SHORT SUMMARY
OF HOUND OF BASKERVILLE (Synopsis)
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When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead in the alley by
the moor, Dr. Mortimer goes to London to get Sherlock Holmes’s help in deciding
on the proper course of action for the new heir. He reads the manuscript about
the family curse, supposedly begun over Hugo Baskerville’s inappropriate
actions, and a newspaper article about Sir Charles’s death. After this, the
doctor reveals that there is another piece of information-there were footprints
of a hound a short distance from the fallen body. Holmes questions him over the
details, wishing that he could have been called in earlier to examine the
scene, but this was not possible, given the need for a tenant in the Hall and
in the interest of preserving the doctor’s scientific reputation.
It is also told that Sir Charles appeared to be waiting for
someone, though he was an elderly man; that his footprints showed he had been
running away from the house in his fright; and that his heart was weak, so that
he was to leave for London the next day. Though Holmes does not believe in the
curse himself, he is intrigued by the case and agrees to meet the next day to
discuss it.
Sir Henry (the heir) arrives from Canada and is already a
little shaken. A note warning him to stay away from the moor was delivered at
his hotel, where no one had known he would be staying. Holmes recognizes the
cut-out letters from the previous day’s Times; being pressed for time, the
sender had not been able to find the word “moor” and had handwritten it. The
poor quality of the pen shows that it was written from a hotel, and the scent
of perfume on the note points to a woman (this latter piece of evidence Holmes
keeps to himself until the end). Sir Henry has also had a new boot stolen.
Once Sir Henry has been filled in, they make plans to meet
again at the hotel later that day once he has had time to think, but it is
clear that he will insist on going to Baskerville Hall. Holmes and Watson trail
Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer on their way back to the hotel, and discover that a
man with a black beard (likely a fake) is following the pair in a cab. The cab
drives off when the man discovers Holmes has spotted him, but the detective is
able to get the cab number. Holmes then stops in at the messenger office and
employs Cartwright to go around to the hotels, bribe the employees, and look
through the wastepaper in search of a cut-up copy of the Times.
By the time they go to the hotel, Sir Henry has had another
boot stolen, an old one now. When the first missing boot is discovered before
the meeting is over, Holmes begins to privately realize they must be dealing
with a real hound (hence the emphasis on the scent of the item). When
conversation turns to the man in the cab, Dr. Mortimer says that Barrymore, the
servant at Baskerville Hall, has a beard, and a telegram is sent to check on
his whereabouts. The inheritance is also discussed-while it is a sizable
amount, the next in line is James Desmond, an older man with few interests in
wealth.
At the end of the meeting, it is decided that, Holmes being
tied up in London with other cases, Watson will accompany Sir Henry to the Hall
and report back in detail. Later that evening, telegrams from Cartwright (who
was unable to find the newspaper) and Baskerville Hall (where Barrymore apparently
is) bring an end to those leads. Also, a visit from John Clayton, who was
driving the cab with the black-bearded man, is of little help. He does say that
the man told him that he was the detective Holmes, much to the shock and
amusement of the actual Holmes.
Dr. Mortimer, Watson, and Sir Henry set off for Baskerville
Hall the next day. The baronet is excited to see it and his connection with the
land is clear, but the mood is soon dampened. Soldiers are about the area, on
the lookout for the escaped convict Selden, Barrymore and his wife want to
depart from the area as soon as convenient, and the Hall is in general a somber
place. Watson has trouble sleeping that night, and hears a woman crying, though
the next morning Barrymore denies that this could be so.
Watson checks with the postmaster and learns that the
telegram was not actually delivered into the hands of Barrymore, so it is no
longer certain that he was at the Hall, and not in London. On his way back,
Watson meets Stapleton, a naturalist familiar with the moor even though he has
only been in the area for two years. They hear a moan that the peasants
attribute to the hound, but Stapleton attributes it to the cry of a bittern, or
possibly the bog settling. He then runs off after a specimen, but Watson is not
alone for long before Miss Stapleton approaches him. Mistaking him for Sir
Henry, she urgently warns him to leave the area, but drops the subject when her
brother returns. The three walk to Merripit House (the Stapleton’s home), and
during the discussion, Watson learns that Stapleton used to run a school.
Though he is offered lunch and a look at Stapleton’s collections, Watson
departs for the Hall. Before he gets far along the path, Miss Stapleton
overtakes him and plays off her warning.
Sir Henry soon meets her and becomes romantically
interested, despite her brother’s intrusions. Watson meets another neighbor,
Mr. Frankland, a harmless man whose primary focus is on lawsuits. Barrymore
draws increasing suspicion, as Watson sees him walk with a candle into an empty
room, hold it up to the window, and then leave. Realizing that the room’s only
advantage is its view out on the moor, Watson and Sir Henry are determined to
figure out what is going on.
Meanwhile, during the day, Sir Henry continues to pursue
Miss Stapleton until her brother runs up on them and yells angrily. He later
explains to the disappointed baronet that it was not personal, he was just
afraid of losing his only companion so quickly. To show there are no hard
feelings, he invites Sir Henry to dine with him and his sister on Friday.
Sir Henry then becomes the person doing the surprising, when
he walks in with Watson on Barrymore, catching him at night in the room with
the candle. He refuses to answer their questions, since it is not his secret to
tell, but Mrs. Barrymore’s. She tells them that Selden is her brother and the
candle is a signal to allow him to get food. When the couple returns to their
room, Sir Henry and Watson go off to find the convict, despite the poor weather
and frightening sound of the hound. They see Selden by another candle, but are
unable to catch him. Watson notices the figure of another man, but he likewise
gets away.
Barrymore is upset when he finds out that they tried to
capture Selden, but when an agreement is reached to allow Selden to escape out
of the country, he is willing to repay the favor. He tells them about a
mostly-burned letter asking Sir Charles to be at the gate at the time of his
death. It was signed with the initials L.L. Dr. Mortimer tells Watson the next
day that it could be Laura Lyons, Frankland’s daughter who lives in Coombe
Tracey. When Watson goes to talk to her, she admits to writing the letter after
Stapleton told her Sir Charles would be willing to help her, but says she never
kept the appointment.
Frankland has just won two cases and invites Watson in, as
his carriage passes by, to help him celebrate. Barrymore had previously told
Watson that another man lived out on the moor besides Selden, and Frankland
unwittingly confirms this, when he shows Watson through his telescope the
figure of a boy carrying food off. Watson departs the house and goes off in
that direction. He finds the dwelling where the unknown man has been staying,
goes in, sees a message reporting on his own activities, and waits.
Holmes turns out to be the unknown man, keeping his location
a secret so that Watson would not be tempted to come out and so he would be
able to appear on the scene of action at the critical moment. Watson’s reports
have been of much help to him, and he then tells his friend some of the
information he’s uncovered-Stapleton is actually married to the woman passing
as Miss Stapleton, and was also promising marriage to Laura Lyons to get her
cooperation. As they bring their conversation to an end, they hear a scream,
the sounds of a man being pursued by the hound.
They take off running and when they see the figure, they
mistake it for Sir Henry. As their misery and regret grow, they realize it is
actually Selden, dressed in the baronet’s old clothes (which had been given to
Barrymore by way of further apology for distrusting him). Then Stapleton
appears, and while he makes excuses for his presence, Holmes pretends to be
returning to London.
Holmes and Watson return to Baskerville Hall, where over
dinner, the detective realizes the similarity between Hugo Baskerville’s
portrait and Stapleton. This provides the motive in the crime-with Sir Henry
gone, Stapleton, the son of Rodger, could claim the Baskerville fortune. When
they return to Mrs. Lyons’s place, they get her to admit to Stapleton’s role in
the letter setup, and then they go to meet Lestrade.
Under the threat of advancing fog, Watson, Holmes, and
Lestrade lie in wait outside the Merripit House, where Sir Henry has been
dining. When the baronet leaves and sets off across the moor, the hound is soon
let loose. It really is a terrible beast, but Holmes and Watson manage to shoot
it before it can hurt Sir Henry. They discover Mrs. Stapleton imprisoned in the
bedroom, and when she is freed, she tells them of Stapleton’s hideout deep in
Grimpen Mire. When they head out the next day to look for him, they are not
able to find him, and he is presumed dead.
