The Hound of the Baskervilles Chapter 4 Summary

Summary

Dr. James Mortimer brings the new heir, Sir Henry Baskerville, to 221B Baker Street to consult Sherlock Holmes about the Baskerville family legend and recent strange occurrences. Sir Henry is described as a sturdy, alert man in his thirties with a gentlemanly bearing despite time spent abroad. He produces a threatening note—words pasted from a newspaper reading "As you value your life or your reason keep away from the moor," with the final word "moor" handwritten. Holmes inspects the message, identifies the source as yesterday’s leading article of The Times, notes the use of short nail-scissors and hotel ink, and reasons that the writer is educated but tried to appear uneducated. The conversation reveals small oddities—Sir Henry’s lost boot and the fact that someone seems to know his hotel choice—raising the possibility that someone is watching or trying to frighten him away from Baskerville Hall.

After lunch arrangements, Holmes and Dr. Watson follow Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer at a distance and spot a hansom whose occupant appears to be shadowing the pair. The cab flees when observed; Holmes later obtains the cab number (No. 2704) and laments a missed opportunity. He recruits the messenger-office manager Wilson and the boy Cartwright to canvass twenty-three Charing Cross hotels for the waste-paper containing the mutilated Times page, instructing Cartwright on bribing porters and recognizing the centre page. Holmes also orders an inquiry to identify the cabman. The chapter closes with Holmes planning to fill time until the arranged lunch appointment and to pursue these leads, establishing immediate investigative steps and demonstrating Holmes’s methodical, deductive approach.

Key events

1. Sir Henry and Dr. James Mortimer arrive at Baker Street with a pasted threatening note.
2. Holmes deduces the words come from yesterday’s Times leader, notes use of nail-scissors and hotel ink.
3. Sir Henry reports minor oddities (lost boot) and insists on going to Baskerville Hall despite danger.
4. Holmes and Watson trail Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer and spot a hansom that clearly shadows them.
5. The cab flees; Holmes records the cab number No. 2704 but loses the occupant.
6. Holmes sends Cartwright to inspect waste-paper at twenty-three Charing Cross hotels for the mutilated Times page.
7. Holmes orders a wire to identify the cabman and prepares to wait until the agreed lunch meeting.

Analysis

This chapter shifts the narrative from exposition into active investigation and introduces Sir Henry as a forceful, modern heir who will physically confront the Baskerville legacy. It deepens the mystery: a direct threat aimed at Sir Henry uses a theatrical pasted-note device, but Holmes’s close reading converts theatricality into concrete clues (source newspaper, scissors, hotel provenance). The scene demonstrates Doyle’s recurring theme of reason versus superstition: the pseudo-supernatural warning is treated as a human-made instrument of intimidation, and Holmes’s forensic reading of minutiae triumphs over sensational fear.

Structurally, the chapter performs three tasks: it presents the new central character (Sir Henry), it gives Holmes specific, solvable leads, and it shifts the story from tale-telling to detective procedure. Symbolically, the pasted note unites print culture and menace—words torn from a respectable newspaper are refitted into a crude threat, suggesting social masks and deliberate performance. The courier-cab episode introduces urban surveillance and the adversary’s caution. Narrative technique remains Watson’s admiring, restrained perspective—he records Holmes’s deductions and errors (the missed capture) and displays Holmes’s habit of turning small domestic details into investigative levers. The chapter therefore tightens suspense while showcasing Holmes’s methodology and Sir Henry’s obstinate courage, setting up both investigation and tension for the move to Baskerville Hall.

Important quotes

“As you value your life or your reason keep away from the moor.”

Dr. James Mortimer (presenting the note)The threatening pasted note addressed to Sir Henry; Holmes examines it as the central physical clue.

“No. 2704 is our man.”

Sherlock HolmesHolmes announces the cab number he read after the hansom that was shadowing Sir Henry, a key lead he intends to follow up.

“There is no devil in hell, Mr. Holmes, and there is no man upon earth who can prevent me from going to the home of my own people, and you may take that to be my final answer.”

Sir Henry BaskervilleSir Henry reacts defiantly to Holmes's warning about danger, establishing his determination to go to Baskerville Hall despite threats.

Characters in Chapter 4

• Sir Henry Baskerville
• Dr. James Mortimer
• Sherlock Holmes
• Dr. John Watson
• Cartwright
• Wilson