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VII . The Stapletons of Merripit House The next morning was bright and fresh , and even the dark dining room looked cheerful . “ Did you hear a woman crying in the night ? ” I asked Sir Henry . He thought he had heard something of the kind when he was half asleep , so he rang for Barrymore and asked him about it . It seemed to me that the butler’s pale face turned even paler . “ There are only two women in the house , Sir Henry , ” he answered . “ One is the kitchen maid , who sleeps in the other wing . The other is my wife , and I can promise you that the sound did not come from her . ” And yet he was lying . After breakfast I met Mrs Barrymore in the long corridor with the sun full on her face . She was a large , solid woman with a hard mouth , but her eyes were red and swollen . So it was she who had cried in the night , and her husband must know it . Why had he lied ? Was it possible that it was Barrymore whom we had seen in the cab in London ? The beard might well have been the same . I decided to see the postmaster at Grimpen and find out if Holmes’s telegram had really been put into Barrymore’s own hands . It was a pleasant walk of four miles along the edge of the moor to the little grey village . The postmaster told me that his boy had given the telegram to Mrs Barrymore , because her husband was busy up in the roof at the time . So we had no proof at all that Barrymore had been at the Hall . Perhaps the butler simply wanted to frighten the family away , so that he and his wife could keep their comfortable home . But that did not explain the clever net which was being woven around the young baronet . Suddenly I heard running feet behind me and a voice calling my name . It was a stranger , a small , slim man of between thirty and forty , with a clean - shaven face and light hair . He wore a grey suit and a straw hat , and he carried a green butterfly net . “ Please excuse me , Dr Watson , ” he said . “ Here on the moor we don’t wait for formal introductions . I am Stapleton , of Merripit House , and Mortimer showed you to me from his window as you passed . We were all afraid that Sir Henry might refuse to live here after his uncle’s sad death . Of course you know the legend of the devil dog ? ” He spoke with a smile , but his eyes seemed to take the matter more seriously . “ I think it led Sir Charles to his death . His nerves were so bad that the sight of any dog might have stopped his weak heart . And has Mr Sherlock Holmes reached any conclusion ? ” For a moment I could not speak .
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