The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter

Sherlock Holmes and the dog Pompey. 1904 illustration by Frederic Dorr Steele.

"The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter" is a Sherlock Holmes short story by the British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was first published in the August 1904 issue of The Strand magazine in the United Kingdom and in the November 26, 1904 issue of Collier's magazine in the United States. It was republished in 1905 as part of the anthology The Return of Sherlock Holmes.

The plot is set in motion when the brilliant consulting detective Sherlock Holmes receives a mysterious telegram from Cyril Overton, the captain of the Cambridge University rugby team. Overton later explains that one of the best players on his team, a young man named Godfrey Staunton, went missing while in London for an important game. Holmes follows a trail of clues back to Cambridge. He suspects Dr. Leslie Armstrong of Cambridge of having something to do with Staunton's disappearance. Dr. Armstrong's refusal to cooperate with Holmes and the lengths which he goes to in order to prevent Holmes from following him seem to bear out this suspicion. With the aid of a dog which has been trained to follow scents, Holmes tracks down Dr. Armstrong and finds out the truth behind the mystery.

Notably, in "The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter", Dr. Watson, Sherlock Holmes' friend and housemate who is the story's narrator, says that he has cured Holmes of his cocaine addiction. Watson worries, however, that Holmes may be tempted to take cocaine again if he becomes inactive and is not kept busy with detective work.

"The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter" was adapted as a 1923 British silent movie starring Ellie Norwood as Holmes. A highly faithful radio adaptation of the story, starring Clive Merrison as Holmes and Michael Williams as Watson, first aired on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom on September 29, 1993.

Plot

One morning in February, a telegram arrives at the Baker Street apartment which Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson share. The telegram reads, "Please await me. Terrible misfortune. Right wing three-quarter missing. Indispensable tomorrow - Overton." Beyond the fact that the telegram's sender was very agitated, resulting in his leaving out several important details, Holmes is unable to get much information from it. The sender of the message arrives soon afterwards. He is Cyril Overton, captain of the Cambridge University rugby team. Overton has some difficulty making himself understood to Holmes because he mistakenly assumes that the detective follows rugby. Overton is eventually able to make the facts of the case plain.

Cyril Overton speaks to Holmes and Watson. 1904 illustration by Sidney Paget.

The members of the Cambridge University rugby team have come to London to play against the Oxford University team in a match that is due to take place the following day. All of the Cambridge team members are staying at the same hotel. Godfrey Staunton, who plays right wing three-quarter, is one of the best players on the team. At ten o'clock the night before, Cyril Overton went to Godfrey Staunton's room. He says that Staunton looked "pale and bothered" but, when asked if anything was wrong, said that he was fine apart from a headache. Thirty minutes later, so the hotel porter told Overton afterwards, a "rough-looking" bearded man gave the porter a note for Staunton. Godfrey Staunton appeared to be very distressed by the note. The porter wanted to tell Cyril Overton about the note but Staunton would not allow it. Staunton went downstairs and left the hotel with the bearded man. He has not been seen since. It is clear that Godfrey Staunton left in a great hurry because all of his belongings are still in his hotel room.

Overton has sent telegrams to Cambridge, asking if anyone there has seen Staunton. The answers have been negative. Overton went to Scotland Yard but Inspector Stanley Hopkins told him that Sherlock Holmes was more likely to solve the mystery than the police were. Overton has also sent a telegram to Lord Mount-James, Godfrey Staunton's closest living relative. Lord Mount-James is one of the richest men in England and Staunton will eventually inherit his fortune. Staunton, however, has very little money at the moment. He receives no financial aid from Lord Mount-James who is a notorious miser.

Holmes tells Overton that it is unlikely that Staunton will return before the start of the game against Oxford the next day and that the team should prepare to play without him. Holmes advises Overton not to speak about the problem to the other members of the team.

Overton, Holmes and Watson go to Staunton's hotel room and speak to the porter. According to the porter, Staunton's visitor was aged about 50, was "not a gentleman, neither was he a working man" and that he also appeared agitated. The man's hand was shaking when he gave the porter the note. The porter says that earlier that evening, at six o'clock, he brought Godfrey Staunton a telegram. Staunton wrote a reply on one of the telegram forms in the hotel room but, rather than giving it to the porter, Staunton chose to take it to the telegraph office himself. Holmes is disappointed to find out that Staunton wrote the message with a quill pen, rather than with a pencil that would have left more of an impression on the piece of paper underneath. From a piece of blotting paper, however, Holmes is able to find out that the last words in the telegram were, "Stand by us for God's sake!" Holmes thinks that the other person referred to by "us" is the bearded man.

Lord Mount-James. 1904 illustration by Sidney Paget.

Watson looks on while Holmes questions Dr. Armstrong. 1904 illustration by Sidney Paget.

Holmes begins looking through the papers on Staunton's table. While doing so, he asks Overton if Staunton was in good health. Overton says that he has never known Staunton to be seriously ill. Holmes says that Staunton may have had some serious health problems which Overton did not know about. The detective puts one of the papers in his pocket.

Holmes is stopped by an old man who introduces himself as Lord Mount-James. Lord Mount-James is not happy that Overton has hired a private detective to look for Staunton, largely because he fears that he may be stuck with the bill if Staunton is never found. Holmes tells Lord Mount-James that Staunton may have been abducted by criminals who want to get information out of him. Staunton's abductors may want to find out how and when they can break into Lord Mount-James' house and what they should steal once they get there. Lord Mount-James' attitude suddenly changes. He encourages Holmes to continue to search for Staunton and even says, "As to money, well as far as a fiver or even a tenner goes, you can always look to me." Holmes later admits that he thinks it is unlikely that thieves who plan to rob Lord Mount-James have abducted Staunton. The detective simply said what he needed to say in order to get Lord Mount-James' cooperation.

Watson and Holmes go into a telegraph office near the hotel. Since it is a busy office, Holmes reasons that its staff probably do not remember the faces of their customers. He tells the woman behind the counter that he is concerned that he has not received a reply to the telegram he sent just after six o'clock the previous evening, the last words of which were "for God's sake". He says that he fears he may have forgotten to give his name on the telegram. To Holmes' surprise, his plan works. He sees the form of the telegram which Staunton sent yesterday and sees that it was sent to Dr. Leslie Armstrong of Cambridge.

In Cambridge, Holmes and Watson are admitted into Dr. Leslie Armstrong's house. Dr. Armstrong assumes that Holmes is acting on behalf of Lord Mount-James. He makes it clear that he does not approve of private detectives because they, "rake up family matters which are better hidden." Dr. Armstrong says that he is a good friend of Godfrey Staunton but does not appear to be troubled by Staunton's disappearance. He says that he does not know where Staunton is. When Holmes asks Dr. Armstrong if Staunton is healthy, Armstrong says that he has never known Staunton to be ill. Holmes then shows Armstrong the paper he took from Staunton's hotel room, a doctor's bill for thirteen guineas which Staunton paid Armstrong. The angry Armstrong refuses to explain the bill. Dr. Armstrong denies that Staunton has written to him from London. Holmes mockingly says that the telegram which Staunton sent at 6:15pm the previous evening must not have arrived. Armstrong orders Holmes and Watson to leave his house.

Holmes and Watson stay at an inn across the road from Dr. Armstrong's house. They can see his house from their window. From local people, Holmes finds out that, once or twice each day, Dr. Armstrong goes out for three hours in a brougham pulled by two horses. This would not be unusual for a general practitioner but Dr. Armstrong, a lecturer in medicine and a consultant, is not in general practice. Holmes hires a bicycle and follows from a distance as Dr. Armstrong's carriage leaves Cambridge and goes into the countryside. Armstrong sees Holmes through the window in the back of his brougham. He stops and tells Holmes that the road ahead is narrow. He recommends that Holmes go ahead now instead of trying to overtake the carriage later. Holmes rides on for a few miles. He then goes back and tries to look for Dr. Armstrong's carriage again. The carriage has clearly gone down one of the many side roads that lead off from the main road because Holmes cannot see it.

The rugby match goes ahead without Staunton. The Cambridge University team loses. According to the local newspaper, the team lost because Staunton was not there.

In a telegram from Dr. Armstrong, Holmes is told that he is wasting time and not helping Godfrey Staunton by staying in Cambridge and following him.

Leaving Watson at the inn, Holmes makes inquiries in several of the villages near Cambridge. He says that Dr. Armstrong's large carriage pulled by two horses, "could hardly have been overlooked in such Sleepy Hollows."Nobody in any of the villages, however, has reported seeing the doctor or his carriage.

Holmes and Watson follow Pompey the dog. 1904 illustration by Sidney Paget.

A telegram arrives from Cyril Overton which reads, "Ask for Pompey from Jeremy Dixon Trinity College". Watson does not understand it but Holmes does.

Early the following morning, Watson sees Holmes holding a syringe. Watson fears that Holmes has taken up his former cocaine habit again. Holmes reassures him that the syringe has been used for a quite different purpose. Holmes shows Watson a dog, which Watson describes as "something between a beagle and a foxhound". Holmes has borrowed the animal, whose name is Pompey, from Jeremy Dixon of Trinity College. Pompey has an excellent sense of smell and has been trained to take part in drag hunting. Holmes used the syringe to squirt some aniseed onto one of the wheels of Dr. Armstrong's brougham. Pompey is taken to Dr. Armstrong's house to get the scent. Holmes and Watson then go after the dog as it follows the trail of aniseed into the Cambridgeshire countryside. Holmes notices that there were several detours in the route which Dr. Armstrong took, intended to confuse pursuers.

Pompey leads Holmes and Watson to a cottage in a field. Dr. Armstrong's brougham is not there but wheel tracks show that it was there recently. Holmes and Watson knock on the cottage's door. Nobody opens the door but they can hear a "drone of misery and despair" coming from inside. When he sees Dr. Armstrong's carriage coming back, Holmes opens the cottage's door. Holmes and Watson follow the sad sound they can hear to a bedroom. They find Godfrey Staunton crying at the foot of a bed. A young woman is lying dead in the bed.

Dr. Armstrong enters the room. He angrily suggests that Holmes and Watson got what they wanted with the young woman's death. Holmes explains that he is not working for Lord Mount-James and does not like the man. He adds that he was tasked to find a missing man and that, having found Godfrey Staunton, he has no wish to create a public scandal. Dr. Armstrong's attitude completely changes and he tells Holmes the full story.

Holmes and Watson find Godfrey Staunton by the bed of his dead wife. 1904 illustration by Sidney Paget.

The previous year, Godfrey Staunton stayed for some time in London. He fell in love with and married his landlady's daughter. The marriage had to be kept secret, otherwise Lord Mount-James would disinherit Staunton for marrying someone of a lower social class. For that reason, Staunton and his wife set up home in a remote cottage. Dr. Armstrong was one of the few people who knew about the marriage. Unfortunately, Staunton's wife became seriously ill with tuberculosis. In spite of this, Staunton went to London for the rugby game against Oxford because he could not get out of it without revealing his secret. Dr. Armstrong sent Staunton a reassuring telegram, to which Staunton replied, saying that his wife's treatment was going well. He sent another telegram to the woman's father, the bearded man who came to Staunton's hotel, in which he said how serious the woman's condition really was. Against Dr. Armstrong's wishes, the woman's father got in touch with Staunton and brought him back to Cambridge.

External links

• Text of "The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter" on Wikisource.
• Quotations from "The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter" on Wikiquote.
• Public domain audiobook of "The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter" on YouTube:
  • Part 1.
  • Part 2.
• "The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter" on Baker Street wiki.