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 independent detective and excels in solving the most esoteric of mysteries. The story is narrated by Dr. Watson. The only person who can be considered close to Holmes is an army doctor named John H. Watson who after getting injured on a mission in Afghanistan is sent back to London. Here he meets Holmes and a quick bond forms between them with Watson intrigu ed by Holmes profession and the way he goes about solving cases. He is always willing to be his aid in any case which requires his assistance and also plays the role of Holmes' chronicler and records his cases for him. Q. Who are the main characters in the story "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 excitement of "the chase". In addition, he is rather an eccentric character who takes only those cases which interest him, has a penchant for dramatic flair, and is capable of forming amazing deductions from seemingly insignificant clues. Dr. John Watson is Holmes's friend and assistant. He provides a good balance for the detective's quirky personality, being himself intelligent, energetic, courageous, and loyal. It is Watson who narrates the story, as he does almost all of Sherlock Holmes's adventures. Sir Henry Baskerville, the last known heir in the Baskerville line, has a fiery 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 safely and solve the case. Dr. James Mortimer is a young country physician and a friend of Sir Henry. It is he who first appeals to Sherlock Holmes for help in keeping the heir of the Baskerville family safe. The villain in the story is Stapleton, a respected naturalist and a renowned authority in entomology. Despite his innocuous appearance he has a keen mind, and has devised an ingenious way to use the legend of the Hound of the Baskervilles to his advantage. Q. What is the setting of The Hound of the Baskervilles? Ans. Most of the scenes in the novel took place in Devonshire, at the Baskerville Hall, the lonely moorlands, and the rundown Merripit House where the Stapletons lived. The surrounding of the moor compliments the atmosphere of gloom and doom that went throughout the story. 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 Charles Baskerville met their grotesque deaths. Setting = the time and place in which a story takes place. The place in The Hound of the Baskervilles is the English countryside (the moors) and the time is the 19th century (1800's) Q. How did Sherlock Holmes assume that Dr. Mortimer is a country practitioner who does a great deal of visiting on foot? Ans. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are at Holmess home, inspecting a walking stick that was inadvertently left behind by someone who stopped by while Holmes was still in bed. From the walking stick, the two of them deduce that the visitor was a country doctor who did much of his visiting on foot. They can tell that the man was a doctor because his stick says that he is James Mortimer M.R.C.S. The initials stand for Member of the Royal College of Surgeons. That tells the men that the visitor was a doctor. Holmes concludes that the man is a country doctor who visits on foot because the stick is rather beaten up and the iron ferrule (the metal part on the bottom of the stick that prevents the wood from wearing down) was badly worn down. It indicated that the doctor did a lot of walking in the country. Holmes does not agree with everything Watson says, but he does agree with Watsons analysis of the stick. Q. What does Holmes learn by examining the stick that Dr. Mortimer left at Holmes's apartment? Ans. Holmes and Watson are examining the walking stick that Mortimer 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: 1. The doctor has done something for Charing Cross Hospital (deduced from the initials on the stick). 2. That he must have worked for the hospital before going into private practice (that is why they would give him a present). 3. That he had to be under 30 years old (from the date on the stick and the position he was likely to have held). 4. That the doctor has a curly-haired spaniel. (Figured out from the depth and spacing of the teeth marks and, amusingly 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 Charles's death?

Ans. The hound that was seen plucking at Sir Hugo Baskerville's throat was absolutely hellish. It was black and larger than any hound. It had blazing eyes and dripping jaws. Its 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 Charles? Ans. No, there was no supernatural element involved in the death of Sir Charles, but it was staged to look like there was a giant hound that killed him. Charles had problems with his heart, but he was murdered. Stapleton took advantage of his fear of the family curse, the hound of the Baskervilles. He acquired a large dog and painted its muzzle with phosphorous so that it would seem to glow. Even Holmes is surprised at the exact looks of the dog. Since Stapleton knew that the family curse frightened the Baskervilles, he played a trick on Sir Henry and Sir Charles. He had hoped to scare them to death. In the case of Sir Charles, he succeeded. Sir Charles already had a weak heart, and the sight of the supposedly supernatural dog was too much for it. Q. What is the curse of the Baskervilles? Ans. Way back during the "Great Rebellion" (the Puritan Rebellion, 1632-1649) the owner of the Baskerville manor was one Hugo Baskerville. He had become infatuated with a common girl and had kidnapped her but she managed to escape. While fleeing across the moor she was chased by 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 they were amazed to see a massive hound like beast ripping apart the throat of Hugo. It was the same hound which the shepherd boy claimed to have seen chasing Hugo when Hugo was frantically 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 family died suddenly under bloody and mysterious circumstances. Q. How does the public react to Sir Charles Baskerville's death? Ans. There is shock and sadness among the public over Sir Charles Baskerville's death, as he was a philanthropist who put most of his wealth into good causes rather than spending it on himself. He had earned the respect and gratitude of the locals and therefore they mourn his death. In light of his 'amiability of character' it is all the more shocking when Holmes discovers that he was driven to his death by the villain of the story, Stapleton. It transpires that Stapleton is an actual distant relative of Sir Charles, who wants to get his hands on the Baskerville estate. Sir Charles, in his concern to benefit others, is the very opposite of the cold-hearted, greedy, scheming Stapleton who wants all Sir Charles's wealth for himself. Q. What is the manuscript that Dr. Mortimer brings and who gave it to him? Ans. The manuscript Dr. Mortimer has with him was given him by the recently deceased Sir Charles Baskerville. It is a manuscript dating from the eighteenth century and relates the legend of the Baskerville family. Mortimer is interested in the story and insists on reading it aloud to Holmes and Watson. It tells in lurid detail of how the hauntings began due to the indiscretions of the fearsome Baskerville 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 by the tale, but it seems the legend has revived in modern times; Sir Charles Baskerville was apparently frightened to death by a huge hound, and a similar threat now appears to overhang his nephew, Sir Henry. It is up to Holmes, of course, to neutralise the danger and to banish the demon that seemingly stalks the Baskervilles. Q. What happened to Sir Hugo Baskerville and the maiden he wanted to marry? Ans. The old legend of Sir Hugo Baskerville is narrated to Holmes and Watson by Dr. Mortimer. Apparently Sir Hugo was a wild and fearsome man who took a fancy to a young woman living near his estate and carried her off by force when she refused to marry him. He kept her imprisoned but one night, when he was carousing with friends, she escaped and tried to make her way home across the moor. In a fury, he set his dogs after her. Later, his friends found the body of the maiden and also Sir Hugo on the moor with the terrifying apparition of a giant hound nearby. This hellish creature, clearly some kind of spectre and not a real dog, was also enough to frighten Sir Hugo's friends out of their senses. 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 unevenly? Ans. Holmes deduces that the person who wrote the note did not want his or her handwriting to be recognized, and was in a hurry. In The Hound of the Baskervilles, a mysterious spectral dog has been stalking the Baskerville family for generations. When another Baskerville dies, famous private detective Sherlock Holmes is called to the case to try 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 note warning him that it is not safe to return home. Since no one knew where Baskerville would be, Holmes deduces that someone is very deeply interested in his movements.

The words are mostly cut from newspapers by the expedient of pasting printed words, but one word is hand-written i.e. moor. From this Holmes deduces that the writer of the note could not find that word in the newspaper. Holmes knows not only what newspaper the words are cut from, but the exact articles. Holmes also realizes that the words were cut with nail scissors - very short-bladed scissors and pasted with gum. He also deduces from the message that it was an educated person who wrote the letter in a hurry in order to avoid an interruption. Q. What kind of a person is Sir Henry Baskerville? Does it appear that he would be easily frightened? Ans. Sir Henry Baskerville is a small, alert, dark-eyed man about thirty years of age, very sturdily built, with thick black eyebrows and a strong pugnacious face. There was something in his steady eye and the quiet assurance of his bearing which indicated the gentleman. He most definitely does not seem like the kind of person who would be easily frightened. From his looks and his attitude, he seems like a headstrong and brave man. He is also an assertive person who will do just as he pleases. Sherlock Holmes warns him saying that his life is in danger, so he must not go to his ancestral home but Sir Henry firmly tells Holmes that he will go there no matter what happens. These are not the words of a man who is easily frightened. Q. What job did Sherlock Holmes assign to the boy, Cartwright and why? Ans. The boy Cartwright is a handy assistant for Wilson, a hotel manager. Holmes had worked with Cartwright on a case to aid Mr. Wilson; it is for this reason that Holmes requests Cartwright's services again. The task Holmes assigns Cartwright for The Case of the Hound of the Baskervilles is to find a particular page from yesterday's edition of the London Times newspaper. Cartwright is to go to the twenty-three hotels near at hand and ask each outside porter (doorman) for permission to look through yesterday's wastepaper which had been collected from the hotel's wastepaper baskets. Holmes informs Cartwright that the outside porters would direct him to each hall porter (inside porter). Cartwright was to ask each hall porter the same question. His pretense was to be that he was looking for a misplaced ("miscarried") telegram. He was to keep it a secret that he was really looking for a page of the London Times. Holmes instructs Cartwright that the odds were that the hall porters would say 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 yesterday's London Times (a sample of which Holmes hands to Cartwright) that has parts of the page cut out of it. To insure the cooperation of the twenty-three outside porters and the twenty-three hall porters, Holmes gives Cartwright twenty-three shillings twice and an additional ten shillings for emergencies. The purpose of this task is to attempt to find an important clue to the mystery. Q. From which newspaper did the person who sent a note to Sir Henry cut the letters from? Ans. Sir Henry Baskervilles received a note after he arrived in London. 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 identify the newspaper from the quality of the paper and the type of print used. He had, over the course of his career as a detective, done a lot of work in this field and could easily identify the newspaper. Q. What is the role of the moor in The Hound of the Baskervilles? Ans. The bleak and desolate moor provides an excellent setting for this weird tale. The description of the landscape establishes a mood that haunts the entire story. It is an ideal place for the murderer to set his hound on his victims, since they have nowhere to run or to hide. It is a good place for the escaped convict to hide. It is a good place for Sherlock Holmes to camp out while he is observing the whole situation. It provides a great setting for the finale when Sir Henry decides to walk back to his home after dining with the Stapletons. In a more settled and populated area people would be likely to see the hound. As it was, people only 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 them so badly that they would put up no resistance. Stapleton needed secrecy and isolation for the kind of crimes he wished to commit. Q. What likely motive exists for Sir Charles's death and the intimidation of Sir Henry? Ans. After a pleasant lunch at the Northumberland hotel in London Sherlock Holmes, Watson, Sir Henry Baskerville and Dr. Mortimer retire to a private sitting-room to discuss their plan of action. In the course of their conversation we learn that the real motive for Sir Charles Baskerville's murder was not merely money but also the ownership of the vast Baskerville estate which was estimated to be about a million pounds. It was the high price of the estate which caused Holmes to remark that a desperate man would be ready to risk his life for such a large amount of money.

Several beneficiaries are named in Sir Charles Baskerville's will and it was Sir Henry Baskerville who benefited the most - a sum of seven hundred and forty thousand pounds. But the actual value of the physical assets which Sir Henry will inherit was estimated worth about a million pounds. Q. Who was Selden? Ans. John and Eliza Barrymore are longtime servants in Sir Charles Baskerville's home, and they now serve the Baskerville heir, Sir Henry. Watson soon realizes there is something odd going on connected to the couple. What he eventually discovers is that Eliza's brother is a convict, a murderer known as the Notting Hill murderer, who has escaped from Princeton prison. He is now living on the moors, and his older sister (Eliza) feels responsible and wants to help him escape the country where he will apparently do no more harm. She and her husband signal him by displaying a light in the window, and they give him food and whatever provisions they can spare. This escaped convict is Selden, brother of Eliza. Selden is inadvertently killed while in hiding because he had the misfortune to be wearing one of Sir Henry's discarded outfits; the man who wants Sir Henry dead kills the wrong man. Q. What is Stapleton's first name? Ans. Stapleton is referred to as "Jack" by his sister, Beryl. His real name was Rodger Baskerville, before he changed his name to Vandelour and then Stapleton. His sister, of course, was actually his wife, whose name was Beryl Garcia Baskerville. Q. Why might the Barrymores want to scare Sir Henry away? Ans. On first arriving at Baskerville Hall, Watson is almost instantly suspicious of the darkly brooding servant Barrymore, and his wife who appears continually upset about something. He begins to wonder, indeed, if Barrymore is involved in some intrigue against Sir Henry, and whether he was the mysterious man who tracked Sir Henry in the London streets. Watson also wonders if Barrymore had a hand in Sir Charless death. There certainly seems to be something very strange going on with the Barrymores. It doesnt ever seem quite as though they want to scare Sir Henry away, however; they show more interest in going themselves rather than having Sir Henry leave. Barrymore, in fact, asks to be relieved of his duties almost as soon as Sir Henry arrives. It is eventually revealed that the reason for the Barrymores strange and secretive behaviour is entirely due to a personal m atter, and nothing to do with Sir Henry at all. Mrs Barrymores brother, Selden, is a vicious criminal who has escaped from jail and is hiding out on the moor. The B arrymores have been secretly providing for him. If they have any reason to scare Sir Henry away, it would be just because they don t want him finding out about Selden. He does find out about it however, and the mystery of the Barrymores, if not the hound, is quite quickly explained. Q. What is Dr. Watson trying to find out by questioning the postmaster? Ans. Watson is trying to find out whether a telegram that Holmes previously sent to Barrymore from London was delivered to him personally. It is important to find this out as it will establish whether or not Barrymore was at Baskerville Hall at that time and not in London following Sir Henry, as Holmes suspects he might have been. The postmaster could only tell him that his son delivered the telegram personally to Mrs. Barrymore and not to her husband who, it seems, was up in the attic at that time. However, there seems no way of proving if he was in the attic, as claimed, and not somewhere else. Watson observes that it was hopeless to pursue the inquiry any further. Q. What did Sir Charles do while he stood by the gate? Ans. While Sir Charles Baskerville stood by the gate, waiting to meet a lady, he smoked. We know that he smoked for at least five or ten minutes because he had dropped ash twice from his cigar. Sir Charles was there to meet Laura Lyons, with whom he had fallen in love. She didn't really love him, though. She was using him. She was in love with the man who called himself Jack Stapleton. She thought that he would marry her if she got a divorce. He had arranged her meeting with Sir Charles to ask for money. Stapleton has Lyons miss the meeting, but since he knows Sir Charles 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 by noticing the things Stapleton had with him: "A tin box for botanical specimens hung over his shoulder and he carried a green butterfly-net in one of his hands." Watson also noticed that Stapleton had an unusual energy and manner about him. Here is the description Watson gives of watching Stapleton run across the moor: "...in an instant Stapleton was rushing with extraordinary energy and speed in pursuit of it. To my dismay the creature flew straight for the great mire, and my acquaintance never paused for an instant, bounding from tuft to tuft behind it, his green net waving in the air. His gray clothes and jerky, zigzag, 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 they are, this description, combined with Stapleton's questions, will begin to plant seeds of suspicion later on. Q. Why is Jack Stapleton a suspect? Ans. When the reader is first introduced to Jack Stapleton as a character, he himself declares that he is the only person to know the secret paths that penetrate Grimpen Moor, the terrible swamp that is so dangerous to both man and beast. Secondly, his sister delivers a warning to Dr. Watson that seems very strange and intense, whilst her brother is away, so that the warning is delivered in secret, without her brother knowing. Note what she says: "Man, man!" she cried. "Can you not tell when a warning is for your own good? Go back to London! Start to-night! Get away from this place at all costs! Hush, my brother is coming! Not a word of what I have said. She only feels able to deliver this warning when her brother is not there, and she is very quick to change the conversation as she sees her brother returning. What is even stranger is the way in which she then goes on to retract that warning as Dr. Watson leaves, strangely ignoring what she said to him before, perhaps suggesting that she is being forced into doing and saying things by her brother. These facts all point to Jack Stapleton being a very strong suspect indeed. Q. Analyze Barrymore's nightly excursion in The Hound of the Baskervilles. Justify this act. Ans. I think that it should not be too hard to justify Barrymore going out all the time. After all, he is only trying to help one of his wife's relatives. As we find out that Barrymore is bringing food and sometimes clothing to the escaped convict who is hiding out on the moor. He is doing that because the convict is Mrs. Barrymore's brother. It is important to help people who are part of your family. Even if the guy did commit crimes, he still deserves to be able to live. It's not like he's out there on the moor committing more crimes. So Barrymore is not hurting anyone by helping his brother-in-law. Q. What unexpected 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 supposedly remains behind in London on an important case. In Watsons letter in chapter 8, there is a reference to the escaped convict and the local naturalist Stapleton. However, the surprising event centers around the servant Barrymore. Watson wakes in the night to find Barrymore, one of the few servants in the house, wandering around with a candle. This makes Watson suspicious. Watson wants to know why Barrymore stood at the window with a candle, and who he was watching for. It is clearly some kind of signal, and very suspicious behavior in light of recent events. This is the first real surprise and unexpected turn of events. Q. What are the clues we can find in Chapter 8 and 9 (the reports of Dr. Watson) of The Hound of the Baskervilles? Ans. One clue given in chapter 8 is Watsons mention of Mrs. Barrymore. He describes her as unemotional, yet he found her crying 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. Watson is suspicious, and he tells us of this clue, but he does not know why Mrs. Barrymore is crying. He just knows it is curious. In chapter 9, Watson mentions an interesting event. He saw Mr. Barrymore staring out a window, so he went to look later. He realized you could see more clearly from that window, although there was really nothing out there. This is an example of Watson almost connecting the dots. He notes Mrs. Barrymores suspicious behavior, the candle appearing at night, and the convict. He just does not connect these and realize that Mrs. Barrymore is communicating with her convict brother. Watson is a detective in his own right for this book, but he lacks Holmess skills in deduction. Watsons job 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 (until he finds out he has been there the whole time), so that he can pass on the reigns of the investigation. Q. how was Frankland a help to Dr. Watson on finding the man on the tor? Ans. Frankland showed Watson the boy who used to take food to the stranger on the moor thinking that the boy used to take the food and clothes to the escaped convict, Selden. Barrymore had told Watson that the stranger lurking on the moor was given food by a young lad who used to take it. So when Watson saw the boy, he realised that the boy 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 Frankland helped Watson. Q. Who is the lonely 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 London.

Sherlock Holmess loyal friend and assistant Watson has been staying at the Baskerville House to collect information on the m ysterious Hound of the Baskervilles that is supposed to be haunting the moor. One day Watson is walking with the baronet when he sees a lonely man upon the tor. He knows it is not the convict, but does not recognize the man. Watson does not find out until he investigates further that the man is actually Sherlock Holmes. Watson is angry because Holmes did not trust him to tell him he was actually hiding out on the moor instead of being in London like he was supposed to be. Although Holmes trusts Watson, he still needs to explore 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 just pursuing the investigation. Q. Why does Watsons heart leap when he reads a note in the stone hut? Ans. Note says: Dr. Watson has gone to Coombe Tracey? Watson's heart does not leap when he reads the note. Instead, 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 naturally becomes excited because he thinks that he has discovered a clue that might tell him who the man in the hut is and why he has been living there. Later, after he has read the note, Watson is excited for another reason. He now believes that he is the one who is being stalked. This of course excites him and makes him apprehensive. Q. Why didn't Holmes and Watson have Stapleton arrested after Seldon's death? Ans. Selden was attacked by the hound because he was wearing the clothes of Sir Henry Baskerville which he had given to his housekeeper Barrymore, Selden's brother in law. While trying to escape from the hound Selden falls down a steep cliff and dies. Holmes and Watson who discover his body are convinced that Stapleton is responsible for his death. Watson remarks, "Why should we not seize him (Stapleton) at once?" To which Holmes replies. "Our case is not complete.....It is not what we know, but what we can prove." A little later Holmes remarks "We could prove nothing against him," because he (Stapleton) is not acting through a human agent but through an animal and that they "should be laughed out of court" if they tried to produce the hound as evidence in court. Holmes conclusively states that, "there was no direct connection between the hound and the man's (Selden's) death." Holmes' opinion is that only 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 Barrymore is not evil at heart even though he helps the escaped criminal Selden? Ans. Barrymore, the manservant at Baskerville Hall, is introduced as a rather ambiguous figure. He is of rather dark and gloomy appearance and Watson is somewhat suspicious of him from the start. These suspicions are greatly increased when Watson sees him prowling about at night and signalling to someone on the moor. Watson for a while entertains the notion that he is the man who is after Sir Henry, but it turns out that Barrymore is helping the escaped criminal Selden who is hiding out on the moor. Barrymore helps Selden, a vicious murderer, not because he himself is wicked, but for family reasons. Selden is actually his wifes brother and had come to them for help. Barrymore does not want to shield a murderer on his own account but he is prepared to defy the law for the sake of his wife, who is terribly upset over her brother. Barrymore therefore acts out of concern for his wife, and this shows him to be more compassionate than anything else. He does not endorse Seldens crimes and neither does his wife, but they 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 neatly sums up the whole affair in the final chapter and provides an overview of Stapleton's background and early moves towards gaining the Baskerville estate. Holmes has discovered that Stapleton was Sir Henry's cousin, and that at first he lived in South America. He moved to England eventually, at first running a school, which then failed. So he was left short of money. He found out about the Baskerville estate, however, and moved to Devonshire 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 he moved to the moor. One is that already at that time he was pretending that his wife was his sister - he evidently had thought already of using her as some kind of 'decoy'. He did indeed go on to use her to try and lure Sir Henry. Holmes also remarks that the very act of establishing himself in the neighbourhood of Baskerville Hall shows that he was scheming to get it. Finally, he made sure of striking up a friendship with Sir Charles, thereby drawing him into his confidence. It was through Sir Charles that he learnt about the family legend of the devilish hound, and concocted an amazingly ingenious plan to use this legend to bring about Sir Charles's demise. However, Stapleton was then thwarted by Sir Henry turning up from Canada to claim the estate. Holmes observes that he probably had not reckoned with this and at first tried to get rid of him while he was still in London. Failing in this, he then planned to set his fearsome hound upon Sir Henry at Baskerville Hall, just as he had done in the case of Sir Charles. Q. What evidence does Holmes use to solve the crime in The Hound of the Baskervilles?

Ans. One important piece of evidence in solving the mystery was Sir Henry's missing boot. Holmes deduced that the reason a boot was purposefully taken was to give Sir Henry's smell to the Hound of the Baskervilles. The new brown boot was surreptitiously returned meaning that the new one wouldn't serve any purpose. Therefore, it was the smell of Sir Henry from the old black boot that was needed, not one or two random lone boots. Another piece of evidence was the letter from Laura Lyons asking Sir Charles Baskerville to meet her at night on the desolate moor. She had asked the letter be burned, but Barrymore had read the remaining unburned bits anyway. Laura hadn't gone to meet Sir Charles. Why not? Holmes deduced that she never meant to go, that she was part of a plot by the murderer to get Baskerville alone. These and other points of evidence tell Holmes, in one of Doyle's more complex plots, that Stapleton was the murderer. The evening Holmes spent in the Baskerville manor revealed Stapleton's motive: he was the secret child of Charles Baskervilles younger brother and intended to remove his relative, then claim the Baskerville inheritance for himself. Stapleton used Henry old black boot to train a Mastiff dog to Sir Henry's scent, starved the dog and then released it, first, against the hapless Sir Charles, then again against Sir Henry, who was happily saved by Holmes. Q. How did the hound acquire its appearance? Ans. Stapleton trained the hound and then covered it with phosphorus to give it a scary appearance and make it glow in the dark like a fiend from hell. Phosphorus is a chemical that glows in the dark and one can see the glowing from a long way off. Stapleton learned about the hound and decided to make use of the legend to get his hand on the family fortune, being the last in the Baskerville line. He was not interested in the land or the estate, just the money. So, he used the hound to dredge up the old scary family legend about a fiendish hound from hell that roamed the moors and killed people in the Baskerville family. Q. Who in the story believed the legend and who did not? Ans. Sir Charles Baskerville believed the legend of the Hound of Baskerville, and it lead to his death. When he saw a hound coming his way, he thought the legend was true and died of fright. Holmes does not believe the story. In fact, when Dr. Mortimer brings it to him, he says it is interesting only to a collector of fairy tales. Holmes takes the case because he wants to find out who is exploiting the legend and how, and of course why. Sir Henry does not completely believe the legend, and he takes up his home in the moor. However, he is nervous and worried because he thinks someone is trying to kill him like Sir Charles. Watson does not believe the story but Stapleton pretends to. Stapleton of course needs to urge the story along. More importantly, Watson believes that believing in the legend is beneath him, and he would be letting Holmes down if he believed it. Of course, the locals seem to view the legend as just a legend. They believe it just like any ghost story. Q. Why did Arthur Conan Doyle make Dr. Watson narrate this novel instead of making Sherlock Holmes do it himself? Why did he do so? Ans. There would be no element of surprise if all the stories were written by Holmes himself. By narrating it, it would seem less of a mystery. If you see it through Holmess point of view, either the character must conceal something from the reader which is mildly annoying w hilst reading it, or the narrator must share all his thoughts in which case there would be no mystery. The reason why Watson narrates the story is that Watson is a thoroughly reliable narrator, the embodiment of common sense, decency and domesticity. He serves as a counterbalance to the other characters and to Holmes himself. He also serves as a surrogate for the reader. The two stories narrated by Holmes are not very good, since Watsons absence is felt and Holmes often seems to be concealing somethin g. To examine narration a little further, Watsons predictability, his flatness, is part of what makes him so endearing and is perhaps crucial to his effectiveness as the narrator. Holmes has a number of eccentricities and a dark side; this dark side may interfere and cloud the many small details that are uncovered in the stories, and principally, he never really surprises us. Q. What was the mystery of the lost shoes of Sir Henry Baskerville? Ans. Holmes tells Dr. Watson that Stapleton had stolen the boots so that the murderous hound which he had trained could sniff the boot and get acquainted with the scent of its victim Sir Henry 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 by Sir Henry Baskerville, so the hound would not be able to identify its victim by sniffing the new boot whereas the old black boot which had been worn by Sir Henry Baskerville would prove useful for the hound to identify Sir Henry Baskerville by 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 bushy beard so that he could accost Sir Henry Baskerville in London undetected. Holmes thinks that Stapleton had hoped to do away with Sir Henry in London before he got down to Devonshire. Unfortunately for Stapleton, Sir Henry received a warning that his life was in danger from Stapleton's wife. Sir Henry immediately solicited the help of Sherlock Holmes and when Stapleton discovered this, he realized that he would have to carry out his plan to eliminate Sir Henry on the moor by the Baskerville estate

and with this in mind contented himself with stealing one of Sir Henry's boots to be used as a means of setting the hound on the unsuspecting gentleman's track. Stapleton is third in line to inherit the Baskerville fortune. The son of a shady Baskerville relative, his existence is unknown to the inhabitants of the Baskerville estate. When he becomes aware of his own identity in relation to the fortune, Stapleton, who has used a number of aliases in a life filled with disreputable and failed undertakings, travels to Devonshire with the objective of neutralizing the Baskerville heirs who stand between him and the inheritance. Using the ingenious but sinister method of scaring Sir Charles Baskerville to death with a demonic-looking hound meant to embody the legendary Hound of the Baskervilles, Stapleton then dons the disguise with the bushy beard in hopes of intercepting Sir Henry, the only remaining obstacle between him and great riches, and eliminating him in London. His plans, however, are foiled, and Stapleton is forced to return to Devonshire to once again pursue his evil objective there. Q. How did Holmes know that Stapleton was the criminal? Ans. Sherlock Holmes initially began to suspect that Stapleton was behind the criminal dealings concerning the Baskerville estate when he closely examined the cryptic warning note received by Sir Henry. While making a close inspection for the water-mark, Holmes held the paper within a few inches of his eyes and in doing so, became conscious of a faint smell of the scent known as white jessamine. The scent of perfume indicated the presence of a lady, which turned his attention to the Stapletons, since Beryl Stapleton was one of the few women living in the vicinity on the moor and the only one so far closely related to the case. Upon looking into Stapleton's history, Holmes discovered a number of startling facts. First of all, although Stapleton had presented Beryl as his sister, Holmes discovered that she was in fact his wife. The fact that Stapleton was lying about this particular detail indicated some sort of sinister intent. The big breakthrough for Holmes, however, was in uncovering Stapleton's true identity and his familial connection to the Baskervilles. After noting an uncanny resemblance between Stapleton and a portrait of one of the Baskerville ancestors, Holmes inquired further and found that Stapleton was the son of Rodger Baskerville, the younger brother of Sir Charles who fled with a sinister reputation to South America where he was said to have died unmarried. Rodger did, as a matter of fact, marry and had one child. As the son of Rodger Baskerville (The man who presently was calling himself Stapleton), there were only two lives intervening between (Stapleton) and a valuable estate. With this information, Holmes knew that Stapleton who was already acting with duplicity, had a strong motive for wanting Sir Charles and Sir Henry dead.