“Bringing a bottle and cigars to celebrate the good tidings. Holmes.”
I naturally assumed that he referred to the anniversary of the Armistice. My surprise was indeed great when he showed up not only with the bottle of Scotch and a box of Havanas but a bundle of new clothes and toys for the baby and a box of chocolates for Nylepthah. The latter was a rarity at this time and must have cost Holmes some time and money to obtain.
“Tut, tut, my dear fellow,” he said when I tried to express my thanks. “I’ve known for some time that you were the proud father. I have always intended to show up and tender my respects to the aged, but still energetic, father and to the beautiful Mrs. Watson. Never mind waking the infant up to show him to me, Watson. All babies look alike, and I will take your word for it that he is beautiful.”
“You are certainly jovial,” I said. “I do not ever remember seeing you more so.”
“With good reason, Watson, with good reason!”
He dipped his hand into his pocket and brought out a cheque.
I looked at it and almost staggered. It was made out to me for the sum of thirty thousand pounds.
“I had given up on Greystoke,” he said. “I heard that he was missing, lost somewhere in deepest Africa, probably dead. It seems, however, that he had found his wife was alive after all, and he was tracking her into the jungles of the Belgian Congo. He found her but was taken prisoner by some rather peculiar tribe. Eventually, his adopted son, you know, the Lt. Drummond who was to fly us to Marseilles, went after him and rescued his parents. And so, my dear fellow, one of the first things the duke did was to send the cheques! Both in my care, of course!”
“I can certainly use it,” I said. “This will enable me to retire instead of working until I am eighty.”
I poured two drinks for us and we toasted our good fortune. Holmes sat back in the chair, puffing upon the excellent Havana and watching Mrs. Watson bustle about her housework.
“She won’t allow me to hire a maid,” I said. “She insists on doing all the work, including the cooking, herself. Except for the baby and myself, she does not like to touch anyone or be touched by anyone. Sometimes I think...”
“Then she has shut herself off from all but you and the baby,” he said.
“You might say that,” I replied. “She is happy, though, and that is what matters.”
Holmes took out a small notebook and began making notes in it. He would look up at Nylepthah, watch her for a minute, and record something.
“What are you doing, Holmes?” I said.
His answer showed me that he, too, could indulge in a pawky humour when his spirits were high.
“I am making some observations uopn the segregation of the queen.”
THE END
_______________
1 This is the line in which Watson inadvertently wrote “Holdernesse” but corrected it. Editor.
2 Under normal circumstances your editor would delete this old joke. Doubtless the reader has heard it in one form or another. But it is Watson’s narrative, and it is of historical importance. Now we know when and where the story originated.
3 The good doctor probably intended to delete the references to sanitation in the final version of this adventure. At least, he always had been reticent to a Victorian degree in such references in all his previous chronicles. However, this was written in 1932, and Watson may have thought that the spirit of the times gave him more latitude in expression. Editor.
4 This mad, but usually functioning, American must surely be the great aviator and espionage agent who, after transferring to the U.S. forces in 1917, was known under the code name of G–8. While in the British service, he apparently went under the name of Wentworth, his half-brother’s surname. For the true names of G–8, the Spider, and the Shadow, see my Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life, Bantam, 1975. Editor.
5 The description of this man certainly fits that of a notable crime fighter operating out of Manhattan in the ’30’s through the ’40’s. If he is who I think he is, then one of his many aliases was Lamont Cranston. Editor.
6 For the first time we learn that Holmes anticipated the discovery of the Austrian scientist, von Frisch, by many decades. Editor.
7 According to German official records the L9 was burned on September 16, 1916, in the Fuhlsbüttel shed because of a fire in the L6. Either Watson was in error or the Germans deliberately falsified the records in order to conceal the secret attempt to rescue Von Bork. At the time this adventure occurred, the L9 was supposed to be in action in Europe and its commander was Kapitän-leutnant d. R. Prölss. Editor.
8 There was actually no danger of fire since phosphorus-coated bullets were not being used. Apparently, the grenades, which might have set off the hydrogen, were not used. Editor.
9 The records of the Imperial German Navy have been combed without success in a search for identification of the L9 and the crew members mentioned by Watson. Could it be that the ship and crew were secret agents also, that the L9 was a “phantom” ship, that it carried out certain missions which the German concealed from all but the highest? Or were there records, but these are still in closed files or were destroyed for one reason or another? Editor.
10 The true name of the ducal mansion Watson called Holdernesse Hall in “The Adventure of the Priory School.” A description of the estate is found in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Editor.
11 For a fuller description of this involvement, see my definitive biography of Lord Greystroke. Editor.
12 It is the English custom to address the sons of noblemen with an honorary title, though legally the sons are commoners. The duke had several secondary titles, the highest of which was Marquess of Saltire. Thus, the duke’s son was known as Lord Saltire. Editor.
13 The parentheses are the editor’s. Watson had crossed out this phrase, though not enough to make it illegible. Editor.
14 This disclosure definitely invalidates some of my speculations and reconstructions in my biography of Greystoke. These will be corrected in a future issue. Lord Greystoke himself had admitted that Holmes’ theory is correct. See “Extracts from the Memoirs of Lord Greystoke,” Mother Was A Lovely Beast, Philip José Farmer, editor, Chilton, October 1974.
15 The parentheses are the editor’s, indicating another passage crossed out by Watson.
16 Apparently, Watson forgot to describe Holmes’ comment. Undoubtedly, he would have inserted it at the proper place in the final draft.
Editor’s Comments:
The reference on page 31 to the speed of the Handley Page was really in knots, not miles per hour. The editor has converted this to make it more intelligible to the reader.
The use of the word “queer” by Mycroft on page 26 has been criticised as not being realistic. Some Sherlockians have maintained that an Englishman in 1916 would not have known the word in its referent of “homosexual.” However, that is the word Watson uses when he quotes Mycroft. So we must believe that some Englishmen, at least, were aware of this American term. Or, possibly, Watson’s memory of the conversation was faulty. Since Watson had spent some time in the States, and had, like Holmes, picked up some Americanisms, he may have used this word because it was part of his everyday vocabulary.
The vulgarism, “a*****e,” on page 41, needs one more asterisk. That is, it does if Watson was quoting the English term, which Holmes probably did utter. If Holmes was using the American word because he was speaking about an American, then the number of asterisks is accurate. We’ll never know.