[00:00.589]8  The Stapletons of Pen House
[00:05.773]The next morning was sunny，
[00:08.125]and we were much more cheerful．
[00:10.033]I told Sir Henry about the crying I had heard．
[00:14.227]He rang the bell to call Barrymore，
[00:17.140]and asked him if he could explain the crying．
[00:19.428]Barrymore's face went white when he heard Sir Henry's question．
[00:23.740]‘There are only two women in the house，Sir Henry，’he answered．   “
[00:28.748]‘One is the maid，who sleeps on the other side of the house．   “
[00:33.862]The other is my wife，and she was certainly not crying．’
[00:38.339]But he was telling a lie．
[00:41.574]I saw Mrs Barrymore after breakfast．
[00:45.206]The sun was full on her face，and it was clear she had been crying．
[00:50.467]Why had Barrymore lied？
[00:55.326]What deep sadness had made his wife cry？
[00:59.400]There was a mystery surrounding this black- bearded，handsome man．
[01:04.026]Was it possible that Barrymore was in fact the man who had been watching Sir Henry in London？
[01:10.438]I decided I must check with the local post office that the telegram had really been put into Barrymore's own hands．
[01:18.268]While Sir Henry worked at some papers，
[01:22.316]I walked to the post office．
[01:24.224]It was in the nearest village，which was called Grimpen．
[01:27.907]I spoke to the boy who had taken the telegram to the Hall．
[01:32.272]‘Did you give it to Mr Barrymore himself？’I asked．   “
[01:36.964]‘Well，’the boy said，   “
[01:40.043]‘he was working upon the roof，so I couldn't give it to him．“
[01:44.615]I gave it to Mrs Barrymore，
[01:46.486]and she promised to give it to him at once．’
[01:48.904]‘Did you see Mr Barrymore？’I asked him．   “
[01:52.434]‘No，’said the boy，
[01:54.095]‘but why did his wife say he was upon the roof if he wasn't？’   “
[01:58.375]It was hopeless to ask any more questions．
[02:01.849]It was clear that Holmes' cleverness with the telegram had not given us the proof we needed．
[02:08.200]I was walking away from the post office when I heard someone running after me．
[02:15.038]A voice called me by name，
[02:17.716]and I turned．
[02:18.944]I expected to see Dr Mortimer，as I knew nobody else in the village．
[02:23.301]To my surprise it was a stranger．
[02:28.044]He was a small，thin man，
[02:29.930]between thirty and forty years old，with fair hair and no beard．
[02:35.141]He was carrying a butterfly net，and a box for putting butterflies in．
[02:39.663]‘I hope you will excuse me for introducing myself，Dr Watson，’   “
[02:45.933]he said as he came up to me．
[02:48.025]‘My name is Stapleton．   “
[02:50.025]I was in Dr Mortimer's house and we saw you．
[02:53.176]He told me who you are．
[02:55.393]May I walk along with you？
[02:57.721]This path back to the Hall goes near my home，Pen House．
[03:03.493]Please come in and meet my sister，and spend an hour with us．’
[03:07.585]I accepted Stapleton's invitation，and we walked together．
[03:13.161]‘I know that you are a close friend of Sherlock Holmes，’   “
[03:17.539]said Stapleton．
[03:19.023]‘Has Mr Holmes any ideas about Sir Charles death？’   “
[03:22.753]‘I'm afraid I can't answer that question，’I said．   “
[03:27.916]‘Will Mr Holmes visit us himself？’he asked．   “
[03:31.156]‘He can't leave London at the moment，’I answered．   “
[03:35.217]I was rather surprised that he was asking me these questions
[03:39.435]We walked on．
[03:41.507]Stapleton told me that he and his sister had lived in Devonshire for only two years．
[03:47.374]They had moved there soon after Sir Charles had begun to live in Baskerville Hall．
[03:51.938]He also talked about the moor and how it interested him．
[03:56.542]He told me to look across the moor to a place which was a bright green colour．
[04:02.073]‘That is the Great Grimpen Marsh，’he said    “
[04:06.709]‘If animals or men go into the marsh，they will sink into it and die．   “
[04:11.156]But I can find my way to the very centre of it．
[04:14.809]Look，there is another of those poor horses．’
[04:18.355]Something brown was fighting to get out of the bright green of the marsh．
[04:23.792]Then a terrible cry came across the moor．
[04:27.524]The horse's head and neck disappeared under the green．
[04:30.956]‘It's gone，’Stapleton said．‘The marsh has caught and killed it．That often happens．It is an evil place，the Great Grimpen Marsh．’
[04:38.176]
[04:39.377]‘But you say you can go safely in and out of it？’I asked him．   “
[04:47.636]‘Yes，there are a few paths，   “
[04:50.750]and I have found them．
[04:52.751]The low hills you can see are like islands surrounded by the marsh．
[04:56.835]That is where I can find the unusual plants and butterflies．
[05:00.489]And that's why I found my way through the marsh．’
[05:03.636]‘I shall try my luck one day，’I said．   “
[05:06.841]He looked at me in surprise．
[05:10.148]‘Please don't try，’he said．
[05:12.543]‘You would never return alive，and it would be my fault．’
[05:15.665]‘Listen，’I said．‘What is that？’
[05:20.708]A long，low cry，very deep and very sad，came over the moor．
[05:27.305]It filled the whole air．Then it died away．
[05:31.655]‘What is it？’I asked，with a cold fear in my heart．
[05:37.689]Stapleton had a strange look on his face．
[05:44.151]‘The people say it's the Hound of the Baskervilles，
[05:48.163]which is calling for something to hunt and kill．
[05:50.692]I've heard it once or twice before，
[05:55.099]but never so loud．’
[05:56.602]‘You are a man of science，’I said．   “
[05:58.859]‘You don't believe that，do you？   “
[06:01.208]Isn't there a natural explanation for the sound？’
[06:03.929]‘A marsh makes strange noises sometimes．   “
[06:07.932]It is the water and the wet ground moving．’
[06:10.423]‘But that was the voice of a living creature，’I said．   “
[06:14.381]‘Well，perhaps it was．
[06:15.989]There are some very unusual birds on the moors．
[06:19.701]It was most probably the cry of one of those．’
[06:23.539]At that moment a small butterfly flew across the path in front of us．
[06:29.093]‘Excuse me，Dr Watson，’shouted Stapleton，   “
[06:33.323]and ran off to try to catch the butterfly．
[06:36.602]He ran quickly and followed the butterfly on to the marsh，
[06:41.483]but he knew exactly where he could go，
[06:43.690]and was not in any danger．
[06:45.508]As I watched him，I heard the sound of steps behind me．
[06:50.148]I turned and saw a woman near me on the path．
[06:54.208]I was sure she was Miss Stapleton．
[06:57.239]She was very beautiful．She was dark and tall，with a lovely face．
[07:02.688]Before I could say anything，she said：
[07:05.303]‘Go back！Go straight back to London，immediately．   “
[07:09.095]I can not tell you why，but please do what I ask you，
[07:12.511]and never come near the moor again．
[07:15.042]But my brother is coming．Not a word to him．’
[07:18.899]Stapleton had caught the butterfly，
[07:21.852]and was walking bath to us．
[07:23.819]‘Hello，my dear，’he said to his sister，   “
[07:28.248]but it seemed to me that his voice was not completely friendly．
[07:32.037]‘I see that you two have already introduced yourselves．’   “
[07:35.862]‘Yes，’she said．
[07:39.003]‘I was telling Sir Henry that it was rather late in the year for him to see the true beauty of the moor．’   “
[07:45.011]”
[07:45.214]‘I am sorry，’I said．   “
[07:49.636]‘You have made a mistake．I'm not Sir Henry．   “
[07:51.592]I am a friend who is visiting him，and my name is Dr Watson．’
[07:57.606]Miss Stapleton was clearly angry with herself．
[08:01.872]‘I'm sorry，’ she said．   “
[08:04.403]‘Please forget what I said．   “
[08:06.828]But do come with us to our house．’
[08:09.548]The house was lonely and rather grim．
[08:13.307]I wondered why the two of them had come to live so far away from anyone else．
[08:18.534]Stapleton seemed to know what I was thinking，and said：
[08:22.299]‘You may think this a lonely，strange place to live，    “
[08:26.443]but the moors are very interesting，and we enjoy it here．
[08:29.997]I owned a school in the north of England，
[08:33.538]but I had to close it．
[08:35.500]I miss the boys and girls but thefe is plenty to do here，
[08:39.580]and we have good neighbours．
[08:41.105]I hope Sir Henry will become one of tnem．
[08:44.177]May I visit the Hall this afternoon to meet him，do you think？’
[08:48.537]‘I'm sure he will be very pleased to meet you，’I said．    “
[08:52.725]‘I must go back to the Hall now，and I shall tell him immediately．’   “
[08:56.507]I said goodbye to the Stapletons，
[09:00.298]and continued on the path back to the Hall．
[09:03.115]I had been walking for only a few minutes when I was surprised to see Miss Stapleton sitting on a rock ahead of me．
[09:10.514]She was breathing quickly，
[09:12.614]and I realized she had run by a quicker way to get ahead of me．
[09:16.539]‘Dr Watson，’she said．   “
[09:19.919]‘I want to say sorry for the mistake I made．   “
[09:23.195]I thought you were Sir Henry．
[09:25.552]Please forget what I said．
[09:27.406]I did not mean you were in danger．
[09:30.335]Now I must go，or my brother will miss me．’
[09:34.423]‘I cannot forget your words，Miss Stapleton，’I said．‘If Sir Henry is in danger，I must tell him．’
[09:41.714]
[09:42.644]‘You know the story of the Hound？’she asked me．   “
[09:46.623]‘Yes，but I do not believe it，’I replied．   “
[09:50.931]‘But I think it's true，’she said．  “
[09:54.276]‘Please persuade Sir Henry to leave this place．   “
[09:57.355]So many of his family have died here mysteriously．
[10:00.757]He must not put his life in danger by staying here．’
[10:04.210]‘Sir Henry won't leave this place without a real reason，’I said．   “
[10:08.869]‘I can't give you a real reason．I don't know anything for certain．’   “
[10:13.316]‘One more question，Miss Stapleton，’I said．   “
[10:17.087]‘The story of the Hound is well known．   “
[10:20.809]Why didn't you want your brother to hear what you said？’
[10:23.723]‘My brother wants the head of the Baskerville family to live in the Hall，’she said．   “
[10:29.053]‘He wants Sir Henry to continue the good work that Sir Charles began．   “
[10:34.262]He doesn't want Sir Henry to go and live in another place．
[10:37.044]So he doesn't want me to talk about the Hound．
[10:40.659]I must go now，or my brother will guess I have been speaking to you．Goodbye！’
[10:46.512]She turned and went back towards her house，
[10:51.207]and I walked on to Baskerville Hall．