Sherlock Holmes complete collection by sir arthur conan doyle

The Hound of the Baskervilles Chapter 15 A RETROSPECTION

IT WAS the end of November, and Holmes and I sat, upon a raw andfoggy night, on either side of a blazing fire in our sitting-room in BakerStreet. Since the tragic upshot of our visit to Devonshire he had beenengaged in two affairs of the utmost importance, in the first of which hehad exposed the atrocious conduct of Colonel Upwood in connection withthe famous card scandal of the Nonpareil Club, while in the second hehad defended the unfortunate Mme. Montpensier from the charge ofmurder which hung over her in connection with the death of her stepdaughter, Mlle. Carere, the young lady who, as it will be remembered,was found six months later alive and married in New York. My friendwas in excellent spirits over the success which had attended a successionof difficult and important cases, so that I was able to induce him todiscuss the details of the Baskerville mystery. I had waited patiently forthe opportunity, for I was aware that he would never permit cases tooverlap, and that his clear and logical mind would not be drawn from itspresent work to dwell upon memories of the past. Sir Henry and Dr.Mortimer were, however, in London, on their way to that long voyagewhich had been recommended for the restoration of his shattered nerves.They had called upon us that very afternoon, so that it was natural that thesubject should come up for discussion."The whole course of events," said Holmes, "from the point of view ofthe man who called himself Stapleton was simple and direct, although tous, who had no means in the beginning of knowing the motives of hisactions and could only learn part of the facts, it all appeared exceedinglycomplex. I have had the advantage of two conversations with Mrs.Stapleton, and the case has now been so entirely cleared up that I am notaware that there is anything which has remained a secret to us. You willfind a few notes upon the matter under the heading B in my indexed listof cases.""Perhaps you would kindly give me a sketch of the course of eventsfrom memory.""Certainly, though I cannot guarantee that I carry all the facts in mymind. Intense mental concentration has a curious way of blotting out whathas passed. The barrister who has his case at his fingers' ends and is ableto argue with an expert upon his own subject finds that a week or two ofthe courts will drive it all out of his head once more. So each of my casesdisplaces the last, and Mlle. Carere has blurred my recollection ofBaskerville Hall. To-morrow some other little problem may be submittedto my notice which will in turn dispossess the fair French lady and theinfamous Upwood. So far as the case of the hound goes, however, I willgive you the course of events as nearly as I can, and you will suggestanything which I may have forgotten."My inquiries show beyond all question that the family portrait did notlie, and that this fellow was indeed a Baskerville. He was a son of thatRodger Baskerville, the younger brother of Sir Charles, who fled with asinister reputation to South America, where he was said to have diedunmarried. He did, as a matter of fact, marry, and had one child, thisfellow, whose real name is the same as his father's. He married Beryl Garcia, one of the beauties of Costa Rica, and, having purloined aconsiderable sum of public money, he changed his name to Vandeleur[762] and fled to England, where he established a school in the east ofYorkshire. His reason for attempting this special line of business was thathe had struck up an acquaintance with a consumptive tutor upon thevoyage home, and that he had used this man's ability to make theundertaking a success. Fraser, the tutor, died, however, and the schoolwhich had begun well sank from disrepute into infamy. The Vandeleursfound it convenient to change their name to Stapleton, and he brought theremains of his fortune, his schemes for the future, and his taste forentomology to the south of England. I learn at the British Museum that hewas a recognized authority upon the subject, and that the name ofVandeleur has been permanently attached to a certain moth which he had,in his Yorkshire days, been the first to describe."We now come to that portion of his life which has proved to be ofsuch intense interest to us. The fellow had evidently made inquiry andfound that only two lives intervened between him and a valuable estate.When he went to Devonshire his plans were, I believe, exceedingly hazy,but that he meant mischief from the first is evident from the way in whichhe took his wife with him in the character of his sister. The idea of usingher as a decoy was clearly already in his mind, though he may not havebeen certain how the details of his plot were to be arranged. He meant inthe end to have the estate, and he was ready to use any tool or run any riskfor that end. His first act was to establish himself as near to his ancestralhome as he could, and his second was to cultivate a friendship with SirCharles Baskerville and with the neighbours."The baronet himself told him about the family hound, and so preparedthe way for his own death. Stapleton, as I will continue to call him, knewthat the old man's heart was weak and that a shock would kill him. Somuch he had learned from Dr. Mortimer. He had heard also that SirCharles was superstitious and had taken this grim legend very seriously.His ingenious mind instantly suggested a way by which the baronet couldbe done to death, and yet it would be hardly possible to bring home theguilt to the real murderer."Having conceived the idea he proceeded to carry it out withconsiderable finesse. An ordinary schemer would have been content towork with a savage hound. The use of artificial means to make thecreature diabolical was a flash of genius upon his part. The dog he boughtin London from Ross and Mangles, the dealers in Fulham Road. It wasthe strongest and most savage in their possession. He brought it down bythe North Devon line and walked a great distance over the moor so as toget it home without exciting any remarks. He had already on his insecthunts learned to penetrate the Grimpen Mire, and so had found a safehiding-place for the creature. Here he kennelled it and waited his chance."But it was some time coming. The old gentleman could not bedecoyed outside of his grounds at night. Several times Stapleton lurkedabout with his hound, but without avail. It was during these fruitlessquests that he, or rather his ally, was seen by peasants, and that the legendof the demon dog received a new confirmation. He had hoped that his wife might lure Sir Charles to his ruin, but here she proved unexpectedlyindependent. She would not endeavour to entangle the old gentleman in asentimental attachment which might deliver him over to his enemy.Threats and even, I am sorry to say, blows refused to move her. Shewould have nothing to do with it, and for a time Stapleton was at adeadlock."He found a way out of his difficulties through the chance that SirCharles, who had conceived a friendship for him, made him the ministerof his charity in the case of this unfortunate woman, Mrs. Laura Lyons.By representing himself [763] as a single man he acquired completeinfluence over her, and he gave her to understand that in the event of herobtaining a divorce from her husband he would marry her. His plans weresuddenly brought to a head by his knowledge that Sir Charles was aboutto leave the Hall on the advice of Dr. Mortimer, with whose opinion hehimself pretended to coincide. He must act at once, or his victim mightget beyond his power. He therefore put pressure upon Mrs. Lyons to writethis letter, imploring the old man to give her an interview on the eveningbefore his departure for London. He then, by a specious argument,prevented her from going, and so had the chance for which he had waited."Driving back in the evening from Coombe Tracey he was in time toget his hound, to treat it with his infernal paint, and to bring the beastround to the gate at which he had reason to expect that he would find theold gentleman waiting. The dog, incited by its master, sprang over thewicket-gate and pursued the unfortunate baronet, who fled screamingdown the yew alley. In that gloomy tunnel it must indeed have been adreadful sight to see that huge black creature, with its flaming jaws andblazing eyes, bounding after its victim. He fell dead at the end of the alleyfrom heart disease and terror. The hound had kept upon the grassy borderwhile the baronet had run down the path, so that no track but the man'swas visible. On seeing him lying still the creature had probablyapproached to sniff at him, but finding him dead had turned away again. Itwas then that it left the print which was actually observed by Dr.Mortimer. The hound was called off and hurried away to its lair in theGrimpen Mire, and a mystery was left which puzzled the authorities,alarmed the countryside, and finally brought the case within the scope ofour observation."So much for the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. You perceive thedevilish cunning of it, for really it would be almost impossible to make acase against the real murderer. His only accomplice was one who couldnever give him away, and the grotesque, inconceivable nature of thedevice only served to make it more effective. Both of the womenconcerned in the case, Mrs. Stapleton and Mrs. Laura Lyons, were leftwith a strong suspicion against Stapleton. Mrs. Stapleton knew that hehad designs upon the old man, and also of the existence of the hound.Mrs. Lyons knew neither of these things, but had been impressed by thedeath occurring at the time of an uncancelled appointment which wasonly known to him. However, both of them were under his influence, andhe had nothing to fear from them. The first half of his task wassuccessfully accomplished, but the more difficult still remained. "It is possible that Stapleton did not know of the existence of an heir inCanada. In any case he would very soon learn it from his friend Dr.Mortimer, and he was told by the latter all details about the arrival ofHenry Baskerville. Stapleton's first idea was that this young stranger fromCanada might possibly be done to death in London without coming downto Devonshire at all. He distrusted his wife ever since she had refused tohelp him in laying a trap for the old man, and he dared not leave her longout of his sight for fear he should lose his influence over her. It was forthis reason that he took her to London with him. They lodged, I find, atthe Mexborough Private Hotel, in Craven Street, which was actually oneof those called upon by my agent in search of evidence. Here he kept hiswife imprisoned in her room while he, disguised in a beard, followed Dr.Mortimer to Baker Street and afterwards to the station and to theNorthumberland Hotel. His wife had some inkling of his plans; but shehad such a fear of her husband-a fear founded upon brutal ill-treatment-that she dare not write to warn the man [764] whom she knew to be indanger. If the letter should fall into Stapleton's hands her own life wouldnot be safe. Eventually, as we know, she adopted the expedient of cuttingout the words which would form the message, and addressing the letter ina disguised hand. It reached the baronet, and gave him the first warning ofhis danger."It was very essential for Stapleton to get some article of Sir Henry'sattire so that, in case he was driven to use the dog, he might always havethe means of setting him upon his track. With characteristic promptnessand audacity he set about this at once, and we cannot doubt that the bootsor chamber-maid of the hotel was well bribed to help him in his design.By chance, however, the first boot which was procured for him was a newone and, therefore, useless for his purpose. He then had it returned andobtained another-a most instructive incident, since it proved conclusivelyto my mind that we were dealing with a real hound, as no othersupposition could explain this anxiety to obtain an old boot and thisindifference to a new one. The more outré and grotesque an incident isthe more carefully it deserves to be examined, and the very point whichappears to complicate a case is, when duly considered and scientificallyhandled, the one which is most likely to elucidate it."Then we had the visit from our friends next morning, shadowedalways by Stapleton in the cab. From his knowledge of our rooms and ofmy appearance, as well as from his general conduct, I am inclined to thinkthat Stapleton's career of crime has been by no means limited to thissingle Baskerville affair. It is suggestive that during the last three yearsthere have been four considerable burglaries in the west country, for noneof which was any criminal ever arrested. The last of these, at FolkestoneCourt, in May, was remarkable for the cold-blooded pistolling of thepage, who surprised the masked and solitary burglar. I cannot doubt thatStapleton recruited his waning resources in this fashion, and that for yearshe has been a desperate and dangerous man."We had an example of his readiness of resource that morning when hegot away from us so successfully, and also of his audacity in sending backmy own name to me through the cabman. From that moment he understood that I had taken over the case in London, and that thereforethere was no chance for him there. He returned to Dartmoor and awaitedthe arrival of the baronet.""One moment!" said I. "You have, no doubt, described the sequence ofevents correctly, but there is one point which you have left unexplained.What became of the hound when its master was in London?""I have given some attention to this matter and it is undoubtedly ofimportance. There can be no question that Stapleton had a confidant,though it is unlikely that he ever placed himself in his power by sharingall his plans with him. There was an old manservant at Merripit House,whose name was Anthony. His connection with the Stapletons can betraced for several years, as far back as the school-mastering days, so thathe must have been aware that his master and mistress were really husbandand wife. This man has disappeared and has escaped from the country. Itis suggestive that Anthony is not a common name in England, whileAntonio is so in all Spanish or Spanish-American countries. The man, likeMrs. Stapleton herself, spoke good English, but with a curious lispingaccent. I have myself seen this old man cross the Grimpen Mire by thepath which Stapleton had marked out. It is very probable, therefore, thatin the absence of his master it was he who cared for the hound, though hemay never have known the purpose for which the beast was used.[765] "The Stapletons then went down to Devonshire, whither they weresoon followed by Sir Henry and you. One word now as to how I stoodmyself at that time. It may possibly recur to your memory that when Iexamined the paper upon which the printed words were fastened I made aclose inspection for the water-mark. In doing so I held it within a fewinches of my eyes, and was conscious of a faint smell of the scent knownas white jessamine. There are seventy-five perfumes, which it is verynecessary that a criminal expert should be able to distinguish from eachother, and cases have more than once within my own experiencedepended upon their prompt recognition. The scent suggested thepresence of a lady, and already my thoughts began to turn towards theStapletons. Thus I had made certain of the hound, and had guessed at thecriminal before ever we went to the west country."It was my game to watch Stapleton. It was evident, however, that Icould not do this if I were with you, since he would be keenly on hisguard. I deceived everybody, therefore, yourself included, and I camedown secretly when I was supposed to be in London. My hardships werenot so great as you imagined, though such trifling details must neverinterfere with the investigation of a case. I stayed for the most part atCoombe Tracey, and only used the hut upon the moor when it wasnecessary to be near the scene of action. Cartwright had come down withme, and in his disguise as a country boy he was of great assistance to me.I was dependent upon him for food and clean linen. When I was watchingStapleton, Cartwright was frequently watching you, so that I was able tokeep my hand upon all the strings."I have already told you that your reports reached me rapidly, beingforwarded instantly from Baker Street to Coombe Tracey. They were ofgreat service to me, and especially that one incidentally truthful piece of biography of Stapleton's. I was able to establish the identity of the manand the woman and knew at last exactly how I stood. The case had beenconsiderably complicated through the incident of the escaped convict andthe relations between him and the Barrymores. This also you cleared up ina very effective way, though I had already come to the same conclusionsfrom my own observations."By the time that you discovered me upon the moor I had a completeknowledge of the whole business, but I had not a case which could go to ajury. Even Stapleton's attempt upon Sir Henry that night which ended inthe death of the unfortunate convict did not help us much in provingmurder against our man. There seemed to be no alternative but to catchhim red-handed, and to do so we had to use Sir Henry, alone andapparently unprotected, as a bait. We did so, and at the cost of a severeshock to our client we succeeded in completing our case and drivingStapleton to his destruction. That Sir Henry should have been exposed tothis is, I must confess, a reproach to my management of the case, but wehad no means of foreseeing the terrible and paralyzing spectacle whichthe beast presented, nor could we predict the fog which enabled him toburst upon us at such short notice. We succeeded in our object at a costwhich both the specialist and Dr. Mortimer assure me will be a temporaryone. A long journey may enable our friend to recover not only from hisshattered nerves but also from his wounded feelings. His love for the ladywas deep and sincere, and to him the saddest part of all this blackbusiness was that he should have been deceived by her."It only remains to indicate the part which she had played throughout.There can be no doubt that Stapleton exercised an influence over herwhich may have been love or may have been fear, or very possibly both,since they are by no means [766] incompatible emotions. It was, at least,absolutely effective. At his command she consented to pass as his sister,though he found the limits of his power over her when he endeavoured tomake her the direct accessory to murder. She was ready to warn Sir Henryso far as she could without implicating her husband, and again and againshe tried to do so. Stapleton himself seems to have been capable ofjealousy, and when he saw the baronet paying court to the lady, eventhough it was part of his own plan, still he could not help interruptingwith a passionate outburst which revealed the fiery soul which his selfcontained manner so cleverly concealed. By encouraging the intimacy hemade it certain that Sir Henry would frequently come to Merripit Houseand that he would sooner or later get the opportunity which he desired.On the day of the crisis, however, his wife turned suddenly against him.She had learned something of the death of the convict, and she knew thatthe hound was being kept in the out-house on the evening that Sir Henrywas coming to dinner. She taxed her husband with his intended crime,and a furious scene followed in which he showed her for the first timethat she had a rival in his love. Her fidelity turned in an instant to bitterhatred, and he saw that she would betray him. He tied her up, therefore,that she might have no chance of warning Sir Henry, and he hoped, nodoubt, that when the whole countryside put down the baronet's death tothe curse of his family, as they certainly would do, he could win his wife back to accept an accomplished fact and to keep silent upon what sheknew. In this I fancy that in any case he made a miscalculation, and that,if we had not been there, his doom would none the less have been sealed.A woman of Spanish blood does not condone such an injury so lightly.And now, my dear Watson, without referring to my notes, I cannot giveyou a more detailed account of this curious case. I do not know thatanything essential has been left unexplained.""He could not hope to frighten Sir Henry to death as he had done theold uncle with his bogie hound.""The beast was savage and half-starved. If its appearance did notfrighten its victim to death, at least it would paralyze the resistance whichmight be offered.""No doubt. There only remains one difficulty. If Stapleton came intothe succession, how could he explain the fact that he, the heir, had beenliving unannounced under another name so close to the property? Howcould he claim it without causing suspicion and inquiry?""It is a formidable difficulty, and I fear that you ask too much whenyou expect me to solve it. The past and the present are within the field ofmy inquiry, but what a man may do in the future is a hard question toanswer. Mrs. Stapleton has heard her husband discuss the problem onseveral occasions. There were three possible courses. He might claim theproperty from South America, establish his identity before the Britishauthorities there, and so obtain the fortune without ever coming to England at all; or he might adopt an elaborate disguise during the shorttime that he need be in London; or, again, he might furnish an accomplicewith the proofs and papers, putting him in as heir, and retaining a claimupon some proportion of his income. We cannot doubt from what weknow of him that he would have found some way out of the difficulty.And now, my dear Watson, we have had some weeks of severe work, andfor one evening, I think, we may turn our thoughts into more pleasantchannels. I have a box for 'Les Huguenots.' Have you heard the DeReszkes? Might I trouble you then to be ready in half an hour, and we canstop at Marcini's for a little dinner on the way?"