Sherlock Holmes - The Sign of Four
Chapter 13
'Now come to the window. Can you see the tar here? This is where he put his foot. The tar has a strong smell and I'm sure Toby will be able to follow him. I myself climbed out of this window and down the drainpipe while you were away, Watson, and on the ground I found this little bag. It contains thorns like the poisoned thorn we found in Bartholomew Sholto's skin. I'm sure our murderer dropped this when he left.'
'Deadly!' I said, looking carefully at the thorns.
'But not to us, Watson,' my friend replied. 'Now let's go down and find Toby. His work begins now.'
The dog was waiting impatiently for us. Soon we were running behind him through the dark streets of Norwood.
'We're lucky it hasn't rained much,' said Holmes. 'Rain makes Toby's work very difficult.'
I was surprised the dog knew where he was going, but I could see Holmes had worked with Toby many times before.
'Tell me, Holmes,' I said as we ran, 'how were you able to describe the man with the wooden leg to Lestrade?'
'Elementary, Watson,' my friend replied. 'Two army officers who are working at a prison in the Andaman Islands discover an important secret about buried treasure. An Englishman called Jonathan Small draws a map for them. We saw his name on the map that Miss Morstan showed us. He'd signed the paper for himself and for his associates: 'The Sign of Four'. With this map, one of the officers finds the treasure and brings it to England. Why didn't Small get the treasure himself? Because he and his associates were all in prison.'
'Are you sure about this, Holmes?' I asked him.
'It's the only explanation,' he replied. 'Major Sholto lives happily with his treasure in Norwood. Then one day a letter arrives from India, and frightens him. Why?'
'Because the letter told him that Small and his associates were now free men,' I suggested.
'Good, Watson. Yes, they'd probably escaped. He's now terrified of a man with a wooden leg. We know this because Thaddeus Sholto told us that he once shot a man like that from the nearby town who came to the house. He clearly thought that the man was Jonathan Small. Only one of the names on the map is the name of a white man, so I think we can be sure that Jonathan Small and the man with the wooden leg are the same person.' I agreed that this seemed probable.
'Well, now let's think about Jonathan Small,' my friend went on. 'He comes to England for two reasons: he wants the treasure, but he also wants to punish Sholto for stealing it. He finds out where the Major lives, but he can't find the treasure. Suddenly he hears that Sholto is on his deathbed.'
'Very good, Watson,' Holmes replied. 'Small arrives at the window of the Major's room, but sees his two sons, Bartholomew and Thaddeus, by the dying man's bed. So he doesn't enter the room then, but comes back during the night after Sholto has died and searches his papers. He finds nothing, but leaves a card with the words, 'The Sign of Four'.'
'But why, Holmes?' I asked.
'To frighten the Major's sons, perhaps,' Holmes suggested, and then continued.
Chapter 14
'After that I think Small watches Bartholomew Sholto searching the garden for the treasure. When Bartholomew discovers the room under the roof, Small has a problem. With his wooden leg he can't climb up to the room, so he brings with him a strange associate. But the associate puts his foot in the tar and that's why you and I are now moving so quickly through the streets of Norwood with Toby.'
'So Small himself didn't kill Bartholomew Sholto,' I said. 'That's right,' Holmes agreed. 'His associate is clearly a dangerous man. My revolver is ready, Watson.'
We followed Toby through the suburbs for several miles and the sun was coming up when the dog finally stopped beside the River Thames. Here he stood, looking at the water as it moved quickly towards the sea.
'What luck,' said Holmes. 'They've taken a boat.'
'Perhaps they used one of these,' suggested, pointing at the six or seven boats that we could see on the river.
'Perhaps,' Holmes replied, 'Let's see what Toby thinks.'
We took the dog to each of the boats one after the other, but he showed no interest in any of them.
There was a small house beside the river and outside it there was a sign with these words on it:
MORDECAI SMITH BOATS FORHIRE
STEAM LAUNCH
My friend looked worried when he saw this.
'They're cleverer than I thought, Watson,' he said.
Just then the door of the house opened. A young boy ran out. His mother, a large woman with a red face, followed him.
'Come back!' she cried. 'I'll wash your face this morning if it's the last thing that I do!'
'Hello,' said Holmes to the boy. 'You're a fine young man. Is there anything you'd like?'
The child looked up at my friend in surprise.
'I'd like a shilling,' he said, 'please.' 'Of course.' Holmes agreed, taking a shilling from his pocket. 'You have a good boy here, Mrs Smith.'
The woman stopped to look at my friend as he spoke.
'He is a good boy,' she replied, 'usually. But he can be very difficult when my husband's away.'
'Is Mr Smith away at the moment?' asked Holmes. 'I was hoping to speak to him.'
'He went away yesterday morning,' she replied, 'and I'm quite worried about him, sir. He took the steam launch and he only had enough coal to travel a very short way. But he's been away for more than twenty-four hours now.'
'Could he buy more coal along the river?' Holmes suggested.
'I don't think so,' said Mrs Smith. 'And I don't like the man who went with him. He's been here before. He's got a wooden leg. This time he came in the middle of the night and I haven't seen my husband since then.'
'Are you sure it was the man with the wooden leg?' asked Holmes. 'You didn't see him, I suppose.'
'No, I didn't. But I know it was him,' the woman replied. 'I heard his wooden leg on the street when he walked away with my husband and my older boy, Jim.'
'Well,' said Holmes, 'I'm sorry to hear that, Mrs Smith. I very much wanted to hire your steam launch. So many people have told me that she's a good boat.'
'Yes,' Mrs Smith agreed. 'The Aurora's a fine launch.'
'The Aurora,' said Holmes. 'Green, isn't she? And quite wide?'
Chapter 15
'Oh no, sir,' the woman replied. 'The Aurora isn't wide, and she's black, not green.'
'Of course,' Holmes agreed. 'Black, not green. We must go, Mrs Smith. I hope that you'll have news of your husband soon. If I see him along the river, I'll tell him that you're worried. Goodbye.'
My friend and I then found a man with a boat, who took us across the river. When we reached the other side, Holmes turned to me.
'Well, Watson,' he asked. 'what should we do now?'
'I think we should hire another launch and go after the Aurora.' I suggested. Holmes shook his head.
'There are too many places along the river for the Aurora to hide.' he said. 'We might spend days looking for her.'
'Then perhaps we should ask Inspector Lestrade for some help from Scotland Yard,' I replied.
'Not yet, Watson,' said my friend. 'I'd like to find Mr Jonathan Small for myself, if I can. No, let's take this cab here back to Baker Street and have some breakfast. We should also sleep for an hour or two.'
We got into the cab and were soon travelling north to Baker Street with the dog, Toby.
On the way, Holmes asked the driver to stop at a post office. There he got down from the cab and, when he came back, he told methat he had sent a telegram.
'Do you remember the group of street boys who helped us once before, Watson?' he asked. 'I've sent a telegram to their leader. I'm sure he and the boys will be with us before we've finished breakfast.'
It was after eight o'clock when we arrived at 221B Baker Street. I was exhausted and went to have a bath. After this, and an excellent breakfast of coffee, toast and eggs, I felt better. Holmes drank only a cup of coffee and smoked a cigarette before showing me the morning newspaper.
'Look at this, Watson,' he smiled. 'Inspector Lestrade has been speaking to the reporters, I think.'
I took the newspaper from my friend and read the story.
STRANGE BUSINESS in Norwood
At about midnight last night Mr Bartholomew Sholto of Pondicherry Lodge, Norwood, was found dead in his room. The police think that he was murdered. We understand that some valuable treasure was stolen from the house. Mr Sholto's father, an army officer, had brought the treasure back from India.
Mr Sholto's body was found by Mr Sherlock Holmes, the detective, and his associate, Dr John Watson. They had come to Pondicherry Lodge with the dead man's brother, Mr Thaddeus Sholto.
By chance, Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard was at the police station in Norwood and he immediately went to the house. The Inspector quickly realized that someone had committed a serious crime and arrested Mr Thaddeus Sholto and three servants from the house. He saw that the murderer had entered the dead man's room from a secret space under the roof and not by the door or window, and understood that the murderer must be someone who knew Pondicherry Lodge very well. This newspaper feels that the people of London should again be grateful to Inspector Lestrade for his excellent work in arresting criminals so quickly.
I put down the newspaper. 'But this is stupid, Holmes!' I said.
'Of course,' my friend agreed, 'but it makes me smile.'
Just then we heard lots of high voices at our door.