The Hound of the Baskervilles Page 15

  Chapter 15

  A Retrospection

  It was the end of November and Holmes and I sat, upon a raw andfoggy night, on either side of a blazing fire in our sitting-roomin Baker Street. Since the tragic upshot of our visit toDevonshire he had been engaged in two affairs of the utmostimportance, in the first of which he had exposed the atrociousconduct of Colonel Upwood in connection with the famous cardscandal of the Nonpareil Club, while in the second he haddefended the unfortunate Mme. Montpensier from the charge ofmurder which hung over her in connection with the death of herstep-daughter, Mlle. Carere, the young lady who, as it will beremembered, was found six months later alive and married in NewYork. My friend was in excellent spirits over the success whichhad attended a succession of difficult and important cases, sothat I was able to induce him to discuss the details of theBaskerville mystery. I had waited patiently for the opportunity,for I was aware that he would never permit cases to overlap, andthat his clear and logical mind would not be drawn from itspresent work to dwell upon memories of the past. Sir Henry andDr. Mortimer were, however, in London, on their way to that longvoyage which had been recommended for the restoration of hisshattered nerves. They had called upon us that very afternoon, sothat it was natural that the subject should come up fordiscussion.

  "The whole course of events," said Holmes, "from the point ofview of the man who called himself Stapleton was simple anddirect, although to us, who had no means in the beginning ofknowing the motives of his actions and could only learn part ofthe facts, it all appeared exceedingly complex. I have had theadvantage of two conversations with Mrs. Stapleton, and the casehas now been so entirely cleared up that I am not aware thatthere is anything which has remained a secret to us. You willfind a few notes upon the matter under the heading B in myindexed list of cases."

  "Perhaps you would kindly give me a sketch of the course ofevents from memory."

  "Certainly, though I cannot guarantee that I carry all the factsin my mind. Intense mental concentration has a curious way ofblotting out what has passed. The barrister who has his case athis fingers' ends, and is able to argue with an expert upon hisown subject finds that a week or two of the courts will drive itall out of his head once more. So each of my cases displaces thelast, and Mlle. Carere has blurred my recollection of BaskervilleHall. To-morrow some other little problem may be submitted to mynotice which will in turn dispossess the fair French lady and theinfamous Upwood. So far as the case of the Hound goes, however, Iwill give you the course of events as nearly as I can, and youwill suggest anything which I may have forgotten.

  "My inquiries show beyond all question that the family portraitdid not lie, and that this fellow was indeed a Baskerville. Hewas a son of that Rodger Baskerville, the younger brother of SirCharles, who fled with a sinister reputation to South America,where he was said to have died unmarried. He did, as a matter offact, marry, and had one child, this fellow, whose real name isthe same as his father's. He married Beryl Garcia, one of thebeauties of Costa Rica, and, having purloined a considerable sumof public money, he changed his name to Vandeleur and fled toEngland, where he established a school in the east of Yorkshire.His reason for attempting this special line of business was thathe had struck up an acquaintance with a consumptive tutor uponthe voyage home, and that he had used this man's ability to makethe undertaking a success. Fraser, the tutor, died however, andthe school which had begun well sank from disrepute into infamy.The Vandeleurs found it convenient to change their name toStapleton, and he brought the remains of his fortune, his schemesfor the future, and his taste for entomology to the south ofEngland. I learned at the British Museum that he was a recognizedauthority upon the subject, and that the name of Vandeleur hasbeen permanently attached to a certain moth which he had, in hisYorkshire days, been the first to describe.

  "We now come to that portion of his life which has proved to beof such intense interest to us. The fellow had evidently madeinquiry and found that only two lives intervened between him anda valuable estate. When he went to Devonshire his plans were, Ibelieve, exceedingly hazy, but that he meant mischief from thefirst is evident from the way in which he took his wife with himin the character of his sister. The idea of using her as a decoywas clearly already in his mind, though he may not have beencertain how the details of his plot were to be arranged. He meantin the end to have the estate, and he was ready to use any toolor run any risk for that end. His first act was to establishhimself as near to his ancestral home as he could, and his secondwas to cultivate a friendship with Sir Charles Baskerville andwith the neighbours.

  "The baronet himself told him about the family hound, and soprepared the way for his own death. Stapleton, as I will continueto call him, knew that the old man's heart was weak and that ashock would kill him. So much he had learned from Dr. Mortimer.He had heard also that Sir Charles was superstitious and hadtaken this grim legend very seriously. His ingenious mindinstantly suggested a way by which the baronet could be done todeath, and yet it would be hardly possible to bring home theguilt to the real murderer.

  "Having conceived the idea he proceeded to carry it out withconsiderable finesse. An ordinary schemer would have been contentto work with a savage hound. The use of artificial means to makethe creature diabolical was a flash of genius upon his part. Thedog he bought in London from Ross and Mangles, the dealers inFulham Road. It was the strongest and most savage in theirpossession. He brought it down by the North Devon line and walkeda great distance over the moor so as to get it home withoutexciting any remarks. He had already on his insect hunts learnedto penetrate the Grimpen Mire, and so had found a safehiding-place for the creature. Here he kennelled it and waitedhis chance.

  "But it was some time coming. The old gentleman could not bedecoyed outside of his grounds at night. Several times Stapletonlurked about with his hound, but without avail. It was duringthese fruitless quests that he, or rather his ally, was seen bypeasants, and that the legend of the demon dog received a newconfirmation. He had hoped that his wife might lure Sir Charlesto his ruin, but here she proved unexpectedly independent. Shewould not endeavour to entangle the old gentleman in asentimental attachment which might deliver him over to his enemy.Threats and even, I am sorry to say, blows refused to move her.She would have nothing to do with it, and for a time Stapletonwas at a deadlock.

  "He found a way out of his difficulties through the chance thatSir Charles, who had conceived a friendship for him, made him theminister of his charity in the case of this unfortunate woman,Mrs. Laura Lyons. By representing himself as a single man heacquired complete influence over her, and he gave her tounderstand that in the event of her obtaining a divorce from herhusband he would marry her. His plans were suddenly brought to ahead by his knowledge that Sir Charles was about to leave theHall on the advice of Dr. Mortimer, with whose opinion he himselfpretended to coincide. He must act at once, or his victim mightget beyond his power. He therefore put pressure upon Mrs. Lyonsto write this letter, imploring the old man to give her aninterview on the evening before his departure for London. Hethen, by a specious argument, prevented her from going, and sohad the chance for which he had waited.

  "Driving back in the evening from Coombe Tracey he was in time toget his hound, to treat it with his infernal paint, and to bringthe beast round to the gate at which he had reason to expect thathe would find the old gentleman waiting. The dog, incited by itsmaster, sprang over the wicket-gate and pursued the unfortunatebaronet, who fled screaming down the Yew Alley. In that gloomytunnel it must indeed have been a dreadful sight to see that hugeblack creature, with its flaming jaws and blazing eyes, boundingafter its victim. He fell dead at the end of the alley from heartdisease and terror. The hound had kept upon the grassy borderwhile the baronet had run down the path, so that no track but theman's was visible. On seeing him lying still the creature hadprobably approached to sniff at him, but finding him dead hadturned away again. It was then that it left the print which wasactually observed by Dr. Mortimer. The hound was called off andhurri
ed away to its lair in the Grimpen Mire, and a mystery wasleft which puzzled the authorities, alarmed the country-side, andfinally brought the case within the scope of our observation.

  "So much for the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. You perceivethe devilish cunning of it, for really it would be almostimpossible to make a case against the real murderer. His onlyaccomplice was one who could never give him away, and thegrotesque, inconceivable nature of the device only served to makeit more effective. Both of the women concerned in the case, Mrs.Stapleton and Mrs. Laura Lyons, were left with a strong suspicionagainst Stapleton. Mrs. Stapleton knew that he had designs uponthe old man, and also of the existence of the hound. Mrs. Lyonsknew neither of these things, but had been impressed by the deathoccurring at the time of an uncancelled appointment which wasonly known to him. However, both of them were under hisinfluence, and he had nothing to fear from them. The first halfof his task was successfully accomplished but the more difficultstill remained.

  "It is possible that Stapleton did not know of the existence ofan heir in Canada. In any case he would very soon learn it fromhis friend Dr. Mortimer, and he was told by the latter alldetails about the arrival of Henry Baskerville. Stapleton's firstidea was that this young stranger from Canada might possibly bedone to death in London without coming down to Devonshire at all.He distrusted his wife ever since she had refused to help him inlaying a trap for the old man, and he dared not leave her longout of his sight for fear he should lose his influence over her.It was for this reason that he took her to London with him. Theylodged, I find, at the Mexborough Private Hotel, in CravenStreet, which was actually one of those called upon by my agentin search of evidence. Here he kept his wife imprisoned in herroom while he, disguised in a beard, followed Dr. Mortimer toBaker Street and afterwards to the station and to theNorthumberland Hotel. His wife had some inkling of his plans; butshe had such a fear of her husband--a fear founded upon brutalill-treatment--that she dare not write to warn the man whom sheknew to be in danger. If the letter should fall into Stapleton'shands her own life would not be safe. Eventually, as we know, sheadopted the expedient of cutting out the words which would formthe message, and addressing the letter in a disguised hand. Itreached the baronet, and gave him the first warning of hisdanger.

  "It was very essential for Stapleton to get some article of SirHenry's attire so that, in case he was driven to use the dog, hemight always have the means of setting him upon his track. Withcharacteristic promptness and audacity he set about this at once,and we cannot doubt that the boots or chamber-maid of the hotelwas well bribed to help him in his design. By chance, however,the first boot which was procured for him was a new one and,therefore, useless for his purpose. He then had it returned andobtained another--a most instructive incident, since it provedconclusively to my mind that we were dealing with a real hound,as no other supposition could explain this anxiety to obtain anold boot and this indifference to a new one. The more outre andgrotesque an incident is the more carefully it deserves to beexamined, and the very point which appears to complicate a caseis, when duly considered and scientifically handled, the onewhich is most likely to elucidate it.

  "Then we had the visit from our friends next morning, shadowedalways by Stapleton in the cab. From his knowledge of our roomsand of my appearance, as well as from his general conduct, I aminclined to think that Stapleton's career of crime has been by nomeans limited to this single Baskerville affair. It is suggestivethat during the last three years there have been fourconsiderable burglaries in the West Country, for none of whichwas any criminal ever arrested. The last of these, at FolkestoneCourt, in May, was remarkable for the cold-blooded pistoling ofthe page, who surprised the masked and solitary burglar. I cannotdoubt that Stapleton recruited his waning resources in thisfashion, and that for years he has been a desperate and dangerousman.

  "We had an example of his readiness of resource that morning whenhe got away from us so successfully, and also of his audacity insending back my own name to me through the cabman. From thatmoment he understood that I had taken over the case in London,and that therefore there was no chance for him there. He returnedto Dartmoor and awaited the arrival of the baronet."

  "One moment!" said I. "You have, no doubt, described the sequenceof events correctly, but there is one point which you have leftunexplained. What became of the hound when its master was inLondon?"

  "I have given some attention to this matter and it is undoubtedlyof importance. There can be no question that Stapleton had aconfidant, though it is unlikely that he ever placed himself inhis power by sharing all his plans with him. There was an oldmanservant at Merripit House, whose name was Anthony. Hisconnection with the Stapletons can be traced for several years,as far back as the schoolmastering days, so that he must havebeen aware that his master and mistress were really husband andwife. This man has disappeared and has escaped from the country.It is suggestive that Anthony is not a common name in England,while Antonio is so in all Spanish or Spanish-American countries.The man, like Mrs. Stapleton herself, spoke good English, butwith a curious lisping accent. I have myself seen this old mancross the Grimpen Mire by the path which Stapleton had markedout. It is very probable, therefore, that in the absence of hismaster it was he who cared for the hound, though he may neverhave known the purpose for which the beast was used.

  "The Stapletons then went down to Devonshire, whither they weresoon followed by Sir Henry and you. One word now as to how Istood myself at that time. It may possibly recur to your memorythat when I examined the paper upon which the printed words werefastened I made a close inspection for the water-mark. In doingso I held it within a few inches of my eyes, and was conscious ofa faint smell of the scent known as white jessamine. There areseventy-five perfumes, which it is very necessary that a criminalexpert should be able to distinguish from each other, and caseshave more than once within my own experience depended upon theirprompt recognition. The scent suggested the presence of a lady,and already my thoughts began to turn towards the Stapletons.Thus I had made certain of the hound, and had guessed at thecriminal before ever we went to the west country.

  "It was my game to watch Stapleton. It was evident, however, thatI could not do this if I were with you, since he would be keenlyon his guard. I deceived everybody, therefore, yourself included,and I came down secretly when I was supposed to be in London. Myhardships were not so great as you imagined, though such triflingdetails must never interfere with the investigation of a case. Istayed for the most part at Coombe Tracey, and only used the hutupon the moor when it was necessary to be near the scene ofaction. Cartwright had come down with me, and in his disguise asa country boy he was of great assistance to me. I was dependentupon him for food and clean linen. When I was watching Stapleton,Cartwright was frequently watching you, so that I was able tokeep my hand upon all the strings.

  "I have already told you that your reports reached me rapidly,being forwarded instantly from Baker Street to Coombe Tracey.They were of great service to me, and especially that oneincidentally truthful piece of biography of Stapleton's. I wasable to establish the identity of the man and the woman and knewat last exactly how I stood. The case had been considerablycomplicated through the incident of the escaped convict and therelations between him and the Barrymores. This also you clearedup in a very effective way, though I had already come to the sameconclusions from my own observations.

  "By the time that you discovered me upon the moor I had acomplete knowledge of the whole business, but I had not a casewhich could go to a jury. Even Stapleton's attempt upon Sir Henrythat night which ended in the death of the unfortunate convictdid not help us much in proving murder against our man. Thereseemed to be no alternative but to catch him red-handed, and todo so we had to use Sir Henry, alone and apparently unprotected,as a bait. We did so, and at the cost of a severe shock to ourclient we succeeded in completing our case and driving Stapletonto his destruction. That Sir Henry should have been exposed tothis is, I must confess, a reproach to my management of the case,
but we had no means of foreseeing the terrible and paralyzingspectacle which the beast presented, nor could we predict the fogwhich enabled him to burst upon us at such short notice. Wesucceeded in our object at a cost which both the specialist andDr. Mortimer assure me will be a temporary one. A long journeymay enable our friend to recover not only from his shatterednerves but also from his wounded feelings. His love for the ladywas deep and sincere, and to him the saddest part of all thisblack business was that he should have been deceived by her.

  "It only remains to indicate the part which she had playedthroughout. There can be no doubt that Stapleton exercised aninfluence over her which may have been love or may have beenfear, or very possibly both, since they are by no meansincompatible emotions. It was, at least, absolutely effective. Athis command she consented to pass as his sister, though he foundthe limits of his power over her when he endeavoured to make herthe direct accessory to murder. She was ready to warn Sir Henryso far as she could without implicating her husband, and againand again she tried to do so. Stapleton himself seems to havebeen capable of jealousy, and when he saw the baronet payingcourt to the lady, even though it was part of his own plan, stillhe could not help interrupting with a passionate outburst whichrevealed the fiery soul which his self-contained manner socleverly concealed. By encouraging the intimacy he made itcertain that Sir Henry would frequently come to Merripit Houseand that he would sooner or later get the opportunity which hedesired. On the day of the crisis, however, his wife turnedsuddenly against him. She had learned something of the death ofthe convict, and she knew that the hound was being kept in theout-house on the evening that Sir Henry was coming to dinner. Shetaxed her husband with his intended crime, and a furious scenefollowed, in which he showed her for the first time that she hada rival in his love. Her fidelity turned in an instant to bitterhatred and he saw that she would betray him. He tied her up,therefore, that she might have no chance of warning Sir Henry,and he hoped, no doubt, that when the whole country-side put downthe baronet's death to the curse of his family, as they certainlywould do, he could win his wife back to accept an accomplishedfact and to keep silent upon what she knew. In this I fancy thatin any case he made a miscalculation, and that, if we had notbeen there, his doom would none the less have been sealed. Awoman of Spanish blood does not condone such an injury solightly. And now, my dear Watson, without referring to my notes,I cannot give you a more detailed account of this curious case. Ido not know that anything essential has been left unexplained."

  "He could not hope to frighten Sir Henry to death as he had donethe old uncle with his bogie hound."

  "The beast was savage and half-starved. If its appearance did notfrighten its victim to death, at least it would paralyze theresistance which might be offered."

  "No doubt. There only remains one difficulty. If Stapleton cameinto the succession, how could he explain the fact that he, theheir, had been living unannounced under another name so close tothe property? How could he claim it without causing suspicion andinquiry?"

  "It is a formidable difficulty, and I fear that you ask too muchwhen you expect me to solve it. The past and the present arewithin the field of my inquiry, but what a man may do in thefuture is a hard question to answer. Mrs. Stapleton has heard herhusband discuss the problem on several occasions. There werethree possible courses. He might claim the property from SouthAmerica, establish his identity before the British authoritiesthere and so obtain the fortune without ever coming to England atall; or he might adopt an elaborate disguise during the shorttime that he need be in London; or, again, he might furnish anaccomplice with the proofs and papers, putting him in as heir,and retaining a claim upon some proportion of his income. Wecannot doubt from what we know of him that he would have foundsome way out of the difficulty. And now, my dear Watson, we havehad some weeks of severe work, and for one evening, I think, wemay turn our thoughts into more pleasant channels. I have a boxfor 'Les Huguenots.' Have you heard the De Reszkes? Might Itrouble you then to be ready in half an hour, and we can stop atMarcini's for a little dinner on the way?"