Hello Watsonians,
The 3rd TH6 warm-up game proved to be quite challenging. Two of our intrepid quiz masters managed to correctly answer all five questions after a few strategy discussions. Congratulations to Sheila ‘Daisy’ Holtgrieve and Ron ‘Chips’ Lies for a job well done.
I want to thank all of you who took the time to participate in the three warm up games. Each game helped me to better understand which puzzle types work best; my goal is to write a hunt that is challenging and fun. If time permits, we might have one more warm up game closer to the August hunt.
As always, I appreciate your participation and enthusiasm.
Margie/ JHWS ‘Mopsy’
‘It is so long a chain, and yet every link rings true.’
- According to Holmes, these prevent the world from being dull. What?
Answer: lunatics
‘I was wondering whether he could have buried something. Of course, when people bury treasure nowadays they do it in the Post Office bank. But there are always some lunatics about. It would be a dull world without them.’ (3GAB)
2.Probably a (answer to number one) broke it to atoms. What?
Answer: bust of Napoleon
‘’In Kennington Road, and within a few hundred yards of Morse Hudson’s shop, there lives a well-known medical practitioner, named Dr Barnicot,..Some little time ago he purchased from Morse Hudson two duplicate plaster casts of the famous head of Napoleon by the French sculptor Devine. One of these he placed in his hall in the house at Kennington Road, and the other on the mantelpiece of the surgery at Lower Brixton.…Dr Barnicot was due at his surgery at twelve o’clock, and you can imagine his amazement when, on arriving there, he found that the window had been opened in the night, and that the broken pieces of his second bust were strewn all over the room. It had been smashed to atoms where it stood. In neither case were there any signs which could give us a clue as to the criminal or lunatic who had done the mischief.’ (SIXN)
- With the (answer to number two) in mind, count the pieces in the container. How many?
Answer: two thousand
‘We had occasion some months ago to strengthen our resources, and borrowed, for that purpose, thirty thousand Napoleons from the Bank of France. It has become known that we have never had occasion to unpack the money, and that it is still lying in our cellar. The crate upon which I sit contains two thousand Napoleons packed between layers of lead foil. Our reserve of bullion is much larger at present than is usually kept in a single branch office, and the directors have had misgivings upon the subject.’ (REDH)
- Value (the answer to number three) times a hundred to determine who proposed a bribe which Holmes found amusing. Who?
Answer: Killer Evans
‘Yes, sir,’ said our prisoner, staggering slowly to his feet and then sinking into the chair. ‘The greatest counterfeiter London ever saw. That’s Prescott’s machine, and those bundles on the table are two thousand of Prescott’s notes worth a hundred each and fit to pass anywhere. Help yourselves, gentlemen. Call it a deal and let me beat it. ‘Holmes laughed. ‘We don’t do things like that, Mr Evans.’…So those are the facts about Killer Evans and his remarkable invention of the three Garridebs. (3GAR)
- Someone with the same surname as (answer to number four) and someone else sailed together on at least two different vessels. The life of the someone else was defined by two sets of initials. Who? What initials?
Answer: Old Trevor, J.P., J.A.
‘Old Trevor was evidently a man of some wealth and consideration, a J.P. and a landed proprietor… ‘”And you have been most intimately associated with someone whose initials were J.A., and whom you afterwards were eager to entirely forget.’
‘My name, dear lad, is not Trevor. I was James Armitage in my younger days, and you can understand now the shock that it was to me a few weeks ago when your college friend addressed me in words which seemed to imply that he had surmised my secret…’
‘I did so, and found my other neighbour to be a young fellow in much the same position as myself, whose crime had been forgery. His name was Evans but he afterwards changed it, like myself, and he is now a rich and prosperous man in the South of England.’
‘Next day we were picked up by the brig Hotspur, bound for Australia, whose captain found no difficulty in believing that we were the survivors of a passenger ship which had foundered. The transport ship, Gloria Scott, was set down by the Admiralty as being lost at sea, and no word has ever leaked out as to her true fate. After an excellent voyage the Hotspur landed us at Sydney, where Evans and I changed our names and made our way to the diggings, where among the crowds who were gathered from all nations, we had no difficulty in losing our former identities. (GLOR)
Helpful Hint— Sherlock Holmes said, “Education never ends, Watson.” See where it leads the party.
‘Our boat lay, rising and falling, upon the long, smooth rollers, and Evans and I, who were the most educated of the party, were sitting in the sheets working out our position and planning what coast we should make for…’ (GLOR)
Later this summer, the very first Holmes in the Heartland conference will take place in St. Louis, IL. It promises to be a welcoming gathering for all sorts of Holmes fans and lots of fun. A number of Watsonians are planning to attend; I wish I could be there, too!
The Spring 2018 Watsonian is about to go to press. Print issues will be mailed directly from the printer, so now is the time to make sure your information is up to date! If you have changed mailing address since November, please 
“You’re the man we want to see. Where is Miss Violet Smith?” he said, in his quick, clear way.
