The Sign of the Four begins at the Baker Street home of the infamous detective Sherlock Holmes and his assistant, Dr. John Watson. Holmes is a little bored, having no case to work on, and is injecting himself with cocaine—Watson disapproves of this bad habit.
Soon enough, the beautiful Miss Morstan arrives at the flat asking for Holmes’ help. She outlines her case. Her father, Captain Morstan, had been an officer in the British Army and was stationed in India; she was at boarding school in Scotland. Ten years ago, he came back on leave, but as soon as he arrived in London he disappeared without a trace. A few years ago, she started receiving pearls in the mail once a year after answering an advert in the paper calling for her address. The pearl she has recently received came with a note, instructing her to go to the Lyceum Theater in London’s West End that evening, where somebody will come to meet her. Holmes and Watson agree to accompany her. Throughout Miss Morstan’s story, Watson can’t help but admire her.
Later that evening, Holmes, Watson and Miss Morstan head to the meeting point. On their way, Miss Morstan shows Holmes a paper she found in her father’s desk. It appears to be a map, with a red cross drawn on it. Beside the cross, the paper reads: “the sign of the four – Jonathan Small, Mahomet Singh, Abdullah Khan, Dost Akbar.” At the Lyceum Theater a carriage is waiting for them and takes them to the house of the anxious Thaddeus Sholto, the son of Major Sholto, who was Captain Morstan’s friend and colleague in India. Thaddeus explains that Captain Morstan is dead; he died from a heart attack when arguing with Major Sholto about the Agra treasure. Thaddeus explains that this treasure, part of which he says is rightfully is Miss Morstan’s, is an immense collection of jewels. His father fell ill a few years previously after receiving a letter from India that caused him a great shock. Thaddeus notes that his father had a fear of men with wooden legs. On his deathbed, Major Sholto was about to reveal the location of the Agra treasure when a bearded man appeared at the window; the shock killed Major Sholto. The next day, Thaddeus and his brother, Bartholomew, discovered that Sholto’s belongings had been searched and a note reading “the sign of the four” was left on the body. Just before he died, Major Sholto instructed his sons to share some of the treasure with Miss Morstan and gave them pearls to send to her. Thaddeus then informs his visitors that Bartholomew has located the treasure at the family home, Pondicherry Lodge; all they need to do now is head over there and divide it up.
When the group arrives at Pondicherry Lodge, they find the housekeeper, Mrs. Bernstone, in an agitated state. She says that Bartholomew has not left his attic laboratory all day. Holmes and Watson look through the keyhole and see Bartholomew’s face grinning back at them, unnaturally still. They break in and confirm that Bartholomew is dead; he seems to have been killed by a poisonous blow dart. Holmes investigates the scene, concluding that the assailants are a wooden-legged man and a short accomplice. The treasure, too, is nowhere to be seen. Holmes suspects the main culprit to be Jonathan Small, one of the “sign of the four” signatories. As Athelney Jones, the hapless Scotland Yard detective, arrives, Holmes sends Watson to fetch Toby the hound so that they can track a scent from the scene—it appears that the wooden-legged man stepped in creosote in his rush to escape. Watson drops Miss Morstan at home on his way, feeling his affections towards her increasing.
Holmes and Watson trek around London, following Toby the hound. At one point, the dog leads them to a pub’s creosote store, much to their amusement. Toby then picks up the original scent again and leads them to the Thames. Holmes talks to a local woman and gleans that the criminals must have hired a boat from Mordecai Smith called the Aurora—a speedy steam launcher. He tricks her into giving a description of the boat.
In order to trace the vessel, Holmes hires a group of street urchins to search London. They have no luck, so Holmes, increasingly agitated at the lack of progress, disguises himself as a sailor and makes his own inquiries around London. When he has a breakthrough, he instructs Athelney Jones to meet him at his flat. Jones waits for Holmes in Watson’s company, before the two are interrupted by an old man who claims to know the solution to the case. The old man is only willing to speak to Holmes and makes to leave when he learns that Holmes is elsewhere; Jones and Watson entrap him in the flat. Suddenly, the old man reveals himself to be the delighted Holmes in disguise. Holmes explains that he has tracked the Aurora down to a shipyard, where it awaits Jonathan Small and his accomplice, who will attempt to escape that evening with the help of Mordecai Smith.
Later that night, Holmes, Watson, Jones and some police officers board a police boat in order to give chase to the Aurora. Holmes has stationed a boy at the shipyard who will give a signal when the Aurora is leaving. Soon enough, Small and his accomplice, Tonga, attempt to escape with Mordecai Smith at the helm. Holmes and the others begin the chase; when Tonga, a small “black cannibal,” prepares to shoot at them with a blow dart, Holmes and Watson fire the guns at him. Tonga, dead, falls into the river. The Aurora runs aground and Jonathan Small is captured. The Agra treasure appears to have been recovered, so Watson delivers the treasure chest to Miss Morstan, only for them to discover that it is empty. Watson is relieved because he feels that Miss Morstan’s riches would have made her inaccessible to him. Miss Morstan is not upset about the treasure, and they embrace.
Jonathan Small is taken back to Baker Street and asked to tell his story at Holmes’ request. Before he does so, he explains that he has scattered the treasure in the Thames; if he can’t have it, he doesn’t want anyone else to. Small then tells his story. He was stationed in India with the British Army. Soon after arriving there, his leg was bitten off by a crocodile. When the Indian Mutiny began (the locals rose up against their British authorities), Small worked as a guard at the ancient fortress of Agra. He was in charge of two men, Mahomet Singh and Abdullah Khan, who convinced him to join with them in seizing treasure from a merchant acting on behalf of an Indian prince. Along with Abdullah’s cousin, these men made up the “sign of the four” and pledged allegiance to each other. They killed the merchant and acquired the treasure, a rich bounty of various jewels. It was then hidden in the Agra fortress to be retrieved when the country had calmed down a little. Though the tensions did die down soon enough, Small and the others were arrested for killing the merchant and subsequently sent to a prison camp on the Andaman Islands. At the prison camp, Small made the acquaintance of the overseers Major Sholto and Captain Morstan, and hatched a plan to share the treasure with them in exchange for his escape. Sholto double-crossed everyone and took the treasure for himself back to England. During this time, Small befriended Tonga, a native of the island, nursing him when he was sick. Tonga became extremely loyal to Small and helped him to escape.
The two men eventually made it back to England, where for a time they survived by displaying Tonga in freak shows. Small tracked down Sholto just before he died and left the note on the Major’s body. He had an inside contact at Pondicherry Lodge who informed him that the treasure had been discovered. With this knowledge, he and Tonga went to the house to get the treasure; Tonga entered the house first, killing Bartholomew without checking with Small first.
Holmes is satisfied he has learned all there is to know about the case. Athelney Jones thanks him for his help and leads Jonathan Small away. Watson informs Holmes that Miss Morstan has agreed to marry him. Rather than offer congratulations, Holmes explains that he believes “love is an emotional thing, and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reason which I place above all things.” Holmes reaches for his own comfort: the cocaine bottle.
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a brilliant detective, with an exceptionally keen eye for detail. He is known for his disguises, his logical deduction, and his early use of forensic science. Holmes is the one who solves the case. He is deeply concerned with his own mental stimulation, and tries to keep his mind occupied. As such, when waiting for news, he tends to perform chemical experiments. Holmes shows little emotion, and only really cares about the facts of the case. This separates him from the common man, and makes him seem different. He worked as a consulting detective for 23 years, and 17 of those were with John Watson. Holmes’s only true friend is Doctor John Watson. Holmes maintains little to no connection with any females, except for his housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson.
John Watson
Watson is Holmes' partner and roommate. He also narrates all but four of Holmes’s adventures. He was originally named 'Ormund Sacker' before Conan Doyle decided on 'John Watson'. He was a doctor in the army and has a bullet in his leg, which can occasionally impede his movement. He is also a very good shot. Watson has a strong sense of honor and discretion. On occasion, he tries to solve cases without Holmes, with a limited degree of success. He is a more empathetic and human counterpart to Holmes. He is very intelligent, but lacking in powers of observation. Watson is later married to Ms. Mary Morstan.
Mary Morstan
Mary Morstan brings the case to Holmes and Watson’s attention. She has been searching unsuccessfully for her father and has received several mysterious pearls in the mail. Mary is described as blonde, with pale skin. She was working as a governess when she contacted Holmes. Her mother died soon after Mary’s birth, and Mary was educated in England. At the end of the story, Watson proposes to Ms. Morstan and she accepts. She is 27 years old when introduced. Mary isn’t really interested in the treasure and the fortune it would bring, and she is happy when the chest is empty. Mary’s father was a senior captain within his group and disappeared in London when visiting his daughter. He was a good man, who felt guilty about his actions in the war. He died when his heart gave out and he fell, cracking his skull.
Major Sholto
Major Sholto was an officer and friend of Arthur Morstan. He was the one who was originally approached about the location of the treasure, as Jonathan Small believed that his greed would make him an easy target. Sholton is tasked with the retrieval of the treasure, but takes it all for himself, leaving Small and Morstan without anything. When Morstan later confronts him, Morstan has a heart attack and dies. Sholto hides the body and keeps the treasure. He lives the rest of his life plagued by extreme guilt and fear. He dies after seeing Jonathan Small’s face in a window.
Thaddeus Sholto
Major Sholto’s son, Thaddeus is is the one who sends the pearls to Mary Morstan. He does this to try to share his wealth after finding that his father was involved in Major Morstan’s death. He collects art, and contacts Holmes when he finds that his brother has located the treasure chest. He is heavily disappointed in his father’s actions. He is in constantly poor health, and is very twitchy and nervous. Thaddeus is originally arrested as a suspect in his brother’s murder, as it was known that they fought the night before the murder.
Bartholomew Sholto
Bartholomew is Thaddeus’s twin brother and Major Sholto’s son. He doesn’t like to share wealth or information with Holmes or Morstan. Bartholomew discovers the chest and is later killed by Tonga with a poison dart.
Jonathan Small
Small is the antagonist of the story. Small has a wooden leg, which he got following an accident involving a crocodile. He was one of “the four," a group of men who discovered a cache of jewels. After this, an uprising occurred and Small was captured. In prison, he passes on the secret to Majors Morstan and Sholto. Morstan retrieves the jewels, but betrays the others, leaving Small in prison. When Small gets out he heads to England to try to get his share. He believes that he and the rest of “the four” are the only ones entitled to the treasure. When almost captured, he dumps the jewels in the river. He enlisted Tonga to help him in his quest. Small is not afraid to resort to violence to achieve his goals, although he was displeased when Tonga killed Bartholomew. Small has a beard and is very tan. He also has a very lined face.
Tonga
Tonga is an islander who is absolutely devoted to Small. Small nursed Tonga back to health when Tonga was ill. He helps Small escape and break into Sholto’s house. Tonga is the one who killed Bartholomew. He is now considered to be a rather racist character, with Doyle describing him as “animalistic” and “savage." This reflects the Eurocentric mindset of Doyle's time.
Toby
A small mongrel dog who helps Holmes and Watson trace the origin of the creosote.
Mr. Smith
Mordecai Smith and his son Jim unwittingly help Tonga escape on their boat, the Aurora.
The Sign of the Four is the second of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels. In it the detective and his companion Dr Watson unravel a mystery of hidden treasure and murder.
Miss Mary Morstan arrives at 221B, Baker Street to request help with the mystery of her missing father, her anonymous gifts of pearls and a letter requesting her to meet an unknown person that evening. Holmes takes on her case and the adventure begins.
Watson narrates the tale that sees the detective tracking down hidden treasure and murderers. By the end of the story the criminals are either dead or arrested, and Miss Mary Morstan and Watson are engaged to be married.
The Sign of the Four is the second novel by Arthur Conan Doyle about master detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr John Watson. In this story they solve a mystery of hidden treasure and murder.
- Miss Mary Morstan arrives and asks for help with a mystery.
- Holmes and Watson accompany her to Thaddeus Sholto's house and learn about the Agra treasure.
- Bartholomew Sholto is found dead at Pondicherry Lodge.
- Holmes investigates the clues and calls the police. Athelney Jones arrests Thaddeus Sholto. Holmes sends Watson to borrow Toby, the dog.
- Holmes employs the Baker Street Irregulars as spies and eventually puts on a disguise to track down the Aurora launch.
- Watson, Holmes and Inspector Jones pursue the villains along the River Thames and catch up with them. The treasure chest is empty.
- Jonathan Small is arrested and confesses his whole story. Watson and Mary Morstan are engaged to be married.
- Set in London, 1888, the novel starts (and ends) with Sherlock Holmes taking cocaine. He complains that life is too tedious to endure if he does not have anything to stimulate his intellect. He thrives on difficult puzzles and demonstrates his skills by deducing precisely where Watson has been that morning and by correctly describing the origins of Watson's watch
Mary Morstan
Holmes is pleased when Miss Mary Morstan arrives to present the mystery of her missing father. She explains that Captain Morstan disappeared nearly 10 years ago on returning to England from the Andaman Islands. Every year since May 1882, she has received a single and 'lustrous' pearl by post, with 'no clue as to the sender'. She approaches Holmes now because she has been sent a letter from an 'unknown friend' asking her to be outside the Lyceum Theatre that evening.
Thaddeus Sholto's home
Holmes and Watson accompany Mary, and the three are taken to Thaddeus Sholto's house. He tells them how Captain Morstan died of a heart attack following an argument with his father, Major John Sholto. He also explains how Major Sholto died of apparent shock before telling his sons, Thaddeus and Bartholomew, where the Agra treasure was hidden.
Buried treasure
Thaddeus goes on to explain that Bartholomew found the treasure in a secret room at the top of Pondicherry Lodge. The treasure-chest contains jewels of great value. Thaddeus insists that this should be shared between the two brothers and Miss Morstan, which would make her 'the richest heiress in England'.
Bartholomew Sholto is found dead
When they are finally admitted to Pondicherry Lodge, Holmes and Watson discover that Bartholomew Sholto is dead in his room and the treasure is gone. The door is locked from the inside and so Holmes looks for clues as to what has happened.
Holmes makes a discovery
Holmes discovers footprints that must belong to a man with a wooden leg, a thorn in Bartholomew Sholto's scalp (which Holmes claims is poisoned) and small barefoot prints on the roof that are stained with creosote.
Thaddeus goes on to explain that Bartholomew found the treasure in a secret room at the top of Pondicherry Lodge. The treasure-chest contains jewels of great value. Thaddeus insists that this should be shared between the two brothers and Miss Morstan, which would make her 'the richest heiress in England'.
Bartholomew Sholto is found dead
When they are finally admitted to Pondicherry Lodge, Holmes and Watson discover that Bartholomew Sholto is dead in his room and the treasure is gone. The door is locked from the inside and so Holmes looks for clues as to what has happened.
Holmes makes a discovery
Holmes discovers footprints that must belong to a man with a wooden leg, a thorn in Bartholomew Sholto's scalp (which Holmes claims is poisoned) and small barefoot prints on the roof that are stained with creosote.
An arrest
- Mr Athelney Jones, a police detective, arrives and comes quickly to the conclusion that Thaddeus is the murderer. He arrests him and takes him away. Meanwhile. Holmes sends Watson to collect a dog called Toby who has 'the most amazing power of scent'
- Holmes and Watson follow Toby as he tracks the creosote scent. Holmes explains his theory about the missing treasure and the murders as they go. He deduces that the wooden legged man must be Jonathan Small and that the thorn has been fired by an accomplice. The dog brings them to a house advertising 'Boats for Hire'. Holmes learns from Mrs Smith that her husband, Mordecai, owns a fast boat (or launch) called the Aurora which he has hired to a wooden-legged man. Both men and the boat are missing.
The Baker Street Irregulars
Holmes employs Wiggins and the Baker Street Irregulars, a group of young boys, to search for the Aurora. When they are unsuccessful, Holmes goes out disguised as a sailor and finds the boat in a yard.
Chasing the Aurora
Mr Athelney Jones arranges for a police boat to collect him, Watson and Holmes that night. When the Aurora launches onto the River Thames, the police boat gives chase. They approach the boat and Small's accomplice, Tonga, lifts his hand to fire a dart. Holmes and Watson both shoot at him and he falls into the river. Jonathan Small's wooden leg gets stuck in the mud and he is easily caught.
Small confesses his story of meeting Mahomet Singh and Abdullah Khan in India. He explains how they promised him a share of treasure if he would help them to murder the merchant, Achmet. The sign of the four represented their oath along with Dost Akbar to share Achmet's treasure. However, the men were arrested for the murder of Achmet and Small was sent to the Andaman Islands to serve his sentence. In an attempt to free the treasure, Small told Major Sholto and Captain Morstan where it was hidden, promising them a fifth share. Sholto did not keep his word however, and stole the treasure.
Eventually, Small escaped and tracked down Sholto and the treasure, proving Holmes’ theory to be accurate.
The Sign of the Four Summary
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The Sign of the Four is a novella by the late-Victorian author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring the second case of his now iconic detective character Sherlock Holmes. In his autobiography, Memories and Adventures, Doyle explained that he had been commissioned to write a Sherlock Holmes narrative for Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, a Philadelphia literary publication that was looking to create a London version as well. The work was published in the London Lippincott’s in February of 1890, with the subtitle The Problem of the Sholtos.
On top of its own self-contained plot, The Sign of the Four expands what we had previously learned about Sherlock Holmes. Doyle had already described him as an extremely perceptive, keen-eyed detective who solves cases through deductive reasoning and logic, methods that he has perfected to such a superlative degree that he sometimes seems superhuman. In this novel, we also learn that Holmes has an addiction to cocaine, loves playing the violin, and is slightly less of an antisocial automaton than he had seemed to be.
The novella takes place in 1888. Mary Morstan, a governess, seeks out Sherlock Holmes – and his friend, assistant, and roommate Dr. Watson – because she thinks there is a chance that he can help find her father, Captain Arthur Morstan, who went missing ten years earlier. Mary and Watson are immediately attracted to each other, but Watson realizes that since she is a client, he shouldn’t act on his feelings until the case is resolved.
Mary lays out what she knows about her father’s disappearance. In December 1878, he returned to London from army service in colonial India and sent Mary a telegraph to meet him in a hotel. But when she got there, it turned out that he hadn’t been seen since the previous night. All searches for him were fruitless – he had effectively disappeared. Adding to the confusion, Captain Morstan’s regimental comrade, retired Major John Sholto, denied that the Captain ever returned to England from India in the first place.
Four years later, in 1882, Mary saw a newspaper notice that someone was looking for her address and she replied. Once per year since that time, someone has been sending Mary a single pearl in the mail. The sixth one came with a letter asking her to meet and stating that she had been wronged in some way.
Mary’s final clue for Holmes is a map of a fortress she found in her father’s desk with the names Jonathan Small, Mahomet Singh, Abdullah Khan, and Dost Akbar.
Holmes quickly figures out that Major Sholto died the same year as the advertisement and the first pearl, connecting the two. Holmes, Watson, and Mary meet with Thaddeus Sholto, Major Sholto’s son, who confirms that he has been sending the pearls and also reveals that Major Sholto was with Captain Morstan the night he disappeared. The two men were supposed to divide the invaluable treasure they had brought back from India, but in the heat of an argument Captain Morstan had a heart attack and died. Worried about being incriminated, Major Sholto got rid of the body and hid the treasure.
Four years later on his death bed, he confessed all of this to his sons, but before he could tell them where the treasure was hidden, Major Sholto screamed “Keep him out!” at someone lurking by the window and died. Thaddeus tells Holmes that he and his brother Bartholomew could find no trace of the mysterious lurker except a single footprint. They were also mystified by a note they found on their father’s body – it read “The Sign of the Four.” Since then, Thaddeus had felt like they owed Mary something, so he had sent her the pearls. He had now sent the letter asking to meet because Bartholomew had apparently found the hidden treasure, and Thaddeus thinks he and Mary might have a share of it.
The investigators find Bartholomew dead from a poison dart, which the police wrongly assume to be the work of Thaddeus. Meanwhile, Holmes figures out the “single footprint” thing – the perpetrator is a one-legged man. Connecting the dots, he realizes that this must be Jonathan Small, one of the men on Captain Morstan’s map. Using a disguise and information from his loosely connected network of homeless informants, the Baker Street Irregulars, Holmes finds the dock from where Small is trying to flee on a steam boat named Aurora. Holmes and Watson chase Small, capture the Aurora, apprehend Small, but during the fight Small’s blowgun discharges and kills his short-statured accomplice. The treasure chest is in Small’s boat, but it is empty – Small claims he dumped its contents overboard during his attempted escape.
Small then explains the whole case, which is connected to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 – an uprising of Indian sepoy soldiers against British East India Company’s rule that was eventually quashed through several horrifically bloody battles. Small had been a soldier during the Rebellion, and fled the fighting to the Agra fortress. There, he was captured by two Sikh warriors who were there to hijack pearls and jewels – the treasure belonged to a Rajah who was cooperating with the British during the Rebellion. Small agreed to help the Sikh men, and the trio robbed and murdered the man carrying the valuables. But although the murder was discovered, the theft wasn’t.
The three murderers were sentenced to 20 years penal servitude on the Andaman Islands. While there, Small met Major Sholto – a man so deep in debt from gambling that he was open to Small’s offer. Small made a deal with Sholto and Captain Morstan: they would go to India and find the hidden treasure, and then retrieve Small and his Sikh buddies. But Major Sholto double-crossed everyone, stealing the whole treasure for himself and leaving Morstan behind in India.
Furious, Small managed to escape his island prison four years later – and the shock of this escape is what killed Major Sholto. Following the treasure’s trail led Small and his escapee accomplice Tonga to Bartholomew, whom they killed mostly accidentally while trying to simply steal the treasure back for themselves. Small is sentenced to spend the rest of his life digging drains in Dartmoor Prison.
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