I
received an urgent summons from my friend, the famed consulting detective, Mr.
Sherlock Holmes, and immediately hurried to his flat at 211B Baker Street.
Holmes had been seated for some hours in silence with his long, thin back curved
over a chemical vessel in which he was brewing a particularly malodorous
product. His head was sunk upon his breast, and he looked from my point of view
like a strange, lank bird, with dull gray plumage and a black top-knot. "Watson,
come in. We have work to do and little time. The game is afoot!" As I entered
Holmes' study I noted some papers carelessly scattered about the room. Holmes
picked up one of the pages and scrutinized it with a magnifying glass while
comparing it to another scribbling. "It's him, Watson." My jaw dropped, "Moriarity?
Alive? Impossible! "On the contrary, quite probable." Holmes handed me one of
the drawings, "And the Napoleon of Crime has already been busy spinning new webs
of intrigue." "But what are these children's drawings, Holmes? And what do they
have to do with Moriarity?" Holmes put down his glass and strode over to the
fireplace, digging into the Persian slipper affixed to the mantle for more
tobacco for his pipe, "Watson, how soon you forget. We have encountered this
code before. "I thought these figures looked familiar! But where are these
from? Norfolk, again?" "No. Mrs. Hudson brought them to my attention this
morning. They had been scrawled on the front door on Baker Street - an obvious
invitation." Before the poor woman erased them, I was able to copy them down."
"These characters
appeared along the top of the door, under the lentil."
Holmes then produced
a second page, "These figures were by the doorknob."
I searched the pages
but could not discern any message from the welter of stick figures. "Don't
bother yourself Watson, I have already divined the message." "Well, what does it
mean?" A small smile curled across Holmes' lips, "Numbers, mostly." "I fear it
is too deep a case for such simple remedies," said Watson. "Indeed, Doctor, but
we have no reason yet to suspect foul play. The gauntlet has been thrown down
and the challenge must be met. Once we locate Moriarity's stash, all your
questions will be answered."
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