12
The Man on the Moor
I drove out of Newtown and went to begin my search for '
the mysterious man on the moor. There were hundreds of
the old stone huts on the moor. Barrymore did not know in
which of them the mysterious. man was living. I had seen
the man on the night when. Sir Henry and I had chas~d .'
Selden; so I decided to sta~t my -search near that place.
The path I took ran past Mr Frankland's house, and I
saw him standing at his gate. He called to lIle, and invited .
. me to go in. and have a drink "with him. "He had been
arguing w:ith the police, and was angry with them. He
beg~n to tell me about it.
,'But they will be sorry,' he said. 'I could tell the~ where
to look for the escaped prisoner,,'but I am not going to help.
52
··The Man on the Moor
them. You see, I have been searching the moors with my l
telescope, and although I have not actually seen the
prisoner, I have seen the person who is taking him food.'
I thought of Barry-more and Mrs Barrymore's worried
face. But Me Frankland's next words showed me that I did
not need to worry.
'You will be surprised to hear that a young boy takes
food to the prisoI1:er. The boy goes by at about the same
time each day, and he is always carrying a bag. Who else
can he be going to see - except t~e .pri~oner? Come and
look thr?ugh my telescope, and you will see that I am
right. It is about this time each day that ·the boy goes by.'
We went up on to the roof, and we did not have to wait
long. Ther~ was someone moving on a hill in' front of the
house. I loo~ed through the telescope and saw a s~all boy
with a bag over his shoulder. He looked round to make
sure that nobody was following him, and then he
disappeared over the hill.
'Remember that I don't want the police to know my
secret, Dr Watson,' Frankl~nd reminded me. 'I'm too
angry with them at the moment to· help them.' .
I agreed not to tell the police, and said goodbye.
I walked' along the road while Frankl~nd was watching
me, but as· soon as I was round the co'rner, I went towards
the hill where we had seen the boy.
The sun was already going down when I reached the top
of the hill. I could not see the boy, and there was nothing
else in that lonely place. Beneath me on. the other side of ,
53
The Hound of the Baskerville~
die hill was a circle of old stone huts. In the middle of the
circle was one hut that had a better roof than the others, so
it would keep out the wind and the rain. This mu~t be the
place where the mysterious man was hiding! I would soon
know his secret.
As I walked towards the hut, I saw that someone had
certainly been using it. A path' had been worn' up to the
door. I took my revolver out of my pocket, and checked
that it was ready to fire. I walked'quickly and quietly up to
the hut, and looked inside. The place was empty.
But this was certainly where the man lived. As I looked
round the hut, I knew that the mysterious man must have a
very strong character. No other person could live in
-conditions as bad as these. There were some blankets on a
flat stone w~ere the man slept. There had been a fire in o:p.e
comer. There were some cooking pots, and a large bowl
half full of water. In the middle of the hut was another
large flat stone which was used as a table, and on it was the
bag the boy had been carrying. Under the bag I saw ~ piece
of paper with writing on it. Quickly, I picked up the paper
and read what was written on it. It said: 'Dr Watson has
-gone to Newtown.'
I realized that the mysterious man had told someone to
watch me, and this was a message from his spy. Was the
man a dangerous enemy? Or was he a friend who was
watching us to make sure we were safe? I decided I would
not leave the hut until I ,knew.
Outs~de, the sun was low in the sky. Everything looked
54'"
Too Late
calm and peaceful in the golden evening light. But I did not
feel peaceful or calm. I felt frightened as I waited for the
mysterious man.
Then I heard footsteps coming towards the hut. As they
came closer, I moved into the'darkest corner of the hut.
I did' not want the man to see me until I had looked closely
at. him. The footsteps stopped, and I could hear nothing at
alL Then the man began to move again, and the footsteps
came: closer. A shadow fell across the door of the hut. , . 'It's a lovely evening, my dear Watson,' said a voice I
knew well .. 'I really think you will enjoy it more out here.'
13
. Too Late.
For a moment or tWo I could neither breathe nor move~
Then I felt my fear and unhappiness disappear, as t knew
that I was 'no longer alone in, my responsibility for Sir , .
Henry. The' dangers all around me did not seem so
frightening. The cool voice could belong to only one man
in the world.
'Holmes!' I cried. 'Holmes!'
I went outside the hut, and there was Holmes. He was
, sitting on a stone, and his grey eyes were dancing with
amusement. He was thin and worn, but bright and wideawake.
His skin was brown from the wind and the sun.
55
The Hound of the Baskervilles
I went outside the hut, and th