Sherlock Holmes Short Stories - The Sign of Four: Part One

Episode Date: October 21, 2026

A young woman arrives at Baker Street with a new case for Sherlock Holmes.  But it's Dr Watson whose interest is well and truly piqued. Part one of seven.  A Noiser podcast production. Narrated by Hugh Bonneville  Written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Produced by Duncan Barrett Sound Design: Mirianna Pitman-Latham Assembly Edit: Cody Reynolds-Shaw Sound Supervisor: Matt Peaty Compositions: Dorry Macaulay and Oliver Baines Mix & Mastering: Ralph Tittley Series Consultant: Dan Smith Executive Producer: Katrina Hughes References to drug use have been removed from this audiobook.   For ad-free listening and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Just click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm Hugh Bonneville and welcome to the Sign of Four, part one. When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published his first Sherlock Home Story, a study in Scarlet, in the 1887 edition of Eaton's Christmas Annual, it didn't exactly make the splash he might have hoped for. The book did, however, attract the attention of one very influential reader, and a man who may have seen something of himself in Doyle's flamboyantly brilliant detective, Oscar Wilde. Two years later, Doyle and Wilde dined together at the Langham Hotel in London, brought together by an American magazine publisher J.M. Stoddart,

who hoped to commission some new stories from two up-and-coming authors. It was Wilde who encouraged Doyle to give his Sherlock Holmes character a second go. By the end of the evening, Stoddart had signed both men to write for him. And sure enough, the following year, his magazine, Lippingott's, carried the stories inspired by that meeting. Wilde's groundbreaking novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Doyles, The Sign of the Fall. It wasn't until some years later that the novel would lose the second definite article. Over the next seven episodes of this podcast, we'll be bringing you that remarkable story.

A tale of a missing father, a lost treasure, and a terrible act of business. betrayal, stretching all the way to colonial India. Not to mention a life-changing romance for Dr. Watson. From the Noiser podcast network, this is The Sign of Four, part one. Sherlock Holmes put his fingertips together and leaned his elbows on the arms of his chair, like one who has a relish for conversation. My mind, he said, rebels at stagnant. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere.

But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exultation. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession, or rather created it. For I am the only one in the world. The only unofficial detective, I say. said, raising my eyebrows, the only unofficial consulting detective, he answered. I am the last and highest court of appeal in detection. When Gregson or Lestrade or Athelny Jones are out of their depths, which, by the way, is their normal state, the matter is laid before me.

I examine the data as an expert and pronounce a specialist's opinion. I claim no credit in such cases, my name figures in no newspaper. The work itself, the pleasure of finding a field for my peculiar powers, is my highest reward. But you have yourself had some experience of my methods of work in the Jefferson Hope case. Yes, indeed, said I cordially. I was never so struck by anything in my life. I even embodied it in a small brochure with the somewhat fantastic title of A Study in Scarlet. He shook his head sadly. I glanced over it, said he. Honestly, I cannot congratulate you upon it.

Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science, and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner. You have attempted to tinge it with romanticism, which produces much the same effect as if you worked a love story or an elopement into the fifth proposition of Euclid. But the romance was there. I remonstrated. I could not tamper with the facts. Some facts should be suppressed, or at least a just sense of proportion should be observed in treating them. The only point in the

case which deserved mention was the curious analytical reasoning from effects to causes by which I succeeded in unraveling it. I was annoyed at this criticism of a work which had been specially designed to please him. I confess, too, that I was irritated by the egotism which seemed to demand that every line of my pamphlet should be devoted to his own special doings. More than once during the years that I had lived with him in Baker Street, I had observed that a small vanity underlay my companion's quiet and didactic manner. I made no remark, however, but sat nursing my wounded leg. I had a Jezahil bullet through it sometime before, and though it did not prevent me from walking, it ached wearily at every change of the weather.

My practice has extended recently to the continent, said Holmes after a while, filling up his old briar root pipe. I was consulted last week by Francois Le Villar, who, as you probably know, has come rather to the front lately in the French detective service. He has all the Celtic power of quick intuition, but he is deficient in a wide range of exact knowledge, which is essential to the higher developments of his art. The case was concerned with a will and possessed some features of interest. I was able to refer him to two parallel cases, the one at Riga in 1857 and the other at St. Louis in 1871, which have suggested to him the true solution. Here is the letter which I had this morning acknowledging my assistance. He tossed over as he spoke a crumpled sheet of foreign note paper.

I glanced my eyes down it, catching a profusion of notes of admissible. admiration with stray, Manifique, Coudemetre, and Tour de Force, all testifying to the ardent admiration of the Frenchman. He speaks as a pupil to his master, said I. Oh, he rates my assistance too highly, said Sherlock Holmes lightly. He has considerable gifts himself. He possesses two out of the three qualities necessary for the ideal detective. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. He is only wanting in knowledge.

And that may come in time. He is now translating my small works into French. Your works? Oh, didn't you know? He cried, laughing. Yes, I have been guilty of several monographs. They are all upon technical subjects. Here, for example, is one upon the distinction between the ashes of the various tobaccos.

In it, I enumerate a hundred and forty-four. of cigar, cigarette, and pipe tobacco, with coloured plates illustrating the difference in the ash. It is a point which is continually turning up in criminal trials, and which is sometimes of supreme importance as a clue. If you can say definitely, for example, that some murder has been done by a man who was smoking an Indian lunkah, it obviously narrows your field of search. To the trained eye, there is as much difference between the black ash of a trichinopoli, and the white fluff of birds' eye, as there is between a cabbage and a potato. You have an extraordinary genius for my nuisance, I remarked.

I appreciate their importance. Here is my monograph upon the tracing of footsteps, with some remarks upon the uses of plaster of Paris as a preserver of impresses. Here, too, is a curious little work upon the influence of a trade upon the form of the hand, with lithotypes of the hands of slaters, sailors, cork cutters, compositors, weavers, and diamond polishes. That is a matter of great practical interest to the scientific detective, especially in cases of unclaimed bodies, or in discovering the antecedents of criminals. But I weary you with my hobby.

Not at all, I answered earnestly. It is of the greatest interest to me, especially since I have had the opportunity of observing your practical application of it. But you spoke just now of observation and deduction. Surely the one to some extent implies the other. Why, hardly, he answered, leaning back luxuriously in his armchair and sending up thick blue wreaths from his pipe. For example, observation shows me that you have been to the Wigmore Street post office this morning.

But deduction lets me know that when there, You dispatched a telegram. Right, said I, right on both points. But I confess that I don't see how you arrived at it. It was a sudden impulse upon my part, and I have mentioned it to no one. It is simplicity itself, he remarked, chuckling at my surprise. So absurdly simple that an explanation is superfluous, and yet it may serve to define the limits of observation and of deduction.

"'Observation tells me that you have a little reddish mould "'adhering to your in-step. "'Just opposite the Wigmore Street office, "'they have taken up the pavement "'and thrown up some earth, "'which lies in such a way "'that it is difficult to avoid treading in it in entering. "'The earth is of this peculiar reddish tint,

"'which is found, as far as I know, "'nowhere else in the neighbourhood. "'So much is observation. "'The rest is deduction. "'How, then, did you do. deduce the telegram. Why, of course, I knew that you had not written a letter since I sat opposite to you all morning. I see also in your open desk there that you have a sheet of stamps and a thick bundle of postcards. What could you go into the post office for then but to send a wire?

Eliminate all other factors and the one which remains must be the truth. In this case, it certainly is so, I replied after a little thought. The thing, however, is, as you say, of the simplest. Would you think me impertinent if I were to put your theories to a more severe test? On the contrary, he answered, I should be delighted to look into any problem which you might submit to me. I have heard you say that it is difficult for a man to have any object in daily use, without leaving the impress of his individuality upon it in such a way that a trained observer might read it. Now, I have here a watch which has recently come into my possession. Would you have the kindness to let me have an opinion upon the character or habits of the

late owner? I handed him over the watch with some slight feeling of amusement in my heart, for the test was, as I thought, an impossible one, and I intended it as a lesson again. against the somewhat dogmatic tone, which he occasionally assumed. He balanced the watch in his hand, gazed hard at the dial, opened the back and examined the works, first with his naked eyes and then with a powerful convex lens. I could hardly keep from smiling at his crestfallen face when he finally snapped the case two and handed it back.

"'There are hardly any data,' he remarked. "'The watch has been recently cleaned, which robs me of my... most suggestive facts. You are right, I answered. It was cleaned before being sent to me. In my heart, I accused my companion of putting forward a most lame and impotent excuse to cover his failure. What data could he expect from an uncleaned watch? Though unsatisfactory, my research has not been entirely barren, he observed, staring up at the ceiling with dreamy, lacklustre eyes.

Subject to your correction, I should judge that the watch belonged to your elder brother who inherited it from your father. That you gather, no doubt, from the H.W upon the back. Quite so. The W. The date of the watch is nearly 50 years back, and the initials are as old as the watch. So it was made for the last generation. Jewelery usually descends to the eldest son. and he is most likely to have the same name as the father.

Your father has, if I remember right, been dead many years. It has, therefore, been in the hands of your eldest brother. Right so far, said I. Anything else? He was a man of untidy habits, very untidy and careless. He was left with good prospects, but he threw away his chances, lived for some time in poverty, with occasional short intervals of prosperity,

and finally, taking to drink, he died. That is all I can gather. I sprang from my chair and limped impatiently about the room with considerable bitterness in my heart. This is unworthy of you, Holmes, I said. I could not have believed that you would have descended to this. You have made inquiries into the history of my unhappy brother, and you now pretend to deduce this knowledge in some fanciful way.

You cannot expect me to believe that you have read all this from his old watch, it is unkind, and to speak plainly, has a touch of charlatanism in it. My dear doctor, said he kindly, pray accept my apologies. Viewing the matter as an abstract problem, I had forgotten how personal and painful a thing it might be to you. I assure you, however, that I never even knew that you had a brother until you handed me the watch. Then how, in the name of all that is wonderful, did you get these facts? They are absolutely correct in every particular. Ah, that is good luck. I could only say what was the balance of probability. I did not at all expect to be so accurate. But it was not mere guesswork. No, no, I never guess. It is a shocking

habit, destructive to the logical faculty. What seems strange to you is only so, because you do not follow my train of thought, or observe the small facts upon which large inferences may depend. For example, I began by stating that your brother was careless. When you observe the lower part of that watch case, you notice that it is not only dinted in two places, but it is cut and marked all over from the habit of keeping other hard objects, such as coins or keys, in the same pocket. Surely it is no great feat to assume that a man who treats a 50-Ginney watch so cavalierly must be a careless man. Neither is it a very far-fetched inference that a man who inherits one article of such value is pretty well provided for in other respects. I nodded to show that I followed his reasoning.

It is very customary for pawnbrokers in England when they take a watch to scratch the number of the ticket with a pinpoint upon the inside of the case. It is more handy than a label, as there is no risk of the number being lost or transposed. There are no less than four such numbers visible to my lens on the inside of this case. Inference, that your brother was often at low water. Secondary inference, that he had occasional bursts of prosperity, or he could not have redeemed the pledge. Finally, I ask you to look at the inner plate which contains the keyhole. Look at the thousands of scratches all round the hole Marks where the key has slipped

What sober man's key could have scored those grooves But you will never see a drunkard's watch without them He winds it at night And he leaves these traces of his unsteady hand Where is the mystery in all this? It is as clear as daylight, I answered. I regret the injustice which I did you. I should have had more faith in your marvellous faculty.

May I ask whether you have any professional inquiry on foot at present? None. I cannot live without brainwork. What else is there to live for? Stand at the window here. Was ever such a dreary, dismal, unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across the dun-coloured houses. What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? What is the use of

having powers, doctor, when one has no field upon which to exert them? Crime is commonplace, existence is commonplace, and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth. I had opened my mouth to reply to this tirade, when, with a crisp knock, our landlady entered, bearing a card upon the brass salver. A young lady for you, sir, she said, addressing my companion. Miss Mary Morsten, he read. Hmm, I have no recollection of the name. Ask the young lady to step up, Mrs. Hudson.

Don't go, doctor. I should prefer that you remain. This episode is brought to you by Welch's fruit snacks. Back to school season can be tough on parents. But choosing a snack you and your kids can both get behind doesn't have to be. Stog up on Welch's fruit snacks, made with real whole fruit

for a mouth-watering experience the whole family can enjoy. It's a snack kids already love, and one you can feel good about giving them. Go back to school with Welch's fruit snacks. Miss Morsten entered the room with a firm step and an outward composure of manner. She was a blonde young lady, small, dainty, well-gloyal. and dressed in the most perfect taste.

There was, however, a plainness and simplicity about her costume, which bore with it a suggestion of limited means. The dress was a sombre, greyish beige, untrimmed and unbraided, and she wore a small turban of the same dull hue, relieved only by a suspicion of white feather in the side. Her face had neither regularity of feature nor beauty of complexion, but her expression was sweet and amiable, and her large blue eyes were singularly spiritual and sympathetic.

In an experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate continents, I have never looked upon a face which gave a clearer promise of a refined and sensitive nature. I could not but observe that as she took the seat which Sherlock Holmes placed for her, her lip trembled, her hand quivered, and she showed every sign of intense inward agitation. "'I have come to you, Mr. Holmes,' she said, "'because you once enabled my employer, Mrs. Cecil Forrester, "'to unravel a little domestic complication.

"'She was much impressed by your kindness and skill.' "'Mrs. Cecil Forrester,' he repeated thoughtfully, I believe that I was of some slight service to her. The case, however, as I remember it, was a very simple one. She did not think so, but at least you cannot say the same of mine. I can hardly imagine anything more strange, more utterly inexplicable, than the situation in which I find myself. Holmes rubbed his hands and his eyes glistened.

He leaned forward in his chair with an expression of extraordinary concentration, upon his clear-cut hawk-like features. State your case, said he in brisk business tones. I felt that my position was an embarrassing one. You will, I am sure, excuse me, I said, rising from my chair. To my surprise, the young lady held up her gloved hand to detain me. If your friend, she said, would be good enough to stop. He might be of inestimable service to me.

I relapsed into my chair. Briefly, she continued, the facts are these. My father was an officer in an Indian regiment who sent me home when I was quite a child. My mother was dead, and I had no relative in England. I was placed, however, in a comfortable boarding establishment at Edinburgh, and there I remained until I was 17 years of age. In the year 1878, my father, who was senior captain of his regiment, obtained 12 months' leave and came home.

He telegraphed to me from London that he had arrived all safe and directed me to come down at once, giving the Langham Hotel as his address. His message, as I remember, was full of kindness and love. On reaching London, I drove to the Langham and was informed that Captain Morstan was staying there, but that he had gone out the night before and had not yet returned. I waited all day without news of him. That night, on the advice of the manager of the hotel, I communicated with the police, and next morning we advertised in all the papers.

Our inquiries led to no result, and from that day to this, no word has ever been heard of my unfortunate father. He came home with his heart full of hope, to find some peace, some comfort, and instead... She put her hand to... her throat, and a choking sob cut short the sentence. "'The date?' asked Holmes, opening his notebook. He disappeared upon the third of December, 1878, nearly ten years ago. His luggage remained at the hotel. There was nothing in it to suggest a clue, some clothes, some books, and a considerable

number of curiosities from the Andaman Islands. He had been one of the offices in charge of the convict guard there. Had he any friends in town? Only one that we know of, Major Sholto of his own regiment, the 34th Bombay Infantry. The Major had retired some little time before and lived at Upper Norwood. We communicated with him, of course, but he did not even know that his brother officer was in England. A singular case. remarked Holmes. I have not yet described to you the most singular part. About six years ago, to be exact upon the 4th of May, 1882, an advertisement appeared in the Times asking for the address of Miss Mary Morsten, and stating that it would be to her advantage to come forward. There was no name or

address appended. I had at that time just entered the family of Mrs. Cecil Forrester in the capacity of governors. By her advice, I published my address in the advertisement column. The same day, there arrived through the post a small cardboard box addressed to me, which I found to contain a very large and lustrous pearl. No word of writing was enclosed. Since then, every year upon the same date, there has always appeared a similar box containing a similar pearl without any clue as to the sender. They have been pronounced by an expert to be of a rare variety and of considerable value. You can see for yourselves that they are very handsome. She opened a flat box as she spoke and showed me six of the finest pearls that I had ever seen. Your statement is most interesting,

said Sherlock Holmes. Has anything else occurred to you? Yes, and no later than today. That is why I have come to you. This morning I received this letter, which you will perhaps read for yourself. Thank you, said Holmes. The envelope two, please. Postmark London, SW, date July 7th. Hmm. Man's thumb mark on corner, probably postman, best quality paper, envelopes at sixpence a packet. Particular man in his stationery, no address. Hmm. Be at the third pillar from the left, the Lyceum Theatre tonight at seven o'clock. If you are distrustful, bring two friends. You are a wronged woman and shall have justice. Do not bring police. If you do, all will be in vain, your unknown friend. Well, really, this is a very pretty little mystery. What do you intend to do,

Miss Morston? That is exactly what I want to ask you. Then we shall must be. most certainly go, you and I, and yes, why, Dr. Watson is the very man, your correspondence says two friends. He and I have worked together before, but would he come? she asked with something appealing in her voice and expression. I should be proud and happy, said I fervently, if I can be of any service. You are both very kind, she answered. I have led a retired life and have no friends whom I could appeal to. If I am here at six, it will do, I suppose. You must not be later, said Holmes.

There is one other point, however. Is this handwriting the same as that upon the pearl-box addresses? I have them here, she answered, producing half a dozen pieces of paper. You are certainly a model client. You have the correct intuition. Let us see now. He spread out the papers upon the table, and gave little darting glances from one to the other.

They are disguised hands, except the letter, he said presently. But there can be no question as to the authorship. See how the irrepressible Greek E will break out, and see the twirl of the final S. They are undoubtedly by the same person. I should not like to suggest false hopes, Miss Morsten, but is there any resemblance between this hand and that of your father?

Oh, nothing could be more unlike. I expected to hear you say so. We shall look out for you then, at six. Pray, allow me to keep the papers. I may look into the matter before then. It is only half past three. Orovoire, then. Orovoire, said our visitor.

And with a bright, kindly glance from one to the other of us, she replaced her pole box in her bosom and hurried away. This October on the Noisor podcast network, Real Dictators returns. We're in the Dominican Republic for the story of Raphael Trujillo. On short history of, we'll uncover the secrets of the Hoover Dam and follow Mary Shelley, the creator of Frankenstein and his monster. On real survival stories, a modern Viking adventure as a replica Norse vessel embarks on a daring voyage across the North Sea,

and a man is struck blind all alone at the very top of the world. In Jane Austen stories, Emma continues with Dame Julie Andrews, and in Sherlock Holmes short stories, Holmes and Watson unpick an epicestine. mystery of hidden treasure and murder in the sign of four. Get all of these shows and more early and ad-free on Noiser Plus. Standing at the window, I watched her walking briskly down the street until the grey turban and white feather were but a speck in the somber crowd. What a very attractive woman, I exclaimed, turning to my companion.

He had lit his pipe again and was leaning back with drooping eyelids. Is she? he said languidly. I did not observe. You really are an automaton, a calculating machine, I cried. There is something positively inhuman in you at times. He smiled gently. It is of the first importance, he said,

not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities. A client is to me a mere unit, a factor in a problem, The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning. I assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance money, and the most repellent man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist who has spent nearly a quarter of a million upon the London poor. Well, in this case, however, I never make exceptions.

An exception disproves the rule. Have you ever had occasion to... to study character in handwriting. What do you make of this fellow's scribble? It is legible and regular, I answered. A man of business habits and some force of character. Holmes shook his head. Look at his long letters.

They hardly rise above the common herd. That D might be an A, and that L an E. Men of character always differentiate their long letters, however illegibly they may write. There is vacillation in his case and self-esteem in his capitals. I am going out now. I have some few references to make. Let me recommend this book, one of the most remarkable ever penned.

It is Winwood reads, Martyrdom of Man. I shall be back in an hour. I sat in the window with the volume in my hand, but my thoughts were far from the daring speculations of the writer. My mind ran upon, our late visitor. Her smiles, the deep, rich tones of her voice, the strange mystery which overhung her life. If she was 17 at the time of her father's disappearance, she must be seven and twenty now. A sweet age, when youth has lost its self-consciousness and become a little

sobered by experience. So I sat and mused, until such dangerous thoughts came into my head that I hurried away to my desk and plunged furiously into the latest treatise upon pathology. What was I, an army surgeon with a weak leg and a weaker banking account, that I should dare to think of such things? She was a unit, a factor, nothing more. If my future were black, it was better surely to face it like a man, than to attempt to brighten it by mere willer the wisps of the imagination. It was half-past five before Holmes returned.

He was bright, eager, and in excellent spirits, a mood which, in his case, alternated with fits of the blackest depression. There is no great mystery in this matter, he said, taking the cup of tea which I had poured out for him. The facts appear to admit of only one explanation. What? You have solved it already? Well, that would be too much to say. I have discovered a suggestive fact, that is all.

It is, however, very suggestive. The details are still to be added. I have just found, on consulting the backfiles of the Times, that Major Sholto of Upper Norwood, late of the 34th Bombay Infantry, died upon the 28th of April 1882. I may be very abduce, Holmes, but I fail to see what this suggests. No? You surprise me. Look at it in this way, then.

Captain Morstan disappears. The only person in London whom he could have visited is Major Sholto. Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London. Four years later, Sholto dies. Within a week of his death, Captain Morston's daughter receives a valuable present, which is repeated from year to year, and now culminates in a letter which describes her as a wronged woman. What wrong can it refer to, accept?

this deprivation of her father? And why should the presence begin immediately after Sholto's death, unless it is that Sholto's heir knows something of the mystery and desires to make compensation? Have you any alternative theory which will meet the facts? But what a strange compensation, and how strangely made? Why, too, should he write a letter now rather than six years ago. Again, the letter speaks of giving her justice. What justice can she have? It is too much to suppose that her father is still alive. There is no other injustice in her case that you know of. There are difficulties, there are certainly difficulties, said Sherlock Holmes, pensively. But our expedition of tonight will solve them all. Ah, here is a four-wheeler, and Miss Morston is

inside. Are you all ready? Then we have to do. Then we have to do. And we have to do it. And we have a four-wheeler, and Miss Morseller. And Miss Morstan is inside. Are you all ready? Then we had better go down, for it is a little past the hour. I picked up my hat and my heaviest stick, but I observed that Holmes took his revolver from his drawer and slipped it into his pocket. It was clear that he thought that our night's work might be a serious one. Miss Morston was muffled in a dark cloak,

and her sensitive face was composed but pale. She must have been more than woman if she did not feel some uneasiness at the strange enterprise upon which we were embarking, yet her self-control was perfect, and she readily answered the few additional questions which Sherlock Holmes put to her. Major Scholter was a very particular friend of Papa's, she said. His letters were full of allusions to the Major.

He and Papa were in command of the troops at the Andaman Islands, so they were thrown a great deal together. By the way, a curious paper was found in Papa's desk, which no one could understand. I don't suppose that it is of the slightest importance, but I thought you might care to see it. So I brought it with me. It is here. Holmes unfolded the paper carefully and smoothed it out upon his knee. He then very methodically examined it all over with his double lens. It is paper of native Indian manufacture.

It has at some time been pinned to a board. The diagram upon it appears to be a plan of part of a large building with numerous halls, corridors and passages. At one point is a small cross done in red ink, and above it is 3.37 from left in faded pencil writing. In the left-hand corner is a curious hieroglyphic like four crosses in a line with their arms touching. Beside it is written in very rough and coarse characters, the sign of the four, Jonathan Small, Muhammad Singh, Abdullah Khan, Dost Akbar. No, I confess that I do not see how this bears upon the matter,

yet it is evidently a document of importance. It has been kept carefully in a pocketbook, for the one side is as clean as the other. It was in his pocketbook that we've. found it. Preserve it carefully, then, Miss Morston, for it may prove to be of use to us. I begin to suspect that this matter may turn out to be much deeper and more subtle than I at first supposed. I must reconsider my ideas. He leaned back in the cab, and I could see by his drawn brow and his vacant eye that he was thinking intently. Miss Morston and I

chatted in an undertone about our present expedition and its possible outcome. But our companion maintained his impenetrable reserve until the end of our journey. This October on the Noiser podcast network, real dictators returns. We're in the Dominican Republic for the story of Rafael Trujillo. On short history of, we'll uncover the secrets of the Hoover Dam and follow Mary Shelley, the creator of Frankenstein and his monster. On real survival stories, a modern Viking adventure as a replica Norse vessel embarks on a daring voyage across the North Sea,

and a man is struck blind all alone at the very top of the world. In Jane Austen stories, Emma continues with Dame Julie Andrews, and in Sherlock Holmes short stories, Holmes and Watson unpick an epic mystery of hidden treasure and murder in the sign of four. Get all of these shows and more early and ad-free on Noiser Plus. It was a September evening and not yet seven o'clock, but the day had been a dreary one, and a dense, drizzly fog lay low upon the great city.

Mud-coloured clouds drooped sadly over the muddy streets. Down the strand, the lamps were but misty splotches of diffused light, which threw a feeble circular glimmer upon the slimy pavement. The yellow glare from the shop windows streamed out into the steamy, vaporous air and threw a murky, shifting radiance across the crowded thoroughfare. There was, to my mind, something eerie and ghost-like in the endless procession of faces which flitted across these narrow bars of light. Sad faces and glad, haggard and merry. Like all humankind, they flitted from the gloom into the light, and so back into the gloom once more. I am not subject to impressions, but the dull, heavy evening with the strange business

upon which we were engaged, combined to make me nervous and depressed. I could see from Miss Morstan's manner that she was suffering from the same feeling. Holmes alone could rise superior to petty influences. He held his open notebook upon his knee, and from time to time he jotted down figures and memoranda in the light of his pocket-lantern. At the Lyceum theatre, the crowds were already thick at the side entrances, In front, a continuous stream of handsoms and four-wheeler's were rattling up, discharging their cargoes of shirt-fronted men and beshawled, bediamonded women.

We had hardly reached the third pillar, which was our rendezvous, before a small, dark, brisk man in the dress of a coachman accosted us. Are you the parties who come with Miss Morston? he asked. I am Miss Morston, and these two gentlemen are my friends, said she. He bent a pair of wonderfully penetrating and questioning eyes upon us. You will excuse me, miss, he said with a certain dogged manner. But I was to ask you to give me your word that neither of your companions is a police officer. I give you my word on that, she answered.

He gave a shrill whistle on which a street urchin led across a four-wheeler and opened the door. The man who had addressed us mounted to the box while we thought, took our places inside. We had hardly done so before the driver whipped up his horse, and we plunged away at a furious pace through the foggy streets. The situation was a curious one. We were driving to an unknown place on an unknown errand. Yet our invitation was either a complete hoax, which was an inconceivable hypothesis, or else we had good reason to think that important issues might hang upon our journey. Miss Morstan's demeanour was as resolute and collected as ever. I endeavored to cheer and amuse her by reminiscences of my adventures in

Afghanistan, but to tell the truth I was myself so excited at our situation and so curious as to our destination that my stories were slightly involved. To this day, she declares that I told her one moving anecdote as to how a musket looked into my tent at the dead of night, and how I fired a double-barreled tiger-car bat at it. At first I had some idea as to the direction in which we were driving, but soon, what with our pace, the fog, and my own limited knowledge of London, I lost my bearings and knew nothing, save that we seemed to be going a very long way. Sherlock Holmes was never at fault, however, and he muttered the names as the cab rattled through squares and in and out by tortuous spy streets.

Rochester Row, said he, now Vincent Square, now we come out on the Vauxhall Bridge Road. We are making for the Surrey side, apparently. Yes, I thought so. Now we are on the bridge. You can catch glimpses of the river. We did indeed get a fleeting view of a stretch of the Thames, with the lamps shining upon the broad, silent water. But our cab dashed on, and was soon involved in a labyrinth of streets upon the other side. Wordsworth Road, said my companion, Priory Road, Lark Hall Lane, Stockwell Place, Robert Street, Cold Harbour Lane. Our quest does not appear to take us to very fashionable regions.

We had indeed reached a questionable and forbidding neighbourhood. Long lines of dull brick houses were only relieved by the coarse glare and tawdry brilliancy of public houses of the corner. Then came rows of two-storied villas, each with a fronting of miniature garden, and then again interminable lines of new staring brick buildings, the monster tentacles which the giant city was throwing out into the country. At last, the cab drew up at the third house in a new terrace. None of the other houses were inhabited, and that at which we stopped was as dark as its

neighbors, save for a single glimmer in the kitchen window. On our knocking, however, the door was instantly thrown open by a Hindu servant, clad in a yellow turban, white loose-fitting clothes and a yellow sash. There was something strangely incongruous in this oriental figure framed in the commonplace doorway of a third-rate suburban dwelling-house. The Saib awaits you, said he, and even as he spoke there came a high piping voice from some inner room. Show them into me, Kitmutka, it cried.

Show them straight into me. Next time, on the sign of four, Mary Morsten comes face to face with her mysterious benefactor, and he has a strange story to tell her. A tale of stolen treasure, a sudden death, and a secret that's remained hidden for over a decade. That's next time. Can't wait until the next episode?

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