Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews April 4, 2023 March 28, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
Holmes, excited by such a mysterious case, asks for more details. As it turns out, the paw prints indicated that the dog had not approached the body. High hedges and two locked gates bordered the Yew Alley. Mortimer suggests that the death was the result of some supernatural evil, and he describes his own interviews with locals, who had seen a spectral hound roaming the moors. The superstitious Mortimer only came to Holmes to ask what to do with Sir Henry, the sole heir, set to arrive at Waterloo Station in one hour. He mentions another heir, Sir Charles's brother Roger, but points out that he is presumed dead in South America. As for Sir Henry, Mortimer is afraid should he set up shop in Devonshire, but he knows that the county is counting on continued Baskerville philanthropy.
Holmes promises to consider the matter, telling Mortimer to pick up Henry at the station and bring him to the office the next morning. The detective dismisses Mortimer and Watson and settles down to contemplate the situation, ruminating in his typical fashion over a bag of Bradley's strongest shag tobacco.
Later that night, Watson returns to find the office atmosphere thick with smoke: as Holmes suggests, "a concentrated atmosphere helps a concentration of thought." Holmes surprises Watson by guessing he has been at his club and unveils a map of the Baskerville moorlands. Holmes indicates his inclination to go through all the other possibilities before falling back on the supernatural one, and he speculates on the relevant questions. Given his infirmity and fear of the moor, Holmes wonders whom Charles was waiting for at the gate. The change in footprints, Holmes suggests, indicates running and not tiptoeing. Holmes also points out that Sir Charles was running in exactly the wrong direction—away from his house and any help he might find. The duo sets aside the case and Holmes takes up his violin.
The next morning, Mortimer and the young Henry Baskerville arrive at 221b Baker Street. Though sturdy and weather-beaten, Sir Henry's expression showed that he was a gentleman. Just twenty-four hours in London, Sir Henry has already gotten involved in the mystery—he received an anonymous note of warning when he arrived at his hotel. Said the note: "As you value your life, or your reason, keep away from the moor." A few facts stand out: the address is on a plain envelope and printed in rough writing, and the note itself is composed with words cut out of a newspaper, except for the word moor. Holmes establishes that no one could have known where to reach Sir Henry, so the writer must be following him. Holmes quickly assesses the typeface and discerns that the words were cut out from yesterday's Times. He goes on to suggest that the culprit used a pair of short-bladed nail scissors, since the longer words are cut with two snips, and that the word moor was handwritten because the author could not find it in print.
Astounded, the others listen on intently. Holmes proceeds: the author must be an educated man, since only the well-educated read the Times. As such, the roughly written address suggests the writer was trying to disguise his or her handwriting, thus, the writer must have cursive that is recognizable. In addition, the author must have been in a hurry, since the words are glued carelessly onto the paper.
Dr. Mortimer, suddenly skeptical, questions Holmes' guess work, and the Holmes retorts that his methodology involves weighing probabilities and deciding on the likeliest solution. To prove it, he points out that the spluttered writing suggests a lack of ink, undoubtedly the result of a hotel pen, and not a private one. Holmes even asserts that an investigation of hotel garbage around Charing Cross, where the letter was postmarked, should yield the torn-up copy of the Times.
Please wait while we process your payment