The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
| "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Series | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| Publication date | 1892 |
"The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the seventh story of twelve in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The story was first published in Strand Magazine in January 1892.
As London prepares for Christmas, newspapers report the theft of the near priceless jewel, The "Blue Carbuncle", from the hotel suite of the Countess of Morcar. John Horner, a plumber and a previously convicted felon, is soon arrested for the theft. Though the police have yet to find the jewel, and despite Horner's claims of innocence, the police are sure that they have the thief. Horner's record, and his presence in the Countess's room where he was repairing a fireplace, are all the police need.
Just after Christmas, Watson pays a visit to Holmes at 221B Baker Street. He finds the detective contemplating a battered old hat, one brought to him by the commissionaire Peterson. Both the hat and a Christmas goose had been dropped by a man in a scuffle with some street ruffians. Peterson, an honest man, had hoped for Holmes' help in returning the items to their owner but although the goose bears a tag with the owner's name—Henry Baker—Holmes had little hope of finding the man. Peterson took the goose home for dinner and Holmes kept the hat, to study as an intellectual exercise.
While Watson is there, Peterson returns excited, carrying the Blue Carbuncle, claiming that the carbuncle was found in the found goose's crop (throat) (the fact that geese do not have a crop, has been regarded by some as Arthur Conan Doyle's greatest blunder). Realizing that the identity of Henry Baker is now part of a larger mystery, Holmes makes a concerted effort to identify Baker. Based on his observations of the hat and its condition, Holmes makes several deductions as to Baker's age, social standing, intellect and domestic status, but cannot determine if Baker knew that he was carrying a priceless gem. When Baker appears at 221B Baker St. in response to advertisements Holmes had placed in London's newspapers, Holmes' deductions prove correct. Holmes gives Baker a new goose, explaining that the old one had been consumed. Baker, happily accepting the replacement bird, declines to cart away his original bird's entrails (Disjecta membra), convincing Holmes that Baker knew nothing about the missing jewel. Baker does, however, give Holmes the valuable information that he had purchased the goose at the Alpha Inn, a pub near the British Museum.
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