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