Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 58 The Legendary Hound (7)
"No, it's not like that. The look on your face at that time told me, please explain? Why? From the moment I got here, I felt a lot of doubts around me. Everything has become like Grimpen Mire. Feeling that at any moment he might fall into the ground, and that no one could show him a way out. Please tell me, and I will tell Sir Henry verbatim."

She was in a state of hesitation, but when she answered me, her eyes became determined again.

"It's nothing, Dr. Watson. We used to get along very well with Sir Childs, and his death made us very sad. Everything about him was controlled by the legend, so that in the end he died. I I don't think his death would have happened without a cause, so I would like to offer some advice to Sir Henry, so that this misfortune will not happen again. That is all I have to say."

"Then what danger do you mean?"

"It refers to the legend about the great hound."

"I don't believe in ghosts and legends."

"But I still suggest you to persuade Sir Henry to let him leave this place. The world is so big, why did you choose this terrible place?"

"It is the magic here that attracts Sir Henry. He is an adventurous man. Unless you can tell the real reason, I can't persuade him."

"I don't know anything else, that's all."

"Let me take the liberty to ask again, you only told me these things at the time, so why were you afraid of letting your brother hear it?"

"Because my brother wants Sir Henry to stay, and whether he goes or not will determine the financial situation of the town. If he knows I say this, he will not be happy. Now I have said all I have to say, and I must go back Bye bye."

After she finished speaking, she turned and left, and I couldn't see her after a few minutes.And I walked towards Baskerville Hall with a feeling of uneasiness.footsteps in the middle of the night
Now, I will describe the context of the matter in the order in which I wrote to Holmes.Although one of them has been lost, I believe that what I wrote is not different from the truth.Although I have fresh memories of the sad events, these letters always give a more accurate account of how I felt at the time.

Dear Holmes:
You probably already know what's going on here from the last few telegrams.The longer you stay here, the clearer you will be of what the swamp looks like.It is so vast and so magical.As long as you walk into the swamp, you can feel the rough and uncivilized atmosphere of the primitive people, and you can also see the houses that the primitive people lived in and the fruits of their labor.When walking here, you can see their graves and pillars standing one after another.When you see the huts built of gray rocks on the hillside, you may forget which era you are in.If you find here a shaggy man in hides and furs, with a flint-pointed arrow on the bowstring, you may think it is no wonder that so many people have lived in this magical land. .Although I'm not an archaeologist, I think they chose this land to escape the war.Of course, these have nothing to do with the case at all, and perhaps they are not worth mentioning to you.I remember your indifference when we discussed whether the sun revolves around the earth or the earth revolves around the sun.Let me now tell you about Sir Henry Baskerville.

I did not send you a telegram the last few days because it has been a very uneventful few days, nothing important to report happened.But then something special happened, and now I will report to you.Let me start with a little background about what happened.I mentioned the fugitive before, and it can now be confirmed that he has escaped.Now the residents are at ease. Since he escaped from prison, people have not seen him again, nor have they heard from him.I can't imagine how he survived this period of time.Of course, it's not a problem to hide a person here from others to find out, but what does he feed on?So I think he has escaped.This is undoubtedly a good thing for ordinary people.

Four of us able-bodied men live here so we can fend for ourselves.But to be honest, the Staplet family was different.They lived alone in one place, with only a maid, an old man, and their brother and sister.The older brother was very small, and if that fugitive from the Nauting Hills murder broke into their house, they would be in big trouble.So, we were all worried about them.Sir Henry and I discussed it, and suggested that the groom Perkins should stay with them temporarily, but Staplet said it was unnecessary.

In fact, Sir Henry was already attracted to Miss Staplet.It was quite natural, too, for he was such a passionate man, and Miss Staplet was so charming, and Sir Henry lived in such a quiet place, it was inevitable that he should have such a tendency.Although her brother was weak, his sister obeyed him, even when she was speaking, she looked at him, as if asking what to say next.His piercing eyes and his thin lips showed that he was a man of authority and rudeness.I think you will be interested in him.

On the first day Staplet called on Sir Henry.The next morning, he took the two of us to see the place where the legend about the profligate Xiu Guo happened.That place is so mysterious and terrifying, and it is possible to make people feel emotionally, and the story can be made up in one go.We found a section of ravine among the rocky hills. I walked down this ravine and came to a place full of green grass.But in the center of the clearing were two large rocks, the tops of which had weathered into tusks of giant beasts.

This scene is very similar to the legend.Sir Henry asked Stapler this question, and he asked him if he believed in such things as ghosts and ghosts.But Staplet has been deliberately dodging the issue, saying that some people are attacked for unknown reasons.I feel like he just said what people always say.

At noon we dined together at Melipy, where Sir Henry made the acquaintance of Miss Staplet.It can be said that they fell in love at first sight. On the way home, he always told me about the lady.After that, almost every day, the few of us would see each other.

Tonight, Staplet invited us to dine with them again next week.People thought they were a good match, and Staplet would have agreed.But I have always seen Stapler look disgusted whenever Sir Henry looked at Miss Stapler, who must have been very fond of his sister.His life would be lonely without her now, but it would be wrong if he blocked the marriage for this reason.I'm sure Staplet didn't want them together at all, he always objected to them being alone.You told me not to let Henry go out alone, but now I can't help it. If I listen to you, what image will I have in people's minds!

On Thursday, we had dinner with Mortimer, and he suddenly discovered an ancient tomb in Changgang, and also found a human skull.It made him laugh, he was such a focused guy.

After a while the Staplets came, and at our unanimous request, Dr. Mortimer took us to the Yaw Lane, and told us how Sir Childs had been murdered.It was a very long walk, with hedges on either side of the yew road, an old arbor at one end, and the little door into the marsh in the middle, where Sir Childs had left his ashes, and it was a There is a white wooden door, and the outside is a boundless swamp.

I thought about your views on this matter and how that happened.While Sir Childs was standing here, he suddenly saw some monster, which made him panic, and fled until his heart failed.It was along this dark narrow lane that he ran.I wonder why he ran away?Is it a collie, is it a monster, or is someone up to something?Another thing is whether Barrymore knew the reason of what happened and didn't say anything?It's all so confusing, and I always feel like someone is manipulating the case behind the scenes.

After writing that letter to you, I met another neighbour, Mr. Frankland of Ryford Park near us.He was old and gray-haired, but he had a bad temper.He also likes to think about legal issues, and often fights with people, which cost most of his fortune, but he doesn't care about the final result.Sometimes he went so far as to openly oppose the community church.Sometimes, he would tear down the gates of other people's houses, saying that there used to be a road there.If the house owner is dissatisfied with his lawsuit, he will sue again. He is proficient in the "Old Land Rights Act" and "Public Rights Act".Sometimes he passed laws to protect the interests of his village, but sometimes he opposed them, so he was sometimes respected and sometimes reviled.It is understood that he still has a few unsolved cases in his hands. Perhaps after these cases are over, his property will be gone.By then, perhaps he will be a poor old man.

When legal issues aside, he was affable.He was also an amateur astronomer, and spent all day in the house crouched on his telescope, looking out over the moor with it, hoping to spot the fugitive.If he put all his energy on this, the police would save a lot of effort.It is said that he is going to sue Dr. Mortimer again, because Mortimer exhumed a skull from Longgang.All in all, this Frankland was particularly interesting.

I've told you about the fugitive, Staplet, Dr. Mortimer, and Frankland of Ryford Park.Now let's talk about Barrymore again!Especially what happened last night.

The first thing concerns your tentative telegram from London confirming whether Barrymore is at home.It was a futile effort on our part.Afterwards I spoke to Sir Henry about it, and he asked Barrymore himself, and Barrymore said he was indeed at home that day.

"Did the boy hand you the letter?" asked Sir Henry.

Barrymore hesitated for a moment and said, "No, I was upstairs at the time, and my wife handed it over to me."

On that night, Barrymore asked Sir Henry again: "I really don't understand the question you asked me that day. Do you have any doubts about me?"

Sir Henry said: "I beg you not to think too much, I am only asking," and gave Barrymore some of his old clothes, his new ones having been received yesterday.

I also paid more attention to Barrymore's wife.She is very fat and cautious.She usually behaves very indifferently and is a person who is not easy to be emotional.I mentioned her to you too, and I heard her cry the first night I came here.Since then, I can see her red and swollen eyes every day, as if she is in great pain every day.Sometimes I wonder if it's because Barrymore treats her badly that makes her cry all the time.Anyway, this woman is very suspicious, but what happened last night dispelled all my doubts about her.

You must know that I am a light sleeper, and the slightest movement will wake me up, let alone in this situation.I've never had a good night's sleep here.Late last night, around two o'clock, I was awakened by footsteps outside the house, so I got up to check.In the corridor came a long dark figure, lightly advancing with a lamp in his hand, which, judging from his figure, was Barrymore, and he was walking barefoot.He tiptoed around not knowing what to do.

I have already told you that the circular hall is divided into two parts at the balcony, and it is connected into one after the balcony.I waited for him to go a long way, then followed him.He entered an unoccupied room, and I walked over gently, peeking at what was happening inside.

Barrymore leaned against the window, held the candle in his hand, and pressed his face against the glass, looking intently out over the marsh, until he sighed angrily and fanned out the candle.I hurried back to my room.It wasn't long before I heard him coming back.When I was about to fall asleep, I heard someone unlock the door, but I didn't know where the sound came from, let alone guess what mysterious thing was going on here.I promise, it will be cleared up.

When I got up today, I told Sir Henry about it.We have a plan and we are not going to tell you now.You will find my next letter very interesting.

Baskerville House
October 10 Tracking the Shadow

Dear Holmes:
I didn't provide you with more information at first, and you may feel that I am making amends for past mistakes.Things around me now feel even more confusing.

I told you everything in my last letter.Now, according to the materials I have, from a certain point of view, the events of the previous two days have been clarified.On the other hand, the situation seems to have become more complicated.I'll tell you everything now, and you can judge for yourself.

After discovering Barrymore's secret operations, I went down the corridor into the room where he had been yesterday, and took a good look at the place where he stood.This place overlooks the swamp up close.Here, the gap between the two trees can be seen all the way to the swamp.Other windows are blurred.So I thought Barrymore might be observing a man.And that night was so dark that you couldn't see your fingers. He couldn't be playing some kind of rendezvous trick, could he?This would explain his furtive behavior and his wife's distressed expression.He was indeed a good-looking fellow, enough to make any country girl fall in love with him.Then I heard the door open again, maybe he had left for an appointment.The more I think about it, the more it makes sense, although this is just my guess.However, I still want to tell you my speculation.

I went to the baron's study and told him what I had seen, but he was not surprised.

He said: "I knew about his actions a long time ago. I heard his footsteps in the corridor several times, and the time was just after two o'clock."

"So that means, he has to go out every day."

"Perhaps so. Then we shall be able to follow him and see what he is up to. If only Holmes were here, I should like to see what he does."

I said, "That's probably what he did."

"Then let's act together!"

"What if he finds out?"

"This man's ears are not very good. But we have to seize this opportunity anyway. Let's wait for his action in my room together tonight!"

Sir Henry felt an irresistible urge about the matter.

Sir Henry had contacted the architect who had drawn up Sir Childs' plans, the builder from London, the decorator and upholsterer from Plymus.So, a lot is going to change here soon.Sir Henry was a man of great ambition, and he would not allow the family's prestige to decay.

After the house has undergone a major restoration, the only thing missing is the baroness.Sir Henry was obsessed with Miss Staplet.However, their love did not go well.For example, today a very good event upset Sir Henry.

After talking with Barrymore, Sir Henry was dressed and ready to go out.Of course, I had to go with him.Sir Henry asked me in surprise: "Watson, are you going too?"

I replied, "If you go to the swamp, of course I will."

"Yes, I'm going to the swamp."

"I'm sorry, but you know my mission, and you have heard what Holmes told me. He asked me to follow you, especially when we went to the swamp."

Sir Henry smiled at me slyly. "Dear Watson, although Holmes is very clever, he never anticipated what happened here. Do you understand? I believe you, and you will never hinder me, because it will It’s something I can do alone.”

At that time, I thought about it and couldn't find a suitable solution.Just when I hesitated, he took his cane and left.

Even though he was gone, I still felt very uneasy.Now that he's gone, if something happens, I won't be able to see you again.Thinking of this, I chased after Sir Henry desperately, and ran towards Melipie House when I went out.All the way, I ran without stopping, and I didn't see Sir Henry until the path forked.I climbed a hill where I could look down on what was happening below.

Once on the hill I saw him, walking on the road with a girl about a quarter of a mile from me, who was undoubtedly Miss Staplet.The two of them walked side by side.I saw Miss Staplet gesticulating with both hands in a serious manner.He listened intently, occasionally shaking his head in disapproval.

I stood there wondering what to do next, it didn't feel right to follow them, and it was my duty to do so.It is very painful to follow and monitor a friend.Even so, I had to observe him from the mountain beforehand, and explain my helplessness to him afterwards.Indeed, there is still a certain distance between me and them. If there was an emergency threatening him at that time, I would not have time to help him.I believe you can understand my mood at that time.

(End of this chapter)