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It seemed hopeless to pursue the inquiry any farther, but it was clear that
in spite of Holmes’s ruse we had no proof that Barrymore had not been in
London all the time. Suppose that it were so—suppose that the same man had
been the last who had seen Sir Charles alive, and the first to dog the new heir
when he returned to England. What then? Was he the agent of others, or had he
some sinister design of his own? What interest could he have in persecuting the
Baskerville family? I thought of the strange warning clipped out of the leading
article of the
Times
. Was that his work, or was it possibly the doing of
some one who was bent upon counteracting his schemes? The only conceivable
motive was that which had been suggested by Sir Henry, that if the family could
be scared away a comfortable and permanent home would be secured for the
Barrymores. But surely such an explanation as that would be quite inadequate to
account for the deep and subtle scheming which seemed to be weaving an
invisible net round the young baronet. Holmes himself had said that no more
complex case had come to him in all the long series of his sensational
investigations. I prayed, as I walked back along the grey, lonely road, that my
friend might soon be freed from his preoccupations and able to come down to
take this heavy burden of responsibility from my shoulders.
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Il me semblait inutile de poursuivre plus loin mon enquête. Ainsi, malgré
la ruse inventée par Sherlock Holmes, nous n’avions pas acquis la preuve du
séjour de Barrymore au château pendant la semaine précédente.
Supposons le contraire…, Supposons que l’homme qui, le dernier, avait vu
sir Charles vivant, ait été le premier à espionner son héritier dès son
arrivée en Angleterre.
Alors, quoi ?
Était il l’instrument de quelqu’un ou nourrissait-il de sinistres
projets pour son propre compte ?
Quel intérêt avait il à persécuter la famille Baskerville ?
Je pensai à l’étrange avertissement découpé dans les colonnes du
Times
. Était-ce l’œuvre de Barrymore ou bien celle d’un tiers qui
s’évertuait à contrecarrer ses desseins ?
Sir Henry avait émis la version la plus plausible : si on éloignait
les Baskerville du château, Barrymore et sa femme y trouveraient un gîte
confortable et pour un temps indéfini.
Certes, une semblable explication ne suffisait pas pour justifier le plan qui
paraissait enserrer le baronnet comme dans les mailles d’un invisible
filet.
Holmes lui-même avait convenu que jamais, au cours de ses sensationnelles
enquêtes, on ne lui avait soumis de cas plus complexe.
Tout en retournant au château par cette route solitaire, je faisais des
vœux pour que mon ami, enfin débarrassé de ses préoccupations, revînt vite
me relever de la lourde responsabilité qui pesait sur moi.
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