“The whole course of events，” said Holmes， “from the pointof view of the man who called himself Stapleton was simple anddirect， although to us， who had no means in the beginning ofknowing the motives of his actions and could only learn part ofthe facts， it all appeared exceedingly complex. I have had theadvantage of two conversations with Mrs. Stapleton， and the casehas now been so entirely cleared up that I am not aware that thereis anything which has remained a secret to us. You will find a fewnotes upon the matter under the heading B in my indexed list ofcases.”
“Perhaps you would kindly give me a sketch of the course ofevents from memory.”
“Certainly， though I cannot guarantee that I carry all the factsin my mind. Intense mental concentration has a curious way ofblotting out what has passed. The barrister who has his case athis fingers’ ends， and is able to argue with an expert upon his ownsubject finds that a week or two of the courts will drive it all outof his head once more. So each of my cases displaces the last， andMlle. Carére has blurred my recollection of Baskerville Hall. Tomorrowsome other little problem may be submitted to my noticewhich will in turn dispossess the fair French lady and the infamousUpwood. So far as the case of the Hound goes， however， I will giveyou the course of events as nearly as I can， and you will suggestanything which I may have forgotten.
“My inquiries show beyond all question that the family portraitdid not lie， and that this fellow was indeed a Baskerville. He was ason of that Rodger Baskerville， the younger brother of Sir Charles，who fled with a sinister reputation to South America， where hewas said to have died unmarried. He did， as a matter of fact， marry，and had one child， this fellow， whose real name is the same as hisfather’s. He married Beryl Garcia， one of the beauties of CostaRica， and， having purloined a considerable sum of public money，he changed his name to Vandeleur and fled to England， wherehe established a school in the east of Yorkshire. His reason forattempting this special line of business was that he had struck upan acquaintance with a consumptive tutor upon the voyage home，and that he had used this man’s ability to make the undertakinga success. Fraser， the tutor， died however， and the school whichhad begun well sank from disrepute into infamy. The Vandeleursfound it convenient to change their name to Stapleton， and hebrought the remains of his fortune， his schemes for the future，and his taste for entomology to the south of England. I learned atthe British Museum that he was a recognized authority upon thesubject， and that the name of Vandeleur has been permanentlyattached to a certain moth which he had， in his Yorkshire days，been the first to describe.
“We now come to that portion of his life which has proved tobe of such intense interest to us. The fellow had evidently madeinquiry and found that only two lives intervened between him anda valuable estate. When he went to Devonshire his plans were， Ibelieve， exceedingly hazy， but that he meant mischief from thefirst is evident from the way in which he took his wife with himin the character of his sister. The idea of using her as a decoy wasclearly already in his mind， though he may not have been certainhow the details of his plot were to be arranged. He meant in theend to have the estate， and he was ready to use any tool or run anyrisk for that end. His first act was to establish himself as near tohis ancestral home as he could， and his second was to cultivate afriendship with Sir Charles Baskerville and with the neighbours.
“The baronet himself told him about the family hound， and soprepared the way for his own death. Stapleton， as I will continueto call him， knew that the old man’s heart was weak and that ashock would kill him. So much he had learned from Dr. Mortimer.
He had heard also that Sir Charles was superstitious and hadtaken this grim legend very seriously. His ingenious mind instantlysuggested a way by which the baronet could be done to death， andyet it would be hardly possible to bring home the guilt to the realmurderer.
“Having conceived the idea he proceeded to carry it out withconsiderable finesse. An ordinary schemer would have beencontent to work with a savage hound. The use of artificial meansto make the creature diabolical was a flash of genius upon his part.
The dog he bought in London from Ross and Mangles， the dealersin Fulham Road. It was the strongest and most savage in theirpossession. He brought it down by the North Devon line andwalked a great distance over the moor so as to get it home withoutexciting any remarks. He had already on his insect hunts learnedto penetrate the Grimpen Mire， and so had found a safe hidingplacefor the creature. Here he kennelled it and waited his chance.
“But it was some time coming. The old gentleman could not bedecoyed outside of his grounds at night. Several times Stapletonlurked about with his hound， but without avail. It was during thesefruitless quests that he， or rather his ally， was seen by peasants， andthat the legend of the demon dog received a new confirmation. Hehad hoped that his wife might lure Sir Charles to his ruin， but hereshe proved unexpectedly independent. She would not endeavourto entangle the old gentleman in a sentimental attachment whichmight deliver him over to his enemy. Threats and even， I am sorryto say， blows refused to move her. She would have nothing to dowith it， and for a time Stapleton was at a deadlock.
“He found a way out of his difficulties through the chance thatSir Charles， who had conceived a friendship for him， made him theminister of his charity in the case of this unfortunate woman， Mrs.