Level 5 The Hound of the Baskervilles
< Answer Key >
Chapter 1
Preview Questions
1.
Answers vary: Yes, I have. It was very interesting because Sherlock Holmes was very logical. (No, I
haven’t. I do not like characters like Sherlock Holmes because they do the impossible.)
2. Answers vary: Yes, I would. I think it would be exciting and interesting to bring criminals to justice.
(No, I would not. Real police have to solve terrible cases. Sometimes criminals go free or innocent
people suffer a lot.)
3. Answers vary: You can tell if he has had it for a long time or a short time. You can tell who made
the stick so you would know where he shops. You could tell if he uses it a lot or a little bit. You could
tell where he walks with the stick.
Review Questions
1. He knew he was looking at the walking stick because he saw the doctor’s reflection in the coffee
pot.
2. He knew Mortimer was young because the stick had been given to him only five years ago, when
he had been a student at Charing Cross.
3. He knew the kind of dog Mortimer had because he looked at the bite marks on the stick. They
were spaced apart in such a way that he thought the dog must be a curly-haired spaniel.
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Chapter 2
Preview Questions
1.
Answers vary: A curse is an evil spell that someone casts to hurt another person. I don’t believe in
curses. They are silly and superstitious. (I believe in curses. I know that someone can curse another
person and their lives become very difficult.)
2. Sherlock Holmes will not believe in the curse. He is very logical.
3. Answers vary: Mortimer will tell them he is cursed. Mortimer will tell them that he is very ill and
saw someone cursing him. Mortimer will tell them he has a special problem that no one can solve.
Review Questions
1. Hugo died violently. He had made a deal with the devil so he could catch a girl before she arrived
home. His friends found him as a large dog was ripping his throat out.
2. Holmes thought the newspaper report was more interesting than the story because the story was
more recent. The story also reported the facts in a less fantastical way.
3. Mortimer saw the footprints of a large dog near the body of Sir Charles.
Chapter 3
Preview Questions
1.
Answers vary: How big were the footprints? How long had Sir Charles been laying there? What
do you know about Sir Charles’ heir? Did Sir Charles have any enemies? If Sir Charles was afraid, why
did he go out? Had Sir Charles been acting strangely? Did he talk to any of the servants?
2. Answers vary: Yes, the hound killed Sir Charles. He had fallen victim to the curse. (No, the hound
did not kill him. It is part of a very evil plot.)
3. Answers vary: I need to have absolute quiet. I think best when I am alone with my thoughts. (I
need to have some noise. It helps me to focus on what I need to do.)
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Review Questions
1. Sir Charles’s younger brothers both died before he did. His one brother died very young and the
second one caused a lot of trouble. He ran off and died in South America.
2. He opened the window when he returned from the club because Holmes had been smoking a lot.
3. His footprints changed because he was running away from something or someone.
Chapter 4
Preview Questions
1.
Answers vary: Yes, he is keeping a secret. He is scared that Holmes might not take him seriously
or he may think it will make him look bad. (No, he is not keeping a secret. He might know something
more but may think it is not important.)
2. Answers vary: Holmes will tell them to go to Baskerville Hall and to be careful. Holmes will tell
them to rent rooms near Baskerville Hall and wait for him to come. Holmes will tell them to ask him
down to Baskerville Hall to investigate.
3. Answers vary: He may want to know the size and kind of shoe the person wears. He may want to
use it to make prints. He may want it so another pair can be made that look just like it.
Review Questions
1. Holmes knew which paper the letters came from because he had studied the different kinds of
print used by each newspaper.
2. Someone had taken one of Sir Henry’s boots.
3. Holmes asked Cartwright to visit 23 hotels and look through the waste paper. He was supposed to
be looking for the page from the Times that had been used to make the threatening letter.
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Chapter 5
Preview Questions
1.
Answers vary: Yes, I can. I try to find something else to occupy my thoughts, like a difficult math
problem or an interesting book. (No, I cannot. Once something bothers me, it is the only thing I can
think about.)
2. Answers vary: Yes, he will. He will think that it will force the criminal into doing something foolish.
(No, he won’t. He will be worried that someone will try to kill the man.)
3. Answers vary: People sent telegrams. People sent messages through messengers. People sent
messages through the mail.
Review Questions
1. Sherlock Holmes looked at the hotel register to see who had checked into the hotel after Sir
Henry. Holmes realized that the people who were following Sir Henry would follow him but did not
want to be seen.
2. Barrymore was Sir Charles’ butler, and has a big black beard. Barrymore and his wife also inherited
five hundred pounds each on Sir Charles’ death.
3. Holmes said he could not come down to Baskerville Hall because he had to deal with an
important case in London.
Chapter 6
Preview Questions
1.
Answers vary: Yes, I have. It was a pain. (No, I haven’t. I am very careful about where I go.)
2. Yes, he will be pleased. He is very interested in the case. (No, he will not be pleased. He will want
Holmes to come with him.)
3. Answers vary: He will find his missing boots. He will find another note. He will find something
strange.
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Review Questions
1. Sir Henry found his missing boot. It was from the new pair he bought.
2. Cartwright told Holmes that he had visited all the hotels and did not find the cut sheet at any of
them.
3. The man said he was a detective and told the driver to not tell anyone about him. When he left
the cab, he told the driver his name was “Sherlock Holmes”.
Chapter 7
Preview Questions
1.
Answers vary: Barrymore could be dangerous. He may have a serious grudge against the
Baskerville family. Sir Henry should fire him. (Barrymore is not dangerous. He has been with the family
for many years and had always been a good servant. Sir Henry should not fire him.)
2. Yes, I have. (No, I haven’t.)
3. Answers vary: They are hunting for someone. They are protecting the people from the ghost
hound. They were called in to keep the peace.
Review Questions
1. Holmes told Watson to write to him about the neighbors. He wanted Watson to only include the
facts in his letters.
2. The moor is a gloomy gray place. It begins with a sad gray hill and is rocky vast, and barren.
3. Watson heard a woman crying.
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Chapter 8
Preview Questions
1.
Answers vary: The best part of the day is morning. Everything is fresh and new. The best part of
the day is the afternoon. Everyone has the most energy then. The best part of the day is the evening.
It is cool and all the work from the day is done.
2. Answers vary: It was Mrs. Barrymore. It was another servant. It was not a woman, but some kind of
animal.
3. Answers vary: Yes, I have. I gave it to the person it was for. (No, I haven’t.)
Review Questions
1. The pony that was caught in the mire sank to its death.
2. Watson heard moaning and Stapleton said it was probably mud settling or a bird.
3. His sister told Watson to go back to London because she had thought he was Sir Henry. She
wanted to warn Sir Henry not to stay.
Chapter 9
Preview Questions
1.
Answers vary: He visits the moor and Baskerville Hall. He visits the moor and Mr. Stapleton’s
house. He will visit two other neighbors.
2. Yes, she will. She will point out that people have already died from the curse. (No, she won’t. Sir
Henry is a very practical man. He will not listen to her. )
3. Answers vary: Watson will see the hound of the Baskervilles. Watson will see a man wandering on
the moor. Watson will see something strange.
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Review Questions
1. The people will think that the prisoner has left because no one has seen him. He may be living in
the ruins, but there is nothing for him to eat.
2. Stapleton does not approve of their friendship.
3. Watson saw Barrymore sneak out of his room and watch through one of the windows. He
groaned and went away.
Chapter 10
Preview Questions
1.
They will make a plan to catch Barrymore and find out what he is doing.
2. Answers vary: Yes, he should. He is a grown man and is unmarried. (No, he shouldn’t. Sir Henry’s
life is in danger.)
3. He could be killed.
Review Questions
1. Watson allowed Sir Henry to go on the moor alone because Sir Henry wanted to see Miss
Stapleton. He really likes her and may ask her to marry him.
2. He decided to follow him because he was worried that something bad would happen to Sir Henry.
3. Sir Henry agreed to wait three months before he married Miss Stapleton, so that her brother
could get used to the idea of living alone.
Chapter 11
Preview Questions
1.
He is looking for someone or something.
2. Yes, I would, but it would depend on the crime. (No, I wouldn’t. I would call the police.)
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3. Yes, it is wise of them. They can maybe catch the prisoner or the killer. (No, it is foolish for them
to do it. It is playing right into the killer’s hands.)
Review Questions
1. He refused to tell Sir Henry because he was trying to protect his wife.
2. Mrs. Barrymore told him that the prisoner was her brother. They had been giving him food and
using the candle to signal to him.
3. Watson saw a tall thin man looking out over the moor.
Chapter 12
Preview Questions
1.
Answers vary: The man on the rock was Sherlock Holmes. The man on the rock was a soldier. The
man on the rock was Stapleton.
2. Yes, they should. He is starving. (No, they shouldn’t. He has done something very bad.)
3. Yes, they should. Barrymore has been honest with them. (No, they shouldn’t. He was being sneaky
about helping his brother-in-law.)
Review Questions
1. Barrymore complained about Watson and Sir Henry chasing his brother-in-law. He wanted Sir
Henry to leave him alone until he escaped to South America.
2. Barrymore found the burned letter that Sir Charles received. It had asked him to meet someone
on the moor.
3. L.L. is Laura Lyons, a woman who had been abandoned by her husband and father. She set up a
typing business with some money her neighbors gave her.
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Chapter 13
Preview Questions
1.
Answers vary: He told the truth about the letter. He is an honest man. He only told part of the
truth about the letter. He was trying to hide something. He did not tell the truth about the letter. He
knows a lot more.
2. .
Answers vary: He will not find out much. He will find out that she was going to marry Sir
Charles. He will find out that she sent him a note from someone else.
3. Yes, she met him. (No, she did not meet him.)
Review Questions
1. Mr. Stapleton told Sir Charles that Laura needed some help.
2. Laura wrote to Sir Charles because she wanted to thank him for being so generous to her. She
asked to see him because she wanted to get some help. She wanted him to help her pay for her
divorce.
3. She would not say why she could not keep the appointment, but only said it was a personal
matter.
Chapter 14
Preview Questions
1.
Answers vary: Holmes will help Watson. Miss Stapleton will help Watson. Barrymore will help
Watson. The man with the telescope will help Watson.
2. Yes, I have. They are beautiful. (No, I haven’t.)
3. There will be signs of someone living there. There may be food or clothes there.
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Review Questions
1. He didn’t tell the police because they didn’t give him the protection he wanted from some angry
citizens.
2. Watson found a table and cooking items. He found some blankets and a waterproof jacket.
3. Watson thought the stranger was dangerous.
Chapter 15
Preview Questions
1.
The stranger was Holmes. He knew that Watson was in the hut because he saw his cigarette. He
also knew how Watson was waiting because he knew his personality well.
2. Answers vary: The surprising news is that they are not brother and sister. The surprising news is
that they are not who they seem to be. The surprising news is that they have disappeared.
3. Answers vary: Sir Henry will die. The prisoner will die. Barrymore will die.
Review Questions
1. Holmes knew he was inside the hut because he saw his cigarette. He also knew how Watson was
waiting because he knew his personality well.
2. He knew she was his wife because he found out that Stapleton had once run a school. He
discovered that the man and his wife who ran the school disappeared after it was closed. The man
had an unusual interest in insects.
3. They thought he was Sir Henry because the dead man was wearing some of his old clothes.
Chapter 16
Preview Questions
1.
Seldon was killed because he was wearing Sir Henry’s old clothes.
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2. Answers vary: They will see Barrymore. They will see Stapleton. They will see the hound.
3. Yes, I do. I look like my father. (No, I don’t look like any of my relatives.)
Review Questions
1. Stapleton was the murderer and thought he had killed Sir Henry.
2. Holmes and Watson told Stapleton they are going back to London, but they are really going to
Coombe Tracey.
3. Holmes was excited because he saw the strong family resemblance between Hugo Baskerville and
Mr. Stapleton. He realized that Stapleton was a Baskerville and was trying to get the inheritance for
himself.
Chapter 17
Preview Questions
1.
Answers vary: He will tell Sir Henry to stay in the house. He will tell Sir Henry to pretend to go
out. He will tell Sir Henry to check into a local hotel.
2. Yes, I have. (No, I have not.)
3. Answers vary: She will be angry and sad. She will be very surprised and not believe it. She will sigh
and say that she had known it.
Review Questions
1. Holmes wanted everyone to think that he was in London.
2. Laura told Holmes that she wrote the letter
3. Lestrade is a detective from London. He is a good officer.
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Chapter 18
Preview Questions
1.
Yes, I do. It makes me happy to see them happy. (No, I don’t. People never react how I would
like them to.)
2. The hound will be a real dog. (The hound will not be real, but something made by Stapleton.)
3. Yes, he will. (No, he won’t.)
Review Questions
1. It was thick and hard to see what was happening. Holmes was worried that Sir Henry would not
be able to see the path.
2. Stapleton tied up his wife because he did not want her trying to stop him from setting the dog on
Sir Henry. He also needed to make his escape.
3. He painted the dog with phosphorus to make it glow.
Chapter 19
Preview Questions
1.
Answers vary: He may be someone no one knew about. He may be the Baskerville who was
supposed to have died in South America. He was the son of one of the Baskervilles.
2. The missing boots were for the dog. The dog needed to get the scent of Sir Henry so he would
know whom to attack.
3. Answers vary: Holmes knew the way women write letters. Holmes knew that a man would have
done something differently. Holmes smelled perfume on the letter.
Review Questions
1. It took six weeks because Holmes was working on two other important cases. Watson had to wait
for him to finish with those first.
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2. Holmes needed time to do his own investigations. He was worried that Watson would interfere
with them because he was a kind man.
3. He knew it was not supernatural because it needed an old boot to pick up Sir Henry’s scent. A
supernatural creature would not need to know the smell of the man he was hunting.
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< Summaries >
Chapter 1
Mr. Sherlock Holmes
Dr Watson examines a walking stick left by a visitor the previous evening. He decides it belongs to an
elderly doctor who works in the country. Sherlock Holmes then examines it and declares that the
doctor is young. He tells Watson a lot more about the doctor, and their conversation ends when the
owner of the walking stick, Dr Mortimer, arrives and tells them that he has a serious problem and
needs some advice.
Chapter 2
The Curse of the Baskervilles
Dr. Mortimer reads two documents to Sherlock Holmes and Watson. The first is a very old document
that tells of the curse placed on the Baskerville family several centuries ago, when Hugo Baskerville
behaved badly and was killed by a huge hound. The second is a recent newspaper report about the
death of Sir Charles Baskerville in strange circumstances. Mortimer tells Holmes that he saw the
footprints of a giant hound near the body of Sir Charles.
Chapter 3
The Problem
Sherlock Holmes asks some questions about the footprints and other circumstances around the death
of Sir Charles. Mortimer seems to think that the hound may be supernatural, and says he is not
asking Holmes to investigate Sir Charles’ death. He just wants some advice about whether he should
take Sir Henry to Baskerville Hall, where it might be dangerous, or keep him in London. Holmes
thinks about the case and studies some maps of the area. He tells Watson that the case is beginning
to make sense to him.
Chapter 4
Sir Henry Baskerville
Sir Henry and Mortimer arrive and Sir Henry shows Holmes a letter warning him to stay away from
Baskerville hall. The words have been cut out of the newspaper with a pair of nail scissors. Sir Henry
tells Holmes that somebody stole one of his shoes. Holmes notices something very interesting about
the letter but does not say what it is. When Sir Henry and Mortimer leave, Holmes and Watson notice
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that they are being followed by a man with a black beard, who sees them and flees in a cab. Holmes
asks a messenger boy called Cartwright to search the hotels near Charing Cross to find the
newspaper that had the words of the letter cut out of it.
Chapter 5
At the Northumberland Hotel
Holmes and Watson go to the hotel and have lunch with Sir Henry and Dr Mortimer. Sir Henry is
angry at the hotel staff because now one of his old boots has been stolen. He tells them that he
intends to go to Baskerville Hall at the end of the week. Holmes asks Mr Mortimer about men with
black beards and discovers that the butler at Baskerville Hall, Barrymore, has such a beard. He also
discovers that the next heir of the Baskerville fortune is an old clergyman called Desmond. Sherlock
Holmes says that he cannot come to Baskerville hall himself, but suggests that Watson should go
with Sir Henry instead.
Chapter 6
Dead Ends
Watson agrees to go to Baskerville Hall with Sir Henry and stay with him there. Sir Henry finds the
lost new boot, but the old boot is still missing. Cartwright sends a message saying that he could not
find the cut up newspaper in the hotels that he searched. They also receive a telegram to say that
tells them Barrymore is at Baskerville Hall. Sherlock Holmes talks to the cab driver who drove the man
in the black beard, and to his surprise, discovers that the man in the black beard had called himself
Sherlock Holmes!
Chapter 7
Baskerville Hall
Watson travels to Dartmoor with Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer. When they arrive they see soldiers with
guns and the driver explains that a prisoner has escaped from a nearby jail and is hiding on the moor.
Baskerville Hall seems a dark and unfriendly place when they arrive there that night. During the night,
Watson hears a woman crying.
Chapter 8
The Stapletons of Merripit House
Watson is sure that it is Barrymore’s wife who cried during the night, although Barrymore denies it.
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Watson walks to Grimpen and meets Stapleton on the moor. Stapleton tells him about the curse of
the hound and warns him about the dangers of the moor. Watson also meets Stapleton’s sister who,
believing that he is Sir Henry, secretly warns him to leave Dartmoor immediately. When she discovers
that he is not Sir Henry she tells him not to worry but doesn’t want Watson to say anything about it
to Stapleton, because she knows that he wants Sir Henry to stay at Baskerville Hall.
Chapter 9
First Report of Dr. Watson
Watson writes to Holmes and tells him that the prisoner seems to have left the moor. Stapleton has
taken them to visit the place where the hound killed Hugo in the legend, and Dr. Mortimer took him
to see the place where Sir Charles died. Watson thinks that Sir Henry and Miss Stapleton are very
friendly but he cannot understand why Stapleton seems to be upset by it. He meets Mr. Frankland of
Lafter Hall, who is a strange man with a telescope that he uses to study the stars and search for
escaped prisoners. One night he hears a noise outside his room and he sees Barrymore going to an
empty room, holding a candle to the window and staring across the moor. He tells Sir Henry about it
and they make a plan.
Chapter 10 Second Report of Dr. Watson
and Sir Henry decide to stay up and watch for Barrymore going to the window so that they can find
out what he is doing. During the day however, Sir Watson Henry goes out onto the moor to meet
with Miss Stapleton. Watson does not want to let him go alone but cannot prevent him. Then he
decides to follow him and, from the top of a hill, sees him meet her. They are having a very serious
discussion when he sees Stapleton rush up to them and shout at Sir Henry. Stapleton forces his sister
to come with him and Sir Henry goes back to Baskerville Hall. He tells Watson that he loves Miss
Stapleton but that her brother was very angry with him. Later, however, Stapleton comes to
Baskerville Hall and apologizes to Sir Henry, and they agree that Sir Henry wait for three months
before he tries to be friendly with Miss Stapleton again.
Chapter 11 Second Report of Dr. Watson Continued
Sir Henry and Watson see Barrymore go to the empty room again in the middle of the night. They
follow him and see him hold the candle to the window. Sir Henry asks Barrymore what he is doing,
but Barrymore refuses to tell him. Sir Henry tells him to leave Baskerville Hall, but Mrs Barrymore
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arrives and tells them that Barrymore is not plotting to harm Sir Henry. He is trying to signal her
brother, who is the escaped prisoner, to find out where to deliver him some food. Watson and Sir
Henry go out onto the moor at night to try and catch the prisoner, but he runs away from them.
Before they go back to the Hall Watson sees a tall man standing on a rock, but when he looks again,
the man has gone.
Chapter 12 Dr. Watson’s Diary
Barrymore complains that Sir Henry and Watson tried to catch his wife’s brother and tells them that
he is not dangerous. they agree to keep quiet about it, and Barrymore tells them about a burned
letter that he saw, which showed that Sir Charles was waiting at the gate for a woman whose initials
were L.L. Watson speaks to Mortimer and finds out about Laura Lyons, a woman in Coombe Tracey.
She is Frankland’s daughter and Mortimer says that Sir Charles and others, including himself, helped
her set up a typewriting business. Barrymore tells Watson that the escaped prisoner had seen the
other man on the moor, although he does not know who it is.
Chapter 13 Mrs. Laura Lyons
Watson goes to Coombe Tracey and visits Laura Lyons. At first she is angry at being asked about the
letter but then she admits that she wrote it. She says that she wanted to meet Sir Charles to ask for
help, but that she did not keep the appointment.
Chapter 14 The Man on the Hill
Watson decides to find the man he saw on the hill. He meets Mr. Frankland who tells him about a
boy that he sometimes sees on the moor through his telescope. Watson sees that boy too and
realizes that he is near the hill where the stranger had stood on the rock. He goes there and finds a
hut where somebody has been living. He goes into it and waits for the stranger to come. He waits a
long time, and is surprised when he hears somebody speak to him by name.
Chapter 15 Death on the Moor
Watson is amazed to find that the man on the hill was Sherlock Holmes, who has been hiding on the
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moor for some time. He tells Watson that Stapleton’s sister is really his wife and that Laura Lyons
thinks that Stapleton will marry her. Watson and Holmes hear a terrible scream and find a dead body.
At first they think it is Sir Henry, but then they discover that it is the escaped prisoner.
Chapter 16 A Family Resemblance
Watson and Holmes see Stapleton on the moor. Stapleton is very surprised to find that the dead man
is not Sir Henry. Holmes tells Stapleton that he and Watson are returning to London the next day.
They go to Baskerville Hall to tell Mrs Barrymore about the death of her brother. Holmes sees the
family portraits and realizes that Stapleton is a Baskerville because he looks exactly like the original
Hugo, who was killed by the hound.
Chapter 17 Setting a Trap
Holmes tells Sir Henry that he and Watson are going back to London. He instructs Sir Henry to go to
Stapleton’s house for dinner and to walk home across the moor afterwards. Sir Henry is surprised but
agrees to do it. Holmes and Watson visit Laura Lyons and tell her that Stapleton is married. She is
angry with Stapleton and tells them that he made her write the letter to Sir Charles and then stopped
her from keeping her appointment. Holmes sends a telegram to London, inviting Police Officer
Lestrade to come to Coombe Tracey, and he arrives that afternoon.
Chapter 18 The Hound of the Baskervilles
Sir Henry goes to dinner at Merripit House, while Holmes, Watson and Lestrade hide along the path.
Watson sees that only the men are having dinner and Mrs Stapleton is missing. A thick fog comes
across the moor. When Sir Henry begins to walk home, the three men watch him go past and then
see a huge dog chasing him. They shoot the dog and save Sir Henry’s life. They find phosphorous
around its mouth and eyes, which made them look like they were on fire. They return to Merripit
House and find Mrs Stapleton tied up in one of the rooms. She tells them that her husband was
trying to kill Sir Henry with the dog, and that he would be hiding on the moor across the Grimpen
Mire. They go to look for him, but he has disappeared into one of the bog-holes and is never seen
again.
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Chapter 19 Looking Back
Six weeks after the events, Holmes explains how he found out about Stapleton and worked out his
plan. He also explains why he hid on the moor while sending Watson to live at Baskerville Hall.
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