WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.360 --> 00:00:07.839 Chapter two, The Curse of the Baskervilles. I have in 2 00:00:07.879 --> 00:00:12.560 my pocket a manuscript, said doctor James Mortimer. I observed 3 00:00:12.599 --> 00:00:15.839 it as you entered the room, said Holmes. It is 4 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:20.079 an old manuscript, early eighteenth century. Unless it's a forgery. 5 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:23.800 How can you say that, sir, you have presented an 6 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:26.440 inch or two of it to my examination all the 7 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:29.039 time that you have been talking. It would be a 8 00:00:29.079 --> 00:00:31.559 poor expert who could not give the date of a 9 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:35.280 document within a decade or so. You may possibly have 10 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:38.439 read my little monograph upon the subject. I put that 11 00:00:38.679 --> 00:00:42.799 at seventeen thirty. The exact date is seventeen forty two. 12 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:47.719 Doctor Mortimer drew it from his breast pocket. This family 13 00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:51.520 paper was committed to my care by Sir Charles Baskerville, 14 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:57.159 who sudden and tragic death some three months ago created 15 00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:01.320 so much excitement in Devonshire. I may say that I 16 00:01:01.399 --> 00:01:03.759 was his personal friend as well as his medical attendant. 17 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:07.959 He was a strong minded man, Sir shrewd, practical, and 18 00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:12.159 as unimaginative as I am myself. Yet he took this 19 00:01:12.280 --> 00:01:16.239 document very seriously, and his mind was prepared for just 20 00:01:16.359 --> 00:01:21.319 such an end as did eventually overtake him. Holmes stretched 21 00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:24.040 out his hand for the manuscript and flattened it upon 22 00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:27.599 his knee. You will observe Watson the alternative use of 23 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:30.599 the long s and the short. It is one of 24 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:34.840 several indications which enabled me to fix the date. I 25 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:37.239 looked over his shoulder at the yellow paper, and the 26 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:42.120 faded script at the head was written Baskerville Hall and 27 00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:47.879 below in large scrawling figures, seventeen forty two. It appears 28 00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:50.640 to be a statement of some sort. Yes, it is 29 00:01:50.680 --> 00:01:53.680 a statement of a certain legend which runs in the 30 00:01:53.719 --> 00:01:57.359 Baskerville family. But I understand that it is something more 31 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:00.079 modern and practical upon which you wish to consult me. 32 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:05.000 Most modern, the most practical, pressing matter which must be 33 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:08.759 decided within twenty four hours. But the manuscript is short 34 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:12.520 and is intimately connected with the affair. With your permission, 35 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:15.759 I will read it to you. Holmes leaned back in 36 00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:19.120 his chair, placed his finger tips together, and closed his 37 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:23.439 eyes with an air of resignation. Doctor Mortimer turned the 38 00:02:23.479 --> 00:02:26.919 manuscript to the light and read in a high cracking 39 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:32.479 voice the following curious Old world narrative of the origin 40 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:34.800 of the Hound of the Baskervilles. There have been many 41 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:38.400 statements yet as I come in a direct line from 42 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:41.960 Hugo Baskerville, and as I had the story from my father, 43 00:02:42.039 --> 00:02:44.960 who also had it from his, I have set it 44 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:48.039 down with all belief that it occurred, even as is 45 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:51.639 here set forth. And I would have you believe, my sons, 46 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:55.680 that the same justice which punishes sin may also most 47 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:59.400 graciously forgive it, and that no ban is so heavy, 48 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:03.360 but that by prayer and repentance it may be removed. 49 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:08.479 Learn then, from this story, not to fear the fruits 50 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:12.719 of the past, but rather to be circumspect in the future, 51 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:18.159 that those foul passions, whereby our family has suffered so grievously, 52 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:24.159 may not again be loosed to our undoing. Know then that, 53 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:27.439 in the time of the Great Rebellion, the history of 54 00:03:27.479 --> 00:03:31.120 which by the learned Lord Clarendon, I most earnestly commend 55 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:36.240 your attention, this manner of Baskerville was held by Hugo 56 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:40.159 of that name. Nor can it be gain said that 57 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:44.639 he was a most wild, profane, and godless man. This 58 00:03:44.919 --> 00:03:48.840 in truth his neighbors might have pardoned, seeing that saints 59 00:03:48.919 --> 00:03:53.520 have never flourished in those parts. But there was in 60 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:56.240 him a certain wanton and cruel humor, which made his 61 00:03:56.400 --> 00:04:02.039 name a by word through the west. It chanced that 62 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:04.840 this Hugo came to love, if indeed so dark a 63 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:08.199 passion may be known under so bright a name, the 64 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:12.120 daughter of a yeoman who held lands near the Baskerville estate. 65 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:16.800 But the young maiden, being discreet and of good repute, 66 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:20.959 would ever avoid him, for she feared his evil name. 67 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:24.480 So it came to pass that one Michaelmas, this Hugo, 68 00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:27.600 with five or six of his idle and wicked companions, 69 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:32.120 stole down upon the farm and carried off the maiden, 70 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:36.079 her father and brothers, being far from home, as he 71 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:39.319 well knew. When they had brought her to the hall, 72 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:42.839 the maiden was placed in an upper chamber, while Hugo 73 00:04:42.920 --> 00:04:46.360 and his friends sat down to a long carouse, as 74 00:04:46.439 --> 00:04:50.240 was their nightly custom. Now, the poor lass upstairs was 75 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:52.680 like to have her wits turned at the singing and 76 00:04:52.759 --> 00:04:56.120 shouting and terrible oaths which came up to her from below. 77 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:00.160 For they say that the words used by Hugo Baskervill 78 00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:03.759 when he was in wine were such as might blast 79 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:07.240 the man who said them. At last, in the stress 80 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:10.199 of her fear, she did that which might have daunted 81 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:14.079 the bravest or most active man, For by the aid 82 00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:17.040 of the growth of ivy, which covered and still covers 83 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:20.319 the south wall, she came down from under the eaves, 84 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:24.079 and so homeward across the moor, there being three leagues 85 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:28.519 betwixt the hall and her father's farm. It chanced that 86 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:32.120 some little time later Hugo left his guests to carry 87 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:37.319 food and drink, with other worse things per chance to 88 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:40.920 his captive, and so found the cage empty and the 89 00:05:40.920 --> 00:05:44.399 bird escaped. Then, as it would seem, he became as 90 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:47.800 one that hath a devil, for rushing down the stairs 91 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:51.040 into the dining hall, he sprang upon the great table, 92 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:55.560 flagons and trenches flying before him, and he cried aloud 93 00:05:55.639 --> 00:05:58.240 before all the company that he would that very night 94 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:01.360 render his body and sold to the powers of evil, 95 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:05.199 if he might but overtake the wench. And while the 96 00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:08.040 revelers stood aghast at the fury of the man, one 97 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:12.120 more wicked, or it may be more drunken than the rest, 98 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:17.639 cried out that they should put the hounds upon her whereat. 99 00:06:17.720 --> 00:06:21.040 Hugo ran from the house, crying to his grooms that 100 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:25.199 they should saddle his mare and unkennel the pack, and 101 00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:28.120 giving the hounds a kerchief of the maids, he swung 102 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:31.399 them to the line, and so off full cry, in 103 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:36.199 the moonlight over the moor. Now, for some time the 104 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:39.319 revelers stood agape, unable to understand all that had been 105 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:43.800 done in such haste. But anon, their bemused wits awoke 106 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:45.800 to the nature of the deed which was like to 107 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:49.600 be done upon the moorlands. Everything was now in an uproar, 108 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:53.000 some calling for their pistols, some for their horses, and 109 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:57.720 some for another flask of wine. But at length some 110 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:00.680 sense came back to their crazed minds. The whole of them, 111 00:07:00.839 --> 00:07:05.519 thirteen in number, took horse and started in pursuit. The 112 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:09.560 moon shone clear above them, and they rode swiftly abreast, 113 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:12.839 taking that course which the maid must needs have taken 114 00:07:12.920 --> 00:07:16.079 if she were to reach her own home. They had 115 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:17.920 gone a mile or two when they passed one of 116 00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:21.319 the night shepherds upon the moorlands, and they cried to 117 00:07:21.399 --> 00:07:25.160 him to know if he had seen the hunt. And 118 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:28.959 the man, as the story goes, was so crazed with 119 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:32.800 fear that he could scarcely speak. But at last he 120 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:35.800 said that he had indeed seen the unhappy maiden, with 121 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:38.920 the hounds upon her track. But I have say more 122 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:43.160 than that, said he, for Hugo Baskerville passed me upon 123 00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:47.959 his black mare, and there ran mute behind him, such 124 00:07:47.959 --> 00:07:51.120 a hound of hell, as God forbid should ever be 125 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:55.839 at my heels. So the drunken squires cursed the shepherd 126 00:07:55.879 --> 00:08:00.720 and rode onward. But soon their skins turned cold, for 127 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:05.240 there came a galloping across the moor, and the black mare, 128 00:08:05.399 --> 00:08:08.959 dabbled with white froth, went past with trailing bridle and 129 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:14.519 empty saddle. Then the revelers rode close together, for a 130 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:19.079 great fear was on them, but they still followed over 131 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:21.480 them more, though each, had he been alone, would have 132 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:25.439 been right glad to have turned his horse's head. Riding 133 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:29.519 slowly in this fashion, they came at last upon the hounds. These, 134 00:08:29.560 --> 00:08:33.080 though known for their valor and their breed, were whimpering 135 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:35.639 in a cluster at the head of a deep dip 136 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:39.240 or goyle as we call it, upon the moor, some 137 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:42.879 slinking away, and some with starting hackles and staring eyes, 138 00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:47.519 gazing down the narrow valley before them. The company had 139 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:50.679 come to a halt. More sober men, as you may guess, 140 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:53.480 than when they started. The most of them would by 141 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:57.240 no means advance, But three of them, the boldest, or 142 00:08:57.279 --> 00:09:01.360 it may be, the most drunken, rode forward down the goyle. 143 00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:06.519 Now it opened into a broad space, in which stood 144 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:09.799 two of those great stones still to be seen there, 145 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:13.399 which were set by certain forgotten peoples in the days 146 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:17.120 of old. The moon was shining bright upon the clearing, 147 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:21.360 and there in the center lay the unhappy maid, where 148 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:26.919 she had fallen, dead of fear and of fatigue. But 149 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:28.919 it was not the sight of her body, nor yet 150 00:09:29.080 --> 00:09:31.600 was it that of the body of Hugo Baskerville lying 151 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:34.159 near her, which raised the hair upon the heads of 152 00:09:34.200 --> 00:09:40.000 these three dead devil roisterers. But it was that, standing 153 00:09:40.039 --> 00:09:42.960 over Hugo and plucking at his throat, there stood a 154 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:47.080 foul thing, a great black beast, shaped like a hound, 155 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:51.120 yet larger than any hound that ever mortal eye has 156 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:55.159 rested upon. And even as they looked, the thing tore 157 00:09:55.240 --> 00:09:58.559 the throat out of Hugo Baskerville, on which, as it 158 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:01.639 turned its blazing eye and ripping jaws upon them, the 159 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:04.919 three shrieked with fear and rode for dear life, still 160 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:09.240 screaming across the more, one, it is said, died that 161 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:11.399 very night of what he had seen, and the other 162 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:14.639 twain were but broken men for the rest of their days. 163 00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:19.159 Such is the tale, my sons, of the coming of 164 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:22.679 the Hound, which is said to have plagued the family 165 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:26.039 so sorely ever since. If I have set it down, 166 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:28.639 it is because that which is clearly known hath less 167 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:31.840 terror than that which is but hinted at and guessed. 168 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:35.519 Nor can it be denied that many of the family 169 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:40.480 have been unhappy in their deaths, which have been sudden, bloody, 170 00:10:41.159 --> 00:10:46.240 and mysterious. Yet may we shelter ourselves in the infinite 171 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:50.200 goodness of Providence, which would not forever punish the innocent 172 00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:53.960 beyond that third or fourth generation which is threatened in 173 00:10:54.039 --> 00:10:58.000 holy writ to that Providence. My sons, I hereby commend you, 174 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:01.559 and I counsel you by way of caution, to forbear 175 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:05.480 from crossing the moor in those dark hours when the 176 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:11.200 powers of evil are exalted. This from Hugo Baskerville to 177 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:14.879 his sons Roger and John, with instructions that they say 178 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:19.919 nothing thereof to their sister Elizabeth. When doctor Mortimer had 179 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:24.320 finished reading this singular narrative, he pushed his spectacles up 180 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:27.320 on his forehead and stared across at mister Sherlock Holmes. 181 00:11:27.919 --> 00:11:31.480 The latter yawned and tossed the end of his cigarette 182 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:35.879 into the fire. Well, said he, do you not find 183 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:40.799 it interesting to a collector of fairy tales? Doctor Mortimer 184 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:44.840 drew a folded newspaper out of his pocket. Now, mister Holmes, 185 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:47.879 we will give you something a little more recent. This 186 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:50.559 is the Devon County Chronicle of May the fourteenth of 187 00:11:50.600 --> 00:11:53.519 this year. It is a short account of the facts 188 00:11:53.559 --> 00:11:56.879 elicited at the death of Sir Charles Baskerville, which occurred 189 00:11:56.919 --> 00:12:00.960 a few days before that date. My friend leaned a 190 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:05.559 little forward, and his expression became intent. Our visitor readjusted 191 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:09.519 his glasses and began. The recent sudden death of Sir 192 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:12.840 Charles Baskerville, whose name has been mentioned as the probable 193 00:12:12.919 --> 00:12:16.759 Liberal candidate for mid Devon at the next election, has 194 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:20.360 cast a gloom over the county. Though Sir Charles had 195 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:24.120 resided at Baskerville Hall for a comparatively short period, his 196 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:27.639 amiability of character and extreme generosity had won the affection 197 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:30.360 and respect of all who had been brought into contact 198 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:34.519 with him. In these days of nouveaux riches. It is 199 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:37.279 refreshing to find a case where the scion of an 200 00:12:37.320 --> 00:12:40.440 old county family, which has fallen upon evil days, is 201 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:42.559 able to make his own fortune and to bring it 202 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:45.679 back with him to restore the fallen grandeur of his line. 203 00:12:46.360 --> 00:12:49.200 Sir Charles, as is well known, made large sums of 204 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:52.840 money in South African speculation, more wise than those who 205 00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:56.000 go on until the wheel turns against them. He realized 206 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:59.240 his gains and returned to England with them. It is 207 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:01.559 only two years since he took up his residence at 208 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:04.919 Baskerville Hall, and it is common talk how large were 209 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:08.600 those schemes of reconstruction and improvement which have been interrupted 210 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:13.320 by his death. Being himself childless, it was his openly 211 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:16.440 expressed desire that the whole countryside should within his own 212 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:20.440 lifetime profit by his good fortune, and many will have 213 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:25.399 personal reasons for bewailing his untimely end. His generous donations 214 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:28.480 to local and county charities have been frequently chronicled in 215 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:32.679 these columns. The circumstances connected with the death of Sir 216 00:13:32.759 --> 00:13:36.279 Charles cannot be said to have been entirely cleared up 217 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:39.399 by the inquest, but at least enough has been done 218 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:42.159 to dispose of those rumors to which local superstition has 219 00:13:42.200 --> 00:13:46.159 given rise. There is no reason whatever to suspect foul 220 00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:49.399 play or to imagine that death could be from any 221 00:13:49.399 --> 00:13:53.480 but natural causes. Sir Charles was a widower and a 222 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:55.279 man who may be said to have been, in some 223 00:13:55.320 --> 00:13:58.879 ways of an eccentric habit of mind. In spite of 224 00:13:58.919 --> 00:14:01.720 his considerable wealth. He was simple in his personal tastes, 225 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:05.679 and his indoor servants at Baskerville Hall consisted of a 226 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:09.279 married couple named Barrymore, the husband acting as butler and 227 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:13.399 the wife as housekeeper. Their evidence, corroborated by that of 228 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:17.120 several friends, tends to show that Sir Charles's health has 229 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:20.679 for some time been impaired, and points especially to some 230 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:25.960 affection of the heart, manifesting itself in changes of color, breathlessness, 231 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:31.279 and acute attacks of nervous depression. Doctor James Mortimer, the 232 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:35.200 friend and medical attendant of the deceased, has given evidence 233 00:14:35.240 --> 00:14:38.279 to the same effect. The facts of the case are simple. 234 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:42.000 Sir Charles Baskerville was in the habit every night before 235 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:45.159 going to bed of walking down the famous yew alley 236 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:49.279 of Baskerville Hall. The evidence of the Barrymore's shows that 237 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:52.559 this had been his custom. On the fourth of May, 238 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:55.240 Sir Charles had declared his intention of starting next day 239 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:59.480 for London, and had ordered Barrymore to prepare his luggage. 240 00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:02.840 That night, he went out as usual for his nocturnal walk, 241 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:05.080 in the course of which he was in the habit 242 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:10.080 of smoking a cigar. He never returned. At twelve o'clock, Barrymore, 243 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:13.600 finding the hall door still open, became alarmed, and, lighting 244 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:17.759 a lantern, went in search of his master. The day 245 00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:21.039 had been wet, and Sir Charles's footmarks were easily traced 246 00:15:21.320 --> 00:15:24.799 down the alley. Halfway down this walk there is a 247 00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:28.919 gate which leads out onto the moor. There were indications 248 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:31.279 that Sir Charles had stood for some little time here. 249 00:15:32.279 --> 00:15:34.600 He then proceeded down the alley, and it was at 250 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:37.679 the far end of it that his body was discovered. 251 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:40.639 One fact which has not been explained is the statement 252 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:44.399 of Barrymore that his master's footprints altered their character from 253 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:47.159 the time that he passed the moor gate, and that 254 00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:50.039 he appeared from thence onward to have been walking upon 255 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:55.000 his toes. One Murphy, a gipsy horse dealer, was on 256 00:15:55.080 --> 00:15:58.039 the moor at no great distance at the time, but 257 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:00.279 he appears, by his own confession, to have been the 258 00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:03.679 worse for drink. He declares that he heard cries, but 259 00:16:03.960 --> 00:16:07.360 is unable to state from what direction they came. No 260 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:10.799 signs of violence were to be discovered upon Sir Charles's person, 261 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:14.080 and though the doctor's evidence pointed to an almost incredible 262 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:18.559 facial distortion, so great that doctor Mortimer refused at first 263 00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:21.600 to believe that it was indeed his friend and patient 264 00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:24.639 who lay before him, it was explained that that is 265 00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:27.799 a symptom which is not unusual in cases of dyspnea 266 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:32.759 and death from cardiac exhaustion. This explanation was borne out 267 00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:37.240 by the post mortem examination, which showed long standing organic disease, 268 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:40.759 and the coroner's jury returned a verdict in accordance with 269 00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:44.120 the medical evidence. It is well that this is so, 270 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:47.600 for it is obviously of the utmost importance that Sir 271 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:51.080 Charles's heir should settle at the hall and continue the 272 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:55.279 good work which has been so sadly interrupted. Had the 273 00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:58.200 prosaic finding of the coroner not finally put an end 274 00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:01.759 to the romantic stories which have been whispered in connection 275 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:04.839 with the affair, it might have been difficult to find 276 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:08.720 a tenant for Baskerville Hall. It is understood that the 277 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:12.000 next of kin is mister Henry Baskerville, if he be 278 00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:15.839 still alive, the son of Sir Charles Baskerville's younger brother. 279 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:19.319 The young man, when last heard of, was in America, 280 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:22.480 and inquiries are being instituted with a view to informing 281 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:27.359 him of his good fortune. Doctor Mortimer refolded his paper 282 00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:31.440 and replaced it in his pocket. Those are the public facts, 283 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:34.720 mister Holmes, in connection with the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. 284 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:38.680 I must thank you, said Sherlock Holmes, for calling my 285 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:41.920 attention to a case which certainly presents some features of interest. 286 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:45.920 I had observed some newspaper comment at the time, but 287 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:49.039 I was exceedingly preoccupied by that little affair of the 288 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:53.079 Vatican Cameos, and in my anxiety to oblige the Pope, 289 00:17:53.400 --> 00:17:57.839 I lost touch with several interesting English cases. This article, 290 00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:02.559 you say, contains all the public facts it does, then 291 00:18:02.839 --> 00:18:06.440 let me have the private ones. He leaned back, put 292 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:11.519 his fingertips together, and assumed his most impassive and judicial expression. 293 00:18:12.279 --> 00:18:15.599 In doing so, said doctor Mortimer, who had begun to 294 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:18.720 show signs of some strong emotion. I am telling that 295 00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:22.000 which I have not confided to anyone. My motive for 296 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:25.960 withholding it from the coroner's inquiry is that a man 297 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:29.400 of science shrinks from placing himself in the public position 298 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:33.079 of seeming to endorse a popular superstition. I had the 299 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:36.640 further motive that Baskerville Hall, as the paper says, would 300 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:39.839 certainly remain untenanted if anything were done to increase it's 301 00:18:39.880 --> 00:18:44.519 already rather grim reputation. For both these reasons, I thought 302 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:47.160 that I was justified in telling rather less than I knew, 303 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:51.640 since no practical good could result from it. But with you, 304 00:18:51.759 --> 00:18:53.880 there is no reason why I should not be perfectly 305 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:57.519 frank The more is very sparsely inhabited, and those who 306 00:18:57.559 --> 00:19:01.240 live near each other are thrown very much together. For 307 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:03.880 this reason I saw a good deal of Sir Charles Baskerville. 308 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:07.599 With the exception of mister Franklin of Laughter Hall and 309 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:10.759 mister Stapleton the Naturalist, there are no other men of 310 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:14.839 education within many miles. Sir Charles was a retiring man, 311 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:17.440 but the chance of his illness brought us together, and 312 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:20.880 a community of interests in science kept us. So he 313 00:19:20.920 --> 00:19:24.720 had brought back much scientific information from South Africa, and 314 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:27.400 many a charming evening we have spent together discussing the 315 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:32.319 comparative anatomy of the bushmen and the hottentot. Within the 316 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:34.920 last few months, it became increasingly plain to me that 317 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:37.960 Sir Charles's nervous system was strained to the breaking point. 318 00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:40.799 He had taken this legend which I have read you 319 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:44.039 exceedingly to heart, so much so that although he would 320 00:19:44.039 --> 00:19:46.640 walk in his own grounds, nothing would induce him to 321 00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:49.960 go out upon them or at night. Incredible as it 322 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:53.240 may appear to you, mister Holmes, he was honestly convinced 323 00:19:53.240 --> 00:19:57.240 that a dreadful fate overhung his family, and certainly the 324 00:19:57.279 --> 00:19:59.599 records which he was able to give of his ancestors 325 00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:04.119 were not encouraging. The idea of some ghastly presence constantly 326 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:07.160 haunted him, and on more than one occasion he has 327 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:10.160 asked me whether I had, on my medical journeys at night, 328 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:14.079 ever seen any strange creature or heard the baying of 329 00:20:14.119 --> 00:20:18.119 a hound. The latter question he put to me several times, 330 00:20:18.119 --> 00:20:22.839 and always with a voice which vibrated with excitement. I 331 00:20:22.839 --> 00:20:25.480 can well remember driving up to his house in the evening, 332 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:29.480 some three weeks before the fatal event, he chanced to 333 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:33.000 be at his hall door. I descended from my gig 334 00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:35.559 and was standing in front of him when I saw 335 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:38.680 his eyes fix themselves over my shoulder and stare past 336 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:42.759 me with an expression of the most dreadful horror. I 337 00:20:42.839 --> 00:20:45.319 whisked round and had just time to catch a glimpse 338 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:48.319 of something which I took to be a large black 339 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:52.599 calf passing at the head of the drive. So excited 340 00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:54.680 and alarmed was he that I was compelled to go 341 00:20:54.759 --> 00:20:57.240 down to the spot where the animal had been and 342 00:20:57.279 --> 00:21:00.359 look around for it. It was gone, however, and the 343 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:03.200 incident appeared to make the worst impression upon his mind. 344 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:07.160 I stayed with him all the evening, and it was 345 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:10.519 on that occasion to explain the emotion which he had shown, 346 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:14.319 that he confided to my keeping that narrative which I 347 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:17.279 read to you when I first came in. I mentioned 348 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:20.400 this small episode because it assumed some importance in view 349 00:21:20.440 --> 00:21:23.759 of the tragedy which followed. But I was convinced at 350 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:27.200 the time that the matter was entirely trivial, and that 351 00:21:27.240 --> 00:21:32.079 his excitement had no justification. It was at my advice 352 00:21:32.200 --> 00:21:35.119 that Sir Charles was about to go to London. His 353 00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:39.480 heart was I knew affected, and the constant anxiety in 354 00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:42.640 which he lived, however chimerical the cause of it might be, 355 00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:46.799 was evidently having a serious effect upon his health. I 356 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:49.480 thought that a few months among the distractions of town 357 00:21:50.039 --> 00:21:53.839 would send him back a new man. Mister Stapleton, a 358 00:21:53.960 --> 00:21:56.799 mutual friend, who was much concerned at his state of health, 359 00:21:57.359 --> 00:22:00.799 was of the same opinion. At the last instant came 360 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:06.240 this terrible catastrophe. On the night of Sir Charles's death. Barrymore, 361 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:10.119 the butler who made the discovery, sent Perkins the groom, 362 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:13.680 on horseback to me, and as I was sitting up late, 363 00:22:13.759 --> 00:22:16.839 I was able to reach Baskerville Hall within an hour 364 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:20.960 of the event. I checked and corroborated all the facts 365 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:24.680 which were mentioned at the inquest. I followed the footsteps 366 00:22:24.680 --> 00:22:26.799 down the yu alley. I saw the spot at the 367 00:22:26.839 --> 00:22:30.319 moor gate where he seemed to have waited. I remarked 368 00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:33.160 the change in the shape of the prince after that point. 369 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:36.599 I noted that there were no other footsteps save those 370 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:40.720 of Barrymore on the soft gravel. And finally I carefully 371 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:43.880 examined the body which had not been touched until my arrival. 372 00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:46.680 Sir Charles lay on his face, his arms out, his 373 00:22:46.759 --> 00:22:50.200 fingers dug into the ground, and his features convulsed with 374 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:53.200 some strong emotion, to such an extent that I could 375 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:56.640 hardly have sworn to his identity. There was certainly no 376 00:22:56.680 --> 00:23:00.119 physical injury of any kind. But one false statement was 377 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:03.440 made by Barrymore at the inquest. He said that there 378 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:06.359 were no traces upon the ground round the body. He 379 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:11.920 did not observe any, but I did some little distance off, 380 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:18.720 but fresh and clear footprints, footprints a man's or a woman's. 381 00:23:20.200 --> 00:23:23.680 Doctor Mortimer looked strangely at us for an instant, and 382 00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:27.119 his voice sank almost to a whisper as he answered, 383 00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:32.839 mister Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound.