Learning English

Darren
Hello, I'm Darren. I'm sure you've heard of Sherlock Holmes - Britain’s most famous sleuth. Well I'm going to tell you about The Hound of the Baskervilles - perhaps one of his strangest cases. 

One day Holmes and Dr Watson are visited in London by Dr Mortimer, whose friend, Sir Charles Baskerville, has been found dead in mysterious circumstances. 

Close to his body was a gigantic paw print! Mortimer is dead certain that a huge dog is responsible for the death. According to legend, an enormous black hound has haunted the Baskerville family for centuries. Intrigued, Holmes agrees to help protect the new heir to the estate – Sir Henry Baskerville - who Mortimer believes is in deadly danger. Sir Henry has been warned in a note to stay away from Baskerville Hall. And … bizarrely, two of his shoes have gone missing. 

Watson is sent on ahead to Baskerville Hall. On arriving in deepest Dartmoor, Watson’s suspicions are raised by the strange behaviour of the butler and his wife. He also learns that a convict, Selden, has escaped from a nearby prison. Watson sees Barrymore, the butler, signalling to someone on the moor in the dead of night.

Watson also meets the Stapletons, a brother and sister who are neighbours. Beryl Stapleton – thinking he is actually Sir Henry -  warns Watson to leave the area immediately. The plot thickens! Walking outside one night, Watson stops dead in his tracks. A bloodcurdling howl comes from the moor. The hound! Then Watson spies a strange figure standing on the mountain top.

The mystery deepens – and where has Sherlock Holmes got to? You can find out in the next part of our story – I'll see you then. Bye for now.