The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 129 The Hound of the Baskervilles (10)
Whatever the right explanation for Barrymore's conduct, I always felt that it was a heavy burden to keep my mouth shut until I could explain it.After breakfast I went to the baronet in his study, and told him what I had seen.But he was not as surprised as I had imagined.

"I had known that Barrymore was a frequent walker at night, and I wanted to speak to him about it," said he; "two or three times I heard him walking up and down the passage, just in time to tell you almost."

"Then maybe he has to go to that window every night," I reminded.

"Perhaps. If that is the case, we can sneak behind him and see what he is up to. I cannot guess what your friend Holmes would do if he were here."

"I am sure he will act as you suggest," said I. "He will follow Barrymore and see what he is up to."

"Then let's do it together."

"But he will hear it."

"This man is a little deaf. Anyway, we have to seize this opportunity to test it out. We will sit in my room together tonight and wait for him to walk by." Sir Henry rubbed his hands repeatedly in joy, obviously he He likes to take such a risk to mediate the dull life on the moor.

The baronet had contacted the architect who had drawn up plans for Sir Childs, and the builders from London, and had also invited the decorator and upholsterer from Primus.So soon we'll see big changes here.Evidently, our friends have big ideas in mind, and are determined to restore their family's prestige no matter what the cost.After the house has been refurbished and rearranged, there is only one lady missing.We can see clearly from all indications that this would not be a pity if the lady would, for I have seldom seen a man do so to our fair neighbour, Miss Stapleton. fascinated.In such cases, however, often true love does not develop as smoothly as one would expect.For example, the calm waters of the sea of ​​love were disturbed today by an unexpected storm, which caused great uneasiness and distress to our friend.

When we had finished talking about Barrymore, Sir Henry put on his hat and went out, and of course I followed him.

"What, are you going too, Watson?" he asked, looking at me strangely.

"That depends on whether you want to go to the moor," I said.

"Yes, I am going there."

"Ah, you are aware of the instructions I have been given. I am sorry for obstructing you, but you have heard how solemnly Holmes insisted that I could not let you go out alone, and especially not that I should leave you alone." to the moor."

Sir Henry put his hand on my shoulder with a pleasant smile.

"My dear companion," said he, "in spite of his ingenuity Holmes did not foresee some of the things that have happened since I arrived on the moor. Do you understand me? I am sure you would not wish to interfere. I You must go out alone."

This troubles me very much.I don't know what to say, what to do.Before I could make up my mind what to do, he picked up his cane and went out.

After I reconsidered the matter, I was struck with a severe conscience for letting him go from my side.I can imagine how I would feel if, because of my disobedience to your instructions, some misfortune happened to me and I had to go back to you and make a confession to you.Seriously, I blush just thinking about it.Maybe it's not too late to go after him, so I set off right away in the direction of Melipie's mansion.

I hurried on as fast as I could, and did not see Sir Henry until I came to the point where the moor path branched off.There, for fear of going astray, I climbed a hill from which I could look down on everything—the hill that cuts into the dark quarry.From there I quickly saw him.He was walking on the moor path, about a quarter of a mile from me, with a lady beside me, who could not have been any other than Miss Stapleton.Obviously, there was a tacit understanding between the two of them, and it was an agreement. They walked slowly side by side while whispering.I saw her making jerky gestures with her hands, as if taking what she said seriously; he listened attentively, and once or twice he shook his head vigorously in disapproval.I stood among the rocks and watched them, not knowing what to do next.It was obviously an unpleasant thing to pursue and interrupt their intimate conversation, and it was my duty to not let him out of my sight for a moment.It's an abominable job to stalk a friend.Still, what better way could I have done than to watch him from the hills and confess to him afterward for peace of mind?It is true that if any sudden danger had threatened him at that time, I was too far from him to come to his aid, but I am sure you would be of the same opinion as I am.It's a difficult position to be in, and I can't think of a better way to do it.

Our friend Sir Henry and the lady stopped again, and stood there absorbed in their conversation, when I suddenly realized that I was not the only one who saw their meeting, for I caught a glimpse of a green thing in the air Floating, and looking again, I realized that the green thing was mounted on the top of a pole, and the person holding the pole was walking on a rough place.It turned out that it was Stapleton holding his butterfly net.He was much closer to the couple than I was, and he seemed to be walking in their direction.At that moment Sir Henry suddenly drew Miss Stapleton close to him, and put his arms around her, and as she seemed to wrestle herself from his grasp, her face averted.He looked down at her, but she raised a hand in protest.Then I saw them part with a jump, and turn hastily, and it was Stapleton who was disturbing, running wildly towards them, with the butterfly-net swinging ridiculously behind him.He bared his teeth and claws in anger in front of the lovers, but I didn't know what he meant.It looked as if Stapleton was scolding Sir Henry, who was explaining, but Stapleton not only refused, but grew more furious, while the lady stood proudly and silently by.At last Stapleton turned and beckoned imperiously to his sister, who, after casting a hesitant glance at Sir Henry, walked away beside her brother.The biologist's gestures showed that he was equally displeased with the lady.The baronet stood for a while watching their backs, and then slowly walked back along the way he had come.He lowered his head, looking disappointed.

I don't know what the hell is going on, and I'm ashamed to have had a peek at such an intimate scene with our friends when they didn't know it.I ran down the hill and met the baronet at the foot of the hill.His face was flushed with anger, and his brows were furrowed like a man who was exhausted and overwhelmed.
"My God! Watson, whence did you fall?" said he. "Have you really come with me?"

I explained everything to him: I felt unable to stay at home, followed him, and what I saw happened.He looked at me for a moment with angry eyes, but my confession dispelled his anger, and he finally let out a regretful and disappointed laugh.

"I thought the center of the plains was a solid place that wouldn't be easy to find," he said, "but, my God! It's as if the whole town came out to see my proposal--and a terrible one at that! Where is your seat?"

"On that hill."

"So it was sitting in the far back row, ah! But her brother ran to the front row. Did you see him running towards us?"

"Yes, I saw it."

"Did you ever see him look crazy?--her good brother."

"I haven't seen it."

"I dare say he is not crazy at all. Until today, I have always thought that he is very sane, but please believe me, either he or I will be sent to the madhouse. But how did I Now? You have been with me some weeks, Watson. Say! Tell me frankly, what is it that I am doing that is not right to be a good husband to the woman I love?"

"In my opinion, no."

"He will not object to my social position, so it must be because of my own shortcomings that he hates me. What will he object to in me? Among the people I have known in my life, whether male or female, I've never been offended. But he won't even let me touch her fingertips."

"Did he say anything like that?"

"More than that. I tell you, Watson, that although I had known her only a few weeks, from the first it seemed to me that she had been made for me; and she thought so— —she felt happy with me, and I could swear on that, because a woman's eyes speak louder than words. But he never let us be alone together, and only today was my first For the first time, I found a chance to be alone with her. She was very happy to see me, but after meeting me, she didn't want to talk about love, and she wouldn't even let me talk about love if she could stop me. She repeated That said, it's a dangerous place, and she'll never be happy unless I get out of here.

"I told her that since I met her, I was in no rush to leave here, and if she really wanted me to go, the only way was for her to come with me.

"I talked a lot, hoping to marry her, but before she could answer, her brother ran up to us, looking like a madman. His face turned pale with rage, and even his pale eyes The anger was also kindled in me. What happened to me to Miss Stapleton? How dare I do something to displease her? Can I do as I please because I think I am a baronet? If he is not her brother, It was easy enough to deal with him. All I said to him was that I was not ashamed to have feelings for his sister, and that I hoped she would condescend to be my wife. That didn't seem to change the situation, so I did the same afterwards. I lost my temper. Perhaps I was a little edgy when I answered him, because she was still standing by. In the end, as you saw, he went with her, and I was more bewildered and bewildered than anyone else. I should be most obliged to you, Watson, if you could tell me how it happened."

I tried to come up with one or two explanations at the time though.But, to be honest, even I myself didn't really understand the truth of the matter.As far as our friend's status, property, age, character, and appearance are concerned, I can hardly find any disadvantage against him, except the bad luck that hangs over his family.I was astonished that Mr. Stapleton, without the slightest regard for his sister's own wishes, should have so rudely rebuffed her suitor; and that the lady had made no protest under the circumstances.In the afternoon, Stapleton visited again in person, which calmed all the speculations in our hearts.He had come specifically to apologize for his morning's rudeness, and the rift had been healed after a long session in Sir Henry's study.This can be seen in our decision to dine at Melipee next week.

"I'm not saying he's not a madman now," said Sir Henry. "I can't forget the look in his eyes when he came running to me this morning, but I have to admit that no one apologized more naturally than he did."

"Has he given any explanation for his behavior this morning?"

"He said his sister was everything in his life. It was natural and I was glad he valued her so much. They lived together all the time and, as he said, he was very lonely. She is the only person by his side, so when he thinks about losing her, he feels very terrible!
"He said he didn't think I was in love with her, but when he saw it with his own eyes and felt that I might take her from him, he was so shocked that he couldn't control his emotions at the time. Words and deeds. He is very sorry for what happened, and he also realizes how stupid and selfish it is for him to want to tie a beautiful woman like his sister to him for the rest of his life. If she has to leave him If not, he would rather marry her to a neighbor like me than to marry someone else. But in any case, her departure will be a heavy blow to him, so he will need some time to let her go. He was mentally prepared. If I promised to put the matter aside for the next three months, during which time I would only cultivate my lady's friendship instead of her love, he decided not to object. This I said yes, and things settled down."

Of those few mysteries, one was thus cleared up.It's as if we've hit bottom somewhere when we're struggling through the mud.We now understand why Stapleton took such a dislike to his sister's suitor - even if that suitor was a man as fine as Sir Henry.I shall now turn to another thread drawn out of the tangle of threads, the secret of the midnight sobs and Mrs Barrymore's tear-stained face, and the secret of the butler's peeping at the west window.Congratulate me, my dear Holmes, and you should say that I have lived up to your trust, and that you will not regret the high hopes you had placed in me when you sent me.After a night of hard work, these problems were thoroughly clarified.

When I say "after a night of hard work," I really meant two nights of hard work, because we didn't figure anything out the first night.Sir Henry and I sat in his room till nearly three o'clock in the morning, but we heard nothing but the chime at the top of the stairs.It was a wasted night, and we both ended up falling asleep in our chairs.Fortunately, we were not discouraged and decided to try again.The next night we sat with the lamp turned down, smoking silently.Time seemed unbelievably slow, but we survived with the patience and interest that hunters have in watching their own traps, waiting for prey to slip in unawares.The clock strikes once, then strikes twice, and in our desperation we almost gave up, when suddenly we both sat up straight in our chairs, and all our tired senses became alert again And sharp.We heard the sound of tiptoeing in the hallway.

We heard the footsteps sneaking past until they disappeared in the distance.Then the baronet opened the door gently, and we began to follow.The man had turned into the corridor, and the corridor was pitch black.We walked gently to the wing on the other side, just in time to see his tall figure with black beard.He stooped and tiptoed across the aisle gently, and walked into the door that he had entered last time. The outline of the door was revealed by the candlelight in the darkness, and a yellow light passed through the dark corridor.We took small, cautious steps, testing each floor before putting our full weight on it.As a precaution, we didn't wear shoes, but the old floorboards still creaked under our feet.Sometimes it seemed like he must have heard us moving about, luckily the man was pretty deaf, and he was absorbed in his own business.

At last we went to the door and took a peek, and saw him standing stooped at the window with a candle in his hand, his pale, eager face pressed against the pane, exactly as I had seen the night before. Same.

We had no concrete plan of action in advance, but the baronet always believed that the most direct way was always the most natural way.He went straight into the house, and Barrymore sprang from the window, drew a sharp breath, and stopped before us, pale and trembling.He looked from Sir Henry to me, and there was terror in his pale face, and the sparkling dark eyes.

"What are you doing here, Barrymore."

"It's nothing, my lord." He was so terrified and restless that he could hardly speak, the candle in his hand kept shaking, and the figure also kept moving, "My lord, I'm walking around at night, Check that the windows are all latched."

"On the second floor?"

"Yes, my lord. All the windows."

"I tell you, Barrymore," said Sir Henry sternly, "we have made up our minds to make you tell the truth, so you had better tell before you get in trouble. Speak! Don't lie! You are at the window." What are you doing?"

The guy looked at us helplessly, as if in extreme fear and pain, wringing his hands together.

"I do no harm, my lord, I only hold the candle to the window!"

"But why did you take the candle to the window?"

"Don't ask me, Sir Henry--don't ask me! I tell you the truth, my lord, it's not my personal secret, and I can't tell it, if it's my own business and nobody else's, I will never hide from you."

On a sudden inspiration, I took the candle from the trembling hand of the butler.

(End of this chapter)