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Chapter 6 Baskerville Hall from THE HOUND OF THE BAS · Sherlock Holmes

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Chapter six. Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry Baskerville and doctor Mortimer
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: were ready upon the appointed day, and we started as
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: arranged for Devonshire. Mister Sherlock Holmes drove with me to
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: the station and gave me his last parting injunctions and advice.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: I will not bias your mind by suggesting theories or suspicions,
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Watson said he. I wish you simply to report facts
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: in the fullest possible manner to me, and you can
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: leave me to do the theorizing. What sort of facts
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: I asked, anything which may seem to have a bearing,
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: however indirect, upon the case, and especially the relations between
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: young Baskerville and his neighbors, or any fresh particulars concerning
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: the death of Sir Charles. I have made some inquiries
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: myself in the last few days, but the results have
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: I fear been negative. One thing only appear to be certain,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: and that is that mister James Desmond, who is the
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: next heir, is an elderly gentleman of a very amiable disposition,
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: so that this persecution does not arise from him. I
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: really think that we may eliminate him entirely. From our
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: calculations there remain the people who will actually surround Sir
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: Henry Baskerville upon the moor. Would it not be well
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: in the first place to get rid of this Barrymore
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: couple by no means you could not make a greater mistake.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: If they are innocent, it would be a cruel injustice.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: And if they are guilty, we should be giving up
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: all chance of bringing it home to them. No, no,
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: we will preserve them upon our list of suspects. Then
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: there is a groom at the hall. If I remember right,
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: there are two Moorland farmers. There is our friend, doctor Mortimer,
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: whom I believe to be entirely honest, and there is
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: his wife, of whom we know nothing. There is this
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: naturalist Stapleton, and there is his sister, who is said
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: to be a young lady of attractions. There is mister
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Franklin of Laughter Hall, who is also an unknown factor.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: And there are one or two other neighbors. These are
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: the folk who must be your very special study. I
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: will do my best. You have arms, I suppose, yes,
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: I thought it as well to take them. Most certainly,
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: keep your revolver near you night and day, and never
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: relax your precautions. Our friends had already secured a first
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: class carriage and were waiting for us upon the platform. No,
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: we have no news of any kind, said doctor Mortimer,
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: in answer to my friend's questions. I can swear to
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: one thing, and that is that we have not been
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: shadowed during the last two days. We have never gone
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: out without keeping a sharp watch, and no one could
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: have escaped our notice. You have always kept together, I presume,
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: except yesterday afternoon. I usually give up one day to
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: pure amusement when I come to town. So I spent
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: it at the museum of the College of Surgeons, and
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: I went to look at the folk in the park,
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: said Baskerville. But we had no trouble of any kind.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: It was imprudent all the same, said Holmes, shaking his
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: head and looking very grave. I beg, sir Henry, that
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: you will not go about alone. Some great misfortune will
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: befall you if you do. Did you get your other boot, No, sir,
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: it is gone forever. Indeed, that is very interesting. Well
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: good bye, he added, as the train began to glide
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: down the platform. Bear in mind, sir Henry, one of
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: the phrases in that queer old legend, which doctor Mortimer
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: has read to us, and avoid the more in those
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: hours of darkness, when the powers of evil are exalted.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: I looked back at the platform when we had left
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: it far behind, and saw the tall, austere figure of
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: Homes standing motionless and gazing after us. The journey was
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: a swift and pleasant one, and I spent it in
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: making the more intimate acquaintance of my two companions, and
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: in playing with Doctor Mortimer's spaniel. In a very few hours,
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: the brown earth had become ruddy, the brick had changed
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: to granite, and red cows grazed in well hedged fields,
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: where the lush grasses and more luxuriant vegetation spoke of
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: a richer if a damper climate. Young Baskerville stared eagerly
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: out of the window and cried aloud with delight as
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: he recognized the familiar features of the Devon scenery. I've
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: been over a good part of the world since I
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: left it, doctor Watson, said he, But I have never
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: seen a place to compare with it. I never saw
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: a Devonshire man who did not swear by his county.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: I remarked. It depends upon the breed of men quite
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: as much as on the county, said doctor Mortimer. A
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: glance at our friend here reveals the rounded head of
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: the celt which carried inside it the Celtic enthusiasm and
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: power of attachment. Who Sir Charles's head was of a
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: very rare type, half Gallic, half Ivernian in its characteristics.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: But you were very young when you last saw Baskerville Hall,
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: were you not. I was a boy in my teens
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: at the time of my father's death and had never
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: seen the hall, for he lived in a little cottage
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: on the south coast. Thence I went straight to a
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: friend in America. I tell you it is all as
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: new to me as it is to doctor Watson, and
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: I am as keen as possible to see the more
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: are you? Then your wish is easily granted. For there
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: is your first sight of the moor, said doctor Mortimer,
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: pointing out of the carriage window. Over the green squares
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: of the fields and the low curve of a wood.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: There rose in the distance a gray, melancholy hill with
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: a strange, jagged summit, dim and vague in the distance,
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: like some fantastic landscape in a dream. Baskerville sat for
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: a long time, his eyes fixed upon it, and I
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: read upon his eager face how much it meant to him,
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: this first sight of that strange spot where the men
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: of his blood had held sway so long and left
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: their marks so deep. There he sat, with his tweed
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: suit and his American accent, in the corner of a
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: prosaic railway carriage. And yet as I looked at his
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: dark and expressive face, I felt more than ever how
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: true a descendant he was of that long line of
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: high blooded, fiery and masterful men. There were pride, valor
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: and strength in his thick brows, his sensitive nostrils, and
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: his large hazel eyes. If on that forbidding more a
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: difficult and dangerous quest should lie before us, this was
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: at least a comrade for whom one might venture to
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: take a risk, with the certainty that he would bravely
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: share it. The train pulled up at a small wayside station,
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: and we all descended outside. Beyond the low white fence,
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: a wagonette with a pair of cobs was waiting. Our
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: coming was evidently a great event for station master, and
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: porters clustered round us to carry out our luggage. It
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: was a sweet, simple country spot, but I was surprised
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: to observe that by the gate there stood two soldierly
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: men in dark uniforms, who leaned upon their short rifles
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: and glanced keenly at us. As we passed the coachman,
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: a hard faced, gnarled little fellow saluted Sir Henry Baskerville,
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: and in a few minutes we were flying swiftly down
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: the broad white road, Rolling pasture lands curved upward on
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: either side of us, and old gabled houses peeped out
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: from amid the thick green foliage. But behind the peaceful
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: and sunlit countryside there rose, ever dark against the evening sky,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: the long, gloomy curve of the moor broken by the
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: jagged and sinister hills. The wagonette swung round into a
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: side road, and we curved upward through deep lanes worn
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: by centuries of wheels. High banks on either side, heavy
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: with dripping moss and fleshy hearts, tongue ferns, bronzing bracken
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: and mottled bramble gleamed in the light of the sinking sun,
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: still steadily rising. We passed over a narrow granite bridge
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: and skirted a noisy stream which gushed swiftly down, foaming
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: and roaring amid the gray boulders. Both road and stream
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: wound up through a valley dense with scrub, oak and fir.
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: At every turn Baskerville gave an exclamation of delight, looking
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: eagerly about him at asking countless questions. To his eyes,
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: all all seemed beautiful, But to me a tinge of
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: melancholy lay upon the countryside, which bore so clearly the
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: mark of the waning year. Yellow leaves carpeted the lanes
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: and fluttered down upon us as we passed. The Rattle
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: of our wheels died away as we drove through drifts
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: of rotting vegetation, sad gifts, as it seemed to me
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: for nature to throw before the carriage of the returning
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: air of the Baskervilles. Hello, cried doctor Mortimer, What is this?
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: A steep curve of heath clad land, an outlying spur
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: of the moor, lay in front of us on the summit,
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: hard and clear, like an equestrian statue. Upon its pedestal
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: was a mounted soldier, dark and stern, his rifle poised
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: ready over his forearm. He was watching the road along
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  Speaker 1: which we traveled. What is this? Perkins? Asked doctor Mortimer.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: Our driver half turned in his seat. There's a convict
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: escaped from Princetown, Sir. He's been out three days now,
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: and the warders watch every road, in every station. They've
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: had no side of him yet the farmers about here.
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: You don't like it, sir. And that's a fact. Well.
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: I understand that they get five pounds if they can
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: give information, yes, sir, But the chance of five pounds
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: is but a poor thing compared to the chance of
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: avenue throat cut. You see, it isn't like any ordinary convict.
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: This is a man that would stick at nothing. Who
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: is he? Then? It is seldom the Nottinghill murderer. I
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: remembered the case well, for it was one in which
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: Holmes had taken an interest on account of the peculiar
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: ferocity of the crime and the wanton brutality which had
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: marked all the actions of the assassin. The commutation of
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: his death sentence had been due to some doubts as
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: to his complete sanity, so atrocious was his common duct.
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: Our wagonette had topped a rise, and in front of
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: us rose the huge expanse of the moor, mottled with
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: gnarled and craggy cairns and tours. The cold wind swept
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: down from it and set us shivering. Somewhere there on
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: that desolate plain was lurking, this fiendish man, hiding in
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: a burrow like a wild beast, his heart full of
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: malignancy against the whole race which had cast him out.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: It needed but this to complete the grim suggestiveness of
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: the barren waste, the chilling wind, and the darkling sky.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: Even Baskerville fell silent and pulled his overcoat more closely
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: around him. We had left the fertile country behind, and
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: beneath us we looked back on it now, the slanting
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: rays of a low sun turning the streams to threads
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: of gold glowing on the red earth new turned by
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: the plow, and the broad tangle of the woodlands. The
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: road in front of us grew bleaker and wilder, over
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: huge russet and olive slopes sprinkled with giant boulders. Now
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: and then we passed a moorland cottage, walled and roofed
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: with stone, with no creeper to break its harsh outline.
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: Suddenly we looked down into a cup like depression, patched
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: with stunted oaks and furs which had been twisted and
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: bent by the fury of years of storm. Two high,
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: narrow towers rose over the trees. The driver pointed with
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: his whip. Baskerville Hall said he Its master had risen
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: and was staring with flushed cheeks and shining eyes. A
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: few minutes later we had reached the lodge gates, a
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: maze of fantastic tracery and wrought iron, with weather bitten
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: pillars on either side, blotched with lichens, and surmounted by
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: the boars heads of the Baskervilles. The lodge was a
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: ruin of black granite and bared ribs of rafters, but
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: facing it was a new building, half constructed, the first
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: fruit of Sir Charles's South African gold. Through the gateway
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: we passed into the avenue, where the wheels were again
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: hushed amid the leaves, and the old trees shot their
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: branches in a somber tunnel over our heads. Baskerville shuddered
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: as he looked up the long, dark drive to where
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: the house glimmered like a ghost at the farther end.
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: Was it here, he asked in a low voice. No, No,
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: the hue alley is on the other side, the young
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: air glanced round with a gloomy face. It's no wonder
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: my uncle felt as if trouble were coming on him
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: in such a place as this, said he, It's enough
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: to scare any man. I'll have a row of electric
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: lamps up here inside of six months, and you won't
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: know it again. With a thousand candlepower Swan and Edison
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: right here in front of the hall door. The avenue
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: opened into a broad expanse of turf, and the house
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: lay before us. In the fading light, I could see
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: that the center was a heavy block of building from
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: which a porch projected. The whole front was draped in ivy,
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: with a patch clipped bare. Here and there where a
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: window or a coat of arms broke through the dark veil.
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: From this central block rose the twin towers, ancient crenelated
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: and pierced with many loopholes. To right and left of
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: the turrets were more modern wings of black granite. A
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: dull light shone through heavy mullioned windows, and from the
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: high chimneys, which rose from the steep, high angled roof,
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: there sprang a single black column of smoke. Welcome, Sir, Henry, Welcome,
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: to Baskerville Hall. A tall man had stepped from the
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: shadow of the porch to open the door of the wagonette.
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: The figure of a woman was silhouetted against the yellow
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: light of the hall. She came out and helped the
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: man to hand down our bags. You don't mind my
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: driving straight home, Sir Henry, said Doctor Mortimer. My wife
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: is expecting me. Surely you will stay and have some dinner. No,
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: I must go. I shall probably find some work awaiting me.
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: I would stay to show you over the house, but
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: Barrymore will be a better guide than I. Good Bye,
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: and never hesitate night or day to send for me
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: if I can be of service. The wheels died away
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: down the drive while Sir Henry and I turned into
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: the hall, and the door clanged heavily behind us. It
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: was a fine apartment in which we found ourselves, large,
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: lofty and heavily rafted with huge bulks of age blackened oak.
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: In the great old fashioned fireplace behind the high iron dogs,
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: a log fire crackled and snapped. Sir Henry and I
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: held out our hands to it, for we were numb
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: from our long drive. Then we gazed round us at
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: the high, thin window of old stained glass, the oak paneling,
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: the stag's heads, the coats of arms upon the walls,
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: all dim and somber in the subdued light of the
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: central lamp. It's just as I imagined it, said, Sir Henry.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: Is it not the very picture of an old family home?
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: To think that this should be the same hall in
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: which for five hundred years my people have lived? It
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: strikes me solemn to think of it. I saw his
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: dark face lit up with a boyish enthusiasm as he
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: gazed about him. The light beat upon him where he stood,
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: but long shadows trailed down the walls and hung like
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: a black canopy above him. Had returned from taking our
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: luggage to our rooms. He stood in front of us
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: now with the subdued manner of a well trained servant.
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: He was a remarkable looking man, tall, handsome, with a
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: square black beard and pale, distinguished features. Would you wish
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: dinner to be served at once? Sir? Is it ready?
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: And very few minutes, sir, you will find hot water
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: in your rooms. My wife and I will be happy,
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: Sir Henry, to stay with you until you have made
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: your fresh arrangements. But you will understand that under the
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: new conditions. This house will require a considerable staff. What
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: new conditions? I only meant, sir, that Sir Charles led
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: a very retired life. We were able to look after
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: his wants. You would naturally wish to have more company,
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: and so you will need changes in your household. Do
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: you mean that your wife and you wish to leave
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: only when it is quite convenient to you? Sir? Would
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: your family have been with us for several generations? Have
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: they none? I should be sorry to begin my life
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: here by breaking an old family connection. I seem to
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: discern some signs of emotion upon the butler's white face.
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: I feel that also, sir, and sold as my wife.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: But tell the truth, Sir, we were both very much
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: attached to Sir Charles, and his death gave us a
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: shock and made these surroundings very painful to us. I
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: fear that we shall never again be easy in our
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: minds at Baskerville Hall. But what do you intend to do?
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: I have no doubt, Sir, that we shall succeed in
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: establishing ourselves in some business. Sir Charles's generosity has given
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: us the means to do so. And now, Sir, perhaps
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: I had best show you to your rooms. A square,
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: balustraded gallery ran round the top of the old hall,
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: approached by a double stare. From this central point, two
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: long corridors extended the whole length of the building, from
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: which all the bedrooms opened. My own was in the
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: same wing as Baskerville's, and almost next door to it.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: These rooms appeared to be much more modern than the
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: central part of the house, and the bright paper and
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: numerous candles did something to remove the somber impression which
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: our arrival had left upon my mind. But the dining room,
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: which opened out of the hall was a place of
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: shadow and gloom. It was a long chamber with a
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: step separating the dais where the family sat, from the
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: lower portion, reserved for their dependence. At one end, a
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: minstrel's gallery overlooked it. Black beams shot across above our heads,
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: with a smoke darkened ceiling beyond them, with rows of
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: flaring torches to light it up, and the color and
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: rude hilarity of an old time banquet. It might have softened.
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: But now, when two black clothed gentlemen sat in the
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: little circle of light thrown by a shaded lamp, one's
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: voice became hushed, and one's spirit subdued. A dim line
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: of ancestors in every variety of dress, from the Elizabethan
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: Knight to the buck of the Regency, stared down upon
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: us and daunted us by their silent company. We talked
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: a little, and I, for one, was glad when the
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: meal was over and we were able to retire into
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: the modern billiard room and smoke a cigarette. My word,
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: it isn't a very cheerful place, said Sir Henry. I
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: suppose one can tone down to it, but I feel
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: a bit out of the picture at present. I don't
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: wonder that my uncle got a little jumpy if he
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: lived all alone in such a house as this. However,
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: if it suits you, we will retire early to night,
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: and perhaps things may seem more cheerful in the morning.
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: I drew aside my curtains before I went to bed,
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: and looked out from my window. It opened upon the
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: grassy space which lay in front of the hall door.
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: Beyond two copses of trees moaned and swung in a
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: rising wind. A half moon broke through the rifts of
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: racing clouds. In its cold light, I saw beyond the
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: trees a broken fringe of rocks and the long, low
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: curve of the melancholy more. I closed the curtain, feeling
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: that my last impression was in keeping with the rest,
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: And yet it was not quite the last. I found
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: myself weary and yet wakeful, tossing restlessly from side to side,
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: seeking for the sleep which would not come far away.
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: A chiming clock struck out the quarters of the hours,
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: but otherwise a deathly silence lay upon the old house.
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: And then suddenly, in the very dead of the night,
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: there came a sound to my ears, clear, resonant and unmistakable.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: It was the sob of a woman, the muffled, strangling
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: gasp of one who is torn by an uncontrollable sorrow.
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: I sat up in bed and listened intently. The noise
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: could not have been far away, and was certainly in
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: the house. For half an hour, I waited, with every
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: nerve on the alert, but there came no other sound
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: save the chiming clock and the rustle of the ivy
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: on the wall.