3 The Search

Chapter 3 The Search Sherlock Holmes pushed a handkerchief under Toby's nose. "Smell it, boy!" "What's that?" I asked. "I smeared some of the creosote from those footprints on here," Holmes said. "It'll help us track down the accomplice." The dog cocked his head, then began following the trail, straining at the leash as he pulled us along. He led us to part of the outer wall, where we found a handprint—evidence that this was where the intruders had broken in.

Dawn was breaking as Toby led us along the road. As we walked, I asked Holmes how he knew the man with the wooden leg was Jonathan Small. "Small was one of the four who signed Captain Morstan's chart beneath that symbol— the sign of four, as they called it. These four men believe Sholto's treasure is theirs, and they've been trying to steal it back. We know Major Sholto dreaded a wooden-legged Englishman. As the only English-sounding name on the list, Small must have been that man. "I'm sure it was Small's face Sholto saw at the window on the night he died. It was probably

Small who searched his house for clues to the treasure, then left those scrawled words, 'the sign of four,' on Sholto's chest." "But what about those other things you said about him—that he was tall and bearded and had lost some skin from his palm?" "I worked out his height from the length of his stride. Thaddeus described the face at his father's window as hairy, and there were blood stains on the rope he used to climb into the room." Toby eventually led us to a wooden wharf on the south bank of the Thames. There, he stood whining and looking out at the river. "They must have taken a boat from here," said Holmes. Close to the landing stage was a small house with a sign outside: "Mordecai Smith: Boats for Hire." Holmes knocked at the door and a stout, red-faced woman answered. "If you want to hire a boat, I'm afraid my husband's away," she said.

"That's a shame," said Holmes. "I was hoping to hire his steam launch." "Well I'm sorry, but it's the steam launch he's gone out in. He left early yesterday morning and, truth to tell, I'm starting to get worried. I didn't like the look of that wooden-legged man who woke him up and asked him to take him out in it." "And was this wooden-legged man alone?" Holmes asked. "I couldn't say, sir. I didn't see anyone else, but it was quite dark."

Holmes questioned the woman further, and we discovered the boat was black with two red stripes and was called the Aurora. After we bade her farewell, I said to Holmes: "We should hire a launch and go in search of this boat." "It would be a colossal task, as there are hundreds of landing places along the river." "Then perhaps we should advertise," suggested. "If we did that, Jonathan Small would know we were after him and he'd flee the country. No, I believe this may be a job for the Baker Street Irregulars." "The who?" "Don't worry, Watson, you'll find out soon enough."

We returned Toby to his owner, then went back to Baker Street. After an hour's sleep and a bath, I came downstairs to find breakfast laid and Holmes pouring coffee. He showed me the morning newspaper. Beneath the headline "Mystery Death at Upper Norwood," the article described the discovery of Sholto's body and the disappearance of the treasure. It went on: "Thanks to the brilliant skills of Mr. Athelney Jones, the police detective, Bartholomew's brother Thaddeus Sholto has already been arrested, together with the housekeeper Mrs. Bernstone, and the porter Mr. McMurdo." "Isn't it wonderful!" laughed Holmes. "What do you think?"