WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:03.640 Chapter ten of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir 2 00:00:03.759 --> 00:00:07.200 Arthur Conan Doyle. This LibriVox according is in the public domain. 3 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:15.000 Chapter ten extract from the Diary of Doctor Watson. So 4 00:00:15.160 --> 00:00:17.480 far I have been able to quote from the reports 5 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:22.320 which I have forwarded during those early days to Sherlock Holmes. Now, however, 6 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:25.280 I have arrived at a point in my narrative where 7 00:00:25.320 --> 00:00:28.399 I am compelled to abandon this method and to trust 8 00:00:28.440 --> 00:00:31.800 once more to my recollections, aided by the diary which 9 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:34.920 I kept at the time. A few extracts from the 10 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:37.479 latter will carry me on to those scenes which are 11 00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:42.560 indelibly fixed in every detail upon my memory. I proceed 12 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:45.640 then from the morning which followed our abortive chase of 13 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:49.799 the convict, and our other strange experiences upon the moor. 14 00:00:51.159 --> 00:00:55.280 October sixteenth, a dull and foggy day with a drizzle 15 00:00:55.320 --> 00:00:59.439 of rain. The house is banked in with rolling clouds, 16 00:00:59.719 --> 00:01:02.840 which shries now and then to show the dreary curves 17 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:06.159 of the moor with thin silver veins upon the sides 18 00:01:06.200 --> 00:01:09.760 of the hills, and the distant boulders gleaming where the 19 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:14.599 light strikes upon their wet faces. It is melancholy outside 20 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:18.079 and in the baronet is in a black reaction. After 21 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:21.959 the excitements of the night, I am conscious myself of 22 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:25.560 a weight at my heart and a feeling of impending danger, 23 00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:29.760 ever present, danger, which is the more terrible because I 24 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:33.239 am unable to define it, and have I not cause 25 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:37.879 for such a feeling. Consider the long sequence of incidents 26 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:41.359 which have all pointed to some sinister influence which is 27 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:44.359 at work around us. There is the death of the 28 00:01:44.439 --> 00:01:48.719 last occupant of the hall, fulfilling so exactly the conditions 29 00:01:48.760 --> 00:01:52.280 of the family legend. And there are the repeated reports 30 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:55.760 from peasants of the appearance of a strange creature upon 31 00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:59.879 the moor. Twice I have with my own ears her 32 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:03.640 the sound which resembled the distant baying of a hound. 33 00:02:04.359 --> 00:02:08.680 It is incredible, impossible that it should really be outside 34 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:13.439 the ordinary laws of nature. A spectral hound, which leaves 35 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:17.520 material footmarks and fills the air with its howling is 36 00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:21.080 surely not to be thought of. Stapleton may fall in 37 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:25.120 with such a superstition, and Mortimer also, But if I 38 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:28.919 have one quality upon earth, it is common sense, and 39 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:31.360 nothing will persuade me to believe in such a thing. 40 00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:34.479 To do so would be to descend to the level 41 00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:37.719 of these poor peasants, who are not content with a 42 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:41.919 mere fiend dog, but must needs describe him with hell 43 00:02:42.039 --> 00:02:45.960 fire shooting from his mouth and eyes. Holmes would not 44 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:50.039 listen to such fancies, and I am his agent. But 45 00:02:50.199 --> 00:02:53.439 facts are facts, and I have twice heard this crying 46 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:57.240 upon the moor. Suppose that there were really some huge 47 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:01.479 hound loose upon it? That would go far to explain everything. 48 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:05.520 But where could such a hound lie concealed? Where did 49 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:08.960 it get its food? Where did it come from? How 50 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:11.879 was it that no one saw it by day? It 51 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:15.680 must be confessed that the natural explanation offers almost as 52 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:20.800 many difficulties as the other. And always apart from the hound, 53 00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:23.919 there is the fact of the human agency in London, 54 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:27.319 the man in the cab, and the letter which warned 55 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:31.039 Sir Henry against the moor. This at least was real, 56 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:33.840 But it might have been the work of a protecting 57 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:37.599 friend as easily as of an enemy. Where is that 58 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:42.199 friend or enemy? Now? Has he remained in London? Or 59 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:46.400 has he followed us down here? Could he? Could he 60 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:50.159 be the stranger whom I saw upon the tour? It 61 00:03:50.280 --> 00:03:52.240 is true that I have had only the one glance 62 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:55.159 at him, and yet there are some things to which 63 00:03:55.199 --> 00:03:58.360 I am ready to swear. He is no one whom 64 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:01.000 I have seen down here, and I have now met 65 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:04.199 all the neighbors. The figure is far taller than that 66 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:09.280 of Stapleton, far thinner than that of Frankland Barrymore. It 67 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:12.319 might possibly have been, but we had left him behind us, 68 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:15.800 and I am certain that he could not have followed us. 69 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:19.519 A stranger, then is still dogging us, just as a 70 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:23.279 stranger dogged us in London. We have never shaken him off. 71 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:27.000 If I could lay my hands upon that man, then 72 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:29.279 at last we might find ourselves at the end of 73 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:33.800 all our difficulties. To this one purpose. I must now 74 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:38.360 devote all my energies. My first impulse was to tell 75 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:42.839 Sir Henry all my plans. My second and wisest one 76 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:45.639 is to play my own game and speak as little 77 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:49.560 as possible to any one. He is silent and distray. 78 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:53.519 His nerves have been strangely shaken by that sound upon 79 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:57.000 the moor. I will say nothing to add to his anxieties, 80 00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:00.160 but I will take my own steps to attain my 81 00:05:00.199 --> 00:05:04.920 own end. We had a small scene this morning after breakfast, 82 00:05:05.639 --> 00:05:08.759 Barrymore asked leave to speak with Sir Henry, and they 83 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:12.720 were closeted in his study some little time. Sitting in 84 00:05:12.759 --> 00:05:15.560 the billiard room, I more than once heard the sound 85 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:19.000 of voices raised, and I had a pretty good idea 86 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:23.439 what the point was, which was under discussion. After a time, 87 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:27.959 the baronet opened his door and called for me. Barymore 88 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:31.920 considers that he has a grievance, He said. He thinks 89 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:34.399 that it was unfair on our part to hunt his 90 00:05:34.519 --> 00:05:37.199 brother in law down when he, of his own free will, 91 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:41.160 had told us the secret. The butler was standing very pale, 92 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:46.560 but very collected before us. I may have spoken too warmly, sir, 93 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:50.000 said he, And if I have, I am sure that 94 00:05:50.040 --> 00:05:53.279 I beg your pardon. At the same time, I was 95 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:56.120 very much surprised when I heard you two gentlemen come 96 00:05:56.160 --> 00:05:59.519 back this morning and learned that you had been chasing seldom. 97 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:02.680 The poor fellow is enough to fight against without my 98 00:06:02.839 --> 00:06:07.040 putting more upon his track. If you told us of 99 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:09.839 your own free will, it would have been a different thing, 100 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:14.279 said the baronet. You only told us, or rather your 101 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:16.480 wife only told us, when it was forced from you 102 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:20.439 and you could not help yourself. I didn't think you 103 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:24.160 would have taken advantage of it, Sir Henry. Indeed I didn't. 104 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:28.680 The man is a public danger. There are lonely houses 105 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:31.519 scattered over the moor, and he is a fellow who 106 00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:34.600 would stick at nothing. You would only want to get 107 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:37.560 a glimpse of his face to see that. Look at 108 00:06:37.560 --> 00:06:41.199 mister Stapleton's house, for example, with no one but himself 109 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:44.240 to defend it. There's no safety for any one till 110 00:06:44.279 --> 00:06:48.319 he's under lock and key. You'll break into no house, sir, 111 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:51.600 or give you my solemn word upon it. But he 112 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:54.639 will never trouble any one in this country again. Are 113 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:57.560 you assure you, Sir Henry, that in a very few days, 114 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:02.079 the necessary arrangements will have been made and he will 115 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:05.480 be on his way to South America. For God's sake, Sir, 116 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:07.959 I beg of you not to let the police know 117 00:07:08.120 --> 00:07:10.519 that he's still on the moor. They've given up the 118 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:13.360 chase there and he can lie quiet until the ship 119 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:16.120 is ready for him. Ye can't tell on him without 120 00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:19.319 getting my wife and me into trouble. I beg you, sir, 121 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:23.839 to say nothing to the police. What do you say, Watson? 122 00:07:25.079 --> 00:07:28.600 I shrugged my shoulders. If he were safely out of 123 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:32.040 the country, it would relieve the taxpayer of a burden. 124 00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:35.480 But how about the chance of his holding some one 125 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:39.480 up before he goes. He would not do anything, so 126 00:07:39.639 --> 00:07:42.439 mad sir. We have provided him with all that he 127 00:07:42.519 --> 00:07:45.199 can want to commit. A crime would be to show 128 00:07:45.240 --> 00:07:51.480 where he was hiding, that is true, said Sir Henry. Well, Barrymore, 129 00:07:52.839 --> 00:07:55.560 God bless you, sir, and thank you for my art. 130 00:07:56.120 --> 00:07:58.079 It would have killed my poor wife had he been 131 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:02.959 taken again. I guess we're aiding and the betting a felony, Watson. 132 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:05.920 But after what we've heard, I don't feel as if 133 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:08.199 I could give the man up. So there's an end 134 00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:12.319 to it, all right, Barrymore, you can go with a 135 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:16.079 few broken words of gratitude. The man turned, but he 136 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:20.360 hesitated and then came back. You've been so kind to us, sir, 137 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:22.879 so I should like to do the best I can 138 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:27.360 for you in return. I know something, Sir Henry, and 139 00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:30.000 perhaps I should have said it before, but it was 140 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:33.120 long after the inquest that I found it out. I'd 141 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:35.639 never breathed a word about it yet to mortal man. 142 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:40.919 It's about poor Sir Charles's death. The baronet and I 143 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:45.960 were both upon our feet. Do you know how he died? No, Sir, 144 00:08:46.279 --> 00:08:50.600 I don't know that. What then I know why he 145 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:53.000 was at the gate at the hour. It was to 146 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:58.679 meet a woman. To meet a woman, He yes, sir, 147 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:03.240 and them's name. I can't give you the name, sir, 148 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:06.799 but I can give ye the initials. Her initials were 149 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:12.879 L L. How do you know this Barrymore? Well, sir, Henry, 150 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:16.519 your uncle had a letter that morning. He had usually 151 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:19.200 a great many letters, but he was a public man 152 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:22.240 and well known for his kind heart, so that every 153 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:24.919 one who was in trouble was glad to turn to him. 154 00:09:25.159 --> 00:09:28.519 But that morning, as it chanced, there was only this 155 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:31.879 one letter, so I took the more notice of it. 156 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:34.759 It was from Coombe Tracy, and it was addressed in 157 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:40.240 a woman's hand. Well, well, sir, I thought no more 158 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:43.320 of the matter, and never would have done that it 159 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:46.519 not been for my wife. Only a few weeks ago 160 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:50.000 she was cleaning out Sir Charles's study. It had never 161 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:53.000 been touched since his death, and she found the ashes 162 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:54.799 of a burned letter in the back of the grate. 163 00:09:55.639 --> 00:09:58.600 The greater part of it was charred to pieces, but 164 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:02.279 one little slip the end of a page hung together, 165 00:10:02.840 --> 00:10:05.519 and the writing could still be read, though it was 166 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:09.120 gray on a black background. It seemed to us to 167 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:11.639 be a PostScript at the end of the letter, and 168 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:16.679 it said, please, please, as you are a gentleman, burn 169 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:19.799 this letter and be at the gate by ten o'clock. 170 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:25.200 Beneath it were signed the initials l L. Have you 171 00:10:25.320 --> 00:10:29.440 got that slip? No, sir, it crumbled all to bits 172 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:33.240 after we moved it. Had Sir Charles received any other 173 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:37.639 letters in the same writing, well, sir, oh, he took 174 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:40.440 no particular notice of his letters. I should not have 175 00:10:40.519 --> 00:10:43.799 noticed this one only happened to come alone. And you 176 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:48.159 have no idea who l L is No, sir, no 177 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:50.879 more than you have. But I expect if we could 178 00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:53.720 lay our hands upon that lady, we should know more 179 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:59.399 about Sir Charles's death. I cannot understand barrymore. How you 180 00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:04.600 came to con seal this important information. Well, sir, it 181 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:07.919 was immediately after that our own trouble came to us. 182 00:11:08.360 --> 00:11:11.039 And then again, sir, we were both of us very 183 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:14.080 fond of Sir Charles, as we well might be, considering 184 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:16.720 all he has done for us to rake this up. 185 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:19.679 Couldn't help our poor master, and it's well to go 186 00:11:19.799 --> 00:11:22.639 carefully when there's a lady in the case. Even the 187 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:27.960 best of us, you thought it might enjure his reputation. Well, sir, 188 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:31.200 you thought no good could come of it. But now 189 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:33.480 you've been kind to us, and I feel as if 190 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:36.279 it would be treating you unfairly not to tell you 191 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:40.039 all that I know about the matter. Very good, barrymore, 192 00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:44.120 you can go. When the butler had left us, Sir 193 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:47.919 Henry turned to me, Well, Watson, what do you think 194 00:11:47.960 --> 00:11:51.480 of this new light? It seems to leave the darkness 195 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:55.720 rather blacker than before, so I think. But if we 196 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:58.879 can only trace l L it should clear up the 197 00:11:58.919 --> 00:12:02.840 whole business. We've gained that much. We know that there's 198 00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:04.679 some one who has the facts, if we can only 199 00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:08.600 find her. What do you think we should do? Let 200 00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:11.720 Holmes know all about it at once. It'll give him 201 00:12:11.720 --> 00:12:14.480 the clue for which he has been seeking. I am 202 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:18.759 much mistaken if it does not bring him down. I 203 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:20.679 went at once to my room and drew up my 204 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:25.039 report of the morning's conversation for Holmes. It was evident 205 00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:27.919 to me that he'd been very busy of late. For 206 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:30.480 the notes which I had from Baker Street were few 207 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:34.000 and short, with no comments upon the information which I 208 00:12:34.039 --> 00:12:39.039 had supplied, and hardly any reference to my mission. No doubt, 209 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:44.039 his blackmailing case is absorbing all his faculties, and yet 210 00:12:44.519 --> 00:12:48.279 this new factor must surely arrest his attention and renew 211 00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:55.360 his interest. I wished that he were here October seventeenth. 212 00:12:55.399 --> 00:12:58.720 All day to day, the rain poured down, rustling on 213 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:01.960 the ivy and dripping from the eaves. I thought of 214 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:06.600 the convict out upon the bleak, cold, shelterless moor. Poor devil, 215 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:11.279 whatever his crimes, he suffered something to atone for them. 216 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:14.360 And then I thought of that other one, the face 217 00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:18.480 in the cab, the figure against the moon. Was he 218 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:22.759 also out in that deluge, the unseen watcher, the man 219 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:26.799 of darkness. In the evening, I put on my waterproof 220 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:29.679 and I walked far upon the sodden moor, full of 221 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:33.240 dark imaginings, the rain beating upon my face and the 222 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:37.279 wind whistling about my ears. God help those who wander 223 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:40.840 into the great Maya now, for even the firm uplands 224 00:13:40.840 --> 00:13:44.919 are becoming a morass. I found the black tor upon 225 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:48.279 which I had seen the solitary Watcher, and from its 226 00:13:48.279 --> 00:13:52.679 craggy summit, I looked out myself across the melancholy downs. 227 00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:57.440 Rain squalls drifted across their russet face, and the heavy, 228 00:13:57.639 --> 00:14:01.960 slate colored clouds hung low over the landscape, trailing in 229 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:06.159 gray wreaths down the sides of the fantastic hills. In 230 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:09.519 the distant hollow on the left, half hidden by the mist, 231 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:14.240 the two thin towers of Baskerfill Hall rose above the trees. 232 00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:17.519 They were the only signs of human life which I 233 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:21.960 could see, save only those prehistoric huts which lay thickly 234 00:14:22.039 --> 00:14:26.240 upon the slopes of the hills. Nowhere was there any 235 00:14:26.279 --> 00:14:28.919 trace of that lonely man whom I had seen on 236 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:33.559 the same spot two nights before. As I walked back, 237 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:36.840 I was overtaken by Doctor Mortimer, driving in his dog 238 00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:40.000 cart over a rough moorland track which led from the 239 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:44.679 outlying farmhouse of Fowlmyre. He's been very attentive to us, 240 00:14:45.159 --> 00:14:47.399 and hardly a day has passed that he is not 241 00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:49.960 called at the hall to see how we're getting on. 242 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:54.200 He insisted upon my climbing into his dog cart, and 243 00:14:54.279 --> 00:14:57.240 he gave me a lift homeward. I found him much 244 00:14:57.320 --> 00:15:01.039 troubled over the disappearance of his little spaniel. It had 245 00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:03.759 wandered on to the moor and had never come back. 246 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:07.919 I gave him such consolation as I might, but I 247 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:10.639 thought of the pony on the grimp and mire, and 248 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:12.879 I do not fancy that he will see his little 249 00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:17.440 dog again. By the way, Mortimer said I, as we 250 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:20.480 jolted along the rough road. I suppose there are a 251 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:23.600 few people living within driving distance of this whom you 252 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:28.679 do not know hardly any I think. Can you then 253 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:31.840 tell me the name of any woman whose initials are 254 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:37.759 L L? He thought for a few minutes. No, said he. 255 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:40.960 There are a few gypsies and laboring folk for whom 256 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:44.559 I can't answer. But among the farmers or gentry, there 257 00:15:44.600 --> 00:15:48.320 is no one whose initials are those. Wait a bit, though, 258 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:52.720 he added, after a pause, there is Laura Lyons. Her 259 00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:56.360 initials are l L, but she lives in Combe Tracy. 260 00:15:57.559 --> 00:16:02.320 Who is she? I asked? She is Franklin's daughter? What 261 00:16:03.080 --> 00:16:08.159 old Franklin the crank? Exactly? She married an artist named 262 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:11.559 Lions who came sketching on the moor. He proved to 263 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:14.639 be a black card and deserted her. The fault from 264 00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:17.799 what I hear may not have been entirely. On one side. 265 00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:20.000 Her father refused to have anything to do with her 266 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:23.840 because she had married without his consent, and perhaps for 267 00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:26.879 one or two other reasons as well. So between the 268 00:16:26.919 --> 00:16:29.840 old sinner and the young one, the girl has had 269 00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:34.360 a pretty bad time. How does she live? I fancy 270 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:38.000 Old Frankland allows her a pittance, but it cannot be more, 271 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:42.399 for his own affairs are considerably involved. Whatever she may 272 00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:45.480 have deserved, one could not allow her to go hopelessly 273 00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:48.960 to the bad. Her story got about, and several of 274 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:51.639 the people here did something to enable her to earn 275 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:55.759 an honest living. Stapleton did for one, and Sir Charles 276 00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:59.320 for another. I gave a trifle myself. It was to 277 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:03.080 set her up in a typewriting business. He wanted to 278 00:17:03.080 --> 00:17:06.000 know the object of my inquiries, but I managed to 279 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:09.839 satisfy his curiosity without telling him too much. For there 280 00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:11.960 is no reason why we should take any one into 281 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:16.240 our confidence. Tomorrow morning I shall find my way to 282 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:19.720 Coombe Tracy. And if I can see this, missus Laura 283 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:24.240 Lyons of equivocal reputation, a long step will have been 284 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:27.680 made towards clearing one incident in this chain of mysteries. 285 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:31.880 I am certainly developing the wisdom of the serpent. For 286 00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:36.279 when Mortimer pressed his questions to an inconvenient extent, I 287 00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:40.240 asked him casually to what type Franklin's skull belonged, and 288 00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:43.519 so heard nothing but craniology. For the rest of our drive. 289 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:47.480 I have not lived for years with Sherlock Holmes for nothing. 290 00:17:48.839 --> 00:17:51.119 I have only one other incident to record upon this 291 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:56.440 tempestuous and melancholy day. This was my conversation with Barrymore 292 00:17:57.079 --> 00:18:00.279 just now, which gives me one more strong card which 293 00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:04.559 I can play in due time. Mortimer had stayed to dinner, 294 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:08.799 and he and the baronet played a cart Afterwards, the 295 00:18:08.839 --> 00:18:12.039 butler brought me my coffee into the library, and I 296 00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:16.839 took the chance to ask him a few questions. Well said, I, 297 00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:21.000 has this precious relation of yours departed? Or is he 298 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:25.279 still lurking out yonder? Oh you don't know, sir. I 299 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:28.000 hope to Heaven that he's gone, for he's brought nothing 300 00:18:28.039 --> 00:18:30.720 but trouble here. I've not heard of him since I 301 00:18:30.839 --> 00:18:33.240 left our food for him last, and that was three 302 00:18:33.319 --> 00:18:37.839 days ago. Did you see him then, No, sir, But 303 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:40.200 the food was gone. When next I went that way, 304 00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:44.400 then he was certainly there, so you would think, sir, 305 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:47.920 unless it was the other man who took it. I 306 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:50.400 sat with my coffee cup half way to my lips 307 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:57.359 and stared at Barrymore. You know that there is another man? Then, yes, sir, 308 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:02.240 there is another man upon the moor. Have you seen him? No, sir, 309 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:06.119 how do you know of him? Then? Selden told me 310 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:10.279 of him, Sir, a week ago or more. He's annoyding too, 311 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:12.319 but he's not a convict, as far as I can 312 00:19:12.359 --> 00:19:15.839 make out. I don't like it, Doctor Watson. I tell 313 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:19.680 you straight, sir, that I don't like it. He spoke, 314 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:23.599 with a sudden passion of earnestness. Now listen to me, Barrymore. 315 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:26.119 I have no interest in this matter but that of 316 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:29.640 your master. I have come here with no object except 317 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:33.200 to help him. Tell me, frankly, what is it that 318 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:37.640 you don't like? Barrymore hesitated for a moment, as if 319 00:19:37.640 --> 00:19:40.960 he regretted his outburst or found it difficult to express 320 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:46.119 his own feelings in words. It's all these goings on, sir, 321 00:19:46.680 --> 00:19:49.359 he cried at last, waving his hand towards the rain 322 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:53.839 lashed window, which faced the moor. There's foul play somewhere, 323 00:19:54.359 --> 00:19:59.200 and there's black villainy brewing to that. I'll swear very 324 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:01.680 glad I should be, sir to see Sir Henry on 325 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:04.880 his way back to London again. But what is it 326 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:09.079 that alarms you? Look at Sir Charles's death, that was 327 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:12.240 bad enough for all that, the coroner said, Look at 328 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:14.759 the noises on the moor at night. There's not a 329 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:17.000 man who would cross it after sundown if he was 330 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:20.319 paid for it. Look at this stranger riding out yonder 331 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:24.640 and watching and waiting. What's he waiting for? What does 332 00:20:24.680 --> 00:20:27.240 it mean? It means no good to any one of 333 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:30.119 the name of Baskerville, And very glad I shall be 334 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:31.920 to quit of it all in the day that Sir 335 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:34.319 Henry's new servants are ready to take over the hall. 336 00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:38.839 But about this stranger, said, I can you tell me 337 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:42.720 anything about him? What did Selden say? Did he find 338 00:20:42.759 --> 00:20:46.759 out where he hid or what he was doing? He 339 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:49.640 saw him once or twice, but he's a deep one 340 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:52.799 and gives nothing away. At first he thought that he 341 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:55.519 was the police, but soon he found that he had 342 00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:58.640 some lay of his own, A kind of gentleman. He 343 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:01.519 was as far as he got see. But what he 344 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:04.839 was doing he could not make out. And where did 345 00:21:04.839 --> 00:21:08.319 he say? That? He lived among the old houses on 346 00:21:08.359 --> 00:21:11.680 the hillside, the stone huts where the old folk used 347 00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:16.200 to live. But how about his food? Selden found out 348 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:18.119 that he has got a lad who works for him 349 00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:21.160 and brings all he needs, Or he dare say he 350 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:26.279 goes to Coombe Tracy, for he wants very good barrymore. 351 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:30.680 We may talk further of this some other time. When 352 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:33.079 the butler had gone, I walked over to the black window, 353 00:21:33.640 --> 00:21:35.880 and I looked through a blurred pane at the driving 354 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:39.319 clouds and at the tossing outline of the wind swept trees. 355 00:21:40.279 --> 00:21:43.160 It is a wild night indoors. And what must it 356 00:21:43.240 --> 00:21:46.799 be in stone hut upon the moor? What passion of 357 00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:49.720 hatred can it be which leads a man to lurk 358 00:21:49.799 --> 00:21:53.200 in such a place at such a time, And what 359 00:21:53.319 --> 00:21:56.279 deep and earnest purpose can he have which calls for 360 00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:59.920 such a trial? There in that hut upon the moor 361 00:22:00.279 --> 00:22:03.559 seems to lie the very center of that problem which 362 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:08.480 has vexed me so sorely. I swear that another day 363 00:22:08.519 --> 00:22:11.480 shall not have passed before I have done all that 364 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:15.240 man can do to reach the heart of the mystery. 365 00:22:16.839 --> 00:22:17.759 End of Chapter ten.