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- Артур Конан Дойл
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- Tales of Terror and Mystery
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Perhaps
before
the
Courier
published
these
words
they
would
have
been
wise
to
send
their
representative
to
me
.
I
have
thought
the
matter
out
,
as
no
one
else
has
occasion
to
do
,
and
it
is
possible
that
I
might
have
removed
some
of
the
more
obvious
difficulties
of
the
narrative
and
brought
it
one
degree
nearer
to
scientific
acceptance
.
Let
me
then
write
down
the
only
explanation
which
seems
to
me
to
elucidate
what
I
know
to
my
cost
to
have
been
a
series
of
facts
.
My
theory
may
seem
to
be
wildly
improbable
,
but
at
least
no
one
can
venture
to
say
that
it
is
impossible
.
My
view
is
—
and
it
was
formed
,
as
is
shown
by
my
diary
,
before
my
personal
adventure
—
that
in
this
part
of
England
there
is
a
vast
subterranean
lake
or
sea
,
which
is
fed
by
the
great
number
of
streams
which
pass
down
through
the
limestone
.
Where
there
is
a
large
collection
of
water
there
must
also
be
some
evaporation
,
mists
or
rain
,
and
a
possibility
of
vegetation
.
This
in
turn
suggests
that
there
may
be
animal
life
,
arising
,
as
the
vegetable
life
would
also
do
,
from
those
seeds
and
types
which
had
been
introduced
at
an
early
period
of
the
world
’
s
history
,
when
communication
with
the
outer
air
was
more
easy
.
This
place
had
then
developed
a
fauna
and
flora
of
its
own
,
including
such
monsters
as
the
one
which
I
had
seen
,
which
may
well
have
been
the
old
cave
-
bear
,
enormously
enlarged
and
modified
by
its
new
environment
.
For
countless
aeons
the
internal
and
the
external
creation
had
kept
apart
,
growing
steadily
away
from
each
other
.
Then
there
had
come
some
rift
in
the
depths
of
the
mountain
which
had
enabled
one
creature
to
wander
up
and
,
by
means
of
the
Roman
tunnel
,
to
reach
the
open
air
.
Like
all
subterranean
life
,
it
had
lost
the
power
of
sight
,
but
this
had
no
doubt
been
compensated
for
by
nature
in
other
directions
.
Certainly
it
had
some
means
of
finding
its
way
about
,
and
of
hunting
down
the
sheep
upon
the
hillside
.
As
to
its
choice
of
dark
nights
,
it
is
part
of
my
theory
that
light
was
painful
to
those
great
white
eyeballs
,
and
that
it
was
only
a
pitch
-
black
world
which
it
could
tolerate
.
Perhaps
,
indeed
,
it
was
the
glare
of
my
lantern
which
saved
my
life
at
that
awful
moment
when
we
were
face
to
face
So
I
read
the
riddle
.
I
leave
these
facts
behind
me
,
and
if
you
can
explain
them
,
do
so
;
or
if
you
choose
to
doubt
them
,
do
so
.
Neither
your
belief
nor
your
incredulity
can
alter
them
,
nor
affect
one
whose
task
is
nearly
over
.
So
ended
the
strange
narrative
of
Dr
.
James
Hardcastle
.
It
is
hard
luck
on
a
young
fellow
to
have
expensive
tastes
,
great
expectations
,
aristocratic
connections
,
but
no
actual
money
in
his
pocket
,
and
no
profession
by
which
he
may
earn
any
.
The
fact
was
that
my
father
,
a
good
,
sanguine
,
easy
-
going
man
,
had
such
confidence
in
the
wealth
and
benevolence
of
his
bachelor
elder
brother
,
Lord
Southerton
,
that
he
took
it
for
granted
that
I
,
his
only
son
,
would
never
be
called
upon
to
earn
a
living
for
myself
.
He
imagined
that
if
there
were
not
a
vacancy
for
me
on
the
great
Southerton
Estates
,
at
least
there
would
be
found
some
post
in
that
diplomatic
service
which
still
remains
the
special
preserve
of
our
privileged
classes
.
He
died
too
early
to
realize
how
false
his
calculations
had
been
.
Neither
my
uncle
nor
the
State
took
the
slightest
notice
of
me
,
or
showed
any
interest
in
my
career
.
An
occasional
brace
of
pheasants
,
or
basket
of
hares
,
was
all
that
ever
reached
me
to
remind
me
that
I
was
heir
to
Otwell
House
and
one
of
the
richest
estates
in
the
country
.
In
the
meantime
,
I
found
myself
a
bachelor
and
man
about
town
,
living
in
a
suite
of
apartments
in
Grosvenor
Mansions
,
with
no
occupation
save
that
of
pigeon
-
shooting
and
polo
-
playing
at
Hurlingham
.
Month
by
month
I
realized
that
it
was
more
and
more
difficult
to
get
the
brokers
to
renew
my
bills
,
or
to
cash
any
further
post
-
obits
upon
an
unentailed
property
.
Ruin
lay
right
across
my
path
,
and
every
day
I
saw
it
clearer
,
nearer
,
and
more
absolutely
unavoidable
.
What
made
me
feel
my
own
poverty
the
more
was
that
,
apart
from
the
great
wealth
of
Lord
Southerton
,
all
my
other
relations
were
fairly
well
-
to
-
do
.
The
nearest
of
these
was
Everard
King
,
my
father
’
s
nephew
and
my
own
first
cousin
,
who
had
spent
an
adventurous
life
in
Brazil
,
and
had
now
returned
to
this
country
to
settle
down
on
his
fortune
.
We
never
knew
how
he
made
his
money
,
but
he
appeared
to
have
plenty
of
it
,
for
he
bought
the
estate
of
Greylands
,
near
Clipton
-
on
-
the
-
Marsh
,
in
Suffolk
.
For
the
first
year
of
his
residence
in
England
he
took
no
more
notice
of
me
than
my
miserly
uncle
;
but
at
last
one
summer
morning
,
to
my
very
great
relief
and
joy
,
I
received
a
letter
asking
me
to
come
down
that
very
day
and
spend
a
short
visit
at
Greylands
Court
.
I
was
expecting
a
rather
long
visit
to
Bankruptcy
Court
at
the
time
,
and
this
interruption
seemed
almost
providential
.
If
I
could
only
get
on
terms
with
this
unknown
relative
of
mine
,
I
might
pull
through
yet
.
For
the
family
credit
he
could
not
let
me
go
entirely
to
the
wall
.
I
ordered
my
valet
to
pack
my
valise
,
and
I
set
off
the
same
evening
for
Clipton
-
on
-
the
-
Marsh
.
After
changing
at
Ipswich
,
a
little
local
train
deposited
me
at
a
small
,
deserted
station
lying
amidst
a
rolling
grassy
country
,
with
a
sluggish
and
winding
river
curving
in
and
out
amidst
the
valleys
,
between
high
,
silted
banks
,
which
showed
that
we
were
within
reach
of
the
tide
.
No
carriage
was
awaiting
me
(
I
found
afterwards
that
my
telegram
had
been
delayed
)
,
so
I
hired
a
dogcart
at
the
local
inn
.
The
driver
,
an
excellent
fellow
,
was
full
of
my
relative
’
s
praises
,
and
I
learned
from
him
that
Mr
.
Everard
King
was
already
a
name
to
conjure
with
in
that
part
of
the
county
.
He
had
entertained
the
school
-
children
,
he
had
thrown
his
grounds
open
to
visitors
,
he
had
subscribed
to
charities
—
in
short
,
his
benevolence
had
been
so
universal
that
my
driver
could
only
account
for
it
on
the
supposition
that
he
had
parliamentary
ambitions
.
My
attention
was
drawn
away
from
my
driver
’
s
panegyric
by
the
appearance
of
a
very
beautiful
bird
which
settled
on
a
telegraph
-
post
beside
the
road
.
At
first
I
thought
that
it
was
a
jay
,
but
it
was
larger
,
with
a
brighter
plumage
.
The
driver
accounted
for
its
presence
at
once
by
saying
that
it
belonged
to
the
very
man
whom
we
were
about
to
visit
.
It
seems
that
the
acclimatization
of
foreign
creatures
was
one
of
his
hobbies
,
and
that
he
had
brought
with
him
from
Brazil
a
number
of
birds
and
beasts
which
he
was
endeavouring
to
rear
in
England
.
When
once
we
had
passed
the
gates
of
Greylands
Park
we
had
ample
evidence
of
this
taste
of
his
.
Some
small
spotted
deer
,
a
curious
wild
pig
known
,
I
believe
,
as
a
peccary
,
a
gorgeously
feathered
oriole
,
some
sort
of
armadillo
,
and
a
singular
lumbering
in
-
toed
beast
like
a
very
fat
badger
,
were
among
the
creatures
which
I
observed
as
we
drove
along
the
winding
avenue
.
