Speaker 1: Chapter nine of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir
Speaker 1: Arthur Conan Doyle. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
Speaker 1: Chapter nine, The Light upon the Moor, Second Report of
Speaker 1: Dr Watson, Baskerville Hall, October fifteenth. My dear Holmes, if
Speaker 1: I was compelled to leave you without much news during
Speaker 1: the early days of my mission, you must acknowledge that
Speaker 1: I am making up for lost time, and that in
Speaker 1: at events, unouting thick and fast upon us. In my
Speaker 1: last report I ended up my top note with Barrymore
Speaker 1: at the window, and now I have quite a budget
Speaker 1: already which will, unless I am much mistaken, considerably surprise you.
Speaker 1: Things have taken a turn which I could not have anticipated.
Speaker 1: In some ways they have, within the last forty eight
Speaker 1: hours become much clearer, and in some ways they have
Speaker 1: become more complicated. But I will tell you all, and
Speaker 1: you shall judge for yourself. Before breakfast on the morning
Speaker 1: following my adventure, I went down the corridor and examined
Speaker 1: the room in which Barrymore had been on the night before.
Speaker 1: The western window through which he had stared so intently.
Speaker 1: Has I noticed one peculiarity above all other windows in
Speaker 1: the house it commands. The nearest outlook on to the moor.
Speaker 1: There is an opening between two trees which enables one
Speaker 1: from this point of view to look right down upon it,
Speaker 1: while from all the other windows it is only a
Speaker 1: distant glimpse which can be obtained. It follows therefore that Barrymore,
Speaker 1: since only this window would serve the purpose, must have
Speaker 1: been looking out for something or some body upon the moor.
Speaker 1: The night was very dark, so that I can hardly
Speaker 1: imagine how he could have hoped to see any one.
Speaker 1: It had struck me that it was possible that some
Speaker 1: love intrigue was on foot. That would have counted for
Speaker 1: his stealthy movements, and also for the uneasiness of his wife.
Speaker 1: The manners a striking looking fellow, very well equipped to
Speaker 1: steal the heart of a country girl, So that this
Speaker 1: theory seemed to have something to support it. That opening
Speaker 1: of the door, which I had heard after I had
Speaker 1: returned to my room, might mean that he had gone
Speaker 1: out to keep some clandestine appointment. So I reasoned with
Speaker 1: myself in the morning, and I tell you the direction
Speaker 1: of my suspicions. However much the result may have shown
Speaker 1: that they were unfounded, But whatever the true explanation of
Speaker 1: Barrymore's movements might be, I felt that the responsibility of
Speaker 1: keeping them to myself until I could explain them was
Speaker 1: more than I could bear. I had an interview with
Speaker 1: the Baronet in his study after breakfast, and I told
Speaker 1: him all that I had seen. He was less surprised
Speaker 1: than I had expected. I knew that Barrymore walked about knights,
Speaker 1: and I had a mind to speak to him about it.
Speaker 1: Said he, two or three times, I've heard his steps
Speaker 1: in the passage, coming and going just about the hour
Speaker 1: you name. Perhaps then he pays a visit every night
Speaker 1: to that particular window. I suggested, perhaps he does. If so,
Speaker 1: we should be able to shadow him and see what
Speaker 1: it is that he's after. I wonder what your friend
Speaker 1: Holmes would do if he were here. I believe that
Speaker 1: he would do exactly what you now suggest, said I.
Speaker 1: He would follow Barrymore and see what he did. Then
Speaker 1: we shall do it together. But surely he would hear us.
Speaker 1: The man is rather deaf, and in any case we
Speaker 1: must take our chance of that. We'll sit up in
Speaker 1: my room to night and wait until he passes. Sir
Speaker 1: Henry rubbed his hands with pleasure, and it was evident
Speaker 1: that he hailed the adventure as a relief to his
Speaker 1: somewhat quiet life upon the moor. The Baronet has been
Speaker 1: in communication the architect who prepared the plans for Sir Charles,
Speaker 1: and with a contractor from London, so that we may
Speaker 1: expect great changes to begin here soon. There have been
Speaker 1: decorators and furnishers up from Plymouth, and it is evident
Speaker 1: that our friend has large ideas and means to spare
Speaker 1: no pains or expense to restore the grandeur of his family.
Speaker 1: When the house is renovated and refurnished, all that he
Speaker 1: will need will be a wife to make it complete.
Speaker 1: Between ourselves. There are pretty clear signs that this will
Speaker 1: not be wanting if the lady is willing, For I
Speaker 1: have seldom seen a man more infatuated with a woman
Speaker 1: than he is with our beautiful neighbor, Miss Stapleton. And
Speaker 1: yet the course of true love does not run quite
Speaker 1: as smoothly as one would under the circumstances expect today.
Speaker 1: For example, its surface was broken by a very unexpected ripple,
Speaker 1: which has caused our friend and considerable perplexity and annoyance.
Speaker 1: After the conversation which I have quoted about Barrymore. Sir
Speaker 1: Henry put on his hat and prepared to go out.
Speaker 1: As a matter of course, I did the same. What
Speaker 1: are you coming, Watson, he asked, looking at me in
Speaker 1: a curious way. That depends on whether you are going
Speaker 1: on the moor, said I, eh, yes, I am well,
Speaker 1: you know what my instructions are. I am sorry to intrude,
Speaker 1: but you heard how earnestly Holmes insisted that I should
Speaker 1: not leave you, and especially that you should not go
Speaker 1: alone upon the moor. Sir Henry put his hand upon
Speaker 1: my shoulder with a pleasant smile. My dear fellow, said
Speaker 1: he those with all his wisdom did not foresee some
Speaker 1: things which have happened since I have been on the moor.
Speaker 1: If you understand me, I am sure that you are
Speaker 1: the last man in the world who would wish to
Speaker 1: be a spoil sport. I must go out alone. It
Speaker 1: put me in a most awkward position. I was at
Speaker 1: a loss what to say or what to do, And
Speaker 1: before I had made up my mind, he picked up
Speaker 1: his cane and was gone. But when I came to
Speaker 1: think the matter over, my conscience reproached me bitterly for
Speaker 1: having on any pretext allowed him to go out of
Speaker 1: my sight. I imagined what my feelings would be if
Speaker 1: I had to return to you and to confess that
Speaker 1: some misfortune had occurred through my disregard for your instructions.
Speaker 1: I assure you my cheeks flushed at the very thought.
Speaker 1: It might not even now be too late to overtake him.
Speaker 1: So I set off at once in the direction of
Speaker 1: Merripitt House. I hurried along the road at the top
Speaker 1: of my speed, without seeing anything of Sir Henry, until
Speaker 1: I came to the point where the moor path branches off. There,
Speaker 1: fearing that perhaps I had come in the wrong direction
Speaker 1: after all, I mounted a hill from which I could
Speaker 1: command a view the same hill which is cut into
Speaker 1: the dark quarry. Thence I saw him at once. He
Speaker 1: was on the moor path, about a quarter of a
Speaker 1: mile off, and a lady was by his side, who
Speaker 1: could only be Miss Stapleton. It was clear that there
Speaker 1: was already an understanding between them, and that they had
Speaker 1: met by appointment. They were walking slowly along in deep conversation,
Speaker 1: and I saw her making quick little movements of her hands,
Speaker 1: as if she were very earnest in what she was saying,
Speaker 1: while he listened intently, and once or twice shook his
Speaker 1: head in strong descent. I stood among the rocks, watching them,
Speaker 1: very much puzzled as to what I should do next.
Speaker 1: To follow them and break into their intimate conversation seemed
Speaker 1: to be an outrage, and yet my clear duty was
Speaker 1: never for an instant to let him out of my sight.
Speaker 1: To act the spy upon a friend was a hateful task.
Speaker 1: Still I could see no better course than to observe
Speaker 1: him from the hill, and to clear my conscience by
Speaker 1: confessing to him afterwards what I had done. It is
Speaker 1: true that if any sudden danger had threatened him, I
Speaker 1: was too far away to be of use. And yet
Speaker 1: I am sure that you will agree with me that
Speaker 1: the position was very difficult, and that there was nothing
Speaker 1: more which I could do. Our friend, Sir Henry, and
Speaker 1: the lady had halted on the path and were standing
Speaker 1: deeply absorbed in their conversation. When I was suddenly aware
Speaker 1: that I was not the only witness of their interview.
Speaker 1: A wisp of green floating in the air caught my eye,
Speaker 1: and another glance showed me that it was carried on
Speaker 1: a stick by a man who was moving among the
Speaker 1: broken ground. It was Stapleton with his butterfly net. He
Speaker 1: was very much closer to the pair than I was,
Speaker 1: and he appeared to be moving in their direction. At
Speaker 1: this instant, Sir Henry suddenly drew me Miss Stapleton to
Speaker 1: his side. His arm was around her, but it seemed
Speaker 1: to me that she was straining away from him, with
Speaker 1: her face averted. He stooped his head to hers, and
Speaker 1: she raised one hand as if in protest. Next moment
Speaker 1: I saw them spring apart and turn hurriedly around. Stapleton
Speaker 1: was the cause of the interruption. He was running wildly
Speaker 1: towards them, his absurd net dangling behind him. He gesticulated
Speaker 1: and almost danced with excitement in front of the lovers.
Speaker 1: What the scene meant I could not imagine, but it
Speaker 1: seemed to me that Stapleton was abusing Sir Henry, who
Speaker 1: offered explanations, which became more angry as the other refused
Speaker 1: to accept them. The lady stood by in haughty silence. Finally,
Speaker 1: Stapleton turned upon his heel and beckoned in a peremptory
Speaker 1: way to his sister, who, after an irresolute glance at
Speaker 1: Sir Henry walked off by the side of her brother.
Speaker 1: The natural list's angry gestures showed that the lady was
Speaker 1: included in his displeasure. The baronet stood for a minute
Speaker 1: looking after them, and then he walked slowly back the
Speaker 1: way that he had come, his head hanging the very
Speaker 1: picture of dejection. What all this meant I could not imagine,
Speaker 1: but I was deeply ashamed to have witnessed so intimate
Speaker 1: a scene without my friend's knowledge. I ran down the
Speaker 1: hill therefore, and met the baronet at the bottom. His
Speaker 1: face was flushed with anger, and his brows were wrinkled,
Speaker 1: like one who is at his WIT's end. What to do? Hullo, Watson,
Speaker 1: where have you dropped from? Said he? You don't mean
Speaker 1: to say that you came after me? In spite of all.
Speaker 1: I explained everything to him, how I had found it
Speaker 1: impossible to remain behind, how I had followed him, and
Speaker 1: how I had witnessed all that had occurred. For an
Speaker 1: instant his eyes blazed at me, but my frankness disarmed
Speaker 1: his anger, and he broke at last into a rather
Speaker 1: rueful laugh. You would have fought the middle of that
Speaker 1: prairie a fairly safe place for a man to be private,
Speaker 1: said he. But by thunder the whole countryside seems to
Speaker 1: have been out to see me do my wooing, and
Speaker 1: a mighty poor wooing at that Where had you engaged
Speaker 1: a seat? I was on that hill quite in the
Speaker 1: back row, eh, But her brother was well up to
Speaker 1: the front. Did you see him come out on us? Yes?
Speaker 1: I did. Did he ever strike you as being crazy?
Speaker 1: This brother of hers? I can't say that he ever did.
Speaker 1: I dare say not. I always thought of him sane
Speaker 1: enough until to day. But you can take it from
Speaker 1: me that either he or I ought to be in
Speaker 1: a strait jacket. What's the matter with me? Anyhow? You've
Speaker 1: lived near me for some weeks? Watson, tell me straight?
Speaker 1: Is there anything that would prevent me from making a
Speaker 1: good husband to a woman that I loved? I should
Speaker 1: say not. He can't object to my worldly position, so
Speaker 1: it must be myself that he has this down on.
Speaker 1: What has he against me? I never hurt man or
Speaker 1: woman in my life that I know of, And yet
Speaker 1: he would not so much as let me touch the
Speaker 1: tips of her fingers? Did he say? So? That? And
Speaker 1: a deal more? I tell you, Watson, I've only known
Speaker 1: her these few weeks, but from the first I just
Speaker 1: felt that she was made for me, and she too.
Speaker 1: She was happy when she was with me, and that
Speaker 1: I'll swear there's a light in a woman's eyes that
Speaker 1: speaks louder than words. But he's never let us get together.
Speaker 1: And it was only to day, for the first time
Speaker 1: that I saw a chance of having a few words
Speaker 1: with her alone. She was glad to meet me, but
Speaker 1: when she did, it was not love that she would
Speaker 1: talk about, and she wouldn't have let me talk about
Speaker 1: it either, if she could have stopped it. She kept
Speaker 1: coming back to it, that this was a place of
Speaker 1: danger and that she would never be happy until I
Speaker 1: had left it. I told her that since I had
Speaker 1: seen her, I was in no hurry to leave it,
Speaker 1: and that if she really wanted me to go, the
Speaker 1: only way to work it was for her to arrange
Speaker 1: to go with me. With that, I offered, in as
Speaker 1: many words, to marry her. But before she could answer
Speaker 1: down came this brother of hers running at us with
Speaker 1: a face on him like a madman. He was just
Speaker 1: white with rage, and those light eyes of his were
Speaker 1: blazing with fury. What was I doing with the lady.
Speaker 1: How dared I offer her attentions which were distasteful to her?
Speaker 1: Did I think that because I was a baronet I
Speaker 1: could do what I liked? If he had not been
Speaker 1: her brother, I should have known better how to answer him.
Speaker 1: As it was. I told him that my feelings towards
Speaker 1: his sister were such as I was not ashamed of,
Speaker 1: and that I hoped that she might honor me by
Speaker 1: becoming my wife. That seemed to make the matter know better.
Speaker 1: So then I lost my temper too, and I answered
Speaker 1: him rather more hotly than I should, perhaps considering that
Speaker 1: she was standing by. So it ended by his going
Speaker 1: off with her, as you saw. And here am I
Speaker 1: as badly puzzled a man as any in this county.
Speaker 1: Just tell me what it all means, Watson, and I'll
Speaker 1: owe you more than ever I can hope to pay.
Speaker 1: I tried one or two explanations, but indeed I was
Speaker 1: completely puzzled myself. Our friend's title, his fortune, his age,
Speaker 1: his character, and his appearance are all in his favor,
Speaker 1: and I know nothing against him, unless it be this
Speaker 1: dark fate which runs in his family, that his advances
Speaker 1: should be rejected. So brusquely without any reference to the
Speaker 1: lady's own wishes, and that the lady should accept the
Speaker 1: situation without protest is very amazing. However, our conjectures were
Speaker 1: set at rest by a visit from Stapleton himself that
Speaker 1: very afternoon. He had come to offer apologies for his
Speaker 1: rudeness of the morning, and after a long private interview
Speaker 1: with Sir Henry in his study, the upshot of their
Speaker 1: conversation was that the breach is quite healed, and that
Speaker 1: we are to dine at Mery Pitt House next Friday
Speaker 1: as a sign of it. I don't say now that
Speaker 1: he isn't a crazy man, said Sir Henry. I can't
Speaker 1: forget the look in his eyes when he ran up
Speaker 1: me this morning. But I must allow that no man
Speaker 1: could make a more handsome apology than he has done.
Speaker 1: Did he give any explanation of his conduct. His sister
Speaker 1: is everything in his life, he says. That is natural enough,
Speaker 1: and I am glad that he should understand her value.
Speaker 1: They have always been together, and according to his account,
Speaker 1: he has been a very lonely man with only her
Speaker 1: as a companion, so that the thought of losing her
Speaker 1: was really terrible to him. He had not understood. He
Speaker 1: said that I I was becoming attached to her, But
Speaker 1: when he saw with his own eyes that it was
Speaker 1: really so, and that she might be taken away from him,
Speaker 1: it gave him such a shock. But for a time
Speaker 1: he was not responsible for what he said or did.
Speaker 1: He was very sorry for all that had passed, and
Speaker 1: he recognized how foolish and how selfish it was that
Speaker 1: he should imagine that he could hold a beautiful woman
Speaker 1: like his sister to himself for her whole life. If
Speaker 1: she had to leave him, he had rather it was
Speaker 1: to a neighbor like myself than to anyone else. But
Speaker 1: in any case, it was a blow to him, and
Speaker 1: it would take him some time before he could prepare
Speaker 1: himself to meet it. He would withdraw all opposition upon
Speaker 1: his part if I would promise for three months to
Speaker 1: let the matter rest, and to be content with cultivating
Speaker 1: the lady's friendship during that time without claiming her love.
Speaker 1: This I promised, and so the matter rests. There is
Speaker 1: one of our small mysteries cleared up. It is something
Speaker 1: to have touched bottom anywhere in this bog in which
Speaker 1: we are floundering. We know now why Stapleton looked with
Speaker 1: disfavor upon his sister's suitor, even when that sutor was
Speaker 1: so eligible a one as Sir Henry. And now I
Speaker 1: pass on to another thread which I have extricated out
Speaker 1: of the tangled scheme, the mystery of the sobs in
Speaker 1: the night of the tear stained face of Missus barrymore
Speaker 1: of the secret journey of the butler to the western
Speaker 1: lattice window. Congratulate me, my dear Holmes, and tell me
Speaker 1: that I have not disappointed you as an agent, that
Speaker 1: you do not regret the confidence which you showed in
Speaker 1: me when you sent me down. All these things have
Speaker 1: by one night's work been thoroughly cleared. I have said
Speaker 1: by one night's work, but in truth it was by
Speaker 1: two nights work. For on the first we drew entirely blank.
Speaker 1: I sat up with Sir Henry in his rooms until
Speaker 1: nearly three o'clock in the morning, but no sound of
Speaker 1: any sort did we hear, except the chiming clock upon
Speaker 1: the stairs. It was a most melancholy vigil, and ended
Speaker 1: by each of us falling asleep in our chairs. Fortunately
Speaker 1: we were not discouraged, and we determined to try again
Speaker 1: the next night. We lowered the lamp and sat smoking
Speaker 1: cigarettes without making the least sound. It was incredible how
Speaker 1: slowly the hours crawled by, and yet we were helped
Speaker 1: through it by the same sort of patient interest which
Speaker 1: the hunter must feel as he watches the trap into
Speaker 1: which he hopes the game may wonder. One struck and two,
Speaker 1: and we had almost for the second time given it
Speaker 1: up in despair, when in an instant we both sat
Speaker 1: bolt upright in our chairs, with all our weary senses
Speaker 1: keenly on the alert. Once more, we had heard the
Speaker 1: creak of a step in the passage. Very stealthily, we
Speaker 1: heard it pass along until it died away in the distance.
Speaker 1: Then the baronet gently opened his door and we set
Speaker 1: out in pursuit. Already our man had gone round the
Speaker 1: gallery and the corridor was all in darkness. Softly, we
Speaker 1: stole along until we had come into the other wing.
Speaker 1: We were just in time to catch a glimpse of
Speaker 1: the tall, black bearded figure, his shoulders rounded as he
Speaker 1: tiptoed down the passage. Then he passed through the same
Speaker 1: door as before, and the light of the candle framed
Speaker 1: it in the darkness, and shot one single yellow beam
Speaker 1: across the gloom of the corridor. We shuffled cautiously towards it,
Speaker 1: trying every plank before we dared to put our whole
Speaker 1: weight upon it. We had taken the precaution of leaving
Speaker 1: our boots behind us, but even so the old boards
Speaker 1: snapped and creaked beneath our tread. Sometimes it seemed impossible
Speaker 1: that he should fail to hear our approach. However, the
Speaker 1: man fortunately rather deaf, and he was entirely preoccupied in
Speaker 1: that which he was doing. When at last we reached
Speaker 1: the door and peeped through, we found him crouching at
Speaker 1: the window, candle in hand, his white, intent face pressed
Speaker 1: against a pane, exactly as I had seen him two
Speaker 1: nights before. We had arranged no plan of campaign, But
Speaker 1: the Baronet is a man to whom the most direct
Speaker 1: way is always the most natural. He walked into the room,
Speaker 1: and as he did so, Barrymore sprang up from the
Speaker 1: window with a sharp hiss of his breath, and stood
Speaker 1: livid and trembling before us. His dark eyes glaring out
Speaker 1: of the white mask of his face, were full of
Speaker 1: horror and astonishment as he gazed from Sir Henry to me,
Speaker 1: what are you doing? Here, barymore, nothing, sir. His agitation
Speaker 1: was so great that he could hardly speak, and the
Speaker 1: shadows sprang up and down from the shaking of his candle.
Speaker 1: It was the window, sir. I go round at night
Speaker 1: to see that they are fastened on the second floor. Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: all the windows. Look here, barrymore, said sir Henry sternly.
Speaker 1: We have made up our minds to have the truth
Speaker 1: out of you, so it will save you trouble to
Speaker 1: tell it. Sooner are than later? Come now, no lies.
Speaker 1: What were you doing at that window? The fellow looked
Speaker 1: at us in a helpless way, and he wrung his
Speaker 1: hands together, like one who is in the last extremity
Speaker 1: of doubt and misery. I was doing no harm, sir.
Speaker 1: I was holding a candle to the window. And why
Speaker 1: were you holding a candle to the window. Don't ask me, Sinry,
Speaker 1: don't ask me. I give you my word, sir, that
Speaker 1: it is not my secret, and I cannot tell it
Speaker 1: if it concerned no one but myself. I have not
Speaker 1: tried to keep it from you. A sudden idea occurred
Speaker 1: to me, and I took the candle from the trembling
Speaker 1: hand of the butler, he must have been holding it
Speaker 1: as a signal, said I let us see if there
Speaker 1: is any answer. I held it as he had done,
Speaker 1: and stared out into the darkness of the night. Vaguely
Speaker 1: I could discern the black bank of the trees and
Speaker 1: the lighter expanse of the moor, for the moon was
Speaker 1: behind the clouds. And then I gave a cry of exultation,
Speaker 1: for a tiny pin point of yellow light had suddenly
Speaker 1: transfixed the dark veil and glowed steadily in the center
Speaker 1: of the black square framed by the window. There it is,
Speaker 1: I cried, No, no, sir, it is nothing, nothing at all.
Speaker 1: The butler broke in. Are you sure you, sir? Move
Speaker 1: your light across the window, Watson cried The baronet see
Speaker 1: the other moves also, Now, you rascal, do you deny
Speaker 1: that it is a signal? Come speak up? Who is
Speaker 1: your confes Frederick out yonder? And what is this conspiracy
Speaker 1: that is going on? The man's face became openly defiant.
Speaker 1: It is more business and not yours. I will not tell.
Speaker 1: Then you leave my employment right away, very good, sir.
Speaker 1: If I must, I must, and you go in disgrace
Speaker 1: by thunder. You may well be ashamed of yourself. Your
Speaker 1: family has lived with mine for over a hundred years
Speaker 1: under this roof, and here I find you deep in
Speaker 1: some dark plot against me. Now now, sir, not against you.
Speaker 1: It was a woman's voice, and missus barrymore paler and
Speaker 1: more horror struck than her husband, was standing at the door.
Speaker 1: Her bulky figure in a shawl and skirt might have
Speaker 1: been comic were it not for the intensity of feeling
Speaker 1: upon her face. We have to go, a lawyser. This
Speaker 1: is the end of it. You can pack our things,
Speaker 1: said the butler. Oh John, John, have they brought you
Speaker 1: to the It is my doing, sir, Henry, all mine.
Speaker 1: He has done nothing except for my sake. And because
Speaker 1: I asked him speak out? Then what does it mean?
Speaker 1: My unhappy brother is starving on the moor. We cannot
Speaker 1: let him perish at our very gates. The light is
Speaker 1: a signal to him that food is ready for him,
Speaker 1: and his light out yonder is to show the spot
Speaker 1: to which to bring it. Then your brother is the
Speaker 1: escape convict, Sir Selden, the criminal. That's the truth, sir,
Speaker 1: said Barrymore. I said that it was not my secret,
Speaker 1: and I could not tell it to you. But now
Speaker 1: you've heard it, and you'll see that if there was
Speaker 1: a plot, it was not against you. This, then, was
Speaker 1: the explanation of the stealthy expeditions at night and the
Speaker 1: light at the window. Sir Henry and I both stared
Speaker 1: at the woman in amazement. Was it possible that this
Speaker 1: stolidly respectable person was of the same blood as one
Speaker 1: of the most notorious criminals in the country. Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: my name is Seldom and he is my younger brother.
Speaker 1: We humored him too much when he was a lad,
Speaker 1: and gave him his own way in everything, until he
Speaker 1: came to think that the world was made for his
Speaker 1: pleasure and that he could do what he liked in it. Then,
Speaker 1: as he grew older, he met wicked companions, and the
Speaker 1: devil entered into him, until he broke my mother's art
Speaker 1: and dragged her name in the dirt. From crime to
Speaker 1: crime he sank lower and lower, until it is only
Speaker 1: the mercy of God which has snatched him from the scaffold.
Speaker 1: But to me, Sir, he was always a little curly
Speaker 1: headed boy that I had nursed and played with as
Speaker 1: an elder sister. Would that was why he broke prison.
Speaker 1: Sir he knew that I was here, and that we
Speaker 1: could not refuse to help him. When he dragged himself
Speaker 1: here one night, weary and starving, with the ward as
Speaker 1: ard at his eels, what could we do? We took
Speaker 1: him in and fed him and cared for him. And
Speaker 1: you returned, sir, and my brother thought you would be
Speaker 1: safer on the moor than anywhere else until the hue
Speaker 1: and cry was over. So he lay in hiding there.
Speaker 1: But every second night we made sure if he was
Speaker 1: still there by putting a light in the window, and
Speaker 1: if there was an answer, my husband took out some
Speaker 1: bread and meat to him. Every day we hoped that
Speaker 1: he was gone, But as long as he was there,
Speaker 1: we couldn't desert him. That is the old truth. As
Speaker 1: I am an honest Christian woman, And you'll see that
Speaker 1: if there is a blame in the matter, it doesn't
Speaker 1: lie with my husband, but with me, for whose sake
Speaker 1: he's done all that he has. The woman's words came
Speaker 1: with an intense earnestness which carried conviction with them. Is
Speaker 1: this true? Barrymore, Yes, sir, Henry, every word of it. Well,
Speaker 1: I cannot blame you for standing by your own wife
Speaker 1: forget what I've said. Go to your room, you two,
Speaker 1: and we shall talk further about this matter. In the morning,
Speaker 1: when they were gone, we looked out of the window again.
Speaker 1: Sir Henry had flung it open, and the cold night
Speaker 1: wind beat in upon our faces. Far away, in the
Speaker 1: black distance, there still glowed that one tiny point of
Speaker 1: yellow light. I wonder, he dares, said, Sir Henry, it
Speaker 1: may be so placed as to be only visible from here.
Speaker 1: Very likely. How far do you think it is out
Speaker 1: by the cleft tor I think not more than a
Speaker 1: mile or two off, hardly that well, it cannot be
Speaker 1: far if Barrymore had to carry out the food to it,
Speaker 1: and he is waiting this villain beside that candle by thunder, Watson,
Speaker 1: I am going out to take that man. The same
Speaker 1: thought had crossed my own mind. It was not as
Speaker 1: if the Barrymores had taken us into their confidence. Their
Speaker 1: secret had been forced from them. The man was a
Speaker 1: danger to the community, an unmitigated scoundrel for whom there
Speaker 1: was neither pity nor excuse. We were only doing our
Speaker 1: duty and taking this chance of putting him back where
Speaker 1: he could do no harm. With this brutal and violent nature.
Speaker 1: Others would have to pay the price if we held
Speaker 1: our hands any night, For example, our neighbors, the Stapletons,
Speaker 1: might be attacked by him. And it may have been
Speaker 1: the thought of this which made Sir Henry so keen
Speaker 1: upon the adventure. I'll come, said I. Then get your
Speaker 1: revolver and put on your boots. The sooner we start,
Speaker 1: the better, as the fellow may put out this light
Speaker 1: and be off. In five minutes we were outside the
Speaker 1: door starting upon our expedition. We hurried through the dark shrubbery,
Speaker 1: amid the dull moaning of the autumn wind and the
Speaker 1: rustle of the falling leaves. The night air was heavy
Speaker 1: with the smell of damp and decay. Now and again,
Speaker 1: the moon peeped out for an instant, but clouds were
Speaker 1: driving over the face of the sky, and just as
Speaker 1: we came out on the moor, a thin rain began
Speaker 1: to fall. The light still burned steadily in front. Are
Speaker 1: you armed, i asked, I have a hunting crop. We
Speaker 1: must close in on him rapidly, for he is said
Speaker 1: to be a desperate fellow. We shall take him by
Speaker 1: surprise and have him at our mercy before he can
Speaker 1: resist i'd say, Watson said the baronet, what would home
Speaker 1: say to this? How about that hour of darkness in
Speaker 1: which the power of evil is exalted? As if in
Speaker 1: answer to his words, there rose suddenly out of the
Speaker 1: vast gloom of the moor that strange cry which I
Speaker 1: had already heard upon the borders of the great grimp
Speaker 1: and mire. It came with the wind through the silence
Speaker 1: of the night, a long, deep mutter, then a rising howl,
Speaker 1: and then the sad moan, in which it died away.
Speaker 1: Again and again it sounded, the whole air throbbing with it, strident,
Speaker 1: wild and menacing. The baronet caught my sleeve, and his
Speaker 1: face glimmered white through the darkness. My god, what's that, Watson?
Speaker 1: I don't know. It's a sound they have on the moor.
Speaker 1: I heard it once before. It died away, and an
Speaker 1: absolute silence closed in upon us. We stood straining our ears,
Speaker 1: but nothing came. Watson said the baronet. It was the
Speaker 1: cry of a hound. My blood ran cold in my veins,
Speaker 1: for there was a break in his voice which told
Speaker 1: of the sudden horror which had seized him. What do
Speaker 1: they call this sound? He asked? Who the folk on
Speaker 1: the country side. Oh, they are ignorant people. Why should
Speaker 1: you mind what they call it? Tell me, Watson, what
Speaker 1: do they say of it? I hesitated, but could not
Speaker 1: escape the question. They say it is the cry of
Speaker 1: the hound of the Baskervilles. He groaned and was silent
Speaker 1: for a few moments. A hound, it was, he said
Speaker 1: at last. But it seemed to come from miles away,
Speaker 1: over yonder. I think it was hard to say whence
Speaker 1: it came. It rose and fell with a wind. Isn't
Speaker 1: that the direction of the great Grimpenmeier? Yes, it is, well,
Speaker 1: it was up there. Come now, Watson. Didn't you think
Speaker 1: yourself that it was the cry of a hound? I
Speaker 1: am not a child. You need not fear to speak
Speaker 1: the truth. Stapleton was with me when I heard it last.
Speaker 1: He said that it might be the calling of a
Speaker 1: strange bird. No, no, it was a hound? My God?
Speaker 1: Can there be some truth in all these stories? Is
Speaker 1: it possible that I am really in danger from so
Speaker 1: dark a cause? You don't believe it, do you, Watson? No? No?
Speaker 1: And yet it was one thing to laugh about it
Speaker 1: in London, and it is another to stand out here
Speaker 1: in the darkness of the moor. And to hear some
Speaker 1: cry as that, and my uncle there was the footprint
Speaker 1: of the hound beside him as he lay. It all
Speaker 1: fits together. I don't think that I'm a coward, Watson,
Speaker 1: but that sound seemed to freeze my very blood. Feel
Speaker 1: my hand, it was as cold as a block of marble.
Speaker 1: You'll be all right tomorrow. I don't think I'll get
Speaker 1: that cry out of my head. What do you advise
Speaker 1: that we do? Now? Shall we turn back? No, by thunder.
Speaker 1: We've come out to get our man, and we will
Speaker 1: do it. We after the convict, and a hell hound
Speaker 1: as likely as not after us. Come on, we'll see
Speaker 1: it through. If all the fiends of the pit were
Speaker 1: loose upon the moor. We stumbled slowly along in the darkness,
Speaker 1: with the black loom of the craggy hills around us,
Speaker 1: and the yellow speck of light burning steadily in front.
Speaker 1: There is nothing so deceptive as the distance of a
Speaker 1: light upon a pitch dark night. And sometimes the glimmer
Speaker 1: seemed to be fine away upon the horizon, and sometimes
Speaker 1: it might have been within a few yards of us.
Speaker 1: But at last we could see whence it came, and
Speaker 1: then we knew that we were indeed very close. A
Speaker 1: guttering candle was stuck in a crevice of the rocks
Speaker 1: which flanked it on each side, so as to keep
Speaker 1: the wind from it, and also to prevent it from
Speaker 1: being visible save in the direction of Baskerville Hall. A
Speaker 1: boulder of granite concealed our approach, and crouching behind it,
Speaker 1: we gazed over it at the signal light. It was
Speaker 1: strange to see this single candle burning there in the
Speaker 1: middle of the moor, with no sign of life near it,
Speaker 1: just the one straight yellow flame and the gleam of
Speaker 1: the rock on each side of it. What shall we
Speaker 1: do now, whispered Sir Henry. Wait here, he must be
Speaker 1: near his light. Let us see if we can get
Speaker 1: a glimpse of him. The words were hardly out of
Speaker 1: my mouth when we both saw him. Over the rock
Speaker 1: in the crevice of which the candle burned, there was
Speaker 1: thrust out an evil yellow face, a terrible animal face,
Speaker 1: all seamed and scored with vile passions, foul with mire,
Speaker 1: with a bristling beard, and hung with matted hair. It
Speaker 1: might well have belonged to one of those old savages
Speaker 1: who dwelt in the burrows on the hillsides. The light
Speaker 1: beneath him was reflected in his small, cunning eyes, which
Speaker 1: peered fiercely to right and left through the darkness, like
Speaker 1: a crafty and savage animal whose heard the steps of
Speaker 1: the hunters. Something had evidently aroused his suspicions. It may
Speaker 1: have been that Barrymore had some private signal which we
Speaker 1: had neglected to give, or the fellow may have had
Speaker 1: some other reason for thinking that all was not well.
Speaker 1: But I could read his fears upon his wicked face.
Speaker 1: Any instant he might dash out the light and vanish
Speaker 1: in the darkness. I sprang forward therefore, and Sir Henry
Speaker 1: did the same. At the same moment, the convict screamed
Speaker 1: out a curse at us, and hurled a rock, which
Speaker 1: splintered up against the boulder which had sheltered us. I
Speaker 1: caught one glimpse of his short, squat, strongly built figure
Speaker 1: as he sprang to his feet and turned to run.
Speaker 1: At the same moment, by a lucky chance, the moon
Speaker 1: broke through the clouds. We rushed over the brow of
Speaker 1: the hill, and there was our man running with great
Speaker 1: speed down the other side, springing over the stones in
Speaker 1: his way with the activity of a mountain goat. A
Speaker 1: lucky long shot of my revolver might have crippled him,
Speaker 1: but I brought it only to defend myself if attacked,
Speaker 1: and not to shoot an unarmed man who was running away.
Speaker 1: We were both swift runners and in fairly good training,
Speaker 1: though we soon found that we had no chance of
Speaker 1: overtaking him. We saw him for a long time in
Speaker 1: the moonlight, until he was only a small speck moving
Speaker 1: swiftly among the boulders upon the side of a distant hill.
Speaker 1: We ran and ran until we were completely blown, but
Speaker 1: the space between us grew ever wider. Finally we stopped
Speaker 1: and sat, panting on two rocks while we watched him
Speaker 1: disappearing in the distance. And it was at this moment
Speaker 1: that there occurred a most strange and unexpected thing. We
Speaker 1: had risen from our rocks and were turning to go home,
Speaker 1: having abandoned the hopeless chase. The moon was low upon
Speaker 1: the right, and the jagged pinnacle of a granite tor
Speaker 1: stood up against the lower curve of its silver disc. There,
Speaker 1: outlined as black as any ebony statue, on that shining background,
Speaker 1: I saw the figure of a man upon the tour.
Speaker 1: Do you think that it was a delusion. Homes, I
Speaker 1: assure you that I have never in my life seen
Speaker 1: anything more Clearly, as far as I could judge, the
Speaker 1: figure was that of a tall, thin man. He stood
Speaker 1: with his legs a little separated, his arms folded, his
Speaker 1: head bowed, as if he were brooding over that enormous
Speaker 1: wilderness of peat and granite which lay before him. He
Speaker 1: might have been the very spirit of that terrible place.
Speaker 1: It was not the convict. This man was far from
Speaker 1: the place where the latter had disappeared. Besides, he was
Speaker 1: a much taller man. With a cry of surprise, I
Speaker 1: pointed him out to the baronet, But in the instant
Speaker 1: during which I had turned to grasp his arm, the
Speaker 1: man was gone. There was the sharp pinnacle of granite
Speaker 1: still cutting the lower edge of the moon, but its
Speaker 1: peak bore no trace of that silent and motionless figure.
Speaker 1: I wished to go in that direction and to search
Speaker 1: the tour, but it was some distance away. The Baronet's
Speaker 1: nerves were still quivering from that cry, which recalled the
Speaker 1: dark story of his family, and he was not in
Speaker 1: the mood for fresh adventures. He had not seen this
Speaker 1: lonely man upon the tour, and could not feel the
Speaker 1: thrill which his strange presence and his commanding attitude had
Speaker 1: given to me. A warder, no doubt, said he. The
Speaker 1: more has been sick with them since this fellow escaped. Well,
Speaker 1: perhaps his explanation may be the right one, but I
Speaker 1: should like to have some further proof of it. To
Speaker 1: day we mean to communicate to the Princetown people where
Speaker 1: they should look for their missing man. But it is
Speaker 1: hard lines that we have not actually had the triumph
Speaker 1: of bringing him back as our own prisoner. Such are
Speaker 1: the adventures of last night. And you must acknowledge, my
Speaker 1: dear Holmes, that I have done you very well in
Speaker 1: the matter of a report. Much of what I tell
Speaker 1: you is no doubt quite irrelevant. But still I feel
Speaker 1: that it is best that I should let you have
Speaker 1: all the facts and leave you to select for yourself
Speaker 1: those which will be of most service to you in
Speaker 1: helping you to your conclusions. We are certainly making some
Speaker 1: progress so far as the Barrymoores go. We have found
Speaker 1: the motive of their action, and that has cleared up
Speaker 1: the situation very much. But the more, with its mysteries
Speaker 1: and its strange inhabitants, remains as inscrutable as ever. Perhaps
Speaker 1: in my next I may be able to throw some
Speaker 1: light upon this also. Best of all, would it be
Speaker 1: if you could come down to us. In any case,
Speaker 1: you will hear from me again in the course of
Speaker 1: the next few days. End of Chapter nine,