CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The Trap

Sir Henry was very pleased to see Holmes when we arrived at Baskerville Hall. However, he was surprised to see that Holmes had no clothes with him.

It was hard for me to tell Barrymore and his wife about Selden's death. Mrs Barrymore cried, and both of them were very sad.

While we had dinner, Sir Henry told us that he had enjoyed a quiet day at the house alone. He remembered that Holmes had told him to keep away from the moor, and so he had not gone to the Stapletons' house that night. We did not tell him how happy we were that he had stayed away from the moor!

All through dinner, Holmes had been very quiet. He was looking carefully at the pictures of Sir Henry's ancestors on the wall.

Suddenly he pointed to one picture. "Sir Henry, which Baskerville man is that?" He asked. Sir Henry and I both looked at the picture.

"That is Sir Hugo, the one who started this whole terrible trouble!" said Sir Henry. "He was the first to see the Hound."

Holmes looked at the picture carefully, but said nothing more.

After Sir Henry had gone to his room to sleep, Holmes asked me to look at the picture. "Watson, does this man look like anyone we know?" he asked me. I stared at the picture. Suddenly I realized the truth!

"Good god! I don't believe it!" I cried. I was looking at a picture of Stapleton's face!

"Yes!" said Holmes before I could tell him what I knew. "Stapleton is a Baskerville. He looks like Sir Hugo. And, I am not surprised to see that he has the same evil personality! Now I understand everything! I know why he wants to kill Sir Henry. If Sir Henry dies, Stapleton will receive Baskerville Hall and all the lands around it. That's why he's going to kill Sir Henry with his hound. And so, we have one more answer. By tomorrow night, Stapleton will be caught like one of his butterflies. Then, I shall have solved one more mystery!"

Soon we went to bed. Although I usually got up earlier than Holmes, this morning he was up earlier than me. He had sent a message to the police, telling them about Selden's death.

When Sir Henry joined us, Holmes told him that he had to leave for London immediately after breakfast. Sir Henry was very unhappy about this, but Holmes told him that everything would be all right. He asked Sir Henry to help us by following Holmes' plan. Sir Henry agreed to help in this way. That evening, Sir Henry would go to the Stapletons' house alone. He would tell the Stapletons that Holmes and I had stopped working on the mystery, and had gone back to London.

"Here is the most important thing," said Holmes. "You should drive to the Stapletons' house in a carriage, but send the driver away when you get there. Make sure to tell Stapleton that you're going to walk home alone across the moor. You can tell him that you want to enjoy the fresh air, or something like that." "You want me to walk across the moor?" said Sir Henry, very surprised. "But you have told me again and again not to do that."

"This time it will be completely safe, I promise you. Do not be afraid. I know that you are brave enough to do it, and it must be done if we are going to find out the truth."

"Then I will do it," said Sir Henry.

"But you must stay on the path between the Stapletons' house and the Grimpen road when you walk home. Whatever happens, do not leave the path.

I was very surprised by all this. Holmes had told Stapleton that he would return to London, but I did not know what I was going to do. I was worried about what would happen when Sir Henry walked across the moor that night. But we had to trust Holmes.

Immediately after breakfast, Holmes and I left Baskerville Hall and went to the station at Newtown. The small boy that had helped Holmes on the moor was waiting at the train station.

"Any orders, sir?" he asked Holmes.

"You will take the train to London, my boy. When you get there, send a message to Sir Henry at Baskerville Hall. Use my name in the message. Ask him to send the pocket book I left at the Hall to my house on Baker Street."

I began to understand some of Holmes' plan. When Sir Henry received the message sent by Holmes'boy, he would think that we had arrived in London. He would tell Stapleton, who would then also believe that we were far away from Baskerville Hall. Stapleton would think that he was free to do what he wanted. But in fact, we would be watching Sir Henry to see what happened.

After we left the train station, it was time to talk to Mrs Laura Lyons. I introduced Holmes to her. After they had shaken hands, he said: "Mrs Lyons, I do not want to upset you. But Dr Watson has told me everything. Sir Charles did not die accidentally. He was murdered. We think Stapleton and his wife are guilty of the crime."

Mrs Lyons jumped up from her chair. "His wife!" she cried. "You don't know what you're saying! He has no wife!"

"Mrs Lyons, I can prove to you that he is married. Everyone thinks Miss Stapleton is his sister, but she is really his wife," said Holmes. He took some photographs and papers from his pocket and showed them to Mrs Lyons. She looked at the photographs and read the papers. When she put them down, I could see that she believed us.

"I thought this man loved me," she said, "but he has lied to me. He is just like all the other men in the world, cruel and careless! Ask me whatever you want, Mr Holmes. I will tell you the truth. I never thought any harm would come to Sir Charles. He was a wonderful old gentleman who was very kind to me, and many other people. I would never have done anything to hurt him."

"I believe you, Mrs Lyons," said Holmes. "Now, let me tell you what I think happened. Tell me if my ideas are right or wrong. First of all, Stapleton knew you and Sir Charles were friends. So he told you to write that letter to Sir Charles, asking him for help with a divorce. He told you that you should ask Sir Charles to meet you at the moor gate. But then, after you had sent the letter, Stapleton changed his mind. He came here and persuaded you not to meet Sir Charles after all."

"I did think he was acting strangely, but I believed him. Stapleton told me that he could not let any other man give me the money for my divorce, because he loved me." Mrs Lyons said. "He said he was poor, but he would give all his money to bring us together. Then, after I heard about Sir Charles' death, Stapleton told me not to say anything about the letter or the meeting. He said that people would think I had killed him somehow. He scared me, so I said nothing to anyone."

"Yes," said Holmes. "But then you began to wonder about him?"

She said nothing for a moment, and looked down. "Yes, "she said. "He was acting so strangely. He lied to me about wanting to marry me, so I will no longer keep his secrets."

"You are lucky that you have escaped, Mrs Lyons," Holmes said. "You know too much about him. But I think you will be safe now. Good morning, Mrs Lyons, and thank you. We will speak to you soon.

"So one by one, our questions are answered," said Holmes as we left Newtown. "When it is over, the mystery of the Hound of the Baskervilles will become very famous. And now, the story has nearly ended! We must hope that it ends safely and successfully."

(end of section)