The Savannah morning news., 1902-09-21
SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY. SEPTEMBER 1902

in New York. My friend was in ex-
{ cellent spirits over the success which
had attended a succession of difficult
I and important cases, so that / was
/ able TO induce him TO discuss the de-
/ tails of the Baskerville mystery
| had waited patiently for the oppor-
| tunity, for I was aware that he would
| never permit cases to overlap, and
that his clear and logical mind would
/ not be drawn from its present work
TO dwell upon memories of the past.
Sir Henry and DIR. Mortimer were.
however, in London. on their way
10 that long voyage which had been
| recommended for the restoration Of his
| shattered nerves. They had called
/ upon us that very afternoon, so that
/ it was natural that the subject should
| come up for discussion.
THE whole course of events" said
| Holmes, from the point of view Of the
/ man who called himself Stapleton was
/ simple and direct. although to US, who
/ had no means in the beginning of
| knowing the motives of his actions and
| could only learn part of the facts. it all
| appeared exceedingly complex. 1 have
had the advantage of two converse
! tons with Mrs. StapletOn. and the case
/ has now been so entirely cleared up
! th@t 1 am not aware that there is any
thing which has remained a secret 10
US. You Will find a few notes upon she
| matter under the heading B in my in
dexed list of cases
Perhaps you would kindly give me
a sketch Of the course of events from
memory"
Certainly. though l cannot guaran-
tee that I carry all the facts in my
mind. Intense mental concentration
has curious way of blotting out what
has passed. The b2rJister who has his
case at his fingers en-. and is able TO
argue with an expert upon his own
subject, finds that. Il week or two of
the courts will drive it all out of his
head once more. So each OF my casts
displaces the last, and Mile. Carere has
blurred my recou lection of Baskerville
Hall Tomorrow some other little
problem may be submitted to my no
tice which will in turn dispossess the
fair French lady and the infamous Up
wood. So far as the case of the Hound
goes, however, l will give you the
course of events as nearly as 1 can, and
you will suggest anything which l may
have forgotten.
My inquiries show beyond su ques-
ton that the family portrait did not
lie, and that this fellow was indeed
Baskerville. He was son of that
Rodger Baskerville, the younger
! brother of Sir Charles, who fed with
a sinister reputation to South America
where he was said to have died I'M
married. He did, as a matter of fact
marry, and had one child, this fellow
whose real name is the same as his
father. He married Beryl Garcia, one
of the beauties of Costa RIGA, and
having purloined a considerable sum
of nI1hliP he phanorpd 70
to Nandeleur and fed to England
where he established a school in the
east of Yorkshire. His reason for at
tempting this special line of business
was that he had struck up an acquain-
lance with a consumptive tutor upon
the voyage home, and that he had used
this mans ability to make the under
taking a success. Fraser, the tutor,
died, however, and the school which
had begun well sank from disrepute in
to infamy. The Vandeleurs found it
| convenient to change their name to
| Stapleton, and he brought the remains
| of his fortune his schemes for the flu
! ture, and his taste for entomology to
! the south of England. I learn at
British Museum that he was a recog-
nized authority upon the subject, and
that the name of Vandeleur has been
| permanently attached to certain
| mum WHICH ldus III MS yorkshire
! days, been the first to describe
we now come to that portion of his
life which has proved to be of such in
| tense interest to US. The fellow had
| evidently made inquiry, and found that
only two lives interviewed between him
and a valuable estate. When he went
to Devonshire his plans were. I be-
lieve, exceedingly hazy, but that ne
meant mischief from the first is owl
dent from the way in which he took
his wife with him in the character Of
his sister. The idea of using her as a
decoy was clearly already in his mind,
though he may not have been certain
how the details of his plot were to be
arranged. He meant in the end to
have the estate. and he was ready %
use any tool or run any risk for that
end. His first act was to establish him
self as near to his ancestral home as
he could, and his second was to cuIti-
vate a friendship with Sir Charles
Baskerville and with the neighbors.
1.-THE baronet himself told him about
the family hound, and so prepared The
way for his own death. Stapleton, as
will continue to call him. knew that
the old mans heart was weak and that
a shock would kill him. So much he
had learned from DR.. Mortimer He mac