(Bird call)
There's a very pretty young woman crossing the street.
- (Grunts) - And I think she may be coming here.
Incidentally, I have glanced over your latest account of my work.
Oh, yes?
Honestly, I cannot congratulate you upon it.
Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science.
Observation, deduction. A cold, unemotional subject.
You have attempted to tinge it with romanticism,
as if you'd worked a love story into the fifth proposition of Euclid.
- (Knock on door) - Who could that be?
There's a young lady to see you, Mr Holmes.
Miss Mary Morstan. I have no recollection of the name.
- (Mrs Hudson) This way. - Don't go, Doctor. I may need you.
I was right.
Thank you.
- Miss Morstan? - Good afternoon.
I've come because you once enabled my employer, Mrs Cecil Forrester,
to unravel a minor domestic complication.
She was much impressed with your kindness and skill.
Thank you.
I can hardly imagine anything more strange,
more utterly inexplicable than the situation in which I find myself.
State your case!
You will, I am sure, excuse me.
If your friend would be good enough to remain,
he might be of inestimable service to me.
Of course.
- Briefly, the facts are these. - (Heavy sigh)
My father was an officer in an Indian regiment.
My mother died when I was still quite a child and...
and he was forced to send me home,
despite the fact that I had no relatives here.
I was placed in a boarding establishment at Edinburgh
and I remained there until I was 17 years of age.
In that same year my father, who was a senior captain of his regiment,
obtained 12 months' leave and returned home.
He telegraphed to me from London to say that he'd arrived all safe
and directed me to come at once, giving the Langham Hotel as his address.
His message, as I remember, was full of love and kindness.
On reaching London, I drove straight to the Langham Hotel,
and was informed that Captain Morstan was staying,
but that he'd gone out the night before and had not returned.
So I waited.
All day.
Without news of him.
And... that night,
on the advice of the manager of the hotel,
I communicated with the police.
The next day, we advertised in all the newspapers.
Our enquiries led to no result.
From that day to this, no word has ever been heard of my unfortunate father.
He came home with his heart so full of hope,
to find some peace, some comfort, and... instead...
The date?
The third of December, exactly ten years ago.
His luggage?
Remained at the hotel.
There was nothing in it to suggest a clue. Some clothes and books.
And a considerable number of curiosities from the Andaman Islands.
My father had been an officer in charge of the convict guard.
Watson, this place is a mess!
- Had he any friends in town? - Only one, that we know of.
Major Sholto, of his own regiment, the 34th Bombay Infantry.
We communicated with the Major, of course, but...
he did not seem to know that his brother officer was in England.
It's a singular case.
I have not yet communicated to you the most singular part.
Four years later, an advertisement appeared in The Times,
asking the address of Mary Morstan,
and stating that it would be to her advantage to come forward.
There was no name appended.
I had just entered the family of Mrs Cecil Forrester,
in the capacity of governess.
And on her advice, I published my address in the advertisement column.
That same day there appeared, through the post,
a small cardboard box, addressed to me,
which I found to contain a very large, lustrous pearl.
No word of writing was enclosed.
And since then, every year, upon the same date,
there has always appeared a similar box, containing a pearl,
with no clue as to the sender.
They have been pronounced by an expert
to be of a rare variety and of considerable value.
You can see for yourself that they are very handsome.
Your case is most interesting.
Something else has occurred to you?
Yes, and no later than today.
That is why I have come to you.
This letter arrived through the post this morning,
which you will perhaps read for yourself.
Envelope, please.
London postmark, October 7.
Man's thumb mark on corner.
Probably postman.
Best quality paper, sixpence a packet. Particular man in his stationery.
Watson.
"Be at the third pillar from the left,
"outside the Lyceum Theatre, tonight at seven o'clock.
"If you are distrustful, bring two friends.
"You are a wronged woman and shall have justice.
"Do not bring the police. If you do, all will be in vain. Your unknown friend."
This is a very pretty problem. What do you intend to do, Miss Morstan?
That is exactly what I want to ask you.
Why, then, you and I shall go together.
Dr Watson is the very man. Your correspondent says "two friends".
But would he come?
I should be proud and happy if I can be of any service.
You're very kind. I've led a retired life and have no friends I could appeal to.
- If I'm here at six, it will do, I suppose? - Yes, but you must not be later.
- Goodbye, Miss Morstan. - Goodbye, Mr Holmes.
- (Watson) Au revoir. - Au revoir.
Buy a flower, deary. Buy a flower.
Buy a flower, deary.
Excuse me.
What a very attractive woman.
It is of the first importance not to be biased by personal qualities.
A client to me is a mere unit, a factor of a problem.
You are an automaton, a calculating machine.
There is something positively inhuman in you at times.
I assure you, the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged,
for poisoning three children for their insurance money.
The most repellent man of my acquaintance
is a philanthropist who has spent a quarter of a million on the London poor.
- However, in this case... - I never make exceptions.
An exception disproves the rule. I'm going out. I'll see you in an hour.
Had he any friends in town?
(Mary) Only one that we know of. Major Sholto, of his own regiment.
There's no great mystery. The facts admit only one explanation.
You've solved it already?
I found, consulting back files of the Times,
that Major Sholto, late of the 34th Bombay Infantry, died just six years ago.
Mrs Hudson, you're dreadfully underfoot.
I may be obtuse, but I fail to see what this suggests.
Really? You surprise me. Look at this way, then.
Captain Morstan disappears.
The only person whom he could have visited is Major Sholto.
Major Sholto denies having heard that he was even in London.
Four years later, Sholto dies.
Within a week of his death, Morstan's daughter receives a valuable present,
which is repeated year to year and culminates
in a letter which describes her as a wronged woman.
What wrong can it possibly refer to, except this deprivation of her father?
Tape measure.
Gun.
Why should these presents begin immediately after Sholto's death,
unless it is that Sholto's heir knows something of the mystery
and desires to make compensation?
Are you ready, Watson?
And waiting!
Have you any alternative theory?
But what a strange compensation, and how strangely made!
What time is it?
It's a quarter past the hour.
- Evening, Roberts! - Evening, sir.
Why should somebody write her a letter now, rather than six years ago?
The letter speaks of justice. What justice can she have?
It is too much to suppose her father is alive.
There is no other injustice in her case that you know of.
(Holmes) There are difficulties. But there are always difficulties.
- Good evening, I hope I'm not late. - Good evening.
A curious paper was found in Papa's desk, which nobody could understand.
I don't suppose it is of importance,
but I thought you might like to see it, so I brought it.
The paper appears to be of Indian manufacture.
At some point it has been pinned to a board.
The diagram upon it appears to be the plan of part of a large building,
with numerous halls, corridors and passages.
There's a cross, in red ink.
Besides is written "3.37 from left."
There is a curious hieroglyphic.
"The Sign Of Four."
"Kartar Singh, Inderjit Singh, Jagodish Singh, Jonathan Small."
The paper has been kept carefully in a pocketbook.
One side is as clean as the other.
It was in his pocketbook that we found it.
Preserve it carefully, Miss Morstan.
I begin to suspect that this case may be...
much deeper and more subtle than I had at first supposed.
Oi! Are you the parties who come with Miss Morstan?
I am Miss Morstan, and these two gentlemen are my companions.
I must ask you to give me your word
that neither of your companions is a police officer.
- I give you my word. - (Man whistles)
The sahib awaits you.
Show them in, khitmutgar. Show them straight in to me.
Your servant, Miss Morstan.
Your servant, too, gentlemen.
Come in, come in, come in, come in, to my little sanctum.
I trust you have no objection to tobacco smoke?
The balsamic odour of Eastern tobacco?
I am a little nervous,
and I find my hookah to be an invaluable...
(Bubbling)
(Bubbling continues)
...sedative.
You will excuse me, Mr Sholto,
but I am here at your request,
to learn something which you desire to tell me.
It is getting very late, and I should wish the interview to be as short as possible.
It must take some time,
for we have to go to Norwood,
to see Brother Bartholomew.
We must all see...
if we can get the better of... Brother Bartholomew.
He is angry with me for...
taking the course that has seemed right to me.
You cannot imagine what a terrible fellow he is...
when he is angry.
If we are to go to Norwood, it would be as well if we were to start at once.
No. No, that would hardly do.
I don't know what he would say if we came upon him in that sudden way.
No, I must prepare you
by showing you where we all stand, hm?
To each other.
I must... lay the facts before you,
as I know them myself.
My father, the late Major John Sholto,
came to live at Pondicherry Lodge in Norwood,
some eleven years ago.
'He had prospered in India
'and brought back with him a considerable sum of money,
'a collection of valuable curiosities
'and a staff of native servants.
'With these advantages, he lived in great luxury.
'My brother and I were at university at the time.
'We did know, however,
'that some mystery, some positive danger,
'overhung our father.
'He was very fearful of going out alone,
and he employed two prizefighters to guard him.
Williams, who drove you here tonight, was one of them.
For some reason he never told anyone,
my father had a marked aversion to men with wooden legs.
On one occasion, he actually fired his revolver at a one-legged man.
A harmless tradesman, as it turned out.
Oh yes, sir, I well remember we had to pay a considerable sum to hush it up.
Then, suddenly...
my father received a letter
that was obviously a great shock to him.
(Gasping)
Out! Out of the room!
Out of the room!
What was in the letter...
we could never discover.
For years, my father had suffered with an enlarged spleen,
and from that moment on, he became rapidly worse.
One night, the doctor informed us there was no hope
and that he wished to make a last communication to us.
My dear sons,
when... when we were in India,
my friend Morstan and I
came into possession of a considerable treasure.
I brought it home with me to this house,
where it still lies.
On the day that Morstan arrived home from the East,
he came straight to this house
to claim his share.
We gave our word, Sholto.
A promise! We gave our word and our oath.
Stop babbling, man. That all happened in another life, another world.
A solemn promise.
If you try to betray me, Morstan,
if you dare to cross me!
My God!
- The man is dead, Lal Chowder. - You have nothing to fear.
I will arrange everything.
'And so it was done, Miss Morstan.'
In secrecy, of course, but with respect.
This is disgraceful, Mr Sholto. Your father's behaviour was unforgivable.
Please, Doctor.
I knew in my heart that he was dead.
My father was not a well man.
I am only glad he did not suffer.
You are very brave, Miss Morstan.
What concerns me now is the reason for this quarrel.
I cannot imagine how my father came to be involved with that treasure.
I am afraid that that is not clear to me, Miss Morstan.
I can only tell you my father's instructions concerning it.
My treatment of poor Morstan's orphan.
The... the greed!
The cursed greed that has been my besetting sin throughout my life
has robbed her of the treasure,
half of which, at least, should be hers.
You see that... chaplet.
There, on the quinine bottle.
I had the design of sending it to her.
But I could not bear to part with it.
You, my sons,
must see that Miss Morstan gets her share of the treasure.
Promise!
The treasure is hidden...
(Yells)
Get him away!
For Christ's sake, get him away!
We ran to the window and out into the garden
but the intruder was gone.
My father was dead.
We soon had more striking proof
that there were secret agencies at work all around us.
The next day, my father's bedroom was broken into
and this was fixed to his chest.
Remarkable.
It is the Sikh symbol for the numeral four.
What the paper means, and who our secret visitor or visitors were,
we never found out.
My brother and I were much excited, as you can imagine, about the treasure.
But try as we might, we couldn't find it.
It was maddening to think that the hiding place was on his lips when he died.
We could judge the splendour of the riches by the chaplet he had taken out.
The pearls were evidently of great value,
and my brother was averse to part with them.
For, between friends,
he was a little inclined to my father's fault.
All I could do was persuade him to allow me
to send Miss Morstan a detached pearl at regular intervals,
so that she would not feel destitute.
- It was a kindly thought. - Oh... erm...
No, it was very good of you.
Oh, well, we were your trustees. That was the way I looked at it.
Although my brother did not altogether see it in that light.
We had plenty of money ourselves.
It would have been in such bad taste
to have treated a young lady in so scurvy a fashion.
Yesterday, an event of extreme importance occurred.
We... found the treasure.
Hence my instant communication to you, Miss Morstan.
Now all we have to do is to drive to Norwood and claim our share.
We shall be expected,
if not entirely welcome visitors.
You have done well, from first to last, Mr Sholto.
My health is somewhat fragile.
I am compelled to be a valetudinarian.
Oh, please...
We dug up every inch of the garden, without discovering anything.
Brother Bartholomew is such a clever fellow.
Do you know how he found out where the treasure was?
- Tell me. - He made measurements everywhere.
All along the top, along the side, inside.
And he found out he was four foot out, at the top.
We found our father had made a false room.
(Wheezing)
So we smashed through the lathe and the plaster.
And there was the treasure chest, lying across the rafters.
He has computed the value of the treasure
to be more than one half million sterling.
(Woman crying)
It is Mrs Bernstone.
Mrs Bernstone is the only lady in the house. Wait here.
(Wailing continues)
Oh, Mr Thaddeus, I am so glad you've come.
So glad you've come, sir.
What a strange place.
(Watson) It looks as if all the moles in England have been let loose.
There is something amiss with Bartholomew.
- Into the house! - My nerves won't stand it.
Oh, bless your sweet, calm face.
- Oh, but I've been sorely tried this day. - How, Mrs Bernstone?
Mr Bartholomew has shut himself in his room and I can't get a word out of him.
His bed hasn't been slept in and he hasn't been down for any food.
I dare not disturb him at his work.
You know what he's like when he's at his work.
Look after her, Miss Morstan.
(Wailing)
Do try to calm down. I'm sure everything will be all right.
- I do hope you're right, miss. - Sit down over here.
Come on.
Which is the door?
(Key landing on floor)
There is something devilish in this, Watson.
(Watson) "The Sign Of Four." Again. What in God's name does it mean?
(Holmes) It means murder.
We brought the treasure down there last night and we put it there.
And now it's gone.
- What time was that? - Hmm?
I don't know. Six or seven o'clock.
I heard him lock the door after I left him.
I must have been the last person t-to see him alive.
And now he's dead.
They'll think I did it. They'll think it was me.
I wouldn't... Why should... I wouldn't have asked you.
- I'll go mad! - Gently, gently, Mr Sholto.
Go down to the police station and tell them everything you know.
We shall wait here until you return.
Holmes, look at this.
Careful! Forgive me. It's poisoned.
Ha!
Well, Watson, we have a little time. Let's make the most of it.
(Watson) This is an insoluble mystery to me. It grows darker.
No, it clears every instant.
I only require a few links to have an entirely connected case.
Simple as the case seems now, there may be something deeper underlying it.
Now, how did these people come and how did they go?
People?
It takes more than one to remove a heavy chest from a place like this.
The door has not been opened since last night.
So how about these windows?
Snibbed on the inside. No hinges, therefore...
The roof's quite out of reach, no drainpipe near.
And yet someone has entered this way. Look, Watson.
See that scuff on the sill?
Ah!
Look at this, Watson.
And this, and this. This is a very pretty demonstration.
But that's not a footmark.
Something more valuable to us. This is a boot.
And this and this, the mark...
of the timber-toe.
Is it a wooden-legged man?
And someone else. A very able and efficient ally.
Could you scale that wall, Watson?
(Thud)
- Impossible. - Unaided, it is so.
But suppose you had a friend, who lowered you with this good, stout rope?
Securing it first to this ring.
I think, if you were an active man,
you'd be able to swarm up, wooden leg and all.
You would depart in the same fashion
and then your friend would pull up the rope...
close the window, snib it on the inside
and depart in the manner he originally came.
The thing grows more unintelligible than ever.
How about this mysterious ally? How did he get into the room?
Yes, this ally. He lifts this case from the regions of the commonplace.
Well, the door is locked, the window inaccessible.
- The grate's too small. How, then? - You will not follow my precept?
Once you have eliminated the impossible,
whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
He must have come through the roof.
Excellent, Watson. Hold this lamp. Let us research the room above.
The secret room in which the treasure was found.
A skylight.
Holmes, a child has done this horrid thing.
(Exhaling)
My memory failed me, or I should have been able to foretell it.
We have learned what we can from here.
What is your theory about those marks?
Try a little analysis. You know my methods, apply them.
I cannot conceive of anything that will cover the facts.
You will, soon.
(Trap approaching)
We're in luck.
Our little ally...
- has trod in the creosote. - (Thaddeus) Holmes!
Fond of animals, is he? Very good, sir.
Lovely fire!
Well, well, well, quite a nice little place you've got here.
Indeed, but... Holmes!
That is the accredited representatives of the law, unless I am mistaken.
Now, Watson, before they come, what do you make of this poor fellow?
The muscles are as stiff as a board.
A state of extreme contraction, far exceeding the usual rigor mortis.
Quite so. Coupled with this distortion of the face, the Hippocratic smile,
"risus sardonicus", as the old writers call it,
what would that suggest to your mind?
Death from a powerful vegetable alkaloid.
Some strychnine-like substance that produces tetanus.
(Wheezing) Well... Which? Right.
Come along, gentlemen. To the right.
Up these stairs!
This thorn.
Not an English thorn.
(Pounding footsteps)
I think it is not right that Miss Morstan remain in this stricken house.
You slip away and take her home, Watson.
And then go on to 3 Pinchin Lane, Lambeth, and ask for Toby.
- 3 Pinchin Lane. - I'd rather have Toby's help
than that of the whole detective force of London.
Well, here's a pretty business!
Place is as full as a rabbit warren.
I think you may recollect me.
Mr Athelney Jones.
Why...
of course I do!
Mr Sherlock Holmes! The Theorist.
I'll never forget the way you lectured us all about the Bishopgate jewel case.
True, you set us on the right track then,
but I think you'll own now, it was more by good luck than good guidance.
- It was a piece of very simple reasoning. - Oh, come, now. Come.
Never be ashamed to own up.
But, erm... what is all this?
Bad business, bad business!
Stern facts here.
No room for theories.
It's lucky I happened to be up at Norwood on another case
when I got the message.
- How do you think this man died? - This is not a case to theorise over.
No, no.
Still, we can't deny you hit the nail on the head sometimes.
Door... Iocked, I understand?
Jewels worth a fortune missing. How were the windows?
Fastened. There was a footstep on the sill.
Windows fastened, nothing to do with it. Common sense.
Man could have died in a fit, I suppose.
Ah!
I have a theory.
These flashes come to me sometimes.
Sergeant, outside, please.
You, too, Mr Sholto.
What do you think of this, Holmes?
Sholto has confessed he was with his brother last night.
Brother dies in a fit, Sholto walks off with the treasure.
Whereupon the dead man gets up and locks the door from the inside?
Aye... Aye.
There's a flaw there somewhere.
Let us apply common sense to the matter. They were brothers.
There was a quarrel.
Brother Bartholomew... dead. Jewels gone.
And Master Thaddeus evidently in a disturbed state of mind.
His appearance... well, not attractive.
You see, I am weaving a web around Thaddeus.
The net begins to close upon him.
Jones.
That splinter,
which I firmly believe to be poisoned,
that card and that curiously shaped instrument were lying there on the table.
Confirms my theory in every respect.
The house is full of Indian curiosities. All points to Thaddeus.
But... how did he escape?
There is a trap door in the roof. Sergeant!
Pray ask Mr Sholto to step this way.
You see? Facts are better than theories, after all.
My view of the case is confirmed.
There is a trap door communicating with the roof,
and it is partly open.
It was I who opened it.
Mr Sholto, anything you say will be taken down and may be used in evidence.
I arrest you in the Queen's name,
as being concerned in the death of your brother.
- Didn't I tell you? - Don't trouble yourself, Mr Sholto.
I can engage to clear you of this charge.
Don't promise too much, Mr Theorist.
You may find it a harder matter than you think.
Not only will I clear Mr Sholto,
but I will give a description of the two men who were in this room last night.
One was a poorly educated man, strong, active,
with his right leg off, wearing a stump worn away on the inner side.
His left boot has a coarse, square-toed sole.
He has an iron band around the heel.
He is much sunburned, middle aged,
and has a certain amount of skin missing from the palm of one hand.
And the other one?
He's rather a curious person.
I hope before long to be able to introduce you to the pair of them.
'Watson, go to 3 Pinchin Lane, Lambeth, and ask for Toby.
'I would rather have Toby's help
'than that of the whole detective force of London.'
(Cacophony of barking and squawking)
Mr Toby?
(Knocking on door)
- Mr Toby? Mr Toby? - Get out of it!
You drunken hooligan! Go on, or I'll turn my dogs on you.
- All 43 of them! - I'm looking for Mr Toby.
I got a wiper in this bag and I'll tip it out over your head if you don't hook it.
It's urgent that I find him.
I won't be argued with. One, two three and down comes the wiper!
Mr Sherlock Holmes!
I have come from Mr Sherlock Holmes.
(Barking and grunting)
Oh, Mr Sherlock Holmes!
Well, who'd have thought it?
Ah, dear!
Mr Sherlock Holmes? Why didn't you say so? Come in.
Now mind there, mind there, cos he bites like a lizard.
Oh, yes, he does. Naughty, naughty! Don't you bite the gentleman.
Cos this gentleman is a friend of Mr Sherlock Holmes.
And any friend of Mr Sherlock Holmes is a friend of mine.
Don't mind him. He'll just give you a friendly squeeze.
I give him the run of the room. He keeps down the beetles something beautiful.
Now, what did you say Mr Sherlock wanted?
Toby.
- Toby? - Yes, Toby.
Ah, well, Toby's number seven there.
You give him these and Toby'll go along with you as quiet as a lamb.
Hey, Toby, wake up, come on. There's work for you to do.
- Toby, come on. That's a good boy. - He makes me laugh, does Toby.
- Come on, Toby. Come on. - (Whimpering)
Watson!
It's all right, Officer. It's Mr Holmes.
Coachman!
Come on, Toby.
Well done. You've got Toby.
Come on.
Well, here comes Blondin. I'm coming down.
(Whining)
Holmes!
Ah!
Look at these, Watson.
I found them in the gutter.
Ah, thank you, Mrs Bernstone.
Do you smell the creosote?
Athelney Jones arrested not only Thaddeus,
but the gamekeeper, the gatekeeper and two servants.
I was lucky to escape myself.
- What hellish things! - Are you on for a bit of a trudge?
Of course.
You and Toby, game as they come when there's a good holding scent.
Now, find him. Go, Toby!
Splendid.
Seek, Toby, seek! Go seek him.
Splendid, Watson. Splendid.
Lucky the rain has stopped.
The scent will lie on the road in spite of their start.
Ah! How sweet the morning air is!
- Have you brought your pistol, Watson? - No, I have my stick.
You may need it if we get to their lair. Peg leg I'll leave to you.
Leave the ally to me. Come.
Now, what the deuce is the matter with the dog?
They took a boat. They certainly didn't take a cab or a balloon.
They must have been met at the water's edge.
Toby!
Toby! Toby!
(Watson) Toby!
Toby!
He's lost his character for infallibility.
No, no, Toby's not to blame.
Those barrels are filled with creosote.
The scent has divided, so like good huntsmen, Watson,
we must cast the dog again and find the true one. Toby!
Toby!
We're out of luck. They've taken a boat from here.
(Sighs) These people are cleverer than I thought.
Now, Watson, these people show preconcerted management here.
Mordecai Smith.
You come back 'ere and have your face washed! Jack!
Oh, you little imp! I'll get your dad to give you a proper hiding when he gets back.
Why, what a rosy-cheeked young rascal!
Is there anything you'd like, Jack?
I'd like a shilling.
(Laughing)
- Fine young lad, Mrs Smith. - Lor' bless you, sir, he is. And forward.
He gets almost too much for me to manage,
especially when my man is away days at a time.
Ah, a pity. I was hoping to hire a boat. A steam launch.
Bless you, sir, it is in the steam launch that he has gone.
I didn't like the bloke who did the hire. Not at all.
Very rough. With a wooden leg.
Come tapping at our window in the night,
and away they went, without a word to me.
Now, this man with the wooden leg. Was he alone?
Seemed he might have had an animal with him.
Er, a dog?
Didn't look like no dog to me, sir. More like something you'd find in the zoo.
It's a pity about the launch. It's the old green boat?
Oh, no, sir. The Aurora's just been painted. Black with gold trim.
Ah, yes, of course. With a white funnel?
No, sir. Black funnel.
Ah, yes. Of course.
Well, thank you, Mrs Smith. Goodbye, Jack.
(Foghorn)
Never let them think their information is of importance to you.
If you do, they will instantly shut up like an oyster.
Well, our course seems pretty clear now.
What would you do, then?
Well, get on the track of the Aurora.
It would take days to search every wharf and yard between here and Greenwich.
What do you propose?
As our quarry has no reason to fear he is being hunted,
I propose, first of all, a bath and a shave.
And then a good meal and then some hours of sleep,
at the same time, mobilising the Baker Street Division of the detective force.
In other words, the Irregulars.
The energetic Jones and the ubiquitous reporter have fixed the case.
Watson, look at this.
(Laughing)
Here.
"Mr Jones's experienced faculties
"were at once directed towards the detection of the criminals.
"His well-known technical knowledge and powers of minute observation..."
It gets better still.
"The prompt and energetic action of the officers
"shows the great advantage of a single, vigorous and masterful mind."
Ha! Isn't it gorgeous?
We've had a close shave ourselves!
I wouldn't answer for our safety if he has another attack of energy.
(Raised voices)
Stay there!
Mr Holmes said nothing of this.
You cannot possibly go in there!
It's all right, Mrs Hudson. They are my guests.
Hats off!
I got your message. I brought 'em up sharp.
Three bob an' a tanner, for the tickets.
Now, Wiggins.
In future, they can report to you, and you to me.
I cannot have the house invaded in this way.
Oi! Stop that!
- Sorry. - Now...
I want you to find the steamboat Aurora.
- Aurora. - Owner, Mordecai Smith.
Black, with gold trim. Richmond to Gravesend, both sides of the river.
Right, sir. How much?
Old scale of pay.
- A guinea to the boy who finds the boat. - (Gasping)
Here is a day in advance.
If the launch is above water, the Irregulars will find her.
They can go everywhere, see everything.
If ever man had an easy task, this of ours ought to be.
Wooden-legged men are not so common, and this other man must be unique.
"The aborigines of the Andaman Islands
"may perhaps claim the distinction of being the smallest race upon this earth.
"They are a fierce, morose and intractable people,
"though capable of devoted friendships
"when their confidence has once been gained.
"They have always been a terror to shipwrecked crews,
"braining the survivors with their stone-headed clubs,
"or shooting them with...
"with poisoned arrows.
"These massacres are usually concluded...
"by a cannibal feast."
Nice, amiable people.
What time would you like your dinner?
Half past eight, the day after tomorrow!
Huh!
You'll wear yourself out. I heard you marching about all night.
You really must get some rest.
I can't sleep. This infernal problem is consuming me.
No news?
None. None whatsoever.
The river's been searched, Mrs Smith's not heard from her husband.
It's too much to be baulked by so petty an obstacle,
when all else has been overcome.
See anything?
No, nothin'.
(Man) Oi! Shove off! You'll feel the back of my hand!
I won't tell you again, boy.
Oi!
(Splutters)
- What a nice little craft! - Aye, she's a good boat, this.
We built her here in this yard.
- Fastest boat on the river. - What's she in for?
Repairs to her rudder. That's the order. I can't find anything amiss with it.
I want her in the water by six o'clock tonight.
Fully coaled and steam up.
Right, Mr Smith, she'll be ready.
Six o'clock sharp, mind. For I have two gentlemen that'll not be kept waiting.
Right!
It's this Norwood case, Doctor. I've had a great deal to worry and try me.
And this case is a very dark one, too.
Thank you. I should be most grateful for Mr Holmes's help.
Your friend is a wonderful man, and not to be beat.
You may be in for a long wait.
No. I don't think so.
"Go to Baker Street at once.
"If I have not returned, wait for me. I am close on the track of the Sholto gang.
"Come with us if you want to be in at the kill."
Good. So, he's on the scent again.
(Violent coughing)
(Jones) He's been at fault, too, has he?
Even the best of us are thrown off sometimes.
- Yes? - Sherlock Holmes?
- What is it? - Are you Mr Sherlock Holmes?
No, but I am acting for him.
I've come about this advert.
If you have any information, you may give it to me.
- There's a reward. - Is it about the steam launch, Aurora?
I'm telling no one but Mr Holmes.
No, no, no. Come inside.
- I am a police officer. - You look like one.
You will be recompensed for your time. You will not have long to wait. Sit down.
- Cigar, Mr Jones? - Oh, thank you very much.
(Explosive coughing)
As I was saying,
I consider your friend, Mr Sherlock Holmes, is a man not to be beat.
He would have made a most promising police officer. I don't care who knows it.
With a little more discipline and a lot less theory.
Thank you.
You might offer me one.
You rogue, you!
You would have made an actor. And a rare one.
You had the proper workhouse cough.
And those weak legs, they're worth ten pounds each.
A police officer? I'm flattered.
Jones, I shall need a police launch at the Westminster steps.
'The fastest you have. Two stout men, yourself, myself, Watson. All armed.'
(Jones) 'That is easily arranged. I will telephone the local station.'
We go to the Tower. Stop opposite Jacobson's yard.
How did you find the Aurora?
I reasoned that the launch couldn't be far off, in spite of its invisibility.
So, gentlemen, where could it be?
Well, out of the water, I suppose.
- In a repair or boat builder's yard. - Exactly.
(Whistle)
(Holmes) One of my boys is waiting by the yard to give us the signal.
(Jones) You have planned it neatly. But if the affair were in my hands,
I'd have had a body of police in the yard, and arrested them when they came.
(Holmes) Which would have been never! This man Small is a pretty shrewd fellow.
Anything suspicious and he would lie snug for another week.
Sir, we're opposite Jacobson's yard now.
- Shall we move downstream a little? - No.
This mist may be of advantage to us. We must lie low and wait.
(CIock chiming)
(Whistle)
Your boy is signalling. I can see him plainly.
There's the Aurora. Going like the devil!
(Jones) She's very fast. I doubt if we shall catch her.
We must catch her. Pile it on, stokers.
I'll never forgive myself if she proves to have the heels of us.
- Faster! Faster! - This is the fastest boat they've got.
Pile on the coals, stoker!
We must have her, even if we burn the boat.
Keep the light steady. I can almost make out his companion.
We're gaining. We're gaining!
Pile it on, stoker. Give it all the steam you've got.
I think we've gained a little.
I'm sure we shall be up to her in a minute.
Move the light more to the left.
Keep it steady.
(Foghorn)
Raving lunatics!
(Watson) What's happening on that boat?
(Holmes) They're fighting.
Tonga! Tonga!
(Holmes) Peg leg.
(Jones) Stop! Police!
Heave to.
You can rot in hell!
Stop!
(Roars) The Sign Of Four!
Watson, look.
Tonga! Tonga!
(Holmes) What a face!
(Panting and grunting)
(Holmes) Wait.
Wait. Let him wear himself out.
Aargh!
So...
Jonathan Small.
I'm sorry it has come to this.
And so am I, sir.
But I give you my word, gentlemen,
- I never laid hands on young Mr Sholto. - Of course you didn't.
Your friend's dart killed him while you were still climbing the rope.
Why, you speak as if you were there, sir.
Well, if it had been old Major Sholto,
I would have swung for him with a light heart.
But to be lagged over this young Sholto...
is cursed hard.
You must make a clean breast of it. If you do, I may be of use to you.
Ah! Quite a family party!
I should have a pull of that flask myself.
Now, where were you going, Small?
The Esmeralda at Gravesend.
- Outward bound for the Brazils. - And nearly made it.
Another man at the engines and you'd never have caught us.
Where's the key, my man?
At the bottom of the river.
Now, look here. We've had enough of you tonight, Small.
- Bring the cuffs in. I'm warning you. - It's all right. We're nearly at the steps.
I suggest we go back to Baker Street. I think Miss Morstan should be there.
Well... That's not the regulation way, Mr Holmes.
Well, I can at least promise you a nice, warming drink.
Very well, gentlemen.
Well, Miss Morstan, I am pleased and proud
to have been able to bring the thief to justice.
Justice?
A pretty justice.
Whose loot is this if it is not ours?
Where is the justice that I should give it up to those that never earned it?
You forget, Small, we know nothing of this matter.
We cannot tell how far justice may have originally been on your side.
Well, sir, you have been very fair-spoken to me.
Though I can see that it's you that I have to thank
for these... these bracelets on my wrists.
Still, I bear no grudge for that.
If you want to hear my story, I have no wish to hold it back.
And what I say to you is God's truth.
Every word of it.
When I was a lad, I took the Queen's shilling,
and was posted out to India with the Third Buffs.
A crocodile snapped this off when I was bathing in the Ganges.
Well, a sawbones had my stump in the tar barrel nice and quick.
I was young and strong.
I got my discharge, and this fellow.
It's been a good support to me.
So, there I was, a cripple at twenty.
But I liked it out there.
So I found myself a job as an overseer on an indigo farm.
I was on horseback all day, so that was fine.
But I was never in luck for long.
Without a note of warning, the Great Mutiny was on us.
I came back to the farm one evening to find my master and his family murdered.
I didn't wait. By that same evening, I was in the fort of Agra,
the nearest city still held by the British.
The old fort of Agra is a queer place.
Huge. It's full of passages and rooms.
And more entrances than you can count.
'There were many gates, and because I was an ex-soldier and British,
'they put me in charge of one and gave me a couple of Sikhs who'd stayed loyal.
'It was a Ionely place.
'My two Punjabis were experienced fighting men.
'Kartar Singh and Inderjit Singh.'
- Rebel? - No, sahib, the fort is safe.
There are no rebels this side of the river.
You must be with us, or you must be silenced forever.
With you? How?
We want you to be rich,
which is why you British came to this land.
I have no objection to being rich.
Then swear by the bones of your father
to raise no hand and to speak no word against us now or ever afterwards.
Then you will have a quarter of the treasure.
But there are only three of us.
Jagodish Singh, my foster brother, he must have his share.
There is no time, sahib.
Decide.
Well, provided the fort is in no kind of danger...
I swear.
What would you have done, Mr Holmes?
I strongly suspect I'd have done exactly as you did.
Yes, I know the Sikh. He's not a man to be trifled with.
One of their local rajahs, rich as Croesus, of course,
he'd gone in with the rebels.
But he wanted to hedge his bet.
Just in case the British came out on top.
So he made a plot to get half his treasure hidden in the fort of Agra,
sending one of his men with it in the guise of a merchant.
And Jagodish Singh, Kartar's brother, to be the guide.
They come. Challenge him, sahib, in the usual way. Give him no cause for fear.
- What then? - We will do what has to be done.
- Who goes there? - Friends, sahib.
Advance and be recognised.
- What have you with you? - A box, sahib.
Old box, having some family papers.
No good to nobody, sahib.
Only for myself.
Sahib, I am no ordinary beggar.
You will have money, sahib, and governor sahib also.
Take him to the main guardroom.
(Small) 'Never was a man more compassed round with death.'
(Screaming)
(BIoodcurdling screaming continues)
(Screaming)
If Achmet had escaped, the affair would have come out. I should have been shot.
Which of you would have held back his musket?
(Small) 'Kartar was for burning him. That's their religion.
'But such a fire was impossible.
'Jagodish was for throwing him into the ditch below the fort,
'for the jackals to clean up.
'No doubt, he was right.
'I was for showing some respect for the dead.
'Then we turned to the box.'
This box.
Inside were more gems than I could ever even have dreamed of.
'A hundred and forty-three diamonds of the first water,
'including the Great Mogul,
'the second largest stone in existence.
'Ninety-seven emeralds, one hundred and seventy rubies.
'Forty carbuncles, sixty-one agates.'
Jagodish was right.
It was a great mistake you made, burying the body as you did.
Would you not say so, Watson?
Yes, indeed. A body not burned in India is soon discovered.
(Holmes) So, you and your three companions were found guilty
and sent away for life to the penal colony in the Andaman Islands.
(Small) Blair Island it was, sir.
Hope Town. Never was a place worse named.
'It was a place to sweat,
'a place to rot,
'a place to die.
'And I sweated there year after year, until your father arrived, Miss Morstan.'
Corporal! You will not maltreat the white prisoner.
If it happens again, you will be court-martialled.
'He was our administrative officer. He gave me a cushy billet in the dispensary.
'He was as good and kind a Christian gentleman as I ever come across,
'and I hold no grudge against him.'
Or you, miss.
Thank you, Mr Small.
'Well, as I sat thinking about the treasure,
I could see all the officers and the prison officials
at their drinking and their gambling.
'Major Sholto never had much luck.
'Night after night, he was the loser.
'Some people are born like that.'
It's all up with me, Morstan. I'm ruined.
I shall have to send in my papers.
I don't suppose you could manage another couple of hundred?
I've had a pretty nasty facer myself, and I've a daughter back home to support.
And I've got two wretched sons!
Ruined, eh? Damned pity!
So, you decided to approach your benefactor, Captain Morstan.
He was often in the dispensary. The tropical climate didn't agree with him.
His heart was weak and his blood was all poisoned.
Knowing he would share any arrangement with his friend,
the officer in command, Major Sholto.
Yes, sir. It seemed the safest way.
It is your own private concern over which, of course, you have the power
of disposing as you think best.
Thank you for that advice, sir. Thank you, indeed.
But the fact is, sir, being in the position I am, I need help.
- What sort of help? - I need a partner.
Well, I am sure Major Sholto and myself would like to help you, if we could.
We could at least talk about it. That is, of course, if we can agree as to terms.
There's only one bargain a man in my position can make.
In exchange for my freedom, and that of my three companions,
we shall give you a fifth share, to divide between you.
A fifth? That isn't very much.
Fifty thousand, at the least.
Anyway, how can we possibly give you your freedom?
You know it's impossible.
All we need is a boat and provisions.
There are plenty of little yachts and yawls in Calcutta or Madras,
well enough to serve our purpose.
If only there were just the one of you...
None! None or all! We have sworn it.
The four of us must always act together.
Now...
Calm yourself, Sholto. Calm yourself.
Think about it, man. Think about it.
Small is a man of his word. He will not abandon his friends.
I think... I think we may very well trust him.
'We met the next morning, in the small hours.
'I had our written agreement in every detail.'
We, being officers in the Army of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria...
(Both) We, being officers in the Army of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria...
(Small)... do swear on the Holy Bible,
that this agreement will always remain binding to us.
(Both)... do swear on the Holy Bible,
this agreement will always remain binding to us.
'I gave each of them a plan, showing the position of the treasure.'
Well, look at that.
Now, that brings back memories.
Sholto took the next boat to India, found the treasure,
and took it back with him to England.
When we heard the news, Captain Morstan was as angry as I was.
He swore to me he would go home and settle the matter with Sholto.
And so he would, if he'd lived.
But it was not to be.
From that day, I lived only for vengeance.
I thought of it by day.
I nursed it by night.
To get to Sholto.
To have my hands round his throat.
That was my one thought.
As luck would have it, an islander had been brought into my dispensary,
more than half dead from a snake bite.
Out of common humanity, I did my best for him.
Somehow he pulled through and became very devoted to me.
A funny little fellow.
Well, you gentlemen caught a glimpse of him for yourselves last night.
He was staunch and true, was little Tonga.
'No man ever had a more faithful mate.
'Being by trade a fisherman,
'he had a goodish-sized native boat and he agreed to try to escape with me.'
(Scream)
'After ten days, we were picked up by a trader
'with a cargo of pilgrims from Malay, bound for Jeddah.
'After many months, we worked our way across the world...
'to London.'
A remarkable account.
And now, I think Miss Morstan might like to see the great Agra treasure
which will make her one of the richest young ladies in England.
- Watson. - There's no key.
I'm sure our old poker will oblige.
Ah!
(Laughs)
- This is your doing, Small. - Yes.
Yes, I put the treasure away where you shall never lay hand on it.
No living man or woman has any right to it,
unless it is the three men in the Andaman convict barracks and myself.
I know now that I cannot have the use of it, no more can they.
But I have acted all along for them as much as for myself.
It's been the Sign Of Four with us always.
Where is it?
It's where the key is, and where little Tonga is.
When I saw your launch must catch us and I saw little Tonga go over the side...
I put the loot in a safe place.
You are deceiving us, Small.
If you had wished to throw the treasure into the Thames,
it would have been easier to have thrown box and all.
Easier for me to throw and easier for you to recover.
The man who is clever enough to hunt me down
is clever enough to pick up a box from the bottom of the river.
- I am sorry. - No, I am glad the treasure is lost.
It's been nothing but a curse to every man who has owned it.
An early death to my poor father.
And slavery for life to me and my companions.
I've spent the first half of my life digging a breakwater in the Andamans
and I am likely to spend the other half digging ditches on Dartmoor.
Well, Holmes, duty is duty and I've gone rather far in bringing him here.
I shall feel more at ease when I have our storyteller here under lock and key.
I am obliged to you for your assistance.
Good day to you, Dr Watson. Miss Morstan.
Ah, after you, Small.
You seem a bit handy with that wooden leg of yours.
I feel most ashamed that you, Mr Holmes, and you, dear Dr Watson,
have had to put yourselves into such peril on my behalf.
Oh, that's all over and forgotten.
Mrs Forrester has sent her carriage for Miss Morstan.
I'll impose on you no longer, gentlemen. You must be exhausted.
Yes, the reaction is already upon me. I shall be as limp as a rag for a week.
I'm so very grateful to you for clearing my father's name.
I'm so very grateful to you both.
It seems so unfair.
You've done all the work to this business
and Athelney Jones gets all the credit.
What remains for you?
For me, the pleasure of having solved an interesting case almost single-handed.
And for you, no doubt, the pleasure...
of writing it up in your usual florid and romantic style.
What a very attractive woman.
Was she? I hadn't noticed.