The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-08-24
EXTRACT FROM THE DIARY OF
DIR. WATSON

In. w a oON.
So far l have been able to quote
from the reports which I have for
warded during these early days to
Sherlock Holmes. Now, however, 1
have arrived at a point in my narra-
tive where 1 am compelled to abandon
this method and to trust once more
to my recollections, aided by the diary
which L kept at the time. A few eX-
tracts from the latter will carry me
on to those scenes which are indelibly
fixed in every detail upon my mem
ory. | proceed, then, from the morn
ing which followed our abortive chase
of the convict and our other strange
experiences upon the moor.
October 16th.-A dull and foggy day
with dri8zle 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 sides of the hills, and
the distant boulders cleaning where
the light strikes upon their wet faces.
1t is melancholy outside and in. The
baronet is in a black reaction after
the excitements of the night l am
conscious myself of a weight at my
heart and feeling of impending dan
ger-eVer present danger, which is the
more terrible because l am unable to
define it.
And have I not cause for such a
feeling? Consider the long sequence
of incidents which have all pointed to
some sinister influence which is at
work around us. There is the death
of the last occupant of the Hall, full
filling so exactly the conditions of the
family legend, and there are the re-
peated reports from peasants of the
appearance of a strange creature upon
the moor. Twice l have with my own
ears heard the sound which rese1fr-
bled the distant baying of a hound. 1t
is incredible. impossible, that it should
really be outside the ordinary laws of
nature. spectral hound which leaves
material footmarks and fills the air
with its bowling is surely not to be
thought of. Stapleton may fall in
with such a superstition, and Morti-
mer also; but if l have one quality up
on earth it is common sense and
nothing will persuade me to believe in
such thing. To do so would be to
descend to the level of these poor peas
ants. who are not content with mere
f1end dog, but must needs describe him
with hell-fire shooting from his mouth
and eyes. Holmes would not listen to
such fanciess and l have twice heard
this crying upon the moor. Suppose
that there were really some huge
hound loose upon it; that would go
far to explain everything. But where
could such a hound lie concealed, where
did it get its food. where did it come
from, how was 1t that no one saw it by
day. 1t 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
n NtN
This at least was real, but il might
have been the work of a protecting
friend as easily as of an enemy sWhere
is that friend or enemy now? Has he
remained in London. or has he fol-
lowed us down here? Could he-could
he be the stranger whom l saw upon
the Tor?
1t is true that I have had only the
one glance at him, and yet there are
some things to which l am ready to
swear. He is no one whom 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 FARMLAND. Barrymore it
might possibly have been, but we had
left him behind us, and I am certain
that he could not have followed us. A
stranger then is still logging us, just
as stranger logged US in London.
We have never shaken him off If 1
could lay my hands upon that man,
then at last we might find ourselves
at the end of all our difficulties To
this one purpose l must now devote
all my energies.
My first impulse was to tell Sir Hen
ry all my plans. My second and wisest
one is to play my own game and
speak as little as possible to anyone.
He is silent and distract. His nerves
have been strangely shaken by that
sound upon the moor l will say moth
ing to add to his anXieties, but l will
take my own steps TO attain my own
end.
We had a small scene this morning
after breakfast Barrymore asked
leave to speak with Sir Henry. and
they We're closeted in his study some
little time. Sitting in the billiard
room l more than once heard the
sound OF voices raised, and ] had q
pretty good idea what the point was
which was under discussion After a
time the haronet opened his door aud
called for me.
Barrymore considers that he has a
grievance he said. He thinks that
u was unfair on our part 20 hunt his
brother-ip-ia down when he. or his