Hi everyone! I'm Tom Colton, formerly (and, uh, still) of AH.com. If you recognise me from...
The Adventure of the Sophy Anderson (Sherlock Holmes)
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Tom Colton
The Man whom the World Sold
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Hi everyone! I'm Tom Colton, formerly (and, uh, still) of AH.com. If you recognise me from there, you might know me best for that one time the Nazis under a Fuehrer Friedrich Weber "won" World War Two, de-fictionalisations of Hamlet and Titus Andronicus, replicated here in this thread, and various other weird projects.
This time I've turned to Sherlockiana, and after discussion with the regulars over in the Grand Sherlock Holmes Thread, I've decided to produce my own exegesis on the Mystery of Watson's Three Wives: namely, the fact that although only one of Watson's wives is ever named (i.e. Mary Morstan in The Sign of Four), there exists evidence that Watson married before and after he met her. The evidence is summed up below for those in the dark.
The Sign of Four:
The Empty House:
The Blanched Soldier (which is only public domain in Canada, so I'm only quoting a couple of lines)
So far, so good. We, thus far, have the two wives of Watson:
The Five Orange Pips (published after The Sign of Four):
......wat.
Although probably intended as a reference to Watson's married life with Mdm. Morstan, as is evident by a fumbled reference to The Sign of Four latter in the same story, Conan Doyle evidently didn't do the maths properly or remember that Mary Morstan explicitly mentioned that her mother was dead (see above). So who the heck is this??
One of the earlier experts on Sherlockiana, William S. Baring-Gould surmised from the unpublished manuscript of Angels of Darkness, a play that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote based on the backstory of A Study in Scarlet, that the good Doctor had spent some time in America and met a wife there when he rescued her from the clutches of the nefarious Mormons, and settled on Constance Adams as her name.
The only problem with this theory is that when the manuscript was finally published this lady's identity was revealed as...Lucy Ferrier, the woman whom the murderer of A Study in Scarlet is avenging, because she's explicitly dead in that story! Hence I find this explanation of Watson's "first" wife to be unsatisfactory.
In summary, we have to update our list:
Of all of these, only one permits the existence of an American wife, which I'm still going for, and that's "the facts relating to the loss of the British barque Sophy Anderson". Where was it going? Why was it lost? How and where did Holmes and Watson get involved? And how did Watson meet and marry Miss Constance Adams?
All these and more will be revealed in:
This time I've turned to Sherlockiana, and after discussion with the regulars over in the Grand Sherlock Holmes Thread, I've decided to produce my own exegesis on the Mystery of Watson's Three Wives: namely, the fact that although only one of Watson's wives is ever named (i.e. Mary Morstan in The Sign of Four), there exists evidence that Watson married before and after he met her. The evidence is summed up below for those in the dark.
---
The Sign of Four:
Ergo, The Sign of Four takes place in 1888, and Ms. Morstan's mother is deceased.
---
The Empty House:
It is commonly understood that Watson's "bereavement" refers to the death of Mdm. Morstan, so they were married from 1888 to 1894 until she passed away.
---
The Blanched Soldier (which is only public domain in Canada, so I'm only quoting a couple of lines)
Ergo, Watson had remarried by then. There are numerous theories as to the identity of this other wife, but one commonly held one is Miss Grace Dunbar from The Problem of Thor Bridge, which is not unbelievable despite her superficial differences to Mary Morstan as Watson sums up her character similarly and in favourable terms. Seeing as this subsequent wife doesn't turn up again, she may or may not be alive by the time Watson got round to writing some of the Case-book stories.
---
So far, so good. We, thus far, have the two wives of Watson:
- 1888 - 1894: Mary Morstan
- 1902 - 19??: Grace Dunbar
---
The Five Orange Pips (published after The Sign of Four):
...
......wat.
Although probably intended as a reference to Watson's married life with Mdm. Morstan, as is evident by a fumbled reference to The Sign of Four latter in the same story, Conan Doyle evidently didn't do the maths properly or remember that Mary Morstan explicitly mentioned that her mother was dead (see above). So who the heck is this??
One of the earlier experts on Sherlockiana, William S. Baring-Gould surmised from the unpublished manuscript of Angels of Darkness, a play that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote based on the backstory of A Study in Scarlet, that the good Doctor had spent some time in America and met a wife there when he rescued her from the clutches of the nefarious Mormons, and settled on Constance Adams as her name.
The only problem with this theory is that when the manuscript was finally published this lady's identity was revealed as...Lucy Ferrier, the woman whom the murderer of A Study in Scarlet is avenging, because she's explicitly dead in that story! Hence I find this explanation of Watson's "first" wife to be unsatisfactory.
---
In summary, we have to update our list:
- 1887 - 1888: Constance Adams (minimum dates)
- 1888 - 1894: Mary Morstan
- 1902 - 19??: Grace Dunbar
Of all of these, only one permits the existence of an American wife, which I'm still going for, and that's "the facts relating to the loss of the British barque Sophy Anderson". Where was it going? Why was it lost? How and where did Holmes and Watson get involved? And how did Watson meet and marry Miss Constance Adams?
---
All these and more will be revealed in:
THE ADVENTURE OF THE SOPHY ANDERSON
(or: The Adventure of Watson's First Wife)
A New Adventure of Sherlock Holmes
(or: The Adventure of Watson's First Wife)
A New Adventure of Sherlock Holmes
DezoPenguin
Text Wall
- Location
- USA
Ahh, the eternal mystery of Watson's wives, otherwise known as "the fandom knows more about the internal chronology of the stories than the writer did." 
(And...that is so completely believable, because I've done it myself: I tend to write my fanfiction in single chronologies (my GrimGrimoire fiction, for example), and mistakes get made, particularly when I have a best friend with a much better memory than I have (hi, Fuyu!) and I forget to consult my notes before inserting a reference, and she then notices!).
You already have my interest based on coherent citation to the Canon for the source of your pastiche, combined with inclusion of a romance element involving a character who already is established as having romantic interests in external characters, rather than, y'know, Sherlock Holmes.
(And...that is so completely believable, because I've done it myself: I tend to write my fanfiction in single chronologies (my GrimGrimoire fiction, for example), and mistakes get made, particularly when I have a best friend with a much better memory than I have (hi, Fuyu!) and I forget to consult my notes before inserting a reference, and she then notices!).You already have my interest based on coherent citation to the Canon for the source of your pastiche, combined with inclusion of a romance element involving a character who already is established as having romantic interests in external characters, rather than, y'know, Sherlock Holmes.
A Note from the Editor
Tom Colton
The Man whom the World Sold
- Location
- Oxford, United Kingdom
A Note from the Editor
Any good Holmes pastiche indulges a little bit in the metatext of these stories, and here's mine, which essentially sums up the above arguments from an in-universe perspective. Fear not, the first actual chapter will be up soon!
Yup, I thought I'd better explain the rationale for what is essentially a Fix Fic, but hopefully proves more than that. Hopefully the in-universe justifications tell an entertaining story unto themselves in the meantime. Speaking of canonical minutiae, expect a healthy (but hopefully restrained) dose of these from time to time.
Ever since the debut of Sherlock Holmes in the first of his serialised adventures, "A Study in Scarlet", the great detective has captured the imaginations of lovers of mystery and adventure across the entire world, appearing in a grand total of sixty stories by his first literary agent [1], who has had the great privilege and responsibility in representing these adventures as relayed by Holmes's biographer and dearest friend, Dr. John H. Watson, whose life following his service in Afghanistan was forever transformed by his encounter and co-residence with Sherlock Holmes at their perennial residence of 221B Baker Street.
As numerous were their published adventures were, they could not hope to encompass the totality of the experiences of Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, either together or separately, and in their text the good doctor alludes to many more adventures, some of which did indeed come to light in the course of their relationship with their first literary agent, but for the most part remained as tantalisingly brief glimpses of the milieu of cases with which the Great Detective was engaged. Since then, many have attempted to imitate the flair with which these cases were first relayed to the public, and in some instances these pastiches were written to explicate these hitherto untold tales.
Notable amongst these were the explorations of the son of this literary agent [2], who in partnership with a popular contemporary writer [3] aimed to discuss the further exploits of Sherlock Holmes [4]. Although this collaboration was warmly praised at the time of publishing, conflicts in creative vision between co-authors doomed any further attempt at explicating the fleeting references to this rich wealth of unwritten cases. During this time thereafter, there emerged those who wished to use the published texts and their internal evidence to make further inferences on the biographies of these esteemed residents of 221B Baker Street, and the fruits of their labour were reaped in whole monographs harmonising the texts as written by the first Literary Agent and explicating their inconsistencies.
Among the conclusions drawn from this internal evidence was the revelation of Dr. Watson's first, brief, marriage in "The Adventure of the Five Orange Pips", where his freedom to engage with the singular case of John Openshaw's fate was enabled by his wife's visit to her mother – a wife who, through cross-comparison with the "The Sign of Four", could not be Mdm. Mary Morstan, whom he met a full year after the affair of the Orange Pips and the sinister message they bore. Despite the Literary Agent's attempts to hide this apparent indiscretion by inserting references to that adventure, these theorists persisted in their conclusions. Working from unpublished texts of the Literary Agent, they drew forth the name "Constance Adams", and harmonised her existence with the background events of Mr. Sherlock Holmes's debut in "A Study in Scarlet" [5].
To end this disingenuous speculation and the resolve its implications upon the good Doctor's honour, these subsequent authors sought to publish Dr. Watson's true account of his first marriage, a reference to which he had cleverly coded in the introduction to the same adventure which brought his first marriage to light. Indeed, it may have first been chosen for publication in the penultimate compilation of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes encompassing numerous tales which had been suppressed till then, including the events of August 1914, but due to the story's resolution and implications, it was further suppressed in the name of sensitivity to our friends across the Atlantic, the reasons for which will be made manifest in the climax of this story.
Due to the falling-out between the former collaborators, this adventure too remained lost to the mists of inquiry till now, where in the papers of one of them, he who shall otherwise be known as "The Man who was Wanted" [2], this most singular account of the first marriage of Dr. Watson and the facts relating to the loss of the British barque Sophy Anderson, are finally ready to be revealed. It is hence my privilege and my responsibility, following in the footsteps of the eminent Literary Agent and his son, this Man who was Wanted, to relay unto you this hitherto untold romance of ratiocination.
As numerous were their published adventures were, they could not hope to encompass the totality of the experiences of Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, either together or separately, and in their text the good doctor alludes to many more adventures, some of which did indeed come to light in the course of their relationship with their first literary agent, but for the most part remained as tantalisingly brief glimpses of the milieu of cases with which the Great Detective was engaged. Since then, many have attempted to imitate the flair with which these cases were first relayed to the public, and in some instances these pastiches were written to explicate these hitherto untold tales.
Notable amongst these were the explorations of the son of this literary agent [2], who in partnership with a popular contemporary writer [3] aimed to discuss the further exploits of Sherlock Holmes [4]. Although this collaboration was warmly praised at the time of publishing, conflicts in creative vision between co-authors doomed any further attempt at explicating the fleeting references to this rich wealth of unwritten cases. During this time thereafter, there emerged those who wished to use the published texts and their internal evidence to make further inferences on the biographies of these esteemed residents of 221B Baker Street, and the fruits of their labour were reaped in whole monographs harmonising the texts as written by the first Literary Agent and explicating their inconsistencies.
Among the conclusions drawn from this internal evidence was the revelation of Dr. Watson's first, brief, marriage in "The Adventure of the Five Orange Pips", where his freedom to engage with the singular case of John Openshaw's fate was enabled by his wife's visit to her mother – a wife who, through cross-comparison with the "The Sign of Four", could not be Mdm. Mary Morstan, whom he met a full year after the affair of the Orange Pips and the sinister message they bore. Despite the Literary Agent's attempts to hide this apparent indiscretion by inserting references to that adventure, these theorists persisted in their conclusions. Working from unpublished texts of the Literary Agent, they drew forth the name "Constance Adams", and harmonised her existence with the background events of Mr. Sherlock Holmes's debut in "A Study in Scarlet" [5].
To end this disingenuous speculation and the resolve its implications upon the good Doctor's honour, these subsequent authors sought to publish Dr. Watson's true account of his first marriage, a reference to which he had cleverly coded in the introduction to the same adventure which brought his first marriage to light. Indeed, it may have first been chosen for publication in the penultimate compilation of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes encompassing numerous tales which had been suppressed till then, including the events of August 1914, but due to the story's resolution and implications, it was further suppressed in the name of sensitivity to our friends across the Atlantic, the reasons for which will be made manifest in the climax of this story.
Due to the falling-out between the former collaborators, this adventure too remained lost to the mists of inquiry till now, where in the papers of one of them, he who shall otherwise be known as "The Man who was Wanted" [2], this most singular account of the first marriage of Dr. Watson and the facts relating to the loss of the British barque Sophy Anderson, are finally ready to be revealed. It is hence my privilege and my responsibility, following in the footsteps of the eminent Literary Agent and his son, this Man who was Wanted, to relay unto you this hitherto untold romance of ratiocination.
The Editor
[1] Arthur Conan Doyle, following the Literary Agent Hypothesis (warning: TV Tropes link)
[2] Adrian Conan Doyle, who aimed to capitalise on his father's fame by purporting an unpublished Holmes mystery called "The Man Who Was Wanted", and also by working with...
[3] John Dickson Carr, who wrote the other half of...
[4] The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes.
[5] See above for the background of W.S. Baring-Gould and Constace Adams.
[2] Adrian Conan Doyle, who aimed to capitalise on his father's fame by purporting an unpublished Holmes mystery called "The Man Who Was Wanted", and also by working with...
[3] John Dickson Carr, who wrote the other half of...
[4] The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes.
[5] See above for the background of W.S. Baring-Gould and Constace Adams.
===
Any good Holmes pastiche indulges a little bit in the metatext of these stories, and here's mine, which essentially sums up the above arguments from an in-universe perspective. Fear not, the first actual chapter will be up soon!
Ahh, the eternal mystery of Watson's wives, otherwise known as "the fandom knows more about the internal chronology of the stories than the writer did."
You already have my interest based on coherent citation to the Canon for the source of your pastiche, combined with inclusion of a romance element involving a character who already is established as having romantic interests in external characters, rather than, y'know, Sherlock Holmes.
Thanks, guys!
Yup, I thought I'd better explain the rationale for what is essentially a Fix Fic, but hopefully proves more than that. Hopefully the in-universe justifications tell an entertaining story unto themselves in the meantime. Speaking of canonical minutiae, expect a healthy (but hopefully restrained) dose of these from time to time.
Last edited:
Chapter 1: The Offer
Tom Colton
The Man whom the World Sold
- Location
- Oxford, United Kingdom
Chapter 1
The Offer
"My dear Watson," asked Sherlock Holmes as he entered our shared lodgings, "What would you say to a trip to America, with all expenses paid?"
I sat at the central table in our apartment, ruminating over my supper as so generously provided by Mrs. Hudson, reacting in shocked silence to this singular enquiry by my friend, until I finally managed to assemble a response to him.
"Under whose sponsorship?"
"My brother Mycroft," he replied, with perhaps the slightest tinge of asperity.
"Why, this is rare charity. What is his motive?"
"Quite so. So gewiß ist der allein glücklich und groß, der weder zu herrschen noch zu gehorchen braucht, um etwas zu sein! [1] Goethe is ever pithy. Had I the opportunity to reject his munificence and the obligations with which it entailed, I certainly would. But it is an offer we can ill-afford to refuse right now, given our poor circumstances."
I have said before, in my account of the Lauriston Gardens murder, which I had submitted under the evocative title of "A Study in Scarlet" to my literary agent, who had paid me five pounds upfront, with a promise of more to come once he had actually found a buyer for this tale of detection and seen it published in the papers, that Sherlock Holmes, believing the human brain to contain a limited amount of information, limited his knowledge of literature to the bare minimum. However, ever since the events of that first case with which I had the privilege to witness, he had come to accept that the criminal classes encompassed peoples beyond the uneducated, and in order to spar with those who cloaked themselves in respectability while acting in heinousness exceeding those to whom they claimed to be superior, he had cause to grant himself a thorough literary education. [2]
To this end, he engaged himself deeply with many great contemporary and historic writers day and night, and many of these hours were spent in the Diogenes Club, that "club for un-clubbable men" of which his eminent brother Mycroft Holmes was an august member, whose aura of total silence was claimed by Sherlock Holmes as being very conducive to deep study. Indeed, his natural adeptness in learning led him to expand his literary knowledge to great horizons, and I have since conceded that the student had surpassed the master, as far as Goethe went, anyway. Given Sherlock Holmes's comments at the time of our investigation into the fate of poor Mister Melas about the total immutability of his brother's habits and the strictness to which he kept his routine at his offices in Whitehall, his rooms at Pall Mall, and this association, it was the most natural inference that my friend had been confronted with this offer at the club named after the old Cynic. [3]
Seemingly breaking into my thoughts, Holmes said, "Undoubtedly it was Goethe which has led you to your conclusion. It is as you imagine, Watson; I was quietly contemplating his posthumous Faust in their chambers when a card bearing Mycroft's name summoned me to the Stranger's Room, whereupon he delivered this proposal unto me, which, in addition to supplying us with several pounds per day for our troubles, he is willing to remunerate us for this month's rent, as well as the next, so as to appease Mrs. Hudson for our absence in New York."
"My dear Holmes!"
"Extraordinary, is it not? Undoubtedly your next question concerns –
"His knowledge of our current despondency," I said, finishing his statement. "Had you at any point confided in him?"
"Hardly. I would have utterly failed in conveying an honest picture of our relations if your impression was that I was his monetary dependent, and him my doting patron. Unfortunately, his duties bring him in touch with those whose business it is to know every detail of what occurs in our vast Empire – from the affairs in the offices upon Mount Sophia in Singapore to our dearth of finances here in Baker Street. Insofar as money is concerned, Mycroft has me over a barrel. Ha, Watson, imagine us in such dire straits! Perhaps we should have submitted an application to the Amateur Mendicant Society instead of disbanding them last week."
It was true that we may as well have been on the brink of the poverty-line. Despite a promising start last year, what with the matter of Mr. Melas and the Greek intrigue, Sherlock Holmes's visitors had been uncharacteristically scarce, and although he had earned a handsome sum in the early months of 1887 for resolving the matter of the Paradol Chamber, and in so doing also had the privilege of saving the honour of that illustrious institution in which he had first been given instruction in chemistry, this had failed to translate into a sustainable stipend. These amateur mendicants to which he now referred had been, on the surface, nothing but a gang of disaffected heirs and rich scions that spent their aimless days in the garb of beggars, gathering alms and terrorising honest men and women on the streets of London, then regrouping in comfortable chambers hidden in warehouse floors to tell their tales and sort through their ill-gotten gains, but even as they were rounded up he confided in me that underlying their already grotesque demeanour was an even more disturbing truth. [4]
"And you would have us parley with their employer for clemency?" I asked, attempting to probe the point.
At this his expression, although already employing humour to mask his irritation, now dropped all façade of joviality, and he turned to me grimly.
"No, Watson, not upon pain of death. I had been jesting, but in truth they were merely the tendrils of a terrible mycelium, a dark and twisted reflection of those Baker Street Irregulars whom I occasionally employ, and work in service to a menace which underlies this city and extends to every corner of this continent, and perhaps even beyond. Mark my words, Watson, the day I confide unto you its true nature shall be a regrettable one, for to inform you is to imperil you." [5]
After a pregnant pause, I restarted our conversation.
"Well, my dear Holmes, one favour returns another, so I shall spare you your deductions and allow you to surmise that my practice has also reached an idyll, and worse yet, this terrible winter has discouraged all but the most dogged of my patients, and although, in the hands of a more earnest man, the hansom-fares which I have incurred in braving this chill to reach those for whom the cold would act as a mortal peril would be a mere pittance, the truth is the last of my brief fortunes from selling my manuscript have dwindled into nothingness come the fatal news this morning concerning my misfortunes at Shoscombe Old Place." [6]
"Ah, I suspected as much. The great mare 'Queen Boudica' has met her Watling Street, has she not?" Perhaps noticing my bemusement, he broke into laughter, commenting, "The benefits of a classical education, my dear Watson! So, are you with me, Watson, or shall I shift locale all by myself?"
"You have summed it up too well, Holmes. As far as I perceive matters, there only seems to be your brotherly pride at stake while we gain salvation from our debtors. Undoubtedly my neighbour Jackson can accommodate whatever few calls I shall receive in the coming days; he is an earnest man, and may travel more freely. When do we leave?"
"To-morrow morning. We shall aim to catch an early steamship. Well, my dear Watson, while you have calculated the cost of my hurt pride to the nearest decimal point you may also note that, at the very least, we may transform from two despondent residents of London, to two miserable tourists in New York! Is that not worth looking forward to?"
With an ironic laugh he entered his room, closing the door behind him. I finished the rest of my supper, contemplating the logistics of this great sojourn and the truth of the matter, that I would be spending Valentine's Day voyaging with none other than Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
[1] "He alone is great and happy who fills his own station of independence, and has neither to command nor to obey."
[2] Certainly already between A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four, Sherlock Holmes seems to have increased his literary knowledge from Watson's recorded "Nil", so this is one possible justification.
[3] Watson's understanding of Mycroft Holmes and his role in the British Government is limited to that of The Greek Interpreter; The Bruce-Partington Plans, in which Sherlock tells him that Mycroft sometimes is the British Government, doesn't take place until after Holmes's return from the "dead".
[4] See above for the full listing in The Five Orange Pips by Watson concerning the year 1887 (The Reigate Puzzle and the preceding Netherlands-Sumatra case are later stated to occur in this year too, proving just how busy Holmes would be later.) Assuming it's chronological, the Paradol Chamber and the Amateur Mendicant Society adventures happened just before this one. My personal theory is that Holmes learned chemistry at Trinity College, Cambridge, but there's no definitive proof one way or the other.
[5] One guess as to who this is, and Charles Augustus Milverton, the Master Blackmailer, doesn't count.
[6] This racecourse is mentioned in the adventure named after it.
The Offer
"My dear Watson," asked Sherlock Holmes as he entered our shared lodgings, "What would you say to a trip to America, with all expenses paid?"
I sat at the central table in our apartment, ruminating over my supper as so generously provided by Mrs. Hudson, reacting in shocked silence to this singular enquiry by my friend, until I finally managed to assemble a response to him.
"Under whose sponsorship?"
"My brother Mycroft," he replied, with perhaps the slightest tinge of asperity.
"Why, this is rare charity. What is his motive?"
"Quite so. So gewiß ist der allein glücklich und groß, der weder zu herrschen noch zu gehorchen braucht, um etwas zu sein! [1] Goethe is ever pithy. Had I the opportunity to reject his munificence and the obligations with which it entailed, I certainly would. But it is an offer we can ill-afford to refuse right now, given our poor circumstances."
I have said before, in my account of the Lauriston Gardens murder, which I had submitted under the evocative title of "A Study in Scarlet" to my literary agent, who had paid me five pounds upfront, with a promise of more to come once he had actually found a buyer for this tale of detection and seen it published in the papers, that Sherlock Holmes, believing the human brain to contain a limited amount of information, limited his knowledge of literature to the bare minimum. However, ever since the events of that first case with which I had the privilege to witness, he had come to accept that the criminal classes encompassed peoples beyond the uneducated, and in order to spar with those who cloaked themselves in respectability while acting in heinousness exceeding those to whom they claimed to be superior, he had cause to grant himself a thorough literary education. [2]
To this end, he engaged himself deeply with many great contemporary and historic writers day and night, and many of these hours were spent in the Diogenes Club, that "club for un-clubbable men" of which his eminent brother Mycroft Holmes was an august member, whose aura of total silence was claimed by Sherlock Holmes as being very conducive to deep study. Indeed, his natural adeptness in learning led him to expand his literary knowledge to great horizons, and I have since conceded that the student had surpassed the master, as far as Goethe went, anyway. Given Sherlock Holmes's comments at the time of our investigation into the fate of poor Mister Melas about the total immutability of his brother's habits and the strictness to which he kept his routine at his offices in Whitehall, his rooms at Pall Mall, and this association, it was the most natural inference that my friend had been confronted with this offer at the club named after the old Cynic. [3]
Seemingly breaking into my thoughts, Holmes said, "Undoubtedly it was Goethe which has led you to your conclusion. It is as you imagine, Watson; I was quietly contemplating his posthumous Faust in their chambers when a card bearing Mycroft's name summoned me to the Stranger's Room, whereupon he delivered this proposal unto me, which, in addition to supplying us with several pounds per day for our troubles, he is willing to remunerate us for this month's rent, as well as the next, so as to appease Mrs. Hudson for our absence in New York."
"My dear Holmes!"
"Extraordinary, is it not? Undoubtedly your next question concerns –
"His knowledge of our current despondency," I said, finishing his statement. "Had you at any point confided in him?"
"Hardly. I would have utterly failed in conveying an honest picture of our relations if your impression was that I was his monetary dependent, and him my doting patron. Unfortunately, his duties bring him in touch with those whose business it is to know every detail of what occurs in our vast Empire – from the affairs in the offices upon Mount Sophia in Singapore to our dearth of finances here in Baker Street. Insofar as money is concerned, Mycroft has me over a barrel. Ha, Watson, imagine us in such dire straits! Perhaps we should have submitted an application to the Amateur Mendicant Society instead of disbanding them last week."
It was true that we may as well have been on the brink of the poverty-line. Despite a promising start last year, what with the matter of Mr. Melas and the Greek intrigue, Sherlock Holmes's visitors had been uncharacteristically scarce, and although he had earned a handsome sum in the early months of 1887 for resolving the matter of the Paradol Chamber, and in so doing also had the privilege of saving the honour of that illustrious institution in which he had first been given instruction in chemistry, this had failed to translate into a sustainable stipend. These amateur mendicants to which he now referred had been, on the surface, nothing but a gang of disaffected heirs and rich scions that spent their aimless days in the garb of beggars, gathering alms and terrorising honest men and women on the streets of London, then regrouping in comfortable chambers hidden in warehouse floors to tell their tales and sort through their ill-gotten gains, but even as they were rounded up he confided in me that underlying their already grotesque demeanour was an even more disturbing truth. [4]
"And you would have us parley with their employer for clemency?" I asked, attempting to probe the point.
At this his expression, although already employing humour to mask his irritation, now dropped all façade of joviality, and he turned to me grimly.
"No, Watson, not upon pain of death. I had been jesting, but in truth they were merely the tendrils of a terrible mycelium, a dark and twisted reflection of those Baker Street Irregulars whom I occasionally employ, and work in service to a menace which underlies this city and extends to every corner of this continent, and perhaps even beyond. Mark my words, Watson, the day I confide unto you its true nature shall be a regrettable one, for to inform you is to imperil you." [5]
After a pregnant pause, I restarted our conversation.
"Well, my dear Holmes, one favour returns another, so I shall spare you your deductions and allow you to surmise that my practice has also reached an idyll, and worse yet, this terrible winter has discouraged all but the most dogged of my patients, and although, in the hands of a more earnest man, the hansom-fares which I have incurred in braving this chill to reach those for whom the cold would act as a mortal peril would be a mere pittance, the truth is the last of my brief fortunes from selling my manuscript have dwindled into nothingness come the fatal news this morning concerning my misfortunes at Shoscombe Old Place." [6]
"Ah, I suspected as much. The great mare 'Queen Boudica' has met her Watling Street, has she not?" Perhaps noticing my bemusement, he broke into laughter, commenting, "The benefits of a classical education, my dear Watson! So, are you with me, Watson, or shall I shift locale all by myself?"
"You have summed it up too well, Holmes. As far as I perceive matters, there only seems to be your brotherly pride at stake while we gain salvation from our debtors. Undoubtedly my neighbour Jackson can accommodate whatever few calls I shall receive in the coming days; he is an earnest man, and may travel more freely. When do we leave?"
"To-morrow morning. We shall aim to catch an early steamship. Well, my dear Watson, while you have calculated the cost of my hurt pride to the nearest decimal point you may also note that, at the very least, we may transform from two despondent residents of London, to two miserable tourists in New York! Is that not worth looking forward to?"
With an ironic laugh he entered his room, closing the door behind him. I finished the rest of my supper, contemplating the logistics of this great sojourn and the truth of the matter, that I would be spending Valentine's Day voyaging with none other than Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
[1] "He alone is great and happy who fills his own station of independence, and has neither to command nor to obey."
[2] Certainly already between A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four, Sherlock Holmes seems to have increased his literary knowledge from Watson's recorded "Nil", so this is one possible justification.
[3] Watson's understanding of Mycroft Holmes and his role in the British Government is limited to that of The Greek Interpreter; The Bruce-Partington Plans, in which Sherlock tells him that Mycroft sometimes is the British Government, doesn't take place until after Holmes's return from the "dead".
[4] See above for the full listing in The Five Orange Pips by Watson concerning the year 1887 (The Reigate Puzzle and the preceding Netherlands-Sumatra case are later stated to occur in this year too, proving just how busy Holmes would be later.) Assuming it's chronological, the Paradol Chamber and the Amateur Mendicant Society adventures happened just before this one. My personal theory is that Holmes learned chemistry at Trinity College, Cambridge, but there's no definitive proof one way or the other.
[5] One guess as to who this is, and Charles Augustus Milverton, the Master Blackmailer, doesn't count.
[6] This racecourse is mentioned in the adventure named after it.
===
And so Holmes and Watson are off!...the next morning. Let me know what you think!
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A good start, though some of your notes seem a bit odd (what does where Holmes went to university have to do with the cases Holmes did in 1887?)
Also, while I understand the impulse, I'm not sure an explanation for the reversal of Brain Attic Theory is needed (especially since in Study, Holmes paraphrases Carlyle after claiming to have never heard of him, which suggests that the whole thing is just him trolling his new roommate)
Also, while I understand the impulse, I'm not sure an explanation for the reversal of Brain Attic Theory is needed (especially since in Study, Holmes paraphrases Carlyle after claiming to have never heard of him, which suggests that the whole thing is just him trolling his new roommate)
DezoPenguin
Text Wall
- Location
- USA
This is the kind of thing I sadly miss by reading the books a hundred years after publication (and without benefit of an annotated edition): I wouldn't know Carlyle if his corpse crawled out of its grave and bit me on the leg, so I couldn't recognize a possible in-joke that an educated Englishman of the time would have caught and smiled at.
The footnotes I find genuinely distracting (except for the one at the Goethe quote, about which I take the exact opposite tack). They're one of the more irksome elements of June Thomson's otherwise solid pastiches, for example. And this sentence, I would suggest the following edit:
I have said before, in my account of the Lauriston Gardens murder,
The central clause is basically a metatext in-joke for the benefit of Holmesian readers. Actually, added to the footnotes, I'd say that that's the major problem with this chapter as written: it spends too much time on you, the author, discussing Holmesian lore with the fans. Everything I had an issue with falls into this category (too many references to unpublished cases, another example: the Amateur Mendicants reference was done well, but the Paradol Chamber bit one too many (similarly with canon cases, the reference to Study was well-taken as an internal reference and the Greek Interpreter reference important because of Mycroft, but the Shoscombe Old Place one was, again, an in-joke; just saying "the track" would have served).
As for the story itself, that's a different kettle of fish entirely. I like the frank discussion of their monetary issues; it feels very true to early-Canon Watson's issues, while Holmes is still wrestling with building his practice; it's a straightforward and direct segue into the case itself, and by directly addressing the "Brain-Attic" issue which Doyle himself rapidly abandoned you show some character progression and sense of their place in time.
Tom Colton
The Man whom the World Sold
- Location
- Oxford, United Kingdom
Thanks for the comments and honest feedback, guys.
The footnotes are a bit of a legacy from my AH.com days, where it'd be important (but not always crucial) to back up change from the timestream, or whichever small point which people not familiar with the part of history being discussed would need to know about to make sense of it. The bit about Cambridge was supposed to link to the snippet concerning "that illustrious institution in which he had first been given instruction in Chemistry".
I suppose it is a bit of an overload for both the Watsonian and Doylist explanations to be within the same body, but I still feel as though the latter would be necessary for new readers who aren't as familiar with Sherlockiana. I'll reduce the font size on them so you aren't compelled to read them at the end. That said, Watson in the canon does have a tendency to give pithy one-liners concerning some of the previous cases, even if they aren't actually discussed in full, with the introductions to "The Five Orange Pips" and "The Naval Treaty" probably being the most egregious in this regard. I felt that the Paradol Chamber and Amateur Mendicant Society name-drops were necessary to anchor this adventure in early 1887, but perhaps it is rather intrusive.
Unfortunately, the one example you highlighted, DezoPenguin, is one which has a payoff of sorts in the final chapter (as although A Study in Scarlet was submitted for publication in 1886, it didn't actually appear in The Strand until 1887), so it has to remain in.
As for the discussion of minutiae, there'll be a sharp drop-off of that in the next chapter, and hopefully when it does arise again it'll feel more organic. And yes, hopefully I've managed to justify this adventure and its exceeding Holmes's usual limits here! We'll learn about the Sophy Anderson itself next chapter.
Chapter 2: The Problem
Tom Colton
The Man whom the World Sold
- Location
- Oxford, United Kingdom
Chapter 2
The Problem
I emerged from my room early the next morning bearing my packed valise, to see Holmes already waiting by the fireplace, smoking on his pipe. His bags stood by the door, ready to be picked up at a moment's notice. I placed mine next to his, and sat by him as he slowly exhaled, a trail of smoke leaving his lips as he did so.
"Holmes," I said, "although I have already agreed to join you on your American expedition, I realise that in the hubbub of last night you have not actually mentioned the object of our mission."
He turned to me, raising his eyebrow in a quizzical fashion.
"Ah, my dear Watson," he replied, "let it forever-more remain as a testament to the depth of your trust that you have been perfectly willing to drop everything to cross the Atlantic with me at a moment's notice, with only my word that our objective is true and noble. No man could ask for a truer companion."
I was glad that he chose that very moment to turn his attention to his pipe again, for my cheeks must have been flush with warmth upon hearing his high praise.
"Well, my dear Holmes, since you have paid me so rich a compliment, allow me to offer you one in return. Despite my many small complaints through the course of our friendship, I cannot say that frivolity numbers among them. If you say your brother had tasked you with this, and you had not only agreed to this task but extended an invitation for me to bear witness, it surely cannot be a trivial matter, for trivial matters rarely fall into your purview, and almost never come into my horizons should you have any say about the situation."
Smiling, Holmes stood up and started for his baggage. "Truly your assessment does me too much credit, Watson, for many times I have indeed fallen into investigating trivial matters, and you have simply been fortunate to miss most of them. However, in this case you may be right on every count. Unfortunately, I have not the time to further elaborate on this grotesque matter, for that is our hansom. I shall make the whole thing clear on the way to Liverpool, where we may reasonably catch a steamship before the afternoon."
Thus it was that we were facing each other in the cramped carriage as Holmes pulled forth a newspaper cutting from his pocket, proffering it to me.
"This is the object of our quest, my dear Watson. Perhaps you shall think less of me once you realise the enormity of our task, and the resources we lack to carry it out to success. Truly I fear my reputation as you see it may have misled you."
I took the Times article, and read through it.
The Problem
I emerged from my room early the next morning bearing my packed valise, to see Holmes already waiting by the fireplace, smoking on his pipe. His bags stood by the door, ready to be picked up at a moment's notice. I placed mine next to his, and sat by him as he slowly exhaled, a trail of smoke leaving his lips as he did so.
"Holmes," I said, "although I have already agreed to join you on your American expedition, I realise that in the hubbub of last night you have not actually mentioned the object of our mission."
He turned to me, raising his eyebrow in a quizzical fashion.
"Ah, my dear Watson," he replied, "let it forever-more remain as a testament to the depth of your trust that you have been perfectly willing to drop everything to cross the Atlantic with me at a moment's notice, with only my word that our objective is true and noble. No man could ask for a truer companion."
I was glad that he chose that very moment to turn his attention to his pipe again, for my cheeks must have been flush with warmth upon hearing his high praise.
"Well, my dear Holmes, since you have paid me so rich a compliment, allow me to offer you one in return. Despite my many small complaints through the course of our friendship, I cannot say that frivolity numbers among them. If you say your brother had tasked you with this, and you had not only agreed to this task but extended an invitation for me to bear witness, it surely cannot be a trivial matter, for trivial matters rarely fall into your purview, and almost never come into my horizons should you have any say about the situation."
Smiling, Holmes stood up and started for his baggage. "Truly your assessment does me too much credit, Watson, for many times I have indeed fallen into investigating trivial matters, and you have simply been fortunate to miss most of them. However, in this case you may be right on every count. Unfortunately, I have not the time to further elaborate on this grotesque matter, for that is our hansom. I shall make the whole thing clear on the way to Liverpool, where we may reasonably catch a steamship before the afternoon."
Thus it was that we were facing each other in the cramped carriage as Holmes pulled forth a newspaper cutting from his pocket, proffering it to me.
"This is the object of our quest, my dear Watson. Perhaps you shall think less of me once you realise the enormity of our task, and the resources we lack to carry it out to success. Truly I fear my reputation as you see it may have misled you."
I took the Times article, and read through it.
"BRITISH BARQUE COMMANDEERED ON THE HIGH SEAS. The shipping vessel SS Sophy Anderson, carrying some assorted cargo and ten passengers was forcibly seized en route from Liverpool to New York two days ago. This was only discovered by another commercial vessel, the Swedish barque SS Lyra, when they encountered five of its passengers in a dinghy of the Sophy Anderson. They informed the crew of their plight, explaining that early on the morning of the 11th, several heavily-armed men emerged on the misty deck, threatening the crew and passengers with death unless they complied precisely with their instructions. The passengers were to be divided into two, with half of them being lowered into a life-boat and given some food and water, while the other half, along with the crew, were to remain on board. As these five were released first, they could not hear what these pirates had intended for the crew and passengers. However, as far as they could tell, the Sophy Anderson did not radically change course while it remained within their view, nor did they see any other vessels. Every effort is being taken by Her Majesty's Government, in co-operation with the relevant authorities in the United States, to locate the Sophy Anderson and rescue its crew and its remaining passengers…"
I trailed off, staring up at Holmes at amazement. He looked back at me, his face bearing a wry smile.
"You mean that your brother, on behalf of Her Majesty's Government, has tasked you with locating a single vessel in the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean?!"
Holmes laughed, taking the article from me, refolding it and placing it neatly between the pages of his case-book. "Quite so! Is it not farcical, my dear Watson?"
"But this is impossible! Why should he send, of all people, his own brother and an underworked doctor on a task of such importance? With no offence intended as to the full extent of your deductive powers, what can he hope to achieve? Should his friends not be employing the full power of the Royal Navy if they really wish to retrieve this errant barque?"
Placing his case-book into his inner pocket, Holmes said, "All valid points, Watson. Now, although all efforts are officially being under-taken by our government, including sortieing Her Majesty's finest warships to search for the Sophy Anderson our involvement comes at the intersection of British and American diplomatic interest. Although the article quite rightly states that our diplomats are extending their efforts to America to gain their co-operation in searching for this barque, the state of relations between our nations is still less than ideal for a task of this severity and urgency; many in both the North and South have not forgotten nor forgiven our nation's financing of both sides in their Civil War, which destroyed so much of its civilisation and robbed their nation of the flower of its youth, and I have been apprised that the American governments' unwillingness to extradite agitators who have terrorised our populace and fled across the seas to them has similarly soured our diplomatic efforts there. [1] Evidently if the new masters of the Sophy Anderson wished to return to our shores we would intercept them, and likewise if they headed for the coast of Canada. However, Britannia's hands are tied behind her back if she is still bound for America, albeit for their nefarious purposes. Hence our involvement!"
Puzzled, I asked Holmes, "I still do not understand. What resources can we hope to harness in order to help your brother and his friends?"
"We are to be his eyes and ears, my dear Watson! If they make landfall in Canada the appropriate authorities in the Dominion have already been informed; if they turn tail, they shall find a whole squadron of the Royal Navy ready to intercept them. However, if their intent is to land in America and continue their nefarious plans there, we are to communicate all we know of the fate of the Sophy Anderson."
"How are we so sure that their destinations are limited to these three options, Holmes? Is it not entirely possible that they may wish to divert its passengers and cargo to the Continent, or further south to Mexico or Central America, or worse yet, Africa, or even further abroad?"
Holmes closed his eyes in that look of concentration I have seen him bear many times before. "All valid questions, my dear Watson. If the first instance should come to pass, Brother Mycroft's friends will have other sets of eyes and ears to detect our errant barque. The other possibilities are much less likely; if the parties who had seized control of the Sophy Anderson were sailors, keeping its original crew abroad would only be an impediment. Inference: these villains desired its cargo or some of its passengers, but were not sailors themselves. This is strengthened by the absence of any vessels from which they could have boarded. If they were not sailors, the odds are very much against them being able to redirect the ship far from its intended course. The amount of food and water supplies which would have been abroad would also suggest that any intended deviation could not be very distant from the established Liverpool-New York route."
"I understand, Holmes. Hence why we are going to New York, as any deviation from its original route may be measured from it. But what shall we do once we get there? There is little to go on based on the news reports, if The Times represents the fullest extent of our knowledge."
With a twinkle in his eye, Holmes held up a blue envelope, with a neatly written "For Mister Sherlock Holmes" written in its centre and a large CONFIDENTIAL stamp embedded on the corner.
"We are not at a total loss, my dear Watson. Although the news agencies have only been apprised of the names of the Sophy Anderson's passengers and crew in order to inform the general public of the situation and put some minds at ease, Brother Mycroft has passed along the details of its cargo and some biographical information of the remaining passengers, such that we may pursue some leads concerning the motives of these men in wishing to seize control of them."
Our hansom pulled up at Euston station, and Holmes slipped the envelope back into his inner pocket. He spoke no more of the affair while we ate some breakfast at the station, while waiting for the next train to Liverpool. We had purchased, with the first of the money that Mycroft Holmes had provided us, two first-class tickets, assuring us of total privacy within our booth on the northbound London and North-Western Railway train.
Withdrawing the same envelope, Holmes laid the envelope out on the table, neatly smoothing it out on its flat surface.
"Now, my dear Watson, my brother fully understands that my co-operation would most likely entail yours, and there are few matters in this world in which I would not share my total confidence with you, you must understand that these are matters hidden from the general public, and you must not release such facts to them until it is timely for the truth of the whole affair to be released to the public."
"You have my word, Holmes," I said.
"Good old Watson! England expects, and I believe I know you too well to think that you would shirk your duty. Come, let us look upon this itinerary and determine the most probable intent of these robbers in waylaying our missing ship."
The report, which has since been made available in its entirety, ran as reads below. In the interests of the five hostages and their families, certain details have been changed and others concealed, but it may be hoped that the overall sense of the events has been retained.
RESTRICTED
From: Lord Appleby, Home Secretary
To: Mr. Sherlock Holmes, Esq.
c/o Mr. Mycroft Holmes, Administrative Affairs [2]
SS SOPHY ANDERSON, LOST 11TH FEBRUARY 1887
CREW (Ormond Sacker and Partners Shipping)
- William Neill (Captain)
- Roy Chanslor (First Mate)
- Virgil Miller (Second Mate)
- Saul Goodkind (Third Mate)
- John Goodman (Steward)
- R. Robinson, R.A. Gausman, M. Shyer, B. Brown, W. Hedgcock (Crewmen)
GOODS AND ITINERARY
- Portsmouth, 20th January: 10 tons of textiles, bound for America
- Kiel, 2nd February: 400 tons of fertiliser, bound for America, 20 tons of various export goods, bound for Britain
- Portsmouth, 5th February: 6 passengers, various export goods unloaded, about 30 tons of export goods, bound for America
- Liverpool, 7th February: 4 passengers, various export goods bound for America
- High seas, 13th February: Sophy Anderson dinghy encountered by the SS Vega about 400 miles off the Irish coast on with five passengers on board. At time of loss, 5 passengers, 400 tons of fertiliser, 40 tons of export goods (mostly textiles) and all crew still on board [3]
PASSENGERS RESCUED FROM THE SOPHY ANDERSON
- Richard Alexander, 29, Colour-man resident in Coombe Tracey, Devonshire
- Wilson Benge, 21, Actor and performer resident in Birmingham
- Mr. and Mrs. Alec Craig, 43 and 39, Travelling salesman and wife, resident in Norbury, London
- Leslie Denison, 51, Journalist for The Strand, resident in Camberwell, London
PASSENGERS STILL ABROAD THE SOPHY ANDERSON
- Paul Cavanagh, 37, Physician, resident in Burham, Camfordshire
- Harry Cording, 41, Boot-maker, resident in Goodge St., London
- Mr. and Mrs. Gavin Muir, 28 and 24, Stock-broker's clerk and wife, resident in Edinburgh
- Miss Constance Adams, 49, Stenographer in Praed Street, London, normally resident in Poldhu, Cornwall [4]
Holmes sorted through the blue sheets, turning over another page and returning to the first set of points, and turned to me.
"Well! That is quite comprehensive, and in the further notes Lord Appleby further comments that the crew are stated by their employers to be good solid Yorkshiremen and are unlikely to have been complicit in this commandeering. What do you think of the passengers, Watson?"
"I can see no evident pattern in why or how they were divided by these villains, Holmes. Both groups seem of equal class and age."
"Very astutely put! Indeed, the passengers of the unfortunate Sophy Anderson seem to cut a neat swathe through the kingdom from North to South as well. Undoubtedly since they have had to travel to America on a three-masted barque filled with fertiliser, which must have been at least somewhat malodorous, and not a steamship like we shall, these passengers are at the very most middle-class. If robbery of the passengers was their aim, they have chosen a very queer methodology; the risks involved in instantly gaining the enmity of a dozen good, strong, and true, Yorkshiremen from which one cannot escape are certainly against such an enterprise, given the measly returns from their victims."
I asked, "Could they have selected five passengers but only desired private vengeance upon one or some of them, and simply chosen more as a blind?"
"That is entirely possible, my dear Watson, but if these men were so ingenious as to avoid detection from, at the very minimum, Liverpool, they surely would have done in their targets on terra firma, given their unfamiliarity with the sea, which would only have been a disadvantage. No, I suspect it is the cargo they are after."
I looked at the goods manifest again. "Why should any group of men, even in criminal conspiracy, contrive to rob a ship of four hundred tons of fertiliser?"
The sharp look which indicated my friend's full attention to a problem lit up in his eyes. "Why indeed! Lord Appleby indicates that the specific formulation is a German synthesis of ammonium nitrate. Is that not significant to you?"
"I fear that this specific compound does not fall within my medical purview, Holmes. What nefarious purpose would such a quantity of ammonium nitrate serve? I suspect we are entering dark waters here."
"Dark and sinister, Watson, to give that tinge of drama you so desire to add to your write-ups of my cases. Both chemicals individually are volatile enough; my experiments within the house which have so upset Mrs. Hudson adequately demonstrate that under the right conditions, this fertiliser may serve as a potent explosive. I fear dearly for not only the captives abroad the Sophy Anderson, but any residents of the place these villains have chosen to redirect her."
"My god, Holmes, this is monstrous!" I said. "It is imperative that the governments of our two nations put aside their differences, or we somehow prevail where diplomacy has failed to find the ship, which now is no less than a mobile bomb!"
Holmes nodded grimly. "Indeed. The matter has transformed from the grotesque to the horrific, and our sole consolation is that even with their head-start, the speed of our steamship may be enough for us make moves to intercept our barque before it makes landfall on the American continent. In truth, I regret dragging you into this matter. This is my stop, Watson. If you think the risks are too great this time I shall pass you your stipend, and head to America alone."
"No, Holmes, they are not. Once again, you have put it too well. England expects, and we are compelled – if not by your contract to your brother, forced by our poverty, then by our duty to those poor men and women trapped in the clutches of these terrorists – to see this matter through, even to the bitter end."
For a moment, I detected the same tincture upon my friend's face as I had flushed when he had praised my dedication, but it had faded as soon as it had arisen. Finally, Holmes said, "Well, Watson! Neither of us seem to have great fortitude in economics, but I may surmise that our deficit in common-sense is readily compensated for by our surfeit in foolhardiness. Come, let us get our bags, and see if we cannot beat these villains to their destination – wherever it may be."
[1] This is essentially a fairly accurate summation of 1880s Anglo-American relations, which were thawing following the Civil War but still were fraught with some difficulty. It wouldn't be after the Venezuelan diplomatic incident that they would have their Great Rapprochement.
[2] Is this a reference of some kind? Well Minister, if you ask me for a straight answer, then I shall say that, as far as we can see, looking at it by and large, taking one thing with another...
[3] Seeing as I had to actually do research for this, the Sophy Anderson and its cargo/crew capacity is based on the SS Clan MacLeod / James Craig, and the SS Lyra is based on the SS Vega.
[4] Now this probably wouldn't be guessable if I didn't come here and trumpet my own cleverness, so the names of all the crew and passengers besides Miss Adams can be found in The House of Fear, an extremely loose adaptation of The Five Orange Pips. The home-towns of the other passengers and the locations of their livelihoods may also be familiar.
"Well! That is quite comprehensive, and in the further notes Lord Appleby further comments that the crew are stated by their employers to be good solid Yorkshiremen and are unlikely to have been complicit in this commandeering. What do you think of the passengers, Watson?"
"I can see no evident pattern in why or how they were divided by these villains, Holmes. Both groups seem of equal class and age."
"Very astutely put! Indeed, the passengers of the unfortunate Sophy Anderson seem to cut a neat swathe through the kingdom from North to South as well. Undoubtedly since they have had to travel to America on a three-masted barque filled with fertiliser, which must have been at least somewhat malodorous, and not a steamship like we shall, these passengers are at the very most middle-class. If robbery of the passengers was their aim, they have chosen a very queer methodology; the risks involved in instantly gaining the enmity of a dozen good, strong, and true, Yorkshiremen from which one cannot escape are certainly against such an enterprise, given the measly returns from their victims."
I asked, "Could they have selected five passengers but only desired private vengeance upon one or some of them, and simply chosen more as a blind?"
"That is entirely possible, my dear Watson, but if these men were so ingenious as to avoid detection from, at the very minimum, Liverpool, they surely would have done in their targets on terra firma, given their unfamiliarity with the sea, which would only have been a disadvantage. No, I suspect it is the cargo they are after."
I looked at the goods manifest again. "Why should any group of men, even in criminal conspiracy, contrive to rob a ship of four hundred tons of fertiliser?"
The sharp look which indicated my friend's full attention to a problem lit up in his eyes. "Why indeed! Lord Appleby indicates that the specific formulation is a German synthesis of ammonium nitrate. Is that not significant to you?"
"I fear that this specific compound does not fall within my medical purview, Holmes. What nefarious purpose would such a quantity of ammonium nitrate serve? I suspect we are entering dark waters here."
"Dark and sinister, Watson, to give that tinge of drama you so desire to add to your write-ups of my cases. Both chemicals individually are volatile enough; my experiments within the house which have so upset Mrs. Hudson adequately demonstrate that under the right conditions, this fertiliser may serve as a potent explosive. I fear dearly for not only the captives abroad the Sophy Anderson, but any residents of the place these villains have chosen to redirect her."
"My god, Holmes, this is monstrous!" I said. "It is imperative that the governments of our two nations put aside their differences, or we somehow prevail where diplomacy has failed to find the ship, which now is no less than a mobile bomb!"
Holmes nodded grimly. "Indeed. The matter has transformed from the grotesque to the horrific, and our sole consolation is that even with their head-start, the speed of our steamship may be enough for us make moves to intercept our barque before it makes landfall on the American continent. In truth, I regret dragging you into this matter. This is my stop, Watson. If you think the risks are too great this time I shall pass you your stipend, and head to America alone."
"No, Holmes, they are not. Once again, you have put it too well. England expects, and we are compelled – if not by your contract to your brother, forced by our poverty, then by our duty to those poor men and women trapped in the clutches of these terrorists – to see this matter through, even to the bitter end."
For a moment, I detected the same tincture upon my friend's face as I had flushed when he had praised my dedication, but it had faded as soon as it had arisen. Finally, Holmes said, "Well, Watson! Neither of us seem to have great fortitude in economics, but I may surmise that our deficit in common-sense is readily compensated for by our surfeit in foolhardiness. Come, let us get our bags, and see if we cannot beat these villains to their destination – wherever it may be."
[1] This is essentially a fairly accurate summation of 1880s Anglo-American relations, which were thawing following the Civil War but still were fraught with some difficulty. It wouldn't be after the Venezuelan diplomatic incident that they would have their Great Rapprochement.
[2] Is this a reference of some kind? Well Minister, if you ask me for a straight answer, then I shall say that, as far as we can see, looking at it by and large, taking one thing with another...
[3] Seeing as I had to actually do research for this, the Sophy Anderson and its cargo/crew capacity is based on the SS Clan MacLeod / James Craig, and the SS Lyra is based on the SS Vega.
[4] Now this probably wouldn't be guessable if I didn't come here and trumpet my own cleverness, so the names of all the crew and passengers besides Miss Adams can be found in The House of Fear, an extremely loose adaptation of The Five Orange Pips. The home-towns of the other passengers and the locations of their livelihoods may also be familiar.
===
I believe @DezoPenguin's tagging of me in the other thread, besides to lay praise by comparison, may also have acted as an alert that I'm letting this fall by the wayside.
Here's the outline of the problem, and why and how Holmes and Watson could conceivably get involved with "the facts of the loss of the Sophy Anderson". Hope you enjoy!EDIT for anachronistic language.
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This is a deliberate reference, yes?Anyways, were the phrases "terrorists", "classified", and "de-classifed" in use in this fashion at the time?
Otherwise, I'm enjoying this and am looking forward to more.
Tom Colton
The Man whom the World Sold
- Location
- Oxford, United Kingdom
It actually wasn't, but I must have had The Final Problem in my subconscious when writing it.
"Terrorists" definitely was since the French Revolution (although it meant an armed group committing political violence in a slightly different fashion), but "classified" might not have been. "Hijacking" wasn't coined until the 20th century, hence why it doesn't make an appearance here.
Thanks!
There are worse things to have in there.
Also, I'm going to be honest, it took me WAAAY longer to get the "Ormond Sacker" bit than it should have. Err, that is, I knew it was a reference, but I had to wrack my brain to figure out what.
Huh, I didn't know that.
Sorry.
Neat!
You're welcome!Thanks!