in the tin box which contains so many records of my friend’sadventures. Now we have at last obtained permission to ventilatethe facts which formed one of the very last cases handled byHolmes before his retirement from practice. Even now a certainreticence and discretion have to be observed in laying the matterbefore the public.
It was one Sunday evening early in September of the year 1903that I received one of Holmes’s laconic messages:
Come at once if convenient—if inconvenient come all the same.
S. H.
The relations between us in those latter days were peculiar. Hewas a man of habits, narrow and concentrated habits, and I hadbecome one of them. As an institution I was like the violin, theshag tobacco, the old black pipe, the index books, and othersperhaps less excusable. When it was a case of active work andcomrade was needed upon whose nerve he could place somereliance, my r?le was obvious. But apart from this I had uses. Iwas a whetstone for his mind. I stimulated him. He liked to thinkaloud in my presence. His remarks could hardly be said to be madeto me—many of them would have been as appropriately addressedto his bedstead—but none the less, having formed the habit, it hadbecome in some way helpful that I should register and interject. Ifirritated him by a certain methodical slowness in my mentality,that irritation served only to make his own flame-like intuitionsand impressions flash up the more vividly and swiftly. Such was myhumble role in our alliance.
When I arrived at Baker Street I found him huddled up in hisarmchair with updrawn knees, his pipe in his mouth and his browfurrowed with thought. It was clear that he was in the throes ofsome vexatious problem. With a wave of his hand he indicatedmy old armchair, but otherwise for half an hour he gave no signthat he was aware of my presence. Then with a start he seemedto come from his reverie, and with his usual whimsical smile hegreeted me back to what had once been my home.
“You will excuse a certain abstraction of mind, my dear Watson,”
said he. “Some curious facts have been submitted to me within thelast twenty-four hours, and they in turn have given rise to somespeculations of a more general character. I have serious thoughtsof writing a small monograph upon the uses of dogs in the work ofthe detective.”
“But surely, Holmes, this has been explored,” said I. “Bloodhounds—sleuth-hounds——”
“No, no, Watson, that side of the matter is, of course, obvious.
But there is another which is far more subtle. You may recollectThe Case Book of Sherlock Holmes 1347
that in the case which you, in your sensational way, coupled withthe Copper Beeches, I was able, by watching the mind of thechild, to form a deduction as to the criminal habits of the verysmug and respectable father.”
“Yes, I remember it well.”
“My line of thoughts about dogs is analogous. A dog reflects thefamily life. Whoever saw a frisky dog in a gloomy family, or a saddog in a happy one? Snarling people have snarling dogs, dangerouspeople have dangerous ones. And their passing moods may reflectthe passing moods of others.”
I shook my head. “Surely, Holmes, this is a little far-fetched,”
said I.
He had refilled his pipe and resumed his seat, taking no noticeof my comment.
“The practical application of what I have said is very closeto the problem which I am investigating. It is a tangled skein,you understand, and I am looking for a loose end. One possibleloose end lies in the question: Why does Professor Presbury’swolfhound, Roy, endeavour to bite him?”
I sank back in my chair in some disappointment. Was it forso trivial a question as this that I had been summoned from mywork? Holmes glanced across at me.
“The same old Watson!” said he. “You never learn that thegravest issues may depend upon the smallest things. But is it noton the face of it strange that a staid, elderly philosopher—you’ve heardof Presbury, of course, the famous Camford physiologist? —thatsuch a man, whose friend has been his devoted wolfhound, shouldnow have been twice attacked by his own dog? What do you makeof it?”
“The dog is ill.”
“Well, that has to be considered. But he attacks no one else,nor does he apparently molest his master, save on very specialoccasions. Curious, Watson—very curious. But young Mr. Bennettis before his time if that is his ring. I had hoped to have a longerchat with you before he came.”
There was a quick step on the stairs, a sharp tap at the doorand a moment later the new client presented himself. He was a tall,handsome youth about thirty, well dressed and elegant, but withsomething in his bearing which suggested the shyness of the studentrather than the self-possession of the man of the world. He shookhands with Holmes, and then looked with some surprise at me.
“This matter is very delicate, Mr. Holmes,” he said. “ Considerthe relation in which I stand to Professor Presbury both privatelyand publicly. I really can hardly justify myself if I speak before anythird person.”
1348 The Complete Sherlock Holmes
“Have no fear, Mr. Bennett. Dr. Watson is the very soul ofdiscretion, and I can assure you that this is a matter in which I amvery likely to need an assistant.”
“As you like, Mr. Holmes. You will, I am sure, understand myhaving some reserves in the matter.”
“You will appreciate it, Watson, when I tell you that thisgentleman, Mr. Trevor Bennett, is professional assistant to thegreat scientist, lives under his roof, and is engaged to his onlydaughter. Certainly we must agree that the professor has everyclaim upon his loyalty and devotion. But it may best be shown bytaking the necessary steps to clear up this strange mystery.”
“I hope so, Mr. Holmes. That is my one object. Does Dr.
Watson know the situation?”
“I have not had time to explain it.”
“Then perhaps I had better go over the ground again beforeexplaining some fresh developments.”