Before he saw the hound on the moor,'answered Dr Mortimer. 'Or, he thought he saw it. When Sir Charles told me this story, I told him to take a holiday. I told him to go to London for a few weeks and forget all about the curse.'
'Did he take a holiday?' I asked.
'No,'said Dr Mortimer. 'He planned to go to London the following Friday. But, on the Thursday evening, he went for a walk on the edge of the moor. And he never returned.'
'How did he die?' I asked.
'He died of a heart attack,' answered Dr Mortimer. 'Hisservent came to fetch me. I found Sir Charles near the house, on the edge of the moor. He was running away from something when he died. I am sure of that. I think he was terrified of something.'
'Terrified?' asked Holmes. 'What was he running away from?'
'I looked at y=the ground where Sir Charles had walked. I saw his footprints,' said Dr Mortimer. 'But there were other footprints on the ground. They were not the fooprinds of a gigantic hound!'