Speaker 1: Chapter fifteen of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir
Speaker 1: Arthur Conan Doyle. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
Speaker 1: Chapter fifteen, A retrospection. It was the end of November,
Speaker 1: and Holmes and I sat upon a roar and foggy night,
Speaker 1: on either side of a blazing fire in our sitting
Speaker 1: room in Baker Street. Since the tragic upshot of our
Speaker 1: visit to Devonshire, he had been engaged in two affairs
Speaker 1: of the utmost importance, in the first of which he
Speaker 1: had exposed the atrocious conduct of Colonel Upward in connection
Speaker 1: with the famous card scandal of the Nonpareis Club, while
Speaker 1: in the second he had defended the unfortunate Madame Montpensier
Speaker 1: from the charge of murder which hung over her in
Speaker 1: connection with the death of her step daughter, Mademoiselle Carrier,
Speaker 1: the young lady, who, as it will be remembered, was
Speaker 1: found six months later alive and married in New York.
Speaker 1: My friend was in excellent spirits over the success which
Speaker 1: had attended a succession of difficult and important cases, so
Speaker 1: that I was able to induce him to discuss the
Speaker 1: details of the Baskerville mystery. I had waited patiently for
Speaker 1: the opportunity, for I was aware that he would never
Speaker 1: permit cases to overlap, and that his clear and logical
Speaker 1: mind would not be drawn from its present work to
Speaker 1: dwell upon memories of the past. Sir Henry and doctor
Speaker 1: Mortimer were, however, in London on their way to the
Speaker 1: long voyage which had been recommended for the restoration of
Speaker 1: his shattered nerves. They had called upon us that very afternoon,
Speaker 1: so that it was natural that the subject should come
Speaker 1: up for discussion. The whole course of events, said Holmes,
Speaker 1: from the point of view of the man who called
Speaker 1: himself Stapleton, was simple and direct, although to us, who
Speaker 1: had no means in the beginning of knowing the motives
Speaker 1: of his actions and could only learn part of the facts,
Speaker 1: it all appeared exceedingly complex. I have had the advantage
Speaker 1: of two conversations with missus Stapleton, and the case has
Speaker 1: now been so entirely cleared up that I am not
Speaker 1: aware that there is anything which has remained a secret
Speaker 1: to us. You will find a few notes upon the
Speaker 1: matter under the heading B in my indexed list of cases.
Speaker 1: Perhaps you'd kindly give me a sketch of the course
Speaker 1: of events from memory. Certainly, though I cannot guarantee that
Speaker 1: I carry all the facts in my mind. Intense mental
Speaker 1: concentration has a curious way of blotting out what has passed.
Speaker 1: The barrister, who has his case at his fingers ends
Speaker 1: and is able to argue with an expert upon his
Speaker 1: own subject, finds that a week or two of the
Speaker 1: courts will drive it all out of his head. Once more, so,
Speaker 1: each of my cases displaces the last, and Mademoiselle Carrere
Speaker 1: has blurred my recollection of Baskerville Hall. To morrow, some
Speaker 1: other little problem may be submitted to my notice, which
Speaker 1: will in turn dispossess the fair French life and the
Speaker 1: infamous upward. So far as the case of the Hound goes, however,
Speaker 1: I'll give you the course of events as nearly as
Speaker 1: I can, and you will suggest anything which I may
Speaker 1: have forgotten. My inquiries show beyond all question that the
Speaker 1: family portrait did not lie, and that this fellow was
Speaker 1: indeed a Baskerville. He was a son of that Roger Baskerville,
Speaker 1: the younger brother of Charles, who fled with a sinister
Speaker 1: reputation to South America, where he was said to have
Speaker 1: died unmarried. He did, as a matter of fact, marry
Speaker 1: and had one child. This fellow, whose real name isn't
Speaker 1: the same as his father's, he married Beryl Garcia, one
Speaker 1: of the beauties of Costa Rica, and having purloined a
Speaker 1: considerable sum of public money, he changed his name to
Speaker 1: Van de Leur and fled to England, where he established
Speaker 1: a school in the east of Yorkshire. His reason for
Speaker 1: attempting this special line of business was that he had
Speaker 1: struck up an acquaintance with a consumptive tutor upon the
Speaker 1: voyage home, and that he had used this man's ability
Speaker 1: to make the undertaking a success. Fraser the tutor died, however,
Speaker 1: and the school, which had begun well sank from disrepute
Speaker 1: into infamy. The Van de Leurs found it convenient to
Speaker 1: change their name to Stapleton, and he brought the remains
Speaker 1: of his fortune, his schemes for the future, and his
Speaker 1: taste for entomology to the south of England. I learned
Speaker 1: at the British Museum that he was a recognized authority
Speaker 1: upon the subject, and that the name of Van Delere
Speaker 1: has been permanently attached to a certain moth which he
Speaker 1: had in his Yorkshire days, been the first to describe.
Speaker 1: We now come to that portion of his life which
Speaker 1: has proved to be of such intense interest to us.
Speaker 1: The fellow had evidently made inquiry and found that only
Speaker 1: two lives intervened between him and a valuable estate. When
Speaker 1: he went to Devonshire. His plans were I believe exceedingly hazy,
Speaker 1: but that he meant mischief from the first is evident
Speaker 1: from the way in which he took his wife with him.
Speaker 1: In the character of his sister, the idea of using
Speaker 1: her as a decoy was clearly already in his mind,
Speaker 1: though he may not have been certain how the details
Speaker 1: of his plot were to be arranged. He meant in
Speaker 1: the end to have the estate, and he was ready
Speaker 1: to use any tool or run any risk for that end.
Speaker 1: His first act was to establish himself as near to
Speaker 1: his ancestral home as he could, and his second was
Speaker 1: to cultivate a friendship with Sir Charles Baskerville and with
Speaker 1: the neighbors. The baronet himself told him about the family hound,
Speaker 1: and so prepared the way for his own death. Stapleton,
Speaker 1: as I will continue to call him, knew that the
Speaker 1: old man's heart was weak, and that a shock would
Speaker 1: kill him. So much he had learned from Doctor Mortimer.
Speaker 1: He had heard also that Sir Charles was superstitious, and
Speaker 1: had taken this grim legend very seriously. His ingenious mind
Speaker 1: instantly suggested a way by which the baronet could be
Speaker 1: done to death, and yet it would be hardly possible
Speaker 1: to bring home the guilt to the real murderer. Having
Speaker 1: conceived the idea, he proceeded to carry it out with
Speaker 1: considerable finesse. An ordinary schemer would have been content to
Speaker 1: work with the savage hound. The use of artificial means
Speaker 1: to make the creature diabolical was a flash of genius
Speaker 1: upon his part. The dog he brought in London from
Speaker 1: Ross and mangles the dealers in Fulham Road. It was
Speaker 1: the strongest and most savage in their possession. He brought
Speaker 1: it down by the North Devon line and walked a
Speaker 1: great distance over the moor, so as to get it
Speaker 1: home without exciting any remarks. Already on his insect hunts
Speaker 1: learned to penetrate the grimpen mire, and so had found
Speaker 1: a safe hiding place for the creature. Here he kenneled
Speaker 1: it and waited his chance. But it was some time coming,
Speaker 1: the old gentleman could not be decoyed outside of his
Speaker 1: grounds at night. Several times Stapleton lurked about with his hound,
Speaker 1: but without avail. It was during these fruitless quests that he,
Speaker 1: or rather his ally, was seen by peasants, and that
Speaker 1: the legend of the demon dog received a new confirmation.
Speaker 1: He had hoped that his wife might lure Sir Charles
Speaker 1: to his ruin, but here she proved unexpectedly independent. She
Speaker 1: would not endeavor to entangle the old gentleman in a
Speaker 1: sentimental attachment which might deliver him over to his enemy threats,
Speaker 1: and even I am sorry to say blows refused to
Speaker 1: move her. She would have nothing to do with it,
Speaker 1: and for a time Stapleton was at a deadlock. He
Speaker 1: found a way out of his difficulties through the chance
Speaker 1: that Sir Charles, who had conceived a friendship for him,
Speaker 1: made him the minister of his charity in the case
Speaker 1: of this unfortunate woman, Missus Laura Lyons. By representing himself
Speaker 1: as a single man, he acquired complete influence over her,
Speaker 1: and he gave her to understand that in the event
Speaker 1: of her obtaining a divorce from her husband, he would
Speaker 1: marry her. His plans were suddenly brought to a head
Speaker 1: by his knowledge that Sir Charles was about to leave
Speaker 1: the hall on the advice of Doctor Mortimer, with whose
Speaker 1: opinion he himself pretended to coincide. He must act at once,
Speaker 1: or his victim might get beyond his power. He therefore
Speaker 1: put pressure upon Missus Lyons to write this letter imploring
Speaker 1: the old man to give her an interview on the
Speaker 1: evening before his departure for London. He then, by a
Speaker 1: specious argument, proved vented her from going, and so had
Speaker 1: the chance for which he had waited. Driving back in
Speaker 1: the evening from Coombe Tracy, he was in time to
Speaker 1: get his hound, to treat it with his infernal paint,
Speaker 1: and to bring the beast round to the gate at
Speaker 1: which he had reason to expect that he would find
Speaker 1: the old gentleman waiting. The dog, incited by his master,
Speaker 1: sprang over the wicket gate and pursued the unfortunate baronet,
Speaker 1: who fled screaming down the yew alley. In that gloomy tunnel,
Speaker 1: it must indeed have been a dreadful sight to see
Speaker 1: that huge black creature with its flaming jaws and blazing eyes,
Speaker 1: bounding after its victim. He fell dead at the end
Speaker 1: of the alley from heart disease and terror. The hound
Speaker 1: had kept upon the grassy border while the baronet had
Speaker 1: run down the path, so that no track but the
Speaker 1: man's was visible. On seeing him lying still, the creature
Speaker 1: had probably approached to sniff at him, but finding him dead,
Speaker 1: had turned away again. It was then that it left
Speaker 1: the print, which was actually observed by doctor Mortimer. The
Speaker 1: hound was called off and hurried away to its lair
Speaker 1: in the grimp and mire, and a mystery was left
Speaker 1: which puzzled the authorities, alarmed the countryside, and finally brought
Speaker 1: the case within the scope of our observation. So much
Speaker 1: for the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. You perceive the
Speaker 1: devilish cunning of it, For really it would be almost
Speaker 1: impossible to make a case against the real murderer. His
Speaker 1: only accomplice was one who could never give him away,
Speaker 1: and the grotesque, inconceivable nature of the device only served
Speaker 1: to make it more effective. Both of the women concerned
Speaker 1: in the case, Missus Stapleton and Missus Laura Lyons, were
Speaker 1: left with a strong suspicion against Stapleton. Missus Stapleton knew
Speaker 1: that he had designs upon the old Man, and also
Speaker 1: of the existence of the hound. Missus Lyons knew neither
Speaker 1: of these things, but had been impressed by the death
Speaker 1: occurring at the time of an uncancelled appointment, which was
Speaker 1: only known to him. However, both of them were under
Speaker 1: his influence, and he had nothing to fear from them.
Speaker 1: The first half of his task was successfully accomplished, but
Speaker 1: the more difficult still remained. It is possible that Stapleton
Speaker 1: did not know of the existence of an heir in Canada.
Speaker 1: In any case, he would very soon learn it from
Speaker 1: his friend doctor Mortimer, and he was told by the
Speaker 1: latter all details about the arrival of Henry Baskerville. Stapleton's
Speaker 1: first idea was that this young stranger from Canada might
Speaker 1: possibly be done to death in London without coming down
Speaker 1: to Devonshire at all. He distrusted his wife ever since
Speaker 1: she had refused to help him in laying a trap
Speaker 1: for the old Man, and he dared not leave her
Speaker 1: long out of his sight for fear he should lose
Speaker 1: his influence over her. It was for this reason that
Speaker 1: he took her to London with him. They lodged I
Speaker 1: find at the Mexborough Private Hotel in Craven Street, which
Speaker 1: was actually one of those called upon by my agent
Speaker 1: in search of evidence. Here he kept his wife imprisoned
Speaker 1: in her room, while he, disguised in a beard, followed
Speaker 1: Doctor Mortimer at a Baker Street, and afterwards to the
Speaker 1: station and to the Northumberland Hotel. His wife had some
Speaker 1: inkling of his plans, but she had such a fear
Speaker 1: of her husband, a fear founded upon brutal ill treatment,
Speaker 1: that she dared not write to warn the man whom
Speaker 1: she knew to be in danger. If the letter should
Speaker 1: fall into Stapleton's hands, her own life would not be safe. Eventually,
Speaker 1: as we know, she adopted the expedient of cutting out
Speaker 1: the words which would form the message, and addressing the
Speaker 1: letter in a disguised hand. It reached the Baronet and
Speaker 1: gave him the first warning of his danger. It was
Speaker 1: very essential for Stapleton to get some article of Sir
Speaker 1: Henry's attire, so that in case he was driven to
Speaker 1: use the dog, he might always have the means of
Speaker 1: setting him upon his track. With characteristic promptness and audacity,
Speaker 1: he set about this at once and we cannot doubt
Speaker 1: that the boots or chamber maid of the hotel was
Speaker 1: well bribed to help him in his design. By chance, however,
Speaker 1: the first boot which was procured for him was a
Speaker 1: new one, and therefore useless for his purpose. He then
Speaker 1: had it returned and obtained another. A most instructive incident,
Speaker 1: since it proved conclusively to my mind that we were
Speaker 1: dealing with a real hound, as no other supposition could
Speaker 1: explain this anxiety to obtain an old boot, and this
Speaker 1: indifference to a new one. The more utre and grotesque
Speaker 1: an incident is, the more carefully it deserves to be examined,
Speaker 1: And the very point which appears to complicate a case
Speaker 1: is when duly considered and scientifically handled, the one which
Speaker 1: is most likely to elucidate it. Then we had the
Speaker 1: visit from our friends next morning, shadowed always by Stapleton
Speaker 1: in the cab. From his knowledge of our rooms and
Speaker 1: of my appearance, as well as from his general conduct,
Speaker 1: I am inclined to think that Stapleton's career of crime
Speaker 1: has been, by no means limited to this single Baskerville affair.
Speaker 1: It is suggestive that during the last three years there
Speaker 1: have been four considerable burglaries in the West Country, for
Speaker 1: none of which was any criminal ever arrested. The last
Speaker 1: of these, at Folkeston Court in May, was remarkable for
Speaker 1: the cold blooded pistoling of the page who surprised the
Speaker 1: masked and solitary burglar. I cannot doubt that Stapleton recruited
Speaker 1: his waning resources in this fashion, and that for years
Speaker 1: he had been a desperate and dangerous man. We had
Speaker 1: an example of his readiness of resource that morning when
Speaker 1: he got away from us so successfully, and also of
Speaker 1: his audacity in sending back my own name to me
Speaker 1: through the cabman. From that moment he understood that I
Speaker 1: had taken over the case in London, and that therefore
Speaker 1: there was no chance for him there. He returned to
Speaker 1: Dartmoor and awaited the arrival of the Baronet. One moment,
Speaker 1: said I, you have no doubt described the sequence of
Speaker 1: events correctly, But as one point which you have left unexplained,
Speaker 1: what became of the hound when its master was in London.
Speaker 1: I have given some attention to this matter, and it
Speaker 1: is undoubtedly of importance. There can be no question that
Speaker 1: Stapleton had a confidant, though it is unlikely that he
Speaker 1: ever placed himself in his power by sharing all his
Speaker 1: plans with him. There was an old man servant at
Speaker 1: Merripit House whose name was Antony. His connection with the
Speaker 1: Stapletons can be traced for several years, is as far
Speaker 1: back as the schoolmastering days, so that he must have
Speaker 1: been aware that his master and mistress were really husband
Speaker 1: and wife. This man has disappeared and has escaped from
Speaker 1: the country. It is suggestive that Antony is not a
Speaker 1: common name in England, while Antonio is so in all
Speaker 1: Spanish or Spanish American countries. The man, like Missus Stapleton herself,
Speaker 1: spoke good English, but with a curious lisping accent. I
Speaker 1: have myself seen this old man cross the grimpen Maire
Speaker 1: by the path which Stapleton had marked out. It is
Speaker 1: very probable, therefore, that, in the absence of his master,
Speaker 1: it was he who cared for the hound, though he
Speaker 1: may never have known the purpose for which the beast
Speaker 1: was used. The Stapletons then went down to Devonshire, whither
Speaker 1: they were soon followed by Sir Henry and Hugh. One
Speaker 1: word now, as to how I stood myself at that time,
Speaker 1: it may possibly recur to your memory that when I
Speaker 1: examined the paper upon which the printed words were fastened,
Speaker 1: I made a close inspection for the water mark. In
Speaker 1: doing so, I held it within a few inches of
Speaker 1: my eyes, and was conscious of a faint smell of
Speaker 1: the scent known as white jessamine. There are seventy five perfumes,
Speaker 1: which is very necessary that a criminal expert should be
Speaker 1: able to distinguish from each other, and cases have more
Speaker 1: than once within my own experience, depended upon their prompt recognition.
Speaker 1: The scent suggested the presence of a lady, and already
Speaker 1: my thoughts began to turn towards the Stapletons. Thus I
Speaker 1: had made certain of the hound and had guessed at
Speaker 1: the criminal before ever we went to the West Country.
Speaker 1: It was my game to watch Stapleton. It was evident, however,
Speaker 1: that I could not do this if I were with you,
Speaker 1: since he would be keenly on his guard. I deceived everybody,
Speaker 1: therefore yourself included, and I came down secretly when I
Speaker 1: was supposed to be in London. My hardships were not
Speaker 1: so great as you imagined. Though such trifling details must
Speaker 1: never interfere with the investigation of a case. I stayed
Speaker 1: for the most part at Coombe Tracy, and only used
Speaker 1: the hut upon the moor when it was necessary to
Speaker 1: be near the scene of action. Cartwright had come down
Speaker 1: with me, and in his disguise as a country boy,
Speaker 1: he was of great assistance to me. I was dependent
Speaker 1: upon him for food and clean linen when I was
Speaker 1: watching Stapleton. Cartwright was frequently watching you, so that I
Speaker 1: was able to keep my hand upon all the strings.
Speaker 1: I have already told you that your reports reached me rapidly,
Speaker 1: being forward instantly from Baker Street to Coombe Tracy. They
Speaker 1: were of great service to me, and especially that one
Speaker 1: incidentally truthful piece of biography of Stapleton's. I was able
Speaker 1: to establish the identity of the man and the wall,
Speaker 1: and knew at last exactly how I stood. The case
Speaker 1: had been considerably complicated through the incident of the escaped
Speaker 1: convict and the relations between him and the Barrymoors. This
Speaker 1: also you cleared up in a very effective way, though
Speaker 1: I had already come to the same conclusions from my
Speaker 1: own observations. By the time that you discovered me upon
Speaker 1: the moor, I had a complete knowledge of the whole business.
Speaker 1: But I had not a case which could go to
Speaker 1: a jury. Even Stapleton's attempt upon Sir Henry that night,
Speaker 1: which ended in the death of the unfortunate convict, did
Speaker 1: not help us much improving murder against our man. There
Speaker 1: seemed to be no alternative but to catch him red handed,
Speaker 1: and to do so we had to use Sir Henry
Speaker 1: alone and apparently unprotected, as a bait. We did so,
Speaker 1: and at the cost of a severe shock to our client,
Speaker 1: we succeeded in completing our case and driving Stapleton to
Speaker 1: his destruction. That Sir Henry should have been exposed to.
Speaker 1: This is I must confess a approach to my management
Speaker 1: of the case. But we had no means of foreseeing
Speaker 1: the terrible and paralyzing spectacle which the beast presented, nor
Speaker 1: could we predict the fog which enabled him to burst
Speaker 1: upon us at such short notice. We succeeded in our object,
Speaker 1: at a cost which both the specialist and Doctor Mortimer
Speaker 1: assure me will be a temporary one. A long journey
Speaker 1: may enable our friend to recover not only from his
Speaker 1: shattered nerves, but also from his wounded feelings. His love
Speaker 1: for the lady was deep and sincere, and to him.
Speaker 1: The saddest part of all this black business was that
Speaker 1: he should have been deceived by her. It only remains
Speaker 1: to indicate the part which she had played throughout. There
Speaker 1: can be no doubt that Stapleton exercised an influence over her,
Speaker 1: which may have been love, or may have been fear,
Speaker 1: or very possibly both, since they are by no means
Speaker 1: incompatible emotions. It was at least absolutely effective at his command.
Speaker 1: She consented to pass as his sister, though he found
Speaker 1: the limits of his power over her when he endeavored
Speaker 1: to make her the direct accessory to murder. She was
Speaker 1: ready to warn Sir Henry so far as she could
Speaker 1: without implicating her husband, and again and again she tried
Speaker 1: to do so. Stapleton himself seems to have been capable
Speaker 1: of jealousy, and when he saw the baronet paying court
Speaker 1: to the lady, even though it was part of his
Speaker 1: own plan, still he could not help interrupting with a
Speaker 1: passionate outburst, which revealed the fiery soul which his self
Speaker 1: contained manner so cleverly concealed. By encouraging the intimacy, he
Speaker 1: made it certain that Sir Henry would frequently come to
Speaker 1: Merripit House and that he would sooner or later get
Speaker 1: the opportunity which he desired. On the day of the crisis, however,
Speaker 1: his wife turned suddenly against him. She had learned something
Speaker 1: of the death of the convict, and she knew that
Speaker 1: the hound was being kept in the outhouse. On the
Speaker 1: evening that Sir Henry was coming to dinner, she taxed
Speaker 1: her husband with his intended crime, and a furious scene followed,
Speaker 1: in which he showed her for the first time that
Speaker 1: she had a rival in his love. Her fidelity turned
Speaker 1: in an instant to bitter hatred, and he saw that
Speaker 1: she would betray him. He tied her up therefore, that
Speaker 1: she might have no chance of warning Sir Henry, and
Speaker 1: he hoped no doubt that when the whole countryside put
Speaker 1: down the baronet's death to the curse of his family,
Speaker 1: as they certainly would do, he could win his wife
Speaker 1: back to accept an accomplished fact, and to keep silent
Speaker 1: upon what she knew. In this I fancy that in
Speaker 1: any case he made a miscalculation, and that if we
Speaker 1: had not been there, his doom would none the less
Speaker 1: have been sealed. A woman of Spanish blood does not
Speaker 1: condone such an injury, so lightly. And now, my dear Watson,
Speaker 1: without referring to my notes, I cannot give you a
Speaker 1: more detailed account of this curious case. I do not
Speaker 1: know that anything essential has been left unexplained. He could
Speaker 1: not hope to frighten Sir Henry to death as he
Speaker 1: had done the old uncle with his bogie hound. The
Speaker 1: beast was savage and half starved. If its appearance did
Speaker 1: not frighten its victim to death, at least it would
Speaker 1: paralyze the resistance which might be offered. No doubt, there
Speaker 1: only remains one difficulty. If Stapleton came into the succession,
Speaker 1: how could he explain the fact that he the heir,
Speaker 1: had been living unannounced under another name, so close to
Speaker 1: the property. How could he claim it without causing suspicion
Speaker 1: and inquiry. It is a formidable difficulty, and I fear
Speaker 1: that you ask too much when you expect me to
Speaker 1: solve it. The past and the present are within the
Speaker 1: field of my inquiry, but what a man may do
Speaker 1: in the future is a hard question to answer. Missus
Speaker 1: Stapleton has heard her husband discuss the problem on several occasions.
Speaker 1: There were three possible courses he might claim the property
Speaker 1: from South America, establish his identity before the British authorities there,
Speaker 1: and so obtain the fortune without ever coming to England
Speaker 1: at all. Or he might adopt an elaborate disguise during
Speaker 1: the short time that he need be in London. Or
Speaker 1: again he might furnish an accomplice with the proofs and papers,
Speaker 1: putting him in as heir and retaining a claim upon
Speaker 1: some proportion of his income. We cannot doubt, from what
Speaker 1: we know of him, that he would have found some
Speaker 1: way out of the difficulty. And now, my dear Watson,
Speaker 1: we have had some weeks of severe work. For one evening,
Speaker 1: I think we may turn our thoughts into more pleasant channels.
Speaker 1: I have a box for Les Zugueneau. Have you heard
Speaker 1: the Diretzkis? Might I trouble you? Then? To be ready
Speaker 1: in half an hour, and we can stop at Marsini's
Speaker 1: for a little dinner on the way. End of Chapter
Speaker 1: fifteen and the end of The Hound of the Baskervilles
Speaker 1: by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, read by David Clark BG
Speaker 1: David dot WordPress dot com and BG cooffee dot Net.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening