The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-17

Extracts From the Diary of Doct'
yHTnNann

m III
Extracts From the Diary of Doctor
Watson.
So far I have been able to quote from
the reports which I have forwarded during
these early DAYS to Sherlock Holmes. Now,
however, I have arrived at a point in my
narrative where l am compelled to aban-
don this method and to trust once more 10
my recollections. aided by the diary which
I kept at the time. A few extracts from
the latter will carry me on to those scenes
which are indelibly hxed in every detail
upon my memory. l proceed, then. from
the morning which followed our abortve
chase OF the convict and our other strange
experiences upon the moor.
October 1sth-A dull and foggy day with
q drizzle Of rain. The house is banked
IN with rolling clouds. which rise now and
then to show the dreary curves Of the
moor, with thin. silver veins upon the
SIDE Of the hills, and the distant bouiders
cleaning where the light strikes upon
their wet faces II IL melancholy OUTSIDE
and In. The baronet is In a black reac-
ton after the excitement Of the night. /
am conscious myself OF a weight at my
heart and a feeling Of impending danger
ever present danger. which Is the more
terrible because 1 am unable to define it.
And have 1 not cause for such a feeling?
Consider the long sequence OF incidents
which nave Rll pDllIeQ ~ JIM hAS "a
nuence which Is at work around us. Ihere
IS the death OF the last occupant or the
Hall, fulfilling so exactly the conditions OF
the family legend. and there are the re-
peated reports from PEASANTS OF the ap-
pearance of a strange creature upon tho
moor. Twice I have with my own ears
heard the sound which resembied the dis
tant having Of a hound. 1t is incredible.
impossible, that It should really be out
side the ordinary laws of nature. A spec
trail hound which leaves material footmarkS
and fills the air with its bowling Is surely
not TO be thought OF. Stapleton may fal
in with such a superstition, and Mortimer
also; but II 1 have one quality upon earth
Il IS common sense, and nothing Will per
Ruade me TO believe In such a thing. 10
do so would be to descend to the level of
these poor peasants, who are not content
with q mere fend dog, but must needs de-
scribe him with hell-firs shooting from his
mouth and eyes. Holmes would not listen
TO such fancies. and I am his agent. But
facts are facts. and l have twice heard this
CRYING upon the moor. Suppose that lnere
were really some huge hound loose upon IL;
that would go far 10 explain everything
But where could such a hound lie concealed,
where did it get its food, where did It
come from. how was it that no one sa" II
by day? It must be confessed that the nat
ural explanation offers almost as many
difficulties as the other. And always. apart
from the hound. there is the fact OF the
human agency in london, the man in the
cab and the letter which warned Sir Henry
against the moor. This at least was real
but Il might have been the work of a pro-
tectfng friend as easily as of an enemy.
where Is that friend or enemy now? Has
he remained in London. or has he follower
US down here? Could he-could he be the
stranger whom 1 saw upon the Tor?
II is true that 1 have had only the one
glance at him, and yet there are some
things to which 1 am ready to swear. He
is no one whom I have seen down here
and l have now met all the neighbors.
The figure was far taller than that OF
Stapleton. far thinner than that of Frank
land. Barrymore It might possibly have
been. but we had left him behind us. and