The Hound of the Baskervilles - Chapter 9

Books at Bedtime by Calming Anxiety The Hounds of the Baskervils Chapter 9 The Light upon the Mall Second Report of Dr. Watson Baskerville Hall, October 15th My Dear Holmes If I was compelled to leave you without much news during the early days of my mission you must acknowledge that I'm making up for lost time and that events are now crowding thick and fast upon us In my last report I ended up upon my top note with Barrymore at the window and now I have quite a budget already which will unless I'm much mistaken, considerably surprised you Things have taken a turn which I could not have anticipated In some ways they have within the last 48 hours become much more clearer and in some ways they have become more complicated but I will tell you all and you shall judge for yourself Before breakfast on the morning following my adventure I went down the corridor and examined the room in which Barrymore had been on the night before The Western Window, through which he had stared so intently has, I noticed, one peculiarity above all other windows in the house It commands the nearest outlook onto them all There is an opening between the two trees which enables one from this point of view to look right down upon it While from the other windows it is only a distant glimpse which can be obtained It follows therefore that Barrymore Since only this window could serve the purpose must have been looking out for something or somebody upon them all The night was very dark so that I can only imagine how he could have hoped to see anyone It had struck me that it was possible that some love and treat was on foot That would have accounted for his stealthy movements and also for the uneasiness of his wife The man is a striking looking fellow, very well equipped to steal the heart of a country girl So that this theory seemed to have something to support it That opening of the door which I'd heard after I'd returned to my room might mean that he had gone out to keep some clandestine appointment So I reasoned with myself in the morning And I tell you the directions of my suspicions However much the result may have shown that they were unfounded But whatever the true explanation of Barrymore's movements might be I felt that the responsibility of keeping them to myself until I could explain them was more than I could bear I had an interview with a baronet in his study after breakfast and I told him all that I had seen He was less surprised than I had expected I knew that Barrymore walked about nights and I had mine to speak to him about it said he To or three times I've heard his steps in the passage coming and going just about the hour you know Perhaps then he pays a visit every night to that particular window I suggested Perhaps he does If so we should be able to shadow him and see what it is that he is after I wonder what your friend Holmes would do if he were here I believe that he would do exactly now what you suggest said I He would follow Barrymore and see what he did Then we shall do it together But surely he would hear us The man is rather death and in any case we must take our chance of that We'll sit up in my room tonight and wait until he passes Sir Henry rubbed his hands with pleasure and it was evident that he hailed the adventure as a relief to his somewhat quiet life upon the more The baronet had been in communication with the architect who prepared the plans for such ails and with a contractor from London so that we may expect great changes to begin here soon There have been decorators and furnishes up from Plymouth and it is evident that our friend has large ideas and means to spare no pains or expense to restore the grandeur of his family When the house is renovated and re furnished all that he will need will be a wife to make it complete Between ourselves there are pretty clear signs that this will not be wanting if the lady is willing for I have seldom seen a man more infatuated with a woman than he is with our beautiful neighbour And yet the course of true love does not run quite as smoothly as one would under the circumstances expect Today for example its surface was broken by a very unexpected ripple which has caused our friend considerable perplexity and annoyance After the conversation which I have quoted about Baramore Sir Henry put on his hat and prepared to go out as a matter of course I did the same What are you coming what is he asked looking at me in a curious way That depends on whether you are going on the more said I Yes I am Well you know what my instructions are I am sorry to intrude but you heard how earnestly Holmes insisted that I should not leave you and especially that you should not go alone upon the more Sir Henry put his hand upon my shoulder with a pleasant smile My dear fellow city Holmes with all his wisdom did not foresee some things which have happened since I have been on the more you understand me I am sure that you are the last man in the world who would wish to be a sports board I must go out alone It put me in a most awkward position I was at a loss what to say or what to do and before I had made up my mind he picked up his cane and was gone But when I came to think the matter over my conscience approached me bitterly for having on any pretext allowed him to go out to my sight I imagined what my feelings would be if I had to return to you and to confess that some misfortune had occurred through my disregard for your instructions I assure you my cheeks flushed at the very thought It might not even now be too late to overtake him so I set off at once in the direction of Mary Pitt House I hurried along the road at the top of my speed without seeing anything of Sir Henry until I came upon the point where the more path branches off there fearing that perhaps I'd come in the wrong direction after all I mounted a hill from which I could command of you the same hill which is cut into the dark quarry Thence I saw him at once he was on the more path about a quarter of a mile off and a lady was by his side who could only be Miss Stapleton It was clear that there was already an understanding between them and that they had met by appointment They were walking slowly along in deep conversation and I saw her making quick little movements of her hands as if she were very earnest in what she was trying to say whilst he was listening intently and once or twice shook his head in strong dissent I stood among the rocks watching them very much puzzled as to what I should do next To follow them and break into their intimate conversation seemed to be an outrage and yet my clear duty was never for an instant to let him out of my sight To act the spy upon a friend was a hateful task still I could see no better course than to observe them from the hill and clear my conscience by confessing to him afterwards what I had done It is true that if any sudden danger had threatened him I was too far away to be of use Then yet I am sure that you will agree with me that the position was very difficult and that there was nothing more which I could do Our friend Sahemri and the lady had halted on the path and were standing deeply absorbed in their conversation when I suddenly was aware that I was not the only witness of their interview A whisper of green floating in the air caught my eye and another glance showed me that it was carried on a stick by a man who was moving along the broken ground It was Stapleton with his butterfly net He was very much closer to the pair than I was and he appeared to be moving in their direction At this instant Sahemri suddenly drew Miss Stapleton to his side His arm was around her but it seemed to me that she was straining away from him with her face averted He stooped his head to hers and she raised one hand as if in protest Next moment I saw them spring apart and turn hurriedly away Stapleton was the cause of their interruption He was running wildly towards them His absurd net dangling behind him He gesticulated and almost danced with excitement in front of the lovers Like the scene meant I could not imagine but it seemed to me that Stapleton was abusing Sahemri who offered explanations which became more angry as the other refused to accept them The lady stood by in haughty silence Finally Stapleton turned upon his heel and beckoned in a peromptory way to his sister who, her sister in irresolute glance at Sahemri, walked off by the side of her brother The naturalist angry gestures showed that a lady was inclined in his displeasure The baronets stood for a minute looking after them and then he walked slowly back the way that he had come, his head hanging, the very picture of the detection Not all this meant I could not imagine but I was deeply ashamed to have witnessed so intimate a scene without my friend's knowledge I ran down the hill therefore and met the baronets at the bottom His face was flushed with anger and his brows were wrinkled like the one who was at his wits end of what to do "Hello Watson, where have you dropped from?" said he "You don't mean to say that you came after me in spite of all" I explained everything to him How I had found it impossible to remain behind How I had followed him and how I had witnessed all that had occurred For an instance, his eyes blazed at me But my frankness disarmed his anger and he broke it last into a rather rufal laugh You would have thought the middle of that prairie, a fairly safe place for a man to be private said he "But by thunder, the whole countryside seems to have been out to see me doing my wound and a mighty poor wound at that. Where had you engaged to see?" I was on that hill, quiet in the back row-way But her brother was well up in front, did you see him come out on us? Yes, I did Did he ever strike you as being crazy?

This brother of hers I can't say that he ever did I dare say not I always thought him sane enough until today But you can take it from me either he or I ought to be in a straight jacket What's the matter with me anyhow? You've lived near me for some weeks Watson Tell me straight now Is there anything that would prevent me from making a good husband to a woman that I loved? I should say not He can't object my worldly possession, so I must be myself that he is this down on What has he against me? I never hurt man or woman in my life that I know of, and yet he would not so much as let me touch the tips of her fingers That and a deal more I tell you Watson I've only known her these fair few weeks, but from the first I just felt that she was made for me She too, she was happy when she was with me, and that I'll swear There's a light in a woman's eyes that speaks louder than words But he has never let us be together, and it is only today for the first time that I saw a chance of having a few words with her alone She was glad to meet me, but when she did it, it was not love that she would talk about, and she wouldn't have let me talk about it either if she could have stopped it She kept coming back to it that this was a place of danger, and that she would never be happy until I'd left it I told her that since I've seen her I was in no hurry to leave it, and that if she really wanted me to go, the only way to work it was for her to arrange to go with me With that, I offered, in his many words to marry her, but before she could answer, down came this brother of hers, running at her with a face on him like a madman He was just white with rage, and those light eyes of his were blazing with fury What was I doing with the lady?

How dare I offer her attentions, and which were displaceful to her? Did I think that because I was a baronet, I could do what I liked? If he had not been her brother, I should have known better how to answer him As it was, I told him that my feelings towards his sister was such as I was not ashamed of, and that I hoped that she might honour me by becoming my wife That seemed to make the matter no better So then, I lost my temper too, and I answered him rather more hotly than I should perhaps, considering that she was standing by So it ended, by his going off with her as you saw, and here I am as badly puzzled a man as any in the county Just tell me what it all means Watson, and I'll owe you more than I can ever hope to pay I tried one or two explanations, but indeed, I was completely puzzled myself Our friend's title, his fortune, his age, his character and his appearance are all in his favour, and I know nothing against him unless it be the dark fate which runs in his family That his advances should be rejected so brusquely without any references to the lady's own wishes and that the lady should accept the situation without protest is very amazing However, our conjectures were set at rest by a visit from Stapledham himself that very afternoon He had come to offer apologies for his rudeness at the morning, and after a long private interview with Sir Henry in his study, the op-shut of their conversation was that the breach is quite healed, and that we are to dine at Merrippet House next Friday as a sign of it I don't say now that he isn't a crazy man said Sir Henry I cannot forget the look in his eyes when he ran at me this morning, but I must allow that no man could make a more handsome unapology than he had done Did he give any explanation for his conduct? His sister is everything in his life he says, that is natural enough, and I am glad that he should understand her value They have always been together, and according to his account, he has been a very lonely man with only her as a companion so that the thought of losing her was really terrible to him He had not understood he said that I was becoming attached to her But when he saw with his own eyes that it was really so, and that she might be taken away from him, it gave him such a shock that for a time he was not responsible for what he said or did He was very sorry for all that had passed, and he recognized how foolish and how selfish it was that he should imagine that he could hold a beautiful woman like his sister to himself for her whole life If she had to leave him, he is rather it was to enable like myself than to anyone else But in any case, it was a blow to him, and it would take him some time before he could repair himself to meet it He would withdraw all opposition upon his part if I would promise for three months to let the matter rest and to be content with cultivating the lady's friendship during that time, without claiming her love This I promised, and so the matter rests So there is one of our small mysteries cleared up It is something to have touched bottom anywhere in this pod in which we are flandering We know now why Stapleton looked with disbavar upon his sister's suitor, even when that suitor was so eligible and won a sehenry And now I pass on to another thread which I have extricated out of the tangled scheme, The mystery of the sobs in the night of the tear stained face of Mrs. Baramall of the secret journey of the butler to the Western lattice window Congratulations my dear homes, and tell me that I have not disappointed you as an agent that you could not regret the confidence which you showed in me when you sent me down All these things have by one night's work been thoroughly cleared I have said by one night's work, but in truth it was by two nights work, from the first we drew entirely blank I sat up with the henry In his rooms until nanny three o'clock in the morning, but no sound of any sort did we hear except the chiming clock upon the stairs It was a most melancholy vigil and ended by each of us falling asleep in our own chairs Unfortunately we were not discouraged and we determined to try again The next night we lowered the lamp and sat smoking cigarettes without making the least sound It was incredible how slowly the hours crawled by and yet we were helped through it by same sort of patient interest which the hunter must feel as he watches the trap in which he hopes the game may wonder and struck and too and we had almost for the second time giving up and despair when in an instant we were both sat a bolt upright in our chairs with all our wear and senses keenly on the alert once more we heard the creak of a step in the passage Very stealthily we heard it pass along until it died away in the distance Then the baronet gently opened his door and we set out in pursuit Already our man had gone round the galley and the corridor was all in darkness Softly we stole along until we had come up until the other wing We were just in time to catch a glimpse of the tall black beard figure whose shoulders rounded as he tipped toe down the passage then he passed through the same door as before and the light of the candle framed it in the darkness and shot one single yellow beam across the gloom of the corridor We shuffled cautiously towards it, trying every plank before we dared to put our weight completely upon it We had taken the precaution of leaving our boots behind us but even so the old board snapped and creaked beneath our tread Sometimes it seemed impossible that he should fail to hear our approach However the man is fortunately rather deaf and he was so entirely preoccupied in what which he was doing In the last we reached the door and peeped through we found him crouching at the window Candle in hand his white intent face pressed against the pain exactly as I had seen him two nights before We had arranged no plan of campaign but the baronet is a man to whom the most direct way is always the most natural He walked into the room and as he did so baronet sprang up from the window with a sharp hiss of his breath and stood, livid and trembling before us His dark eyes glaring out to the white mask of his face were full of horror and astonishment as he gazed from Sir Henry to me What are you doing here baronet?

Nothing sir His agitation was so great that he could hardly speak and the shadows sprang up and down from the shaking of his candle It was the window sir I go around at night to see if they are fastened On the second floor Yes sir all the windows Look here baronet said Henry sternly We have made up our minds to have the truth out of you so we will save your trouble to tell us sooner rather than later come now no lies what were you doing at that window The fellow looked at us in a helpless way and he run his wrist together like one who is in the last extremity of doubt and misery I was doing no harm sir I was holding a candle to the window And why were you holding a candle to the window? And ask me Sir Henry don't ask me I give you my words sir That it is not my secret and that I cannot tell it If it concerns no one but myself I would not try to keep it from you A sudden idea occurred to me and I took the candle from the trembling hand of the butler He must have been holding it as a signal said I Let us see if there is any answer I held it as he had done and stared out into the darkness of the night Vagely I could discern the black bank of the trees and the light were expanse of the more for the moon was behind the clouds And then I gave a cry of exaltation For a tiny pin point of yellow light had suddenly transfixed the dark veil and glowed steadily in the centre of the black framed square by the window There it is I cried no no no sir it is nothing nothing at all the black that broke in I assure you sir move your light across the window Watson cried the baronet See the other moves all same now you're asked all Do you deny that it is a signal come speak up who is your confederate out yonder And what is this conspiracy that is going on? The man's face became openly defined it is my business and not yours I will not tell Then you leave my employment right away very good sir if I must I must and you go and disgrace by thunder you may well be ashamed of yourself Your family has lived with mine for over a hundred years under this roof and here I find you deep in some dark plot against me no no sir no not against you it was a woman's voice and Mrs. Barrymore, paler and more horror struck than her husband was standing at the door Her bulky figure in a shawl and a skirt that might have been comic work not for the intensity of feeling upon her face we have to go Eliza this is the end of it you can pack our things said to Butler oh John John have I brought you to this it is my doing say Henry all mine he has had nothing done except for the my sake and because I asked him speak out then what does it mean? My unhappy brother is starving on the more we cannot let him perish at our very gates the light is a signal to him that food is ready for him and his light out yonder is to show the spot to which to bring it then your brother is the escape convexer seldom the criminal that's the truth sir said Barrymore I said that it was not my secret and that I could not tell it to you but now you have heard it and you will see that if there was a plot it is not against you this then was the explanation of the stealthy expeditions at night and the light at the window say Henry and I both stared at the woman in amazement was it possible that this stoddedly respectable person was of the same blood as one of the most notorious criminals in our country yes sir my name was sold in and here's my younger brother we humid him too much when he was a lad and gave him his own way in everything until he came to think that the world was made for his pleasure and that he could do what he liked in it then as he grew older he met wicked companions and the devil entered into him until he broke my mother's heart and dragged our name into the dirt from crime to crime he sank lower and lower until it was only the mercy of God which snapped him from the scaffold but to me sir you'll always be the little curly headed boy that I'd nursed and played with as any elder sister would that is why he broke prison sir he knew that I was here and that we could not refuse to help him when he dragged himself here one night we are he and starving with the ward is hard on his hills what could we do we took him in and fed him and cared for him and he returned sir and my brother thought it would be safer on the more than anywhere else until the Q and Kri was over so he lay in hiding there but every second night we made sure if he was still there by putting a light in the window and if there was an answer my husband took out some bread and meat to him every day we hoped that he was gone but as long as he was there we could not desert him that is the whole truth as I am an honest Christian woman and you will see that if there is blame in the matter it does not lie with my husband but with me for who's sake he has done all that he has the woman's words came with an intense earnestness which carried conviction with him is this true parable yes Sir Henry every word of it well I cannot blame you for standing by your own wife forget what I have said go to your room you too we shall talk further about this matter in the morning when they were gone we looked out to the window again Sir Henry had flung it open and the cold night wind beat on upon our face far away in the black distance they are still glowed at one tiny point of yellow light I wonder he dares said Sir Henry it may be so placed as to be only visible from here very likely how far do you think it is out by the cleft or I think no more than a mile or two off hardly that well it cannot be far if barramore had to carry out food to it and he is waiting this villain beside that candle by thunder Watson I'm going out there to take that man the same thought it crossed my own mind who is not as if the barramore had taken us into their confidence their secret had been forced from them the man was a danger to the community an unmitigated scoundrel for whom there was neither pity nor excuse you are only doing our duty in taking this chance and putting him back where he could do no harm with his brutal and violent nature others would have to pay the price if we held our hands any night for example our neighbours the Stapletons might be attacked by him and it may have been the thought of this which made Sir Henry so keen upon the adventure I will come said I can get your revolver and put on your boots the sooner we start the better as the fellow may put out his light and be off in five minutes we were outside the door starting upon our expedition we hurried through the dark shrubbery amid the dull moaning of the autumn wind and the rustle of the falling leaves the night air was heavy with the smell of damp and decay now and again the moon peaked out for an instant but clouds were driving over the face of the sky and as we came out on the moor a thin rain began to form the light still burns deadly in front are you armed I asked I have a hunting crop we must close in on him rapidly but he is said to be a desperate fellow we shall take him by surprise and have him at our mercy before he can resist I say what's said the baronet what would homes say of this how about that hour of darkness in which the power of evil is exalted as if in answer to his words they rose suddenly out of the vast gloom on the moor that strange cry which I had already heard upon the borders of the great grampian mire it came with the wind through the silence the night a long deep mutter then a rising hell and then the sad moan on which it died away again and again it sounded the whole air throbbing with it strident wild menacing the baronet caught his sleeve and his face glimmered white through the darkness my god what's that Watson I don't know it's a sound they have on the moor I've heard it once before it died away and an absolute silence closed in upon us we stood straining our ears but nothing came Watson said the baronet there was the cry of a hound my blood ran cold in my vein but there was a break in his voice which told the sudden horror which had seized him what do they call this sound he asked who the folk on the countryside oh they are ignorant people why should you mind what they call it tell me Watson what do they save it I hesitated but could not escape the question they say it is the cry of the hound of the basketballs he groaned and was silent for a few moments a hound it was he said it last but it seemed to come from miles away over yonder I think it was hard to say once it came it rose and fell with the wind isn't that the direction of the great crampion my yes it is well it was up there come now Watson don't you think yourself that it was the cry of a hound I'm not a child you need not fear to speak the truth stapleton was with me when I heard it last he said that it might be the calling of a strange bird no no it was a hound my god can there be some truth in all these stories is it possible that I really am in danger from so darker cause you don't believe it do you Watson no no and yet it was one thing to laugh about in London and it is another to stand out here in the darkness of the mall and to hear such a cry as that and my uncle there was the footprint of a hound beside him as he lay it all fits together I don't think that I am a coward Watson but that sounds seem to freeze my very blood feel my hand it was as cold as a block of marble you'll be alright tomorrow I don't think I'll get that cry out of my head what do advice that we do now shall we turn back no by thunder we have come out to get our man and we will do it we after the convict and the hell hound as likely is not after us come on we'll see it through if all the themes of the pit will loose upon the mall we stumbled slowly along in the darkness with the black loom of the craggy hills around us and the yellow speck of light burning steadily in front there is nothing so deceptive as the distance of a light upon a pitch black night and sometimes the glimmer seemed to be far away upon the horizon and sometimes it might have been within a few yards but at last we could see whence it came and then we knew that we were very close indeed a guttering candle was stuck in a crevice of the rocks which flanked it on either side so as to keep the wind from it and also to prevent it from being visible save in the direction of basketball hall a boulder of granite concealed our approach and crouching behind it we gazed over it at the single light it was strange to see this single candle burning there in the middle of the mall with no signs of life near it just the one straight yellow flame and the gleam of the rock on each side of it what shall we do now whispered say Henry wait here he must be near his light let us see if we can get a glimpse of him the words were hardly out of my mouth when we both saw him over the rocks in the crevice of which the candle burned there was the thrust out of an evil yellow face a terrible animal face all seemed and scored with bile passions foul with myer with a bristling beard and hung with matted hair it might well have belonged to one of those old savages who dwelt in the burrows on the hill sides the light beneath him was reflected in his small cunning eyes which pierced fiercely to the left and right through darkness like a crafty and savage animal who has heard the steps of his hunters something had evidently aroused his suspicions it may have been that barren more had sent some private signal which we had neglected to give or the fellow may have some other reason for thinking that all was not well but I could read his fears upon his wicked face any instant he might dash out to the light and vanish into the darkness I sprang forward therefore and Sir Henry did the same at the same moment the convict screamed out a curse it has and hurled a rock which splintered up against the boulder which had sheltered us I caught one glimpse of his short squat strongly built figure as he sprang to his figure in turn to run at the same moment by a lucky chance the moon broke through the clouds we rushed over the brow of the hill and there was our man running with great speed down the other side springing over stones in his way with the activity of a mountain goat a lucky long shot of my revolver might have crippled him but I had brought it only to defend myself if attacked and not to shoot an unarmed man who was running away we were both swift runners and in fairly good training but we soon found that we had no chance of overtaking him we saw him for a long time in the moonlight until he was only a small speck moving swiftly among the boulders upon the side of a distant hill we ran and ran until we were completely blown but the space between us grew ever wider finally we stopped and sat panting on two rocks while we watched him disappearing in the distant and it was at this moment that we were a curd and most strange and unexpected thing we had arisen from our rocks and were returning to go home having abandoned the hopeless chase the moon was low over the right and the jagged pinnacle of a granite torched up against the low curve of its silver disk there outlined as black as an ebony statue on that shining background I saw the figure of a man upon the tall do not think that it was delusion homes I assure you that as I have never in my life seen anything more clearly as far as I could judge the figure was that of a tall thin man he stood with his legs a little separated his arms folded his head bowed as if he were brooding over that enormous wilderness of peat and granite which lay before him he might have been the very spirit that terrible place it was not the convict this man was very far from the place where the latter had disappeared besides he was a much taller man with a cry of surprise I pointed him out to the baronet but in that instant during which I'd turned to grasp his arm the man was gone there was a sharp pinnacle granite still cutting the long lower edge of the moon but its peak bore no trace of that silent emotionless figure I wished to go in that direction and to search the tall but it was some distance away the baronet's nerves were still quivering from that cry which recalled a dark story of his family and he was not in the mood for fresh adventures he had not seen this lonely figure this man upon the tour and could not feel the thrill which is strange presence and his commanding attitude had given to me a wader no doubt said he the more has been thick with him since his fellow escaped well perhaps his exclamation may be the right one but I should like to have some further proof of it today we mean to communicate with the prince down people where they should look for their missing man but it is hard lines that we have not actually had the triumph of bringing them back as our own prisoner such are the adventures of last night and you must acknowledge my dear homes that I have done you very well in the matter of a report much of what I tell you is no doubt quite irrelevant but still I feel that it is best that I should let you have all the facts and leave you to select for yourself those which will be more of most service to you in helping you with your conclusions we are certainly making some progress so far as the baron morse go we have found the motive of their actions and that has cleared up the situation very much but the more with its mysteries and its strange inhabitants remain as inscrutable as ever perhaps in my next I may be able to throw some light upon this also best of all would it be if you could come down to us in any case you will hear from me again in the course of the next few days