WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.760 --> 00:00:03.160
<v Speaker 1>Chapter eight of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir

2
00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:07.000
<v Speaker 1>Arthur Conan Doyle. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.

3
00:00:09.119 --> 00:00:15.320
<v Speaker 1>Chapter eight, first report of Doctor Watson. From this point onward,

4
00:00:15.359 --> 00:00:18.120
<v Speaker 1>I will follow the course of events by transcribing my

5
00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:21.480
<v Speaker 1>own letters to mister Sherlock Holmes, which lie before me

6
00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:26.120
<v Speaker 1>on the table. One page is missing, but otherwise they

7
00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:29.559
<v Speaker 1>are exactly as written, and show my feelings and suspicions

8
00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:33.159
<v Speaker 1>of the moment more accurately than my memory, clear as

9
00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:38.320
<v Speaker 1>it is upon these tragic events, can possibly do. Baskerville Hall,

10
00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:43.920
<v Speaker 1>October thirteenth, My dear Holmes, my previous letters and telegrams

11
00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:45.840
<v Speaker 1>have kept you pretty well up to date as to

12
00:00:45.880 --> 00:00:48.880
<v Speaker 1>all that has occurred in this most god forsaken corner

13
00:00:48.920 --> 00:00:52.560
<v Speaker 1>of the world. The longer one stays here, the more

14
00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:55.200
<v Speaker 1>does the spirit of the moor sink into one's soul,

15
00:00:56.200 --> 00:01:00.320
<v Speaker 1>its vastness and also its grim charm. When you are

16
00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:02.840
<v Speaker 1>once out upon its bosom, you have left all traces

17
00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:06.319
<v Speaker 1>of modern England behind you. But on the other hand,

18
00:01:06.599 --> 00:01:09.400
<v Speaker 1>you are conscious everywhere of the homes and the work

19
00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:14.159
<v Speaker 1>of the prehistoric people. On all sides of you. As

20
00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:17.680
<v Speaker 1>you walk are the houses of these forgotten folk, with

21
00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:20.840
<v Speaker 1>their graves and the huge monoliths which are supposed to

22
00:01:20.840 --> 00:01:24.760
<v Speaker 1>have marked their temples. As you look at their gray

23
00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:28.599
<v Speaker 1>stone huts against the scarred hillsides, you leave your own

24
00:01:28.599 --> 00:01:30.959
<v Speaker 1>age behind you. And if you were to see a

25
00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:34.319
<v Speaker 1>skin clad hairy man crawl out from the low door,

26
00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:37.000
<v Speaker 1>fitting a flint tipped arrow on to the string of

27
00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:40.079
<v Speaker 1>his bow, you would feel that his presence there was

28
00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:43.719
<v Speaker 1>more natural than your own. The strange thing is that

29
00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:46.079
<v Speaker 1>they should have lived so thickly on what must have

30
00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:50.920
<v Speaker 1>always have been most unfruitful soil. I am no antiquarian,

31
00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:53.760
<v Speaker 1>but I could imagine that they were some unwarlike and

32
00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:57.359
<v Speaker 1>harried race who were forced to accept that which none

33
00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:02.799
<v Speaker 1>other would occupy. All this, however, is foreign to the

34
00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:05.519
<v Speaker 1>mission on which you sent me, and will probably be

35
00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:09.800
<v Speaker 1>very uninteresting to your severely practical mind. I can still

36
00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:12.759
<v Speaker 1>remember your complete indifference as to whether the Sun moved

37
00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:17.000
<v Speaker 1>round the earth or the earth round the Sun. Let me, therefore,

38
00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:21.840
<v Speaker 1>return to the facts concerning Sir Henry Baskerville. If you

39
00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:24.360
<v Speaker 1>have not had any report within the last few days,

40
00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:27.520
<v Speaker 1>it is because up to to day there was nothing

41
00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:32.199
<v Speaker 1>of importance to relate. Then a very surprising circumstance occurred,

42
00:02:32.520 --> 00:02:35.439
<v Speaker 1>which I shall tell you in due course. But first

43
00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:37.400
<v Speaker 1>of all I must keep you in touch with some

44
00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:41.199
<v Speaker 1>of the other factors in the situation. One of these,

45
00:02:41.319 --> 00:02:44.919
<v Speaker 1>concerning which I have said little, is the escaped convict

46
00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:48.360
<v Speaker 1>upon the moor. There is strong reason now to believe

47
00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:52.280
<v Speaker 1>that he has got right away, which is a considerable

48
00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:57.080
<v Speaker 1>relief to the lonely householders of this district. A fortnight

49
00:02:57.120 --> 00:02:59.800
<v Speaker 1>has passed since his flight, during which he has not

50
00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:03.439
<v Speaker 1>been seen, and nothing has been heard of him. It

51
00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:06.319
<v Speaker 1>is surely inconceivable that he could have held out upon

52
00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:10.240
<v Speaker 1>the moor during all that time. Of course, so far

53
00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:13.599
<v Speaker 1>as his concealment goes, there is no difficulty at all.

54
00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:16.599
<v Speaker 1>Any one of these stone huts would give him a

55
00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:20.120
<v Speaker 1>hiding place, but there's nothing to eat unless he were

56
00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:23.360
<v Speaker 1>to catch and slaughter one of the more sheep. We think,

57
00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:26.919
<v Speaker 1>therefore that he's gone, and the outlying farmers sleep the better.

58
00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:32.360
<v Speaker 1>In consequence, we are four able bodied men in this household,

59
00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:35.120
<v Speaker 1>so that we could take good care of ourselves. But

60
00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:38.280
<v Speaker 1>I confess that I have had uneasy moments when I

61
00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:42.560
<v Speaker 1>have thought of the stapletons. They live miles from any help.

62
00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:46.120
<v Speaker 1>There are one maid, an old man servant, the sister,

63
00:03:46.199 --> 00:03:49.120
<v Speaker 1>and the brother, the latter not a very strong man.

64
00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:52.120
<v Speaker 1>They would be helpless in the hands of a desperate

65
00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:54.919
<v Speaker 1>fellow like this notting Hill criminal if he could once

66
00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:59.000
<v Speaker 1>effect an entrance. Both Sir Henry and I were concerned

67
00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:02.840
<v Speaker 1>at their situation, and it was suggested that Perkins the

68
00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:06.319
<v Speaker 1>Groom should go over to sleep there, but Stapleton would

69
00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:09.919
<v Speaker 1>not hear of it. The fact is that our friend

70
00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:14.039
<v Speaker 1>the Baronet begins to display a considerable interest in our

71
00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:17.800
<v Speaker 1>fair neighbor. It is not to be wondered at, for

72
00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:21.079
<v Speaker 1>time hangs heavily in this lonely spot to an active

73
00:04:21.160 --> 00:04:24.480
<v Speaker 1>man like him, and she is a very fascinating and

74
00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:28.959
<v Speaker 1>beautiful woman. There is something tropical and exotic about her

75
00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:33.399
<v Speaker 1>which forms a singular contrast to her cool and unemotional brother.

76
00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:38.600
<v Speaker 1>Yet he also gives the idea of hidden fires. He

77
00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:43.319
<v Speaker 1>has certainly a very marked influence over her, for I

78
00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:46.600
<v Speaker 1>have seen her continually glance at him as she talked,

79
00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:50.720
<v Speaker 1>as if seeking approbation for what she said. I trust

80
00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:53.399
<v Speaker 1>that he is kind to her. There is a dry

81
00:04:53.480 --> 00:04:55.959
<v Speaker 1>glitter in his eyes, and the firm set of his

82
00:04:56.040 --> 00:04:59.720
<v Speaker 1>thin lips, which goes with a positive and possibly a

83
00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:03.680
<v Speaker 1>hart harsh nature. You would find him an interesting study.

84
00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:07.879
<v Speaker 1>He came over to call upon Baskerville on that first day,

85
00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:10.600
<v Speaker 1>and the very next morning he took us both to

86
00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:12.920
<v Speaker 1>show us the spot where the legend of the Wicked

87
00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:16.480
<v Speaker 1>Hugo is supposed to have had its origin. It was

88
00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:19.439
<v Speaker 1>an excursion of some miles across the moor to a

89
00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:22.240
<v Speaker 1>place which is so dismal that it might have suggested

90
00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:26.279
<v Speaker 1>the story. We found a short valley between rugged tours,

91
00:05:26.839 --> 00:05:30.319
<v Speaker 1>which led to an open, grassy space flecked over with

92
00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:33.839
<v Speaker 1>the white cotton grass. In the middle of it rose

93
00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:37.480
<v Speaker 1>two great stones, worn and sharpened at the upper end

94
00:05:37.560 --> 00:05:40.600
<v Speaker 1>until they looked like the huge, corroding fangs of some

95
00:05:40.759 --> 00:05:44.959
<v Speaker 1>monstrous beast. In every way it corresponded with the scene

96
00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:49.319
<v Speaker 1>of the old tragedy. Sir Henry was much interested and

97
00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:52.720
<v Speaker 1>urked Stapleton more than once whether he did really believe

98
00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:56.560
<v Speaker 1>in the possibility of the interference of the supernatural in

99
00:05:56.639 --> 00:06:00.759
<v Speaker 1>the affairs of men. He spoke lightly, but it was

100
00:06:00.839 --> 00:06:04.839
<v Speaker 1>evident that he was very much in earnest. Stapleton was

101
00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:08.199
<v Speaker 1>guarded in his replies, but it was easy to see

102
00:06:08.360 --> 00:06:10.759
<v Speaker 1>that he said less than he might, and that he

103
00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:14.399
<v Speaker 1>would not express his whole opinion out of consideration for

104
00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:18.399
<v Speaker 1>the feelings of the baronet. He told us of similar

105
00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:23.399
<v Speaker 1>cases where families had suffered from some evil influence, and

106
00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:25.879
<v Speaker 1>he left us with the impression that he shared the

107
00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:29.319
<v Speaker 1>popular view upon the matter. On our way back, we

108
00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:32.199
<v Speaker 1>stayed for lunch at Mery Pitt House, and it was

109
00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:35.120
<v Speaker 1>there that Sir Henry made the acquaintance of Miss Stapleton.

110
00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:39.079
<v Speaker 1>From the first moment that he saw her, he appeared

111
00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:42.120
<v Speaker 1>to be strongly attracted by her, and I am much

112
00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:46.600
<v Speaker 1>mistaken if the feeling was not mutual. He referred to

113
00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:49.639
<v Speaker 1>her again and again on our walk home, and since

114
00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:52.360
<v Speaker 1>then hardly a day has passed that we have not

115
00:06:52.439 --> 00:06:56.160
<v Speaker 1>seen something of the brother and sister. They dine here

116
00:06:56.160 --> 00:06:58.600
<v Speaker 1>to night, and there is some talk of our going

117
00:06:58.600 --> 00:07:01.959
<v Speaker 1>to them next week. One would imagine that such a

118
00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:05.439
<v Speaker 1>match will be very welcome to Stapleton, And yet I

119
00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:07.560
<v Speaker 1>have more than once caught a look of the strongest

120
00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:11.160
<v Speaker 1>disapprobation in his face. When Sir Henry has been paying

121
00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:15.560
<v Speaker 1>some attention to his sister. He is much attached to her,

122
00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:18.759
<v Speaker 1>no doubt, and would lead a lonely life without her.

123
00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:21.759
<v Speaker 1>But it would seem the height of selfishness if he

124
00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:23.680
<v Speaker 1>were to stand in the way of her making so

125
00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:27.199
<v Speaker 1>brilliant a marriage. Yet I am certain that he does

126
00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:30.959
<v Speaker 1>not wish their intimacy to ripen into love, and I

127
00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:34.800
<v Speaker 1>have several times observed that he has taken pains to

128
00:07:34.839 --> 00:07:38.759
<v Speaker 1>prevent them from being tete a tete. By the way,

129
00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:41.639
<v Speaker 1>your instructions to me never to allow Sir Henry to

130
00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:44.720
<v Speaker 1>go out alone, will become very much more onerous if

131
00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:47.399
<v Speaker 1>a love affair were to be added to our other difficulties.

132
00:07:48.360 --> 00:07:51.360
<v Speaker 1>My popularity would soon suffer if I were to carry

133
00:07:51.399 --> 00:07:56.160
<v Speaker 1>out your orders to the letter. The other day, Thursday,

134
00:07:56.160 --> 00:08:00.120
<v Speaker 1>to be more exact, Doctor Mortimer lunched with us. He

135
00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:03.000
<v Speaker 1>has been excavating a barrow at long Down and has

136
00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:06.120
<v Speaker 1>got a prehistoric skull, which fills him with great joy.

137
00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:10.160
<v Speaker 1>Never was there such a single minded enthusiast as he.

138
00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:14.560
<v Speaker 1>The Stapletons came in afterwards when the good Doctor took

139
00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:17.199
<v Speaker 1>us all to the u alley at Sir Henry's request,

140
00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:21.319
<v Speaker 1>to show us exactly how everything occurred upon that fatal night.

141
00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:26.120
<v Speaker 1>It is a long dismal walk the u alley between

142
00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:29.399
<v Speaker 1>two high walls of clipped hedge, with a narrow band

143
00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:33.080
<v Speaker 1>of grass upon either side. At the far end is

144
00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:36.799
<v Speaker 1>an old tumble down summer house. Halfway down is the

145
00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:40.000
<v Speaker 1>moor gate where the old gentleman left his cigar ash.

146
00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:43.799
<v Speaker 1>It is a white wooden gate with a latch. Beyond

147
00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:47.159
<v Speaker 1>it lies the wide moor. I remembered your theory of

148
00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:49.679
<v Speaker 1>the affair and tried to picture all that had occurred.

149
00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:53.960
<v Speaker 1>As the old man stood there, he saw something coming

150
00:08:53.960 --> 00:08:57.360
<v Speaker 1>across the moor, something which terrified him so that he

151
00:08:57.440 --> 00:09:00.960
<v Speaker 1>lost his wits and ran and ran until he died

152
00:09:01.039 --> 00:09:05.519
<v Speaker 1>of sheer horror and exhaustion. There was the long, gloomy

153
00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:10.360
<v Speaker 1>tunnel down which he fled. And from what a sheep

154
00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:15.120
<v Speaker 1>dog of the moor or a spectral hound, black, silent

155
00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:18.559
<v Speaker 1>and monstrous? Was there a human agency in the matter?

156
00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:22.200
<v Speaker 1>Did the pale, watchful barrymore know more than he cared

157
00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:26.320
<v Speaker 1>to say? It was all dim and vague, but always

158
00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:30.759
<v Speaker 1>there is the dark shadow of crime behind it. One

159
00:09:30.840 --> 00:09:34.200
<v Speaker 1>other neighbor I've met since I wrote last this is

160
00:09:34.279 --> 00:09:38.440
<v Speaker 1>mister Frankland of Laughter Hall, who lived some four miles

161
00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:41.320
<v Speaker 1>to the south of us. He is an elderly man,

162
00:09:41.799 --> 00:09:45.600
<v Speaker 1>red faced, white haired, and choleric. His passion is for

163
00:09:45.639 --> 00:09:48.399
<v Speaker 1>the British law, and he has spent a large fortune

164
00:09:48.399 --> 00:09:53.399
<v Speaker 1>in litigation. He fights for the mere pleasure of fighting,

165
00:09:53.840 --> 00:09:56.360
<v Speaker 1>and is equally ready to take up either side of

166
00:09:56.399 --> 00:09:59.120
<v Speaker 1>a question, so that it is no wonder that he

167
00:09:59.159 --> 00:10:04.039
<v Speaker 1>has found it a mostly amusement. Sometimes he will shut

168
00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:06.759
<v Speaker 1>up a right of way and defy the parish to

169
00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:11.120
<v Speaker 1>make him open it. At others he will with his

170
00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:15.799
<v Speaker 1>own hands tear down some other man's gait and declare

171
00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:20.240
<v Speaker 1>that a path existed there from time immemorial, defying the

172
00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:24.559
<v Speaker 1>owner to prosecute him for trespass. He is learned in

173
00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:28.240
<v Speaker 1>old manorial and communal rights, and he applies his knowledge,

174
00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:32.240
<v Speaker 1>sometimes in favor of the villagers of Fernworthy, and sometimes

175
00:10:32.279 --> 00:10:35.519
<v Speaker 1>against them, so that he is periodically either carried in

176
00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:39.279
<v Speaker 1>triumph down the village street, or else burned in effigy.

177
00:10:39.720 --> 00:10:42.960
<v Speaker 1>According to his latest exploit, he is said to have

178
00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:46.080
<v Speaker 1>about seven lawsuits upon his hands at present, which will

179
00:10:46.080 --> 00:10:49.200
<v Speaker 1>probably swallow up the remainder of his fortune, and so

180
00:10:49.399 --> 00:10:52.039
<v Speaker 1>draw his sting and leave him harmless for the future.

181
00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:56.159
<v Speaker 1>Apart from the law, he seems a kindly good natured person,

182
00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:59.320
<v Speaker 1>and I only mention him because you were particular that

183
00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:02.960
<v Speaker 1>I should send some description of the people who surround us.

184
00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:08.919
<v Speaker 1>He is curiously employed at present for being an amateur astronomer.

185
00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:12.320
<v Speaker 1>He has an excellent telescope with which he lies upon

186
00:11:12.360 --> 00:11:15.240
<v Speaker 1>the roof of his own house and sweeps the moor

187
00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:18.080
<v Speaker 1>all day in the hope of catching a glimpse of

188
00:11:18.120 --> 00:11:22.159
<v Speaker 1>the escaped Convict. If he would confine his energies to this,

189
00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:25.200
<v Speaker 1>all would be well. But there are rumors that he

190
00:11:25.240 --> 00:11:28.960
<v Speaker 1>intends to prosecute Doctor Mortimer for opening a grave without

191
00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:31.919
<v Speaker 1>the consent of the next of kin because he dug

192
00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:35.679
<v Speaker 1>up the neolithic skull in the barrow on long Down.

193
00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:38.759
<v Speaker 1>He helps to keep our lives from being monotonous, and

194
00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:41.480
<v Speaker 1>gives a little comic relief where it is badly needed.

195
00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:45.000
<v Speaker 1>And now, having brought you up to date in the

196
00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:50.159
<v Speaker 1>Escaped Convict, the Stapletons, Dr Mortimer and Franklin of lafter Hall,

197
00:11:51.080 --> 00:11:54.039
<v Speaker 1>let me end on that which is most important, and

198
00:11:54.120 --> 00:11:57.919
<v Speaker 1>tell you more about the Barrymores, and especially about the

199
00:11:57.919 --> 00:12:03.200
<v Speaker 1>surprising development of last night night. First of all, about

200
00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:06.639
<v Speaker 1>the test telegram which you sent from London in order

201
00:12:06.679 --> 00:12:10.440
<v Speaker 1>to make sure that Barrymore was really here. I have

202
00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:14.039
<v Speaker 1>already explained that the testimony of the postmaster shows that

203
00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:16.840
<v Speaker 1>the test was worthless, and that we have no proof

204
00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:19.919
<v Speaker 1>one way or the other. I told Sir Henry how

205
00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:23.480
<v Speaker 1>the matter stood, and he at once, in his downright fashion,

206
00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:26.480
<v Speaker 1>had Barrymore up and asked him whether he had received

207
00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:31.480
<v Speaker 1>the telegram himself. Barrymore said that he had. Did the

208
00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:34.639
<v Speaker 1>boy deliver it into your own hands, asked Sir Henry.

209
00:12:35.480 --> 00:12:40.120
<v Speaker 1>Barrymore looked surprised and considered for a little time. No,

210
00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:43.559
<v Speaker 1>said he He was in the box room at the time,

211
00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:47.039
<v Speaker 1>and my wife brought it up to me. Did you

212
00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:52.279
<v Speaker 1>answer it yourself? No? He told my wife what to answer,

213
00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:56.039
<v Speaker 1>and she went down to write it. In the evening,

214
00:12:56.080 --> 00:12:59.840
<v Speaker 1>he recurred to the subject of his own accord. Ay,

215
00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:03.360
<v Speaker 1>could not quite understand the object of your questions this morning,

216
00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:06.639
<v Speaker 1>Sir Henry said, he. I trust that they do not

217
00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:09.480
<v Speaker 1>mean that I have done anything to forfeit your confidence.

218
00:13:10.840 --> 00:13:12.919
<v Speaker 1>Sir Henry had to assure him that it was not so,

219
00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:16.000
<v Speaker 1>and pacify him by giving him a considerable part of

220
00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:19.960
<v Speaker 1>his old wardrobe. The London outfit having now all arrived,

221
00:13:21.080 --> 00:13:24.240
<v Speaker 1>missus Barrymore is of interest to me. She is a heavy,

222
00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:30.080
<v Speaker 1>solid person, very limited, intensely respectable, and inclined to be puritanical.

223
00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:34.600
<v Speaker 1>You could hardly conceive a less emotional subject. Yet I

224
00:13:34.600 --> 00:13:37.200
<v Speaker 1>have told you how on the first night here I

225
00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:40.679
<v Speaker 1>heard her sobbing bitterly, and since then I have more

226
00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:45.120
<v Speaker 1>than once observed traces of tears upon her face. Some

227
00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:49.360
<v Speaker 1>deep sorrow gnaws ever at her heart. Sometimes I wonder

228
00:13:49.399 --> 00:13:52.679
<v Speaker 1>if she has a guilty memory which haunts her. And

229
00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:57.200
<v Speaker 1>sometimes I suspect Barrymore of being a domestic tyrant. I

230
00:13:57.240 --> 00:14:00.639
<v Speaker 1>have always felt that there was something singular and questionable

231
00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:03.720
<v Speaker 1>in this man's character. But the adventure of last night

232
00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:07.600
<v Speaker 1>brings all my suspicions to a head. And yet it

233
00:14:07.639 --> 00:14:10.879
<v Speaker 1>may seem a small matter in itself. You are aware

234
00:14:10.919 --> 00:14:13.600
<v Speaker 1>that I'm not very sound sleeper, and since I have

235
00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:16.320
<v Speaker 1>been on guard in this house, my slumbers have been

236
00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:20.480
<v Speaker 1>lighter than ever. Last night, about two in the morning,

237
00:14:21.559 --> 00:14:24.960
<v Speaker 1>I was aroused by a stealthy step passing my room.

238
00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:30.679
<v Speaker 1>I rose opened my door and peeped out. A long

239
00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:34.639
<v Speaker 1>black shadow was trailing down the corridor. It was thrown

240
00:14:34.679 --> 00:14:37.320
<v Speaker 1>by a man who walked softly down the passage with

241
00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:40.720
<v Speaker 1>a candle held in his hand. He was in shirt

242
00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:44.159
<v Speaker 1>and trousers, with no covering to his feet. I could

243
00:14:44.200 --> 00:14:47.120
<v Speaker 1>merely see the outline, but his height told me that

244
00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:52.639
<v Speaker 1>it was Barrymore. He walked very slowly and circumspectly, and

245
00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:56.759
<v Speaker 1>there was something indescribably guilty and furtive in his whole appearance.

246
00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:00.279
<v Speaker 1>I have told you that the corridor is broken by

247
00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:03.480
<v Speaker 1>the balcony which runs round the hall, but that it

248
00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:07.440
<v Speaker 1>is resumed upon the farther side. I waited until he

249
00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:10.559
<v Speaker 1>had passed out of sight, and then I followed him.

250
00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:14.000
<v Speaker 1>When I came round the balcony, he had reached the

251
00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:17.039
<v Speaker 1>end of the farther corridor, and I could see from

252
00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:19.840
<v Speaker 1>the glimmer of light through an open door, that he

253
00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:23.960
<v Speaker 1>had entered one of the rooms. Now, all these rooms

254
00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:28.000
<v Speaker 1>are unfurnished and unoccupied, so that his expedition became more

255
00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:32.720
<v Speaker 1>mysterious than ever. The light shone steadily, as if he

256
00:15:32.759 --> 00:15:36.960
<v Speaker 1>were standing motionless. I crept down the passage as noiselessly

257
00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:40.159
<v Speaker 1>as I could, and peeped round the corner of the door.

258
00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:45.320
<v Speaker 1>Barrymore was crouching at the window, with the candle held

259
00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:49.360
<v Speaker 1>against the glass. His profile was half turned towards me,

260
00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:52.919
<v Speaker 1>and his face seemed to be rigid with expectation as

261
00:15:52.919 --> 00:15:56.279
<v Speaker 1>he stared out into the blackness of the moor. For

262
00:15:56.360 --> 00:15:59.720
<v Speaker 1>some minutes, he stood watching intently. Then he gave a

263
00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:03.759
<v Speaker 1>deep groan, and with an impatient gesture, he put out

264
00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:07.399
<v Speaker 1>the light instantly. I made my way back to my room,

265
00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:11.360
<v Speaker 1>and very shortly came the stealthy steps, passing once more

266
00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:15.879
<v Speaker 1>upon their return journey. Long afterwards, when I had fallen

267
00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:18.879
<v Speaker 1>into a light sleep, I heard a key turn somewhere

268
00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:21.320
<v Speaker 1>in a lock, but I could not tell whence the

269
00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:25.600
<v Speaker 1>sound came. What it all means I cannot guess. But

270
00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:28.120
<v Speaker 1>there is some secret business going on in this house

271
00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:31.440
<v Speaker 1>of Gloom, which sooner or later, we shall get to

272
00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:35.039
<v Speaker 1>the bottom of. I do not trouble you with my theories,

273
00:16:35.559 --> 00:16:38.159
<v Speaker 1>for he asked me to furnish you only with facts.

274
00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:41.080
<v Speaker 1>I have had a long talk with Sir Henry this morning,

275
00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:44.240
<v Speaker 1>and we have made a plan of campaign founded upon

276
00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:48.120
<v Speaker 1>my observations of last night. I will not speak about

277
00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:51.320
<v Speaker 1>it just now, but it should make my next report

278
00:16:51.639 --> 00:16:55.519
<v Speaker 1>interesting reading. End of chapter eight