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07 - The Stapletons of Meripit House · Sherlock Holmes

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Speaker 1: Chapter seven of the Hand of the Baskervilles by Sir
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Speaker 1: Arthur Kennan Doyle. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
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Speaker 1: Chapter seven, the Stapletons of Merripit House. The fresh beauty
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Speaker 1: of the following morning did something to efface from our
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Speaker 1: minds the grim and gray impression which had been left
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Speaker 1: upon both of us by our first experience of Baskerville Hall.
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Speaker 1: As Sir Henry and I sat at breakfast, the sunlight
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Speaker 1: flooded in through the high mullioned windows, throwing watery patches
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Speaker 1: of color from the coats of arms which covered them.
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Speaker 1: The dark paneling glowed like bronze in the golden rays,
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Speaker 1: and it was hard to realize that this was indeed
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Speaker 1: the chamber which had struck such a gloom into our
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Speaker 1: souls upon the evening before. I guess it is ourselves,
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Speaker 1: and not the house, that we have to blame, said
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Speaker 1: the Baronet. We were tired with our journey and chilled
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Speaker 1: by our drive, so we took a grave view of
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Speaker 1: the place. Now we are fresh and well, so it
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Speaker 1: is all cheerful once more. And yet it was not
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Speaker 1: entirely a question of imagination. I answered, did you, for example,
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Speaker 1: happen to hear someone, a woman, I think sobbing in
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Speaker 1: the night. That is curious, for I did, when I
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Speaker 1: was half asleep, fancy that I heard something of the sort.
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Speaker 1: I waited quite a time, but there was no more
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Speaker 1: of it, so I concluded that it was all a dream.
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Speaker 1: I heard it distinctly, and I am sure that it
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Speaker 1: was really the sob of a woman. We must ask
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Speaker 1: about it right away. He rang the bell and asked
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Speaker 1: Barrymore whether he could account for our experience. It seemed
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Speaker 1: to me that the pallid features of the butler turned
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Speaker 1: a shade paler still as he listened to his master's question.
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Speaker 1: There are only two women in the house, say Henry,
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Speaker 1: he answered. One is the scullery maid, who sleeps in
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Speaker 1: the other wing. The other is my wife, and I
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Speaker 1: can answer for it that the sound could not have
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Speaker 1: come from her. And yet he lied as he said it.
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Speaker 1: For it chanced that after breakfast I met missus Barrymore
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Speaker 1: in the long corridor, with the sun full upon her face.
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Speaker 1: She was a large, impassive, heavy featured woman with a
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Speaker 1: stern set expression of mouth. But her telltale eyes were
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Speaker 1: red and glanced at me from between swollen lids. It
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Speaker 1: was she then who wept in the night, and if
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Speaker 1: she did so, her husband must know it. Yet he
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Speaker 1: had taken the obvious risk of discovery in declaring that
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Speaker 1: it was not so. Why had he done this? And
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Speaker 1: why did she weep so bitterly? Already round this pale faced, handsome,
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Speaker 1: black bearded man there was gathering an atmosphere of mystery
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Speaker 1: and of gloom. It was he who had been the
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Speaker 1: first to discover the body of Sir Charles, and we
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Speaker 1: had only his word for all the circumstances which led
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Speaker 1: up to the old man's death. Was it possible that
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Speaker 1: it was Barrymore, after all, who we had seen in
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Speaker 1: the cab in Regent Street. The beard might well have
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Speaker 1: been the same The cabman had described a somewhat shorter man.
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Speaker 1: But such an impression might easily have been erroneous. How
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Speaker 1: could I settle a point forever? Obviously the first thing
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Speaker 1: to do was to see the grimp and postmaster and
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Speaker 1: find whether the test telegram had really been placed in
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Speaker 1: Barrymore's own hands. Be the answer what it might, I
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Speaker 1: should at least have something to report to Sherlock Holmes.
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Speaker 1: Sir Henry had numerous papers to examine after breakfast, so
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Speaker 1: that the time was propitious for my excursion. It was
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Speaker 1: a pleasant walk of four miles along the edge of
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Speaker 1: the moor, leading me at last to a small gray hamlet,
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Speaker 1: in which two larger buildings, which proved to be the
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Speaker 1: Inn and the house of Doctor Mortimer, stood high above
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Speaker 1: the rest. The postmaster, who was also the village grocer,
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Speaker 1: had a clear recollection of the telegram. Certainly, sir, said he.
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Speaker 1: I had the telegram delivered to mister Barrymore exactly as directed.
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Speaker 1: Who delivered it? My boy here, James, you delivered that
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Speaker 1: telegram to mister Barrymore at the all last week, did
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Speaker 1: you not? Yes, Father, I delivered it into his own hands,
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Speaker 1: I asked, well, he was up in the loft at
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Speaker 1: the time, so that he could not put into his
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Speaker 1: own hands, For I give it in to missus Barrymore's hands,
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Speaker 1: and she promised to deliver it at once. Did you
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Speaker 1: see mister Barrymore now, Sir, I tell you he was
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Speaker 1: in the loft. If you didn't see him, how do
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Speaker 1: you know he was in the loft? Well, surely his
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Speaker 1: own wife ought to know where he is, said the postmaster,
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Speaker 1: testily didn't he get the telegram? If there's any mistake,
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Speaker 1: it is for mister Barrymore himself to complain. It seemed
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Speaker 1: hopeless to pursue the inquiry any farther, But it was
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Speaker 1: clear that, in spite of Holmes's ruse, we had no
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Speaker 1: proof that Barrymore had not been in London all the time.
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Speaker 1: Suppose that it were so, Suppose that the same man
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Speaker 1: had been the last who had seen Sir Charles alive,
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Speaker 1: and the first to dog the new heir when he
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Speaker 1: returned to England. What then? Was he the agent of others?
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Speaker 1: Or had he some sinister design of his own? What
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Speaker 1: interest could he have in persecuting the Baskerville family? I
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Speaker 1: thought of the strange warning clipped out of the leading
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Speaker 1: article of the Times? Was that his work? Or was
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Speaker 1: it possibly the doing of someone who was bent upon
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Speaker 1: counteracting his schemes? The only conceivable motive was that which
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Speaker 1: had been suggested by Sir Henry, that if the family
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Speaker 1: could be scared away, a comfortable and permanent home would
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Speaker 1: be secured for the Barrymoors. But surely such an explanation
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Speaker 1: as that would be quite inadequate to account for the
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Speaker 1: deep and subtle scheming which seemed to be weaving an
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Speaker 1: invisible net round the young Baronetolmes himself had said that
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Speaker 1: no more complex case had come to him in all
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Speaker 1: the long series of his sensational investigations. I prayed as
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Speaker 1: I walked back along the gray, lonely road, that my
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Speaker 1: friend might soon be freed from his preoccupations and able
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Speaker 1: to come down to take his heavy burden of responsibility
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Speaker 1: from my shoulders. Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by the
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Speaker 1: sound of running feet behind me, and by a voice
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Speaker 1: which called me by name. I turned, expecting to see
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Speaker 1: Dr Mortimer, but to my surprise, it was a stranger
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Speaker 1: who was pursuing me. He was a small, slim, clean shaven,
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Speaker 1: prim faced man, flaxen haired and lean jawed, between thirty
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Speaker 1: and forty years of age, dressed in a gray suit
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Speaker 1: and wearing a straw hat. A tin box for botanical
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Speaker 1: specimens hung over his shoulder, and he carried a green
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Speaker 1: butterfly net in one of his hands. You will, I
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Speaker 1: am sure, excuse my presumption, doctor Watson, said he as
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Speaker 1: he came panting up to where I stood here on
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Speaker 1: the moor. We are a homely folk, and do not
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Speaker 1: wait for formal introductions. You may possibly have heard my
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Speaker 1: name from our mutual friend Mortimer. I am Stapleton of
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Speaker 1: Merripit House. Your net and box would have told me
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Speaker 1: as much, said I, for I knew that mister Stapleton
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Speaker 1: was a naturalist. But how did you know me? I
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Speaker 1: have been calling on Mortimer, and he pointed you out
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Speaker 1: to me from the window of his surgery. As you
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Speaker 1: passed as our road lay the same way, I thought
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Speaker 1: that I could overtake you and introduce myself. I trust
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Speaker 1: that Sir Henry is none the worse for his journey.
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Speaker 1: He is very well. Thank you. We were all rather
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Speaker 1: afraid that, after the sad death of Sir Charles, the
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Speaker 1: you baronet might refuse to live here. It is asking
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Speaker 1: much of a wealthy man to come down and bury
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Speaker 1: himself in a place of this kind. But I need
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Speaker 1: not tell you that it means a very great deal
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Speaker 1: to the countryside, Sir Henry. As I suppose no superstitious
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Speaker 1: fears in the matter, I do not think that it
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Speaker 1: is likely. Of course, you know the legend of the
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Speaker 1: fiend dog which haunts the family. I have heard of it.
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Speaker 1: It is extraordinary, how credulous the pheasants are about here.
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Speaker 1: Any number of them are ready to swear that they
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Speaker 1: have seen such a creature upon them Moor. He spoke
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Speaker 1: with a smile, but I seemed to read in his
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Speaker 1: eyes that he took the matter more seriously. The story
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Speaker 1: took a great hold upon the imagination of Sir Charles,
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Speaker 1: and I have no doubt that it led to his
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Speaker 1: tragic end. But how his nerves were so worked up
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Speaker 1: that the appearance of any dog might have had a
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Speaker 1: fatal effect upon his diseased heart. I fancy that he
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Speaker 1: really did see something of the kind. Upon that last
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Speaker 1: night in the ew alley. I feared that some disaster
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Speaker 1: might occur, for I was very fond of the old man,
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Speaker 1: and I knew that his heart was weak. How did
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Speaker 1: you know that, my friend Mortimer told me? You think then,
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Speaker 1: that some dog pursued Sir Charles, and that he died
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Speaker 1: of fright in consequence? Have you any better explanation? I
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Speaker 1: have not come to any conclusion, as mister Sherlock Holmes.
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Speaker 1: The words took away my breath for an instant, but
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Speaker 1: a glance at the placid face and steadfast eyes of
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Speaker 1: my companion showed that no surprise was intended. It is
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Speaker 1: useless for us to pretend that we do not know you,
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Speaker 1: doctor Watson said he the records of your detective have
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Speaker 1: reached us here, and you could not celebrate him without
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Speaker 1: being known yourself. When Mortimer told me your name, he
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Speaker 1: could not deny your identity. If you are here, then
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Speaker 1: it follows that mister Sherlock Holmes is interesting himself in
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Speaker 1: the matter, and I am naturally curious to know what
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Speaker 1: view he may take. I'm afraid that I cannot answer
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Speaker 1: that question. May I ask him if he is going
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Speaker 1: to honor us with a visit himself? He cannot leave
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Speaker 1: town at present. He has other cases which engage his attention.
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Speaker 1: What a pity he might throw some light on that
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Speaker 1: which is so dark to us. But as to your
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Speaker 1: own researches, if there is any possible way in which
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Speaker 1: I can be of service to you, I trust that
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Speaker 1: you will command me. If I had any indication of
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Speaker 1: the nature of your suspicions or how you propose to
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Speaker 1: investigate the case, I might perhaps even now give you
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Speaker 1: some aid or advice. I assure you that I am
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Speaker 1: simply here upon a visit to my friend Sir Henry,
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Speaker 1: and that I need no help of any kind. Excellent,
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Speaker 1: said Stapleton. You are perfectly right to be wary and discreet.
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Speaker 1: I am justly reproved for what I feel was an
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Speaker 1: unjustifiable intrusion, and I promise you that I will not
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Speaker 1: mention the matter again. We'd come to a point where
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Speaker 1: a narrow, grassy path struck off from the road and
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Speaker 1: wound away across the moor. A steep, bolder sprinkled hill
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Speaker 1: lay upon the right, which had in by gone days
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Speaker 1: been cut into a granite quarry. The face, which was
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Speaker 1: turned towards us, formed a dark cliff, with ferns and
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Speaker 1: brambles growing in its niches. From over a distant rise
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Speaker 1: there floated a gray plume of smoke. A moderate walk
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Speaker 1: along this moor path brings us to Merry pit House,
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Speaker 1: said he. Perhaps you will spare an hour that I
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Speaker 1: may have the pleasure of introducing you to my sister.
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Speaker 1: My first thought was that I should be by Sir
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Speaker 1: Henry's side, but then I remembered the pile of papers
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Speaker 1: and bills with which his study table was littered. It
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Speaker 1: was certain that I could not help with those, and
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Speaker 1: Holmes had expressly said that I should study the neighbors
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Speaker 1: upon the moor. I accepted Stapleton's invitation, and we turned
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Speaker 1: together down the path. It is a wonderful place, the more,
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Speaker 1: said he, looking round over the undulating downs, long green
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Speaker 1: rollers with crests of jagged granite foaming up into fantastic surges.
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Speaker 1: You never toier of the more. You cannot think the
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Speaker 1: wonderful secrets which it contains. It is so vast and
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Speaker 1: so barren and so mysterious. You know it well, then,
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Speaker 1: I have only been here two years. The residence would
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Speaker 1: call me a new comer. We came shortly after Sir
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Speaker 1: Charles settled. But my taste led me to explore every
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Speaker 1: part of the country round. And I should think that
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Speaker 1: there are few men who know it better than I do.
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Speaker 1: Is it hard to know? Very hard? You see, for example,
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Speaker 1: this great plain to the north here, with the queer
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Speaker 1: ills breaking out of it. Do you observe anything remarkable
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Speaker 1: about that? It would be a rare place for a gallop,
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Speaker 1: You would naturally think so, and the thought has cost
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Speaker 1: several their lives before. Now you notice those bright green
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Speaker 1: spots scattered thickly over it. Yes, they seem more fertile
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Speaker 1: than the rest Stapleton laughed. He that is the great
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Speaker 1: grimpen mire, said he. A false step yonder means death
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Speaker 1: to man or beast. Only yesterday I saw one of
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Speaker 1: the more ponies wander into it me never came out.
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Speaker 1: I saw his head for quite a long time craning
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Speaker 1: out of the bog hole, but it sucked him down
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Speaker 1: at last. Even in dry seasons it is a danger
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Speaker 1: to cross it. But after these autumn rains it is
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Speaker 1: an awful place. And yet I can find my way
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Speaker 1: to the very art of it and return alive. By George,
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Speaker 1: there's another of those miserable ponies. Something brown was rolling
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Speaker 1: and tossing among the green sedges. Then a long, agonized,
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Speaker 1: writhing neck shot upward, and a dreadful cry echoed over
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Speaker 1: the moor. It turned me cold with horror. But my
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Speaker 1: companion's nerves seem to be stronger than mine. It's gone,
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Speaker 1: said he. The mire has him two in two days,
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Speaker 1: and many more perhaps, for they get in the way
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Speaker 1: of going there in the dry weather and never know
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Speaker 1: the difference until the mire has them in its clutches.
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Speaker 1: It's a bad place, the great grimp and Meyer. And
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Speaker 1: you say you can penetrate it, Yes, there are one
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Speaker 1: or two paths which a very active man can take.
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Speaker 1: I have found them out. But why should you wish
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Speaker 1: to go into so horrible a place? Well, you see
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Speaker 1: the hills beyond. They are really islands, cut off on
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Speaker 1: all sides by the impassable mire which has crawled round
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Speaker 1: them in the course of years. That is where the
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Speaker 1: rare plants and the butterflies are. If you have the
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Speaker 1: wit to reach em, I shall try my luck some day.
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Speaker 1: He looked at me with a surprised face. For God's sake,
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Speaker 1: put such an idea out of your mind, said he.
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Speaker 1: Your blood will be upon my head. I assure you
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Speaker 1: that there would not be the least chance of your
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Speaker 1: coming back alive. It is only by remembering certain complex
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Speaker 1: landmarks that I am able to do it. Hallo, I cried,
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Speaker 1: what is that? A long, low moan, indescribably sad, swept
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Speaker 1: over the moor. It filled the whole air, and yet
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Speaker 1: it was impossible to say whence it came? From a
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Speaker 1: dull murmur. It swelled into a deep roar, and then
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Speaker 1: sank back into a melancholy, throbbing murmur. Once again, Stapleton
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Speaker 1: looked at me with a curious expression in his face.
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Speaker 1: Queer place the more, said he, But what is it?
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Speaker 1: The peasants say it is the hound of the Baskervilles
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Speaker 1: calling for its prey. I've heard it once or twice before,
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Speaker 1: but never quite so loud. I looked round with a
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Speaker 1: chill of fear in my heart that the huge swelling plain,
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Speaker 1: mottled with the green patches of rushes. Nothing stirred over
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Speaker 1: the vast expanse, save a pair of ravens, which croaked
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Speaker 1: loudly from a tour behind us. You are an educated man.
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Speaker 1: You don't believe such nonsense as that, said I. What
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Speaker 1: do you think is the cause of so strange a sound?
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Speaker 1: Bogs make queer noises. Sometimes it's the mud settling, or
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Speaker 1: the water rising or something. No, no, that was a
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Speaker 1: living voice, Well perhaps it was. Did you ever hear
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Speaker 1: a bitten booming? No? I never did. It is a
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Speaker 1: very rare bird, practically extinct in England now. But all
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Speaker 1: things are possible upon the moor. Yes, I should not
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Speaker 1: be surprised to learn what we have heard is the
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Speaker 1: cry of the last of the bittens. It's the weirdest,
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Speaker 1: strangest thing that ever I heard in my life. Yes,
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Speaker 1: it's rather an uncanny place altogether. Look at the hillside yonder,
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Speaker 1: What do you make of those? The whole steep slope
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Speaker 1: was covered with gray circular rings of stone. The score
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Speaker 1: of them at least, what are they sheep pens? No,
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Speaker 1: they are the homes of our worthy ancestors. The historic
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Speaker 1: man lived thickly on the moor, and as no one
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Speaker 1: in particular has lived there since, we find all these
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Speaker 1: little arrangements exactly as he left them. These are his wigwams,
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Speaker 1: with the roofs off. You can even see his hearth
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Speaker 1: and his couch if you have the curiosity to go inside.
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Speaker 1: But it is quite a town. When was it inhabited?
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Speaker 1: Neolithic man? No date? What did he do? He grazed
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Speaker 1: his cattle on those slopes, and he learned to dig
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Speaker 1: for tin when the bronze sword began to supersede the
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Speaker 1: stone axe. Look at the great trench in the opposite hill.
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Speaker 1: That is his mark. Yes, you will find some very
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Speaker 1: singular points about the moor, Doctor Watson, Oh, excuse me
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Speaker 1: an instant it is surely cyclopades. A small fly or
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Speaker 1: moth had fluttered across our path, and in an instant
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Speaker 1: Stapleton was rushing with extraordinary energy and speed in pursuit
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Speaker 1: of it. To my dismay, the creature flew straight for
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Speaker 1: the great mire, and my acquaintance never paused for an instant,
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Speaker 1: bounding from tuft to tuft behind it, his green net
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Speaker 1: waving in the air, his gray clothes, and jerky zigzag
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Speaker 1: irregular progress made him not unlike some huge moth himself.
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Speaker 1: I was standing watching his pursuit with a mixture of
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Speaker 1: admiration for his extraordinary activity, and fear lest he should
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Speaker 1: lose his footing in the treacherous mire, when I heard
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Speaker 1: the sound of steps, and turning round, found a woman
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Speaker 1: near me upon the path. She had come from the
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Speaker 1: direction in which the plume of smoke indicated the position
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Speaker 1: of Merripit House, but the dip of the moor had
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Speaker 1: hit her until she was quite close. I could not
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Speaker 1: doubt that this was the Miss Stapleton of whom I
19:53
Speaker 1: had been told, since ladies of any sort must be
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Speaker 1: few upon the moor, and I remembered that I had
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Speaker 1: heard some one described her as being a beauty. The
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Speaker 1: woman who approached me was certainly that, and of a
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Speaker 1: most uncommon type. There could not have been a greater
20:09
Speaker 1: contrast between brother and sister. For Stapleton was neutral tinted,
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Speaker 1: with light hair and gray eyes, while she was darker
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Speaker 1: than any brunette whom I had seen in England, Slim,
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Speaker 1: elegant and tall. She had a proud, finely cut face,
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Speaker 1: so regular that it might have seemed impassive were it
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Speaker 1: not for the sensitive mouth and the beautiful, dark, eager eyes.
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Speaker 1: With her perfect figure and elegant dress, she was indeed
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Speaker 1: a strange apparition upon a lonely Moorland path. Her eyes
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Speaker 1: were on her brother as I turned, and then she
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Speaker 1: quickened her pace towards me. I had raised my hat
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Speaker 1: and was about to make some explanatory remark when her
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Speaker 1: own words turned all my thoughts into a new channel.
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Speaker 1: Go back, she said, go straight back to London. Instantly,
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Speaker 1: I could only stare at her in stupid surprise. Her
21:05
Speaker 1: eyes blazed at me, and she tapped the ground impatiently
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Speaker 1: with her foot. Why should I go back, I asked,
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Speaker 1: I cannot explain, she spoke in a low, eager voice,
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Speaker 1: with a curious lisp in her utterance. But for God's sake,
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Speaker 1: do what I ask you. Go back and never set
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Speaker 1: foot upon the moor. Again. But I've only just come man, man,
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Speaker 1: she cried, Can you not tell when a warning is
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Speaker 1: for your own good? Go back to London, start to night,
21:35
Speaker 1: get away from this place at all costs. Hush, my
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Speaker 1: brother's coming. Not a word or what I've said? Would
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Speaker 1: you mind getting that orchid for me among the Mayor's
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Speaker 1: tails Yonder. We're very rich in orchids on the moor, though,
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Speaker 1: of course you are rather late to see the beauties
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Speaker 1: of the place. Stapleton had abandoned the chase and come
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Speaker 1: back to us, breathing hard and flushed with his exertions.
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Speaker 1: E Loo, Beryl said, and it seemed to me that
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Speaker 1: the tone of his greeting was not altogether a cordial one. Well, Jack,
22:06
Speaker 1: you're very hot. Yes, I was chasing as cyclopedies. He
22:12
Speaker 1: is very rare and seldom found in the late autumn.
22:16
Speaker 1: What a pity you that I should have missed him,
22:19
Speaker 1: He spoke unconcernedly, but his small light eyes glanced incessantly
22:24
Speaker 1: from the girl to me. You have introduced yourselves, I
22:28
Speaker 1: can see. Yes, I was telling Sir Henry that it
22:32
Speaker 1: was rather late for him to see the true beauties
22:34
Speaker 1: of the moor. Why who do you think this is
22:40
Speaker 1: I imagine that it must be Sir Henry Baskerville. No, no,
22:44
Speaker 1: said I, only a humble commoner. But his friend my
22:49
Speaker 1: name is doctor Watson. A flush of vexation passed over
22:53
Speaker 1: her expressive face. We have been talking at cross purposes,
22:58
Speaker 1: said she. Why you had not very much time for talk?
23:03
Speaker 1: Her brother remarked, with the same questioning eyes. I talked
23:08
Speaker 1: as if Dr Watson were a resident instead of being
23:10
Speaker 1: a merely a visitor, said she. It cannot much matter
23:13
Speaker 1: to him whether it is early or late for the orchids.
23:17
Speaker 1: But you will come on, will you not, and see
23:19
Speaker 1: Merripit house. A short walk brought us to it, a
23:23
Speaker 1: bleaque moorland house, once the farm of some grazier in
23:27
Speaker 1: the old prosperous days, but now put into repair and
23:30
Speaker 1: turned into a modern dwelling. An orchard surrounded it, but
23:35
Speaker 1: the trees, as is usual upon the moor, were stunted
23:38
Speaker 1: and nipped, and the effect of the whole place was
23:41
Speaker 1: mean and melancholy. We were admitted by a strange, wizened,
23:46
Speaker 1: rusty coated old man servant, who seemed in keeping with
23:49
Speaker 1: the house. Inside, however, there were large rooms furnished with
23:54
Speaker 1: an elegance in which I seemed to recognize the taste
23:56
Speaker 1: of the lady. As I looked from their windows at
24:00
Speaker 1: the interminable granite flecked moor, rolling unbroken to the farthest horizon,
24:05
Speaker 1: I could not but marvel at what could have brought
24:08
Speaker 1: this highly educated man and this beautiful woman to live
24:11
Speaker 1: in such a place. Queer spot to choose, is it not,
24:17
Speaker 1: said he, as if in answer to my thought. And
24:20
Speaker 1: yet we managed to make ourselves fairly happy, do we not? Beryl?
24:25
Speaker 1: Quite happy, said she, But there was no ring of
24:28
Speaker 1: conviction in her words. I had a school, said Stapleton.
24:33
Speaker 1: It was in the north Country. The work, to a
24:36
Speaker 1: man of my temperament, was mechanical and uninteresting, But the
24:41
Speaker 1: privilege of living with youth, of helping to mold those
24:44
Speaker 1: young minds, and of impressing them with one's own character
24:48
Speaker 1: and ideals, was very dear to me. However, the fates
24:52
Speaker 1: were against us. A serious epidemic broke out in the school,
24:56
Speaker 1: and three of the boys died. It never recur covered
25:00
Speaker 1: from the blow, and much of my capital was irretrievably
25:03
Speaker 1: swallowed up. And yet, if it were not for the
25:07
Speaker 1: loss of the charming companionship of the boys. I could
25:10
Speaker 1: rejoice over my own misfortune, for with my strong taste
25:14
Speaker 1: for botany and zoology, I find an unlimited field of
25:18
Speaker 1: work here, and my sister is as devoted to nature
25:22
Speaker 1: as I am. All this, Doctor Watson, has been brought
25:26
Speaker 1: upon your head by your expression as you surveyed the
25:29
Speaker 1: moor out of our window. It certainly did cross my
25:33
Speaker 1: mind that it might be a little dull less for you,
25:36
Speaker 1: perhaps than for your sister. No, no, I am never dull,
25:40
Speaker 1: said she quickly. We have books, we have our studies,
25:44
Speaker 1: and we have interesting neighbors. Doctor Mortimer is a most
25:49
Speaker 1: learned man in his own line. Poor Sir Charles was
25:52
Speaker 1: also an admirable companion. We knew him well and miss
25:56
Speaker 1: him more than I can tell. Do you think that
25:59
Speaker 1: I should true if I were to call this afternoon
26:02
Speaker 1: and make the acquaintance of Sir Henry, I am sure
26:06
Speaker 1: that he would be delighted. Then perhaps you would mention
26:10
Speaker 1: that I propose to do so we may, in our
26:13
Speaker 1: humble way, do something to make things more easy for
26:16
Speaker 1: him until he becomes accustomed to his new surroundings. Will
26:21
Speaker 1: you come upstairs, doctor Watson, and inspect my collection of lepidoptera.
26:27
Speaker 1: I think it is the most complete one in the
26:29
Speaker 1: southwest of England. By the time that you have looked
26:32
Speaker 1: through them, lunch will be almost ready. But I was
26:37
Speaker 1: eager to get back to my charge. The melancholy of
26:40
Speaker 1: the more, the death of the unfortunate pony, the weird
26:44
Speaker 1: sound which had been associated with the grim legend of
26:47
Speaker 1: the Baskervilles. All these things tinged my thoughts with sadness.
26:52
Speaker 1: Then on top of these more or less vague impressions,
26:56
Speaker 1: there had come the definite and distinct warning of Miss Stapleton,
27:00
Speaker 1: delivered with such intense earnestness that I could not doubt
27:04
Speaker 1: that some grave and deep reason lay behind it. I
27:08
Speaker 1: resisted all pressure to stay for lunch, and I set
27:11
Speaker 1: off at once upon my return journey, taking the grass
27:14
Speaker 1: grown path by which we had come. It seems, however,
27:18
Speaker 1: that there must have been some short cut for those
27:21
Speaker 1: who knew it, for before I had reached the road,
27:24
Speaker 1: I was astounded to see Miss Stapleton sitting upon a
27:27
Speaker 1: rock by the side of the track. Her face was
27:30
Speaker 1: beautifully flushed with her exertions, and she held her hand
27:34
Speaker 1: to her side. I have run all the way in
27:37
Speaker 1: order to cut you off, Doctor Watson said she. I
27:40
Speaker 1: had not even time to put on my hat. I
27:43
Speaker 1: must not stop, or my brother may miss me. I
27:46
Speaker 1: wanted to say to you how sorry I am about
27:48
Speaker 1: the stupid mistake I made in thinking that you were
27:51
Speaker 1: Sir Henry. Please forget the words I said, which have
27:55
Speaker 1: no application whatever to you. But I can't forget them,
28:00
Speaker 1: Stapleton said. I I am Sir Henry's friend, and his
28:04
Speaker 1: welfare is a very close concern of mine. Tell me
28:07
Speaker 1: why it was that you are so eager that Sir
28:10
Speaker 1: Henry should return to London. A woman's whim, doctor Watson.
28:15
Speaker 1: When you know me better, you will understand that I
28:18
Speaker 1: cannot always give reasons for what I say or do. No. No,
28:22
Speaker 1: I remember the thrill in your voice, I remember the
28:25
Speaker 1: look in your eyes. Please please be frank with me,
28:28
Speaker 1: Miss Stapleton. For ever since I have been here, I
28:31
Speaker 1: have been conscious of shadows all round me. Life has
28:35
Speaker 1: become like that great grimpen mire with little green patches
28:40
Speaker 1: everywhere into which one may sink, and with no guide
28:43
Speaker 1: to point the track. Tell me then, what it was
28:46
Speaker 1: that you meant, and I will promise to convey your
28:49
Speaker 1: warning to Sir Henry. An expression of irresolution passed for
28:54
Speaker 1: an instant over her face, but her eyes had hardened
28:57
Speaker 1: again when she answered me, you make too much of it,
29:01
Speaker 1: Doctor Watson said she, my brother and I were very
29:05
Speaker 1: much shocked by the death of Sir Charles. We knew
29:08
Speaker 1: him very intimately, for his favorite walk was over the
29:10
Speaker 1: moor to our house. He was deeply impressed with the
29:14
Speaker 1: curse which hung over the family, and when this tragedy came,
29:18
Speaker 1: I naturally felt that there must be some grounds for
29:20
Speaker 1: the fears which he had expressed. I was distressed therefore,
29:24
Speaker 1: when another member of the family came down to live here,
29:28
Speaker 1: and I felt that he should be warned of the
29:29
Speaker 1: danger which he will run. That was all which I
29:33
Speaker 1: intended to convey. But what is the danger? You know
29:38
Speaker 1: the story of the hound. I do not believe in
29:41
Speaker 1: such nonsense, but I do if you have any influence
29:46
Speaker 1: with Sir Henry, take him away from a place which
29:48
Speaker 1: has always been fatal to his family. The world is wide.
29:53
Speaker 1: Why should he wish to live at the place of danger?
29:56
Speaker 1: Because it is the place of danger that is Sir
29:59
Speaker 1: henry nature. I fear that unless you can give me
30:03
Speaker 1: some more definite information than this, it would be impossible
30:07
Speaker 1: to get him to move. I cannot say anything definite,
30:11
Speaker 1: for I do not know anything definite. I would ask
30:15
Speaker 1: you one more question, Miss Stapleton, if you meant no
30:18
Speaker 1: more than this when you first spoke to me, why
30:21
Speaker 1: should you not wish your brother to overhear what you said.
30:24
Speaker 1: There's nothing to which he or any one else could object.
30:28
Speaker 1: My brother is very anxious to have the hall inhabited,
30:32
Speaker 1: for he thinks it is for the good of the
30:34
Speaker 1: poor folk upon the moor. He would be very angry
30:37
Speaker 1: if he knew that I have said anything which might
30:40
Speaker 1: induce Sir Henry to go away. But I have done
30:43
Speaker 1: my duty now, and I will say no more. I
30:46
Speaker 1: must go back, or he will miss me and suspect
30:49
Speaker 1: that I have seen you. Good Bye. She turned and
30:53
Speaker 1: had disappeared in a few minutes among the scattered boulders,
30:57
Speaker 1: while I, with my soul full of vague fears, pursued
31:00
Speaker 1: my way to Baskerville Hall. End of chapter seven