A Study in Scarlet (Part Two): Chapter 4 {Sunday Midnight Book Club #7}
Hello, Internet, and good mornight to you all!
My name is Taffryne, shoppekeeper of Midnight on Memory Lane, and it is my absolute delight to welcome you to the first of two posts for this week's gathering of Sunday Midnight Book Club!
'Tis a pleasure, 'tis a pleasure indeed.
As the title of this post says, we're going to be talking about the fourth chapter of part two of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's first-ever Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet. I humbly present my thoughts for your enjoyment and consideration. Accordingly, please mind that there will be spoilers ahead!
Page Bound Link: click here!
Disclaimer: All of the original Sherlock Holmes books were written by a well-off, white gentleman in the late 1800s. Unfortunately, there potentially will be relics of their time, be it terminology or depictions, at varying levels of offensiveness. I mean no disrespect to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, nor his legacy; I merely want to make it clear that they were wrong during his time, they are wrong now, and I am wholeheartedly in no way endorsing them on this blog. Everyone has different levels of acceptability, so please advise and feel no judgement if you'd rather not take the risk yourself this time around.
Trigger Warnings: Discussions of Mormonism, References to Polygamy, Forced Marriages, Secret Escapes, Guns, Fear for Life, Mental Anguish, Intimidation Tactics
Chapter 4 ~ A Fight for Life
Recollection
- Joseph Strangerson and Elder Drebber's sons invited themselves into John's home to try and solicit his opinion on which one should get his daughter
- John is absolutely irate and kicks them both out with a warning to never return unless his daughter calls for them
- They leave but threaten him in various manners for being rude towards high-elders' sons
- John wakes up to a threatening notice on his bed saying he has 29 days left to fix the marriage issue
- The two of them continue to find threatening notes, marks, and etc counting down the days left in the month before Lucy has to be promised away
- The days keep dwindling down with no sign of Jefferson's return
- Finally, with two days remaining, Jefferson shows up to the house after riding for 48 hours straight and sneaking in
- Jefferson says he has a mule and two horses waiting for their escape, but that they must escape tonight and take as much gold and supplies as they can carry with them because there ware watchful guards everywhere
- If things get dicey, Jefferson's plan is to shoot the offenders
- They head off into the night and sneak around through fields and in the shadows to avoid being caught and make it to the horses and mule
- They make their way through the canyon and use the secret call sign of The Holy Four to make their way past a guard post
"'There are two ways out of the room', cried Ferrier; 'there is the door, and there is the window. Which do you care to use?'" (Pg. 51)
Holy smokes, the sheer madness of it all! I am so grateful that John is an actually caring father amidst all of this malarky.
You people said that "the lady has a month to decide" and then take it upon yourselves to immediately show up the next day together??? The audacity. At the very least (if I must follow this ridiculous notion) you should have given a day's wait to clear the shock, and then arranged for appointments to separately speak with her and her father. Later on you could perhaps do joint things or, hell, even ask for more personalized courting days. You do NOT just show up at the man's house, bicker amongst yourself about who has the better wife-count to status ratio, and then throw a tantrum when he rightfully kicks you out. YOU DIDN'T EVEN WAIT FOR HIM TO BE HOME BEFORE YOU WELCOMED YOURSELF TO HIS HOUSE!!! Good grief, the entitlement.
I'm glad that Jefferson actually made it back because, honestly, I was fairly of the mind that he wouldn't get the note at all. With how comically evil the elders have been thus far, it would be no surprise at all to find out that they sabotaged the delivery to make it seem like Jefferson abandoned them. We could have definitely done without the sinister countdown, though. That, although menacing, was just childish.
The secret crawling into the house. The slapdash packing of whatever supplies, money, and valuables they had. The sneaking into fields, through canyons, and having to use secret codes to pass on horseback. The anxiety being caught is such a frightening type of tension. One wrong move, one loud sound, and they could be in so much danger.
I am not looking forward to the next chapter at all. They are putting in so much effort to escape and save Lucy from the marriage ultimatum...but we know they won't make it. We don't know how they won't make it, but the dread builds all the same. To go through this much and still lose in the end...how awful.
The Questioning Queries
- Why did it take so long for Jefferson to get back?
- Is the secret "Nine to Seven!" "Seven to Five" call actually right or did they mess up? Is that how they get found out?
- How did they keep sneaking those numbers into his house? Through the servants or a secret key???
Thanks for Reading!
I hope you've been able to read and experience the story for yourself!
If you haven't, that's okay too! My thoughts are here to keep you updated and entertained in the meantime.
That'll caps off this post here, so off into the nighttime I go to publish the next one shortly!
May we meet again at Midnight!