WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.560 --> 00:00:07.120 Chapter seven, The Stapletons of Merry Pitt House. The fresh 2 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:10.160 beauty of the following morning did something to efface from 3 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:12.480 our minds the grim and gray impression which had been 4 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:15.279 left upon both of us by our first experience of 5 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:19.359 Baskerville Hall. As Sir Henry and I sat at breakfast, 6 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:23.199 the sunlight flooded in through the high mullioned windows, throwing 7 00:00:23.280 --> 00:00:25.920 watery patches of color from the coats of arms which 8 00:00:25.960 --> 00:00:29.519 covered them. The dark paneling glowed like bronze in the 9 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:32.560 golden rays, and it was hard to realize that this 10 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:35.560 was indeed the chamber which had struck such a gloom 11 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:39.640 into our souls upon the evening before. I guess it 12 00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:42.320 is ourselves and not the house, that we have to blame, 13 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:45.880 said the Baronet. We were tired with our journey and 14 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:48.799 chilled by our drive, so we took a gray view 15 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:51.920 of the place. Now we are freshened well, so it 16 00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:55.320 is all cheerful once more. And yet it was not 17 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:59.880 entirely a question of imagination, I answered, did you, for example, 18 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.679 happened to hear someone a woman I think sobbing in 19 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:07.359 the night? That is curious, for I did when I 20 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:10.159 was half asleep, fancy that I heard something of the sort. 21 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:13.040 I waited quite a time, but there was no more 22 00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:16.640 of it, so I concluded that it was all a dream. 23 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:19.719 I heard it distinctly, and I'm sure that it was 24 00:01:19.799 --> 00:01:22.840 really the sob of a woman. We must ask about 25 00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:26.519 this right away. He rang the bell and asked Barrymore 26 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:29.920 whether he could account for our experience. It seemed to 27 00:01:29.959 --> 00:01:32.920 me that the pallid features of the butler turned a 28 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:35.920 shade paler still as he listened to his master's question. 29 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:39.079 There are only two women in the house, Sir Henry, 30 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:42.519 he answered. One is this scullery maid who sleeps in 31 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:45.560 the other wing. The other is my wife, and I 32 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:47.920 can answer for it that the sound could not have 33 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:51.599 come from her. And yet he lied as he said it. 34 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:55.719 For it chanced that after breakfast I met missus Barrymore 35 00:01:55.760 --> 00:01:58.640 in the long corridor, with the sun full upon her face. 36 00:01:59.599 --> 00:02:03.560 She was a large, impassive, heavy featured woman, with a 37 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:07.760 stern set expression of mouth. But her telltale eyes were 38 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:12.360 red and glanced at me from between swollen lids. It 39 00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:15.680 was she, then, who wept in the night, and if 40 00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:19.960 she did so, her husband must know it. Yet he 41 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:22.879 had taken the obvious risk of discovery in declaring that 42 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:26.400 it was not so. Why had he done this? And 43 00:02:26.439 --> 00:02:31.680 why did she weep so bitterly? Already round this pale faced, handsome, 44 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:36.159 black bearded man there was gathering an atmosphere of mystery 45 00:02:36.639 --> 00:02:39.479 and of gloom. It was he who had been the 46 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:42.639 first to discover the body of Sir Charles, and we 47 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:45.719 had only his word for all the circumstances which led 48 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:49.080 up to the old man's death. Was it possible that 49 00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:51.879 it was Barrymore, after all, whom we had seen in 50 00:02:51.960 --> 00:02:55.759 the cab in Regent Street. The beard might well have 51 00:02:55.840 --> 00:03:00.479 been the same the cabman had described a somewhat short man. 52 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:05.360 But such an impression might easily have been erroneous. How 53 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:09.360 could I settle the point forever? Obviously the first thing 54 00:03:09.400 --> 00:03:12.360 to do was to see the grimp and postmaster and 55 00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:15.840 find whether the test telegram had really been placed in 56 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:20.159 Barrymore's own hands. Be the answer, what it might, I 57 00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:23.439 should at least have something to report to Sherlock Holmes. 58 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:28.080 Sir Henry had numerous papers to examine after breakfast, so 59 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:32.199 that the time was propitious for my excursion. It was 60 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:34.840 a pleasant walk of four miles along the edge of 61 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:38.560 the moor, leading me at last to a small gray hamlet, 62 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:41.560 in which two larger buildings, which proved to be the 63 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:44.759 Inn and the house of Doctor Mortimer, stood high above 64 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:48.639 the rest. The postmaster, who was also the village grocer, 65 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:53.000 had a clear recollection of the telegram. Certainly, sir, said he. 66 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:57.360 I had the telegram delivered to mister Barrymore exactly as directed. 67 00:03:58.599 --> 00:04:03.479 Who delivered it? My boy, here, James, you delivered that 68 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:06.400 telegram to mister Barrymore at the hall last week, did 69 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:10.400 you not? Yes, Father, I delivered it into his own hands, 70 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:13.319 I asked, Well, he was up in the loft at 71 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:15.560 the time, so that I could not put it into 72 00:04:15.639 --> 00:04:18.800 his own hands. But I gave it into missus Barrymore's hands, 73 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:22.240 and she promised to deliver it at once. Did you 74 00:04:22.279 --> 00:04:25.040 see mister Barrymore, No, Sir, I tell you he was 75 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:27.560 in the loft. If you didn't see him, how do 76 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:30.199 you know he was in the loft. Well, surely his 77 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:32.759 own wife ought to know where he is, said the 78 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:37.000 postmaster testily. Didn't he get the telegram? If there is 79 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:39.920 any mistake, it is for mister Barrymore himself to complain. 80 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:44.839 It seemed hopeless to pursue the inquiry any farther. But 81 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:47.720 it was clear that, in spite of Holmes's ruse, we 82 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:50.560 had no proof that Barrymore had not been in London 83 00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:53.959 all the time. Suppose that it was so, Suppose that 84 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:56.240 the same man had been the last who had seen 85 00:04:56.279 --> 00:04:59.439 Sir Charles alive, and the first to dog the new 86 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:02.879 heir when he he returned to England. What then, was 87 00:05:02.920 --> 00:05:06.000 he the agent of others? Or had he some sinister 88 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:09.319 design of his own? What interest could he have in 89 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:13.639 persecuting the Baskerville family? I thought of the strange warning 90 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:16.800 clipped out of the leading article of the Times? Was 91 00:05:16.839 --> 00:05:19.839 that his work? Or was it possibly the doing of 92 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:23.639 someone who was bent upon counteracting his schemes? The only 93 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:27.399 conceivable motive was that which had been suggested by Sir Henry, 94 00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:31.199 that if the family could be scared away, a comfortable 95 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:35.279 and permanent home would be secured for the Barrymoors. But 96 00:05:35.399 --> 00:05:38.519 surely such an explanation as that would be quite inadequate 97 00:05:38.600 --> 00:05:41.680 to account for the deep and subtle scheming which seemed 98 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:44.800 to be weaving an invisible net round the young baronet. 99 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:48.360 Holmes himself had said that no more complex case had 100 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:50.399 come to him in all the long series of his 101 00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:55.279 sensational investigations. I prayed, as I walked back along the gray, 102 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:58.920 lonely road, that my friend might soon be freed from 103 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:02.160 his preoccupations and able to come down to take this 104 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:07.079 heavy burden of responsibilities from my shoulders. Suddenly, my thoughts 105 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:09.720 were interrupted by the sound of running feet behind me, 106 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:13.920 and by a voice which called me by name. I turned, 107 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:17.680 expecting to see doctor Mortimer, but to my surprise, it 108 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:21.560 was a stranger who was pursuing me. He was a small, slim, 109 00:06:21.720 --> 00:06:25.680 clean shaven, prim faced man, flaxen head and lean jawed, 110 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:28.879 between thirty and forty years of age, dressed in a 111 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:32.680 gray suit and wearing a straw hat. A tin box 112 00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:36.959 for botanical specimens hung over his shoulder, and he carried 113 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:40.279 a green butterfly net in one of his hands. You will, 114 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:43.959 I am sure, excuse my presumption, doctor Watson, said he 115 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:46.720 as he came panting up to where I stood here 116 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:49.079 on the moor. We are homely folk, and do not 117 00:06:49.160 --> 00:06:52.120 wait for formal introductions. You may possibly have heard my 118 00:06:52.240 --> 00:06:55.720 name from our mutual friend Mortimer. I am Stapleton of 119 00:06:55.920 --> 00:06:59.199 Mary pitt House. Your net and box would have told 120 00:06:59.240 --> 00:07:02.240 me as much, said I, for I knew that mister 121 00:07:02.279 --> 00:07:05.399 Stapleton was a naturalist. But how did you know me? 122 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:08.439 I have been calling on Mortimer, and he pointed you 123 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:10.600 out to me from the window of his surgery as 124 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:13.560 you passed, as our road lay the same way, I 125 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:16.920 thought that I would overtake you and introduce myself. I 126 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:19.399 trust that Sir Henry is none the worse for his journey. 127 00:07:19.959 --> 00:07:22.519 He is very well, Thank you. We were all rather 128 00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:25.759 afraid that, after the sad death of Sir Charles, the 129 00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:29.199 new baronet might refuse to live here. It is asking 130 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:31.399 much of a wealthy man to come down and bury 131 00:07:31.480 --> 00:07:34.079 himself in a place of this kind. But I need 132 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:36.000 not tell you that it means a very great deal 133 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:39.839 to the countryside. Sir Henry has, I suppose no superstitious 134 00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:42.800 fears in the matter. I do not think that is likely. 135 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:45.680 Of course, you know the legend of the fiend dog 136 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:49.160 which haunts the family. I have heard it. It is 137 00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:52.560 extraordinary how credulous the peasants are about here. Any number 138 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:54.600 of them are ready to swear that they have seen 139 00:07:54.680 --> 00:07:57.680 such a creature upon them. More, he spoke with a 140 00:07:57.720 --> 00:08:00.240 smile that I seemed to read in his eyes eyes 141 00:08:00.279 --> 00:08:03.360 that he took the matter more seriously. The story took 142 00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:06.680 a great hold upon the imagination of Sir Charles, and 143 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:09.399 I have no doubt that it led to his tragic end. 144 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:13.160 But how his nerves were so worked up that the 145 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:15.519 appearance of any dog might have had a fatal effect 146 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:19.079 upon his diseased heart. I fancied that he really did 147 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:21.600 see something of the kind. Upon that last day in 148 00:08:21.639 --> 00:08:24.959 the yew alley, I feared that some disaster might occur, 149 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:27.759 for I was very fond of the old man, and 150 00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:30.680 I knew that his heart was weak. How did you 151 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:34.799 know that, my friend Mortimer told me? You think then, 152 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:38.519 that some dog pursued Sir Charles, and that he died 153 00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:42.320 of fright in consequence? Have you any better explanation? I 154 00:08:42.360 --> 00:08:45.639 have not come to any conclusion, as mister Sherlock Holmes. 155 00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:49.559 The words took away my breath for an instant, but 156 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:52.320 a glance at the placid face and steadfast eyes of 157 00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:56.080 my companion showed that no surprise was intended. It is 158 00:08:56.200 --> 00:08:58.320 useless for us to pretend that we do not know you, 159 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:02.000 doctor Watson, said he the records of your detective have 160 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:05.600 reached us here, and you could not celebrate him without 161 00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:09.039 being known yourself. When Mortimer told me your name, he 162 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:12.159 could not deny your identity. If you are here, then 163 00:09:12.200 --> 00:09:15.080 it follows that mister Sherlock Holmes is interesting himself in 164 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:17.799 the matter, and I am naturally curious to know what 165 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:20.960 view he may take. I am afraid that I cannot 166 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:23.759 answer that question. May I ask if he is going 167 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:27.080 to honor us with a visit himself. He cannot leave 168 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:31.080 town at present. He has other cases which engage his attention. 169 00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:34.000 What a pity he might throw some light on that 170 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:37.240 which is so dark to us. But as to your 171 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:40.000 own researches, if there is any possible way in which 172 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:42.080 I can be of service to you, I trust that 173 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:44.759 you will command me. If I had any indication of 174 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:47.279 the nature of your suspicions, or how you propose to 175 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:50.399 investigate the case, I might perhaps even now give you 176 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:53.879 some aid or advice. I assure you that I am 177 00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:56.320 simply here upon a visit to my friend Sir Henry, 178 00:09:56.879 --> 00:09:59.360 and that I need no help of any kind. Excellent, 179 00:09:59.720 --> 00:10:03.360 said Stapleton. You are perfectly right to be wary and discreet. 180 00:10:03.720 --> 00:10:06.120 I am justly reproved for what I feel was an 181 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:09.519 unjustifiable intrusion, and I promise you that I will not 182 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:13.360 mention the matter again. We had come to a point 183 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:16.600 where a narrow, grassy path struck off from the road 184 00:10:17.039 --> 00:10:21.600 and wound away across the moor. A steep, bolder sprinkled 185 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:25.080 hill lay upon the right, which had in by gone 186 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:28.759 days been cut into a granite quarry. The face, which 187 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:32.200 was turned towards us, formed a dark cliff, with ferns 188 00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:36.240 and brambles growing in its niches. From over a distant 189 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:39.879 rise there floated a gray plume of smoke. A moderate 190 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:43.080 walk along this moor path brings us to Merry pit House, 191 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:46.399 said he, perhaps you will spare an hour that I 192 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:49.440 may have the pleasure of introducing you to my sister. 193 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:53.080 My first thought was that I should be by Sir 194 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:56.600 Henry's side, but then I remembered the pile of papers 195 00:10:56.600 --> 00:11:00.399 and bills with which his study table was littered. It 196 00:11:00.519 --> 00:11:03.039 was certain that I could not help with those, and 197 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:06.039 Holmes had expressly said that I should study the neighbors 198 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:10.600 upon the moor. I accepted Stapleton's invitation, and we turned 199 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:13.799 together down the path. It is a wonderful place the more, 200 00:11:14.200 --> 00:11:18.080 said he, looking round over the undulating downs, long green 201 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:23.000 rollers with crests of jagged granite foaming up into fantastic surges. 202 00:11:23.720 --> 00:11:27.240 You never tire of the more. You cannot think the 203 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:31.360 wonderful secrets which it contains. It is so vast and 204 00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:35.000 so barren and so mysterious. You know it well? Then, 205 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:39.080 I have only been here two years. The residents would 206 00:11:39.080 --> 00:11:42.080 call me a new comer. We came shortly after Sir 207 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:46.559 Charles settled. But my tastes led me to explore every 208 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:49.039 part of the country round. And I should think that 209 00:11:49.080 --> 00:11:51.080 there are few men who know it better than I do. 210 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:55.080 Is it hard to know? Very hard? You see, for example, 211 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:57.919 this great plain to the north here, with the Queer 212 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:01.000 hills breaking out of it. Do you observe anything remarkable 213 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:05.159 about that? It would be a rare place for a gallop, 214 00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:08.200 You would naturally think so, and the thought has cost 215 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:11.600 several of their lives before. Now you notice those bright 216 00:12:11.720 --> 00:12:15.639 green spots scattered thickly over it. Yes, they seem more 217 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:19.720 fertile than the rest. Stapleton laughed. That is the great 218 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:23.639 grimpen mire, said he. A false step yonder means death 219 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:27.039 to man. Or beast. Only yesterday I saw one of 220 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:30.799 the more ponies wander into it. He never came out. 221 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:34.080 I saw his head for quite a long time, craning 222 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:37.000 out of the bog hole, but it sucked him down 223 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:40.600 at last. Even in dry seasons it is a danger 224 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:43.840 to cross it. But after these autumn rains it is 225 00:12:43.879 --> 00:12:46.639 an awful place. And yet I can find my way 226 00:12:46.679 --> 00:12:50.200 to the very heart of it and return alive. By George, 227 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:54.559 there is another of those miserable ponies. Something brown was 228 00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:59.000 rolling and tossing among the green sedges. Then a long, agonized, 229 00:12:59.240 --> 00:13:03.679 writhing neck shot upward, and a dreadful cry echoed over 230 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:07.559 the moor. It turned me cold with horror, But my 231 00:13:07.639 --> 00:13:11.080 companion's nerves seemed to be stronger than mine. It's gone, 232 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:15.279 said he. The mire has him two in two days, 233 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:18.080 and many more perhaps, for they get in the way 234 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:20.519 of going there in the dry weather and never know 235 00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:23.120 the difference until the meyre has them in its clutches. 236 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:27.360 It's a bad place, the great grimpen mire. And you 237 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:30.240 say you can penetrate it. Yes, there are one or 238 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:32.960 two paths which a very active man can take. I 239 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:36.159 have found them out. But why should you wish to 240 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:39.440 go into so horrible a place. Well, you see the 241 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:42.559 hills beyond. They are really islands, cut off on all 242 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:46.480 sides by the impassable mire which has crawled round them 243 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:49.639 in the course of years. That is where the rare 244 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:52.480 plants and the butterflies are. If you have the wit 245 00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:55.600 to reach them, I shall try my luck some day. 246 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:59.200 He looked at me with a surprised face. For God's sake, 247 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:01.960 puts such an eye out of your mind, said he, 248 00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:05.679 Your blood would be upon my head. I assure you 249 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:07.519 that there would not be the least chance of your 250 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:11.080 coming back alive. It is only by remembering certain complex 251 00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:14.799 landmarks that I am able to do it. Hallo, I cried, 252 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:19.720 what is that? A long, low moan, indescribably sad, swept 253 00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:23.799 over the moor. It filled the whole air, and yet 254 00:14:23.799 --> 00:14:27.639 it was impossible to say whence it came? From a 255 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:31.679 dull murmur. It swelled into a deep roar, and then 256 00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:36.879 sank back into a melancholy, throbbing murmur. Once again, Stapleton 257 00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:39.399 looked at me with a curious expression in his face. 258 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:43.159 Queer place the more, said he, But what is it? 259 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:46.440 The peasants say it is the hound of the Baskervilles 260 00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:49.840 calling for its prey. I've heard it once or twice before, 261 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:54.799 but never quite so loud. I looked round with a 262 00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:57.759 chill of fear in my heart that the huge swelling 263 00:14:57.799 --> 00:15:02.840 plane mottled with the green patter of rushes. Nothing stirred 264 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:06.519 over the vast expanse, save a pair of ravens, which 265 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:10.399 croaked loudly from a tour behind us. You are an 266 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:13.559 educated man. You don't believe such nonsense as that said? 267 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:15.559 I What do you think is the cause of so 268 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:19.960 strange a sound? Bogs make queer noises. Sometimes it's the 269 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:23.919 mud settling, or the water rising or something. No, no, 270 00:15:24.039 --> 00:15:27.559 that was a living voice. Well perhaps it was. Did 271 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:31.000 you ever hear a bitten booming? No? I never did. 272 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:34.559 It's a very rare bird, practically extinct in England now. 273 00:15:35.159 --> 00:15:38.440 But all things are possible upon the moor. Yes, I 274 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:40.480 should not be surprised to learn that what we have 275 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:43.360 heard is the cry of the last of the bittens. 276 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:47.000 It's the weirdest, strangest thing that ever I heard in 277 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:50.919 my life. Yes, it's rather an uncanny place altogether. Look 278 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:53.360 at the hillside yonder, What do you make of those? 279 00:15:54.919 --> 00:15:58.039 The whole steep slope was covered with gray circular rings 280 00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:01.320 of stone, a score of them at least. What are 281 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:04.320 they sheep pens? No, they are the homes of our 282 00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:09.879 worthy ancestors. Prehistoric man lived thickly on the moor, and 283 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:12.120 as no one in particular has lived there since, we 284 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:15.960 find all his little arrangements exactly as he left them. 285 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:20.320 These are his wigwams, with the roofs aft. You can 286 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:23.480 even see his hearth and his couch if you have 287 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:27.399 the curiosity to go inside. But it is quite a town. 288 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:34.000 When was it inhabited Neolithic man? No date? What did 289 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:38.240 he do? He grazed his cattle on these slopes, and 290 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:40.799 he learned to dig for tin when the bronze sword 291 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:44.720 began to supersede the stone axe. Look at the great 292 00:16:44.759 --> 00:16:48.679 trench in the opposite hill. That is his mark. Yes, 293 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:51.320 you will find some very singular points about the moor, 294 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:56.360 Doctor Watson, Oh, excuse me an instant, it is surely cyclopades. 295 00:16:57.639 --> 00:17:00.440 A small fly or moth had fluttered across our path, 296 00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:04.880 and in an instant Stapleton was rushing with extraordinary energy 297 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:08.200 and speed in pursuit of it. To my dismay, the 298 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:11.920 creature flew straight for the great mire, and my acquaintance 299 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:15.640 never paused for an instant, bounding from tuft to tuft 300 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:19.599 behind it, his green net waving in the air, his 301 00:17:19.720 --> 00:17:24.480 gray clothes and jerky zigzag irregular progress made him not 302 00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:29.599 unlike some huge moth himself. I was standing watching his pursuit, 303 00:17:29.799 --> 00:17:33.200 with a mixture of admiration for his extraordinary activity, and 304 00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:36.440 fear lest he should lose his footing in the treacherous mire, 305 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:40.279 when I heard the sound of steps, and turning round, 306 00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:44.519 found a woman near me upon the path. She had 307 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:47.039 come from the direction in which the plume of smoke 308 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:50.960 indicated the position of Mary pitt House, but the dip 309 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:54.240 of the moor had hid her until she was quite close. 310 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:58.559 I could not doubt that this was the miss Stapleton 311 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:01.519 of whom I had been told, since ladies of any 312 00:18:01.559 --> 00:18:05.000 sort must be few upon the moor, and I remembered 313 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:07.759 that I had heard someone describe her as being a beauty. 314 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:12.839 The woman who approached me was certainly that, and of 315 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:16.079 a most uncommon type. There could not have been a 316 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:21.240 greater contrast between brother and sister, for Stapleton was neutral, tinted, 317 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:25.279 with light hair and gray eyes, while she was darker 318 00:18:25.319 --> 00:18:29.279 than any brunette whom I have seen in England, Slim, 319 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:33.319 elegant and tall. She had a proud, finely cut face, 320 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:37.559 so regular that it might have seemed impassive were it 321 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:41.680 not for the sensitive mouth and the beautiful, dark, eager eyes. 322 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:45.920 With her perfect figure and elegant dress, she was indeed 323 00:18:46.839 --> 00:18:51.759 a strange apparition upon a lonely Moorland path. Her eyes 324 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:55.319 were on her brother as I turned, and then she 325 00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:59.200 quickened her pace towards me. I had raised my hat 326 00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:02.759 and was about to make some explanatory remark when her 327 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:05.839 own words turned all my thoughts into a new channel. 328 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:11.000 Go back, she said, go straight back to London. Instantly, 329 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:15.880 I could only stare at her in stupid surprise. Her 330 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:19.440 eyes blazed at me, and she tapped the ground impatiently 331 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:22.880 with her foot. Why should I go back, I asked, 332 00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:26.680 I cannot explain, she spoke in a low, eager voice, 333 00:19:27.160 --> 00:19:31.279 with a curious lisp in her utterance. But for God's sake, 334 00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:34.720 do what I ask you. Go back and never set 335 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:40.319 foot upon the moor again. But I've only just come, man, man, 336 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:43.599 she cried, Can you not tell when a warning is 337 00:19:43.640 --> 00:19:46.599 for your own good? Go? Back to London. Start to night. 338 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:50.160 Get away from this place at all costs. Hush, my 339 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:52.680 brother is coming. Not a word of what I have said? 340 00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:56.359 Would you mind getting that orchid for me? Among the 341 00:19:56.440 --> 00:19:59.759 Mayor's tales yonder, we are very rich in orchids on 342 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:02.599 the mo or, though, of course you are rather late 343 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:06.319 to see the beauties of the place. Stapleton had abandoned 344 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:08.920 the chase and came back to us, breathing hard and 345 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:14.400 flushed with his exertions. Hello, Beryl, said he, and it 346 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:16.480 seemed to me that the tone of his greeting was 347 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:21.359 not altogether a cordial one. Well, Jack, you are very hot. Yes, 348 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:24.720 I was chasing a cyclopadies. He is very rare and 349 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:27.480 seldom found in the late autumn. What a pity that 350 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:32.039 I should have missed him, he spoke unconcernedly, but his 351 00:20:32.119 --> 00:20:35.559 small light eyes glanced incessantly from the girl to me. 352 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:40.160 You have introduced yourselves, I can see. Yet I was 353 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:42.920 telling Sir Henry that it was rather late for him 354 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:45.480 to see the true beauties of the more. Why who 355 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:48.279 do you think this is? I imagine that it must be 356 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:52.720 Sir Henry Baskerville. No, no, said I, only a humble commoner, 357 00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:56.960 but his friend my name is doctor Watson. A flush 358 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:01.000 of vexation passed over her expressive face. We have been 359 00:21:01.079 --> 00:21:04.759 talking at cross purposes, said she. Why you have not 360 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:08.119 very much time for talk? Her brother remarked with the 361 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:11.920 same questioning eyes. I talked as if doctor Watson were 362 00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:15.359 a resident instead of being merely a visitor, said she. 363 00:21:16.200 --> 00:21:18.519 It cannot much matter to him whether it is early 364 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:21.400 or late for the orchids. But you will come on, 365 00:21:21.559 --> 00:21:24.759 will you not, and see Mery Pitt House. A short 366 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:28.160 walk brought us to it, a bleak moorland house, once 367 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:31.440 the farm of some grazier in the old prosperous days, 368 00:21:32.200 --> 00:21:35.920 but now put into repair and turned into a modern dwelling. 369 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:40.039 An orchard surrounded it, but the trees, as is usual 370 00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:44.119 upon the moor, were stunted and nipped. The effect of 371 00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:48.880 the whole place was mean and melancholy. We were admitted 372 00:21:48.920 --> 00:21:53.440 by a strange, wizened, rusty coated old man servant, who 373 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:57.799 seemed in keeping with the house. Inside, however, there were 374 00:21:57.880 --> 00:22:00.680 large rooms furnished with an elegance in which I seemed 375 00:22:00.680 --> 00:22:04.559 to recognize the taste of the lady as I looked 376 00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:07.960 from their windows At the interminable granite flecked moor, rolling 377 00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:11.799 unbroken to the farthest horizon. I could not but marvel 378 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:15.200 at what could have brought this highly educated man and 379 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:18.680 this beautiful woman to live in such a place. Queer 380 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:21.680 spart to choose, is it not, said he, as if 381 00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:24.559 in answer to my thought? And yet we manage to 382 00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:29.240 make ourselves fairly happy, do we not? Beryl quite happy? 383 00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:33.000 Said she, But there was no ring of conviction in 384 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:37.960 her words. I had a school, said Stapleton. It was 385 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:41.240 in the north country. The work, to a man of 386 00:22:41.240 --> 00:22:45.160 my temperament, was mechanical and uninteresting, But the privilege of 387 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:49.359 living with youth, of helping to mold those young minds, 388 00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:53.519 and of impressing them with one's own character and ideals, 389 00:22:54.200 --> 00:22:59.279 was very dear to me. However, the fates were against us. 390 00:22:59.799 --> 00:23:03.599 Serious epidemic broke out in the school, and three of 391 00:23:03.640 --> 00:23:07.480 the boys died. It never recovered from the blow, and 392 00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:11.680 much of my capital was irretrievably swallowed up. And yet, 393 00:23:12.680 --> 00:23:14.519 if it were not for the loss of the charming 394 00:23:14.599 --> 00:23:20.279 companionship of the boys, I could rejoice over my own misfortune, For, 395 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:24.359 with my strong tastes for botany and zoology. I find 396 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:28.920 an unlimited field of work here, and my sister is 397 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:33.640 as devoted to nature as I am. All this, doctor Watson, 398 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:37.119 has been brought upon your head by your expression as 399 00:23:37.160 --> 00:23:40.839 you surveyed the moor out of our window. It certainly 400 00:23:40.839 --> 00:23:42.799 did cross my mind that it might be a little 401 00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:47.079