The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-07-13

this" said he Tin your opinion there
is diabolical agency which makes
Dartmoor an ursS>ec abode for Bas-
kerville-Jhat is your opinion?"
AT least L might go the length of
saying that there is some evidence
that this may be So"
Exactly. But surely, II your SUI
pernatural theory be correct II could
work the young man evil in London as
easily as in Devonshire. A devil with
merely local powers like parish yes
try would be too inconceivabie a
thing"
you put the matter more fiippant-
ly, Mr.. Holmes, than you would prob
ably do if you were brought into per
sonal contact with these things Your
advice, then, as / understand it, is that
the young man will be as safe in Dew
onshire as in London. He comes in
fifty minutes. What would you rec
ommend?"
II recommend. sir. that you take a
cab, call off your spaniel who is
scratching at my front door, and pro-
coed TO Waterloo to meet Sir Henry
Baskerville"
And them"
and then you will say nothing to
him at all until l have made up my
mind about the matter"
How long will it take you to make
up your mind?'
Twenty four hours At 10 o'clock
tomorrow. DR.. Mortimer, 1 will be
much obliged to you if you will call
upon me here, and it will be of help
to me in my plans for the future if
you will bring Sir Henry Baskerville
with you"
Il will do so, Mr.. Holmes" He
scrubbed the appointment on his shirt
cuff and hurried off in his strange,
peering, absent-minded fashion.
Holmes stopped him at the head of the
stair.
only one more question, DIR. Morti-
mer. You say that before Sir Charles
Baskerville's death several people saw
this apparition upon the moore"
Three people did"
Did any see it after?"
Il have not heard of any"
"TTank you. Good morning"
Holmes returned to his seat with
that quiet look of inward satisfaction
which meant that he had a congenial
task before him.
Going out, Watson?"
Unless l can help you"
mo, my dear fellow, it is at the
hour of action that / turn to you for
aid But this is splendid, really
unique from some points of view. When
you pass Bradley's would you ask him
to send up pound of the
strongest shag tobacco? Thank you.
1t would be as well If you could make
it convenient not to return before
evening. Then 1 should be very glad
to compare impressions as to this most
interesting problem which has been
submitted to US this morning"
| knew that seclusion and solitude
were very necessary for my friend in
those hours of intense mental concen-
tration during which he weighed every
particle of evidence, constructed alter
native theories, balanced one against
the other, and made UP his mind as to
which points were essential and i'm
material. 1 therefore spent the day at
my club and did not return to Baker
street until evening. IT was nearly 8
o'clock when found myself in the sit
ting room once more.
My first impression as 1 opened the
door was that a fire had broken out,
for the room was so filled with smoke
that the light of the lamp upon the
table was blurred by it. AS 1 entered,
however, my fears were set at rest for
it was the acrid fumes of strong coarse
tobacco which took me by the throat
and set me coughing. Through the
haze l had a vague vision Of Holmes
in his dressing gown coiled up in an
armchair with his black clay pipe be-
tween his lips. Several rolls of paper
lay around him.
Caught cold, Watson?" said he.
mo, it's this poisonous atmosphere"
II suppose it is pretty thick, now
that you mention It,"
"Thick 1t is intolerable.'
open the window then! You have
been at your club all day, / perceive"
my dear Holmes!"
Am right?"
Certainly, but how"
He laughed at my bewildered express
sion.
There is a delightful freshness
about you, Watson, which makes it a
pleasure to exercise any small powers
which l possess at your expense. A
gentleman goes forth on a showery
and miry day. He returns immaculate
in the evening with the gloss still on
his hat ami his boots. He has been a
fixture therefore all day. He is not a
man with intimate friends. Where.
then, could he have been? Is 1t not OBJ
vious?"
well. it is. rather obvious
1.-THE world is full of obvious things
which nobody by any chance ever OBJ
serves. Where do you think that have
been?"
"A fixture Also
ION the contrary, have been to De-
vcnshire"
I'm spirit?"
Exactly. My body has remained in
this armchair, and has, / regret to
observe, consumed in my absence two
large pots of coffee and an incredible
amount of tobacco. After YOU left
sent down to Stamford's for the Ord
nance map of this portion of the moor.
and my spirit has lowered over it ali
day. l ffatter myself that l could find
my way about
"A large scale map, / presume?'
Very large" He unrolled one Sec
ton and held it over his knee. Here
you have the particular district which
concerns us. That is Baskerville Hall
in the middle"
with a wood round it?"
Exactly. l fancy the Yew Valley,
though not marked under that name.
must stretch along this line, with the
moor, as you perceive, upon the right
of it. This small clump of buildings
here is the hamlet of Grimpen. where
our friend DR.. Mortimer has his head
quarters. Within a radius of five miles
there are. as you see, only a very few
scattered dwellings. Here is Latter
Hall, which was mentioned in the mar
rative. There is house indicated here
which may be the residence of the
naturalist-Stapleton if l remember
right was his name. Here are two
moorland farm houses, High Tor and
Foulmire. Then fourteen miles away
the great convict prison of Prince
town. Between and around these scat
tered points extends the desolate, life
less moor. This, then is the stage
upon which tragedy has been played