Long Answer (Hound of Baskervilles)

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Q. Who is the narrator in the book The Hound of the Baskervilles?

Ans. The Hound of Baskervilles is an adventure featuring Sherlock Holmes who is an independentdetective and ecels in solving the most esoteric of m!steries. The stor! is narrated b! "r. Watson.

The onl! person who can be considered close to Holmes is an arm! doctor named #ohn H. Watson who

after getting in$ured on a mission in Afghanistan is sent back to %ondon. Here he meets Holmes and a&uick bond forms between them with Watson intrigued b! Holmes' profession and the wa! he goes

about solving cases. He is alwa!s willing to be his aid in an! case which re&uires his assistance and

also pla!s the role of Holmes( chronicler and records his cases for him.

Q. Who are the main characters in the stor! )The Hound of the Baskervilles)?Ans. The main character in the book* of course* is the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is a

brilliant thinker and delights in the ecitement of )the chase). +n addition* he is rather an eccentric

character who takes onl! those cases which interest him* has a penchant for dramatic flair* and is

capable of forming ama,ing deductions from seemingl! insignificant clues."r. #ohn Watson is Holmes(s friend and assistant. He provides a good balance for the detective(s

&uirk! personalit!* being himself intelligent* energetic* courageous* and lo!al. +t is Watson who

narrates the stor!* as he does almost all of Sherlock Holmes(s adventures.Sir Henr! Baskerville* the last known heir in the Baskerville line* has a fier! temper and a mind of his

own. Although he is an impeccable gentleman* he is independent and tends to follow his own

inclinations* sometimes making it difficult for Holmes to both ensure his safel! and solve the case."r. #ames -ortimer is a !oung countr! ph!sician and a friend of Sir Henr!. +t is he who first appeals

to Sherlock Holmes for help in keeping the heir of the Baskerville famil! safe.

The villain in the stor! is Stapleton* a respected naturalist and a renowned authorit! in entomolog!.

"espite his innocuous appearance he has a keen mind* and has devised an ingenious wa! to use thelegend of the Hound of the Baskervilles to his advantage.

Q. What is the setting of The Hound of the Baskervilles?

Ans. -ost of the scenes in the novel took place in "evonshire* at the Baskerville Hall* the lonel!

moorlands* and the rundown -erripit House where the Stapletons lived.The surrounding of the moor compliments the atmosphere of gloom and doom that went throughout the

stor!. Besides being essential to the mood* the moor also lends itself to the plot* where Stapleton raised

and hid his gigantic hound and where Stapleton* Selden* and Sir harles Baskerville met theirgrotes&ue deaths.

Setting / the time and place in which a stor! takes place. The place in The Hound of the Baskervilles is

the 0nglish countr!side 1the moors2 and the time is the 34th centur! 13566(s2

Q. How did Sherlock Holmes assume that "r. -ortimer is a countr! practitioner who does a great dealof visiting on foot?

Ans. Sherlock Holmes and "r. Watson are at Holmes's home* inspecting a walking stick that wasinadvertentl! left behind b! someone who stopped b! while Holmes was still in bed. 7rom the walking

stick* the two of them deduce that the visitor was a countr! doctor who did much of his visiting on foot.



The! can tell that the man was a doctor because his stick sa!s that he is 8#ames -ortimer -.9..S.:

The initials stand for 8-ember of the 9o!al ollege of Surgeons.: That tells the men that the visitor

was a doctor. Holmes concludes that the man is a countr! doctor who visits on foot because the stick is

rather beaten up and the iron ferrule 1the metal part on the bottom of the stick that prevents the woodfrom wearing down2 was badl! worn down. +t indicated that the doctor did a lot of walking in the

countr!. Holmes does not agree with ever!thing Watson sa!s* but he does agree with Watson's anal!sis

of the stick.

Q. What does Holmes learn b! eamining the stick that "r. -ortimer left at Holmes(s apartment?

Ans. Holmes and Watson are eamining the walking stick that -ortimer has left. Watson* as so often is

the case* reads the clues in the stick all wrong and Holmes has to correct him. Holmes deduces that;

3. The doctor has done something for haring ross Hospital 1deduced from the initials on the stick2.<. That he must have worked for the hospital before going into private practice 1that is wh! the! would

give him a present2.

=. That he had to be under =6 !ears old 1from the date on the stick and the position he was likel! to

have held2.>. That the doctor has a curl!haired spaniel. 17igured out from the depth and spacing of the teeth

marks and* amusingl! enough* from the fact that Holmes could see the dog on his doorstep at that

moment.

Q. What was the appearance of the hound that people saw before Sir harles(s death?

Ans. The hound that was seen plucking at Sir Hugo Baskerville(s throat was absolutel! hellish. +t was

black and larger than an! hound. +t had bla,ing e!es and dripping $aws. +ts appearance was so terrible

that one of the men who saw it died that night and the other two were broken men for life.

Q. Was there a supernatural element involved in the death of Sir harles?

Ans. @o* there was no supernatural element involved in the death of Sir harles* but it was staged to

look like there was a giant hound that killed him.

harles had problems with his heart* but he was murdered. Stapleton took advantage of his fear of thefamil! curse* the 8hound: of the Baskervilles. He ac&uired a large dog and painted its mu,,le with

phosphorous so that it would seem to glow. 0ven Holmes is surprised at the eact looks of the dog.

Since Stapleton knew that the famil! curse frightened the Baskervilles* he pla!ed a trick on Sir Henr!and Sir harles. He had hoped to scare them to death. +n the case of Sir harles* he succeeded. Sir

harles alread! had a weak heart* and the sight of the supposedl! supernatural dog was too much for it.

Q. What is the curse of the Baskervilles?

Ans. Wa! back during the )reat 9ebellion) 1the uritan 9ebellion* 3C=<3C>42 the owner of the

Baskerville manor was one Hugo Baskerville. He had become infatuated with a common girl and hadkidnapped her but she managed to escape. While fleeing across the moor she was chased b! Hugo and

his sons who had set their hunting hounds on the poor hapless girl. The poor girl and Hugo both fell off

a cliff and died. When the others came near the bodies of Hugo and the girl the! were ama,ed to see amassive hound like beast ripping apart the throat of Hugo. +t was the same hound which the shepherd

bo! claimed to have seen chasing Hugo when Hugo was franticall! in pursuit of the escaping girl. After

this terrible incident it seems as though all the future generations of the Baskervilles were cursed



because most members of the Baskerville famil! died suddenl! under blood! and m!sterious

circumstances.

Q. How does the public react to Sir harles Baskerville(s death?

Ans. There is shock and sadness among the public over Sir harles Baskerville(s death* as he was a

philanthropist who put most of his wealth into good causes rather than spending it on himself. He hadearned the respect and gratitude of the locals and therefore the! mourn his death. +n light of his

(amiabilit! of character( it is all the more shocking when Holmes discovers that he was driven to his

death b! the villain of the stor!* Stapleton.+t transpires that Stapleton is an actual distant relative of Sir harles* who wants to get his hands on the

Baskerville estate. Sir harles* in his concern to benefit others* is the ver! opposite of the coldhearted*

greed!* scheming Stapleton who wants all Sir harles(s wealth for himself.

Q. What is the manuscript that "r. -ortimer brings and who gave it to him?

Ans. The manuscript "r. -ortimer has with him was given him b! the recentl! deceased Sir harlesBaskerville. +t is a manuscript dating from the eighteenth centur! and relates the legend of the

Baskerville famil!. -ortimer is interested in the stor! and insists on reading it aloud to Holmes and

Watson. +t tells in lurid detail of how the hauntings began due to the indiscretions of the fearsomeBaskerville ancestor Sir Hugo* who kidnapped a peasant girl and set his dogs on her track when she

tried to escape. This incurred the wrath of the supernatural hound which struck him down for his sins.

Holmes is unimpressed b! the tale* but it seems the legend has revived in modern timesD Sir harlesBaskerville was apparentl! frightened to death b! a huge hound* and a similar threat now appears to

overhang his nephew* Sir Henr!. +t is up to Holmes* of course* to neutralise the danger and to banish

the demon that seemingl! stalks the Baskervilles.

Q. What happened to Sir Hugo Baskerville and the maiden he wanted to marr!?

Ans. The old legend of Sir Hugo Baskerville is narrated to Holmes and Watson b! "r. -ortimer.Apparentl! Sir Hugo was a wild and fearsome man who took a fanc! to a !oung woman living near his

estate and carried her off b! force when she refused to marr! him. He kept her imprisoned but one

night* when he was carousing with friends* she escaped and tried to make her wa! home across themoor. +n a fur!* he set his dogs after her. %ater* his friends found the bod! of the maiden and also Sir

Hugo on the moor with the terrif!ing apparition of a giant hound nearb!. This hellish creature* clearl!

some kind of spectre and not a real dog* was also enough to frighten Sir Hugo(s friends out of theirsenses. Sir Hugo and the maiden* then* both perished in frightening circumstances.

Q. What are some deductions Holmes makes based on the clues that the words on the warning note

being put on unevenl!?

Ans. Holmes deduces that the person who wrote the note did not want his or her handwriting to be

recogni,ed* and was in a hurr!.

+n The Hound of the Baskervilles* a m!sterious spectral dog has been stalking the Baskerville famil!for generations. When another Baskerville dies* famous private detective Sherlock Holmes is called to

the case to tr! to save the last Baskerville* who is returning to his ancestral home.

Before he returns home* Baskerville stops at a hotel. He tells no one he is there* but he receives a notewarning him that it is not safe to return home.

Since no one knew where Baskerville would be* Holmes deduces that someone is ver! deepl!

interested in his movements.



The words are mostl! cut from newspapers b! the epedient of pasting printed words* but one word is

handwritten i.e. 8moor:. 7rom this Holmes deduces that the writer of the note could not find that word

in the newspaper. Holmes knows not onl! what newspaper the words are cut from* but the eact

articles.Holmes also reali,es that the words were cut with nail scissors ver! shortbladed scissors and pasted

with gum. He also deduces from the message that it was an educated person who wrote the letter in a

hurr! in order to avoid an interruption.

Q. What kind of a person is Sir Henr! Baskerville? "oes it appear that he would be easil! frightened?

Ans. Sir Henr! Baskerville is a small* alert* darke!ed man about thirt! !ears of age* ver! sturdil! built*

with thick black e!ebrows and a strong pugnacious face. There was something in his stead! e!e and the&uiet assurance of his bearing which indicated the gentleman.

He most definitel! does not seem like the kind of person who would be easil! frightened. 7rom his

looks and his attitude* he seems like a headstrong and brave man.

He is also an assertive person who will do $ust as he pleases. Sherlock Holmes warns him sa!ing thathis life is in danger* so he must not go to his ancestral home but Sir Henr! firml! tells Holmes that he

will go there no matter what happens. These are not the words of a man who is easil! frightened.

Q. What $ob did Sherlock Holmes assign to the bo!* artwright and wh!?

Ans. The bo! artwright is a hand! assistant for Wilson* a hotel manager. Holmes had worked withartwright on a case to aid -r. WilsonD it is for this reason that Holmes re&uests artwright(s services

again.

The task Holmes assigns artwright for The ase of the Hound of the Baskervilles is to find a particular page from !esterda!(s edition of the %ondon Times newspaper. artwright is to go to the

twent!three hotels near at hand and ask each outside porter 1doorman2 for permission to look through

!esterda!(s wastepaper which had been collected from the hotel(s wastepaper baskets.

Holmes informs artwright that the outside porters would direct him to each hall porter 1inside porter2.

artwright was to ask each hall porter the same &uestion. His pretense was to be that he was lookingfor a misplaced 1)miscarried)2 telegram. He was to keep it a secret that he was reall! looking for a page

of the %ondon Times.

Holmes instructs artwright that the odds were that the hall porters would sa! that the wastepaper had

been incinerated but that a few would escort him to the wastepaper bin.

There he will look for the center page of !esterda!(s %ondon Times 1a sample of which Holmes handsto artwright2 that has parts of the page cut out of it. To insure the cooperation of the twent!three

outside porters and the twent!three hall porters* Holmes gives artwright twent!three shillings twice

and an additional ten shillings for emergencies. The purpose of this task is to attempt to find animportant clue to the m!ster!.

Q. 7rom which newspaper did the person who sent a note to Sir Henr! cut the letters from?



Ans. Sir Henr! Baskervilles received a note after he arrived in %ondon. The note was meant to warn

him against proceeding to the moor as it would pose a serious risk to him. To create the note* words

had been cut from the center page of The Times.

Sherlock Holmes was able to identif! the newspaper from the &ualit! of the paper and the t!pe of printused. He had* over the course of his career as a detective* done a lot of work in this field and could

easil! identif! the newspaper.

Q. What is the role of the moor in The Hound of the Baskervilles?

Ans. The bleak and desolate moor provides an ecellent setting for this weird tale. The description ofthe landscape establishes a mood that haunts the entire stor!. +t is an ideal place for the murderer to set

his hound on his victims* since the! have nowhere to run or to hide. +t is a good place for the escaped

convict to hide. +t is a good place for Sherlock Holmes to camp out while he is observing the wholesituation. +t provides a great setting for the finale when Sir Henr! decides to walk back to his home

after dining with the Stapletons. +n a more settled and populated area people would be likel! to see the

hound. As it was* people onl! knew about the hound through legend. Stapleton wanted his hound to be

thought of as a supernatural creature* so that it could frighten victims to death* or at least frighten themso badl! that the! would put up no resistance. Stapleton needed secrec! and isolation for the kind of

crimes he wished to commit.

Q. What likel! motive eists for Sir harles(s death and the intimidation of Sir Henr!?

Ans. After a pleasant lunch at the @orthumberland hotel in %ondon Sherlock Holmes* Watson* SirHenr! Baskerville and "r. -ortimer retire to a private sittingroom to

discuss their plan of action. +n the course of their conversation we learn that the real motive for Sir

harles Baskerville(s murder was not merel! mone! but also the ownership of the vast Baskerville

estate which was estimated to be about a million pounds. +t was the high price of the estate whichcaused Holmes to remark that a desperate man would be read! to risk his life for such a large amount

of mone!.

Several beneficiaries are named in Sir harles Baskerville(s will and it was Sir Henr! Baskerville who

benefited the most a sum of seven hundred and fort! thousand pounds. But the actual value of the

ph!sical assets which Sir Henr! will inherit was estimated worth about a million pounds.

Q. Who was Selden?

Ans. #ohn and 0li,a Barr!more are longtime servants in Sir harles Baskerville(s home* and the! now

serve the Baskerville heir* Sir Henr!. Watson soon reali,es there is something odd going on connected

to the couple.

What he eventuall! discovers is that 0li,a(s brother is a convict* a murderer known as the @otting Hillmurderer* who has escaped from rinceton prison. He is now living on the moors* and his older sister

10li,a2 feels responsible and wants to help him escape the countr! where he will apparentl! do no more

harm. She and her husband signal him b! displa!ing a light in the window* and the! give him food andwhatever provisions the! can spare. This escaped convict is Selden* brother of 0li,a.

Selden is inadvertentl! killed while in hiding because he had the misfortune to be wearing one of Sir

Henr!(s discarded outfitsD the man who wants Sir Henr! dead kills the wrong man.

Q. What is Stapleton(s first name?



Ans. Stapleton is referred to as )#ack) b! his sister* Ber!l. His real name was 9odger Baskerville*

before he changed his name to Eandelour and then Stapleton. His sister* of course* was actuall! his

wife* whose name was Ber!l arcia Baskerville.

Q. Wh! might the Barr!mores want to scare Sir Henr! awa!?

Ans. Fn first arriving at Baskerville Hall* Watson is almost instantl! suspicious of the darkl! broodingservant Barr!more* and his wife who appears continuall! upset about something. He begins to wonder*

indeed* if Barr!more is involved in some intrigue against Sir Henr!* and whether he was the m!sterious

man who tracked Sir Henr! in the %ondon streets.Watson also wonders if Barr!more had a hand in Sir harles's death. There certainl! seems to be

something ver! strange going on with the Barr!mores. +t doesn't ever seem &uite as though the! want

to scare Sir Henr! awa!* howeverD the! show more interest in going themselves rather than having SirHenr! leave. Barr!more* in fact* asks to be relieved of his duties almost as soon as Sir Henr! arrives.

+t is eventuall! revealed that the reason for the Barr!mores' strange and secretive behaviour is entirel!

due to a personal matter* and nothing to do with Sir Henr! at all. -rs Barr!more's brother* Selden* is a

vicious criminal who has escaped from $ail and is hiding out on the moor. The Barr!mores have beensecretl! providing for him. +f the! have an! reason to scare Sir Henr! awa!* it would be $ust because

the! don't want him finding out about Selden. He does find out about it however* and the m!ster! of

the Barr!mores* if not the hound* is &uite &uickl! eplained.

Q. What is "r. Watson tr!ing to find out b! &uestioning the postmaster?

Ans. Watson is tr!ing to find out whether a telegram that Holmes previousl! sent to Barr!more from

%ondon was delivered to him personall!. +t is important to find this out as it will establish whether or

not Barr!more was at Baskerville Hall at that time and not in %ondon following Sir Henr!* as Holmes

suspects he might have been.The postmaster could onl! tell him that his son delivered the telegram personall! to -rs. Barr!more

and not to her husband who* it seems* was up in the attic at that time. However* there seems no wa! of

proving if he was in the attic* as claimed* and not somewhere else. Watson observes that it washopeless to pursue the in&uir! an! further.

Q. What did Sir harles do while he stood b! the gate?

Ans. While Sir harles Baskerville stood b! the gate* waiting to meet a lad!* he smoked. We know thathe smoked for at least five or ten minutes because he had dropped ash twice from his cigar. Sir harles

was there to meet %aura %!ons* with whom he had fallen in love. She didn(t reall! love him* though.

She was using him. She was in love with the man who called himself #ack Stapleton. She thought that

hewould marr! her if she got a divorce. He had arranged her meeting with Sir harles to ask for mone!.

Stapleton has %!ons miss the meeting* but since he knows Sir harles will be at the gate* he can scare

him to death with the hound.

Q. What did Watson infer about Stapleton after their first encounter?

Ans. Watson was able to infer from looking at Stapleton that he was the naturalist that had been spoken

of. Watson did this b! noticing the things Stapleton had with him; )A tin bo for botanical specimens

hung over his shoulder and he carried a green butterfl!net in one of his hands.)



Watson also noticed that Stapleton had an unusual energ! and manner about him. Here is the

description Watson gives of watching Stapleton run across the moor;

)...in an instant Stapleton was rushing with etraordinar! energ! and speed in pursuit of it. To m!

disma! the creature flew straight for the great mire* and m! ac&uaintance never paused for an instant* bounding from tuft to tuft behind it* his green net waving in the air. His gra! clothes and $erk!* ,ig,ag*

irregular progress made him not unlike some huge moth himself.)

While Watson will leave the Stapletons with nothing but a sense of concern for how isolated the! are*this description* combined with Stapleton(s &uestions* will begin to plant seeds of suspicion later on.

Q. Wh! is #ack Stapleton a suspect?

Ans. When the reader is first introduced to #ack Stapleton as a character* he himself declares that he is

the onl! person to know the secret paths that penetrate rimpen -oor* the terrible swamp that is sodangerous to both man and beast. Secondl!* his sister delivers a warning to "r. Watson that seems ver!

strange and intense* whilst her brother is awa!* so that the warning is delivered in secret* without her

brother knowing. @ote what she sa!s;

)-an* manG) she cried. )an !ou not tell when a warning is for !our own good? o back to %ondonGStart tonightG et awa! from this place at all costsG Hush* m! brother is comingG @ot a word of what +

have said:.

She onl! feels able to deliver this warning when her brother is not there* and she is ver! &uick tochange the conversation as she sees her brother returning. What is even stranger is the wa! in which

she then goes on to retract that warning as "r. Watson leaves* strangel! ignoring what she said to him

before* perhaps suggesting that she is being forced into doing and sa!ing things b! her brother. Thesefacts all point to #ack Stapleton being a ver! strong suspect indeed.

Q. Anal!,e Barr!more(s nightl! ecursion in The Hound of the Baskervilles. #ustif! this act.

Ans. + think that it should not be too hard to $ustif! Barr!more going out all the time. After all* he is

onl! tr!ing to help one of his wife(s relatives.

As we find out that Barr!more is bringing food and sometimes clothing to the escaped convict who ishiding out on the moor. He is doing that because the convict is -rs. Barr!more(s brother.

+t is important to help people who are part of !our famil!. 0ven if the gu! did commit crimes* he still

deserves to be able to live. +t(s not like he(s out there on the moor committing more crimes. SoBarr!more is not hurting an!one b! helping his brotherinlaw.

Q. What unepected turn of events did Watson note in his first report?

Ans. Watson heads off to see what he finds out about the Hound of the Baskervilles* while Holmes

supposedl! remains behind in %ondon on an important case. +n Watson's letter in chapter 5* there is a

reference to the escaped convict and the local naturalist Stapleton. However* the surprising eventcenters around the servant Barr!more.

Watson wakes in the night to find Barr!more* one of the few servants in the house* wandering around

with a candle. This makes Watson suspicious. Watson wants to know wh! Barr!more stood at thewindow with a candle* and who he was watching for. +t is clearl! some kind of signal* and ver!

suspicious behavior in light of recent events. This is the first real surprise and unepected turn of

events.

Q. What are the clues we can find in hapter 5 and 4 1the reports of "r. Watson2 of The Hound of the

Baskervilles?



Ans. Fne clue given in chapter 5 is Watson's mention of -rs. Barr!more. He describes her as

unemotional* !et he found her cr!ing and it made him suspicious. What was going on? Watson point

this out to Holmes in the same letter he mentioned the convict* but he never connected the two. Watsonis suspicious* and he tells us of this clue* but he does not know wh! -rs. Barr!more is cr!ing. He $ust

knows it is curious.

+n chapter 4* Watson mentions an interesting event. He saw -r. Barr!more staring out a window* sohe went to look later. He reali,ed !ou could see more clearl! from that window* although there was

reall! nothing out there.

This is an eample of Watson almost connecting the dots. He notes -rs. Barr!more's suspicious behavior* the candle appearing at night* and the convict. He $ust does not connect these and reali,e that

-rs. Barr!more is communicating with her convict brother.

Watson is a detective in his own right for this book* but he lacks Holmes's skills in deduction.Watson's $ob is to watch for clues and communicate them. He has no idea that Holmes is there too*

following different leads. He does his best* but the role of investigator is one he finds both invigorating

and distressing. He is thrilled to see Holmes when he returns 1until he finds out he has been there the

whole time2* so that he can pass on the reigns of the investigation.

Q. how was 7rankland a help to "r. Watson on finding the man on the tor?

Ans. 7rankland showed Watson the bo! who used to take food to the stranger on the moor thinking that

the bo! used to take the food and clothes to the escaped convict* Selden. Barr!more had told Watson

that the stranger lurking on the moor was given food b! a !oung lad who used to take it. So whenWatson saw the bo!* he realised that the bo! was going to the whereabouts of the stranger and at last he

was aware of the place where the stranger was taking shelter. So this is how 7rankland helped Watson.

Q. Who is the lonel! figure that Watson saw over the moors?

Ans. Watson sees the figure of Sherlock Holmes on the tor* but does not know it is him because he

thinks Holmes is in %ondon.Sherlock Holmes's lo!al friend and assistant Watson has been sta!ing at the Baskerville House to

collect information on the m!sterious Hound of the Baskervilles that is supposed to be haunting the

moor. Fne da! Watson is walking with the baronet when he sees a 8lonel! man upon the tor.: Heknows it is not the convict* but does not recogni,e the man.

Watson does not find out until he investigates further that the man is actuall! Sherlock Holmes.

Watson is angr! because Holmes did not trust him to tell him he was actuall! hiding out on the moorinstead of being in %ondon like he was supposed to be.

Although Holmes trusts Watson* he still needs to eplore different avenues on his own. He sees no

reason for Watson to be upset that he did not let him in on the secret* because he is $ust pursuing the

investigation.

Q. Wh! does Watson's heart leap when he reads a note in the stone hut?

Ans. @ote sa!s; 8"r. Watson has gone to oombe Trace!:? Watson(s heart does not leap when

he reads the note. +nstead* his heart leaps when he sees it there.

He is in the hut searching for clues. When he sees a piece of paper with writing on it* he naturall! becomes ecited because he thinks that he has discovered a clue that might tell him who the man in the

hut is and wh! he has been living there.



%ater* after he has read the note* Watson is ecited for another reason. He now believes that he is the

one who is being stalked. This of course ecites him and makes him apprehensive.

Q. Wh! didn(t Holmes and Watson have Stapleton arrested after Seldon(s death?

Ans. Selden was attacked b! the hound because he was wearing the clothes of Sir Henr! Baskerville

which he had given to his housekeeper Barr!more* Selden(s brother in law. While tr!ing to escape fromthe hound Selden falls down a steep cliff and dies. Holmes and Watson who discover his bod! are

convinced that Stapleton is responsible for his death. Watson remarks* )Wh! should we not sei,e him

1Stapleton2 at once?) To which Holmes replies. )Fur case is not complete.....+t is not what we know* but what we can prove.) A little later Holmes remarks )We could prove nothing against him*) because

he 1Stapleton2 is not acting through a human agent but through an animal and that the! )should be

laughed out of court) if the! tried to produce the hound as evidence in court. Holmes conclusivel!states that* )there was no direct connection between the hound and the man(s 1Selden(s2 death.)

Holmes( opinion is that onl! after establishing a definite connection between Stapleton* the hound and

his victims should Stapleton be arrested and produced in court.

Q. How do we know that Barr!more is not evil at heart even though he helps the escaped criminal

Selden?

Ans. Barr!more* the manservant at Baskerville Hall* is introduced as a rather ambiguous figure. He is

of rather dark and gloom! appearance and Watson is somewhat suspicious of him from the start. These

suspicions are greatl! increased when Watson sees him prowling about at night and signalling tosomeone on the moor. Watson for a while entertains the notion that he is the man who is after Sir

Henr!* but it turns out that Barr!more is helping the escaped criminal Selden who is hiding out on the

moor.

Barr!more helps Selden* a vicious murderer* not because he himself is wicked* but for famil! reasons.Selden is actuall! his wife's brother and had come to them for help. Barr!more does not want to shield

a murderer on his own account but he is prepared to def! the law for the sake of his wife* who is

terribl! upset over her brother. Barr!more therefore acts out of concern for his wife* and this showshim to be more compassionate than an!thing else. He does not endorse Selden's crimes and neither

does his wife* but the! do feel compelled to help him when he comes seeking their aid.

Q. What are some indications that Stapleton had meant to scheme to get the inheritance from the time

he moved to the moor?

Ans. Holmes neatl! sums up the whole affair in the final chapter and provides an overview of

Stapleton(s background and earl! moves towards gaining the Baskerville estate. Holmes has discovered

that Stapleton was Sir Henr!(s cousin* and that at first he lived in South America. He moved to 0ngland

eventuall!* at first running a school* which then failed. So he was left short of mone!. He found outabout the Baskerville estate* however* and moved to "evonshire in order to be close to it while he

formulated his plans.

Holmes notes at least three things which indicate that Stapleton planned to gain the estate as soon as hemoved to the moor. Fne is that alread! at that time he was pretending that his wife was his sister he

evidentl! had thought alread! of using her as some kind of (deco!(. He did indeed go on to use her to

tr! and lure Sir Henr!. Holmes also remarks that the ver! act of establishing himself in theneighbourhood of Baskerville Hall shows that he was scheming to get it. 7inall!* he made sure of

striking up a friendship with Sir harles* thereb! drawing him into his confidence. +t was through Sir



harles that he learnt about the famil! legend of the devilish hound* and concocted an ama,ingl!

ingenious plan to use this legend to bring about Sir harles(s demise.

However* Stapleton was then thwarted b! Sir Henr! turning up from anada to claim the estate.

Holmes observes that he probabl! had not reckoned with this and at first tried to get rid of him while hewas still in %ondon. 7ailing in this* he then planned to set his fearsome hound upon Sir Henr! at

Baskerville Hall* $ust as he had done in the case of Sir harles.

Q. What evidence does Holmes use to solve the crime in The Hound of the Baskervilles?

Ans. Fne important piece of evidence in solving the m!ster! was Sir Henr!(s missing boot. Holmesdeduced that the reason a boot was purposefull! taken was to give Sir Henr!(s smell to the Hound of

the Baskervilles. The new brown boot was surreptitiousl! returned meaning that the new one wouldn(t

serve an! purpose. Therefore* it was the smell of Sir Henr! from the old black boot that was needed*not one or two random lone boots.

Another piece of evidence was the letter from %aura %!ons asking Sir harles Baskerville to meet her

at night on the desolate moor. She had asked the letter be burned* but Barr!more had read theremaining unburned bits an!wa!. %aura hadn(t gone to meet Sir harles. Wh! not? Holmes deduced

that she never meant to go* that she was part of a plot b! the murderer to get Baskerville alone.

These and other points of evidence tell Holmes* in one of "o!le(s more comple plots* that Stapleton

was the murderer. The evening Holmes spent in the Baskerville manor revealed Stapleton(s motive; he

was the secret child of harles Baskerville's !ounger brother and intended to remove his relative* thenclaim the Baskerville inheritance for himself. Stapleton used Henr! old black boot to train a -astiff

dog to Sir Henr!(s scent* starved the dog and then released it* first* against the hapless Sir harles* then

again against Sir Henr!* who was happil! saved b! Holmes.

Q. How did the hound ac&uire its appearance?

Ans. Stapleton trained the hound and then covered it with phosphorus to give it a scar! appearance andmake it glow in the dark like a fiend from hell. hosphorus is a chemical that glows in the dark and one

can see the glowing from a long wa! off.

Stapleton learned about the hound and decided to make use of the legend to get his hand on the famil!fortune* being the last in the Baskerville line. He was not interested in the land or the estate* $ust the

mone!. So* he used the hound to dredge up the old scar! famil! legend about a fiendish hound from

hell that roamed the moors and killed people in the Baskerville famil!.

Q. Who in the stor! believed the legend and who did not?

Ans. Sir harles Baskerville believed the legend of the Hound of Baskerville* and it lead to his death.When he saw a hound coming his wa!* he thought the legend was true and died of fright.

Holmes does not believe the stor!. +n fact* when "r. -ortimer brings it to him* he sa!s it is interesting

onl! to a collector of fair! tales. Holmes takes the case because he wants to find out who is eploitingthe legend and how* and of course wh!.

Sir Henr! does not completel! believe the legend* and he takes up his home in the moor. However* he

is nervous and worried because he thinks someone is tr!ing to kill him like Sir harles.Watson does not believe the stor! but Stapleton pretends to. Stapleton of course needs to urge the stor!

along.



-ore importantl!* Watson believes that believing in the legend is beneath him* and he would be letting

Holmes down if he believed it.

Ff course* the locals seem to view the legend as $ust a legend. The! believe it $ust like an! ghost stor!.

Q. Wh! did Arthur onan "o!le make "r. Watson narrate this novel instead of making Sherlock

Holmes do it himself? Wh! did he do so?

Ans. There would be no element of surprise if all the stories were written b! Holmes himself. B!

narrating it* it would seem less of a m!ster!. +f !ou see it through Holmes's point of view* either the

character must conceal something from the reader which is mildl! anno!ing whilst reading it* or thenarrator must share all his thoughts in which case there would be no m!ster!.

The reason wh! Watson narrates the stor! is that Watson is a thoroughl! reliable narrator* the

embodiment of common sense* decenc! and domesticit!. He serves as a counterbalance to the othercharacters and to Holmes himself. He also serves as a surrogate for the reader. The two stories narrated

b! Holmes are not ver! good* since Watson's absence is felt and Holmes often seems to be concealing

something.

To eamine narration a little further* Watson's predictabilit!* his flatness* is part of what makes him soendearing and is perhaps crucial to his effectiveness as the narrator. Holmes has a number of

eccentricities and a dark sideD this dark side ma! interfere and cloud the man! small details that are

uncovered in the stories* and principall!* he never reall! surprises us.

Q. What was the m!ster! of the lost shoes of Sir Henr! Baskerville?

Ans. Holmes tells "r. Watson that Stapleton had stolen the boots so that the murderous hound which he

had trained could sniff the boot and get ac&uainted with the scent of its victim Sir Henr! Baskerville

and then later kill him. Stapleton had to steal a boot the second time because the first one was new and

had not even been worn once b! Sir Henr! Baskerville* so the hound would not be able to identif! itsvictim b! sniffing the new boot whereas the old black boot which had been worn b! Sir Henr!

Baskerville would prove useful for the hound to identif! Sir Henr! Baskerville b! his scent and kill

him.

Q. What did Stapleton disguise himself? What was his chief motive behind it?

Ans. Holmes believes that Stapleton disguised himself behind a bush! beard so that he could accost Sir

Henr! Baskerville in %ondon undetected. Holmes thinks that Stapleton had hoped to do awa! with Sir

Henr! in %ondon before he got down to "evonshire. nfortunatel! for Stapleton* Sir Henr! received awarning that his life was in danger from Stapleton(s wife. Sir Henr! immediatel! solicited the help of

Sherlock Holmes and when Stapleton discovered this* he reali,ed that he would have to carr! out his

plan to eliminate Sir Henr! on the moor b! the Baskerville estate and with this in mind contented

himself with stealing one of Sir Henr!(s boots to be used as a means of setting the hound on theunsuspecting gentleman(s track.

Stapleton is third in line to inherit the Baskerville fortune. The son of a shad! Baskerville relative* his

eistence is unknown to the inhabitants of the Baskerville estate. When he becomes aware of his ownidentit! in relation to the fortune* Stapleton* who has used a number of aliases in a life filled with

disreputable and failed undertakings* travels to "evonshire with the ob$ective of neutrali,ing the

Baskerville heirs who stand between him and the inheritance. sing the ingenious but sinister methodof scaring Sir harles Baskerville to death with a demoniclooking hound meant to embod! the

legendar! Hound of the Baskervilles* Stapleton then dons the disguise with the bush! beard in hopes of

intercepting Sir Henr!* the onl! remaining obstacle between him and great riches* and eliminating him



in %ondon. His plans* however* are foiled* and Stapleton is forced to return to "evonshire to once

again pursue his evil ob$ective there.

Q. How did Holmes know that Stapleton was the criminal?

Ans. Sherlock Holmes initiall! began to suspect that Stapleton was behind the criminal dealings

concerning the Baskerville estate when he closel! eamined the cr!ptic warning note received b! SirHenr!. While making a close inspection for the watermark* Holmes held the paper within a few inches

of his e!es and in doing so* became conscious of a faint smell of the scent known as white $essamine.

The scent of perfume indicated the presence of a lad!* which turned his attention to the Stapletons*since Ber!l Stapleton was one of the few women living in the vicinit! on the moor and the onl! one so

far closel! related to the case.

pon looking into Stapleton(s histor!* Holmes discovered a number of startling facts. 7irst of all*although Stapleton had presented Ber!l as his sister* Holmes discovered that she was in fact his wife.

The fact that Stapleton was l!ing about this particular detail indicated some sort of sinister intent. The

big breakthrough for Holmes* however* was in uncovering Stapleton(s true identit! and his familial

connection to the Baskervilles. After noting an uncann! resemblance between Stapleton and a portraitof one of the Baskerville ancestors* Holmes in&uired further and found that Stapleton was the son of

9odger Baskerville* the !ounger brother of Sir harles who fled with a sinister reputation to South

America where he was said to have died unmarried. 9odger did* as a matter of fact* marr! and had onechild.

As the son of 9odger Baskerville 1The man who presentl! was calling himself Stapleton2* there were

onl! two lives intervening between 1Stapleton2 and a valuable estate. With this information* Holmesknew that Stapleton who was alread! acting with duplicit!* had a strong motive for wanting Sir harles

and Sir Henr! dead

Documents

Long Answer (Hound of Baskervilles)