Without My Boswell: Five Early Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (From the Dispatch Box of John H Watson, MD) Read online

  Some Recent comments on Hugh Ashton’s Sherlock Holmes titles

  “Hugh Ashton maintains his place as one of the best writers of new Sherlock Holmes stories, in both plotting and style.” (The District Messenger, newsletter of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London)

  “As a (nearly) lifelong fan of Sherlock Holmes, I have received the works about him by modern authors with initial enthusiasm, only to be replaced by disappointment. Such is not the case with Hugh Ashton, who has caught the tone of the original canon perfectly.”

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  “Hugh Ashton takes the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson back to their origins. I have to admit I am a big Sherlock Holmes fan and have enjoyed the many reincarnations of the character in books, movies and TV series. Hugh Ashton, though, has a more genuine feel and understanding of the original characters, and reading this story I couldn’t help feeling a touch of nostalgia for the original Conan Doyle stories.”

  “One of the blessings of being a senior citizen is being able to be locked into patterns of actions which are simply performed and no explanations provided. One of these is whenever I see another book by Hugh Ashton is simply clicking on it and putting it into the shopping cart.”

  About Hugh Ashton

  Hugh Ashton arrived in Japan in 1988 to write manuals for musical instruments and audio equipment, and has remained in the country since then, living in Kamakura with his wife,

  Yoshiko. He is a member of various Sherlockian societies, and has contributed to the literature on the subject. Rath- er than the Stradivarius violin played by Sherlock Holmes, he plays a resonator guitar (“Dobro”).

  He can be contacted at [email protected]

  About Andy Boerger

  Andy Boerger lives in Tokyo, with a family that includes Vinnie, the ferret. He has published several books of his drawings and writings, as well as illustrating other authors’ books. He and Hugh Ashton have collaborated on a detective story for children, Sherlock Ferret and the Missing Necklace, featuring the world’s cutest detective.

  Without my Boswell : Five Early Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

  Hugh Ashton

  ISBN-10: 0988667037

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9886670-3-7

  Published by Inknbeans Press, 2014

  © 2014 Hugh Ashton and Inknbeans Press

  Grateful acknowledgment to Conan Doyle Estate Ltd. for permission to use the Sherlock Holmes characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are written in respectful tribute to the creator of the principal characters.

  www.inknbeans.com www.221BeanBakerStreet.info Inknbeans Press,

  25060 Hancock Avenue Bldg 103 Suite 458, Murrieta CA 92562, USA

  Dedication

  While this book was in the final stages of preparation, I heard of the sudden death at an early age of a good friend, Kevin Cleary. His kindness and generosity will always stay in my memory, as will the encouragement and practical help he provided to me on so many occasions.

  My memories of the things we did and talked about together include delving into the innermost workings of Macintosh computers, discussing US politics as we travelled to Tokyo together on the early morning train (and being told by the other passengers to be quiet about it!), listening to modern country music or talking about 1950s pulp fiction, enjoying a dosa masala at an Indian restaurant, and simply knocking back gin and tonics on a hot Kamakura afternoon. We always seemed to end up striking intellectual sparks off each other, and I, for one, came away from our encounters wiser and better informed.

  Kevin, you will be sorely missed. This book is for you and is dedicated to your memory.

  Acknowledgements

  My thanks go to all Sherlockians around the world, who encourage me in my writing, and provide a springboard for my imagination. Special thanks to those who have read and suggested improvements to these stories.

  Thanks to my friends around the world in every continent. Without you, a writer’s life would be very lonely.

  Thanks to Andy for his wonderful imagination that ex- presses itself in his drawings.

  And as always, special thanks to Jo and the Beans for their continued belief in me, and their constant support and encouragement.

  Contents

  This volume contains a few words about the author and illustrator, a Dedication and Acknowledgments as well as a Colophon and a Preface by the author, in which some aspects of the stories are explained. The adventures themselves are all referred to by Watson in the works published by him.

  “ Yes, my boy, these were all done prematurely before my biographer had come to glorify me.” He lifted bundle after bundle in a tender, caressing sort of way. “ They are not all successes, Watson,” said he. “ But there are some pretty little problems among them. Here’s the record of the Tarleton murders, and the case of Vamberry, the wine merchant, and the adventure of the old Russian woman, and the singular affair of the aluminium crutch, as well as a full account of Ricoletti of the club-foot, and his abominable wife.” (from “The Musgrave Ritual”)

  “ I assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money…” (from The Sign of Four)

  And at the end of the book, we invite you to learn more about other books by the same author, and learn more about Inknbeans Press, and other titles from different authors that you might enjoy.

  Preface

  “I am lost without my Boswell,” declares Sherlock Holmes*. Indeed, the interplay between the solid ex-Army doctor, and the more mercurial purveyor of “ ineffable twaddle” forms a large part of the appeal of the adventures which Watson caused to be published, and Watson himself, as well as acting as a publicist for Holmes’ business, provides more solid assistance on many occasions.

  * “ A Scandal in Bohemia”

  But as I have remarked elsewhere†, Sherlock Holmes would not have allowed himself to associate with a complete dolt. We know that Holmes did not suffer fools gladly, and it would be completely illogical to assume that he would make an exception in the case of Watson. Even so, the two characters complement each other well – Watson is down-to-earth where Holmes may be fanciful ; and while neither man can be accused of physical cowardice, Watson’s experiences under fire give him a form of courage which is that of the soldier, rather than that of the adventurer, as displayed by Holmes. It is a mistake to see him merely as a foil for Holmes’ wit and intellect. And at the very least, we know him as a raconteur of genius, as he relates the cases of his famous friend, artistically embellishing, withholding, and organising the events he describes in such a way as to capture and hold our imaginations (I take it that no-on
e reading this is so naïve as to believe that Watson’s accounts are plain unvarnished truthful full reports of the adventures he shared with Holmes).

  † “ A Defence of John H. Watson”, The Watsonian, Autumn 2013

  But... before John Watson had that fateful encounter with the eccentric beater of corpses at Barts, there was a consulting detective by the name of Sherlock Holmes, who had already built up a practice and a reputation that extended to Scotland Yard. However much he may have felt lost without his Boswell later in his career, Holmes was playing a solo game when he started out.

  We see a little of Holmes alone (apologies for the inevitable pun) in “ The Case of the Gloria Scott” and “ The Musgrave Ritual”, and it is in Watson’s account of this latter adventure that we hear of some other cases at a time when Holmes was presumably learning his trade.

  The written accounts of some of these were in the dispatch-box, bound together in an envelope, in Watson’s writing. The envelope was inscribed “ Before My Time”, again in Watson’s hand.

  The stories in here are all somewhat less interesting from the point of view of the interplay between Holmes and other characters, but they all shed a light on Holmes’ methods of deduction as he learned his trade, and often also shed light on his character. As Holmes himself remarked, not all of these may be seen as successes, but none of the cases here may be regarded as a complete failure.

  -o-

  As an example of the way in which Holmes’ methods were developed, “ The Case of the Tarleton Murders” described here gives us not only an insight into his powers of observation and ability to draw conclusions from his observations, but also shows us the psychological tricks that he used in his investigations. But much more than this, it shows the younger Holmes confronted for the first time in his life with a villain of psychopathic intensity. The evil emanating from the wrongdoer seems to have been enough to turn his head, at least temporarily, in the direction of an impulsive action.

  Though the relation of the resolution of the case may seem a little rushed at times, we can attribute this to Holmes’ emotional state of mind (a rare occurrence indeed ! ) as he relates this to his friend. There is no doubt in my mind that Watson was well aware of the mental anguish that the recounting of this adventure cost Holmes, and forbore to question him any further on the matter.

  -o-

  The case of Vamberry, the wine merchant, related by Holmes to Watson, also shows a somewhat different side of the younger Holmes to those displayed in the “ Blue Carbuncle” or “ The Abbey Grange”, for example, in which he allows a confessed criminal to go free. In this case, set in Paris, recorded here, he displays little of the chivalry and compassion that marked the older more experienced detective.

  Indeed, the somewhat callous and cavalier attitude that he adopts with regard to the eventual end of one of the villains of this piece (for whom he might be expected to feel some pity, given the circumstances) is very much at odds with the older detective with whom we are more familiar. Are we to conclude, then, that the events Holmes encountered in his work made him more, rather than less, human as he became better acquainted with human frailty? It is tempting to assume so.

  -o-

  In “ The Affair of the Aluminium Crutch”, the story talks candidly about Holmes’ need for money (which seems to have been somewhat of a concern for him). Here we see a genuine interest in the case and the building up of a new form of business in the younger Holmes, as well as a definite desire to see right and justice prevail.

  His interest in science generally, and chemistry in particular, is alluded to here, giving us a more rounded picture of the young detective. It must be realised, though, that this tale is not a verbatim account related to Watson, but has been fleshed out by him from notes furnished by Holmes, and augmented, doubtless, by verbal reminiscences and hints about Holmes’ early life and career, possibly not even connected with this case, thrown out from time to time.

  -o-

  The younger Holmes was not always averse to displaying his more human side, and this is shown in the “ The Case of the Abominable Wife”, the spouse in question of course, being that of Ricoletti, he of the club-foot. Holmes here shows a touching concern for one whom he has come to regard as a friend, disregarding the rigidity of the class system, and those prejudices against foreigners that were present in Britain at that time. An interesting sidelight is the value he places on theoretical knowledge gained from books as well as practical knowledge from experience, knowledge which stood him in good stead on this occasion.

  In this story of Ricoletti, we see a very human side of the younger Holmes, blessed with the proverbial “ champagne tastes” (he would seem to have been somewhat of an epicure) and cursed with the possession of a mere “ beer budget”. The somewhat tragic ending may surprise the reader a little, as it did Holmes, who would seem to have doubted his own value, or at the least, the value of his profession as a result. It is well for us that he reconsidered his attitude to his chosen profession.

  -o-

  Lastly, we have “ The Adventure of the Two Bottles”, a tale of Holmes’ student days. Holmes carefully explains to Watson the way in which he built up the evidence, with a number of false starts on his part.

  Of particular interest to students of Sherlock Holmes the man (as opposed to Sherlock Holmes the consulting detective) are the hints regarding sexual attraction that he describes himself as feeling. For those who have seen him only as a mere “ automaton, a calculating machine”, with no interest in the opposite sex, this may come as some surprise. One can only conclude that the older Holmes masked such emotions, as a good Victorian gentleman should.

  -o-

  All in all, we can see that the younger Holmes was far from being lost without his Boswell. He seems to have been able to take on a number of different cases, and to bring them to satisfactory conclusions, even before he had fully honed his craft.

  Without my Boswell

  Five Early Adventures of

  Sherlock Holmes

  From the Dispatch-Box of

  John h. Watson MD

  As Discovered by

  Hugh Ashton

  With Five Original Illustrations By

  Andy Boerger

  The Tarleton Murders

  “He raised his Head, his eyes still closed, and i saw his face was set in a rigid mask, with his fists clenching and unclenching convulsively, as he doubtless relived that awful scene in his mind.”

  Editor’s Notes

  There is no doubt at all in my mind for this adventure’s exclusion from the canon. It is a bloody crime – much more so than those that Watson reported in the canon – and there are elements of sexuality in the crime that would have profoundly shocked and disturbed Watson’s readers. Not only would the crime itself have been a reason for secrecy, but Holmes’ emotional reaction to the crime would have changed the perception of the great detective from that of a reasoning machine, to a more human personality if it had become known. It is unlikely that Holmes or Watson would have wished this side to become obvious.

  This is a “ Holmes without Watson” story, and here the foil is Lestrade. Much of Holmes’ subsequent relationship with the Scotland Yard detective can be traced from this adventure, where a fragile relationship between the two men is painfully constructed. There is a touching ending to this account that tells us much of the relationship between Holmes and Watson.

  Incidentally, this is also an unusual adventure in that it takes place in the North of England – an area seemingly little frequented by Holmes.

  -o-

  At the time that Sherlock Holmes recounted this remarkable tale to me, I was busy with my practice, and had little time to spend with my friend. I confess, though, that I missed the company of this remarkable man, and the excitement that came with being his companion, and my subsequent involvement in his adventures.

  However, being at some remove from Holmes, as it were, it struck me that I knew surprisingly little of his character
before I had first encountered him, given the depth and strength of our friendship. On my next visit to Baker-street, I ventured to ask him whether he did not find his choice of occupation curiously at odds with the norms of society.

  “ By no means, my dear Watson,” he replied lazily, drawing on his pipe. “ I seek to remedy the ills of society in a general sense through analysis and treatment. You do the same, but your field is the individual members of society.”

  “ But have there never been times,” I persisted, “ when you have felt disgusted, shall we say, at the iniquity of mankind ? I confess that there are occasions when my stomach is turned by what I see when I observe my patients’ conditions. And more than that, my soul sometimes rebels at the profession I have chosen for myself, when I see some poor helpless sufferer, and I know in my heart that there is nothing I can do for him. Why do I continue ? I ask myself. Do not similar feelings affect you on occasion ? ”

  Holmes considered my words for a space, and turned to look at me. “ You are right, Watson. There are times when you exhibit more perspicacity than perhaps I give you credit for. Yes, there was indeed one case when my soul was turned, as you put it, and I was almost overcome with black despair at the time. This was the case of the Tarleton murders, which I think I may have mentioned to you on a previous occasion.* It was a case of passion and revenge, and if I have ever encountered evil in person, it was on that case. If I were to believe in the Devil, I would say that I met him then.”

  * Editor’s note : The case receives a brief mention in “ The Musgrave Ritual”