The Giant Rat of Sumatra
Page 23
‘I remember your explaining this part of Baskerville’s past to me,’ said I. ‘This then led to your questions about young Peter and his schooling at the Allistairs’ London residence.’
‘Yes. When I heard of the Yorkshire school, the last piece in the puzzle had fallen into place. For as driven by money as Baskerville was, he was driven even more by hatred and revenge. Well, the time has come to put aside all unpleasant things. Let us talk of the future. Mr Farthway, am I given to understand that you’ll shake off this rustic life and return to London with the Allistairs? Ah, and you’ll be seeing quite a bit of a certain young lady, yes? Well, that is good news. It should interest all of you that John Sampson has been promoted by the Oriental Trading Company to be first mate aboard the Matilda Briggs.’
‘Splendid!’ we cried, and raised our glasses.
‘I’m afraid we must retire to the Hall to greet our guests,’ said His Lordship rising. ‘You’re free to join us, or amuse yourselves in any way you please until luncheon. Come, dearest, up we go.’
We hadn’t long to wait, that was obvious. The servants, at an ever-increasing pace, filled the long tables with an array of food that staggered the imagination: partridges in plum chutney, skewered rack of lamb, cold cracked lobster, asparagus in lemon sauce, chilled turbot, fresh baked breads and pies – the list was endless. All this was to be accompanied by three white wines and four reds, iced cider, local beer and ale, and an array of fine brandies.
‘What shall we all do then?’ asked Alice. ‘We’ve only a little while. Shall we go – oh Beryl! There’s my dear Beryl – come, Ian, you must meet her, you really must!’
So saying, she led him into the house, leaving the two of us alone on the terrace.
‘Well, there’ll be another tearful reunion. I’m sure Miss Haskins’ recovery is almost complete. I can see the holiday in Brighton did her a world of good. No, let’s not go in, Watson. Nice as they are, I’m sure that most of the people don’t have much to say that’s of interest to me.’
‘I agree. What shall we do then?’
‘Ah, look yonder, under that Chinese elm. Is that not a croquet field?’
‘So it is, how about a match?’
So after a few minutes of practice, during which the air was filled with the gentle clacking of wooden spheres and mallets, Holmes approached the home stake.
‘Watson, I shall take the yellow, and you the red... so. Now then, old fellow, shall we toss for first hit?’
POSTSCRIPT
Over the strong objections of my modest friend Doctor John Watson, I have taken the liberty of inserting this brief note at the conclusion of the adventure that has come to be known as The Giant Rat of Sumatra.
As mentioned in passing in the last chapter of this manuscript both Watson and I were given cheques by Lord Allistair upon the safe return of his daughter. The sum shall not be named, but suffice it to say that it made the earlier cheque given to me by the Duke of Holdernesse* seem paltry indeed. I invested my share in a variety of ways, some of which, I am loath to admit, hardly reflect the acumen portrayed in so many of Watson’s stories.
What I wish to make public in this postscript (again, over the protestations of my friend) is the investment Watson made with the lion’s share of his gift.
If you enter the halls of a great London hospital and amble about, before long you’ll come to a small wing, newer than the rest, devoted exclusively to the treatment of children suffering from burns. A small brass plaque, affixed to the wall at the entrance, reads ‘Dedicated to the memory of Abbie Wellings, who died in the fire of 15 September 1894’. The person responsible for the construction and maintenance of this facility is John H. Watson, MD. In addition to providing the major part of the funds required, Watson also prevailed upon a large number of friends, myself included, for donations. I confess that of all my investments, this particular one allows me the soundest sleep, and pays the most bountiful dividends.
I make this statement because, after years of having my praises sung, I feel it is long overdue to repay in kind. Good old Watson!
S.H.
Sussex, 1912
*Given to Holmes at the close of The Adventure of the Priory School.
NOTES
This book was begun in late spring of 1970. It has been, from the time of its conception, a serious attempt to continue the Sherlockian saga much as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would have written it were he alive today. It is not an attempt, comical or otherwise, to show that Sherlock Holmes was what he wasn’t, or wasn’t what he was.
Besides the sage itself, other sources consulted in preparation of this book include William Baring-Gould’s Annotated Sherlock Holmes, John Dickson Carr’s The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dickson Carr’s and Adrian Conan Doyle’s The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes, and other works by Christopher Morley, Vincent Starrett, and others too numerous to mention here. Standard reference works include the OED, Encyclopaedia Britannica, The Times Atlas, and period maps of London and environs furnished by the Guildhall Library of the British Museum and Stanford Maps Ltd. A number of inconsistencies with the saga remain in the book. Those I am aware of remain because I feel that deleting them would interfere with the plot or detract from the mood or story line. Those I am unaware of will no doubt be unearthed by Sherlockian enthusiasts in short order.
I am grateful to Julian Shuckburgh of W. H. Allen, Publishers, for his thoughtful comments and suggestions with regard to this edition. I also owe a tremendous debt to my brother John for his expertise and early encouragement.
The notes that follow will I hope provide the reader with some background information of interest. No attempt is made to cover each and every point in question, nor are the notes keyed to the text by footnotes, since I think they detract from the appearance and flow of the prose.
R.L.B.
Concord, Massachusetts, 1976
CHAPTER ONE
PAGE 11 ‘... the point of departure was therefore St Thomas”
We are assuming here that ambulances would only be dispatched from the larger hospitals. If this is the case, then the two hospitals named (Charing Cross and St Thomas’) are appropriate. However, there were many hospitals closer to 221B, including various ‘lying in’ hospitals that no doubt dispatched carriages.
PAGE 11 ‘... we were walking south down Baker Street towards Portman Square.’
Fine, but if the body is discovered south of the flat, and the hospital lies also to the south, how then could the ambulance ‘dash beneath’ the window at 221B?
CHAPTER TWO
PAGE 28 ‘Holmes... settled himself before the crackling fireplace.’
The fireplace at 221B was designed primarily for coal, yet there are instances in the canon that refer to logs being burnt in it. Besides, what’s the use of a fireplace that doesn’t crackle?
PAGE 32 ‘Instead of proceeding along the usual route... We were running along the coast of Sumatra.’
Just ten years earlier (in 1883), the volcanic island of Krakatoa literally ‘blew its top’ in the Straits of Sunda. The explosion was probably the greatest in the history of the world – even more tremendous than our nuclear blasts. The sound was purportedly heard hundreds of miles away.
PAGE 34 ‘But then I heard it: the clanking of the aft windlass...’
The windlass is a large winch, secured by a huge wheel with a notched edge. The pawls are actually ratchets that fall into the notches, thus preventing the drum from reversing. But usually the windlass is located forward, on the foredeck, not aft. We must assume that the Briggs, being a cargo vessel, had several windlasses for the loading and unloading of cargo.
CHAPTER THREE
PAGE 42 ‘On the diminutive side, we have our miniature ponies of the Shetland Isles...’
Holmes is in error, of course. While Darwin’s assertions are true, the Shetland pony is the result of deliberate selective breeding. Its small size was desirable for working in the mine tunnels.
CHAPTER FIVE
PAGE 77 ‘Yes, Watson, if you would be so kind, get me four ounces of navy-cut.’
According to the majority of references, Holmes generally smoked ‘shag’, an inexpensive tobacco that was strong and harsh. However, like most pipe smokers, he probably liked to switch tobaccos now and then. Navy-cut, invented by a sailor, is a tobacco blend obtained by twisting leaves of tobacco into a cable, then slicing into thin sections. The result is a strong, slow burning smoke of pungency that Holmes would certainly have enjoyed.
CHAPTER SEVEN
PAGE 121 ‘According to legend, Henry had the forge made to re-temper his sword. With it, he vowed to kill Owen Glendower...’
Henry IV and Glendower were, of course, real people, but the ‘legend’ of Henry’s Hollow is entirely fantasy, as is the Hollow itself.
CHAPTER EIGHT
PAGE 128 ‘The most obvious explanation is, of course, that the pinpricks point out the letters in the article either directly above or below them...’
This ‘code’ was invented – or at least implemented – by Sir Arthur himself. During the First World War it was used to communicate news to British prisoners of war. A book would be sent to the prisoner with the pinpricks commencing at a pre-arranged point. By selecting the letters indicated, the prisoner could then be truthfully apprised of the war’s progress.
CHAPTER NINE
PAGE 147 ‘... I tell you this because I harbour in my soul some resentment for those who’ve never done an honest day’s work.’
‘Are you referring to me?’ I bristled.
Why is Watson so defensive? Could it be that he harbours some doubts about his career? Why is it he seems to have so much free time? But are we not thankful for his lagging practice? Do we not offer prayers up daily for it? On another note, aren’t we also thankful that the young Southsea physician (Doctor Doyle) found himself idle and so began Study in Scarlet?
CHAPTER TEN
PAGE 159 ‘The Dancing Men and the Musgrave Ritual certainly were more taxing.’
The Dancing Men would be puzzling indeed to Holmes in 1894, since he did not even solve the case until 1898!
PAGE 167 ‘I quickly opened the face of my watch and felt the hands.’
How else is Watson to tell the time in the dark? Luminous dials weren’t invented yet. Note his watch is not a hunter’s watch with metal face that must be opened to read the time, but rather has a plain glass crystal that could be raised to insert the winding key. We know Watson’s watch had a winding key because it is clearly described at the opening of The Sign of the Four, when Watson gives Holmes the timepiece to examine to test the validity of the deductive method.
To tell the time in the dark, all Watson had to do is prise up the glass crystal, and orienting the ‘12’ by feeling for the projecting stem, then feel the two hands. It was no doubt a delicate task, but one which could easily enough be mastered with sufficient practice.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
PAGE 197 ‘The captain was a fierce Arab named Harun Sarouk...’
This name is as nonsensical as those Doyle gave to the Agra confederates in The Sign of the Four. Harun is an Arab name. Sarouk, as many readers may know, is a type of Persian carpet.
CHAPTER TWELVE
PAGE 209 ‘There’s your giant rat, Watson: Tapirus Indicus.’
Of all the elements in this story, the identity of the giant rat is the most controversial. Many readers have told me that the choice of the Sumatran tapir as the villain is unwise. The animal, they say, is timid and herbivorous and would never attack man.
While this is true, I would remind them that the hippo, also timid (usually) and herbivorous, has killed thousands of people along the rivers of Africa. Furthermore, using Holmes’ own method of applying the principle of Occam’s Razor, I ask them: what then, can the animal be? Even the biggest rats cannot exceed two feet in length. Baring-Gould mentions Rhizomys sumatrenis in his Annotated Sherlock Holmes: the great Sumatran bamboo rat. But even this monster grows to only a foot and a half in length – hardly ‘giant’ enough to be fearsome.
I needed an animal as fierce as Baskerville’s hound, and an animal that was truly giant. The tapir is logical because it somewhat resembles a rodent, is truly giant, and has the proper dentition. Moreover, its range is restricted to Sumatra and the surrounding islands.
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