44 pages • 1 hour read
Arthur Conan DoyleThe Sign of the Four
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1890A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary: “The Story of the Bald-headed Man”
The house is cold and shabby, except for a single room filled with Indian treasures where their mysterious host awaits them. Their host is a “small man with a very high head, a bristle of red hair all around the fringe of it, and a bald, shining scalp” (25). He is nervous and fidgety and introduces himself as Thaddeus Sholto, one of Major Sholto’s two sons.
He explains that when his father retired from the British Army in India, he returned to England with an enormous fortune. Thaddeus did not at first realize that his father knew what had happened to Morstan, though he knew they were friends. However, he suspected his father had some secret because he was paranoid and afraid to go out in public without guards. At one point, Sholto was so afraid that he shot his pistol at a man with a wooden leg who turned out to be a harmless tradesman.
Six years ago, Sholto received a letter that terrified him, though he would not explain why. His health was already poor, and the letter triggered his rapid decline. On his deathbed, Sholto told Thaddeus and his twin brother, Bartholomew, that he had a box of Indian treasures hidden in the house he called the “Agra treasure.” He revealed one piece covered in pearls as proof. He explained that he had been supposed to split the treasure with Morstan but they argued about the fair division, during which Morstan had a heart attack, struck his head, and died.
Fearing that he would be accused of murder, Sholto had his Indian servant dispose of the body and lied to Mary when she questioned him. Now that he is dying, he wishes to make amends by sending the pearls to Mary. He asks his sons to do so after he dies. He also intends to tell his sons where the rest of the treasure is hidden, but before he can, he sees a bearded face in his window, screams, and dies. The brothers try to catch the intruder but fail. When they return, they find their father’s office torn apart. A note that reads “the sign of the four” has been left behind (44).
The brothers argue about the Agra treasure. Bartholomew wants to keep it all, while Thaddeus wants to send Mary her share. Thaddeus finally leaves the family home, taking the pearls to send to Mary. Meanwhile, Bartholomew spends the next six years tearing apart the family house in search of the treasure. Bartholomew has now found the treasure and allowed Thaddeus to examine it. Thaddeus believes the Agra treasure to be worth “not less than half a million sterling” and wishes Mary to join him in confronting Bartholomew to demand their fair share (36). Watson realizes that even a portion of the treasure would “change [Mary] from a needy governess to the richest heiress in England” (36), placing her firmly out of his class and romantic aspirations.
Chapter 5 Summary: “The Tragedy of Pondicherry Lodge”
Sherlock, Watson, Mary, and Thaddeus arrives at the Sholto family home and are greeted by a servant who refuses to let them enter. Holmes reveals that he knows the servant and reminds him that they once boxed in an amateur championship, which Holmes won. The servant recognizes him and immediately allows them to enter, praising Holmes’s skill as a boxer.
Once in the house, they look for Bartholomew but cannot find him. Then they hear the housekeeper scream. Thaddeus runs to find out what has happened, while Watson, Mary, and Holmes wait in the hall. Watson and Mary hold hands, and Watson marvels that they should seek comfort from each other in a moment of fear despite having known each other less than a day. Thaddeus returns, saying something is wrong with his brother.
They run to Bartholomew’s study, where they are forced to break down the door that is locked from the inside. They find the room set up like a chemistry laboratory and Bartholomew dead and oddly contorted with “a horrible smile, a fixed and unnatural grin” on his face (43). There is a hole in the ceiling; Thaddeus explains Bartholomew had found the long-hidden Agra treasure there. However, the treasure is now gone. Holmes examines the body and finds a small thorn stuck in Bartholomew’s neck, which he believes to be tipped with poison. Thaddeus is in a panic, fearing the police will accuse him of the murder. Holmes insists that he has nothing to fear and sends him to fetch the police himself while they wait in the study for his return.
Chapter 6 Summary: “Sherlock Holmes Gives a Demonstration”
Now left alone in the room, Holmes begins his examination. He studies the windows, doors, and floor, looking for clues. He finds muddy prints near the windowsill, a combination of boot prints and a strange round mark, which he quickly concludes are from a wooden peg leg. Both he and Watson recall Thaddeus’s story of shooting at a man with a wooden leg.
Holmes continues his investigation and concludes that the man with the wooden leg had an accomplice who opened the window for him, though he will not explain his reasoning to Watson. He demands instead that Watson “apply the precepts” that Holmes has taught him (49), adding: “[W]hen you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth” (49). Finally, Watson realizes this accomplice must have come through the hole in the ceiling.
Together, they climb up into the hole to investigate further. There they find footprints in the dust that shock them both. The footprints are perfectly formed bare human feet, but they are far too small for a man. Watson gasps that a child must have done it, but Holmes disagrees, though he will not say why. As Holmes continues his search, Watson reflects: “I could not but think what a terrible criminal he would have made had he turned his energy and sagacity against the law instead of exerting them in its defence” (51). Holmes then finds more footprints, where the accomplice stepped into creosote (a chemical with a strong odor). Holmes knows he will be able to track the accomplice with a dog.
Lastly, they examine Bartholomew’s body again to determine what kind of poison was used to kill him. Here, Watson’s expertise as a doctor is useful. They also realize the poisoned thorn is not from a British plant, but something foreign. As they complete their examination, Thaddeus returns with Mr. Athelney Jones of the police, whom Holmes has assisted before and does not respect. Jones, likewise, does not approve of Holmes’s methods. After a cursory investigation, Jones concludes that Thaddeus must have killed his brother.
Holmes promises to prove Thaddeus’s innocence. He adds that the killer is a man with a wooden leg, named Jonathan Small, who was assisted by a strange accomplice. He asks Watson to take Mary—who has remained in the house comforting the housekeeper—home, and then to visit a colleague to borrow a tracking dog named Toby.
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
As with Mary’s story in Chapter 2, many of the facts of the case are established through dialogue when Thaddeus tells the story of his father and the confessions he made on his deathbed. This story confirms several suppositions Holmes made in the previous chapter, including the fact that Sholto was the source of the “wrong” dealt to Mary, and that Thaddeus was attempting to right that wrong with the pearls. Thaddeus’s account of his father also establishes a few more clues, such as the man with the wooden leg.
Additionally, the initial case of Morstan’s disappearance now expands to the murder of Bartholomew and the theft of the Agra treasure, making Holmes’s task far more complex. Holmes admits that these new developments have forced him to reconsider some assumptions he had previously made, again showing that he is not infallible. However, this admission of fallibility arguably makes his subsequent demonstration of deductive reasoning all the more impressive. Though Holmes gave a brief demonstration in the first chapter, when examining Watson’s watch, it is Chapter 6, aptly titled “Sherlock Holmes Gives a Demonstration,” that reveals the depth of Holmes’s observational skills and logic.
Watson watches with admiration and anticipation as Holmes examines the murder scene, leaping from conclusion to conclusion with little explanation. Watson’s admiration is, in fact, one of the major characteristics of every Holmes adventure; Watson’s wish to share Holmes’s genius with the world is his primary motivation for writing these accounts. During this investigation, which Watson recounts in meticulous detail, Holmes makes another one of his most iconic statements, the aphorism that “when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth” (49). This phrase is included in every single Holmes adaptation and is even quoted in other pieces of fiction from detective novels to Star Trek.
Chapter 6 also reveals Holmes’s often-contentious relationship with the police. Holmes consults with the police on cases that they cannot solve themselves, as well as working for private clients. Though Holmes proves useful in such cases, some police do not appreciate his methods. This is true of Athelney Jones, the police detective who arrives with Thaddeus to investigate Bartholomew’s murder. It is abundantly clear from his first appearance that Jones has worked with Holmes before and did not enjoy the experience. He diminishes Holmes’s contributions by calling them more “good luck than good guidance” (53). Holmes, in return, openly disputes Jones’s conclusion that Thaddeus is the murderer. The antagonism between the two continues through much of the novel, a common part of the formula for a Holmes story.
Chapters 4-6 further elaborate on the theme of British Imperialism and Its Impact in India. Just as the facts of Morstan’s life hinted at involvement with British colonization in India and surrounding areas, so too does Sholto’s story: Morstan and Sholto met and became friends while working together as prison wardens on the Andaman Islands. Additionally, the vast wealth Sholto brought home—both the visible wealth in his house and the hidden Agra treasure—were acquired in India.
The Agra treasure, and the various reactions to it among the Sholtos, reveal another important theme, The Consequences of Wealth and Greed. Sholto’s greed, despite his already immense wealth, leads to both Morstan’s death and his own. Bartholomew, according to Thaddeus, is afflicted with a similar attitude. In contrast, Thaddeus says he has more than enough wealth already and is more than happy to share the treasure with Mary. Meanwhile, Mary does not display any particular interest in the hypothetical wealth she would gain from the treasure. Mary and Thaddeus are foils to Bartholomew, Morstan, and Sholto. While the later are driven by greed, the former are driven by a desire for justice—Thaddeus for Mary, and Mary for her father.
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By Arthur Conan Doyle
