Bedside Lamp English Learning Reader II: The Hound of the Baskervilles (Pure English Version)

Author: [British] Arthur Conan Doyle
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: On a beautiful morning in September, the great detective Sherlock Holmes received a visit request from a doctor named James Mortimer. At half past ten in the morning, Dr. Mortimer arrived as scheduled, accompanied by a bundle of mysterious manuscripts from the late Lord Charles Baskerville. The letter told the story of how Hugo Baskerville, an ancestor of the Baskerville family, had committed countless crimes over a hundred years ago and ultimately met his demise at the jaws of the legendary, ferocious Baskerville hound. Since then, the Baskerville family has been shrouded in the shadow of the crimes committed by their ancestors, and successive heirs to the family fortune have died in mysterious and terrifying ways. At first, Holmes was not particularly interested in Dr. Mortimer's story, dismissing it as just an interesting legend. However, as Dr. Mortimer gradually explained the doubts surrounding the cause of death of Sir Charles Baskerville, Holmes decided to get involved in the case, realizing that it was not only about the true cause of death of the late Earl Charles but also about the life safety of the next heir to Baskerville Hall, Henry Baskerville. Under Holmes's clever arrangement, his loyal partner, Dr. Watson, accompanied Sir Henry back to Baskerville Hall. During their time at Baskerville Hall, Dr. Watson encountered a series of strange events one after another, such as the mournful cries of a woman at midnight, the suspicious movements of the butler, Mr. Barrymore, at night, and later the fragments of a letter that Sir Charles had not completely burned before his death, and so on. All these mysteries left him lost in confusion. Just as he decided to delve deeper into the heart of the matter, he unexpectedly encountered Holmes, who had fallen from the sky. It turned out that Holmes had deliberately concealed himself to uncover the secrets of the legendary, terrifying hound and the tragedy at Baskerville Hall, hiding alone in the remote marshlands, enduring storms, solitude, and cold. Meanwhile, the cunning criminal could no longer restrain himself and began to surface, eagerly mistaking the escaped convict Selden, dressed in Sir Henry's clothes, for his target. This further confirmed Holmes's suspicions. Determined, Holmes lured the real culprit, Stapleton, out with Henry. It turned out that Stapleton, who had just moved to Devon two years ago, was actually Roger Baskerville, the son of the late Earl Charles's younger brother. Many years ago, people had mistakenly believed that the fugitive Roger had died in South America, but in reality, he had not died and had even had a son named Roger, who was Stapleton. Stapleton knew that if both Charles and Henry died, he would inherit the vast wealth of the Baskerville family. Therefore, he used the legend of the Baskerville hound to kill his own relatives by any means necessary. He first used the vicious dog to scare to death the elderly and frail Sir Charles, and then tried to have the dog attack Sir Henry, but Holmes ultimately exposed his schemes. With the cooperation of Watson and the police, they killed the terrifying hound, and Stapleton disappeared into the night, his fate uncertain.