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<v Speaker 1>Chapter one of the Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir

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<v Speaker 1>Arthur Conan Doyle. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox

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<v Speaker 1>recordings are in the public domain. For more information ought

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<v Speaker 1>to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by David

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<v Speaker 1>Clark Bgdavid dot WordPress dot com and Bgcoffee dot net.

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<v Speaker 1>Based in Dallas Fort Worth, Texas. The Hound of the

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<v Speaker 1>Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Chapter one. Mister Sherlock Holmes.

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<v Speaker 1>Mister Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings,

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<v Speaker 1>save upon those not in frequent occasions when he was

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<v Speaker 1>up all night, was seated at the breakfast table. I

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<v Speaker 1>stood upon the hearth rug and picked up the stick

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<v Speaker 1>which our visitor had left behind him the night before.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a fine thick piece of wood, bulbous headed,

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<v Speaker 1>of the sort which is known as a penang lawyer.

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<v Speaker 1>Just under the head was a broad silver band nearly

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<v Speaker 1>an inch across to James Mortimer, m R c. S.

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<v Speaker 1>From his Friends of the c H was engraved upon

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<v Speaker 1>it with the date eighteen eighty four. It was just

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<v Speaker 1>such a stick as the old fashioned family practitioner used

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<v Speaker 1>to carry dignified, solid and reassuring Well, Watson, what do

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<v Speaker 1>you make of it? Holmes was sitting with his back

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<v Speaker 1>to me, and I had given him no sign of

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<v Speaker 1>my occupation. How did you know what I was doing?

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<v Speaker 1>I believe you have eyes in the back of your head.

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<v Speaker 1>I have at least a well polished silver plated coffee

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<v Speaker 1>pot in front of me, said he. But tell me, Watson,

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<v Speaker 1>what do you make of our visitor's stick? Since we

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<v Speaker 1>have been so unfortunate as to miss him and have

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<v Speaker 1>no notion of his errand this accidental souvenir becomes of importance.

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<v Speaker 1>Let me hear you reconstruct the man by an examine

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<v Speaker 1>nation of it. I think, said I, following as far

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<v Speaker 1>as I could the methods of my companion. Doctor Mortimer

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<v Speaker 1>is a successful elderly medical man, well esteemed, since those

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<v Speaker 1>who know him give him his mark of their appreciation. Good,

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<v Speaker 1>said Holmes. Excellent. I think also that the probability is

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<v Speaker 1>in favor of his being a country practitioner who does

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<v Speaker 1>a great deal of his visiting on foot. Why so,

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<v Speaker 1>because this stick, though originally a very handsome one, has

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<v Speaker 1>been so knocked about that I can hardly imagine a

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<v Speaker 1>town practitioner carrying it. The thick iron ferrule is worn down,

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<v Speaker 1>so it is evident that he has done a great

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<v Speaker 1>amount of walking with it perfectly sound, said Holmes. And

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<v Speaker 1>then again there is the friends of the c CH.

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<v Speaker 1>I should guess that to be the Something Hunt, the

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<v Speaker 1>local hunt, whose members he has possibly given some surgical assistance,

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<v Speaker 1>and which has made him a small presentation in return. Really, Watson,

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<v Speaker 1>you excel yourself, said Holmes, pushing back his chair and

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<v Speaker 1>lighting a cigarette. I am bound to say that, in

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<v Speaker 1>all the accounts which you have been so good as

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<v Speaker 1>to give of my own small achievements, you have habitually

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<v Speaker 1>underrated your own abilities. It may be that you are

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<v Speaker 1>not yourself luminous, but you are a conductor of light.

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<v Speaker 1>Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of

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<v Speaker 1>stimulating it. I confess, my dear fellow, that I am

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<v Speaker 1>very much in your debt. He had never said as

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<v Speaker 1>much before, and I must admit that his words gave

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<v Speaker 1>me keen pleasure, for I had often been piqued by

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<v Speaker 1>his indifference to my admiration and the attempts which I

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<v Speaker 1>had made to give publicity to his methods. I was

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<v Speaker 1>proud too, to think that I had so far mustered

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<v Speaker 1>his system as to apply it in a way which

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<v Speaker 1>earned his approval. He now took the stick from my

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<v Speaker 1>hands and examined it for a few minutes with his

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<v Speaker 1>naked eyes. Then, with an expression of interest, he laid

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<v Speaker 1>down his cigarette, and, carrying the cane to the window,

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<v Speaker 1>he looked over it again with a convex lens. Interesting

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<v Speaker 1>though elementary, said he, as he returned to his favorite

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<v Speaker 1>corner of the settee. There are certainly one or two

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<v Speaker 1>indications upon the stick. It gives us the basis for

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<v Speaker 1>several deductions. Has anything escaped me, i asked, with some

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<v Speaker 1>self importance. I trust that there's nothing of consequence which

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<v Speaker 1>I've overlooked. I am afraid, my dear Watson, that most

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<v Speaker 1>of your conclusions were erroneous. When I said that you

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<v Speaker 1>stimulated me, I meant to be frank that in noting

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<v Speaker 1>your fallacies, I was occasionally guided towards the truth, not

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<v Speaker 1>that you are entirely wrong. In this instance. The man

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<v Speaker 1>is certainly a country practitioner, and he walks a great deal.

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<v Speaker 1>Then I was right to that extent. But that was all. No, No,

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<v Speaker 1>my dear Watson, not all, by no means all. I

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<v Speaker 1>would suggest, for example, that a presentation to a doctor

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<v Speaker 1>is more likely to come from a hospital than from

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<v Speaker 1>a hunt, and that when initials C C are placed

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<v Speaker 1>before that hospital, the words Charing Cross very naturally suggest themselves.

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<v Speaker 1>You may be right. The probability lies in that direction,

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<v Speaker 1>and if we take this as a working hypothesis, we

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<v Speaker 1>have a fresh basis from which to start our construction

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<v Speaker 1>of this unknown visitor. Well, then, supposing that c C

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<v Speaker 1>H does stand for Charing Cross Hospital, what further inferences

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<v Speaker 1>may we draw? Do none suggest themselves? You know my

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<v Speaker 1>methods apply them. I can only think of the obvious

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<v Speaker 1>conclusion that the man has practiced in town before going

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<v Speaker 1>to the country. I think that we might venture a

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<v Speaker 1>little farther than this. Look at it in this light,

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<v Speaker 1>on what occasion would it be most probable that such

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<v Speaker 1>presentation would be made? When would his friends unite to

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<v Speaker 1>give him a pledge of their good will? Obviously at

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<v Speaker 1>the moment when doctor Mortimer withdrew from the service of

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<v Speaker 1>the hospital in order to start a practice for himself.

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<v Speaker 1>We know there has been a presentation. We believe there

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<v Speaker 1>has been a change from a town hospital to a

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<v Speaker 1>country practice. Is it then, stretching our inference too far

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<v Speaker 1>to say that the presentation was on the occasion of

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<v Speaker 1>the change. It certainly seems probable. Now you will observe

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<v Speaker 1>that he could not have been on the staff of

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<v Speaker 1>the hospital, since only a man well established in a

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<v Speaker 1>London practice could hold such a position, and such a

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<v Speaker 1>one would not drift in to the country. What was

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<v Speaker 1>he then, if he was in the hospital and yet

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<v Speaker 1>not on the staff, He could only have been a

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<v Speaker 1>house surgeon or a house physician, little more than a

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<v Speaker 1>senior student. And he left five years ago. The date

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<v Speaker 1>is on the stick. So your grave, middle aged family

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<v Speaker 1>practitioner vanishes into thin air, my dear Watson, and there

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<v Speaker 1>emerges a young fellow under thirty, amiable, unambitious, absent minded,

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<v Speaker 1>and the possessor of a favorite dog, which I should

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<v Speaker 1>describe roughly as being larger than a terrier and smaller

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<v Speaker 1>than a mastiff. I laughed incredulously, as Sherlock Holmes leaned

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<v Speaker 1>back in his settee and blew little wavering rings of

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<v Speaker 1>smoke up to the ceiling. As to the latter part,

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<v Speaker 1>I have no means of checking, you, said I, but

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<v Speaker 1>at least it is not difficult to find out a

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<v Speaker 1>few particulars about the man's age and professional career from

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<v Speaker 1>my small medical shelf. I took down the medical directory

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<v Speaker 1>and turned up the name. There were several Mortimers, but

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<v Speaker 1>only one could be our visitor. I read his record aloud.

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<v Speaker 1>Mortimer James M R c s. Eighteen eighty two, Grimpen, Dartmoor,

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<v Speaker 1>Devon House surgeon from eighteen eighty two to eighteen eighty

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<v Speaker 1>four at charing Cross Hospital, winner of the Jackson Prize

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<v Speaker 1>for Comparative Pathology, with essay entitled is Disease a Reversion?

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<v Speaker 1>Corresponding member of the Swedish Pathological Society, author of Some

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<v Speaker 1>Freaks of Atavism Lancet, eighteen eighty two. Do we Progress,

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<v Speaker 1>Journal of Psychology, March eighteen eighty three. Medical officer for

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<v Speaker 1>the parishes of Grimpen, Thorsley and High Barrow. No mention

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<v Speaker 1>of that local hunt, Watson, said Holmes, with a mischievous smile.

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<v Speaker 1>But a country doctor, as you very astutely observed, I

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<v Speaker 1>think that I am fairly justified in my inferences as

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<v Speaker 1>to the adjectives I said, if I remember right, amiable,

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<v Speaker 1>unambitious and absent minded. It is my experience that it

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<v Speaker 1>is only an amiable man in this world who receives testimonials,

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<v Speaker 1>only an unambitious one who abandons a London career for

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<v Speaker 1>the country, and only an absent minded one who leaves

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<v Speaker 1>his stick and not his visiting card after waiting an

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<v Speaker 1>hour in your room. And the dog has been in

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<v Speaker 1>the habit of carrying this stick behind his master. Being

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<v Speaker 1>a heavy stick, the dog is held it tightly by

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<v Speaker 1>the middle, and the marks of his teeth are very

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<v Speaker 1>plainly visible. The dog's jaw, as shown in the space

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<v Speaker 1>between these marks, is too broad, in my opinion, for

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<v Speaker 1>a terrier, and not broad enough for a mastiff. It

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<v Speaker 1>may have been, Yes, by jove, it is a curly

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<v Speaker 1>head spaniel. Risen and paced the room as he spoke.

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<v Speaker 1>Now he halted in the recess of the window. There

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<v Speaker 1>was such a ring of conviction in his voice that

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<v Speaker 1>I glanced up in surprise. My dear fellow, how can

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<v Speaker 1>you possibly be so sure of that? For the very

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<v Speaker 1>simple reason that I see the dog himself on our

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<v Speaker 1>very door step, and there is the ring of its owner.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't move, I beg you, Watson. He is a professional

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<v Speaker 1>brother of yours, and your presence may be of assistance

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<v Speaker 1>to me. Now is the dramatic moment of fate, Watson,

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<v Speaker 1>when you hear a step upon the stair which is

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<v Speaker 1>walking into your life, and you know not whether for

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<v Speaker 1>good or ill? What does doctor James Mortimer, the man

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<v Speaker 1>of science, ask of Sherlock Holmes, the specialist in crime

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<v Speaker 1>come in the appearance of our visitor was a surprise

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<v Speaker 1>to me, since I had expected a typical country practitioner.

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<v Speaker 1>He was a very tall, thin man, with a long

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<v Speaker 1>nose like a beak, which jutted out between two keen

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<v Speaker 1>gray eyes set closely together, and sparkling brightly from behind

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<v Speaker 1>a pair of gold rimmed glasses. He was clad in

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<v Speaker 1>a professional but rather slovenly fashion, for his frock coat

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<v Speaker 1>was dingy, and his trousers frayed. Though young, his long

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<v Speaker 1>back was already bowed, and he walked with a forward

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<v Speaker 1>thrust of his head and a general air of peering benevolence.

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<v Speaker 1>As he entered, his eyes fell upon the stick in

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<v Speaker 1>Holmes's hand, and he ran towards it with an exclamation

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<v Speaker 1>of joy. I'm so very glad, said he. I was

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<v Speaker 1>not so sure whether I had left it here or

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<v Speaker 1>in the shipping office. I would not lose that stick

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<v Speaker 1>for the world A presentation I see, said Holmes. Yes, Sir,

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<v Speaker 1>from charing Cross Hospital, from one or two friends there

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<v Speaker 1>on the occasion of my marriage. Dear, dear, that's bad,

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<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, shaking his head. Doctor Mortimer blinked through his

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<v Speaker 1>glasses in mild astonishment. Why was it bad only that

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<v Speaker 1>you have disarranged our little deductions your marriage? You say, yes, Sir,

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<v Speaker 1>I married, and so left the hospital and with it

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<v Speaker 1>all hopes of a consulting practice. It was necessary to

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<v Speaker 1>make a home of my own. Come, Come, we are

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<v Speaker 1>not so far wrong after all, said Holmes. And now

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<v Speaker 1>doctor James Mortimer. Mister sir, mister a humble m R. C. S.

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<v Speaker 1>And a man of precise mind, evidently a dabbler in science,

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<v Speaker 1>mister Holmes, a picker up of shells on the shores

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<v Speaker 1>of the great unknown ocean. I presume that it is

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<v Speaker 1>mister Sherlock Holmes whom I am addressing, and not no,

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<v Speaker 1>this is my friend Dr Watson. Glad to meet you, Sir.

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<v Speaker 1>I have heard your name mentioned in connection with that

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<v Speaker 1>of your friend. You interest me very much, mister Holmes.

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<v Speaker 1>I I had hardly expected so dowly chocephalic a skull

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<v Speaker 1>of such well marked supra orbital development. Would you have

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<v Speaker 1>any objection to my running my finger along your parietal fissure?

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<v Speaker 1>A cast of your skull, sir, until the original is available,

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<v Speaker 1>would be an ornament to any anthropological museum. It is

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<v Speaker 1>not my intention to be falsome, but I confess that

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<v Speaker 1>I covet your skull. Sherlock Holmes waved our strange visitor

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<v Speaker 1>into a chair. You are an enthusiast in your line

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<v Speaker 1>of thought, I perceive, sir, as I am in mine,

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<v Speaker 1>said he. I observe from your forefinger that you make

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<v Speaker 1>your own cigarettes, have no hesitation in lighting one. The

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<v Speaker 1>man drew out paper and tobacco and twirled the one

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<v Speaker 1>up in the other with surprising dexterity. He had long,

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<v Speaker 1>quivering fingers, as agile and restless as the antennae of

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<v Speaker 1>an insect. Holmes was silent, but his little darting glance

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<v Speaker 1>showed me the interest which he took in our curious companion.

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<v Speaker 1>I presume, sir, said he at last, that it was

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<v Speaker 1>not merely for the purpose of examining my skull that

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<v Speaker 1>you have done me the honor to call here last

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<v Speaker 1>night and again to day. No, sir, no, though I

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<v Speaker 1>am happy to have had the opportunity of doing that

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<v Speaker 1>as well. I came to you, mister Holmes, because I

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<v Speaker 1>recognized that I am myself an unpractical man, and because

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<v Speaker 1>I am suddenly confronted with a most serious and extraordinary problem,

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<v Speaker 1>Recognizing as I do, that you are the second highest

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<v Speaker 1>expert in Europe. Indeed, Sir, may I inquire who has

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<v Speaker 1>the honor to be the first? Asked Holmes, with some asperity,

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<v Speaker 1>to the man of precisely scientific mind. The work of

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<v Speaker 1>Monsieur Bertillon must always appeal strongly. Then had you not

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<v Speaker 1>better consult him, I said, sir, to the precisely scientific mind.

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<v Speaker 1>But as a practical man of affairs, it is acknowledged

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<v Speaker 1>that you stand alone. I trust, sir, that I have

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<v Speaker 1>not inadvertently just a little, said Holmes. I think doctor Mortimer,

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<v Speaker 1>you would do wisely if, without more ado, you would

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<v Speaker 1>kindly tell me plainly what the exact nature of the

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<v Speaker 1>problem is in which you demand my assistance. End of

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<v Speaker 1>Chapter one