When Colonel Ross glanced at him, the sly old cowardly groom doffed his cap respectfully. Ned clucked to the other horses and we drove on up the lane.
Dr. Watson’s Casebook
by Andrew Grant
John H. Watson, MD
Dr. James Mortimer was at 221B Baker Street, London.
Sherlock Holmes likes this.
Sherlock Holmes Now is the dramatic moment of fate! I hear a step upon the stair, but know not whether for good or ill . . .
Dr. James Mortimer
Finding myself confronted with a most serious and extraordinary problem, I realise I require the services of the second highest expert in Europe . . .
Sherlock Holmes does not like this.
Dr. James Mortimer
This Sherlock Holmes fellow is a little touchy! He does possess the most exquisite skull, however. How I long to touch his parietal fissure! I wonder if he would allow me to take a cast, until the original becomes available? Anyway, in the meantime I must say I’m very happy to have back the stick I inadvertently left at his door last night when I unsuccessfully attempted to call on him.
Dr. Mortimer’s Spaniel likes this.
Dr. Watson does not like this.
Dr. Watson How was I to know he was so young? Deducing that Mortimer was elderly seemed perfectly reasonable to me. After all, I only had his stick to work with . . .
Sherlock Holmes On the contrary, it was elementary to deduce that Mortimer was under thirty, amiable, unambitious, and absent minded. The clues were clear to see.
Mrs. Hudson How clearly would he see without me to polish the coffee pot he uses to observe Watson’s reflection—that’s what I’d like to know!
Dr. James Mortimer shared a link to the manuscript The Legend of the Baskerville Family.
Sherlock Holmes does not like this.
Sherlock Holmes Only a fool would entertain such a fairy tale! A supernatural hound? Complete nonsense.
Dr. James Mortimer We have numerous reports of people sighting a hound which could not possibly be any animal known to science. Huge, luminous, ghastly, spectral—exactly corresponding to the legend.
Sherlock Holmes The superstitious ramblings of imbeciles, no doubt. And perfectly healthy people dying of fright? No, sir. A sound, scientific explanation must exist.
Dr. James Mortimer Perhaps. But Sir Charles Baskerville believed the legend, and look what happened to him!
Dr. James Mortimer shared a link to The Devon County Chronicle.
Sherlock Holmes likes this.
Sherlock Holmes Much better! A concise account of the recent death of Sir Charles Baskerville, the head of the family. The circumstances of his death may not have been completely cleared up—I was not there to investigate, after all—but there’s certainly no reason to suspect the unworldly. Sir Charles had, I note, a history of heart problems . . .
Dr. James Mortimer True. And the coroner’s prosaic findings should finally dispel the romantic whisperings which may otherwise have discouraged Sir Charles’ heir from settling at Baskerville Hall and continuing his most excellent renovations.
The Association of Devon Building Contractors likes this.
Sherlock Holmes
The more I hear of the facts of this case, the more intrigued I become. I vaguely remember reading about it at the time, but I was too busy with an engagement in Italy to pay full attention.
The Pope likes this.
Dr. James Mortimer
I fear I may have inadvertently misled poor Holmes! I do not wish to engage his investigative services in this matter. Indeed, I only wish to seek his advice as to whether it is safe for Sir Charles’ heir—Sir Henry Baskerville, who is due to arrive in London from America in seventy-five minutes’ time—to take up his ancestral home.
Sherlock Holmes Matters are a little more complicated than our new medical friend seems to grasp. I will need a little time to consider them . . .
Sherlock Holmes has invited Dr. James Mortimer, Sir Henry Baskerville, and Dr. John Watson to the event Breakfast at my Rooms, tomorrow at 10:00.
Attending: Dr. James Mortimer, Dr. John Watson.
Possibly Attending: Sir Henry Baskerville.
Dr. John Watson was at The Diogenes Club.
It’s always best to leave Holmes alone when he needs time to think . . .
Baker Street Tobacco Supplies likes this.
Marylebone Coffee Importers likes this.
Dr. John Watson was at 221B Baker Street, London.
9:00 p.m. If I open the window immediately, there’s still a chance Holmes may not suffocate!
Sherlock Holmes does not like this.
Sherlock Holmes Enough of thinking for the day. Time for the violin!
Dr. John Watson likes this.
Sir Henry Baskerville, Dr. James Mortimer, and Dr. John Watson were at 221B Baker Street, London.
Sir Henry Baskerville 10:00 a.m., and this Holmes fellow is still in his dressing gown? Mighty strange behaviour.
Jermyn Street Gentlemen’s Accessories does not like this.
Sir Henry Baskerville I’d probably have come to sound the chap out anyway, even without the good offices of Dr. James Mortimer, because of a queer letter I received at my hotel this morning. It’s just one line of letters cut from a newspaper, but it warns me to keep away from the moor!
Sherlock Holmes likes this.
Sherlock Holmes If I’m not much mistaken, gentlemen, I think you’ll find the letters are taken from the Leader in yesterday’s Times . . .
Sir Henry Baskerville and Dr. James Mortimer like this.
Sir Henry Baskerville
With all this talk of hounds and violent deaths, I’m not sure if I need the assistance of a clergyman or a policeman! And I certainly seem to have come into an inheritance with a vengeance! A little time to absorb all this information is needed, I think . . .
Sir Henry Baskerville has invited Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson, and Dr. James Mortimer to the event Lunch at my Hotel at 2:00 p.m.
Attending: Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson, Dr. James Mortimer.
Sir Henry Baskerville I wish I knew somewhere better to take them! The hotel’s a terrible place. A den of thieves. Already one of my boots has been stolen—and I’d only just bought it! The pair was brand new. Not even worn yet.
Dr. John Watson
One of my favourite things about working with Sherlock Holmes? How quickly he can change his mind. Not to mention his clothes! One moment—we were taking coffee in his dining room with guests. The next—we were vigorously but discretely pursuing them down Regent Street, despite the attentions of a mysterious bearded gentleman in a hansom cab . . .
Sherlock Holmes does not like this.
Sherlock Holmes Why are there never any cabs available when you need them? The canny devil spying on Sir Henry Baskerville became aware of our observation, and fled. Allowing him to slip away in such a manner is bad luck and bad management, but must surely also be counted as a failure on my account.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson were at the District Messenger Office.
Dr. John Watson You never know when a good turn will be repaid! Sherlock Holmes had previously assisted the manager of the place, and now he was only too happy to lend us the services of one of the brighter boys in his employ: Cartwright.
Cartwright likes this.
Cartwright Working for Sherlock Holmes is much more exciting than delivering messages! I just hope I can find the cut-up newspaper he instructed me to look for at the local hotels. As long as I don’t lose the bribe money he provided me with . . .
Sir Henry Baskerville, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. James Mortimer, and Dr. John Watson were at the Northumberland Hotel for Lunch.
Dr. John Watson I’d venture that lunch with a baronet is more enjoyable when he hasn’t just suffered the theft of a second boot in less than a day . . .
Sir Henry Baskerville does not like this.
Dr. John Watson
Sir Henry Baskerville too
k the news of the spy on his tail very calmly, in the circumstances. The revelation that the butler from Baskerville Hall, Barrymore, has a beard was very interesting. And Sherlock Holmes’ ruse—using a bogus telegram to find out if he’s currently at the Hall—was brilliant!
Sherlock Holmes likes this.
Dr. John Watson
Modern technology certainly speeds up the process of detection, even if the satisfaction of the answers it brings does not match its rapidity. We have learned that Barrymore was indeed at Baskerville Hall at the time the spy was marauding the streets of London, and that young Cartwright was unable to unearth any trace of a dismembered Times.
Sherlock Holmes likes this.
Sherlock Holmes There’s nothing more stimulating than a case where everything goes against you!
Dr. John Watson
Sherlock Holmes is sending me to Devon with Sir Henry Baskerville as he is occupied with a blackmail case. He must hold me in higher esteem than I’d realised!
Dr. John Watson likes this.
Sherlock Holmes does not like this.
Sherlock Holmes I will be very glad to have my friend Watson back safe and sound in Baker Street once more. New revelations regarding the adroit handling of the cabbie by the bearded spy only serve to underline the extreme threat he poses. In truth, I feel a foil as quick and supple as my own . . .
Dr. John Watson
There’s nothing like traveling first class! Especially with good conversation, good scenery, and a good dog, to boot.
Sir Henry Baskerville likes this.
Sir Henry Baskerville I love Devon! It’s in my blood. But, you know, despite all the thousands of miles I’ve travelled and the dozens of countries I’ve visited, I’ve never once set eyes on Baskerville Hall . . .
Dr. John Watson
Soldiers add even more drama to the Devon landscape! Apparently a convict has escaped from a nearby jail.
Mrs. Barrymore likes this.
Sir Henry Baskerville
Baskerville Hall’s beautiful, but the old girl could sure use some electric light . . . .
Devon Electric Co. likes this.
Dr. John Watson
Portraits don’t make good dinner companions! Elizabethan, Regency, or any era in between, their silent company is plain daunting.
Sir Henry Baskerville likes this.
Sir Henry Baskerville No wonder my uncle was so jumpy!
Dr. John Watson has left the group Physicians Who Like Atmospheric Country Houses.
Dr. John Watson has re-joined the group Physicians Who Like Atmospheric Country Houses.
Dr. John Watson It’s true! Things always seem better in daylight . . .
Dr. John Watson has joined the group Physicians Who Are Confused By Current Events.
Dr. John Watson A woman’s sobs in the night, that may or may not have been a dream? Barrymore denying all knowledge, but Mrs. Barrymore’s face red and tearful in the morning? A postmaster who can no longer confirm whether Sherlock Holmes’ test telegram was put directly into Barrymore’s hand, or not? Somebody—Help!
Dr. John Watson
I wish Sherlock Holmes were here! I cannot avoid the sense of a deep and subtle scheme weaving an invisible net around the young baronet, and I fear I lack the skills to unpick it alone.
Dr. John Watson does not like this.
Dr. John Watson
Sir Henry Baskerville may not have many neighbours, but at least the ones he does have are interesting! I met Stapleton, today. He collects insects, and claims to know the moors better than anyone around here. I’ll certainly heed his warning to steer clear of Grimpen Mire! Even as he pointed it out to me, we heard the appalling, haunting sound of a pony drowning in its treacherous clutches. A sound I won’t soon forget, I assure you.
Miss Beryl Stapleton does not like this.
Miss Beryl Stapleton Sir Henry Baskerville should go back to London instantly! He is not safe here.
Stapleton does not like this.
Dr. John Watson
I must confess I do not devote as much attention to physical fitness as perhaps I might, but I must be doing something right—Miss Beryl Stapleton mistook me for the baronet!
Stapleton and Miss Beryl Stapleton do not like this.
Dr. John Watson
Sherlock Holmes may possess the ultimate deductive faculties, but I’d like to think there’s still a place for good, old fashioned questioning—judiciously applied—in the investigative process. Take today as an example. I was able to ascertain that as educated a man as Stapleton, and as beautiful a woman as his sister, washed up in this particular backwater as the result of a tragic epidemic which ravaged the school they had previously operated in Yorkshire. Three boys were killed, and the majority of their capital was absorbed by the aftermath.
Miss Beryl Stapleton does not like this.
Stapleton Don’t shed any tears for us. Teaching is far too uninteresting and mechanical an occupation for a man of my temperament.
Stapleton has invited Sir Henry Baskerville, Dr. John Watson, and Miss Beryl Stapleton to the event Walk to the Scene of the Origin of the Baskerville Legend.
Attending: Stapleton, Sir Henry Baskerville, Dr. John Watson, Miss Beryl Stapleton.
Dr. John Watson The spot was utterly dismal—completely in keeping with the diabolical theme of the legend—but there was one pleasant aspect to our outing. The burgeoning friendship—and possibly more—between Sir Henry Baskerville and Miss Beryl Stapleton.
Sir Henry Baskerville likes this.
Stapleton does not like this.
Dr. John Watson
Could it be possible that my prolonged exposure to Sherlock Holmes’ company is, in one way at least, detrimental to my expectations of the ordinary people I encounter? Sherlock Holmes expends all of his prodigious powers in the service of others, so when I meet—as I did today in the person of Frankland, another of Sir Henry Baskerville’s neighbours and a repugnant, litigious busybody—individuals who devote themselves to denigrating their fellows, it leaves me excessively disappointed.
Frankland does not like this.
Battles, Browne, and Rhoades, Attorneys at Law likes this.
Dr. John Watson
Look—it’s hard enough to sleep in a creaky old mansion at the best of times, without ghostly hounds and weeping women and drowning ponies on your mind, so do you really have to stomp along the corridor outside my room in the dead of night? And yes, Barrymore—I mean you!
And you disturbed Sir Henry Baskerville, too.
The only good that came of it is that one of little mysteries is solved! I saw you sneak into the empty bedroom and signal with your candle, and then I heard the kitchen door being unlocked. Add that to Mrs. Barrymore’s tears, and there’s only one explanation. A love intrigue! You rat.
Barrymore and Mrs. Barrymore do not like this.
Sir Henry Baskerville We should lie in wait for the cad one night and follow him . . .
Dr. John Watson
On the subject of love intrigue, and in deference to Sherlock Holmes’ instructions never to allow the baronet to stray into danger rather than out of any bizarre voyeuristic impulse, I followed Sir Henry Baskerville to a clandestine meeting he had arranged with Miss Beryl Stapleton . . .
Sir Henry Baskerville does not like this.
Sir Henry Baskerville Watson’s actions aren’t really what upset me. I understand his motives were upright. It’s more that the rendezvous was a complete fiasco! First, Miss Stapleton warned me to leave the moor. Then, when I was on the verge of proposing marriage, her brother came charging out of nowhere, eyes blazing like a madman, and dragged her away. What’s wrong with me? Would I really make such an objectionable husband?
Dr. John Watson I’m sorry, my friend. This is one area in which I am ill equipped to help . . .
Sherlock Holmes With your experience of women extending over many nations and three separate continents? The fair sex is your department!
Dr. John Watson
While I applaud the strength of character required to admit one’s mistakes and offer an apology where necessary, it would make my task of keeping Sherlock Holmes informed of developments much easier if people would kindly refrain from doing this in private!
Sir Henry Baskerville Don’t fret, old chap! There are no secrets between us. Stapleton simply blamed his intemperate behaviour on a deep attachment to his sister, and asked me to defer my courtship for three months in order for him to prepare for living alone. Not unreasonable in the circumstances!
Stapleton has invited Sir Henry Baskerville, Dr. John Watson, and Miss Beryl Stapleton to the event Apology Dinner.
Attending: Stapleton, Sir Henry Baskerville, Dr. John Watson, Miss Beryl Stapleton.
Dr. John Watson
I take my hat off to Sir Henry Baskerville. When he says he’ll do something, he does it! Although, in this case—lying in wait to apprehend Barrymore on one of his suspicious and noisy nocturnal expeditions—the potential sadly outweighed the outcome. We ended up with little more to show for our resolve than the imprint of Sir Henry’s armchairs in our backs.
Sir Henry Baskerville Have no fear! We’ll keep trying until we catch the wretch red handed . . .
Barrymore does not like this.
In the Company of Sherlock Holmes Page 7
