The Hound of the Baskervilles Part 1 (1/2)
The Hound of the Baskervilles
by A Conan Doyle
Chapter 1 Mr Sherlock Holmes
Mr Sherlock Hols, save upon those not infrequent occasions when he was up all night, was seated at the breakfast table I stood upon the hearth-rug and picked up the stick which our visitor had left behind hiht before It was a fine, thick piece of wood, bulbous-headed, of the sort which is known as a ”Penang lawyer” Just under the head was a broad silver band nearly an inch across ”To James Mortiraved upon it, with the date ”1884” It was just such a stick as the old-fashi+oned fanified, solid, and reassuring
”Well, Watson, what do youwith his back to n of ? I believe you have eyes in the back of your head”
”I have, at least, a well-polished, silver-plated coffee-pot in front of me,” said he ”But, tell me, Watson, what do you make of our visitor's stick? Since we have been so unfortunate as to miss him and have no notion of his errand, this accidental souvenir becomes of importance
Let me hear you reconstruct the man by an exa as far as I could the methods of my companion, ”that Dr Mortimer is a successful, elderly ive him this mark of their appreciation”
”Good!” said Holmes ”Excellent!”
”I think also that the probability is in favour of his being a country practitioner who does a great deal of his visiting on foot”
”Why so?”
”Because this stick, though originally a very handsoine a town practitioner carrying it
The thick-iron ferrule is worn down, so it is evident that he has done a great a with it”
”Perfectly sound!” said Holain, there is the 'friends of the CCH' I should guess that to be the So Hunt, the local hunt to whose ical assistance, and which has made him a small presentation in return”
”Really, Watson, you excel yourself,” said Holarette ”I am bound to say that in all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own small achievements you have habitually underrated your own abilities It may be that you are not yourself luht Soenius have a re it I confess, my dear fellow, that I am very much in your debt”
He had never said as ave me keen pleasure, for I had often been piqued by his indifference to ive publicity to his methods I was proud, too, to think that I had so far mastered his system as to apply it in a hich earned his approval He now took the stick from my hands and examined it for a few minutes with his naked eyes Then with an expression of interest he laid down his cigarette, and carrying the cane to the , he looked over it again with a convex lens
”Interesting, though elementary,” said he as he returned to his favourite corner of the settee ”There are certainly one or two indications upon the stick It gives us the basis for several deductions”
”Has anything escaped me?” I asked with so of consequence which I have overlooked?”
”I am afraid, my dear Watson, that most of your conclusions were erroneous When I said that you sti your fallacies I was occasionally guided towards the truth
Not that you are entirely wrong in this instance The ood deal”
”Then I was right”
”To that extent”
”But that was all”