The story
Major Sholto, a retired British army officer who had amassed wealth in India in a very mysterious manner, died suddenly, and his two sons were unable to find any trace of the wealth which they knew their father had possessed. But they searched the house patiently and at last, in an attic, concealed by a secret panel, they discovered a brass-bound box. Eagerly they opened it, and to their delight they beheld jewels of almost fabulous value. But besides the gems, they found a letter telling them that Mary Morstan, the orphan daughter of one of Sholto’s brother officers in India, was entitled to an equal share in the treasure. Thaddeus, the younger brother, was willing to carry out his dead father’s wishes but Bartholomew, the elder, insisted that they alone should possess the jewels. Finally, Thaddeus, unable to persuade his brother to relent, wrote Miss Morstan an anonymous letter telling her that she had been wronged and naming the place where they should meet. Miss Morstan, perplexed by this strange communication, consulted Sherlock Holmes, the celebrated detective. Holmes and Dr. Watson, his associate, kept the appointment with Miss Morstan and were led by Thaddeus Sholto to his home. Thaddeus told Miss Morstan of her inheritance, and explained that he intended to force his brother Bartholomew to surrender her share of the treasure. They reached the Sholto mansion, and Thaddeus Sholto went to his brother’s room to summon him, but soon he came dashing downstairs, pale and terror-stricken. One glance at his face was enough. Holmes and Watson dashed up the stairs, burst open the door leading to Bartholomew Sholto’s room, and rushed in. There huddled in his chair, was Bartholomew Sholto, and on his breast was a torn sheet of paper, with five words scrawled upon it, ‘The Sign of the Four.’ And the treasure was gone!
One of the secrets of Holmes’ great success was that he lost no time following a clue. A quick examination showed that the man had been killed by a poisoned thorn which had lodged in his head; then the detective, realizing that the murderer must have escaped by the roof, hurried up the ladder leading to the roof. In the garret Holmes came upon fresh evidence of intruders. In the heavy dust which had gathered upon the garret floor were impressions of a man’s boot and the ferrule of a wooden leg, and the imprint of two little bare feet. The detective hurried to the roof, where he found, dangling to the ground below, a heavy rope, the means by which the criminals had escaped. Sherlock Holmes, securing a bloodhound, tracked the fugitives down, the chase finally leading him and his co-worker, Dr. Watson, to a little shipyard, where he learned that a man with a wooden leg, accompanied by a little East Indian, had hired a motor boat and sailed up the river. Holmes, in another boat, pursued. The fugitives were captured, but not before they had thrown the treasure overboard. Then Jonathan Small, the man with the wooden leg, and his faithful follower, little Tonga, whose deadly blow pipe had killed Sholto, were brought to Holmes’ rooms and the casket opened. The jewels were not there. And Jonathan Small, with the prospect of a long prison term before him, laughed grimly, for the treasure had disappeared forever.
Summary from The Moving Picture News · 22 February 1913
