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15 - A Retrospection · Sherlock Holmes

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  Speaker 1: Chapter fifteen of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir
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  Speaker 1: Arthur Conan Doyle. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: Chapter fifteen, A retrospection. It was the end of November,
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  Speaker 1: and Holmes and I sat upon a roar and foggy night,
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  Speaker 1: on either side of a blazing fire in our sitting
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  Speaker 1: room in Baker Street. Since the tragic upshot of our
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  Speaker 1: visit to Devonshire, he had been engaged in two affairs
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  Speaker 1: of the utmost importance, in the first of which he
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  Speaker 1: had exposed the atrocious conduct of Colonel Upward in connection
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  Speaker 1: with the famous card scandal of the Nonpareis Club, while
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  Speaker 1: in the second he had defended the unfortunate Madame Montpensier
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  Speaker 1: from the charge of murder which hung over her in
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  Speaker 1: connection with the death of her step daughter, Mademoiselle Carrier,
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  Speaker 1: the young lady, who, as it will be remembered, was
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  Speaker 1: found six months later alive and married in New York.
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  Speaker 1: My friend was in excellent spirits over the success which
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  Speaker 1: had attended a succession of difficult and important cases, so
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  Speaker 1: that I was able to induce him to discuss the
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  Speaker 1: details of the Baskerville mystery. I had waited patiently for
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  Speaker 1: the opportunity, for I was aware that he would never
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  Speaker 1: permit cases to overlap, and that his clear and logical
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  Speaker 1: mind would not be drawn from its present work to
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  Speaker 1: dwell upon memories of the past. Sir Henry and doctor
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  Speaker 1: Mortimer were, however, in London on their way to the
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  Speaker 1: long voyage which had been recommended for the restoration of
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  Speaker 1: his shattered nerves. They had called upon us that very afternoon,
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  Speaker 1: so that it was natural that the subject should come
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  Speaker 1: up for discussion. The whole course of events, said Holmes,
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  Speaker 1: from the point of view of the man who called
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  Speaker 1: himself Stapleton, was simple and direct, although to us, who
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  Speaker 1: had no means in the beginning of knowing the motives
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  Speaker 1: of his actions and could only learn part of the facts,
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  Speaker 1: it all appeared exceedingly complex. I have had the advantage
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  Speaker 1: of two conversations with missus Stapleton, and the case has
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  Speaker 1: now been so entirely cleared up that I am not
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  Speaker 1: aware that there is anything which has remained a secret
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  Speaker 1: to us. You will find a few notes upon the
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  Speaker 1: matter under the heading B in my indexed list of cases.
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  Speaker 1: Perhaps you'd kindly give me a sketch of the course
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  Speaker 1: of events from memory. Certainly, though I cannot guarantee that
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  Speaker 1: I carry all the facts in my mind. Intense mental
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  Speaker 1: concentration has a curious way of blotting out what has passed.
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  Speaker 1: The barrister, who has his case at his fingers ends
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  Speaker 1: and is able to argue with an expert upon his
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  Speaker 1: own subject, finds that a week or two of the
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  Speaker 1: courts will drive it all out of his head. Once more, so,
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  Speaker 1: each of my cases displaces the last, and Mademoiselle Carrere
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  Speaker 1: has blurred my recollection of Baskerville Hall. To morrow, some
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  Speaker 1: other little problem may be submitted to my notice, which
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  Speaker 1: will in turn dispossess the fair French life and the
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  Speaker 1: infamous upward. So far as the case of the Hound goes, however,
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  Speaker 1: I'll give you the course of events as nearly as
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  Speaker 1: I can, and you will suggest anything which I may
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  Speaker 1: have forgotten. My inquiries show beyond all question that the
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  Speaker 1: family portrait did not lie, and that this fellow was
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  Speaker 1: indeed a Baskerville. He was a son of that Roger Baskerville,
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  Speaker 1: the younger brother of Charles, who fled with a sinister
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  Speaker 1: reputation to South America, where he was said to have
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  Speaker 1: died unmarried. He did, as a matter of fact, marry
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  Speaker 1: and had one child. This fellow, whose real name isn't
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  Speaker 1: the same as his father's, he married Beryl Garcia, one
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  Speaker 1: of the beauties of Costa Rica, and having purloined a
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  Speaker 1: considerable sum of public money, he changed his name to
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  Speaker 1: Van de Leur and fled to England, where he established
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  Speaker 1: a school in the east of Yorkshire. His reason for
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  Speaker 1: attempting this special line of business was that he had
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  Speaker 1: struck up an acquaintance with a consumptive tutor upon the
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  Speaker 1: voyage home, and that he had used this man's ability
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  Speaker 1: to make the undertaking a success. Fraser the tutor died, however,
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  Speaker 1: and the school, which had begun well sank from disrepute
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  Speaker 1: into infamy. The Van de Leurs found it convenient to
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  Speaker 1: change their name to Stapleton, and he brought the remains
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  Speaker 1: of his fortune, his schemes for the future, and his
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  Speaker 1: taste for entomology to the south of England. I learned
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  Speaker 1: at the British Museum that he was a recognized authority
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  Speaker 1: upon the subject, and that the name of Van Delere
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  Speaker 1: has been permanently attached to a certain moth which he
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  Speaker 1: had in his Yorkshire days, been the first to describe.
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  Speaker 1: We now come to that portion of his life which
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  Speaker 1: has proved to be of such intense interest to us.
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  Speaker 1: The fellow had evidently made inquiry and found that only
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  Speaker 1: two lives intervened between him and a valuable estate. When
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  Speaker 1: he went to Devonshire. His plans were I believe exceedingly hazy,
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  Speaker 1: but that he meant mischief from the first is evident
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  Speaker 1: from the way in which he took his wife with him.
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  Speaker 1: In the character of his sister, the idea of using
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  Speaker 1: her as a decoy was clearly already in his mind,
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  Speaker 1: though he may not have been certain how the details
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  Speaker 1: of his plot were to be arranged. He meant in
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  Speaker 1: the end to have the estate, and he was ready
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  Speaker 1: to use any tool or run any risk for that end.
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  Speaker 1: His first act was to establish himself as near to
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  Speaker 1: his ancestral home as he could, and his second was
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  Speaker 1: to cultivate a friendship with Sir Charles Baskerville and with
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  Speaker 1: the neighbors. The baronet himself told him about the family hound,
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  Speaker 1: and so prepared the way for his own death. Stapleton,
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  Speaker 1: as I will continue to call him, knew that the
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  Speaker 1: old man's heart was weak, and that a shock would
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  Speaker 1: kill him. So much he had learned from Doctor Mortimer.
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  Speaker 1: He had heard also that Sir Charles was superstitious, and
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  Speaker 1: had taken this grim legend very seriously. His ingenious mind
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  Speaker 1: instantly suggested a way by which the baronet could be
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  Speaker 1: done to death, and yet it would be hardly possible
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  Speaker 1: to bring home the guilt to the real murderer. Having
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  Speaker 1: conceived the idea, he proceeded to carry it out with
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  Speaker 1: considerable finesse. An ordinary schemer would have been content to
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  Speaker 1: work with the savage hound. The use of artificial means
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  Speaker 1: to make the creature diabolical was a flash of genius
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  Speaker 1: upon his part. The dog he brought in London from
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  Speaker 1: Ross and mangles the dealers in Fulham Road. It was
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  Speaker 1: the strongest and most savage in their possession. He brought
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  Speaker 1: it down by the North Devon line and walked a
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  Speaker 1: great distance over the moor, so as to get it
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  Speaker 1: home without exciting any remarks. Already on his insect hunts
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  Speaker 1: learned to penetrate the grimpen mire, and so had found
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  Speaker 1: a safe hiding place for the creature. Here he kenneled
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  Speaker 1: it and waited his chance. But it was some time coming,
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  Speaker 1: the old gentleman could not be decoyed outside of his
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  Speaker 1: grounds at night. Several times Stapleton lurked about with his hound,
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  Speaker 1: but without avail. It was during these fruitless quests that he,
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  Speaker 1: or rather his ally, was seen by peasants, and that
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  Speaker 1: the legend of the demon dog received a new confirmation.
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  Speaker 1: He had hoped that his wife might lure Sir Charles
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  Speaker 1: to his ruin, but here she proved unexpectedly independent. She
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  Speaker 1: would not endeavor to entangle the old gentleman in a
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  Speaker 1: sentimental attachment which might deliver him over to his enemy threats,
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  Speaker 1: and even I am sorry to say blows refused to
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  Speaker 1: move her. She would have nothing to do with it,
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  Speaker 1: and for a time Stapleton was at a deadlock. He
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  Speaker 1: found a way out of his difficulties through the chance
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  Speaker 1: that Sir Charles, who had conceived a friendship for him,
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  Speaker 1: made him the minister of his charity in the case
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  Speaker 1: of this unfortunate woman, Missus Laura Lyons. By representing himself
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  Speaker 1: as a single man, he acquired complete influence over her,
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  Speaker 1: and he gave her to understand that in the event
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  Speaker 1: of her obtaining a divorce from her husband, he would
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  Speaker 1: marry her. His plans were suddenly brought to a head
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  Speaker 1: by his knowledge that Sir Charles was about to leave
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  Speaker 1: the hall on the advice of Doctor Mortimer, with whose
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  Speaker 1: opinion he himself pretended to coincide. He must act at once,
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  Speaker 1: or his victim might get beyond his power. He therefore
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  Speaker 1: put pressure upon Missus Lyons to write this letter imploring
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  Speaker 1: the old man to give her an interview on the
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  Speaker 1: evening before his departure for London. He then, by a
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  Speaker 1: specious argument, proved vented her from going, and so had
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  Speaker 1: the chance for which he had waited. Driving back in
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  Speaker 1: the evening from Coombe Tracy, he was in time to
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  Speaker 1: get his hound, to treat it with his infernal paint,
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  Speaker 1: and to bring the beast round to the gate at
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  Speaker 1: which he had reason to expect that he would find
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  Speaker 1: the old gentleman waiting. The dog, incited by his master,
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  Speaker 1: sprang over the wicket gate and pursued the unfortunate baronet,
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  Speaker 1: who fled screaming down the yew alley. In that gloomy tunnel,
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  Speaker 1: it must indeed have been a dreadful sight to see
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  Speaker 1: that huge black creature with its flaming jaws and blazing eyes,
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  Speaker 1: bounding after its victim. He fell dead at the end
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  Speaker 1: of the alley from heart disease and terror. The hound
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  Speaker 1: had kept upon the grassy border while the baronet had
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  Speaker 1: run down the path, so that no track but the
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  Speaker 1: man's was visible. On seeing him lying still, the creature
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  Speaker 1: had probably approached to sniff at him, but finding him dead,
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  Speaker 1: had turned away again. It was then that it left
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  Speaker 1: the print, which was actually observed by doctor Mortimer. The
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  Speaker 1: hound was called off and hurried away to its lair
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  Speaker 1: in the grimp and mire, and a mystery was left
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  Speaker 1: which puzzled the authorities, alarmed the countryside, and finally brought
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  Speaker 1: the case within the scope of our observation. So much
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  Speaker 1: for the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. You perceive the
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  Speaker 1: devilish cunning of it, For really it would be almost
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  Speaker 1: impossible to make a case against the real murderer. His
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  Speaker 1: only accomplice was one who could never give him away,
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  Speaker 1: and the grotesque, inconceivable nature of the device only served
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  Speaker 1: to make it more effective. Both of the women concerned
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  Speaker 1: in the case, Missus Stapleton and Missus Laura Lyons, were
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  Speaker 1: left with a strong suspicion against Stapleton. Missus Stapleton knew
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  Speaker 1: that he had designs upon the old Man, and also
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  Speaker 1: of the existence of the hound. Missus Lyons knew neither
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  Speaker 1: of these things, but had been impressed by the death
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  Speaker 1: occurring at the time of an uncancelled appointment, which was
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  Speaker 1: only known to him. However, both of them were under
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  Speaker 1: his influence, and he had nothing to fear from them.
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  Speaker 1: The first half of his task was successfully accomplished, but
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  Speaker 1: the more difficult still remained. It is possible that Stapleton
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  Speaker 1: did not know of the existence of an heir in Canada.
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  Speaker 1: In any case, he would very soon learn it from
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  Speaker 1: his friend doctor Mortimer, and he was told by the
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  Speaker 1: latter all details about the arrival of Henry Baskerville. Stapleton's
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  Speaker 1: first idea was that this young stranger from Canada might
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  Speaker 1: possibly be done to death in London without coming down
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  Speaker 1: to Devonshire at all. He distrusted his wife ever since
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  Speaker 1: she had refused to help him in laying a trap
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  Speaker 1: for the old Man, and he dared not leave her
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  Speaker 1: long out of his sight for fear he should lose
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  Speaker 1: his influence over her. It was for this reason that
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  Speaker 1: he took her to London with him. They lodged I
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  Speaker 1: find at the Mexborough Private Hotel in Craven Street, which
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  Speaker 1: was actually one of those called upon by my agent
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  Speaker 1: in search of evidence. Here he kept his wife imprisoned
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  Speaker 1: in her room, while he, disguised in a beard, followed
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  Speaker 1: Doctor Mortimer at a Baker Street, and afterwards to the
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  Speaker 1: station and to the Northumberland Hotel. His wife had some
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  Speaker 1: inkling of his plans, but she had such a fear
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  Speaker 1: of her husband, a fear founded upon brutal ill treatment,
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  Speaker 1: that she dared not write to warn the man whom
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  Speaker 1: she knew to be in danger. If the letter should
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  Speaker 1: fall into Stapleton's hands, her own life would not be safe. Eventually,
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  Speaker 1: as we know, she adopted the expedient of cutting out
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  Speaker 1: the words which would form the message, and addressing the
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  Speaker 1: letter in a disguised hand. It reached the Baronet and
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  Speaker 1: gave him the first warning of his danger. It was
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  Speaker 1: very essential for Stapleton to get some article of Sir
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  Speaker 1: Henry's attire, so that in case he was driven to
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  Speaker 1: use the dog, he might always have the means of
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  Speaker 1: setting him upon his track. With characteristic promptness and audacity,
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  Speaker 1: he set about this at once and we cannot doubt
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  Speaker 1: that the boots or chamber maid of the hotel was
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  Speaker 1: well bribed to help him in his design. By chance, however,
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  Speaker 1: the first boot which was procured for him was a
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  Speaker 1: new one, and therefore useless for his purpose. He then
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  Speaker 1: had it returned and obtained another. A most instructive incident,
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  Speaker 1: since it proved conclusively to my mind that we were
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  Speaker 1: dealing with a real hound, as no other supposition could
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  Speaker 1: explain this anxiety to obtain an old boot, and this
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  Speaker 1: indifference to a new one. The more utre and grotesque
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  Speaker 1: an incident is, the more carefully it deserves to be examined,
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  Speaker 1: And the very point which appears to complicate a case
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  Speaker 1: is when duly considered and scientifically handled, the one which
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  Speaker 1: is most likely to elucidate it. Then we had the
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  Speaker 1: visit from our friends next morning, shadowed always by Stapleton
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  Speaker 1: in the cab. From his knowledge of our rooms and
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  Speaker 1: of my appearance, as well as from his general conduct,
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  Speaker 1: I am inclined to think that Stapleton's career of crime
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  Speaker 1: has been, by no means limited to this single Baskerville affair.
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  Speaker 1: It is suggestive that during the last three years there
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  Speaker 1: have been four considerable burglaries in the West Country, for
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  Speaker 1: none of which was any criminal ever arrested. The last
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  Speaker 1: of these, at Folkeston Court in May, was remarkable for
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  Speaker 1: the cold blooded pistoling of the page who surprised the
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  Speaker 1: masked and solitary burglar. I cannot doubt that Stapleton recruited
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  Speaker 1: his waning resources in this fashion, and that for years
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  Speaker 1: he had been a desperate and dangerous man. We had
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  Speaker 1: an example of his readiness of resource that morning when
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  Speaker 1: he got away from us so successfully, and also of
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  Speaker 1: his audacity in sending back my own name to me
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  Speaker 1: through the cabman. From that moment he understood that I
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  Speaker 1: had taken over the case in London, and that therefore
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  Speaker 1: there was no chance for him there. He returned to
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  Speaker 1: Dartmoor and awaited the arrival of the Baronet. One moment,
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  Speaker 1: said I, you have no doubt described the sequence of
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  Speaker 1: events correctly, But as one point which you have left unexplained,
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  Speaker 1: what became of the hound when its master was in London.
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  Speaker 1: I have given some attention to this matter, and it
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  Speaker 1: is undoubtedly of importance. There can be no question that
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  Speaker 1: Stapleton had a confidant, though it is unlikely that he
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  Speaker 1: ever placed himself in his power by sharing all his
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  Speaker 1: plans with him. There was an old man servant at
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  Speaker 1: Merripit House whose name was Antony. His connection with the
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  Speaker 1: Stapletons can be traced for several years, is as far
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  Speaker 1: back as the schoolmastering days, so that he must have
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  Speaker 1: been aware that his master and mistress were really husband
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  Speaker 1: and wife. This man has disappeared and has escaped from
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  Speaker 1: the country. It is suggestive that Antony is not a
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  Speaker 1: common name in England, while Antonio is so in all
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  Speaker 1: Spanish or Spanish American countries. The man, like Missus Stapleton herself,
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  Speaker 1: spoke good English, but with a curious lisping accent. I
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  Speaker 1: have myself seen this old man cross the grimpen Maire
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  Speaker 1: by the path which Stapleton had marked out. It is
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  Speaker 1: very probable, therefore, that, in the absence of his master,
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  Speaker 1: it was he who cared for the hound, though he
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  Speaker 1: may never have known the purpose for which the beast
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  Speaker 1: was used. The Stapletons then went down to Devonshire, whither
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  Speaker 1: they were soon followed by Sir Henry and Hugh. One
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  Speaker 1: word now, as to how I stood myself at that time,
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  Speaker 1: it may possibly recur to your memory that when I
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: examined the paper upon which the printed words were fastened,
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  Speaker 1: I made a close inspection for the water mark. In
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  Speaker 1: doing so, I held it within a few inches of
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  Speaker 1: my eyes, and was conscious of a faint smell of
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: the scent known as white jessamine. There are seventy five perfumes,
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  Speaker 1: which is very necessary that a criminal expert should be
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  Speaker 1: able to distinguish from each other, and cases have more
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  Speaker 1: than once within my own experience, depended upon their prompt recognition.
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  Speaker 1: The scent suggested the presence of a lady, and already
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: my thoughts began to turn towards the Stapletons. Thus I
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  Speaker 1: had made certain of the hound and had guessed at
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  Speaker 1: the criminal before ever we went to the West Country.
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  Speaker 1: It was my game to watch Stapleton. It was evident, however,
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  Speaker 1: that I could not do this if I were with you,
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  Speaker 1: since he would be keenly on his guard. I deceived everybody,
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  Speaker 1: therefore yourself included, and I came down secretly when I
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  Speaker 1: was supposed to be in London. My hardships were not
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  Speaker 1: so great as you imagined. Though such trifling details must
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: never interfere with the investigation of a case. I stayed
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  Speaker 1: for the most part at Coombe Tracy, and only used
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  Speaker 1: the hut upon the moor when it was necessary to
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: be near the scene of action. Cartwright had come down
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  Speaker 1: with me, and in his disguise as a country boy,
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  Speaker 1: he was of great assistance to me. I was dependent
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  Speaker 1: upon him for food and clean linen when I was
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  Speaker 1: watching Stapleton. Cartwright was frequently watching you, so that I
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  Speaker 1: was able to keep my hand upon all the strings.
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  Speaker 1: I have already told you that your reports reached me rapidly,
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  Speaker 1: being forward instantly from Baker Street to Coombe Tracy. They
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: were of great service to me, and especially that one
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  Speaker 1: incidentally truthful piece of biography of Stapleton's. I was able
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  Speaker 1: to establish the identity of the man and the wall,
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  Speaker 1: and knew at last exactly how I stood. The case
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  Speaker 1: had been considerably complicated through the incident of the escaped
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: convict and the relations between him and the Barrymoors. This
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  Speaker 1: also you cleared up in a very effective way, though
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  Speaker 1: I had already come to the same conclusions from my
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  Speaker 1: own observations. By the time that you discovered me upon
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  Speaker 1: the moor, I had a complete knowledge of the whole business.
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  Speaker 1: But I had not a case which could go to
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  Speaker 1: a jury. Even Stapleton's attempt upon Sir Henry that night,
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  Speaker 1: which ended in the death of the unfortunate convict, did
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: not help us much improving murder against our man. There
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: seemed to be no alternative but to catch him red handed,
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  Speaker 1: and to do so we had to use Sir Henry
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  Speaker 1: alone and apparently unprotected, as a bait. We did so,
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  Speaker 1: and at the cost of a severe shock to our client,
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: we succeeded in completing our case and driving Stapleton to
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  Speaker 1: his destruction. That Sir Henry should have been exposed to.
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  Speaker 1: This is I must confess a approach to my management
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  Speaker 1: of the case. But we had no means of foreseeing
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: the terrible and paralyzing spectacle which the beast presented, nor
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: could we predict the fog which enabled him to burst
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: upon us at such short notice. We succeeded in our object,
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: at a cost which both the specialist and Doctor Mortimer
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: assure me will be a temporary one. A long journey
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: may enable our friend to recover not only from his
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: shattered nerves, but also from his wounded feelings. His love
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: for the lady was deep and sincere, and to him.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: The saddest part of all this black business was that
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: he should have been deceived by her. It only remains
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: to indicate the part which she had played throughout. There
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: can be no doubt that Stapleton exercised an influence over her,
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: which may have been love, or may have been fear,
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: or very possibly both, since they are by no means
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: incompatible emotions. It was at least absolutely effective at his command.
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: She consented to pass as his sister, though he found
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: the limits of his power over her when he endeavored
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: to make her the direct accessory to murder. She was
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: ready to warn Sir Henry so far as she could
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: without implicating her husband, and again and again she tried
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: to do so. Stapleton himself seems to have been capable
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: of jealousy, and when he saw the baronet paying court
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: to the lady, even though it was part of his
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: own plan, still he could not help interrupting with a
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: passionate outburst, which revealed the fiery soul which his self
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: contained manner so cleverly concealed. By encouraging the intimacy, he
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: made it certain that Sir Henry would frequently come to
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: Merripit House and that he would sooner or later get
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: the opportunity which he desired. On the day of the crisis, however,
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: his wife turned suddenly against him. She had learned something
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: of the death of the convict, and she knew that
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: the hound was being kept in the outhouse. On the
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: evening that Sir Henry was coming to dinner, she taxed
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: her husband with his intended crime, and a furious scene followed,
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: in which he showed her for the first time that
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: she had a rival in his love. Her fidelity turned
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: in an instant to bitter hatred, and he saw that
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: she would betray him. He tied her up therefore, that
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: she might have no chance of warning Sir Henry, and
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: he hoped no doubt that when the whole countryside put
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: down the baronet's death to the curse of his family,
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: as they certainly would do, he could win his wife
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: back to accept an accomplished fact, and to keep silent
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: upon what she knew. In this I fancy that in
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: any case he made a miscalculation, and that if we
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: had not been there, his doom would none the less
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: have been sealed. A woman of Spanish blood does not
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: condone such an injury, so lightly. And now, my dear Watson,
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: without referring to my notes, I cannot give you a
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: more detailed account of this curious case. I do not
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: know that anything essential has been left unexplained. He could
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: not hope to frighten Sir Henry to death as he
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: had done the old uncle with his bogie hound. The
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: beast was savage and half starved. If its appearance did
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: not frighten its victim to death, at least it would
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: paralyze the resistance which might be offered. No doubt, there
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: only remains one difficulty. If Stapleton came into the succession,
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: how could he explain the fact that he the heir,
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: had been living unannounced under another name, so close to
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: the property. How could he claim it without causing suspicion
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: and inquiry. It is a formidable difficulty, and I fear
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: that you ask too much when you expect me to
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: solve it. The past and the present are within the
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: field of my inquiry, but what a man may do
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: in the future is a hard question to answer. Missus
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: Stapleton has heard her husband discuss the problem on several occasions.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: There were three possible courses he might claim the property
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: from South America, establish his identity before the British authorities there,
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: and so obtain the fortune without ever coming to England
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: at all. Or he might adopt an elaborate disguise during
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: the short time that he need be in London. Or
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: again he might furnish an accomplice with the proofs and papers,
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: putting him in as heir and retaining a claim upon
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: some proportion of his income. We cannot doubt, from what
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: we know of him, that he would have found some
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: way out of the difficulty. And now, my dear Watson,
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: we have had some weeks of severe work. For one evening,
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: I think we may turn our thoughts into more pleasant channels.
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: I have a box for Les Zugueneau. Have you heard
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: the Diretzkis? Might I trouble you? Then? To be ready
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: in half an hour, and we can stop at Marsini's
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: for a little dinner on the way. End of Chapter
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: fifteen and the end of The Hound of the Baskervilles
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, read by David Clark BG
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: David dot WordPress dot com and BG cooffee dot Net.
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening