cover of episode The Sign of Four - Part Five

The Sign of Four - Part Five

2024/11/5
logo of podcast Sherlock & Co.

Sherlock & Co.

Key Insights

Why did Sherlock Holmes decide to wade through a pit of snakes to find the hidden door?

Sherlock deduced that the cobwebs indicated the door was untouched, and the snakes, being pythons, were harmless compared to the vipers. He felt for a latch in the floor, identifying a trap door.

What was the significance of the bodies found in the temple?

The bodies were likely protectors of the Surakula stone who were massacred. The writing on the wall indicated they tried to write the Sign of Four, linking them to the threat Mary Morstan faced.

How did the Sign of Four connect to Mary Morstan's past?

Mary was held hostage in Afghanistan by soldiers who mentioned Abdullah Khan. Her father's stories also featured a villain named Dost, both of whom are part of the Sign of Four, suggesting they are hunting her.

What evidence did they find that the Surakula stone had been taken?

They found a plinth where the stone should have been, with dust collected in the basin, indicating the stone had been taken some time ago.

What was the next step for Sherlock and Watson after leaving the temple?

They decided to return to London to help a missing child, likely Tonga Bajwa, as Sherlock suspected his case was connected to their adventure.

Chapters

Sherlock and his team embark on a journey to Pondicherry to track down the temple of The Surakula and understand its connection to Tonga Bajwa in London.
  • The team is following the trail of The Sign of Four.
  • They aim to understand the connection between the temple and Tonga Bajwa.
  • Jonathan Small's past and injuries are discussed, highlighting the brutality of their adversaries.

Shownotes Transcript

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For just £6 a month, binge ad-free adventures in full and have access to so much more over at patreon.com forward slash Sherlock & Co. Previously on Sherlock & Co. Hello, mate. Three of... Four of us, sorry. And this luggage to the White Eagle Hotel. Nobody move! Nobody move! We're not moving. Put your hands on your head. Face down.

Agent Athelney Jones. In the early 2000s this gang appears on the scene. They start breaking into diamond stores, vaults.

Collections. Then it gets more brutal. They start kidnapping dealers and collectors, beating them up for information. They interrogate scholars and experts for everything they know. Jonathan Small, he's a friend of ours, an expert in the field. His leg was amputated after a beating. It spills out from the industry to smaller communities, oldie world type places, where the stories were the most coherent and consistent.

Everything pointed to Pondicherry. That's the last photo ever taken of Captain Arthur Morstan alive. Who's that he's at the table with? Sholto. I'm going to go on a date with my father's murderer. Sholto is pretty much surrounded if he tries anything. Mary, how are you? He has one of your diamonds. I sent everything to you. Do you have it? Thank you. Mary, look at me. Do you have it or not?

Have what? Oh no. No no no no no no. Wait, you did this! You have to try and vomit! Someone call an ambulance! The sign of... Give it up, you murderer! And you see how it reflects on the enormous man-made pool that surrounds it. Yeah. Wait, the man-made what? The man-made pool! Oh!

Okay, out you come. There you go. I think he may have got away from us. Yeah, yeah, I think you might be right. Bugger. It's nice to watch the world go by, I suppose. Yeah, I guess so. How far away is he? He says he's looking for us right now. Oh, okay.

Hey, morning. Morning. Morning, Mariana. Uh, hi. Hello. Ease deep in thought. Ah, I'm not surprised. Are you okay, Mary? How are you doing after last night? Uh, yeah, I'll be okay. Honestly, don't worry about me. I just feel sorry for Sholto. I guess. Never thought I'd say that.

Speaking of feeling sorry for Mary, Jonathan is coming up. Oh, that's so sweet. I know. Oh, there he is. Hey, Jonathan. Ah, I was halfway to another cafe. Goodness me. Ah, Mary. Hi. I'm sorry. It's okay. How are we doing? I, um, I feel...

Don't know. I feel responsible somehow. Don't be ridiculous. I misguided you. I gave all this talk about the Shadow and his nasty motives and... I'm sorry. Goodness, before I bore my eyes out over all of you, how are we? How are we doing? We're okay, thank you, mate. Sherlock and I ended up taking a bit of a dive last night. A dive? Yeah.

Yeah, we fell into the, erm, the Golden Temple pool. Oh, goodness, no. Yeah, yeah, but nearly caught the guy, didn't we, Sheryls? You seem unsure, Sherlock. Watson is right. We did nearly catch the guy. But as we know, we're dealing with a group, the sign of four. Yeah. Sorry, Jonathan, I know what you've been through, and if we'd known... Don't you dare...

I'm made of sterner stuff. The second I heard something was wrong out there, I tell you, I haven't moved that fast in a while. And still, it's not like I need any excuse to come back to this place. Truly the soul of the earth. Wouldn't you agree? Oh, it's amazing, yeah. I was kind of hoping to have a bit of crack at the local cuisine there. And also wish I hadn't watched an old man die. Of course, yes, but you will see it.

I don't want to be boring, but... what do you want to do?

We have work piling up at home. I feel this city cannot offer us much more. Well, Jonathan and I were going to head back tomorrow if you want to rearrange your flights. Uh, yeah, we could do that, sure. You've only just got here. Ah, don't you worry. My fourth trip this year. And I plan another, believe me. Plus, I'm here for Mary. Of course, yeah, yeah. But we've got our back, haven't we? Hey, nobody needs my back. Sholto needed help, not me. True.

True. Speaking of, where is our Interpol agent? That is a good question. Interpol? Yeah, we had Agent Jones from Interpol fill us in on Shoto. Yeah, he's been tracking him for some time. This has stepped up a gear or two, hasn't it? It's definitely getting a bit dicey. So...

We think the signer forekilled Sholto. We do? Do we think they took Tonga, the boy? Well, Sholto didn't know who he was. Is that correct? Correct. And the boy had been intercepting the diamonds, we believe. That seems to be the case, yeah. So somebody knew about the diamonds and knew about Sholto and knew about yourself. Two out of three have been eliminated. I know what these people can do.

This is exactly why we're flying home. We fight again another day. It would appear the targets are not safe in London either, Mr Small. I, uh, well, yes, I suppose that's true. However, he's a 14-year-old and Mary is ex-army, so good luck to whatever stupid bastard tries anything. I would offer my bodyguard services, but I'm not quite sure a one-legged pensioner is what you're looking for. You're helpful in other ways.

What do you know of Pondicherry? Why is it significant? Pondicherry, right. Poodoo Cherry, of course, now. In the southeast, yes. Beautiful place. A region that has publicly heralded the diamond for some time. It's on various crests and designs from that area. Always has been. It's funny. My story times with Dad at Pondicherry. Pondicherry. Pondicherry.

Oh yeah, you said he would tell you stories about the princess of Pondicherry? Yeah. I was the princess of Pondicherry in the story. I'd be off on these adventures, but the one he would tell a lot, I think, or maybe just the one that's sticking in my head. I had ventured over the high seas back to Pondicherry after beating some dragon or something, probably. Of course, yeah. And the sacred jewel was missing.

no wait i think it was my jewel yeah no it was mine and it had been taken despite my wolf that guarded it so fiercely i liked wolves a lot so yeah um and then i'd go on this quest through uh oh what was it um a jungle of fire then uh oh then then there was this flying fox that would show me the way um yeah uh-huh uh and then a snake pit that was always a creepy bit that he loved and i had to

fight this big like beast thing called oh god what was it called um bost was it no uh dost dost dost yeah dost all hail dost or something my dad used to he'd do a voice like a chant thing and i'd fight him for the jewel and he'd i'd stab him or whatever i can't remember and he'd spit it out um it was in his mouth he'd spit it out of his mouth and it was mine again

Yeah. Oh, that's gripping stuff. I think my bedtime stories involved coming off the bench for Swindon Town. Your bedtime stories, where anything could happen, you didn't even start in the team? You were on the bench? Oh, yeah. Oh, that's rubbish. Right, okay. Jonathan, you've got the Gatwick fight, right? Ah, yes, I bloody well do. For my sins, of course.

Right, we reconvene in London and we get to the bottom of this bloody mess. I've got my research with me for this horrid flight. Do you have my notes on Pombicherry? I do, yes. Thank you so much again, Jonathan. Oh, my goodness, it's a pleasure. Don't worry. Right, love to you all. Bye now. Bye-bye. Bye. Bye-bye-bye-bye-bye-bye. Mary, be bloody safe, for goodness sake.

I'm going to go explain how prosthetics work to the security staff for the billionth time in my life. Bye, mate. Have a good flight. Bye now. See you tomorrow. Right. OK. So I'm actually the terminal over there. Of course, we're different flights. Yeah. Yeah. OK, well, I'll... I mean, I'll... I'll see you tomorrow. Of course. Yeah. Safe flight. Yeah.

Yeah. Me too. Let go. You'll see her tomorrow. Yeah, yeah. All right. See you then. Have a good one. You too. Bye, guys. Have a good flight. Enjoy first class. I know I will. Yeah, I know, right? Back to economy for the rest of my life after this. Bye, guys. Bye-bye. You okay? Yeah. Yeah. No, I'm good. You worried about her? And Jonathan, actually. I feel like somebody does not like the fact that they're alive.

Hmm, I agree. Don't worry about this guy as well, by the way. You all right? Yes. You seem a bit absent. Oh.

You're just avoiding eye contact with the bum bag. Go on, look at it, marvel at it. Aye, John, why couldn't you have left that at the bottom of the temple pool? Excuse me, mate, the inner waterproof lining saved our passports and his sunflower lanyard, so... Well, they should have been in the hotel safe, so... Yeah, but Athelney Jones said don't trust those hotels, so... Stop it. Agreed. Let's go. I'll have my curry at the airport. I don't quite...

feel like it. Oh, don't worry, I'll get naans and onion bhajis and stuff. No. The journey home. Yeah, it's a 12-hour flight, mate. No one feels like it. No, for goodness sake. I'm trying to process everything and I just don't feel resolved. Hey, hey, that's normal. We came all this way, right, for this

This amazing trip. I mean, work, too. But it got cut short. And, yeah, you're just sad. Sometimes going home can be sad. No. I have somewhere else to be. Sherlock! Take the flight. I will see you in London. Sherlock, no!

The driver says he went that way. Jesus Christ. This is insane. Sherlock! Ow! Sorry. Excuse me. Sherlock! Sherlock! I can't see anything. Well, I mean, I can see loads. Just too much stuff everywhere. There's so much noise. Why would he choose to do this? This is like his worst nightmare. No, I know, right? So, I mean, where would he go for... Oh. What? That sign up there. Where? Look.

Oh, train station! Go, go, go! Excuse me, sorry. Excuse me. Excuse me. Sorry, sorry, thank you, thank you. This way. Why can't you take the big case? Just leave it. No, this is all of our clothes. Well, we'll buy new ones. Mine are all from Primark anyway, to be honest. Fine. Bye. Bye-bye, wheelie big case. Farewell. I feel so free. Yeah, see? This is why I don't buy clothes. Okay, okay, okay.

Here we are. Is there like a viewing platform? Maybe he just wants to look at the trains? There's hardly any trains. OK, there's... I don't see a viewing area or much seating. Down this way. Can you see anything? No, nothing. What the hell? Is he answering his phone yet? Try him. My battery sucks. OK. It's just ringing out again.

God, this is like that Dev Patel film, you know, where they lose their kid at the railway station and then he turns into an Australian.

He doesn't turn into an Australian, John. He gets adopted. Yeah, whatever. That's just how the Aussies get you, you know? The amount of mates I've had. Oh, I'm just going on a holiday. Bang. Next thing you know, they've emigrated. Hey, shh. It's like, OK, I get it. You can go to the beach and eat big prawns, but it's just the big prawn, mate. Get over it. John. It's not worth the, oh, let me see, the spiders, sharks, kangaroos look pretty confrontational, to be honest. John. What? Look. Hey.

I, er, yeah. What am I looking at? That platform. The train. Train. Train to Pondicherry. Do you think... I do think. Come on. Go, go, go. We figured it out. I figured it out. We did it. Sherlock. Sherlock. Are you in here? Must be another carriage. Come on. Where are you, you big stupid genius? God's sake. Why can't he go missing in, like, Bristol? Why does he have to go missing in one of the biggest countries in the world?

Oh, I can't see much in here. No, me neither. How long do we have until the train leaves? Oh man, like two minutes. Oi, this is not good. No, it is not. What do we do? Do we stick it out, or... I don't know. And, to make matters worse... What?

I really need a wee. So? You check the carriage up that way. I'll quickly use this toilet, then we'll reconvene on the platform. What a terrible use of your final couple of minutes searching for your friend on this train. I need to go, Mariana. It's better than bickering here with you. Just...

Right, this... Is that locked or unlocked? Oh, sorry. Can't you knock, for goodness sake? Sherlock! What the hell are you doing? I'm trying to have a wee in peace. Yeah, on a fucking train to Pondicherry. The airport had toilets, mate.

Okay, fine. I will apologise. You will apologise? Yes. Well, where is it then? You can't just forecast an apology and then go quiet. Well, if the trip proves fruitful, I won't need to apologise, will I? So let's just wait and see. So we're really doing this, huh? You really think Ponycherry is the key to finding Tonga? Indeed. It's time to locate this fabled diamond and see what its hallowed temple can reveal about this most peculiar case. Right, let's do it.

OK, train is only 49 minutes to Pondicherry. Fab, lovely. John? Yeah? That says 49 hours. What? No, you're... No, that's wrong, because it's 1pm now. It says it gets in just before 2pm, see? Mm-hm, 2pm on Monday. It's Saturday. I... It's... Sherlock! Sherlock!

Whoa. Yeah, pretty. Snap! Nope, wait. Snap! You can't just keep saying snap. Snap! Oh my god, I won. I won! We're stopping for the elephants, guys. Guys?

Hello, you. Now I miss Archie. Because he looks like an elephant. No, no, but he kind of smells like one. Goodbye, lovely fellow. He wanted to feed the ducks and they just caved.

sprinting towards it and the panic i wasn't panicked sunlight paints your face in golden sheets

That's a beautiful country. Like a whole world. Tigers. What? Look. Tigers. Tigers. Tigers. It's a sanctuary. Quick, quick. Take photos. You take photos. I'm busy looking at them. Don't take photos. If somebody doesn't take a photo, I swear to God. Oh, this is incredible. You finally got your food you wanted. Greatest food in the world.

greatest you do know that a lot of white people get a bad butt on their first trip out here yeah this is worth it okay you're sleeping in a different cabin tonight

Big mountains. Indeed. Do you feel absolutely tiny right now? Ant-like. I know, right? Stunning.

Still worth it? Oh yeah, 100%. Did you... Yes, yes, I washed my hands. Wow, that is yet another beautiful sight out of our little train window. It sure is. We should open a Sherlock and Co. branch in India. I agree. Me too. For you, I... For you, I... For you, I...

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Compared to previous generation, iPhone XS or later required. Charge time and actual results will vary. Hello there, listeners. Say hello. Hi, listeners. And you. Hello. Oh, all right, mate. Jesus, swallow the mic, why don't you? You put it towards my mouth. Yeah, but you don't need to be that close. Welcome to Pondicherry.

or Puducherry as it's known these days. But just about everyone we've bumped into so far has used both. We are following our new best friend, Chuck Chakrapani, our guide to all things pondicherry. Say hello, Chuck. Hello, listeners. Where are we going, Chuck? We are currently walking alongside the Sangrabani River on the Puducherry side. Tamil Nadu is on the other side over there. See? Oh, yeah.

And we are walking to the hidden temple. So it's actually called the hidden temple? Guptmandir. Yes, Guptmandir. Yes, which means sort of cryptic. Temple, basically. So yeah, hidden temple. But as I warned you, it is not easy. No, I know. We just have to observe some things. Some secret things. Yeah, secret things.

You're not in the least bit curious, Chuck. God, it's humid, isn't it? The people in this area have always spoken of the thieves, the jewel barons, the wars and battles for the gemstones. I have learned that it is best to let people follow their heart. If your heart is wanting these kinds of things, then I have no wish to join you on your journey of greed or desire.

Well, I mean, we don't want any jewels. I've heard that before, too. No, yeah, of course, I get it. But we just want answers. And I hope you find them, Doctor, down there. Where? You see? The bend in the river, where the farmed fields stop and the land begins to rise. Yeah, yeah, I see it.

That is your temple. Um, but there's nothing there. It's just a hill. On the outside, yes. The temple is cut into the hill. Chuck, thank you. Yeah, thanks, Chuck. You sure you don't want to join the quest? I'll skip this one. Good luck. Bye. Bye, Chuck. I will miss our football chats, Chuck. Me too. Up the slinding down.

Ha ha, yes, spread the word! That was Chak. We got chatting to him on the train and instead of going straight to the hotel we got our trekking boots on. That's not true, we are all in the same footwear. Unfortunately. Yeah, you think yours are bad? Look at mine. Yes, but it wouldn't be an adventure unless your shoes got destroyed, so... Yeah, that's true, that's true. But anyway, we, erm... Well, I think we kind of kept our cards close to our chest with Chak, didn't we? I tried that, yes.

but you didn't fare so well no come on anyway we told him we thought something had gone down at a temple in in Puducherry slash Ponducherry and we think it may have involved westerners maybe not we asked about Captain Morstan and he kind of well he knew no one said Surakula but it just goes to show how tuned in the locals are to the story the myth

of it all and now the trek continues the hill is probably about a mile away it's a really warm night no signs of rain though starry and moony

And we met a backpacker on the train. Well, Mariana did. She was chatting him up. Oh, shut up. He was Spanish. So, you know, they talked about Spanish stuff like omelettes and... European championships. Shut up. Anyway, he was heading home and he gave us a tent. So we're going to get right outside the spooky temple and pop the tent up and spend the night.

Should be fun, well not fun, but hopefully we will get answers on the Surakula and why that means Tonga and Mary are in danger. So yeah. Oh, morning. Hey, morning. Oh, God almighty. Back? Yeah. Oh, I think I slept on a rock. Yeah, same. Coffee?

Hey, there's coffee. I took some sachets from the train, made a fire. Here, look. Oh, hey, hey, hey. And I boiled some water. Oh, you are... I like you. Thanks. I like you too. Cheers. Cheers. I wonder what Archie's doing right about now. Let's see. It's 7 a.m. here. So what, like 2 a.m. at home?

Yeah, so snoring and drooling, do we think? Yeah, I'd say so. I'd say so. We've come a long way, haven't we? Yeah, yeah, we have. Proud of us. Me too. But you worried the adventure's going to be like 15 parts long and totally incoherent. Oh, totally. It is the end of the podcast. Yeah, yeah. Had a good run, though. Are we ready? Hey, Indiana Holmes, what are we thinking? Indian who? Never mind.

Careful there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm okay. This slanted floor leads down into the first chamber. Then we have a door. Okay, and where does the door go? I have no idea. I was kind of hoping for a play-by-play there, but all right. That's a weird smell. Is there? Yeah, I think so. Maybe it's just... Yeah, maybe it's just very old. Look at the walls. Hold on, let me get my phone light. Inscriptions. Yeah, but...

What does it say? Don't know, but it's pretty. Excellent penmanship, or carvenship. No hidden codes as such. Look here. Is that a man being burned alive? It would seem that way. Oh, look, after opening a door. Lovely. Shall we? I mean, unfortunately, we probably shall. Now, how does this open? Come on!

Need a hand? Please. Okay, here we go. Oh, man. Come on. Jesus, this is heavy. Who made this door in the Crusade? Let's just exercise caution. This door has trapped trespassers before. Totally severed from the knee. Just using your backpack, John.

Hold still. No, no, wait. It's an instruction. It's not a warning. And... And the fire isn't on the other side of the door. It's on this side. Yeah, what? Look, we... Okay, the entrance to the temple is here. Then the slope. Then it's fire. Then door. Okay, so we said something alike, I guess. Oh, yeah, let's just burn the ancient temple, sure. No, no, no, no, I see it, I see it. Here. Here.

What are you doing? Starting a fire. Splashes of oil. Where? Here, by the seam. And... Ah! A bowl beneath it. Can you see? Yes, yes, yes, yes. Okay. Okay, great. Now what happens? Don't you see? Vines. Vines have sealed the door on the other side. The flame reaches through and burns off the vines that hold the door closed. Well, that's quite a system.

Oh, hey, it's getting loose. Here. Ready? One, two, three. Yes! Good work, Marianne. Indeed. The door opened quite easily, though. Meaning? The vines haven't grown much since the last visitor? Correct. Someone has been recently, then. Onwards. We are now in what feels like a tunnel.

It's got quite cold quite quickly. There's... I feel like... Yeah, there's definitely a smell, isn't there? Death. Seriously? Yeah, got to admit. I think he's right. That smell is death. It is. And we have a choice to make. We have arrived at our fork. Which tunnel do we take? Two tunnels. One isn't too dark from the looks of it. Looks wider and doesn't smell of death.

Then there's that one. We're a detective agency. We're not tourists. Death it is. Oh! Bats. They scared the crap out of me. The Indian flying fox. What? Look above. You can see them hanging. Yeah, gross, mate. You can see their colouring. That reddish breast. Oh, yeah, they look like foxes. Tiny upside-down winged foxes. Wait. What?

Her father. Mary's father. His bedtime stories. The princess of Pondicherry. The flying fox. It would show her the way. Yes. And there was a jungle of fire. Oh, yeah. The vine. The vines we just had to burn to get through. So the jungle, the flying fox...

Then... What? Wait, what was the next thing in her story? Snake pit. See you later, guys. Watson. All the best. John. No wonder we can smell death. I mean, snake pit, for God's sake. Come, we cannot make a judgment until we see for ourselves. Mate. What? Just like saying to a toddler, you'll enjoy it when you get there. It is snakes in a pit.

We've come all this way. But for what? Tonga isn't down there, is he? Do you think that, Sherlock, that he's going to be there? I don't. Then what do you think? I think, I think we will expose the rot that has spread so far as to even reach into the walls of a 14-year-old boy's bedroom in West London. That's what I think. You think they're here, the sign of four? The question is not whether they're here, but whether they are still here.

Oh, you think they've entered the temple? I do. It's just chasing any other bud guy, right? Right. Yeah, sure. On we go. Weird job, innit? Uh, what? Our job, a bit weird, really. Oh, yeah, yeah, I agree. Like, someone asked me the other day what I did, and I said I'm a podcaster. And then they gave me that look that, well, you know, anyone that says I'm a podcaster should get, to be honest. But I mean, look. Look at us now. What?

I'm not really a podcaster, am I? I'm an adventurer. You can't say that at a garden party, can you? Oh, me? Yeah, I'm an adventurer. I'm chief adventure officer. Oh, yep, that's a snake pit. Okay, great. What do we do? There's a door on the other side of the room, see? Oh, yeah. Oh, well, hey, look, look, look, look. If you go along the wall on the right, you can walk straight past the pit and get to the door. Come on. Wait.

Put the light on that door. That's not the way through. See any other doors here, mate? No, not yet. Sherlock, this is quite obviously the way. Booby-trapped temples tend to structure their routes and pathways to the unobvious. Good point. But your second problem. We know someone has been here recently, but the cobwebs on that door over there, look at them. Rather dense and plentiful.

Wouldn't you agree? Cobwebs mean untouched. Correct. I would venture the door we need opens a different direction. What? What direction? Down. Sherlock! Oh my god, he is wading in snakes. He is wading in bloody snakes. Wait, wait, Sherlock! Don't be afraid of the pythons. They're not your problem. The vipers and crates are much more dangerous, correct? Okay, okay.

Embrace the pythons. Cool, lovely, here we go. Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God. Now it feels as weird as I thought it would. Oh, no, no, get off, off, you big slithery twat. Oh, my God, don't kick them, John. That one went for me. Feel for any looseness in the floor. Feel for changes in height.

Or texture. Wait, wait. I feel something. What? It's rattling slightly. It feels like a door. Like a trap door, cellar door. Let me see. Come, come. Hold my hand. Thank you. Where? Just here. He's put his hands in with the snakes. Can I kick that one? He's done nothing but hiss at me since I came in here. You're right. It's a door. And...

I feel... a latch! Okay, Mariana, step back. What are you doing? Heading into the next room. Sherlock! Sherlock? I'm alright. Now, quick, jump through before more snakes fall in! Okie dokie. Hiss off, you slimy wankers. Ladies first. Nope. Whoa!

Let me close it back up. There we go. That smell. I think I see where it's coming from. Where? Look. Oh, no. There's bodies everywhere, Sherlock. Good God. It's a massacre. Most look shot, from what I can tell. Yeah, a few rounds of magazines here on the ground. But why? What happened here? The stone wolf. Look.

Just like Mary said, the protector of the stone. Then where's the stone? There's a plinth. Well that'll be it, that'll be it. Go, go! What? It... Where is it? It's not here. It's been taken, but not recently. Dust is collected in this basin here. Then who are these people? Could be thieves. Could be just some poor locals that had come to protect the Surakula upon hearing of the threat.

I think you may be right. What makes you say that? The blood. The writing on the wall. Here, some light. It was written in haste. Haste? From what? Death. The sign of four. Mohinder Singh. Abdullah Khan. Dost Akbar. I think he tried to write another name here.

But he didn't make it. Wait, shh. No, no, stop, wait. I wasn't doing anything. Stop. Fine. She... Mary, she was... When she was in Afghanistan on her first tour, she was kidnapped and held hostage in a cave. The Barra Khan hostages? Yeah, that was her. She said that the soldiers that had her, they were telling her that Abdullah Khan was coming.

Curious. And her dad, in the stories, the bad guy was called the monster, I mean, or whatever. He was called Dost. So Abdullah, Khan, Dost, Akbar... They're in the sign of four. They're hunting her, and Captain Morstan knew they would come for her, but who... Tonga. What? When we first met Prisha, she claimed his friends had mentioned he'd been meeting a man named Mohinder Singh.

Come on. There we go. Nice to see the sky. And the trees. Nice to not smell corpses, really. What next? Well, that would be a question for the master detective. We head back to London. There's a boy who needs us. Yeah, you're right. Yep, yep.

And I bet Wiggins has been overfeeding him as well. I meant the missing child. Oh, right. Don, jeez. MUSIC

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