WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.080 --> 00:00:08.839 Chapter fourteen, The Hound of the Baskervilles. One of Sherlock 2 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:12.480 Holmes's defects, if indeed one may call it a defect, 3 00:00:13.640 --> 00:00:16.480 was that he was exceedingly loath to communicate his full 4 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:22.239 plans to any other person until the instant of their fulfillment. Partly, 5 00:00:22.280 --> 00:00:25.559 it came, no doubt, from his own masterful nature, which 6 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:29.000 loved to dominate and surprise those who were around him. 7 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:33.119 Partly also from his professional caution, which urged him never 8 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:37.280 to take any chances. The result, however, was very trying 9 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:40.119 for those who were acting as his agents and assistants. 10 00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:44.119 I had often suffered under it, but never more so 11 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:47.840 than during that long drive in the darkness. The great 12 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:51.359 Ordeal was in front of us. At last, we were 13 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:55.479 about to make our final effort, and yet Holmes had 14 00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:59.159 said nothing, and I could only surmise what his course 15 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:04.400 of action would be. My nerves thrilled with anticipation, when 16 00:01:04.439 --> 00:01:07.040 at last, the cold wind upon our faces and the 17 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:10.200 dark void spaces on either side of the narrow road 18 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:13.439 told me that we were back upon the moor once again. 19 00:01:14.359 --> 00:01:16.519 Every stride of the horses and every turn of the 20 00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:22.439 wheels was taking us nearer to our supreme adventure. Our 21 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:25.560 conversation was hampered by the presence of the driver of 22 00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:29.319 the hired wagonet, so that we were forced to talk 23 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:33.079 of trivial matters when our nerves were tense with emotion 24 00:01:33.239 --> 00:01:37.560 and anticipation. It was a relief to me after that 25 00:01:37.719 --> 00:01:42.159 unnatural restraint. When we had last passed Franklin's house and 26 00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:44.640 knew that we were drawing near to the hall and 27 00:01:44.680 --> 00:01:47.879 to the scene of action, we did not drive up 28 00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:50.719 to the door, but got down near the gate of 29 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:55.159 the avenue. The wagonet was paid off and ordered to 30 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:59.040 return to Coombe Tracy forthwith while we started to walk 31 00:01:59.159 --> 00:02:05.200 to mery Pitt house. Are you armed, lestrade, the little 32 00:02:05.239 --> 00:02:08.719 detective smiled. As long as I have my trousers, I 33 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:11.080 have a hip pocket, and as long as I have 34 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:14.759 my hip pocket, I have something in it. Good. My 35 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:18.719 friend and I are also ready for emergencies. You're mighty 36 00:02:18.759 --> 00:02:21.479 close about this affair, mister Holmes. What's the game now? 37 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:25.599 A waiting game? My word, it does not seem a 38 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:29.759 very cheerful place, said the detective, with a shiver, glancing 39 00:02:29.800 --> 00:02:32.479 round him at the gloomy slopes of the hill and 40 00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:35.080 at the huge lake of fog which lay over the 41 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:38.439 grimpen mire. I'll see the lights of a house ahead 42 00:02:38.439 --> 00:02:42.039 of us. That is mery Pit House, and the end 43 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:45.719 of our journey. I must request you to walk on 44 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:51.039 tiptoe and not to talk above a whisper. We moved 45 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:53.639 cautiously along the track as if we were bound for 46 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:56.960 the house, but Holmes halted us when we were about 47 00:02:56.960 --> 00:03:00.680 two hundred yards from it. This will do, said he. 48 00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:04.280 These rocks upon the right will make an admirable screen. 49 00:03:04.919 --> 00:03:08.520 We are to wait here. Yes, we shall make our 50 00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:13.400 little ambush here. Get into this hollow lestrade. You have 51 00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:16.400 been inside the house? Of you not, Watson? Can you 52 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:19.719 tell the position of the rooms? What are those latticed 53 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:23.479 windows at this end? I think they are the kitchen windows, 54 00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:27.960 and the one beyond, which shines so brightly, that is 55 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:32.080 certainly the dining room. The blinds are up. You know 56 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:35.719 the lie of the land. Best creep forward quietly and 57 00:03:35.800 --> 00:03:38.639 see what they are doing. But for Heaven's sake, don't 58 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:42.120 let them know that they are watched. I tiptoed down 59 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:45.680 the path and stood behind the low wall which surrounded 60 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:50.039 the stunted orchard, creeping in its shadow. I reached a 61 00:03:50.120 --> 00:03:53.120 point whence I could look straight through the uncurtained window. 62 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:57.400 There were only two men in the room, Sir Henry 63 00:03:57.479 --> 00:04:02.280 and Stapleton. They sat their profiles towards me on either 64 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:06.680 side of the round table. Both of them were smoking cigars, 65 00:04:07.400 --> 00:04:11.560 and coffee and wine were in front of them. Stapleton 66 00:04:11.639 --> 00:04:15.560 was talking with animation, but the Baronet looked pale and distray. 67 00:04:16.920 --> 00:04:19.839 Perhaps the thought of that lonely walk across the ill 68 00:04:19.879 --> 00:04:24.800 omened moor was weighing heavily upon his mind. As I 69 00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:28.920 watched them, Stapleton rose and left the room, while Sir 70 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:32.480 Henry filled his glass again and leaned back in his chair, 71 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:35.560 puffing at his cigar. I heard the creak of a 72 00:04:35.639 --> 00:04:39.680 door and the crisp sound of boots upon gravel. The 73 00:04:39.720 --> 00:04:42.639 steps passed along the path on the other side of 74 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:46.680 the wall under which I crouched. Looking over, I saw 75 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:49.680 the naturalist Paus at the door of an outhouse in 76 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:53.800 the corner of the orchard. A key turned in the lock, 77 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:58.199 and as he passed in there was a curious scuffling 78 00:04:58.279 --> 00:05:03.680 noise from within. He was only a minute or so inside, 79 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:06.879 and then I heard the key turn once more, and 80 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:10.439 he passed me and re entered the house. I saw 81 00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:14.560 him rejoin his guest, and I crept quietly back to 82 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:17.240 where my companions were waiting to tell them what I 83 00:05:17.319 --> 00:05:21.040 had seen. You say, Watson, that the lady is not there, 84 00:05:21.639 --> 00:05:25.399 Holmes asked, when I had finished my report. No where 85 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:28.000 can she be? Then, since there is no light in 86 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:31.680 any other room except the kitchen, I cannot think where 87 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:34.920 she is. I have said that over the great grimpen 88 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:38.839 mire there hung a dense white fog. It was drifting 89 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:42.720 slowly in our direction and banked itself up like a 90 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:46.920 wall on that side of us. Low but thick and 91 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:52.519 well defined. The moon shone on it, and it looked 92 00:05:52.600 --> 00:05:56.680 like a great shimmering ice field, with the heads of 93 00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:02.120 the distant tours as rocks borne upon its. Holmes's face 94 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:05.920 was turned towards it, and he muttered impatiently as he 95 00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:11.399 watched its sluggish drift. It's moving towards us, Watson. Is 96 00:06:11.399 --> 00:06:15.959 that serious? Very serious? Indeed? The one thing upon earth 97 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:20.319 which could have disarranged my plans? He can't be very 98 00:06:20.360 --> 00:06:24.720 long now. It is already ten o'clock. Our success and 99 00:06:24.839 --> 00:06:28.639 even his life, may depend upon his coming out before 100 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:33.279 the fog is over the path. The night was clear 101 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:37.800 and fine. Above us, the stars shone cold and bright, 102 00:06:38.920 --> 00:06:42.360 while a half moon bathed the whole scene in a soft, 103 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:47.720 uncertain light. Before us lay the dark bulk of the house, 104 00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:52.680 its serrated roof and bristling chimneys, hard outlined against the 105 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:57.399 silver spangled sky. Broad bars of golden light from the 106 00:06:57.439 --> 00:07:02.839 lower windows stretched across the orchard and the moor. One 107 00:07:02.839 --> 00:07:07.160 of them was suddenly shut off the servants had left 108 00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:11.160 the kitchen. There only remained the lamp in the dining room, 109 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:16.040 where the two men, the murderous host and the unconscious guest, 110 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:22.439 still chatted over their cigars. Every minute, that white wooly plain, 111 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:26.600 which covered one half of the moor, was drifting closer 112 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:30.879 and closer to the house. Already the first thin wisps 113 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:33.600 of it were curling across the golden square of the 114 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:38.279 lighted window. The farther wall of the orchard was already invisible, 115 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:41.800 and the trees were standing out of a swirl of 116 00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:46.600 white vapor. As we watched it, the fog wreaths came 117 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:50.759 crawling round both corners of the house and rolled slowly 118 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:54.600 into one dense bank, on which the upper floor and 119 00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:59.199 the roof floated like a strange ship upon a shadowy sea. 120 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:03.560 Holmes struck his hand passionately upon the rock in front 121 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:08.160 of us, and stamped his feet in his impatience. If 122 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:10.560 he isn't out in quarter of an hour, the path 123 00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:13.079 will be covered in half an hour. We won't be 124 00:08:13.079 --> 00:08:16.199 able to see our hands in front of us. Shall 125 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:19.519 we move farther back upon higher ground? Yes, I think 126 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:22.680 it would be as well. So as the fog bank 127 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:27.319 flowed onward, we fell back before it until we were 128 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:31.120 half a mile from the house, and still that dense 129 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:35.639 white sea, with the moon silvering its upper edge, swept 130 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:40.120 slowly and inexorably on. We are going too far, said Holmes. 131 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:43.039 We dare not take the chance of his being overtaken 132 00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:46.559 before he can reach us. At all costs. We must 133 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:49.759 hold our ground where we are. He dropped on his 134 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:53.120 knees and clapped his ear to the ground. Thank God, 135 00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:56.799 I think that I can hear him coming. A sound 136 00:08:56.840 --> 00:09:00.879 of quick steps broke the silence of the moor. Crouching 137 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:04.240 among the stones, we stared intently at the silver tipped 138 00:09:04.279 --> 00:09:08.679 bank in front of us. The steps grew louder, and 139 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:12.519 through the fog as through a curtain. There stepped the 140 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:16.039 man whom we were awaiting. He looked round him in 141 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:20.320 surprise as he emerged into the clear, starlit night. Then 142 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:23.360 he came swiftly along the path, passed close to where 143 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:27.000 we lay, and went on up the long slope behind us. 144 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:31.799 As he walked, he glanced continually over either shoulder, like 145 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:35.240 a man who is ill at ease. Hist cried Holmes, 146 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:38.240 and I heard the sharp click of a cocking pistol. 147 00:09:38.879 --> 00:09:43.840 Look out, it's coming. There was a thin, crisp, continuous 148 00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:47.000 patter from somewhere in the heart of that crawling bank. 149 00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:51.159 The cloud was within fifty yards of where we lay, 150 00:09:51.879 --> 00:09:54.879 and we glared at it, all three, uncertain what horror 151 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:57.639 was about to break from the heart of it. I 152 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:00.720 was at Holmes's elbow, and I glanced for an instant 153 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:05.320 at his face. It was pale and exultant, his eyes 154 00:10:05.399 --> 00:10:09.639 shining brightly in the moonlight. But suddenly they started forward 155 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:14.320 in a rigid, fixed stare, and his lips parted in amazement. 156 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:18.559 At the same instant, Lestrade gave a yell of terror 157 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:23.399 and threw himself face downward upon the ground. I sprang 158 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:26.639 to my feet, my inert hand grasping my pistol, my 159 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:29.879 mind paralyzed by the dreadful shape which had sprung out 160 00:10:29.960 --> 00:10:33.240 upon us from the shadows of the fog. A hound. 161 00:10:33.320 --> 00:10:37.879 It was an enormous coal black hound, but not such 162 00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:42.080 a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst 163 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:46.320 from its open mouth. Its eyes glowed with a smoldering glare. 164 00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:50.639 Its muzzle and hackles and dew lap were outlined in 165 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:55.639 flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered 166 00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:59.320 brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be 167 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:03.759 conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke 168 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:08.159 upon us out of the wall of fog with long bounds. 169 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:12.279 The huge black creature was leaping down the track, following 170 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:16.720 hard upon the footsteps of our friend. So paralyzed were 171 00:11:16.759 --> 00:11:19.679 we by the apparition that we allowed him to pass 172 00:11:19.799 --> 00:11:23.200 before we had recovered our nerve. Then Holmes and I 173 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:27.120 both fired together, and the creature gave a hideous howl, 174 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:30.840 which showed that one at least had hit him. He 175 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:35.399 did not pause, however, but bounded onward. Far away on 176 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:39.679 the path, we saw Sir Henry looking back, his face 177 00:11:39.960 --> 00:11:43.919 white in the moonlight, his hands raised in horror, glaring 178 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:46.840 helplessly at the frightful thing which was hunting him down. 179 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:51.080 But that cry of pain from the hound had blown 180 00:11:51.159 --> 00:11:54.840 all our fears to the winds. If he was vulnerable, 181 00:11:54.879 --> 00:11:57.720 he was mortal, and if we could wound him, we 182 00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:01.440 could kill him. Never have I seen a man run 183 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:05.720 as Holmes ran that night. I'm reckoned fleet of foot, 184 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:09.360 but he outpaced me as much as I outpaced the 185 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:13.000 little professional in front of us. As we flew up 186 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:16.360 the track, we heard scream after scream from Sir Henry, 187 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:20.720 and the deep roar of the hound. I was in 188 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:23.480 time to see the beast spring upon its victim, hurl 189 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:26.840 him to the ground, and worry at his throat. But 190 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:29.960 the next instant Holmes had emptied five barrels of his 191 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:34.840 revolver into the creature's flank. With the last howl of 192 00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:38.480 agony and a vicious snap in the air, it rolled 193 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:42.200 upon its back four feet, pouring furiously, and then fell 194 00:12:42.279 --> 00:12:47.799 limp upon its side. I stood, panting and pressed my 195 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:53.200 pistol to the dreadful shimmering head, but it was useless 196 00:12:53.200 --> 00:13:00.679 to press the trigger. The giant hound was dead. Sir 197 00:13:00.759 --> 00:13:04.759 Henry lay insensible where he had fallen. We tore away 198 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:08.759 his collar, and Holmes breathed a prayer of gratitude when 199 00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:10.600 we saw that there was no sign of a wound, 200 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:15.600 and that the rescue had been in time already. Our 201 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:19.440 friend's eyelids shivered, and he made a feeble effort to move. 202 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:25.360 Lestrade thrust his brandy flask between the baronet's teeth, and 203 00:13:25.399 --> 00:13:28.679 two frightened eyes were looking up at us. My God, 204 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:34.200 he whispered, what was it? What in Heaven's name was it? 205 00:13:34.200 --> 00:13:38.639 It's dead, whatever it is, said Holmes, we've laid the 206 00:13:38.679 --> 00:13:43.519 family ghost once and forever in mere size and strength. 207 00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:47.480 It was a terrible creature which was lying stretched before us. 208 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:51.559 It was not a pure bloodhound, and it was not 209 00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:55.039 a pure mastiff, but it appeared to be a combination 210 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:59.159 of the two, gaunt savage, and as large as a 211 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:04.600 small lion. Even now, in the stillness of death, the 212 00:14:04.679 --> 00:14:07.799 huge jaws seemed to be dripping with a bluish flame, 213 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:12.759 and the small, deep set, cruel eyes were ringed with fire. 214 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:17.720 I placed my hand upon the glowing muzzle, and as 215 00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:20.960 I held them up, my own fingers smoldered and gleamed 216 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:26.679 in the darkness. Phosphorus, I said a cunning preparation of it, 217 00:14:26.840 --> 00:14:30.519 said Holmes, sniffing at the dead animal. There is no 218 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:33.399 smell which might have interfered with his power of scent. 219 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:37.919 We owe you a deep apology, sir Henry, for having 220 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:41.960 exposed you to this fright. I was prepared for a hound, 221 00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:46.279 but not for such a creature as this, and the 222 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:49.639 fog gave us little time to receive him. You have 223 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:53.879 saved my life, having first endangered it. Are you strong 224 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:57.639 enough to stand? Give me another mouthful of that brandy 225 00:14:57.679 --> 00:15:01.480 and I shall be ready for anything. So now you 226 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:04.559 will help me up. What do you propose to do 227 00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:08.799 to leave you here? You are not fit for further 228 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:12.799 adventures to night. If you will wait, one or other 229 00:15:12.840 --> 00:15:14.720 of us will go back with you to the hall. 230 00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:19.159 He tried to stagger to his feet, but he was 231 00:15:19.159 --> 00:15:22.879 still ghastly, pale, and trembling in every limb. We helped 232 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:25.639 him to a rock, where he sat shivering, with his 233 00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:28.639 face buried in his hands. We must leave you now, 234 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:31.519 said Holmes. The rest of our work must be done, 235 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:35.279 and every moment is of importance. We have our case, 236 00:15:35.960 --> 00:15:39.279 and now we only want our man. It's a thousand 237 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:42.279 to one against our finding him. At the house, he continued, 238 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:45.720 as we retraced our steps swiftly down the path. Those 239 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:47.879 shots must have told him that the game was up. 240 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:51.159 We were some distance off, and this fog may have 241 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:54.600 deadened them. He followed the hound to call him off 242 00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:58.080 of that. You may be certain, no, no, he's gone 243 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:00.960 by this time. But we'll so the house and make 244 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:04.360 sure the front door was open. So we rushed in 245 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:07.200 and hurried from room to room, to the amazement of 246 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:11.120 a doddering old man servant, who met us in the passage. 247 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:13.919 There was no light save in the dining room, but 248 00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:16.519 Holmes caught up the lamp and left no corner of 249 00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:19.759 the house unexplored. No sign could we see of the 250 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:23.279 man whom we were chasing. On the upper floor, however, 251 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:27.000 one of the bedroom doors was locked. There's someone in here, 252 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:31.000 cried Lestrade, I can hear a movement open this door. 253 00:16:32.120 --> 00:16:36.000 A faint moaning and rustling came from within. Holmes truck 254 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:38.279 the door just over the lock with the flat of 255 00:16:38.279 --> 00:16:42.200 his foot and it flew open. Pistol in hand. We 256 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:45.840 all three rushed into the room, but there was no 257 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:49.039 sign within it of that desperate and defiant villain whom 258 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:52.960 we expected to see. Instead, we were faced by an 259 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:56.960 object so strange and so unexpected, that we stood for 260 00:16:57.000 --> 00:17:01.360 a moment staring at it in amazement. The room had 261 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:04.799 been fashioned into a small museum, and the walls were 262 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:08.000 lined by a number of glass topped cases full of 263 00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:12.119 that collection of butterflies and moths, the formation of which 264 00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:15.960 had been the relaxation of this complex and dangerous man. 265 00:17:17.400 --> 00:17:20.480 In the center of this room there was an upright beam, 266 00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:24.079 which had been placed at some period as a support 267 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:27.640 for the old, worm eaten bulk of timber which spanned 268 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:34.079 the roof to this post. A figure was tied, so 269 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:36.880 swathed and muffled in the sheets which had been used 270 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:39.839 to secure it, that one could not, for the moment 271 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:42.160 tell whether it was that of a man or a woman. 272 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:46.960 One towel passed round the throat and was secured at 273 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:50.559 the back of the pillar. Another covered the lower part 274 00:17:50.599 --> 00:17:55.640 of the face, and over it two dark eyes, eyes 275 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:59.359 full of grief and shame, and a dreadful questioning, stared 276 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:02.920 back at us. In a minute, we had torn off 277 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:07.640 the gag and swathed the bonds, and Missus Stapleton sank 278 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:11.160 upon the floor in front of us, as her beautiful 279 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:14.440 head fell upon her chest. I saw the clear red 280 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:19.960 wheel of a whiplash across her neck. The brute cried, Holmes, here, lestrade, 281 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:24.160 your brandy bottle. Put her in the chair. She has 282 00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:29.039 fainted from ill usage and exhaustion. She opened her eyes again. 283 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:34.440 Is he safe, she asked? Has he escaped? He cannot 284 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:38.240 escape us? Madam, No, no, I did not mean my husband, 285 00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:45.200 Sir Henry. Is he safe? Yes? And the hound it 286 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:50.359 is dead. She gave a long sigh of satisfaction. Thank God, 287 00:18:50.920 --> 00:18:54.440 thank God, Oh, this villain. See how he has treated me. 288 00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:58.759 She shot her arms out from her sleeves, and we 289 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:01.680 saw with horror that they were all mottled with bruises. 290 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:06.039 But this is nothing, nothing. It is my mind and 291 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:10.000 soul that he has tortured and defiled. I could endure it, 292 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:15.200 all ill usage, solitude, a life of deception, everything, as 293 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:17.200 long as I could still cling to the hope that 294 00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:20.480 I had his love. But now I know that in 295 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:23.440 this also I have been his dupe and his tool. 296 00:19:24.359 --> 00:19:28.000 She broke into passionate sobbing as she spoke, You bear 297 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:31.680 him no good will, madam, said Holmes. Tell us then 298 00:19:32.039 --> 00:19:35.079 where we shall find him? If you have ever aided 299 00:19:35.160 --> 00:19:40.000 him in evil. Help us now and so atone. There 300 00:19:40.079 --> 00:19:42.880 is but one place where he can have fled. She answered, 301 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:45.920 There is an old tin mine on an island in 302 00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:48.519 the heart of the mire. It was there that he 303 00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:52.359 kept his hound, and there also he had made preparations 304 00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:55.319 so that he might have a refuge. That is where 305 00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:59.400 he would fly. The fog bank lay like white wall 306 00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:03.680 against the wind. Holmes held the lamp towards it, see 307 00:20:04.119 --> 00:20:06.960 said he no one could find his way into the 308 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:12.119 grimpen mire tonight. She laughed and clapped her hands. Her 309 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:16.160 eyes and teeth gleamed with fierce merriment. He may find 310 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:19.640 his way in, but never out, she cried, How can 311 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:23.319 he see the guiding wands? Tonight? We planted them together, 312 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:26.759 he and I to mark the pathway through the mire. Oh, 313 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:29.000 if I could only have plucked them out to day, 314 00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:32.599 then indeed you would have had him at your mercy. 315 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:36.480 It was evident to us that all pursuit was in 316 00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:42.079 vain until the fog had lifted. Meanwhile, we left Lestrade 317 00:20:42.119 --> 00:20:45.039 in possession of the house, while Holmes and I went 318 00:20:45.160 --> 00:20:49.119 back with the baronet to Baskerville Hall. The Story of 319 00:20:49.160 --> 00:20:52.640 the Stapletons could no longer be withheld from him. But 320 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:55.000 he took the blow bravely when he learned the truth 321 00:20:55.039 --> 00:20:58.640 about the woman whom he had loved. But the shock 322 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:02.279 of the Knight's adventures had shattered his nerves, and before 323 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:05.440 morning he lay delirious in a high fever under the 324 00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:09.559 care of Doctor Mortimer. The two of them were destined 325 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:12.960 to travel together around the world before Sir Henry had 326 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:16.000 become once more the hale, hearty man that he had 327 00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:19.720 been before he became master of that ill omened estate. 328 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:23.839 And now I come rapidly to the conclusion of this 329 00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:27.079 singular narrative, in which I have tried to make the 330 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:31.680 reader share those dark fears and vague surmises which clouded 331 00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:35.279 our lives so long and ended in so tragic a manner. 332 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:39.799 On the morning after the death of the Hound, the 333 00:21:39.799 --> 00:21:43.640 fog had lifted, and we were guided by Missus Stapleton 334 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:46.559 to the point where they had found a pathway through 335 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:50.319 the bog. It helped us to realize the horror of 336 00:21:50.359 --> 00:21:53.880 this woman's life when we saw the eagerness and joy 337 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:58.279 with which she laid us on her husband's track. We 338 00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:01.079 left her standing upon the thin a ninsular of firm, 339 00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:06.960 peaty soil, which tapered out into the widespread bog. From 340 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:09.920 the end of it. A small wand planted here and 341 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.119 there showed where the path zigzagged from tuft to tuft 342 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:19.119 of rushes. Among those green scalmed pits and foul quagmires 343 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:23.640 which barred the way to the stranger. Rank reeds and lush, 344 00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:28.599 slimy water plants sent an odor of decay and a 345 00:22:28.599 --> 00:22:33.640 heavy miasmatic vapor onto our faces, while a false step 346 00:22:33.720 --> 00:22:36.880 plunged us more than once thigh deep into the dark, 347 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:42.359 quivering mire, which shook for yards in soft undulations around 348 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:46.839 our feet. Its tenacious grip plucked at our heels as 349 00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:50.599 we walked, and when we sank into it, it was 350 00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:53.839 as if some malignant hand was tugging us down into 351 00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:58.119 those obscene depths. So grim and purposeful was the clutch 352 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:01.759 in which it held us. Once only we saw a 353 00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:04.880 trace that some one had passed that perilous way before us, 354 00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:08.799 from amid a tuft of cotton grass which bore it 355 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:12.720 up out of the slime. Some dark thing was projecting. 356 00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:16.240 Holmes sank to his waist as he stepped from the 357 00:23:16.279 --> 00:23:19.240 path to seize it. And had we not been there 358 00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:21.880 to drag him out, he could never have set his 359 00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:26.160 foot upon firm land again. He held an old black 360 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:30.960 boot in the air. Meyer's Toronto was printed on the 361 00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:34.799 leather inside. It is worth a mud bath, said he. 362 00:23:35.799 --> 00:23:39.400 It is our friend, Sir Henry's missing boot, thrown there 363 00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:43.400 by Stapleton in his flight. Exactly he retained it in 364 00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:46.359 his hand after using it to set the hound upon 365 00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:49.880 the track. He fled when he knew the game was up, 366 00:23:50.279 --> 00:23:53.400 still clutching it, and he hurled it away. At this 367 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:56.440 point of his flight, we know at least that he 368 00:23:56.480 --> 00:24:00.839 came so far in safety. But more than that we 369 00:24:00.839 --> 00:24:04.599 were never destined to know. Though there was much which 370 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:08.759 we might surmise, there was no chance of finding footsteps 371 00:24:08.759 --> 00:24:12.400 in the mayre, for the rising mud oozed swiftly in 372 00:24:12.559 --> 00:24:16.440 upon them. But as we at last reached firmer ground 373 00:24:16.519 --> 00:24:21.559 beyond the morass, we all looked eagerly for them, but 374 00:24:21.680 --> 00:24:26.119 no slightest sign of them ever met our eyes. If 375 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:30.279 the earth told a true story, then Stapleton never reached 376 00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:34.359 that island of refuge towards which he struggled through the 377 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:39.559 fog upon that last night, somewhere in the heart of 378 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:43.480 the great grimpen mire. Down in the foul slime of 379 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:47.680 the huge morass which had sucked him in. This cold 380 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:53.920 and cruel hearted man is forever buried. Many traces we 381 00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:56.720 found of him in the bog Girt island where he 382 00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:02.319 had hid his savage ally huge driving wheel, and a shaft, 383 00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:07.519 half filled with rubbish showed the position of an abandoned mine. 384 00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:11.039 Beside it were the crumbling remains of the cottages of 385 00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:15.039 the miners, driven away, no doubt by the foul reek 386 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:19.160 of the surrounding swamp. In one of these, a staple 387 00:25:19.240 --> 00:25:23.240 and chain with a quantity of gnawed bones showed where 388 00:25:23.240 --> 00:25:27.839 the animal had been confined. A skeleton with a tangle 389 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:31.960 of brown hair adhering to it lay among the debris. 390 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:37.160 A dog, said Holmes, by jove, a curly haired spaniel 391 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:42.799 or Mortimer will never see his pet again. Well, I 392 00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:46.039 do not know that this place contains any secret which 393 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:49.759 we have not already fathomed. He could hide his hound, 394 00:25:50.680 --> 00:25:54.319 but he could not hush its voice, and hence came 395 00:25:54.359 --> 00:25:57.880 those cries, which even in daylight were not pleasant to hear. 396 00:25:59.359 --> 00:26:01.720 On an emergent say, he could keep the hound in 397 00:26:01.759 --> 00:26:05.119 the outhouse at Merripitt. But it was always a risk, 398 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:08.920 and it was only on the Supreme Day, which he 399 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:11.799 regarded as the end of all his efforts, that he 400 00:26:11.880 --> 00:26:15.079 dared do it. This paste in the tin is no 401 00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:18.720