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Holmes shrugged his shoulders . “ One cannot always succeed . A detective needs facts , not legends . I shall go back to London tomorrow with an unpleasant memory . ” We left Stapleton with the body and walked towards the Hall . “ What a nerve the fellow has ! ” said Holmes . “ He has just found that the wrong man has fallen into his trap , and yet he kept his head . We have never had a more dangerous enemy , Watson . If we arrested him tonight , we would be laughed out of court . Sir Charles was found dead without a mark on him . We know that he died of fear , but how can we make a jury believe it ? And tonight we never even saw the hound . No , we must take a risk to win our case . Say nothing to Sir Henry about the hound . Tomorrow he is going to dine with these people , and he will need strong nerves . ” XI . Fixing the Nets Sir Henry was more pleased than surprised to see Sherlock Holmes , because he had been expecting him for some days . First , however , I had the unhappy duty of telling the Barrymores about Selden’s death . For the butler it was perhaps a relief , but his wife cried bitterly into her apron . To the world he had been a violent man , but to her he was always her little brother . “ I have stayed in the house all day , as I promised , ” said Sir Henry over a late supper . “ Stapleton asked me to go over to his house this evening , but I had sworn not to go out alone . ” “ I am sure you would have had a more exciting evening if you had gone , ” said Holmes drily . “ By the way , did you know that we have been mourning you as a man with a broken neck ? The poor prisoner was wearing your clothes . ” Holmes promised that the case would soon be clear , and Sir Henry promised to do whatever he was told without asking why . Then Holmes suddenly stopped speaking and stared at the wall over my head , where a row of old family pictures hung . “ These are a very fine set of portraits , ” he said . “ Who is the gentleman in black velvet with the lace collar ? ” “ Ah , that is the cause of all the trouble , ” said Sir Henry . “ That is the wicked Hugo , who started the legend of the hound . The date on the back is 1647 . ” Holmes said little more , but during the meal his eyes kept going back to the picture . When Sir Henry had gone to bed , Holmes took me back into the dining room and held his candle up to the portrait . “ Do you see anything there ? ” I looked at the wide hat with its feathers , the long curls of hair , the white lace collar and the hard , thin - lipped face between them . “ Is it like anyone you know ? ” “ There is something of Sir Henry about the jaw . ”
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