THE CANON: FIVE LINES AT

A TIME

A COLLECTION OF POETIC MEDIATIONS ON THE

ORIGINAL SHERLOCK HOLMES TALES

THE CREW OF THE BARQUE LONE STAR

Edited by

STEVE MASON, THIRD MATE

Formatted by

LIESE SHERWOOD-FABRE

Copyright © 2019 by The Crew of the Barque Lone Star All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time FOREWARD

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star was founded as a scion society of the Baker Street Irregulars in April 1970.

Through the years, the society has been home for many authors of fiction, Sherlockian criticism, and other non-fiction pieces of work.

One of our most prominent founding members, William “Bill” Beeson was extremely fond of Sherlockian-based limericks. Bill himself authored hundreds of such compositions.

As we approach our 50th anniversary of existence, it just seemed appropriate to have present members develop their own limericks.

So, the limericks included in this volume are from the fertile minds of crew members of the Barque Lone Star, friends of our Society, as well as other wonderful limericks provided to us from other Sherlockian authors.

Thanks for your efforts.

i

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star TABLE OF CONTENTS

Our Gracious Contributors

iv

General Sherlockian / Doylean Limericks 1

A Study in Scarlet

12

The Sign of Four

17

The Hound of the Baskervilles

19

The Valley of Fear

21

A Scandal in Bohemia

22

The Red-Headed League

25

A Case of Identity

29

The Boscombe Valley Mystery

31

The Adventure of the Five Orange Pips 32

The Man with the Twisted Lip

34

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle 36

The Adventure of the Speckled Band 40

The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb 47

The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor 49

The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet 50

The Adventure of the Copper Beeches 51

The Adventure of Silver Blaze

53

The Adventure of the Yellow Face 55

The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk 56

The Adventure of the Gloria Scott 57

The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual 58

The Adventure of the Reigate Squire 59

The Adventure of the Crooked Man 60

The Adventure of the Resident Patient 61

The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter 62

The Adventure of the Naval Treaty 63

The Final Problem

65

The Adventure of the Empty House 66

The Adventure of the Norwood Builder 68

The Adventure of the Dancing Men 69

ii

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist 70

The Adventure of the Priory School 74

The Adventure of Black Peter

75

The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton 76

The Adventure of the Six Napoleons 78

The Adventure of the Three Students 80

The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez 81

The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter 82

The Adventure of the Abbey Grange 83

The Adventure of the Second Stain 84

The Adventure of the Cardboard Box 85

The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge 87

The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans 89

The Adventure of the Devil's Foot 90

The Adventure of the Red Circle 91

The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax 92

The Adventure of the Dying Detective 93

His Last Bow:

The War Service of Sherlock Holmes 94

The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone 96

The Problem of Thor Bridge

97

The Adventure of the Creeping Man 98

The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire 99

The Adventure of the Three Garridebs 100

The Adventure of the Illustrious Client 101

The Adventure of the Three Gables 102

The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier 103

The Adventure of the Lion's Mane 104

The Adventure of the Retired Colourman 105

The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger 106

The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place 108

iii

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time OUR GRACIOUS CONTRIBUTORS

Aho, Melissa

Asimov, Isaac, BSI

Austin, Beth, ASH

Blau, Peter, BSI, ASH

Caddell, Ann

Clark, Robert Dean, BSI

Dillistone, Don

Falkingham, Jeff

Goldfarb, Cliff

Hamilton, John Ira

Hawkins, Jim

Hébert, Eleanor

Hébert, Thomas

Hobbs, Donald, BSI

Hutchison, Brenda

Kearns, Richard

Kozinn, Sandy, ASH

Langston, Jane

Lear, Edward

Lies, Ronald

Martin, Alastair, BSI

Mason, Stephen, ASH

MacBird, Bonnie, BSI, ASH Mosher, Maureen Olson, Karen

Pace, John

Pieper, Walter

Pollack, Dorothy Belle, ASH

Rossini, Brenda

Riethmeier, Ray

Scheetz, George H.

Ruby, Greg, BSI

Stek, Robert, BSI, ASH Sherwood-Fabre, Liese Thomalen, Bob, BSI

The 2018-2019 3rd graders of 221b Baker Street of Moore Elementary School, Franklin, Tennessee (Shannon Carlisle, Instructor) Andrew

Caroline

Ellie

Finn

Katie

Liza

Lucas

Luke

Rowan

Lekha

And of course, Beeson, William B. by permission of the publisher, Nuvolibri, LLC and John Henson, Executor of the Estate of William B.

Beeson.

i

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time General Sherlockian / Doylean Entries HOLMES

A detective of verve and sagacity, Of great polymorphic capacity, With brain superhuman,

With depth and acumen,

And (when it is needed) audacity.

Pollack

WATSON

A gentleman and a physician,

Recording the tales is his mission.

A bullet once got him,

On top or on bottom--

He's not too sure re its position!

Pollack

MORIARTY

He's cunning, malignant and clever in every crime-ridden endeavour.

An art "connoisseur,"

Devoid of all "coeur."

From society, HIM we must sever.

Pollack

MRS. HUDSON

She caters to Holmes's daily wishes, Prepares for him foods quite delicious; Is cautious, discreet,

Takes care of his suite,

And does all the pots and the dishes.

Pollack

1

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star LESTRADE

Not too bright (Sherlock thinks he' s a dope); To advance in the force is his hope.

With Holmes's smart suggestions, He solves many questions,

Thus managing always to cope.

Pollack

IRENE

They say it is "Cherchez la femme."

"Oh, no; it is not," says von Kramm.

In this case, “in toto,"

It's "Cherchez la photo,"

And get the king out of his jam!

Pollack

BILLY

For visitors, he is the guide; Takes the 17 steps in his stride.

A page boy reliant,

Shows in every client,

Content with the trade that he's plied.

Pollack

MYCROFT

Has powers of keen observation.

Inertia is his avocation.

His brain is uncanny;

He sits on his fanny,

In Whitehall, directing the nation.

Pollack

2

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time

"To Your Own Spouse" -- A Sherlockian Limerick Bonnie MacBird

The fog at the window was grey Just another Old Blighty type day I was two brandies down

And encased in a frown

When all gloom and despair fell away.

Said a voice in my ear, full of glee,

"Give that yellow backed novel to me!

And come with me outside,

We will go for a ride!"

But before we left Two-Two-One B —

A client appeared at the door!

A beauty, bereft, and there’s more.

"I’m followed," she said.

“My man wishes me dead.

Can you hide me? Would this be a chore?"

My colleague could never say nay When a lady begs help in this way!

Sherlock Holmes gave his word.

The facts quickly inferred,

The whole problem was solved in a day Holmes lives by his own golden rule And he won’t abide anyone cruel Without leaving a trace

He found her a place

A new name, and a job at a school.

3

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The villain came ‘round, he had missed His “dear one” he seemed to insist.

And did we know where

She had gone? “Oh, despair!"

But that liar had broken her wrist.

“I DO know! I’ve followed her trail!"

Said my friend as he poured him an ale.

"I’ll draw you a map -

Raise your hand off your lap!"

And he cuffed him and sent him to jail.

That night as I picked up my pen Sherlock Holmes grabbed it from me and then He begged, “Do not write!

If that villain takes flight

He will find her and hasten her end."

And so this tale waited until

We are long gone, and buried, but still Keep this in your mind

To your own spouse, be kind

You don’t want to be Nancy and Bill.

MacBird

4

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time Holmes reached for the Morocco case on the mantle Expecting that the seven percent solution was ample He shot himself up

Hoping for a rush

But found out it never happened as such Pieper

When Starrett, “The Needle,” would prick The Hounds of the Baskerville (sic) And, companions in woe,

Would hound Sir Hugo,

’Twas Chicago’s Sherlockian shtick.

Scheetz

Of whom Tarzan we may construe A connection to Holmes—or two!

His grand-père, John Clayton,

A Greystoke forsaken,

Plus grey eyes, a new view-halloo!

Scheetz

The Lying Corn-Chandlers of Ames Is one of the curious names

From Scheetz’s foray

In grand I-o-way

And his lovely Sherlockian games.

Scheetz

The Stormy Petrel wings ghostly in the sky, Below which looms the gibbet of the BSI.

Where a demonhound awaits with open jaw, Into which the Petrel lobs a gift of insouciant guano.

Rossini

5

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Astrakhan is a black, lambswool fur.

An opulent garb of the swarthy entrepreneur, Which Milverton bought wholesale at a dark, Satanic mill, Rendering the style so British and worn by Winston Churchill.

Rossini

There was a tetchy young maiden at Musgrove.

Who relied on a marriage proposal, by Jove!

Spurned she was, and angry,

Surprised him when she served a cee-ment whammy.

Rossini

Watson, stymied, could only but knock After seventeen steps he did walk He observed with a sob,

“Someone stole our doorknob!

I’m a doctor, and not a Sherlock!”

Riethmeier

In the library somebody reaches To find Doyle and Holmes microfiches From Colliers and Post

The tales I like the most

Are the lovingly-written pastiches.

Riethmeier

Basil Rathbone

With a smile Basil Rathbone would fence, But with Sherlock he was no-nonsense.

He chased villains and spies,

Worked hard for the Allies,

Doing right was his sole recompense.

Kozinn

6

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time He was The Holmes for a generation, In costume, or saving a nation.

With Watson so nice,

His voice so precise,

On screen or on radio station.

Kozinn

There are some rooms on Baker Street Where many clients have taken a seat Then there is Watson

Who writes to not be forgotten Secrets are told knowing all will be discreet Aho

Nigel Bruce

As the script read, he sometimes played the fool.

Detective's foils are silly; that's the rule.

Born in 1895.

Wish he were still alive.

Nigel Bruce on the screen was a jewel.

Kozinn

Watson’s First Wife

Some say Watson was married before, Or after, or during his war.

Opinions may vary:

Was it only just Mary?

Some say six, which is rather a bore.

Kozinn

Though slanderous stories are rife, I contend that in all of his life, She was one and the same;

Morstan’s her maiden name.

Watson had only one loving wife.

Kozinn

7

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star A Matter of Pronunciation

When we're trying to write some poems

'Bout the Canon and our Sherlock Holmes, It's surely a fraud

To put in Le-strawd

If we can't find a rhyme in our tomes.

Kozinn

O Ogden Nash, Who Did This First and Better If you want a Sherlockian lim'rick And find it's a difficult trick, Just go, for a time,

With the easiest rhyme,

But when you go for the rhythm, well, that's where you're likely to find it a bit thick.

Kozinn

Farewell, Sherlock! Farewell, Watson, too.

First to lost, you’ve been loyal and true.

Of the human totality

Who have lived in reality

There’ve been none quite as real as you.

Asimov

While patrolling with Rangers in Space, I read of a murder with no trace.

There was a Doctor and a remarkable Sleuth Who together discovered the truth.

I have stayed with this team for every case.

Lies

He's known and loved throughout the world In countless volumes, old and new, In comic strips and comic books, In magazines, and journals too, Beeson

8

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time In countless turns upon the stage, In movies (new and antiquated), In radio and TV shows,

In cartoons (still and animated).

Beeson

He has a crater on the moon;

He dwells in all the medias.

Pray, who but Holmes has filled not one, But two Encyclopedias?

Beeson

There once was a ‘dick’ from Great Britain, Who solved a code, secretly written.

Many had guessed,

And all were impressed,

By the Master’s skill, we were smitten!

Falkingham

9

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star Presented to Tankerville Club – Edward Lear, Sept 20, 2019

A Toast to Watson's Neglected Patients That you will never know them is such a shame Mrs. Symthe, Mr. Perkins and Mortimore Jayme The problem is you see

They are never known to you and me Since in the canon they are never mentioned by name Watson's patients came on their appointed day Hoping that there would be no delay Only to be told

A crime began to unfold

And they would have to come back and could not stay How many there are we will never know Because when the "game was afoot" the dr. Had to go For his patients knew

At the call of view-holloa

He could not to his trusted friend to say “no”.

Please raise you glasses to Dr. Watson's neglected patients.

Lear

10

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time Presented to Tankerville Club – Edward Lear, January 21, 1983

There once was a Violet Sherrinford, so fair Who met up with Siger Holmes, who had flair Their courtship was fast

Their marriage did last

Today that is something rare

With three children, their family did grow All boys, as we all well know

Though little is known

‘Til they were finally grown

One stood out from head to toe He has intrigued us from head to his toes We read all his books and watch all his shows To see only his hat

We need no more clues than that The Deduction: “It’s elementary” I suppose Ladies and gentlemen, a toast to the World’s Greatest Consulting Detective – Mr. Sherlock Holmes !!!

Lear

11

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star A STUDY IN SCARLET

No Sergeant’s Stripes

There was a dumb copper named Rance Who to star in a case had a chance, But Jefferson Hope

Fooled the gullible dope,

So, in rank Rance will never advance.

Martin

Re Afghan’s southeastern sierra, A SIGN that his tale’s a chimera:—

The gun never shot,

Double-barreled or not,

For Watson was holding Panthera.

Scheetz

Why’d the cabbie kill men from Utah?

It goes back to the gal with no ma.

They treated her bad.

It was all very sad.

Holmes unraveled; cabbie’s heart broke. Too bad!

Kozinn

Ash from a Trichinopoly cigar

A loosed wedding ring is so bizarre Three old, one new horse shoe

Long nails killer did choose

Poisoned pills, two each by choice, there are Mason

12

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time In an empty house a body was found With a wedding ring there on the ground The word "rache" was in blood on a wall Writ by a man with red face and quite tall The case solved when Holmes came ‘round Olson

Tankerville Club Toast -- Edward Lear, June 15, 2018

Toast to Watson's bull pup

It started out as, “yes, I know this one”

but there were more by the time I was done If truth be told

We were all probably fooled

by what really is meant by this son-of-a-gun It was in the story you just read and for his part winds up dead killed by strychnine pill

but some say he was ill

and in the end his name was never said.

Or it could have been what Watson used to keep them from being battered and bruised.

Easy to carry, easy hide

just the thing when by Sherlock's side or maybe what Sherlock used to keep himself amused 13

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star Or it could be his quick temper to some of you And to others if may mean something I never knew But now that you've read the story you be judge and jury

Cause it may be something else totally out of the blue.

But regardless, Ladies and Gentlemen, let us raise our glasses to Watson's Bull Pup!

Lear

Meet the quick mind that restlessly combs Through the smallest of clues as it roams From initial confusion

To triumphant conclusion.

My friends, here we have Sherlock Holmes.

Asimov

Watson, struggling on half pay, Needs a cheaper place to stay

He and Stamford go to meet

A chap who proposes Baker Street We all are blessed that the answer was yea Clark

Holmes observed, as a candle's flame fluttered, That the window was open not shuttered For a very brief time

At the time of the crime,

Since the candle had burned, but not guttered.

Beeson

14

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time There once was a young British soldier Whose memory lapsed as he grew older.

To the wonder of all

He could not recall

If he’d been shot in the leg or the shoulder.

Falkingham

15

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star Presented to Tankerville Club – January 30, 1987

A Toast to Young Stamford

Once having been a dresser at St. Bart’s He ran into characters of all sorts This day an old friend

Whose ear he did bend

Of an acquaintance who spent all his time with retorts With his income not keeping the pace Dear Watson was looking for someone to share a place

“Why that is two of you today: Our young Stamford would say

And off to Bart’s chemical lab they would race For Watson it was a sign of relief But the world has noted, I believe No question at all

The words that started it all

“You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive”

Lear

16

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time THE SIGN OF FOUR

Sherlock Holmes could find nary a flaw In his theory from clues that he saw Down the path he was led

By a dog, so he said,

“Thanks to Toby, the game is a paw.”

Riethmeier

Watson met Mary during the Agra case She found out her father died in disgrace The treasure was lost

which is a shame

But Mary married Watson and took his name Pieper

Who was sending dear Mary a pearl?

Peg leg, thorn, child’s foot, map – what a whirl!

On a boat on the Thames,

Holmes found killers, lost gems.

P.S.: Watson? He married the girl.

Kozinn

An annual guilty gift of loose pearls A treasure map

across the globe whirls

A thief with wooden leg

Spiked dart made Sholto beg

Toby follows the creosote swirls Mason

17

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star Mary Morstan lost her long absent dad For the past ten years it made her sad But by post each year she gets a pearl And Watson is smitten with this girl While Holmes thought her only a fad Olson

Muttered Holmes, "Never mind Cocaine's pleasure, Let us seek out the famed Agra Treasure."

Answered Watson, "No pearls For myself_ only girls;

And it's Mary who is measured to my measure."

Asimov

The Holmes's minds, far beyond av’rages, Must have found this world peopled by savages.

Did their minds reach this station via random mutation, Or were both advanced Engines of Babbage's?

Beeson

18

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES

Merry Christmas from Ross and Mangles A young heir who’d just crossed the Atlantic Met events which well, nigh drove him frantic.

He did all but expire

Near the Great Grimpen Mire

Because of a hound most gigantic.

Martin

There once was a family called Baskerville Who lived on the outskirts of Coomb Tracyville Sherlock shot the hound

Who made such a sound

Then Holmes and Watson returned to London Town Pieper

Someone’s killing at Baskerville, and fast.

Will the current heir end up the last?

His chances were poor:

The hound howled on the moor.

Then Holmes saw that picture from the past.

Kozinn

A letter with the scent of perfume Missing one new, then old, boot assume Upon the ground ashes

Family portraits flashes

Stapleton the Mire did entomb

Mason

19

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star Sir Charles was murdered in Dartmoor When a huge hound frightened him to the core Holmes and Watson went to Baskerville Hall And on all the neighbors made a social call So, Watson saw Mrs. Lyons and wanted more Olson

When Mortimer looked at the ground He gasped at what he found

Because as all are aware

What he saw down there

Were the prints of a gigantic hound Clark

‘Fore a fire to protect me from winter chills I dreamt of The Canon’s familiar thrills; Had a fine time except, before waking, I stepped On the tail of the Hound of the Baskervilles!

Beeson

When they heard of a Baskerville hound, To another case Sherlock was bound.

He sent Watson first

To look into the curse.

But to Dartmoor, Holmes soon came around!

Falkingham

20

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time THE VALLEY OF FEAR

What goes on in the mines is just bad.

Bodymaster’s a thorough-going cad.

There are crimes from a gang,

Then a double-barreled “bang”

In England brings an end that is sad.

Kozinn

Something strange with the Wife’s attitude Missing dumb-bell a great magnitude Fake clue the bike did bring

Real clue the wedding ring

Bloody footprint led to fortitude Mason

The story comes from violence in mining American coal Holmes goes to Sussex and solving a murder was his goal Of course, in the States there was Pinkerton and his crew And an undercover agent that nobody really knew Who ended up in England, hiding in a hole Olson

21

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes A Scandal in Bohemia

A girl from the States named Irene Could not be a Bohemian Queen

The picture she had

With her von Ormstein cad

Brought Holmes to the crime of the scene Goldfarb

Holmes thought Irene Adler the best.

Mind and beauty, she topped all the rest.

For the picture he tried,

But to Europe she hied.

With her Norton, for a life marriage-blessed.

Kozinn

First, he disguised as a drunken groom Next, as a clergy to gain the room Watson sent in the smoke

Irene dressed as a bloke

The photo kept the king from a doom Mason

Irene was a beauty in her day

And over Holmes' heart she held sway But he suffered alone

Because he stayed at home

And she left for the States to sell AmWay Olson

22

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The consulting detective was hired, To obtain a photograph desired By the King of Bohemia

Plagued with insomnia

Until the photograph was acquired.

Hébert, E.

A plan was soon devised

To win back the item so prized Watson cried, “Fire!”

But Irene was slier,

And followed them home in disguise.

Hébert, E.

Sherlock thought he had won,

But his scheme had been outdone Irene ran away,

With her lawyer, Godfrey

And Holmes now respected the woman.

Hébert, E.

Cabinet Photo

In the mad merry month of his May-time The Grand Duke had himself quite a gay time.

But, his wedding in sight,

He feared Irene might

Tell his in-laws-to-be of their play-time.

Martin

When ‘Scandal’ appeared in the Strand, It launched stories of a new brand.

With Irene as Holmes’ foil

The name ‘Conan Doyle’

Was soon known throughout the land.

Falkingham

23

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star There once was a diva named Irene, She twiddled and diddled a king, She bested our boy

And moved on with pure joy,

I give you The Woman, Irene.

Austin

The Count says that Irene

Was so very mean

She tangled with the detective But what was her true objective She would have made an admirable queen Aho

24

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Red-Headed League

If you need to dig a tunnel like gnomes Divert Jabez to copy out tomes But clever John Clay

Couldn't quite get away

From the even cleverer Holmes

Goldfarb

He'd copied page after page after page, The pawnbroker complained in a rage, It was not a good deal –

His own kneecaps were real –

He'd been snookered -- a man of his age!

Kozinn

Several clues led Holmes to the suspect dear Dirty trousers and a rare pierced ear A Potter-forehead scar

Let John Clay be the star

A hollow sidewalk made the tale clear Mason

Wilson had a pate of bright red Which bad guys exploited, Sherlock said He took the villains' hook

And he copied a book

Could Holmes be partial to a red head?

Olson

25

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The arch criminal John Clay

Was considered clever in his day But Holmes was brainier

And trapped the subterrainier

Despite pausing to hear Sarasate Clark

There once was a con man

who had a very good scam.

He dug a hole

like a mole.

But, Sherlock blocked the plan.

Katie

Jabez got a new clerk.

This gave him time to do “work”.

As Sherlock caught on,

the villains went on.

But, he foiled their handiwork.

Rowan

There once was a man named Sherlock who had a case about red locks.

Clay was gonna steal some gold, but his plan had no foothold.

In the end, Holmes sent him to a cell block.

Luke

Jabez Wilson hired a clerk,

but the clerk was masking a smirk.

Spaulding tunneled a hole.

He had a dark soul.

But, Sherlock “dissolved” his filthy work.

Liza, Ellie, and Sophia

26

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time Once Jabez came to 221b

and described a Red-headed League.

Behind the pawnshop was a bank.

Between them was a tunnel that was dank.

This time Clay didn’t go free.

Finn

John Clay was digging a hole

‘cause he was searching for gold.

But, Holmes put him in jail.

The Red-headed League was a fail.

In the end, Clay got no bankroll.

Finn

There was an old man who was scammed.

Once he started writing the criminals scrammed.

They tunneled a hole.

They were like a mole.

Sherlock stopped them in the end.

Caroline and Andrew

There once was a red-headed man.

He was fooled by lawless man

to leave his shop

so they could slop

dirt, and so it began.

Lekha and Lucas

For his tunnel, John Clay had to borrow Jabez Wilson's pawn shop, whence they'd burrow; They left Fleet Street a-choke "With red-head d folk, And Pope's Court... like a caster’s orange barrow.

Beeson

27

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star Jabez utters “Well, I never!

I thought you had done something clever.”

In fact, Holmes deduced

A plot that produced

The first three-pipe problem ever!

Falkingham

Why?

A remarkable man was John Clay; Went to Eton and Oxford, they say.

In Saxe-Coburg Square

For a man with red hair

He was willing to work at half pay.

Martin

28

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time A Case of Identity

Skunk Cabbage

The man for whom Mary did fall She met at the gas-fitters’ ball.

That despicable louse

Was her own mother’s spouse,

So, she never got married at all.

Martin

On the sidewalk poor Mary did dither, As her thoughts flew hither and thither, Why did Angel disappear?

Was he dead? Oh, the fear!

Holmes knew Windibank’s love was just blither.

Kozinn

Mary falls hard for glasses tinted Black side whiskers and whisper hinted Although two letters typed

Hosmer a man disliked

Holmes threatened his head to be dented Mason

Mary Sutherland longed for the marriage bed But turned over her money to stepfather instead Until she met a man at the Gasfitters Ball And his attentions soon held her in thrall But he did a runner before they could wed Olson

29

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star A naive lady named Mary

Of suitors should have been wary For somehow, she had

Affianced with her DAD

But Holmes sorted out the quandary Clark

30

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Boscombe Valley Mystery

Once again that policeman, Lestrade, An erroneous deduction has made, He accepts with no fight

That Holmes has it right.

"Why does fate play such tricks," Holmes then said.

Kozinn

McCarthy died while yelling ‘Cooee’

Holmes thinks Charles’ murderer knew he Last word sounded like ‘rat’

The weapon a stone flat

To protect loved ones can be spooky Mason

Charles left Australia and to Boscombe came He paid his neighbor blackmail just the same The villain was the man next door His son and the villain's girl true love swore A photo wasn't the only frame

Olson

31

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Five Orange Pips Papers on a Sundial

The warnings of Five Orange Pips Sherlock saw were connected with ships, But he still failed to save

Openshaw from the grave—

One of Holmes’s more serious slips.

Martin

Openshaw, when drowned in the darque, Caused Holmes’s anger to sparque.

Thus, five pips accrue

To Calhoun and his crew,

Who all bid adieu on a barque.

Scheetz

Five pips in the mail was no joke Elias Openshaw knew he would croak Holmes got it right

What would happen at night

But young John's body was found all asoak Goldfarb

To eliminate threat may be smart, Though, war over, why take it to heart?

Still, who’s dumber than

The KKK man

Who kills generations apart?

Kozinn

32

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time Openshaw murders based on a pip Victims could not follow 3 K’s scrip Papers unplaced on sundial

Killings done with sly guile

Bad guys met their end on sinking ship Mason

The Klan made death threats with an orange pip To victims of the crew of an American ship The Barque Lone Star was lost at sea After the murderers sailed away to get free Now our society doesn't give it much lip Olson

Take heed to this wondrous tale Of five seeds sent in the mail Not tomato by Burpee

But orange so deadly

They cause a man’s heart to fail.

Mosher

33

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Man with the Twisted Lip

Pennies flowed just like wine from the fount,

‘Til St Clair had a fat bank account.

The funds grew apace.

Then a sponge crossed his face.

Now he *works* to increase the amount.

Kozinn

The Thames gives up the pennies and coat Ms. St. Clair finds the toy bricks of note A dashed memo he pens

To a jail cell Boone spends

A sponge forces Neville to emote Mason

Holmes found St. Clair wearing stripes And went to an opium den with no gripes St. Clair hid his begging scheme And made his poor wife start to scream While Holmes just enjoyed his pipes Olson

The beautiful Mrs. St. Clair,

Though intelligent and debonair, Didn't realize her honey

Was raking in big money

By subterfuge in the open air

Clark

34

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time Mrs. Watson was quite confused Whilst Mrs. St. Clair gave her news She called Watson, James

Which isn’t his name

And sent hubs out for opium and clues.

Mosher

35

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle James Ryder gave the goosey a look At a stone, so we read in a book.

The maid was no dandy,

But the Countess left it handy, So, which one was really the crook?

Kozinn

For a goose, it will eat what it's fed, And a weak man is easily led,

Into crime by a dame.

So, it's her that you'd blame, But easy pickings can turn a girl's head.

Kozinn

Sherlock Holmes is the one to decide, He gives all those concerned a free ride.

He rarely gets beaten.

Well, the goose did get eaten, With cranberry sauce on the side!

Kozinn

A love token to his wife the goose The prep causes a blue gem to loose The hat leads to Baker

Ryder is the faker

Holmes allows the villain to excuse Mason

36

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time James Ryder was pitiful indeed Pleading forgiveness on bended knee Homes chose to commute

The season to suit

Ryder’s Christmas themed fowl felony Mosher

Ryder was a jewel thief 'cause he was crook'd But thanks to Holmes he was never booked Holmes looked at the bird and a dusty hat He knew the bad guy but didn't rat And by then the villain's goose was cooked Olson

Carbuncles come in green, red, yellow, purple, or white But to report this one as blue was just not right Was the fault with Watson, Holmes, Doyle, or all three?

And who was responsible for the thief going free?

‘T'was Holmes posing as a Yuletime white knight Olson

The Blue Carbuncle is a tale of geese Sherlock and Watson bring about its decease Inside the goose’s neck they find The rarest carbuncle of all mankind Watson begs to call the police Hébert, T.

37

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star They go to the man who was the geese’s provider They get in a fight, then go and meet Ryder They take him back to Baker Street And order him to take a seat

He tells of feeling like an outsider Hébert, T.

He took the carbuncle from its case And felt like he had won the race He went to his sister’s home and made A geese eat the gem; its tail was a darker shade He picked the wrong goose and ran from the place Hébert, T.

As Ryder’s tale begins to cease He begs Sherlock not to call the police Sherlock proves himself again, And lets Ryder go, his heart over his brain And this is the end of the story of geese Hébert, T.

There once was a piece of meat.

It was sitting on the street.

The Petersons did dine

not knowing the crime.

And, Ryder’s freedom was a treat!

Katie

There was a hat on the street

with a piece of meat.

The goose had a gem.

The gem stumped Him (Peterson), but Holmes refused defeat.

Rowan

38

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time There was a goose that was fed a blue gem.

The criminal did this crime at PM.

Sherlock investigate-ed.

James Ryder experienced dread.

It was Yuletide, so Holmes didn’t condemn.

Caroline and Andrew

There was a blue gem that was lost.

It had a very great cost.

It was inside a goose

which Sherlock used to deduce.

In the end, the culprit was tossed.

Finn

There once was a billycock and some meat that were abruptly left on the street.

Peterson gave Holmes a ring.

Holmes said, “It’s a bonny thing!”

In the end, the culprit hated defeat.

Finn

39

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Speckled Band The Blacksmith-Tosser and Poker-Bender There was a most Sinister man

Who repaired his west wing with a plan.

But he soon paid the piper,

Killed by his own viper

In that old Surrey town, Stoke Moran.

Martin

When the Stoner girls wanted to wed Their stepfather wanted them dead But the best plans of Roylott

Were flushed down the toilet

When the Speckled Band went to his head.

Thomalen

In the dark, if you hear a soft hiss, Be very afraid, my dear miss.

If you want to get wed,

You'll find yourself dead.

Step-dad Roylott will make sure of this.

Kozinn

Many odd clues to deduce in full Bed attached to floor, and fake bell pull Milk fed to an adder

Used rope as a ladder

Many Sherlockians felt clues were bull Mason

40

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time Dr. Roylott gave a viper a bell-pull to tread To bite his daughters before they could wed But Holmes was too quick

And hit the snake with his stick And the spotted band went to doc's head Olson

A girl was quite distraught

Advice was what she sought

The death of her twin

A most terrible thing

And she wanted the murdered caught.

Hébert, E.

Helen couldn't sleep one wink

And the baboon began to screech.

Watson gave the signal,

Sherlock climbed the window

And it was done before they all could blink.

Hébert, E.

A very horrid mistake

All caused by a snake

Who'd killed Helen's twin

And was at it again

Until Holmes put its master in his place.

Hébert, E.

John H. Watson was never so bold He would not stay behind as was told No fear had the man

Of the speckled band

Or the dangers that Holmes had foretold.

Mosher

41

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star No access through window or door, The bed was clamped to the floor.

A lady met doom

In a tightly locked room.

But Sherlock deduces much more!

Falkingham

Her twin heard a whistle, a clang.

When Holmes pulled the cord, no bell rang.

A cheetah, baboon,

Gypsies - yet soon

Stepfather succumbs to a fang.

Falkingham

When Miss Stoner, in awful distress, Turned to Holmes to help clear up the mess, Holmes and Watson agreed

With commendable speed

To help put all her terrors to rest.

Caddell

“My twin sister was soon to be wed When she staggered one night from her bed.

She cried ‘It was the band!’

As she lifted her hand,

And the life from her body then fled.”

Caddell

Holmes and Watson sit vigil at night To bring hideous crimes to the light.

Down the bell-pull – a snake!

But our heroes don’t quake.

Lesser men would be frozen with fright.

Caddell

42

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time Quick! Holmes chases the snake through the grate And it coils itself round Roylott’s pate.

From his blood-curdling screams, Dr. Roylott, it seems,

Meets a dreadful but well-deserved fate.

Caddell

With the end of this dastardly plot, Poor Miss Stoner can better her lot.

“Roylott’s death,” Holmes declares, Leaning back in his chair,

“Will not trouble my conscience one jot.”

Caddell

43

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star

"The Adventure of the Speckled Band"

By Dr. John Watson as told to Karen Olson Conan Doyle wrote for The Strand A tale of a deadly speckled band Though the maiden it slew

I just still had no clue

When Holmes played his winning hand.

'Twas a case of a doctor in Surrey Whose step daughter sought help in a hurry It was in April '83

When Holmes called to see me

So early my mind was still furry Found a lass in our sitting room Haggard features spoke of her gloom Holmes sought advantage to gain When he mentioned her train

Which she boarded without help from a groom.

"My name's Helen Stoner," she said

"I'm here 'cause my twin sister is dead We lived with stepfather at Stoke Moran Tho’ a doctor, he's a cold, morose man Wild beasts of India the grounds do tread Two years ago, my sister was engaged Stepfather was erratic but not much enraged Sleep was disturbed by a whistle until one deep night She opened her door and cried out with such fright She swooned in my arms without being assuaged By light of morning she was cold It was of the speckled band she told And I'd head the low whistle before The shutters had been bolted, as was her door To find the reason of her death, please, sir, be bold.

44

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time Holmes told her to return home and she made quick flight When our door was crashed by a man of great height It was stepfather, Roylott, and as part of his temper He bent the poker without even a whimper But Holmes is strong, too, and he made it right To our investigation this gave zest And Holmes vowed to give it his best So that afternoon to Surrey we'd travel To save her life and the mystery to unravel To satisfy the terrified lady's request At Stoke Moran we examined the hall Holmes checked the ventilator high on the wall He noted the pull-rope attached to no bell So, we'd spend the night next to Roylott's cell My pistol ready for Holmes beck and call.

We waited quite tense through the dark hour Until we saw light in the vent and held fast with our power Holmes yelled, and to the bell-pull directed his cane He said he saw the band and from Roylott, a cry of pain A scream which wakes the dead and causes milk to sour We rushed to his door and saw a terrible fare The doctor quite dead with a dreadful stare Around his brow a deadly snake raised its head Miss Stoner was safe now, Roylott was dead And thus, Holmes laid strange facts bare Holmes said the world's in a wicked thrall When a clever doctor takes the fall He is the first of criminals to serve He has knowledge and he has nerve We agreed it is the worst of all.

45

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star And so, the speckled pit viper was caught Before the final murder Dr. Roylott sought The lady was married and got her money Holmes got paid and canned his honey My pistol and my loyalty got naught.

In summary:

Watson said:

Doc dead

Holmes famed

Viper blamed

Girl wed

Olson

46

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb A Close Call in The Country

There was once a young engineer Who to losing his life came quite near.

On the sill of a winder

He did leave a finger;

The whole episode was quite queer.

Martin

Victor Hatherley, he needed some Remuneration, but he was so dumb That he failed to get out

Till attacked by a lout

And had to come home sans a thumb.

Kozinn

Hatherly hired to check a press Fuller’s earth leads him to a scam guess A cleaver takes his thumb

Brandy is used, not rum

A house fire, any clues does repress Mason

Villains had a press where coin was made But the press broke down, so they had to trade Thus, an engineer was promised a fee But he lost his thumb while trying to flee So, Holmes got him a large band-aid Olson

A secretive man name of Stark

Sought Hatherley out as his mark When Vick tried to leave

His thumb Stark did cleave

And then slipped away in the dark Pace

47

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star There was a hydraulic engineer A lost thumb nearly cost his career Not even Holmes’ wit

Lay finger on it

The thin man escaped twenty years Mosher

48

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor British nobles like St. Simon, I'm told, Offered titles for American gold, His bride thought herself widow (Which St. Simon never did know) Till her husband called her back to his fold.

Kozinn

Hatty was leading a double life Both Robert and Francis to their wife Dropped Bouquet and a note

Her dress and ring a float

Robert was having none of the strife Mason

The new Mrs. St. Simon was a stunner But right after the wedding, she did a runner As the cops dragged the lake

Holmes did a double-take

And Doyle thought this tale was a bummer.

Olson

49

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet From a safe, thieves a coronet could take, But at home, burglars someone would wake.

Holder locked it with a key

That anyone could see.

That's the biggest mistake he could make.

Kozinn

Holder lends funds on 39 gems

Arthur “steals” stones; Dad quickly condemns His tale did not hold up

George and Mary link up

Apologies asked to renew friends Mason

A banker had a priceless crown in his care And when it was damaged, he thought it unfair Holmes pinned it on the niece

The wayward son, got scant peace From her lover the niece got much to bare Olson

The beryl coronet

He took to his regret

To secure a loan

For parties unknown

And now his life’s upset

Pace

50

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Copper Beeches Not a job for a girl like a sister, Said Holmes of that very odd mister.

But the girl in the attic

Was wildly ecstatic,

When the sailor boy rescued, then kissed her.

Kozinn

Violet offered a strange position Creepy son and wife one condition She must wear blue dresses

And lose the long tresses

Alice escapes on own volition

Mason

Violet Hunter's job came with some doubts In spite of her boss's firm touts She gets good money to wear certain frocks And even more money to cut off her locks But if she seems like someone else, he pouts Olson

Miss Hunter has reason to hope That Sherlock can help her to cope.

Her employment is screwed up

Her employer is chewed up,

While Alice and Fowler elope.

Hamilton

Violet succumbed to Rucastle's beseeches And took the job at Copper Beeches But before very long

Things began to go wrong

Ending with her employer's screeches Clark

51

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The governess obsesses

On cutting off her tresses

And there’s one thing more

There’s more in the drawer

Adding to her distresses

Pace

52

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes The Adventure of Silver Blaze

Horsing Around

There once was a villain named Straker Whom a race horse sent back to his Maker.

Holmes remarked that the canine Did naught in the night-time—

The clue, as it turned out much later.

Martin

A nick in the leg earns a bash In the head with a hoof in a flash.

When Holmes solved the case,

The horse ran apace,

And Sherlock walked off with some cash.

Kozinn

Straker needed cash in a hurry He used a sharp knife, sheep and curry Silver Blaze wins the race

Holmes cleans the horse’s face To this day, the dog has no worry Mason

A missing race horse caused quite a craze If he lives to win the race, then big time he pays Though the dog did not bark

Watson caught a clue on a lark The horse of a different color was Silver Blaze Olson

A trainer with criminal aim

Tried fixing a horse racing game Got kicked in the head

Which left him quite dead

Before he could make the horse lame Pace

53

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star England's favorite race horse was gone And his trainer murdered, poor John!

Where was the horse?

Who killed John, of course?

And would Silver Blaze return to his lawn?

Hébert, E.

The police were baffled,

So the case was tackled

By Sherlock himself

And no one else

But there was no killer to be shackled.

Hébert, E.

The horse was found running free, Escaped from a secret surgery.

John fell on his own knife,

Saving Blaze’s life,

The horse dancing with glee.

Hébert, E.

A trainer found dead in a bog, Betrayed by his non-barking dog.

Could a horse be the killer

In this unorthodox thriller

With a plot thick as London’s fog?

Falkingham

54

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Yellow Face Li’l Lucy wore a mask that was yellow.

It concealed her black face very well. Oh, How she did smile

When it took just a while

Till Munro proved a very fine fellow.

Kozinn

Holmes deducts much from an amber pipe Not often, he buys the client’s hype A child behind a mask

The wife takes him to task

And teaches beware stereotype

Mason

The Munros life in Norbury was good Until Munro didn't know where he stood Because Effie began visiting a nearby home Munro thought she started to roam But the face at the window was her brood Olson

55

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk There once was a stockbroker’s clerk Who acted a bit like a jerk.

Though he wasn’t a nob

He ran out on one job,

For a scam – and a dull bit of work.

Kozinn

Hall is offered a large commission A good Franco-Midland position Both villains have gold tooth

Pinner can’t face the truth

Will swing for their murder admission Mason

Hall Pycroft thought himself a high paid clod Because of the shifty road as a broker he trod The Pinner brothers were one and the same And they used Pycroft to help with their game So, Holmes turned them over to the plod Olson

56

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Gloria Scott When Holmes first saw the Armitage tat, He gathered much history from that.

The old man went faint,

Then said, “If you ain’t,

A detective, then I’ll eat my hat!”

Kozinn

Holmes is laid up by a friend’s dog bite Arm initials bring a clue to light A Secret code of three

Tells an ally to flee

Old Trevor lost his life due to fright Mason

Holmes goes to Norfolk with his college mate Another visitor named Hudson tempted his fate Old Trevor's coded note scared him badly And he made plans to depart quite madly But Holmes knew about dodgy freight Olson

"How is it you came to detecting?"

Ask Watson of Holmes on reflecting, O'er notes from his files,

From one of his piles,

"Old Trevor was caught unsuspecting."

Hawkins

57

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual Brunton’s smarter by far than his master.

He decoded the ritual faster.

But what if you know

How to go down below

If your plans end in total disaster?

Kozinn

Musgrave gives Holmes a tale based on rite A butler’s huge greed and a maid’s spite Age old Crown jewel head gear

Tossed in a shallow mere

The case solved on elm and oak tree height Mason

The historic rhyme made a big hit Causing relatives to use all their grit Old Bunton was up to some caper But got fired for reading an old paper And as we all know, the butler did it Olson

Nancy Devoy, the regimental belle, Soon had Barclay under her spell Alas, she preferred the handsomer Harry And it was certain they would marry But he was betrayed to an earthly hell Clark

58

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Reigate Squire A man and his son, Reigate Squires, Turned to crime to fulfill their desires.

They wrote alternate words –

Thought they’d stay free as birds –

But Holmes proved the pair of them liars.

Kozinn

A strange theft including ball of twine To hide another crime not benign Holmes fakes a stressful fit

Oranges and water, he hit

To find the note which based the bottom line Mason

Holmes and Watson travel to Surrey And find a victim whose favor they curry A bowl of oranges Holmes seems to dump And he blames Watson as a clumsy chump So, they could solve the crime in a hurry Olson

59

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Crooked Man Henry Wood was an old, sick, and blue man Whose only friend was the ichneumon, But for years, through the pain, He’d always remain,

Despite every bad trick, a true man.

Kozinn

A wife appears to have bonked her spouse Holmes convinced another entered the house Deformed man and a box

Certainly not a fox

Apoplexy did in the wife’s spouse Mason

Col. James Barkley was a coward in the past His wife loved Henry but married James at last James engineered a plan for Henry to die When Nancy saw Henry she let out a cry The widow ended in a melodrama cast Olson

60

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Resident Patient To practice, Trevelyan needed money; Blessington made a deal, a real honey.

When his partners in crime

Caught up with him in time,

He learned hanging around wasn’t funny.

Kozinn

Percy asked to be personal doc Good pay does not allow him to balk Footprints on the carpet

Gang to collect a debt

Long time to allow revenge to stalk Mason

A doctor had a practice where it didn't belong Landlord guarded himself from the London throng Then a pair of spies invaded the house And the patron loudly started to grouse But was found with his neck stretched too long Olson

61

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter Mycroft was smart as they come, Didn’t need many clues, only some.

But his thinking was bad

When he put in that ad.

Oh, Mycroft, that was really dumb!

Kozinn

Paul and Sophy held against their will Meles is called on due to his skill Paul will never give in

Harold and Wilson ‘fin’

Paul meets his end by a charcoal grille Mason

Mycroft’s neighbor was forced to speak To a half-starved man who only spoke Greek The villains wanted him to sign some paper Until a girl named Sophy interrupted the caper And Mycroft thought Sherlock a freak Olson

62

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Naval Treaty Tale of a Tadpole

There was a young fellow named Phelps Who responded to good news with yelps.

Ham and eggs, curried chicken, He said, “They me sicken.

It’s finding the treaty that helps.”

Martin

You’ve been asked to copy a treaty.

Though you know it’s a very dull feat-y, Never leave it! What’s more,

Check the lock on the door.

Then, no problems – you’ll soon wed your sweetie!

Kozinn

Watson’s friend Tadpole lost a treaty Bedridden, cared for by his sweetie Diagnosed with fever

Michael the deceiver

Percy accused, Holmes stayed believer Mason

Watson's friend Percy was in a fix He set a trap for a spy just for kicks But the spy was too smart

And it broke Watson's heart

To find Percy deserved his licks Olson

63

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star Poor old Phelps faces prospects of doom And yet all he can do is fume.

The pact’s gone — He was sentry —

There’s no sign of an entry

But our Holmes can decode the locked room Asimov

64

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Final Problem

By train and by boat, day and night, Chased by Moriarty our duo takes flight.

The end comes at the falls.

For Holmes, duty calls.

“He’s the wisest man,” Watson will write.

Kozinn

Twice Holmes has faced a death-dealing threat Around his foe he has cast a net At the falls they did face

Both fell in a deep space

The best and wisest man Watson met Mason

Holmes fought Moriarty very well Until from a ledge they both fell While poor Watson left for a trick About a woman said to be sick

He was left a lurid tale to sell Olson

Moriarty, Napoleon of Crime,

Met his end, and it wasn’t sublime.

Thrown down the abyss –

But something’s amiss!

We won’t know quite what for some time.

Poor Watson could not comprehend A world without his wise friend.

How could he know,

In the turmoil below,

Reichenbach wasn’t really the end?

Falkingham

65

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Return of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventure of the Empty House Get Your Boy a Von Herder

The second most dangerous man

In London was Colonel Moran,

But he never dreamed

He’d be trapped by that fiend, And Lestrade took him off to the can.

Martin

Three years of silence Holmes kept.

He’d ensured Moriarty leapt –

Well, was pushed – to the stream.

It all worked like a dream!

While in London poor Watson just wept!

Kozinn

Holmes met Moriarty at the falls He never intended to fight him at all They battled it out

but Holmes won out

And sent Moriarty down the falls with a knockout Pieper

Sigurðsson, much to her horror, Laid a weird legend before her.

It sounded so wiggy!

Was he Gene Wilder’s Sigi,

Or Sherlock’s Norwegian explorer?

Scheetz

At cards they were a winning pair, But Moran wasn’t playing fair.

When he was caught

He aimed and shot

The Honourable Ronald Adair.

Dillistone

66

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time Watson goes to scene of a killing Adair dead counting pound and shilling Holmes makes dear Watson faint Using bookseller feint

Moran is caught with air-gun chilling Mason

Watson was sad to think Holmes was dead Holmes needed him and came back instead Watson was shocked clear to his sox By the activity on his Baker Street blocks A wax bust kept Sherlock from losing his head Olson

I pity poor Ronald Adair.

At cards, he won more than his share.

His good luck at whist

Put his life in a twist

With foes who don’t always play fair.

Falkingham

*

67

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Norwood Builder Holmes cried, “Quick Watson, the bucket!”

Oldacre was out of luck, it

was his failure to frame

The son of his old flame

He’d’ve been better to flee to Nantucket.

Goldfarb

McFarlane’s situation was dire Until Holmes fixed it all with a fire.

Revenge for the past

Had burgeoned at last.

It seemed the old man was a liar.

Kozinn

Oldacre wants McFarlane to pay For love lost from a previous day A blood thumbprint is fake

False room adds double-take

Holmes forces his hand with burning hay Mason

The story begins with a pile of ashes And to Baker Street a shaken suspect dashes To arrest McFarlane Lestrade soon came But Holmes by then suspected a frame And a false wall revealed secret stashes Olson

68

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Dancing Men Elsie married and changed her cognomen Cubitt found notes thwarting his acumen Slaney, filled with such hate, shot his rival. Too late!

Sherlock decodes the clever Dancing Men.

Riethmeier

Abe Slaney was up to his tricks When he drew all those figures like sticks.

Hilton’s Elsie wasn’t bad,

But the ending was sad

As a tear-jerker film at the pix.

Kozinn

Holmes asked to deduct figures of stick A coded cypher is used to trick Elsie had once fled Abe

Leaving the U.S.A.

The code brings Abe back lickety-split Mason

Hilton Cubitt came from England’s east coast As a solver of puzzles Holmes did boast Cubitt’s dear wife of only one year Found the dancing men to instill great fear Because she was afraid she’d be toast Olson

The childish scrawls though innocent seeming Were with considerable menace teeming Alas Holmes failed to see

The terpsichorean trickery

Until the Cubitts’ blood was streaming Clark

69

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star For a Jubilee place to reside, The places they chose coincide.

This American girl

Set his brain in a whirl –

He soon made Elsie Patrick his bride Beeson

There once was a ‘dick’ from Great Britain Who solved a code, secretly written.

Many had guessed,

But all were impressed

With the Master’s skill, we were smitten.

Falkingham

70

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist The Unfrocked in the Dock

The forced marriage at Charlington Hall Did both Watson and Sherlock appal.

“She’s my wife,” Woodley said.

“She’s your widow, you’re dead!”

Bob Carruthers was right on the ball.

Martin

Violet rode upon a bicycle.

To two swains she was like an icicle.

For her hand they both tried:

They cut cards for a bride

But Holmes got her out of the pickle.

Kozinn

Another Violet asks for Holmes’s aid Back to the Carruther’s house Holmes bade The partner is Woodley

Described as a bully

Holmes arrives in time for a wedding stayed Mason

Violet Smith rides her bike and thinks it weird To be followed by a man in a bushy black beard Holmes and Watson take a short ride And prevent her becoming an unwilling bride Marriage was always what Holmes feared Olson

Violet was a real humdinger

Watson likely wanted to cling her But surely it's of note

That in all that he wrote

Only she gave Holmes the finger Clark

71

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star An Ode to a Cyclist – Donald Hobbs While cycling down the lane one day In the merry month preceding May Violet Smith was taken by surprise By a bearded man with hidden eyes So, she called Sherlock right away.

Holmes was very busy at the time Watson went to the scene of the crime But he missed all of the clues And brought home useless news

So, Holmes left Baker Street on his own dime.

Holmes entered a Charlington bar But before he could get very far He had a fight with Mr. Woodley Who seemed to get over moodily And left him with a brand new scar.

Violet had an uncle she never knew He died in Africa as part of a stew Carruthers and Woodley hatched a plot To marry Violet and to share the pot Appearing on the scene outta the blue.

Holmes smokes a bowl or two of shag Then wiped his hand on an old rag Violet Smith you are in great danger I have deduced the bearded stranger Please return to home – do not lag.

They find Violet’s empty cart on the lane This drives Mr. Carruthers totally insane When they bust through the hedge-row Running fast, it was not too far to go They find Williamson a defrocked Dane.

72

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time Violet swooned and fell to the ground Carruthers shot Woodley with a 9mm round Holmes proclaimed the marriage a void and null And Rev. Williamson out of his skull Returning to London on a leap and abound.

Afterwards Holmes says, “My abilities are strong Regardless if they are right or wrong I see what others usually miss But regardless of all that or this That bearded man was no Lance Armstrong!”

Hobbs

73

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Priory School A noble young bachelor named Jim Laid plans with both vigor and vim.

Herr Heidegger’s days

Were ended by Hayes,

Whom Holmes brought to justice most grim Blau

Someone kidnapped the Duke’s little son.

Maybe gypsies – could be anyone.

Holmes followed the track

And got the boy back!

“All this money! Oh, Watson, what fun!”

Kozinn

The Duke’s son is absconded from school The kidnappers use fake cow shoes to fool Holmes judges the bike’s tires Everyone is liars

All flee justice, but Hayes for a crime cruel Mason

A missing teacher and pupil cause no flutter The authorities think he went to see his mudder Holmes notes the tracks of many cows But the absence of patties does arouse Because you can’t have one without the udder Olson

74

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of Black Peter

A ship’s captain, widely known as Black Peter, Was a murderer and notorious wife beater.

He gave a passenger no quarter –

Tossed him into the water –

Then was harpooned! Now what could be sweeter?

Kozinn

To use the harpoon took strength and skill A seaman Holmes figured did the kill Sealskin pouch with P.C.

Rum indicated the sea

Cairns speared Carney to show his ill will Mason

Holmes was checking clues to find something big Inspector Hopkins arrives at 221b in a rig To discover where the Captain drew his last breath And if Neligan is responsible for his harpoon death Results rely on a polk in pig

Olson

75

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton Over the Wall for Watson

A blackmailer ruined the life

Of a time-honoured nobleman’s wife, So, she took out her gun

And well-leaded the scum

Before Sherlock Holmes could say knife.

Martin

When a girl writes an imprudent letter, And is told her relations should get her A whole bunch of cash

Lest her wedding go smash,

It’s Holmes who will make things all better.

Kozinn

Milverton spends his life in blackmail Even their attempt to hold him fail With masks they try to rob

A lady does the job

They refuse to help Lestrade’s clues frail Mason

Lady Eva's wedding plans depended on blackmail paid As a workman, Holmes courted Milverton's maid Holmes thought the blackmailer was the worst And Holmes and Watson did a burglary first Affections of the maid left Holmes quite afraid Olson

Extortion games with skill were run:

"My silence for your silver, hon; Life's safer if my will were done,'

Purred Charles Augustus Milverton.

Beeson

76

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time There weren't a smoother, chiller one; Evoked bad vibes (ill-will, for one).

One day, a victim will, for fun, Kill Charles Augustus Milverton.

Beeson

With bullets five, she filled her gun.

"It's business -- not to kill for, hon'; Leave now," he whimpered, ’til her gun Smoked Charles Augustus Milverton!

Beeson

77

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Six Napoleons Two Napoleon busts could just break And three could be just a mistake But Holmes knew that four busts did matter And five when a black pearl's at stake Make it murder when six of them shatter Goldfarb

Who so hated Napoleon Buonaparte That he stole and then smashed busts apart?

A thieving servant girl

Took the Borgias’ black pearl.

Beppo hid it in the statue’s dark heart.

Kozinn

Six emperor busts meet their maker Holmes finds Beppo to be the Breaker Borgia pearl is the goal

Hidden in a small hole

Arrested finally as the lawbreaker Mason

This case involved the work of a crafter Who hid a pearl in a bust of plaster Bad guys searched and busts were broken Holmes reward was merely a token Holmes solved the case ‘cause he was master Olson

Murder and robbery for one of six small Napoleon statues, the busted and broken plaster left hardly any clues.

Horace Harker of the Central Press Syndicate Feared that his story would be late Holmes made sure that he had a quote for the news.

Ruby

78

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time Three busts of Napoleon- smashed by a man.

Lestrade was puzzled; to Sherlock's he ran.

Holmes was intrigued,

"How was this achieved?

Lestrade, tell me more, if you can!"

Hébert, T.

The next day, another bust is broken Its owner had bought it as a token A man had been waiting

The owner'd been fainting

When he saw the man's life had been taken!

Hébert, T.

The stake out the criminal,

To catch him they are able.

Holmes calls Lestrade back home And tells him to sit down

The sixth bust ends up on the table.

Hébert, T.

He smashes the thing

And looks and the broken king.

He finds the black pearl,

The end of the trouble

Until the next time Sherlock's doorbell will ring.

Hébert, T.

79

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Three Students The papers for the Prize Fortescue Were so easy to copy, ‘tis true.

But young Gilchrist was good;

In the end, never would

Cheat, and make dear old Bannister blue.

Kozinn

Three pupils thought of stealing a test All three reveal signs of being stressed Window heights and clay balls

Scrapes lead to the downfall

Gilchrist offers up a police quest Mason

The students were to take a test The result of which would determine the best Holmes considered the glove just a prop The guilty student left to be a cop The professor thought it a jest Olson

80

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez Anna followed the coconut mat; She would free her lost lover, but that Didn’t work. In a flash

Holmes found her, with ash,

For she’d stabbed Smith (Willoughby) flat.

Kozinn

Poor young Smith is murdered with a knife

“It was she” as he let loose his life Floor mats of coconut

Overrun with ash glut

Holmes finds Anna who lived life of strife Mason

Smith was almost dead as can be To identify his killer he said, "It was she."

Sherlock observed Coram smoke and eat A woman with a thick nose he reported to the heat Coram's wife took poison to set herself free Olson

81

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter Playing rugby is such a grand life.

On the field there is much joyous strife.

The three-quarter, though, cried, When he found she who’d died.

Ever after he’d be missing his wife.

Kozinn

Player Staunton is not able to play A bearded man has led him away Oil to find the back

Pompey set on the track

Their secret marriage Armstrong would not betray Mason

Godfrey was the star of Rugby when he came But he disappeared on the eve of the big game Pompey was a tan and white drag-hound And showed Holmes where the man was found But Godfrey’s excuse wasn’t lame Olson

82

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Abbey Grange Brackenstall, in a mad drunken fury, Attacked his wife who was good and quite pure. He Ended up dead.

Later Mary re-wed,

Thanks to Watson, that good English jury.

Kozinn

Another tale the “victim” head whacked The lady speaks of 3 thieves who had sacked Beeswing in glass of wine

Sir Eustace lies supine

Crocker tells all and agrees to Holmes pact Mason

The dead husband was cruel and money he did fritter He beat his young wife and when drunk he was bitter But the widow and her maid both had lied About the wife being beaten, gagged, and tied Watson was the captain's jury and acquitter Olson

MARY Frazier a sweet young thing Traded her honor for a wedding ring It didn’t work out

Her lord was a lout

She’s a widow now with lots of bling Langston

83

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Second Stain We’ve read something like this before.

Is it special? Take it home, through your door.

Someone then takes the thing.

(Here ‘twas writ by a King

And ends up in a hole in a floor.) Kozinn

Paper stolen of supreme import Without it, scandal Holmes cannot thwart Lucas was killed for love

Stain on carpet above

Hilda returns the note as last resort Mason

Lady Hilda may just have gone too far To steal a document that could start a war From a red dispatch box she took it to trade For an old love letter of which she was afraid But Holmes help to return it made him a star Olson

84

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time His Last Bow

The Adventure of the Cardboard Box Jim Browner was quick with his knife He was enraged by his unfaithful wife It was puzzling to hear

that he sliced off her ear

Right after he cut off her life.

Goldfarb

A sailor’s wife cried; her dear mister Was drinking because of her sister.

When a friend brought her cheer, Both of them lost an ear

And their lives. Then the sailor, he missed her.

Kozinn

Susan received pair of ears on salt She believed unruly students at fault The box, knot, and tarred string Left for the wrong offspring

Mary received the deadly assault Mason

Susan Cushing got a box which aroused her fears The box contained salt and two mismatched ears Holmes deduced the grim work of a sailor And Susan's sister grew paler and frailer Her sis wouldn't need ear rings in coming years Olson

There were three sisters from Croyden, Not a single one a hoyden.

When the first gets the ear of one, The second girl comes undone.

And the whole family is destroyed then.

Sherwood-Fabre

85

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star Three sisters always portend trouble Browner's life was reduced to a rubble He cut off their ears

Not for souvenirs

But to pay Sarah back double

Clark

Holmes, of whom one hears,

Looked at the mismatched ears

Determined murder had been done And to more than one

But let Lestrade take all the cheers Langston

86

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge There once was a case rather strange.

Its geography spans a wide range.

Shrunken heads, politics,

A house in the sticks,

Then Holmes just lets Baynes win. Now that’s strange.

Kozinn

Eccles seeks Holmes, unaware of Garcia’s death Between two houses he drew his last breath Don Pedro seeks revenge

Her mate Burnet avenge

Political intrigue all enwreathe Mason

Holmes told Watson it was a chaotic case And he complained that life was commonplace But a dead white bird and a bucket of blood Soon lead Holmes to revenge in a flood Justice the Tiger of San Pedro did not face Olson

Despite the combined brains

Of Holmes, Gregson, and Baynes The Tiger postponed fate

Until a subsequent date

When the Spanish found his remains Clark

The noble Garcia tried

But he failed, then he died

A trip on a train

Was the Tiger’s bane

Leaving authorities mystified

Langston

87

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star John Scott Echols called it grotesque When Garcia failed to manifest Despite being called at one

For what Echols thought was some fun He did not get a chance to molest.

Kearns

88

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans Last Ride on the Underground

A traitor was Valentine Walter, Whose crime robbed young West of the altar.

The Bruce—P. submarine

Was involved in his scheme;

It was prison for Walter, not halter.

Martin

There once was a man, Valentine, Whose conduct was much less than fine.

Holmes’ brain, on the track,

Traced the facts quickly back, And managed to trick Oberstein.

Kozinn

Mycroft brings Holmes a missing plans case Seven pages were moved from place to place Points causes body to pitch

West found in rail track’s ditch Lack of ticket put Holmes on right chase Mason

Mycroft needed Sherlock at his best To bring justice to the killer of naval clerk West And to recover stolen submarine plans Upon which victory for England stands Holmes as a patriot did stand the test Olson

89

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Devil's Foot Dr. Sterndale, I presume?

Who am I expected to see

If Sherlock is following me?

You will find no one there,

Neither hide nor a hair,

For Holmes is invisible, see?

Martin

When Devil’s Foot burns, the thick smoke Is enough to make anyone choke And see visions of hell,

Then go mad, die as well.

Yes, the Devil’s Foot root is no joke.

Kozinn

Two brothers laughing, one sister dead Same poison Mortimer should have dread To seal murderer’s fate

Holmes puts ash on the grate

Holmes allows Leon to flee instead Mason

Known as the Cornish Horror, Holmes' strangest case Watson refers to their vacation spot an evil place It began when two brothers went mad And their sister was found dead, so sad A card game ended but Holmes played the ace Olson

Holmes is resting by the sea

With Watson along for company

Murder interrupts his snoozes

But for some reason he chooses To let Sterndale go on safari

Clark

90

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Red Circle The Red Circle caused so much strife For Gennero and his very brave wife.

S. Holmes was quite quick

To translate a candle flick.

He gave back the couple their life.

Kozinn

Warren speaks of stranger in guest room Holmes spies the woman from the box-room A lantern lit “beware”

Holmes calls the lady fair

Lucca’s wrath with Giorgiano’s doom Mason

The landlady called about a lodger she thought fake She needed the rent but feared danger at stake Holmes put a notice in the Daily Gazette news In hope of generating some useful clues Thus unrewarded, it was " Art for art's sake."

Olson

91

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax Pendant in a Pawnshop

The man with a jagged left ear Was a man for lone ladies to fear.

His ploy was quite new:

A nice coffin for two.

It was almost the crime of the year.

Martin

Lady Frances was a bit of a prude.

When she found out Green slept in the nude, She threw him aside,

Then was only the “bride”

Of chloroform, by Holy Peter (bad dude).

Kozinn

It appears Carfax has flown the coop Holmes sends Watson into France to snoop Watson soon fights with Green

A coffin she’s unseen

Carfax to be buried as a group Mason

From her true love she fled while being tricked and robbed often When Holmes saw Green's devotion his toughness did soften Lady Frances grabbed her belongings and sent them in boxes

Holmes called her a stray chicken in the land of foxes Because she ended up sharing a secondhand coffin Olson

92

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Dying Detective (Rework of Matilda’s work)

It seemed Holmes had a foot in the grave And his life they [all] wanted to save.

"[Find] a doctor [who sees]

[A cure for the disease]" –

[If the patient's] sufficiently brave.

Kozinn

Holmes has contracted a rare disease For his wish, Watson he does displease Only Smith may give aid

His plans Holmes finally stayed Holmes’ entire illness simply a tease Mason

Mrs. Hudson told Watson that Holmes' end was near Watson tried to examine him in spite of his fear Smith came to witness the end and to brag of his guilt But was arrested and Watson saw the case built Later they went to Simpson's to get chips and beer Olson

93

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star His Last Bow: The War Service of Sherlock Holmes A retired Holmes made one final bow.

Through his acting, he showed us, and how, That a man with his skill

And unshakeable will

Does the job. Would we had him right now!

Kozinn

For two years Altamont was his guise Fake info he gave to German spies They toasted with Tokay

Van Bork they did waylay

Helping to win the Great War the prize Mason

Before the first war Holmes acted like a German spy To make an arrest that would make Von Bork cry He left his bees to work again with his friend He said, coming to England is a rough east wind And 500 pounds he ripped off from the bad guy Olson

Altamont, who was really the master, Saved England from certain disaster By catching Von Bork and his spies And making the latter realize

That, by Gott, he should have moved faster Clark

A foreboding easterly breeze

Lures old Holmes away from his bees.

Amidst England’s fears,

After more than two years,

‘Altamont’ brings Von Bork to his knees.

Falkingham

94

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone Count on S. Holmes to find the M. stone, With a value that’s almost unknown.

Was Silvius the thief?

Yes, and Holmes brought him grief.

But the author should have left this tale alone.

Kozinn

Holmes, on the trail of a precious jewel Head of effigy used as a tool

Count and Sam bought the ploy

Bust he tried to destroy

In the end, two Holmes made look the fool Mason

Holmes was in deep pursuit,

And planned to retrieve the loot.

But he was in danger,

Of this terrible stranger

Count Sylvius and his pal in cahoots.

Hébert, E.

The schemers plotted alone

With just the dummy on the side of the room.

But alas, to their chagrin,

It was not; it was him

Holmes sprang up and got the stone.

Hébert, E.

95

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star A Count and a boxer swiped a jewel But Sherlock proved he was quite cool He modeled for a wax bust

And in Watson put his trust

So Cantlemere said Holmes was no fool Olson

96

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Problem of Thor Bridge

Let’s consider the man called “Gold King”

He was bored with his wife – or something.

He preferred pretty Grace --

Even Holmes liked her face –

Moral influence? Or just a quick fling?

Kozinn

Mrs. Gibson has been killed, Grace named Many clues point to her to be blamed An easy to find gun

A sleight of hand was done

In great fashion Holmes showed Grace was framed Mason

King’s wife was a beauty with tropical eyes The man himself was in for a rude surprise She committed suicide and framed the miss Her action was revenge for an imagined tryst Holmes ruined John’s gun to set the cops wise Olson

97

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Creeping Man Ode to Professor Presbury

He wanted Alice’s fancy to tickle, But feared she just might turn fickle, So as not to be bested,

He was nearly arrested

For ingesting a lemur’s tes-ticle.

Stek

Presbury wanted more youth,

Unbecoming, to tell you the truth.

When he took monkey gland,

It affected him, and

Turned him into a being uncouth.

Kozinn

Oh, the whacky things we do for love Looking to science to help, sort of Presbury seeks to be young

From trees he even swung

Learned not to mess with live from above Mason

Holmes saw the professor crouched like a frog And his daughter thought him slipping a cog So, he visited a Prague man to whom he pled For extract of Langur in hopes he could wed He shouldn’t have monkeyed around with the dog Olson

98

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire Jacky acted as if he were three.

A teenager, as nasty as could be.

With curare he shot

First the dog, then the tot,

Then Holmes said “Send that boy off to sea!”

Kozinn

Robert believes his wife lives on blood To Holmes his emotions come a flood She must not harm his child

His son must be exiled

Any talk of ghosts came crashing down, thud Mason

The wife, a Spanish beauty, was lovely at that Was she a cruel stepmother, a vampire bat?

Her husband feared she was a blood-sucker Stepson was dressed in his bib and tucker But Holmes knew the kid was a brat Olson

There’s a beautiful wife from Peru Whose behavior has Bob in a stew.

He tells Holmes that she’s wild; That she’s bitten their child.

Can it be we’ve a vampire in view?

Asimov

99

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Three Garridebs As a name Garrideb was unique, Evans only pretended to seek.

He wanted the money,

(The money was funny.)

And his shot really raised Holmes’s pique.

Kozinn

Garridebs of three will share the pot If only two found, each will get naught Jargon seen so plainly

Larger sums were gainly

Winter the forger finally caught Mason

John Garrideb told Holmes of a strange game Hoping to find others with his same last name He was sent away from home on a wild goose-chase Holmes suspected it was a strange untrue case And Killer Evans gets the blame Olson

Fooling Killer Evans with the name of Dr. Lysander Starr, Holmes knew then that this Garrideb case would be bizarre.

Caught next to a counterfeit printing press, Evans fired his revolver in stress, And now Dr. Watson has another scar.

Ruby

100

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Illustrious Client With china the man was an ace, That Baron, he took the first place, But with femmes he was mean,

The worst to be seen,

So, revenge got him right in the face.

Kozinn

Client asks for Holmes to end the reign Many women, the baron their bane Watson fakes an expert

Winter ends her effort

The Baron’s face is now one big stain Mason

The Baron was an aristocrat of crime most depraved Holmes helped a young woman despite what she craved Holmes was warned by the Baron not to be trashing And his henchmen gave Holmes a terrible thrashing But Holmes won because a stitch in time saved Olson

Baron Gruner ruined women, then logged’em all In his bestial diary erotical; This didn't sit pretty with his prior mistress, Kitty, So she made him lose face- -- with some vitriol!

Beeson

101

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Three Gables To be Duchess the lady did look.

To gain this, some chances she took.

The moral of this is

You may want her kisses,

But don't write 'em up in a book.

Kozinn

Keep from the Harrows warns Dixon Mary asks Holmes to take this mission The offer way too high

Klein must be the why

Mary world travels, paid by vixen Mason

Mrs. Mayberly's dear son died in Rome Later there was an offer to buy out her home So Holmes conferred with Langdale Pike And she told the potential buyer to go take a hike The crooks mugged her to get a racy tome Olson

102

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier Young Emsworth could not seem to win, He got shot, then with lepers slept in.

Did his brain get a stun

From that elephant gun,

Or did Emsworth just have fishy skin?

Kozinn

Dodd wants to see an ol’ army friend The father asks his desire to end Godfrey appears very pale

Disease has made him frail

Holmes obtains the right doc to attend Mason

The story is related by Holmes you can see Omission of Watson saved the author's fee After the Boer War James looked for his mate By the look of his friend he'd had a bad fate He had false leper's and Holmes set him free Olson

103

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Lion's Mane Though Holmes first thought it a cat, McPherson's pain wasn't from that.

When it turned out the thing

Was a Lion's Mane sting

A boulder then crushed the thing flat.

Kozinn

Fitzroy falls prey to the “lion’s mane”

A mystery is the teacher’s bane Sadly, a dog dies too

J. Wood provides the clue

The jellyfish a rock can restrain Mason

Sherlock told this tale from his Sussex bees It involved two teachers who suffered in the lees The dead one had loved a beautiful girl Whom the injured one had considered a pearl There is much danger in bathing in the seas Olson

104

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time The Adventure of the Retired Colourman He lost, as he'd won, by his tints, Green paint, with purplish glints.

He thought that his art

Had made him so smart,

But Holmes picked up too many hints.

Kozinn

Amberley asks help to find his spouse She has flown the coop with a sly louse Paint used to hide the gas

Which killed both lad and lass Unearthed in the strong-room of the house Mason

Amberley was mean about paying his bill He murdered his wife and a doctor as a thrill The murderer said they ran off and he was sore But he covered bloodstains with paint by the door His extreme jealousy caused him to kill Olson

105

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger The punishment befit the crime.

Her life after was not worth a dime.

She succeeded in tryin’

To murder, via lion,

Then Holmes said: don’t take yours, not this time.

Kozinn

Eugena, who never shows her face Content to stay in a private place Lion struck Ronder dead

Then to her face he shred

It’s not her place, her life to erase Mason

The veiled woman lived as a lodger for seven lonely years Her landlady once glimpsed her face and it brought her to tears

She'd been with the circus until a tragedy most unkind A lion mauled her face, her husband dead, struck from behind

Both man and lion are beasts which recall her fears Olson

Eugenia wed the cruel beast Ronder, For strong man Leo she soon grew fonder.

Leo’s plan for conquest’s gain; Required her husband was slain.

Entwined figures, lethal wits, pitch-ponder.

Hutchison

Strong man Leo built leaden lion’s paw, Leo struck Ronder down raw meat and all.

Joyful widow dashed to loose cage; Leo ran from King’s blood rage.

Marred beauty cried “Coward!” from its maw.

Hutchison

106

The Canon, Five Lines at a Time She wrote ‘Abbas Parva’ to hook the sleuth, She bid Holmes ease her mind by hearing truth.

Keen judge of her words and case; Self-harm’s sway Holmes must efface.

Bottled assent to his advice forsooth.

Hutchison

107

The Crew of the Barque Lone Star 108