Notes From the Dispatch Box of John H Watson, MD
Page 21
And now I end my tale. I have had bad news from the doctor. Bad, that is, if I wish to continue living. But, do you know, I am not sure that I do want that. I have had a short life, maybe, but it has been of interest. More money has passed through my hands in a few years than many of my readers will see in their lifetime. I have known many women, and I believe I have made them happier for my knowledge of them. I have had friends among the nobility and among the gypsies, and it is hard for me to tell you which of them I prefer for company. And I may remind myself that I have been the direct source of happiness for not a few children.
A good life ? Maybe it has not been such, by your standards. But since you will never see me again, at least in this life (and who knows what will be in the next ? ) I take this opportunity to stand before you and take my last bow.
[17]
≥
Also by Hugh Ashton and published by
Inknbeans Press:
The “Deed Box Series” of
Sherlock Holmes Adventures
Tales from the Deed Box of John H. Watson MD
The Odessa Business
The Case of the Missing Matchbox
The Case of the Cormorant
More from the Deed Box of John H. Watson MD
The Case of Colonel Warburton’s Madness
The Mystery of the Paradol Chamber
The Giant Rat of Sumatra
Secrets from the Deed Box of John H. Watson MD
The Conk-Singleton Forgery Case
The Enfield Rope
The Strange Case of James Phillimore
The Bradfield Push
The Darlington Substitution
(The first three titles are also available bound
together in hard covers as a compilation volume:
The Deed Box of John H. Watson MD)
&
Tales of Old Japanese
Keiko’s House
Haircuts
Click
Mrs Sakamoto’s Grouse
The Old House
Available at fine booksellers everywhere.
About the Author
Hugh Ashton came from the UK to Japan in 1988 to work as a technical writer, and has remained in the country ever since.
When he can find time, one of his main loves is writing fiction, which he has been doing since he was about eight years old.
As a long-time admirer of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, Hugh has often wanted to complete the canon of the stories by writing the stories which are tantalizingly mentioned in passing by Watson, but never published. His latest offering of three such stories brings Sherlock Holmes to life again.
More Sherlock Holmes stories from the same source are definitely on the cards, as Hugh continues to recreate 221B Baker Street from the relatively exotic location of Kamakura, Japan, a little south of Tokyo.
Contact Hugh at hashton@inknbeans.com.
* * *
[1] Editor’s note: Amazingly, this very letter was enclosed in the notebook in which the account of this adventure was written, along with the envelope that John Watson describes here.
[2] Editor’s note: this is the title as given in the original manuscript.
[3] Editor’s note: It is doubtful if they would have faced prosecution. It seems that Watson was indeed applying his own morality here, and seeking justification.
[4] Editor’s note: One wonders how Jones could have associated Clay with murder, if this account here is accurate. It was, of course, in Clay’s interests to present a sympathetic a portrait as possible to the public, but it is noteworthy that the indictments brought against him at his trial failed to include any crimes of violence, let alone murder.
[5] Note in Dr. Watson’s handwriting: “ This gun, of course, was the one which was used by Colonel Moran in his murder of Ronald Adair and his attempted murder of Sherlock Holmes as I describe in The Empty House. There is also good reason to believe that it was employed in the case of the Trepoff murder, which I have also described elsewhere.”
[6] Note in Dr. Watson’s handwriting. “ Sherlock Holmes, in the course of his chemical experiments, also discovered a liquid possessing similar properties, which he claimed would undermine the economic security of the nation’s banking system were he to reveal it to the world. He therefore destroyed the only sample, and the notes he had made describing the process leading to its production.”
[7] As it happens, this incident was described by Watson, but was not revealed to the world until it was discovered, and published by Inknbeans Press as The Darlington Substitution in 2012.
[8] Dr. Watson confirms this sighting in his account of the incident in The Darlington Substitution.
[9] Note in Dr. Watson’s handwriting. “ Holmes and I came into contact with the very same reverend gentleman following his removal from Looe to the village of Tredannick Wollas in the same county. Naturally, neither of us had any idea that he had been in contact with John Clay earlier. I have described the events that took place during our stay in Cornwall elsewhere as The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot.”
[10] Note in Dr. Watson’s handwriting. “ This whole episode as described by Clay sounds too fantastic to be true. Why would a man who, by his own confession, was a hardened criminal, take his ill-gotten gains to perform such an act of charity ? Nonetheless, I made enquiries, and discovered that this account given here was substantially correct. Truly a sign that every human soul is composed of more threads, both black and white, than we care to admit to ourselves.”
[11] Editor’s note: This is obviously the same “ Archie Stamford” as described as being “ taken” near Farnham (The Solitary Cyclist). However, this must have occurred early in Holmes’ career, and his sentence must have been a relatively light one as stated here, otherwise it is hard to reconcile Clay’s narrative with Watson’s.
[12] Note in Watson’s handwriting: “ I was amused by this description of Sherlock Holmes and myself, and showed it to my friend, without mentioning the source. He laughed heartily at the portrait painted here of him and me.”
[13] Editor’s note: “ Smasher” was a 19th century underworld term for a passer of forged currency.
[14] Editor’s note: Clay had been misinformed, or was deliberately misleading his confederate. We know that the bank’s Mr. Merryweather informed Sherlock Holmes that the loan was of 20,000 napoleons and Holmes calculated this as being equal to £30,000.
[15] Note in Watson’s handwriting: “ I am sure that Holmes would never have struck Clay in this way had he known Clay was virtually unarmed. However, he had previously been described to us as a murderer, and we beheld a revolver in his hand. I feel that Holmes may be excused his action here.”
[16] Note in Watson’s handwriting: “ I am sorry that I seem to have misheard Clay and thereby misjudged him. It was obvious at the time that he was encouraging his confederate’s escape, and given the sight of the revolver as he made his way through the trap, it was natural to assume that Clay was attempting to shoot, and possibly commit murder, for which crime he would certainly have been hanged.”
[17] Editor’s note: Did Watson read this and remember the phrase ? We have to wonder at the coincidence.