Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 332 Toby is the real expert!

While Lionel was busy in Paris working on "Thunderstorm," London was experiencing a huge uproar because of the serialization of "The Sign of Four."

The serialization in the late March 1881 issue of the magazine "Good Words" brought the plot to a minor climax.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson found Toby, an unassuming but incredibly sensitive mixed-breed hound, at Sherman's place.

Lionel vividly depicts Toby following the scent of creosote, leading Holmes and Watson step by step closer to the suspect with the wooden leg.

...Toby rushed out without hesitation, and we followed closely behind.

Its short, stocky body darted nimbly under the dim streetlights, its nose pressed close to the ground, emitting rapid sniffing sounds.

Its short tail swayed excitedly and rapidly, like a wind-up metronome.

Sometimes it would pause for a moment by a fence, carefully discerning the direction of the scent; other times it would rush across puddles, splashing up murky water.

But its goal has always been clear—that unique aroma of creosote.

Holmes whispered to me, “Look, Watson! That’s a true expert. His world consists only of smell and tracking, without a single distraction.”

...]

This brilliant description of Toby immediately sparked a huge response among readers.

At first, it was admiration and fondness.

In a café, a young employee slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed, "My God, Toby is amazing! Much more reliable than the Scotland Yard detectives!"

His companion chimed in, “Look how focused it is! I bet all the detectives in London combined can’t match Toby!”

As he spoke, he imitated Toby's sniffing motion, which drew laughter from those around him.

In the club, gentlemen stroked the pet dogs lying on their laps, feeling a stronger sense of immersion than ordinary people.

Someone made an interesting comparison: "My 'Whiskey' is also a good hunting dog, but I'm afraid it doesn't have Toby's amazing nose."

An old gentleman shook his head: “The key lies in training, my dear friend. Holmes knows how to use his talent, while our Scotland Yard…”

Soon, this affection and admiration for Toby, through word of mouth and newspaper commentary, gradually turned into ridicule and questioning of Scotland Yard's inefficiency.

In a lighthearted social commentary section, the Daily News wrote, half-jokingly:
"...Since the use of trained hunting dogs to track specific scents has a history of success in hunting for hundreds of years, why has this never been considered in our massive Metropolitan Police Force?"
Is identifying and tracking a criminal really simpler than tracking a fox or a hare? Perhaps the gentlemen of Scotland Yard should take a look at the four-legged assistant who consulted the detective.

This article sparked a wave of other newspapers following suit, some seriously exploring the potential value of police dogs in criminal investigations, while others resorted to blatant satire.

The Palmer Gazette's satirical cartoon column featured a drawing:

A spirited hunting dog, wearing a deerstalker hat, dashes off following a scent, while a group of uniformed policemen run around aimlessly like headless flies behind it.

The title is—"Who are the real detectives in London...?"

In the streets and alleys, in taverns and teahouses, people enthusiastically joined in this "fun discussion."

"If you ask me, we should have used dogs a long time ago! All the police do is set up roadblocks and question passersby; their efficiency is infuriating!"

“My uncle works as a gamekeeper in the countryside, and his dogs can track tracks from three days ago! If Scotland Yard had that ability, those bandits would be hanged long ago!”

"Hey, maybe next time we go to Scotland Yard to file a police report, we'll have to bring a hunting dog with us!"

These discussions contained both good-natured banter and a venting of long-standing dissatisfaction with the police's inefficiency in solving cases. The saying that "a Scotland Yard detective is worse than a dog" spread like wildfire and became the most fashionable joke among Londoners that spring.

This trend naturally spread to Scotland Yard as well.

Even the young detectives from the Criminal Investigation Bureau couldn't help but whisper among themselves during their lunch breaks.

A detective who had just joined the force whispered, "Honestly, using dogs for tracking... isn't such a bad idea."

Some of the smells at the scene were very mixed, and if there was a dog like Toby…

The colleague next to him glanced around nervously: "Shh! Keep your voice down! Do you want Colonel Vincent to invite you to his office for coffee?"

We're now a laughingstock!

The atmosphere in Colonel Howard Vincent's office was indeed not pleasant.

The secretary carefully placed several newspapers containing related commentaries and cartoons on his desk.

"Colonel, public opinion outside... isn't very favorable for us," the secretary said cautiously, choosing his words carefully.

Colonel Vincent glanced at the cartoon in the newspaper, but instead of exploding as usual, he simply waved his hand and said, "I know, get out."

He took out several stacks of documents that he had prepared in advance from the drawer, and pulled out another stack of papers to begin writing a report.

He already knew the report's contents by heart—after all, that Frenchman had talked to him for so long in the office…

------

While the controversy surrounding Toby the Hound had a somewhat humorous element, another story in the latest installment of The Sign of Four has sparked an extremely heated and serious debate.

In "The Sign of Four," Lionel vividly depicts the dark side of British colonial rule in India.

He incisively revealed that these treasures came from the plunder of the wealth of Indian princes and the greed of colonists who took advantage of the chaos.

In the original work, this part is not presented until the last chapter, through the narration of Jonozan Smau.

But just like the new version of A Study in Scarlet, in this version of The Sign of Four, the origin of the treasure is gradually revealed during the decryption process.

Holmes' new clues reveal to readers that the fortune originated from the Indian Revolt of 1857.

Lionel depicts the brutal repression suffered by the Indian people and how British soldiers seized enormous wealth that did not belong to them.

"That wasn't a battle, it was a massacre. Flames engulfed houses, and blood flowed through the streets, indiscriminately indiscriminate between soldiers and civilians..."

"There was a guy who wasn't dead yet, dragging half his body forward, his intestines trailing behind; next to him was a child, probably just curious and running out to see, with a black hole right in his forehead and his eyes still open..."

"The rebels were besieged inside the castle, bombarded by several heavy cannons for a whole day, until no more decent gunfire could be heard inside, at which point the soldiers finally went in. It could hardly be called a 'place' anymore. A Sikh sat against a half-collapsed wall, seemingly intact, but with the slightest touch, he collapsed completely; the inside had been reduced to mush..."

"After a long siege, several deep wells were filled, not with stones or soil, but with corpses. Men, women, children... were thrown in like discarded goods, layer upon layer, clogging the wells. The upper layers were swollen and blackened, and flies swarmed around them like dark clouds..."

These descriptions starkly reveal the cruelty of colonial plunder to British readers.

Treasure is no longer a romantic symbol in adventure stories, but rather filth stained with the blood and suffering of the colonized.

British newspapers immediately became agitated.

(End of this chapter)