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Chapter 11 The Man on the Tor from THE HOUND OF THE · Sherlock Holmes

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Speaker 1: Chapter eleven, The Man on the Tour. The extract from
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Speaker 1: my private diary which forms the last chapter, has brought
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Speaker 1: my narrative up to the eighteenth October, a time when
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Speaker 1: these strange events began to move swiftly towards their terrible conclusion.
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Speaker 1: The incidents of the next few days are indelibly graven
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Speaker 1: upon my recollection, and I can tell them without reference
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Speaker 1: to the notes made at the time I start them,
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Speaker 1: from the day which succeeded that upon which I had
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Speaker 1: established two facts of great importance, the one that Missus
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Speaker 1: Laura Lyons of Coombe Tracy had written to Sir Charles
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Speaker 1: Baskerville and made an appointment with him at the very
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Speaker 1: place and hour that he met his death. The other
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Speaker 1: that the lurking man upon the Moor was to be
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Speaker 1: found among the stone huts upon the hillside. With these
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Speaker 1: two facts in my possession, I felt that either my
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Speaker 1: intelligence or my courage must be deficient if I could
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Speaker 1: not throw some further light upon these dark places. I
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Speaker 1: had no opportunity to tell the Baronet what I had
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Speaker 1: learned about Missus Lyons upon the evening before, but Doctor
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Speaker 1: Mortimer remained with him at cards until it was very
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Speaker 1: late at breakfast. However, I informed him about my discovery
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Speaker 1: and asked him whether he would care to accompany me
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Speaker 1: to Coombe Tracy. At first he was very eager to come,
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Speaker 1: but on second thoughts, it seemed to both of us
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Speaker 1: that if I went alone the results might be better. The
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Speaker 1: more formal we made the visit, the less information we
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Speaker 1: might obtain. I left Sir Henry behind, therefore, not without
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Speaker 1: some prickings of conscience, and drove off upon my new quest.
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Speaker 1: When I reached comb Tracy, I told Perkins to put
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Speaker 1: up the horses, and I made inquiries for the lady
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Speaker 1: whom I had come to interrogate. I had no difficulty
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Speaker 1: in finding her rooms, which were central and well appointed.
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Speaker 1: A maid showed me in without ceremony, and as I
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Speaker 1: entered the sitting room, a lady who was sitting before
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Speaker 1: a Remington typewriter sprang up with a pleasant smile of welcome.
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Speaker 1: Her face fell, however, when she saw that I was
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Speaker 1: a stranger, and she sat down again and asked me
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Speaker 1: the object of my visit. The first impression left by
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Speaker 1: missus Lyons was one of extreme beauty. Her eyes and
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Speaker 1: hair were of the same rich hazel color, and her cheeks,
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Speaker 1: though considerably freckled, were flushed with the exquisite bloom of
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Speaker 1: the brunette, the dainty pink which lurks at the heart
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Speaker 1: of the sulfur rose. Admiration was I repeat the first impression,
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Speaker 1: but the second was criticism. There was something subtly wrong
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Speaker 1: with the face, some coarseness of expression, some hardness perhaps
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Speaker 1: of eye, some looseness of lip, which marred its perfect beauty.
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Speaker 1: But these, of course are after thoughts. At the moment,
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Speaker 1: I was simply conscious that I was in the presence
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Speaker 1: of a very handsome woman, and that she was asking
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Speaker 1: me the reasons for my visit. I had not quite
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Speaker 1: understood until that instant how delicate my mission was. I
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Speaker 1: have the pleasure, said I, of knowing your father. It
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Speaker 1: was a clumsy introduction, and the lady made me feel it.
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Speaker 1: There is nothing in common between my father and me,
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Speaker 1: she said. I owe him nothing, and his friends are
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Speaker 1: not mine. If it were not for the late Sir
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Speaker 1: Charles Baskerville and some other kind hearts, I might have
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Speaker 1: starved for all that my father cared. It was about
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Speaker 1: the late Sir Charles Baskerville that I have come here
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Speaker 1: to see you. The freckles started out on the lady's face.
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Speaker 1: What can I tell you about him? She asked, and
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Speaker 1: her fingers played nervously over the stops of her typewriter.
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Speaker 1: You knew him, did you not? I have already said
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Speaker 1: that I owe a great deal to his kindness. If
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Speaker 1: I am able to support myself, it is largely due
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Speaker 1: to the interest which he took in my unhappy situation.
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Speaker 1: Did you correspond with him? The lady looked quickly up
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Speaker 1: with an angry gleam in her hazel eyes. What is
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Speaker 1: the object of these questions? She asked sharply. The object
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Speaker 1: is to avoid a public scandal. It is better that
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Speaker 1: I should ask them here than that the matter should
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Speaker 1: pass outside our control. She was silent, and her face
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Speaker 1: was still very pale. At last, she looked up with
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Speaker 1: something reckless and defiant in her manner. Well, I'll answer,
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Speaker 1: she said. What are your questions? Did you correspond with
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Speaker 1: sir Charles? I certainly wrote to him once or twice
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Speaker 1: to acknowledge his delicacy and his generosity. Have you the
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Speaker 1: dates of those letters? No? Have you ever met him? Yes,
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Speaker 1: once or twice when he came into Coomb Tracy. He
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Speaker 1: was a very retiring man, and he preferred to do
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Speaker 1: good by stealth. But if you saw him so seldom
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Speaker 1: and wrote so seldom, how did he know enough about
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Speaker 1: your affairs to be able to help you? As you
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Speaker 1: say that he has done. She met my difficulty with
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Speaker 1: the utmost readiness. There were several gentlemen who knew my
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Speaker 1: sad history and united to help me. One was mister Stapleton,
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Speaker 1: a neighbor and intimate friend of Sir Charles's. He was
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Speaker 1: exceedingly kind, and it was through him that Sir Charles
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Speaker 1: learned about my affairs. I knew already that Sir Charles
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Speaker 1: Baskerville had made Stapleton his almona upon several occasions, so
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Speaker 1: the lady's statement bore the impress of truth upon it.
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Speaker 1: Did you ever write to Sir Charles asking him to
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Speaker 1: meet you? I continued, Missus Lyons flushed with anger. Again, Really, sir,
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Speaker 1: this is a very extraordinary question. I am sorry, madam,
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Speaker 1: but I must repeat it. Then I answer, certainly not. Not.
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Speaker 1: On the very day of Sir Charles's death, the flush
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Speaker 1: had faded in an instant, and a deathly face was
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Speaker 1: before me. Her dry lips could not speak the no
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Speaker 1: which I saw rather than heard. Surely your memory deceives you,
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Speaker 1: said I. I could even quote a passage of your letter.
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Speaker 1: It ran, Please, please, as you are a gentleman, burn
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Speaker 1: this letter and be at the gate by ten o'clock.
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Speaker 1: I thought that she had fainted, but she recovered herself
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Speaker 1: by a supreme effort. Is there no such thing as
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Speaker 1: a gentleman? She gasped, You do, sir, Charles an injustice.
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Speaker 1: He did burn the letter, But sometimes a letter may
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Speaker 1: be legible even when burned. You acknowledge now that you
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Speaker 1: wrote it? Yes, I did write it, she cried, pouring
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Speaker 1: out her soul in a torrent of words. I did
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Speaker 1: write it. Why should I deny it? I have no
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Speaker 1: reason to be ashamed of it. I wished him to
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Speaker 1: help me. I believed that if I had an interview,
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Speaker 1: I could gain his help. So I asked him to
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Speaker 1: meet me. But why at such an hour? Because I
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Speaker 1: had only just learned that he was going to London
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Speaker 1: next day and might be away for months. There were
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Speaker 1: reasons why I could not get there earlier. But why
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Speaker 1: a rendezvous in the garden instead of a visit to
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Speaker 1: the house. Do you think a woman could go alone
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Speaker 1: at that hour to a bachelor's house. Well, what happened
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Speaker 1: when you did get there? I never went, Missus Lyons, No,
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Speaker 1: I swear it to you, on all I hold sacred.
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Speaker 1: I never went. Something intervened to prevent my going. What
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Speaker 1: was that? That is a private matter. I cannot tell it.
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Speaker 1: You acknowledge then that you made an appointment with Sir
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Speaker 1: Charles at the very hour and place at which he
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Speaker 1: met his death, But you deny that you kept the appointment.
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Speaker 1: That is the truth. Again and again I cross questioned her,
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Speaker 1: but I could never get past that point, Missus Lyons,
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Speaker 1: said I as I rose from this long and inconclusive interview.
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Speaker 1: You are taking a very great responsibility and putting yourself
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Speaker 1: in a very false position by not making an absolutely
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Speaker 1: clean breast of all that you know, if I have
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Speaker 1: to call in the aid of the police, you will
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Speaker 1: find how seriously you are compromised. If your position is innocent,
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Speaker 1: why did you, in the first instance deny having written
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Speaker 1: to Sir Charles upon that date? Because I feared that
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Speaker 1: some false conclusion might be drawn from it, and that
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Speaker 1: I might find myself involved in a scandal. And why
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Speaker 1: were you so pressing that Sir Charles should destroy your letter.
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Speaker 1: If you have read the letter, you will know I
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Speaker 1: did not say that I had read all the letter.
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Speaker 1: You quoted some of it. I quoted the PostScript. The
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Speaker 1: letter had, as I said, been burned, and it was
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Speaker 1: not all legible. I ask you once again why it
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Speaker 1: was that you were so pressing that Sir Charles should
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Speaker 1: destroy this letter, which he received on the day of
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Speaker 1: his death. The matter is a very private one, the
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Speaker 1: more reason why you should avoid a public investigation. I
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Speaker 1: will tell you then, if you have heard anything of
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Speaker 1: my unhappy history, you will know that I made a
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Speaker 1: rash marriage and had reason to regret it. I have
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Speaker 1: heard so much. My life had been one incessant persecution
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Speaker 1: from a husband whom I abhore. The law is upon
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Speaker 1: his side, and every day I am faced by the
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Speaker 1: possibility that he may force me to live with him.
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Speaker 1: At the time that I wrote this letter to Sir Charles,
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Speaker 1: I had learned that there was a prospect of my
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Speaker 1: regaining my freedom if certain expenses could be met. It
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Speaker 1: meant everything to me, peace of mind, happiness, self respect, everything.
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Speaker 1: I knew Sir Charles's generosity, and I thought that if
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Speaker 1: he heard the story from my own lips, he would
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Speaker 1: help me. Then how is it that you did not
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Speaker 1: go because I received help in the interval from another source?
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Speaker 1: Why then did you not write to Sir Charles and
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Speaker 1: explain this so I should have done had I not
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Speaker 1: seen his death in the paper next morning. The woman's
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Speaker 1: story hung coherently together, and all my questions were unable
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Speaker 1: to shake it. I could only check it by finding
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Speaker 1: if she had indeed instituted divorce proceedings against her husband
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Speaker 1: at or about the time of the tragedy. It was
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Speaker 1: unlikely that she would dare to say that she had
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Speaker 1: not been to Baskerville Hall. If she really had been,
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Speaker 1: for a trap would be necessary to take her there,
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Speaker 1: and could not have returned to Coombe Tracy until the
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Speaker 1: early hours of the morning. Such an excursion could not
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Speaker 1: be kept secret. The probability was, therefore, that she was
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Speaker 1: telling the truth, or at least a part of the truth.
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Speaker 1: I came away baffled and disheartened. Once again I had
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Speaker 1: reached that dead wall which seemed to be built across
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Speaker 1: every path by which I tried to get at the
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Speaker 1: object of my mission. And yet the more I thought
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Speaker 1: of the lady's face and of her manner, the more
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Speaker 1: I felt that something was being held back from me.
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Speaker 1: Why should she turn so pale? Why should she fight
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Speaker 1: against every admission until it was forced from her? Why
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Speaker 1: should she have been so reticent at the time of
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Speaker 1: the tragedy. Surely the explanation of all this could not
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Speaker 1: be as innocent as she would have me believe. For
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Speaker 1: the moment, I could proceed no farther in that direction,
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Speaker 1: but must turn back to that other clue, which was
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Speaker 1: to be sought for among the stone huts upon the moor.
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Speaker 1: And that was a most vague direction, I realized it.
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Speaker 1: I drove back and noted how hill after hill showed
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Speaker 1: traces of the ancient people. Barrymore's only indication had been
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Speaker 1: that the stranger lived in one of these abandoned huts,
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Speaker 1: and many hundreds of them are scattered throughout the length
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Speaker 1: and breadth of the moor. But I had my own
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Speaker 1: experience for a guide, since it had shown me the
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Speaker 1: man himself standing upon the summit of the Black tor.
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Speaker 1: That then should be the center of my search. From
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Speaker 1: there I should explore every hut upon the moor until
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Speaker 1: I lighted upon the right one. If this man were
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Speaker 1: inside it, I should find out from his own lips
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Speaker 1: at the point of my revolver, if necessary, who he was,
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Speaker 1: and why he had dogged us so long. He might
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Speaker 1: slip away from us in the crowd of Regent Street,
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Speaker 1: but it would puzzle him to do so upon the
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Speaker 1: lonely moor. On the other hand, if I should find
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Speaker 1: the hut and its tenant should not be within it,
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Speaker 1: I must remain there, however long the vigil until he
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Speaker 1: returned Holmes had missed him in London. It would indeed
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Speaker 1: be a triumph for me if I could run him
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Speaker 1: to Earth where my master had failed. Luck had been
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Speaker 1: against us again and again in this inquiry, but now
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Speaker 1: at last it came to my aid, and the messenger
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Speaker 1: of good fortune was none other than mister Frankland, who
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Speaker 1: was standing gray, whiskered and red faced outside the gate
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Speaker 1: of his garden, which opened on to the high road
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Speaker 1: along which I traveled. Good day, doctor Watson, cried he,
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Speaker 1: with unwonted good humor. You must really give your horses
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Speaker 1: a rest and come in to have a glass of
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Speaker 1: wine and to congratulate me. My feelings towards him were
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Speaker 1: very far from being friendly, after what I had heard
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Speaker 1: of his treatment of his daughter. But I was anxious
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Speaker 1: to send Perkins and the wagonette home, and the opportunity
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Speaker 1: was a good one. I alighted and sent a message
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Speaker 1: to Sir Henry that I should walk over in time
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Speaker 1: for dinner. Then I followed Frankland into his dining room.
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Speaker 1: It is a great day for me, sir, one of
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Speaker 1: the red letter days of my life, he cried, with
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Speaker 1: many chuckles. I have brought off a double event. I
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Speaker 1: mean to teach them in these parts that law is law,
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Speaker 1: and that there is a man here who does not
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Speaker 1: fear to invoke it. I have established a right of
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Speaker 1: way through the center of Old Middleton's Park, slap across it, sir,
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Speaker 1: within a hundred yards of his own front door. What
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Speaker 1: do you think of that will teach these magnets that
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Speaker 1: they cannot ride roughshod over the rights of the commoners
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Speaker 1: confound them. And I've closed the wood where the Fernworthy
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Speaker 1: folk used to picnic. These infernal people seem to think
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Speaker 1: that there are no rights of property, and that they
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Speaker 1: can swarm where they like with their papers and their bottles.
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Speaker 1: Both cases decided Doctor Watson, and both in my favor.
13:46
Speaker 1: I haven't had such a day since I had Sir
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Speaker 1: John Morland for trespass because he shot in his own warren.
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Speaker 1: How on earth did you do that? Look it up
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Speaker 1: in the book, sir. It will repay reading Franklin versus Morland,
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Speaker 1: Court of Queen's Bench. It cost me two hundred pounds,
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Speaker 1: but I got my verdict. Did it do you any good? None,
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Speaker 1: sir none. I am proud to say that I had
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Speaker 1: no interest in the matter. I act entirely from a
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Speaker 1: sense of public duty. I have no doubt, for example,
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Speaker 1: that the Fernworthy people will burn me in effigy to night.
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Speaker 1: I told the police last time they did it that
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Speaker 1: they should stop these disgraceful exhibitions. The County Constabulary is
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Speaker 1: in a scandalous state, sir, and it has not afforded
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Speaker 1: me the protection to which I am entitled. The case
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Speaker 1: of Franklin versus Regina. Will bring the matter before the
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Speaker 1: attention of the public. I told them that they would
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Speaker 1: have occasion to regret their treatment of me, and already
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Speaker 1: my words have come true. How so I asked the
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Speaker 1: old man, put on a very knowing expression, because I
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Speaker 1: could tell them what they are dying to know. But
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Speaker 1: nothing would induce me to help the rascals in any way.
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Speaker 1: I had been casting round for some excuse by which
14:55
Speaker 1: I could get away from his gossip. But now I
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Speaker 1: began to wish to hear more of it. I'd seen
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Speaker 1: enough of the contrary nature of the old sinner to
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Speaker 1: understand that any strong sign of interest would be the
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Speaker 1: surest way to stop his confidences. Some poaching case, no doubt,
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Speaker 1: said I, with an indifferent manner. Ha ha, my boy.
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Speaker 1: A very much more important matter than that. What about
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Speaker 1: the convict? On the more, I stared, you don't mean
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Speaker 1: that you know where he is? Said I. I may
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Speaker 1: not know exactly where he is, but I am quite
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Speaker 1: sure that I could help the police to lay their
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Speaker 1: hands on him. As it never struck you that the
15:33
Speaker 1: way to catch that man was to find out where
15:36
Speaker 1: he got his food and so trace it to him.
15:40
Speaker 1: He certainly seemed to be getting uncomfortably near the truth,
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Speaker 1: no doubt, said I, But how do you know that
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Speaker 1: he is anywhere? Upon the more I know it because
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Speaker 1: I have seen with my own eyes the messenger who
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Speaker 1: takes him his food. My heart sank for barrymore. It
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Speaker 1: was a serious thing to be in the power of
15:59
Speaker 1: this spiteful, old, busybody. But his next remark took a
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Speaker 1: weight from my mind. You'll be surprised to hear that
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Speaker 1: his food is taken to him by a child. I
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Speaker 1: see him every day through my telescope upon the roof.
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Speaker 1: He passes along the same path at the same hour.
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Speaker 1: And to whom should he be going except to the convict?
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Speaker 1: Here was luck, indeed, and yet I suppressed all appearance
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Speaker 1: of interest a child. Barrymore had said that our unknown
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Speaker 1: was supplied by a boy. It was on his track,
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Speaker 1: and not upon the convicts that Franklin had stumbled. If
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Speaker 1: I could get his knowledge, it might save me a
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Speaker 1: long and weary hunt. But incredulity and indifference were evidently
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Speaker 1: my strongest cards. I should say that it was much
16:45
Speaker 1: more likely that it was the son of one of
16:47
Speaker 1: the Moorland shepherds taking out his father's dinner. The least
16:52
Speaker 1: appearance of opposition struck fire out of the old autocrat.
16:56
Speaker 1: His eyes looked malignantly at me, and his gray whiskers
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Speaker 1: bristled like those of an angry cat. Indeed, Sir, said
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Speaker 1: he pointing out over the wide stretching more. Indeed, Sir,
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Speaker 1: said he, pointing out over the wide stretching More, would
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Speaker 1: you see that black tor over yonder? Well? Do you
17:15
Speaker 1: see the low hill beyond with the thornbush upon it?
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Speaker 1: It is the stoniest part of the whole. More, is
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Speaker 1: that a place where a shepherd would be likely to
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Speaker 1: take his station? Your suggestion, Sir, is a most absurd one.
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Speaker 1: I meekly answered that I had spoken without knowing all
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Speaker 1: the facts. My submission pleased him and led him to
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Speaker 1: further confidences. You may be sure, sir, that I have
17:38
Speaker 1: very good grounds before I come to an opinion. I've
17:41
Speaker 1: seen the boy again and again with his bundle every day,
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Speaker 1: and sometimes twice a day. I've been able. But wait
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Speaker 1: a moment, doctor Watson, to my eyes deceived me? Or
17:51
Speaker 1: is there, at the present moment something moving upon that hillside?
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Speaker 1: It was several miles off, but I could distinctly see
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Speaker 1: a small dark dot against the dull green and gray. Come, sir, come,
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Speaker 1: cried Franklin, rushing upstairs. You will see with your own
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Speaker 1: eyes and judge for yourself. The telescope, a formidable instrument
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Speaker 1: mounted upon a tripod, stood upon the flat leads of
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Speaker 1: the house. Franklin clapped his eye to it and gave
18:19
Speaker 1: a cry of satisfaction. Quick, Dr Watson, Quick before he
18:23
Speaker 1: passes over the hill. There he was, sure enough, a
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Speaker 1: small urchin with a little bundle upon his shoulder, toiling
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Speaker 1: slowly up the hill. When he reached the crest, I
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Speaker 1: saw the ragged, uncouth figure outlined for an instant against
18:38
Speaker 1: the cold blue sky. He looked round him with a
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Speaker 1: furtive and stealthy air, as one who dreads pursuit. Then
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Speaker 1: he vanished over the hill. Well, am I right, certainly
18:49
Speaker 1: there is a boy who seems to have some secret errand.
18:52
Speaker 1: And what the errand is even a county constable could guess.
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Speaker 1: But not one word shall they have from me? And
18:59
Speaker 1: I bind you to secrecy, also, doctor Watson, not a word,
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Speaker 1: you understand, just as you wish. They have treated me shamefully, shamefully.
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Speaker 1: When the facts come out in Franklin versus Regina, I
19:11
Speaker 1: venture to think that a thrill of indignation will run
19:14
Speaker 1: through the country. Nothing would induce me to help the
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Speaker 1: police in any way. For all they cared, it might
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Speaker 1: have been me instead of my effigy which these rascals
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Speaker 1: burned at the stake. Oh, surely you're not going, you
19:25
Speaker 1: will help me to empty the decanter in honor of
19:28
Speaker 1: this great occasion. But I resisted all his solicitations and
19:33
Speaker 1: succeeded in dissuading him from his announced intention of walking
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Speaker 1: home with me. I kept the road as long as
19:39
Speaker 1: his eye was on me, and then I struck off
19:42
Speaker 1: across the moor and made for the stony hill over
19:46
Speaker 1: which the boy had disappeared. Everything was working in my favor,
19:51
Speaker 1: and I swore that it should not be through lack
19:53
Speaker 1: of energy or perseverance that I should miss the chance
19:56
Speaker 1: which fortune had thrown in my way. Was already sinking
20:01
Speaker 1: when I reached the summit of the hill, and the
20:03
Speaker 1: long slopes beneath me were all gold and green on
20:06
Speaker 1: one side, and gray shadow on the other. A haze
20:10
Speaker 1: lay low upon the farthest skyline, out of which jutted
20:14
Speaker 1: the fantastic shapes of Belliver and Vixen tore over the
20:19
Speaker 1: wide expanse. There was no sound and no movement. One
20:22
Speaker 1: great gray bird, a gull or curlew, soared aloft in
20:26
Speaker 1: the blue heaven. He and I seemed to be the
20:29
Speaker 1: only living things between the huge arch of the sky
20:32
Speaker 1: and the desert. Beneath it. The barren scene, the sense
20:36
Speaker 1: of loneliness, and the mystery and urgency of my task
20:39
Speaker 1: all struck a chill into my heart. The boy was
20:43
Speaker 1: nowhere to be seen, but down beneath me, in a
20:45
Speaker 1: cleft of the hills, there was a circle of the
20:47
Speaker 1: old stone huts, and in the middle of them there
20:50
Speaker 1: was one which retained sufficient roof to act as a
20:53
Speaker 1: screen against the weather. My heart leapt within me as
20:57
Speaker 1: I saw it. This must be the burrow where the
21:01
Speaker 1: stranger lurked. At last my foot was on the threshold
21:05
Speaker 1: of his hiding place. His secret was within my grasp.
21:09
Speaker 1: As I approached the hut, walking as warily as Stapleton
21:13
Speaker 1: would do when with poised net he drew near the
21:16
Speaker 1: settled butterfly, I satisfied myself that the place had indeed
21:20
Speaker 1: been used as a habitation. A vague pathway among the
21:23
Speaker 1: boulders led to the dilapidated opening which served as a door.
21:28
Speaker 1: All were silent within. The unknown might be lurking there,
21:33
Speaker 1: or he might be prowling on the moor. My nerves
21:36
Speaker 1: tingled with the sense of adventure. Throwing aside my cigarette,
21:40
Speaker 1: I closed my hand upon the butt of my revolver,
21:43
Speaker 1: and walking swiftly up to the door, I looked in.
21:47
Speaker 1: The place was empty, but there were ample signs that
21:51
Speaker 1: I had not come upon a false scent. This was
21:54
Speaker 1: certainly where the man lived. Some blankets, rolled in a
21:58
Speaker 1: waterproof lay upon that very stone slab upon which neolithic
22:02
Speaker 1: man had once slumbered. The ashes of a fire were
22:06
Speaker 1: heaped in a rude grate. Beside it lay some cooking
22:10
Speaker 1: utensils and a bucket half full of water. A litter
22:14
Speaker 1: of empty tins showed that the place had been occupied
22:17
Speaker 1: for some time, and I saw, as my eyes became
22:20
Speaker 1: accustomed to the checkered light, a pannikin and a half
22:24
Speaker 1: full bottle of spirits standing in the corner. In the
22:27
Speaker 1: middle of the hut, a flat stone served the purpose
22:30
Speaker 1: of a table, and upon this stood a small cloth bundle,
22:34
Speaker 1: the same, no doubt, which I had seen through the
22:36
Speaker 1: telescope upon the shoulder of the boy. It contained a
22:40
Speaker 1: loaf of bread, a tinned tongue, and two tins of
22:43
Speaker 1: preserved peaches. As I set it down again after having
22:47
Speaker 1: examined it, my heart leapt to see that beneath it
22:50
Speaker 1: there lay a sheet of paper with writing upon it.
22:53
Speaker 1: I raised it, and this was what I read, roughly
22:56
Speaker 1: scrawled in pencil. Doctor Watson has gone to coomb Tracy.
23:03
Speaker 1: For a minute, I stood there with the paper in
23:05
Speaker 1: my hands, thinking out the meaning of this curt message.
23:09
Speaker 1: It was I, then, and not Sir Henry, who was
23:12
Speaker 1: being dogged by this secret man. He had not followed
23:16
Speaker 1: me himself, but he had set an agent with the boy,
23:19
Speaker 1: perhaps upon my track, and this was his report. Possibly
23:24
Speaker 1: I had taken no step, since I had been upon
23:26
Speaker 1: the moor which had not been observed and reported. Always
23:30
Speaker 1: there was this feeling of an unseen force, a fine
23:33
Speaker 1: net drawn round us, with infinite skill and delicacy, holding
23:37
Speaker 1: us so lightly that it was only at some supreme
23:39
Speaker 1: moment that one realized that one was indeed entangled in
23:42
Speaker 1: its meshes. If there was one report, there might be others.
23:46
Speaker 1: So I looked round the hut in search of them.
23:49
Speaker 1: There was no trace, however, of anything of the kind.
23:52
Speaker 1: Nor could I discover any sign which might indicate the
23:55
Speaker 1: character or intentions of the man who lived in this
23:58
Speaker 1: singular place, save that he must be of spartan habits
24:02
Speaker 1: and cared little for the comforts of life. When I
24:06
Speaker 1: thought of the heavy rains, and looked at the gaping roof.
24:10
Speaker 1: I understood how strong and immutable must be the purpose
24:12
Speaker 1: which had kept him in that inhospitable abode. Was he
24:16
Speaker 1: our malignant enemy? Or was he, by chance our guardian Angel?
24:23
Speaker 1: I swore that I would not leave the hut until
24:25
Speaker 1: I knew outside. The sun was sinking low, and the
24:29
Speaker 1: west was blazing with scarlet and gold. Its reflection was
24:33
Speaker 1: shot back in ruddy patches by the distant pools which
24:37
Speaker 1: lay amid the great Grimpen Mire. There were the two
24:41
Speaker 1: towers of Baskerville Hall, and there a distant blur of
24:45
Speaker 1: smoke which marked the village of Grimpen. Between the two,
24:50
Speaker 1: behind the hill was the house of the Stapletons. All
24:55
Speaker 1: were sweet and mellow and peaceful in the golden evening light.
25:00
Speaker 1: And yet as I looked at them, my soul shared
25:03
Speaker 1: none of the peace of nature, but quivered at the
25:06
Speaker 1: vagueness and the terror of that interview, which every instant
25:10
Speaker 1: was bringing nearer. With tingling nerves but a fixed purpose.
25:15
Speaker 1: I sat in the dark recess of the hut and
25:17
Speaker 1: waited with somber patience for the coming of its tenant.
25:22
Speaker 1: And then at last I heard him. Far away came
25:26
Speaker 1: the sharp clink of a boot striking upon a stone,
25:30
Speaker 1: Then another, and yet another, coming nearer and nearer. I
25:36
Speaker 1: shrank back into the darkest corner and cocked the pistol
25:39
Speaker 1: in my pocket, determined not to discover myself until I
25:44
Speaker 1: had an opportunity of seeing something of the stranger. There
25:47
Speaker 1: was a long pause which showed that he had stopped.
25:51
Speaker 1: Then once more the footsteps approached, and a shadow fell
25:54
Speaker 1: across the opening of the hut. It is a lovely evening,
25:59
Speaker 1: my dear Watson, said a well known voice. I really
26:03
Speaker 1: think that you will be more comfortable outside than in