The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-07-27

functions and advice.
~ will not bias your mind by suggesting
theories or suspicious. Watson" said he: II
wish you simply to report facts in the full
est possible manner 10 me-. and you can
leave me to do the theorizing."
what sort OF factsg' / asked.
Anything which may seem TO have a
bearing. however indirect, upon tho case.
and especially the relations between young
Baskerville and his neighbOrs. or any fresh
particulars concerning the death Of Sir
Charles. I have made some inquiries my
self in the last few days. but the results
have. / fear. been negative. one thing only
appears to be certain. and that IS that Mr..
James Desmond. whO Is the next heir. IS an
elderly gentleman. Of n very amiable dis
position. so that this persecution does not
arise from him I really think that We may
eliminate him entirely from our calculations.
There remain the people who will actually
surround Sir Henry Baskerville upon the
moor"
Would IT not be we'll in the first place to
get rid OF this Barrymore coupler
by no means. You could not make a
greater mistake II they are innocent It
would be a cruel injustice. and II they are
guilty we should be giving up all chance
OF bringing IL home 20 them. No, no; we
VIII preserve them upon our list Of sus-
poets Then there Is a groom at the Hall.
II / remember right. There are two moor
land farmers. There Is our friend, Doctor
Mortimer. whom I believe TO be entirely
honest. and there IS his wife. OF whom We
know nothing. There IS this naturalist. Sta
pleton. and there Is his sister. who is said
to be a young lady Of attractions. There
IS Mr.. FARMLAND Of Latter Hail. who is
alao an unknown factor. and there are one
or two other neighbOrs. These are the folk
who must be your very special study"
q" will do my best"
You have arms. / supposeT'
NFKaz. II Nha~rnhe e ~. w-aHI q -. - %
Most certainly. Keep your revolver near
you night and day. and never relax your
precautions"
Our friends had already secured a first
class carriage. and were waiting for us up
on the platform
Doctor Mortime-, In answer to my friends
questions. Il can swear to one thinx. and
that Is that We have not been Swallowed
during the last two days We have nsvsr
zone out without keeping q sharp watch
and no one could have escaped our notice"
You have always kept together, I pre-
sumner
Except yesterday afternoon I usually
give Up one day &c pure amusement when
! come TO town. so I spent Il at the Mu-
seum Of tho College OF Surgeons"
And / went to look at the folk In the
park" said Baskerville. But we had 10
trouble Of any kind"
TT was ~imprudent all the same." said
Holmes, shaking his head and looking very
grave. 7 beg. Sir Henry. hat you viii not
90 about alone Some great misfortune
win befan you II you do. Did you get
your other bootr'
mo. sir. II Is gone forever"
Indeed. That Is very interesting. Well.
good-by." he added. as the train began TO
glide down the platform. Bar In mind.
Sir Henry. one Of the phrases In that queer
old legend which Doctor Mortimer has read
70 ~ and avoid the moor In those hours
Of darkness when the powers Of evil are
exalted"
I looked back at the platform when We
had left II far behind. and saw the tall.
sustere figure Of Holmes standing motion
less and gazing after Us.
The journey was q swift and pleasant
one. and ! spent II IN making the more
Intimate acquaintance OF my two com
panionS and In playing with Doctor Nor
timers spaniel. In a very few hours tic
brown earth had become ruddy. the brick
had changed to granite. and red cows
grazed In well-hedged fields. where the lush
grasses and more luxuriant vegetation
spoke o. q richer. II a damper. climate.
Young Baskerville stared eagerly out OF
the window, and cried aloud with delight
as be recognised the familiar features OF
the Devon scenery.
I've been over . good part OF the world
since I left 10. Doctor Watson" said he;
but I have never seen = place to compare
with It"
Il never saw q Devonshire man who did
not swear by his county" I remarked.
Tt depends upon the breed Of men quite
az much Is on the county, said Doctor
Mortimer. "a glance at our friend here
reveals the rounded head Of the Celt, which
carries inside II the Celtic enthusiasm and
power Of attachment Poor Sir Charles's
was OF a very rare type. half Gaelic. half
Ivernian In its characteristics. But you
were very young when you last saw BaS-
kervile Hall. were you not?'
u was q boy in my teens at the time
Of my fathers death. and had never ssen
the Hall, for he lived In a little cottage
on the South Coast Thence 1 went straight
to q friend IN America / tell you ft is
all as nav TO me as It Is to Doctor Watson.
and I'm as keen as possible TO see the
moor"
granted, for there Is your first sight OF the
moor" said Doctor Mortimer, pointing out
OF the carriage window.
Over the green squares OF the neids and
the low curve OF = wood there rose IN
the distance q gray melancholy hill
with q strange jagged summit. dim
and vague In the distance. like some fan
tRstic landscape In q dream Baskerville
sat for q long time. his eyes fixed upon IL.
and I read upon his eager face how much
II meant to him. this first sight OF that
strange spot where the men OF his blood
uAu Helu oNdy 30 long ana leII InelE marx
50 deep There he sat. with his tweed suit
and his American accent, In the corner u
q prosaio railway carriage, and yet as ]
looked at his dark and expressive face I
felt more than ever how true a descend
ant he was OF that long line OF high-blooi-
ed, fery and maSterful men There were
pride, valour and strength IN his thick
browR his sensitive ~nostrils. and his large
hazel eyes. II on that ~forbidding moor q
difficult and dangerous quest should lie be-
whom one might venture 70 take q risk
with the certainty that hs would hraysIy
share It
The train pulled ID 1t Q mail waysIds
station. and We all descended Outside, be-
yond the low. white fence, q vaEonstts
with . pair Of oobs was waiting. Our com
ing was evidently q great event, for sta
uonmaster and porters clustered round Us
TO carry out our luggage. II was a sweet,
simple country spot. but I was surprised
to observe that by the gate there stood two
solaierly men in dark uniforms. who leaned
upon their short rifles and glanced keeniy
at Us as We passed. The coachman. a hard
faced. gnAried ltus fellow. saluted Sir
Henry Baskerville. and in 6 few minutes
We were flying swiftly down the broad.
white road. Rolling pasture lands curved
upwards On either nd Of US, and old ga
hled houses peeped out from amid the
thick green foliage, but behind the peaceful
and sunlit countryside there rose ever
dark against the evening sky, the long, |
gloomy curve OF the moor, broken by the
jagged and sinister hills.
The wagonette swung round into a side
road and We curyad unUapda fhro-,h L.