The Five Orange Pips.
The case begins Friday, September 16, 1887.
Why?
SIGNIFICANT PASSAGE OF TIME:
"When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes cases between the years ‘82 and ‘90 . . ."
"When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes cases between the years ‘82 and ‘90 . . ."
SIGNIFICANT YEAR REFERENCE:
"The year ‘87 furnished us with a long series of cases . . . the Paradol Chamber . . . the Amateur Mendicant Society . . . the British bark Sophy Anderson . . . the Grice Patersons in the island of Uffa, and finally of the Camberwell poisoning case."
"The year ‘87 furnished us with a long series of cases . . . the Paradol Chamber . . . the Amateur Mendicant Society . . . the British bark Sophy Anderson . . . the Grice Patersons in the island of Uffa, and finally of the Camberwell poisoning case."
SIGNIFICANT MONTH REFERENCE:
"It was in the latter days of September . . ."
"It was in the latter days of September . . ."
WATSON’S MARITAL STATUS:
"My wife was on a visit to her mother’s . . ."
"My wife was on a visit to her mother’s . . ."
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS OF NOTE:
"I heard from Major Prendergast how you saved him in the Tankerville Club scandal."
"I have been beaten four times — three times by men, and once by a woman."
"I heard from Major Prendergast how you saved him in the Tankerville Club scandal."
"I have been beaten four times — three times by men, and once by a woman."
THE DATES OF THE OPENSHAW CLAN:
"When Lee laid down his arms my uncle returned to his plantation, where he remained for three or four years. About 1869 or 1870 he came back to Europe and took a small estate in Sussex, near Horsham."
"He didn’t mind me; in fact, he took a fancy to me, for at the time when he saw me first I was a youngster of twelve or so. This would be in the year 1878, after he had been eight or nine years in England."
" . . . by the time that I was sixteen I was quite master of the house."
"One day -- it was in March, 1883 — a letter with a foreign stamp lay upon
the table in front of the colonel’s plate."
"The letter arrived on March 10, 1883. His death was seven weeks later,
upon the night of May 2d."
"Well, it was the beginning of ‘84 when my father came to live at Horsham, and all went as well as possible with us until the January of ‘85. On the fourth day after the new year I heard my father give a sharp cry of surprise as we sat together at the breakfast-table."
"On the third day after the coming of the letter my father went from home
to visit an old friend of his, Major Freebody . . . . Upon the second day of his absence I received a telegram from the major, imploring me to come at once. My father had fallen over one of the deep chalk-pits
"It was in January, ‘85, that my poor father met his end, and two years
and eight months have elapsed since then."
"It was headed, "March, 1869," and beneath were the following enigmatical notices:
"4th. Hudson came. Same old platform.
"7th. Set the pips on McCauley, Paramore, and John Swain, of St. Augustine.
"9th. McCauley cleared.
"10th. John Swain cleared.
"12th. Visited Paramore. All well."
"When Lee laid down his arms my uncle returned to his plantation, where he remained for three or four years. About 1869 or 1870 he came back to Europe and took a small estate in Sussex, near Horsham."
"He didn’t mind me; in fact, he took a fancy to me, for at the time when he saw me first I was a youngster of twelve or so. This would be in the year 1878, after he had been eight or nine years in England."
" . . . by the time that I was sixteen I was quite master of the house."
"One day -- it was in March, 1883 — a letter with a foreign stamp lay upon
the table in front of the colonel’s plate."
"The letter arrived on March 10, 1883. His death was seven weeks later,
upon the night of May 2d."
"Well, it was the beginning of ‘84 when my father came to live at Horsham, and all went as well as possible with us until the January of ‘85. On the fourth day after the new year I heard my father give a sharp cry of surprise as we sat together at the breakfast-table."
"On the third day after the coming of the letter my father went from home
to visit an old friend of his, Major Freebody . . . . Upon the second day of his absence I received a telegram from the major, imploring me to come at once. My father had fallen over one of the deep chalk-pits
"It was in January, ‘85, that my poor father met his end, and two years
and eight months have elapsed since then."
"It was headed, "March, 1869," and beneath were the following enigmatical notices:
"4th. Hudson came. Same old platform.
"7th. Set the pips on McCauley, Paramore, and John Swain, of St. Augustine.
"9th. McCauley cleared.
"10th. John Swain cleared.
"12th. Visited Paramore. All well."
WATSON PROMOTES HIS PREVIOUS BOOK:
"I think, Watson," he remarked at last, "that of all our cases we have had none more fantastic than this."
"Save, perhaps, the Sign of Four."
"I think, Watson," he remarked at last, "that of all our cases we have had none more fantastic than this."
"Save, perhaps, the Sign of Four."
WHAT THE BARING-GOULD ANNOTATED SAYS:
September 29, 1887.
September 29, 1887.
WHAT ZEISLER, THE KING OF CHRONOLOGY, SAYS:
September 24, 1889.
September 24, 1889.
THE BIRLSTONE RAILWAY’S TIMETABLE:
Here we have an excellent case of a Watsonian fork in the road: on one hand, Watson makes clear year and month references that are backed up by the client’s date-filled tale. On the other hand, we have a reference to "The Sign of Four" and a wife who has a mother. More conservative Sherlockians of the past tried with all their might to keep Watson married to only one woman, and have that one woman be Mary Morstan. As a result, they want to ignore the year and keep the month, ignore the mother and keep the SIGN. The Smash has to go back to his Number One Rule on this one: Trust Watson.
Here we have an excellent case of a Watsonian fork in the road: on one hand, Watson makes clear year and month references that are backed up by the client’s date-filled tale. On the other hand, we have a reference to "The Sign of Four" and a wife who has a mother. More conservative Sherlockians of the past tried with all their might to keep Watson married to only one woman, and have that one woman be Mary Morstan. As a result, they want to ignore the year and keep the month, ignore the mother and keep the SIGN. The Smash has to go back to his Number One Rule on this one: Trust Watson.
And following that rule, I have to lay down my second rule of chronology: If one argues in front of Watson’s dates, one inevitably starts twisting dates to suit marriages, rather than letting dates dictate marriages. (And everyone knows dates lead to marriages.)
Accepting the dates and the wife with a mother, we are left with only that pesky SIGN reference, which is easy to see as shameless self-promotion on Watson’s part: "If you think this case is great, buy ‘The Sign of Four,’ available at all better book stalls!"
Which, in turn, leaves us with only one question: what was the day this case started? For that, we must turn to the handiwork of Captain Calhoun of the Lone Star. On Wednesday, May 2, 1883, Captain Calhoun killed Elias Opensaw. On Friday, January 9, 1885, Captain Calhoun killed Joseph Openshaw. And on Friday, September 16, 1887, Captain Calhoun killed John Openshaw. Why that particular day? Why five orange pips and only five? Ritual, of course. Calhoun was a pattern killer, and even though life at sea made it hard to adhere to his patterns perfectly, they’re still there. He killed Openshaw #2 exactly one year, eight months, and seven days after Openshaw #1. Then Openshaw #3 dies exactly two years, eight months, and seven days after Openshaw #2. Was the added year a purposeful change, or just the result of fitting his pattern around his seagoing schedule?
Who knows with these mass murderers? Whatever the reason, I’m dating this case at Friday, September 16, 1887.
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