Part 1 of 2
THE sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville brought his nephew Henry from Canada to Baskerville Hall, on the edge of Dartmoor.
Rumours that Sir Charles had died of fright on seeing the Baskerville hound, the terror of a family ghost-story going back to the 17th century, Sir Henry brushed aside as legend.
But anonymous threats and a stolen boot seemed quite real, so Sir Henry’s doctor consulted Sherlock Holmes. Declaring himself too busy to attend in person, Holmes despatched his friend Dr Watson to Devonshire, with strict instructions to report back everything he saw.
Watson found much that was suspicious. Sir Henry’s own butler, Barrymore, was signalling to someone out on the moor after dark; on the night he died, Sir Charles had had an assignation with a woman named Laura Lyons; and Watson himself had heard the chilling howl of a hound.
Précis
Sherlock Holmes refused to attribute the death of Sir Charles Baskerville to a supernatural hound from a Civil War legend. He sent his colleague Dr Watson with Sir Charles’s heir, Henry, to Baskerville Hall on the edge of Dartmoor to find out the truth, but Watson discovered only more mysteries. (50 / 60 words)
Part Two
ONE mystery was soon cleared up: a strange figure on a distant tor proved to be Holmes himself, pursuing his own investigation. He had discovered something much less supernatural than the Baskerville legend, but just as dangerous.
A near neighbour of Sir Henry’s, Jack Stapleton, was really a Baskerville himself, who would inherit if Sir Henry died. But motive alone was not enough. Stapleton must be caught in the act.
So Holmes encouraged Stapleton to invite Sir Henry for dinner. The baronet would have to walk alone across the moor by night, an opportunity Stapleton could not refuse.
Trusting to local superstition and the Baskerville legend, Stapleton let loose a huge and ravenous dog, its teeth smeared with phosphorous, its scent trained on Sir Henry’s missing boot.
But Holmes was lying in wait. He shot the slavering hound even as it sprang, and Stapleton, in trying to escape across the moor, was lost without trace in the treacherous Grimpen mire.
Précis
Holmes, who is conducting his own secret investigation, discovers that Sir Henry’s neighbour Jack Stapleton is in truth a relative with a motive for murder. The detective sets a trap, but he is taking a grave risk and is only just in time to prevent a tragedy. Stapleton escapes, but dies out on the moors. (55 / 60 words)