Then a very surprising circumstance occurred， which I shall tellyou in due course. But， first of all， I must keep you in touch withsome of the other factors in the situation.
One of these， concerning which I have said little， is the escapedconvict upon the moor. There is strong reason now to believethat he has got right away， which is a considerable relief to thelonely householders of this district. A fortnight has passed sincehis flight， during which he has not been seen and nothing hasbeen heard of him. It is surely inconceivable that he could haveheld out upon the moor during all that time. Of course， so far ashis concealment goes there is no difficulty at all. Any one of thesestone huts would give him a hiding-place. But there is nothing toeat unless he were to catch and slaughter one of the moor sheep.
We think， therefore， that he has gone， and the outlying farmerssleep the better in consequence.
We are four able-bodied men in this household， so that we couldtake good care of ourselves， but I confess that I have had uneasymoments when I have thought of the Stapletons. They live milesfrom any help. There are one maid， an old manservant， the sister，and the brother， the latter not a very strong man. They would behelpless in the hands of a desperate fellow like this Notting Hillcriminal if he could once effect an entrance. Both Sir Henry andI were concerned at their situation， and it was suggested thatPerkins the groom should go over to sleep there， but Stapletonwould not hear of it.
The fact is that our friend， the baronet， begins to displaya considerable interest in our fair neighbour. It is not to bewondered at， for time hangs heavily in this lonely spot to an activeman like him， and she is a very fascinating and beautiful woman.
There is something tropical and exotic about her which formsa singular contrast to her cool and unemotional brother. Yet healso gives the idea of hidden fires. He has certainly a very markedinfluence over her， for I have seen her continually glance at himas she talked as if seeking approbation for what she said. I trustthat he is kind to her. There is a dry glitter in his eyes， and a firmset of his thin lips， which goes with a positive and possibly a harshnature. You would find him an interesting study.
He came over to call upon Baskerville on that first day， and thevery next morning he took us both to show us the spot where thelegend of the wicked Hugo is supposed to have had its origin. Itwas an excursion of some miles across the moor to a place which isso dismal that it might have suggested the story. We found a shortvalley between rugged tors which led to an open， grassy spaceflecked over with the white cotton grass. In the middle of it rosetwo great stones， worn and sharpened at the upper end， until theylooked like the huge corroding fangs of some monstrous beast. Inevery way it corresponded with the scene of the old tragedy. SirHenry was much interested and asked Stapleton more than oncewhether he did really believe in the possibility of the interferenceof the supernatural in the affairs of men. He spoke lightly， but it wasevident that he was very much in earnest. Stapleton was guarded inhis replies， but it was easy to see that he said less than he might， andthat he would not express his whole opinion out of considerationfor the feelings of the baronet. He told us of similar cases， wherefamilies had suffered from some evil influence， and he left us withthe impression that he shared the popular view upon the matter.
On our way back we stayed for lunch at Merripit House，and it was there that Sir Henry made the acquaintance of MissStapleton. From the first moment that he saw her he appeared tobe strongly attracted by her， and I am much mistaken if the feelingwas not mutual. He referred to her again and again on our walkhome， and since then hardly a day has passed that we have notseen something of the brother and sister. They dine here to-night，and there is some talk of our going to them next week. One wouldimagine that such a match would be very welcome to Stapleton，and yet I have more than once caught a look of the strongestdisapprobation in his face when Sir Henry has been paying someattention to his sister. He is much attached to her， no doubt， andwould lead a lonely life without her， but it would seem the heightof selfishness if he were to stand in the way of her making sobrilliant a marriage. Yet I am certain that he does not wish theirintimacy to ripen into love， and I have several times observed thathe has taken pains to prevent them from being tête-à-tête. By theway， your instructions to me never to allow Sir Henry to go outalone will become very much more onerous if a love affair were tobe added to our other difficulties. My popularity would soon sufferif I were to carry out your orders to the letter.
The other day—Thursday， to be more exact—Dr. Mortimerlunched with us. He has been excavating a barrow at Long Down，and has got a prehistoric skull which fills him with great joy. Neverwas there such a single-minded enthusiast as he！ The Stapletonscame in afterwards， and the good doctor took us all to the yewalley， at Sir Henry’s request， to show us exactly how everythingoccurred upon that fatal night. It is a long， dismal walk， the yewalley， between two high walls of clipped hedge， with a narrow bandof grass upon either side. At the far end is an old tumble-downsummer-house. Halfway down is the moorgate， where the oldgentleman left his cigar-ash. It is a white wooden gate with a latch.
Beyond it lies the wide moor. I remembered your theory of theaffair and tried to picture all that had occurred. As the old manstood there he saw something coming across the moor， somethingwhich terrified him so that he lost his wits， and ran and ran untilhe died of sheer horror and exhaustion. There was the long，gloomy tunnel down which he fled. And from what？ A sheep-dogof the moor？ Or a spectral hound， black， silent， and monstrous？