The Hound of the Baskervilles: The Hound in the Fog

Holmes, Watson and Lestrade hid among the rocks near Merripit House while Sir Henry ate dinner inside.Watson crept up to the window and saw Stapleton leave the table and go out to a small building in the garden.From inside came a strange scratching sound, and then Stapleton went back to his guest.

Meanwhile a thick white fog was rolling slowly across the moor towards the house.Holmes was worried, because if the fog covered the path, they would not be able to see Sir Henry.At last Sir Henry came out and walked quickly along the path, looking nervously around him.

Then out of the fog jumped a huge black hound, with fire coming from its open mouth and its eyes glowing.It was a creature more terrible than any of them had ever imagined.For a moment the three men froze, and the hound raced past them after Sir Henry.

Holmes and Watson fired together, and the hound howled with pain, which proved that it was a living animal.It knocked Sir Henry to the ground and went for his throat, but Holmes emptied his revolver into its side and it fell dead.Its mouth and eyes had been painted with phosphorus, a chemical that shines in the dark.

Sir Henry was safe but badly shaken, and the others hurried into the house to find Stapleton.He had escaped, but upstairs they found his wife tied up and beaten, and she told them where he would hide.

In the morning she led them into the Grimpen Mire, where they found Sir Henry’s missing old boot.Stapleton had used it to teach the hound Sir Henry’s smell, and had thrown it away as he ran.But there was no sign of Stapleton himself, and they believed that the great mire had swallowed him for ever.