WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.720 --> 00:00:10.400 Chapter fifteen, A Retrospection. It was the end of November, 2 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:15.240 and Holmes and I sat upon a roar and foggy night, 3 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:18.679 on either side of a blazing fire in our sitting 4 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:23.519 room in Baker Street. Since the tragic upshot of our 5 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:27.600 visit to Devonshire, he had been engaged in two affairs 6 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:31.120 of the utmost importance, in the first of which he 7 00:00:31.160 --> 00:00:35.799 had exposed the atrocious conduct of Colonel Upwood in connection 8 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:39.399 with the famous card scandal of the Non parale Club, 9 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:43.640 while in the second he had defended the unfortunate Madame 10 00:00:43.719 --> 00:00:47.520 Montpensier from the charge of murder which hung over her 11 00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:52.159 in connection with the death of her stepdaughter, Mademoiselle Carrere, 12 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:55.560 the young lady, who, as it will be remembered, was 13 00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:59.759 found six months later alive and married in New York. 14 00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:04.239 My friend was in excellent spirits over the success which 15 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:08.879 had attended a succession of difficult and important cases, so 16 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:11.000 that I was able to induce him to discuss the 17 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:15.760 details of the Baskerville mystery. I had waited patiently for 18 00:01:15.799 --> 00:01:18.640 the opportunity, for I was aware that he would never 19 00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:22.879 permit cases to overlap, and that his clear and logical 20 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:25.879 mind would not be drawn from its present work to 21 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:30.280 dwell upon memories of the past. Sir Henry and doctor 22 00:01:30.280 --> 00:01:33.359 Mortimer were, however, in London on their way to that 23 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:37.040 long voyage which had been recommended for the restoration of 24 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:41.680 his shattered nerves. They had called upon us that very afternoon, 25 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:44.959 so that it was natural that the subject should come 26 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:49.519 up for discussion. The whole course of events, said Holmes, 27 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:51.640 from the point of view of the man who called 28 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:56.200 himself Stapleton, was simple and direct, although to us, who 29 00:01:56.239 --> 00:01:58.959 had no means in the beginning of knowing the motives 30 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:02.079 of his actions, and could only learn part of the facts, 31 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:06.680 it all appeared exceedingly complex. I have had the advantage 32 00:02:06.680 --> 00:02:10.520 of two conversations with missus Stapleton, and the case has 33 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:13.360 now been so entirely cleared up that I am not 34 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:16.159 aware that there is anything which has remained a secret 35 00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:18.680 to us. You will find a few notes upon the 36 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:22.960 matter under the heading B in my indexed list of cases. 37 00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:26.719 Perhaps you would kindly give me a sketch of the 38 00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:31.400 course of events from memory. Certainly, though I cannot guarantee 39 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:34.759 that I carry all the facts in my mind, intense 40 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:38.000 mental concentration has a curious way of blotting out what 41 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:41.479 has passed. The barrister, who has his case at his 42 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:44.319 fingers ends and is able to argue with an expert 43 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.039 upon his own subject, finds that a week or two 44 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:49.360 of the courts will drive it all out of his head. 45 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:53.599 Once more, So, each of my cases displaces the last, 46 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:57.439 and Mademoiselle Carrere has blurred my recollection of Baskerville Hall. 47 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:01.280 To borrow some other little problem may be submitted to 48 00:03:01.319 --> 00:03:04.439 my notice, which will in turn dispossess the fair French 49 00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:08.039 lady and the infamous Upwood. So far as the case 50 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:10.800 of the hound goes, however, I will give you the 51 00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:13.439 course of events as nearly as I can, and you 52 00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:18.439 will suggest anything which I may have forgotten. My inquiries 53 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:22.400 show beyond all questions that the family portrait did not lie, 54 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:25.719 and that this fellow was indeed a Basquerville. He was 55 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:29.280 a son of that Roger Baskerville, the younger brother of 56 00:03:29.319 --> 00:03:33.680 Sir Charles, who fled with a sinister reputation to South America, 57 00:03:34.280 --> 00:03:37.879 where he was said to have died unmarried. He did, 58 00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:41.520 as a matter of fact, marry and had one child. 59 00:03:41.960 --> 00:03:45.360 This fellow, whose real name is the same as his father's. 60 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:50.719 He married Beryl Garcia, one of the beauties of Costa Rica, 61 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:55.000 and having purloined a considerable sum of public money, he 62 00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:58.719 changed his name to Van de Leur and fled to England, 63 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:02.159 where he established to school in the east of Yorkshire. 64 00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:06.120 His reason for attempting this special line of business was 65 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:08.639 that he had struck up an acquaintance with a consumptive 66 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:12.240 tutor upon the voyage home, and that he had used 67 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:16.759 this man's ability to make the undertaking a success. Fraser, 68 00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:20.360 the tutor died, however, and the school, which had begun 69 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:25.079 well sank from disrepute into infamy. The Van de Leurs 70 00:04:25.160 --> 00:04:28.560 found it convenient to change their name to Stapleton, and 71 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:31.319 he brought the remains of his fortune, his schemes for 72 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:34.720 the future, and his taste for entomology to the South 73 00:04:34.759 --> 00:04:38.639 of England. I learned at the British Museum that he 74 00:04:38.759 --> 00:04:41.720 was a recognized authority upon the subject, and that the 75 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:44.959 name of Van de Leur has been permanently attached to 76 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:48.160 a certain moth, which he had, in his Yorkshire days, 77 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:52.240 been the first to describe. We now come to that 78 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:54.560 portion of his life which has proved to be of 79 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:58.519 such intense interest to us. The fellow had evidently made 80 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:02.920 inquiry and found that only two lives intervened between him 81 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:07.399 and a valuable estate. When he went to Devonshire. His 82 00:05:07.560 --> 00:05:11.480 plans were I believe exceedingly hazy, but that he meant 83 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:14.639 mischief from the first is evident from the way in 84 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:16.759 which he took his wife with him. In the character 85 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:20.120 of his sister, the idea of using her as a 86 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:23.680 decoy was clearly already in his mind, though he may 87 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:26.079 not have been certain how the details of his plot 88 00:05:26.120 --> 00:05:29.199 were to be arranged. He meant in the end to 89 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:31.920 have the estate, and he was ready to use any 90 00:05:31.959 --> 00:05:36.240 tool or run any risk for that end. His first 91 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:39.319 act was to establish himself as near to his ancestral 92 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:42.399 home as he could, and his second was to cultivate 93 00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:46.560 a friendship with Sir Charles Baskerville and with the neighbors. 94 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:51.079 The baronet himself told him about the family hound, and 95 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:54.879 so prepared the way for his own death. Stapleton, as 96 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:57.399 I will continue to call him, knew that the old 97 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:01.319 man's heart was weak and that a shock would kill him. 98 00:06:01.720 --> 00:06:05.240 So much he had learned from Doctor Mortimer. He had 99 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:08.439 heard also that Sir Charles was superstitious and had taken 100 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:13.600 this grim legend very seriously. His ingenious mind instantly suggested 101 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:16.439 a way by which the baronet could be done to death, 102 00:06:17.399 --> 00:06:19.800 and yet it would be hardly possible to bring home 103 00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:24.040 the guilt to the real murderer. Having conceived the idea, 104 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:28.279 he proceeded to carry it out with considerable finesse. An 105 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:31.000 ordinary schemer would have been content to work with a 106 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:35.120 savage hound. The use of artificial means to make the 107 00:06:35.160 --> 00:06:38.959 creature diabolical was a flash of genius upon his part. 108 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:43.040 The dog he bought in London from Ross and Mangles, 109 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:47.079 the dealers in Fulham Road. It was the strongest and 110 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:50.879 most savage in their possession. He brought it down by 111 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:54.079 the North Devon line and walked a great distance over 112 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:56.480 the moor, so as to get it home without exciting 113 00:06:56.480 --> 00:07:00.920 any remarks. He had already on his insect hunts, learned 114 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:04.399 to penetrate the grimpen mire, and so had found a 115 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:07.319 safe hiding place for the creature. Here he kenneled it 116 00:07:07.720 --> 00:07:11.199 and waited his chance. But it was some time coming. 117 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:14.639 The old gentleman could not be decoyed outside of his 118 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:19.079 grounds at night. Several times Stapleton lurked about with his hound, 119 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:24.000 but without avail. It was during these fruitless quests that he, 120 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:27.720 or rather his ally, was seen by peasants, and that 121 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:31.040 the legend of the demon dog received a new confirmation. 122 00:07:32.040 --> 00:07:34.560 He had hoped that his wife might lure Sir Charles 123 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:39.120 to his ruin, but here she proved unexpectedly independent. She 124 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:41.759 would not endeavor to entangle the old man in a 125 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:46.680 sentimental attachment which might deliver him over to his enemy threats, 126 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:50.319 and even I am sorry to say blows refused to 127 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:53.160 move her. She would have nothing to do with it, 128 00:07:53.839 --> 00:07:57.480 and for a time Stapleton was at a deadlock. He 129 00:07:57.519 --> 00:07:59.959 found a way out of his difficulties through the charm 130 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:03.120 that Sir Charles, who had conceived a friendship for him, 131 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:06.319 made him the minister of his charity in the case 132 00:08:06.360 --> 00:08:11.600 of this unfortunate woman, Missus Laura Lyons. By representing himself 133 00:08:11.639 --> 00:08:15.240 as a single man, he acquired complete influence over her, 134 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:18.079 and he gave her to understand that in the event 135 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:21.079 of her obtaining a divorce from her husband, he would 136 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:24.399 marry her. His plans were suddenly brought to a head 137 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:26.879 by his knowledge that Sir Charles was about to leave 138 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:30.199 the Hall, on the advice of doctor Mortimer, with whose 139 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:34.720 opinion he himself pretended to coincide he must act at 140 00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:38.600 once or his victim might get beyond his power. He 141 00:08:38.679 --> 00:08:41.759 therefore put pressure upon Missus Lyons to write this letter 142 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:44.919 imploring the old man to give her an interview on 143 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:48.799 the evening before his departure for London. He then, by 144 00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:52.720 a specious argument, prevented her from going, and so had 145 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:56.320 the chance for which he had waited. Driving back in 146 00:08:56.360 --> 00:08:59.200 the evening from Coombe Tracy, he was in time to 147 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:02.600 get his hound, to treat it with his infernal paint, 148 00:09:03.399 --> 00:09:05.799 and to bring the beast round to the gate at 149 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:08.399 which he had reason to expect that he would find 150 00:09:08.440 --> 00:09:12.480 the old gentleman waiting. The dog, incited by its master, 151 00:09:12.759 --> 00:09:16.879 sprang over the wicket gate and pursued the unfortunate baronet, 152 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:21.559 who fled screaming down the yew alley in that gloomy tunnel. 153 00:09:21.559 --> 00:09:24.159 It must indeed have been a dreadful sight to see 154 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:27.879 that huge black creature, with its flaming jaws and blazing eyes, 155 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:31.799 bounding after its victim. He fell dead at the end 156 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:36.120 of the alley from heart disease and terror. The hound 157 00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:39.200 had kept upon the grassy border while the baronet had 158 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:42.240 run down the path, so that no track but the 159 00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:46.639 man's was visible. On seeing him lying still, the creature 160 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:50.360 had probably approached to sniff at him, but, finding him dead, 161 00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:54.120 had turned away again. It was then that it left 162 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:58.879 the print, which was actually observed by doctor Mortimer. The 163 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:01.840 hound was called off and hurried away to its lair 164 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:05.200 in the grimpen mire, and a mystery was left which 165 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:09.559 puzzled the authorities, alarmed the countryside, and finally brought the 166 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:13.600 case within the scope of our observation. So much for 167 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:17.600 the death of Sir Charles Baskerville, you perceive the devilish 168 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:20.759 cunning of it, For really it would be almost impossible 169 00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:24.039 to make a case against the real murderer. His only 170 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:27.720 accomplice was one who could never give him away, and 171 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:32.120 the grotesque, inconceivable nature of the device only served to 172 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:36.000 make it more effective. Both of the women concerned in 173 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:39.759 the case, Missus Stapleton and Missus Laura Lyons, were left 174 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:44.480 with a strong suspicion against Stapleton. Missus Stapleton knew that 175 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:47.480 he had designs upon the old man, and also of 176 00:10:47.559 --> 00:10:51.039 the existence of the hound. Missus Lyons knew neither of 177 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:54.399 these things, but had been impressed by the death occurring 178 00:10:54.559 --> 00:10:57.679 at the time of an uncancelled appointment, which was only 179 00:10:57.759 --> 00:11:01.320 known to him. However, both of them were under his 180 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:04.720 influence and he had nothing to fear from them. The 181 00:11:04.759 --> 00:11:08.120 first half of his task was successfully accomplished, but the 182 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:12.639 more difficult still remained. It is possible that Stapleton did 183 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:15.600 not know of the existence of an heir in Canada. 184 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:18.360 In any case, he would very soon learn it from 185 00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:21.559 his friend doctor Mortimer, and he was told by the 186 00:11:21.639 --> 00:11:26.600 latter all details about the arrival of Henry Baskerville. Stapleton's 187 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:29.600 first idea was that this young stranger from Canada might 188 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:32.840 possibly be done to death in London without coming down 189 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:36.799 to Devonshire at all. He distrusted his wife ever since 190 00:11:36.840 --> 00:11:39.000 she had refused to help him in laying a trap 191 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:41.639 for the old man, and he dared not leave her 192 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:44.159 long out of his sight for fear he should lose 193 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:47.440 his influence over her. It was for this reason that 194 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:50.399 he took her to London with him. They lodged I 195 00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:54.759 find at the Mexborough Private Hotel in Craven Street, which 196 00:11:54.840 --> 00:11:57.480 was actually one of those called upon by my agent 197 00:11:57.639 --> 00:12:01.200 in search of evidence. Here he kept his wife imprisoned 198 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:05.080 in her room, while he, disguised in a beard, followed 199 00:12:05.080 --> 00:12:08.279 doctor Mortimer to Baker Street, and afterwards to the station 200 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:12.559 and to the Northumberland Hotel. His wife had some inkling 201 00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:15.200 of his plans that she had such a fear of 202 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:18.360 her husband, a fear found it upon brutal ill treatment, 203 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:20.759 that she dared not write to warn the man whom 204 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:23.759 she knew to be in danger. If the letter should 205 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:28.840 fall into Stapleton's hands, her own life would not be safe. Eventually, 206 00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:32.559 as we know, she adopted the expedient of cutting out 207 00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:35.679 the words which would form the message, and addressing the 208 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:39.720 letter in a disguised hand. It reached the Baronet and 209 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:43.480 gave him the first warning of his danger. It was 210 00:12:43.559 --> 00:12:46.480 very essential for Stapleton to get some article of Sir 211 00:12:46.519 --> 00:12:49.200 Henry's attire, so that in case he was driven to 212 00:12:49.320 --> 00:12:51.879 use the dog, he might always have the means of 213 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:56.600 setting him upon his track. With characteristic promptness and audacity, 214 00:12:56.840 --> 00:12:59.960 he set about this at once, and we cannot doubt 215 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:02.720 that the boots or chambermaid of the hotel was well 216 00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:06.440 bribed to help him in his design. By chance, however, 217 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:09.399 The first boot which was procured for him was a 218 00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:13.120 new one and therefore useless for his purpose. He then 219 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:17.480 had it returned and obtained another. A most instructive incident, 220 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:20.759 since it proved conclusively to my mind that we were 221 00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:24.440 dealing with a real hound, as no other supposition could 222 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:28.200 explain this anxiety to obtain an old boot and this 223 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:32.440 indifference to a new one. The more utre and grotesque 224 00:13:32.440 --> 00:13:36.000 incident is, the more carefully it deserves to be examined, 225 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:39.120 And the very point which appears to complicate a case 226 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:43.240 is when duly considered and scientifically handled, the one which 227 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:47.159 is most likely to elucidate it. Then we had the 228 00:13:47.240 --> 00:13:51.399 visit from our friends next morning, shadowed always by Stapleton 229 00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:54.840 in the cab. From his knowledge of our rooms and 230 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:57.639 of my appearance, as well as from his general conduct, 231 00:13:58.200 --> 00:14:00.879 I am inclined to think that Stapleton's career of crime 232 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:04.679 has been, by no means limited to this single Baskerville affair. 233 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:09.279 It is suggestive that during the last three years there 234 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:12.840 have been four considerable burglaries in the West Country, for 235 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:16.519 none of which was any criminal ever arrested. The last 236 00:14:16.519 --> 00:14:20.000 of these, at Folkeston Court in May, was remarkable for 237 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:23.480 the cold blooded pistoling of the page who surprised the 238 00:14:23.639 --> 00:14:28.399 masked and solitary burglar. I cannot doubt that Stapleton recruited 239 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:32.080 his waning resources in this fashion, and that for years 240 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:35.440 he has been a desperate and dangerous man. We had 241 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:38.879 an example of his readiness of resource that morning when 242 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:42.159 he got away from us so successfully, and also of 243 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:45.240 his audacity in sending back my own name to me 244 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:49.159 through the cabman. From that moment he understood that I 245 00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:52.039 had taken over the case in London, and that therefore 246 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:55.279 there was no chance for him there. He returned to 247 00:14:55.360 --> 00:15:00.480 Dartmoor and awaited the arrival of the Baronet. One moment, 248 00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:03.759 said I, you have no doubt described the sequence of 249 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:07.000 events correctly, But there is one point which you have 250 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:11.159 left unexplained. What became of the hound when its master 251 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:14.399 was in London. I have given some attention to this matter, 252 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:17.799 and it is undoubtedly of importance. There can be no 253 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:21.840 question that Stapleton had a confidant, though it is unlikely 254 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:24.559 that he ever placed himself in his power by sharing 255 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:27.720 all his plans with him. There was an old man 256 00:15:27.799 --> 00:15:31.480 servant at mary Pitt House whose name was Antony His 257 00:15:31.559 --> 00:15:34.519 connection with the Stapletons can be traced for several years, 258 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:38.000 as far back as the schoolmastering days, so that he 259 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:40.440 must have been aware that his master and mistress were 260 00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:44.919 really husband and wife. This man has disappeared and has 261 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:49.159 escaped from the country. It is suggestive that Antony is 262 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:52.879 not a common name in England, while Antonio is so 263 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:57.600 in all Spanish or Spanish American countries. The man, like 264 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:01.799 Missus Stapleton herself, spoke good inc but with a curious 265 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:06.120 lisping accent. I have myself seen this old man cross 266 00:16:06.200 --> 00:16:09.799 the grimpen mire by the path which Stapleton has marked out. 267 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:13.200 It is very probable, therefore, that, in the absence of 268 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:15.759 his master, it was he who cared for the hound, 269 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:18.600 though he may never have known the purpose for which 270 00:16:18.679 --> 00:16:22.960 the beast was used. The Stapletons then went down to Devonshire, 271 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:26.480 whither they were soon followed by Sir Henry and you. 272 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:29.960 One word now as to how I stood myself at 273 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:33.440 that time. It may possibly recur to your memory that 274 00:16:33.480 --> 00:16:36.399 when I examined the paper upon which the printed words 275 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:39.519 were fastened, I made a close inspection for the water mark. 276 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:42.919 In doing so, I held it within a few inches 277 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:45.759 of my eyes, and was conscious of a faint smell 278 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:49.720 of the scent known as white Jessamine. There are seventy 279 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:53.399 five perfumes which it is very necessary that a criminal 280 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:56.320 expert should be able to distinguish from each other, and 281 00:16:56.519 --> 00:16:59.480 cases of more than once within my own experience depended 282 00:16:59.559 --> 00:17:03.960 upon their prompt recognition. The scent suggested the presence of 283 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:07.160 a lady, and already my thought began to turn towards 284 00:17:07.160 --> 00:17:10.759 the Stapletons. Thus I had made certain of the hound 285 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:13.880 and had guessed at the criminal before ever we went 286 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:17.920 to the West Country. It was my game to watch Stapleton. 287 00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:21.240 It was evident, however, that I could not do this 288 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:24.079 if I were with you, since he would be keenly 289 00:17:24.119 --> 00:17:28.359 on his guard. I deceived everybody, therefore yourself included, and 290 00:17:28.440 --> 00:17:30.799 I came down secretly when I was supposed to be 291 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:34.680 in London. My hardships were not so great as you imagined, 292 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:39.119 though such trifling details must never interfere with the investigation 293 00:17:39.240 --> 00:17:41.920 of a case. I stayed for the most part at 294 00:17:41.960 --> 00:17:45.039 Coombe Tracy, and only used the hut upon the moor 295 00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:47.839 when it was necessary to be near the scene of action. 296 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:51.839 Cartwright had come down with me, and in his disguise 297 00:17:51.880 --> 00:17:54.559 as a country boy, he was of great assistance to me. 298 00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:58.359 I was dependent upon him for food and clean linen 299 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:02.759 when I was watching Stapleton. Cartwright was frequently watching you, 300 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:05.359 so that I was able to keep my hand upon 301 00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:09.920 all the strings. I have already told you that your 302 00:18:09.960 --> 00:18:14.000 report what's reached me rapidly forward instantly from Baker Street 303 00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:17.000 to Coombe Tracy. They were of great service to me, 304 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:22.440 and especially that one incidentally truthful piece of biography of Stapleton's. 305 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:25.880 I was able to establish the identity of the man 306 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:29.599 and the woman, and knew at last exactly how I stood. 307 00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:33.680 The case had been considerably complicated through the incident of 308 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:37.680 the escaped convict and the relations between him and the Barrymorees. 309 00:18:38.440 --> 00:18:41.359 This also you cleared up in a very effective way, 310 00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:44.440 though I had already come to the same conclusions from 311 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:48.079 my own observations by the time that you discovered me 312 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:50.559 upon the moor. I had a complete knowledge of the 313 00:18:50.599 --> 00:18:53.279 whole business, but I had not a case which could 314 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:56.960 go to a jury. Even Stapleton's attempt upon Sir Henry 315 00:18:56.960 --> 00:18:59.880 that night, which ended in the death of the unfortunate 316 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:03.480 convict did not help us much in proving murder against 317 00:19:03.559 --> 00:19:06.759 our man. There seemed to be no alternative but to 318 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:09.799 catch him red handed, and to do so we had 319 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:14.559 to use Sir Henry alone and apparently unprotected, as a bait. 320 00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:17.920 We did so, and at the cost of a severe 321 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:21.599 shock to our client, we succeeded in completing our case 322 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:26.359 and driving Stapleton to his destruction. That Sir Henry should 323 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:29.319 have been exposed to this is I must confess a 324 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:32.880 reproach to my management of the case. But we had 325 00:19:32.920 --> 00:19:36.599 no means of foreseeing the terrible and paralyzing spectacle which 326 00:19:36.680 --> 00:19:40.759 the beast presented, nor could we predict the fog which 327 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:44.480 enabled him to burst upon us at such short notice. 328 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:47.160 We succeeded in our object, at a cost which both 329 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:50.440 the specialist and Doctor Mortimer assure me will be a 330 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:53.880 temporary one. A long journey may enable our friend to 331 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:57.559 recover not only from his shattered nerves, but also from 332 00:19:57.559 --> 00:20:01.039 his wounded feelings. His love for the lady was deep 333 00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:04.200 and sincere, and to him the saddest part of all 334 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:07.240 this black business was that he should have been deceived 335 00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:10.519 by her. It only remains to indicate the part which 336 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:13.640 she had played throughout. There can be no doubt that 337 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:17.359 Stapleton exercised an influence over her, which may have been love, 338 00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:21.640 or may have been fear, or very possibly both, since 339 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:25.119 they are by no means incompatible emotions. It was at 340 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:29.559 least absolutely effective at his command. She consented to pass 341 00:20:29.559 --> 00:20:32.480 as his sister, though he found the limits of his 342 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:35.319 power over her when he endeavored to make her the 343 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:39.279 direct accessory to murder. She was ready to warn Sir 344 00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:42.799 Henry so far as she could without implicating her husband, 345 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:46.880 and again and again she tried to do so. Stapleton 346 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:50.200 himself seems to have been capable of jealousy, and when 347 00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:53.160 he saw the baronet paying court to the lady, even 348 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:55.640 though it was part of his own plan, still he 349 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:59.640 could not help interrupting with a passionate outburst, which revealed 350 00:20:59.640 --> 00:21:03.640 the fire soul which his self contained manner so cleverly concealed. 351 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:07.720 By encouraging the intimacy, he made it certain that Sir 352 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:11.160 Henry would frequently come to Mary Pitt House, and that 353 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:14.519 he would sooner or later get the opportunity which he desired. 354 00:21:15.480 --> 00:21:18.200 On the day of the crisis, however, his wife turned 355 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:21.680 suddenly against him. She had learned something of the death 356 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:24.440 of the convict, and she knew that the hound was 357 00:21:24.519 --> 00:21:27.000 being kept in the outhouse. On the evening that Sir 358 00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:30.799 Henry was coming to dinner, she taxed her husband with 359 00:21:30.839 --> 00:21:34.799 his intended crime, and a furious scene followed, in which 360 00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:37.359 he showed her for the first time that she had 361 00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:41.279 a rival in his love. Her fidelity turned in an 362 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:44.680 instant to bitter hatred, and he saw that she would 363 00:21:44.680 --> 00:21:48.400 betray him. He tied her up therefore, that she might 364 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:51.720 have no chance of warning Sir Henry, And he hoped 365 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:54.119 no doubt that when the whole countryside put down the 366 00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:57.400 baronet's death to the curse of his family, as they 367 00:21:57.400 --> 00:22:00.359 certainly would do, he could win his wife back to 368 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:03.759 accept an accomplished fact, than to keep silent upon what 369 00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:07.000 she knew. In this I fancied that in any case, 370 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:10.279 he made a miscalculation, and that if we had not 371 00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:14.000 been there, his doom would nonetheless have been sealed. A 372 00:22:14.039 --> 00:22:17.160 woman of Spanish blood does not condone such an injury 373 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:21.519 so lightly. And now, my dear Watson, without referring to 374 00:22:21.559 --> 00:22:24.480 my notes, I cannot give you a more detailed account 375 00:22:24.519 --> 00:22:28.039 of this curious case. I do not know that anything 376 00:22:28.119 --> 00:22:32.319 essential has been left unexplained. He could not hope to 377 00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:35.400 frighten Sir Henry to death as he had done the 378 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:39.359 old uncle with his bogey hound. The beast was savage 379 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:42.960 and half starved. If its appearance did not frighten its 380 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:46.400 victim to death, at least it would paralyze the resistance 381 00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:51.440 which might be offered. No doubt, there only remains one difficulty. 382 00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:56.119 If Stapleton came into the succession, how could he explain 383 00:22:56.160 --> 00:23:00.000 the fact that he the heir, had been living unannounced 384 00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:04.279 under another name, so close to the property. How could 385 00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:09.000 he claim it without causing suspicion and inquiry. It is 386 00:23:09.319 --> 00:23:13.039 a formidable difficulty, and I fear that you ask too 387 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:16.079 much when you expect me to solve it. The past 388 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:19.039 and the present are within the field of my inquiry, 389 00:23:19.960 --> 00:23:22.200 but what a man may do in the future is 390 00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:25.880 a hard question to answer. Missus Stapleton has heard her 391 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:30.160 husband discuss the problem on several occasions. There were three 392 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:34.240 possible courses. He might claim the property from South America, 393 00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:38.319 establish his identity before the British authorities there, and so 394 00:23:38.440 --> 00:23:41.680 obtain the fortune without ever coming to England at all. 395 00:23:42.519 --> 00:23:45.920 Or he might adopt an elaborate disguise during the short 396 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:49.000 time that he need be in London, or again he 397 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:52.880 might furnish an accomplice with the proofs and papers, putting 398 00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:56.240 him in as air and retaining a claim upon some 399 00:23:56.400 --> 00:24:00.039 proportion of his income. We cannot doubt, from what we 400 00:24:00.119 --> 00:24:02.240 know of him, that he would have found some way 401 00:24:02.359 --> 00:24:06.920