WEBVTT

1
00:00:01.280 --> 00:00:03.799
<v Speaker 1>Chapter six of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir

2
00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:07.160
<v Speaker 1>Arthur Conan Doyle. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.

3
00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:15.880
<v Speaker 1>Chapter six Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry Baskerville and Doctor Mortimer

4
00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:18.920
<v Speaker 1>were ready upon the appointed day, and we started as

5
00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:22.679
<v Speaker 1>arranged for Devonshire. Mister Sherlock Holmes drove with me to

6
00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:26.559
<v Speaker 1>the station and gave me his last parting injunctions and advice.

7
00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:32.439
<v Speaker 1>I will not bias your mind by suggesting theories or suspicions,

8
00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:36.439
<v Speaker 1>Watson said, he. I wish you simply to report facts

9
00:00:36.439 --> 00:00:39.159
<v Speaker 1>in the fullest possible manner to me, and you can

10
00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:42.759
<v Speaker 1>leave me to do the theorizing. What sort of facts

11
00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:46.320
<v Speaker 1>I asked, anything which may seem to have a bearing,

12
00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:51.000
<v Speaker 1>however indirect, upon the case, and especially the relations between

13
00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:55.520
<v Speaker 1>young Baskerville and his neighbors, or any fresh particulars concerning

14
00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:59.240
<v Speaker 1>the death of Sir Charles. I have made some inquiries

15
00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:02.000
<v Speaker 1>myself in the life last few days, but the results

16
00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:05.799
<v Speaker 1>have I fear been negative. One thing only appears to

17
00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:09.439
<v Speaker 1>be certain, and that is that mister James Desmond, who

18
00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:12.200
<v Speaker 1>is the next heir, is an elderly gentleman of a

19
00:01:12.280 --> 00:01:16.640
<v Speaker 1>very amiable disposition, so that this persecution does not arise

20
00:01:16.680 --> 00:01:20.599
<v Speaker 1>from him. I really think that we may eliminate him entirely.

21
00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:24.400
<v Speaker 1>From our calculations. There remain the people who will actually

22
00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:28.439
<v Speaker 1>surround Sir Henry Baskerville upon the moor. Would it not

23
00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:30.040
<v Speaker 1>be well in the first place to get rid of

24
00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:34.560
<v Speaker 1>this barrymore couple by no means you could not make

25
00:01:34.599 --> 00:01:37.599
<v Speaker 1>a great mistake. If they are innocent, it will be

26
00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:40.799
<v Speaker 1>a cruel injustice. And if they are guilty, we should

27
00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:44.480
<v Speaker 1>be giving up all chance of bringing it home to them. No, no,

28
00:01:45.239 --> 00:01:48.840
<v Speaker 1>we will preserve them upon our list of suspects. Then

29
00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:51.079
<v Speaker 1>there is a groom at the hall. If I remember right,

30
00:01:51.719 --> 00:01:55.359
<v Speaker 1>there are two Moreland farmers. There is our friend Dr Mortimer,

31
00:01:55.959 --> 00:01:58.680
<v Speaker 1>whom I believe to be entirely honest, and there is

32
00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:01.560
<v Speaker 1>his wife, of whom we know nothing. There is this

33
00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:05.319
<v Speaker 1>naturalist Stapleton, and there is his sister, who is said

34
00:02:05.319 --> 00:02:08.520
<v Speaker 1>to be a young lady of attractions. There is mister

35
00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:11.800
<v Speaker 1>Franklin of Laughter Hall, who is also an unknown factor.

36
00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:15.280
<v Speaker 1>And there are one or two other neighbors. These are

37
00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:18.960
<v Speaker 1>the folk who must be your very special study. I'll

38
00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:23.840
<v Speaker 1>do my best. You have arms. I suppose yes, I

39
00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:28.080
<v Speaker 1>thought it as well to take them. Most certainly, keep

40
00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:31.360
<v Speaker 1>your revolver near you night and day, and never relax

41
00:02:31.439 --> 00:02:36.199
<v Speaker 1>your precautions. Our friends had already secured a first class

42
00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:39.960
<v Speaker 1>carriage and were waiting for us upon the platform. No,

43
00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:43.439
<v Speaker 1>we have no news of any kind, said doctor Mortimer,

44
00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:46.719
<v Speaker 1>in answer to my friend's questions. I can swear to

45
00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:49.120
<v Speaker 1>one thing, and that is that we have not been

46
00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:52.280
<v Speaker 1>shadowed during the last two days. We have never gone

47
00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:55.319
<v Speaker 1>out without keeping a sharp watch, and no one could

48
00:02:55.319 --> 00:02:59.759
<v Speaker 1>have escaped our notice. You have always kept together, I presume,

49
00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:04.439
<v Speaker 1>except yesterday afternoon. I usually give up one day to

50
00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:07.400
<v Speaker 1>pure amusement when I come to town. So I spent

51
00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:10.879
<v Speaker 1>it at the museum of the College of Surgeons, and

52
00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:12.879
<v Speaker 1>I went to look at the folk in the park,

53
00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:18.159
<v Speaker 1>said Baskerville. But we had no trouble of any kind.

54
00:03:18.680 --> 00:03:21.960
<v Speaker 1>It was imprudent. All the same, said Holmes, shaking his

55
00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:25.840
<v Speaker 1>head and looking very grave. I beg, sir Henry, that

56
00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:29.680
<v Speaker 1>you will not go about alone. Some great misfortune will

57
00:03:29.719 --> 00:03:34.240
<v Speaker 1>befall you if you do. Did you get your other boot, No, sir,

58
00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:41.080
<v Speaker 1>it is gone forever. Indeed, that is very interesting. Well,

59
00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:44.000
<v Speaker 1>good bye, he added, as the train began to glide

60
00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:48.280
<v Speaker 1>down the platform, bear in mind, Sir Henry, one of

61
00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:51.560
<v Speaker 1>the phrases in that queer old legend which Doctor Mortimer

62
00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:54.400
<v Speaker 1>has read to us, and avoid the more in those

63
00:03:54.439 --> 00:03:57.719
<v Speaker 1>hours of darkness, when the powers of evil are exalted.

64
00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:01.319
<v Speaker 1>I looked back at the platform when we had left

65
00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:04.919
<v Speaker 1>it far behind, and saw the tall, austere figure of

66
00:04:04.960 --> 00:04:09.919
<v Speaker 1>Homes standing motionless and gazing after us. The journey was

67
00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:12.520
<v Speaker 1>a swift and pleasant one, and I spent it in

68
00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:15.960
<v Speaker 1>making the more intimate acquaintance of my two companions, and

69
00:04:16.040 --> 00:04:20.040
<v Speaker 1>in playing with Doctor Mortimer's spaniel. In a very few hours,

70
00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:23.000
<v Speaker 1>the brown earth had become ruddy, the brick had changed

71
00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:26.720
<v Speaker 1>to granite, and red cows grazed in well hedged fields,

72
00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:32.079
<v Speaker 1>where the lush grasses and more luxuriant vegetation spoke of

73
00:04:32.120 --> 00:04:37.120
<v Speaker 1>a richer if a damper climate. Young Baskerville stared eagerly

74
00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:39.759
<v Speaker 1>out of the window and cried aloud with delight as

75
00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:44.120
<v Speaker 1>he recognized the familiar features of the devon scenery. I've

76
00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:45.920
<v Speaker 1>been over a good part of the world since I

77
00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:49.160
<v Speaker 1>left it, Dr Watson, said he, but I've never seen

78
00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:52.399
<v Speaker 1>a place to compare with it. I never saw a

79
00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:56.680
<v Speaker 1>Devonshire man who did not swear by his county. I remarked.

80
00:04:57.319 --> 00:04:59.560
<v Speaker 1>It depends upon the breed of men, quite as much

81
00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:03.120
<v Speaker 1>as on the county, said doctor Mortimer. A glance at

82
00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:06.160
<v Speaker 1>our friend here reveals the rounded head of the celt

83
00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:10.560
<v Speaker 1>which carries inside it the Celtic enthusiasm and power of attachment.

84
00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:14.199
<v Speaker 1>Poor Sir Charles's head was of a very rare type,

85
00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:19.120
<v Speaker 1>half Gallic, half Ivernian in its characteristics. But you are

86
00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:21.759
<v Speaker 1>very young when you last saw Baskerville Hall, were you not?

87
00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:24.759
<v Speaker 1>I was a boy in my teens at the time

88
00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:27.480
<v Speaker 1>of my father's death and had never seen the hall,

89
00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:30.360
<v Speaker 1>for he lived in a little cottage on the south coast.

90
00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:34.079
<v Speaker 1>Thence I went straight to a friend in America. I

91
00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:35.720
<v Speaker 1>tell you it is all as new to me as

92
00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:38.319
<v Speaker 1>it is to doctor Watson, and I am as keen

93
00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:42.839
<v Speaker 1>as possible to see the more are you? Then your

94
00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:46.240
<v Speaker 1>wish is easily granted. For there is your first sight

95
00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:49.160
<v Speaker 1>of the moor, said doctor Mortimer, pointing out of the

96
00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:53.160
<v Speaker 1>carriage window, over the green squares of the fields and

97
00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:56.079
<v Speaker 1>the low curve of a wood. There rose in the distance,

98
00:05:56.360 --> 00:06:01.360
<v Speaker 1>a gray, melancholy hill with a strange, jagged summit, dim

99
00:06:01.399 --> 00:06:05.120
<v Speaker 1>and vague in the distance, like some fantastic landscape in

100
00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:09.439
<v Speaker 1>a dream. Baskerville sat for a long time, his eyes

101
00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:12.519
<v Speaker 1>fixed upon it, and I read upon his eager face

102
00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:15.319
<v Speaker 1>how much it meant to him, this first sight of

103
00:06:15.399 --> 00:06:18.680
<v Speaker 1>that strange spot where the men of his blood had

104
00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:21.920
<v Speaker 1>held sway so long and left their mark so deep.

105
00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:26.360
<v Speaker 1>There he sat with his tweed suit, in the corner

106
00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:29.759
<v Speaker 1>of a prosaic railway carriage. And yet as I looked

107
00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:33.040
<v Speaker 1>at his dark and expressive face, I felt more than

108
00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:35.439
<v Speaker 1>ever how true a descendant he was of that long

109
00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:41.199
<v Speaker 1>line of high blooded, fiery and masterful men. There were pride, valor,

110
00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:45.000
<v Speaker 1>and strength in his thick brows, his sensitive nostrils, and

111
00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:49.519
<v Speaker 1>his large hazel eyes. If on that forbidding more a

112
00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:53.519
<v Speaker 1>difficult and dangerous quest should lie before us, this was

113
00:06:53.560 --> 00:06:55.839
<v Speaker 1>at least a comrade for whom one might venture to

114
00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:58.600
<v Speaker 1>take a risk, with the certainty that he would bravely

115
00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:02.720
<v Speaker 1>share it. The train pulled up at a small wayside station,

116
00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:07.079
<v Speaker 1>and we all descended outside. Beyond the low white fence,

117
00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:10.839
<v Speaker 1>a wagonette with a pair of cobs was waiting. Our

118
00:07:10.920 --> 00:07:14.319
<v Speaker 1>coming was evidently a great event for station master and

119
00:07:14.439 --> 00:07:18.199
<v Speaker 1>porters clustered round us to carry out our luggage. It

120
00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:21.680
<v Speaker 1>was a sweet, simple country spot, but I was surprised

121
00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:24.920
<v Speaker 1>to observe that by the gate there stood two soldierly

122
00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:28.920
<v Speaker 1>men in dark uniforms, who leaned upon their short rifles

123
00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:33.079
<v Speaker 1>and glanced keenly at us. As we passed the coachman,

124
00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:37.879
<v Speaker 1>a hard faced, gnarled little fellow saluted Sir Henry Baskerville,

125
00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:40.560
<v Speaker 1>and in a few minutes we were flying swiftly down

126
00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:45.920
<v Speaker 1>the broad white road, rolling pasture lands curved upward on

127
00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:49.759
<v Speaker 1>either side of us, and old gabled houses peeped out

128
00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:53.720
<v Speaker 1>from amid the thick green foliage. But behind the peaceful

129
00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:58.199
<v Speaker 1>and sunlit country side there rose, ever dark against the

130
00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:01.839
<v Speaker 1>evening sky, the long, long, gloomy curve of the moor,

131
00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:07.199
<v Speaker 1>broken by the jagged and sinister hills. The wagonette swung

132
00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:10.000
<v Speaker 1>round into a side road, and we curved upward through

133
00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:14.000
<v Speaker 1>deep lanes worn by centuries of wheels. High banks on

134
00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:18.279
<v Speaker 1>either side, heavy with dripping moss and fleshy heart's tongue ferns,

135
00:08:19.079 --> 00:08:22.600
<v Speaker 1>bronzing bracken and mottled bramble, gleamed in the light of

136
00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:27.680
<v Speaker 1>the sinking sun. Still steadily rising. We passed over a

137
00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:32.039
<v Speaker 1>narrow granite bridge and skirted a noisy stream which gushed

138
00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:36.960
<v Speaker 1>swiftly down, foaming and roaring amid the gray boulders. Both

139
00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:39.840
<v Speaker 1>road and stream wound up through a valley dense with scrub,

140
00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:44.799
<v Speaker 1>oak and fir. At every turn Baskerville gave an exclamation

141
00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:49.159
<v Speaker 1>of delight, looking eagerly about him and asking countless questions.

142
00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:54.120
<v Speaker 1>To his eyes, all seemed beautiful, But to me a

143
00:08:54.159 --> 00:08:57.679
<v Speaker 1>tinge of melancholy lay upon the countryside, which bore so

144
00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:02.039
<v Speaker 1>clearly the mark of the waning year. Yellow leaves carpeted

145
00:09:02.039 --> 00:09:04.600
<v Speaker 1>the lanes and fluttered down upon us as we passed.

146
00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:07.639
<v Speaker 1>The rattle of our wheels died away as we drove

147
00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:11.679
<v Speaker 1>through drifts of rotting vegetation, sad gifts, as it seemed

148
00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:14.679
<v Speaker 1>to me for nature to throw before the carriage of

149
00:09:14.759 --> 00:09:20.559
<v Speaker 1>the returning air of the Baskervilles. Hullo, cried doctor Mortimer,

150
00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:25.039
<v Speaker 1>What is this? A steep curve of heath clad land,

151
00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:28.039
<v Speaker 1>an outlying spur of the moor lay in front of

152
00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:32.759
<v Speaker 1>us on the summit, hard and clear, like an equestrian statue.

153
00:09:32.840 --> 00:09:37.159
<v Speaker 1>Upon its pedestal was a mounted soldier, dark and stern,

154
00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:41.639
<v Speaker 1>his rifle poised ready over his forearm. He was watching

155
00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:45.159
<v Speaker 1>the road along which we traveled. What is this, Perkins

156
00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:49.639
<v Speaker 1>asked Doctor Mortimer, our driver half turned in his seat.

157
00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:54.399
<v Speaker 1>Here's a convict escape from Princetown, Sir. He's been out

158
00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:57.679
<v Speaker 1>here three days now, and the warders watch every road

159
00:09:57.720 --> 00:10:00.720
<v Speaker 1>and every station, but they've had no soft of him yet.

160
00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:03.440
<v Speaker 1>The farmers about here don't like you, sir. And that's

161
00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:07.399
<v Speaker 1>a fact. Well. I understand that they get five pounds

162
00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:11.679
<v Speaker 1>if they can give information, yes, sir, But the chance

163
00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:13.960
<v Speaker 1>of five pounds is but a poor thing compared to

164
00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:16.679
<v Speaker 1>the chance of having your throat cut. You see, it

165
00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:19.600
<v Speaker 1>isn't like any ordinary convict. This is a man who

166
00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:23.759
<v Speaker 1>would stick at nothing. Who is he? Then? It is

167
00:10:23.879 --> 00:10:28.600
<v Speaker 1>seldom the not an ill murderer. I remembered the case well,

168
00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:30.919
<v Speaker 1>for it was one in which Holmes had taken an interest.

169
00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:34.200
<v Speaker 1>On account of the peculiar ferocity of the crime and

170
00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:37.159
<v Speaker 1>the wanton brutality which had marked all the actions of

171
00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:41.320
<v Speaker 1>the assassin. The commutation of his death sentence had been

172
00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:44.519
<v Speaker 1>due to some doubts as to his complete sanity, So

173
00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:48.919
<v Speaker 1>atrocious was his conduct. Our wagonette had topped a rise,

174
00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:51.759
<v Speaker 1>and in front of us rose the huge expanse of

175
00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:55.799
<v Speaker 1>the moor, mottled with gnarled and craggy cairns and tours.

176
00:10:57.080 --> 00:10:59.919
<v Speaker 1>A cold wind swept down from it and set a shiver.

177
00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:05.519
<v Speaker 1>Somewhere there on that desolate plain was lurking, this fiendish man,

178
00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:09.519
<v Speaker 1>hiding in a burrow like a wild beast, his heart

179
00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:12.440
<v Speaker 1>full of malignancy against the whole race which had cast

180
00:11:12.519 --> 00:11:16.159
<v Speaker 1>him out. It needed but this to complete the grim

181
00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:20.600
<v Speaker 1>suggestiveness of the barren waste, the chilling wind, and the

182
00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:26.159
<v Speaker 1>darkling sky. Even Baskerville fell silent and pulled his overcoat

183
00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:31.159
<v Speaker 1>more closely around him. We had left the fertile country behind,

184
00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:35.080
<v Speaker 1>and beneath us we looked back on it now, the

185
00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:38.720
<v Speaker 1>slanting rays of a low sun turning the streams to

186
00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:41.879
<v Speaker 1>threads of gold, and glowing on the red earth new

187
00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:45.480
<v Speaker 1>turned by the plow, and the broad tangle of the woodlands.

188
00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:49.360
<v Speaker 1>The road in front of us screw bleaker and wilder,

189
00:11:49.639 --> 00:11:54.840
<v Speaker 1>over huge russet and olive slopes sprinkled with giant boulders.

190
00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:58.919
<v Speaker 1>Now and then we passed to Moorland cottage, walled and

191
00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:04.039
<v Speaker 1>roofed with stone, with no creeper to break its harsh outline.

192
00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:07.440
<v Speaker 1>Suddenly we looked down into a cuplike depression, patched with

193
00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:10.440
<v Speaker 1>stunted oaks and firs which had been twisted and bent

194
00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:14.480
<v Speaker 1>by the fury of years of storm. Two high, narrow

195
00:12:14.600 --> 00:12:19.399
<v Speaker 1>towers rose over the trees. The driver pointed with his whip.

196
00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:24.840
<v Speaker 1>Baskerville Hall said he Its master had risen and was

197
00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:28.960
<v Speaker 1>staring with flushed cheeks and shining eyes. A few minutes

198
00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:32.360
<v Speaker 1>later we had reached the lodge gates, a maze of

199
00:12:32.440 --> 00:12:36.240
<v Speaker 1>fantastic tracery in wrought iron, with weather bitten pillars on

200
00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:40.279
<v Speaker 1>either side, blotched with lichens, and surmounted by the boars

201
00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:44.559
<v Speaker 1>heads of the Baskervilles. The lodge was a ruin of

202
00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:48.559
<v Speaker 1>black granite and bared ribs of rafters, but facing it

203
00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:52.559
<v Speaker 1>was a new building, half constructed, the first fruit of

204
00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:57.440
<v Speaker 1>Sir Charles's South African gold. Through the gateway we passed

205
00:12:57.480 --> 00:13:00.360
<v Speaker 1>into the avenue, where the wheels were again hushed amid

206
00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:03.519
<v Speaker 1>the leaves, and the old trees shot their branches in

207
00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:07.639
<v Speaker 1>a somber tunnel over our heads. Baskerville shuddered as we

208
00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:10.320
<v Speaker 1>looked up the long dark drive to where the house

209
00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:15.320
<v Speaker 1>glimmered like a ghost at the farther end. Was it here,

210
00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:19.440
<v Speaker 1>he asked in a low voice. No, No, the yew

211
00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:23.679
<v Speaker 1>alleys on the other side. The young air glanced round

212
00:13:23.720 --> 00:13:27.639
<v Speaker 1>with a gloomy face. It's no wonder my uncle felt

213
00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:29.480
<v Speaker 1>as if trouble were coming on him in such a

214
00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:33.399
<v Speaker 1>place as this, said he. It's enough to scare any man.

215
00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:36.320
<v Speaker 1>I'll have a row of electric lamps up here inside

216
00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:38.759
<v Speaker 1>of six months, and you won't know it again. With

217
00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:41.600
<v Speaker 1>a thousand candle power Swan and Edison right here in

218
00:13:41.639 --> 00:13:45.840
<v Speaker 1>front of the hall door. The avenue opened into a

219
00:13:45.879 --> 00:13:49.320
<v Speaker 1>broad expanse of turf, and the house lay before us.

220
00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:52.759
<v Speaker 1>In the fading light, I could see that the center

221
00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:55.759
<v Speaker 1>was a heavy block of building from which a porch projected.

222
00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:59.799
<v Speaker 1>The whole front was draped in ivy, with a patch

223
00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:02.559
<v Speaker 1>slipped bare here and there where a window or a

224
00:14:02.600 --> 00:14:06.360
<v Speaker 1>coat of arms broke through the dark veil. From this

225
00:14:06.440 --> 00:14:11.919
<v Speaker 1>central block rose the twin towers, ancient crenelated and pierced

226
00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:15.480
<v Speaker 1>with many loopholes. To right and left of the turrets

227
00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:19.600
<v Speaker 1>were more modern wings of black granite. A dull light

228
00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:23.200
<v Speaker 1>shone through heavy mullioned windows, and from the high chimneys

229
00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:26.600
<v Speaker 1>which rose from the steep, high angled roof. There sprang

230
00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:31.519
<v Speaker 1>a single black column of smoke. Welcome, Sir Henry, Welcome

231
00:14:31.559 --> 00:14:35.240
<v Speaker 1>to Baskerville Hall. A tall man had stepped from the

232
00:14:35.240 --> 00:14:38.120
<v Speaker 1>shadow of the porch to open the door of the wagonette.

233
00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:41.200
<v Speaker 1>The figure of a woman was silhouetted against the yellow

234
00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:44.039
<v Speaker 1>light of the hall. She came out and helped the

235
00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:47.519
<v Speaker 1>man to hand down our bags. You don't mind my

236
00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:51.600
<v Speaker 1>driving straight home, Sir Henry, said Doctor Mortimer. My wife

237
00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:56.559
<v Speaker 1>is expecting me. Surely you'll stay and have some dinner. No,

238
00:14:56.759 --> 00:15:00.039
<v Speaker 1>I must go. I shall probably find some work awaiting me.

239
00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:03.080
<v Speaker 1>I would stay to show you over the house, but

240
00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:06.440
<v Speaker 1>Barrymore would be a better guide than I. Good Bye,

241
00:15:06.440 --> 00:15:08.960
<v Speaker 1>and never hesitate night or day to send for me

242
00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:12.639
<v Speaker 1>if I can be of service. The wheels died away

243
00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:15.039
<v Speaker 1>down the drive while Sir Henry and I turned into

244
00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:19.960
<v Speaker 1>the hall, and the door clanged heavily behind us. It

245
00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:23.320
<v Speaker 1>was a fine apartment in which we found ourselves, large,

246
00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:28.360
<v Speaker 1>lofty and heavily rafted with huge walks of age blackened oak.

247
00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:32.679
<v Speaker 1>In the great old fashioned fireplace behind the high iron dogs,

248
00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:37.320
<v Speaker 1>a log fire crackled and snapped. Sir Henry and I

249
00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:39.799
<v Speaker 1>held out our hands to it, for we were numb

250
00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:43.000
<v Speaker 1>from our long drive. Then we gazed round us at

251
00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:47.440
<v Speaker 1>the high, thin window of old stained glass, the oak paneling,

252
00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:50.879
<v Speaker 1>the stag's heads, the coats of arms upon the walls,

253
00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:54.480
<v Speaker 1>all dim and somber in the subdued light of the

254
00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:59.360
<v Speaker 1>central lamp. It's just as I imagined it, said, Sir Henry.

255
00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:02.240
<v Speaker 1>Is it not the very picture of an old family home?

256
00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:04.919
<v Speaker 1>To think that this shall be the same hall in

257
00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:08.639
<v Speaker 1>which for five hundred years my people have lived? It

258
00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:12.399
<v Speaker 1>strikes me solemn to think of it. I saw his

259
00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:15.440
<v Speaker 1>dark face lit up with a boyish enthusiasm as he

260
00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:18.960
<v Speaker 1>gazed about him. The light beat upon him where he stood,

261
00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:22.840
<v Speaker 1>but long shadows trailed down the walls and hung like

262
00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:27.080
<v Speaker 1>a black canopy above him. Barrymore had returned from taking

263
00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:30.080
<v Speaker 1>our luggage to our rooms. He stood in front of

264
00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:33.360
<v Speaker 1>us now with the subdued manner of a well trained servant.

265
00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:38.240
<v Speaker 1>He was a remarkable looking man, tall handsome, with a

266
00:16:38.279 --> 00:16:43.720
<v Speaker 1>square black beard and pale distinguished features. Would you wish

267
00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:47.240
<v Speaker 1>dinner to be served at once? Sir? Is it ready?

268
00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:50.960
<v Speaker 1>In a few minutes, sir, you will find out water

269
00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:54.600
<v Speaker 1>in your rooms. My wife, and I will be happy,

270
00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:57.480
<v Speaker 1>Sir Henry, to stay with you until you've made your

271
00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:01.639
<v Speaker 1>fresh arrangements. But you will understand, under the new conditions

272
00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:07.359
<v Speaker 1>this house will require a considerable staff. What new conditions.

273
00:17:08.519 --> 00:17:11.480
<v Speaker 1>I only meant it, sir, that Sir Charles led a

274
00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:14.400
<v Speaker 1>very retired life, and we were able to look after

275
00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:18.079
<v Speaker 1>his wants. You would naturally wish to have more company,

276
00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:21.960
<v Speaker 1>and so you will need changes in your household. Do

277
00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:23.920
<v Speaker 1>you mean that your wife and you wish to leave

278
00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:29.319
<v Speaker 1>only when it's quite convenient to you, sir? But your

279
00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:32.000
<v Speaker 1>family have been with us for several generations, have they not?

280
00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:35.039
<v Speaker 1>I should be sorry to begin my life here by

281
00:17:35.079 --> 00:17:39.440
<v Speaker 1>breaking an old family connection. I seem to discern some

282
00:17:39.559 --> 00:17:43.759
<v Speaker 1>signs of emotion upon the butler's white face. I feel

283
00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:47.240
<v Speaker 1>that also, sir, and so does my wife. But to

284
00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:50.319
<v Speaker 1>tell the truth, Sir, we were both very much attached

285
00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:52.960
<v Speaker 1>to Sir Charles, and his death gave us a shock

286
00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:56.759
<v Speaker 1>and made these surroundings very painful to us. I fear

287
00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:59.160
<v Speaker 1>that we shall never again be easy in our minds

288
00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:02.759
<v Speaker 1>at Baskerville all. But what do you intend to do?

289
00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:06.519
<v Speaker 1>I have no doubt, sir, that we shall succeed in

290
00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:11.359
<v Speaker 1>establishing ourselves in some business. Sir Charles's generosity has given

291
00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:14.480
<v Speaker 1>us the means to do so. And now, sir, perhaps

292
00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:19.000
<v Speaker 1>i'd best show you to your rooms. A square, balustraded

293
00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:21.920
<v Speaker 1>gallery ran round the top of the old hall, approached

294
00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:26.039
<v Speaker 1>by a double stair. From this central point, two long

295
00:18:26.119 --> 00:18:29.519
<v Speaker 1>corridors extended the whole length of the building, from which

296
00:18:29.559 --> 00:18:33.079
<v Speaker 1>all the bedrooms opened. My own was in the same

297
00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:37.319
<v Speaker 1>wing as Baskerville's, and almost next door to it. These

298
00:18:37.400 --> 00:18:40.079
<v Speaker 1>rooms appeared to be much more modern than the central

299
00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:43.319
<v Speaker 1>part of the house, and the bright paper and numerous

300
00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:46.880
<v Speaker 1>candles did something to remove the somber impression which our

301
00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:52.039
<v Speaker 1>arrival had left upon my mind. But the dining room,

302
00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:54.640
<v Speaker 1>which opened out of the hall, was a place of

303
00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:58.200
<v Speaker 1>shadow and gloom. It was a long chamber with a

304
00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:01.240
<v Speaker 1>step separating the dace where the family sat, from the

305
00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:05.519
<v Speaker 1>lower portion reserved for their dependants. At one end, a

306
00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:10.519
<v Speaker 1>minstrel's gallery overlooked it. Black beams shot across above our heads,

307
00:19:11.079 --> 00:19:14.759
<v Speaker 1>with a smoke darkened ceiling beyond them, with rows of

308
00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:17.680
<v Speaker 1>flaring torches to light it up, and the color and

309
00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:21.480
<v Speaker 1>rude hilarity of an old time banquet. It might have softened.

310
00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:25.680
<v Speaker 1>But now, when two black clothed gentlemen sat in the

311
00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:29.720
<v Speaker 1>little circle of light thrown by a shaded lamp, one's

312
00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:34.960
<v Speaker 1>voice became hushed and one's spirit subdued. A dim line

313
00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.039
<v Speaker 1>of ancestors in every variety of dress, from the Elizabethan

314
00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:42.440
<v Speaker 1>Knight to the buck of the Regency, stared down upon

315
00:19:42.519 --> 00:19:47.359
<v Speaker 1>us and daunted us by their silent company. We talked little,

316
00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:49.799
<v Speaker 1>and I, for one, was glad when the meal was

317
00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:52.480
<v Speaker 1>over and we were able to retire into the modern

318
00:19:52.519 --> 00:19:57.240
<v Speaker 1>billiard room and smoke a cigarette. My word, it isn't

319
00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:01.079
<v Speaker 1>a very cheerful place, said Sir Henry. I suppose one

320
00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:03.319
<v Speaker 1>can tone down to it, but I feel a bit

321
00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:05.920
<v Speaker 1>out of the picture at present. I don't mind that

322
00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:08.000
<v Speaker 1>my uncle got a little jumpy if he lived all

323
00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:11.799
<v Speaker 1>alone in such a house as this. However, if it

324
00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:15.400
<v Speaker 1>suits you, we will retire early to night, and perhaps

325
00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:19.720
<v Speaker 1>things may seem more cheerful in the morning. I drew

326
00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:22.680
<v Speaker 1>aside my curtains before I went to bed, and looked

327
00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:26.079
<v Speaker 1>out from my window. It opened up upon the grassy

328
00:20:26.119 --> 00:20:29.960
<v Speaker 1>space which lay in front of the hall door. Beyond

329
00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:33.720
<v Speaker 1>two copses of trees moaned and swung in a rising wind,

330
00:20:34.759 --> 00:20:38.119
<v Speaker 1>A half moon broke through the rifts of racing clouds.

331
00:20:38.839 --> 00:20:41.839
<v Speaker 1>In its cold light, I saw beyond the trees a

332
00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:45.519
<v Speaker 1>broken fringe of rocks, and the long, low curve of

333
00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:49.839
<v Speaker 1>the melancholy more. I closed the curtain, feeling that my

334
00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:53.599
<v Speaker 1>last impression was in keeping with the rest. And yet

335
00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:57.359
<v Speaker 1>it was not quite the last. I found myself weary

336
00:20:57.400 --> 00:21:02.160
<v Speaker 1>and yet wakeful, tossing restlessly from side to side, seeking

337
00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:05.880
<v Speaker 1>for the sleep which would not come far away. A

338
00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:09.319
<v Speaker 1>chiming clock struck out the quarters of the hours, but

339
00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:13.599
<v Speaker 1>otherwise a deathly silence lay upon the old house. And

340
00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:17.599
<v Speaker 1>then suddenly, in the very dead of night, there came

341
00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:23.039
<v Speaker 1>a sound to my ears, clear, resonant, and unmistakable. It

342
00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:27.039
<v Speaker 1>was the sob of a woman, the muffled, strangling gasp

343
00:21:27.079 --> 00:21:31.440
<v Speaker 1>of one who is torn by an uncontrollable sorrow. I

344
00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:35.359
<v Speaker 1>sat up in bed and listened intently. The noise could

345
00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:38.559
<v Speaker 1>not have been far away, and was certainly in the house.

346
00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:42.000
<v Speaker 1>For half an hour, I waited, with every nerve on

347
00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:45.680
<v Speaker 1>the alert, but there came no other sound save the

348
00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:49.279
<v Speaker 1>chiming clock and the rustle of the ivy on the wall.

349
00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:52.960
<v Speaker 1>End of Chapter six