Final Story Rewriten version (The Hound of the Baskervilles)

Chapter XIV

I felt we had only two sides of the case to deal with now that the convicted killer met his end, ironically, by the dog we had come to find and that left the beast and the conflict between the Stapletons and the Baskervilles the only pieces of the puzzle left. Our conversation was interrupted by the driver of our carriage who told us that we were approaching our destination. As we arrived just a few yards away from Merripit House, we instructed the driver not to drive up to the door. We paid him off and ordered him to return to Coombe Tracey forthwith, while we started to walk towards Merripit House. "Are you armed, Lestrade? "The detective smiled. "Better armed than never before!". “My word, it does not seem a very cheerful place," said Father Robert, a Priest who we had invited to be with us after he had heard of the curse and torment of the Baskerville Family. “That is Merripit House and the end of our journey, I request we walk on tiptoe and talk in whispers" said Holmes. “Agreed” came the reply from Father Robert We moved cautiously along the track as if we were bound for the house, but Holmes halted us when we were about two hundred yards from it. This will do," said he pointing so some large rocks, believing them to make a good station. "We are to wait here?” asked Lestrade

"Yes, we shall make our little station here. You have been inside the house, have you not, Watson? You know the lie of the land best. Creep forward quietly and see what they are doing but don't let them know that they are watched" I tiptoed down the path and stooped behind the low wall which surrounded the stunted orchard. Creeping in its shadow, I reached a point whence I could look straight through the uncurtained window using binoculars. There were only two men in the room, Sir Henry and Stapleton. Both of them smoked cigars and were sipping on coffee. Stapleton was talking animatedly, but his baronet of a guest looked pale and distraught. Perhaps the thought of that lonely walk across the ill-omened moor was weighing heavily upon his mind as I heard him say that even though he had ordered a carriage for his journey to Merripit House, he would be walking back. As I watched them Stapleton rose and left the room. I scurried back to Holmes and the others as we watched Stapleton walk to an outhouse just next to his own.

Looking through the binoculars again, I saw Stapleton unlocking the place and as he went inside there appeared to be a curious scuffling noise followed by a blood-curdling snarl. He was only a minute or so inside, and then I saw that he did not bother to loch the place as he went back to join his guest.

“You say, Watson, that lady Stapleton is not there?" Holmes asked, when I had finished my report on what I had seen. "No”. “Unusual for her to be missing as she is normally always by the side of her husband"

As has been known by the locals of Dartmoor, as night falls over the great Grimpen Mire there hangs a dense, white fog. And right now that very fog seemed to be drifting slowly in our direction, and banked itself up like a wall on that side of us, low, but thick and well defined. The moon shone on it, and it looked like a great shimmering icefield, with the heads of the distant tors as rocks borne upon its surface. Holmes's face was turned towards it, and he muttered impatiently as he watched its sluggish drift. It's moving towards us, Watson." "Is that bad?" I asked. "It is, indeed as it is the one thing which could disarrange my plans. He can't be very long, now. It is already ten o'clock. Our success and even his life may depend upon his coming out before the fog is over the path"

Above us however, the night was clear and fine, filled with stars shining bright, while a half-moon bathed the whole scene in a soft, uncertain light. Before us lay the dark bulk of the house, its serrated roof and bristling chimneys hard outlined against the sky. I looked back through the binoculars; the murderous host and the unconscious guest, still chatted over their cigars. 

Holmes then announced a change in plan and we left Merripit house. We turned on our torches as we strode further away from the house.  We concealed ourselves behind a large rock that was about a hundred yards from the house. Sir Henry who had gotten bored of his evening with Stapleton, bid him goodbye and left on his journey back to Baskerville Hall on foot. We were surprised and rather shocked that he had arranged for no carriage to come and take him for it was known to most that at this time of night, the Moor was at its most sinister. It was clear that Sir Henry was uncomfortable and kept watching his back. It was clear that he was aware of the danger that lurked in his path. The wind began to pick up and all of a sudden we heard a rustle in the bush which momentarily took our attention away from Sir Henry who we had been keeping an eye on from our station behind the rock. However, even in the faint light of the evening we managed to spot him easily in the distance as he hurried across the hilly terrain.  

“Hurry there isn’t much time” said Holmes; we agreed and followed my colleague. It began to get colder and we walked fast to keep pace with Sir Henry as he seemed to race towards his home. The stillness of the night made it feel even colder than it was. Suddenly, we heard the loud barking of a dog in the distance behind us. We looked over our shoulder to see a large luminous figure of a hound with bloodshot red eyes running towards Sir Henry. Lestrade was terrified but before he could scream, Father Robert said “Fear not my son, for we are in the hands of God”

We ran as fast as we could, knowing that the Beast would certainly try to kill us if he came across us. At last we found another large rock and hid behind it. We found Sir Henry still on his way to the hall. All of a sudden, we heard a scowl which could not have come from the Hound but indeed seemed to be attributed to him. The Hound leapt forward and with tremendous bursts of speed that would have certainly overtaken a Cheetah, caught up to Sir Henry and knocked him down

“Now!” yelled Holmes and we began to open fire all at once. To our surprise nothing seemed to harm the dog but it was ultimately enough to distract him from his victim.

The beast, whose jaws had not yet touched Sir Henry, saw us and charged in our direction. “Nothing’s happening Holmes!” I yelled on realizing that the bullets were not affecting the Hound in any way. Holmes had stopped firing and looked at Father Robert “He is indeed immortal” said the Priest and put into Holmes’ hand a bullet. Holmes looked at the bullet closely. It was silver. “This is blessed with the power of the Lord as it bears Holy Water. Now waste no time! Put it to good use! Fire after my chanting” yelled Father Robert. Holmes did not need to be told twice; he ordered us to cease fire as he put the bullet into his revolver throwing out all the other bullets that he carried

“In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, we cast you out, Amen!” yelled Father Robert and revealed the Crucifix that he wielded. Holmes, aiming carefully fired with a perfect bull’s eye. The Hound was hit in the head and crashed to the ground, sliding forwards a bit. He picked himself up and walked towards us before collapsing. Suddenly, the Beast’s eyes opened and two red wind sparkles came out and joined together to reveal the form of the Devil himself. Father Robert holding out the Crucifix he wielded drove him back away from Sir Henry with Holmes, Lestrade and I getting Sir Henry to his feet. All of us pulled out the Crucifixes that Father Robert provided us with. “You fools!” thundered the Devil “You think you have left me without a body to possess but you will all be sorry! My revenge has just begun!” “Not yet!” yelled Father Robert “We cast you out Lord of Hell back into the depths of your Kingdom never to return again! In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, we cast you back to your own Kingdom so that you may never terrorize the children of Almighty God!” And with that he tossed Holy Water at the Devil. With a hideous howl, the Devil abruptly vanished in a burst of lightning

“We need to get you back to Baskerville Hall as soon as possible” Holmes said and we escorted Sir Henry for most of the way until his home was within sight. “Where are you going” asked Sir Henry on realizing that we were not going to accompany him back. “There is much at stake here” I answered “The Beast that has haunted your family’s generation for centuries has been defeated indeed but we need to find out where it came from and our likely guess is that it has something to do with Stapelton” Father Robert provided Sir Henry with a Crucifix. Before he could leave however, Father Robert stopped Sir Henry and asked him “Now why were you by yourself out on the Moor? Did you purposely want to put your life at risk?”. “You could say that yes” came the reply “I had enough of these claims of some Phantom Dog haunting my family so I thought by being on foot, I could lure him forward. Thanks to you now, the animal is dead” and with that, he started off towards Baskerville Hall and we returned in the direction in which we had come. The wind had now died down and it seemed like it was safe enough to travel back to Merripit House. Upon arriving, we decided that whether or not it was inappropriate, answers were necessary and we burst into the house, kicking open the door. We drew our Pistols just in case the aspect of an ambush could be anywhere.

Suddenly, we heard mumbling and muffling sounds which seemed to be coming from upstairs. We ran up and threw open a cupboard from which we knew the sound to be coming from. Inside we found poor Mrs Stapleton bound and gagged. We untied her and after helping to refresh her, asked her what had happened. After being passive for so many days, Mrs Stapleton revealed that she was trying to talk her husband out of releasing his Dog that night but he bound and gagged her in the closet when she tried to stop him

“So it was your Dog that has been haunting this area for quite a while, wreaking havoc on Sir Henry” I deduced. While we began to talk to her, Mrs Stapleton broke down and cried. “We are not going to arrest you if that is what you are thinking ma’am” said Holmes “We are merely seeking your husband. But all the same we wish to know if you assisted him in any way”. “No! no, how could I assist my husband in such grizzly a task as unleashing a savage Hound on Sir Henry? I wanted to stop him and warn others but he threatened me not to day by day”. “We have killed the Hound” said Holmes “But now we will have to wait for him to come home and get him. I have a plan!”

Mrs Stapleton sat in her chair all alone, sipping a cup of tea. Hours went by and still no trace of her husband.
All of a sudden, the door which had been closed was thrown open and there stood her husband. “Just how did you get free of your bonds darling?” Unperturbed by her aggressive spouse, she calmly asked “You are aware that our Dog is dead?”. “Stupid witch!” he roared and pulled out a gun, but at that moment, felt a clicking sound behind him and a voice yelling “Drop the Gun!”. Lestrade and I revealed ourselves from where we hid, as Holmes with Father Robert by his side held Stapleton at gunpoint. Stapleton turned around but before he could even blink, Holmes slugged him unconscious

Stapleton came around to find himself tied to a chair. His wife, now in safe hands stood by my side and behind her husband stood Lestrade while right in front of Stapleton stood Holmes and Father Robert. “Now tell us” said Holmes in a voice that held no emotion, “Why were you wreaking havoc on the Baskervilles with that hound of yours?” Stapleton turned away as if he could avoid answering the question. After what seemed a long time he looked at the floor and said “You know that the Baskervilles were cursed because of their ancestor Hugo. The curse came from a farmer who owned land not too far from the Baskerville estate. His   daughter Betty and Hugo fell in love and vowed to be together. The farmer’s rage knew no bounds about his daughter’s decision of marrying into wealth and status. He worried that he would lose her and tried to keep her away from Hugo.

One night she ran away to the Baskerville Estate to be with Hugo and the two decided to hide in moor so that her father could not find them. When the farmer could not find his daughter, he decided to track them down even if it meant that he would make the Devil his ally. That is why he took to Devil-worshipping and as a result, the Prince of Hell, himself appeared before him and agreed to assist him in his revenge against the Baskerville family. The farmer owned a hound which he had raised as no loving companion of man but a seemingly brutal and mindless killing machine, even before he came into contact with the Baskerville family. The animal would be used as a medium for the Devil to do his ghastly work. The Devil promised to assist him against the Baskervilles by possessing his dog, provided the animal wore a chain that was representative of him.

When Hugo and Betty felt that they were not being pursued, they went to live in the Baskerville Estate. The farmer went to the Baskerville estate one night with his possessed dog which killed both Hugo and his daughter. He then cursed the Baskervilles and vowed that he and his descendants would continue their grizzly legacy by keeping a dog for the Devil to possess, in order to an end the Baskerville family. I know that none of you will believe me but I am a descendant of that farmer”.

We were all alarmed, there had to be some mistake here “Why is it then that Sir Hugo claimed he would sell his soul to the Devil if he couldn’t be with the daughter of your ancestor?” I asked. “That is taking it literally, Watson” answered Stapleton “Hugo Baskerville loved Betty so dearly that, he was even willing to give up his life for her. His reference to the Devil was an indication of his desperation. My ancestor…. “Did he have a name or not? This man who you call your ancestor?” came an interruption from Father Robert. “James Stapleton” came the reply. The Stapletons have been Devil worshippers ever since. Their animosity towards the Baskervilles grew with every generation and each one of us, armed with a hound that was empowered by the Devil, has been working to eliminate them. Since my childhood, my only desire has been to wipe out every living Baskervilles and take over the estate.  “And how did you think you would have achieved that objective?” shot out Lestrade. “I have papers which prove that I am the next in line to inherit the Baskerville Estate”.  “Obviously forged documents” remarked Holmes. “Stapleton, you are under arrest for the conspiracy to murder and attempted murder of Sir Henry and violence and abuse of Mrs Stapleton and forgery of documents of the Baskerville Estate”.

“Before you are taken by the hands of the law, Mr Stapleton, you need to take us to the altar where you summoned the Devil to do your dirty work” said Father Robert. Turning to Holmes, he said “we need to clear the negative influence of this satanic tradition before it is carried on by someone else”. At first, Stapleton was unwilling, however, he realised that he had no option but to take them to where they wanted.

He led us to the outhouse where the hound used to be kept and opened the door. It was dark and cold inside and felt as if there were invisible eyes watching us. Inside there was an altar with an idol of Satan (picture) and many sharp instruments and articles which may have been used in the worship. As we entered into the room, the idol started shaking and at the same time Stapleton started writhing as if in pain. For a moment I thought that he was trying to escape. I was not entirely wrong, however, he was not trying to escape from us. As we watched in horror, he held his hands to his throat as if he was being strangled, although we could not see anyone, Father Robert asked us all to stand back because Stapleton was being punished by the Devil for being exposed. All of a sudden the whole outhouse began to shake. As Holmes and Lestrade got down on the ground, Father Robert began pray loudly while I held onto Mrs Stapleton to comfort her. As soon as it stopped, the idol of the Devil burst apart and a gust of wind, blowing out, hit Stapleton in the chest. This time his pain seemed to be more excruciating and he then fell to the ground motionless.

The house began to shake once again. “We have to get out of here now!” yelled Father Robert and we got out of the house all at once and from a distance watched as the house looked like it was falling apart literally bit by bit. Then whatever remained of it burst into flames, taking the body of Stapleton into the flames