since the tragic passing of my mother all the more so. My beautiful young sister, Charlotte is, at present, engaged in missionary work somewhere in the depths of central Africa. My father is possibly lost somewhere in the East Indies and I have just returned from my study of the mysterious ‘Waiting Stones’ of Cornwall. The wanderlust has certainly invaded our family and yet wherever it might lead us, we have always felt joined by a common familial bond that shall never be broken … not even in death.’ Collier paused for a moment to put a flame to his cheroot.
‘I am familiar with those remarkable standing stones myself. During a recuperative sabbatical on the Cornish coast that very nearly cost me my life, 2 I spent many an hour walking amongst those stones, although I was never able to unlock their ancient secrets,’ Holmes observed reflectively during the brief pause. Collier gravely nodded his acknowledgement before continuing:
‘Therefore the abrupt ending to my father’s most recent letter is all the more surprising. It has been months since he left his retreat to begin his quest to prove that an advanced Hindu civilization had existed long before the period that has been generally accepted by the scholars. He sent me a brief note to the effect that it was his intention to take up the trail of an aged guru whom he had encountered in East Africa and accordingly to sail to Calcutta on the first available schooner from London.
‘That was the last that I was to hear from him until this arrived at my lodgings in St Ives, just two days ago.’ With that Collier extracted the contents of the envelope that had been the focal point of our attention since we had returned to our rooms. So intent was Holmes on examining the envelope before Collier would have a chance to read its contents that he leapt forward and snatched it from the bewildered young man’s grasp. With the same urgency and intent, he held it beside the illumination of a small oil lamp and painstakingly scrutinized every inch of the envelope’s surface with his small magnifying glass.
It was only then that I became conscious of the gathering gloom outside our windows. When Mrs Hudson came in to draw our blinds and kindle the fire, I realized that a long though enthralling night lay ahead of us.
Notes
( 1 ) From ‘The Problem at Thor Bridge’
By Sir A.C.D.
( 2 ) From the ‘The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot’ By Sir A.C.D.
CHAPTER FOUR
A F ATHE R â S T ALE
âM r Collier,â Holmes began accusingly, âwhy have you retained only one of the envelopes that enclosed these papers?â
âThe first was sufficiently large to contain all of my fatherâs correspondence, so therefore the others appeared to be redundant. However, I have not mentioned the fact that there were more than one letter,â Collier explained.
âYou did not need to. See here â¦â Holmes moved over to Collier and then to me, with his glass trained on the seams of the envelope. âWhen the envelope was originally sealed the flap folded smoothly over the contents and yet the seams of the bottom two corners are now clearly stretched, almost to the point of splitting in two. This shows something bulkier has been inserted since it was opened. One can sometimes learn more from an apparently unremarkable envelope than from the letter within. Although I am sure that that is not the case in this instance. How many letters are there?â
âThere were three in total,â Collier quietly replied, obviously still enthralled by Holmesâs simple process of deduction.
âSince I have already deduced that the first of these was the briefest and as it bears a London postmark, it must contain items of a personal nature. Therefore, the other two must provide detailed journals of your fatherâs travels. The stationery and ink are of the highest quality, as one would expect of a man ofletters, and the script is strong and confident.
‘I am familiar with those remarkable standing stones myself. During a recuperative sabbatical on the Cornish coast that very nearly cost me my life, 2 I spent many an hour walking amongst those stones, although I was never able to unlock their ancient secrets,’ Holmes observed reflectively during the brief pause. Collier gravely nodded his acknowledgement before continuing:
‘Therefore the abrupt ending to my father’s most recent letter is all the more surprising. It has been months since he left his retreat to begin his quest to prove that an advanced Hindu civilization had existed long before the period that has been generally accepted by the scholars. He sent me a brief note to the effect that it was his intention to take up the trail of an aged guru whom he had encountered in East Africa and accordingly to sail to Calcutta on the first available schooner from London.
‘That was the last that I was to hear from him until this arrived at my lodgings in St Ives, just two days ago.’ With that Collier extracted the contents of the envelope that had been the focal point of our attention since we had returned to our rooms. So intent was Holmes on examining the envelope before Collier would have a chance to read its contents that he leapt forward and snatched it from the bewildered young man’s grasp. With the same urgency and intent, he held it beside the illumination of a small oil lamp and painstakingly scrutinized every inch of the envelope’s surface with his small magnifying glass.
It was only then that I became conscious of the gathering gloom outside our windows. When Mrs Hudson came in to draw our blinds and kindle the fire, I realized that a long though enthralling night lay ahead of us.
Notes
( 1 ) From ‘The Problem at Thor Bridge’
By Sir A.C.D.
( 2 ) From the ‘The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot’ By Sir A.C.D.
CHAPTER FOUR
A F ATHE R â S T ALE
âM r Collier,â Holmes began accusingly, âwhy have you retained only one of the envelopes that enclosed these papers?â
âThe first was sufficiently large to contain all of my fatherâs correspondence, so therefore the others appeared to be redundant. However, I have not mentioned the fact that there were more than one letter,â Collier explained.
âYou did not need to. See here â¦â Holmes moved over to Collier and then to me, with his glass trained on the seams of the envelope. âWhen the envelope was originally sealed the flap folded smoothly over the contents and yet the seams of the bottom two corners are now clearly stretched, almost to the point of splitting in two. This shows something bulkier has been inserted since it was opened. One can sometimes learn more from an apparently unremarkable envelope than from the letter within. Although I am sure that that is not the case in this instance. How many letters are there?â
âThere were three in total,â Collier quietly replied, obviously still enthralled by Holmesâs simple process of deduction.
âSince I have already deduced that the first of these was the briefest and as it bears a London postmark, it must contain items of a personal nature. Therefore, the other two must provide detailed journals of your fatherâs travels. The stationery and ink are of the highest quality, as one would expect of a man ofletters, and the script is strong and confident.
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