The Adventure of the Tired Captain A Sherlock Holmes Case Read Online Free PDF

help yourself to a whisky and soda and take your old chair by the fire.
    “I trust the roast beef at Simpson’s was up to the usual excellent standards?” he asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
    I had become accustomed to my friend’s astonishing displays of deduction but as always I was at a loss to follow his reasoning. Over the years we had turned this little ritual into a game.
    “How can you know we dined at Simpson’s?” I asked him. “I have bathed and shaved and have put on a freshly brushed suit this morning. There are none of the customary clues which you delight in. However I am sure that once you explain it to me it will be simplicity itself.”
    He laughed. “It is for that very reason I have never accepted your invitation to witness Maskelyne’s feats of magic at the Egyptian Theatre with you and your lovely wife. Like Maskelyne’s wizardry, my little deductions always seem simple once they are explained. “However there is no magic involved this time, Watson,” he said. “Last night while you were out I visited your home. It was your maidservant who told me of your dining arrangements. She also informed me that your wife has become concerned recently about a certain individual who appears to be watching your house.”
    I quietly reminded myself to rebuke Mary Jane for spreading gossip about her employers to strangers, even if that stranger was Holmes. A few years earlier my wife had threatened to let her go but she had undergone a change of heart. I was thinking now that we must re-evaluate the situation.
    “And what do you make of it, Holmes?”
    “I make nothing of it, Watson. I have made a few preliminary inquiries this morning but as of yet nothing has come of them.”
    “What sort of inquiries?”
    “I am slightly acquainted with the constable who was charged with the responsibility of keeping watch over your family. He could add nothing to what your servant had already told me. Our London “bobbies” are unequaled when it comes to bravery and dogged determination but they are not particularly skilled or trained observers.
    “I also spent the better part of last evening watching your house myself. I could........”
    “Wait a moment, Holmes,” I interjected “Upon our return from Simpson’s last night I too spent some time watching the street from our upstairs window. I did not see you.”
    “I should hope not ; as I was directly below your window, nestled behind your shrubbery you would not have seen me had I been an Indian elephant,” he said, invoking his rare streak of impish humor.
    “As I was going to say, I could see nothing out of the ordinary in the time I was there save for your maid meeting a gentleman caller by your back garden gate.”
    “So what do you advise, Holmes?”
    “My advice to you Watson is to keep her. Good maids are hard to find these days.”
    “I was not speaking of the maid and you know it,” I said with a hint of exasperation. “You seem to be deliberately obtuse today.”
    “I am quite serious , Watson. Of course it is not her place to gossip however if she had not informed me of the recent events I would be no better off than you. As for her nocturnal tryst perhaps it was responsible for frightening off your mysterious sentry.”
    “Perhaps you are right there Holmes, but she does sometimes get above her station.”
    “Ha! A fine example of Social Darwinism, Doctor. If there is one thing that I hope you have taken away from this partnership of ours Watson, is the fact that all people are much the same whether that person is high born or commoner. As for your more pressing problem my advice to you is to be vigilant and make sure Mrs. Watson does not venture out alone. It would be prudent but probably impractical for her to remain inside until this matter is cleared up.”
    Here we let the matter drop. I spent another hour or so catching up on any new cases my friend might be involved with, before I took my leave of Baker