On Saturday night Holmes goes to the underground bank
strongroom with Watson, Mr. Merryweather, and a policeman. The banker believes the room
is burglar-proof and taps on the flooring to
demonstrate.
“Nor from below,” said Mr. Merryweather,
striking his stick upon the flags which lined the floor. “Why, dear me, it sounds quite
hollow!” he remarked, looking up in
surprise.
“I must really ask you to be a little more
quiet!” said Holmes severely. “You have already imperilled the whole success of our
expedition. Might I beg that you would have the goodness to sit down upon one of those
boxes, and not to
interfere?”
Holmes knows by
now that there is a tunnel underneath the floor, and he is alarmed and angered by the
noise the banker makes with his cane. The two crooks might not be underneath the
flooring at this point, but the sound of the tapping could travel a long way through the
tunnel. If the burglars heard such a sound it would suggest that there was someone in
the strongroom and also suggest that someone must suspect the existence of a tunnel.
They would undoubtedly decide to wait. But eventually the lure of the gold would draw
them to the strongroom. Only now they would not be caught off guard. John Clay has a
pistol, and the other man may also be armed.
The author
only inserts this little incident of the tapping to add to the suspense. The reader
wants to see the burglars get caught, but now he has to worry about whether the burglars
will even show up. The long wait in the complete darkness and the stealthy entry of John
Clay through the opening in the floor are the climax of this story. Conan Doyle takes
care to create the maximum amount of suspense and
excitement.
If Holmes didn't want Mr. Merryweather to
"interfere" with what he and the other two men were doing, then why did he invite
Merryweather along? The answer is obvious. The bank director has to let them into the
room, and he is responsible for the 30,000 gold Napoleon coins stored there. Doyle had
to invent such a character as Mr. Merryweather to explain how Holmes could get inside to
set his trap for John Clay. The banker has to open three
doors.
...following the guidance of Mr. Merryweather,
we passed down a narrow passage and through a side door, which he opened for us. Within
there was a small corridor, which ended in a very massive iron gate. This also was
opened, and led down a flight of winding stone steps, which terminated at another
formidable gate. Mr. Merryweather stopped to light a lantern, and then conducted us down
a dark, earth-smelling passage, and so, after opening a third door, into a huge vault or
cellar, which was piled all round with crates and massive
boxes.
The presence of Mr.
Jones from Scotland Yard gives official sanction to Holmes's actions. Holmes is on very
good terms with the police because he has helped them solve many cases and usually
allows them to take full credit for the results.
No comments:
Post a Comment