The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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9th short story within The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Characters:
Sherlock Holmes:  Detective.
Dr. Watson:  Narrator, doctor, friend of Holmes.
Victor Hatherly:  Hydraulic engineer.
Colonel Warburton:  Subject of a case introduced by Watson to Holmes.
Colonel Lysander Stark:  Has a hydraulic machine.
Ferguson:  Secretary / manager of Watson.
Elsie:  German woman.
Jeremiah Hayling:  Bullfrog.  A hydraulic engineer.
Bradstreet:  Inspector, Scotland Yard.
Dr. Becher:  Englishman, rich.


Summary:

Dr. Watson (?) introduces a case to Holmes, one that was so strange in inception, dramatic in details.[1]

Two years have passed since the events.  Summer 1889.

Watson was recently married and returned to civil practice.  Telling Holmes to visit.[2]

One AM, Watson is awaken, 2 people from the train station were waiting in the consultation room.[3]

He dresses and is met by the guard outside of the room who brings him in.

The guard shows him, pointing with his thumb, the inner room, as if the patient is a caged animal.  Saying the man is fine, the guard takes his leave.

Watson enters.  Young man, thumb bandaged with a mottled handkerchief.  Pale, agitated.

He had an accident in the night.  Arriving at Paddington he asked where to be treated.

Card.  Mr. Victor Hatherly.  Hydraulic engineer.  16A Victoria St.  3rd Floor.

Watson asks if it's a monotonous occupation which causes Mr. Hatherly to laugh.[4]

Watson's doctor instinct kicks in and tells him to pull himself together.[5]

Watson removed the kerchief and sees a red spongy surface where the thumb should have been.

Hatherly said he fainted when it was done, passed out to awaken to it still bleeding.  He created a tourniquet.

Hatherly reveals it was in a murderous attempt.

He says if it were not for the missing thumb he would have no evidence of the extraordinary tale.

Watson suggests Holmes and is introduced.

Holmes tells Hatherly to lay down, drink brandy water if needed and begin his tale.

He says he is an orphan and bachelor, living alone in London.  Worked for 7 years apprenticed at Venner and Matheson.

Two years ago, serving his time and at the death of his father Hatherly came into / had enough money to open his own business with chambers at Victoria Street.

Those 2 years have been difficult.  From 9 to 4 he waits.  Having only 3 consults and 1 job.

Yesterday Col. Lysander Stark arrived.  He is tall, thin, emaciated, but not due to disease.  About 40 yo.  He spoke in a German accent.

Stark has been told Hatherly is proficient, but also discrete.

Hatherly gives his word to keep it secret not knowing what the secret is.

With that Stark rushes to the door, opening it.  The clerks are gone.  They can talk in private.

He asks if 50 guineas for a night job would do.

Stark wants Hatherly's opinion of a hydraulic stamping machine which has messed up.

Hatherly would need to take a train to Eyford in Berkshire.

Stark will meet him in a carriage.  And he'd have to stay the night.

Hatherly asks for more info on his task.

Stark tells of fuller's Earth, being valuable, having a small amount on his land which connects 2 larger deposits in his adjoining neighbors' properties.

He planned on buying the land before his neighbors knew of the deposit's existence.  Using his deposit for capital.

They used the press for this purpose and it's not working right.

Hatherly asks why they use a press.  Shouldn't it be dug out?

They compress it into bricks before it is removed to prevent suspicion.

Stark leaves.

Hatherly thinks it out.  He appreciated the money which was 10x what he would have charged, but dislikes Stark's appearance and didn't buy his reasoning / understand the secrecy.

That night Hatherly arrives at Eyford.  No other passenger got out, no one on the platform but the porter.

Outside the gate he sees Stark in the dark.  They leave in a carriage driven by 1 horse.

Holmes comments on the fact there was 1 horse.  Chestnut color, fresh and glossy.

They drove for about an hour.  About 7 to 12 miles, not saying a word.

The windows were frosted so Hatherly could not see his surroundings.

Arriving, Hatherly is practically led from carriage to hall without seeing the exterior of the house.

It was dark.  While Stark fumbled for matches a door opens letting in light.

A woman speaks in a foreign language to Stark.  He leads her back into the hall and comes back with the lamp.

Stark leaves Hatherly in a room for a few minutes.  German books on the table.  One on science, the other poetry.

Hatherly wonders of the Germans, of the place.  He couldn't be in so secluded an area.

While waiting, the woman reappears with a finger to her lips.  Looking frightened.

In English she attempts to tell Hatherly to leave.  After protestations she adamantly tells him to leave before it is too late.

With the sound of a door slamming and footsteps she leaves.

A Mr. Ferguson is introduced.

Stark comments on the open door.

Hatherly is told the machine is in the house.  They don't dig for it inside, but compress it.

He is led through a maze of hallways, then into the machine itself.  The ceiling being the end of the descending piston.

Stark mentions stiffness in it.

Hatherly examined it and thinks there is a leak / regurg of water.  An India rubber band shrunk, breaking the seal, therefore there is a loss of pressure.

Hatherly goes into the machine again.  He knows the machine was not used to compress fuller's earth.  The bottom was an iron trough, a crust of metallic deposit...

The colonel says something in German then asks what Hatherly is doing.

Hatherly says he could help better if he knew the true purpose of it.

He is locked in.  The machine is turned on.  Hatherly bangs on the door screaming, but is drowned out by the machine noise.

Thinking on what position it would be best to die in, Hatherly sees a yellow line in the walls made of wood.

He pushes through and escapes into the corridor.

The woman who warned Hatherly helps him get away, hearing voices / running as they escape.

She leads him to a bedroom with a window and tells Hatherly to jump.

In the hall at the end Hatherly sees Stark with a lantern in one hand, a cleaver in the other.

Before jumping Hatherly waited to see if the woman would be safe.

Stark reaches the room and tries to push the woman aside.  She pleas it will not end like the last time.

Stark rushed at Hatherly, who now hangs from the window, hands on the window sill.

Stark swings at his hands and Hatherly falls into the garden.

He runs to safety, but becomes dizzy.  He then notices his finger bleeding.[6]

He came to with the sun rising.

There was no house or garden in the near distance.  Hatherly was near the road / train station.[7]

If not for the wound he would have thought it all a dream.

The same porter from the night was there.  Denied knowing a Col. Lysander Stark, nor seeing a carriage that carried him away.

Hatherly arrived back in London at 6, where he had his wound dressed and was brought to Holmes.

With the story over, Holmes goes to his book of clippings.

An article is shown of a missing man.  Jeremiah Hayling.  Hydraulic engineer.  About 1 year ago he went missing.

Holmes suspects that was the last time the machine was checked.

From the woman's comment Holmes suspects he was killed to keep silent.

They go to Scotland Yard, then to the Berkshire village.

Holmes, the hydraulic engineer, Inspector Bradstreet, a plain clothes man and Watson make the journey.

Bradstreet draws a 10 mi circumference around Eyford.

Hatherly believes he was driven back, but admits to being confused.

Watson asks why was Hatherly spared.  Perhaps the woman's pleas worked?  Hatherly doubts that.

Holmes knows where the location is.  The inspector challenges the rest.

The inspector believes it is in the south, it is deserted.

Hatherly east.

Plain clothes man the west, it is quiet.

Hatherly.  North.  No mountains.

Sherlock says they are all wrong.

He mentions Hatherly saying the horse was fresh / glossy.  After 12 miles?

Holmes says they are coiners.  The machine is for forming the amalgam instead of silver.

Upon arriving they see smoke.  House on fire.  The station master says it started last night.  A Dr. Becher's house.

They ask if Dr. Becher fits Stark's appearance.  No...  But his patient does.

Holmes says no doubt Hatherly's oil lamp crushed by the hydraulic press is the cause.

Hatherly was not chased cause they were more concerned with the fire.

Holmes found they had run from the place.  A cart and people were seen leaving.

The place was totally burnt, along with the machine.  Tin / nickel discovered.  No coins.

They saw where Hatherly was left, footprints.  Most likely the less murderous Englishman and the German woman.

Hatherly says he lost his thumb, his 50 guineas.  What has he gained?

Holmes, experience.

Random Comments:

1.  OMG...  I freaking wanted to write Hastings / Poirot in that!

2.  Hehe!  Why am I excited he's a doctor?  It's like I've never read a Sherlock Holmes story before!

3.  Hm...  Is he a GP?  Or does he specialize?

4.  God!  I keep wanting to write Poirot!

5.  Hm...  What is his medical training?  He is an MD, right?  According to wiki he's a military surgeon.  Sorry...   Surgeon isn't as hot, unless it's an MD surgeon.

6.  Adrenaline!?!  Seriously!  Conan Doyle is a doctor!

7.  OK, he was either driven without knowing or they drove in circles the whole time.

Ending comments:  It's been a while since I've read a Sherlock Holmes mystery.  Although this one had very little of Holmes, in the sense of him investigating, I did enjoy it / am excited to read more.  Lol...  Like I said it's been a while, but I was totally getting giddy off of Watson being a doctor.  But then was somewhat disappointed.  I can't seem to find confirmation that he's an MD.  Oh, but I thought it was pretty obvious about how he ended up back at the train station.  Other than that I was pretty clueless.

Will update as I continue to read.
Last updated:  When posted.