Without My Boswell: Five Early Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (From the Dispatch Box of John H Watson, MD)

by Hugh Ashton

  “ In fact, it was on the second day after I had spoken to young Vamberry that my patience was first rewarded. On the previous day he had met his young lady for their luncheon as usual, and the next day I was pleased to see that shape of a bottle was clearly visible in the bag she was carrying as she walked through the gates of the Palace. On her return back to work that afternoon the bag was obviously empty and his attaché case appeared to be heavier than when he had met Mlle. Grangier earlier. I had to assume that a bottle, as specified by young Vamberry to his accomplice the day before, had been transferred between them during their meal in the restaurant.

  The next day and the next, the process was repeated, and I now felt it was time to acquaint Le Villard with my discoveries. He was highly intrigued by my account, and expressed his wish to move immediately against Vamberry and Grangier, but I persuaded him to wait for at least one day, and to set the trap with a number of officers waiting outside the Palace, dressed in plain clothes. The French certainly handled this sort of affair much better than our London police did in the past – though things have changed, as I say – and all was arranged as the couple met as usual at the gates of the Élysée Palace.

  “ The pair invariably took their meal at the same restaurant, and Le Villard had arranged things so that two of his officers were waiting inside for them. Two more, one of them a female police agent – again, the French were far in advance of us in these matters at that time – followed them inside the restaurant after a few minutes.

  “ Le Villard had arranged that when the bottle was handed over by Grangier to Vamberry, we would be summoned into the restaurant by the sound of a police whistle. It transpired that we did not have long to wait, and the anticipated blast came within a few minutes.

  “ Le Villard burst through the door into the restaurant, with myself close at his heels, where we beheld the guilty pair sitting, thunderstruck, and seemingly unable to believe what was happening to them. On the table was a bottle of the priceless claret about which I had been informed by Duclasse.

  “ ‘ You ! ’ shrieked the young woman, as she saw and recognised my face, and young Vamberry, following the direction of her pointing finger, likewise gave a start of recognition.

  “ ‘ You are a police spy ! ’ he spat out at me. ‘ You Judas ! You treacherous worm ! ’ and many more epithets, all of an equal amity, followed.

  “ Le Villard corrected him. ‘ This gentleman has no official connection with the police,’ he informed Vamberry. ‘ He is merely an honest citizen doing his duty.’

  “ Any fight seemed to go out of Vamberry abruptly. He sat limply in his chair, a somewhat pathetic sight. As you know, Watson, I am a staunch believer in the virtues that have made our nation a great one, and it was a source of considerable embarrassment to me to watch an Englishman, guilty as he was, on the verge of weeping like a child. ‘ My father must never know of this,’ he kept repeating.

  “ I was surprised by these words. I had imagined that the whole business was known to the older Vamberry, who had sold the purloined brandy to Lord ______. It appeared from his son’s words that this was none of his doing. ‘ Tell me who is behind these thefts,’ I commanded the young man, ‘ and I will do my best to make sure that things go easier for you. This villainy is more than just your doing, of that I am sure.’

  “ ‘ You are mistaken, There is no-one,’ he said. ‘ This is my idea, and mine alone. When I was sent to Paris by my father, it occurred to me that it might be possible for me to provide some special services for those who wanted something a little off the menu, as it were.’ He smiled wanly. ‘ You are only the second such customer.’

  “ ‘ The first being Lord ______, I assume ? ’

  “ ‘ Indeed, though he made the purchase through my father, who was completely unaware, I assure you, of the origins of this brandy. My father simply passed on the re- quest, little knowing that I had placed myself in a position where I was actually able to fulfil it. I knew, do you understand, that my uncle was the merchant who had dealt with the original discoverer of the cases, and who had then sold them to the Palace. The whole business was kept very secret, but since I had access to my uncle’s ledgers, I knew all.’

  “ ‘ And how was mademoiselle here unaware of what was going on ? ’ asked Le Villard. ‘ Or did she share in the profits with you ? ’

  “ ‘ I helped him for love,’ replied the young girl defiantly. ‘ Not for money, but for love.’ At this, the corners of the young man’s mouth twitched, and he sniggered unpleasantly.

  “ ‘ Did you really believe I loved you ? ’ he laughed at her. There was something wild and almost hysterical in the way he uttered these words.

  “ The girl turned to him, with a look of utter hatred in her eyes as she realised he was mocking her.

  “ ‘ Did you believe me ? ’ he repeated. ‘ I had to find a way into the Palace cellars, and you were the easiest route. I had heard of you and of your duties at the Palace from a mutual friend, and I found an opportunity to meet you. Thank you for all your help.’ He made a mocking half-bow in her direction.

  “ Her face convulsed with rage, and she snatched up one of the sharp knives on the table and lunged at him, plunging it into his chest. Immediately, Le Villard and his men seized her and pinioned her arms as she shrieked obscenities at her former supposed lover in a vile Parisian dialect that I could barely comprehend. Meanwhile, two of the other agents seized Vamberry, one of them clapping a napkin to the wound to staunch the flow of blood.”

  “ It sounds like a terrible scene,” I said. “ I remember seeing nothing of this anywhere in the newspapers or anywhere. I would have imagined that such a sensational event would have been reported to the public.”

  “ The French police seem to control the press in a much stronger fashion than we do ours,” Holmes told me. “ The waiters and the other customers in the restaurant were immediately sworn to secrecy, under severe penalties, by the agents there. Vamberry and his accomplice were taken out of the back door of the restaurant, and taken away ; the girl to the cells, and Vamberry to the hospital.

  “ I never saw Vamberry again. Despite the efforts of the surgeons, he perished from loss of blood that very night. In my opinion, he had no great will to continue living. Despite his mocking manner towards the girl and his callousness in that regard, there did seem to be a genuine sense of shame when he talked about his father, and it could well be that he had no wish to face an angry parent. In any event, an examination of his accounts after his death revealed that he was deeply in debt as the result of his losses at cards. It was undoubtedly this that had led him to the desperate measures that he had adopted.”

  “ And the girl ? ”

  “ I saw her once after that fatal incident – at her trial for murder. I was called as a witness. She was found guilty and died by the guillotine.” Holmes recounted these facts in a flat voice, devoid of any emotion or feeling.

  “ And the theft of the brandy and the wine ? ”

  “ That was never mentioned in court. The trial was held in camera, and in any event, she did not offer any circumstances relating to the events in her defence. I confess that I felt not a little pity for her. She had obviously been flattered by the extravagant attentions that had been paid to her by young Vamberry who had been introduced to her by a mutual friend, as he had said. But it was not my place to plead on her behalf, and in any event, she had betrayed the trust that had been placed in her for her work in the Palace.”

  “ And the father ? Vamberry the elder ? ”

  “ He was informed by Duclasse in London that his son had died in a street brawl with Apaches. His son had told us, and Duclasse skilfully and discreetly established it as a fact, that he had no knowledge of his son’s activities. He died last week, as I read in the Times, his brother Vanbeur having passed away some time soon after the incidents I describe. I was reluctant to recall the story to you while he was still alive.”

  “ What was the fate of the wine and brandy ? �
��

  Holmes chuckled. “ Thereby hangs a little tale. The brandy which had been sold to Lord _____ remained in his cellars. Duclasse felt it would be impossible to retrieve it from there without a long and embarrassing explanation. As it happens, I had the privilege of tasting some of that brandy when I was entertained by Lord ______ some time afterwards. I had been engaged by him on a matter of some delicacy, which you have recorded in your accounts of our adventures, Watson, and I was invited to dine with him to explain the facts of that case.

  “ The brandy, by the way, was everything that had been claimed for it. This brandy here,” and he indicated the bottle in front of us, “ is certainly a fine one, but it cannot hold a candle to the memory of that glass poured for me by Lord ______ himself.”

  “ And the wine ? ”

  “ That is where the tale hangs. The three bottles that had previously been removed and secreted in Vamberry’s lodgings were removed and returned quietly to the Palace.”

  “ But there was a bottle on the table in the restaurant,” I said. “ What happened to that ? ”

  “ That is the tale. Strange to tell, that bottle was never seen again. At least it was never seen by anyone save Le Villard and myself. Somehow, the bottle found its way into Le Villard’s capacious coat pocket, and from there, some time later the same evening, onto a table that stood between him and me.”

  “ And..? ” I asked, amused by this confession.

  “ It was too thin, and there were overtones of tannin there which were not to my taste. It was, however, perfectly drinkable, though hardly worth a fraction of what I had been asked to pay for it by young Vamberry.” He paused and sipped at his brandy. “ In any event, Watson, the full measure of a fine drink is only achieved when it is shared between true friends. Do you not agree ? ”

  “ Most heartily,” I answered, and raised my own glass to him in reply.

  The Singular Affair of the Aluminium Crutch

  “I had just closed up my shop, and I was walking towards my home nearby, when almost the same thing happened again. This time, it was three men, rather than two.”

  Editor’s NoteS

  As always, the dispatch-box continues to intrigue and to mystify. In “ The Musgrave Ritual”, as mentioned earlier in this volume, Sherlock Holmes shows Watson a large tin box containing a number of mysteries, “ a third full of bundles of paper tied up with red tape into separate packages”.

  “ These were all done prematurely ; before my biographer came along to glorify me,” he explains to Watson, and proceeds to give a list, well known to those who study the life and work of Sherlock Holmes. Among these, a few have excited interest, partly on account of Holmes’ rather fanciful description of them that he provided to Watson, and one of these is “ the singular affair of the aluminium crutch”.

  So, when I came across a bundle of paper in the envelope marked “ Before My Time”, done up with red tape, and entitled “ Alum. Crutch” in the handwriting that I have learned to recognise as that of Sherlock Holmes, you may imagine my excitement. Here was the case that even Watson was not allowed to see, presented for my interest and inspection.

  When I opened the papers, though, I discovered that John Watson had been ahead of me. Though the case was undoubtedly and unmistakably the one referred to by Sherlock Holmes, and contained a sheet of the original brief notes in the detective’s writing, it was clear that Watson had conversed with Holmes on this subject, and had expanded the notes, though leaving the story as one told by Holmes. As always, we cannot assume the dialogue as reported by Watson to be a faithful representation of the actual words spoken at the time, or even the words as reported by Holmes.

  It must be admitted that the narrative is much diminished by the absence of John Watson. He has faithfully recorded some of Holmes’ introspections, as presumably recounted to him, but the voice of common-sense seems to be missing, as is the more human touch he brings to the adventures of his famous friend.

  The case, such as it is, does not provide Holmes with much opportunity to display his powers of deduction or observation, but as he himself remarks, these were not necessarily as developed as they were later in his career. It remains, nonetheless, as an interesting addition to the chronicles of Sherlock Holmes.

  -o-

  Holmes’ Account of the Case

  (As Written by Dr. Watson)

  The case of which I am writing occurred before my remove to Baker-street. I was setting up my practice and establishing my credentials as a practitioner of the science of detection, but cases were few and far between at the start of my career, and I welcomed almost any client with open arms.

  Such a client was Mr. Timothy Gosling, who presented himself at my door one morning. My rooms were on the fourth floor of the house where I had taken lodgings in Montagu-street. I fear that Mr. Gosling had found it to be a sore trial to mount the stairs up to the room, given that his right leg was missing below the knee, and he was forced to make his way using a crutch. He was breathing more heavily than I would have expected, even given the physical exertion he had just undertaken, and I made a mental diagnosis of an asthmatic condition.

  He gave me his name, and I invited him to sit in the chair that I reserved for the use of my clients, facing the window, in a position where the light fell full upon them, enabling me to take note of their faces, while I sat with my back to the window, which effectively masked my expressions and moods from their eyes.

  Upon my demanding the nature of his business, he answered me in a voice which seemed surprisingly cultured for a man of his somewhat rough appearance. I had previously marked him as a former sailor – his tattoos and the way in which he automatically ducked his head to avoid the door lintel as he crossed the threshold had informed me of that fact – and he informed me that he had served on H.M.S. Cossack in the Baltic in the course of the Crimean War, where he had lost his leg to a Russian shell.

  “ But it’s this crutch I have here that’s causing me problems, if you see, sir,” he told me.

  I examined the instrument in question from a distance, but could perceive nothing out of the ordinary, other than it appeared to be made of some dull metal. He noticed the direction of my gaze, and added, “ No there’s nothing the matter with it, sir. Nothing that strange about it that I can tell, except it’s made of metal, as you can see. And that’s the problem.”

  “ What do you mean ? ” I asked. “ Why are you here ? ” “ Ah, this crutch is the nub of the matter, Mr. Holmes. I have experienced a most curious event twice in the last few days, and I have reason to believe that it is all on account of this here crutch of mine.”

  “ That promises to be a little more interesting than what you have told me about your past,” I said to him. “ Pray, tell me more.”

  “ Well, sir, first I should perhaps tell you how I came about using this crutch,” he said. “ After I lost my leg, I was first sent to the Royal Hospital at Haslar. They took good care of me, and I was lucky enough to survive when so many of the poor b_____s, if you’ll pardon the language, sir, didn’t. They offered me a peg-leg, but I didn’t want one of those. I saw the trouble the others have with them, and so I decided to ship out without the extra spar fitted, as you might say. I left the Hospital with the ordinary kind of wooden crutch, and that served me well.

  “ Before I had joined the Andrew, I had received some training as a cobbler, and that was the trade I took up once more.” I had already noted the wear on the trousers, and the strange deformation of the thumb that I believed to be characteristic of that occupation, but at that stage in my career it was beneficial to have such observations confirmed, and I was not about to lose what little reputation I had in stating my guesses out loud, however well informed they might be. “ Without wishing to boast about it, sir, I am good at what I do, and my little business of repairing boots and shoes soon attracted some wealthy customers who were glad to avail themselves of my services. One of these was the owner of a metal works, a Mr. Habgood, who interested him
self in my condition, and was always ready to stop and talk.

  “ One day he visited me with a pair of boots to be mended, and asked me outright, ‘ How do you like that thing ? ’ pointing to my crutch.

  “ I answered him that I found it heavy at times, and in wet weather, it was difficult to dry out.

  “ ‘ If I were to make you a present of a crutch, constructed of a new metal, would you be willing to use it, and to let me have a report on how it feels to you ? ’ he asked me. ‘ My company thinks that this will be of great interest to people in your condition, and none of the difficulties and problems you are currently experiencing with the wooden crutch would be present with this new model.’

  “ I answered him that surely a metal crutch would be heavy and cumbersome, and furthermore would be subject to rust. He laughed, and told me that the crutch would be constructed of a new metal, called ‘ aluminium’ ,which would not rust, and was many times lighter than iron or steel. I have always had a mind that has enjoyed new things and new ideas, and I agreed to his suggestion.

  “ The next week he arrived to collect his boots, carrying the crutch you see before you now. You can see that it can be adjusted easily by means of these screws, and he most kindly fitted it up so that it was comfortable for me to use. From the first, the light weight made it easy for me to carry with me, and to get about with, and the fact that it could be dried so easily in wet weather also made it attractive for me, and I informed Mr. Habgood of this fact.