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Chart 2 |
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The Baskerville Papers |
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"These papers were given to me by Sir Charles Baskerville" |
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said Dr Mortimer. |
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"He asked me to take good care of them. |
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You may remember that Sir Charles died suddenly three months ago. |
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His death caused much excitement in Devonshire, |
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the county where Baskerville Hall is. |
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Sir Charles was a sensible man, |
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but he believed the story which is told in these papers." |
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Dr Mortimer went on:"The story is about the Baskerville family. |
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I have come to see you because I need your help. |
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I think that something terrible is going to happen in the next |
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twenty-four hours. |
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But you can't help me unless you know the story in these papers. |
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May I read them to you?" |
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"Please continue,Dr Mortimer,"said Holmes,and sat back |
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in his chair with his eyes shut. |
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Mortimer began to read in his high,rather strange,voice: |
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I William Baskerville,write this for my sons in the year 1742. |
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My father told me about the Hound of the Baskervilles. |
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He told me when it was first seen,and I believe his story was true. |
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I want you ,my sons,to read this story carefully. |
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I want you to know that God punishes those who do evil. |
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But never forget that He will forgive those who are sorry for any evil |
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they have done. |
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Over a hundred years ago,in 1640,the head of the Baskerville family |
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was Sir Hugo Baskerville. |
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He was a wild and evil man.He was cruel and enjoyed hurting people. |
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Sir Hugo fell in love with the daughter of a farmer who |
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was a neighbour of his. |
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The young woman was afraid of the evil Hugo,and avoided him. |
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One day,Hugo heard that her father and brothers were away. |
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He knew that she would be alone. |
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So he rode to the farm with five or six of his evil friends. |
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They made the girl go back to Baskerville Hall with them, |
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and locked her in a room upstairs. |
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Then they sat down in the great dining hall to drink.As usual, |
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they drank bottle after bottle and soon they began to |
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sing and laugh and shout evil words. |
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The girl upstairs,who was already very frightened,felt desperate |
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when she heard the terrible things they were shouting. |
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So she did a very brave thing. |
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She opened the window,climbed out of the room |
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and down the ivy on the wall. |
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Then she started to run across the moor towards her home. |
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A little while later,Hugo left his friends and went upstairs to the room |
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to take her some food and drink. |
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When he found an open window and an empty room,he behaved |
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like a man who was mad. |
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He ran down the stairs.He screamed that |
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he would give himself to the Devil if he caught the girl |
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before she reached home. |
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Some of Hugo's drunken friends told him to let the hounds chase her, |
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and so he ran from the house and unlocked the dogs. |
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Then he jumped onto his black horse,and rode off over the moor |
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with the hounds running and crying around him. |
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Hugo's friends fetched their horses and followed him. |
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There were thirteen of them. |
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After a mile or two they passed an old farmer and |
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asked him if he had seen Sir Hugo and the hounds. |
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The man looked half mad with fear and spoke with difficulty. |
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He said that he had seen the girl and the hounds running close behind her. |
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Sir Hugo had been riding just behind the hounds. |
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"But I have seen more than that,"the old man said. |
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"Behind Sir Hugo I saw a huge and terrible hound running silently. |
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May God keep me safe from that hound of the hell." |
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The thirteen men laughed at the old man and rode on. |
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But their laughter soon stopped when they saw Sir Hugo's horse running |
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wildly towards them without a rider. |
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The thirteen men moved closer together as they rode on.They were suddenly afraid. |
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over the moor they went until,at last,they caught up with the hounds. |
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Everyone in the county knew that the Baskerville hounds were brave and strong. |
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But now they were standing at the head of a deep valley in the moor with their ears and tails down. |
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They were very frightened.Hugo's friends stopped. |
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Most of them would not go on,but three were brave enough to go down into the valley. |
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The valley had a wide flat floor.In the middle of the flat ground stood two great stones. |
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They had stood there for thousands of years.The moon was shining brightly on the great stones, |
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and between them,on the flat ground,lay the girl. |
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She had fallen there,dead of fear and exhaustion. |
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Sir Hugo's body was lying near her. |
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But it was not the sight of Sir Hugo or the girl |
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that filled the men with fear. |
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It was the sight of the huge animal |
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that was standing over Sir Hugo. |
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Its teeth were at his throat. |
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It was a great black creature that looked like a hound. |
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But it was larger than any hound they had ever seen. |
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As they watched,it tore out Hugo Baskerville's throat. |
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Then it turned towards them.Its eyes were burning brightly. |
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Its body shone with a strange light.Blood ran from its mouth. |
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The men screamed and kicked their horses. |
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They rode back up the valley as fast as they could go. |
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Later that night one died from the horror he had seen. |
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The other two were mad for the rest of their lives. |
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That was the first time the Hound appeared,my sons. |
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It has been seen many times since then,and many of the Baskervilles |
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have died in strange and terrible ways. |
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Because of this I warn you not to cross the moors at night. |
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The Devil finds it easy to do his work when the world is dark. |
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