Drama
THE M YS T ERY OF
the
STOlEn jEW A SHERLOCK HOLMES ADVENTURE
BASED ON “THE ADVENTURE OF THE BLUE CARBUNCLE” BY SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
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C
a time LASSIC les enduri s story with ng app eal
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ILLUSTRATION BY GARY HANNA
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CHARACTERS Circle the character you will play.
Catherine Cusack: the Countess’s maid
*Starred characters have major speaking parts.
John Horner: a plumber
*Stage Director 1 & 2 (SD1, SD2) *Sherlock Holmes: a great detective *Dr. Watson: Holmes’s friend
Henry Baker: a man down on his luck Mr. Windigate: owner of a pub and a seller of geese James Ryder: hotel employee
Officer Turner
Tom, Percy, Jack: boys who help Holmes
Mr. Peterson: witness to a crime
Margaret Oakshott: James Ryder’s sister
The Countess of Morcar
AS YOU READ, THINK ABOUT:
What kind of person is Sherlock Holmes?
scEne 1
Holmes: Leave the hat with me. Peterson: And the goose? Holmes: Take it home, Peterson. Your family might as well enjoy it before it spoils.
221B BAKER STREET, DECEMBER 22, 1889
SD2: Peterson and Turner leave.
SD1: Books and papers are scattered around a living
SD1: Holmes studies the hat.
room. A fire crackles in the fireplace.
Holmes: Clearly, the owner of this hat was once well-
SD2: Dr. Watson answers a knock on the door.
to-do but has fallen on hard times. He is an older man
Holmes (offstage): Who is it, Watson? Watson (yelling): Officer Turner and Mr. Peterson! Holmes (offstage): Come to wish us a happy Christmas? Turner (yelling): Actually, we— SD1: Sherlock Holmes walks in. Turner (in a normal voice): Actually, we could use your help. Peterson: I saw a gang of ruffians attack someone last night. As I ran over to help, the scoundrels ran off—and so did the unfortunate victim. He left this hat behind. SD2: Peterson holds up a tattered hat. Turner: And a goose. Watson: A goose? SD1: Turner holds up a dead goose. Turner: It has a black stripe on reads “For Mrs. Henry Baker.” Watson: There must be hundreds of Henry Bakers in London. Turner: Precisely our problem. Mr. Holmes, it is a minor mystery, but I would like you to find the owner of these items. We want to make sure he was not harmed.
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HUNTING CRIMINALS In late 19th-century London, a police officer usually solved crimes by rounding up people who had committed crimes in the past and trying to get them to confess. Sherlock Holmes used methods that would have seemed strange at the time. He studied crime scenes like a scientist—taking measurements, observing smells, and looking for the tiniest of clues. His approach was years ahead of his time.
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its tail and a tag on its leg that
PRISONS MOST FOUL Prisons were
designed to be nightmarish, in hopes of preventing inmates from committing any more crimes after they were released. Inmates lived in damp, dark, and dirty cells and ate the same gross food every week. Wealthier prisoners could buy privileges—such as better food, pets, visitors, and books to read—but for the rest, life was a misery.
Peterson: It was lost at the Hotel Cosmopolitan just five days ago. Watson: As I recall, the police caught the culprit. Holmes: Watson, it seems our little mystery has suddenly become much more important.
scEne 3
FIVE DAYS EARLIER, THE HOTEL COSMOPOLITAN SD1: In an exquisite hotel room, a
finely dressed woman paces as her maid looks on. Countess: Oh, Catherine, you cannot imagine what that carbuncle means to me. Cusack: That plumber must have stolen it. SD2: Officer Turner walks in with a man in handcuffs. Turner: Miss Cusack, is this the plumber who was here earlier? Cusack: Yes, Officer. That is John Horner.
SHUTTERSTOCK (BACKGROUND); DAVID E. SCHERMAN/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES (ARREST); DAILY MIRROR/MIRRORPIX/CORBIS (PRISON); RICHARD LEENEY/DORLING KINDERSLEY/SCIENCE SOURCE (CARBUNCLE)
Turner: And were you here at the time of the theft? who is not in the best of shape. And he has clearly just
Cusack: No. The Countess and I went out after he
had a haircut.
arrived. When we returned, he was gone—and so was
Watson: All that from one hat?
the stone.
Holmes: Of course. It is an expensive hat, but old and
Horner: But I was only checkin’ them pipes—and there
worn-out. So this fellow has surely gone down in the
warn’t nothin’ wrong wiv ’em neither.
world since purchasing it. The traces of sweat inside
Countess (hysterical): What have you done with my
indicate he perspires a lot, so he must be out of shape. And these bits of gray hair—from a recent haircut—tell us that he is a gentleman
A carbuncle is a jewel cut into this shape.
precious blue carbuncle? Turner: Countess, please! Now, Mr. Horner, you’re no stranger to crime, are you?
of some age.
Horner: I was arrested many years ago, but
Watson: You do have an answer to everything.
I was only a kid. Now I ’ave a job and a wife
scEne 2
221B BAKER STREET, THE NEXT DAY
and a daugh’er—and I takes right good care of ’em too! Turner: Once a thief, always a thief.
SD2: There is an urgent knocking on the door.
Horner: I am innocent! Innocent!
SD1: Holmes opens it to find Peterson, his eyes wide
SD1: Turner drags Horner away.
and his cheeks flushed.
Countess (sobbing): Oh, my poor carbuncle!
Peterson: The goose, Mr. Holmes! See what my wife has found in its gut! SD2: He holds out a brilliant blue gemstone.
scEne 4
221B BAKER STREET, THE PRESENT
Holmes: By Jove! That’s the Countess of Morcar’s blue
Holmes: Mr. Baker should be here soon. I placed
carbuncle!
lost-and-found ads in all the papers. SCOPE.SCHOLASTIC.COM • DECEMBER 2015/JANUARY 2016
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A changing time The time of
Sherlock Holmes was one of great scientific advancement—of fast trains, electric lights, and exploration into the far reaches of the world. London was booming, and thousands flocked to the city, hoping to make their fortunes.
SD2: There is a timid knock. Holmes (opening the door): Mr. Henry Baker? Come in! Watson (to Holmes): Why, he is exactly as you predicted. Holmes: Of course, Watson. Mr. Baker, is this your hat? Baker: Yes, sir. I know it well, as I have not been able to purchase a Holmes: I am glad to return it to you. By the way, we ate
Ryder: Please. It is important. Who bought the goose
the goose.
with the black stripe?
Baker: Oh my!
Windigate: How d’you reckon I’d remember that? A
Watson: It would have spoiled.
goose is a goose is a goose!
Holmes: I presume that this fresh goose I’ve bought you
SD2: Wringing his hands, the man leaves. Holmes and
will make an acceptable replacement?
Watson quietly follow.
Baker: Oh, certainly. How very kind of you, sir!
SD1: Outside, Holmes spots a few local boys.
Holmes: Mr. Baker, would you mind telling me where
Holmes: Boys, there’s a shilling apiece for you if you
you got that delicious goose?
find out where that man goes.
Baker: I bought it from Mr. Windigate, at the Alpha Inn.
Tom: A shilling apiece!
Well, I’ll be off. Thank you, sir. You are a good man.
Percy: How’s about two shillings?
SD1: Baker bows and leaves.
Holmes: Fine. Only, do not let him see you following.
Holmes: He clearly knows nothing of the carbuncle.
Jack: We’ll be invisible.
scEne 6
scEne 5
THE ALPHA INN, LATER THAT DAY
BAKER STREET, THAT EVENING
SD2: Holmes and Watson enter a pub and approach
SD2: Tom, Percy, and Jack arrive at Baker Street.
the owner.
Holmes: So, what did you find out?
Watson: Mr. Windigate, I wonder if you would tell us
Tom: His name is James Ryder, sir.
where you get your fine geese.
Percy: We followed ’im to Brixton Road.
Windigate: From Mrs. Oakshott o’er on Brixton Road.
Jack: To Mrs. Oakshott’s house . . .
Hand-fed, they is. Best geese in London.
SD1: Flashback: The stage lights dim over the boys and
SD1: Another man walks in.
a house with a large yard appears in the middle of the
Ryder: You Windigate?
stage. A woman hums as she tosses grain to her geese.
Windigate: Last I checked.
Oakshott: Hmm hmm hmm . . .
Ryder: Did you sell a goose with a black stripe on
SD2: A man taps her on the shoulder. She whirls
its tail?
around.
Windigate: Why is everyone asking about me geese?
Oakshott: Ack! You scared me half to death! What are
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SHUTTERSTOCK (BACKGROUND); GRANGER, NYC/THE GRANGER COLLECTION (LONDON)
new one for years.
A challenging time Overcrowding and contaminated water spread diseases like influenza and typhoid. Pollution from the many coal-spewing chimneys blanketed London in a choking fog. Often, an entire family shared one room in an apartment (and families at that time tended to be large, with five to six children). This photograph of a London slum was taken in 1890. Holmes: It is my business to know what others do not. And I know that you are an employee of the Hotel Cosmopolitan, and you have been searching for a goose. Ryder: But how . . . ? Do you know what happened to my goose? you doing here again?
Holmes: It came to me. And a most remarkable bird it
Ryder: Windigate knows nothing about that goose!
proved to be.
Oakshott: What do you expect me to do about it? I still
SD1: Ryder turns pale.
haven’t the faintest idea what all this fuss is about
Holmes: Come. Someone is expecting us.
anyway.
SD2: Ryder groans but follows Holmes and Watson to
Ryder: I told you, I took the wrong goose for . . . for my
the Countess of Morcar’s room.
Christmas dinner. I . . . Oh, Maggie, I have made a
Countess: Mr. Holmes, have you found my carbuncle?
dreadful mistake.
SD1: Holmes removes the blue jewel from his pocket.
Oakshott: My poor brother. I see you are upset. But why? One goose is as good as the next, is it not? SD1: Ryder drops his face into his hands as
GENERAL PHOTOGRAPHIC AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES (APARTMENTS); URBANO DELVALLE/THE LIFE IMAGES COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES (HARRY POTTER)
the stage lights fade. The flashback ends. The
Sherlock Holmes stories were extremely popular— they were the Harry Potter stories of their day.
Countess: Oh, thank goodness! But who is this man? Holmes: This is James Ryder. He stole your carbuncle. Countess: I thought the plumber was the thief.
lights come back up on Baker Street.
Holmes: Mr. Horner is an innocent man and
Tom: We can’t figure why anyone’d be sad
will be set free. Isn’t that true, Ryder?
o’er a goose.
Ryder: Oh, have mercy! I never went wrong
Percy: I wouldn’t get upset ’bout a goose.
before. It’s just that when she told me about
Jack: Me neither. ’Specially if I was eatin’ it.
the carbuncle—
Holmes: Well done, boys. Well done.
Watson: When who told you about the carbuncle?
SD2: Holmes gives them their shillings.
SD2: Ryder points a shaking finger at Catherine Cusack,
scEne 7
who is polishing silver across the room. Ryder: Her—Catherine Cusack.
THE HOTEL COSMOPOLITAN, THE NEXT DAY
Countess (gasping): Catherine, can this be true?
SD1: Holmes and Watson wait outside a back door at the
SD1: Catherine looks stricken but says nothing.
Hotel Cosmopolitan.
Countess: Please, someone, tell me what is going on!
SD2: Ryder approaches and Holmes steps forward.
Holmes: Allow me to enlighten you. Remember the
Holmes: Ah, Mr. Ryder.
plumber, Mr. Horner, said the pipes in this room
Ryder (nervously): How do you know my name?
were fine. And they were. Ryder and his SCOPE.SCHOLASTIC.COM • DECEMBER 2015/JANUARY 2016
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called Mr. Horner here because they knew the police
Ryder (weeping): Yes. I took
THE POOR Many children, like Tom, Percy, and Jack in this play, had to work hard to support themselves and their families.
the wrong one. Now I am a branded thief—without
would suspect a man with a
having touched the wealth
criminal past.
for which I sold my character.
Countess: How dreadful!
Holmes: Ryder, you have
Holmes: After Mr. Horner left,
broken the law and framed
Mr. Ryder came to lock up the
an innocent man. You
room. He stole the jewel then.
deserve to be punished—as
It was easy, as your maid had
do you, Miss Cusack. But
told him just where to find it.
perhaps your guilt is
Have I got it right so far, Miss
punishment enough. After
Cusack?
all, the Countess has her
Cusack (quietly): Forgive me,
jewel and Mr. Horner will be
Countess.
set free.
Watson: But how did it end up
Ryder: Oh, please, sir! I will
in a goose?
never do wrong again.
Holmes: Ryder wanted to hide
Cusack: Nor will I ever let
it, so he fed it to one of his
greed get the better of me
sister’s geese. Unfortunately, his sister sold the goose to Mr. Windigate. Watson: I say! The pieces are
again.
THE RICH In London, the rich and poor lived
Countess: Well, it is the
in different worlds. Life for wealthy Londoners was grand. Their clothing was ornate. Their homes were spacious. Servants did the cleaning, washing, and cooking. Children were often cared for by nannies.
season of forgiveness. Holmes: Very well. Be gone!
falling into place.
Ryder: Oh bless you! Bless
SD2: Ryder balls his hands
you both!
into fists and pounds the sides
Holmes: No more words.
of his own skull.
Leave!
Ryder: It is all true! I stuffed
SD1: Ryder and Cusack scurry
the gem down the throat of a
out the door.
white goose with a black stripe
Holmes: I suppose that by
on its tail—so I could
letting them go I have broken
recognize it. Then I told my
the law—but it is just
sister which goose I wanted
possible that I saved their
for my Christmas dinner—she
souls. Send them to jail now
had promised me my pick—
and make them jailbirds for
and left with it. But when I cut the goose open, there
life, I daresay. And now, Watson, let’s be off. I feel it is
was no gem. I hadn’t realized—
time to investigate a new bird.
Holmes: —that your sister had two geese with a black
Watson: Indeed. I am starving, and a goose dinner
stripe on their tails.
sounds delightful.
•
WRITING CONTEST Did Sherlock Holmes do the right thing in letting James Ryder and Catherine Cusack go free? Support your argument with details from the text. Send your essay to HOLMES CONTEST. Five winners will each get Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud.
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GET THIS ACTIVITY ONLINE
SHUTTERSTOCK (BACKGROUND); THE FRANCIS FRITH COLLECTION/CORBIS (POOR); LONDON STEREOSCOPIC COMPANY/GETTY IMAGES (RICH)
accomplice, Miss Cusack,
ARTICLE
How Fast Food Helped Catch a Jewel Thief
It was the saliva!
BY MELANIE ABRAHAMS
on TV is stuff that our forensics team really can do.” Modern forensics took hold in the late 1800s, when fingerprinting became a common part of crime-scene investigations. Perhaps the biggest breakthrough in recent history came in the 1980s, when investigators started collecting DNA evidence. DNA is made up of molecules found inside every cell in our bodies. In the same way that everyone’s fingerprints are unique, everyone’s DNA is unique. DNA can be found in even the tiniest bits of dead skin, hair, or nails, as well as in bodily fluids like sweat and saliva. Saliva . . . like you’d find on a spoon.
Crime Scene Connections
A TRUE CRIME STORY
O
In a trash bin not far from Diamonds R Forever, police found a box containing some of the less valuable items the thieves had n the morning of January 14, 2010, Osniel
stolen. Also in that box? A spoon that Labrada-
Labrada-Guillen and several companions
Guillen had used to eat a Frosty from Wendy’s. Police
climbed onto the roof of Diamonds R
had the spoon analyzed, and it offered up a clear DNA
Forever, a jewelry store in Kennesaw,
sample. Because Labrada-Guillen did not have a
Georgia. The men cut holes in the roof and dropped
criminal record, however, his DNA was not part of the
inside. They quickly turned off the security
national criminal database. So the police remained
system and then left—keeping watch from a
clueless as to who had committed the crime.
distance. When the police did not show up, the
Two years later, DNA taken from a ski mask used in a
men reentered the store, drilled holes into the
robbery in Indiana matched the DNA from the spoon.
safe, and took off with about $1.6 million in
Then in September 2014, the Georgia Bureau of
gemstones and jewelry. It could have been the perfect crime. But it wasn’t—thanks to forensic science . . . and a fast-food milkshake.
Investigation was notified that a man named Osniel Labrada-Guillen had been arrested in Florida, and that his DNA matched the DNA on file from the Wendy’s spoon and the ski mask. It also matched DNA found at crime scenes in Texas,
Sweat and Saliva
Illinois, and Florida.
Forensic science is the use of scientific methods to
CREDITS TK
investigate crimes. If you’ve ever watched a crime
Finally, the Kennesaw police had their man. “We’re just glad the detective working the case
drama, you’ve probably seen forensic science in action.
back in 2010 was smart enough to
Detectives on these shows are always finding a single
pull that spoon out from the
strand of hair or a tiny drop of blood that leads straight
garbage,” says Geary.
to the bad guys. But forensic science isn’t just on TV.
“Without that kind of critical,
“It’s a real and exciting field,” says Don Geary, the
on-the-spot thinking, this
assistant district attorney who handled the case of
case would have never been
Diamonds R Forever. “Most of the capabilities you see
solved.”
•
How do Sherlock Holmes’s methods compare with the methods used in this case?
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