The Hound of the Baskervilles Chapter 10 Summary

Summary

Dr. Watson abandons the usual reports to Holmes and relies on his diary to record a series of gloomy, rain-soaked days on the moor after the failed chase of the convict. On October 16th the atmosphere is heavy with impending danger; Watson reflects on the sequence of odd incidents — Sir Charles's death, repeated reports of a hound's cry, material footmarks, and a mysterious man seen on the tor — and resolves to pursue the stranger himself, while keeping Sir Henry free from needless alarm. A tense domestic scene follows when Barrymore asks Sir Henry's forgiveness for having revealed Selden's presence; Barrymore pleads that Selden should be allowed to leave the country quietly to avoid further trouble.

Barrymore then volunteers a significant revelation: Sir Charles had received a single letter the morning he died, written by a woman and signed with the initials L. L.; a burned fragment with those initials was later found among ashes in the grate. Watson and Sir Henry see this as a crucial lead. Watson sends a report to Holmes and continues his own inquiries. On October 17th, amid heavy rain, Watson climbs the tor where he first glimpsed a watcher and finds no one, then accepts a lift with Dr. Mortimer, who confirms that Laura Lyons (initials L. L.), daughter of Mr. Frankland, lives at Coombe Tracey and might be the woman connected to Sir Charles's letter. Later Watson questions Barrymore, who reveals that another man — separate from the convict Selden — is hiding on the moor and has a lad supplying him. Haunted by the moor, Watson vows to act swiftly to unravel the central mystery centered on the isolated hut and its occupant.

Key events

1. Watson switches from dispatches to diary extracts and notes a mood of impending danger.
2. Barrymore and Sir Henry argue over Selden; Barrymore begs secrecy to protect his wife.
3. Barrymore reveals a burned letter fragment signed 'L. L.' connected to Sir Charles's last visit to the gate.
4. Watson sends the new information to Holmes, hoping it will draw him down.
5. Watson climbs the tor in rain, finds no watcher, and learns Laura Lyons (L. L.) lives at Coombe Tracey.
6. Barrymore admits knowledge of a second hidden man on the moor, supplied by a lad who fetches his food.

Analysis

This chapter functions as a pivot from reportage to personal diary, bringing the reader closer to Watson's subjective reactions: fear, vigilance, and methodical detective instinct. The diary form deepens atmosphere — Doyle uses weather and landscape description (fog, drizzle, slate clouds) to reinforce psychological unease and to make the moor itself feel like an active, hostile force. The revelation of the burned letter signed L. L. introduces a concrete investigative lead (Laura Lyons) that reframes the mystery of Sir Charles’s death from legend toward human relationships and secret liaisons. Barrymore's confession and his plea for secrecy complicate moral lines: servants who protect their own may also conceal crucial evidence. The chapter continues the novel's structural layering of competing explanations (supernatural hound vs. human agency). Watson's rational skepticism about a spectral hound positions him as the reader's anchor; yet his repeated admissions of

Important quotes

“I am conscious myself of a weight at my heart and a feeling of impending danger—ever present danger, which is the more terrible because I am unable to define it.”

NarratorWatson describes the mood at Baskerville Hall and his uneasy sense of undefined threat.

“Please, please, as you are a gentleman, burn this letter, and be at the gate by ten o clock. Beneath it were signed the initials L. L.”

Mr. Barrymore (reading the burned slip)Barrymore recounts finding a burned fragment in Sir Charles's grate that bears a postscript signed L. L., introducing a key lead.

“There’s foul play somewhere, and there’s black villainy brewing, to that I’ll swear!”

Mr. BarrymoreBarrymore, upset, expresses his conviction that something evil is afoot on the moor, reinforcing local fear and suspicion.

Characters in Chapter 10

• Selden
• The Hound
• Laura Lyons
• Beryl Stapleton
• Hugo Baskerville
• Jack Stapleton
• Sherlock Holmes
• Mr. Frankland
• Mrs. Barrymore
• Sir Henry Baskerville
• Sir Charles Baskerville
• Dr. James Mortimer
• Dr. John Watson
• Mr. Barrymore