respectable person was of the same blood as one of the most
+notorious criminals in the country?</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, my name was Selden, and he is my younger brother. We
+humoured him too much when he was a lad, and gave him his own way
+in everything until he came to think that the world was made for
+his pleasure, and that he could do what he liked in it. Then as
+he grew older he met wicked companions, and the devil entered
+into him until he broke my mother's heart and dragged our name in
+the dirt. From crime to crime he sank lower and lower, until it
+is only the mercy of God which has snatched him from the
+scaffold; but to me, sir, he was always the little curly-headed
+boy that I had nursed and played with, as an elder sister would.
+That was why he broke prison, sir. He knew that I was here and
+that we could not refuse to help him. When he dragged himself
+here one night, weary and starving, with the warders hard at his
+heels, what could we do? We took him in and fed him and cared for
+him. Then you returned, sir, and my brother thought he would be
+safer on the moor than anywhere else until the hue and cry was
+over, so he lay in hiding there. But every second night we made
+sure if he was still there by putting a light in the window, and
+if there was an answer my husband took out some bread and meat to
+him. Every day we hoped that he was gone, but as long as he was
+there we could not desert him. That is the whole truth, as I am
+an honest Christian woman, and you will see that if there is
+blame in the matter it does not lie with my husband, but with me,
+for whose sake he has done all that he has."</p>
+
+<p>The woman's words came with an intense earnestness which carried
+conviction with them.</p>
+
+<p>"Is this true, Barrymore?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Sir Henry. Every word of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I cannot blame you for standing by your own wife. Forget
+what I have said. Go to your room, you two, and we shall talk
+further about this matter in the morning."</p>
+
+<p>When they were gone we looked out of the window again. Sir Henry
+had flung it open, and the cold night wind beat in upon our
+faces. Far away in the black distance there still glowed that one
+tiny point of yellow light.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder he dares," said Sir Henry.</p>
+
+<p>"It may be so placed as to be only visible from here."</p>
+
+<p>"Very likely. How far do you think it is?"</p>
+
+<p>"Out by the Cleft Tor, I think."</p>
+
+<p>"Not more than a mile or two off."</p>
+
+<p>"Hardly that."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it cannot be far if Barrymore had to carry out the food to
+it. And he is waiting, this villain, beside that candle. By
+thunder, Watson, I am going out to take that man!"</p>
+
+<p>The same thought had crossed my own mind. It was not as if the
+Barrymores had taken us into their confidence. Their secret had
+been forced from them. The man was a danger to the community, an
+unmitigated scoundrel for whom there was neither pity nor excuse.
+We were only doing our duty in taking this chance of putting him
+back where he could do no harm. With his brutal and violent
+nature, others would have to pay the price if we held our hands.
+Any night, for example, our neighbours the Stapletons might be
+attacked by him, and it may have been the thought of this which
+made Sir Henry so keen upon the adventure.</p>
+
+<p>"I will come," said I.</p>
+
+<p>"Then get your revolver and put on your boots. The sooner we
+start the better, as the fellow may put out his light and be
+off."</p>
+
+<p>In five minutes we were outside the door, starting upon our
+expedition. We hurried through the dark shrubbery, amid the dull
+moaning of the autumn wind and the rustle of the falling leaves.
+The night air was heavy with the smell of damp and decay. Now and
+again the moon peeped out for an instant, but clouds were driving
+over the face of the sky, and just as we came out on the moor a
+thin rain began to fall. The light still burned steadily in
+front.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you armed?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I have a hunting-crop."</p>
+
+<p>"We must close in on him rapidly, for he is said to be a
+desperate fellow. We shall take him by surprise and have him at
+our mercy before he can resist."</p>
+
+<p>"I say, Watson," said the baronet, "what would Holmes say to
+this? How about that hour of darkness in which the power of evil
+is exalted?"</p>
+
+<p>As if in answer to his words there rose suddenly out of the vast
+gloom of the moor that strange cry which I had already heard upon
+the borders of the great Grimpen Mire. It came with the wind
+through the silence of the night, a long, deep mutter, then a
+rising howl, and then the sad moan in which it died away. Again
+and again it sounded, the whole air throbbing with it, strident,
+wild, and menacing. The baronet caught my sleeve and his face
+glimmered white through the darkness.</p>
+
+<p>"My God, what's that, Watson?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know. It's a sound they have on the moor. I heard it
+once before."</p>
+
+<p>It died away, and an absolute silence closed in upon us. We stood
+straining our ears, but nothing came.</p>
+
+<p>"Watson," said the baronet, "it was the cry of a hound."</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>"What do they call this sound?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Who?"</p>
+
+<p>"The folk on the country-side."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, they are ignorant people. Why should you mind what they call
+it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me, Watson. What do they say of it?"</p>
+
+<p>I hesitated but could not escape the question.</p>
+
+<p>"They say it is the cry of the Hound of the Baskervilles."</p>
+
+<p>He groaned and was silent for a few moments.</p>
+
+<p>"A hound it was," he said, at last, "but it seemed to come from
+miles away, over yonder, I think."</p>
+
+<p>"It was hard to say whence it came."</p>
+
+<p>"It rose and fell with the wind. Isn't that the direction of the
+great Grimpen Mire?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it is."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it was up there. Come now, Watson, didn't you think
+yourself that it was the cry of a hound? I am not a child. You
+need not fear to speak the truth."</p>
+
+<p>"Stapleton was with me when I heard it last. He said that it
+might be the calling of a strange bird."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, it was a hound. My God, can there be some truth in all
+these stories? Is it possible that I am really in danger from so
+dark a cause? You don't believe it, do you, Watson?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no."</p>
+
+<p>"And yet it was one thing to laugh about it in London, and it is
+another to stand out here in the darkness of the moor and to hear
+such a cry as that. And my uncle! There was the footprint of the
+hound beside him as he lay. It all fits together. I don't think
+that I am a coward, Watson, but that sound seemed to freeze my
+very blood. Feel my hand!"</p>
+
+<p>It was as cold as a block of marble.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll be all right to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think I'll get that cry out of my head. What do you
+advise that we do now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Shall we turn back?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, by thunder; we have come out to get our man, and we will do
+it. We after the convict, and a hell-hound, as likely as not,
+after us. Come on! We'll see it through if all the fiends of the
+pit were loose upon the moor."</p>
+
+<p>We stumbled slowly along in the darkness, with the black loom of
+the craggy hills around us, and the yellow speck of light burning
+steadily in front. There is nothing so deceptive as the distance
+of a light upon a pitch-dark night, and sometimes the glimmer
+seemed to be far away upon the horizon and sometimes it might
+have been within a few yards of us. But at last we could see
+whence it came, and then we knew that we were indeed very close.
+A guttering candle was stuck in a crevice of the rocks which
+flanked it on each side so as to keep the wind from it and also
+to prevent it from being visible, save in the direction of
+Baskerville Hall. A boulder of granite concealed our approach, and
+crouching behind it we gazed over it at the signal light. It was
+strange to see this single candle burning there in the middle of
+the moor, with no sign of life near it&mdash;just the one straight
+yellow flame and the gleam of the rock on each side of it.</p>
+
+<p>"What shall we do now?" whispered Sir Henry.</p>
+
+<p>"Wait here. He must be near his light. Let us see if we can get a
+glimpse of him."</p>
+
+<p>The words were hardly out of my mouth when we both saw him. Over
+the rocks, in the crevice of which the candle burned, there was
+thrust out an evil yellow face, a terrible animal face, all
+seamed and scored with vile passions. Foul with mire, with a
+bristling beard, and hung with matted hair, it might well have
+belonged to one of those old savages who dwelt in the burrows on
+the hillsides. The light beneath him was reflected in his small,
+cunning eyes which peered fiercely to right and left through the
+darkness, like a crafty and savage animal who has heard the steps
+of the hunters.</p>
+
+<p>Something had evidently aroused his suspicions. It may have been
+that Barrymore had some private signal which we had neglected to
+give, or the fellow may have had some other reason for thinking
+that all was not well, but I could read his fears upon his wicked
+face. Any instant he might dash out the light and vanish in the
+darkness. I sprang forward therefore, and Sir Henry did the same.
+At the same moment the convict screamed out a curse at us and
+hurled a rock which splintered up against the boulder which had
+sheltered us. I caught one glimpse of his short, squat, strongly-
+built figure as he sprang to his feet and turned to run. At the
+same moment by a lucky chance the moon broke through the clouds.
+We rushed over the brow of the hill, and there was our man
+running with great speed down the other side, springing over the
+stones in his way with the activity of a mountain goat. A lucky
+long shot of my revolver might have crippled him, but I had
+brought it only to defend myself if attacked, and not to shoot an
+unarmed man who was running away.</p>
+
+<p>We were both swift runners and in fairly good training, but we
+soon found that we had no chance of overtaking him. We saw him
+for a long time in the moonlight until he was only a small speck
+moving swiftly among the boulders upon the side of a distant
+hill. We ran and ran until we were completely blown, but the
+space between us grew ever wider. Finally we stopped and sat
+panting on two rocks, while we watched him disappearing in the
+distance.</p>
+
+<p>And it was at this moment that there occurred a most strange and
+unexpected thing. We had risen from our rocks and were turning to
+go home, having abandoned the hopeless chase. The moon was low
+upon the right, and the jagged pinnacle of a granite tor stood up
+against the lower curve of its silver disc. There, outlined as
+black as an ebony statue on that shining back-ground, I saw the
+figure of a man upon the tor. Do not think that it was a
+delusion, Holmes. I assure you that I have never in my life seen
+anything more clearly. As far as I could judge, the figure was
+that of a tall, thin man. He stood with his legs a little
+separated, his arms folded, his head bowed, as if he were
+brooding over that enormous wilderness of peat and granite which
+lay before him. He might have been the very spirit of that
+terrible place. It was not the convict. This man was far from the
+place where the latter had disappeared. Besides, he was a much
+taller man. With a cry of surprise I pointed him out to the
+baronet, but in the instant during which I had turned to grasp
+his arm the man was gone. There was the sharp pinnacle of granite
+still cutting the lower edge of the moon, but its peak bore no
+trace of that silent and motionless figure.</p>
+
+<p>I wished to go in that direction and to search the tor, but it
+was some distance away. The baronet's nerves were still quivering
+from that cry, which recalled the dark story of his family, and
+he was not in the mood for fresh adventures. He had not seen this
+lonely man upon the tor and could not feel the thrill which his
+strange presence and his commanding attitude had given to me. "A
+warder, no doubt," said he. "The moor has been thick with them
+since this fellow escaped." Well, perhaps his explanation may be
+the right one, but I should like to have some further proof of
+it. To-day we mean to communicate to the Princetown people where
+they should look for their missing man, but it is hard lines that
+we have not actually had the triumph of bringing him back as our
+own prisoner. Such are the adventures of last night, and you must
+acknowledge, my dear Holmes, that I have done you very well in
+the matter of a report. Much of what I tell you is no doubt quite
+irrelevant, but still I feel that it is best that I should let
+you have all the facts and leave you to select for yourself those
+which will be of most service to you in helping you to your
+conclusions. We are certainly making some progress. So far as the
+Barrymores go we have found the motive of their actions, and that
+has cleared up the situation very much. But the moor with its
+mysteries and its strange inhabitants remains as inscrutable as
+ever. Perhaps in my next I may be able to throw some light upon
+this also. Best of all would it be if you could come down to us.
+In any case you will hear from me again in the course of the next
+few days.</p>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_10" id="Chapter_10"></a>Chapter 10<br /><br />
+Extract from the Diary of Dr. Watson</h3>
+
+<p>So far I have been able to quote from the reports which I have
+forwarded during these early days to Sherlock Holmes. Now,
+however, I have arrived at a point in my narrative where I am
+compelled to abandon this method and to trust once more to my
+recollections, aided by the diary which I kept at the time. A few
+extracts from the latter will carry me on to those scenes which
+are indelibly fixed in every detail upon my memory. I proceed,
+then, from the morning which followed our abortive chase of the
+convict and our other strange experiences upon the moor.</p>
+
+<p>OCTOBER 16TH.&mdash;A dull and foggy day with a drizzle of rain. The
+house is banked in with rolling clouds, which rise now and then
+to show the dreary curves of the moor, with thin, silver veins
+upon the sides of the hills, and the distant boulders gleaming
+where the light strikes upon their wet faces. It is melancholy
+outside and in. The baronet is in a black reaction after the
+excitements of the night. I am conscious myself of a weight at my
+heart and a feeling of impending danger&mdash;ever present danger,
+which is the more terrible because I am unable to define it.</p>
+
+<p>And have I not cause for such a feeling? Consider the long
+sequence of incidents which have all pointed to some sinister
+influence which is at work around us. There is the death of the
+last occupant of the Hall, fulfilling so exactly the conditions
+of the family legend, and there are the repeated reports from
+peasants of the appearance of a strange creature upon the moor.
+Twice I have with my own ears heard the sound which resembled the
+distant baying of a hound. It is incredible, impossible, that it
+should really be outside the ordinary laws of nature. A spectral
+hound which leaves material footmarks and fills the air with its
+howling is surely not to be thought of. Stapleton may fall in
+with such a superstition, and Mortimer also; but if I have one
+quality upon earth it is common-sense, and nothing will persuade
+me to believe in such a thing. To do so would be to descend to
+the level of these poor peasants, who are not content with a mere
+fiend dog but must needs describe him with hell-fire shooting
+from his mouth and eyes. Holmes would not listen to such fancies,
+and I am his agent. But facts are facts, and I have twice heard
+this crying upon the moor. Suppose that there were really some
+huge hound loose upon it; that would go far to explain
+everything. But where could such a hound lie concealed, where did
+it get its food, where did it come from, how was it that no one
+saw it by day? It must be confessed that the natural explanation
+offers almost as many difficulties as the other. And always,
+apart from the hound, there is the fact of the human agency in
+London, the man in the cab, and the letter which warned Sir Henry
+against the moor. This at least was real, but it might have been
+the work of a protecting friend as easily as of an enemy. Where
+is that friend or enemy now? Has he remained in London, or has he
+followed us down here? Could he&mdash;could he be the stranger whom I
+saw upon the tor?</p>
+
+<p>It is true that I have had only the one glance at him, and yet
+there are some things to which I am ready to swear. He is no one
+whom I have seen down here, and I have now met all the
+neighbours. The figure was far taller than that of Stapleton, far
+thinner than that of Frankland. Barrymore it might possibly have
+been, but we had left him behind us, and I am certain that he
+could not have followed us. A stranger then is still dogging us,
+just as a stranger dogged us in London. We have never shaken him
+off. If I could lay my hands upon that man, then at last we might
+find ourselves at the end of all our difficulties. To this one
+purpose I must now devote all my energies.</p>
+
+<p>My first impulse was to tell Sir Henry all my plans. My second
+and wisest one is to play my own game and speak as little as
+possible to anyone. He is silent and distrait. His nerves have
+been strangely shaken by that sound upon the moor. I will say
+nothing to add to his anxieties, but I will take my own steps to
+attain my own end.</p>
+
+<p>We had a small scene this morning after breakfast. Barrymore
+asked leave to speak with Sir Henry, and they were closeted in
+his study some little time. Sitting in the billiard-room I more
+than once heard the sound of voices raised, and I had a pretty
+good idea what the point was which was under discussion. After a
+time the baronet opened his door and called for me.</p>
+
+<p>"Barrymore considers that he has a grievance," he said. "He
+thinks that it was unfair on our part to hunt his brother-in-law
+down when he, of his own free will, had told us the secret."</p>
+
+<p>The butler was standing very pale but very collected before us.</p>
+
+<p>"I may have spoken too warmly, sir," said he, "and if I have, I
+am sure that I beg your pardon. At the same time, I was very much
+surprised when I heard you two gentlemen come back this morning
+and learned that you had been chasing Selden. The poor fellow has
+enough to fight against without my putting more upon his track."</p>
+
+<p>"If you had told us of your own free will it would have been a
+different thing," said the baronet, "you only told us, or rather
+your wife only told us, when it was forced from you and you could
+not help yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't think you would have taken advantage of it, Sir
+Henry&mdash;indeed I didn't."</p>
+
+<p>"The man is a public danger. There are lonely houses scattered
+over the moor, and he is a fellow who would stick at nothing. You
+only want to get a glimpse of his face to see that. Look at Mr.
+Stapleton's house, for example, with no one but himself to defend
+it. There's no safety for anyone until he is under lock and key."</p>
+
+<p>"He'll break into no house, sir. I give you my solemn word upon
+that. But he will never trouble anyone in this country again. I
+assure you, Sir Henry, that in a very few days the necessary
+arrangements will have been made and he will be on his way to
+South America. For God's sake, sir, I beg of you not to let the
+police know that he is still on the moor. They have given up the
+chase there, and he can lie quiet until the ship is ready for
+him. You can't tell on him without getting my wife and me into
+trouble. I beg you, sir, to say nothing to the police."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you say, Watson?"</p>
+
+<p>I shrugged my shoulders. "If he were safely out of the country it
+would relieve the tax-payer of a burden."</p>
+
+<p>"But how about the chance of his holding someone up before he
+goes?"</p>
+
+<p>"He would not do anything so mad, sir. We have provided him with
+all that he can want. To commit a crime would be to show where he
+was hiding."</p>
+
+<p>"That is true," said Sir Henry. "Well, Barrymore &mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"God bless you, sir, and thank you from my heart! It would have
+killed my poor wife had he been taken again."</p>
+
+<p>"I guess we are aiding and abetting a felony, Watson? But, after
+what we have heard I don't feel as if I could give the man up, so
+there is an end of it. All right, Barrymore, you can go."</p>
+
+<p>With a few broken words of gratitude the man turned, but he
+hesitated and then came back.</p>
+
+<p>"You've been so kind to us, sir, that I should like to do the
+best I can for you in return. I know something, Sir Henry, and
+perhaps I should have said it before, but it was long after the
+inquest that I found it out. I've never breathed a word about it
+yet to mortal man. It's about poor Sir Charles's death."</p>
+
+<p>The baronet and I were both upon our feet. "Do you know how he
+died?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, I don't know that."</p>
+
+<p>"What then?"</p>
+
+<p>"I know why he was at the gate at that hour. It was to meet a
+woman."</p>
+
+<p>"To meet a woman! He?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"And the woman's name?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can't give you the name, sir, but I can give you the initials.
+Her initials were L. L."</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know this, Barrymore?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Sir Henry, your uncle had a letter that morning. He had
+usually a great many letters, for he was a public man and well
+known for his kind heart, so that everyone who was in trouble was
+glad to turn to him. But that morning, as it chanced, there was
+only this one letter, so I took the more notice of it. It was
+from Coombe Tracey, and it was addressed in a woman's hand."</p>
+
+<p>"Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir, I thought no more of the matter, and never would have
+done had it not been for my wife. Only a few weeks ago she was
+cleaning out Sir Charles's study&mdash;it had never been touched since
+his death&mdash;and she found the ashes of a burned letter in the back
+of the grate. The greater part of it was charred to pieces, but
+one little slip, the end of a page, hung together, and the
+writing could still be read, though it was gray on a black
+ground. It seemed to us to be a postscript at the end of the
+letter, and it said: 'Please, please, as you are a gentleman,
+burn this letter, and be at the gate by ten o clock. Beneath it
+were signed the initials L. L."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you got that slip?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, it crumbled all to bits after we moved it."</p>
+
+<p>"Had Sir Charles received any other letters in the same writing?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir, I took no particular notice of his letters. I should
+not have noticed this one, only it happened to come alone."</p>
+
+<p>"And you have no idea who L. L. is?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir. No more than you have. But I expect if we could lay our
+hands upon that lady we should know more about Sir Charles's
+death."</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot understand, Barrymore, how you came to conceal this
+important information."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir, it was immediately after that our own trouble came to
+us. And then again, sir, we were both of us very fond of Sir
+Charles, as we well might be considering all that he has done for
+us. To rake this up couldn't help our poor master, and it's well
+to go carefully when there's a lady in the case. Even the best of
+us &mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"You thought it might injure his reputation?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir, I thought no good could come of it. But now you have
+been kind to us, and I feel as if it would be treating you
+unfairly not to tell you all that I know about the matter."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good, Barrymore; you can go." When the butler had left us
+Sir Henry turned to me. "Well, Watson, what do you think of this
+new light?"</p>
+
+<p>"It seems to leave the darkness rather blacker than before."</p>
+
+<p>"So I think. But if we can only trace L. L. it should clear up
+the whole business. We have gained that much. We know that there
+is someone who has the facts if we can only find her. What do you
+think we should do?"</p>
+
+<p>"Let Holmes know all about it at once. It will give him the clue
+for which he has been seeking. I am much mistaken if it does not
+bring him down."</p>
+
+<p>I went at once to my room and drew up my report of the morning's
+conversation for Holmes. It was evident to me that he had been
+very busy of late, for the notes which I had from Baker Street
+were few and short, with no comments upon the information which I
+had supplied and hardly any reference to my mission. No doubt his
+blackmailing case is absorbing all his faculties. And yet this
+new factor must surely arrest his attention and renew his
+interest. I wish that he were here.</p>
+
+<p>OCTOBER 17TH.&mdash;All day to-day the rain poured down, rustling on
+the ivy and dripping from the eaves. I thought of the convict out
+upon the bleak, cold, shelterless moor. Poor devil! Whatever his
+crimes, he has suffered something to atone for them. And then I
+thought of that other one&mdash;the face in the cab, the figure
+against the moon. Was he also out in that deluged&mdash;the unseen
+watcher, the man of darkness? In the evening I put on my
+waterproof and I walked far upon the sodden moor, full of dark
+imaginings, the rain beating upon my face and the wind whistling
+about my ears. God help those who wander into the great mire now,
+for even the firm uplands are becoming a morass. I found the
+black tor upon which I had seen the solitary watcher, and from
+its craggy summit I looked out myself across the melancholy
+downs. Rain squalls drifted across their russet face, and the
+heavy, slate-coloured clouds hung low over the landscape,
+trailing in gray wreaths down the sides of the fantastic hills.
+In the distant hollow on the left, half hidden by the mist, the
+two thin towers of Baskerville Hall rose above the trees. They
+were the only signs of human life which I could see, save only
+those prehistoric huts which lay thickly upon the slopes of the
+hills. Nowhere was there any trace of that lonely man whom I had
+seen on the same spot two nights before.</p>
+
+<p>As I walked back I was overtaken by Dr. Mortimer driving in his
+dog-cart over a rough moorland track which led from the outlying
+farmhouse of Foulmire. He has been very attentive to us, and
+hardly a day has passed that he has not called at the Hall to see
+how we were getting on. He insisted upon my climbing into his
+dog-cart, and he gave me a lift homeward. I found him much
+troubled over the disappearance of his little spaniel. It had
+wandered on to the moor and had never come back. I gave him such
+consolation as I might, but I thought of the pony on the Grimpen
+Mire, and I do not fancy that he will see his little dog again.</p>
+
+<p>"By the way, Mortimer," said I as we jolted along the rough road,
+"I suppose there are few people living within driving distance of
+this whom you do not know?"</p>
+
+<p>"Hardly any, I think."</p>
+
+<p>"Can you, then, tell me the name of any woman whose initials are
+L. L.?"</p>
+
+<p>He thought for a few minutes.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said he. "There are a few gipsies and labouring folk for
+whom I can't answer, but among the farmers or gentry there is no
+one whose initials are those. Wait a bit though," he added after
+a pause. "There is Laura Lyons&mdash;her initials are L. L.&mdash;but she
+lives in Coombe Tracey."</p>
+
+<p>"Who is she?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"She is Frankland's daughter."</p>
+
+<p>"What! Old Frankland the crank?"</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly. She married an artist named Lyons, who came sketching
+on the moor. He proved to be a blackguard and deserted her. The
+fault from what I hear may not have been entirely on one side.
+Her father refused to have anything to do with her because she
+had married without his consent, and perhaps for one or two other
+reasons as well. So, between the old sinner and the young one the
+girl has had a pretty bad time."</p>
+
+<p>"How does she live?"</p>
+
+<p>"I fancy old Frankland allows her a pittance, but it cannot be
+more, for his own affairs are considerably involved. Whatever she
+may have deserved one could not allow her to go hopelessly to the
+bad. Her story got about, and several of the people here did
+something to enable her to earn an honest living. Stapleton did
+for one, and Sir Charles for another. I gave a trifle myself. It
+was to set her up in a typewriting business."</p>
+
+<p>He wanted to know the object of my inquiries, but I managed to
+satisfy his curiosity without telling him too much, for there is
+no reason why we should take anyone into our confidence.
+To-morrow morning I shall find my way to Coombe Tracey, and if I
+can see this Mrs. Laura Lyons, of equivocal reputation, a long
+step will have been made towards clearing one incident in this
+chain of mysteries. I am certainly developing the wisdom of the
+serpent, for when Mortimer pressed his questions to an
+inconvenient extent I asked him casually to what type Frankland's
+skull belonged, and so heard nothing but craniology for the rest
+of our drive. I have not lived for years with Sherlock Holmes for
+nothing.</p>
+
+<p>I have only one other incident to record upon this tempestuous
+and melancholy day. This was my conversation with Barrymore just
+now, which gives me one more strong card which I can play in due
+time.</p>
+
+<p>Mortimer had stayed to dinner, and he and the baronet played
+ecarté afterwards. The butler brought me my coffee into the
+library, and I took the chance to ask him a few questions.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said I, "has this precious relation of yours departed, or
+is he still lurking out yonder?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know, sir. I hope to heaven that he has gone, for he has
+brought nothing but trouble here! I've not heard of him since I
+left out food for him last, and that was three days ago."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you see him then?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, but the food was gone when next I went that way."</p>
+
+<p>"Then he was certainly there?"</p>
+
+<p>"So you would think, sir, unless it was the other man who took
+it."</p>
+
+<p>I sat with my coffee-cup halfway to my lips and stared at
+Barrymore.</p>
+
+<p>"You know that there is another man then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; there is another man upon the moor."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you seen him?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know of him then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Selden told me of him, sir, a week ago or more. He's in hiding,
+too, but he's not a convict as far as I can make out. I don't
+like it, Dr. Watson&mdash;I tell you straight, sir, that I don't like
+it." He spoke with a sudden passion of earnestness.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, listen to me, Barrymore! I have no interest in this matter
+but that of your master. I have come here with no object except
+to help him. Tell me, frankly, what it is that you don't like."</p>
+
+<p>Barrymore hesitated for a moment, as if he regretted his
+outburst, or found it difficult to express his own feelings in
+words.</p>
+
+<p>"It's all these goings-on, sir," he cried at last, waving his
+hand towards the rain-lashed window which faced the moor. "There's
+foul play somewhere, and there's black villainy brewing, to that
+I'll swear! Very glad I should be, sir, to see Sir Henry on his
+way back to London again!"</p>
+
+<p>"But what is it that alarms you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Look at Sir Charles's death! That was bad enough, for all that
+the coroner said. Look at the noises on the moor at night.
+There's not a man would cross it after sundown if he was paid for
+it. Look at this stranger hiding out yonder, and watching and
+waiting! What's he waiting for? What does it mean? It means no
+good to anyone of the name of Baskerville, and very glad I shall
+be to be quit of it all on the day that Sir Henry's new servants
+are ready to take over the Hall."</p>
+
+<p>"But about this stranger," said I. "Can you tell me anything
+about him? What did Selden say? Did he find out where he hid, or
+what he was doing?"</p>
+
+<p>"He saw him once or twice, but he is a deep one, and gives
+nothing away. At first he thought that he was the police, but
+soon he found that he had some lay of his own. A kind of
+gentleman he was, as far as he could see, but what he was doing
+he could not make out."</p>
+
+<p>"And where did he say that he lived?"</p>
+
+<p>"Among the old houses on the hillside&mdash;the stone huts where the
+old folk used to live."</p>
+
+<p>"But how about his food?"</p>
+
+<p>"Selden found out that he has got a lad who works for him and
+brings him all he needs. I dare say he goes to Coombe Tracey for
+what he wants."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good, Barrymore. We may talk further of this some other
+time." When the butler had gone I walked over to the black
+window, and I looked through a blurred pane at the driving clouds
+and at the tossing outline of the wind-swept trees. It is a wild
+night indoors, and what must it be in a stone hut upon the moor.
+What passion of hatred can it be which leads a man to lurk in
+such a place at such a time! And what deep and earnest purpose
+can he have which calls for such a trial! There, in that hut upon
+the moor, seems to lie the very centre of that problem which has
+vexed me so sorely. I swear that another day shall not have
+passed before I have done all that man can do to reach the heart
+of the mystery.</p>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_11" id="Chapter_11"></a>Chapter 11<br /><br />
+The Man on the Tor</h3>
+
+<p>The extract from my private diary which forms the last chapter
+has brought my narrative up to the 18th of October, a time when
+these strange events began to move swiftly towards their terrible
+conclusion. The incidents of the next few days are indelibly
+graven upon my recollection, and I can tell them without
+reference to the notes made at the time. I start then from the
+day which succeeded that upon which I had established two facts
+of great importance, the one that Mrs. Laura Lyons of Coombe
+Tracey had written to Sir Charles Baskerville and made an
+appointment with him at the very place and hour that he met his
+death, the other that the lurking man upon the moor was to be
+found among the stone huts upon the hill-side. With these two
+facts in my possession I felt that either my intelligence or my
+courage must be deficient if I could not throw some further light
+upon these dark places.</p>
+
+<p>I had no opportunity to tell the baronet what I had learned about
+Mrs. Lyons upon the evening before, for Dr. Mortimer remained
+with him at cards until it was very late. At breakfast, however,
+I informed him about my discovery, and asked him whether he would
+care to accompany me to Coombe Tracey. At first he was very eager
+to come, but on second thoughts it seemed to both of us that if I
+went alone the results might be better. The more formal we made
+the visit the less information we might obtain. I left Sir Henry
+behind, therefore, not without some prickings of conscience, and
+drove off upon my new quest.</p>
+
+<p>When I reached Coombe Tracey I told Perkins to put up the horses,
+and I made inquiries for the lady whom I had come to interrogate.
+I had no difficulty in finding her rooms, which were central and
+well appointed. A maid showed me in without ceremony, and as I
+entered the sitting-room a lady, who was sitting before a
+Remington typewriter, sprang up with a pleasant smile of welcome.
+Her face fell, however, when she saw that I was a stranger, and
+she sat down again and asked me the object of my visit.</p>
+
+<p>The first impression left by Mrs. Lyons was one of extreme
+beauty. Her eyes and hair were of the same rich hazel colour, and
+her cheeks, though considerably freckled, were flushed with the
+exquisite bloom of the brunette, the dainty pink which lurks at
+the heart of the sulphur rose. Admiration was, I repeat, the
+first impression. But the second was criticism. There was
+something subtly wrong with the face, some coarseness of
+expression, some hardness, perhaps, of eye, some looseness of lip
+which marred its perfect beauty. But these, of course, are
+after-thoughts. At the moment I was simply conscious that I was
+in the presence of a very handsome woman, and that she was asking
+me the reasons for my visit. I had not quite understood until
+that instant how delicate my mission was.</p>
+
+<p>"I have the pleasure," said I, "of knowing your father." It was a
+clumsy introduction, and the lady made me feel it.</p>
+
+<p>"There is nothing in common between my father and me," she said.
+"I owe him nothing, and his friends are not mine. If it were not
+for the late Sir Charles Baskerville and some other kind hearts I
+might have starved for all that my father cared."</p>
+
+<p>"It was about the late Sir Charles Baskerville that I have come
+here to see you."</p>
+
+<p>The freckles started out on the lady's face.</p>
+
+<p>"What can I tell you about him?" she asked, and her fingers
+played nervously over the stops of her typewriter.</p>
+
+<p>"You knew him, did you not?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have already said that I owe a great deal to his kindness. If
+I am able to support myself it is largely due to the interest
+which he took in my unhappy situation."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you correspond with him?"</p>
+
+<p>The lady looked quickly up with an angry gleam in her hazel eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"What is the object of these questions?" she asked sharply.</p>
+
+<p>"The object is to avoid a public scandal. It is better that I
+should ask them here than that the matter should pass outside our
+control."</p>
+
+<p>She was silent and her face was still very pale. At last she
+looked up with something reckless and defiant in her manner.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'll answer," she said. "What are your questions?"</p>
+
+<p>"Did you correspond with Sir Charles?"</p>
+
+<p>"I certainly wrote to him once or twice to acknowledge his
+delicacy and his generosity."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you the dates of those letters?"</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you ever met him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, once or twice, when he came into Coombe Tracey. He was a
+very retiring man, and he preferred to do good by stealth."</p>
+
+<p>"But if you saw him so seldom and wrote so seldom, how did he
+know enough about your affairs to be able to help you, as you say
+that he has done?"</p>
+
+<p>She met my difficulty with the utmost readiness.</p>
+
+<p>"There were several gentlemen who knew my sad history and united
+to help me. One was Mr. Stapleton, a neighbour and intimate
+friend of Sir Charles's. He was exceedingly kind, and it was
+through him that Sir Charles learned about my affairs."</p>
+
+<p>I knew already that Sir Charles Baskerville had made Stapleton
+his almoner upon several occasions, so the lady's statement bore
+the impress of truth upon it.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you ever write to Sir Charles asking him to meet you?" I
+continued.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Lyons flushed with anger again.</p>
+
+<p>"Really, sir, this is a very extraordinary question."</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry, madam, but I must repeat it."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I answer, certainly not."</p>
+
+<p>"Not on the very day of Sir Charles's death?"</p>
+
+<p>The flush had faded in an instant, and a deathly face was before
+me. Her dry lips could not speak the "No" which I saw rather than
+heard.</p>
+
+<p>"Surely your memory deceives you," said I. "I could even quote a
+passage of your letter. It ran 'Please, please, as you are a
+gentleman, burn this letter, and be at the gate by ten o'clock.'"</p>
+
+<p>I thought that she had fainted, but she recovered herself by a
+supreme effort.</p>
+
+<p>"Is there no such thing as a gentleman?" she gasped.</p>
+
+<p>"You do Sir Charles an injustice. He did burn the letter. But
+sometimes a letter may be legible even when burned. You
+acknowledge now that you wrote it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I did write it," she cried, pouring out her soul in a
+torrent of words. "I did write it. Why should I deny it? I have
+no reason to be ashamed of it. I wished him to help me. I
+believed that if I had an interview I could gain his help, so I
+asked him to meet me."</p>
+
+<p>"But why at such an hour?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because I had only just learned that he was going to London next
+day and might be away for months. There were reasons why I could
+not get there earlier."</p>
+
+<p>"But why a rendezvous in the garden instead of a visit to the
+house?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think a woman could go alone at that hour to a bachelor's
+house?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what happened when you did get there?"</p>
+
+<p>"I never went."</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Lyons!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I swear it to you on all I hold sacred. I never went.
+Something intervened to prevent my going."</p>
+
+<p>"What was that?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is a private matter. I cannot tell it."</p>
+
+<p>"You acknowledge then that you made an appointment with Sir
+Charles at the very hour and place at which he met his death, but
+you deny that you kept the appointment."</p>
+
+<p>"That is the truth."</p>
+
+<p>Again and again I cross-questioned her, but I could never get
+past that point.</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Lyons," said I, as I rose from this long and inconclusive
+interview, "you are taking a very great responsibility and
+putting yourself in a very false position by not making an
+absolutely clean breast of all that you know. If I have to call
+in the aid of the police you will find how seriously you are
+compromised. If your position is innocent, why did you in the
+first instance deny having written to Sir Charles upon that
+date?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because I feared that some false conclusion might be drawn from
+it and that I might find myself involved in a scandal."</p>
+
+<p>"And why were you so pressing that Sir Charles should destroy
+your letter?"</p>
+
+<p>"If you have read the letter you will know."</p>
+
+<p>"I did not say that I had read all the letter."</p>
+
+<p>"You quoted some of it."</p>
+
+<p>"I quoted the postscript. The letter had, as I said, been burned
+and it was not all legible. I ask you once again why it was that
+you were so pressing that Sir Charles should destroy this letter
+which he received on the day of his death."</p>
+
+<p>"The matter is a very private one."</p>
+
+<p>"The more reason why you should avoid a public investigation."</p>
+
+<p>"I will tell you, then. If you have heard anything of my unhappy
+history you will know that I made a rash marriage and had reason
+to regret it."</p>
+
+<p>"I have heard so much."</p>
+
+<p>"My life has been one incessant persecution from a husband whom I
+abhor. The law is upon his side, and every day I am faced by the
+possibility that he may force me to live with him. At the time
+that I wrote this letter to Sir Charles I had learned that there
+was a prospect of my regaining my freedom if certain expenses
+could be met. It meant everything to me&mdash;peace of mind,
+happiness, self-respect&mdash;everything. I knew Sir Charles's
+generosity, and I thought that if he heard the story from my own
+lips he would help me."</p>
+
+<p>"Then how is it that you did not go?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because I received help in the interval from another source."</p>
+
+<p>"Why then, did you not write to Sir Charles and explain this?"</p>
+
+<p>"So I should have done had I not seen his death in the paper next
+morning."</p>
+
+<p>The woman's story hung coherently together, and all my questions
+were unable to shake it. I could only check it by finding if she
+had, indeed, instituted divorce proceedings against her husband
+at or about the time of the tragedy.</p>
+
+<p>It was unlikely that she would dare to say that she had not been
+to Baskerville Hall if she really had been, for a trap would be
+necessary to take her there, and could not have returned to
+Coombe Tracey until the early hours of the morning. Such an
+excursion could not be kept secret. The probability was,
+therefore, that she was telling the truth, or, at least, a part
+of the truth. I came away baffled and disheartened. Once again I
+had reached that dead wall which seemed to be built across every
+path by which I tried to get at the object of my mission. And yet
+the more I thought of the lady's face and of her manner the more
+I felt that something was being held back from me. Why should she
+turn so pale? Why should she fight against every admission until
+it was forced from her? Why should she have been so reticent at
+the time of the tragedy? Surely the explanation of all this could
+not be as innocent as she would have me believe. For the moment I
+could proceed no farther in that direction, but must turn back to
+that other clue which was to be sought for among the stone huts
+upon the moor.</p>
+
+<p>And that was a most vague direction. I realized it as I drove
+back and noted how hill after hill showed traces of the ancient
+people. Barrymore's only indication had been that the stranger
+lived in one of these abandoned huts, and many hundreds of them
+are scattered throughout the length and breadth of the moor. But
+I had my own experience for a guide since it had shown me the man
+himself standing upon the summit of the Black Tor. That then
+should be the centre of my search. From there I should explore
+every hut upon the moor until I lighted upon the right one. If
+this man were inside it I should find out from his own lips, at
+the point of my revolver if necessary, who he was and why he had
+dogged us so long. He might slip away from us in the crowd of
+Regent Street, but it would puzzle him to do so upon the lonely
+moor. On the other hand, if I should find the hut and its tenant
+should not be within it I must remain there, however long the
+vigil, until he returned. Holmes had missed him in London. It
+would indeed be a triumph for me if I could run him to earth,
+where my master had failed.</p>
+
+<p>Luck had been against us again and again in this inquiry, but now
+at last it came to my aid. And the messenger of good fortune was
+none other than Mr. Frankland, who was standing, gray-whiskered
+and red-faced, outside the gate of his garden, which opened on to
+the high road along which I travelled.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-day, Dr. Watson," cried he with unwonted good humour, "you
+must really give your horses a rest, and come in to have a glass
+of wine and to congratulate me."</p>
+
+<p>My feelings towards him were very far from being friendly after
+what I had heard of his treatment of his daughter, but I was
+anxious to send Perkins and the wagonette home, and the
+opportunity was a good one. I alighted and sent a message to Sir
+Henry that I should walk over in time for dinner. Then I followed
+Frankland into his dining-room.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a great day for me, sir&mdash;one of the red-letter days of my
+life," he cried with many chuckles. "I have brought off a double
+event. I mean to teach them in these parts that law is law, and
+that there is a man here who does not fear to invoke it. I have
+established a right of way through the centre of old Middleton's
+park, slap across it, sir, within a hundred yards of his own
+front door. What do you think of that? We'll teach these magnates
+that they cannot ride roughshod over the rights of the
+commoners, confound them! And I've closed the wood where the
+Fernworthy folk used to picnic. These infernal people seem to
+think that there are no rights of property, and that they can
+swarm where they like with their papers and their bottles. Both
+cases decided, Dr. Watson, and both in my favour. I haven't had
+such a day since I had Sir John Morland for trespass, because he
+shot in his own warren."</p>
+
+<p>"How on earth did you do that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Look it up in the books, sir. It will repay reading&mdash;Frankland
+v. Morland, Court of Queen's Bench. It cost me 200 pounds, but I
+got my verdict."</p>
+
+<p>"Did it do you any good?"</p>
+
+<p>"None, sir, none. I am proud to say that I had no interest in the
+matter. I act entirely from a sense of public duty. I have no
+doubt, for example, that the Fernworthy people will burn me in
+effigy to-night. I told the police last time they did it that
+they should stop these disgraceful exhibitions. The County
+Constabulary is in a scandalous state, sir, and it has not
+afforded me the protection to which I am entitled. The case of
+Frankland v. Regina will bring the matter before the attention of
+the public. I told them that they would have occasion to regret
+their treatment of me, and already my words have come true."</p>
+
+<p>"How so?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>The old man put on a very knowing expression.</p>
+
+<p>"Because I could tell them what they are dying to know; but
+nothing would induce me to help the rascals in any way."</p>
+
+<p>I had been casting round for some excuse by which I could get
+away from his gossip, but now I began to wish to hear more of it.
+I had seen enough of the contrary nature of the old sinner to
+understand that any strong sign of interest would be the surest
+way to stop his confidences.</p>
+
+<p>"Some poaching case, no doubt?" said I, with an indifferent
+manner.</p>
+
+<p>"Ha, ha, my boy, a very much more important matter than that!
+What about the convict on the moor?"</p>
+
+<p>I started. "You don't mean that you know where he is?" said I.</p>
+
+<p>"I may not know exactly where he is, but I am quite sure that I
+could help the police to lay their hands on him. Has it never
+struck you that the way to catch that man was to find out where
+he got his food, and so trace it to him?"</p>
+
+<p>He certainly seemed to be getting uncomfortably near the truth.
+"No doubt," said I; "but how do you know that he is anywhere upon
+the moor?"</p>
+
+<p>"I know it because I have seen with my own eyes the messenger who
+takes him his food."</p>
+
+<p>My heart sank for Barrymore. It was a serious thing to be in the
+power of this spiteful old busybody. But his next remark took a
+weight from my mind.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll be surprised to hear that his food is taken to him by a
+child. I see him every day through my telescope upon the roof. He
+passes along the same path at the same hour, and to whom should
+he be going except to the convict?"</p>
+
+<p>Here was luck indeed! And yet I suppressed all appearance of
+interest. A child! Barrymore had said that our unknown was
+supplied by a boy. It was on his track, and not upon the
+convict's, that Frankland had stumbled. If I could get his
+knowledge it might save me a long and weary hunt. But incredulity
+and indifference were evidently my strongest cards.</p>
+
+<p>"I should say that it was much more likely that it was the son of
+one of the moorland shepherds taking out his father's dinner."</p>
+
+<p>The least appearance of opposition struck fire out of the old
+autocrat. His eyes looked malignantly at me, and his gray
+whiskers bristled like those of an angry cat.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, sir!" said he, pointing out over the wide-stretching
+moor. "Do you see that Black Tor over yonder? Well, do you see
+the low hill beyond with the thornbush upon it? It is the
+stoniest part of the whole moor. Is that a place where a shepherd
+would be likely to take his station? Your suggestion, sir, is a
+most absurd one."</p>
+
+<p>I meekly answered that I had spoken without knowing all the
+facts. My submission pleased him and led him to further
+confidences.</p>
+
+<p>"You may be sure, sir, that I have very good grounds before I
+come to an opinion. I have seen the boy again and again with his
+bundle. Every day, and sometimes twice a day, I have been
+able&mdash;but wait a moment, Dr. Watson. Do my eyes deceive me, or is
+there at the present moment something moving upon that hill-
+side?"</p>
+
+<p>It was several miles off, but I could distinctly see a small dark
+dot against the dull green and gray.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, sir, come!" cried Frankland, rushing upstairs. "You will
+see with your own eyes and judge for yourself."</p>
+
+<p>The telescope, a formidable instrument mounted upon a tripod,
+stood upon the flat leads of the house. Frankland clapped his eye
+to it and gave a cry of satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>"Quick, Dr. Watson, quick, before he passes over the hill!"</p>
+
+<p>There he was, sure enough, a small urchin with a little bundle
+upon his shoulder, toiling slowly up the hill. When he reached
+the crest I saw the ragged uncouth figure outlined for an instant
+against the cold blue sky. He looked round him with a furtive and
+stealthy air, as one who dreads pursuit. Then he vanished over
+the hill.</p>
+
+<p>"Well! Am I right?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, there is a boy who seems to have some secret errand."</p>
+
+<p>"And what the errand is even a county constable could guess. But
+not one word shall they have from me, and I bind you to secrecy
+also, Dr. Watson. Not a word! You understand!"</p>
+
+<p>"Just as you wish."</p>
+
+<p>"They have treated me shamefully&mdash;shamefully. When the facts come
+out in Frankland v. Regina I venture to think that a thrill of
+indignation will run through the country. Nothing would induce me
+to help the police in any way. For all they cared it might have
+been me, instead of my effigy, which these rascals burned at the
+stake. Surely you are not going! You will help me to empty the
+decanter in honour of this great occasion!"</p>
+
+<p>But I resisted all his solicitations and succeeded in dissuading
+him from his announced intention of walking home with me. I kept
+the road as long as his eye was on me, and then I struck off
+across the moor and made for the stony hill over which the boy
+had disappeared. Everything was working in my favour, and I swore
+that it should not be through lack of energy or perseverance that
+I should miss the chance which fortune had thrown in my way.</p>
+
+<p>The sun was already sinking when I reached the summit of the
+hill, and the long slopes beneath me were all golden-green on one
+side and gray shadow on the other. A haze lay low upon the
+farthest sky-line, out of which jutted the fantastic shapes of
+Belliver and Vixen Tor. Over the wide expanse there was no sound
+and no movement. One great gray bird, a gull or curlew, soared
+aloft in the blue heaven. He and I seemed to be the only living
+things between the huge arch of the sky and the desert beneath
+it. The barren scene, the sense of loneliness, and the mystery
+and urgency of my task all struck a chill into my heart. The boy
+was nowhere to be seen. But down beneath me in a cleft of the
+hills there was a circle of the old stone huts, and in the middle
+of them there was one which retained sufficient roof to act as a
+screen against the weather. My heart leaped within me as I saw
+it. This must be the burrow where the stranger lurked. At last my
+foot was on the threshold of his hiding place&mdash;his secret was
+within my grasp.</p>
+
+<p>As I approached the hut, walking as warily as Stapleton would do
+when with poised net he drew near the settled butterfly, I
+satisfied myself that the place had indeed been used as a
+habitation. A vague pathway among the boulders led to the
+dilapidated opening which served as a door. All was silent
+within. The unknown might be lurking there, or he might be
+prowling on the moor. My nerves tingled with the sense of
+adventure. Throwing aside my cigarette, I closed my hand upon the
+butt of my revolver and, walking swiftly up to the door, I looked
+in. The place was empty.</p>
+
+<p>But there were ample signs that I had not come upon a false
+scent. This was certainly where the man lived. Some blankets
+rolled in a waterproof lay upon that very stone slab upon which
+Neolithic man had once slumbered. The ashes of a fire were heaped
+in a rude grate. Beside it lay some cooking utensils and a bucket
+half-full of water. A litter of empty tins showed that the place
+had been occupied for some time, and I saw, as my eyes became
+accustomed to the checkered light, a pannikin and a half-full
+bottle of spirits standing in the corner. In the middle of the
+hut a flat stone served the purpose of a table, and upon this
+stood a small cloth bundle&mdash;the same, no doubt, which I had seen
+through the telescope upon the shoulder of the boy. It contained
+a loaf of bread, a tinned tongue, and two tins of preserved
+peaches. As I set it down again, after having examined it, my
+heart leaped to see that beneath it there lay a sheet of paper
+with writing upon it. I raised it, and this was what I read,
+roughly scrawled in pencil:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Watson has gone to Coombe Tracey.</p>
+
+<p>For a minute I stood there with the paper in my hands thinking
+out the meaning of this curt message. It was I, then, and not Sir
+Henry, who was being dogged by this secret man. He had not
+followed me himself, but he had set an agent&mdash;the boy,
+perhaps&mdash;upon my track, and this was his report. Possibly I had
+taken no step since I had been upon the moor which had not been
+observed and reported. Always there was this feeling of an unseen
+force, a fine net drawn round us with infinite skill and
+delicacy, holding us so lightly that it was only at some supreme
+moment that one realized that one was indeed entangled in its
+meshes.</p>
+
+<p>If there was one report there might be others, so I looked round
+the hut in search of them. There was no trace, however, of
+anything of the kind, nor could I discover any sign which might
+indicate the character or intentions of the man who lived in this
+singular place, save that he must be of Spartan habits and cared
+little for the comforts of life. When I thought of the heavy
+rains and looked at the gaping roof I understood how strong and
+immutable must be the purpose which had kept him in that
+inhospitable abode. Was he our malignant enemy, or was he by
+chance our guardian angel? I swore that I would not leave the hut
+until I knew.</p>
+
+<p>Outside the sun was sinking low and the west was blazing with
+scarlet and gold. Its reflection was shot back in ruddy patches
+by the distant pools which lay amid the great Grimpen Mire. There
+were the two towers of Baskerville Hall, and there a distant blur
+of smoke which marked the village of Grimpen. Between the two,
+behind the hill, was the house of the Stapletons. All was sweet
+and mellow and peaceful in the golden evening light, and yet as I
+looked at them my soul shared none of the peace of nature but
+quivered at the vagueness and the terror of that interview which
+every instant was bringing nearer. With tingling nerves, but a
+fixed purpose, I sat in the dark recess of the hut and waited
+with sombre patience for the coming of its tenant.</p>
+
+<p>And then at last I heard him. Far away came the sharp clink of a
+boot striking upon a stone. Then another and yet another, coming
+nearer and nearer. I shrank back into the darkest corner, and
+cocked the pistol in my pocket, determined not to discover myself
+until I had an opportunity of seeing something of the stranger.
+There was a long pause which showed that he had stopped. Then
+once more the footsteps approached and a shadow fell across the
+opening of the hut.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a lovely evening, my dear Watson," said a well-known
+voice. "I really think that you will be more comfortable outside
+than in."</p>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_12" id="Chapter_12"></a>Chapter 12<br /><br />
+Death on the Moor</h3>
+
+<p>For a moment or two I sat breathless, hardly able to believe my
+ears. Then my senses and my voice came back to me, while a
+crushing weight of responsibility seemed in an instant to be
+lifted from my soul. That cold, incisive, ironical voice could
+belong to but one man in all the world.</p>
+
+<p>"Holmes!" I cried&mdash;"Holmes!"</p>
+
+<p>"Come out," said he, "and please be careful with the revolver."</p>
+
+<p>I stooped under the rude lintel, and there he sat upon a stone
+outside, his gray eyes dancing with amusement as they fell upon
+my astonished features. He was thin and worn, but clear and
+alert, his keen face bronzed by the sun and roughened by the
+wind. In his tweed suit and cloth cap he looked like any other
+tourist upon the moor, and he had contrived, with that cat-like
+love of personal cleanliness which was one of his
+characteristics, that his chin should be as smooth and his linen
+as perfect as if he were in Baker Street.</p>
+
+<p>"I never was more glad to see anyone in my life," said I, as I
+wrung him by the hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Or more astonished, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I must confess to it."</p>
+
+<p>"The surprise was not all on one side, I assure you. I had no
+idea that you had found my occasional retreat, still less that
+you were inside it, until I was within twenty paces of the door."</p>
+
+<p>"My footprint, I presume?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Watson; I fear that I could not undertake to recognize your
+footprint amid all the footprints of the world. If you seriously
+desire to deceive me you must change your tobacconist; for when I
+see the stub of a cigarette marked Bradley, Oxford Street, I know
+that my friend Watson is in the neighbourhood. You will see it
+there beside the path. You threw it down, no doubt, at that
+supreme moment when you charged into the empty hut."</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought as much&mdash;and knowing your admirable tenacity I was
+convinced that you were sitting in ambush, a weapon within reach,
+waiting for the tenant to return. So you actually thought that I
+was the criminal?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did not know who you were, but I was determined to find out."</p>
+
+<p>"Excellent, Watson! And how did you localize me? You saw me,
+perhaps, on the night of the convict hunt, when I was so
+imprudent as to allow the moon to rise behind me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I saw you then."</p>
+
+<p>"And have no doubt searched all the huts until you came to this
+one?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, your boy had been observed, and that gave me a guide where
+to look."</p>
+
+<p>"The old gentleman with the telescope, no doubt. I could not make
+it out when first I saw the light flashing upon the lens." He
+rose and peeped into the hut. "Ha, I see that Cartwright has
+brought up some supplies. What's this paper? So you have been to
+Coombe Tracey, have you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"To see Mrs. Laura Lyons?"</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly."</p>
+
+<p>"Well done! Our researches have evidently been running on
+parallel lines, and when we unite our results I expect we shall
+have a fairly full knowledge of the case."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I am glad from my heart that you are here, for indeed the
+responsibility and the mystery were both becoming too much for my
+nerves. But how in the name of wonder did you come here, and what
+have you been doing? I thought that you were in Baker Street
+working out that case of blackmailing."</p>
+
+<p>"That was what I wished you to think."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you use me, and yet do not trust me!" I cried with some
+bitterness. "I think that I have deserved better at your hands,
+Holmes."</p>
+
+<p>"My dear fellow, you have been invaluable to me in this as in
+many other cases, and I beg that you will forgive me if I have
+seemed to play a trick upon you. In truth, it was partly for your
+own sake that I did it, and it was my appreciation of the danger
+which you ran which led me to come down and examine the matter
+for myself. Had I been with Sir Henry and you it is confident
+that my point of view would have been the same as yours, and my
+presence would have warned our very formidable opponents to be on
+their guard. As it is, I have been able to get about as I could
+not possibly have done had I been living in the Hall, and I
+remain an unknown factor in the business, ready to throw in all
+my weight at a critical moment."</p>
+
+<p>"But why keep me in the dark?"</p>
+
+<p>"For you to know could not have helped us, and might possibly
+have led to my discovery. You would have wished to tell me
+something, or in your kindness you would have brought me out some
+comfort or other, and so an unnecessary risk would be run. I
+brought Cartwright down with me&mdash;you remember the little chap at
+the express office&mdash;and he has seen after my simple wants: a loaf
+of bread and a clean collar. What does man want more? He has
+given me an extra pair of eyes upon a very active pair of feet,
+and both have been invaluable."</p>
+
+<p>"Then my reports have all been wasted!"&mdash;My voice trembled as I
+recalled the pains and the pride with which I had composed them.</p>
+
+<p>Holmes took a bundle of papers from his pocket.</p>
+
+<p>"Here are your reports, my dear fellow, and very well thumbed, I
+assure you. I made excellent arrangements, and they are only
+delayed one day upon their way. I must compliment you exceedingly
+upon the zeal and the intelligence which you have shown over an
+extraordinarily difficult case."</p>
+
+<p>I was still rather raw over the deception which had been
+practised upon me, but the warmth of Holmes's praise drove my
+anger from my mind. I felt also in my heart that he was right in
+what he said and that it was really best for our purpose that I
+should not have known that he was upon the moor.</p>
+
+<p>"That's better," said he, seeing the shadow rise from my face.
+"And now tell me the result of your visit to Mrs. Laura Lyons&mdash;it
+was not difficult for me to guess that it was to see her that you
+had gone, for I am already aware that she is the one person in
+Coombe Tracey who might be of service to us in the matter. In
+fact, if you had not gone to-day it is exceedingly probable that
+I should have gone to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>The sun had set and dusk was settling over the moor. The air had
+turned chill and we withdrew into the hut for warmth. There,
+sitting together in the twilight, I told Holmes of my
+conversation with the lady. So interested was he that I had to
+repeat some of it twice before he was satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>"This is most important," said he when I had concluded. "It fills
+up a gap which I had been unable to bridge, in this most complex
+affair. You are aware, perhaps, that a close intimacy exists
+between this lady and the man Stapleton?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did not know of a close intimacy."</p>
+
+<p>"There can be no doubt about the matter. They meet, they write,
+there is a complete understanding between them. Now, this puts a
+very powerful weapon into our hands. If I could only use it to
+detach his wife&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"His wife?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am giving you some information now, in return for all that you
+have given me. The lady who has passed here as Miss Stapleton is
+in reality his wife."</p>
+
+<p>"Good heavens, Holmes! Are you sure of what you say? How could he
+have permitted Sir Henry to fall in love with her?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Henry's falling in love could do no harm to anyone except
+Sir Henry. He took particular care that Sir Henry did not make
+love to her, as you have yourself observed. I repeat that the
+lady is his wife and not his sister."</p>
+
+<p>"But why this elaborate deception?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because he foresaw that she would be very much more useful to
+him in the character of a free woman."</p>
+
+<p>All my unspoken instincts, my vague suspicions, suddenly took
+shape and centred upon the naturalist. In that impassive,
+colourless man, with his straw hat and his butterfly-net, I
+seemed to see something terrible&mdash;a creature of infinite patience
+and craft, with a smiling face and a murderous heart.</p>
+
+<p>"It is he, then, who is our enemy&mdash;it is he who dogged us in
+London?"</p>
+
+<p>"So I read the riddle."</p>
+
+<p>"And the warning&mdash;it must have come from her!"</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly."</p>
+
+<p>The shape of some monstrous villainy, half seen, half guessed,
+loomed through the darkness which had girt me so long.</p>
+
+<p>"But are you sure of this, Holmes? How do you know that the woman
+is his wife?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because he so far forgot himself as to tell you a true piece of
+autobiography upon the occasion when he first met you, and I
+dare say he has many a time regretted it since. He was once a
+schoolmaster in the north of England. Now, there is no one more
+easy to trace than a schoolmaster. There are scholastic agencies
+by which one may identify any man who has been in the profession.
+A little investigation showed me that a school had come to grief
+under atrocious circumstances, and that the man who had owned
+it&mdash;the name was different&mdash;had disappeared with his wife. The
+descriptions agreed. When I learned that the missing man was
+devoted to entomology the identification was complete."</p>
+
+<p>The darkness was rising, but much was still hidden by the
+shadows.</p>
+
+<p>"If this woman is in truth his wife, where does Mrs. Laura Lyons
+come in?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"That is one of the points upon which your own researches have
+shed a light. Your interview with the lady has cleared the
+situation very much. I did not know about a projected divorce
+between herself and her husband. In that case, regarding
+Stapleton as an unmarried man, she counted no doubt upon becoming
+his wife."</p>
+
+<p>"And when she is undeceived?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, then we may find the lady of service. It must be our first
+duty to see her&mdash;both of us&mdash;to-morrow. Don't you think, Watson,
+that you are away from your charge rather long? Your place should
+be at Baskerville Hall."</p>
+
+<p>The last red streaks had faded away in the west and night had
+settled upon the moor. A few faint stars were gleaming in a
+violet sky.</p>
+
+<p>"One last question, Holmes," I said, as I rose. "Surely there is
+no need of secrecy between you and me. What is the meaning of it
+all? What is he after?"</p>
+
+<p>Holmes's voice sank as he answered:&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It is murder, Watson&mdash;refined, cold-blooded, deliberate murder.
+Do not ask me for particulars. My nets are closing upon him, even
+as his are upon Sir Henry, and with your help he is already
+almost at my mercy. There is but one danger which can threaten
+us. It is that he should strike before we are ready to do so.
+Another day&mdash;two at the most&mdash;and I have my case complete, but
+until then guard your charge as closely as ever a fond mother
+watched her ailing child. Your mission to-day has justified
+itself, and yet I could almost wish that you had not left his
+side. Hark!"</p>
+
+<p>A terrible scream&mdash;a prolonged yell of horror and anguish&mdash;burst
+out of the silence of the moor. That frightful cry turned the
+blood to ice in my veins.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my God!" I gasped. "What is it? What does it mean?"</p>
+
+<p>Holmes had sprung to his feet, and I saw his dark, athletic
+outline at the door of the hut, his shoulders stooping, his head
+thrust forward, his face peering into the darkness.</p>
+
+<p>"Hush!" he whispered. "Hush!"</p>
+
+<p>The cry had been loud on account of its vehemence, but it had
+pealed out from somewhere far off on the shadowy plain. Now it
+burst upon our ears, nearer, louder, more urgent than before.</p>
+
+<p>"Where is it?" Holmes whispered; and I knew from the thrill of
+his voice that he, the man of iron, was shaken to the soul.
+"Where is it, Watson?"</p>
+
+<p>"There, I think." I pointed into the darkness.</p>
+
+<p>"No, there!"</p>
+
+<p>Again the agonized cry swept through the silent night, louder and
+much nearer than ever. And a new sound mingled with it, a deep,
+muttered rumble, musical and yet menacing, rising and falling
+like the low, constant murmur of the sea.</p>
+
+<p>"The hound!" cried Holmes. "Come, Watson, come! Great heavens, if
+we are too late!"</p>
+
+<p>He had started running swiftly over the moor, and I had followed
+at his heels. But now from somewhere among the broken ground
+immediately in front of us there came one last despairing yell,
+and then a dull, heavy thud. We halted and listened. Not another
+sound broke the heavy silence of the windless night.</p>
+
+<p>I saw Holmes put his hand to his forehead like a man distracted.
+He stamped his feet upon the ground.</p>
+
+<p>"He has beaten us, Watson. We are too late."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, surely not!"</p>
+
+<p>"Fool that I was to hold my hand. And you, Watson, see what comes
+of abandoning your charge! But, by Heaven, if the worst has
+happened, we'll avenge him!"</p>
+
+<p>Blindly we ran through the gloom, blundering against boulders,
+forcing our way through gorse bushes, panting up hills and
+rushing down slopes, heading always in the direction whence those
+dreadful sounds had come. At every rise Holmes looked eagerly
+round him, but the shadows were thick upon the moor, and nothing
+moved upon its dreary face.</p>
+
+<p>"Can you see anything?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"But, hark, what is that?"</p>
+
+<p>A low moan had fallen upon our ears. There it was again upon our
+left! On that side a ridge of rocks ended in a sheer cliff which
+overlooked a stone-strewn slope. On its jagged face was
+spread-eagled some dark, irregular object. As we ran towards it
+the vague outline hardened into a definite shape. It was a
+prostrate man face downward upon the ground, the head doubled
+under him at a horrible angle, the shoulders rounded and the body
+hunched together as if in the act of throwing a somersault. So
+grotesque was the attitude that I could not for the instant
+realize that that moan had been the passing of his soul. Not a
+whisper, not a rustle, rose now from the dark figure over which
+we stooped. Holmes laid his hand upon him, and held it up again,
+with an exclamation of horror. The gleam of the match which he
+struck shone upon his clotted fingers and upon the ghastly pool
+which widened slowly from the crushed skull of the victim. And it
+shone upon something else which turned our hearts sick and faint
+within us&mdash;the body of Sir Henry Baskerville!</p>
+
+<p>There was no chance of either of us forgetting that peculiar
+ruddy tweed suit&mdash;the very one which he had worn on the first
+morning that we had seen him in Baker Street. We caught the one
+clear glimpse of it, and then the match flickered and went out,
+even as the hope had gone out of our souls. Holmes groaned, and
+his face glimmered white through the darkness.</p>
+
+<p>"The brute! the brute!" I cried with clenched hands. "Oh Holmes,
+I shall never forgive myself for having left him to his fate."</p>
+
+<p>"I am more to blame than you, Watson. In order to have my case
+well rounded and complete, I have thrown away the life of my
+client. It is the greatest blow which has befallen me in my
+career. But how could I know&mdash;how could l know&mdash;that he would
+risk his life alone upon the moor in the face of all my
+warnings?"</p>
+
+<p>"That we should have heard his screams&mdash;my God, those
+screams!&mdash;and yet have been unable to save him! Where is this
+brute of a hound which drove him to his death? It may be lurking
+among these rocks at this instant. And Stapleton, where is he? He
+shall answer for this deed."</p>
+
+<p>"He shall. I will see to that. Uncle and nephew have been
+murdered&mdash;the one frightened to death by the very sight of a
+beast which he thought to be supernatural, the other driven to
+his end in his wild flight to escape from it. But now we have to
+prove the connection between the man and the beast. Save from
+what we heard, we cannot even swear to the existence of the
+latter, since Sir Henry has evidently died from the fall. But, by
+heavens, cunning as he is, the fellow shall be in my power before
+another day is past!"</p>
+
+<p>We stood with bitter hearts on either side of the mangled body,
+overwhelmed by this sudden and irrevocable disaster which had
+brought all our long and weary labours to so piteous an end.
+Then, as the moon rose we climbed to the top of the rocks over
+which our poor friend had fallen, and from the summit we gazed
+out over the shadowy moor, half silver and half gloom. Far away,
+miles off, in the direction of Grimpen, a single steady yellow
+light was shining. It could only come from the lonely abode of
+the Stapletons. With a bitter curse I shook my fist at it as I
+gazed.</p>
+
+<p>"Why should we not seize him at once?"</p>
+
+<p>"Our case is not complete. The fellow is wary and cunning to the
+last degree. It is not what we know, but what we can prove. If we
+make one false move the villain may escape us yet."</p>
+
+<p>"What can we do?"</p>
+
+<p>"There will be plenty for us to do to-morrow. To-night we can
+only perform the last offices to our poor friend."</p>
+
+<p>Together we made our way down the precipitous slope and
+approached the body, black and clear against the silvered stones.
+The agony of those contorted limbs struck me with a spasm of pain
+and blurred my eyes with tears.</p>
+
+<p>"We must send for help, Holmes! We cannot carry him all the way
+to the Hall. Good heavens, are you mad?"</p>
+
+<p>He had uttered a cry and bent over the body. Now he was dancing
+and laughing and wringing my hand. Could this be my stern,
+self-contained friend? These were hidden fires, indeed!</p>
+
+<p>"A beard! A beard! The man has a beard!"</p>
+
+<p>"A beard?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is not the baronet&mdash;it is&mdash;why, it is my neighbour, the
+convict!"</p>
+
+<p>With feverish haste we had turned the body over, and that
+dripping beard was pointing up to the cold, clear moon. There
+could be no doubt about the beetling forehead, the sunken animal
+eyes. It was indeed the same face which had glared upon me in the
+light of the candle from over the rock&mdash;the face of Selden, the
+criminal.</p>
+
+<p>Then in an instant it was all clear to me. I remembered how the
+baronet had told me that he had handed his old wardrobe to
+Barrymore. Barrymore had passed it on in order to help Selden in
+his escape. Boots, shirt, cap&mdash;it was all Sir Henry's. The
+tragedy was still black enough, but this man had at least
+deserved death by the laws of his country. I told Holmes how the
+matter stood, my heart bubbling over with thankfulness and joy.</p>
+
+<p>"Then the clothes have been the poor devil's death," said he. "It
+is clear enough that the hound has been laid on from some article
+of Sir Henry's&mdash;the boot which was abstracted in the hotel, in
+all probability&mdash;and so ran this man down. There is one very
+singular thing, however: How came Selden, in the darkness, to
+know that the hound was on his trail?"</p>
+
+<p>"He heard him."</p>
+
+<p>"To hear a hound upon the moor would not work a hard man like
+this convict into such a paroxysm of terror that he would risk
+recapture by screaming wildly for help. By his cries he must have
+run a long way after he knew the animal was on his track. How did
+he know?"</p>
+
+<p>"A greater mystery to me is why this hound, presuming that all
+our conjectures are correct &mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I presume nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, why this hound should be loose to-night. I suppose
+that it does not always run loose upon the moor. Stapleton would
+not let it go unless he had reason to think that Sir Henry would
+be there."</p>
+
+<p>"My difficulty is the more formidable of the two, for I think
+that we shall very shortly get an explanation of yours, while
+mine may remain forever a mystery. The question now is, what
+shall we do with this poor wretch's body? We cannot leave it here
+to the foxes and the ravens."</p>
+
+<p>"I suggest that we put it in one of the huts until we can
+communicate with the police."</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly. I have no doubt that you and I could carry it so far.
+Halloa, Watson, what's this? It's the man himself, by all that's
+wonderful and audacious! Not a word to show your suspicions&mdash;not a
+word, or my plans crumble to the ground."</p>
+
+<p>A figure was approaching us over the moor, and I saw the dull red
+glow of a cigar. The moon shone upon him, and I could distinguish
+the dapper shape and jaunty walk of the naturalist. He stopped
+when he saw us, and then came on again.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Dr. Watson, that's not you, is it? You are the last man
+that I should have expected to see out on the moor at this time
+of night. But, dear me, what's this? Somebody hurt? Not&mdash;don't
+tell me that it is our friend Sir Henry!" He hurried past me and
+stooped over the dead man. I heard a sharp intake of his breath
+and the cigar fell from his fingers.</p>
+
+<p>"Who&mdash;who's this?" he stammered.</p>
+
+<p>"It is Selden, the man who escaped from Princetown."</p>
+
+<p>Stapleton turned a ghastly face upon us, but by a supreme effort
+he had overcome his amazement and his disappointment. He looked
+sharply from Holmes to me.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear me! What a very shocking affair! How did he die?"</p>
+
+<p>"He appears to have broken his neck by falling over these rocks.
+My friend and I were strolling on the moor when we heard a cry."</p>
+
+<p>"I heard a cry also. That was what brought me out. I was uneasy
+about Sir Henry."</p>
+
+<p>"Why about Sir Henry in particular?" I could not help asking.</p>
+
+<p>"Because I had suggested that he should come over. When he did
+not come I was surprised, and I naturally became alarmed for his
+safety when I heard cries upon the moor. By the way"&mdash;his eyes
+darted again from my face to Holmes's&mdash;"did you hear anything
+else besides a cry?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Holmes; "did you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, you know the stories that the peasants tell about a phantom
+hound, and so on. It is said to be heard at night upon the moor.
+I was wondering if there were any evidence of such a sound
+to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"We heard nothing of the kind," said I.</p>
+
+<p>"And what is your theory of this poor fellow's death?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have no doubt that anxiety and exposure have driven him off
+his head. He has rushed about the moor in a crazy state and
+eventually fallen over here and broken his neck."</p>
+
+<p>"That seems the most reasonable theory," said Stapleton, and he
+gave a sigh which I took to indicate his relief. "What do you
+think about it, Mr. Sherlock Holmes?"</p>
+
+<p>My friend bowed his compliments.</p>
+
+<p>"You are quick at identification," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"We have been expecting you in these parts since Dr. Watson came
+down. You are in time to see a tragedy."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, indeed. I have no doubt that my friend's explanation will
+cover the facts. I will take an unpleasant remembrance back to
+London with me to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, you return to-morrow?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is my intention."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope your visit has cast some light upon those occurrences
+which have puzzled us?"</p>
+
+<p>Holmes shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"One cannot always have the success for which one hopes. An
+investigator needs facts, and not legends or rumours. It has not
+been a satisfactory case."</p>
+
+<p>My friend spoke in his frankest and most unconcerned manner.
+Stapleton still looked hard at him. Then he turned to me.</p>
+
+<p>"I would suggest carrying this poor fellow to my house, but it
+would give my sister such a fright that I do not feel justified
+in doing it. I think that if we put something over his face he
+will be safe until morning."</p>
+
+<p>And so it was arranged. Resisting Stapleton's offer of
+hospitality, Holmes and I set off to Baskerville Hall, leaving
+the naturalist to return alone. Looking back we saw the figure
+moving slowly away over the broad moor, and behind him that one
+black smudge on the silvered slope which showed where the man was
+lying who had come so horribly to his end.</p>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_13" id="Chapter_13"></a>Chapter 13<br /><br />
+Fixing the Nets</h3>
+
+<p>"We're at close grips at last," said Holmes as we walked together
+across the moor. "What a nerve the fellow has! How he pulled
+himself together in the face of what must have been a paralyzing
+shock when he found that the wrong man had fallen a victim to his
+plot. I told you in London, Watson, and I tell you now again,
+that we have never had a foeman more worthy of our steel."</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry that he has seen you."</p>
+
+<p>"And so was I at first. But there was no getting out of it."</p>
+
+<p>"What effect do you think it will have upon his plans now that he
+knows you are here?"</p>
+
+<p>"It may cause him to be more cautious, or it may drive him to
+desperate measures at once. Like most clever criminals, he may be
+too confident in his own cleverness and imagine that he has
+completely deceived us."</p>
+
+<p>"Why should we not arrest him at once?"</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Watson, you were born to be a man of action. Your
+instinct is always to do something energetic. But supposing, for
+argument's sake, that we had him arrested to-night, what on earth
+the better off should we be for that? We could prove nothing
+against him. There's the devilish cunning of it! If he were
+acting through a human agent we could get some evidence, but if
+we were to drag this great dog to the light of day it would not
+help us in putting a rope round the neck of its master."</p>
+
+<p>"Surely we have a case."</p>
+
+<p>"Not a shadow of one&mdash;only surmise and conjecture. We should be
+laughed out of court if we came with such a story and such
+evidence."</p>
+
+<p>"There is Sir Charles's death."</p>
+
+<p>"Found dead without a mark upon him. You and I know that he died
+of sheer fright, and we know also what frightened him; but how
+are we to get twelve stolid jurymen to know it? What signs are
+there of a hound? Where are the marks of its fangs? Of course we
+know that a hound does not bite a dead body and that Sir Charles
+was dead before ever the brute overtook him. But we have to prove
+all this, and we are not in a position to do it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, to-night?"</p>
+
+<p>"We are not much better off to-night. Again, there was no direct
+connection between the hound and the man's death. We never saw
+the hound. We heard it; but we could not prove that it was
+running upon this man's trail. There is a complete absence of
+motive. No, my dear fellow; we must reconcile ourselves to the
+fact that we have no case at present, and that it is worth our
+while to run any risk in order to establish one."</p>
+
+<p>"And how do you propose to do so?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have great hopes of what Mrs. Laura Lyons may do for us when
+the position of affairs is made clear to her. And I have my own
+plan as well. Sufficient for to-morrow is the evil thereof; but I
+hope before the day is past to have the upper hand at last."</p>
+
+<p>I could draw nothing further from him, and he walked, lost in
+thought, as far as the Baskerville gates.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you coming up?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; I see no reason for further concealment. But one last word,
+Watson. Say nothing of the hound to Sir Henry. Let him think that
+Selden's death was as Stapleton would have us believe. He will
+have a better nerve for the ordeal which he will have to undergo
+to-morrow, when he is engaged, if I remember your report aright,
+to dine with these people."</p>
+
+<p>"And so am I."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you must excuse yourself and he must go alone. That will be
+easily arranged. And now, if we are too late for dinner, I think
+that we are both ready for our suppers."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Henry was more pleased than surprised to see Sherlock Holmes,
+for he had for some days been expecting that recent events would
+bring him down from London. He did raise his eyebrows, however,
+when he found that my friend had neither any luggage nor any
+explanations for its absence. Between us we soon supplied his
+wants, and then over a belated supper we explained to the baronet
+as much of our experience as it seemed desirable that he should
+know. But first I had the unpleasant duty of breaking the news to
+Barrymore and his wife. To him it may have been an unmitigated
+relief, but she wept bitterly in her apron. To all the world he
+was the man of violence, half animal and half demon; but to her
+he always remained the little wilful boy of her own girlhood, the
+child who had clung to her hand. Evil indeed is the man who has
+not one woman to mourn him.</p>
+
+<p>"I've been moping in the house all day since Watson went off in
+the morning," said the baronet. "I guess I should have some
+credit, for I have kept my promise. If I hadn't sworn not to go
+about alone I might have had a more lively evening, for I had a
+message from Stapleton asking me over there."</p>
+
+<p>"I have no doubt that you would have had a more lively evening,"
+said Holmes drily. "By the way, I don't suppose you appreciate
+that we have been mourning over you as having broken your neck?"</p>
+
+<p>Sir Henry opened his eyes. "How was that?"</p>
+
+<p>"This poor wretch was dressed in your clothes. I fear your
+servant who gave them to him may get into trouble with the
+police."</p>
+
+<p>"That is unlikely. There was no mark on any of them, as far as I
+know."</p>
+
+<p>"That's lucky for him&mdash;in fact, it's lucky for all of you, since
+you are all on the wrong side of the law in this matter. I am not
+sure that as a conscientious detective my first duty is not to
+arrest the whole household. Watson's reports are most
+incriminating documents."</p>
+
+<p>"But how about the case?" asked the baronet. "Have you made
+anything out of the tangle? I don't know that Watson and I are
+much the wiser since we came down."</p>
+
+<p>"I think that I shall be in a position to make the situation
+rather more clear to you before long. It has been an exceedingly
+difficult and most complicated business. There are several points
+upon which we still want light&mdash;but it is coming all the same."</p>
+
+<p>"We've had one experience, as Watson has no doubt told you. We
+heard the hound on the moor, so I can swear that it is not all
+empty superstition. I had something to do with dogs when I was
+out West, and I know one when I hear one. If you can muzzle that
+one and put him on a chain I'll be ready to swear you are the
+greatest detective of all time."</p>
+
+<p>"I think I will muzzle him and chain him all right if you will
+give me your help."</p>
+
+<p>"Whatever you tell me to do I will do."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good; and I will ask you also to do it blindly, without
+always asking the reason."</p>
+
+<p>"Just as you like."</p>
+
+<p>"If you will do this I think the chances are that our little
+problem will soon be solved. I have no doubt&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>He stopped suddenly and stared fixedly up over my head into the
+air. The lamp beat upon his face, and so intent was it and so
+still that it might have been that of a clear-cut classical
+statue, a personification of alertness and expectation.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" we both cried.</p>
+
+<p>I could see as he looked down that he was repressing some
+internal emotion. His features were still composed, but his eyes
+shone with amused exultation.</p>
+
+<p>"Excuse the admiration of a connoisseur," said he as he waved his
+hand towards the line of portraits which covered the opposite
+wall. "Watson won't allow that I know anything of art, but that
+is mere jealousy, because our views upon the subject differ. Now,
+these are a really very fine series of portraits."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'm glad to hear you say so," said Sir Henry, glancing
+with some surprise at my friend. "I don't pretend to know much
+about these things, and I'd be a better judge of a horse or a
+steer than of a picture. I didn't know that you found time for
+such things."</p>
+
+<p>"I know what is good when I see it, and I see it now. That's a
+Kneller, I'll swear, that lady in the blue silk over yonder, and
+the stout gentleman with the wig ought to be a Reynolds. They are
+all family portraits, I presume?"</p>
+
+<p>"Every one."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know the names?"</p>
+
+<p>"Barrymore has been coaching me in them, and I think I can say my
+lessons fairly well."</p>
+
+<p>"Who is the gentleman with the telescope?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is Rear-Admiral Baskerville, who served under Rodney in the
+West Indies. The man with the blue coat and the roll of paper is
+Sir William Baskerville, who was Chairman of Committees of the
+House of Commons under Pitt."</p>
+
+<p>"And this Cavalier opposite to me&mdash;the one with the black velvet
+and the lace?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, you have a right to know about him. That is the cause of all
+the mischief, the wicked Hugo, who started the Hound of the
+Baskervilles. We're not likely to forget him."</p>
+
+<p>I gazed with interest and some surprise upon the portrait.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear me!" said Holmes, "he seems a quiet, meek-mannered man
+enough, but I dare say that there was a lurking devil in his
+eyes. I had pictured him as a more robust and ruffianly person."</p>
+
+<p>"There's no doubt about the authenticity, for the name and the
+date, 1647, are on the back of the canvas."</p>
+
+<p>Holmes said little more, but the picture of the old roysterer
+seemed to have a fascination for him, and his eyes were
+continually fixed upon it during supper. It was not until later,
+when Sir Henry had gone to his room, that I was able to follow
+the trend of his thoughts. He led me back into the
+banqueting-hall, his bedroom candle in his hand, and he held it
+up against the time-stained portrait on the wall.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you see anything there?"</p>
+
+<p>I looked at the broad plumed hat, the curling love-locks, the
+white lace collar, and the straight, severe face which was framed
+between them. It was not a brutal countenance, but it was prim,
+hard, and stern, with a firm-set, thin-lipped mouth, and a coldly
+intolerant eye.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it like anyone you know?"</p>
+
+<p>"There is something of Sir Henry about the jaw."</p>
+
+<p>"Just a suggestion, perhaps. But wait an instant!" He stood upon
+a chair, and, holding up the light in his left hand, he curved
+his right arm over the broad hat and round the long ringlets.</p>
+
+<p>"Good heavens!" I cried, in amazement.</p>
+
+<p>The face of Stapleton had sprung out of the canvas.</p>
+
+<p>"Ha, you see it now. My eyes have been trained to examine faces
+and not their trimmings. It is the first quality of a criminal
+investigator that he should see through a disguise."</p>
+
+<p>"But this is marvellous. It might be his portrait."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it is an interesting instance of a throwback, which appears
+to be both physical and spiritual. A study of family portraits is
+enough to convert a man to the doctrine of reincarnation. The
+fellow is a Baskerville&mdash;that is evident."</p>
+
+<p>"With designs upon the succession."</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly. This chance of the picture has supplied us with one of
+our most obvious missing links. We have him, Watson, we have him,
+and I dare swear that before to-morrow night he will be
+fluttering in our net as helpless as one of his own butterflies.
+A pin, a cork, and a card, and we add him to the Baker Street
+collection!" He burst into one of his rare fits of laughter as he
+turned away from the picture. I have not heard him laugh often,
+and it has always boded ill to somebody.</p>
+
+<p>I was up betimes in the morning, but Holmes was afoot earlier
+still, for I saw him as I dressed, coming up the drive.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, we should have a full day to-day," he remarked, and he
+rubbed his hands with the joy of action. "The nets are all in
+place, and the drag is about to begin. We'll know before the day
+is out whether we have caught our big, lean-jawed pike, or
+whether he has got through the meshes."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you been on the moor already?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have sent a report from Grimpen to Princetown as to the death
+of Selden. I think I can promise that none of you will be
+troubled in the matter. And I have also communicated with my
+faithful Cartwright, who would certainly have pined away at the
+door of my hut, as a dog does at his master's grave, if I had not
+set his mind at rest about my safety."</p>
+
+<p>"What is the next move?"</p>
+
+<p>"To see Sir Henry. Ah, here he is!"</p>
+
+<p>"Good morning, Holmes," said the baronet. "You look like a
+general who is planning a battle with his chief of the staff."</p>
+
+<p>"That is the exact situation. Watson was asking for orders."</p>
+
+<p>"And so do I."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good. You are engaged, as I understand, to dine with our
+friends the Stapletons to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope that you will come also. They are very hospitable people,
+and I am sure that they would be very glad to see you."</p>
+
+<p>"I fear that Watson and I must go to London."</p>
+
+<p>"To London?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I think that we should be more useful there at the present
+juncture."</p>
+
+<p>The baronet's face perceptibly lengthened.</p>
+
+<p>"I hoped that you were going to see me through this business. The
+Hall and the moor are not very pleasant places when one is
+alone."</p>
+
+<p>"My dear fellow, you must trust me implicitly and do exactly what
+I tell you. You can tell your friends that we should have been
+happy to have come with you, but that urgent business required us
+to be in town. We hope very soon to return to Devonshire. Will
+you remember to give them that message?"</p>
+
+<p>"If you insist upon it."</p>
+
+<p>"There is no alternative, I assure you."</p>
+
+<p>I saw by the baronet's clouded brow that he was deeply hurt by
+what he regarded as our desertion.</p>
+
+<p>"When do you desire to go?" he asked coldly.</p>
+
+<p>"Immediately after breakfast. We will drive in to Coombe Tracey,
+but Watson will leave his things as a pledge that he will come
+back to you. Watson, you will send a note to Stapleton to tell
+him that you regret that you cannot come."</p>
+
+<p>"I have a good mind to go to London with you," said the baronet.
+"Why should I stay here alone?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because it is your post of duty. Because you gave me your word
+that you would do as you were told, and I tell you to stay."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, then, I'll stay."</p>
+
+<p>"One more direction! I wish you to drive to Merripit House. Send
+back your trap, however, and let them know that you intend to
+walk home."</p>
+
+<p>"To walk across the moor?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"But that is the very thing which you have so often cautioned me
+not to do."</p>
+
+<p>"This time you may do it with safety. If I had not every
+confidence in your nerve and courage I would not suggest it, but
+it is essential that you should do it."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I will do it."</p>
+
+<p>"And as you value your life do not go across the moor in any
+direction save along the straight path which leads from Merripit
+House to the Grimpen Road, and is your natural way home."</p>
+
+<p>"I will do just what you say."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good. I should be glad to get away as soon after breakfast
+as possible, so as to reach London in the afternoon."</p>
+
+<p>I was much astounded by this programme, though I remembered that
+Holmes had said to Stapleton on the night before that his visit
+would terminate next day. It had not crossed my mind, however,
+that he would wish me to go with him, nor could I understand how
+we could both be absent at a moment which he himself declared to
+be critical. There was nothing for it, however, but implicit
+obedience; so we bade good-bye to our rueful friend, and a couple
+of hours afterwards we were at the station of Coombe Tracey and
+had dispatched the trap upon its return journey. A small boy was
+waiting upon the platform.</p>
+
+<p>"Any orders, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"You will take this train to town, Cartwright. The moment you
+arrive you will send a wire to Sir Henry Baskerville, in my name,
+to say that if he finds the pocket-book which I have dropped he
+is to send it by registered post to Baker Street."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"And ask at the station office if there is a message for me."</p>
+
+<p>The boy returned with a telegram, which Holmes handed to me. It
+ran: "Wire received. Coming down with unsigned warrant. Arrive
+five-forty.&mdash;L<small>ESTRADE</small>."</p>
+
+<p>"That is in answer to mine of this morning. He is the best of the
+professionals, I think, and we may need his assistance. Now,
+Watson, I think that we cannot employ our time better than by
+calling upon your acquaintance, Mrs. Laura Lyons."</p>
+
+<p>His plan of campaign was beginning to be evident. He would use
+the baronet in order to convince the Stapletons that we were
+really gone, while we should actually return at the instant when
+we were likely to be needed. That telegram from London, if
+mentioned by Sir Henry to the Stapletons, must remove the last
+suspicions from their minds. Already I seemed to see our nets
+drawing closer around that lean-jawed pike.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Laura Lyons was in her office, and Sherlock Holmes opened
+his interview with a frankness and directness which considerably
+amazed her.</p>
+
+<p>"I am investigating the circumstances which attended the death of
+the late Sir Charles Baskerville," said he. "My friend here, Dr.
+Watson, has informed me of what you have communicated, and also
+of what you have withheld in connection with that matter."</p>
+
+<p>"What have I withheld?" she asked defiantly.</p>
+
+<p>"You have confessed that you asked Sir Charles to be at the gate
+at ten o'clock. We know that that was the place and hour of his
+death. You have withheld what the connection is between these
+events."</p>
+
+<p>"There is no connection."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case the coincidence must indeed be an extraordinary
+one. But I think that we shall succeed in establishing a
+connection after all. I wish to be perfectly frank with you, Mrs.
+Lyons. We regard this case as one of murder, and the evidence may
+implicate not only your friend Mr. Stapleton, but his wife as
+well."</p>
+
+<p>The lady sprang from her chair.</p>
+
+<p>"His wife!" she cried.</p>
+
+<p>"The fact is no longer a secret. The person who has passed for
+his sister is really his wife."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Lyons had resumed her seat. Her hands were grasping the arms
+of her chair, and I saw that the pink nails had turned white with
+the pressure of her grip.</p>
+
+<p>"His wife!" she said again. "His wife! He is not a married man."</p>
+
+<p>Sherlock Holmes shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"Prove it to me! Prove it to me! And if you can do so &mdash;!" The
+fierce flash of her eyes said more than any words.</p>
+
+<p>"I have come prepared to do so," said Holmes, drawing several
+papers from his pocket. "Here is a photograph of the couple taken
+in York four years ago. It is indorsed 'Mr. and Mrs. Vandeleur,'
+but you will have no difficulty in recognizing him, and her also,
+if you know her by sight. Here are three written descriptions by
+trustworthy witnesses of Mr. and Mrs. Vandeleur, who at that time
+kept St. Oliver's private school. Read them and see if you can
+doubt the identity of these people."</p>
+
+<p>She glanced at them, and then looked up at us with the set, rigid
+face of a desperate woman.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Holmes," she said, "this man had offered me marriage on
+condition that I could get a divorce from my husband. He has lied
+to me, the villain, in every conceivable way. Not one word of
+truth has he ever told me. And why&mdash;why? I imagined that all was
+for my own sake. But now I see that I was never anything but a
+tool in his hands. Why should I preserve faith with him who never
+kept any with me? Why should I try to shield him from the
+consequences of his own wicked acts? Ask me what you like, and
+there is nothing which I shall hold back. One thing I swear to
+you, and that is that when I wrote the letter I never dreamed of
+any harm to the old gentleman, who had been my kindest friend."</p>
+
+<p>"I entirely believe you, madam," said Sherlock Holmes. "The
+recital of these events must be very painful to you, and perhaps
+it will make it easier if I tell you what occurred, and you can
+check me if I make any material mistake. The sending of this
+letter was suggested to you by Stapleton?"</p>
+
+<p>"He dictated it."</p>
+
+<p>"I presume that the reason he gave was that you would receive
+help from Sir Charles for the legal expenses connected with your
+divorce?"</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly."</p>
+
+<p>"And then after you had sent the letter he dissuaded you from
+keeping the appointment?"</p>
+
+<p>"He told me that it would hurt his self-respect that any other
+man should find the money for such an object, and that though he
+was a poor man himself he would devote his last penny to removing
+the obstacles which divided us."</p>
+
+<p>"He appears to be a very consistent character. And then you heard
+nothing until you read the reports of the death in the paper?"</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"And he made you swear to say nothing about your appointment with
+Sir Charles?"</p>
+
+<p>"He did. He said that the death was a very mysterious one, and
+that I should certainly be suspected if the facts came out. He
+frightened me into remaining silent."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite so. But you had your suspicions?"</p>
+
+<p>She hesitated and looked down.</p>
+
+<p>"I knew him," she said. "But if he had kept faith with me I
+should always have done so with him."</p>
+
+<p>"I think that on the whole you have had a fortunate escape," said
+Sherlock Holmes. "You have had him in your power and he knew it,
+and yet you are alive. You have been walking for some months very
+near to the edge of a precipice. We must wish you good-morning
+now, Mrs. Lyons, and it is probable that you will very shortly
+hear from us again."</p>
+
+<p>"Our case becomes rounded off, and difficulty after difficulty
+thins away in front of us," said Holmes as we stood waiting for
+the arrival of the express from town. "I shall soon be in the
+position of being able to put into a single connected narrative
+one of the most singular and sensational crimes of modern times.
+Students of criminology will remember the analogous incidents in
+Godno, in Little Russia, in the year '66, and of course there are
+the Anderson murders in North Carolina, but this case possesses
+some features which are entirely its own. Even now we have no
+clear case against this very wily man. But I shall be very much
+surprised if it is not clear enough before we go to bed this
+night."</p>
+
+<p>The London express came roaring into the station, and a small,
+wiry bulldog of a man had sprung from a first-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 deal since the days when they had first worked together. I
+could well remember the scorn which the theories of the reasoner
+used then to excite in the practical man.</p>
+
+<p>"Anything good?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"The biggest thing for years," said Holmes. "We have two hours
+before we need think of starting. I think we might employ it in
+getting some dinner and then, Lestrade, we will take the London
+fog out of your throat by giving you a breath of the pure night
+air of Dartmoor. Never been there? Ah, well, I don't suppose you
+will forget your first visit."</p>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_14" id="Chapter_14"></a>Chapter 14<br /><br />
+The Hound of the Baskervilles</h3>
+
+<p>One of Sherlock Holmes's defects&mdash;if, indeed, one may call it a
+defect&mdash;was that he was exceedingly loath to communicate his full
+plans to any other person until the instant of their fulfilment.
+Partly it came no doubt from his own masterful nature, which
+loved to dominate and surprise those who were around him. Partly
+also from his professional caution, which urged him never to take
+any chances. The result, however, was very trying for those who
+were acting as his agents and assistants. I had often suffered
+under it, but never more so than during that long drive in the
+darkness. The great ordeal was in front of us; at last we were
+about to make our final effort, and yet Holmes had said nothing,
+and I could only surmise what his course of action would be. My
+nerves thrilled with anticipation when at last the cold wind upon
+our faces and the dark, void spaces on either side of the narrow
+road told me that we were back upon the moor once again. Every
+stride of the horses and every turn of the wheels was taking us
+nearer to our supreme adventure.</p>
+
+<p>Our conversation was hampered by the presence of the driver of
+the hired wagonette, so that we were forced to talk of trivial
+matters when our nerves were tense with emotion and anticipation.
+It was a relief to me, after that unnatural restraint, when we at
+last passed Frankland's house and knew that we were drawing near
+to the Hall and to the scene of action. We did not drive up to
+the door but got down near the gate of the avenue. The wagonette
+was paid off and ordered to return to Coombe Tracey forthwith,
+while we started to walk to Merripit House.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you armed, Lestrade?"</p>
+
+<p>The little detective smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"As long as I have my trousers I have a hip-pocket, and as long
+as I have my hip-pocket I have something in it."</p>
+
+<p>"Good! My friend and I are also ready for emergencies."</p>
+
+<p>"You're mighty close about this affair, Mr. Holmes. What's the
+game now?"</p>
+
+<p>"A waiting game."</p>
+
+<p>"My word, it does not seem a very cheerful place," said the
+detective with a shiver, glancing round him at the gloomy slopes
+of the hill and at the huge lake of fog which lay over the
+Grimpen Mire. "I see the lights of a house ahead of us."</p>
+
+<p>"That is Merripit House and the end of our journey. I must
+request you to walk on tiptoe and not to talk above a whisper."</p>
+
+<p>We moved cautiously along the track as if we were bound for the
+house, but Holmes halted us when we were about two hundred yards
+from it.</p>
+
+<p>"This will do," said he. "These rocks upon the right make an
+admirable screen."</p>
+
+<p>"We are to wait here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, we shall make our little ambush here. Get into this hollow,
+Lestrade. You have been inside the house, have you not, Watson?
+Can you tell the position of the rooms? What are those latticed
+windows at this end?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think they are the kitchen windows."</p>
+
+<p>"And the one beyond, which shines so brightly?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is certainly the dining-room."</p>
+
+<p>"The blinds are up. You know the lie of the land best. Creep
+forward quietly and see what they are doing&mdash;but for heaven's
+sake don't let them know that they are watched!"</p>
+
+<p>I tiptoed down the path and stooped behind the low wall which
+surrounded the stunted orchard. Creeping in its shadow I reached
+a point whence I could look straight through the uncurtained
+window.</p>
+
+<p>There were only two men in the room, Sir Henry and Stapleton.
+They sat with their profiles towards me on either side of the
+round table. Both of them were smoking cigars, and coffee and
+wine were in front of them. Stapleton was talking with animation,
+but the baronet looked pale and distrait. Perhaps the thought of
+that lonely walk across the ill-omened moor was weighing heavily
+upon his mind.</p>
+
+<p>As I watched them Stapleton rose and left the room, while Sir
+Henry filled his glass again and leaned back in his chair,
+puffing at his cigar. I heard the creak of a door and the crisp
+sound of boots upon gravel. The steps passed along the path on
+the other side of the wall under which I crouched. Looking over,
+I saw the naturalist pause at the door of an out-house in the
+corner of the orchard. A key turned in a lock, and as he passed
+in there was a curious scuffling noise from within. He was only a
+minute or so inside, and then I heard the key turn once more and
+he passed me and re-entered the house. I saw him rejoin his
+guest, and I crept quietly back to where my companions were
+waiting to tell them what I had seen.</p>
+
+<p>"You say, Watson, that the lady is not there?" Holmes asked, when
+I had finished my report.</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"Where can she be, then, since there is no light in any other
+room except the kitchen?"</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot think where she is."</p>
+
+<p>I have said that over the great Grimpen Mire there hung a dense,
+white fog. It was drifting slowly in our direction, and banked
+itself up like a wall on that side of us, low, but thick and well
+defined. The moon shone on it, and it looked like a great
+shimmering ice-field, with the heads of the distant tors as rocks
+borne upon its surface. Holmes's face was turned towards it, and
+he muttered impatiently as he watched its sluggish drift.</p>
+
+<p>"It's moving towards us, Watson."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that serious?"</p>
+
+<p>"Very serious, indeed&mdash;the one thing upon earth which could have
+disarranged my plans. He can't be very long, now. It is already
+ten o'clock. Our success and even his life may depend upon his
+coming out before the fog is over the path."</p>
+
+<p>The night was clear and fine above us. The stars shone cold and
+bright, while a half-moon bathed the whole scene in a soft,
+uncertain light. Before us lay the dark bulk of the house, its
+serrated roof and bristling chimneys hard outlined against the
+silver-spangled sky. Broad bars of golden light from the lower
+windows stretched across the orchard and the moor. One of them
+was suddenly shut off. The servants had left the kitchen. There
+only remained the lamp in the dining-room where the two men, the
+murderous host and the unconscious guest, still chatted over
+their cigars.</p>
+
+<p>Every minute that white woolly plain which covered one half of
+the moor was drifting closer and closer to the house. Already the
+first thin wisps of it were curling across the golden square of
+the lighted window. The farther wall of the orchard was already
+invisible, and the trees were standing out of a swirl of white
+vapour. As we watched it the fog-wreaths came crawling round both
+corners of the house and rolled slowly into one dense bank, on
+which the upper floor and the roof floated like a strange ship
+upon a shadowy sea. Holmes struck his hand passionately upon the
+rock in front of us and stamped his feet in his impatience.</p>
+
+<p>"If he isn't out in a quarter of an hour the path will be
+covered. In half an hour we won't be able to see our hands in
+front of us."</p>
+
+<p>"Shall we move farther back upon higher ground?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I think it would be as well."</p>
+
+<p>So as the fog-bank flowed onward we fell back before it until we
+were half a mile from the house, and still that dense white sea,
+with the moon silvering its upper edge, swept slowly and
+inexorably on.</p>
+
+<p>"We are going too far," said Holmes. "We dare not take the chance
+of his being overtaken before he can reach us. At all costs we
+must hold our ground where we are." He dropped on his knees and
+clapped his ear to the ground. "Thank God, I think that I hear
+him coming."</p>
+
+<p>A sound of quick steps broke the silence of the moor. Crouching
+among the stones we stared intently at the silver-tipped bank in
+front of us. The steps grew louder, and through the fog, as
+through a curtain, there stepped the man whom we were awaiting.
+He looked round him in surprise as he emerged into the clear,
+starlit night. Then he came swiftly along the path, passed close
+to where we lay, and went on up the long slope behind us. As he
+walked he glanced continually over either shoulder, like a man
+who is ill at ease.</p>
+
+<p>"Hist!" cried Holmes, and I heard the sharp click of a cocking
+pistol. "Look out! It's coming!"</p>
+
+<p>There was a thin, crisp, continuous patter from somewhere in the
+heart of that crawling bank. The cloud was within fifty yards of
+where we lay, and we glared at it, all three, uncertain what
+horror was about to break from the heart of it. I was at Holmes's
+elbow, and I glanced for an instant at his face. It was pale and
+exultant, his eyes shining brightly in the moonlight. But
+suddenly they started forward in a rigid, fixed stare, and his
+lips parted in amazement. At the same instant Lestrade gave a
+yell of terror and threw himself face downward upon the ground. I
+sprang to my feet, my inert hand grasping my pistol, my mind
+paralyzed by the dreadful shape which had sprung out upon us from
+the shadows of the fog. A hound it was, an enormous coal-black
+hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire
+burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering
+glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in
+flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered
+brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be
+conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us
+out of the wall of fog.</p>
+
+<p>With long bounds the huge black creature was leaping down the
+track, following hard upon the footsteps of our friend. So
+paralyzed were we by the apparition that we allowed him to pass
+before we had recovered our nerve. Then Holmes and I both fired
+together, and the creature gave a hideous howl, which showed that
+one at least had hit him. He did not pause, however, but bounded
+onward. Far away on the path we saw Sir Henry looking back, his
+face white in the moonlight, his hands raised in horror, glaring
+helplessly at the frightful thing which was hunting him down.</p>
+
+<p>But that cry of pain from the hound had blown all our fears to
+the winds. If he was vulnerable he was mortal, and if we could
+wound him we could kill him. Never have I seen a man run as
+Holmes ran that night. I am reckoned fleet of foot, but he
+outpaced me as much as I outpaced the little professional. In
+front of us as we flew up the track we heard scream after scream
+from Sir Henry and the deep roar of the hound. I was in time to
+see the beast spring upon its victim, hurl him to the ground, and
+worry at his throat. But the next instant Holmes had emptied five
+barrels of his revolver into the creature's flank. With a last
+howl of agony and a vicious snap in the air, it rolled upon its
+back, four feet pawing furiously, and then fell limp upon its
+side. I stooped, panting, and pressed my pistol to the dreadful,
+shimmering head, but it was useless to press the trigger. The
+giant hound was dead.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Henry lay insensible where he had fallen. We tore away his
+collar, and Holmes breathed a prayer of gratitude when we saw
+that there was no sign of a wound and that the rescue had been in
+time. Already our friend's eyelids shivered and he made a feeble
+effort to move. Lestrade thrust his brandy-flask between the
+baronet's teeth, and two frightened eyes were looking up at us.</p>
+
+<p>"My God!" he whispered. "What was it? What, in heaven's name, was
+it?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's dead, whatever it is," said Holmes. "We've laid the family
+ghost once and forever."</p>
+
+<p>In mere size and strength it was a terrible creature which was
+lying stretched before us. It was not a pure bloodhound and it
+was not a pure mastiff; but it appeared to be a combination of
+the two&mdash;gaunt, savage, and as large as a small lioness. Even
+now, in the stillness of death, the huge jaws seemed to be
+dripping with a bluish flame and the small, deep-set, cruel eyes
+were ringed with fire. I placed my hand upon the glowing muzzle,
+and as I held them up my own fingers smouldered and gleamed in
+the darkness.</p>
+
+<p>"Phosphorus," I said.</p>
+
+<p>"A cunning preparation of it," said Holmes, sniffing at the dead
+animal. "There is no smell which might have interfered with his
+power of scent. We owe you a deep apology, Sir Henry, for having
+exposed you to this fright. I was prepared for a hound, but not
+for such a creature as this. And the fog gave us little time to
+receive him."</p>
+
+<p>"You have saved my life."</p>
+
+<p>"Having first endangered it. Are you strong enough to stand?"</p>
+
+<p>"Give me another mouthful of that brandy and I shall be ready for
+anything. So! Now, if you will help me up. What do you propose to
+do?"</p>
+
+<p>"To leave you here. You are not fit for further adventures
+to-night. If you will wait, one or other of us will go back with
+you to the Hall."</p>
+
+<p>He tried to stagger to his feet; but he was still ghastly pale
+and trembling in every limb. We helped him to a rock, where he
+sat shivering with his face buried in his hands.</p>
+
+<p>"We must leave you now," said Holmes. "The rest of our work must
+be done, and every moment is of importance. We have our case, and
+now we only want our man.</p>
+
+<p>"It's a thousand to one against our finding him at the house," he
+continued as we retraced our steps swiftly down the path. "Those
+shots must have told him that the game was up."</p>
+
+<p>"We were some distance off, and this fog may have deadened them."</p>
+
+<p>"He followed the hound to call him off&mdash;of that you may be
+certain. No, no, he's gone by this time! But we'll search the
+house and make sure."</p>
+
+<p>The front door was open, so we rushed in and hurried from room to
+room to the amazement of a doddering old manservant, who met us
+in the passage. There was no light save in the dining-room, but
+Holmes caught up the lamp and left no corner of the house
+unexplored. No sign could we see of the man whom we were chasing.
+On the upper floor, however, one of the bedroom doors was locked.</p>
+
+<p>"There's someone in here," cried Lestrade. "I can hear a
+movement. Open this door!"</p>
+
+<p>A faint moaning and rustling came from within. Holmes struck the
+door just over the lock with the flat of his foot and it flew
+open. Pistol in hand, we all three rushed into the room.</p>
+
+<p>But there was no sign within it of that desperate and defiant
+villain whom we expected to see. Instead we were faced by an
+object so strange and so unexpected that we stood for a moment
+staring at it in amazement.</p>
+
+<p>The room had been fashioned into a small museum, and the walls
+were lined by a number of glass-topped cases full of that
+collection of butterflies and moths the formation of which had
+been the relaxation of this complex and dangerous man. In the
+centre of this room there was an upright beam, which had been
+placed at some period as a support for the old worm-eaten baulk
+of timber which spanned the roof. To this post a figure was tied,
+so swathed and muffled in the sheets which had been used to
+secure it that one could not for the moment tell whether it was
+that of a man or a woman. One towel passed round the throat and
+was secured at the back of the pillar. Another covered the lower
+part of the face, and over it two dark eyes&mdash;eyes full of grief
+and shame and a dreadful questioning&mdash;stared back at us. In a
+minute we had torn off the gag, unswathed the bonds, and Mrs.
+Stapleton sank upon the floor in front of us. As her beautiful
+head fell upon her chest I saw the clear red weal of a whiplash
+across her neck.</p>
+
+<p>"The brute!" cried Holmes. "Here, Lestrade, your brandy-bottle!
+Put her in the chair! She has fainted from ill-usage and
+exhaustion."</p>
+
+<p>She opened her eyes again.</p>
+
+<p>"Is he safe?" she asked. "Has he escaped?"</p>
+
+<p>"He cannot escape us, madam."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, I did not mean my husband. Sir Henry? Is he safe?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"And the hound?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is dead."</p>
+
+<p>She gave a long sigh of satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>"Thank God! Thank God! Oh, this villain! See how he has treated
+me!" She shot her arms out from her sleeves, and we saw with
+horror that they were all mottled with bruises. "But this is
+nothing&mdash;nothing! It is my mind and soul that he has tortured and
+defiled. I could endure it all, ill-usage, solitude, a life of
+deception, everything, as long as I could still cling to the hope
+that I had his love, but now I know that in this also I have been
+his dupe and his tool." She broke into passionate sobbing as she
+spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"You bear him no good will, madam," said Holmes. "Tell us then
+where we shall find him. If you have ever aided him in evil, help
+us now and so atone."</p>
+
+<p>"There is but one place where he can have fled," she answered.
+"There is an old tin mine on an island in the heart of the mire.
+It was there that he kept his hound and there also he had made
+preparations so that he might have a refuge. That is where he
+would fly."</p>
+
+<p>The fog-bank lay like white wool against the window. Holmes held
+the lamp towards it.</p>
+
+<p>"See," said he. "No one could find his way into the Grimpen Mire
+to-night."</p>
+
+<p>She laughed and clapped her hands. Her eyes and teeth gleamed
+with fierce merriment.</p>
+
+<p>"He may find his way in, but never out," she cried. "How can he
+see the guiding wands to-night? We planted them together, he and
+I, to mark the pathway through the mire. Oh, if I could only have
+plucked them out to-day. Then indeed you would have had him at
+your mercy!"</p>
+
+<p>It was evident to us that all pursuit was in vain until the fog
+had lifted. Meanwhile we left Lestrade in possession of the house
+while Holmes and I went back with the baronet to Baskerville
+Hall. The story of the Stapletons could no longer be withheld
+from him, but he took the blow bravely when he learned the truth
+about the woman whom he had loved. But the shock of the night's
+adventures had shattered his nerves, and before morning he lay
+delirious in a high fever, under the care of Dr. Mortimer. The
+two of them were destined to travel together round the world
+before Sir Henry had become once more the hale, hearty man that
+he had been before he became master of that ill-omened estate.</p>
+
+<p>And now I come rapidly to the conclusion of this singular
+narrative, in which I have tried to make the reader share those
+dark fears and vague surmises which clouded our lives so long and
+ended in so tragic a manner. On the morning after the death of
+the hound the fog had lifted and we were guided by Mrs. Stapleton
+to the point where they had found a pathway through the bog. It
+helped us to realize the horror of this woman's life when we saw
+the eagerness and joy with which she laid us on her husband's
+track. We left her standing upon the thin peninsula of firm,
+peaty soil which tapered out into the widespread bog. From the
+end of it a small wand planted here and there showed where the
+path zigzagged from tuft to tuft of rushes among those
+green-scummed pits and foul quagmires which barred the way to the
+stranger. Rank reeds and lush, slimy water-plants sent an odour
+of decay and a heavy miasmatic vapour onto our faces, while a
+false step plunged us more than once thigh-deep into the dark,
+quivering mire, which shook for yards in soft undulations around
+our feet. Its tenacious grip plucked at our heels as we walked,
+and when we sank into it it was as if some malignant hand was
+tugging us down into those obscene depths, so grim and purposeful
+was the clutch in which it held us. Once only we saw a trace that
+someone had passed that perilous way before us. From amid a tuft
+of cotton grass which bore it up out of the slime some dark thing
+was projecting. Holmes sank to his waist as he stepped from the
+path to seize it, and had we not been there to drag him out he
+could never have set his foot upon firm land again. He held an
+old black boot in the air. "Meyers, Toronto," was printed on the
+leather inside.</p>
+
+<p>"It is worth a mud bath," said he. "It is our friend Sir Henry's
+missing boot."</p>
+
+<p>"Thrown there by Stapleton in his flight."</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly. He retained it in his hand after using it to set the
+hound upon the track. He fled when he knew the game was up, still
+clutching it. And he hurled it away at this point of his flight.
+We know at least that he came so far in safety."</p>
+
+<p>But more than that we were never destined to know, though there
+was much which we might surmise. There was no chance of finding
+footsteps in the mire, for the rising mud oozed swiftly in upon
+them, but as we at last reached firmer ground beyond the morass
+we all looked eagerly for them. But no slightest sign of them
+ever met our eyes. If the earth told a true story, then Stapleton
+never reached that island of refuge towards which he struggled
+through the fog upon that last night. Somewhere in the heart of
+the great Grimpen Mire, down in the foul slime of the huge morass
+which had sucked him in, this cold and cruel-hearted man is
+forever buried.</p>
+
+<p>Many traces we found of him in the bog-girt island where he had
+hid his savage ally. A huge driving-wheel and a shaft half-filled
+with rubbish showed the position of an abandoned mine. Beside it
+were the crumbling remains of the cottages of the miners, driven
+away no doubt by the foul reek of the surrounding swamp. In one
+of these a staple and chain with a quantity of gnawed bones
+showed where the animal had been confined. A skeleton with a
+tangle of brown hair adhering to it lay among the debris.</p>
+
+<p>"A dog!" said Holmes. "By Jove, a curly-haired spaniel. Poor
+Mortimer will never see his pet again. Well, I do not know that
+this place contains any secret which we have not already
+fathomed. He could hide his hound, but he could not hush its
+voice, and hence came those cries which even in daylight were not
+pleasant to hear. On an emergency he could keep the hound in the
+out-house at Merripit, but it was always a risk, and it was only
+on the supreme day, which he regarded as the end of all his
+efforts, that he dared do it. This paste in the tin is no doubt
+the luminous mixture with which the creature was daubed. It was
+suggested, of course, by the story of the family hell-hound, and
+by the desire to frighten old Sir Charles to death. No wonder the
+poor devil of a convict ran and screamed, even as our friend did,
+and as we ourselves might have done, when he saw such a creature
+bounding through the darkness of the moor upon his track. It was
+a cunning device, for, apart from the chance of driving your
+victim to his death, what peasant would venture to inquire too
+closely into such a creature should he get sight of it, as many
+have done, upon the moor? I said it in London, Watson, and I say
+it again now, that never yet have we helped to hunt down a more
+dangerous man than he who is lying yonder"&mdash;he swept his long arm
+towards the huge mottled expanse of green-splotched bog which
+stretched away until it merged into the russet slopes of the
+moor.</p>
+
+<h3><a name="Chapter_15" id="Chapter_15"></a>Chapter 15<br /><br />
+A Retrospection</h3>
+
+<p>It was the end of November and Holmes and I sat, upon a raw and
+foggy night, on either side of a blazing fire in our sitting-room
+in Baker Street. Since the tragic upshot of our visit to
+Devonshire he had been engaged in two affairs of the utmost
+importance, in the first of which he had exposed the atrocious
+conduct of Colonel Upwood in connection with the famous card
+scandal of the Nonpareil Club, while in the second he had
+defended the unfortunate Mme. Montpensier from the charge of
+murder which hung over her in connection with the death of her
+step-daughter, Mlle. Carére, the young lady who, as it will be
+remembered, was found six months later alive and married in New
+York. My friend was in excellent spirits over the success which
+had attended a succession of difficult and important cases, so
+that I was able to induce him to discuss the details of the
+Baskerville mystery. I had waited patiently for the opportunity,
+for I was aware that he would never permit cases to overlap, and
+that his clear and logical mind would not be drawn from its
+present work to dwell upon memories of the past. Sir Henry and
+Dr. Mortimer were, however, in London, on their way to that long
+voyage which had been recommended for the restoration of his
+shattered nerves. They had called upon us that very afternoon, so
+that it was natural that the subject should come up for
+discussion.</p>
+
+<p>"The whole course of events," said Holmes, "from the point of
+view of the man who called himself Stapleton was simple and
+direct, although to us, who had no means in the beginning of
+knowing the motives of his actions and could only learn part of
+the facts, it all appeared exceedingly complex. I have had the
+advantage of two conversations with Mrs. Stapleton, and the case
+has now been so entirely cleared up that I am not aware that
+there is anything which has remained a secret to us. You will
+find a few notes upon the matter under the heading B in my
+indexed list of cases."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps you would kindly give me a sketch of the course of
+events from memory."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, though I cannot guarantee that I carry all the facts
+in my mind. Intense mental concentration has a curious way of
+blotting out what has passed. The barrister who has his case at
+his fingers' ends, and is able to argue with an expert upon his
+own subject finds that a week or two of the courts will drive it
+all out of his head once more. So each of my cases displaces the
+last, and Mlle. Carére has blurred my recollection of Baskerville
+Hall. To-morrow some other little problem may be submitted to my
+notice which will in turn dispossess the fair French lady and the
+infamous Upwood. So far as the case of the Hound goes, however, I
+will give you the course of events as nearly as I can, and you
+will suggest anything which I may have forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>"My inquiries show beyond all question that the family portrait
+did not lie, and that this fellow was indeed a Baskerville. He
+was a son of that Rodger Baskerville, the younger brother of Sir
+Charles, who fled with a sinister reputation to South America,
+where he was said to have died unmarried. He did, as a matter of
+fact, marry, and had one child, this fellow, whose real name is
+the same as his father's. He married Beryl Garcia, one of the
+beauties of Costa Rica, and, having purloined a considerable sum
+of public money, he changed his name to Vandeleur and fled to
+England, where he established a school in the east of Yorkshire.
+His reason for attempting this special line of business was that
+he had struck up an acquaintance with a consumptive tutor upon
+the voyage home, and that he had used this man's ability to make
+the undertaking a success. Fraser, the tutor, died however, and
+the school which had begun well sank from disrepute into infamy.
+The Vandeleurs found it convenient to change their name to
+Stapleton, and he brought the remains of his fortune, his schemes
+for the future, and his taste for entomology to the south of
+England. I learned at the British Museum that he was a recognized
+authority upon the subject, and that the name of Vandeleur has
+been permanently attached to a certain moth which he had, in his
+Yorkshire days, been the first to describe.</p>
+
+<p>"We now come to that portion of his life which has proved to be
+of such intense interest to us. The fellow had evidently made
+inquiry and found that only two lives intervened between him and
+a valuable estate. When he went to Devonshire his plans were, I
+believe, exceedingly hazy, but that he meant mischief from the
+first is evident from the way in which he took his wife with him
+in the character of his sister. The idea of using her as a decoy
+was clearly already in his mind, though he may not have been
+certain how the details of his plot were to be arranged. He meant
+in the end to have the estate, and he was ready to use any tool
+or run any risk for that end. His first act was to establish
+himself as near to his ancestral home as he could, and his second
+was to cultivate a friendship with Sir Charles Baskerville and
+with the neighbours.</p>
+
+<p>"The baronet himself told him about the family hound, and so
+prepared the way for his own death. Stapleton, as I will continue
+to call him, knew that the old man's heart was weak and that a
+shock would kill him. So much he had learned from Dr. Mortimer.
+He had heard also that Sir Charles was superstitious and had
+taken this grim legend very seriously. His ingenious mind
+instantly suggested a way by which the baronet could be done to
+death, and yet it would be hardly possible to bring home the
+guilt to the real murderer.</p>
+
+<p>"Having conceived the idea he proceeded to carry it out with
+considerable finesse. An ordinary schemer would have been content
+to work with a savage hound. The use of artificial means to make
+the creature diabolical was a flash of genius upon his part. The
+dog he bought in London from Ross and Mangles, the dealers in
+Fulham Road. It was the strongest and most savage in their
+possession. He brought it down by the North Devon line and walked
+a great distance over the moor so as to get it home without
+exciting any remarks. He had already on his insect hunts learned
+to penetrate the Grimpen Mire, and so had found a safe
+hiding-place for the creature. Here he kennelled it and waited
+his chance.</p>
+
+<p>"But it was some time coming. The old gentleman could not be
+decoyed outside of his grounds at night. Several times Stapleton
+lurked about with his hound, but without avail. It was during
+these fruitless quests that he, or rather his ally, was seen by
+peasants, and that the legend of the demon dog received a new
+confirmation. He had hoped that his wife might lure Sir Charles
+to his ruin, but here she proved unexpectedly independent. She
+would not endeavour to entangle the old gentleman in a
+sentimental attachment which might deliver him over to his enemy.
+Threats and even, I am sorry to say, blows refused to move her.
+She would have nothing to do with it, and for a time Stapleton
+was at a deadlock.</p>
+
+<p>"He found a way out of his difficulties through the chance that
+Sir Charles, who had conceived a friendship for him, made him the
+minister of his charity in the case of this unfortunate woman,
+Mrs. Laura Lyons. By representing himself as a single man he
+acquired complete influence over her, and he gave her to
+understand that in the event of her obtaining a divorce from her
+husband he would marry her. His plans were suddenly brought to a
+head by his knowledge that Sir Charles was about to leave the
+Hall on the advice of Dr. Mortimer, with whose opinion he himself
+pretended to coincide. He must act at once, or his victim might
+get beyond his power. He therefore put pressure upon Mrs. Lyons
+to write this letter, imploring the old man to give her an
+interview on the evening before his departure for London. He
+then, by a specious argument, prevented her from going, and so
+had the chance for which he had waited.</p>
+
+<p>"Driving back in the evening from Coombe Tracey he was in time to
+get his hound, to treat it with his infernal paint, and to bring
+the beast round to the gate at which he had reason to expect that
+he would find the old gentleman waiting. The dog, incited by its
+master, sprang over the wicket-gate and pursued the unfortunate
+baronet, who fled screaming down the Yew Alley. In that gloomy
+tunnel it must indeed have been a dreadful sight to see that huge
+black creature, with its flaming jaws and blazing eyes, bounding
+after its victim. He fell dead at the end of the alley from heart
+disease and terror. The hound had kept upon the grassy border
+while the baronet had run down the path, so that no track but the
+man's was visible. On seeing him lying still the creature had
+probably approached to sniff at him, but finding him dead had
+turned away again. It was then that it left the print which was
+actually observed by Dr. Mortimer. The hound was called off and
+hurried away to its lair in the Grimpen Mire, and a mystery was
+left which puzzled the authorities, alarmed the country-side, and
+finally brought the case within the scope of our observation.</p>
+
+<p>"So much for the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. You perceive
+the devilish cunning of it, for really it would be almost
+impossible to make a case against the real murderer. His only
+accomplice was one who could never give him away, and the
+grotesque, inconceivable nature of the device only served to make
+it more effective. Both of the women concerned in the case, Mrs.
+Stapleton and Mrs. Laura Lyons, were left with a strong suspicion
+against Stapleton. Mrs. Stapleton knew that he had designs upon
+the old man, and also of the existence of the hound. Mrs. Lyons
+knew neither of these things, but had been impressed by the death
+occurring at the time of an uncancelled appointment which was
+only known to him. However, both of them were under his
+influence, and he had nothing to fear from them. The first half
+of his task was successfully accomplished but the more difficult
+still remained.</p>
+
+<p>"It is possible that Stapleton did not know of the existence of
+an heir in Canada. In any case he would very soon learn it from
+his friend Dr. Mortimer, and he was told by the latter all
+details about the arrival of Henry Baskerville. Stapleton's first
+idea was that this young stranger from Canada might possibly be
+done to death in London without coming down to Devonshire at all.
+He distrusted his wife ever since she had refused to help him in
+laying a trap for the old man, and he dared not leave her long
+out of his sight for fear he should lose his influence over her.
+It was for this reason that he took her to London with him. They
+lodged, I find, at the Mexborough Private Hotel, in Craven
+Street, which was actually one of those called upon by my agent
+in search of evidence. Here he kept his wife imprisoned in her
+room while he, disguised in a beard, followed Dr. Mortimer to
+Baker Street and afterwards to the station and to the
+Northumberland Hotel. His wife had some inkling of his plans; but
+she had such a fear of her husband&mdash;a fear founded upon brutal
+ill-treatment&mdash;that she dare not write to warn the man whom she
+knew to be in danger. If the letter should fall into Stapleton's
+hands her own life would not be safe. Eventually, as we know, she
+adopted the expedient of cutting out the words which would form
+the message, and addressing the letter in a disguised hand. It
+reached the baronet, and gave him the first warning of his
+danger.</p>
+
+<p>"It was very essential for Stapleton to get some article of Sir
+Henry's attire so that, in case he was driven to use the dog, he
+might always have the means of setting him upon his track. With
+characteristic promptness and audacity he set about this at once,
+and we cannot doubt that the boots or chamber-maid of the hotel
+was well bribed to help him in his design. By chance, however,
+the first boot which was procured for him was a new one and,
+therefore, useless for his purpose. He then had it returned and
+obtained another&mdash;a most instructive incident, since it proved
+conclusively to my mind that we were dealing with a real hound,
+as no other supposition could explain this anxiety to obtain an
+old boot and this indifference to a new one. The more outre and
+grotesque an incident is the more carefully it deserves to be
+examined, and the very point which appears to complicate a case
+is, when duly considered and scientifically handled, the one
+which is most likely to elucidate it.</p>
+
+<p>"Then we had the visit from our friends next morning, shadowed
+always by Stapleton in the cab. From his knowledge of our rooms
+and of my appearance, as well as from his general conduct, I am
+inclined to think that Stapleton's career of crime has been by no
+means limited to this single Baskerville affair. It is suggestive
+that during the last three years there have been four
+considerable burglaries in the West Country, for none of which
+was any criminal ever arrested. The last of these, at Folkestone
+Court, in May, was remarkable for the cold-blooded pistoling of
+the page, who surprised the masked and solitary burglar. I cannot
+doubt that Stapleton recruited his waning resources in this
+fashion, and that for years he has been a desperate and dangerous
+man.</p>
+
+<p>"We had an example of his readiness of resource that morning when
+he got away from us so successfully, and also of his audacity in
+sending back my own name to me through the cabman. From that
+moment he understood that I had taken over the case in London,
+and that therefore there was no chance for him there. He returned
+to Dartmoor and awaited the arrival of the baronet."</p>
+
+<p>"One moment!" said I. "You have, no doubt, described the sequence
+of events correctly, but there is one point which you have left
+unexplained. What became of the hound when its master was in
+London?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have given some attention to this matter and it is undoubtedly
+of importance. There can be no question that Stapleton had a
+confidant, though it is unlikely that he ever placed himself in
+his power by sharing all his plans with him. There was an old
+manservant at Merripit House, whose name was Anthony. His
+connection with the Stapletons can be traced for several years,
+as far back as the schoolmastering days, so that he must have
+been aware that his master and mistress were really husband and
+wife. This man has disappeared and has escaped from the country.
+It is suggestive that Anthony is not a common name in England,
+while Antonio is so in all Spanish or Spanish-American countries.
+The man, like Mrs. Stapleton herself, spoke good English, but
+with a curious lisping accent. I have myself seen this old man
+cross the Grimpen Mire by the path which Stapleton had marked
+out. It is very probable, therefore, that in the absence of his
+master it was he who cared for the hound, though he may never
+have known the purpose for which the beast was used.</p>
+
+<p>"The Stapletons then went down to Devonshire, whither they were
+soon followed by Sir Henry and you. One word now as to how I
+stood myself at that time. It may possibly recur to your memory
+that when I examined the paper upon which the printed words were
+fastened I made a close inspection for the water-mark. In doing
+so I held it within a few inches of my eyes, and was conscious of
+a faint smell of the scent known as white jessamine. There are
+seventy-five perfumes, which it is very necessary that a criminal
+expert should be able to distinguish from each other, and cases
+have more than once within my own experience depended upon their
+prompt recognition. The scent suggested the presence of a lady,
+and already my thoughts began to turn towards the Stapletons.
+Thus I had made certain of the hound, and had guessed at the
+criminal before ever we went to the west country.</p>
+
+<p>"It was my game to watch Stapleton. It was evident, however, that
+I could not do this if I were with you, since he would be keenly
+on his guard. I deceived everybody, therefore, yourself included,
+and I came down secretly when I was supposed to be in London. My
+hardships were not so great as you imagined, though such trifling
+details must never interfere with the investigation of a case. I
+stayed for the most part at Coombe Tracey, and only used the hut
+upon the moor when it was necessary to be near the scene of
+action. Cartwright had come down with me, and in his disguise as
+a country boy he was of great assistance to me. I was dependent
+upon him for food and clean linen. When I was watching Stapleton,
+Cartwright was frequently watching you, so that I was able to
+keep my hand upon all the strings.</p>
+
+<p>"I have already told you that your reports reached me rapidly,
+being forwarded instantly from Baker Street to Coombe Tracey.
+They were of great service to me, and especially that one
+incidentally truthful piece of biography of Stapleton's. I was
+able to establish the identity of the man and the woman and knew
+at last exactly how I stood. The case had been considerably
+complicated through the incident of the escaped convict and the
+relations between him and the Barrymores. This also you cleared
+up in a very effective way, though I had already come to the same
+conclusions from my own observations.</p>
+
+<p>"By the time that you discovered me upon the moor I had a
+complete knowledge of the whole business, but I had not a case
+which could go to a jury. Even Stapleton's attempt upon Sir Henry
+that night which ended in the death of the unfortunate convict
+did not help us much in proving murder against our man. There
+seemed to be no alternative but to catch him red-handed, and to
+do so we had to use Sir Henry, alone and apparently unprotected,
+as a bait. We did so, and at the cost of a severe shock to our
+client we succeeded in completing our case and driving Stapleton
+to his destruction. That Sir Henry should have been exposed to
+this is, I must confess, a reproach to my management of the case,
+but we had no means of foreseeing the terrible and paralyzing
+spectacle which the beast presented, nor could we predict the fog
+which enabled him to burst upon us at such short notice. We
+succeeded in our object at a cost which both the specialist and
+Dr. Mortimer assure me will be a temporary one. A long journey
+may enable our friend to recover not only from his shattered
+nerves but also from his wounded feelings. His love for the lady
+was deep and sincere, and to him the saddest part of all this
+black business was that he should have been deceived by her.</p>
+
+<p>"It only remains to indicate the part which she had played
+throughout. There can be no doubt that Stapleton exercised an
+influence over her which may have been love or may have been
+fear, or very possibly both, since they are by no means
+incompatible emotions. It was, at least, absolutely effective. At
+his command she consented to pass as his sister, though he found
+the limits of his power over her when he endeavoured to make her
+the direct accessory to murder. She was ready to warn Sir Henry
+so far as she could without implicating her husband, and again
+and again she tried to do so. Stapleton himself seems to have
+been capable of jealousy, and when he saw the baronet paying
+court to the lady, even though it was part of his own plan, still
+he could not help interrupting with a passionate outburst which
+revealed the fiery soul which his self-contained manner so
+cleverly concealed. By encouraging the intimacy he made it
+certain that Sir Henry would frequently come to Merripit House
+and that he would sooner or later get the opportunity which he
+desired. On the day of the crisis, however, his wife turned
+suddenly against him. She had learned something of the death of
+the convict, and she knew that the hound was being kept in the
+out-house on the evening that Sir Henry was coming to dinner. She
+taxed her husband with his intended crime, and a furious scene
+followed, in which he showed her for the first time that she had
+a rival in his love. Her fidelity turned in an instant to bitter
+hatred and he saw that she would betray him. He tied her up,
+therefore, that she might have no chance of warning Sir Henry,
+and he hoped, no doubt, that when the whole country-side put down
+the baronet's death to the curse of his family, as they certainly
+would do, he could win his wife back to accept an accomplished
+fact and to keep silent upon what she knew. In this I fancy that
+in any case he made a miscalculation, and that, if we had not
+been there, his doom would none the less have been sealed. A
+woman of Spanish blood does not condone such an injury so
+lightly. And now, my dear Watson, without referring to my notes,
+I cannot give you a more detailed account of this curious case. I
+do not know that anything essential has been left unexplained."</p>
+
+<p>"He could not hope to frighten Sir Henry to death as he had done
+the old uncle with his bogie hound."</p>
+
+<p>"The beast was savage and half-starved. If its appearance did not
+frighten its victim to death, at least it would paralyze the
+resistance which might be offered."</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt. There only remains one difficulty. If Stapleton came
+into the succession, how could he explain the fact that he, the
+heir, had been living unannounced under another name so close to
+the property? How could he claim it without causing suspicion and
+inquiry?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is a formidable difficulty, and I fear that you ask too much
+when you expect me to solve it. The past and the present are
+within the field of my inquiry, but what a man may do in the
+future is a hard question to answer. Mrs. Stapleton has heard her
+husband discuss the problem on several occasions. There were
+three possible courses. He might claim the property from South
+America, establish his identity before the British authorities
+there and so obtain the fortune without ever coming to England at
+all; or he might adopt an elaborate disguise during the short
+time that he need be in London; or, again, he might furnish an
+accomplice with the proofs and papers, putting him in as heir,
+and retaining a claim upon some proportion of his income. We
+cannot doubt from what we know of him that he would have found
+some way out of the difficulty. And now, my dear Watson, we have
+had some weeks of severe work, and for one evening, I think, we
+may turn our thoughts into more pleasant channels. I have a box
+for 'Les Huguenots.' Have you heard the De Reszkes? Might I
+trouble you then to be ready in half an hour, and we can stop at
+Marcini's for a little dinner on the way?"</p>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
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+Project Gutenberg's The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Hound of the Baskervilles
+
+Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
+
+Posting Date: October 10, 2010
+Release Date: February, 2002 [Etext #3070]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by This etext was produced by P. K.Pehtla <ppehtla@nfld.com>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+The Hound of the Baskervilles
+
+by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+  Chapter 1--Mr. Sherlock Holmes
+  Chapter 2--The Curse of the Baskervilles
+  Chapter 3--The Problem
+  Chapter 4--Sir Henry Baskerville
+  Chapter 5--Three Broken Threads
+  Chapter 6--Baskerville Hall
+  Chapter 7--The Stapletons of Merripit House
+  Chapter 8--First Report of Dr. Watson
+  Chapter 9--The Light Upon The Moor
+  Chapter 10--Extract from the Diary of Dr. Watson
+  Chapter 11--The Man on the Tor
+  Chapter 12--Death on the Moor
+  Chapter 13--Fixing the Nets
+  Chapter 14--The Hound of the Baskervilles
+  Chapter 15--A Retrospection
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 1
+
+Mr. Sherlock Holmes
+
+
+Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings,
+save upon those not infrequent occasions when he was up all
+night, was seated at the breakfast table. I stood upon the
+hearth-rug and picked up the stick which our visitor had left
+behind him the night before. It was a fine, thick piece of wood,
+bulbous-headed, of the sort which is known as a "Penang lawyer."
+Just under the head was a broad silver band nearly an inch
+across. "To James Mortimer, M.R.C.S., from his friends of the
+C.C.H.," was engraved upon it, with the date "1884." It was just
+such a stick as the old-fashioned family practitioner used to
+carry--dignified, solid, and reassuring.
+
+"Well, Watson, what do you make of it?"
+
+Holmes was sitting with his back to me, and I had given him no
+sign of my occupation.
+
+"How did you know what I was doing? I believe you have eyes in
+the back of your head."
+
+"I have, at least, a well-polished, silver-plated coffee-pot in
+front of me," said he. "But, tell me, Watson, what do you make of
+our visitor's stick? Since we have been so unfortunate as to miss
+him and have no notion of his errand, this accidental souvenir
+becomes of importance. Let me hear you reconstruct the man by an
+examination of it."
+
+"I think," said I, following as far as I could the methods of my
+companion, "that Dr. Mortimer is a successful, elderly medical
+man, well-esteemed since those who know him give him this mark of
+their appreciation."
+
+"Good!" said Holmes. "Excellent!"
+
+"I think also that the probability is in favour of his being a
+country practitioner who does a great deal of his visiting on
+foot."
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"Because this stick, though originally a very handsome one has
+been so knocked about that I can hardly imagine a town
+practitioner carrying it. The thick-iron ferrule is worn down, so
+it is evident that he has done a great amount of walking with
+it."
+
+"Perfectly sound!" said Holmes.
+
+"And then again, there is the 'friends of the C.C.H.' I should
+guess that to be the Something Hunt, the local hunt to whose
+members he has possibly given some surgical assistance, and which
+has made him a small presentation in return."
+
+"Really, Watson, you excel yourself," said Holmes, pushing back
+his chair and lighting a cigarette. "I am bound to say that in
+all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own
+small achievements you have habitually underrated your own
+abilities. It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but you
+are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius
+have a remarkable power of stimulating it. I confess, my dear
+fellow, that I am very much in your debt."
+
+He had never said as much before, and I must admit that his words
+gave me keen pleasure, for I had often been piqued by his
+indifference to my admiration and to the attempts which I had
+made to give publicity to his methods. I was proud, too, to think
+that I had so far mastered his system as to apply it in a way
+which earned his approval. He now took the stick from my hands
+and examined it for a few minutes with his naked eyes. Then with
+an expression of interest he laid down his cigarette, and
+carrying the cane to the window, he looked over it again with a
+convex lens.
+
+"Interesting, though elementary," said he as he returned to his
+favourite corner of the settee. "There are certainly one or two
+indications upon the stick. It gives us the basis for several
+deductions."
+
+"Has anything escaped me?" I asked with some self-importance. "I
+trust that there is nothing of consequence which I have
+overlooked?"
+
+"I am afraid, my dear Watson, that most of your conclusions were
+erroneous. When I said that you stimulated me I meant, to be
+frank, that in noting your fallacies I was occasionally guided
+towards the truth. Not that you are entirely wrong in this
+instance. The man is certainly a country practitioner. And he
+walks a good deal."
+
+"Then I was right."
+
+"To that extent."
+
+"But that was all."
+
+"No, no, my dear Watson, not all--by no means all. I would
+suggest, for example, that a presentation to a doctor is more
+likely to come from a hospital than from a hunt, and that when
+the initials 'C.C.' are placed before that hospital the words
+'Charing Cross' very naturally suggest themselves."
+
+"You may be right."
+
+"The probability lies in that direction. And if we take this as a
+working hypothesis we have a fresh basis from which to start our
+construction of this unknown visitor."
+
+"Well, then, supposing that 'C.C.H.' does stand for 'Charing
+Cross Hospital,' what further inferences may we draw?"
+
+"Do none suggest themselves? You know my methods. Apply them!"
+
+"I can only think of the obvious conclusion that the man has
+practised in town before going to the country."
+
+"I think that we might venture a little farther than this. Look
+at it in this light. On what occasion would it be most probable
+that such a presentation would be made? When would his friends
+unite to give him a pledge of their good will? Obviously at the
+moment when Dr. Mortimer withdrew from the service of the
+hospital in order to start in practice for himself. We know there
+has been a presentation. We believe there has been a change from
+a town hospital to a country practice. Is it, then, stretching
+our inference too far to say that the presentation was on the
+occasion of the change?"
+
+"It certainly seems probable."
+
+"Now, you will observe that he could not have been on the staff
+of the hospital, since only a man well-established in a London
+practice could hold such a position, and such a one would not
+drift into the country. What was he, then? If he was in the
+hospital and yet not on the staff he could only have been a
+house-surgeon or a house-physician--little more than a senior
+student. And he left five years ago--the date is on the stick. So
+your grave, middle-aged family practitioner vanishes into thin
+air, my dear Watson, and there emerges a young fellow under
+thirty, amiable, unambitious, absent-minded, and the possessor of
+a favourite dog, which I should describe roughly as being larger
+than a terrier and smaller than a mastiff."
+
+I laughed incredulously as Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his
+settee and blew little wavering rings of smoke up to the ceiling.
+
+"As to the latter part, I have no means of checking you," said I,
+"but at least it is not difficult to find out a few particulars
+about the man's age and professional career." From my small
+medical shelf I took down the Medical Directory and turned up the
+name. There were several Mortimers, but only one who could be our
+visitor. I read his record aloud.
+
+"Mortimer, James, M.R.C.S., 1882, Grimpen, Dartmoor,
+Devon. House-surgeon, from 1882 to 1884, at Charing Cross
+Hospital. Winner of the Jackson prize for Comparative Pathology,
+with essay entitled 'Is Disease a Reversion?' Corresponding
+member of the Swedish Pathological Society. Author of 'Some
+Freaks of Atavism' (Lancet 1882). 'Do We Progress?' (Journal of
+Psychology, March, 1883). Medical Officer for the parishes of
+Grimpen, Thorsley, and High Barrow."
+
+"No mention of that local hunt, Watson," said Holmes with a
+mischievous smile, "but a country doctor, as you very astutely
+observed. I think that I am fairly justified in my inferences. As
+to the adjectives, I said, if I remember right, amiable,
+unambitious, and absent-minded. It is my experience that it is
+only an amiable man in this world who receives testimonials, only
+an unambitious one who abandons a London career for the country,
+and only an absent-minded one who leaves his stick and not his
+visiting-card after waiting an hour in your room."
+
+"And the dog?"
+
+"Has been in the habit of carrying this stick behind his master.
+Being a heavy stick the dog has held it tightly by the middle,
+and the marks of his teeth are very plainly visible. The dog's
+jaw, as shown in the space between these marks, is too broad in
+my opinion for a terrier and not broad enough for a mastiff. It
+may have been--yes, by Jove, it is a curly-haired spaniel."
+
+He had risen and paced the room as he spoke. Now he halted in the
+recess of the window. There was such a ring of conviction in his
+voice that I glanced up in surprise.
+
+"My dear fellow, how can you possibly be so sure of that?"
+
+"For the very simple reason that I see the dog himself on our
+very door-step, and there is the ring of its owner. Don't move, I
+beg you, Watson. He is a professional brother of yours, and your
+presence may be of assistance to me. Now is the dramatic moment
+of fate, Watson, when you hear a step upon the stair which is
+walking into your life, and you know not whether for good or ill.
+What does Dr. James Mortimer, the man of science, ask of Sherlock
+Holmes, the specialist in crime? Come in!"
+
+The appearance of our visitor was a surprise to me, since I had
+expected a typical country practitioner. He was a very tall, thin
+man, with a long nose like a beak, which jutted out between two
+keen, gray eyes, set closely together and sparkling brightly from
+behind a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He was clad in a
+professional but rather slovenly fashion, for his frock-coat was
+dingy and his trousers frayed. Though young, his long back was
+already bowed, and he walked with a forward thrust of his head
+and a general air of peering benevolence. As he entered his eyes
+fell upon the stick in Holmes's hand, and he ran towards it with
+an exclamation of joy. "I am so very glad," said he. "I was not
+sure whether I had left it here or in the Shipping Office. I
+would not lose that stick for the world."
+
+"A presentation, I see," said Holmes.
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"From Charing Cross Hospital?"
+
+"From one or two friends there on the occasion of my marriage."
+
+"Dear, dear, that's bad!" said Holmes, shaking his head.
+
+Dr. Mortimer blinked through his glasses in mild astonishment.
+
+"Why was it bad?"
+
+"Only that you have disarranged our little deductions. Your
+marriage, you say?"
+
+"Yes, sir. I married, and so left the hospital, and with it all
+hopes of a consulting practice. It was necessary to make a home
+of my own."
+
+"Come, come, we are not so far wrong, after all," said Holmes.
+"And now, Dr. James Mortimer ------"
+
+"Mister, sir, Mister--a humble M.R.C.S."
+
+"And a man of precise mind, evidently."
+
+"A dabbler in science, Mr. Holmes, a picker up of shells on the
+shores of the great unknown ocean. I presume that it is Mr.
+Sherlock Holmes whom I am addressing and not ------"
+
+"No, this is my friend Dr. Watson."
+
+"Glad to meet you, sir. I have heard your name mentioned in
+connection with that of your friend. You interest me very much,
+Mr. Holmes. I had hardly expected so dolichocephalic a skull or
+such well-marked supra-orbital development. Would you have any
+objection to my running my finger along your parietal fissure? A
+cast of your skull, sir, until the original is available, would
+be an ornament to any anthropological museum. It is not my
+intention to be fulsome, but I confess that I covet your skull."
+
+Sherlock Holmes waved our strange visitor into a chair. "You are
+an enthusiast in your line of thought, I perceive, sir, as I am
+in mine," said he. "I observe from your forefinger that you make
+your own cigarettes. Have no hesitation in lighting one."
+
+The man drew out paper and tobacco and twirled the one up in the
+other with surprising dexterity. He had long, quivering fingers
+as agile and restless as the antennae of an insect.
+
+Holmes was silent, but his little darting glances showed me the
+interest which he took in our curious companion.
+
+"I presume, sir," said he at last, "that it was not merely for
+the purpose of examining my skull that you have done me the
+honour to call here last night and again to-day?"
+
+"No, sir, no; though I am happy to have had the opportunity of
+doing that as well. I came to you, Mr. Holmes, because I
+recognized that I am myself an unpractical man and because I am
+suddenly confronted with a most serious and extraordinary
+problem. Recognizing, as I do, that you are the second highest
+expert in Europe ------"
+
+"Indeed, sir! May I inquire who has the honour to be the first?"
+asked Holmes with some asperity.
+
+"To the man of precisely scientific mind the work of Monsieur
+Bertillon must always appeal strongly."
+
+"Then had you not better consult him?"
+
+"I said, sir, to the precisely scientific mind. But as a
+practical man of affairs it is acknowledged that you stand alone.
+I trust, sir, that I have not inadvertently ------"
+
+"Just a little," said Holmes. "I think, Dr. Mortimer, you would
+do wisely if without more ado you would kindly tell me plainly
+what the exact nature of the problem is in which you demand my
+assistance."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 2
+
+The Curse of the Baskervilles
+
+
+"I have in my pocket a manuscript," said Dr. James Mortimer.
+
+"I observed it as you entered the room," said Holmes.
+
+"It is an old manuscript."
+
+"Early eighteenth century, unless it is a forgery."
+
+"How can you say that, sir?"
+
+"You have presented an inch or two of it to my examination all
+the time that you have been talking. It would be a poor expert
+who could not give the date of a document within a decade or so.
+You may possibly have read my little monograph upon the subject.
+I put that at 1730."
+
+"The exact date is 1742." Dr. Mortimer drew it from his
+breast-pocket. "This family paper was committed to my care by Sir
+Charles Baskerville, whose sudden and tragic death some three
+months ago created so much excitement in Devonshire. I may say
+that I was his personal friend as well as his medical attendant.
+He was a strong-minded man, sir, shrewd, practical, and as
+unimaginative as I am myself. Yet he took this document very
+seriously, and his mind was prepared for just such an end as did
+eventually overtake him."
+
+Holmes stretched out his hand for the manuscript and flattened it
+upon his knee.
+
+"You will observe, Watson, the alternative use of the long s and
+the short. It is one of several indications which enabled me to
+fix the date."
+
+I looked over his shoulder at the yellow paper and the faded
+script. At the head was written: "Baskerville Hall," and below in
+large, scrawling figures: "1742."
+
+"It appears to be a statement of some sort."
+
+"Yes, it is a statement of a certain legend which runs in the
+Baskerville family."
+
+"But I understand that it is something more modern and practical
+upon which you wish to consult me?"
+
+"Most modern. A most practical, pressing matter, which must be
+decided within twenty-four hours. But the manuscript is short and
+is intimately connected with the affair. With your permission I
+will read it to you."
+
+Holmes leaned back in his chair, placed his finger-tips together,
+and closed his eyes, with an air of resignation. Dr. Mortimer
+turned the manuscript to the light and read in a high, cracking
+voice the following curious, old-world narrative:--
+
+"Of the origin of the Hound of the Baskervilles there have been
+many statements, yet as I come in a direct line from Hugo
+Baskerville, and as I had the story from my father, who also had
+it from his, I have set it down with all belief that it occurred
+even as is here set forth. And I would have you believe, my sons,
+that the same Justice which punishes sin may also most graciously
+forgive it, and that no ban is so heavy but that by prayer and
+repentance it may be removed. Learn then from this story not to
+fear the fruits of the past, but rather to be circumspect in the
+future, that those foul passions whereby our family has suffered
+so grievously may not again be loosed to our undoing.
+
+"Know then that in the time of the Great Rebellion (the history
+of which by the learned Lord Clarendon I most earnestly commend
+to your attention) this Manor of Baskerville was held by Hugo of
+that name, nor can it be gainsaid that he was a most wild,
+profane, and godless man. This, in truth, his neighbours might
+have pardoned, seeing that saints have never flourished in those
+parts, but there was in him a certain wanton and cruel humour
+which made his name a byword through the West. It chanced that
+this Hugo came to love (if, indeed, so dark a passion may be
+known under so bright a name) the daughter of a yeoman who held
+lands near the Baskerville estate. But the young maiden, being
+discreet and of good repute, would ever avoid him, for she
+feared his evil name. So it came to pass that one Michaelmas
+this Hugo, with five or six of his idle and wicked companions,
+stole down upon the farm and carried off the maiden, her father
+and brothers being from home, as he well knew. When they had
+brought her to the Hall the maiden was placed in an upper
+chamber, while Hugo and his friends sat down to a long carouse,
+as was their nightly custom. Now, the poor lass upstairs was like
+to have her wits turned at the singing and shouting and terrible
+oaths which came up to her from below, for they say that the
+words used by Hugo Baskerville, when he was in wine, were such as
+might blast the man who said them. At last in the stress of her
+fear she did that which might have daunted the bravest or most
+active man, for by the aid of the growth of ivy which covered
+(and still covers) the south wall she came down from under the
+eaves, and so homeward across the moor, there being three leagues
+betwixt the Hall and her father's farm.
+
+"It chanced that some little time later Hugo left his guests to
+carry food and drink--with other worse things, perchance--to his
+captive, and so found the cage empty and the bird escaped. Then,
+as it would seem, he became as one that hath a devil, for,
+rushing down the stairs into the dining-hall, he sprang upon the
+great table, flagons and trenchers flying before him, and he
+cried aloud before all the company that he would that very night
+render his body and soul to the Powers of Evil if he might but
+overtake the wench. And while the revellers stood aghast at the
+fury of the man, one more wicked or, it may be, more drunken than
+the rest, cried out that they should put the hounds upon her.
+Whereat Hugo ran from the house, crying to his grooms that they
+should saddle his mare and unkennel the pack, and giving the
+hounds a kerchief of the maid's, he swung them to the line, and
+so off full cry in the moonlight over the moor.
+
+"Now, for some space the revellers stood agape, unable to
+understand all that had been done in such haste. But anon their
+bemused wits awoke to the nature of the deed which was like to be
+done upon the moorlands. Everything was now in an uproar, some
+calling for their pistols, some for their horses, and some for
+another flask of wine. But at length some sense came back to
+their crazed minds, and the whole of them, thirteen in number,
+took horse and started in pursuit. The moon shone clear above
+them, and they rode swiftly abreast, taking that course which the
+maid must needs have taken if she were to reach her own home.
+
+"They had gone a mile or two when they passed one of the night
+shepherds upon the moorlands, and they cried to him to know if he
+had seen the hunt. And the man, as the story goes, was so crazed
+with fear that he could scarce speak, but at last he said that he
+had indeed seen the unhappy maiden, with the hounds upon her
+track. 'But I have seen more than that,' said he, 'for Hugo
+Baskerville passed me upon his black mare, and there ran mute
+behind him such a hound of hell as God forbid should ever be at
+my heels.' So the drunken squires cursed the shepherd and rode
+onward. But soon their skins turned cold, for there came a
+galloping across the moor, and the black mare, dabbled with white
+froth, went past with trailing bridle and empty saddle. Then the
+revellers rode close together, for a great fear was on them, but
+they still followed over the moor, though each, had he been
+alone, would have been right glad to have turned his horse's
+head. Riding slowly in this fashion they came at last upon the
+hounds. These, though known for their valour and their breed,
+were whimpering in a cluster at the head of a deep dip or goyal,
+as we call it, upon the moor, some slinking away and some, with
+starting hackles and staring eyes, gazing down the narrow valley
+before them.
+
+"The company had come to a halt, more sober men, as you may
+guess, than when they started. The most of them would by no means
+advance, but three of them, the boldest, or it may be the most
+drunken, rode forward down the goyal. Now, it opened into a broad
+space in which stood two of those great stones, still to be seen
+there, which were set by certain forgotten peoples in the days of
+old. The moon was shining bright upon the clearing, and there in
+the centre lay the unhappy maid where she had fallen, dead of
+fear and of fatigue. But it was not the sight of her body, nor
+yet was it that of the body of Hugo Baskerville lying near her,
+which raised the hair upon the heads of these three daredevil
+roysterers, but it was that, standing over Hugo, and plucking at
+his throat, there stood a foul thing, a great, black beast,
+shaped like a hound, yet larger than any hound that ever mortal
+eye has rested upon. And even as they looked the thing tore the
+throat out of Hugo Baskerville, on which, as it turned its
+blazing eyes and dripping jaws upon them, the three shrieked with
+fear and rode for dear life, still screaming, across the moor.
+One, it is said, died that very night of what he had seen, and
+the other twain were but broken men for the rest of their days.
+
+"Such is the tale, my sons, of the coming of the hound which is
+said to have plagued the family so sorely ever since. If I have
+set it down it is because that which is clearly known hath less
+terror than that which is but hinted at and guessed. Nor can it
+be denied that many of the family have been unhappy in their
+deaths, which have been sudden, bloody, and mysterious. Yet may
+we shelter ourselves in the infinite goodness of Providence,
+which would not forever punish the innocent beyond that third or
+fourth generation which is threatened in Holy Writ. To that
+Providence, my sons, I hereby commend you, and I counsel you by
+way of caution to forbear from crossing the moor in those dark
+hours when the powers of evil are exalted.
+
+"[This from Hugo Baskerville to his sons Rodger and John, with
+instructions that they say nothing thereof to their sister
+Elizabeth.]"
+
+When Dr. Mortimer had finished reading this singular narrative he
+pushed his spectacles up on his forehead and stared across at Mr.
+Sherlock Holmes. The latter yawned and tossed the end of his
+cigarette into the fire.
+
+"Well?" said he.
+
+"Do you not find it interesting?"
+
+"To a collector of fairy tales."
+
+Dr. Mortimer drew a folded newspaper out of his pocket.
+
+"Now, Mr. Holmes, we will give you something a little more
+recent. This is the Devon County Chronicle of May 14th of this
+year. It is a short account of the facts elicited at the death of
+Sir Charles Baskerville which occurred a few days before that
+date."
+
+My friend leaned a little forward and his expression became
+intent. Our visitor readjusted his glasses and began:--
+
+"The recent sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville, whose name
+has been mentioned as the probable Liberal candidate for
+Mid-Devon at the next election, has cast a gloom over the county.
+Though Sir Charles had resided at Baskerville Hall for a
+comparatively short period his amiability of character and
+extreme generosity had won the affection and respect of all who
+had been brought into contact with him. In these days of _nouveaux
+riches_ it is refreshing to find a case where the scion of an old
+county family which has fallen upon evil days is able to make his
+own fortune and to bring it back with him to restore the fallen
+grandeur of his line. Sir Charles, as is well known, made large
+sums of money in South African speculation. More wise than those
+who go on until the wheel turns against them, he realized his
+gains and returned to England with them. It is only two years
+since he took up his residence at Baskerville Hall, and it is
+common talk how large were those schemes of reconstruction and
+improvement which have been interrupted by his death. Being
+himself childless, it was his openly expressed desire that the
+whole country-side should, within his own lifetime, profit by his
+good fortune, and many will have personal reasons for bewailing
+his untimely end. His generous donations to local and county
+charities have been frequently chronicled in these columns.
+
+"The circumstances connected with the death of Sir Charles
+cannot be said to have been entirely cleared up by the inquest,
+but at least enough has been done to dispose of those rumours to
+which local superstition has given rise. There is no reason
+whatever to suspect foul play, or to imagine that death could be
+from any but natural causes. Sir Charles was a widower, and a man
+who may be said to have been in some ways of an eccentric habit
+of mind. In spite of his considerable wealth he was simple in his
+personal tastes, and his indoor servants at Baskerville Hall
+consisted of a married couple named Barrymore, the husband acting
+as butler and the wife as housekeeper. Their evidence,
+corroborated by that of several friends, tends to show that Sir
+Charles's health has for some time been impaired, and points
+especially to some affection of the heart, manifesting itself in
+changes of colour, breathlessness, and acute attacks of nervous
+depression. Dr. James Mortimer, the friend and medical attendant
+of the deceased, has given evidence to the same effect.
+
+"The facts of the case are simple. Sir Charles Baskerville was in
+the habit every night before going to bed of walking down the
+famous Yew Alley of Baskerville Hall. The evidence of the
+Barrymores shows that this had been his custom. On the 4th of May
+Sir Charles had declared his intention of starting next day for
+London, and had ordered Barrymore to prepare his luggage. That
+night he went out as usual for his nocturnal walk, in the course
+of which he was in the habit of smoking a cigar. He never
+returned. At twelve o'clock Barrymore, finding the hall door
+still open, became alarmed, and, lighting a lantern, went in
+search of his master. The day had been wet, and Sir Charles's
+footmarks were easily traced down the Alley. Half-way down this
+walk there is a gate which leads out on to the moor. There were
+indications that Sir Charles had stood for some little time here.
+He then proceeded down the Alley, and it was at the far end of it
+that his body was discovered. One fact which has not been
+explained is the statement of Barrymore that his master's
+footprints altered their character from the time that he passed
+the moor-gate, and that he appeared from thence onward to have
+been walking upon his toes. One Murphy, a gipsy horse-dealer, was
+on the moor at no great distance at the time, but he appears by
+his own confession to have been the worse for drink. He declares
+that he heard cries, but is unable to state from what
+direction they came. No signs of violence were to be discovered
+upon Sir Charles's person, and though the doctor's evidence
+pointed to an almost incredible facial distortion--so great that
+Dr. Mortimer refused at first to believe that it was indeed his
+friend and patient who lay before him--it was explained that that
+is a symptom which is not unusual in cases of dyspnoea and death
+from cardiac exhaustion. This explanation was borne out by the
+post-mortem examination, which showed long-standing organic
+disease, and the coroner's jury returned a verdict in accordance
+with the medical evidence. It is well that this is so, for it is
+obviously of the utmost importance that Sir Charles's heir should
+settle at the Hall and continue the good work which has been so
+sadly interrupted. Had the prosaic finding of the coroner not
+finally put an end to the romantic stories which have been
+whispered in connection with the affair, it might have been
+difficult to find a tenant for Baskerville Hall. It is understood
+that the next of kin is Mr. Henry Baskerville, if he be still
+alive, the son of Sir Charles Baskerville's younger brother. The
+young man when last heard of was in America, and inquiries are
+being instituted with a view to informing him of his good
+fortune."
+
+Dr. Mortimer refolded his paper and replaced it in his pocket.
+
+"Those are the public facts, Mr. Holmes, in connection with the
+death of Sir Charles Baskerville."
+
+"I must thank you," said Sherlock Holmes, "for calling my
+attention to a case which certainly presents some features of
+interest. I had observed some newspaper comment at the time, but
+I was exceedingly preoccupied by that little affair of the
+Vatican cameos, and in my anxiety to oblige the Pope I lost touch
+with several interesting English cases. This article, you say,
+contains all the public facts?"
+
+"It does."
+
+"Then let me have the private ones." He leaned back, put his
+finger-tips together, and assumed his most impassive and judicial
+expression.
+
+"In doing so," said Dr. Mortimer, who had begun to show signs of
+some strong emotion, "I am telling that which I have not confided
+to anyone. My motive for withholding it from the coroner's
+inquiry is that a man of science shrinks from placing himself in
+the public position of seeming to indorse a popular superstition.
+I had the further motive that Baskerville Hall, as the paper
+says, would certainly remain untenanted if anything were done to
+increase its already rather grim reputation. For both these
+reasons I thought that I was justified in telling rather less
+than I knew, since no practical good could result from it, but
+with you there is no reason why I should not be perfectly frank.
+
+"The moor is very sparsely inhabited, and those who live near
+each other are thrown very much together. For this reason I saw a
+good deal of Sir Charles Baskerville. With the exception of Mr.
+Frankland, of Lafter Hall, and Mr. Stapleton, the naturalist,
+there are no other men of education within many miles. Sir
+Charles was a retiring man, but the chance of his illness brought
+us together, and a community of interests in science kept us so.
+He had brought back much scientific information from South
+Africa, and many a charming evening we have spent together
+discussing the comparative anatomy of the Bushman and the
+Hottentot.
+
+"Within the last few months it became increasingly plain to me
+that Sir Charles's nervous system was strained to the breaking
+point. He had taken this legend which I have read you exceedingly
+to heart--so much so that, although he would walk in his own
+grounds, nothing would induce him to go out upon the moor at
+night. Incredible as it may appear to you, Mr. Holmes, he was
+honestly convinced that a dreadful fate overhung his family, and
+certainly the records which he was able to give of his ancestors
+were not encouraging. The idea of some ghastly presence
+constantly haunted him, and on more than one occasion he has
+asked me whether I had on my medical journeys at night ever seen
+any strange creature or heard the baying of a hound. The latter
+question he put to me several times, and always with a voice
+which vibrated with excitement.
+
+"I can well remember driving up to his house in the evening some
+three weeks before the fatal event. He chanced to be at his hall
+door. I had descended from my gig and was standing in front of
+him, when I saw his eyes fix themselves over my shoulder, and
+stare past me with an expression of the most dreadful horror. I
+whisked round and had just time to catch a glimpse of something
+which I took to be a large black calf passing at the head of the
+drive. So excited and alarmed was he that I was compelled to go
+down to the spot where the animal had been and look around for
+it. It was gone, however, and the incident appeared to make the
+worst impression upon his mind. I stayed with him all the
+evening, and it was on that occasion, to explain the emotion
+which he had shown, that he confided to my keeping that narrative
+which I read to you when first I came. I mention this small
+episode because it assumes some importance in view of the tragedy
+which followed, but I was convinced at the time that the matter
+was entirely trivial and that his excitement had no
+justification.
+
+"It was at my advice that Sir Charles was about to go to London.
+His heart was, I knew, affected, and the constant anxiety in
+which he lived, however chimerical the cause of it might be, was
+evidently having a serious effect upon his health. I thought that
+a few months among the distractions of town would send him back a
+new man. Mr. Stapleton, a mutual friend who was much concerned at
+his state of health, was of the same opinion. At the last instant
+came this terrible catastrophe.
+
+"On the night of Sir Charles's death Barrymore the butler, who
+made the discovery, sent Perkins the groom on horseback to me,
+and as I was sitting up late I was able to reach Baskerville Hall
+within an hour of the event. I checked and corroborated all the
+facts which were mentioned at the inquest. I followed the
+footsteps down the Yew Alley, I saw the spot at the moor-gate
+where he seemed to have waited, I remarked the change in the
+shape of the prints after that point, I noted that there were no
+other footsteps save those of Barrymore on the soft gravel, and
+finally I carefully examined the body, which had not been touched
+until my arrival. Sir Charles lay on his face, his arms out, his
+fingers dug into the ground, and his features convulsed with some
+strong emotion to such an extent that I could hardly have sworn
+to his identity. There was certainly no physical injury of any
+kind. But one false statement was made by Barrymore at the
+inquest. He said that there were no traces upon the ground round
+the body. He did not observe any. But I did--some little distance
+off, but fresh and clear."
+
+"Footprints?"
+
+"Footprints."
+
+"A man's or a woman's?"
+
+Dr. Mortimer looked strangely at us for an instant, and his voice
+sank almost to a whisper as he answered:--
+
+"Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!"
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 3
+
+The Problem
+
+
+I confess at these words a shudder passed through me. There was a
+thrill in the doctor's voice which showed that he was himself
+deeply moved by that which he told us. Holmes leaned forward in
+his excitement and his eyes had the hard, dry glitter which shot
+from them when he was keenly interested.
+
+"You saw this?"
+
+"As clearly as I see you."
+
+"And you said nothing?"
+
+"What was the use?"
+
+"How was it that no one else saw it?"
+
+"The marks were some twenty yards from the body and no one gave
+them a thought. I don't suppose I should have done so had I not
+known this legend."
+
+"There are many sheep-dogs on the moor?"
+
+"No doubt, but this was no sheep-dog."
+
+"You say it was large?"
+
+"Enormous."
+
+"But it had not approached the body?"
+
+"No."
+
+"What sort of night was it?'
+
+"Damp and raw."
+
+"But not actually raining?"
+
+"No."
+
+"What is the Alley like?"
+
+"There are two lines of old yew hedge, twelve feet high and
+impenetrable. The walk in the centre is about eight feet across."
+
+"Is there anything between the hedges and the walk?"
+
+"Yes, there is a strip of grass about six feet broad on either
+side."
+
+"I understand that the yew hedge is penetrated at one point by a
+gate?"
+
+"Yes, the wicket-gate which leads on to the moor."
+
+"Is there any other opening?"
+
+"None."
+
+"So that to reach the Yew Alley one either has to come down it
+from the house or else to enter it by the moor-gate?"
+
+"There is an exit through a summer-house at the far end."
+
+"Had Sir Charles reached this?"
+
+"No; he lay about fifty yards from it."
+
+"Now, tell me, Dr. Mortimer--and this is important--the
+marks which you saw were on the path and not on the grass?"
+
+"No marks could show on the grass."
+
+"Were they on the same side of the path as the moor-gate?"
+
+"Yes; they were on the edge of the path on the same side as the
+moor-gate."
+
+"You interest me exceedingly. Another point. Was the wicket-gate
+closed?"
+
+"Closed and padlocked."
+
+"How high was it?"
+
+"About four feet high."
+
+"Then anyone could have got over it?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And what marks did you see by the wicket-gate?"
+
+"None in particular."
+
+"Good heaven! Did no one examine?"
+
+"Yes, I examined myself."
+
+"And found nothing?"
+
+"It was all very confused. Sir Charles had evidently stood there
+for five or ten minutes."
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+"Because the ash had twice dropped from his cigar."
+
+"Excellent! This is a colleague, Watson, after our own heart. But
+the marks?"
+
+"He had left his own marks all over that small patch of gravel. I
+could discern no others."
+
+Sherlock Holmes struck his hand against his knee with an
+impatient gesture.
+
+"If I had only been there!" he cried. "It is evidently a case of
+extraordinary interest, and one which presented immense
+opportunities to the scientific expert. That gravel page upon
+which I might have read so much has been long ere this smudged by
+the rain and defaced by the clogs of curious peasants. Oh, Dr.
+Mortimer, Dr. Mortimer, to think that you should not have called
+me in! You have indeed much to answer for."
+
+"I could not call you in, Mr. Holmes, without disclosing these
+facts to the world, and I have already given my reasons for not
+wishing to do so. Besides, besides --"
+
+"Why do you hesitate?"
+
+"There is a realm in which the most acute and most experienced of
+detectives is helpless."
+
+"You mean that the thing is supernatural?"
+
+"I did not positively say so."
+
+"No, but you evidently think it."
+
+"Since the tragedy, Mr. Holmes, there have come to my ears
+several incidents which are hard to reconcile with the settled
+order of Nature."
+
+"For example?"
+
+"I find that before the terrible event occurred several people
+had seen a creature upon the moor which corresponds with this
+Baskerville demon, and which could not possibly be any animal
+known to science. They all agreed that it was a huge creature,
+luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men,
+one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and one a
+moorland farmer, who all tell the same story of this dreadful
+apparition, exactly corresponding to the hell-hound of the
+legend. I assure you that there is a reign of terror in the
+district, and that it is a hardy man who will cross the moor at
+night."
+
+"And you, a trained man of science, believe it to be
+supernatural?"
+
+"I do not know what to believe."
+
+Holmes shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"I have hitherto confined my investigations to this world," said
+he. "In a modest way I have combated evil, but to take on the
+Father of Evil himself would, perhaps, be too ambitious a task.
+Yet you must admit that the footmark is material."
+
+"The original hound was material enough to tug a man's throat
+out, and yet he was diabolical as well."
+
+"I see that you have quite gone over to the supernaturalists. But
+now, Dr. Mortimer, tell me this. If you hold these views, why
+have you come to consult me at all? You tell me in the same
+breath that it is useless to investigate Sir Charles's death, and
+that you desire me to do it."
+
+"I did not say that I desired you to do it."
+
+"Then, how can I assist you?"
+
+"By advising me as to what I should do with Sir Henry
+Baskerville, who arrives at Waterloo Station"--Dr. Mortimer
+looked at his watch--"in exactly one hour and a quarter."
+
+"He being the heir?"
+
+"Yes. On the death of Sir Charles we inquired for this young
+gentleman and found that he had been farming in Canada. From the
+accounts which have reached us he is an excellent fellow in every
+way. I speak not as a medical man but as a trustee and executor
+of Sir Charles's will."
+
+"There is no other claimant, I presume?"
+
+"None. The only other kinsman whom we have been able to trace was
+Rodger Baskerville, the youngest of three brothers of whom poor
+Sir Charles was the elder. The second brother, who died young, is
+the father of this lad Henry. The third, Rodger, was the black
+sheep of the family. He came of the old masterful Baskerville
+strain, and was the very image, they tell me, of the family
+picture of old Hugo. He made England too hot to hold him, fled to
+Central America, and died there in 1876 of yellow fever. Henry is
+the last of the Baskervilles. In one hour and five minutes I meet
+him at Waterloo Station. I have had a wire that he arrived at
+Southampton this morning. Now, Mr. Holmes, what would you advise
+me to do with him?"
+
+"Why should he not go to the home of his fathers?"
+
+"It seems natural, does it not? And yet, consider that every
+Baskerville who goes there meets with an evil fate. I feel sure
+that if Sir Charles could have spoken with me before his death he
+would have warned me against bringing this, the last of the old
+race, and the heir to great wealth, to that deadly place. And yet
+it cannot be denied that the prosperity of the whole poor, bleak
+country-side depends upon his presence. All the good work which
+has been done by Sir Charles will crash to the ground if there is
+no tenant of the Hall. I fear lest I should be swayed too much by
+my own obvious interest in the matter, and that is why I bring
+the case before you and ask for your advice."
+
+Holmes considered for a little time.
+
+"Put into plain words, the matter is this," said he. "In your
+opinion there is a diabolical agency which makes Dartmoor an
+unsafe abode for a Baskerville--that is your opinion?"
+
+"At least I might go the length of saying that there is some
+evidence that this may be so."
+
+"Exactly. But surely, if your supernatural theory be correct, it
+could work the young man evil in London as easily as in
+Devonshire. A devil with merely local powers like a parish
+vestry would be too inconceivable a thing."
+
+"You put the matter more flippantly, Mr. Holmes, than you would
+probably do if you were brought into personal contact with these
+things. Your advice, then, as I understand it, is that the young
+man will be as safe in Devonshire as in London. He comes in fifty
+minutes. What would you recommend?"
+
+"I recommend, sir, that you take a cab, call off your spaniel who
+is scratching at my front door, and proceed to Waterloo to meet
+Sir Henry Baskerville."
+
+"And then?"
+
+"And then you will say nothing to him at all until I have made up
+my mind about the matter."
+
+"How long will it take you to make up your mind?"
+
+"Twenty-four hours. At ten o'clock to-morrow, Dr. Mortimer, I
+will be much obliged to you if you will call upon me here, and it
+will be of help to me in my plans for the future if you will
+bring Sir Henry Baskerville with you."
+
+"I will do so, Mr. Holmes." He scribbled the appointment on his
+shirtcuff and hurried off in his strange, peering, absent-minded
+fashion. Holmes stopped him at the head of the stair.
+
+"Only one more question, Dr. Mortimer. You say that before Sir
+Charles Baskerville's death several people saw this apparition
+upon the moor?"
+
+"Three people did."
+
+"Did any see it after?"
+
+"I have not heard of any."
+
+"Thank you. Good morning."
+
+Holmes returned to his seat with that quiet look of inward
+satisfaction which meant that he had a congenial task before him.
+
+"Going out, Watson?"
+
+"Unless I can help you."
+
+"No, my dear fellow, it is at the hour of action that I turn to
+you for aid. But this is splendid, really unique from some points
+of view. When you pass Bradley's, would you ask him to send up a
+pound of the strongest shag tobacco? Thank you. It would be as
+well if you could make it convenient not to return before
+evening. Then I should be very glad to compare impressions as to
+this most interesting problem which has been submitted to us this
+morning."
+
+I knew that seclusion and solitude were very necessary for my
+friend in those hours of intense mental concentration during
+which he weighed every particle of evidence, constructed
+alternative theories, balanced one against the other, and made up
+his mind as to which points were essential and which immaterial.
+I therefore spent the day at my club and did not return to Baker
+Street until evening. It was nearly nine o'clock when I found
+myself in the sitting-room once more.
+
+My first impression as I opened the door was that a fire had
+broken out, for the room was so filled with smoke that the light
+of the lamp upon the table was blurred by it. As I entered,
+however, my fears were set at rest, for it was the acrid fumes of
+strong coarse tobacco which took me by the throat and set me
+coughing. Through the haze I had a vague vision of Holmes in his
+dressing-gown coiled up in an armchair with his black clay pipe
+between his lips. Several rolls of paper lay around him.
+
+"Caught cold, Watson?" said he.
+
+"No, it's this poisonous atmosphere."
+
+"I suppose it is pretty thick, now that you mention it."
+
+"Thick! It is intolerable."
+
+"Open the window, then! You have been at your club all day, I
+perceive."
+
+"My dear Holmes!"
+
+"Am I right?"
+
+"Certainly, but how?"
+
+He laughed at my bewildered expression.
+
+"There is a delightful freshness about you, Watson, which makes
+it a pleasure to exercise any small powers which I possess at
+your expense. A gentleman goes forth on a showery and miry day.
+He returns immaculate in the evening with the gloss still on his
+hat and his boots. He has been a fixture therefore all day. He is
+not a man with intimate friends. Where, then, could he have been?
+Is it not obvious?"
+
+"Well, it is rather obvious."
+
+"The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance
+ever observes. Where do you think that I have been?"
+
+"A fixture also."
+
+"On the contrary, I have been to Devonshire."
+
+"In spirit?"
+
+"Exactly. My body has remained in this arm-chair and has, I
+regret to observe, consumed in my absence two large pots of
+coffee and an incredible amount of tobacco. After you left I sent
+down to Stamford's for the Ordnance map of this portion of the
+moor, and my spirit has hovered over it all day. I flatter myself
+that I could find my way about."
+
+"A large scale map, I presume?"
+
+"Very large." He unrolled one section and held it over his knee.
+"Here you have the particular district which concerns us. That is
+Baskerville Hall in the middle."
+
+"With a wood round it?"
+
+"Exactly. I fancy the Yew Alley, though not marked under that
+name, must stretch along this line, with the moor, as you
+perceive, upon the right of it. This small clump of buildings
+here is the hamlet of Grimpen, where our friend Dr. Mortimer has
+his headquarters. Within a radius of five miles there are, as you
+see, only a very few scattered dwellings. Here is Lafter Hall,
+which was mentioned in the narrative. There is a house indicated
+here which may be the residence of the naturalist--Stapleton, if
+I remember right, was his name. Here are two moorland
+farm-houses, High Tor and Foulmire. Then fourteen miles away the
+great convict prison of Princetown. Between and around these
+scattered points extends the desolate, lifeless moor. This, then,
+is the stage upon which tragedy has been played, and upon which
+we may help to play it again."
+
+"It must be a wild place."
+
+"Yes, the setting is a worthy one. If the devil did desire to
+have a hand in the affairs of men ----"
+
+"Then you are yourself inclining to the supernatural
+explanation."
+
+"The devil's agents may be of flesh and blood, may they not?
+There are two questions waiting for us at the outset. The one is
+whether any crime has been committed at all; the second is, what
+is the crime and how was it committed? Of course, if Dr.
+Mortimer's surmise should be correct, and we are dealing with
+forces outside the ordinary laws of Nature, there is an end of
+our investigation. But we are bound to exhaust all other
+hypotheses before falling back upon this one. I think we'll shut
+that window again, if you don't mind. It is a singular thing, but
+I find that a concentrated atmosphere helps a concentration of
+thought. I have not pushed it to the length of getting into a box
+to think, but that is the logical outcome of my convictions. Have
+you turned the case over in your mind?"
+
+"Yes, I have thought a good deal of it in the course of the day."
+
+"What do you make of it?"
+
+"It is very bewildering."
+
+"It has certainly a character of its own. There are points of
+distinction about it. That change in the footprints, for example.
+What do you make of that?"
+
+"Mortimer said that the man had walked on tiptoe down that
+portion of the alley."
+
+"He only repeated what some fool had said at the inquest. Why
+should a man walk on tiptoe down the alley?"
+
+"What then?"
+
+"He was running, Watson--running desperately, running for his
+life, running until he burst his heart and fell dead upon his
+face."
+
+"Running from what?"
+
+"There lies our problem. There are indications that the man was
+crazed with fear before ever he began to run."
+
+"How can you say that?"
+
+"I am presuming that the cause of his fears came to him across
+the moor. If that were so, and it seems most probable, only a man
+who had lost his wits would have run from the house instead of
+towards it. If the gipsy's evidence may be taken as true, he ran
+with cries for help in the direction where help was least likely
+to be. Then, again, whom was he waiting for that night, and why
+was he waiting for him in the Yew Alley rather than in his own
+house?"
+
+"You think that he was waiting for someone?"
+
+"The man was elderly and infirm. We can understand his taking an
+evening stroll, but the ground was damp and the night inclement.
+Is it natural that he should stand for five or ten minutes, as
+Dr. Mortimer, with more practical sense than I should have given
+him credit for, deduced from the cigar ash?"
+
+"But he went out every evening."
+
+"I think it unlikely that he waited at the moor-gate every
+evening. On the contrary, the evidence is that he avoided the
+moor. That night he waited there. It was the night before he made
+his departure for London. The thing takes shape, Watson. It
+becomes coherent. Might I ask you to hand me my violin, and we
+will postpone all further thought upon this business until we
+have had the advantage of meeting Dr. Mortimer and Sir Henry
+Baskerville in the morning."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 4
+
+Sir Henry Baskerville
+
+
+Our breakfast-table was cleared early, and Holmes waited in his
+dressing-gown for the promised interview. Our clients were
+punctual to their appointment, for the clock had just struck ten
+when Dr. Mortimer was shown up, followed by the young baronet.
+The latter was a small, alert, dark-eyed man about thirty years
+of age, very sturdily built, with thick black eyebrows and a
+strong, pugnacious face. He wore a ruddy-tinted tweed suit and
+had the weather-beaten appearance of one who has spent most of
+his time in the open air, and yet there was something in his
+steady eye and the quiet assurance of his bearing which indicated
+the gentleman.
+
+"This is Sir Henry Baskerville," said Dr. Mortimer.
+
+"Why, yes," said he, "and the strange thing is, Mr. Sherlock
+Holmes, that if my friend here had not proposed coming round to
+you this morning I should have come on my own account. I
+understand that you think out little puzzles, and I've had one
+this morning which wants more thinking out than I am able to give
+it."
+
+"Pray take a seat, Sir Henry. Do I understand you to say that you
+have yourself had some remarkable experience since you arrived in
+London?"
+
+"Nothing of much importance, Mr. Holmes. Only a joke, as like as
+not. It was this letter, if you can call it a letter, which
+reached me this morning."
+
+He laid an envelope upon the table, and we all bent over it. It
+was of common quality, grayish in colour. The address, "Sir Henry
+Baskerville, Northumberland Hotel," was printed in rough
+characters; the postmark "Charing Cross," and the date of posting
+the preceding evening.
+
+"Who knew that you were going to the Northumberland Hotel?" asked
+Holmes, glancing keenly across at our visitor.
+
+"No one could have known. We only decided after I met Dr.
+Mortimer."
+
+"But Dr. Mortimer was no doubt already stopping there?"
+
+"No, I had been staying with a friend," said the doctor. "There
+was no possible indication that we intended to go to this hotel."
+
+"Hum! Someone seems to be very deeply interested in your
+movements." Out of the envelope he took a half-sheet of foolscap
+paper folded into four. This he opened and spread flat upon the
+table. Across the middle of it a single sentence had been formed
+by the expedient of pasting printed words upon it. It ran: "As
+you value your life or your reason keep away from the moor." The
+word "moor" only was printed in ink.
+
+"Now," said Sir Henry Baskerville, "perhaps you will tell me, Mr.
+Holmes, what in thunder is the meaning of that, and who it is
+that takes so much interest in my affairs?"
+
+"What do you make of it, Dr. Mortimer? You must allow that there
+is nothing supernatural about this, at any rate?"
+
+"No, sir, but it might very well come from someone who was
+convinced that the business is supernatural."
+
+"What business?" asked Sir Henry sharply. "It seems to me that
+all you gentlemen know a great deal more than I do about my own
+affairs."
+
+"You shall share our knowledge before you leave this room, Sir
+Henry. I promise you that," said Sherlock Holmes. "We will
+confine ourselves for the present with your permission to this
+very interesting document, which must have been put together and
+posted yesterday evening. Have you yesterday's Times, Watson?"
+
+"It is here in the corner."
+
+"Might I trouble you for it--the inside page, please, with the
+leading articles?" He glanced swiftly over it, running his eyes
+up and down the columns. "Capital article this on free trade.
+Permit me to give you an extract from it. 'You may be cajoled
+into imagining that your own special trade or your own industry
+will be encouraged by a protective tariff, but it stands to
+reason that such legislation must in the long run keep away
+wealth from the country, diminish the value of our imports, and
+lower the general conditions of life in this island.' What do you
+think of that, Watson?" cried Holmes in high glee, rubbing his
+hands together with satisfaction. "Don't you think that is an
+admirable sentiment?"
+
+Dr. Mortimer looked at Holmes with an air of professional
+interest, and Sir Henry Baskerville turned a pair of puzzled dark
+eyes upon me.
+
+"I don't know much about the tariff and things of that kind,"
+said he; "but it seems to me we've got a bit off the trail so far
+as that note is concerned."
+
+"On the contrary, I think we are particularly hot upon the trail,
+Sir Henry. Watson here knows more about my methods than you do,
+but I fear that even he has not quite grasped the significance of
+this sentence."
+
+"No, I confess that I see no connection."
+
+"And yet, my dear Watson, there is so very close a connection
+that the one is extracted out of the other. 'You,' 'your,'
+'your,' 'life,' 'reason,' 'value,' 'keep away,' 'from the.' Don't
+you see now whence these words have been taken?"
+
+"By thunder, you're right! Well, if that isn't smart!" cried Sir
+Henry.
+
+"If any possible doubt remained it is settled by the fact that
+'keep away' and 'from the' are cut out in one piece."
+
+"Well, now--so it is!"
+
+"Really, Mr. Holmes, this exceeds anything which I could have
+imagined," said Dr. Mortimer, gazing at my friend in amazement.
+"I could understand anyone saying that the words were from a
+newspaper; but that you should name which, and add that it came
+from the leading article, is really one of the most remarkable
+things which I have ever known. How did you do it?"
+
+"I presume, Doctor, that you could tell the skull of a negro from
+that of an Esquimau?"
+
+"Most certainly."
+
+"But how?"
+
+"Because that is my special hobby. The differences are obvious.
+The supra-orbital crest, the facial angle, the maxillary curve,
+the --"
+
+"But this is my special hobby, and the differences are equally
+obvious. There is as much difference to my eyes between the
+leaded bourgeois type of a Times article and the slovenly print
+of an evening half-penny paper as there could be between your
+negro and your Esquimau. The detection of types is one of the
+most elementary branches of knowledge to the special expert in
+crime, though I confess that once when I was very young I
+confused the Leeds Mercury with the Western Morning News. But a
+Times leader is entirely distinctive, and these words could have
+been taken from nothing else. As it was done yesterday the strong
+probability was that we should find the words in yesterday's
+issue."
+
+"So far as I can follow you, then, Mr. Holmes," said Sir Henry
+Baskerville, "someone cut out this message with a scissors--"
+
+"Nail-scissors," said Holmes. "You can see that it was a very
+short-bladed scissors, since the cutter had to take two snips
+over 'keep away.'"
+
+"That is so. Someone, then, cut out the message with a pair of
+short-bladed scissors, pasted it with paste--"
+
+"Gum," said Holmes.
+
+"With gum on to the paper. But I want to know why the word 'moor'
+should have been written?"
+
+"Because he could not find it in print. The other words were all
+simple and might be found in any issue, but 'moor' would be less
+common."
+
+"Why, of course, that would explain it. Have you read anything
+else in this message, Mr. Holmes?"
+
+"There are one or two indications, and yet the utmost pains have
+been taken to remove all clues. The address, you observe is
+printed in rough characters. But the Times is a paper which is
+seldom found in any hands but those of the highly educated. We
+may take it, therefore, that the letter was composed by an
+educated man who wished to pose as an uneducated one, and his
+effort to conceal his own writing suggests that that writing
+might be known, or come to be known, by you. Again, you will
+observe that the words are not gummed on in an accurate line, but
+that some are much higher than others. 'Life,' for example is
+quite out of its proper place. That may point to carelessness or
+it may point to agitation and hurry upon the part of the cutter.
+On the whole I incline to the latter view, since the matter was
+evidently important, and it is unlikely that the composer of such
+a letter would be careless. If he were in a hurry it opens up the
+interesting question why he should be in a hurry, since any
+letter posted up to early morning would reach Sir Henry before he
+would leave his hotel. Did the composer fear an interruption--and
+from whom?"
+
+"We are coming now rather into the region of guesswork," said Dr.
+Mortimer.
+
+"Say, rather, into the region where we balance probabilities and
+choose the most likely. It is the scientific use of the
+imagination, but we have always some material basis on which to
+start our speculation. Now, you would call it a guess, no doubt,
+but I am almost certain that this address has been written in a
+hotel."
+
+"How in the world can you say that?"
+
+"If you examine it carefully you will see that both the pen and
+the ink have given the writer trouble. The pen has spluttered
+twice in a single word, and has run dry three times in a short
+address, showing that there was very little ink in the bottle.
+Now, a private pen or ink-bottle is seldom allowed to be in such
+a state, and the combination of the two must be quite rare. But
+you know the hotel ink and the hotel pen, where it is rare to get
+anything else. Yes, I have very little hesitation in saying that
+could we examine the waste-paper baskets of the hotels around
+Charing Cross until we found the remains of the mutilated Times
+leader we could lay our hands straight upon the person who sent
+this singular message. Halloa! Halloa! What's this?"
+
+He was carefully examining the foolscap, upon which the words
+were pasted, holding it only an inch or two from his eyes.
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Nothing," said he, throwing it down. "It is a blank half-sheet
+of paper, without even a water-mark upon it. I think we have
+drawn as much as we can from this curious letter; and now, Sir
+Henry, has anything else of interest happened to you since you
+have been in London?"
+
+"Why, no, Mr. Holmes. I think not."
+
+"You have not observed anyone follow or watch you?"
+
+"I seem to have walked right into the thick of a dime novel,"
+said our visitor. "Why in thunder should anyone follow or watch
+me?"
+
+"We are coming to that. You have nothing else to report to us
+before we go into this matter?"
+
+"Well, it depends upon what you think worth reporting."
+
+"I think anything out of the ordinary routine of life well worth
+reporting."
+
+Sir Henry smiled.
+
+"I don't know much of British life yet, for I have spent nearly
+all my time in the States and in Canada. But I hope that to lose
+one of your boots is not part of the ordinary routine of life
+over here."
+
+"You have lost one of your boots?"
+
+"My dear sir," cried Dr. Mortimer, "it is only mislaid. You will
+find it when you return to the hotel. What is the use of
+troubling Mr. Holmes with trifles of this kind?"
+
+"Well, he asked me for anything outside the ordinary routine."
+
+"Exactly," said Holmes, "however foolish the incident may seem.
+You have lost one of your boots, you say?"
+
+"Well, mislaid it, anyhow. I put them both outside my door last
+night, and there was only one in the morning. I could get no
+sense out of the chap who cleans them. The worst of it is that I
+only bought the pair last night in the Strand, and I have never
+had them on."
+
+"If you have never worn them, why did you put them out to be
+cleaned?"
+
+"They were tan boots and had never been varnished. That was why I
+put them out."
+
+"Then I understand that on your arrival in London yesterday you
+went out at once and bought a pair of boots?"
+
+"I did a good deal of shopping. Dr. Mortimer here went round with
+me. You see, if I am to be squire down there I must dress the
+part, and it may be that I have got a little careless in my ways
+out West. Among other things I bought these brown boots--gave six
+dollars for them--and had one stolen before ever I had them on my
+feet."
+
+"It seems a singularly useless thing to steal," said Sherlock
+Holmes. "I confess that I share Dr. Mortimer's belief that it
+will not be long before the missing boot is found."
+
+"And, now, gentlemen," said the baronet with decision, "it seems
+to me that I have spoken quite enough about the little that I
+know. It is time that you kept your promise and gave me a full
+account of what we are all driving at."
+
+"Your request is a very reasonable one," Holmes answered. "Dr.
+Mortimer, I think you could not do better than to tell your story
+as you told it to us."
+
+Thus encouraged, our scientific friend drew his papers from his
+pocket, and presented the whole case as he had done upon the
+morning before. Sir Henry Baskerville listened with the deepest
+attention, and with an occasional exclamation of surprise.
+
+"Well, I seem to have come into an inheritance with a vengeance,"
+said he when the long narrative was finished. "Of course, I've
+heard of the hound ever since I was in the nursery. It's the pet
+story of the family, though I never thought of taking it
+seriously before. But as to my uncle's death--well, it all seems
+boiling up in my head, and I can't get it clear yet. You don't
+seem quite to have made up your mind whether it's a case for a
+policeman or a clergyman."
+
+"Precisely."
+
+"And now there's this affair of the letter to me at the hotel. I
+suppose that fits into its place."
+
+"It seems to show that someone knows more than we do about what
+goes on upon the moor," said Dr. Mortimer.
+
+"And also," said Holmes, "that someone is not ill-disposed
+towards you, since they warn you of danger."
+
+"Or it may be that they wish, for their own purposes, to scare me
+away."
+
+"Well, of course, that is possible also. I am very much indebted
+to you, Dr. Mortimer, for introducing me to a problem which
+presents several interesting alternatives. But the practical
+point which we now have to decide, Sir Henry, is whether it is or
+is not advisable for you to go to Baskerville Hall."
+
+"Why should I not go?"
+
+"There seems to be danger."
+
+"Do you mean danger from this family fiend or do you mean danger
+from human beings?"
+
+"Well, that is what we have to find out."
+
+"Whichever it is, my answer is fixed. There is no devil in hell,
+Mr. Holmes, and there is no man upon earth who can prevent me
+from going to the home of my own people, and you may take that to
+be my final answer." His dark brows knitted and his face flushed
+to a dusky red as he spoke. It was evident that the fiery temper
+of the Baskervilles was not extinct in this their last
+representative. "Meanwhile," said he, "I have hardly had time to
+think over all that you have told me. It's a big thing for a man
+to have to understand and to decide at one sitting. I should like
+to have a quiet hour by myself to make up my mind. Now, look
+here, Mr. Holmes, it's half-past eleven now and I am going back
+right away to my hotel. Suppose you and your friend, Dr. Watson,
+come round and lunch with us at two. I'll be able to tell you
+more clearly then how this thing strikes me."
+
+"Is that convenient to you, Watson?"
+
+"Perfectly."
+
+"Then you may expect us. Shall I have a cab called?"
+
+"I'd prefer to walk, for this affair has flurried me rather."
+
+"I'll join you in a walk, with pleasure," said his companion.
+
+"Then we meet again at two o'clock. Au revoir, and good-morning!"
+
+We heard the steps of our visitors descend the stair and the bang
+of the front door. In an instant Holmes had changed from the
+languid dreamer to the man of action.
+
+"Your hat and boots, Watson, quick! Not a moment to lose!" He
+rushed into his room in his dressing-gown and was back again in a
+few seconds in a frock-coat. We hurried together down the stairs
+and into the street. Dr. Mortimer and Baskerville were still
+visible about two hundred yards ahead of us in the direction of
+Oxford Street.
+
+"Shall I run on and stop them?"
+
+"Not for the world, my dear Watson. I am perfectly satisfied with
+your company if you will tolerate mine. Our friends are wise, for
+it is certainly a very fine morning for a walk."
+
+He quickened his pace until we had decreased the distance which
+divided us by about half. Then, still keeping a hundred yards
+behind, we followed into Oxford Street and so down Regent Street.
+Once our friends stopped and stared into a shop window, upon
+which Holmes did the same. An instant afterwards he gave a little
+cry of satisfaction, and, following the direction of his eager
+eyes, I saw that a hansom cab with a man inside which had halted
+on the other side of the street was now proceeding slowly onward
+again.
+
+"There's our man, Watson! Come along! We'll have a good look at
+him, if we can do no more."
+
+At that instant I was aware of a bushy black beard and a pair of
+piercing eyes turned upon us through the side window of the cab.
+Instantly the trapdoor at the top flew up, something was screamed
+to the driver, and the cab flew madly off down Regent Street.
+Holmes looked eagerly round for another, but no empty one was in
+sight. Then he dashed in wild pursuit amid the stream of the
+traffic, but the start was too great, and already the cab was out
+of sight.
+
+"There now!" said Holmes bitterly as he emerged panting and white
+with vexation from the tide of vehicles. "Was ever such bad luck
+and such bad management, too? Watson, Watson, if you are an
+honest man you will record this also and set it against my
+successes!"
+
+"Who was the man?"
+
+"I have not an idea."
+
+"A spy?"
+
+"Well, it was evident from what we have heard that Baskerville
+has been very closely shadowed by someone since he has been in
+town. How else could it be known so quickly that it was the
+Northumberland Hotel which he had chosen? If they had followed
+him the first day I argued that they would follow him also the
+second. You may have observed that I twice strolled over to the
+window while Dr. Mortimer was reading his legend."
+
+"Yes, I remember."
+
+"I was looking out for loiterers in the street, but I saw none.
+We are dealing with a clever man, Watson. This matter cuts very
+deep, and though I have not finally made up my mind whether it is
+a benevolent or a malevolent agency which is in touch with us, I
+am conscious always of power and design. When our friends left I
+at once followed them in the hopes of marking down their
+invisible attendant. So wily was he that he had not trusted
+himself upon foot, but he had availed himself of a cab so that he
+could loiter behind or dash past them and so escape their notice.
+His method had the additional advantage that if they were to take
+a cab he was all ready to follow them. It has, however, one
+obvious disadvantage."
+
+"It puts him in the power of the cabman."
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"What a pity we did not get the number!"
+
+"My dear Watson, clumsy as I have been, you surely do not
+seriously imagine that I neglected to get the number? No. 2704 is
+our man. But that is no use to us for the moment."
+
+"I fail to see how you could have done more."
+
+"On observing the cab I should have instantly turned and walked
+in the other direction. I should then at my leisure have hired a
+second cab and followed the first at a respectful distance, or,
+better still, have driven to the Northumberland Hotel and waited
+there. When our unknown had followed Baskerville home we should
+have had the opportunity of playing his own game upon himself and
+seeing where he made for. As it is, by an indiscreet eagerness,
+which was taken advantage of with extraordinary quickness and
+energy by our opponent, we have betrayed ourselves and lost our
+man."
+
+We had been sauntering slowly down Regent Street during this
+conversation, and Dr. Mortimer, with his companion, had long
+vanished in front of us.
+
+"There is no object in our following them," said Holmes. "The
+shadow has departed and will not return. We must see what further
+cards we have in our hands and play them with decision. Could you
+swear to that man's face within the cab?"
+
+"I could swear only to the beard."
+
+"And so could I--from which I gather that in all probability it
+was a false one. A clever man upon so delicate an errand has no
+use for a beard save to conceal his features. Come in here,
+Watson!"
+
+He turned into one of the district messenger offices, where he
+was warmly greeted by the manager.
+
+"Ah, Wilson, I see you have not forgotten the little case in
+which I had the good fortune to help you?"
+
+"No, sir, indeed I have not. You saved my good name, and perhaps
+my life."
+
+"My dear fellow, you exaggerate. I have some recollection,
+Wilson, that you had among your boys a lad named Cartwright, who
+showed some ability during the investigation."
+
+"Yes, sir, he is still with us."
+
+"Could you ring him up?--thank you! And I should be glad to have
+change of this five-pound note."
+
+A lad of fourteen, with a bright, keen face, had obeyed the
+summons of the manager. He stood now gazing with great reverence
+at the famous detective.
+
+"Let me have the Hotel Directory," said Holmes. "Thank you! Now,
+Cartwright, there are the names of twenty-three hotels here, all
+in the immediate neighbourhood of Charing Cross. Do you see?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"You will visit each of these in turn."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"You will begin in each case by giving the outside porter one
+shilling. Here are twenty-three shillings."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"You will tell him that you want to see the waste-paper of
+yesterday. You will say that an important telegram has miscarried
+and that you are looking for it. You understand?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"But what you are really looking for is the centre page of the
+Times with some holes cut in it with scissors. Here is a copy of
+the Times. It is this page. You could easily recognize it, could
+you not?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"In each case the outside porter will send for the hall porter,
+to whom also you will give a shilling. Here are twenty-three
+shillings. You will then learn in possibly twenty cases out of
+the twenty-three that the waste of the day before has been burned
+or removed. In the three other cases you will be shown a heap of
+paper and you will look for this page of the Times among it. The
+odds are enormously against your finding it. There are ten
+shillings over in case of emergencies. Let me have a report by
+wire at Baker Street before evening. And now, Watson, it only
+remains for us to find out by wire the identity of the cabman,
+No. 2704, and then we will drop into one of the Bond Street
+picture galleries and fill in the time until we are due at the
+hotel."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 5
+
+Three Broken Threads
+
+
+Sherlock Holmes had, in a very remarkable degree, the power of
+detaching his mind at will. For two hours the strange business in
+which we had been involved appeared to be forgotten, and he was
+entirely absorbed in the pictures of the modern Belgian masters.
+He would talk of nothing but art, of which he had the crudest
+ideas, from our leaving the gallery until we found ourselves at
+the Northumberland Hotel.
+
+"Sir Henry Baskerville is upstairs expecting you," said the
+clerk. "He asked me to show you up at once when you came."
+
+"Have you any objection to my looking at your register?" said
+Holmes.
+
+"Not in the least."
+
+The book showed that two names had been added after that of
+Baskerville. One was Theophilus Johnson and family, of Newcastle;
+the other Mrs. Oldmore and maid, of High Lodge, Alton.
+
+"Surely that must be the same Johnson whom I used to know," said
+Holmes to the porter. "A lawyer, is he not, gray-headed, and
+walks with a limp?"
+
+"No, sir; this is Mr. Johnson, the coal-owner, a very active
+gentleman, not older than yourself."
+
+"Surely you are mistaken about his trade?"
+
+"No, sir! he has used this hotel for many years, and he is very
+well known to us."
+
+"Ah, that settles it. Mrs. Oldmore, too; I seem to remember the
+name. Excuse my curiosity, but often in calling upon one friend
+one finds another."
+
+"She is an invalid lady, sir. Her husband was once mayor of
+Gloucester. She always comes to us when she is in town."
+
+"Thank you; I am afraid I cannot claim her acquaintance. We have
+established a most important fact by these questions, Watson," he
+continued in a low voice as we went upstairs together. "We know
+now that the people who are so interested in our friend have not
+settled down in his own hotel. That means that while they are, as
+we have seen, very anxious to watch him, they are equally anxious
+that he should not see them. Now, this is a most suggestive
+fact."
+
+"What does it suggest?"
+
+"It suggests--halloa, my dear fellow, what on earth is the
+matter?"
+
+As we came round the top of the stairs we had run up against Sir
+Henry Baskerville himself. His face was flushed with anger, and
+he held an old and dusty boot in one of his hands. So furious was
+he that he was hardly articulate, and when he did speak it was in
+a much broader and more Western dialect than any which we had
+heard from him in the morning.
+
+"Seems to me they are playing me for a sucker in this hotel," he
+cried. "They'll find they've started in to monkey with the wrong
+man unless they are careful. By thunder, if that chap can't find
+my missing boot there will be trouble. I can take a joke with the
+best, Mr. Holmes, but they've got a bit over the mark this time."
+
+"Still looking for your boot?"
+
+"Yes, sir, and mean to find it."
+
+"But, surely, you said that it was a new brown boot?"
+
+"So it was, sir. And now it's an old black one."
+
+"What! you don't mean to say----?"
+
+"That's just what I do mean to say. I only had three pairs in the
+world--the new brown, the old black, and the patent leathers,
+which I am wearing. Last night they took one of my brown ones,
+and to-day they have sneaked one of the black. Well, have you got
+it? Speak out, man, and don't stand staring!"
+
+An agitated German waiter had appeared upon the scene.
+
+"No, sir; I have made inquiry all over the hotel, but I can hear
+no word of it."
+
+"Well, either that boot comes back before sundown or I'll see the
+manager and tell him that I go right straight out of this hotel."
+
+"It shall be found, sir--I promise you that if you will have a
+little patience it will be found."
+
+"Mind it is, for it's the last thing of mine that I'll lose in
+this den of thieves. Well, well, Mr. Holmes, you'll excuse my
+troubling you about such a trifle----"
+
+"I think it's well worth troubling about."
+
+"Why, you look very serious over it."
+
+"How do you explain it?"
+
+"I just don't attempt to explain it. It seems the very maddest,
+queerest thing that ever happened to me."
+
+"The queerest perhaps----" said Holmes, thoughtfully.
+
+"What do you make of it yourself?"
+
+"Well, I don't profess to understand it yet. This case of yours
+is very complex, Sir Henry. When taken in conjunction with your
+uncle's death I am not sure that of all the five hundred cases of
+capital importance which I have handled there is one which cuts
+so deep. But we hold several threads in our hands, and the odds
+are that one or other of them guides us to the truth. We may
+waste time in following the wrong one, but sooner or later we
+must come upon the right."
+
+We had a pleasant luncheon in which little was said of the
+business which had brought us together. It was in the private
+sitting-room to which we afterwards repaired that Holmes asked
+Baskerville what were his intentions.
+
+"To go to Baskerville Hall."
+
+"And when?"
+
+"At the end of the week."
+
+"On the whole," said Holmes, "I think that your decision is a
+wise one. I have ample evidence that you are being dogged in
+London, and amid the millions of this great city it is difficult
+to discover who these people are or what their object can be. If
+their intentions are evil they might do you a mischief, and we
+should be powerless to prevent it. You did not know, Dr. Mortimer,
+that you were followed this morning from my house?"
+
+Dr. Mortimer started violently.
+
+"Followed! By whom?"
+
+"That, unfortunately, is what I cannot tell you. Have you among
+your neighbours or acquaintances on Dartmoor any man with a
+black, full beard?"
+
+"No--or, let me see--why, yes. Barrymore, Sir Charles's butler,
+is a man with a full, black beard."
+
+"Ha! Where is Barrymore?"
+
+"He is in charge of the Hall."
+
+"We had best ascertain if he is really there, or if by any
+possibility he might be in London."
+
+"How can you do that?"
+
+"Give me a telegraph form. 'Is all ready for Sir Henry?' That
+will do. Address to Mr. Barrymore, Baskerville Hall. What is the
+nearest telegraph-office? Grimpen. Very good, we will send a
+second wire to the postmaster, Grimpen: 'Telegram to Mr.
+Barrymore to be delivered into his own hand. If absent, please
+return wire to Sir Henry Baskerville, Northumberland Hotel.' That
+should let us know before evening whether Barrymore is at his
+post in Devonshire or not."
+
+"That's so," said Baskerville. "By the way, Dr. Mortimer, who is
+this Barrymore, anyhow?"
+
+"He is the son of the old caretaker, who is dead. They have
+looked after the Hall for four generations now. So far as I know,
+he and his wife are as respectable a couple as any in the
+county."
+
+"At the same time," said Baskerville, "it's clear enough that so
+long as there are none of the family at the Hall these people
+have a mighty fine home and nothing to do."
+
+"That is true."
+
+"Did Barrymore profit at all by Sir Charles's will?" asked
+Holmes.
+
+"He and his wife had five hundred pounds each."
+
+"Ha! Did they know that they would receive this?"
+
+"Yes; Sir Charles was very fond of talking about the provisions
+of his will."
+
+"That is very interesting."
+
+"I hope," said Dr. Mortimer, "that you do not look with
+suspicious eyes upon everyone who received a legacy from Sir
+Charles, for I also had a thousand pounds left to me."
+
+"Indeed! And anyone else?"
+
+"There were many insignificant sums to individuals, and a large
+number of public charities. The residue all went to Sir Henry."
+
+"And how much was the residue?"
+
+"Seven hundred and forty thousand pounds."
+
+Holmes raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I had no idea that so
+gigantic a sum was involved," said he.
+
+"Sir Charles had the reputation of being rich, but we did not
+know how very rich he was until we came to examine his
+securities. The total value of the estate was close on to a
+million."
+
+"Dear me! It is a stake for which a man might well play a
+desperate game. And one more question, Dr. Mortimer. Supposing
+that anything happened to our young friend here--you will forgive
+the unpleasant hypothesis!--who would inherit the estate?"
+
+"Since Rodger Baskerville, Sir Charles's younger brother died
+unmarried, the estate would descend to the Desmonds, who are
+distant cousins. James Desmond is an elderly clergyman in
+Westmoreland."
+
+"Thank you. These details are all of great interest. Have you met
+Mr. James Desmond?"
+
+"Yes; he once came down to visit Sir Charles. He is a man of
+venerable appearance and of saintly life. I remember that he
+refused to accept any settlement from Sir Charles, though he
+pressed it upon him."
+
+"And this man of simple tastes would be the heir to Sir Charles's
+thousands."
+
+"He would be the heir to the estate because that is entailed. He
+would also be the heir to the money unless it were willed
+otherwise by the present owner, who can, of course, do what he
+likes with it."
+
+"And have you made your will, Sir Henry?"
+
+"No, Mr. Holmes, I have not. I've had no time, for it was only
+yesterday that I learned how matters stood. But in any case I
+feel that the money should go with the title and estate. That was
+my poor uncle's idea. How is the owner going to restore the
+glories of the Baskervilles if he has not money enough to keep up
+the property? House, land, and dollars must go together."
+
+"Quite so. Well, Sir Henry, I am of one mind with you as to the
+advisability of your going down to Devonshire without delay.
+There is only one provision which I must make. You certainly must
+not go alone."
+
+"Dr. Mortimer returns with me."
+
+"But Dr. Mortimer has his practice to attend to, and his house is
+miles away from yours. With all the good will in the world he may
+be unable to help you. No, Sir Henry, you must take with you
+someone, a trusty man, who will be always by your side."
+
+"Is it possible that you could come yourself, Mr. Holmes?"
+
+"If matters came to a crisis I should endeavour to be present in
+person; but you can understand that, with my extensive consulting
+practice and with the constant appeals which reach me from many
+quarters, it is impossible for me to be absent from London for an
+indefinite time. At the present instant one of the most revered
+names in England is being besmirched by a blackmailer, and only I
+can stop a disastrous scandal. You will see how impossible it is
+for me to go to Dartmoor."
+
+"Whom would you recommend, then?"
+
+Holmes laid his hand upon my arm.
+
+"If my friend would undertake it there is no man who is better
+worth having at your side when you are in a tight place. No one
+can say so more confidently than I."
+
+The proposition took me completely by surprise, but before I had
+time to answer, Baskerville seized me by the hand and wrung it
+heartily.
+
+"Well, now, that is real kind of you, Dr. Watson," said he. "You
+see how it is with me, and you know just as much about the matter
+as I do. If you will come down to Baskerville Hall and see me
+through I'll never forget it."
+
+The promise of adventure had always a fascination for me, and I
+was complimented by the words of Holmes and by the eagerness with
+which the baronet hailed me as a companion.
+
+"I will come, with pleasure," said I. "I do not know how I could
+employ my time better."
+
+"And you will report very carefully to me," said Holmes. "When a
+crisis comes, as it will do, I will direct how you shall act. I
+suppose that by Saturday all might be ready?"
+
+"Would that suit Dr. Watson?"
+
+"Perfectly."
+
+"Then on Saturday, unless you hear to the contrary, we shall meet
+at the 10:30 train from Paddington."
+
+We had risen to depart when Baskerville gave a cry, of triumph,
+and diving into one of the corners of the room he drew a brown
+boot from under a cabinet.
+
+"My missing boot!" he cried.
+
+"May all our difficulties vanish as easily!" said Sherlock
+Holmes.
+
+"But it is a very singular thing," Dr. Mortimer remarked. "I
+searched this room carefully before lunch."
+
+"And so did I," said Baskerville. "Every inch of it."
+
+"There was certainly no boot in it then."
+
+"In that case the waiter must have placed it there while we were
+lunching."
+
+The German was sent for but professed to know nothing of the
+matter, nor could any inquiry clear it up. Another item had been
+added to that constant and apparently purposeless series of small
+mysteries which had succeeded each other so rapidly. Setting
+aside the whole grim story of Sir Charles's death, we had a line
+of inexplicable incidents all within the limits of two days,
+which included the receipt of the printed letter, the
+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 new
+brown boot. Holmes sat in silence in the cab as we drove back to
+Baker Street, and I knew from his drawn brows and keen face that
+his mind, like my own, was busy in endeavouring to frame some
+scheme into which all these strange and apparently disconnected
+episodes could be fitted. All afternoon and late into the evening
+he sat lost in tobacco and thought.
+
+Just before dinner two telegrams were handed in. The first ran:--
+
+"Have just heard that Barrymore is at the Hall.--BASKERVILLE."
+The second:--
+
+"Visited twenty-three hotels as directed, but sorry, to report
+unable to trace cut sheet of Times.--CARTWRIGHT."
+
+"There go two of my threads, Watson. There is nothing more
+stimulating than a case where everything goes against you. We
+must cast round for another scent."
+
+"We have still the cabman who drove the spy."
+
+"Exactly. I have wired to get his name and address from the
+Official Registry. I should not be surprised if this were an
+answer to my question."
+
+The ring at the bell proved to be something even more
+satisfactory than an answer, however, for the door opened and a
+rough-looking fellow entered who was evidently the man himself.
+
+"I got a message from the head office that a gent at this address
+had been inquiring for 2704," said he. "I've driven my cab this
+seven years and never a word of complaint. I came here straight
+from the Yard to ask you to your face what you had against me."
+
+"I have nothing in the world against you, my good man," said
+Holmes. "On the contrary, I have half a sovereign for you if you
+will give me a clear answer to my questions."
+
+"Well, I've had a good day and no mistake," said the cabman, with
+a grin. "What was it you wanted to ask, sir?"
+
+"First of all your name and address, in case I want you again."
+
+"John Clayton, 3 Turpey Street, the Borough. My cab is out of
+Shipley's Yard, near Waterloo Station."
+
+Sherlock Holmes made a note of it.
+
+"Now, Clayton, tell me all about the fare who came and watched
+this house at ten o'clock this morning and afterwards followed
+the two gentlemen down Regent Street."
+
+The man looked surprised and a little embarrassed. "Why, there's
+no good my telling you things, for you seem to know as much as I
+do already," said he. "The truth is that the gentleman told me
+that he was a detective and that I was to say nothing about him
+to anyone."
+
+"My good fellow, this is a very serious business, and you may
+find yourself in a pretty bad position if you try to hide
+anything from me. You say that your fare told you that he was a
+detective?"
+
+"Yes, he did."
+
+"When did he say this?"
+
+"When he left me."
+
+"Did he say anything more?"
+
+"He mentioned his name."
+
+Holmes cast a swift glance of triumph at me. "Oh, he mentioned
+his name, did he? That was imprudent. What was the name that he
+mentioned?"
+
+"His name," said the cabman, "was Mr. Sherlock Holmes."
+
+Never have I seen my friend more completely taken aback than by
+the cabman's reply. For an instant he sat in silent amazement.
+Then he burst into a hearty laugh.
+
+"A touch, Watson--an undeniable touch!" said he. "I feel a foil
+as quick and supple as my own. He got home upon me very prettily
+that time. So his name was Sherlock Holmes, was it?"
+
+"Yes, sir, that was the gentleman's name."
+
+"Excellent! Tell me where you picked him up and all that
+occurred."
+
+"He hailed me at half-past nine in Trafalgar Square. He said that
+he was a detective, and he offered me two guineas if I would do
+exactly what he wanted all day and ask no questions. I was glad
+enough to agree. First we drove down to the Northumberland Hotel
+and waited there until two gentlemen came out and took a cab from
+the rank. We followed their cab until it pulled up somewhere near
+here."
+
+"This very door," said Holmes.
+
+"Well, I couldn't be sure of that, but I dare say my fare knew
+all about it. We pulled up half-way down the street and waited an
+hour and a half. Then the two gentlemen passed us, walking, and
+we followed down Baker Street and along ----"
+
+"I know," said Holmes.
+
+"Until we got three-quarters down Regent Street. Then my
+gentleman threw up the trap, and he cried that I should drive
+right away to Waterloo Station as hard as I could go. I whipped
+up the mare and we were there under the ten minutes. Then he paid
+up his two guineas, like a good one, and away he went into the
+station. Only just as he was leaving he turned round and he said:
+'It might interest you to know that you have been driving Mr.
+Sherlock Holmes.' That's how I come to know the name."
+
+"I see. And you saw no more of him?"
+
+"Not after he went into the station."
+
+"And how would you describe Mr. Sherlock Holmes?"
+
+The cabman scratched his head. "Well, he wasn't altogether such
+an easy gentleman to describe. I'd put him at forty years of age,
+and he was of a middle height, two or three inches shorter than
+you, sir. He was dressed like a toff, and he had a black beard,
+cut square at the end, and a pale face. I don't know as I could
+say more than that."
+
+"Colour of his eyes?"
+
+"No, I can't say that."
+
+"Nothing more that you can remember?"
+
+"No, sir; nothing."
+
+"Well, then, here is your half-sovereign. There's another one
+waiting for you if you can bring any more information. Good
+night!"
+
+"Good night, sir, and thank you!"
+
+John Clayton departed chuckling, and Holmes turned to me with a
+shrug of his shoulders and a rueful smile.
+
+"Snap goes our third thread, and we end where we began," said he.
+"The cunning rascal! He knew our number, knew that Sir Henry
+Baskerville had consulted me, spotted who I was in Regent Street,
+conjectured that I had got the number of the cab and would lay my
+hands on the driver, and so sent back this audacious message. I
+tell you, Watson, this time we have got a foeman who is worthy of
+our steel. I've been checkmated in London. I can only wish you
+better luck in Devonshire. But I'm not easy in my mind about it."
+
+"About what?"
+
+"About sending you. It's an ugly business, Watson, an ugly
+dangerous business, and the more I see of it the less I like it.
+Yes, my dear fellow, you may laugh, but I give you my word that I
+shall be very glad to have you back safe and sound in Baker
+Street once more."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 6
+
+Baskerville Hall
+
+
+Sir Henry Baskerville and Dr. Mortimer were ready upon the
+appointed day, and we started as arranged for Devonshire. Mr.
+Sherlock Holmes drove with me to the station and gave me his last
+parting injunctions and advice.
+
+"I will not bias your mind by suggesting theories or suspicions,
+Watson," said he; "I wish you simply to report facts in the
+fullest possible manner to me, and you can leave me to do the
+theorizing."
+
+"What sort of facts?" I asked.
+
+"Anything which may seem to have a bearing however indirect upon
+the case, and especially the relations between young Baskerville
+and his neighbours or any fresh particulars concerning the death
+of Sir Charles. I have made some inquiries myself in the last few
+days, but the results have, I fear, been negative. One thing only
+appears to be certain, and that is that Mr. James Desmond, who is
+the next heir, is an elderly gentleman of a very amiable
+disposition, so that this persecution does not arise from him. I
+really think that we may eliminate him entirely from our
+calculations. There remain the people who will actually surround
+Sir Henry Baskerville upon the moor."
+
+"Would it not be well in the first place to get rid of this
+Barrymore couple?"
+
+"By no means. You could not make a greater mistake. If they are
+innocent it would be a cruel injustice, and if they are guilty we
+should be giving up all chance of bringing it home to them. No,
+no, we will preserve them upon our list of suspects. Then there
+is a groom at the Hall, if I remember right. There are two
+moorland farmers. There is our friend Dr. Mortimer, whom I
+believe to be entirely honest, and there is his wife, of whom we
+know nothing. There is this naturalist, Stapleton, and there is
+his sister, who is said to be a young lady of attractions. There
+is Mr. Frankland, of Lafter Hall, who is also an unknown factor,
+and there are one or two other neighbours. These are the folk who
+must be your very special study."
+
+"I will do my best."
+
+"You have arms, I suppose?"
+
+"Yes, I thought it as well to take them."
+
+"Most certainly. Keep your revolver near you night and day, and
+never relax your precautions."
+
+Our friends had already secured a first-class carriage and were
+waiting for us upon the platform.
+
+"No, we have no news of any kind," said Dr. Mortimer in answer to
+my friend's questions. "I can swear to one thing, and that is
+that we have not been shadowed during the last two days. We have
+never gone out without keeping a sharp watch, and no one could
+have escaped our notice."
+
+"You have always kept together, I presume?"
+
+"Except yesterday afternoon. I usually give up one day to pure
+amusement when I come to town, so I spent it at the Museum of the
+College of Surgeons."
+
+"And I went to look at the folk in the park," said Baskerville.
+"But we had no trouble of any kind."
+
+"It was imprudent, all the same," said Holmes, shaking his head
+and looking very grave. "I beg, Sir Henry, that you will not go
+about alone. Some great misfortune will befall you if you do. Did
+you get your other boot?"
+
+"No, sir, it is gone forever."
+
+"Indeed. That is very interesting. Well, good-bye," he added as
+the train began to glide down the platform. "Bear in mind, Sir
+Henry, one of the phrases in that queer old legend which Dr.
+Mortimer has read to us, and avoid the moor in those hours of
+darkness when the powers of evil are exalted."
+
+I looked back at the platform when we had left it far behind, and
+saw the tall, austere figure of Holmes standing motionless and
+gazing after us.
+
+The journey was a swift and pleasant one, and I spent it in
+making the more intimate acquaintance of my two companions and in
+playing with Dr. Mortimer's spaniel. In a very few hours the
+brown earth had become ruddy, the brick had changed to granite,
+and red cows grazed in well-hedged fields where the lush grasses
+and more luxuriant vegetation spoke of a richer, if a damper,
+climate. Young Baskerville stared eagerly out of the window, and
+cried aloud with delight as he recognized the familiar features
+of the Devon scenery.
+
+"I've been over a good part of the world since I left it, Dr.
+Watson," said he; "but I have never seen a place to compare with
+it."
+
+"I never saw a Devonshire man who did not swear by his county," I
+remarked.
+
+"It depends upon the breed of men quite as much as on the
+county," said Dr. Mortimer. "A glance at our friend here reveals
+the rounded head of the Celt, which carries inside it the Celtic
+enthusiasm and power of attachment. Poor Sir Charles's head was
+of a very rare type, half Gaelic, half Ivernian in its
+characteristics. But you were very young when you last saw
+Baskerville Hall, were you not?"
+
+"I was a boy in my 'teens at the time of my father's death, and
+had never seen the Hall, for he lived in a little cottage on the
+South Coast. Thence I went straight to a friend in America. I
+tell you it is all as new to me as it is to Dr. Watson, and I'm
+as keen as possible to see the moor."
+
+"Are you? Then your wish is easily granted, for there is your
+first sight of the moor," said Dr. Mortimer, pointing out of the
+carriage window.
+
+Over the green squares of the fields and the low curve of a wood
+there rose in the distance a gray, melancholy hill, with a
+strange jagged summit, dim and vague in the distance, like some
+fantastic landscape in a dream. Baskerville sat for a long time,
+his eyes fixed upon it, and I read upon his eager face how much
+it meant to him, this first sight of that strange spot where the
+men of his blood had held sway so long and left their mark so
+deep. There he sat, with his tweed suit and his American accent,
+in the corner of a prosaic railway-carriage, and yet as I looked
+at his dark and expressive face I felt more than ever how true a
+descendant he was of that long line of high-blooded, fiery, and
+masterful men. There were pride, valour, and strength in his
+thick brows, his sensitive nostrils, and his large hazel eyes. If
+on that forbidding moor a difficult and dangerous quest should
+lie before us, this was at least a comrade for whom one might
+venture to take a risk with the certainty that he would bravely
+share it.
+
+The train pulled up at a small wayside station and we all
+descended. Outside, beyond the low, white fence, a wagonette with
+a pair of cobs was waiting. Our coming was evidently a great
+event, for station-master and porters clustered round us to carry
+out our luggage. It was a sweet, simple country spot, but I was
+surprised to observe that by the gate there stood two soldierly
+men in dark uniforms, who leaned upon their short rifles and
+glanced keenly at us as we passed. The coachman, a hard-faced,
+gnarled little fellow, saluted Sir Henry Baskerville, and in a
+few minutes we were flying swiftly down the broad, white road.
+Rolling pasture lands curved upward on either side of us, and old
+gabled houses peeped out from amid the thick green foliage, but
+behind the peaceful and sunlit country-side there rose ever, dark
+against the evening sky, the long, gloomy curve of the moor,
+broken by the jagged and sinister hills.
+
+The wagonette swung round into a side road, and we curved upward
+through deep lanes worn by centuries of wheels, high banks on
+either side, heavy with dripping moss and fleshy hart's-tongue
+ferns. Bronzing bracken and mottled bramble gleamed in the light
+of the sinking sun. Still steadily rising, we passed over a
+narrow granite bridge, and skirted a noisy stream which gushed
+swiftly down, foaming and roaring amid the gray boulders. Both
+road and stream wound up through a valley dense with scrub oak
+and fir. At every turn Baskerville gave an exclamation of
+delight, looking eagerly about him and asking countless
+questions. To his eyes all seemed beautiful, but to me a tinge of
+melancholy lay upon the country-side, which bore so clearly the
+mark of the waning year. Yellow leaves carpeted the lanes and
+fluttered down upon us as we passed. The rattle of our wheels
+died away as we drove through drifts of rotting vegetation--sad
+gifts, as it seemed to me, for Nature to throw before the
+carriage of the returning heir of the Baskervilles.
+
+"Halloa!" cried Dr. Mortimer, "what is this?"
+
+A steep curve of heath-clad land, an outlying spur of the moor,
+lay in front of us. On the summit, hard and clear like an
+equestrian statue upon its pedestal, was a mounted soldier, dark
+and stern, his rifle poised ready over his forearm. He was
+watching the road along which we travelled.
+
+"What is this, Perkins?" asked Dr. Mortimer.
+
+Our driver half turned in his seat.
+
+"There's a convict escaped from Princetown, sir. He's been out
+three days now, and the warders watch every road and every
+station, but they've had no sight of him yet. The farmers about
+here don't like it, sir, and that's a fact."
+
+"Well, I understand that they get five pounds if they can give
+information."
+
+"Yes, sir, but the chance of five pounds is but a poor thing
+compared to the chance of having your throat cut. You see, it
+isn't like any ordinary convict. This is a man that would stick
+at nothing."
+
+"Who is he, then?"
+
+"It is Selden, the Notting Hill murderer."
+
+I remembered the case well, for it was one in which Holmes had
+taken an interest on account of the peculiar ferocity of the
+crime and the wanton brutality which had marked all the actions
+of the assassin. The commutation of his death sentence had been
+due to some doubts as to his complete sanity, so atrocious was
+his conduct. Our wagonette had topped a rise and in front of us
+rose the huge expanse of the moor, mottled with gnarled and
+craggy cairns and tors. A cold wind swept down from it and set us
+shivering. Somewhere there, on that desolate plain, was lurking
+this fiendish man, hiding in a burrow like a wild beast, his
+heart full of malignancy against the whole race which had cast
+him out. It needed but this to complete the grim suggestiveness
+of the barren waste, the chilling wind, and the darkling sky.
+Even Baskerville fell silent and pulled his overcoat more closely
+around him.
+
+We had left the fertile country behind and beneath us. We looked
+back on it now, the slanting rays of a low sun turning the
+streams to threads of gold and glowing on the red earth new
+turned by the plough and the broad tangle of the woodlands. The
+road in front of us grew bleaker and wilder over huge russet and
+olive slopes, sprinkled with giant boulders. Now and then we
+passed a moorland cottage, walled and roofed with stone, with no
+creeper to break its harsh outline. Suddenly we looked down into
+a cup-like depression, patched with stunted oaks and firs which
+had been twisted and bent by the fury of years of storm. Two
+high, narrow towers rose over the trees. The driver pointed with
+his whip.
+
+"Baskerville Hall," said he.
+
+Its master had risen and was staring with flushed cheeks and
+shining eyes. A few minutes later we had reached the lodge-gates,
+a maze of fantastic tracery in wrought iron, with weather-bitten
+pillars on either side, blotched with lichens, and surmounted by
+the boars' heads of the Baskervilles. The lodge was a ruin of
+black granite and bared ribs of rafters, but facing it was a new
+building, half constructed, the first fruit of Sir Charles's
+South African gold.
+
+Through the gateway we passed into the avenue, where the wheels
+were again hushed amid the leaves, and the old trees shot their
+branches in a sombre tunnel over our heads. Baskerville shuddered
+as he looked up the long, dark drive to where the house glimmered
+like a ghost at the farther end.
+
+"Was it here?" he asked in a low voice.
+
+"No, no, the Yew Alley is on the other side."
+
+The young heir glanced round with a gloomy face.
+
+"It's no wonder my uncle felt as if trouble were coming on him in
+such a place as this," said he. "It's enough to scare any man.
+I'll have a row of electric lamps up here inside of six months,
+and you won't know it again, with a thousand candle-power Swan
+and Edison right here in front of the hall door."
+
+The avenue opened into a broad expanse of turf, and the house lay
+before us. In the fading light I could see that the centre was a
+heavy block of building from which a porch projected. The whole
+front was draped in ivy, with a patch clipped bare here and there
+where a window or a coat-of-arms broke through the dark veil.
+From this central block rose the twin towers, ancient,
+crenelated, and pierced with many loopholes. To right and left of
+the turrets were more modern wings of black granite. A dull light
+shone through heavy mullioned windows, and from the high chimneys
+which rose from the steep, high-angled roof there sprang a single
+black column of smoke.
+
+"Welcome, Sir Henry! Welcome to Baskerville Hall!"
+
+A tall man had stepped from the shadow of the porch to open the
+door of the wagonette. The figure of a woman was silhouetted
+against the yellow light of the hall. She came out and helped the
+man to hand down our bags.
+
+"You don't mind my driving straight home, Sir Henry?" said Dr.
+Mortimer. "My wife is expecting me."
+
+"Surely you will stay and have some dinner?"
+
+"No, I must go. I shall probably find some work awaiting me. I
+would stay to show you over the house, but Barrymore will be a
+better guide than I. Good-bye, and never hesitate night or day to
+send for me if I can be of service."
+
+The wheels died away down the drive while Sir Henry and I turned
+into the hall, and the door clanged heavily behind us. It was a
+fine apartment in which we found ourselves, large, lofty, and
+heavily raftered with huge balks of age-blackened oak. In the
+great old-fashioned fireplace behind the high iron dogs a
+log-fire crackled and snapped. Sir Henry and I held out our hands
+to it, for we were numb from our long drive. Then we gazed round
+us at the high, thin window of old stained glass, the oak
+panelling, the stags' heads, the coats-of-arms upon the walls,
+all dim and sombre in the subdued light of the central lamp.
+
+"It's just as I imagined it," said Sir Henry. "Is it not the very
+picture of an old family home? To think that this should be the
+same hall in which for five hundred years my people have lived.
+It strikes me solemn to think of it."
+
+I saw his dark face lit up with a boyish enthusiasm as he gazed
+about him. The light beat upon him where he stood, but long
+shadows trailed down the walls and hung like a black canopy above
+him. Barrymore had returned from taking our luggage to our rooms.
+He stood in front of us now with the subdued manner of a
+well-trained servant. He was a remarkable-looking man, tall,
+handsome, with a square black beard and pale, distinguished
+features.
+
+"Would you wish dinner to be served at once, sir?"
+
+"Is it ready?"
+
+"In a very few minutes, sir. You will find hot water in your
+rooms. My wife and I will be happy, Sir Henry, to stay with you
+until you have made your fresh arrangements, but you will
+understand that under the new conditions this house will require
+a considerable staff."
+
+"What new conditions?"
+
+"I only meant, sir, that Sir Charles led a very retired life, and
+we were able to look after his wants. You would, naturally, wish
+to have more company, and so you will need changes in your
+household."
+
+"Do you mean that your wife and you wish to leave?"
+
+"Only when it is quite convenient to you, sir."
+
+"But your family have been with us for several generations, have
+they not? I should be sorry to begin my life here by breaking an
+old family connection."
+
+I seemed to discern some signs of emotion upon the butler's white
+face.
+
+"I feel that also, sir, and so does my wife. But to tell the
+truth, sir, we were both very much attached to Sir Charles, and
+his death gave us a shock and made these surroundings very
+painful to us. I fear that we shall never again be easy in our
+minds at Baskerville Hall."
+
+"But what do you intend to do?"
+
+"I have no doubt, sir, that we shall succeed in establishing
+ourselves in some business. Sir Charles's generosity has given us
+the means to do so. And now, sir, perhaps I had best show you to
+your rooms."
+
+A square balustraded gallery ran round the top of the old hall,
+approached by a double stair. From this central point two long
+corridors extended the whole length of the building, from which
+all the bedrooms opened. My own was in the same wing as
+Baskerville's and almost next door to it. These rooms appeared to
+be much more modern than the central part of the house, and the
+bright paper and numerous candles did something to remove the
+sombre impression which our arrival had left upon my mind.
+
+But the dining-room which opened out of the hall was a place of
+shadow and gloom. It was a long chamber with a step separating
+the dais where the family sat from the lower portion reserved for
+their dependents. At one end a minstrel's gallery overlooked it.
+Black beams shot across above our heads, with a smoke-darkened
+ceiling beyond them. With rows of flaring torches to light it up,
+and the colour and rude hilarity of an old-time banquet, it might
+have softened; but now, when two black-clothed gentlemen sat in
+the little circle of light thrown by a shaded lamp, one's voice
+became hushed and one's spirit subdued. A dim line of ancestors,
+in every variety of dress, from the Elizabethan knight to the
+buck of the Regency, stared down upon us and daunted us by their
+silent company. We talked little, and I for one was glad when the
+meal was over and we were able to retire into the modern
+billiard-room and smoke a cigarette.
+
+"My word, it isn't a very cheerful place," said Sir Henry. "I
+suppose one can tone down to it, but I feel a bit out of the
+picture at present. I don't wonder that my uncle got a little
+jumpy if he lived all alone in such a house as this. However, if
+it suits you, we will retire early to-night, and perhaps things
+may seem more cheerful in the morning."
+
+I drew aside my curtains before I went to bed and looked out from
+my window. It opened upon the grassy space which lay in front of
+the hall door. Beyond, two copses of trees moaned and swung in a
+rising wind. A half moon broke through the rifts of racing
+clouds. In its cold light I saw beyond the trees a broken fringe
+of rocks, and the long, low curve of the melancholy moor. I
+closed the curtain, feeling that my last impression was in
+keeping with the rest.
+
+And yet it was not quite the last. I found myself weary and yet
+wakeful, tossing restlessly from side to side, seeking for the
+sleep which would not come. Far away a chiming clock struck out
+the quarters of the hours, but otherwise a deathly silence lay
+upon the old house. And then suddenly, in the very dead of the
+night, there came a sound to my ears, clear, resonant, and
+unmistakable. It was the sob of a woman, the muffled, strangling
+gasp of one who is torn by an uncontrollable sorrow. I sat up in
+bed and listened intently. The noise could not have been far away
+and was certainly in the house. For half an hour I waited with
+every nerve on the alert, but there came no other sound save the
+chiming clock and the rustle of the ivy on the wall.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 7
+
+The Stapletons of Merripit House
+
+
+The fresh beauty of the following morning did something to efface
+from our minds the grim and gray impression which had been left
+upon both of us by our first experience of Baskerville Hall. As
+Sir Henry and I sat at breakfast the sunlight flooded in through
+the high mullioned windows, throwing watery patches of colour
+from the coats of arms which covered them. The dark panelling
+glowed like bronze in the golden rays, and it was hard to realize
+that this was indeed the chamber which had struck such a gloom
+into our souls upon the evening before.
+
+"I guess it is ourselves and not the house that we have to
+blame!" said the baronet. "We were tired with our journey and
+chilled by our drive, so we took a gray view of the place. Now we
+are fresh and well, so it is all cheerful once more."
+
+"And yet it was not entirely a question of imagination," I
+answered. "Did you, for example, happen to hear someone, a woman
+I think, sobbing in the night?"
+
+"That is curious, for I did when I was half asleep fancy that I
+heard something of the sort. I waited quite a time, but there was
+no more of it, so I concluded that it was all a dream."
+
+"I heard it distinctly, and I am sure that it was really the sob
+of a woman."
+
+"We must ask about this right away." He rang the bell and asked
+Barrymore whether he could account for our experience. It seemed
+to me that the pallid features of the butler turned a shade paler
+still as he listened to his master's question.
+
+"There are only two women in the house, Sir Henry," he answered.
+"One is the scullery-maid, who sleeps in the other wing. The
+other is my wife, and I can answer for it that the sound could
+not have come from her."
+
+And yet he lied as he said it, for it chanced that after
+breakfast I met Mrs. Barrymore in the long corridor with the sun
+full upon her face. She was a large, impassive, heavy-featured
+woman with a stern set expression of mouth. But her tell-tale
+eyes were red and glanced at me from between swollen lids. It was
+she, then, who wept in the night, and if she did so her husband
+must know it. Yet he had taken the obvious risk of discovery in
+declaring that it was not so. Why had he done this? And why did
+she weep so bitterly? Already round this pale-faced, handsome,
+black-bearded man there was gathering an atmosphere of mystery
+and of gloom. It was he who had been the first to discover the
+body of Sir Charles, and we had only his word for all the
+circumstances which led up to the old man's death. Was it
+possible that it was Barrymore after all whom we had seen in the
+cab in Regent Street? The beard might well have been the same.
+The cabman had described a somewhat shorter man, but such an
+impression might easily have been erroneous. How could I settle
+the point forever? Obviously the first thing to do was to see the
+Grimpen postmaster, and find whether the test telegram had really
+been placed in Barrymore's own hands. Be the answer what it
+might, I should at least have something to report to Sherlock
+Holmes.
+
+Sir Henry had numerous papers to examine after breakfast, so that
+the time was propitious for my excursion. It was a pleasant walk
+of four miles along the edge of the moor, leading me at last to a
+small gray hamlet, in which two larger buildings, which proved to
+be the inn and the house of Dr. Mortimer, stood high above the
+rest. The postmaster, who was also the village grocer, had a
+clear recollection of the telegram.
+
+"Certainly, sir," said he, "I had the telegram delivered to Mr.
+Barrymore exactly as directed."
+
+"Who delivered it?"
+
+"My boy here. James, you delivered that telegram to Mr. Barrymore
+at the Hall last week, did you not?"
+
+"Yes, father, I delivered it."
+
+"Into his own hands?" I asked.
+
+"Well, he was up in the loft at the time, so that I could not put
+it into his own hands, but I gave it into Mrs. Barrymore's hands,
+and she promised to deliver it at once."
+
+"Did you see Mr. Barrymore?"
+
+"No, sir; I tell you he was in the loft."
+
+"If you didn't see him, how do you know he was in the loft?"
+
+"Well, surely his own wife ought to know where he is," said the
+postmaster testily. "Didn't he get the telegram? If there is any
+mistake it is for Mr. Barrymore himself to complain."
+
+It seemed hopeless to pursue the inquiry any farther, but it was
+clear that in spite of Holmes's ruse we had no proof that
+Barrymore had not been in London all the time. Suppose that it
+were so--suppose that the same man had been the last who had seen
+Sir Charles alive, and the first to dog the new heir when he
+returned to England. What then? Was he the agent of others or had
+he some sinister design of his own? What interest could he have
+in persecuting the Baskerville family? I thought of the strange
+warning clipped out of the leading article of the Times. Was that
+his work or was it possibly the doing of someone who was bent
+upon counteracting his schemes? The only conceivable motive was
+that which had been suggested by Sir Henry, that if the family
+could be scared away a comfortable and permanent home would be
+secured for the Barrymores. But surely such an explanation as
+that would be quite inadequate to account for the deep and subtle
+scheming which seemed to be weaving an invisible net round the
+young baronet. Holmes himself had said that no more complex case
+had come to him in all the long series of his sensational
+investigations. I prayed, as I walked back along the gray, lonely
+road, that my friend might soon be freed from his preoccupations
+and able to come down to take this heavy burden of responsibility
+from my shoulders.
+
+Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of running
+feet behind me and by a voice which called me by name. I turned,
+expecting to see Dr. Mortimer, but to my surprise it was a
+stranger who was pursuing me. He was a small, slim, clean-shaven,
+prim-faced man, flaxen-haired and lean-jawed, between thirty and
+forty years of age, dressed in a gray suit and wearing a straw
+hat. A tin box for botanical specimens hung over his shoulder and
+he carried a green butterfly-net in one of his hands.
+
+"You will, I am sure, excuse my presumption, Dr. Watson," said
+he, as he came panting up to where I stood. "Here on the moor we
+are homely folk and do not wait for formal introductions. You may
+possibly have heard my name from our mutual friend, Mortimer. I
+am Stapleton, of Merripit House."
+
+"Your net and box would have told me as much," said I, "for I
+knew that Mr. Stapleton was a naturalist. But how did you know
+me?"
+
+"I have been calling on Mortimer, and he pointed you out to me
+from the window of his surgery as you passed. As our road lay the
+same way I thought that I would overtake you and introduce
+myself. I trust that Sir Henry is none the worse for his
+journey?"
+
+"He is very well, thank you."
+
+"We were all rather afraid that after the sad death of Sir
+Charles the new baronet might refuse to live here. It is asking
+much of a wealthy man to come down and bury himself in a place of
+this kind, but I need not tell you that it means a very great
+deal to the country-side. Sir Henry has, I suppose, no
+superstitious fears in the matter?"
+
+"I do not think that it is likely."
+
+"Of course you know the legend of the fiend dog which haunts the
+family?"
+
+"I have heard it."
+
+"It is extraordinary how credulous the peasants are about here!
+Any number of them are ready to swear that they have seen such a
+creature upon the moor." He spoke with a smile, but I seemed to
+read in his eyes that he took the matter more seriously. "The
+story took a great hold upon the imagination of Sir Charles, and
+I have no doubt that it led to his tragic end."
+
+"But how?"
+
+"His nerves were so worked up that the appearance of any dog
+might have had a fatal effect upon his diseased heart. I fancy
+that he really did see something of the kind upon that last night
+in the Yew Alley. I feared that some disaster might occur, for I
+was very fond of the old man, and I knew that his heart was
+weak."
+
+"How did you know that?"
+
+"My friend Mortimer told me."
+
+"You think, then, that some dog pursued Sir Charles, and that he
+died of fright in consequence?"
+
+"Have you any better explanation?"
+
+"I have not come to any conclusion."
+
+"Has Mr. Sherlock Holmes?"
+
+The words took away my breath for an instant, but a glance at the
+placid face and steadfast eyes of my companion showed that no
+surprise was intended.
+
+"It is useless for us to pretend that we do not know you, Dr.
+Watson," said he. "The records of your detective have reached us
+here, and you could not celebrate him without being known
+yourself. When Mortimer told me your name he could not deny your
+identity. If you are here, then it follows that Mr. Sherlock
+Holmes is interesting himself in the matter, and I am naturally
+curious to know what view he may take."
+
+"I am afraid that I cannot answer that question."
+
+"May I ask if he is going to honour us with a visit himself?"
+
+"He cannot leave town at present. He has other cases which engage
+his attention."
+
+"What a pity! He might throw some light on that which is so dark
+to us. But as to your own researches, if there is any possible
+way in which I can be of service to you I trust that you will
+command me. If I had any indication of the nature of your
+suspicions or how you propose to investigate the case, I might
+perhaps even now give you some aid or advice."
+
+"I assure you that I am simply here upon a visit to my friend,
+Sir Henry, and that I need no help of any kind."
+
+"Excellent!" said Stapleton. "You are perfectly right to be wary
+and discreet. I am justly reproved for what I feel was an
+unjustifiable intrusion, and I promise you that I will not
+mention the matter again."
+
+We had come to a point where a narrow grassy path struck off from
+the road and wound away across the moor. A steep,
+boulder-sprinkled hill lay upon the right which had in bygone
+days been cut into a granite quarry. The face which was turned
+towards us formed a dark cliff, with ferns and brambles growing
+in its niches. From over a distant rise there floated a gray
+plume of smoke.
+
+"A moderate walk along this moor-path brings us to Merripit
+House," said he. "Perhaps you will spare an hour that I may have
+the pleasure of introducing you to my sister."
+
+My first thought was that I should be by Sir Henry's side. But
+then I remembered the pile of papers and bills with which his
+study table was littered. It was certain that I could not help
+with those. And Holmes had expressly said that I should study the
+neighbours upon the moor. I accepted Stapleton's invitation, and
+we turned together down the path.
+
+"It is a wonderful place, the moor," said he, looking round over
+the undulating downs, long green rollers, with crests of jagged
+granite foaming up into fantastic surges. "You never tire of the
+moor. You cannot think the wonderful secrets which it contains.
+It is so vast, and so barren, and so mysterious."
+
+"You know it well, then?"
+
+"I have only been here two years. The residents would call me a
+newcomer. We came shortly after Sir Charles settled. But my
+tastes led me to explore every part of the country round, and I
+should think that there are few men who know it better than I
+do."
+
+"Is it hard to know?"
+
+"Very hard. You see, for example, this great plain to the north
+here with the queer hills breaking out of it. Do you observe
+anything remarkable about that?"
+
+"It would be a rare place for a gallop."
+
+"You would naturally think so and the thought has cost several
+their lives before now. You notice those bright green spots
+scattered thickly over it?"
+
+"Yes, they seem more fertile than the rest."
+
+Stapleton laughed.
+
+"That is the great Grimpen Mire," said he. "A false step yonder
+means death to man or beast. Only yesterday I saw one of the moor
+ponies wander into it. He never came out. I saw his head for
+quite a long time craning out of the bog-hole, but it sucked him
+down at last. Even in dry seasons it is a danger to cross it, but
+after these autumn rains it is an awful place. And yet I can find
+my way to the very heart of it and return alive. By George, there
+is another of those miserable ponies!"
+
+Something brown was rolling and tossing among the green sedges.
+Then a long, agonized, writhing neck shot upward and a dreadful
+cry echoed over the moor. It turned me cold with horror, but my
+companion's nerves seemed to be stronger than mine.
+
+"It's gone!" said he. "The mire has him. Two in two days, and
+many more, perhaps, for they get in the way of going there in the
+dry weather, and never know the difference until the mire has
+them in its clutches. It's a bad place, the great Grimpen Mire."
+
+"And you say you can penetrate it?"
+
+"Yes, there are one or two paths which a very active man can
+take. I have found them out."
+
+"But why should you wish to go into so horrible a place?"
+
+"Well, you see the hills beyond? They are really islands cut off
+on all sides by the impassable mire, which has crawled round them
+in the course of years. That is where the rare plants and the
+butterflies are, if you have the wit to reach them."
+
+"I shall try my luck some day."
+
+He looked at me with a surprised face.
+
+"For God's sake put such an idea out of your mind," said he.
+"Your blood would be upon my head. I assure you that there would
+not be the least chance of your coming back alive. It is only by
+remembering certain complex landmarks that I am able to do it."
+
+"Halloa!" I cried. "What is that?"
+
+A long, low moan, indescribably sad, swept over the moor. It
+filled the whole air, and yet it was impossible to say whence it
+came. From a dull murmur it swelled into a deep roar, and then
+sank back into a melancholy, throbbing murmur once again.
+Stapleton looked at me with a curious expression in his face.
+
+"Queer place, the moor!" said he.
+
+"But what is it?"
+
+"The peasants say it is the Hound of the Baskervilles calling for
+its prey. I've heard it once or twice before, but never quite so
+loud."
+
+I looked round, with a chill of fear in my heart, at the huge
+swelling plain, mottled with the green patches of rushes. Nothing
+stirred over the vast expanse save a pair of ravens, which
+croaked loudly from a tor behind us.
+
+"You are an educated man. You don't believe such nonsense as
+that?" said I. "What do you think is the cause of so strange a
+sound?"
+
+"Bogs make queer noises sometimes. It's the mud settling, or the
+water rising, or something."
+
+"No, no, that was a living voice."
+
+"Well, perhaps it was. Did you ever hear a bittern booming?"
+
+"No, I never did."
+
+"It's a very rare bird--practically extinct--in England now, but
+all things are possible upon the moor. Yes, I should not be
+surprised to learn that what we have heard is the cry of the last
+of the bitterns."
+
+"It's the weirdest, strangest thing that ever I heard in my
+life."
+
+"Yes, it's rather an uncanny place altogether. Look at the hill-
+side yonder. What do you make of those?"
+
+The whole steep slope was covered with gray circular rings of
+stone, a score of them at least.
+
+"What are they? Sheep-pens?"
+
+"No, they are the homes of our worthy ancestors. Prehistoric man
+lived thickly on the moor, and as no one in particular has lived
+there since, we find all his little arrangements exactly as he
+left them. These are his wigwams with the roofs off. You can even
+see his hearth and his couch if you have the curiosity to go
+inside.
+
+"But it is quite a town. When was it inhabited?"
+
+"Neolithic man--no date."
+
+"What did he do?"
+
+"He grazed his cattle on these slopes, and he learned to dig for
+tin when the bronze sword began to supersede the stone axe. Look
+at the great trench in the opposite hill. That is his mark. Yes,
+you will find some very singular points about the moor, Dr.
+Watson. Oh, excuse me an instant! It is surely Cyclopides."
+
+A small fly or moth had fluttered across our path, and in an
+instant Stapleton was rushing with extraordinary energy and speed
+in pursuit of it. To my dismay the creature flew straight for the
+great mire, and my acquaintance never paused for an instant,
+bounding from tuft to tuft behind it, his green net waving in the
+air. His gray clothes and jerky, zigzag, irregular progress made
+him not unlike some huge moth himself. I was standing watching
+his pursuit with a mixture of admiration for his extraordinary
+activity and fear lest he should lose his footing in the
+treacherous mire, when I heard the sound of steps, and turning
+round found a woman near me upon the path. She had come from the
+direction in which the plume of smoke indicated the position of
+Merripit House, but the dip of the moor had hid her until she was
+quite close.
+
+I could not doubt that this was the Miss Stapleton of whom I had
+been told, since ladies of any sort must be few upon the moor,
+and I remembered that I had heard someone describe her as being a
+beauty. The woman who approached me was certainly that, and of a
+most uncommon type. There could not have been a greater contrast
+between brother and sister, for Stapleton was neutral tinted,
+with light hair and gray eyes, while she was darker than any
+brunette whom I have seen in England--slim, elegant, and tall.
+She had a proud, finely cut face, so regular that it might have
+seemed impassive were it not for the sensitive mouth and the
+beautiful dark, eager eyes. With her perfect figure and elegant
+dress she was, indeed, a strange apparition upon a lonely
+moorland path. Her eyes were on her brother as I turned, and then
+she quickened her pace towards me. I had raised my hat and was
+about to make some explanatory remark, when her own words turned
+all my thoughts into a new channel.
+
+"Go back!" she said. "Go straight back to London, instantly."
+
+I could only stare at her in stupid surprise. Her eyes blazed at
+me, and she tapped the ground impatiently with her foot.
+
+"Why should I go back?" I asked.
+
+"I cannot explain." She spoke in a low, eager voice, with a
+curious lisp in her utterance. "But for God's sake do what I ask
+you. Go back and never set foot upon the moor again."
+
+"But I have only just come."
+
+"Man, man!" she cried. "Can you not tell when a warning is for
+your own good? Go back to London! Start to-night! Get away from
+this place at all costs! Hush, my brother is coming! Not a word
+of what I have said. Would you mind getting that orchid for me
+among the mares-tails yonder? We are very rich in orchids on the
+moor, though, of course, you are rather late to see the beauties
+of the place."
+
+Stapleton had abandoned the chase and came back to us breathing
+hard and flushed with his exertions.
+
+"Halloa, Beryl!" said he, and it seemed to me that the tone of
+his greeting was not altogether a cordial one.
+
+"Well, Jack, you are very hot."
+
+"Yes, I was chasing a Cyclopides. He is very rare and seldom
+found in the late autumn. What a pity that I should have missed
+him!" He spoke unconcernedly, but his small light eyes glanced
+incessantly from the girl to me.
+
+"You have introduced yourselves, I can see."
+
+"Yes. I was telling Sir Henry that it was rather late for him to
+see the true beauties of the moor."
+
+"Why, who do you think this is?"
+
+"I imagine that it must be Sir Henry Baskerville."
+
+"No, no," said I. "Only a humble commoner, but his friend. My
+name is Dr. Watson."
+
+A flush of vexation passed over her expressive face. "We have
+been talking at cross purposes," said she.
+
+"Why, you had not very much time for talk," her brother remarked
+with the same questioning eyes.
+
+"I talked as if Dr. Watson were a resident instead of being
+merely a visitor," said she. "It cannot much matter to him
+whether it is early or late for the orchids. But you will come
+on, will you not, and see Merripit House?"
+
+A short walk brought us to it, a bleak moorland house, once the
+farm of some grazier in the old prosperous days, but now put into
+repair and turned into a modern dwelling. An orchard surrounded
+it, but the trees, as is usual upon the moor, were stunted and
+nipped, and the effect of the whole place was mean and
+melancholy. We were admitted by a strange, wizened, rusty-coated
+old manservant, who seemed in keeping with the house. Inside,
+however, there were large rooms furnished with an elegance in
+which I seemed to recognize the taste of the lady. As I looked
+from their windows at the interminable granite-flecked moor
+rolling unbroken to the farthest horizon I could not but marvel
+at what could have brought this highly educated man and this
+beautiful woman to live in such a place.
+
+"Queer spot to choose, is it not?" said he as if in answer to my
+thought. "And yet we manage to make ourselves fairly happy, do we
+not, Beryl?"
+
+"Quite happy," said she, but there was no ring of conviction in
+her words.
+
+"I had a school," said Stapleton. "It was in the north country.
+The work to a man of my temperament was mechanical and
+uninteresting, but the privilege of living with youth, of helping
+to mould those young minds, and of impressing them with one's own
+character and ideals, was very dear to me. However, the fates
+were against us. A serious epidemic broke out in the school and
+three of the boys died. It never recovered from the blow, and
+much of my capital was irretrievably swallowed up. And yet, if it
+were not for the loss of the charming companionship of the boys,
+I could rejoice over my own misfortune, for, with my strong
+tastes for botany and zoology, I find an unlimited field of work
+here, and my sister is as devoted to Nature as I am. All this,
+Dr. Watson, has been brought upon your head by your expression as
+you surveyed the moor out of our window."
+
+"It certainly did cross my mind that it might be a little
+dull--less for you, perhaps, than for your sister."
+
+"No, no, I am never dull," said she, quickly.
+
+"We have books, we have our studies, and we have interesting
+neighbours. Dr. Mortimer is a most learned man in his own line.
+Poor Sir Charles was also an admirable companion. We knew him
+well, and miss him more than I can tell. Do you think that I
+should intrude if I were to call this afternoon and make the
+acquaintance of Sir Henry?"
+
+"I am sure that he would be delighted."
+
+"Then perhaps you would mention that I propose to do so. We may
+in our humble way do something to make things more easy for him
+until he becomes accustomed to his new surroundings. Will you
+come upstairs, Dr. Watson, and inspect my collection of
+Lepidoptera? I think it is the most complete one in the
+south-west of England. By the time that you have looked through
+them lunch will be almost ready."
+
+But I was eager to get back to my charge. The melancholy of the
+moor, the death of the unfortunate pony, the weird sound which
+had been associated with the grim legend of the Baskervilles, all
+these things tinged my thoughts with sadness. Then on the top of
+these more or less vague impressions there had come the definite
+and distinct warning of Miss Stapleton, delivered with such
+intense earnestness that I could not doubt that some grave and
+deep reason lay behind it. I resisted all pressure to stay for
+lunch, and I set off at once upon my return journey, taking the
+grass-grown path by which we had come.
+
+It seems, however, that there must have been some short cut for
+those who knew it, for before I had reached the road I was
+astounded to see Miss Stapleton sitting upon a rock by the side
+of the track. Her face was beautifully flushed with her
+exertions, and she held her hand to her side.
+
+"I have run all the way in order to cut you off, Dr. Watson,"
+said she. "I had not even time to put on my hat. I must not stop,
+or my brother may miss me. I wanted to say to you how sorry I am
+about the stupid mistake I made in thinking that you were Sir
+Henry. Please forget the words I said, which have no application
+whatever to you."
+
+"But I can't forget them, Miss Stapleton," said I. "I am Sir
+Henry's friend, and his welfare is a very close concern of mine.
+Tell me why it was that you were so eager that Sir Henry should
+return to London."
+
+"A woman's whim, Dr. Watson. When you know me better you will
+understand that I cannot always give reasons for what I say or
+do."
+
+"No, no. I remember the thrill in your voice. I remember the look
+in your eyes. Please, please, be frank with me, Miss Stapleton,
+for ever since I have been here I have been conscious of shadows
+all round me. Life has become like that great Grimpen Mire, with
+little green patches everywhere into which one may sink and with
+no guide to point the track. Tell me then what it was that you
+meant, and I will promise to convey your warning to Sir Henry."
+
+An expression of irresolution passed for an instant over her
+face, but her eyes had hardened again when she answered me.
+
+"You make too much of it, Dr. Watson," said she. "My brother and
+I were very much shocked by the death of Sir Charles. We knew him
+very intimately, for his favourite walk was over the moor to our
+house. He was deeply impressed with the curse which hung over the
+family, and when this tragedy came I naturally felt that there
+must be some grounds for the fears which he had expressed. I was
+distressed therefore when another member of the family came down
+to live here, and I felt that he should be warned of the danger
+which he will run. That was all which I intended to convey.
+
+"But what is the danger?"
+
+"You know the story of the hound?"
+
+"I do not believe in such nonsense."
+
+"But I do. If you have any influence with Sir Henry, take him
+away from a place which has always been fatal to his family. The
+world is wide. Why should he wish to live at the place of
+danger?"
+
+"Because it is the place of danger. That is Sir Henry's nature. I
+fear that unless you can give me some more definite information
+than this it would be impossible to get him to move."
+
+"I cannot say anything definite, for I do not know anything
+definite."
+
+"I would ask you one more question, Miss Stapleton. If you meant
+no more than this when you first spoke to me, why should you not
+wish your brother to overhear what you said? There is nothing to
+which he, or anyone else, could object."
+
+"My brother is very anxious to have the Hall inhabited, for he
+thinks it is for the good of the poor folk upon the moor. He
+would be very angry if he knew that I have said anything which
+might induce Sir Henry to go away. But I have done my duty now
+and I will say no more. I must get back, or he will miss me and
+suspect that I have seen you. Good-bye!" She turned and had
+disappeared in a few minutes among the scattered boulders, while
+I, with my soul full of vague fears, pursued my way to
+Baskerville Hall.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 8
+
+First Report of Dr. Watson
+
+
+From this point onward I will follow the course of events by
+transcribing my own letters to Mr. Sherlock Holmes which lie
+before me on the table. One page is missing, but otherwise they
+are exactly as written and show my feelings and suspicions of the
+moment more accurately than my memory, clear as it is upon these
+tragic events, can possibly do.
+
+BASKERVILLE HALL, October 13th.
+
+MY DEAR HOLMES,--My previous letters and telegrams have kept you
+pretty well up to date as to all that has occurred in this most
+God-forsaken corner of the world. The longer one stays here the
+more does the 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 England behind you, but
+on the other hand you are conscious everywhere of the homes and
+the work of the prehistoric people. On all sides of you as you
+walk are the houses of these forgotten folk, with their graves
+and the huge monoliths which are supposed to have marked their
+temples. As you look at their gray stone huts against the scarred
+hill-sides you leave your own age behind you, and if you were to
+see a skin-clad, hairy man crawl out from the low door fitting 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 am no antiquarian,
+but I could imagine that they were some unwarlike and harried
+race who were forced to accept that which none other would
+occupy.
+
+All this, however, is foreign to the mission on which you sent me
+and will probably be very uninteresting to your severely
+practical mind. I can still remember your complete indifference
+as to whether the sun moved round the earth or the earth round
+the sun. Let me, therefore, return to the facts concerning Sir
+Henry Baskerville.
+
+If you have not had any report within the last few days it is
+because up to to-day there was nothing of importance to relate.
+Then a very surprising circumstance occurred, which I shall tell
+you in due course. But, first of all, I must keep you in touch
+with some of the other factors in the situation.
+
+One of these, concerning which I have said little, is the escaped
+convict upon the moor. There is strong reason now to believe that
+he has got right away, which is a considerable relief to the
+lonely householders of this district. A fortnight has passed
+since his flight, during which he has not been seen and nothing
+has been heard of him. It is surely inconceivable that he could
+have held out upon the moor during all that time. Of course, so
+far as his concealment goes there is no difficulty at all. Any
+one of these stone huts would give him a hiding-place. But there
+is nothing to eat unless he were to catch and slaughter one of
+the moor sheep. We think, therefore, that he has gone, and the
+outlying farmers sleep the better in consequence.
+
+We are four able-bodied men in this household, so that we could
+take good care of ourselves, but I confess that I have had uneasy
+moments when I have thought of the Stapletons. They live miles
+from any help. There are one maid, an old manservant, the sister,
+and the brother, the latter not a very strong man. They would be
+helpless in the hands of a desperate fellow like this Notting
+Hill criminal, if he could once effect an entrance. Both Sir
+Henry and I were concerned at their situation, and it was
+suggested that Perkins the groom should go over to sleep there,
+but Stapleton would not hear of it.
+
+The fact is that our friend, the baronet, begins to display a
+considerable interest in our fair neighbour. It is not to be
+wondered at, for time hangs heavily in this lonely spot to an
+active man like him, and she is a very fascinating and beautiful
+woman. There is something tropical and exotic about her which
+forms a singular contrast to her cool and unemotional brother.
+Yet he also gives the idea of hidden fires. He has certainly a
+very marked influence over her, for I have seen her continually
+glance at him as she talked as if seeking approbation for what
+she said. I trust that he is kind to her. There is a dry glitter
+in his eyes, and a firm set of his thin lips, which goes with a
+positive and possibly a harsh nature. You would find him an
+interesting study.
+
+He came over to call upon Baskerville on that first day, and the
+very next morning he took us both to show us the spot where the
+legend of the wicked Hugo is supposed to have had its origin. It
+was an excursion of some miles across the moor to a place which
+is so dismal that it might have suggested the story. We found a
+short valley between rugged tors which led to an open, grassy
+space flecked over with the white cotton grass. In the middle of
+it rose two great stones, worn and sharpened at the upper end,
+until they looked like the huge corroding fangs of some monstrous
+beast. In every way it corresponded with the scene of the old
+tragedy. Sir Henry was much interested and asked Stapleton more
+than once whether he did really believe in the possibility of the
+interference of the supernatural in the affairs of men. He spoke
+lightly, but it was evident that he was very much in earnest.
+Stapleton was guarded in his replies, but it was easy to see that
+he said less than he might, and that he would not express his
+whole opinion out of consideration for the feelings of the
+baronet. He told us of similar cases, where families had suffered
+from some evil influence, and he left us with the impression that
+he shared the popular view upon the matter.
+
+On our way back we stayed for lunch at Merripit House, and it was
+there that Sir Henry made the acquaintance of Miss Stapleton.
+From the first moment that he saw her he appeared to be strongly
+attracted by her, and I am much mistaken if the feeling was not
+mutual. He referred to her again and again on our walk home, and
+since then hardly a day has passed that we have not seen
+something of the brother and sister. They dine here to-night, and
+there is some talk of our going to them next week. One would
+imagine that such a match would be very welcome to Stapleton, and
+yet I have more than once caught a look of the strongest
+disapprobation in his face when Sir Henry has been paying some
+attention to his sister. He is much attached to her, no doubt,
+and would lead a lonely life without her, but it would seem the
+height of selfishness if he were to stand in the way of her
+making so brilliant a marriage. Yet I am certain that he does not
+wish their intimacy to ripen into love, and I have several times
+observed that he has taken pains to prevent them from being
+_tete-a-tete_. By the way, your instructions to me never to allow
+Sir Henry to go out alone will become very much more onerous if a
+love affair were to be added to our other difficulties. My
+popularity would soon suffer if I were to carry out your orders
+to the letter.
+
+The other day--Thursday, to be more exact--Dr. Mortimer lunched
+with us. He has been excavating a barrow at Long Down, and has
+got a prehistoric skull which fills him with great joy. Never was
+there such a single-minded enthusiast as he! The Stapletons came
+in afterwards, and the good doctor took us all to the Yew Alley,
+at Sir Henry's request, to show us exactly how everything
+occurred upon that fatal night. It is a long, dismal walk, the
+Yew Alley, between two high walls of clipped hedge, with a narrow
+band of grass upon either side. At the far end is an old
+tumble-down summer-house. Half-way down is the moor-gate, where
+the old gentleman left his cigar-ash. It is a white wooden gate
+with a latch. Beyond it lies the wide moor. I remembered your
+theory of the affair and tried to picture all that had occurred.
+As the old man stood there he saw something coming across the
+moor, something which terrified him so that he lost his wits, and
+ran and ran until he died of sheer horror and exhaustion. There
+was the long, gloomy tunnel down which he fled. And from what? A
+sheep-dog of the moor? Or a spectral hound, black, silent, and
+monstrous? Was there a human agency in the matter? Did the pale,
+watchful Barrymore know more than he cared to say? It was all dim
+and vague, but always there is the dark shadow of crime behind
+it.
+
+One other neighbour I have met since I wrote last. This is Mr.
+Frankland, of Lafter Hall, who lives some four miles to the south
+of us. He is an elderly man, red-faced, white-haired, and
+choleric. His passion is for the British law, and he has spent a
+large fortune in litigation. He fights for the mere pleasure of
+fighting and is equally ready to take up either side of a
+question, so that it is no wonder that he has found it a costly
+amusement. Sometimes he will shut up a right of way and defy the
+parish to make him open it. At others he will with his own hands
+tear down some other man's gate and declare that a path has
+existed there from time immemorial, defying the owner to
+prosecute him for trespass. He is learned in old manorial and
+communal rights, and he applies his knowledge sometimes in favour
+of the villagers of Fernworthy and sometimes against them, so
+that he is periodically either carried in triumph down the
+village street or else burned in effigy, according to his latest
+exploit. He is said to have about seven lawsuits upon his hands
+at present, which will probably swallow up the remainder of his
+fortune and so draw his sting and leave him harmless for the
+future. Apart from the law he seems a kindly, good-natured
+person, and I only mention him because you were particular that I
+should send some description of the people who surround us. He is
+curiously employed at present, for, being an amateur astronomer,
+he has an excellent telescope, with which he lies upon the roof
+of his own house and sweeps the moor all day in the hope of
+catching a glimpse of the escaped convict. If he would confine
+his energies to this all would be well, but there are rumours
+that he intends to prosecute Dr. Mortimer for opening a grave
+without the consent of the next-of-kin, because he dug up the
+Neolithic skull in the barrow on Long Down. He helps to keep our
+lives from being monotonous and gives a little comic relief where
+it is badly needed.
+
+And now, having brought you up to date in the escaped convict,
+the Stapletons, Dr. Mortimer, and Frankland, of Lafter Hall, let
+me end on that which is most important and tell you more about
+the Barrymores, and especially about the surprising development
+of last night.
+
+First of all about the test telegram, which you sent from London
+in order to make sure that Barrymore was really here. I have
+already explained that the testimony of the postmaster shows that
+the test was worthless and that we have no proof one way or the
+other. I told Sir Henry how the matter stood, and he at once, in
+his downright fashion, had Barrymore up and asked him whether he
+had received the telegram himself. Barrymore said that he had.
+
+"Did the boy deliver it into your own hands?" asked Sir Henry.
+
+Barrymore looked surprised, and considered for a little time.
+
+"No," said he, "I was in the box-room at the time, and my wife
+brought it up to me."
+
+"Did you answer it yourself?"
+
+"No; I told my wife what to answer and she went down to write
+it."
+
+In the evening he recurred to the subject of his own accord.
+
+"I could not quite understand the object of your questions this
+morning, Sir Henry," said he. "I trust that they do not mean that
+I have done anything to forfeit your confidence?"
+
+Sir Henry had to assure him that it was not so and pacify him by
+giving him a considerable part of his old wardrobe, the London
+outfit having now all arrived.
+
+Mrs. Barrymore is of interest to me. She is a heavy, solid
+person, very limited, intensely respectable, and inclined to be
+puritanical. You could hardly conceive a less emotional subject.
+Yet I have told you how, on the first night here, I heard her
+sobbing bitterly, and since then I have more than once observed
+traces of tears upon her face. Some deep sorrow gnaws ever at her
+heart. Sometimes I wonder if she has a guilty memory which haunts
+her, and sometimes I suspect Barrymore of being a domestic
+tyrant. I have always felt that there was something singular and
+questionable in this man's character, but the adventure of last
+night brings all my suspicions to a head.
+
+And yet it may seem a small matter in itself. You are aware that
+I am not a very sound sleeper, and since I have been on guard in
+this house my slumbers have been lighter than ever. Last night,
+about two in the morning, I was aroused by a stealthy step
+passing my room. I rose, opened my door, and peeped out. A long
+black shadow was trailing down the corridor. It was thrown by a
+man who walked softly down the passage with a candle held in his
+hand. He was in shirt and trousers, with no covering to his feet.
+I could merely see the outline, but his height told me that it
+was Barrymore. He walked very slowly and circumspectly, and there
+was something indescribably guilty and furtive in his whole
+appearance.
+
+I have told you that the corridor is broken by the balcony which
+runs round the hall, but that it is resumed upon the farther
+side. I waited until he had passed out of sight and then I
+followed him. When I came round the balcony he had reached the
+end of the farther corridor, and I could see from the glimmer of
+light through an open door that he had entered one of the rooms.
+Now, all these rooms are unfurnished and unoccupied, so that his
+expedition became more mysterious than ever. The light shone
+steadily as if he were standing motionless. I crept down the
+passage as noiselessly as I could and peeped round the corner of
+the door.
+
+Barrymore was crouching at the window with the candle held
+against the glass. His profile was half turned towards me, and
+his face seemed to be rigid with expectation as he stared out
+into the blackness of the moor. For some minutes he stood
+watching intently. Then he gave a deep groan and with an
+impatient gesture he put out the light. Instantly I made my way
+back to my room, and very shortly came the stealthy steps passing
+once more upon their return journey. Long afterwards when I had
+fallen into a light sleep I heard a key turn somewhere in a lock,
+but I could not tell whence the sound came. What it all means I
+cannot guess, but there is some secret business going on in this
+house of gloom which sooner or later we shall get to the bottom
+of. I do not trouble you with my theories, for you asked me to
+furnish you only with facts. I have had a long talk with Sir
+Henry this morning, and we have made a plan of campaign founded
+upon my observations of last night. I will not speak about it
+just now, but it should make my next report interesting reading.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 9
+
+(Second Report of Dr. Watson)
+
+THE LIGHT UPON THE MOOR
+
+BASKERVILLE HALL, Oct. 15th.
+
+
+MY DEAR HOLMES,--If I was compelled to leave you without much
+news during the early days of my mission you must acknowledge
+that I am making up for lost time, and that events are now
+crowding thick and fast upon us. In my last report I ended upon
+my top note with Barrymore at the window, and now I have quite a
+budget already which will, unless I am much mistaken,
+considerably surprise you. Things have taken a turn which I could
+not have anticipated. In some ways they have within the last
+forty-eight hours become much clearer and in some ways they have
+become more complicated. But I will tell you all and you shall
+judge for yourself.
+
+Before breakfast on the morning following my adventure I went
+down the corridor and examined the room in which Barrymore had
+been on the night before. The western window through which he had
+stared so intently has, I noticed, one peculiarity above all
+other windows in the house--it commands the nearest outlook on
+the moor. There is an opening between two trees which enables one
+from this point of view to look right down upon it, while from
+all the other windows it is only a distant glimpse which can be
+obtained. It follows, therefore, that Barrymore, since only this
+window would serve the purpose, must have been looking out for
+something or somebody upon the moor. The night was very dark, so
+that I can hardly imagine how he could have hoped to see anyone.
+It had struck me that it was possible that some love intrigue was
+on foot. That would have accounted for his stealthy movements and
+also for the uneasiness of his wife. The man is a
+striking-looking fellow, very well equipped to steal the heart of
+a country girl, so that this theory seemed to have something to
+support it. That opening of the door which I had heard after I
+had returned to my room might mean that he had gone out to keep
+some clandestine appointment. So I reasoned with myself in the
+morning, and I tell you the direction of my suspicions, however
+much the result may have shown that they were unfounded.
+
+But whatever the true explanation of Barrymore's movements might
+be, I felt that the responsibility of keeping them to myself
+until I could explain them was more than I could bear. I had an
+interview with the baronet in his study after breakfast, and I
+told him all that I had seen. He was less surprised than I had
+expected.
+
+"I knew that Barrymore walked about nights, and I had a mind to
+speak to him about it," said he. "Two or three times I have heard
+his steps in the passage, coming and going, just about the hour
+you name."
+
+"Perhaps then he pays a visit every night to that particular
+window," I suggested.
+
+"Perhaps he does. If so, we should be able to shadow him, and see
+what it is that he is after. I wonder what your friend Holmes
+would do, if he were here."
+
+"I believe that he would do exactly what you now suggest," said
+I. "He would follow Barrymore and see what he did."
+
+"Then we shall do it together."
+
+"But surely he would hear us."
+
+"The man is rather deaf, and in any case we must take our chance
+of that. We'll sit up in my room to-night and wait until he
+passes." Sir Henry rubbed his hands with pleasure, and it was
+evident that he hailed the adventure as a relief to his somewhat
+quiet life upon the moor.
+
+The baronet has been in communication with the architect who
+prepared the plans for Sir Charles, and with a contractor from
+London, so that we may expect great changes to begin here soon.
+There have been decorators and furnishers up from Plymouth, and
+it is evident that our friend has large ideas, and means to spare
+no pains or expense to restore the grandeur of his family. When
+the house is renovated and refurnished, all that he will need
+will be a wife to make it complete. Between ourselves there are
+pretty clear signs that this will not be wanting if the lady is
+willing, for I have seldom seen a man more infatuated with a
+woman than he is with our beautiful neighbour, Miss Stapleton.
+And yet the course of true love does not run quite as smoothly as
+one would under the circumstances expect. To-day, for example,
+its surface was broken by a very unexpected ripple, which has
+caused our friend considerable perplexity and annoyance.
+
+After the conversation which I have quoted about Barrymore, Sir
+Henry put on his hat and prepared to go out. As a matter of
+course I did the same.
+
+"What, are you coming, Watson?" he asked, looking at me in a
+curious way.
+
+"That depends on whether you are going on the moor," said I.
+
+"Yes, I am."
+
+"Well, you know what my instructions are. I am sorry to intrude,
+but you heard how earnestly Holmes insisted that I should not
+leave you, and especially that you should not go alone upon the
+moor."
+
+Sir Henry put his hand upon my shoulder with a pleasant smile.
+
+"My dear fellow," said he, "Holmes, with all his wisdom, did not
+foresee some things which have happened since I have been on the
+moor. You understand me? I am sure that you are the last man in
+the world who would wish to be a spoil-sport. I must go out
+alone."
+
+It put me in a most awkward position. I was at a loss what to say
+or what to do, and before I had made up my mind he picked up his
+cane and was gone.
+
+But when I came to think the matter over my conscience reproached
+me bitterly for having on any pretext allowed him to go out of my
+sight. I imagined what my feelings would be if I had to return to
+you and to confess that some misfortune had occurred through my
+disregard for your instructions. I assure you my cheeks flushed
+at the very thought. It might not even now be too late to
+overtake him, so I set off at once in the direction of Merripit
+House.
+
+I hurried along the road at the top of my speed without seeing
+anything of Sir Henry, until I came to the point where the moor
+path branches off. There, fearing that perhaps I had come in the
+wrong direction after all, I mounted a hill from which I could
+command a view--the same hill which is cut into the dark quarry.
+Thence I saw him at once. He was on the moor path, about a
+quarter of a mile off, and a lady was by his side who could only
+be Miss Stapleton. It was clear that there was already an
+understanding between them and that they had met by appointment.
+They were walking slowly along in deep conversation, and I saw
+her making quick little movements of her hands as if she were
+very earnest in what she was saying, while he listened intently,
+and once or twice shook his head in strong dissent. I stood among
+the rocks watching them, very much puzzled as to what I should do
+next. To follow them and break into their intimate conversation
+seemed to be an outrage, and yet my clear duty was never for an
+instant to let him out of my sight. To act the spy upon a friend
+was a hateful task. Still, I could see no better course than to
+observe him from the hill, and to clear my conscience by
+confessing to him afterwards what I had done. It is true that if
+any sudden danger had threatened him I was too far away to be of
+use, and yet I am sure that you will agree with me that the
+position was very difficult, and that there was nothing more
+which I could do.
+
+Our friend, Sir Henry, and the lady had halted on the path and
+were standing deeply absorbed in their conversation, when I was
+suddenly aware that I was not the only witness of their
+interview. A wisp of green floating in the air caught my eye, and
+another glance showed me that it was carried on a stick by a man
+who was moving among the broken ground. It was Stapleton with his
+butterfly-net. He was very much closer to the pair than I was,
+and he appeared to be moving in their direction. At this instant
+Sir Henry suddenly drew Miss Stapleton to his side. His arm was
+round her, but it seemed to me that she was straining away from
+him with her face averted. He stooped his head to hers, and she
+raised one hand as if in protest. Next moment I saw them spring
+apart and turn hurriedly round. Stapleton was the cause of the
+interruption. He was running wildly towards them, his absurd net
+dangling behind him. He gesticulated and almost danced with
+excitement in front of the lovers. What the scene meant I could
+not imagine, but it seemed to me that Stapleton was abusing Sir
+Henry, who offered explanations, which became more angry as the
+other refused to accept them. The lady stood by in haughty
+silence. Finally Stapleton turned upon his heel and beckoned in a
+peremptory way to his sister, who, after an irresolute glance at
+Sir Henry, walked off by the side of her brother. The
+naturalist's angry gestures showed that the lady was included in
+his displeasure. The baronet stood for a minute looking after
+them, and then he walked slowly back the way that he had come,
+his head hanging, the very picture of dejection.
+
+What all this meant I could not imagine, but I was deeply ashamed
+to have witnessed so intimate a scene without my friend's
+knowledge. I ran down the hill therefore and met the baronet at
+the bottom. His face was flushed with anger and his brows were
+wrinkled, like one who is at his wit's ends what to do.
+
+"Halloa, Watson! Where have you dropped from?" said he. "You don't
+mean to say that you came after me in spite of all?"
+
+I explained everything to him: how I had found it impossible to
+remain behind, how I had followed him, and how I had witnessed
+all that had occurred. For an instant his eyes blazed at me, but
+my frankness disarmed his anger, and he broke at last into a
+rather rueful laugh.
+
+"You would have thought the middle of that prairie a fairly safe
+place for a man to be private," said he, "but, by thunder, the
+whole country-side seems to have been out to see me do my
+wooing--and a mighty poor wooing at that! Where had you engaged a
+seat?"
+
+"I was on that hill."
+
+"Quite in the back row, eh? But her brother was well up to the
+front. Did you see him come out on us?"
+
+"Yes, I did."
+
+"Did he ever strike you as being crazy--this brother of hers?"
+
+"I can't say that he ever did."
+
+"I dare say not. I always thought him sane enough until to-day,
+but you can take it from me that either he or I ought to be in a
+strait-jacket. What's the matter with me, anyhow? You've lived
+near me for some weeks, Watson. Tell me straight, now! Is there
+anything that would prevent me from making a good husband to a
+woman that I loved?"
+
+"I should say not."
+
+"He can't object to my worldly position, so it must be myself
+that he has this down on. What has he against me? I never hurt
+man or woman in my life that I know of. And yet he would not so
+much as let me touch the tips of her fingers."
+
+"Did he say so?"
+
+"That, and a deal more. I tell you, Watson, I've only known her
+these few weeks, but from the first I just felt that she was made
+for me, and she, too--she was happy when she was with me, and
+that I'll swear. There's a light in a woman's eyes that speaks
+louder than words. But he has never let us get together, and it
+was only to-day for the first time that I saw a chance of having
+a few words with her alone. She was glad to meet me, but when she
+did it was not love that she would talk about, and she wouldn't
+have let me talk about it either if she could have stopped it.
+She kept coming back to it that this was a place of danger, and
+that she would never be happy until I had left it. I told her
+that since I had seen her I was in no hurry to leave it, and that
+if she really wanted me to go, the only way to work it was for
+her to arrange to go with me. With that I offered in as many
+words to marry her, but before she could answer, down came this
+brother of hers, running at us with a face on him like a madman.
+He was just white with rage, and those light eyes of his were
+blazing with fury. What was I doing with the lady? How dared I
+offer her attentions which were distasteful to her? Did I think
+that because I was a baronet I could do what I liked? If he had
+not been her brother I should have known better how to answer
+him. As it was I told him that my feelings towards his sister
+were such as I was not ashamed of, and that I hoped that she
+might honour me by becoming my wife. That seemed to make the
+matter no better, so then I lost my temper too, and I answered
+him rather more hotly than I should perhaps, considering that she
+was standing by. So it ended by his going off with her, as you
+saw, and here am I as badly puzzled a man as any in this county.
+Just tell me what it all means, Watson, and I'll owe you more
+than ever I can hope to pay."
+
+I tried one or two explanations, but, indeed, I was completely
+puzzled myself. Our friend's title, his fortune, his age, his
+character, and his appearance are all in his favour, and I know
+nothing against him unless it be this dark fate which runs in his
+family. That his advances should be rejected so brusquely without
+any reference to the lady's own wishes, and that the lady should
+accept the situation without protest, is very amazing. However,
+our conjectures were set at rest by a visit from Stapleton
+himself that very afternoon. He had come to offer apologies for
+his rudeness of the morning, and after a long private interview
+with Sir Henry in his study, the upshot of their conversation was
+that the breach is quite healed, and that we are to dine at
+Merripit House next Friday as a sign of it.
+
+"I don't say now that he isn't a crazy man," said Sir Henry; "I
+can't forget the look in his eyes when he ran at me this morning,
+but I must allow that no man could make a more handsome apology
+than he has done."
+
+"Did he give any explanation of his conduct?"
+
+"His sister is everything in his life, he says. That is natural
+enough, and I am glad that he should understand her value. They
+have always been together, and according to his account he has
+been a very lonely man with only her as a companion, so that the
+thought of losing her was really terrible to him. He had not
+understood, he said, that I was becoming attached to her, but
+when he saw with his own eyes that it was really so, and that she
+might be taken away from him, it gave him such a shock that for a
+time he was not responsible for what he said or did. He was very
+sorry for all that had passed, and he recognized how foolish and
+how selfish it was that he should imagine that he could hold a
+beautiful woman like his sister to himself for her whole life. If
+she had to leave him he had rather it was to a neighbour like
+myself than to anyone else. But in any case it was a blow to him,
+and it would take him some time before he could prepare himself
+to meet it. He would withdraw all opposition upon his part if I
+would promise for three months to let the matter rest and to be
+content with cultivating the lady's friendship during that time
+without claiming her love. This I promised, and so the matter
+rests."
+
+So there is one of our small mysteries cleared up. It is
+something to have touched bottom anywhere in this bog in which we
+are floundering. We know now why Stapleton looked with disfavour
+upon his sister's suitor--even when that suitor was so eligible a
+one as Sir Henry. And now I pass on to another thread which I
+have extricated out of the tangled skein, the mystery of the sobs
+in the night, of the tear-stained face of Mrs. Barrymore, of the
+secret journey of the butler to the western lattice window.
+Congratulate me, my dear Holmes, and tell me that I have not
+disappointed you as an agent--that you do not regret the
+confidence which you showed in me when you sent me down. All
+these things have by one night's work been thoroughly cleared.
+
+I have said "by one night's work," but, in truth, it was by two
+nights' work, for on the first we drew entirely blank. I sat up
+with Sir Henry in his rooms until nearly three o'clock in the
+morning, but no sound of any sort did we hear except the chiming
+clock upon the stairs. It was a most melancholy vigil, and ended
+by each of us falling asleep in our chairs. Fortunately we were
+not discouraged, and we determined to try again. The next night
+we lowered the lamp, and sat smoking cigarettes without making
+the least sound. It was incredible how slowly the hours crawled
+by, and yet we were helped through it by the same sort of patient
+interest which the hunter must feel as he watches the trap into
+which he hopes the game may wander. One struck, and two, and we
+had almost for the second time given it up in despair, when in an
+instant we both sat bolt upright in our chairs, with all our
+weary senses keenly on the alert once more. We had heard the
+creak of a step in the passage.
+
+Very stealthily we heard it pass along until it died away in the
+distance. Then the baronet gently opened his door and we set out
+in pursuit. Already our man had gone round the gallery, and the
+corridor was all in darkness. Softly we stole along until we had
+come into the other wing. We were just in time to catch a glimpse
+of the tall, black-bearded figure, his shoulders rounded, as he
+tip-toed down the passage. Then he passed through the same door
+as before, and the light of the candle framed it in the darkness
+and shot one single yellow beam across the gloom of the corridor.
+We shuffled cautiously towards it, trying every plank before we
+dared to put our whole weight upon it. We had taken the
+precaution of leaving our boots behind us, but, even so, the old
+boards snapped and creaked beneath our tread. Sometimes it seemed
+impossible that he should fail to hear our approach. However, the
+man is fortunately rather deaf, and he was entirely preoccupied
+in that which he was doing. When at last we reached the door and
+peeped through we found him crouching at the window, candle in
+hand, his white, intent face pressed against the pane, exactly as
+I had seen him two nights before.
+
+We had arranged no plan of campaign, but the baronet is a man to
+whom the most direct way is always the most natural. He walked
+into the room, and as he did so Barrymore sprang up from the
+window with a sharp hiss of his breath and stood, livid and
+trembling, before us. His dark eyes, glaring out of the white
+mask of his face, were full of horror and astonishment as he
+gazed from Sir Henry to me.
+
+"What are you doing here, Barrymore?"
+
+"Nothing, sir." His agitation was so great that he could hardly
+speak, and the shadows sprang up and down from the shaking of his
+candle. "It was the window, sir. I go round at night to see that
+they are fastened."
+
+"On the second floor?"
+
+"Yes, sir, all the windows."
+
+"Look here, Barrymore," said Sir Henry, sternly; "we have made up
+our minds to have the truth out of you, so it will save you
+trouble to tell it sooner rather than later. Come, now! No lies!
+What were you doing at that window?"
+
+The fellow looked at us in a helpless way, and he wrung his hands
+together like one who is in the last extremity of doubt and
+misery.
+
+"I was doing no harm, sir. I was holding a candle to the window."
+
+"And why were you holding a candle to the window?"
+
+"Don't ask me, Sir Henry--don't ask me! I give you my word, sir,
+that it is not my secret, and that I cannot tell it. If it
+concerned no one but myself I would not try to keep it from you."
+
+A sudden idea occurred to me, and I took the candle from the
+trembling hand of the butler.
+
+"He must have been holding it as a signal," said I. "Let us see
+if there is any answer." I held it as he had done, and stared out
+into the darkness of the night. Vaguely I could discern the black
+bank of the trees and the lighter expanse of the moor, for the
+moon was behind the clouds. And then I gave a cry of exultation,
+for a tiny pin-point of yellow light had suddenly transfixed the
+dark veil, and glowed steadily in the centre of the black square
+framed by the window.
+
+"There it is!" I cried.
+
+"No, no, sir, it is nothing--nothing at all!" the butler broke
+in; "I assure you, sir ----"
+
+"Move your light across the window, Watson!" cried the baronet.
+"See, the other moves also! Now, you rascal, do you deny that it
+is a signal? Come, speak up! Who is your confederate out yonder,
+and what is this conspiracy that is going on?"
+
+The man's face became openly defiant.
+
+"It is my business, and not yours. I will not tell."
+
+"Then you leave my employment right away."
+
+"Very good, sir. If I must I must."
+
+"And you go in disgrace. By thunder, you may well be ashamed of
+yourself. Your family has lived with mine for over a hundred
+years under this roof, and here I find you deep in some dark plot
+against me."
+
+"No, no, sir; no, not against you!" It was a woman's voice, and
+Mrs. Barrymore, paler and more horror-struck than her husband,
+was standing at the door. Her bulky figure in a shawl and skirt
+might have been comic were it not for the intensity of feeling
+upon her face.
+
+"We have to go, Eliza. This is the end of it. You can pack our
+things," said the butler.
+
+"Oh, John, John, have I brought you to this? It is my doing, Sir
+Henry--all mine. He has done nothing except for my sake and
+because I asked him."
+
+"Speak out, then! What does it mean?"
+
+"My unhappy brother is starving on the moor. We cannot let him
+perish at our very gates. The light is a signal to him that food
+is ready for him, and his light out yonder is to show the spot to
+which to bring it."
+
+"Then your brother is --"
+
+"The escaped convict, sir--Selden, the criminal."
+
+"That's the truth, sir," said Barrymore. "I said that it was not
+my secret and that I could not tell it to you. But now you have
+heard it, and you will see that if there was a plot it was not
+against you."
+
+This, then, was the explanation of the stealthy expeditions at
+night and the light at the window. Sir Henry and I both stared at
+the woman in amazement. Was it possible that this stolidly
+respectable person was of the same blood as one of the most
+notorious criminals in the country?
+
+"Yes, sir, my name was Selden, and he is my younger brother. We
+humoured him too much when he was a lad, and gave him his own way
+in everything until he came to think that the world was made for
+his pleasure, and that he could do what he liked in it. Then as
+he grew older he met wicked companions, and the devil entered
+into him until he broke my mother's heart and dragged our name in
+the dirt. From crime to crime he sank lower and lower, until it
+is only the mercy of God which has snatched him from the
+scaffold; but to me, sir, he was always the little curly-headed
+boy that I had nursed and played with, as an elder sister would.
+That was why he broke prison, sir. He knew that I was here and
+that we could not refuse to help him. When he dragged himself
+here one night, weary and starving, with the warders hard at his
+heels, what could we do? We took him in and fed him and cared for
+him. Then you returned, sir, and my brother thought he would be
+safer on the moor than anywhere else until the hue and cry was
+over, so he lay in hiding there. But every second night we made
+sure if he was still there by putting a light in the window, and
+if there was an answer my husband took out some bread and meat to
+him. Every day we hoped that he was gone, but as long as he was
+there we could not desert him. That is the whole truth, as I am
+an honest Christian woman, and you will see that if there is
+blame in the matter it does not lie with my husband, but with me,
+for whose sake he has done all that he has."
+
+The woman's words came with an intense earnestness which carried
+conviction with them.
+
+"Is this true, Barrymore?"
+
+"Yes, Sir Henry. Every word of it."
+
+"Well, I cannot blame you for standing by your own wife. Forget
+what I have said. Go to your room, you two, and we shall talk
+further about this matter in the morning."
+
+When they were gone we looked out of the window again. Sir Henry
+had flung it open, and the cold night wind beat in upon our
+faces. Far away in the black distance there still glowed that one
+tiny point of yellow light.
+
+"I wonder he dares," said Sir Henry.
+
+"It may be so placed as to be only visible from here."
+
+"Very likely. How far do you think it is?"
+
+"Out by the Cleft Tor, I think."
+
+"Not more than a mile or two off."
+
+"Hardly that."
+
+"Well, it cannot be far if Barrymore had to carry out the food to
+it. And he is waiting, this villain, beside that candle. By
+thunder, Watson, I am going out to take that man!"
+
+The same thought had crossed my own mind. It was not as if the
+Barrymores had taken us into their confidence. Their secret had
+been forced from them. The man was a danger to the community, an
+unmitigated scoundrel for whom there was neither pity nor excuse.
+We were only doing our duty in taking this chance of putting him
+back where he could do no harm. With his brutal and violent
+nature, others would have to pay the price if we held our hands.
+Any night, for example, our neighbours the Stapletons might be
+attacked by him, and it may have been the thought of this which
+made Sir Henry so keen upon the adventure.
+
+"I will come," said I.
+
+"Then get your revolver and put on your boots. The sooner we
+start the better, as the fellow may put out his light and be
+off."
+
+In five minutes we were outside the door, starting upon our
+expedition. We hurried through the dark shrubbery, amid the dull
+moaning of the autumn wind and the rustle of the falling leaves.
+The night air was heavy with the smell of damp and decay. Now and
+again the moon peeped out for an instant, but clouds were driving
+over the face of the sky, and just as we came out on the moor a
+thin rain began to fall. The light still burned steadily in
+front.
+
+"Are you armed?" I asked.
+
+"I have a hunting-crop."
+
+"We must close in on him rapidly, for he is said to be a
+desperate fellow. We shall take him by surprise and have him at
+our mercy before he can resist."
+
+"I say, Watson," said the baronet, "what would Holmes say to
+this? How about that hour of darkness in which the power of evil
+is exalted?"
+
+As if in answer to his words there rose suddenly out of the vast
+gloom of the moor that strange cry which I had already heard upon
+the borders of the great Grimpen Mire. It came with the wind
+through the silence of the night, a long, deep mutter, then a
+rising howl, and then the sad moan in which it died away. Again
+and again it sounded, the whole air throbbing with it, strident,
+wild, and menacing. The baronet caught my sleeve and his face
+glimmered white through the darkness.
+
+"My God, what's that, Watson?"
+
+"I don't know. It's a sound they have on the moor. I heard it
+once before."
+
+It died away, and an absolute silence closed in upon us. We stood
+straining our ears, but nothing came.
+
+"Watson," said the baronet, "it was the cry of a hound."
+
+My blood ran cold in my veins, for there was a break in his voice
+which told of the sudden horror which had seized him.
+
+"What do they call this sound?" he asked.
+
+"Who?"
+
+"The folk on the country-side."
+
+"Oh, they are ignorant people. Why should you mind what they call
+it?"
+
+"Tell me, Watson. What do they say of it?"
+
+I hesitated but could not escape the question.
+
+"They say it is the cry of the Hound of the Baskervilles."
+
+He groaned and was silent for a few moments.
+
+"A hound it was," he said, at last, "but it seemed to come from
+miles away, over yonder, I think."
+
+"It was hard to say whence it came."
+
+"It rose and fell with the wind. Isn't that the direction of the
+great Grimpen Mire?"
+
+"Yes, it is."
+
+"Well, it was up there. Come now, Watson, didn't you think
+yourself that it was the cry of a hound? I am not a child. You
+need not fear to speak the truth."
+
+"Stapleton was with me when I heard it last. He said that it
+might be the calling of a strange bird."
+
+"No, no, it was a hound. My God, can there be some truth in all
+these stories? Is it possible that I am really in danger from so
+dark a cause? You don't believe it, do you, Watson?"
+
+"No, no."
+
+"And yet it was one thing to laugh about it in London, and it is
+another to stand out here in the darkness of the moor and to hear
+such a cry as that. And my uncle! There was the footprint of the
+hound beside him as he lay. It all fits together. I don't think
+that I am a coward, Watson, but that sound seemed to freeze my
+very blood. Feel my hand!"
+
+It was as cold as a block of marble.
+
+"You'll be all right to-morrow."
+
+"I don't think I'll get that cry out of my head. What do you
+advise that we do now?"
+
+"Shall we turn back?"
+
+"No, by thunder; we have come out to get our man, and we will do
+it. We after the convict, and a hell-hound, as likely as not,
+after us. Come on! We'll see it through if all the fiends of the
+pit were loose upon the moor."
+
+We stumbled slowly along in the darkness, with the black loom of
+the craggy hills around us, and the yellow speck of light burning
+steadily in front. There is nothing so deceptive as the distance
+of a light upon a pitch-dark night, and sometimes the glimmer
+seemed to be far away upon the horizon and sometimes it might
+have been within a few yards of us. But at last we could see
+whence it came, and then we knew that we were indeed very close.
+A guttering candle was stuck in a crevice of the rocks which
+flanked it on each side so as to keep the wind from it and also
+to prevent it from being visible, save in the direction of
+Baskerville Hall. A boulder of granite concealed our approach, and
+crouching behind it we gazed over it at the signal light. It was
+strange to see this single candle burning there in the middle of
+the moor, with no sign of life near it--just the one straight
+yellow flame and the gleam of the rock on each side of it.
+
+"What shall we do now?" whispered Sir Henry.
+
+"Wait here. He must be near his light. Let us see if we can get a
+glimpse of him."
+
+The words were hardly out of my mouth when we both saw him. Over
+the rocks, in the crevice of which the candle burned, there was
+thrust out an evil yellow face, a terrible animal face, all
+seamed and scored with vile passions. Foul with mire, with a
+bristling beard, and hung with matted hair, it might well have
+belonged to one of those old savages who dwelt in the burrows on
+the hillsides. The light beneath him was reflected in his small,
+cunning eyes which peered fiercely to right and left through the
+darkness, like a crafty and savage animal who has heard the steps
+of the hunters.
+
+Something had evidently aroused his suspicions. It may have been
+that Barrymore had some private signal which we had neglected to
+give, or the fellow may have had some other reason for thinking
+that all was not well, but I could read his fears upon his wicked
+face. Any instant he might dash out the light and vanish in the
+darkness. I sprang forward therefore, and Sir Henry did the same.
+At the same moment the convict screamed out a curse at us and
+hurled a rock which splintered up against the boulder which had
+sheltered us. I caught one glimpse of his short, squat, strongly-
+built figure as he sprang to his feet and turned to run. At the
+same moment by a lucky chance the moon broke through the clouds.
+We rushed over the brow of the hill, and there was our man
+running with great speed down the other side, springing over the
+stones in his way with the activity of a mountain goat. A lucky
+long shot of my revolver might have crippled him, but I had
+brought it only to defend myself if attacked, and not to shoot an
+unarmed man who was running away.
+
+We were both swift runners and in fairly good training, but we
+soon found that we had no chance of overtaking him. We saw him
+for a long time in the moonlight until he was only a small speck
+moving swiftly among the boulders upon the side of a distant
+hill. We ran and ran until we were completely blown, but the
+space between us grew ever wider. Finally we stopped and sat
+panting on two rocks, while we watched him disappearing in the
+distance.
+
+And it was at this moment that there occurred a most strange and
+unexpected thing. We had risen from our rocks and were turning to
+go home, having abandoned the hopeless chase. The moon was low
+upon the right, and the jagged pinnacle of a granite tor stood up
+against the lower curve of its silver disc. There, outlined as
+black as an ebony statue on that shining back-ground, I saw the
+figure of a man upon the tor. Do not think that it was a
+delusion, Holmes. I assure you that I have never in my life seen
+anything more clearly. As far as I could judge, the figure was
+that of a tall, thin man. He stood with his legs a little
+separated, his arms folded, his head bowed, as if he were
+brooding over that enormous wilderness of peat and granite which
+lay before him. He might have been the very spirit of that
+terrible place. It was not the convict. This man was far from the
+place where the latter had disappeared. Besides, he was a much
+taller man. With a cry of surprise I pointed him out to the
+baronet, but in the instant during which I had turned to grasp
+his arm the man was gone. There was the sharp pinnacle of granite
+still cutting the lower edge of the moon, but its peak bore no
+trace of that silent and motionless figure.
+
+I wished to go in that direction and to search the tor, but it
+was some distance away. The baronet's nerves were still quivering
+from that cry, which recalled the dark story of his family, and
+he was not in the mood for fresh adventures. He had not seen this
+lonely man upon the tor and could not feel the thrill which his
+strange presence and his commanding attitude had given to me. "A
+warder, no doubt," said he. "The moor has been thick with them
+since this fellow escaped." Well, perhaps his explanation may be
+the right one, but I should like to have some further proof of
+it. To-day we mean to communicate to the Princetown people where
+they should look for their missing man, but it is hard lines that
+we have not actually had the triumph of bringing him back as our
+own prisoner. Such are the adventures of last night, and you must
+acknowledge, my dear Holmes, that I have done you very well in
+the matter of a report. Much of what I tell you is no doubt quite
+irrelevant, but still I feel that it is best that I should let
+you have all the facts and leave you to select for yourself those
+which will be of most service to you in helping you to your
+conclusions. We are certainly making some progress. So far as the
+Barrymores go we have found the motive of their actions, and that
+has cleared up the situation very much. But the moor with its
+mysteries and its strange inhabitants remains as inscrutable as
+ever. Perhaps in my next I may be able to throw some light upon
+this also. Best of all would it be if you could come down to us.
+In any case you will hear from me again in the course of the next
+few days.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 10
+
+Extract from the Diary of Dr. Watson
+
+
+So far I have been able to quote from the reports which I have
+forwarded during these early days to Sherlock Holmes. Now,
+however, I have arrived at a point in my narrative where I am
+compelled to abandon this method and to trust once more to my
+recollections, aided by the diary which I kept at the time. A few
+extracts from the latter will carry me on to those scenes which
+are indelibly fixed in every detail upon my memory. I proceed,
+then, from the morning which followed our abortive chase of the
+convict and our other strange experiences upon the moor.
+
+OCTOBER 16TH.--A dull and foggy day with a drizzle of rain. The
+house is banked in with rolling clouds, which rise now and then
+to show the dreary curves of the moor, with thin, silver veins
+upon the sides of the hills, and the distant boulders gleaming
+where the light strikes upon their wet faces. It is melancholy
+outside and in. The baronet is in a black reaction after the
+excitements of the night. I am conscious myself of a weight at my
+heart and a feeling of impending danger--ever present danger,
+which is the more terrible because I am unable to define it.
+
+And have I not cause for such a feeling? Consider the long
+sequence of incidents which have all pointed to some sinister
+influence which is at work around us. There is the death of the
+last occupant of the Hall, fulfilling so exactly the conditions
+of the family legend, and there are the repeated reports from
+peasants of the appearance of a strange creature upon the moor.
+Twice I have with my own ears heard the sound which resembled the
+distant baying of a hound. It is incredible, impossible, that it
+should really be outside the ordinary laws of nature. A spectral
+hound which leaves material footmarks and fills the air with its
+howling is surely not to be thought of. Stapleton may fall in
+with such a superstition, and Mortimer also; but if I have one
+quality upon earth it is common-sense, and nothing will persuade
+me to believe in such a thing. To do so would be to descend to
+the level of these poor peasants, who are not content with a mere
+fiend dog but must needs describe him with hell-fire shooting
+from his mouth and eyes. Holmes would not listen to such fancies,
+and I am his agent. But facts are facts, and I have twice heard
+this crying upon the moor. Suppose that there were really some
+huge hound loose upon it; that would go far to explain
+everything. But where could such a hound lie concealed, where did
+it get its food, where did it come from, how was it that no one
+saw it by day? It must be confessed that the natural explanation
+offers almost as many difficulties as the other. And always,
+apart from the hound, there is the fact of the human agency in
+London, the man in the cab, and the letter which warned Sir Henry
+against the moor. This at least was real, but it might have been
+the work of a protecting friend as easily as of an enemy. Where
+is that friend or enemy now? Has he remained in London, or has he
+followed us down here? Could he--could he be the stranger whom I
+saw upon the tor?
+
+It is true that I have had only the one glance at him, and yet
+there are some things to which I am ready to swear. He is no one
+whom I have seen down here, and I have now met all the
+neighbours. The figure was far taller than that of Stapleton, far
+thinner than that of Frankland. Barrymore it might possibly have
+been, but we had left him behind us, and I am certain that he
+could not have followed us. A stranger then is still dogging us,
+just as a stranger dogged us in London. We have never shaken him
+off. If I could lay my hands upon that man, then at last we might
+find ourselves at the end of all our difficulties. To this one
+purpose I must now devote all my energies.
+
+My first impulse was to tell Sir Henry all my plans. My second
+and wisest one is to play my own game and speak as little as
+possible to anyone. He is silent and distrait. His nerves have
+been strangely shaken by that sound upon the moor. I will say
+nothing to add to his anxieties, but I will take my own steps to
+attain my own end.
+
+We had a small scene this morning after breakfast. Barrymore
+asked leave to speak with Sir Henry, and they were closeted in
+his study some little time. Sitting in the billiard-room I more
+than once heard the sound of voices raised, and I had a pretty
+good idea what the point was which was under discussion. After a
+time the baronet opened his door and called for me.
+
+"Barrymore considers that he has a grievance," he said. "He
+thinks that it was unfair on our part to hunt his brother-in-law
+down when he, of his own free will, had told us the secret."
+
+The butler was standing very pale but very collected before us.
+
+"I may have spoken too warmly, sir," said he, "and if I have, I
+am sure that I beg your pardon. At the same time, I was very much
+surprised when I heard you two gentlemen come back this morning
+and learned that you had been chasing Selden. The poor fellow has
+enough to fight against without my putting more upon his track."
+
+"If you had told us of your own free will it would have been a
+different thing," said the baronet, "you only told us, or rather
+your wife only told us, when it was forced from you and you could
+not help yourself."
+
+"I didn't think you would have taken advantage of it, Sir
+Henry--indeed I didn't."
+
+"The man is a public danger. There are lonely houses scattered
+over the moor, and he is a fellow who would stick at nothing. You
+only want to get a glimpse of his face to see that. Look at Mr.
+Stapleton's house, for example, with no one but himself to defend
+it. There's no safety for anyone until he is under lock and key."
+
+"He'll break into no house, sir. I give you my solemn word upon
+that. But he will never trouble anyone in this country again. I
+assure you, Sir Henry, that in a very few days the necessary
+arrangements will have been made and he will be on his way to
+South America. For God's sake, sir, I beg of you not to let the
+police know that he is still on the moor. They have given up the
+chase there, and he can lie quiet until the ship is ready for
+him. You can't tell on him without getting my wife and me into
+trouble. I beg you, sir, to say nothing to the police."
+
+"What do you say, Watson?"
+
+I shrugged my shoulders. "If he were safely out of the country it
+would relieve the tax-payer of a burden."
+
+"But how about the chance of his holding someone up before he
+goes?"
+
+"He would not do anything so mad, sir. We have provided him with
+all that he can want. To commit a crime would be to show where he
+was hiding."
+
+"That is true," said Sir Henry. "Well, Barrymore --"
+
+"God bless you, sir, and thank you from my heart! It would have
+killed my poor wife had he been taken again."
+
+"I guess we are aiding and abetting a felony, Watson? But, after
+what we have heard I don't feel as if I could give the man up, so
+there is an end of it. All right, Barrymore, you can go."
+
+With a few broken words of gratitude the man turned, but he
+hesitated and then came back.
+
+"You've been so kind to us, sir, that I should like to do the
+best I can for you in return. I know something, Sir Henry, and
+perhaps I should have said it before, but it was long after the
+inquest that I found it out. I've never breathed a word about it
+yet to mortal man. It's about poor Sir Charles's death."
+
+The baronet and I were both upon our feet. "Do you know how he
+died?"
+
+"No, sir, I don't know that."
+
+"What then?"
+
+"I know why he was at the gate at that hour. It was to meet a
+woman."
+
+"To meet a woman! He?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"And the woman's name?"
+
+"I can't give you the name, sir, but I can give you the initials.
+Her initials were L. L."
+
+"How do you know this, Barrymore?"
+
+"Well, Sir Henry, your uncle had a letter that morning. He had
+usually a great many letters, for he was a public man and well
+known for his kind heart, so that everyone who was in trouble was
+glad to turn to him. But that morning, as it chanced, there was
+only this one letter, so I took the more notice of it. It was
+from Coombe Tracey, and it was addressed in a woman's hand."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Well, sir, I thought no more of the matter, and never would have
+done had it not been for my wife. Only a few weeks ago she was
+cleaning out Sir Charles's study--it had never been touched since
+his death--and she found the ashes of a burned letter in the back
+of the grate. The greater part of it was charred to pieces, but
+one little slip, the end of a page, hung together, and the
+writing could still be read, though it was gray on a black
+ground. It seemed to us to be a postscript at the end of the
+letter, and it said: 'Please, please, as you are a gentleman,
+burn this letter, and be at the gate by ten o clock. Beneath it
+were signed the initials L. L."
+
+"Have you got that slip?"
+
+"No, sir, it crumbled all to bits after we moved it."
+
+"Had Sir Charles received any other letters in the same writing?"
+
+"Well, sir, I took no particular notice of his letters. I should
+not have noticed this one, only it happened to come alone."
+
+"And you have no idea who L. L. is?"
+
+"No, sir. No more than you have. But I expect if we could lay our
+hands upon that lady we should know more about Sir Charles's
+death."
+
+"I cannot understand, Barrymore, how you came to conceal this
+important information."
+
+"Well, sir, it was immediately after that our own trouble came to
+us. And then again, sir, we were both of us very fond of Sir
+Charles, as we well might be considering all that he has done for
+us. To rake this up couldn't help our poor master, and it's well
+to go carefully when there's a lady in the case. Even the best of
+us ----"
+
+"You thought it might injure his reputation?"
+
+"Well, sir, I thought no good could come of it. But now you have
+been kind to us, and I feel as if it would be treating you
+unfairly not to tell you all that I know about the matter."
+
+"Very good, Barrymore; you can go." When the butler had left us
+Sir Henry turned to me. "Well, Watson, what do you think of this
+new light?"
+
+"It seems to leave the darkness rather blacker than before."
+
+"So I think. But if we can only trace L. L. it should clear up
+the whole business. We have gained that much. We know that there
+is someone who has the facts if we can only find her. What do you
+think we should do?"
+
+"Let Holmes know all about it at once. It will give him the clue
+for which he has been seeking. I am much mistaken if it does not
+bring him down."
+
+I went at once to my room and drew up my report of the morning's
+conversation for Holmes. It was evident to me that he had been
+very busy of late, for the notes which I had from Baker Street
+were few and short, with no comments upon the information which I
+had supplied and hardly any reference to my mission. No doubt his
+blackmailing case is absorbing all his faculties. And yet this
+new factor must surely arrest his attention and renew his
+interest. I wish that he were here.
+
+OCTOBER 17TH.--All day to-day the rain poured down, rustling on
+the ivy and dripping from the eaves. I thought of the convict out
+upon the bleak, cold, shelterless moor. Poor devil! Whatever his
+crimes, he has suffered something to atone for them. And then I
+thought of that other one--the face in the cab, the figure
+against the moon. Was he also out in that deluged--the unseen
+watcher, the man of darkness? In the evening I put on my
+waterproof and I walked far upon the sodden moor, full of dark
+imaginings, the rain beating upon my face and the wind whistling
+about my ears. God help those who wander into the great mire now,
+for even the firm uplands are becoming a morass. I found the
+black tor upon which I had seen the solitary watcher, and from
+its craggy summit I looked out myself across the melancholy
+downs. Rain squalls drifted across their russet face, and the
+heavy, slate-coloured clouds hung low over the landscape,
+trailing in gray wreaths down the sides of the fantastic hills.
+In the distant hollow on the left, half hidden by the mist, the
+two thin towers of Baskerville Hall rose above the trees. They
+were the only signs of human life which I could see, save only
+those prehistoric huts which lay thickly upon the slopes of the
+hills. Nowhere was there any trace of that lonely man whom I had
+seen on the same spot two nights before.
+
+As I walked back I was overtaken by Dr. Mortimer driving in his
+dog-cart over a rough moorland track which led from the outlying
+farmhouse of Foulmire. He has been very attentive to us, and
+hardly a day has passed that he has not called at the Hall to see
+how we were getting on. He insisted upon my climbing into his
+dog-cart, and he gave me a lift homeward. I found him much
+troubled over the disappearance of his little spaniel. It had
+wandered on to the moor and had never come back. I gave him such
+consolation as I might, but I thought of the pony on the Grimpen
+Mire, and I do not fancy that he will see his little dog again.
+
+"By the way, Mortimer," said I as we jolted along the rough road,
+"I suppose there are few people living within driving distance of
+this whom you do not know?"
+
+"Hardly any, I think."
+
+"Can you, then, tell me the name of any woman whose initials are
+L. L.?"
+
+He thought for a few minutes.
+
+"No," said he. "There are a few gipsies and labouring folk for
+whom I can't answer, but among the farmers or gentry there is no
+one whose initials are those. Wait a bit though," he added after
+a pause. "There is Laura Lyons--her initials are L. L.--but she
+lives in Coombe Tracey."
+
+"Who is she?" I asked.
+
+"She is Frankland's daughter."
+
+"What! Old Frankland the crank?"
+
+"Exactly. She married an artist named Lyons, who came sketching
+on the moor. He proved to be a blackguard and deserted her. The
+fault from what I hear may not have been entirely on one side.
+Her father refused to have anything to do with her because she
+had married without his consent, and perhaps for one or two other
+reasons as well. So, between the old sinner and the young one the
+girl has had a pretty bad time."
+
+"How does she live?"
+
+"I fancy old Frankland allows her a pittance, but it cannot be
+more, for his own affairs are considerably involved. Whatever she
+may have deserved one could not allow her to go hopelessly to the
+bad. Her story got about, and several of the people here did
+something to enable her to earn an honest living. Stapleton did
+for one, and Sir Charles for another. I gave a trifle myself. It
+was to set her up in a typewriting business."
+
+He wanted to know the object of my inquiries, but I managed to
+satisfy his curiosity without telling him too much, for there is
+no reason why we should take anyone into our confidence.
+To-morrow morning I shall find my way to Coombe Tracey, and if I
+can see this Mrs. Laura Lyons, of equivocal reputation, a long
+step will have been made towards clearing one incident in this
+chain of mysteries. I am certainly developing the wisdom of the
+serpent, for when Mortimer pressed his questions to an
+inconvenient extent I asked him casually to what type Frankland's
+skull belonged, and so heard nothing but craniology for the rest
+of our drive. I have not lived for years with Sherlock Holmes for
+nothing.
+
+I have only one other incident to record upon this tempestuous
+and melancholy day. This was my conversation with Barrymore just
+now, which gives me one more strong card which I can play in due
+time.
+
+Mortimer had stayed to dinner, and he and the baronet played
+ecarte afterwards. The butler brought me my coffee into the
+library, and I took the chance to ask him a few questions.
+
+"Well," said I, "has this precious relation of yours departed, or
+is he still lurking out yonder?"
+
+"I don't know, sir. I hope to heaven that he has gone, for he has
+brought nothing but trouble here! I've not heard of him since I
+left out food for him last, and that was three days ago."
+
+"Did you see him then?"
+
+"No, sir, but the food was gone when next I went that way."
+
+"Then he was certainly there?"
+
+"So you would think, sir, unless it was the other man who took
+it."
+
+I sat with my coffee-cup halfway to my lips and stared at
+Barrymore.
+
+"You know that there is another man then?"
+
+"Yes, sir; there is another man upon the moor."
+
+"Have you seen him?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"How do you know of him then?"
+
+"Selden told me of him, sir, a week ago or more. He's in hiding,
+too, but he's not a convict as far as I can make out. I don't
+like it, Dr. Watson--I tell you straight, sir, that I don't like
+it." He spoke with a sudden passion of earnestness.
+
+"Now, listen to me, Barrymore! I have no interest in this matter
+but that of your master. I have come here with no object except
+to help him. Tell me, frankly, what it is that you don't like."
+
+Barrymore hesitated for a moment, as if he regretted his
+outburst, or found it difficult to express his own feelings in
+words.
+
+"It's all these goings-on, sir," he cried at last, waving his
+hand towards the rain-lashed window which faced the moor. "There's
+foul play somewhere, and there's black villainy brewing, to that
+I'll swear! Very glad I should be, sir, to see Sir Henry on his
+way back to London again!"
+
+"But what is it that alarms you?"
+
+"Look at Sir Charles's death! That was bad enough, for all that
+the coroner said. Look at the noises on the moor at night.
+There's not a man would cross it after sundown if he was paid for
+it. Look at this stranger hiding out yonder, and watching and
+waiting! What's he waiting for? What does it mean? It means no
+good to anyone of the name of Baskerville, and very glad I shall
+be to be quit of it all on the day that Sir Henry's new servants
+are ready to take over the Hall."
+
+"But about this stranger," said I. "Can you tell me anything
+about him? What did Selden say? Did he find out where he hid, or
+what he was doing?"
+
+"He saw him once or twice, but he is a deep one, and gives
+nothing away. At first he thought that he was the police, but
+soon he found that he had some lay of his own. A kind of
+gentleman he was, as far as he could see, but what he was doing
+he could not make out."
+
+"And where did he say that he lived?"
+
+"Among the old houses on the hillside--the stone huts where the
+old folk used to live."
+
+"But how about his food?"
+
+"Selden found out that he has got a lad who works for him and
+brings him all he needs. I dare say he goes to Coombe Tracey for
+what he wants."
+
+"Very good, Barrymore. We may talk further of this some other
+time." When the butler had gone I walked over to the black
+window, and I looked through a blurred pane at the driving clouds
+and at the tossing outline of the wind-swept trees. It is a wild
+night indoors, and what must it be in a stone hut upon the moor.
+What passion of hatred can it be which leads a man to lurk in
+such a place at such a time! And what deep and earnest purpose
+can he have which calls for such a trial! There, in that hut upon
+the moor, seems to lie the very centre of that problem which has
+vexed me so sorely. I swear that another day shall not have
+passed before I have done all that man can do to reach the heart
+of the mystery.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 11
+
+The Man on the Tor
+
+
+The extract from my private diary which forms the last chapter
+has brought my narrative up to the 18th of October, a time when
+these strange events began to move swiftly towards their terrible
+conclusion. The incidents of the next few days are indelibly
+graven upon my recollection, and I can tell them without
+reference to the notes made at the time. I start then from the
+day which succeeded that upon which I had established two facts
+of great importance, the one that Mrs. Laura Lyons of Coombe
+Tracey had written to Sir Charles Baskerville and made an
+appointment with him at the very place and hour that he met his
+death, the other that the lurking man upon the moor was to be
+found among the stone huts upon the hill-side. With these two
+facts in my possession I felt that either my intelligence or my
+courage must be deficient if I could not throw some further light
+upon these dark places.
+
+I had no opportunity to tell the baronet what I had learned about
+Mrs. Lyons upon the evening before, for Dr. Mortimer remained
+with him at cards until it was very late. At breakfast, however,
+I informed him about my discovery, and asked him whether he would
+care to accompany me to Coombe Tracey. At first he was very eager
+to come, but on second thoughts it seemed to both of us that if I
+went alone the results might be better. The more formal we made
+the visit the less information we might obtain. I left Sir Henry
+behind, therefore, not without some prickings of conscience, and
+drove off upon my new quest.
+
+When I reached Coombe Tracey I told Perkins to put up the horses,
+and I made inquiries for the lady whom I had come to interrogate.
+I had no difficulty in finding her rooms, which were central and
+well appointed. A maid showed me in without ceremony, and as I
+entered the sitting-room a lady, who was sitting before a
+Remington typewriter, sprang up with a pleasant smile of welcome.
+Her face fell, however, when she saw that I was a stranger, and
+she sat down again and asked me the object of my visit.
+
+The first impression left by Mrs. Lyons was one of extreme
+beauty. Her eyes and hair were of the same rich hazel colour, and
+her cheeks, though considerably freckled, were flushed with the
+exquisite bloom of the brunette, the dainty pink which lurks at
+the heart of the sulphur rose. Admiration was, I repeat, the
+first impression. But the second was criticism. There was
+something subtly wrong with the face, some coarseness of
+expression, some hardness, perhaps, of eye, some looseness of lip
+which marred its perfect beauty. But these, of course, are
+after-thoughts. At the moment I was simply conscious that I was
+in the presence of a very handsome woman, and that she was asking
+me the reasons for my visit. I had not quite understood until
+that instant how delicate my mission was.
+
+"I have the pleasure," said I, "of knowing your father." It was a
+clumsy introduction, and the lady made me feel it.
+
+"There is nothing in common between my father and me," she said.
+"I owe him nothing, and his friends are not mine. If it were not
+for the late Sir Charles Baskerville and some other kind hearts I
+might have starved for all that my father cared."
+
+"It was about the late Sir Charles Baskerville that I have come
+here to see you."
+
+The freckles started out on the lady's face.
+
+"What can I tell you about him?" she asked, and her fingers
+played nervously over the stops of her typewriter.
+
+"You knew him, did you not?"
+
+"I have already said that I owe a great deal to his kindness. If
+I am able to support myself it is largely due to the interest
+which he took in my unhappy situation."
+
+"Did you correspond with him?"
+
+The lady looked quickly up with an angry gleam in her hazel eyes.
+
+"What is the object of these questions?" she asked sharply.
+
+"The object is to avoid a public scandal. It is better that I
+should ask them here than that the matter should pass outside our
+control."
+
+She was silent and her face was still very pale. At last she
+looked up with something reckless and defiant in her manner.
+
+"Well, I'll answer," she said. "What are your questions?"
+
+"Did you correspond with Sir Charles?"
+
+"I certainly wrote to him once or twice to acknowledge his
+delicacy and his generosity."
+
+"Have you the dates of those letters?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Have you ever met him?"
+
+"Yes, once or twice, when he came into Coombe Tracey. He was a
+very retiring man, and he preferred to do good by stealth."
+
+"But if you saw him so seldom and wrote so seldom, how did he
+know enough about your affairs to be able to help you, as you say
+that he has done?"
+
+She met my difficulty with the utmost readiness.
+
+"There were several gentlemen who knew my sad history and united
+to help me. One was Mr. Stapleton, a neighbour and intimate
+friend of Sir Charles's. He was exceedingly kind, and it was
+through him that Sir Charles learned about my affairs."
+
+I knew already that Sir Charles Baskerville had made Stapleton
+his almoner upon several occasions, so the lady's statement bore
+the impress of truth upon it.
+
+"Did you ever write to Sir Charles asking him to meet you?" I
+continued.
+
+Mrs. Lyons flushed with anger again.
+
+"Really, sir, this is a very extraordinary question."
+
+"I am sorry, madam, but I must repeat it."
+
+"Then I answer, certainly not."
+
+"Not on the very day of Sir Charles's death?"
+
+The flush had faded in an instant, and a deathly face was before
+me. Her dry lips could not speak the "No" which I saw rather than
+heard.
+
+"Surely your memory deceives you," said I. "I could even quote a
+passage of your letter. It ran 'Please, please, as you are a
+gentleman, burn this letter, and be at the gate by ten o'clock.'"
+
+I thought that she had fainted, but she recovered herself by a
+supreme effort.
+
+"Is there no such thing as a gentleman?" she gasped.
+
+"You do Sir Charles an injustice. He did burn the letter. But
+sometimes a letter may be legible even when burned. You
+acknowledge now that you wrote it?"
+
+"Yes, I did write it," she cried, pouring out her soul in a
+torrent of words. "I did write it. Why should I deny it? I have
+no reason to be ashamed of it. I wished him to help me. I
+believed that if I had an interview I could gain his help, so I
+asked him to meet me."
+
+"But why at such an hour?"
+
+"Because I had only just learned that he was going to London next
+day and might be away for months. There were reasons why I could
+not get there earlier."
+
+"But why a rendezvous in the garden instead of a visit to the
+house?"
+
+"Do you think a woman could go alone at that hour to a bachelor's
+house?"
+
+"Well, what happened when you did get there?"
+
+"I never went."
+
+"Mrs. Lyons!"
+
+"No, I swear it to you on all I hold sacred. I never went.
+Something intervened to prevent my going."
+
+"What was that?"
+
+"That is a private matter. I cannot tell it."
+
+"You acknowledge then that you made an appointment with Sir
+Charles at the very hour and place at which he met his death, but
+you deny that you kept the appointment."
+
+"That is the truth."
+
+Again and again I cross-questioned her, but I could never get
+past that point.
+
+"Mrs. Lyons," said I, as I rose from this long and inconclusive
+interview, "you are taking a very great responsibility and
+putting yourself in a very false position by not making an
+absolutely clean breast of all that you know. If I have to call
+in the aid of the police you will find how seriously you are
+compromised. If your position is innocent, why did you in the
+first instance deny having written to Sir Charles upon that
+date?"
+
+"Because I feared that some false conclusion might be drawn from
+it and that I might find myself involved in a scandal."
+
+"And why were you so pressing that Sir Charles should destroy
+your letter?"
+
+"If you have read the letter you will know."
+
+"I did not say that I had read all the letter."
+
+"You quoted some of it."
+
+"I quoted the postscript. The letter had, as I said, been burned
+and it was not all legible. I ask you once again why it was that
+you were so pressing that Sir Charles should destroy this letter
+which he received on the day of his death."
+
+"The matter is a very private one."
+
+"The more reason why you should avoid a public investigation."
+
+"I will tell you, then. If you have heard anything of my unhappy
+history you will know that I made a rash marriage and had reason
+to regret it."
+
+"I have heard so much."
+
+"My life has been one incessant persecution from a husband whom I
+abhor. The law is upon his side, and every day I am faced by the
+possibility that he may force me to live with him. At the time
+that I wrote this letter to Sir Charles I had learned that there
+was a prospect of my regaining my freedom if certain expenses
+could be met. It meant everything to me--peace of mind,
+happiness, self-respect--everything. I knew Sir Charles's
+generosity, and I thought that if he heard the story from my own
+lips he would help me."
+
+"Then how is it that you did not go?"
+
+"Because I received help in the interval from another source."
+
+"Why then, did you not write to Sir Charles and explain this?"
+
+"So I should have done had I not seen his death in the paper next
+morning."
+
+The woman's story hung coherently together, and all my questions
+were unable to shake it. I could only check it by finding if she
+had, indeed, instituted divorce proceedings against her husband
+at or about the time of the tragedy.
+
+It was unlikely that she would dare to say that she had not been
+to Baskerville Hall if she really had been, for a trap would be
+necessary to take her there, and could not have returned to
+Coombe Tracey until the early hours of the morning. Such an
+excursion could not be kept secret. The probability was,
+therefore, that she was telling the truth, or, at least, a part
+of the truth. I came away baffled and disheartened. Once again I
+had reached that dead wall which seemed to be built across every
+path by which I tried to get at the object of my mission. And yet
+the more I thought of the lady's face and of her manner the more
+I felt that something was being held back from me. Why should she
+turn so pale? Why should she fight against every admission until
+it was forced from her? Why should she have been so reticent at
+the time of the tragedy? Surely the explanation of all this could
+not be as innocent as she would have me believe. For the moment I
+could proceed no farther in that direction, but must turn back to
+that other clue which was to be sought for among the stone huts
+upon the moor.
+
+And that was a most vague direction. I realized it as I drove
+back and noted how hill after hill showed traces of the ancient
+people. Barrymore's only indication had been that the stranger
+lived in one of these abandoned huts, and many hundreds of them
+are scattered throughout the length and breadth of the moor. But
+I had my own experience for a guide since it had shown me the man
+himself standing upon the summit of the Black Tor. That then
+should be the centre of my search. From there I should explore
+every hut upon the moor until I lighted upon the right one. If
+this man were inside it I should find out from his own lips, at
+the point of my revolver if necessary, who he was and why he had
+dogged us so long. He might slip away from us in the crowd of
+Regent Street, but it would puzzle him to do so upon the lonely
+moor. On the other hand, if I should find the hut and its tenant
+should not be within it I must remain there, however long the
+vigil, until he returned. Holmes had missed him in London. It
+would indeed be a triumph for me if I could run him to earth,
+where my master had failed.
+
+Luck had been against us again and again in this inquiry, but now
+at last it came to my aid. And the messenger of good fortune was
+none other than Mr. Frankland, who was standing, gray-whiskered
+and red-faced, outside the gate of his garden, which opened on to
+the high road along which I travelled.
+
+"Good-day, Dr. Watson," cried he with unwonted good humour, "you
+must really give your horses a rest, and come in to have a glass
+of wine and to congratulate me."
+
+My feelings towards him were very far from being friendly after
+what I had heard of his treatment of his daughter, but I was
+anxious to send Perkins and the wagonette home, and the
+opportunity was a good one. I alighted and sent a message to Sir
+Henry that I should walk over in time for dinner. Then I followed
+Frankland into his dining-room.
+
+"It is a great day for me, sir--one of the red-letter days of my
+life," he cried with many chuckles. "I have brought off a double
+event. I mean to teach them in these parts that law is law, and
+that there is a man here who does not fear to invoke it. I have
+established a right of way through the centre of old Middleton's
+park, slap across it, sir, within a hundred yards of his own
+front door. What do you think of that? We'll teach these magnates
+that they cannot ride roughshod over the rights of the
+commoners, confound them! And I've closed the wood where the
+Fernworthy folk used to picnic. These infernal people seem to
+think that there are no rights of property, and that they can
+swarm where they like with their papers and their bottles. Both
+cases decided, Dr. Watson, and both in my favour. I haven't had
+such a day since I had Sir John Morland for trespass, because he
+shot in his own warren."
+
+"How on earth did you do that?"
+
+"Look it up in the books, sir. It will repay reading--Frankland
+v. Morland, Court of Queen's Bench. It cost me 200 pounds, but I
+got my verdict."
+
+"Did it do you any good?"
+
+"None, sir, none. I am proud to say that I had no interest in the
+matter. I act entirely from a sense of public duty. I have no
+doubt, for example, that the Fernworthy people will burn me in
+effigy to-night. I told the police last time they did it that
+they should stop these disgraceful exhibitions. The County
+Constabulary is in a scandalous state, sir, and it has not
+afforded me the protection to which I am entitled. The case of
+Frankland v. Regina will bring the matter before the attention of
+the public. I told them that they would have occasion to regret
+their treatment of me, and already my words have come true."
+
+"How so?" I asked.
+
+The old man put on a very knowing expression.
+
+"Because I could tell them what they are dying to know; but
+nothing would induce me to help the rascals in any way."
+
+I had been casting round for some excuse by which I could get
+away from his gossip, but now I began to wish to hear more of it.
+I had seen enough of the contrary nature of the old sinner to
+understand that any strong sign of interest would be the surest
+way to stop his confidences.
+
+"Some poaching case, no doubt?" said I, with an indifferent
+manner.
+
+"Ha, ha, my boy, a very much more important matter than that!
+What about the convict on the moor?"
+
+I started. "You don't mean that you know where he is?" said I.
+
+"I may not know exactly where he is, but I am quite sure that I
+could help the police to lay their hands on him. Has it never
+struck you that the way to catch that man was to find out where
+he got his food, and so trace it to him?"
+
+He certainly seemed to be getting uncomfortably near the truth.
+"No doubt," said I; "but how do you know that he is anywhere upon
+the moor?"
+
+"I know it because I have seen with my own eyes the messenger who
+takes him his food."
+
+My heart sank for Barrymore. It was a serious thing to be in the
+power of this spiteful old busybody. But his next remark took a
+weight from my mind.
+
+"You'll be surprised to hear that his food is taken to him by a
+child. I see him every day through my telescope upon the roof. He
+passes along the same path at the same hour, and to whom should
+he be going except to the convict?"
+
+Here was luck indeed! And yet I suppressed all appearance of
+interest. A child! Barrymore had said that our unknown was
+supplied by a boy. It was on his track, and not upon the
+convict's, that Frankland had stumbled. If I could get his
+knowledge it might save me a long and weary hunt. But incredulity
+and indifference were evidently my strongest cards.
+
+"I should say that it was much more likely that it was the son of
+one of the moorland shepherds taking out his father's dinner."
+
+The least appearance of opposition struck fire out of the old
+autocrat. His eyes looked malignantly at me, and his gray
+whiskers bristled like those of an angry cat.
+
+"Indeed, sir!" said he, pointing out over the wide-stretching
+moor. "Do you see that Black Tor over yonder? Well, do you see
+the low hill beyond with the thornbush upon it? It is the
+stoniest part of the whole moor. Is that a place where a shepherd
+would be likely to take his station? Your suggestion, sir, is a
+most absurd one."
+
+I meekly answered that I had spoken without knowing all the
+facts. My submission pleased him and led him to further
+confidences.
+
+"You may be sure, sir, that I have very good grounds before I
+come to an opinion. I have seen the boy again and again with his
+bundle. Every day, and sometimes twice a day, I have been
+able--but wait a moment, Dr. Watson. Do my eyes deceive me, or is
+there at the present moment something moving upon that hill-
+side?"
+
+It was several miles off, but I could distinctly see a small dark
+dot against the dull green and gray.
+
+"Come, sir, come!" cried Frankland, rushing upstairs. "You will
+see with your own eyes and judge for yourself."
+
+The telescope, a formidable instrument mounted upon a tripod,
+stood upon the flat leads of the house. Frankland clapped his eye
+to it and gave a cry of satisfaction.
+
+"Quick, Dr. Watson, quick, before he passes over the hill!"
+
+There he was, sure enough, a small urchin with a little bundle
+upon his shoulder, toiling slowly up the hill. When he reached
+the crest I saw the ragged uncouth figure outlined for an instant
+against the cold blue sky. He looked round him with a furtive and
+stealthy air, as one who dreads pursuit. Then he vanished over
+the hill.
+
+"Well! Am I right?"
+
+"Certainly, there is a boy who seems to have some secret errand."
+
+"And what the errand is even a county constable could guess. But
+not one word shall they have from me, and I bind you to secrecy
+also, Dr. Watson. Not a word! You understand!"
+
+"Just as you wish."
+
+"They have treated me shamefully--shamefully. When the facts come
+out in Frankland v. Regina I venture to think that a thrill of
+indignation will run through the country. Nothing would induce me
+to help the police in any way. For all they cared it might have
+been me, instead of my effigy, which these rascals burned at the
+stake. Surely you are not going! You will help me to empty the
+decanter in honour of this great occasion!"
+
+But I resisted all his solicitations and succeeded in dissuading
+him from his announced intention of walking home with me. I kept
+the road as long as his eye was on me, and then I struck off
+across the moor and made for the stony hill over which the boy
+had disappeared. Everything was working in my favour, and I swore
+that it should not be through lack of energy or perseverance that
+I should miss the chance which fortune had thrown in my way.
+
+The sun was already sinking when I reached the summit of the
+hill, and the long slopes beneath me were all golden-green on one
+side and gray shadow on the other. A haze lay low upon the
+farthest sky-line, out of which jutted the fantastic shapes of
+Belliver and Vixen Tor. Over the wide expanse there was no sound
+and no movement. One great gray bird, a gull or curlew, soared
+aloft in the blue heaven. He and I seemed to be the only living
+things between the huge arch of the sky and the desert beneath
+it. The barren scene, the sense of loneliness, and the mystery
+and urgency of my task all struck a chill into my heart. The boy
+was nowhere to be seen. But down beneath me in a cleft of the
+hills there was a circle of the old stone huts, and in the middle
+of them there was one which retained sufficient roof to act as a
+screen against the weather. My heart leaped within me as I saw
+it. This must be the burrow where the stranger lurked. At last my
+foot was on the threshold of his hiding place--his secret was
+within my grasp.
+
+As I approached the hut, walking as warily as Stapleton would do
+when with poised net he drew near the settled butterfly, I
+satisfied myself that the place had indeed been used as a
+habitation. A vague pathway among the boulders led to the
+dilapidated opening which served as a door. All was silent
+within. The unknown might be lurking there, or he might be
+prowling on the moor. My nerves tingled with the sense of
+adventure. Throwing aside my cigarette, I closed my hand upon the
+butt of my revolver and, walking swiftly up to the door, I looked
+in. The place was empty.
+
+But there were ample signs that I had not come upon a false
+scent. This was certainly where the man lived. Some blankets
+rolled in a waterproof lay upon that very stone slab upon which
+Neolithic man had once slumbered. The ashes of a fire were heaped
+in a rude grate. Beside it lay some cooking utensils and a bucket
+half-full of water. A litter of empty tins showed that the place
+had been occupied for some time, and I saw, as my eyes became
+accustomed to the checkered light, a pannikin and a half-full
+bottle of spirits standing in the corner. In the middle of the
+hut a flat stone served the purpose of a table, and upon this
+stood a small cloth bundle--the same, no doubt, which I had seen
+through the telescope upon the shoulder of the boy. It contained
+a loaf of bread, a tinned tongue, and two tins of preserved
+peaches. As I set it down again, after having examined it, my
+heart leaped to see that beneath it there lay a sheet of paper
+with writing upon it. I raised it, and this was what I read,
+roughly scrawled in pencil:--
+
+Dr. Watson has gone to Coombe Tracey.
+
+For a minute I stood there with the paper in my hands thinking
+out the meaning of this curt message. It was I, then, and not Sir
+Henry, who was being dogged by this secret man. He had not
+followed me himself, but he had set an agent--the boy,
+perhaps--upon my track, and this was his report. Possibly I had
+taken no step since I had been upon the moor which had not been
+observed and reported. Always there was this feeling of an unseen
+force, a fine net drawn round us with infinite skill and
+delicacy, holding us so lightly that it was only at some supreme
+moment that one realized that one was indeed entangled in its
+meshes.
+
+If there was one report there might be others, so I looked round
+the hut in search of them. There was no trace, however, of
+anything of the kind, nor could I discover any sign which might
+indicate the character or intentions of the man who lived in this
+singular place, save that he must be of Spartan habits and cared
+little for the comforts of life. When I thought of the heavy
+rains and looked at the gaping roof I understood how strong and
+immutable must be the purpose which had kept him in that
+inhospitable abode. Was he our malignant enemy, or was he by
+chance our guardian angel? I swore that I would not leave the hut
+until I knew.
+
+Outside the sun was sinking low and the west was blazing with
+scarlet and gold. Its reflection was shot back in ruddy patches
+by the distant pools which lay amid the great Grimpen Mire. There
+were the two towers of Baskerville Hall, and there a distant blur
+of smoke which marked the village of Grimpen. Between the two,
+behind the hill, was the house of the Stapletons. All was sweet
+and mellow and peaceful in the golden evening light, and yet as I
+looked at them my soul shared none of the peace of nature but
+quivered at the vagueness and the terror of that interview which
+every instant was bringing nearer. With tingling nerves, but a
+fixed purpose, I sat in the dark recess of the hut and waited
+with sombre patience for the coming of its tenant.
+
+And then at last I heard him. Far away came the sharp clink of a
+boot striking upon a stone. Then another and yet another, coming
+nearer and nearer. I shrank back into the darkest corner, and
+cocked the pistol in my pocket, determined not to discover myself
+until I had an opportunity of seeing something of the stranger.
+There was a long pause which showed that he had stopped. Then
+once more the footsteps approached and a shadow fell across the
+opening of the hut.
+
+"It is a lovely evening, my dear Watson," said a well-known
+voice. "I really think that you will be more comfortable outside
+than in."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 12
+
+Death on the Moor
+
+
+For a moment or two I sat breathless, hardly able to believe my
+ears. Then my senses and my voice came back to me, while a
+crushing weight of responsibility seemed in an instant to be
+lifted from my soul. That cold, incisive, ironical voice could
+belong to but one man in all the world.
+
+"Holmes!" I cried--"Holmes!"
+
+"Come out," said he, "and please be careful with the revolver."
+
+I stooped under the rude lintel, and there he sat upon a stone
+outside, his gray eyes dancing with amusement as they fell upon
+my astonished features. He was thin and worn, but clear and
+alert, his keen face bronzed by the sun and roughened by the
+wind. In his tweed suit and cloth cap he looked like any other
+tourist upon the moor, and he had contrived, with that cat-like
+love of personal cleanliness which was one of his
+characteristics, that his chin should be as smooth and his linen
+as perfect as if he were in Baker Street.
+
+"I never was more glad to see anyone in my life," said I, as I
+wrung him by the hand.
+
+"Or more astonished, eh?"
+
+"Well, I must confess to it."
+
+"The surprise was not all on one side, I assure you. I had no
+idea that you had found my occasional retreat, still less that
+you were inside it, until I was within twenty paces of the door."
+
+"My footprint, I presume?"
+
+"No, Watson; I fear that I could not undertake to recognize your
+footprint amid all the footprints of the world. If you seriously
+desire to deceive me you must change your tobacconist; for when I
+see the stub of a cigarette marked Bradley, Oxford Street, I know
+that my friend Watson is in the neighbourhood. You will see it
+there beside the path. You threw it down, no doubt, at that
+supreme moment when you charged into the empty hut."
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"I thought as much--and knowing your admirable tenacity I was
+convinced that you were sitting in ambush, a weapon within reach,
+waiting for the tenant to return. So you actually thought that I
+was the criminal?"
+
+"I did not know who you were, but I was determined to find out."
+
+"Excellent, Watson! And how did you localize me? You saw me,
+perhaps, on the night of the convict hunt, when I was so
+imprudent as to allow the moon to rise behind me?"
+
+"Yes, I saw you then."
+
+"And have no doubt searched all the huts until you came to this
+one?"
+
+"No, your boy had been observed, and that gave me a guide where
+to look."
+
+"The old gentleman with the telescope, no doubt. I could not make
+it out when first I saw the light flashing upon the lens." He
+rose and peeped into the hut. "Ha, I see that Cartwright has
+brought up some supplies. What's this paper? So you have been to
+Coombe Tracey, have you?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"To see Mrs. Laura Lyons?"
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"Well done! Our researches have evidently been running on
+parallel lines, and when we unite our results I expect we shall
+have a fairly full knowledge of the case."
+
+"Well, I am glad from my heart that you are here, for indeed the
+responsibility and the mystery were both becoming too much for my
+nerves. But how in the name of wonder did you come here, and what
+have you been doing? I thought that you were in Baker Street
+working out that case of blackmailing."
+
+"That was what I wished you to think."
+
+"Then you use me, and yet do not trust me!" I cried with some
+bitterness. "I think that I have deserved better at your hands,
+Holmes."
+
+"My dear fellow, you have been invaluable to me in this as in
+many other cases, and I beg that you will forgive me if I have
+seemed to play a trick upon you. In truth, it was partly for your
+own sake that I did it, and it was my appreciation of the danger
+which you ran which led me to come down and examine the matter
+for myself. Had I been with Sir Henry and you it is confident
+that my point of view would have been the same as yours, and my
+presence would have warned our very formidable opponents to be on
+their guard. As it is, I have been able to get about as I could
+not possibly have done had I been living in the Hall, and I
+remain an unknown factor in the business, ready to throw in all
+my weight at a critical moment."
+
+"But why keep me in the dark?"
+
+"For you to know could not have helped us, and might possibly
+have led to my discovery. You would have wished to tell me
+something, or in your kindness you would have brought me out some
+comfort or other, and so an unnecessary risk would be run. I
+brought Cartwright down with me--you remember the little chap at
+the express office--and he has seen after my simple wants: a loaf
+of bread and a clean collar. What does man want more? He has
+given me an extra pair of eyes upon a very active pair of feet,
+and both have been invaluable."
+
+"Then my reports have all been wasted!"--My voice trembled as I
+recalled the pains and the pride with which I had composed them.
+
+Holmes took a bundle of papers from his pocket.
+
+"Here are your reports, my dear fellow, and very well thumbed, I
+assure you. I made excellent arrangements, and they are only
+delayed one day upon their way. I must compliment you exceedingly
+upon the zeal and the intelligence which you have shown over an
+extraordinarily difficult case."
+
+I was still rather raw over the deception which had been
+practised upon me, but the warmth of Holmes's praise drove my
+anger from my mind. I felt also in my heart that he was right in
+what he said and that it was really best for our purpose that I
+should not have known that he was upon the moor.
+
+"That's better," said he, seeing the shadow rise from my face.
+"And now tell me the result of your visit to Mrs. Laura Lyons--it
+was not difficult for me to guess that it was to see her that you
+had gone, for I am already aware that she is the one person in
+Coombe Tracey who might be of service to us in the matter. In
+fact, if you had not gone to-day it is exceedingly probable that
+I should have gone to-morrow."
+
+The sun had set and dusk was settling over the moor. The air had
+turned chill and we withdrew into the hut for warmth. There,
+sitting together in the twilight, I told Holmes of my
+conversation with the lady. So interested was he that I had to
+repeat some of it twice before he was satisfied.
+
+"This is most important," said he when I had concluded. "It fills
+up a gap which I had been unable to bridge, in this most complex
+affair. You are aware, perhaps, that a close intimacy exists
+between this lady and the man Stapleton?"
+
+"I did not know of a close intimacy."
+
+"There can be no doubt about the matter. They meet, they write,
+there is a complete understanding between them. Now, this puts a
+very powerful weapon into our hands. If I could only use it to
+detach his wife----"
+
+"His wife?"
+
+"I am giving you some information now, in return for all that you
+have given me. The lady who has passed here as Miss Stapleton is
+in reality his wife."
+
+"Good heavens, Holmes! Are you sure of what you say? How could he
+have permitted Sir Henry to fall in love with her?"
+
+"Sir Henry's falling in love could do no harm to anyone except
+Sir Henry. He took particular care that Sir Henry did not make
+love to her, as you have yourself observed. I repeat that the
+lady is his wife and not his sister."
+
+"But why this elaborate deception?"
+
+"Because he foresaw that she would be very much more useful to
+him in the character of a free woman."
+
+All my unspoken instincts, my vague suspicions, suddenly took
+shape and centred upon the naturalist. In that impassive,
+colourless man, with his straw hat and his butterfly-net, I
+seemed to see something terrible--a creature of infinite patience
+and craft, with a smiling face and a murderous heart.
+
+"It is he, then, who is our enemy--it is he who dogged us in
+London?"
+
+"So I read the riddle."
+
+"And the warning--it must have come from her!"
+
+"Exactly."
+
+The shape of some monstrous villainy, half seen, half guessed,
+loomed through the darkness which had girt me so long.
+
+"But are you sure of this, Holmes? How do you know that the woman
+is his wife?"
+
+"Because he so far forgot himself as to tell you a true piece of
+autobiography upon the occasion when he first met you, and I
+dare say he has many a time regretted it since. He was once a
+schoolmaster in the north of England. Now, there is no one more
+easy to trace than a schoolmaster. There are scholastic agencies
+by which one may identify any man who has been in the profession.
+A little investigation showed me that a school had come to grief
+under atrocious circumstances, and that the man who had owned
+it--the name was different--had disappeared with his wife. The
+descriptions agreed. When I learned that the missing man was
+devoted to entomology the identification was complete."
+
+The darkness was rising, but much was still hidden by the
+shadows.
+
+"If this woman is in truth his wife, where does Mrs. Laura Lyons
+come in?" I asked.
+
+"That is one of the points upon which your own researches have
+shed a light. Your interview with the lady has cleared the
+situation very much. I did not know about a projected divorce
+between herself and her husband. In that case, regarding
+Stapleton as an unmarried man, she counted no doubt upon becoming
+his wife."
+
+"And when she is undeceived?"
+
+"Why, then we may find the lady of service. It must be our first
+duty to see her--both of us--to-morrow. Don't you think, Watson,
+that you are away from your charge rather long? Your place should
+be at Baskerville Hall."
+
+The last red streaks had faded away in the west and night had
+settled upon the moor. A few faint stars were gleaming in a
+violet sky.
+
+"One last question, Holmes," I said, as I rose. "Surely there is
+no need of secrecy between you and me. What is the meaning of it
+all? What is he after?"
+
+Holmes's voice sank as he answered:----
+
+"It is murder, Watson--refined, cold-blooded, deliberate murder.
+Do not ask me for particulars. My nets are closing upon him, even
+as his are upon Sir Henry, and with your help he is already
+almost at my mercy. There is but one danger which can threaten
+us. It is that he should strike before we are ready to do so.
+Another day--two at the most--and I have my case complete, but
+until then guard your charge as closely as ever a fond mother
+watched her ailing child. Your mission to-day has justified
+itself, and yet I could almost wish that you had not left his
+side. Hark!"
+
+A terrible scream--a prolonged yell of horror and anguish--burst
+out of the silence of the moor. That frightful cry turned the
+blood to ice in my veins.
+
+"Oh, my God!" I gasped. "What is it? What does it mean?"
+
+Holmes had sprung to his feet, and I saw his dark, athletic
+outline at the door of the hut, his shoulders stooping, his head
+thrust forward, his face peering into the darkness.
+
+"Hush!" he whispered. "Hush!"
+
+The cry had been loud on account of its vehemence, but it had
+pealed out from somewhere far off on the shadowy plain. Now it
+burst upon our ears, nearer, louder, more urgent than before.
+
+"Where is it?" Holmes whispered; and I knew from the thrill of
+his voice that he, the man of iron, was shaken to the soul.
+"Where is it, Watson?"
+
+"There, I think." I pointed into the darkness.
+
+"No, there!"
+
+Again the agonized cry swept through the silent night, louder and
+much nearer than ever. And a new sound mingled with it, a deep,
+muttered rumble, musical and yet menacing, rising and falling
+like the low, constant murmur of the sea.
+
+"The hound!" cried Holmes. "Come, Watson, come! Great heavens, if
+we are too late!"
+
+He had started running swiftly over the moor, and I had followed
+at his heels. But now from somewhere among the broken ground
+immediately in front of us there came one last despairing yell,
+and then a dull, heavy thud. We halted and listened. Not another
+sound broke the heavy silence of the windless night.
+
+I saw Holmes put his hand to his forehead like a man distracted.
+He stamped his feet upon the ground.
+
+"He has beaten us, Watson. We are too late."
+
+"No, no, surely not!"
+
+"Fool that I was to hold my hand. And you, Watson, see what comes
+of abandoning your charge! But, by Heaven, if the worst has
+happened, we'll avenge him!"
+
+Blindly we ran through the gloom, blundering against boulders,
+forcing our way through gorse bushes, panting up hills and
+rushing down slopes, heading always in the direction whence those
+dreadful sounds had come. At every rise Holmes looked eagerly
+round him, but the shadows were thick upon the moor, and nothing
+moved upon its dreary face.
+
+"Can you see anything?"
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"But, hark, what is that?"
+
+A low moan had fallen upon our ears. There it was again upon our
+left! On that side a ridge of rocks ended in a sheer cliff which
+overlooked a stone-strewn slope. On its jagged face was
+spread-eagled some dark, irregular object. As we ran towards it
+the vague outline hardened into a definite shape. It was a
+prostrate man face downward upon the ground, the head doubled
+under him at a horrible angle, the shoulders rounded and the body
+hunched together as if in the act of throwing a somersault. So
+grotesque was the attitude that I could not for the instant
+realize that that moan had been the passing of his soul. Not a
+whisper, not a rustle, rose now from the dark figure over which
+we stooped. Holmes laid his hand upon him, and held it up again,
+with an exclamation of horror. The gleam of the match which he
+struck shone upon his clotted fingers and upon the ghastly pool
+which widened slowly from the crushed skull of the victim. And it
+shone upon something else which turned our hearts sick and faint
+within us--the body of Sir Henry Baskerville!
+
+There was no chance of either of us forgetting that peculiar
+ruddy tweed suit--the very one which he had worn on the first
+morning that we had seen him in Baker Street. We caught the one
+clear glimpse of it, and then the match flickered and went out,
+even as the hope had gone out of our souls. Holmes groaned, and
+his face glimmered white through the darkness.
+
+"The brute! the brute!" I cried with clenched hands. "Oh Holmes,
+I shall never forgive myself for having left him to his fate."
+
+"I am more to blame than you, Watson. In order to have my case
+well rounded and complete, I have thrown away the life of my
+client. It is the greatest blow which has befallen me in my
+career. But how could I know--how could l know--that he would
+risk his life alone upon the moor in the face of all my
+warnings?"
+
+"That we should have heard his screams--my God, those
+screams!--and yet have been unable to save him! Where is this
+brute of a hound which drove him to his death? It may be lurking
+among these rocks at this instant. And Stapleton, where is he? He
+shall answer for this deed."
+
+"He shall. I will see to that. Uncle and nephew have been
+murdered--the one frightened to death by the very sight of a
+beast which he thought to be supernatural, the other driven to
+his end in his wild flight to escape from it. But now we have to
+prove the connection between the man and the beast. Save from
+what we heard, we cannot even swear to the existence of the
+latter, since Sir Henry has evidently died from the fall. But, by
+heavens, cunning as he is, the fellow shall be in my power before
+another day is past!"
+
+We stood with bitter hearts on either side of the mangled body,
+overwhelmed by this sudden and irrevocable disaster which had
+brought all our long and weary labours to so piteous an end.
+Then, as the moon rose we climbed to the top of the rocks over
+which our poor friend had fallen, and from the summit we gazed
+out over the shadowy moor, half silver and half gloom. Far away,
+miles off, in the direction of Grimpen, a single steady yellow
+light was shining. It could only come from the lonely abode of
+the Stapletons. With a bitter curse I shook my fist at it as I
+gazed.
+
+"Why should we not seize him at once?"
+
+"Our case is not complete. The fellow is wary and cunning to the
+last degree. It is not what we know, but what we can prove. If we
+make one false move the villain may escape us yet."
+
+"What can we do?"
+
+"There will be plenty for us to do to-morrow. To-night we can
+only perform the last offices to our poor friend."
+
+Together we made our way down the precipitous slope and
+approached the body, black and clear against the silvered stones.
+The agony of those contorted limbs struck me with a spasm of pain
+and blurred my eyes with tears.
+
+"We must send for help, Holmes! We cannot carry him all the way
+to the Hall. Good heavens, are you mad?"
+
+He had uttered a cry and bent over the body. Now he was dancing
+and laughing and wringing my hand. Could this be my stern,
+self-contained friend? These were hidden fires, indeed!
+
+"A beard! A beard! The man has a beard!"
+
+"A beard?"
+
+"It is not the baronet--it is--why, it is my neighbour, the
+convict!"
+
+With feverish haste we had turned the body over, and that
+dripping beard was pointing up to the cold, clear moon. There
+could be no doubt about the beetling forehead, the sunken animal
+eyes. It was indeed the same face which had glared upon me in the
+light of the candle from over the rock--the face of Selden, the
+criminal.
+
+Then in an instant it was all clear to me. I remembered how the
+baronet had told me that he had handed his old wardrobe to
+Barrymore. Barrymore had passed it on in order to help Selden in
+his escape. Boots, shirt, cap--it was all Sir Henry's. The
+tragedy was still black enough, but this man had at least
+deserved death by the laws of his country. I told Holmes how the
+matter stood, my heart bubbling over with thankfulness and joy.
+
+"Then the clothes have been the poor devil's death," said he. "It
+is clear enough that the hound has been laid on from some article
+of Sir Henry's--the boot which was abstracted in the hotel, in
+all probability--and so ran this man down. There is one very
+singular thing, however: How came Selden, in the darkness, to
+know that the hound was on his trail?"
+
+"He heard him."
+
+"To hear a hound upon the moor would not work a hard man like
+this convict into such a paroxysm of terror that he would risk
+recapture by screaming wildly for help. By his cries he must have
+run a long way after he knew the animal was on his track. How did
+he know?"
+
+"A greater mystery to me is why this hound, presuming that all
+our conjectures are correct --"
+
+"I presume nothing."
+
+"Well, then, why this hound should be loose to-night. I suppose
+that it does not always run loose upon the moor. Stapleton would
+not let it go unless he had reason to think that Sir Henry would
+be there."
+
+"My difficulty is the more formidable of the two, for I think
+that we shall very shortly get an explanation of yours, while
+mine may remain forever a mystery. The question now is, what
+shall we do with this poor wretch's body? We cannot leave it here
+to the foxes and the ravens."
+
+"I suggest that we put it in one of the huts until we can
+communicate with the police."
+
+"Exactly. I have no doubt that you and I could carry it so far.
+Halloa, Watson, what's this? It's the man himself, by all that's
+wonderful and audacious! Not a word to show your suspicions--not a
+word, or my plans crumble to the ground."
+
+A figure was approaching us over the moor, and I saw the dull red
+glow of a cigar. The moon shone upon him, and I could distinguish
+the dapper shape and jaunty walk of the naturalist. He stopped
+when he saw us, and then came on again.
+
+"Why, Dr. Watson, that's not you, is it? You are the last man
+that I should have expected to see out on the moor at this time
+of night. But, dear me, what's this? Somebody hurt? Not--don't
+tell me that it is our friend Sir Henry!" He hurried past me and
+stooped over the dead man. I heard a sharp intake of his breath
+and the cigar fell from his fingers.
+
+"Who--who's this?" he stammered.
+
+"It is Selden, the man who escaped from Princetown."
+
+Stapleton turned a ghastly face upon us, but by a supreme effort
+he had overcome his amazement and his disappointment. He looked
+sharply from Holmes to me.
+
+"Dear me! What a very shocking affair! How did he die?"
+
+"He appears to have broken his neck by falling over these rocks.
+My friend and I were strolling on the moor when we heard a cry."
+
+"I heard a cry also. That was what brought me out. I was uneasy
+about Sir Henry."
+
+"Why about Sir Henry in particular?" I could not help asking.
+
+"Because I had suggested that he should come over. When he did
+not come I was surprised, and I naturally became alarmed for his
+safety when I heard cries upon the moor. By the way"--his eyes
+darted again from my face to Holmes's--"did you hear anything
+else besides a cry?"
+
+"No," said Holmes; "did you?"
+
+"No."
+
+"What do you mean, then?"
+
+"Oh, you know the stories that the peasants tell about a phantom
+hound, and so on. It is said to be heard at night upon the moor.
+I was wondering if there were any evidence of such a sound
+to-night."
+
+"We heard nothing of the kind," said I.
+
+"And what is your theory of this poor fellow's death?"
+
+"I have no doubt that anxiety and exposure have driven him off
+his head. He has rushed about the moor in a crazy state and
+eventually fallen over here and broken his neck."
+
+"That seems the most reasonable theory," said Stapleton, and he
+gave a sigh which I took to indicate his relief. "What do you
+think about it, Mr. Sherlock Holmes?"
+
+My friend bowed his compliments.
+
+"You are quick at identification," said he.
+
+"We have been expecting you in these parts since Dr. Watson came
+down. You are in time to see a tragedy."
+
+"Yes, indeed. I have no doubt that my friend's explanation will
+cover the facts. I will take an unpleasant remembrance back to
+London with me to-morrow."
+
+"Oh, you return to-morrow?"
+
+"That is my intention."
+
+"I hope your visit has cast some light upon those occurrences
+which have puzzled us?"
+
+Holmes shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"One cannot always have the success for which one hopes. An
+investigator needs facts, and not legends or rumours. It has not
+been a satisfactory case."
+
+My friend spoke in his frankest and most unconcerned manner.
+Stapleton still looked hard at him. Then he turned to me.
+
+"I would suggest carrying this poor fellow to my house, but it
+would give my sister such a fright that I do not feel justified
+in doing it. I think that if we put something over his face he
+will be safe until morning."
+
+And so it was arranged. Resisting Stapleton's offer of
+hospitality, Holmes and I set off to Baskerville Hall, leaving
+the naturalist to return alone. Looking back we saw the figure
+moving slowly away over the broad moor, and behind him that one
+black smudge on the silvered slope which showed where the man was
+lying who had come so horribly to his end.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 13
+
+Fixing the Nets
+
+
+"We're at close grips at last," said Holmes as we walked together
+across the moor. "What a nerve the fellow has! How he pulled
+himself together in the face of what must have been a paralyzing
+shock when he found that the wrong man had fallen a victim to his
+plot. I told you in London, Watson, and I tell you now again,
+that we have never had a foeman more worthy of our steel."
+
+"I am sorry that he has seen you."
+
+"And so was I at first. But there was no getting out of it."
+
+"What effect do you think it will have upon his plans now that he
+knows you are here?"
+
+"It may cause him to be more cautious, or it may drive him to
+desperate measures at once. Like most clever criminals, he may be
+too confident in his own cleverness and imagine that he has
+completely deceived us."
+
+"Why should we not arrest him at once?"
+
+"My dear Watson, you were born to be a man of action. Your
+instinct is always to do something energetic. But supposing, for
+argument's sake, that we had him arrested to-night, what on earth
+the better off should we be for that? We could prove nothing
+against him. There's the devilish cunning of it! If he were
+acting through a human agent we could get some evidence, but if
+we were to drag this great dog to the light of day it would not
+help us in putting a rope round the neck of its master."
+
+"Surely we have a case."
+
+"Not a shadow of one--only surmise and conjecture. We should be
+laughed out of court if we came with such a story and such
+evidence."
+
+"There is Sir Charles's death."
+
+"Found dead without a mark upon him. You and I know that he died
+of sheer fright, and we know also what frightened him; but how
+are we to get twelve stolid jurymen to know it? What signs are
+there of a hound? Where are the marks of its fangs? Of course we
+know that a hound does not bite a dead body and that Sir Charles
+was dead before ever the brute overtook him. But we have to prove
+all this, and we are not in a position to do it."
+
+"Well, then, to-night?"
+
+"We are not much better off to-night. Again, there was no direct
+connection between the hound and the man's death. We never saw
+the hound. We heard it; but we could not prove that it was
+running upon this man's trail. There is a complete absence of
+motive. No, my dear fellow; we must reconcile ourselves to the
+fact that we have no case at present, and that it is worth our
+while to run any risk in order to establish one."
+
+"And how do you propose to do so?"
+
+"I have great hopes of what Mrs. Laura Lyons may do for us when
+the position of affairs is made clear to her. And I have my own
+plan as well. Sufficient for to-morrow is the evil thereof; but I
+hope before the day is past to have the upper hand at last."
+
+I could draw nothing further from him, and he walked, lost in
+thought, as far as the Baskerville gates.
+
+"Are you coming up?"
+
+"Yes; I see no reason for further concealment. But one last word,
+Watson. Say nothing of the hound to Sir Henry. Let him think that
+Selden's death was as Stapleton would have us believe. He will
+have a better nerve for the ordeal which he will have to undergo
+to-morrow, when he is engaged, if I remember your report aright,
+to dine with these people."
+
+"And so am I."
+
+"Then you must excuse yourself and he must go alone. That will be
+easily arranged. And now, if we are too late for dinner, I think
+that we are both ready for our suppers."
+
+Sir Henry was more pleased than surprised to see Sherlock Holmes,
+for he had for some days been expecting that recent events would
+bring him down from London. He did raise his eyebrows, however,
+when he found that my friend had neither any luggage nor any
+explanations for its absence. Between us we soon supplied his
+wants, and then over a belated supper we explained to the baronet
+as much of our experience as it seemed desirable that he should
+know. But first I had the unpleasant duty of breaking the news to
+Barrymore and his wife. To him it may have been an unmitigated
+relief, but she wept bitterly in her apron. To all the world he
+was the man of violence, half animal and half demon; but to her
+he always remained the little wilful boy of her own girlhood, the
+child who had clung to her hand. Evil indeed is the man who has
+not one woman to mourn him.
+
+"I've been moping in the house all day since Watson went off in
+the morning," said the baronet. "I guess I should have some
+credit, for I have kept my promise. If I hadn't sworn not to go
+about alone I might have had a more lively evening, for I had a
+message from Stapleton asking me over there."
+
+"I have no doubt that you would have had a more lively evening,"
+said Holmes drily. "By the way, I don't suppose you appreciate
+that we have been mourning over you as having broken your neck?"
+
+Sir Henry opened his eyes. "How was that?"
+
+"This poor wretch was dressed in your clothes. I fear your
+servant who gave them to him may get into trouble with the
+police."
+
+"That is unlikely. There was no mark on any of them, as far as I
+know."
+
+"That's lucky for him--in fact, it's lucky for all of you, since
+you are all on the wrong side of the law in this matter. I am not
+sure that as a conscientious detective my first duty is not to
+arrest the whole household. Watson's reports are most
+incriminating documents."
+
+"But how about the case?" asked the baronet. "Have you made
+anything out of the tangle? I don't know that Watson and I are
+much the wiser since we came down."
+
+"I think that I shall be in a position to make the situation
+rather more clear to you before long. It has been an exceedingly
+difficult and most complicated business. There are several points
+upon which we still want light--but it is coming all the same."
+
+"We've had one experience, as Watson has no doubt told you. We
+heard the hound on the moor, so I can swear that it is not all
+empty superstition. I had something to do with dogs when I was
+out West, and I know one when I hear one. If you can muzzle that
+one and put him on a chain I'll be ready to swear you are the
+greatest detective of all time."
+
+"I think I will muzzle him and chain him all right if you will
+give me your help."
+
+"Whatever you tell me to do I will do."
+
+"Very good; and I will ask you also to do it blindly, without
+always asking the reason."
+
+"Just as you like."
+
+"If you will do this I think the chances are that our little
+problem will soon be solved. I have no doubt----"
+
+He stopped suddenly and stared fixedly up over my head into the
+air. The lamp beat upon his face, and so intent was it and so
+still that it might have been that of a clear-cut classical
+statue, a personification of alertness and expectation.
+
+"What is it?" we both cried.
+
+I could see as he looked down that he was repressing some
+internal emotion. His features were still composed, but his eyes
+shone with amused exultation.
+
+"Excuse the admiration of a connoisseur," said he as he waved his
+hand towards the line of portraits which covered the opposite
+wall. "Watson won't allow that I know anything of art, but that
+is mere jealousy, because our views upon the subject differ. Now,
+these are a really very fine series of portraits."
+
+"Well, I'm glad to hear you say so," said Sir Henry, glancing
+with some surprise at my friend. "I don't pretend to know much
+about these things, and I'd be a better judge of a horse or a
+steer than of a picture. I didn't know that you found time for
+such things."
+
+"I know what is good when I see it, and I see it now. That's a
+Kneller, I'll swear, that lady in the blue silk over yonder, and
+the stout gentleman with the wig ought to be a Reynolds. They are
+all family portraits, I presume?"
+
+"Every one."
+
+"Do you know the names?"
+
+"Barrymore has been coaching me in them, and I think I can say my
+lessons fairly well."
+
+"Who is the gentleman with the telescope?"
+
+"That is Rear-Admiral Baskerville, who served under Rodney in the
+West Indies. The man with the blue coat and the roll of paper is
+Sir William Baskerville, who was Chairman of Committees of the
+House of Commons under Pitt."
+
+"And this Cavalier opposite to me--the one with the black velvet
+and the lace?"
+
+"Ah, you have a right to know about him. That is the cause of all
+the mischief, the wicked Hugo, who started the Hound of the
+Baskervilles. We're not likely to forget him."
+
+I gazed with interest and some surprise upon the portrait.
+
+"Dear me!" said Holmes, "he seems a quiet, meek-mannered man
+enough, but I dare say that there was a lurking devil in his
+eyes. I had pictured him as a more robust and ruffianly person."
+
+"There's no doubt about the authenticity, for the name and the
+date, 1647, are on the back of the canvas."
+
+Holmes said little more, but the picture of the old roysterer
+seemed to have a fascination for him, and his eyes were
+continually fixed upon it during supper. It was not until later,
+when Sir Henry had gone to his room, that I was able to follow
+the trend of his thoughts. He led me back into the
+banqueting-hall, his bedroom candle in his hand, and he held it
+up against the time-stained portrait on the wall.
+
+"Do you see anything there?"
+
+I looked at the broad plumed hat, the curling love-locks, the
+white lace collar, and the straight, severe face which was framed
+between them. It was not a brutal countenance, but it was prim,
+hard, and stern, with a firm-set, thin-lipped mouth, and a coldly
+intolerant eye.
+
+"Is it like anyone you know?"
+
+"There is something of Sir Henry about the jaw."
+
+"Just a suggestion, perhaps. But wait an instant!" He stood upon
+a chair, and, holding up the light in his left hand, he curved
+his right arm over the broad hat and round the long ringlets.
+
+"Good heavens!" I cried, in amazement.
+
+The face of Stapleton had sprung out of the canvas.
+
+"Ha, you see it now. My eyes have been trained to examine faces
+and not their trimmings. It is the first quality of a criminal
+investigator that he should see through a disguise."
+
+"But this is marvellous. It might be his portrait."
+
+"Yes, it is an interesting instance of a throwback, which appears
+to be both physical and spiritual. A study of family portraits is
+enough to convert a man to the doctrine of reincarnation. The
+fellow is a Baskerville--that is evident."
+
+"With designs upon the succession."
+
+"Exactly. This chance of the picture has supplied us with one of
+our most obvious missing links. We have him, Watson, we have him,
+and I dare swear that before to-morrow night he will be
+fluttering in our net as helpless as one of his own butterflies.
+A pin, a cork, and a card, and we add him to the Baker Street
+collection!" He burst into one of his rare fits of laughter as he
+turned away from the picture. I have not heard him laugh often,
+and it has always boded ill to somebody.
+
+I was up betimes in the morning, but Holmes was afoot earlier
+still, for I saw him as I dressed, coming up the drive.
+
+"Yes, we should have a full day to-day," he remarked, and he
+rubbed his hands with the joy of action. "The nets are all in
+place, and the drag is about to begin. We'll know before the day
+is out whether we have caught our big, lean-jawed pike, or
+whether he has got through the meshes."
+
+"Have you been on the moor already?"
+
+"I have sent a report from Grimpen to Princetown as to the death
+of Selden. I think I can promise that none of you will be
+troubled in the matter. And I have also communicated with my
+faithful Cartwright, who would certainly have pined away at the
+door of my hut, as a dog does at his master's grave, if I had not
+set his mind at rest about my safety."
+
+"What is the next move?"
+
+"To see Sir Henry. Ah, here he is!"
+
+"Good morning, Holmes," said the baronet. "You look like a
+general who is planning a battle with his chief of the staff."
+
+"That is the exact situation. Watson was asking for orders."
+
+"And so do I."
+
+"Very good. You are engaged, as I understand, to dine with our
+friends the Stapletons to-night."
+
+"I hope that you will come also. They are very hospitable people,
+and I am sure that they would be very glad to see you."
+
+"I fear that Watson and I must go to London."
+
+"To London?"
+
+"Yes, I think that we should be more useful there at the present
+juncture."
+
+The baronet's face perceptibly lengthened.
+
+"I hoped that you were going to see me through this business. The
+Hall and the moor are not very pleasant places when one is
+alone."
+
+"My dear fellow, you must trust me implicitly and do exactly what
+I tell you. You can tell your friends that we should have been
+happy to have come with you, but that urgent business required us
+to be in town. We hope very soon to return to Devonshire. Will
+you remember to give them that message?"
+
+"If you insist upon it."
+
+"There is no alternative, I assure you."
+
+I saw by the baronet's clouded brow that he was deeply hurt by
+what he regarded as our desertion.
+
+"When do you desire to go?" he asked coldly.
+
+"Immediately after breakfast. We will drive in to Coombe Tracey,
+but Watson will leave his things as a pledge that he will come
+back to you. Watson, you will send a note to Stapleton to tell
+him that you regret that you cannot come."
+
+"I have a good mind to go to London with you," said the baronet.
+"Why should I stay here alone?"
+
+"Because it is your post of duty. Because you gave me your word
+that you would do as you were told, and I tell you to stay."
+
+"All right, then, I'll stay."
+
+"One more direction! I wish you to drive to Merripit House. Send
+back your trap, however, and let them know that you intend to
+walk home."
+
+"To walk across the moor?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"But that is the very thing which you have so often cautioned me
+not to do."
+
+"This time you may do it with safety. If I had not every
+confidence in your nerve and courage I would not suggest it, but
+it is essential that you should do it."
+
+"Then I will do it."
+
+"And as you value your life do not go across the moor in any
+direction save along the straight path which leads from Merripit
+House to the Grimpen Road, and is your natural way home."
+
+"I will do just what you say."
+
+"Very good. I should be glad to get away as soon after breakfast
+as possible, so as to reach London in the afternoon."
+
+I was much astounded by this programme, though I remembered that
+Holmes had said to Stapleton on the night before that his visit
+would terminate next day. It had not crossed my mind, however,
+that he would wish me to go with him, nor could I understand how
+we could both be absent at a moment which he himself declared to
+be critical. There was nothing for it, however, but implicit
+obedience; so we bade good-bye to our rueful friend, and a couple
+of hours afterwards we were at the station of Coombe Tracey and
+had dispatched the trap upon its return journey. A small boy was
+waiting upon the platform.
+
+"Any orders, sir?"
+
+"You will take this train to town, Cartwright. The moment you
+arrive you will send a wire to Sir Henry Baskerville, in my name,
+to say that if he finds the pocket-book which I have dropped he
+is to send it by registered post to Baker Street."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"And ask at the station office if there is a message for me."
+
+The boy returned with a telegram, which Holmes handed to me. It
+ran: "Wire received. Coming down with unsigned warrant. Arrive
+five-forty.--LESTRADE."
+
+"That is in answer to mine of this morning. He is the best of the
+professionals, I think, and we may need his assistance. Now,
+Watson, I think that we cannot employ our time better than by
+calling upon your acquaintance, Mrs. Laura Lyons."
+
+His plan of campaign was beginning to be evident. He would use
+the baronet in order to convince the Stapletons that we were
+really gone, while we should actually return at the instant when
+we were likely to be needed. That telegram from London, if
+mentioned by Sir Henry to the Stapletons, must remove the last
+suspicions from their minds. Already I seemed to see our nets
+drawing closer around that lean-jawed pike.
+
+Mrs. Laura Lyons was in her office, and Sherlock Holmes opened
+his interview with a frankness and directness which considerably
+amazed her.
+
+"I am investigating the circumstances which attended the death of
+the late Sir Charles Baskerville," said he. "My friend here, Dr.
+Watson, has informed me of what you have communicated, and also
+of what you have withheld in connection with that matter."
+
+"What have I withheld?" she asked defiantly.
+
+"You have confessed that you asked Sir Charles to be at the gate
+at ten o'clock. We know that that was the place and hour of his
+death. You have withheld what the connection is between these
+events."
+
+"There is no connection."
+
+"In that case the coincidence must indeed be an extraordinary
+one. But I think that we shall succeed in establishing a
+connection after all. I wish to be perfectly frank with you, Mrs.
+Lyons. We regard this case as one of murder, and the evidence may
+implicate not only your friend Mr. Stapleton, but his wife as
+well."
+
+The lady sprang from her chair.
+
+"His wife!" she cried.
+
+"The fact is no longer a secret. The person who has passed for
+his sister is really his wife."
+
+Mrs. Lyons had resumed her seat. Her hands were grasping the arms
+of her chair, and I saw that the pink nails had turned white with
+the pressure of her grip.
+
+"His wife!" she said again. "His wife! He is not a married man."
+
+Sherlock Holmes shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Prove it to me! Prove it to me! And if you can do so --!" The
+fierce flash of her eyes said more than any words.
+
+"I have come prepared to do so," said Holmes, drawing several
+papers from his pocket. "Here is a photograph of the couple taken
+in York four years ago. It is indorsed 'Mr. and Mrs. Vandeleur,'
+but you will have no difficulty in recognizing him, and her also,
+if you know her by sight. Here are three written descriptions by
+trustworthy witnesses of Mr. and Mrs. Vandeleur, who at that time
+kept St. Oliver's private school. Read them and see if you can
+doubt the identity of these people."
+
+She glanced at them, and then looked up at us with the set, rigid
+face of a desperate woman.
+
+"Mr. Holmes," she said, "this man had offered me marriage on
+condition that I could get a divorce from my husband. He has lied
+to me, the villain, in every conceivable way. Not one word of
+truth has he ever told me. And why--why? I imagined that all was
+for my own sake. But now I see that I was never anything but a
+tool in his hands. Why should I preserve faith with him who never
+kept any with me? Why should I try to shield him from the
+consequences of his own wicked acts? Ask me what you like, and
+there is nothing which I shall hold back. One thing I swear to
+you, and that is that when I wrote the letter I never dreamed of
+any harm to the old gentleman, who had been my kindest friend."
+
+"I entirely believe you, madam," said Sherlock Holmes. "The
+recital of these events must be very painful to you, and perhaps
+it will make it easier if I tell you what occurred, and you can
+check me if I make any material mistake. The sending of this
+letter was suggested to you by Stapleton?"
+
+"He dictated it."
+
+"I presume that the reason he gave was that you would receive
+help from Sir Charles for the legal expenses connected with your
+divorce?"
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"And then after you had sent the letter he dissuaded you from
+keeping the appointment?"
+
+"He told me that it would hurt his self-respect that any other
+man should find the money for such an object, and that though he
+was a poor man himself he would devote his last penny to removing
+the obstacles which divided us."
+
+"He appears to be a very consistent character. And then you heard
+nothing until you read the reports of the death in the paper?"
+
+"No."
+
+"And he made you swear to say nothing about your appointment with
+Sir Charles?"
+
+"He did. He said that the death was a very mysterious one, and
+that I should certainly be suspected if the facts came out. He
+frightened me into remaining silent."
+
+"Quite so. But you had your suspicions?"
+
+She hesitated and looked down.
+
+"I knew him," she said. "But if he had kept faith with me I
+should always have done so with him."
+
+"I think that on the whole you have had a fortunate escape," said
+Sherlock Holmes. "You have had him in your power and he knew it,
+and yet you are alive. You have been walking for some months very
+near to the edge of a precipice. We must wish you good-morning
+now, Mrs. Lyons, and it is probable that you will very shortly
+hear from us again."
+
+"Our case becomes rounded off, and difficulty after difficulty
+thins away in front of us," said Holmes as we stood waiting for
+the arrival of the express from town. "I shall soon be in the
+position of being able to put into a single connected narrative
+one of the most singular and sensational crimes of modern times.
+Students of criminology will remember the analogous incidents in
+Godno, in Little Russia, in the year '66, and of course there are
+the Anderson murders in North Carolina, but this case possesses
+some features which are entirely its own. Even now we have no
+clear case against this very wily man. But I shall be very much
+surprised if it is not clear enough before we go to bed this
+night."
+
+The London express came roaring into the station, and a small,
+wiry bulldog of a man had sprung from a first-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 deal since the days when they had first worked together. I
+could well remember the scorn which the theories of the reasoner
+used then to excite in the practical man.
+
+"Anything good?" he asked.
+
+"The biggest thing for years," said Holmes. "We have two hours
+before we need think of starting. I think we might employ it in
+getting some dinner and then, Lestrade, we will take the London
+fog out of your throat by giving you a breath of the pure night
+air of Dartmoor. Never been there? Ah, well, I don't suppose you
+will forget your first visit."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 14
+
+The Hound of the Baskervilles
+
+
+One of Sherlock Holmes's defects--if, indeed, one may call it a
+defect--was that he was exceedingly loath to communicate his full
+plans to any other person until the instant of their fulfilment.
+Partly it came no doubt from his own masterful nature, which
+loved to dominate and surprise those who were around him. Partly
+also from his professional caution, which urged him never to take
+any chances. The result, however, was very trying for those who
+were acting as his agents and assistants. I had often suffered
+under it, but never more so than during that long drive in the
+darkness. The great ordeal was in front of us; at last we were
+about to make our final effort, and yet Holmes had said nothing,
+and I could only surmise what his course of action would be. My
+nerves thrilled with anticipation when at last the cold wind upon
+our faces and the dark, void spaces on either side of the narrow
+road told me that we were back upon the moor once again. Every
+stride of the horses and every turn of the wheels was taking us
+nearer to our supreme adventure.
+
+Our conversation was hampered by the presence of the driver of
+the hired wagonette, so that we were forced to talk of trivial
+matters when our nerves were tense with emotion and anticipation.
+It was a relief to me, after that unnatural restraint, when we at
+last passed Frankland's house and knew that we were drawing near
+to the Hall and to the scene of action. We did not drive up to
+the door but got down near the gate of the avenue. The wagonette
+was paid off and ordered to return to Coombe Tracey forthwith,
+while we started to walk to Merripit House.
+
+"Are you armed, Lestrade?"
+
+The little detective smiled.
+
+"As long as I have my trousers I have a hip-pocket, and as long
+as I have my hip-pocket I have something in it."
+
+"Good! My friend and I are also ready for emergencies."
+
+"You're mighty close about this affair, Mr. Holmes. What's the
+game now?"
+
+"A waiting game."
+
+"My word, it does not seem a very cheerful place," said the
+detective with a shiver, glancing round him at the gloomy slopes
+of the hill and at the huge lake of fog which lay over the
+Grimpen Mire. "I see the lights of a house ahead of us."
+
+"That is Merripit House and the end of our journey. I must
+request you to walk on tiptoe and not to talk above a whisper."
+
+We moved cautiously along the track as if we were bound for the
+house, but Holmes halted us when we were about two hundred yards
+from it.
+
+"This will do," said he. "These rocks upon the right make an
+admirable screen."
+
+"We are to wait here?"
+
+"Yes, we shall make our little ambush here. Get into this hollow,
+Lestrade. You have been inside the house, have you not, Watson?
+Can you tell the position of the rooms? What are those latticed
+windows at this end?"
+
+"I think they are the kitchen windows."
+
+"And the one beyond, which shines so brightly?"
+
+"That is certainly the dining-room."
+
+"The blinds are up. You know the lie of the land best. Creep
+forward quietly and see what they are doing--but for heaven's
+sake don't let them know that they are watched!"
+
+I tiptoed down the path and stooped behind the low wall which
+surrounded the stunted orchard. Creeping in its shadow I reached
+a point whence I could look straight through the uncurtained
+window.
+
+There were only two men in the room, Sir Henry and Stapleton.
+They sat with their profiles towards me on either side of the
+round table. Both of them were smoking cigars, and coffee and
+wine were in front of them. Stapleton was talking with animation,
+but the baronet looked pale and distrait. Perhaps the thought of
+that lonely walk across the ill-omened moor was weighing heavily
+upon his mind.
+
+As I watched them Stapleton rose and left the room, while Sir
+Henry filled his glass again and leaned back in his chair,
+puffing at his cigar. I heard the creak of a door and the crisp
+sound of boots upon gravel. The steps passed along the path on
+the other side of the wall under which I crouched. Looking over,
+I saw the naturalist pause at the door of an out-house in the
+corner of the orchard. A key turned in a lock, and as he passed
+in there was a curious scuffling noise from within. He was only a
+minute or so inside, and then I heard the key turn once more and
+he passed me and re-entered the house. I saw him rejoin his
+guest, and I crept quietly back to where my companions were
+waiting to tell them what I had seen.
+
+"You say, Watson, that the lady is not there?" Holmes asked, when
+I had finished my report.
+
+"No."
+
+"Where can she be, then, since there is no light in any other
+room except the kitchen?"
+
+"I cannot think where she is."
+
+I have said that over the great Grimpen Mire there hung a dense,
+white fog. It was drifting slowly in our direction, and banked
+itself up like a wall on that side of us, low, but thick and well
+defined. The moon shone on it, and it looked like a great
+shimmering ice-field, with the heads of the distant tors as rocks
+borne upon its surface. Holmes's face was turned towards it, and
+he muttered impatiently as he watched its sluggish drift.
+
+"It's moving towards us, Watson."
+
+"Is that serious?"
+
+"Very serious, indeed--the one thing upon earth which could have
+disarranged my plans. He can't be very long, now. It is already
+ten o'clock. Our success and even his life may depend upon his
+coming out before the fog is over the path."
+
+The night was clear and fine above us. The stars shone cold and
+bright, while a half-moon bathed the whole scene in a soft,
+uncertain light. Before us lay the dark bulk of the house, its
+serrated roof and bristling chimneys hard outlined against the
+silver-spangled sky. Broad bars of golden light from the lower
+windows stretched across the orchard and the moor. One of them
+was suddenly shut off. The servants had left the kitchen. There
+only remained the lamp in the dining-room where the two men, the
+murderous host and the unconscious guest, still chatted over
+their cigars.
+
+Every minute that white woolly plain which covered one half of
+the moor was drifting closer and closer to the house. Already the
+first thin wisps of it were curling across the golden square of
+the lighted window. The farther wall of the orchard was already
+invisible, and the trees were standing out of a swirl of white
+vapour. As we watched it the fog-wreaths came crawling round both
+corners of the house and rolled slowly into one dense bank, on
+which the upper floor and the roof floated like a strange ship
+upon a shadowy sea. Holmes struck his hand passionately upon the
+rock in front of us and stamped his feet in his impatience.
+
+"If he isn't out in a quarter of an hour the path will be
+covered. In half an hour we won't be able to see our hands in
+front of us."
+
+"Shall we move farther back upon higher ground?"
+
+"Yes, I think it would be as well."
+
+So as the fog-bank flowed onward we fell back before it until we
+were half a mile from the house, and still that dense white sea,
+with the moon silvering its upper edge, swept slowly and
+inexorably on.
+
+"We are going too far," said Holmes. "We dare not take the chance
+of his being overtaken before he can reach us. At all costs we
+must hold our ground where we are." He dropped on his knees and
+clapped his ear to the ground. "Thank God, I think that I hear
+him coming."
+
+A sound of quick steps broke the silence of the moor. Crouching
+among the stones we stared intently at the silver-tipped bank in
+front of us. The steps grew louder, and through the fog, as
+through a curtain, there stepped the man whom we were awaiting.
+He looked round him in surprise as he emerged into the clear,
+starlit night. Then he came swiftly along the path, passed close
+to where we lay, and went on up the long slope behind us. As he
+walked he glanced continually over either shoulder, like a man
+who is ill at ease.
+
+"Hist!" cried Holmes, and I heard the sharp click of a cocking
+pistol. "Look out! It's coming!"
+
+There was a thin, crisp, continuous patter from somewhere in the
+heart of that crawling bank. The cloud was within fifty yards of
+where we lay, and we glared at it, all three, uncertain what
+horror was about to break from the heart of it. I was at Holmes's
+elbow, and I glanced for an instant at his face. It was pale and
+exultant, his eyes shining brightly in the moonlight. But
+suddenly they started forward in a rigid, fixed stare, and his
+lips parted in amazement. At the same instant Lestrade gave a
+yell of terror and threw himself face downward upon the ground. I
+sprang to my feet, my inert hand grasping my pistol, my mind
+paralyzed by the dreadful shape which had sprung out upon us from
+the shadows of the fog. A hound it was, an enormous coal-black
+hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire
+burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering
+glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in
+flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered
+brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be
+conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us
+out of the wall of fog.
+
+With long bounds the huge black creature was leaping down the
+track, following hard upon the footsteps of our friend. So
+paralyzed were we by the apparition that we allowed him to pass
+before we had recovered our nerve. Then Holmes and I both fired
+together, and the creature gave a hideous howl, which showed that
+one at least had hit him. He did not pause, however, but bounded
+onward. Far away on the path we saw Sir Henry looking back, his
+face white in the moonlight, his hands raised in horror, glaring
+helplessly at the frightful thing which was hunting him down.
+
+But that cry of pain from the hound had blown all our fears to
+the winds. If he was vulnerable he was mortal, and if we could
+wound him we could kill him. Never have I seen a man run as
+Holmes ran that night. I am reckoned fleet of foot, but he
+outpaced me as much as I outpaced the little professional. In
+front of us as we flew up the track we heard scream after scream
+from Sir Henry and the deep roar of the hound. I was in time to
+see the beast spring upon its victim, hurl him to the ground, and
+worry at his throat. But the next instant Holmes had emptied five
+barrels of his revolver into the creature's flank. With a last
+howl of agony and a vicious snap in the air, it rolled upon its
+back, four feet pawing furiously, and then fell limp upon its
+side. I stooped, panting, and pressed my pistol to the dreadful,
+shimmering head, but it was useless to press the trigger. The
+giant hound was dead.
+
+Sir Henry lay insensible where he had fallen. We tore away his
+collar, and Holmes breathed a prayer of gratitude when we saw
+that there was no sign of a wound and that the rescue had been in
+time. Already our friend's eyelids shivered and he made a feeble
+effort to move. Lestrade thrust his brandy-flask between the
+baronet's teeth, and two frightened eyes were looking up at us.
+
+"My God!" he whispered. "What was it? What, in heaven's name, was
+it?"
+
+"It's dead, whatever it is," said Holmes. "We've laid the family
+ghost once and forever."
+
+In mere size and strength it was a terrible creature which was
+lying stretched before us. It was not a pure bloodhound and it
+was not a pure mastiff; but it appeared to be a combination of
+the two--gaunt, savage, and as large as a small lioness. Even
+now, in the stillness of death, the huge jaws seemed to be
+dripping with a bluish flame and the small, deep-set, cruel eyes
+were ringed with fire. I placed my hand upon the glowing muzzle,
+and as I held them up my own fingers smouldered and gleamed in
+the darkness.
+
+"Phosphorus," I said.
+
+"A cunning preparation of it," said Holmes, sniffing at the dead
+animal. "There is no smell which might have interfered with his
+power of scent. We owe you a deep apology, Sir Henry, for having
+exposed you to this fright. I was prepared for a hound, but not
+for such a creature as this. And the fog gave us little time to
+receive him."
+
+"You have saved my life."
+
+"Having first endangered it. Are you strong enough to stand?"
+
+"Give me another mouthful of that brandy and I shall be ready for
+anything. So! Now, if you will help me up. What do you propose to
+do?"
+
+"To leave you here. You are not fit for further adventures
+to-night. If you will wait, one or other of us will go back with
+you to the Hall."
+
+He tried to stagger to his feet; but he was still ghastly pale
+and trembling in every limb. We helped him to a rock, where he
+sat shivering with his face buried in his hands.
+
+"We must leave you now," said Holmes. "The rest of our work must
+be done, and every moment is of importance. We have our case, and
+now we only want our man.
+
+"It's a thousand to one against our finding him at the house," he
+continued as we retraced our steps swiftly down the path. "Those
+shots must have told him that the game was up."
+
+"We were some distance off, and this fog may have deadened them."
+
+"He followed the hound to call him off--of that you may be
+certain. No, no, he's gone by this time! But we'll search the
+house and make sure."
+
+The front door was open, so we rushed in and hurried from room to
+room to the amazement of a doddering old manservant, who met us
+in the passage. There was no light save in the dining-room, but
+Holmes caught up the lamp and left no corner of the house
+unexplored. No sign could we see of the man whom we were chasing.
+On the upper floor, however, one of the bedroom doors was locked.
+
+"There's someone in here," cried Lestrade. "I can hear a
+movement. Open this door!"
+
+A faint moaning and rustling came from within. Holmes struck the
+door just over the lock with the flat of his foot and it flew
+open. Pistol in hand, we all three rushed into the room.
+
+But there was no sign within it of that desperate and defiant
+villain whom we expected to see. Instead we were faced by an
+object so strange and so unexpected that we stood for a moment
+staring at it in amazement.
+
+The room had been fashioned into a small museum, and the walls
+were lined by a number of glass-topped cases full of that
+collection of butterflies and moths the formation of which had
+been the relaxation of this complex and dangerous man. In the
+centre of this room there was an upright beam, which had been
+placed at some period as a support for the old worm-eaten baulk
+of timber which spanned the roof. To this post a figure was tied,
+so swathed and muffled in the sheets which had been used to
+secure it that one could not for the moment tell whether it was
+that of a man or a woman. One towel passed round the throat and
+was secured at the back of the pillar. Another covered the lower
+part of the face, and over it two dark eyes--eyes full of grief
+and shame and a dreadful questioning--stared back at us. In a
+minute we had torn off the gag, unswathed the bonds, and Mrs.
+Stapleton sank upon the floor in front of us. As her beautiful
+head fell upon her chest I saw the clear red weal of a whiplash
+across her neck.
+
+"The brute!" cried Holmes. "Here, Lestrade, your brandy-bottle!
+Put her in the chair! She has fainted from ill-usage and
+exhaustion."
+
+She opened her eyes again.
+
+"Is he safe?" she asked. "Has he escaped?"
+
+"He cannot escape us, madam."
+
+"No, no, I did not mean my husband. Sir Henry? Is he safe?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And the hound?"
+
+"It is dead."
+
+She gave a long sigh of satisfaction.
+
+"Thank God! Thank God! Oh, this villain! See how he has treated
+me!" She shot her arms out from her sleeves, and we saw with
+horror that they were all mottled with bruises. "But this is
+nothing--nothing! It is my mind and soul that he has tortured and
+defiled. I could endure it all, ill-usage, solitude, a life of
+deception, everything, as long as I could still cling to the hope
+that I had his love, but now I know that in this also I have been
+his dupe and his tool." She broke into passionate sobbing as she
+spoke.
+
+"You bear him no good will, madam," said Holmes. "Tell us then
+where we shall find him. If you have ever aided him in evil, help
+us now and so atone."
+
+"There is but one place where he can have fled," she answered.
+"There is an old tin mine on an island in the heart of the mire.
+It was there that he kept his hound and there also he had made
+preparations so that he might have a refuge. That is where he
+would fly."
+
+The fog-bank lay like white wool against the window. Holmes held
+the lamp towards it.
+
+"See," said he. "No one could find his way into the Grimpen Mire
+to-night."
+
+She laughed and clapped her hands. Her eyes and teeth gleamed
+with fierce merriment.
+
+"He may find his way in, but never out," she cried. "How can he
+see the guiding wands to-night? We planted them together, he and
+I, to mark the pathway through the mire. Oh, if I could only have
+plucked them out to-day. Then indeed you would have had him at
+your mercy!"
+
+It was evident to us that all pursuit was in vain until the fog
+had lifted. Meanwhile we left Lestrade in possession of the house
+while Holmes and I went back with the baronet to Baskerville
+Hall. The story of the Stapletons could no longer be withheld
+from him, but he took the blow bravely when he learned the truth
+about the woman whom he had loved. But the shock of the night's
+adventures had shattered his nerves, and before morning he lay
+delirious in a high fever, under the care of Dr. Mortimer. The
+two of them were destined to travel together round the world
+before Sir Henry had become once more the hale, hearty man that
+he had been before he became master of that ill-omened estate.
+
+And now I come rapidly to the conclusion of this singular
+narrative, in which I have tried to make the reader share those
+dark fears and vague surmises which clouded our lives so long and
+ended in so tragic a manner. On the morning after the death of
+the hound the fog had lifted and we were guided by Mrs. Stapleton
+to the point where they had found a pathway through the bog. It
+helped us to realize the horror of this woman's life when we saw
+the eagerness and joy with which she laid us on her husband's
+track. We left her standing upon the thin peninsula of firm,
+peaty soil which tapered out into the widespread bog. From the
+end of it a small wand planted here and there showed where the
+path zigzagged from tuft to tuft of rushes among those
+green-scummed pits and foul quagmires which barred the way to the
+stranger. Rank reeds and lush, slimy water-plants sent an odour
+of decay and a heavy miasmatic vapour onto our faces, while a
+false step plunged us more than once thigh-deep into the dark,
+quivering mire, which shook for yards in soft undulations around
+our feet. Its tenacious grip plucked at our heels as we walked,
+and when we sank into it it was as if some malignant hand was
+tugging us down into those obscene depths, so grim and purposeful
+was the clutch in which it held us. Once only we saw a trace that
+someone had passed that perilous way before us. From amid a tuft
+of cotton grass which bore it up out of the slime some dark thing
+was projecting. Holmes sank to his waist as he stepped from the
+path to seize it, and had we not been there to drag him out he
+could never have set his foot upon firm land again. He held an
+old black boot in the air. "Meyers, Toronto," was printed on the
+leather inside.
+
+"It is worth a mud bath," said he. "It is our friend Sir Henry's
+missing boot."
+
+"Thrown there by Stapleton in his flight."
+
+"Exactly. He retained it in his hand after using it to set the
+hound upon the track. He fled when he knew the game was up, still
+clutching it. And he hurled it away at this point of his flight.
+We know at least that he came so far in safety."
+
+But more than that we were never destined to know, though there
+was much which we might surmise. There was no chance of finding
+footsteps in the mire, for the rising mud oozed swiftly in upon
+them, but as we at last reached firmer ground beyond the morass
+we all looked eagerly for them. But no slightest sign of them
+ever met our eyes. If the earth told a true story, then Stapleton
+never reached that island of refuge towards which he struggled
+through the fog upon that last night. Somewhere in the heart of
+the great Grimpen Mire, down in the foul slime of the huge morass
+which had sucked him in, this cold and cruel-hearted man is
+forever buried.
+
+Many traces we found of him in the bog-girt island where he had
+hid his savage ally. A huge driving-wheel and a shaft half-filled
+with rubbish showed the position of an abandoned mine. Beside it
+were the crumbling remains of the cottages of the miners, driven
+away no doubt by the foul reek of the surrounding swamp. In one
+of these a staple and chain with a quantity of gnawed bones
+showed where the animal had been confined. A skeleton with a
+tangle of brown hair adhering to it lay among the debris.
+
+"A dog!" said Holmes. "By Jove, a curly-haired spaniel. Poor
+Mortimer will never see his pet again. Well, I do not know that
+this place contains any secret which we have not already
+fathomed. He could hide his hound, but he could not hush its
+voice, and hence came those cries which even in daylight were not
+pleasant to hear. On an emergency he could keep the hound in the
+out-house at Merripit, but it was always a risk, and it was only
+on the supreme day, which he regarded as the end of all his
+efforts, that he dared do it. This paste in the tin is no doubt
+the luminous mixture with which the creature was daubed. It was
+suggested, of course, by the story of the family hell-hound, and
+by the desire to frighten old Sir Charles to death. No wonder the
+poor devil of a convict ran and screamed, even as our friend did,
+and as we ourselves might have done, when he saw such a creature
+bounding through the darkness of the moor upon his track. It was
+a cunning device, for, apart from the chance of driving your
+victim to his death, what peasant would venture to inquire too
+closely into such a creature should he get sight of it, as many
+have done, upon the moor? I said it in London, Watson, and I say
+it again now, that never yet have we helped to hunt down a more
+dangerous man than he who is lying yonder"--he swept his long arm
+towards the huge mottled expanse of green-splotched bog which
+stretched away until it merged into the russet slopes of the
+moor.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 15
+
+A Retrospection
+
+
+It was the end of November and Holmes and I sat, upon a raw and
+foggy night, on either side of a blazing fire in our sitting-room
+in Baker Street. Since the tragic upshot of our visit to
+Devonshire he had been engaged in two affairs of the utmost
+importance, in the first of which he had exposed the atrocious
+conduct of Colonel Upwood in connection with the famous card
+scandal of the Nonpareil Club, while in the second he had
+defended the unfortunate Mme. Montpensier from the charge of
+murder which hung over her in connection with the death of her
+step-daughter, Mlle. Carere, the young lady who, as it will be
+remembered, was found six months later alive and married in New
+York. My friend was in excellent spirits over the success which
+had attended a succession of difficult and important cases, so
+that I was able to induce him to discuss the details of the
+Baskerville mystery. I had waited patiently for the opportunity,
+for I was aware that he would never permit cases to overlap, and
+that his clear and logical mind would not be drawn from its
+present work to dwell upon memories of the past. Sir Henry and
+Dr. Mortimer were, however, in London, on their way to that long
+voyage which had been recommended for the restoration of his
+shattered nerves. They had called upon us that very afternoon, so
+that it was natural that the subject should come up for
+discussion.
+
+"The whole course of events," said Holmes, "from the point of
+view of the man who called himself Stapleton was simple and
+direct, although to us, who had no means in the beginning of
+knowing the motives of his actions and could only learn part of
+the facts, it all appeared exceedingly complex. I have had the
+advantage of two conversations with Mrs. Stapleton, and the case
+has now been so entirely cleared up that I am not aware that
+there is anything which has remained a secret to us. You will
+find a few notes upon the matter under the heading B in my
+indexed list of cases."
+
+"Perhaps you would kindly give me a sketch of the course of
+events from memory."
+
+"Certainly, though I cannot guarantee that I carry all the facts
+in my mind. Intense mental concentration has a curious way of
+blotting out what has passed. The barrister who has his case at
+his fingers' ends, and is able to argue with an expert upon his
+own subject finds that a week or two of the courts will drive it
+all out of his head once more. So each of my cases displaces the
+last, and Mlle. Carere has blurred my recollection of Baskerville
+Hall. To-morrow some other little problem may be submitted to my
+notice which will in turn dispossess the fair French lady and the
+infamous Upwood. So far as the case of the Hound goes, however, I
+will give you the course of events as nearly as I can, and you
+will suggest anything which I may have forgotten.
+
+"My inquiries show beyond all question that the family portrait
+did not lie, and that this fellow was indeed a Baskerville. He
+was a son of that Rodger Baskerville, the younger brother of Sir
+Charles, who fled with a sinister reputation to South America,
+where he was said to have died unmarried. He did, as a matter of
+fact, marry, and had one child, this fellow, whose real name is
+the same as his father's. He married Beryl Garcia, one of the
+beauties of Costa Rica, and, having purloined a considerable sum
+of public money, he changed his name to Vandeleur and fled to
+England, where he established a school in the east of Yorkshire.
+His reason for attempting this special line of business was that
+he had struck up an acquaintance with a consumptive tutor upon
+the voyage home, and that he had used this man's ability to make
+the undertaking a success. Fraser, the tutor, died however, and
+the school which had begun well sank from disrepute into infamy.
+The Vandeleurs found it convenient to change their name to
+Stapleton, and he brought the remains of his fortune, his schemes
+for the future, and his taste for entomology to the south of
+England. I learned at the British Museum that he was a recognized
+authority upon the subject, and that the name of Vandeleur has
+been permanently attached to a certain moth which he had, in his
+Yorkshire days, been the first to describe.
+
+"We now come to that portion of his life which has proved to be
+of such intense interest to us. The fellow had evidently made
+inquiry and found that only two lives intervened between him and
+a valuable estate. When he went to Devonshire his plans were, I
+believe, exceedingly hazy, but that he meant mischief from the
+first is evident from the way in which he took his wife with him
+in the character of his sister. The idea of using her as a decoy
+was clearly already in his mind, though he may not have been
+certain how the details of his plot were to be arranged. He meant
+in the end to have the estate, and he was ready to use any tool
+or run any risk for that end. His first act was to establish
+himself as near to his ancestral home as he could, and his second
+was to cultivate a friendship with Sir Charles Baskerville and
+with the neighbours.
+
+"The baronet himself told him about the family hound, and so
+prepared the way for his own death. Stapleton, as I will continue
+to call him, knew that the old man's heart was weak and that a
+shock would kill him. So much he had learned from Dr. Mortimer.
+He had heard also that Sir Charles was superstitious and had
+taken this grim legend very seriously. His ingenious mind
+instantly suggested a way by which the baronet could be done to
+death, and yet it would be hardly possible to bring home the
+guilt to the real murderer.
+
+"Having conceived the idea he proceeded to carry it out with
+considerable finesse. An ordinary schemer would have been content
+to work with a savage hound. The use of artificial means to make
+the creature diabolical was a flash of genius upon his part. The
+dog he bought in London from Ross and Mangles, the dealers in
+Fulham Road. It was the strongest and most savage in their
+possession. He brought it down by the North Devon line and walked
+a great distance over the moor so as to get it home without
+exciting any remarks. He had already on his insect hunts learned
+to penetrate the Grimpen Mire, and so had found a safe
+hiding-place for the creature. Here he kennelled it and waited
+his chance.
+
+"But it was some time coming. The old gentleman could not be
+decoyed outside of his grounds at night. Several times Stapleton
+lurked about with his hound, but without avail. It was during
+these fruitless quests that he, or rather his ally, was seen by
+peasants, and that the legend of the demon dog received a new
+confirmation. He had hoped that his wife might lure Sir Charles
+to his ruin, but here she proved unexpectedly independent. She
+would not endeavour to entangle the old gentleman in a
+sentimental attachment which might deliver him over to his enemy.
+Threats and even, I am sorry to say, blows refused to move her.
+She would have nothing to do with it, and for a time Stapleton
+was at a deadlock.
+
+"He found a way out of his difficulties through the chance that
+Sir Charles, who had conceived a friendship for him, made him the
+minister of his charity in the case of this unfortunate woman,
+Mrs. Laura Lyons. By representing himself as a single man he
+acquired complete influence over her, and he gave her to
+understand that in the event of her obtaining a divorce from her
+husband he would marry her. His plans were suddenly brought to a
+head by his knowledge that Sir Charles was about to leave the
+Hall on the advice of Dr. Mortimer, with whose opinion he himself
+pretended to coincide. He must act at once, or his victim might
+get beyond his power. He therefore put pressure upon Mrs. Lyons
+to write this letter, imploring the old man to give her an
+interview on the evening before his departure for London. He
+then, by a specious argument, prevented her from going, and so
+had the chance for which he had waited.
+
+"Driving back in the evening from Coombe Tracey he was in time to
+get his hound, to treat it with his infernal paint, and to bring
+the beast round to the gate at which he had reason to expect that
+he would find the old gentleman waiting. The dog, incited by its
+master, sprang over the wicket-gate and pursued the unfortunate
+baronet, who fled screaming down the Yew Alley. In that gloomy
+tunnel it must indeed have been a dreadful sight to see that huge
+black creature, with its flaming jaws and blazing eyes, bounding
+after its victim. He fell dead at the end of the alley from heart
+disease and terror. The hound had kept upon the grassy border
+while the baronet had run down the path, so that no track but the
+man's was visible. On seeing him lying still the creature had
+probably approached to sniff at him, but finding him dead had
+turned away again. It was then that it left the print which was
+actually observed by Dr. Mortimer. The hound was called off and
+hurried away to its lair in the Grimpen Mire, and a mystery was
+left which puzzled the authorities, alarmed the country-side, and
+finally brought the case within the scope of our observation.
+
+"So much for the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. You perceive
+the devilish cunning of it, for really it would be almost
+impossible to make a case against the real murderer. His only
+accomplice was one who could never give him away, and the
+grotesque, inconceivable nature of the device only served to make
+it more effective. Both of the women concerned in the case, Mrs.
+Stapleton and Mrs. Laura Lyons, were left with a strong suspicion
+against Stapleton. Mrs. Stapleton knew that he had designs upon
+the old man, and also of the existence of the hound. Mrs. Lyons
+knew neither of these things, but had been impressed by the death
+occurring at the time of an uncancelled appointment which was
+only known to him. However, both of them were under his
+influence, and he had nothing to fear from them. The first half
+of his task was successfully accomplished but the more difficult
+still remained.
+
+"It is possible that Stapleton did not know of the existence of
+an heir in Canada. In any case he would very soon learn it from
+his friend Dr. Mortimer, and he was told by the latter all
+details about the arrival of Henry Baskerville. Stapleton's first
+idea was that this young stranger from Canada might possibly be
+done to death in London without coming down to Devonshire at all.
+He distrusted his wife ever since she had refused to help him in
+laying a trap for the old man, and he dared not leave her long
+out of his sight for fear he should lose his influence over her.
+It was for this reason that he took her to London with him. They
+lodged, I find, at the Mexborough Private Hotel, in Craven
+Street, which was actually one of those called upon by my agent
+in search of evidence. Here he kept his wife imprisoned in her
+room while he, disguised in a beard, followed Dr. Mortimer to
+Baker Street and afterwards to the station and to the
+Northumberland Hotel. His wife had some inkling of his plans; but
+she had such a fear of her husband--a fear founded upon brutal
+ill-treatment--that she dare not write to warn the man whom she
+knew to be in danger. If the letter should fall into Stapleton's
+hands her own life would not be safe. Eventually, as we know, she
+adopted the expedient of cutting out the words which would form
+the message, and addressing the letter in a disguised hand. It
+reached the baronet, and gave him the first warning of his
+danger.
+
+"It was very essential for Stapleton to get some article of Sir
+Henry's attire so that, in case he was driven to use the dog, he
+might always have the means of setting him upon his track. With
+characteristic promptness and audacity he set about this at once,
+and we cannot doubt that the boots or chamber-maid of the hotel
+was well bribed to help him in his design. By chance, however,
+the first boot which was procured for him was a new one and,
+therefore, useless for his purpose. He then had it returned and
+obtained another--a most instructive incident, since it proved
+conclusively to my mind that we were dealing with a real hound,
+as no other supposition could explain this anxiety to obtain an
+old boot and this indifference to a new one. The more outre and
+grotesque an incident is the more carefully it deserves to be
+examined, and the very point which appears to complicate a case
+is, when duly considered and scientifically handled, the one
+which is most likely to elucidate it.
+
+"Then we had the visit from our friends next morning, shadowed
+always by Stapleton in the cab. From his knowledge of our rooms
+and of my appearance, as well as from his general conduct, I am
+inclined to think that Stapleton's career of crime has been by no
+means limited to this single Baskerville affair. It is suggestive
+that during the last three years there have been four
+considerable burglaries in the West Country, for none of which
+was any criminal ever arrested. The last of these, at Folkestone
+Court, in May, was remarkable for the cold-blooded pistoling of
+the page, who surprised the masked and solitary burglar. I cannot
+doubt that Stapleton recruited his waning resources in this
+fashion, and that for years he has been a desperate and dangerous
+man.
+
+"We had an example of his readiness of resource that morning when
+he got away from us so successfully, and also of his audacity in
+sending back my own name to me through the cabman. From that
+moment he understood that I had taken over the case in London,
+and that therefore there was no chance for him there. He returned
+to Dartmoor and awaited the arrival of the baronet."
+
+"One moment!" said I. "You have, no doubt, described the sequence
+of events correctly, but there is one point which you have left
+unexplained. What became of the hound when its master was in
+London?"
+
+"I have given some attention to this matter and it is undoubtedly
+of importance. There can be no question that Stapleton had a
+confidant, though it is unlikely that he ever placed himself in
+his power by sharing all his plans with him. There was an old
+manservant at Merripit House, whose name was Anthony. His
+connection with the Stapletons can be traced for several years,
+as far back as the schoolmastering days, so that he must have
+been aware that his master and mistress were really husband and
+wife. This man has disappeared and has escaped from the country.
+It is suggestive that Anthony is not a common name in England,
+while Antonio is so in all Spanish or Spanish-American countries.
+The man, like Mrs. Stapleton herself, spoke good English, but
+with a curious lisping accent. I have myself seen this old man
+cross the Grimpen Mire by the path which Stapleton had marked
+out. It is very probable, therefore, that in the absence of his
+master it was he who cared for the hound, though he may never
+have known the purpose for which the beast was used.
+
+"The Stapletons then went down to Devonshire, whither they were
+soon followed by Sir Henry and you. One word now as to how I
+stood myself at that time. It may possibly recur to your memory
+that when I examined the paper upon which the printed words were
+fastened I made a close inspection for the water-mark. In doing
+so I held it within a few inches of my eyes, and was conscious of
+a faint smell of the scent known as white jessamine. There are
+seventy-five perfumes, which it is very necessary that a criminal
+expert should be able to distinguish from each other, and cases
+have more than once within my own experience depended upon their
+prompt recognition. The scent suggested the presence of a lady,
+and already my thoughts began to turn towards the Stapletons.
+Thus I had made certain of the hound, and had guessed at the
+criminal before ever we went to the west country.
+
+"It was my game to watch Stapleton. It was evident, however, that
+I could not do this if I were with you, since he would be keenly
+on his guard. I deceived everybody, therefore, yourself included,
+and I came down secretly when I was supposed to be in London. My
+hardships were not so great as you imagined, though such trifling
+details must never interfere with the investigation of a case. I
+stayed for the most part at Coombe Tracey, and only used the hut
+upon the moor when it was necessary to be near the scene of
+action. Cartwright had come down with me, and in his disguise as
+a country boy he was of great assistance to me. I was dependent
+upon him for food and clean linen. When I was watching Stapleton,
+Cartwright was frequently watching you, so that I was able to
+keep my hand upon all the strings.
+
+"I have already told you that your reports reached me rapidly,
+being forwarded instantly from Baker Street to Coombe Tracey.
+They were of great service to me, and especially that one
+incidentally truthful piece of biography of Stapleton's. I was
+able to establish the identity of the man and the woman and knew
+at last exactly how I stood. The case had been considerably
+complicated through the incident of the escaped convict and the
+relations between him and the Barrymores. This also you cleared
+up in a very effective way, though I had already come to the same
+conclusions from my own observations.
+
+"By the time that you discovered me upon the moor I had a
+complete knowledge of the whole business, but I had not a case
+which could go to a jury. Even Stapleton's attempt upon Sir Henry
+that night which ended in the death of the unfortunate convict
+did not help us much in proving murder against our man. There
+seemed to be no alternative but to catch him red-handed, and to
+do so we had to use Sir Henry, alone and apparently unprotected,
+as a bait. We did so, and at the cost of a severe shock to our
+client we succeeded in completing our case and driving Stapleton
+to his destruction. That Sir Henry should have been exposed to
+this is, I must confess, a reproach to my management of the case,
+but we had no means of foreseeing the terrible and paralyzing
+spectacle which the beast presented, nor could we predict the fog
+which enabled him to burst upon us at such short notice. We
+succeeded in our object at a cost which both the specialist and
+Dr. Mortimer assure me will be a temporary one. A long journey
+may enable our friend to recover not only from his shattered
+nerves but also from his wounded feelings. His love for the lady
+was deep and sincere, and to him the saddest part of all this
+black business was that he should have been deceived by her.
+
+"It only remains to indicate the part which she had played
+throughout. There can be no doubt that Stapleton exercised an
+influence over her which may have been love or may have been
+fear, or very possibly both, since they are by no means
+incompatible emotions. It was, at least, absolutely effective. At
+his command she consented to pass as his sister, though he found
+the limits of his power over her when he endeavoured to make her
+the direct accessory to murder. She was ready to warn Sir Henry
+so far as she could without implicating her husband, and again
+and again she tried to do so. Stapleton himself seems to have
+been capable of jealousy, and when he saw the baronet paying
+court to the lady, even though it was part of his own plan, still
+he could not help interrupting with a passionate outburst which
+revealed the fiery soul which his self-contained manner so
+cleverly concealed. By encouraging the intimacy he made it
+certain that Sir Henry would frequently come to Merripit House
+and that he would sooner or later get the opportunity which he
+desired. On the day of the crisis, however, his wife turned
+suddenly against him. She had learned something of the death of
+the convict, and she knew that the hound was being kept in the
+out-house on the evening that Sir Henry was coming to dinner. She
+taxed her husband with his intended crime, and a furious scene
+followed, in which he showed her for the first time that she had
+a rival in his love. Her fidelity turned in an instant to bitter
+hatred and he saw that she would betray him. He tied her up,
+therefore, that she might have no chance of warning Sir Henry,
+and he hoped, no doubt, that when the whole country-side put down
+the baronet's death to the curse of his family, as they certainly
+would do, he could win his wife back to accept an accomplished
+fact and to keep silent upon what she knew. In this I fancy that
+in any case he made a miscalculation, and that, if we had not
+been there, his doom would none the less have been sealed. A
+woman of Spanish blood does not condone such an injury so
+lightly. And now, my dear Watson, without referring to my notes,
+I cannot give you a more detailed account of this curious case. I
+do not know that anything essential has been left unexplained."
+
+"He could not hope to frighten Sir Henry to death as he had done
+the old uncle with his bogie hound."
+
+"The beast was savage and half-starved. If its appearance did not
+frighten its victim to death, at least it would paralyze the
+resistance which might be offered."
+
+"No doubt. There only remains one difficulty. If Stapleton came
+into the succession, how could he explain the fact that he, the
+heir, had been living unannounced under another name so close to
+the property? How could he claim it without causing suspicion and
+inquiry?"
+
+"It is a formidable difficulty, and I fear that you ask too much
+when you expect me to solve it. The past and the present are
+within the field of my inquiry, but what a man may do in the
+future is a hard question to answer. Mrs. Stapleton has heard her
+husband discuss the problem on several occasions. There were
+three possible courses. He might claim the property from South
+America, establish his identity before the British authorities
+there and so obtain the fortune without ever coming to England at
+all; or he might adopt an elaborate disguise during the short
+time that he need be in London; or, again, he might furnish an
+accomplice with the proofs and papers, putting him in as heir,
+and retaining a claim upon some proportion of his income. We
+cannot doubt from what we know of him that he would have found
+some way out of the difficulty. And now, my dear Watson, we have
+had some weeks of severe work, and for one evening, I think, we
+may turn our thoughts into more pleasant channels. I have a box
+for 'Les Huguenots.' Have you heard the De Reszkes? Might I
+trouble you then to be ready in half an hour, and we can stop at
+Marcini's for a little dinner on the way?"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hound of the Baskervilles, by
+Arthur Conan Doyle
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