The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (books to read this summer .txt) ๐
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- Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
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It is true that I have had only the one glance at him, and yet there are some things to which I am ready to swear. He is no one whom I have seen down here, and I have now met all the neighbours. The figure was far taller than that of Stapleton, far thinner than that of Frankland. Barrymore it might possibly have been, but we had left him behind us, and I am certain that he could not have followed us. A stranger then is still dogging us, just as a stranger dogged us in London. We have never shaken him off. If I could lay my hands upon that man, then at last we might find ourselves at the end of all our difficulties. To this one purpose I must now devote all my energies.
My first impulse was to tell Sir Henry all my plans. My second and wisest one is to play my own game and speak as little as possible to anyone. He is silent and distrait. His nerves have been strangely shaken by that sound upon the moor. I will say nothing to add to his anxieties, but I will take my own steps to attain my own end.
We had a small scene this morning after breakfast. Barrymore asked leave to speak with Sir Henry, and they were closeted in his study some little time. Sitting in the billiard-room I more than once heard the sound of voices raised, and I had a pretty good idea what the point was which was under discussion. After a time the baronet opened his door and called for me. โBarrymore considers that he has a grievance,โ he said. โHe thinks that it was unfair on our part to hunt his brother-in-law down when he, of his own free will, had told us the secret.โ
The butler was standing very pale but very collected before us.
โI may have spoken too warmly, sir,โ said he, โand if I have, I am sure that I beg your pardon. At the same time, I was very much surprised when I heard you two gentlemen come back this morning and learned that you had been chasing Selden. The poor fellow has enough to fight against without my putting more upon his track.โ
โIf you had told us of your own free will it would have been a different thing,โ said the baronet, โyou only told us, or rather your wife only told us, when it was forced from you and you could not help yourself.โ
โI didnโt think you would have taken advantage of it, Sir Henryโindeed I didnโt.โ
โThe man is a public danger. There are lonely houses scattered over the moor, and he is a fellow who would stick at nothing. You only want to get a glimpse of his face to see that. Look at Mr. Stapletonโs house, for example, with no one but himself to defend it. Thereโs no safety for anyone until he is under lock and key.โ
โHeโll break into no house, sir. I give you my solemn word upon that. But he will never trouble anyone in this country again. I assure you, Sir Henry, that in a very few days the necessary arrangements will have been made and he will be on his way to South America. For Godโs sake, sir, I beg of you not to let the police know that he is still on the moor. They have given up the chase there, and he can lie quiet until the ship is ready for him. You canโt tell on him without getting my wife and me into trouble. I beg you, sir, to say nothing to the police.โ
โWhat do you say, Watson?โ
I shrugged my shoulders. โIf he were safely out of the country it would relieve the tax-payer of a burden.โ
โBut how about the chance of his holding someone up before he goes?โ
โHe would not do anything so mad, sir. We have provided him with all that he can want. To commit a crime would be to show where he was hiding.โ
โThat is true,โ said Sir Henry. โWell, Barrymoreโโ
โGod bless you, sir, and thank you from my heart! It would have killed my poor wife had he been taken again.โ
โI guess we are aiding and abetting a felony, Watson? But, after what we have heard I donโt feel as if I could give the man up, so there is an end of it. All right, Barrymore, you can go.โ
With a few broken words of gratitude the man turned, but he hesitated and then came back.
โYouโve been so kind to us, sir, that I should like to do the best I can for you in return. I know something, Sir Henry, and perhaps I should have said it before, but it was long after the inquest that I found it out. Iโve never breathed a word about it yet to mortal man. Itโs about poor Sir Charlesโs death.โ
The baronet and I were both upon our feet. โDo you know how he died?โ
โNo, sir, I donโt know that.โ
โWhat then?โ
โI know why he was at the gate at that hour. It was to meet a woman.โ
โTo meet a woman! He?โ
โYes, sir.โ
โAnd the womanโs name?โ
โI canโt give you the name, sir, but I can give you the initials. Her initials were L. L.โ
โHow do you know this, Barrymore?โ
โWell, Sir Henry, your uncle had a letter that morning. He had usually a
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