(Source:A Day by Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes According to Zeisler and Christ, compiled by William S Dorn)
Illustration by Sidney Paget for The Strand Magazine (1891)
June 28, 1890: John Turner confessed to the murder of Charles McCarthy. [BOSC]
“Well, it is not for me to judge you,” said Holmes, as the old man signed the statement which had been drawn out. “I pray that we may never be exposed to such a temptation.”
“I pray not, sir. And what do you intend to do?”
“In view of your health, nothing. You are yourself aware that you will soon have to answer for your deed at a higher court than the Assizes. I will keep your confession, and, if McCarthy is condemned, I shall be forced to use it. If not, it shall never be seen by mortal eye; and your secret, whether you be alive or dead, shall be safe with us.”
Chips says: To me, this story was written to have the reader have sympathy for the murderer already under the sentence of death. It worked.
(Source:A Day by Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes According to Zeisler and Christ, compiled by William S Dorn)
June 27, 1890: Holmes and Watson traveled by train to Boscombe Valley. [BOSC]
Illustration by Sidney Paget for The Strand Magazine (1891)
Sherlock Holmes was pacing up and down the platform, his tall, gaunt figure made even gaunter and taller by his long gray travelling-cloak and close-fitting cloth cap.
“It is really very good of you to come, Watson,” said he. “It makes a considerable difference to me, having someone with me on whom I can thoroughly rely. Local aid is always either worthless or else biased. If you will keep the two corner seats I shall get the tickets.”
We had the carriage to ourselves save for an immense litter of papers which Holmes had brought with him. Among these he rummaged and read, with intervals of note-taking and of meditation, until we were past Reading. Then he suddenly rolled them all into a gigantic ball, and tossed them up on to the rack.
[The legendary deerstalker appears! –Selena]
June 27, 1902: Killer Evans wounded Watson in the leg. [3GAR]
Illustration by Howard K. Elcock for The Strand Magazine (1925)
In an instant he had whisked out a revolver from his breast and had fired two shots. I felt a sudden hot sear as if a red-hot iron had been pressed to my thigh. There was a crash as Holmes’s pistol came down on the man’s head. I had a vision of him sprawling upon the floor with blood running down his face while Holmes rummaged him for weapons. Then my friend’s wiry arms were round me and he was leading me to a chair.
“You’re not hurt, Watson? For God’s sake, say that you are not hurt!”
It was worth a wound – it was worth many wounds – to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain.
June 27, 1902: Holmes turned Killer Evans over to Scotland Yard. [3GAR]
“But say, Mr. Holmes, what have I done wrong, anyhow? I’ve not used this plant. I’ve not hurt this old stiff. Where do you get me?”
“Only attempted murder, so far as I can see,” said Holmes. “But that’s not our job. They take that at the next stage. What we wanted at present was just your sweet self. Please give the Yard a call, Watson. It won’t be entirely unexpected.”
(Source:A Day by Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes According to Zeisler and Christ, compiled by William S Dorn)
June 25, 1890: James McCarthy was brought before the Magistrates. [BOSC]
Illustration by Sidney Paget for The Strand Magazine (1891)
My father was absent from home at the time of my arrival, and I was informed by the maid that he had driven over to Ross with John Cobb, the groom. Shortly after my return I heard the wheels of his trap in the yard, and, looking out of my window, I saw him get out and walk rapidly out of the yard, though I was not aware in which direction he was going. I then took my gun, and strolled out in the direction of the Boscombe Pool, with the intention of visiting the rabbit warren which is upon the other side. On my way I saw William Crowder, the gamekeeper, as he has stated in his evidence; but he is mistaken in thinking that I was following my father. I had no idea that he was in front of me. When about a hundred yards from the Pool I heard a cry of `Cooee!’ which was a usual signal between my father and myself. I then hurried forward, and found him standing by the Pool. He appeared to be much surprised at seeing me, and asked me rather roughly what I was doing there. A conversation ensued, which led to high words, and almost to blows, for my father was a man of a very violent temper. Seeing that his passion was becoming ungovernable, I left him, and returned towards Hatherley Farm. I had not gone more than one hundred and fifty yards, however, when I heard a hideous outcry behind me, which caused me to run back again. I found my father expiring on the ground, with his head terribly injured. I dropped my gun, and held him in my arms, but he almost instantly expired.
Watson (David Burke) and Holmes (Jeremy Brett) in “The Crooked Man” (1984)
June 25, 1889: Holmes investigated Colonel Barclay’s death. [CROO]
That was the state of things, Watson, when upon the Tuesday morning I, at the request of Major Murphy, went down to Aldershot to supplement the efforts of the police. I think you will acknowledge that the problem was already one of interest, but my observations soon made me realize that it was in truth much more extraordinary than would at first sight appear.
(Source:A Day by Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes According to Zeisler and Christ, compiled by William S Dorn)
Illustration by Frank Wiles for The Strand Magazine (1915)
June 24, 1872: McMurdo was made into Lodge 29 of the Ancient Order of Freemen in Chicago. [VALL]
“This is a strange welcome,” McMurdo answered, with some dignity, “for the bodymaster of a Lodge of Freemen to give to a stranger brother.”
“Aye, but it’s just that same that you have to prove,” said McGinty, “and God help you if you fail. Where were you made?”
“Lodge 29, Chicago.”
“When?”
“June 24th, 1872.”
“What bodymaster?”
“James H.Scott.”
“Who is your district ruler?”
“Bartholomew Wilson.”
Denys Hawthorne as Col. James Barclay (1984)
June 24, 1889: Colonel Barclay died of apoplexy. [CROO]
“Ah, Holmes,” [the Major] said, “I suppose you have heard that all this fuss has come to nothing?”
“What, then?”
“The inquest is just over. The medical evidence showed conclusively that death was due to apoplexy. You see, it was quite a simple case after all.”
“Oh, remarkably superficial,” said Holmes, smiling. “Come, Watson, I don’t think we shall be wanted in Aldershot any more.”
June 24, 1890: The coroner’s inquest into Charles McCarthy’s death was held. [BOSC]
Will Tacey as the Coroner (1991)
“I see,” said I, as I glanced down the column, “that the coroner in his concluding remarks was rather severe upon young McCarthy. He calls attention, and with reason, to the discrepancy about his father having signalled to him before seeing him, also to his refusal to give details of his conversation with his father, and his singular account of his father’s dying words. They are all, as he remarks, very much against the son.”
June 24, 1902: John Garrideb visited Nathan Garrideb. [3GAR]
Illustration by Frederic Dorr Steele in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin (1925)
“I merely called to make your acquaintance, and there is no reason why I should interrupt your studies,” said Holmes. “I prefer to establish personal touch with those with whom I do business. There are few questions I need ask, for I have your very clear narrative in my pocket, and I filled up the blanks when this American gentleman called. I understand that up to this week you were unaware of his existence.”
“That is so. He called last Tuesday.”
“Did he tell you of our interview today?”
“Yes, he came straight back to me. He had been very angry.”
“Why should he be angry?”
“He seemed to think it was some reflection on his honour. But he was quite cheerful again when he returned.”
(Source: A Day by Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes According to Zeisler and Christ, compiled by William S Dorn)
June 23, 1890: John Turner murdered Charles McCarthy. [BOSC]
Illustration by Sidney Paget for The Strand Magazine (1891)
“When I went down there I found him talking with his son, so I smoked a cigar, and waited behind a tree until he should be alone. But as I listened to his talk all that was black and bitter in me seemed to come uppermost. He was urging his son to marry my daughter with as little regard for what she might think as if she were a slut from off the streets. It drove me mad to think that I and all that I held most dear should be in the power of such a man as this. Could I not snap the bond? I was already a dying and a desperate man. Though clear of mind and fairly strong of limb, I knew that my own fate was sealed. But my memory and my girl! Both could be saved, if I could but silence that foul tongue. I did it, Mr. Holmes. I would do it again. Deeply as I have sinned, I have led a life of martyrdom to atone for it. But that my girl should be entangled in the same meshes which held me was more than I could suffer. I struck him down with no more compunction than if he had been some foul and venomous beast. His cry brought back his son; but I had gained the cover of the wood, though I was forced to go back to fetch the cloak which I had dropped in my flight. That is the true story, gentlemen, of all that occurred.”
Chips says: I think this tale was written in such a way to gain the audience’s sympathy for the murderer already under a sentence of death, and it worked as far as I am concerned.
As I passed the tall man who sat by the brazier I felt a sudden pluck at my skirt, and a low voice whispered, “Walk past me, and then look back at me.” The words fell quite distinctly upon my ear. I glanced down. They could only have come from the old man at my side, and yet he sat now as absorbed as ever, very thin, very wrinkled, bent with age, an opium pipe dangling down from between his knees, as though it had dropped in sheer lassitude from his fingers. I took two steps forward and looked back. It took all my self-control to prevent me from breaking out into a cry of astonishment. He had turned his back so that none could see him but I. His form had filled out, his wrinkles were gone, the dull eyes had regained their fire, and there, sitting by the fire, and grinning at my surprise, was none other than Sherlock Holmes. He made a slight motion to me to approach him, and instantly, as he turned his face half round to the company once more, subsided into a doddering, loose-lipped senility.
“Holmes!” I whispered, “what on earth are you doing in this den?”
“As low as you can,” he answered, “I have excellent ears. If you would have the great kindness to get rid of that sottish friend of yours, I should be exceedingly glad to have a little talk with you.”
Chips asks: Another one of Holmes great disguises developed by long practice. Was it just that?
English: 1873 engraving of Views in Bristol by Thomas Sulman (c.1834 – 1900)
June 21, 1890: James McCarthy spent a second day in Bristol. [BOSC]
Mr. James McCarthy, the only son of the deceased, was then called, and gave evidence as follows: – `I had been away from home for three days at Bristol, and had only just returned upon the morning of last Monday, the 3rd. My father was absent from home at the time of my arrival […]
Chips says: We know the real reason for the trip thanks to Mr. Holmes’s brilliant detective work.
(Source: A Day by Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes According to Zeisler and Christ, compiled by William S Dorn)
Gwalior Fort (c. 1860)
June 20, 1858: Sepoy mutiny ended at Gwalior. [CROO]
It was in this way, sir. You see me now with my back like a camel and my ribs all awry, but there was a time when Corporal Henry Wood was the smartest man in the 117th Foot. We were in India then, in cantonments, at a place we’ll call Bhurtee.[…]
[I believe that Bhurtee is a fictional name that was made up to conceal the true location. I imagine this was done to protect the honor and the name of the regiment from the fact that the enlisted man who made it up to chain to become an officer and commander of the regiment was a coward and traitor and deserved to given the white feather and cashiered from the regiment in disgrace and shot. –Chips]
June 20, 1890: James McCarthy went to Bristol to visit his wife. [BOSC]
Mr. James McCarthy, the only son of the deceased, was then called, and gave evidence as follows: – `I had been away from home for three days at Bristol, and had only just returned upon the morning of last Monday, the 3rd. My father was absent from home at the time of my arrival […]
[We know the real reason he was in Bristol thanks to Mr. Holmes’s brilliant detective work. –Chips]
June 27, 1890: Holmes and Watson traveled by train to Boscombe Valley (BOSC) June 27, 1902: Killer Evans wounded Watson in the leg (3GAR) June 27, 1902: Holmes turned Killer Evans over to Scotland Yard (3GAR)
June 24, 1872: McMurdo was made into Lodge 29 of the Eminent Order of Freemen in Chicago (VALL) June 24, 1889: Colonel Barclay died of apoplexy (CROO) June 24, 1890: The coroner’s inquest into Charles McCarthy’s death was held (BOSC) June 24, 1902: John Garrideb visited Nathan Garrideb (3GAR)
June 27, 1890: Holmes and Watson traveled by train to Boscombe Valley. (BOSC) Editor’s Note: This story contains that great Drawing by Sidney Paget. The one with Holmes laid out on the grass using his magnifying Glass to the minute clue to solve the case with. That drawing along with others drew a world of word pictures in which a skinny boy with glasses found a world that was all his own.
June 27, 1902: “Killer” Evans wounded Watson in the leg. (3GAR)
Holmes turns James Winter, alias Morecroft, alias “Killer” Evans over to Scotland Yard. Holmes had threatened “Killer” Evans with those immortal words that showed Dr Watson just how much he meant to Holmes.
“In an instant he had whisked out a revolver from his breast and had fired two shots. I felt a sudden hot sear as if a red-hot iron had been pressed to my thigh. There was a crash as Holmes’s pistol came down on the man’s head. I had a vision of him sprawling upon the floor with blood running down his face while Holmes rummaged him for weapons. Then my friend’s wiry arms were round me and he was leading me to a chair.
“You’re not hurt, Watson? For God’s sake, say that you are not hurt!”
It was worth a wound – it was worth many wounds – to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation.
“It’s nothing, Holmes. It’s a mere scratch.”
He had ripped up my trousers with his pocket-knife.
“You are right,” he cried, with an immense sigh of relief. “It is quite superficial.” His face set like flint as he glared at our prisoner, who was sitting up with a dazed face. “By the Lord, it is as well for you. If you had killed Watson, you would not have got out of this room alive. Now, sir, what have you to say for yourself?”
From The Adventure of The Three Garridebs, one of the stories in The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes.
Words that were exquisite in their effect on me when I first read them back on the plains of Kansas at the ripe old age of 12.
June 24, 1890: The coroner’s inquest into Charles McCarthy’s death was held. (BOSC) June 24, 1902: “John Garrideb” visits Nathan Garrideb. (3GAR) June 24, 1889: Colonel Barclay died of Apoplexy. (CROO)
