Chapter 15 Fifteen review
It was the end of November, and on a cold, misty evening, Holmes and I sat in the drawing-room of our flat in Baker Street, beside a roaring fire.After our disastrous case in Devon, he had two more of the most important cases.In the first case, he exposed the scandal of Colonel Appou, because he was connected with the famous "Peaks Club" card fraud; in the second case, he protected the unfortunate Mrs. She was cleared of the murder of Miss Calle, the daughter of her husband's first wife—the young lady everyone remembered, alive and married in New York six months after the incident.My friend was in such high spirits from his successes in a succession of difficult and important cases that I was able to induce him to relate the details of the mysterious Baskerville case.I have been patiently awaiting this good opportunity, for, as far as I know, he does not allow cases to interfere with each other, lest his clear mind be distracted from his present work by recollections of the past.Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer were both in London, preparing to embark on a long journey to restore Sir's irritated nerves.They came to visit us that very afternoon, so it was natural to discuss the subject.
"The whole course of events," said Holmes, "is plain and simple from the point of view of the man who calls himself Stapleton. Although the motives for his actions are unknown to us at the outset, the Only part of the facts are known, and that makes the whole story extremely complicated. Mrs. Stapleton and I have had two conversations, and the case is now fully settled, and I don't know what else could be wrong. Solve the riddle. You can find several notes on the matter in column B of my indexed case statistics."
"Perhaps you would like to give an outline of the whole case from memory."
"Of course I'd like to talk about Luo, although I can't guarantee that I can remember all the facts, and the high concentration of thoughts can easily overwhelm the memory of the past. A lawyer who is handling a case can argue with an expert on the issues of the case, but After a week or two of court proceedings I forgot all about them again, so that later cases kept taking the place of earlier ones in my mind, and Miss Carley's affair obscured my understanding of Barbara. Reminiscences of the case of the Skevill estate. To-morrow, perhaps, another trifle will arise, which will likewise take the place of the case of the beautiful French girl and the notorious Abou. But as regards the case of the hounds, I would like to do as much as I can. Tell it to you rightly, and if I've missed something, you'll add it.
"My investigations have established beyond any doubt that the portrait of the Baskervilles is not deceiving, that the fellow is indeed a Baskerville, and that he is the son of Roger Baskerville, brother of Sir Charles. Son. Roger fled to South America with a very bad reputation, where it was said that he died unmarried. In fact, he married and had a child. The little fellow had the same name as his father, and he and A Costa Rican beauty, Beryl Garrocia, married, and after stealing a great deal of public money, he fled to England under the name Vandale, where he set up a new business in the east of Yorkshire. An elementary school. He wanted to start this kind of business because he happened to meet a teacher with a tuberculosis on his way home. He wanted to use this person's ability to make a successful career. But this Frazer teacher died. and the school went from bad reputation to notoriety. The Vandalers thought it best to change their name to Stapleton, so he took what was left of his property, his future plans and his interest in entomology. His hobby moved to the south of England. I learned from the British Museum that he was still a recognized authority on the subject, and that there was a species of moth, which was first discovered by him while he was living in Yorkshire. It will be named Vandale forever.
"That part of his life which we are now talking about will indeed interest us a great deal. The fellow evidently found out after his investigation that only two persons stood in the way of his great fortune. When he was in Wen County, his plans were still vague, but judging from the fact that he took his wife and made her appear as a sister, it was obvious that he had bad intentions from the beginning. Although he may not be sure yet The details of the whole conspiracy, but it was evident that he had thought of using her as a bait. He was determined to get the property, and he would not hesitate to use any means or risk any means to achieve it. His first move was The first step is to establish your home as close to the ancestral home as possible. The second step is to cultivate friendship with Sir Charles Baskerville and his neighbors.
"The baronet himself told him the tale of the family hound, and thus paved the way for his own death. Stapleton--I shall call him that--knew that the old man's heart was weak, and a little A shock could kill him, he knew from Dr. Mortimer--he had also heard that Sir Childs was superstitious, and believed in that dreadful legend. His quick mind immediately conjured up A way that can kill the baron, but it is almost impossible to track down the real murderer.
"Having this idea in mind, he took considerable pains to bring it to fruition. An ordinary plotter would be content with a vicious hound. But he also artificially transformed the animal into a It was his tact and genius to be as terrible as a devil. The dog he had bought from Ross and Mangles, the dog dealers in Flatham Street, London, was the strongest of their stock. , the most vicious of them all. He brought it home on the North Devon Railway, and walked a long way across the moor with the dog, so as not to attract attention. He was already catching insects learned how to walk into the Grimpen Mires, and was able to find a safe place for the hound to hide in. He kept it there until he could use it.
"But good opportunities don't come soon enough. The old gentleman couldn't be lured out of the house by night. Several times Stapleton lay in wait with his hounds, but in vain. On these occasions In the fruitless pursuit, he, or rather his accomplice, was seen by the peasants, and thus the legend of the devil dog was confirmed again. He had hoped that his wife might be able to find out On this question she was unexpectedly disobedient, leading Ertz to ruin. She refused to drag the old gentleman into a love affair where he might turn him over to his sworn enemy, intimidate, and even The beatings, which I do not even mention, did not shake her resolve, she was unwilling to take any part in the matter, and for a time Stapleton was even at a loss as to what to do.
"But he seized an opportunity in the midst of difficulties. He was put in charge of the assistance of that poor woman, Mrs. Laura Lyons, as Sir Childs had developed a friendship with him. A charitable sum. Because of his appearance as a bachelor, he can have a decisive influence on her. He promised her that if she and her husband's divorce can be successful, he will marry her. But his plan suddenly faced a At this critical moment, Sir Childs was preparing to leave the estate, on the advice of Dr. Mortimer, and he himself pretended to agree with the opinion, but he must act at once, or he would be killed as soon as his victim was away. So he forced Mrs. Lyons to write the letter begging the old man to see her the evening before he went to London, and then made her stay with a set of plausible reasons. Go to the appointment, and in this way, he will get a great opportunity that he has been waiting for.
"He drove back from Coombe Tracy in the evening, long enough to get his hounds back, and get the luminous paint on, and take the beast to the gate, and he knew he would be able to Seeing the old gentleman waiting there, the dog, coaxed by its master, leaped over the gate and pursued the unfortunate baronet, who was driven screaming and galloping down the baronet lane. It was so frightening to see that big, black thing with the flaming mouth and eyes leaping behind me in the dark alley, that he fell down dead at the end of the aisle from a heart attack and an excess of fear. The hound ran along the grassy side of the road, and the baronet on the lane, so that no trace could be seen but human footprints. The dog, seeing him lying still, might have come closer and smelled He sniffed it, but turned away again when he found him dead, and it was then that he left the paw-prints seen by Dr. Mortimer. The Hound was called back, and was hastily driven back to the To the kennels in Grimpen Bog. The mysterious incident baffled the court and astonished the country folk, and we finally took over the case.
"So much for Sir Charles Baskerville's death. As you can see, the methods were so cunningly employed that, indeed, it was almost impossible to bring charges against the real murderer. His only The accomplice never betrayed his secret, and his plot was facilitated by his strange and unimaginable devices. The two women connected with the case, Mrs. Stapleton and Mrs. Laura Lyons Stapleton was extremely suspicious. Mrs. Stapleton knew that he was plotting against the old man, and that there was the hound; It was the time of an appointment that had not been canceled, and this appointment was known only to him, so she was not without suspicion. However, they were both under his control, and he had nothing to fear from them. The front of the whole conspiracy Half of them have been successfully realized, but the rest are more difficult.
"Perhaps Stapleton did not know that there was an heir in Canada. But at any rate he would soon find out from his friend, Dr. Mortimer, who later told him at length about Henry The news of Baskerville's arrival. Stapleton's first thought was: Perhaps this strange young man from Canada could be killed in London without waiting for him to come to Devon. Since his wife refused to help him After trapping the old man, he no longer trusted his wife. He didn't even dare to let her leave him for a long time, because he was afraid that he would lose the power to control her. London. I found them in the private hotel of Maxborough in Craven Street, where I had sent to gather evidence. There he kept his wife in the room, and he pretended to be Beard, followed Dr. Mortimer, first to Baker Street, then to the station, and to the Northumberland Hotel. His wife knew something about his plot, but she was terribly afraid of her husband--a kind of reason Fear of brutal abuse she had suffered--so she dared not write to warn the man she knew was in danger, for if that letter fell into the hands of Stapleton, her life would be at stake. There was danger. In the end, as we all knew, she resorted to expediency, and made up the letter out of words cut out of newspapers, and addressed the recipient in disguised handwriting. The letter, which reached the baronet, gave him his first warning of danger.
"It was very important to Stapleton to have a piece of Sir Henry's clothing, because as soon as he got to the point where he had to use the dog, he could have something to make the dog smell and follow him, and he immediately, with his characteristic dexterity and Assume boldly that we are sure that the servants and maids of the hotel must have accepted a good deal of bribes to help him achieve his purpose. But as it happened, the first shoe he got was new and was of no use to him. He then gave it back, and stole another--which did us the most good, because he confirmed in my mind that we were dealing with a real hound, since there was nothing else Suppose it could be explained why there is such a hurry to get hold of an old shoe, and so little interest in a new one. The more outlandish things the more worthy of careful examination, that would seem to complicate the whole case. One point, if given proper consideration and treated scientifically, is often the place that best explains the problem.
"Then, next morning, we were visited again by our friends, who had been followed by Stapleton in the carriage. From how well he knew our house and my face and his In terms of general behavior, I feel that Stapleton's criminal history is by no means limited to the Baskerville Manor case. It is said that in the past three years, there have been four major burglaries in the West, but none of them. The criminal was caught. The last one, at Foxton Yard in May, was peculiar in that a boy servant was brutally shot to death for attempting to capture a lone masked thief. I It is believed that Stapleton thus supplemented his dwindling fortune, and that he had been a dangerous outlaw through the years.
"We had tasted his tact and daring that morning when he managed to escape from us and conveyed my name to me through the coachman. took over the case, and knowing that there would be no more chance of his doing so, he returned to Dart Moor to await the arrival of the baronet."
"Wait!" said I. "You have, no doubt, described the events as they happened, but there is one point which you have left unexplained. What about the hound while the master is in London?"
"I have noticed this, and it is doubtless important. There is no doubt that Stapleton has a close friend, although it does not appear that Stapleton has told him all about his plans and is suffering. About him. There was an old manservant at Melipie House, named Anthony, whose connection with the Stapletons went back some years before when Stapleton was headmaster of the primary school, so he must have known His master and mistress were indeed a couple, who had fled from the country and disappeared. The name 'Antonio' seems to be very unusual in England, while the name 'Antonio' is spoken in all Spanish-speaking countries and in America. Nor is it common in a country that speaks English. This man, like Mrs. Stapleton, speaks English very well, but with a strange taste of a big tongue. I have seen this old man pass by Stapleton. Grimpen Slough, so it is probable that he tended the hounds in his master's absence, though he probably never knew what the beast was for.
"Then the Stapletons returned to Devonshire. Sir Henry and you followed them there shortly afterwards. I will add my own opinion at that time, which you may recall, when While I was examining the letter with the newspaper lettering on it, I carefully examined the watermark on the inside of the paper. While examining it, I held it inches from my eyes, and felt something that seemed to be white. The scent of winter jasmine. There are seventy-five types of perfume, and a criminologist should be able to identify each of them. According to my personal experience, in more than one case, it was only by being able to quickly identify the type of perfume that it broke the law. The smell said that a lady was involved in the case, and the Stapletons were already in my mind. That's how I confirmed the hound and guessed the culprit before I went to the country west. .
"My game was to spy on Stapleton. But obviously, if I were with you, I wouldn't be able to do it, because then he would be more careful. Therefore, I deceived everybody, including you, into the country secretly when they thought I was still in London. I didn't suffer as much as you imagined , these details must not be allowed to disturb the investigation of the case. I spent most of my time at Coombe Tracy, and only when I had to go close to the scene of the crime did I go to live in the cottage on the moor. Cartley Came with me, he pretended to be a country boy, and was a great help to me. He got me food and clean clothes, and Cartley was always watching while I watched Stapleton You, so my hand can hold all the clues.
"As I have told you, your reports come to me very quickly, for they are sent to Coombe Tracy as soon as they reach Baker Street. They are of great importance to me. especially the one that happened to be true about Stapleton's life. I've been able to prove it's the man and the woman, and at last know exactly what I'm supposed to know. The fugitive and his relationship with Barrymore The relationship between the two did complicate the case considerably, which you have clarified in a very effective way, although I have come to the same conclusion by my own observations.
"When you found me on the moor, I had all the facts, but I had not enough evidence to bring before a jury. Even Stapleton tried to murder Sir Henry that night, but it turned out The fact that he killed the unfortunate fugitive hardly proves his guilt. It seems that there is no other way but to catch him on the spot, and to do so, we have to use Sir Henry as a bait and keep him in single We did so, and although our client was terribly frightened, we at last rounded up the evidence and drove Stapleton to ruin. To expose Sir Henry to danger, I admit, can only be described as a great defect in my conduct of the case, but we could not have foreseen that the beast should show such a terrible and terrible appearance. We could not have foreseen the appearance of the fog that made it come upon us so suddenly. There was a price to be paid for the accomplishment of our mission, but Dr. Mortimer, the expert, assured me that the effect of this price Temporarily only. A long journey, not only to restore our friend's battered nerves, but to heal his wounded soul, his love for the lady was profound. To him, in this unfortunate case Among the incidents, the saddest thing was that he was also deceived by her.
"All that remains to be said is her part in it. No doubt she was at the mercy of Stapleton. The cause may have been love, or fear, or both, Because these are by no means two feelings that cannot exist at the same time. The power of this control is at least absolutely effective. Under his order, she agreed to pretend to be his sister, although when he wanted to make her directly Participating in the murder, she also found out that his power over her was still limited. She was ready to warn Sir Henry as long as her husband was not involved, and she had repeatedly meant to do so. It seems that Sta Putton still seemed to be jealous, and when he saw the baronet proposing to a lady, although it was part of his own plan, he couldn't help interfering in a rage, which made him smart. His fiery character, which was concealed by his strong self-restraint, was exposed. He used the method of winning over affection to make Sir Henry come to Melipie House frequently, so that sooner or later he could get the good opportunity he expected, but when the matter was critical One day his wife suddenly turned against him. She knew a little of the death of the fugitive, and she knew that the hound had been shut up in the outer cabin on the evening that Sir Henry came to supper. She reprimanded her A crime planned by her husband; he was furious, and for the first time he revealed to her that he had loved someone else. Her old meekness suddenly turned into a deep hatred, and he could see that she would betray him , so he tied her up lest she should warn Sir Henry at the first opportunity, no doubt hoping that when the whole country attributed the baronet's death to his family's misfortune—they Of course he would think so—he would be able to win his wife to accept the fait accompli and keep her a secret. In this matter, I think, he was miscalculated anyway, and even if we didn't go there, his fate It was also doomed. A woman of Spanish blood would not so easily condone such an insult. My dear Watson, I cannot give you any more details of this singular case without reference to the notes. .I don't know if there's anything important left unexplained."
"He cannot hope to frighten Sir Henry to death with his dreadful hound as he did his old uncle."
"The beast is ferocious, and half-fed. Its appearance, if not frightening to death, at least incapacitates the man it pursues."
"Of course. There remains one difficulty. If Stapleton inherits the property, how does he account for the fact that why has he - the heir - kept retiring so close to the property under a different name? He How can one claim an inheritance without arousing suspicion and calling for an investigation?"
"This is a great difficulty. If you want me to solve this problem, I'm afraid you are asking too much. I have investigated the past and present. But what will happen to a person in the future is a very difficult question." Questions to answer. Mrs. Stapleton has heard her husband talk about this on several occasions, and there are three ways to go: he may have to claim the inheritance from South America, have the British authorities there prove his identity, so that To acquire the property without coming to England at all; or to conceal one's identity while in London for a short time; A part of the income is reserved. From what we know of him, he always manages to solve these difficulties. Ah, my dear Watson, we have been at some weeks of serious work, and I think we shall For a change, think of something pleasant tonight. I have a box at the Yuguenot. Have you ever heard the opera? Please dress in half an hour, and we can go to the Mazzini on the way. Dinner at the restaurant."
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