Speaker 1: Chapter fifteen, A Retrospection. It was the end of November,
Speaker 1: and Holmes and I sat upon a roar and foggy night,
Speaker 1: on either side of a blazing fire in our sitting
Speaker 1: room in Baker Street. Since the tragic upshot of our
Speaker 1: visit to Devonshire, he had been engaged in two affairs
Speaker 1: of the utmost importance, in the first of which he
Speaker 1: had exposed the atrocious conduct of Colonel Upwood in connection
Speaker 1: with the famous card scandal of the Non parale Club,
Speaker 1: while in the second he had defended the unfortunate Madame
Speaker 1: Montpensier from the charge of murder which hung over her
Speaker 1: in connection with the death of her stepdaughter, Mademoiselle Carrere,
Speaker 1: the young lady, who, as it will be remembered, was
Speaker 1: found six months later alive and married in New York.
Speaker 1: My friend was in excellent spirits over the success which
Speaker 1: had attended a succession of difficult and important cases, so
Speaker 1: that I was able to induce him to discuss the
Speaker 1: details of the Baskerville mystery. I had waited patiently for
Speaker 1: the opportunity, for I was aware that he would never
Speaker 1: permit cases to overlap, and that his clear and logical
Speaker 1: mind would not be drawn from its present work to
Speaker 1: dwell upon memories of the past. Sir Henry and doctor
Speaker 1: Mortimer were, however, in London on their way to that
Speaker 1: long voyage which had been recommended for the restoration of
Speaker 1: his shattered nerves. They had called upon us that very afternoon,
Speaker 1: so that it was natural that the subject should come
Speaker 1: up for discussion. The whole course of events, said Holmes,
Speaker 1: from the point of view of the man who called
Speaker 1: himself Stapleton, was simple and direct, although to us, who
Speaker 1: had no means in the beginning of knowing the motives
Speaker 1: of his actions, and could only learn part of the facts,
Speaker 1: it all appeared exceedingly complex. I have had the advantage
Speaker 1: of two conversations with missus Stapleton, and the case has
Speaker 1: now been so entirely cleared up that I am not
Speaker 1: aware that there is anything which has remained a secret
Speaker 1: to us. You will find a few notes upon the
Speaker 1: matter under the heading B in my indexed list of cases.
Speaker 1: Perhaps you would kindly give me a sketch of the
Speaker 1: course of events from memory. Certainly, though I cannot guarantee
Speaker 1: that I carry all the facts in my mind, intense
Speaker 1: mental concentration has a curious way of blotting out what
Speaker 1: has passed. The barrister, who has his case at his
Speaker 1: fingers ends and is able to argue with an expert
Speaker 1: upon his own subject, finds that a week or two
Speaker 1: of the courts will drive it all out of his head.
Speaker 1: Once more, So, each of my cases displaces the last,
Speaker 1: and Mademoiselle Carrere has blurred my recollection of Baskerville Hall.
Speaker 1: To borrow some other little problem may be submitted to
Speaker 1: my notice, which will in turn dispossess the fair French
Speaker 1: lady and the infamous Upwood. So far as the case
Speaker 1: of the hound goes, however, I will give you the
Speaker 1: course of events as nearly as I can, and you
Speaker 1: will suggest anything which I may have forgotten. My inquiries
Speaker 1: show beyond all questions that the family portrait did not lie,
Speaker 1: and that this fellow was indeed a Basquerville. He was
Speaker 1: a son of that Roger Baskerville, the younger brother of
Speaker 1: Sir Charles, who fled with a sinister reputation to South America,
Speaker 1: where he was said to have died unmarried. He did,
Speaker 1: as a matter of fact, marry and had one child.
Speaker 1: This fellow, whose real name is the same as his father's.
Speaker 1: He married Beryl Garcia, one of the beauties of Costa Rica,
Speaker 1: and having purloined a considerable sum of public money, he
Speaker 1: changed his name to Van de Leur and fled to England,
Speaker 1: where he established to school in the east of Yorkshire.
Speaker 1: His reason for attempting this special line of business was
Speaker 1: that he had struck up an acquaintance with a consumptive
Speaker 1: tutor upon the voyage home, and that he had used
Speaker 1: this man's ability to make the undertaking a success. Fraser,
Speaker 1: the tutor died, however, and the school, which had begun
Speaker 1: well sank from disrepute into infamy. The Van de Leurs
Speaker 1: found it convenient to change their name to Stapleton, and
Speaker 1: he brought the remains of his fortune, his schemes for
Speaker 1: the future, and his taste for entomology to the South
Speaker 1: of England. I learned at the British Museum that he
Speaker 1: was a recognized authority upon the subject, and that the
Speaker 1: name of Van de Leur has been permanently attached to
Speaker 1: a certain moth, which he had, in his Yorkshire days,
Speaker 1: been the first to describe. We now come to that
Speaker 1: portion of his life which has proved to be of
Speaker 1: such intense interest to us. The fellow had evidently made
Speaker 1: inquiry and found that only two lives intervened between him
Speaker 1: and a valuable estate. When he went to Devonshire. His
Speaker 1: plans were I believe exceedingly hazy, but that he meant
Speaker 1: mischief from the first is evident from the way in
Speaker 1: which he took his wife with him. In the character
Speaker 1: of his sister, the idea of using her as a
Speaker 1: decoy was clearly already in his mind, though he may
Speaker 1: not have been certain how the details of his plot
Speaker 1: were to be arranged. He meant in the end to
Speaker 1: have the estate, and he was ready to use any
Speaker 1: tool or run any risk for that end. His first
Speaker 1: act was to establish himself as near to his ancestral
Speaker 1: home as he could, and his second was to cultivate
Speaker 1: a friendship with Sir Charles Baskerville and with the neighbors.
Speaker 1: The baronet himself told him about the family hound, and
Speaker 1: so prepared the way for his own death. Stapleton, as
Speaker 1: I will continue to call him, knew that the old
Speaker 1: man's heart was weak and that a shock would kill him.
Speaker 1: So much he had learned from Doctor Mortimer. He had
Speaker 1: heard also that Sir Charles was superstitious and had taken
Speaker 1: this grim legend very seriously. His ingenious mind instantly suggested
Speaker 1: a way by which the baronet could be done to death,
Speaker 1: and yet it would be hardly possible to bring home
Speaker 1: the guilt to the real murderer. Having conceived the idea,
Speaker 1: he proceeded to carry it out with considerable finesse. An
Speaker 1: ordinary schemer would have been content to work with a
Speaker 1: savage hound. The use of artificial means to make the
Speaker 1: creature diabolical was a flash of genius upon his part.
Speaker 1: The dog he bought in London from Ross and Mangles,
Speaker 1: the dealers in Fulham Road. It was the strongest and
Speaker 1: most savage in their possession. He brought it down by
Speaker 1: the North Devon line and walked a great distance over
Speaker 1: the moor, so as to get it home without exciting
Speaker 1: any remarks. He had already on his insect hunts, learned
Speaker 1: to penetrate the grimpen mire, and so had found a
Speaker 1: safe hiding place for the creature. Here he kenneled it
Speaker 1: and waited his chance. But it was some time coming.
Speaker 1: The old gentleman could not be decoyed outside of his
Speaker 1: grounds at night. Several times Stapleton lurked about with his hound,
Speaker 1: but without avail. It was during these fruitless quests that he,
Speaker 1: or rather his ally, was seen by peasants, and that
Speaker 1: the legend of the demon dog received a new confirmation.
Speaker 1: He had hoped that his wife might lure Sir Charles
Speaker 1: to his ruin, but here she proved unexpectedly independent. She
Speaker 1: would not endeavor to entangle the old man in a
Speaker 1: sentimental attachment which might deliver him over to his enemy threats,
Speaker 1: and even I am sorry to say blows refused to
Speaker 1: move her. She would have nothing to do with it,
Speaker 1: and for a time Stapleton was at a deadlock. He
Speaker 1: found a way out of his difficulties through the charm
Speaker 1: that Sir Charles, who had conceived a friendship for him,
Speaker 1: made him the minister of his charity in the case
Speaker 1: of this unfortunate woman, Missus Laura Lyons. By representing himself
Speaker 1: as a single man, he acquired complete influence over her,
Speaker 1: and he gave her to understand that in the event
Speaker 1: of her obtaining a divorce from her husband, he would
Speaker 1: marry her. His plans were suddenly brought to a head
Speaker 1: by his knowledge that Sir Charles was about to leave
Speaker 1: the Hall, on the advice of doctor Mortimer, with whose
Speaker 1: opinion he himself pretended to coincide he must act at
Speaker 1: once or his victim might get beyond his power. He
Speaker 1: therefore put pressure upon Missus Lyons to write this letter
Speaker 1: imploring the old man to give her an interview on
Speaker 1: the evening before his departure for London. He then, by
Speaker 1: a specious argument, prevented her from going, and so had
Speaker 1: the chance for which he had waited. Driving back in
Speaker 1: the evening from Coombe Tracy, he was in time to
Speaker 1: get his hound, to treat it with his infernal paint,
Speaker 1: and to bring the beast round to the gate at
Speaker 1: which he had reason to expect that he would find
Speaker 1: the old gentleman waiting. The dog, incited by its master,
Speaker 1: sprang over the wicket gate and pursued the unfortunate baronet,
Speaker 1: who fled screaming down the yew alley in that gloomy tunnel.
Speaker 1: It must indeed have been a dreadful sight to see
Speaker 1: that huge black creature, with its flaming jaws and blazing eyes,
Speaker 1: bounding after its victim. He fell dead at the end
Speaker 1: of the alley from heart disease and terror. The hound
Speaker 1: had kept upon the grassy border while the baronet had
Speaker 1: run down the path, so that no track but the
Speaker 1: man's was visible. On seeing him lying still, the creature
Speaker 1: had probably approached to sniff at him, but, finding him dead,
Speaker 1: had turned away again. It was then that it left
Speaker 1: the print, which was actually observed by doctor Mortimer. The
Speaker 1: hound was called off and hurried away to its lair
Speaker 1: in the grimpen mire, and a mystery was left which
Speaker 1: puzzled the authorities, alarmed the countryside, and finally brought the
Speaker 1: case within the scope of our observation. So much for
Speaker 1: the death of Sir Charles Baskerville, you perceive the devilish
Speaker 1: cunning of it, For really it would be almost impossible
Speaker 1: to make a case against the real murderer. His only
Speaker 1: accomplice was one who could never give him away, and
Speaker 1: the grotesque, inconceivable nature of the device only served to
Speaker 1: make it more effective. Both of the women concerned in
Speaker 1: the case, Missus Stapleton and Missus Laura Lyons, were left
Speaker 1: with a strong suspicion against Stapleton. Missus Stapleton knew that
Speaker 1: he had designs upon the old man, and also of
Speaker 1: the existence of the hound. Missus Lyons knew neither of
Speaker 1: these things, but had been impressed by the death occurring
Speaker 1: at the time of an uncancelled appointment, which was only
Speaker 1: known to him. However, both of them were under his
Speaker 1: influence and he had nothing to fear from them. The
Speaker 1: first half of his task was successfully accomplished, but the
Speaker 1: more difficult still remained. It is possible that Stapleton did
Speaker 1: not know of the existence of an heir in Canada.
Speaker 1: In any case, he would very soon learn it from
Speaker 1: his friend doctor Mortimer, and he was told by the
Speaker 1: latter all details about the arrival of Henry Baskerville. Stapleton's
Speaker 1: first idea was that this young stranger from Canada might
Speaker 1: possibly be done to death in London without coming down
Speaker 1: to Devonshire at all. He distrusted his wife ever since
Speaker 1: she had refused to help him in laying a trap
Speaker 1: for the old man, and he dared not leave her
Speaker 1: long out of his sight for fear he should lose
Speaker 1: his influence over her. It was for this reason that
Speaker 1: he took her to London with him. They lodged I
Speaker 1: find at the Mexborough Private Hotel in Craven Street, which
Speaker 1: was actually one of those called upon by my agent
Speaker 1: in search of evidence. Here he kept his wife imprisoned
Speaker 1: in her room, while he, disguised in a beard, followed
Speaker 1: doctor Mortimer to Baker Street, and afterwards to the station
Speaker 1: and to the Northumberland Hotel. His wife had some inkling
Speaker 1: of his plans that she had such a fear of
Speaker 1: her husband, a fear found it upon brutal ill treatment,
Speaker 1: that she dared not write to warn the man whom
Speaker 1: she knew to be in danger. If the letter should
Speaker 1: fall into Stapleton's hands, her own life would not be safe. Eventually,
Speaker 1: as we know, she adopted the expedient of cutting out
Speaker 1: the words which would form the message, and addressing the
Speaker 1: letter in a disguised hand. It reached the Baronet and
Speaker 1: gave him the first warning of his danger. It was
Speaker 1: very essential for Stapleton to get some article of Sir
Speaker 1: Henry's attire, so that in case he was driven to
Speaker 1: use the dog, he might always have the means of
Speaker 1: setting him upon his track. With characteristic promptness and audacity,
Speaker 1: he set about this at once, and we cannot doubt
Speaker 1: that the boots or chambermaid of the hotel was well
Speaker 1: bribed to help him in his design. By chance, however,
Speaker 1: The first boot which was procured for him was a
Speaker 1: new one and therefore useless for his purpose. He then
Speaker 1: had it returned and obtained another. A most instructive incident,
Speaker 1: since it proved conclusively to my mind that we were
Speaker 1: dealing with a real hound, as no other supposition could
Speaker 1: explain this anxiety to obtain an old boot and this
Speaker 1: indifference to a new one. The more utre and grotesque
Speaker 1: incident is, the more carefully it deserves to be examined,
Speaker 1: And the very point which appears to complicate a case
Speaker 1: is when duly considered and scientifically handled, the one which
Speaker 1: is most likely to elucidate it. Then we had the
Speaker 1: visit from our friends next morning, shadowed always by Stapleton
Speaker 1: in the cab. From his knowledge of our rooms and
Speaker 1: of my appearance, as well as from his general conduct,
Speaker 1: I am inclined to think that Stapleton's career of crime
Speaker 1: has been, by no means limited to this single Baskerville affair.
Speaker 1: It is suggestive that during the last three years there
Speaker 1: have been four considerable burglaries in the West Country, for
Speaker 1: none of which was any criminal ever arrested. The last
Speaker 1: of these, at Folkeston Court in May, was remarkable for
Speaker 1: the cold blooded pistoling of the page who surprised the
Speaker 1: masked and solitary burglar. I cannot doubt that Stapleton recruited
Speaker 1: his waning resources in this fashion, and that for years
Speaker 1: he has been a desperate and dangerous man. We had
Speaker 1: an example of his readiness of resource that morning when
Speaker 1: he got away from us so successfully, and also of
Speaker 1: his audacity in sending back my own name to me
Speaker 1: through the cabman. From that moment he understood that I
Speaker 1: had taken over the case in London, and that therefore
Speaker 1: there was no chance for him there. He returned to
Speaker 1: Dartmoor and awaited the arrival of the Baronet. One moment,
Speaker 1: said I, you have no doubt described the sequence of
Speaker 1: events correctly, But there is one point which you have
Speaker 1: left unexplained. What became of the hound when its master
Speaker 1: was in London. I have given some attention to this matter,
Speaker 1: and it is undoubtedly of importance. There can be no
Speaker 1: question that Stapleton had a confidant, though it is unlikely
Speaker 1: that he ever placed himself in his power by sharing
Speaker 1: all his plans with him. There was an old man
Speaker 1: servant at mary Pitt House whose name was Antony His
Speaker 1: connection with the Stapletons can be traced for several years,
Speaker 1: as far back as the schoolmastering days, so that he
Speaker 1: must have been aware that his master and mistress were
Speaker 1: really husband and wife. This man has disappeared and has
Speaker 1: escaped from the country. It is suggestive that Antony is
Speaker 1: not a common name in England, while Antonio is so
Speaker 1: in all Spanish or Spanish American countries. The man, like
Speaker 1: Missus Stapleton herself, spoke good inc but with a curious
Speaker 1: lisping accent. I have myself seen this old man cross
Speaker 1: the grimpen mire by the path which Stapleton has marked out.
Speaker 1: It is very probable, therefore, that, in the absence of
Speaker 1: his master, it was he who cared for the hound,
Speaker 1: though he may never have known the purpose for which
Speaker 1: the beast was used. The Stapletons then went down to Devonshire,
Speaker 1: whither they were soon followed by Sir Henry and you.
Speaker 1: One word now as to how I stood myself at
Speaker 1: that time. It may possibly recur to your memory that
Speaker 1: when I examined the paper upon which the printed words
Speaker 1: were fastened, I made a close inspection for the water mark.
Speaker 1: In doing so, I held it within a few inches
Speaker 1: of my eyes, and was conscious of a faint smell
Speaker 1: of the scent known as white Jessamine. There are seventy
Speaker 1: five perfumes which it is very necessary that a criminal
Speaker 1: expert should be able to distinguish from each other, and
Speaker 1: cases of more than once within my own experience depended
Speaker 1: upon their prompt recognition. The scent suggested the presence of
Speaker 1: a lady, and already my thought began to turn towards
Speaker 1: the Stapletons. Thus I had made certain of the hound
Speaker 1: and had guessed at the criminal before ever we went
Speaker 1: to the West Country. It was my game to watch Stapleton.
Speaker 1: It was evident, however, that I could not do this
Speaker 1: if I were with you, since he would be keenly
Speaker 1: on his guard. I deceived everybody, therefore yourself included, and
Speaker 1: I came down secretly when I was supposed to be
Speaker 1: in London. My hardships were not so great as you imagined,
Speaker 1: though such trifling details must never interfere with the investigation
Speaker 1: of a case. I stayed for the most part at
Speaker 1: Coombe Tracy, and only used the hut upon the moor
Speaker 1: when it was necessary to be near the scene of action.
Speaker 1: Cartwright had come down with me, and in his disguise
Speaker 1: as a country boy, he was of great assistance to me.
Speaker 1: I was dependent upon him for food and clean linen
Speaker 1: when I was watching Stapleton. Cartwright was frequently watching you,
Speaker 1: so that I was able to keep my hand upon
Speaker 1: all the strings. I have already told you that your
Speaker 1: report what's reached me rapidly forward instantly from Baker Street
Speaker 1: to Coombe Tracy. They were of great service to me,
Speaker 1: and especially that one incidentally truthful piece of biography of Stapleton's.
Speaker 1: I was able to establish the identity of the man
Speaker 1: and the woman, and knew at last exactly how I stood.
Speaker 1: The case had been considerably complicated through the incident of
Speaker 1: the escaped convict and the relations between him and the Barrymorees.
Speaker 1: This also you cleared up in a very effective way,
Speaker 1: though I had already come to the same conclusions from
Speaker 1: my own observations by the time that you discovered me
Speaker 1: upon the moor. I had a complete knowledge of the
Speaker 1: whole business, but I had not a case which could
Speaker 1: go to a jury. Even Stapleton's attempt upon Sir Henry
Speaker 1: that night, which ended in the death of the unfortunate
Speaker 1: convict did not help us much in proving murder against
Speaker 1: our man. There seemed to be no alternative but to
Speaker 1: catch him red handed, and to do so we had
Speaker 1: to use Sir Henry alone and apparently unprotected, as a bait.
Speaker 1: We did so, and at the cost of a severe
Speaker 1: shock to our client, we succeeded in completing our case
Speaker 1: and driving Stapleton to his destruction. That Sir Henry should
Speaker 1: have been exposed to this is I must confess a
Speaker 1: reproach to my management of the case. But we had
Speaker 1: no means of foreseeing the terrible and paralyzing spectacle which
Speaker 1: the beast presented, nor could we predict the fog which
Speaker 1: enabled him to burst upon us at such short notice.
Speaker 1: We succeeded in our object, at a cost which both
Speaker 1: the specialist and Doctor Mortimer assure me will be a
Speaker 1: temporary one. A long journey may enable our friend to
Speaker 1: recover not only from his shattered nerves, but also from
Speaker 1: his wounded feelings. His love for the lady was deep
Speaker 1: and sincere, and to him the saddest part of all
Speaker 1: this black business was that he should have been deceived
Speaker 1: by her. It only remains to indicate the part which
Speaker 1: she had played throughout. There can be no doubt that
Speaker 1: Stapleton exercised an influence over her, which may have been love,
Speaker 1: or may have been fear, or very possibly both, since
Speaker 1: they are by no means incompatible emotions. It was at
Speaker 1: least absolutely effective at his command. She consented to pass
Speaker 1: as his sister, though he found the limits of his
Speaker 1: power over her when he endeavored to make her the
Speaker 1: direct accessory to murder. She was ready to warn Sir
Speaker 1: Henry so far as she could without implicating her husband,
Speaker 1: and again and again she tried to do so. Stapleton
Speaker 1: himself seems to have been capable of jealousy, and when
Speaker 1: he saw the baronet paying court to the lady, even
Speaker 1: though it was part of his own plan, still he
Speaker 1: could not help interrupting with a passionate outburst, which revealed
Speaker 1: the fire soul which his self contained manner so cleverly concealed.
Speaker 1: By encouraging the intimacy, he made it certain that Sir
Speaker 1: Henry would frequently come to Mary Pitt House, and that
Speaker 1: he would sooner or later get the opportunity which he desired.
Speaker 1: On the day of the crisis, however, his wife turned
Speaker 1: suddenly against him. She had learned something of the death
Speaker 1: of the convict, and she knew that the hound was
Speaker 1: being kept in the outhouse. On the evening that Sir
Speaker 1: Henry was coming to dinner, she taxed her husband with
Speaker 1: his intended crime, and a furious scene followed, in which
Speaker 1: he showed her for the first time that she had
Speaker 1: a rival in his love. Her fidelity turned in an
Speaker 1: instant to bitter hatred, and he saw that she would
Speaker 1: betray him. He tied her up therefore, that she might
Speaker 1: have no chance of warning Sir Henry, And he hoped
Speaker 1: no doubt that when the whole countryside put down the
Speaker 1: baronet's death to the curse of his family, as they
Speaker 1: certainly would do, he could win his wife back to
Speaker 1: accept an accomplished fact, than to keep silent upon what
Speaker 1: she knew. In this I fancied that in any case,
Speaker 1: he made a miscalculation, and that if we had not
Speaker 1: been there, his doom would nonetheless have been sealed. A
Speaker 1: woman of Spanish blood does not condone such an injury
Speaker 1: so lightly. And now, my dear Watson, without referring to
Speaker 1: my notes, I cannot give you a more detailed account
Speaker 1: of this curious case. I do not know that anything
Speaker 1: essential has been left unexplained. He could not hope to
Speaker 1: frighten Sir Henry to death as he had done the
Speaker 1: old uncle with his bogey hound. The beast was savage
Speaker 1: and half starved. If its appearance did not frighten its
Speaker 1: victim to death, at least it would paralyze the resistance
Speaker 1: which might be offered. No doubt, there only remains one difficulty.
Speaker 1: If Stapleton came into the succession, how could he explain
Speaker 1: the fact that he the heir, had been living unannounced
Speaker 1: under another name, so close to the property. How could
Speaker 1: he claim it without causing suspicion and inquiry. It is
Speaker 1: a formidable difficulty, and I fear that you ask too
Speaker 1: much when you expect me to solve it. The past
Speaker 1: and the present are within the field of my inquiry,
Speaker 1: but what a man may do in the future is
Speaker 1: a hard question to answer. Missus Stapleton has heard her
Speaker 1: husband discuss the problem on several occasions. There were three
Speaker 1: possible courses. He might claim the property from South America,
Speaker 1: establish his identity before the British authorities there, and so
Speaker 1: obtain the fortune without ever coming to England at all.
Speaker 1: Or he might adopt an elaborate disguise during the short
Speaker 1: time that he need be in London, or again he
Speaker 1: might furnish an accomplice with the proofs and papers, putting
Speaker 1: him in as air and retaining a claim upon some
Speaker 1: proportion of his income. We cannot doubt, from what we
Speaker 1: know of him, that he would have found some way
Speaker 1: out of the difficulty. And now, my dear Watson, we
Speaker 1: have had some weeks of severe work, and for one
Speaker 1: evening I think we may turn our thoughts into more
Speaker 1: pleasant channels. I have a box for Lesugno. Have you
Speaker 1: heard the Dureshkis? Might I trouble you? Then? To be
Speaker 1: ready in half an hour, and we can stop at
Speaker 1: Marchini's for a little dinner on the way. That is
Speaker 1: the end of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur
Speaker 1: Conan Doyle, read by Greg Wagland for Magpie Audio Production
Speaker 1: Copyright and Video Copyright, twenty seventeen.