The Hound of the Baskervilles - Chapters 1-4

Chapter one

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

My name is Doctor Watson. I am writing this story about my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective.

Sherlock Holmes lives at 221B Baker Street, in the middle of London. My story begins in Baker Street, one morning in 1889, when a man knocked on the door.

I heard the man say, 'Mr. Holmes? My name is Dr. Mortimer. I need your help.'

'Come in,' said Holmes. 'How can I help you?' 'I have a strange story to tell you, Mr. Holmes,' said Dr. Mortimer. 'My story is very strange. Perhaps you will not believe me.'

.Chapter two The Curse of the Baskervilles

Dr. Mortimer sat down. Sherlock Holmes and I listened to his story.

'I am a doctor and I work in the country,' said Dr. Mortimer. 'I live and work on Dartmoor. And, as you know, Dartmoor is a large, wild place. There is only one big house on Dartmoor - Baskerville Hall. The owner of the house was Sir Charles Baskerville. I was his friend as well as his doctor.'

'I read of his death in The Times newspaper,' said Holmes.

'That was three months ago,' said Dr. Mortimer. The newspaper reported his death, but it did not report all the facts.'

'Was there something strange about his death?' asked Sherlock Holmes.

'I am not certain,' said Dr. Mortimer. 'There was a story about a curse on the Baskerville family. Sir Charles believed this old story.'

'A curse?' I asked.

'What do you mean?'

'Here is the story,' said Dr. Mortimer. He took a large piece of paper out of his pocket. 'Please read this. It is the story of the Curse of the Baskervilles.'

Holmes took the paper and read it. 'It is called The Hound of the Baskervilles,' he said. He showed me the paper. This is what it said:

In the year 1645, Sir Hugo Baskerville was the owner of Baskerville Hall. Sir Hugo was a cruel man who did not believe in God. Every day he went out hunting and drinking with a gang of wild friends.

A farmer on Dartmoor had a beautiful daughter. Sir Hugo wanted to marry the girl, but she was afraid of him. The girl's father told Sir Hugo to stay away from his farm. Sir Hugo was very angry.

One day, when the farmer was working in his fields, Sir Hugo rode to the farm with his friends. They caught the girl and took her to Baskerville Hall.

The poor girl was terrified. Sir Hugo locked her in a bedroom. Then he started drinking with his gang. When he was drunk, he became more wild and cruel. He shouted at his men and hit them.

The frightened girl waited until it was dark. Then she opened a window and escaped from Baskerville Hall.

Her father's farm was about four miles away. It was night, but she was able to follow the path in the moonlight. She started to run across the dark moor.

Sir Hugo went to the girl's room. It was empty and Sir Hugo was terribly angry. He ran to his men and jumped onto the table where they were drinking. He kicked the plates and glasses off the table. 'Fetch the horses!' he shouted. 'Get the girl!'

They all ran outside and jumped onto their horses. Sir Hugo kept a pack of wild dogs for hunting. 'Let the dogs find her!' he shouted. 'The Devil can take me if I do not catch her!'

The dogs ran out across the dark moor. Sir Hugo and his men rode after them. The dogs barked and Sir Hugo shouted.

Then they heard another noise. It was louder than the noise of barking and shouting. The dogs stopped and listened. They were afraid.

The men heard the noise too. It was a loud and deep howling sound - the sound of a huge dog howling at the moon. The men stopped their horses, but Sir Hugo rode on. He wanted to catch the girl.

Sir Hugo did not catch the girl. Suddenly his horse stopped and threw him to the ground. The horse ran away in terror.

In the moonlight, the men saw a strange, black animal. It looked like a dog with huge, fiery eyes. But it was as big as a horse. All the men became very frightened.

The huge black dog jumped on Sir Hugo Baskerville and killed him. The other men ran away into the night and Sir Hugo was never seen again.

Since that time, many of the sons of the Baskerville family have died while they were young. Many of them have died strangely. This is the Curse of the Baskervilles. The black dog - The Hound of the Baskervilles - still walks on the moor at night.

'Well, Mr. Holmes, what do you think of this story?' asked Dr. Mortimer.

'I do not think it is a true story,' said Sherlock Holmes. 'Why do you show me this story? Do you believe it?'

'Before Sir Charles Baskerville's death, I did not believe the story,' Dr. Mortimer answered. 'But Sir Charles believed the story. It worried him. He became ill and his heart was weak.'

'Why did he believe this story?' I asked.'Because he saw the hound on the moor,' answered Dr. Mortimer. 'Or, he thought he saw it. When Sir Charles told me this story, I told him to take a holiday. I told him to go to London for a few weeks and forget all about the curse.'

'Did he take a holiday?' I asked.'No,' said Dr. Mortimer. 'He planned to go to London the following Friday. But, on the Thursday evening, he went for a walk on the edge of the moor. And he never returned.'

'How did he die?' I asked.'He died of a heart attack,' answered Dr. Mortimer. 'His servant came to fetch me. I found Sir Charles near the house, on the edge of the moor. He was running away from something when he died. I am sure of that. I think he was terrified of something.'

'Terrified?' asked Holmes.

'What was he running away from?'

'I looked at the ground where Sir Charles had walked. I saw his footprints,' said Dr. Mortimer. 'But there were other footprints on the ground. They were not the footprints of a man. They were the footprints of a gigantic hound!'

.Chapter three The Problem

Holmes and I were surprised. This was a very strange story. I did not believe that Sir Charles Baskerville had been killed by a gigantic black dog. But I wanted to know the truth.

'Who else saw these footprints?' asked Sherlock Holmes.His bright eyes shone and he leant forward in his chair. 'No one else saw the footprints,' answered Dr. Mortimer. 'There was a lot of rain in the night. By morning, the footprints had been washed away.'

'How large were the footprints? Were they larger than the footprints of a sheepdog?'

'Yes, Mr. Holmes, much larger. They were not the prints of an ordinary dog.'

'Also, you say that Sir Charles ran away from this dog? How do you know?' asked Holmes.'The ground was soft,' answered Dr. Mortimer. 'I saw Sir Charles's footprints outside Baskerville Hall. His footprints were close together as he walked along a path at the edge of the moor. Then he stopped and waited by a wooden gate. After that his footprints changed they became wide apart and deep. I am sure he began to run. He ran towards the house. I believe that something came from the moor. I believe he saw the Hound of the Baskervilles.'

'Yes, yes,' said Holmes, 'but how do you know that Sir Charles waited by this wooden gate?'

'Because he smoked a cigar,' said Dr. Mortimer. 'I saw the white cigar ash on the ground.'

'Good,' said Holmes, 'good - you are a detective.'

'Thank you,' said Dr. Mortimer, with a smile.

'But you believe that Sir Charles was killed by a gigantic hound?'

'I know he ran away from something,' said Dr. Mortimer. 'I know I saw those strange footprints of a huge dog. But...' He looked at his watch. '... I am meeting Sir Henry Baskerville at Waterloo Station in an hour. Sir Henry is Sir Charles' nephew. He has come from Canada. Sir Charles had no children, so Sir Henry is now the owner of Baskerville Hall. And now I have a problem.'

'What is your problem?' asked Holmes.'I believe that Sir Henry is in danger,' said Dr. Mortimer. 'Is it safe to take him to Baskerville Hall?'

'I must think,' said Sherlock Holmes. 'Stay in London tonight. Come and see me again tomorrow morning. Please bring Sir Henry with you.'

'I shall do so,' said Dr. Mortimer. He stood up. 'Now I must go to meet Sir Henry at Waterloo Station. Good day.'

When Dr. Mortimer had left, Holmes said to me, 'We have a problem here, Watson. There are three questions. What is the crime? Who did it? How was it done?'

.Chapter four Sir Henry Baskerville

The next morning, Dr. Mortimer brought Sir Henry Baskerville to Baker Street. Sir Henry was about thirty years old. He was not tall, but he was broad and strong. He looked like a boxer.

'How do you do, Mr. Holmes,' said Sir Henry. 'I arrived in London yesterday and two strange things have happened already.'

'Please sit down, Sir Henry,' said Holmes. 'Tell me what has happened.'

'No one knows that I am staying at the Northumberland Hotel,' said Sir Henry. 'But I have received a letter. Here is the letter. You see, the words are cut from a newspaper except for the word "moor".'

YOUR LIFE IS IN DANGER KEEP AWAY FROM THE MOOR

'The words are cut from The Times newspaper,' said Holmes.

'But how did this person know where I am staying?' asked Sir Henry.

'I do not know,' said Holmes. 'But you said that two strange things have happened. What is the other strange thing?'

'I have lost a boot,' said Sir Henry. 'Someone has stolen one of my boots at the hotel.'

'One of your boots?' asked Holmes.'Someone took only one?' 'Yes,' answered Sir Henry. 'The boots are new. I bought them yesterday and I have never worn them. But why take only one?'

'That is a very good question,' said Holmes. 'I would like to visit your hotel. Perhaps I shall find the answer.'

'Then, please join us for lunch,' said Sir Henry. 'Now, if you will excuse me, I have some other business. Shall we meet at two o'clock for lunch at the Northumberland Hotel?'

'We shall come at two,' said Holmes.

Sir Henry Baskerville and Dr. Mortimer left the house and walked along Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes watched them through the window of his study.

'Quick, Watson, we must follow them,' said Holmes.

I put on my hat and followed Holmes into the street. 'Why are we following them?' I asked in surprise.

'Because, my dear Watson, someone else is also following them,' said Holmes. 'Look! There is the man. There in that cab!'

I looked where Holmes was pointing. A horse-drawn cab was moving slowly along the street. A man with a black beard was sitting in the cab. He was watching Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer as they walked towards Oxford Street.

The man with the black beard turned round as Holmes pointed at him. He saw us and shouted to the cab driver, 'Drive! Drive quickly!' The cab driver whipped the horse and the cab disappeared round a corner.

'I think we have the answer to one of our questions,' said Holmes. 'That man with the black beard followed Sir Henry to the Northumberland Hotel. He is the man who sent the letter.'