Summary of the Hound of the Baskervilles


AK Doyle
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his friend assistant Dr. Watson are examining a cane forgotten in an apartment on Baker Street by a visitor who came in their absence. Soon the host of the cane appears, the doctor James Mortimer, a young tall man with closely set gray eyes and a long protruding nose. Mortimer reads to Holmes and Watson an ancient manuscript – the legend of the terrible curse of the Baskervilles – entrusted to him not so long ago by his suddenly deceased patient and friend, Sir Charles Baskerville. Powerful and intelligent, far from reluctant to fantasies, Sir Charles was serious about this legend and was ready for the end that destiny had prepared for him.
In ancient times, one of the ancestors of Charles Baskerville, the owner of the Hugo estate, was distinguished by an unbridled and cruel temper. Flaming with an impious passion for the daughter of one farmer, Hugo kidnapped her. Locking

the girl in the upper chambers, Hugo and his friends sat down to feast. The unfortunate dared to act desperately: she descended from the castle window on the ivy and ran through the swamps home. Hugo rushed after her in pursuit, letting dogs follow the trail, his comrades behind him. On a broad lawn in the marshes, they saw the body of a fugitive, who died of fear. Hugo’s corpse was lying next to him, and above him stood a monstrous monster, similar to a dog, but much larger. The monster was tormented by Hugo Baskerville’s throat and gleamed with burning eyes. And, although the person who recorded the legend hoped that Providence would not punish the innocent, he still warned his descendants to beware “to go out into the swamps at night,
James Mortimer tells us that Sir Charles was found dead in a yew mall near the wicket gate leading to the swamps. And next to the doctor noticed fresh and clear traces of… a huge dog. Mortimer asks for advice from Holmes, since the heir to the estate comes from America, Sir Henry Baskerville. The day after his arrival, Henry Baskerville, accompanied by Mortimer,
visits Holmes. The adventures of Sir Henry began immediately upon arrival: first, he had a boot in his hotel, and secondly, he received an anonymous message with a warning “to stay away from the peat bogs.” Nevertheless, he is determined to go to Baskerville Hall, and Holmes sends Dr. Watson with him. Holmes himself remains on business in London. Dr. Watson sends Holmes detailed accounts of life in the estate and tries not to leave Sir Henry alone, which soon becomes difficult, as Baskerville falls in love with Miss Stapleton, who lives nearby. Miss Stapleton lives in a house in the swamps with an entomologous brother and two servants, and the brother jealously protects her from the courtship of Sir Henry. Having arranged a scandal about this, Stapleton then comes to Baskerville Hall with apologies and promises not to interfere with the love of Sir Henry and his sister if within the next three months he agrees to be content with her friendship.
At night in the castle Watson hears female sobbing, and in the morning the butler’s wife, Barrymore, is crying. Barrymore himself and Sir Henry manage to catch on that that night he gives candles signs to the window, and from the marshes they answer the same. It turns out that in the marshes a runaway convict hides – this is the younger brother of Barrymore’s wife, who for her was just a mischievous little boy. The other day he must leave for South America. Sir Henry promises not to give out Barrymore and even gives him something of clothes. As if in gratitude, Barrymore says that in the fireplace he survived a piece of half-burned letter to Sir Charles asking to be “at the gate at ten o’clock in the evening.” The letter was signed by LL. In the neighborhood, in Coombe-Tracy, lives a lady with such initials – Laura Lyons. Watson goes to her the next day. Laura Lyons admits, that she wanted to ask Sir Charles for money to divorce her husband, but at the last moment she got help “from other hands”. She was going to explain everything to Sir Charles the next day, but she learned from the newspapers about his death.
On the way back, Watson decides to go to the marshes: even earlier, he noticed there was some person (not a convict). Sneaking, he approaches the alleged dwelling of a stranger. To his great surprise, he finds in a empty hut a scribbled note: “Dr. Watson left for Coombe-Tracy.” Watson decides to wait for the inhabitant of the hut. Finally he hears the approaching steps and cock the revolver. Suddenly a familiar voice is heard: “Today is such a wonderful evening, dear Watson.” Why sit in the stuffy air? It’s much more pleasant on the air. ” Hardly friends have time to share information (Holmes knows that the woman Stapleton gives out for her sister – his wife, moreover, he is sure that Stapleton is his opponent), as they hear a terrible cry. The scream repeats, Holmes and Watson rush to the rescue and see the body… of a convict, dressed in the suit of Sir Henry. Appears Stapleton. On clothes, he also accepts the deceased for Sir Henry, then with a huge effort of will hides his disappointment.
The next day, Sir Henry alone goes to visit Stapleton, and Holmes, Watson, and the detective Lestrade, arriving from London, are hiding in the swamps near the house. Holmes’s plans almost knock the creeping fog from the side of the bog. Sir Henry leaves Stapleton and heads home. Stapleton lets a dog follow him: huge, black, with burning mouth and eyes (they were smeared with a phosphorescent compound). Holmes manages to shoot the dog, although Sir Henry still experienced a nervous shock. Perhaps even more shocking for him is the news that his beloved woman is Stapleton’s wife. Holmes finds her bound in a distant room – finally she rebelled and refused to help her husband in the hunt for Sir Henry. She also escorts the detectives into the depths of the quagmire, where Stapleton hid the dog, but no tracks can be found. Obviously,
To amend the health of Sir Henry with Dr. Mortimer go on a round-the-world trip, and before sailing visit Holmes. After their departure, Holmes tells Watson the details of this case: Stapleton is a descendant of one of the branches of the Baskervilles (Holmes guessed this by his resemblance to the portrait of the wicked Hugo), was repeatedly seen in fraud, but he managed to safely hide from justice. He was the person who suggested that Laura Lyons first write to Sir Charles, and then forced her to give up her date. Both she and Stapleton’s wife were entirely in his power. But at the crucial moment, Stapleton’s wife stopped obeying him.
Having finished the story, Holmes invites Watson to go to the opera – the “Huguenots”.


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Summary of the Hound of the Baskervilles