WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.319 Chapter twelve of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir 2 00:00:03.399 --> 00:00:06.919 Arthur Conan Doyle. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. 3 00:00:08.919 --> 00:00:14.400 Chapter twelve, Death on the Moor. For a moment or two, 4 00:00:14.439 --> 00:00:18.280 I sat breathless, hardly able to believe my ears. Then 5 00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:21.359 my senses and my voice came back to me, while 6 00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:24.920 a crushing weight of responsibility seemed in an instant to 7 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:30.280 be lifted from my soul. That cold, incisive, ironical voice 8 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:34.439 could belong to but one man in all the world. Holmes, 9 00:00:34.759 --> 00:00:40.240 I cried, Holmes, come out, said he, and please be 10 00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:44.399 careful with the revolver. I stooped under the rude lintel, 11 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:47.920 and there he sat upon a stone outside, his gray 12 00:00:47.960 --> 00:00:51.960 eyes dancing with amusement as they fell upon my astonished features. 13 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:56.200 He was thin and worn, but clear and alert, his 14 00:00:56.399 --> 00:00:59.960 keen face bronzed by the sun and roughened by the wind. 15 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:03.600 In his tweed suit and cloth cap, he looked like 16 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:06.959 any other tourist upon the moor. And he had contrived, 17 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:10.159 with that catlike love of personal cleanliness, which was one 18 00:01:10.200 --> 00:01:13.560 of his characteristics, that his chin should be as smooth 19 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:16.120 and as linen, as perfect as if he were in 20 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:19.680 Baker Street. I never was more glad to see any 21 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:22.280 one in my life, said I as I wrung him 22 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:26.560 by the hand, or more astonished. Eh well, I must 23 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:30.519 confess to it. The surprise was not all on one side. 24 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:33.359 I assure you. I had no idea that you had 25 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:37.079 found my occasional retreat, still less that you were inside 26 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:39.719 it until I was within twenty paces of the door. 27 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:45.040 My footprint I presume no, Watson, I fear that I 28 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:48.120 could not undertake to recognize your footprint amid all the 29 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:52.239 footprints of the world. If you seriously desire to deceive me, 30 00:01:52.359 --> 00:01:55.439 you must change your tobacconist. For when I see the 31 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:59.799 stub of a cigarette marked Bradley Oxford Street, I know 32 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:03.560 that my friend Watson is in a neighborhood. You will 33 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:06.439 see it there beside the path. You threw it down, 34 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:09.639 no doubt at that supreme moment when you charged into 35 00:02:09.639 --> 00:02:15.120 the empty hut exactly I thought as much, and, knowing 36 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:18.400 your admirable tenacity, I was convinced that you were sitting 37 00:02:18.439 --> 00:02:22.240 in ambush, a weapon within reach, waiting for the tenant 38 00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:25.719 to return. So you actually thought that I was the criminal. 39 00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:29.080 I did not know who you were but I was 40 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:33.919 determined to find out, excellent Watson. And how did you 41 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:37.080 localize me? You saw me perhaps on the night of 42 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:40.080 the convict hunt, when I was so imprudent as to 43 00:02:40.120 --> 00:02:43.759 allow the moon to rise behind me. Yes, I saw 44 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:47.319 you then, and have no doubt searched all the huts 45 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:51.000 until you came to this one. No, your boy has 46 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:53.759 been observed, and that gave me a guide where to look. 47 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:58.960 The old gentleman with a telescope, no doubt I could 48 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:01.159 not make it out when first I saw the light 49 00:03:01.319 --> 00:03:06.439 flashing upon the lens. He rose and peeped into the hut. Ha, 50 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:10.639 I see that Cartwright has brought up some supplies. What's 51 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:13.719 this paper? So you've been to Coombe Tracy? Have you 52 00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:22.520 yes to see missus Laura Lyons? Exactly well done. Our 53 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:26.560 researches have evidently been running on parallel lines, and when 54 00:03:26.599 --> 00:03:28.919 we unite our results, I expect we shall have a 55 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:33.159 fairly full knowledge of the case. Well, I'm glad from 56 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:36.400 my heart that you are here, for indeed the responsibility 57 00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:39.280 and the mystery were both becoming too much for my nerves. 58 00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:42.199 But how in the name of wonder did you come here? 59 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:45.080 And what have you been doing. I thought that you 60 00:03:45.080 --> 00:03:47.960 were in Baker Street working out that case of blackmailing. 61 00:03:49.319 --> 00:03:52.319 That was what I wished you to think. Then you 62 00:03:52.520 --> 00:03:55.240 use me and yet do not trust me. I cried 63 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:58.319 with some bitterness. I think that I've deserved better at 64 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:03.159 your hands homes, My dear fellow. You have been invaluable 65 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:06.199 to me in this as in many other cases, and 66 00:04:06.280 --> 00:04:07.840 I beg that you will forgive me if I have 67 00:04:07.879 --> 00:04:10.879 seemed to play a trick upon you. In truth, it 68 00:04:10.919 --> 00:04:12.840 was partly for your own sake that I did it, 69 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:15.680 and it was my appreciation of the danger which you 70 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:18.399 ran which led me to come down and examine the 71 00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:22.240 matter for myself. Had I been with Sir Henry and you, 72 00:04:22.920 --> 00:04:25.040 it is confident that my point of view would have 73 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:28.560 been the same as yours, and my presence would have 74 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:32.279 warned our very formidable opponents to be on their guard. 75 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:36.040 As it is, I have been able to get about 76 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:38.920 as I could not possibly have done had I been 77 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:42.560 living in the hall. And I remain an unknown factor 78 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:45.240 in the business, ready to throw in all my weight 79 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:48.720 at a critical moment. But why keep me in the 80 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:52.279 dark for you to know could not have helped us 81 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:56.600 and might possibly have led to my discovery. You would 82 00:04:56.600 --> 00:04:59.439 have wished to tell me something, or in your kindness, 83 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:01.680 you would have brought me out some comfort or other, 84 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:05.839 and so an unnecessary risk would be run. I brought 85 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:09.120 Cartwright down with me. You remember the little chap at 86 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:12.120 the express office, and he has seen after my simple 87 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:15.720 once a loaf of bread and a clean collar. What 88 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:18.560 does man want more? He has given me an extra 89 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:20.920 pair of eyes upon a very active pair of feet, 90 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:25.439 and both have been invaluable. Then my reports have all 91 00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:29.319 been wasted. My voice trembled as I recalled the pains 92 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:33.199 and the pride with which I had composed them. Holmes 93 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:36.600 took a bundle of papers from his pocket. Here are 94 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:40.199 your reports, my dear fellow, and very well thumbed. I 95 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:44.160 assure you I made excellent arrangements, and they were only 96 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:47.759 delayed one day. Upon their way. I must compliment you 97 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:50.759 exceedingly upon the zeal and the intelligence which you have 98 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:56.120 shown over an extraordinarily difficult case. I was still rather 99 00:05:56.279 --> 00:05:59.000 raw over the deception which had been practiced upon me, 100 00:05:59.720 --> 00:06:02.399 but the warmth of Holmes's praise drove my anger from 101 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:06.680 my mind. I felt also in my heart that he 102 00:06:06.759 --> 00:06:08.720 was right in what he had said, and that it 103 00:06:08.759 --> 00:06:11.040 was really best for our purpose that I should not 104 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:14.680 have known that he was upon the moor. That's better, 105 00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:19.399 said he, seeing the shadow rise from my face. And 106 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:22.560 now tell me the result of your visit to missus 107 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:26.000 Laura Lyons. It was not difficult for me to guess 108 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:28.120 that it was to see her that you had gone, 109 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:30.759 for I am already aware that she is the one 110 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:34.120 person in Coombe Tracy who might be of service to 111 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:37.439 us in the matter. In fact, if you had not 112 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:40.399 gone to day, it is exceedingly probable that I should 113 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:44.120 have gone to morrow. The sun had set and dusk 114 00:06:44.199 --> 00:06:47.199 was settling over the moor. The air had turned chill, 115 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:51.920 and we withdrew into the hut for warmth. There, sitting 116 00:06:51.959 --> 00:06:55.279 together in the twilight, I told Holmes of my conversation 117 00:06:55.399 --> 00:06:59.279 with the lady. So interested was he that I had 118 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:01.879 to repeat some of it twice before he was satisfied. 119 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:06.600 This is most important, said he, when I had concluded. 120 00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:09.600 It fills up a gap which I had been unable 121 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:13.600 to bridge in this most complex affair. You are aware, 122 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:17.680 perhaps that a close intimacy exists between this lady and 123 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:22.399 the man Stapleton. I did not know of a close intimacy. 124 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:26.120 There can be no doubt about the matter. They meet, 125 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:31.040 they write, there is a complete understanding between them. Now 126 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:34.920 this puts a very powerful weapon into our hands, if 127 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:38.920 I could only use it to detach his wife his wife. 128 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:42.839 I am giving you some information now in return for 129 00:07:42.920 --> 00:07:45.920 all that you have given me. The lady who has 130 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:50.199 passed here as miss Stapleton, is in reality his wife. 131 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:54.279 Good Heavens, Holmes, are you sure of what you say? 132 00:07:54.959 --> 00:07:56.879 How could he have permitted Sir Henry to fall in 133 00:07:56.920 --> 00:08:00.519 love with her? Sir Henry's falling in love could do 134 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:04.839 no harm to any one except Sir Henry. He took 135 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:07.680 particular care that Sir Henry did not make love to her, 136 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:11.439 as you of yourself observed. I repeat that the lady 137 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:15.439 is his wife and not his sister. But why this 138 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:19.879 elaborate deception? Because he foresaw that she would be very 139 00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:22.360 much more useful to him in the character of a 140 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:28.639 free woman. All my unspoken instincts, my vague suspicions, suddenly 141 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:33.080 took shape and centered upon the naturalist. In that impassive, 142 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:36.600 colorless man with his straw hat and his butterfly net, 143 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:41.080 I seemed to see something terrible, a creature of infinite 144 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:46.120 patience and craft, with a smiling face and a murderous heart. 145 00:08:47.159 --> 00:08:49.759 It is he, then, who is our enemy. It is 146 00:08:49.799 --> 00:08:53.399 he who dogged us in London. So I read the 147 00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:56.879 riddle and the warning. It must have come from her, 148 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:03.879 exactly the shape of some monstrous villany, half seen, half guessed, 149 00:09:04.360 --> 00:09:07.000 loomed through the darkness which had girt me so long. 150 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:10.559 But are you sure of this, Holmes? How do you 151 00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:13.960 know that the woman is his wife? Because he so 152 00:09:14.120 --> 00:09:16.759 far forgot himself as to tell you a true piece 153 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:20.360 of autobiography upon the occasion when he first met you, 154 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:23.639 and I dare say he has many a time regretted it. 155 00:09:23.720 --> 00:09:27.919 Since he was once a schoolmaster in the north of England. 156 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:30.840 Now there is no one more easy to trace than 157 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:35.080 a schoolmaster. There are scholastic agencies by which one may 158 00:09:35.159 --> 00:09:38.600 identify any man who has been in the profession. A 159 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:41.759 little investigation showed me that a school had come to 160 00:09:41.799 --> 00:09:45.559 grief under atrocious circumstances, and that the man who had 161 00:09:45.559 --> 00:09:49.840 owned it the name was different, had disappeared with his wife. 162 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:54.360 The descriptions agreed when I learned that the missing man 163 00:09:54.440 --> 00:10:00.600 was devoted to entomology. The identification was complete, the darkness rising, 164 00:10:01.320 --> 00:10:05.320 but much was still hidden by the shadows. If this 165 00:10:05.399 --> 00:10:08.480 woman is, in truth his wife, where does missus Laura 166 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:12.200 Lyons come in? I asked? That is one of the 167 00:10:12.200 --> 00:10:14.879 points upon which your own researches have shed a light. 168 00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:19.320 Your interview with a lady has cleared the situation very much. 169 00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:23.159 I did not know about a projected divorce between herself 170 00:10:23.320 --> 00:10:27.480 and her husband. In that case, regarding Stapleton as an 171 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:31.679 unmarried man, she counted no doubt upon becoming his wife. 172 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:36.799 And when she is undeceived, why then we may find 173 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:40.240 the lady of service. It must be our first duty 174 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:44.759 to see her, both of us to morrow. Don't you think, Watson, 175 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:48.360 that you are away from your charge rather long? Your 176 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:52.639 place should be at Baskerville Hall. The last red streaks 177 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:55.240 had faded away in the west, and night had settled 178 00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:58.440 upon the moor. A few faint stars were gleaming in 179 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:03.080 a violet sky. One last question, Holmes, I said, as 180 00:11:03.080 --> 00:11:06.440 I rose, surely there's no need of secrecy between you 181 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:09.519 and me. What is the meaning of it all? What 182 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:15.000 is he after? Holmes's voice sank as he answered, it 183 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:21.840 is murder. Watson refined, cold blooded, deliberate murder. Do not 184 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:25.600 ask me for particulars. My nets are closing upon him, 185 00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:28.639 even as his are upon Sir Henry, and with your 186 00:11:28.679 --> 00:11:31.960 help he is already almost at my mercy. There is 187 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:35.120 but one danger which can threaten us. It is that 188 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:37.600 he should strike before we are ready to do so. 189 00:11:38.600 --> 00:11:41.879 Another day, two at the most, and I have my 190 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:46.279 case complete. But until then, guard your charge as closely 191 00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:50.080 as ever a fond mother watched her ailing child. Your 192 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:53.279 mission to day has justified itself, And yet I could 193 00:11:53.320 --> 00:11:57.039 almost wish that he had not left his side. Hark. 194 00:11:58.679 --> 00:12:02.679 A terrible scream, a prolonged yell of horror and anguish, 195 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:06.840 burst out of the silence of the moor. That frightful 196 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:11.039 cry turned the blood to ice in my veins. Oh 197 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:14.960 my god, I gasped, what is it? What does it mean? 198 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:18.480 Holmes had sprung to his feet, and I saw his 199 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:21.559 dark athletic outline at the door of the hut, his 200 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:25.799 shoulders stooping, his head thrust forward, his face peering into 201 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:31.240 the darkness. Hush, he whispered, Hush. The cry had been 202 00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:34.279 loud on account of its vehemence, but it had peeled 203 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:38.159 out from somewhere far off on the shadowy plain. Now 204 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:42.639 it burst upon our ears, nearer, louder, more urgent than before. 205 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:46.759 Where is it? Holmes whispered, and I knew from the 206 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:48.919 thrill of his voice that he, the man of Iron, 207 00:12:49.159 --> 00:12:53.879 was shaken to the soul. Where is it, Watson? There, 208 00:12:54.039 --> 00:12:59.039 I think, I pointed into the darkness. No. There again, 209 00:12:59.320 --> 00:13:03.000 the agonized cry swept through the silent night, louder and 210 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:06.840 much nearer than ever, and a new sound mingled with it, 211 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:11.559 a deep, muttered rumble, musical and yet menacing, rising and 212 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:15.559 falling like the low, constant murmur of the sea. The 213 00:13:15.679 --> 00:13:21.000 hound cried, Holmes, come, Watson, Come, great heavens, if we 214 00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:25.320 are too late. He had started running swiftly over the moor, 215 00:13:25.799 --> 00:13:28.879 and I had followed at his heels. But now, from 216 00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:31.799 somewhere among the broken ground, immediately in front of us, 217 00:13:32.279 --> 00:13:35.799 there came one last, despairing yell, and then a dull, 218 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:41.120 heavy thud. We halted and listened. Not another sound broke 219 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:45.039 the heavy silence of the windless night. I saw Holmes 220 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:47.799 put his hand to his forehead, like a man distracted. 221 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:52.200 He stamped his feet upon the ground. He has beaten us, 222 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:58.320 Watson we are too late. No, no, surely not fool 223 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:01.279 that I was to hold my hand, and you, Watson, 224 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:05.480 see what comes of abandoning your charge. But by Heaven, 225 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:10.039 if the worst has happened, we'll avenge him. Blindly we 226 00:14:10.200 --> 00:14:14.440 ran through the gloom, blundering against boulders, forcing our way 227 00:14:14.440 --> 00:14:18.320 through gorse bushes, panting up hills, and rushing down slopes, 228 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:21.720 heading always in the direction whence those dreadful sounds had 229 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:26.360 come at every rise. Holmes looked eagerly around him, But 230 00:14:26.440 --> 00:14:29.360 the shadows were thick upon the moor, and nothing moved 231 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:35.279 upon its dreary face. Can you see anything? Nothing but hark? 232 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:39.600 What is that? A low moan had fallen upon our ears? 233 00:14:40.440 --> 00:14:43.639 There it was again upon our left. On that side 234 00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:46.159 a ridge of rocks ended in a sheer cliff, which 235 00:14:46.200 --> 00:14:50.879 overlooked the stone strewn slope. On its jagged face was 236 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:55.799 spread eagled some dark, irregular object. As we ran towards it, 237 00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:00.240 the vague outline hardened into a definite shape. It was 238 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:04.200 a prostrate man, face downward upon the ground, The head 239 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:07.960 doubled under him at a horrible angle, the shoulders rounded, 240 00:15:08.279 --> 00:15:10.799 and the body hunched together, as if in the act 241 00:15:10.840 --> 00:15:15.320 of throwing a somersault. So grotesque was the attitude that 242 00:15:15.399 --> 00:15:18.279 I could not, for the instant realize that that moan 243 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:21.679 had been the passing of his soul. Not a whisper, 244 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:24.879 not a rustle, rose now from the dark figure over 245 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:28.919 which we stooped. Holmes laid his hand upon him, and 246 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:32.320 held it up again with an exclamation of horror. The 247 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:35.279 gleam of the match which he struck shone upon his 248 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:39.440 clotted fingers, and upon the ghastly pool which widened slowly 249 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:43.000 from the crushed skull of the victim. And it shone 250 00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:47.399 upon something else which turned our heart sick and faint 251 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:53.559 within us, the body of Sir Henry Baskerville. There was 252 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:56.759 no chance of either of us forgetting that peculiar ruddy 253 00:15:56.799 --> 00:15:59.840 tweed suit, the very one which he had worn on 254 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:02.440 the first morning that we had seen him in Baker Street. 255 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:06.519 We caught the one clear glimpse of it. And then 256 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:10.120 the match flickered and went out, even as the hope 257 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:14.120 had gone out of our souls. Homes groaned, and his 258 00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:19.759 face glimmered white through the darkness. The brute, the brute, 259 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:24.200 I cried, with clenched hands, Oh Holmes, I shall never 260 00:16:24.279 --> 00:16:28.080 forgive myself for having left him to his fate. I 261 00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:30.919 am more to blame than you, Watson. In order to 262 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:34.240 have my case well rounded and complete, I have thrown 263 00:16:34.279 --> 00:16:37.519 away the life of my client. It is the greatest 264 00:16:37.559 --> 00:16:40.720 blow which has befallen me in my career. But how 265 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:43.519 could I know? How could I know that he would 266 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:46.279 risk his life alone upon the moor, in the face 267 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:50.240 of all my warnings, that we should have heard the screams, 268 00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:53.320 My God, those screams, and yet have been unable to 269 00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:56.200 save him. Where is this brute of a hound which 270 00:16:56.279 --> 00:16:59.159 drove him to his death? It may be lurking among 271 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:03.639 those rocks at this instant, and Stapleton, where is he? 272 00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:07.759 He shall answer for this deed, he shall. I will 273 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:11.799 see to that uncle and nephew have been murdered, the 274 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:14.240 one frightened to death by the very sight of a 275 00:17:14.279 --> 00:17:18.359 beast which he thought to be supernatural, the other driven 276 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:21.240 to his end in this wild flight to escape from it. 277 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:24.400 But now we have to prove the connection between the 278 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:28.400 man and the beast. Save from what we heard, we 279 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:32.400 cannot even swear to the existence of the latter. Since 280 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:36.720 Sir Henry has evidently died from the fall. But by Heavens, 281 00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:39.960 cunning as he is, the Fellow shall be in my 282 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:44.680 power before another day is passed. We stood with bitter 283 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:48.559 hearts on either side of the mangled body, overwhelmed by 284 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:52.400 this sudden and irrevocable disaster which had brought all our 285 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:56.519 long and weary labors to so piteous an end. Then 286 00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:58.920 as the moon rose, we climbed to the top of 287 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:01.279 the rocks over which are our poor friend had fallen. 288 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:05.160 And from the summit we gazed out over the shadowy moor, 289 00:18:05.720 --> 00:18:10.799 half silver and half gloom. Far away, miles off in 290 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:15.119 the direction of Grimpen, a single, steady yellow light was shining. 291 00:18:16.039 --> 00:18:19.240 It can only come from the lonely abode of the Stapletons. 292 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:22.599 With a bitter curse, I shook my fist at it 293 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:26.240 as I gazed. Why should we not seize him at once? 294 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:30.920 Our case is not complete. The Fellow is wary and 295 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:34.279 cunning to the last degree. It is not what we know, 296 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:38.319 but what we can prove. If we make one false move, 297 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:42.079 the villain may escape us. Yet what can we do? 298 00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:45.200 There will be plenty for us to do to morrow 299 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:48.680 to night. We can only perform the last offices to 300 00:18:48.759 --> 00:18:52.599 our poor friend. Together we made our way down the 301 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:56.880 precipitous slope and approached the body, black and clear against 302 00:18:56.920 --> 00:19:02.440 the silvered stones. The aggy of those contorted limbs struck 303 00:19:02.519 --> 00:19:05.240 me with a spasm of pain and blurred my eyes 304 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:09.720 with tears. We must send for help, Holmes. We cannot 305 00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:12.400 carry him all the way to the hall. Good heavens, 306 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:16.039 are you mad? He had uttered a cry and bent 307 00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:19.799 over the body. Now he was dancing and laughing and 308 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:24.119 wringing my hand. Could this be my stern self contained friend? 309 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:30.039 These were hidden fires? Indeed, a beard a beard. The 310 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:34.960 man has a beard, a beard. It is not the baronet. 311 00:19:35.640 --> 00:19:39.960 It is why it is my neighbor, the convict. With 312 00:19:40.119 --> 00:19:43.400 feverish haste, we had turned the body over, and that 313 00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:46.359 dripping beard was pointing up to the cold, clear moon. 314 00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:50.200 There could be no doubt about the beatling forehead, the 315 00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:54.200 sunken animal eyes. It was indeed the same face which 316 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:56.279 had glared upon me in the light of the candle 317 00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:59.720 from over the rock, the face of Selden the criminal. 318 00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:03.880 Then in an instant it was all clear to me. 319 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:07.079 I remembered how the baronet had told me that he 320 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:11.160 had handed his old wardrobe to Barrymore. Barrymore had passed 321 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:14.799 it on in order to help Selden in his escape. Boots, 322 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.599 shirt cap It was all Sir Henry's. The tragedy was 323 00:20:19.640 --> 00:20:23.119 still black enough, but this man had at least deserved 324 00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:26.440 death by the laws of his country. I told Holmes 325 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:29.880 how the matter stood, my heart bubbling over with thankfulness 326 00:20:29.880 --> 00:20:34.119 and joy. Then the clothes have been the poor devil's death, 327 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:38.240 said he. It is clear enough that the hound has 328 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:41.240 been laid on from some article of Sir Henry's, the 329 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:44.279 boot which was abstracted in the hotel in all probability, 330 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:48.119 and so ran this man down. There is one very 331 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:53.200 singular thing, however, how came Selden, in the darkness to 332 00:20:53.319 --> 00:20:57.599 know that the hound was on his trail? He heard him? 333 00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:00.319 To hear a hound upon the moor would not work 334 00:21:00.359 --> 00:21:03.279 a hard man like this convict into such a paroxysm 335 00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:06.880 of terror that he would risk recapture by screaming wildly 336 00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:10.119 for help. By his cries, he must have run a 337 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:12.960 long way after he knew the animal was on his track? 338 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:17.319 How did he know? A greater mystery to me is 339 00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:21.279 why this hound? Presuming that all our conjectures are correct, 340 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:26.400 I presume nothing. Well, then, why this hound should be 341 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:29.400 loose tonight? I suppose that it does not always run 342 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:32.279 loose upon the moor. Stapleton would not let it go 343 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:34.640 unless he had reason to think that Sir Henry would 344 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:39.960 be there. My difficulty is the more formidable of the two, 345 00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:43.160 for I think that we shall very shortly get an 346 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:47.799 explanation of yours, while mine may remain forever a mystery. 347 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:51.920 The question now is what shall we do with this 348 00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:55.440 poor wretch's body. We cannot leave it here to the 349 00:21:55.480 --> 00:21:59.279 foxes and the ravens. I suggest that we put it 350 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:01.440 in one of the h until we can communicate with 351 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:06.279 the police exactly. I have no doubt that you and 352 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:10.440 I could carry it so far. Hullo, Watson, what's this? 353 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:14.480 It's the man himself, by all that's wonderful and audacious. 354 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:18.480 Not a word to show your suspicions. Not a word, 355 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:23.119 or my plans crumbled to the ground. A figure was 356 00:22:23.160 --> 00:22:26.039 approaching us over the moor, and I saw the dull 357 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:29.880 red glow of a cigar. The moon shone upon him, 358 00:22:30.359 --> 00:22:33.319 and I could distinguish the dapper shape and jaunty walk 359 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:36.920 of the naturalist. He stopped when he saw us, and 360 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:41.480 then came on again. Why, doctor Watson, that's not you, 361 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:44.279 is it? You are the last man that I should 362 00:22:44.279 --> 00:22:46.200 have expected to see out on the moor at this 363 00:22:46.359 --> 00:22:51.920 time of night. But dear me, what's this? Somebody hurt? Not? 364 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:55.799 Don't tell me that it is our friend, Sir Henry. 365 00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:58.640 He hurried past me and stooped over the dead man. 366 00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:02.119 I heard a shot intake of his breath, and the 367 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:07.400 cigar fell from his fingers. Who Who's this? He stammered, 368 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:13.799 It is seldom the man who escaped from Princetown. Stapleton 369 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:17.279 turned a ghastly face upon us, but by a supreme 370 00:23:17.400 --> 00:23:21.799 effort he had overcome his amazement and his disappointment. He 371 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:25.599 looked sharply from Holmes to me. Dear me, what a 372 00:23:25.720 --> 00:23:30.039 very shocking affair. How did he die? He appears to 373 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:33.640 have broken his neck by falling over these rocks. My 374 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:35.759 friend and I were strolling on the moor when we 375 00:23:35.799 --> 00:23:39.839 heard a cry. I heard a cry also. That was 376 00:23:39.880 --> 00:23:42.880 what brought me out. I was uneasy about Sir Henry. 377 00:23:44.119 --> 00:23:47.200 Why about Sir Henry in particular? I could not help 378 00:23:47.240 --> 00:23:50.720 asking because I had suggested that he should come over 379 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:53.720 when he did not come. I was surprised, and I 380 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:56.799 naturally became alarmed for his safety when I heard cries 381 00:23:56.880 --> 00:24:00.799 upon the moor by the way, his eyes darted again 382 00:24:00.839 --> 00:24:04.119 from my face to Holmes's. Did you hear anything else 383 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:10.680 besides a cry? No? Said Holmes? Did you no? What 384 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:14.079 do you mean? Then? Oh? You know? The story is 385 00:24:14.119 --> 00:24:16.920 that the peasants tell about a phantom hound and so on. 386 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:19.640 It is said to be heard at night upon the moor. 387 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:22.759 I was wondering if there were any evidence of such 388 00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:26.319 a sound to night. We heard nothing of the kind, 389 00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:30.200 said I. And what is your theory of this poor 390 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:34.400 fellow's death? I have no doubt that anxiety and exposure 391 00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:37.160 have driven him off his head. He has rushed about 392 00:24:37.160 --> 00:24:40.400 the moor in a crazy state, and eventually fallen over 393 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:44.720 here and broken his neck. That seems the most reasonable theory, 394 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:48.119 said Stapleton, and he gave a sigh, which I took 395 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:51.440 to indicate his relief. What do you think about it, 396 00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:57.559 mister Sherlock Holmes, My friend bowed his compliments. You are 397 00:24:57.720 --> 00:25:01.920 quick at identification, said he. We have been expecting you 398 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:05.359 in these parts since doctor Watson came down. You are 399 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:09.440 in time to see a tragedy. Yes, indeed, I have 400 00:25:09.559 --> 00:25:12.480 no doubt that my friend's explanation will cover the facts. 401 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:15.799