#sherlock holmes becher

[faithful-grigori]

“#The Engineer's Thumb, #Which actually was seen again, #so I was wrong about that one, #If he doesn't die from sepsis, #Victor Hatherley's immune system is god tier”

The Engineer's Thumb pt 3

Last we left off, Mr Victor Hatherley, hydraulic engineer and secret giant panda, was accounting how he had ignored very clear and present warnings, almost been crushed to death, had his thumb hacked off by a cleaver and very likely contracted sepsis in a ghost house.

“Here is an advertisement which will interest you,” said he. “It appeared in all the papers about a year ago. Listen to this: “‘Lost, on the 9th inst., Mr. Jeremiah Hayling, aged twenty-six, a hydraulic engineer. Left his lodgings at ten o'clock at night, and has not been heard of since.'"

RIP Mr Hayling. I hope you died quickly and not in the squishing chamber.

"It is quite clear that the colonel was a cool and desperate man,"

But is he actually a colonel? That's the real question.

There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer, Inspector Bradstreet, of Scotland Yard, a plain-clothes man, and myself.

Ah yes, my dear companions: Sherlock Holmes, Inspector Bradstreet, and *checks hands*... a hydraulic engineer.

How come Victor doesn't get a name here? Hey, ACD, did you forget a character's name in the middle of a story and just couldn't be bothered to look a few paragraphs upwards? I get that Ctrl+F wasn't possible back then, but these short stories aren't that long.

“And you think that they brought you back all that way when you were unconscious?”

I am 90% sure they did not touch him while he was unconscious, they just took him on the carriage in one big circle until they were right back near the station again, and he just woke up where he fell.

“Oh, we shall soon clear up all that,” said Bradstreet. “Well, I have drawn my circle, and I only wish I knew at what point upon it the folk that we are in search of are to be found.”

Right in the middle. Bet you. I mean, you're a fictional character and even if you weren't this was over a century ago. But I bet you metaphysically.

“Oh, yes, you can. This is my point.” He placed his finger in the centre of the circle. “This is where we shall find them.” “But the twelve-mile drive?” gasped Hatherley.

Knew it! Also, ACD remembered Victor's surname, excellent. Very proud of you! He's been really carefully ignoring it for the last few paragraphs, just not using dialogue tags or saying 'my patient'. Took a minute, but he got there.

“None at all,” said Holmes. “They are coiners on a large scale, and have used the machine to form the amalgam which has taken the place of silver.”

Hey, and I was right about what they were doing. Boom.

Interesting thought... did Hatherley realise this when he was poking around in the press and found the metallic deposits? Because his whole 'I'd like to talk to you about your Fuller's Earth' thing, if he knew about the forgery, sounds a little like 'Hey, how about you cut me in on this', or maybe the opening stages of some blackmailing.

But I'm maligning his character with no evidence. I just wish I knew how he thought that was going to play out. Was he dumb enough to think that nothing illegal was going on? But if he knew something illegal was going on, why call them out on it like that.

But the inspector was mistaken, for those criminals were not destined to fall into the hands of justice.

Again? Holmes has to be the least successful literary detective of all time when it comes to actually catching criminals. Was there not even a convenient shipwreck this time? Although it makes sense they wouldn't stick around when Hatherley's run off with enough information and evidence to get them caught.

As we rolled into Eyford Station we saw a gigantic column of smoke which streamed up from behind a small clump of trees in the neighbourhood and hung like an immense ostrich feather over the landscape.

So, either they're burning the evidence, or they've accidentally burnt themselves to death and that's why they didn't come after Victor - because they were too busy being on fire.

“Dr. Becher's.” “Tell me,” broke in the engineer, “is Dr. Becher a German, very thin, with a long, sharp nose?” The station-master laughed heartily. “No, sir, Dr. Becher is an Englishman..."

Becher certainly looks more like a Germanic name than an English name. Also, is this guy really a doctor? And if he's a medical doctor and he lives right next door, then why didn't the station guard last night see Hatherley's bleeding thumbless hand and say 'oh, there's a doctor just 'round the corner. You should have him take a look at that!'

I'm a little confused on the timeline, too. This is all the same day, right. They leave for Berkshire 3 hours after Mr Hatherley finishes his tale, which he tells on the same day he arrives on the train after having lost his thumb. So last night, when the building was on fire, was the night when he was first unconscious, and then sitting at the station waiting for a train. The fire should have been visible from the station if it's that close, and Hatherley didn't get on a train until the morning, so... did no one notice the fire right next door, or did they just not care?

Maybe the fire just wasn't big enough to be seen during the night, so no one outside noticed it until after Victor had left in the morning. Doesn't explain why the guard didn't suggest Victor take his missing thumb to the nearby medical professional, though.

"There can be no question that it was your oil-lamp which, when it was crushed in the press, set fire to the wooden walls, though no doubt they were too excited in the chase after you to observe it at the time."

I forgot about the oil lamp. It's doing a pretty good job of getting rid of the evidence, though.

Early that morning a peasant had met a cart containing several people and some very bulky boxes driving rapidly in the direction of Reading.

Was the word 'peasant' still used in the 1890s? Really? It's a very medieval/dark ages kind of word.

It should at least take them a while to set up again. They're going to need to build another person-squishing machine, and given that they're clearly not very good at hydraulics, I assume they have to kidnap someone to do that for them. Or maybe they just have a diagram that they can follow, but they don't know how it works. And they've left behind all the raw materials, so they'll have to get their hands on that again.

The firemen had been much perturbed at the strange arrangements which they had found within, and still more so by discovering a newly severed human thumb upon a window-sill of the second floor.

The firemen are very sensible people. Although I find it weird that the thumb survived on the windowsill, given that fire was billowing out of the windows in the description earlier.

How our hydraulic engineer had been conveyed from the garden to the spot where he recovered his senses might have remained forever a mystery were it not for the soft mould, which told us a very plain tale. He had evidently been carried down by two persons, one of whom had remarkably small feet and the other unusually large ones. On the whole, it was most probable that the silent Englishman, being less bold or less murderous than his companion, had assisted the woman to bear the unconscious man out of the way of danger.

OK, so they did move him. I was pretty sure that they just didn't find him and he was too out of it on blood loss and adrenaline to know where he'd ended up. Mainly this seems like a really stupid thing for them to do, though. Clearly they've already killed one hydraulics engineer, leaving Victor alive to run away and tell people seems kind of dumb at this point. Obviously not murdering people is the right thing to do, but in this situation it's also a dumb move. No one worked out you killed the last one... eh, what's one more?

“Well,” said our engineer ruefully as we took our seats to return once more to London, “it has been a pretty business for me! I have lost my thumb and I have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and what have I gained?” “Experience,” said Holmes, laughing. “Indirectly it may be of value, you know; you have only to put it into words to gain the reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your existence.”

#LifeLessons #LearningExperience

Such a fun story of how he was almost crushed to death and had his thumb chopped off by violent criminals who are still at large!

Yeah, that'll get people to buy you drinks, for sure. Although as previously discussed, you probably won't be alive to enjoy them. And you're going to have to relearn how to do things with only one opposable thumb if you don't die of sepsis. But maybe next time someone tries to warn you three times to not do something, you'll actually listen. Or you can get enough XP to increase your wisdom score and not end up in a situation like this again.

I wonder how many other hydraulic engineers Fritz went on to murder. It was probably fine.

[oddly-twisted-muses]

My podcast list

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Retrospective: An amazingly crafted story that has shifted the way I think about horror and fear. I will never be the same again.

Favorite Character: Tim Stoker

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Camp Here & There (On Haitus)

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Retrospective: I'm going to need 7-10 business days to put myself back together. This was a hilarious and emotionally devastating experience. Fingers crossed, we get a 2nd season (no rush. Quality over quickly). And Blue I don't think you'll see this, but keep up the good work.

Favorite Character: Sydney Sargent

Favorite Quote: "But there’s something I’ve learned, growing up, that you all have to learn too: Lucille has a flamethrower. You have to listen to what she says." Sydney Sargent episode 10.

Sherlock & Co. (Ongoing)

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The Magnus Protocol (Ongoing)

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Malevolent

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[no-side-us]

Letters From Watson Liveblog - May 21

The Engineer's Thumb, Part 3 of 3

Holmes' archive of criminal cases is probably his most important instrument in crime-solving, next to his own mind of course. Knowing a similar incident happened a year ago tells Holmes that the Colonel's operations have been going on for some time now, and the fact this other engineer never reappeared suggests Victor's survival would probably put them in high alert.

Now that's a good Holmesian observation right there. Simple, logical, not too fancy or outlandish, but you'd never consider it unless you were looking for it, or considered every possibility.

My assumption upon reading the house was on fire was that the Colonel or his compatriot did it themselves to cover their tracks, since presumably they knew Victor was alive and would alert the authorities. Maybe that's why Victor was still alive, because they were too busy trying to stop a fire from burning down their operations.

Well that's a bit disappointing that they escaped, and without us ever really learning anything about them. The Englishman, Dr. Becher, was obviously the Colonel's partner in crime, but I would at least have liked to known who Elise was in relation to the other two. She didn't seem too keen on the operation, so how did she end up with them? She's German, so was she the Colonel's sister, wife, daughter, niece, cousin, etc.

If you got your thumb cut off, would you keep it? If you got any part of your body cut off, would you keep it? I think I would, and I hope Victor did too.

So they did find Victor, and somehow Elise was able to convince the Englishman to help her carry him away from the house. I'm guessing the Colonel was too busy trying to save his illegal coins from the fire to stop them.

That's certainly one way Victor could brand himself after all that happened. He could set himself up as a hero who stopped an illegal coin pressing operation and lost his thumb in the process. If he kept his burnt, severed thumb (like I would), he could even use it as a prop when telling the story. I'm not totally sure how much actual hydraulic engineering work he'll be getting hired for however.

I remember the title, and not much else. Maybe I'll remember more after the first letter.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

[on4ublog]

Helden aus der zweiten Reihe

Lesedauer: 7min

Wenn Gott mit No-Names Geschichte schreibt

Was wäre Sherlock Holmes ohne Dr. Watson, Batman ohne Robin und Tarzan ohne Jane? Jeder Held hat seinen Co-Star, der für ihn wichtig ist und ihm mindestens einmal pro Folge das Leben rettet. Was das mit unserem Leben zu tun hat?  Hey du, in den Kinofilmen sind sie auf einmal da, haben einen kurzen und eindrucksvollen Auftritt und verschwinden dann aber auch schon wieder. Genauso geheimnisvoll wie sie gekommen sind: Schauspieler oder Gaststars im Kurzeinsatz, doch durch ihren Auftritt bleiben sie im Gedächtnis und erlangen so nicht selten Kultcharakter. Außerdem geben sie der Filmhandlung oftmals eine besondere und entschlossene Wendung. In der Bibel gibt es auch jede Menge solcher Co-Stars und mit diesen will ich mich heute beschäftigen. 1. Nathan - Bote Gottes Eine sehr interessante Gastrolle in der Bibel hat zum Beispiel Nathan. Er hat 15 Verse lang die Aufgabe, einem König mal ordentlich seine Meinung zu sagen. Im Auftrag Gottes. Denn dieser König von Israel, David, hat einem seiner Soldaten die Frau ausgespannt. Doch damit nicht genug. Er hat den Soldaten zu einem Himmelfahrtskommando geschickt, wo er dann auch prompt getötet wurde. Das fand Gott nicht gut. Und Nathan soll das nun ausrichten. Das gestaltet sich jedoch gar nicht so leicht - denn den König darf man doch nicht so einfach auf seine Fehler hinweisen! Deshalb trickst Nathan David aus. Er erzählt ihm einfach eine Geschichte: "Ein reicher und ein armer Mann lebten in derselben Stadt. Der Reiche hatte sehr viele Schafe und Rinder, der Arme aber besaß nichts außer einem kleinen Lamm, das er erworben hatte. Er versorgte es liebevoll und zog es zusammen mit seinen Kindern groß. Es durfte sogar aus seinem Teller essen und aus seinem Becher trinken, und nachts schlief es in seinen Armen. Es war für ihn wie eine Tochter. Eines Tages bekam der reiche Mann Besuch. Er wollte seinem Gast, der einen weiten Weg hinter sich hatte, etwas zu essen anbieten. Aber er brachte es nicht über sich, eines seiner eigenen Schafe oder Rinder zu schlachten. Darum nahm er dem Armen sein einziges Lamm weg und bereitete es für seinen Besucher zu." (2. Samuel 12, 1-4) Job erfüllt! Eigentlich genau die Story von David und der Frau, nur eben so verpackt, das David nicht check, dass es um ihn geht. Und tatsächlich kapiert er erstmal gar nichts und ist so wütend auf den Verbrecher aus der Geschichte, dass er fragt: "Wer ist dieser Mann? Der soll das büßen!" Ziel erreicht. Da braucht Nathan nur noch zu sagen: "Du bist dieser Mann!" David hat sich selbst überführt und bekennt: "Ich habe gesündigt!" Zack! Nathan hat seinen Job erfüllt. Auch ich rege mich schnell über Ungerechtigkeiten auf. Wenn ich mitbekomme, dass zwei Menschen über einen Dritten lästern, dann nervt mich das tierisch. Komischerweise habe ich aber kein Problem damit, mich bei anderen über die vergebenen Torchancen eines Klassenkameraden beim Fußball zu beklagen. Ohne, dass der anwesend ist. Sehr häufig sind es meine eigenen Fehler in einem anderen Zusammenhang. Oft fällt mir das aber zu spät auf. Dann schäme ich mich, wie David. Aber auch für mich gilt der Satz, den Nathan David noch sagt: "Der Herr hat dir vergeben!" 2. Aaron - Das Ziel vor Augen Im Radsport heißen sie Wasserträger - die eher unauffälligen Fahrer, die bei der Tour de France dafür sorgen, dass ihr Teamkapitän schön im Windschatten fahren kann. Und sie sind dafür zuständig, dass er immer genügend Wasser hat. Deshalb führen sie bis zu 18 Flaschen mit. Unheimlich wichtig, aber dennoch eher im Hintergrund sorgen sie dafür, dass der Star glänzt. In der Bibel wird von Mose, dem großen Befreier des Volkes Israel erzählt. Aber auch von seinem Bruder Aaron, dem Wasserträger. Die beiden haben sich wunderbar ergänzt. Aaron konnte organisieren. Mose war eher ein Mann der Tat. Sie haben das Volk Israel aus der Sklaverei befreit. Aber von Anfang an war klar: Mose ist der Star. Er wird in der Bibel immer zuerst genannt. Gott redete mit Mose, Aaron durfte zuhören. Irgendwie blieb er immer der kleine Bruder, der Wasserträger von großen Mose. Einmal war jedoch Aaron derjenige, der die Befehle gab. Als Mose auf dem Berg Sinai die Gesetzestafeln bekam, schlug Aarons vermeintliche große Stunde. Die Gelegenheit wollte er nicht verpassen. Endlich konnte er mal glänzen. Allein. Ohne den großen Schatten seines Bruders.  Doch das ging gründlich schief: Weil die Menschen es satt hatten einem Gott nachzufolgen, den sie noch nicht einmal sahen, gab Aaron den Befehl, den gesamten Schmuck einzuschmelzen und daraus ein goldenes Kalb zu gießen. Das wurde daraufhin als Gott verehrt. Ein dunkles Kapitel in der Geschichte des Volkes Israel. Als Mose wiederkam und die Israeliten ordentlich zusammenpfiff, trat Aaron mit gesenktem Haupt wieder in den Hintergrund. Das Ziel vor Augen Ich bewundere diesen Aaron trotzdem. Weil er einerseits unglaublich treu und andererseits so unglaublich menschlich ist. Ich glaube, dass es für ihn nicht immer leicht war, dass Mose der Auserwählte war und immer vorne stand. Trotzdem stellte er sich zu seinem Bruder. Weil er wusste: "Ich bin wichtig! Gott braucht mich auch! Nur eben anders als Mose! Aaron hatte das große Ziel vor Augen: die Befreiung seines Volkes aus Ägypten. Ich glaube, dass es für Gott okay ist, wenn wir auch mal ins Rampenlicht wollen. Vielleicht klappt´s ja sogar. Von Aaron lerne ich aber, dass es manchmal aber wichtiger ist, etwas Höherem zu dienen als dem eigenen Ego. 3. Josua - Ein starker Assistent Wenn der Chef in Rente geht, wittern sie ihre große Chance und bekommen sie oft auch - die Assistenten, zweiten Vorsitzenden oder Co-Trainer. Und dann zeigt sich relativ schnell, ob sie die Rolle ausführen können, die der ehemalige Vorgesetzte hinterlassen hat. Nehmen wir doch mal eine Kultfigur der damaligen Zeit: Mose! Befreier des Volkes Israel. Was hat er alles geleistet! Er hat das ganze Volk vom Pharao losgeeist, dann dafür gesorgt, dass die Israeliten mit Mann und Maus durch die Wüste kamen, er hat oft zwischen Gott und den Menschen vermittelt und so weiter... Doch irgendwann hat er gemerkt: Mensch, so langsam werde ich zu alt für diesen Job. Und jetzt kommt sein Assistent ins Spiel: Josua. Der war nicht besonders auffällig, wahrscheinlich kein zweiter Mose, aber hatte sich als Assistent bewährt. Solide, würde ich sagen. Ob das gut geht? Josua wurde also neuer Chef und das vor einer besonders heiklen Situation. Das Volk Israel hatte seine Wüstenwanderung beendet und wollte sesshaft werden. Blöd nur, dass das Land noch von anderen Völkern bewohnt wurde. Da wartete eine konfliktreiche  Zeit auf Josua. Doch er hat ich der Verantwortung gestellt. Und hat sich sicher oft gefragt: "Ob das gut geht?" Gott aber spricht ihm sein Vertrauen voll und ganz aus und ermutigt ihn auf verschiedene Weisen: 1.  "Dein Leben lang wird niemand dir standhalten können. Denn ich bin bei dir, so wie ich bei Mose gewesen bin. Ich lasse dich nicht im Stich, nie wende ich mich von dir ab. Sei mutig und stark! Denn du wirst das Land einnehmen, das ich euren Vorfahren versprochen habe, und wirst es den Israeliten geben." (Josua 1, 5-6) 2. "Halte dich mutig und entschlossen an das ganze Gesetz, das dir mein Diener Mose gegeben hat. Weiche kein Stück davon ab! Dann wirst du bei allem, was du tust, Erfolg haben" (Josua 1, 7) 3. "Ja, ich sage es noch einmal: Sei mutig und entschlossen! Lass dich nicht einschüchtern und hab keine Angst! Denn ich, der Herr, dein Gott, stehe dir bei, wohin du auch gehst." (Josua 1, 9) Gott geht mit Das war für Josua kein Freifahrschein zum Zurücklehnen. Auch bei ihm lief nicht immer alles glatt. Auch er musste Rückschläge und Niederlagen einstecken, aber diese Zusagen Gottes haben Josua sicher eine Menge Selbstbewusstsein verpasst. Auch vor mir liegen Aufgaben, die herausfordernd sind. Zum Glück nicht als Chef eines ganzen Volkes. Aber für meinen Alltag reicht es. Und deshalb darf ich Gottes Aussage auch auf mich beziehen: "Ich bin bei dir! Immer!" Das macht mir Hoffnung. Wie kann Gott mich gebrauchen? Ich will dir heute eines mit in den Tag geben: Jesus braucht keine Superchristen, die alles können und überall die Besten sind. Das sehen wir auch in der Bibel. Unser Gott ist in den Schwachen mächtig. Das bedeutet, dass Gott auch schwache und unperfekte Menschen unbedingt in seinem Team haben will. Denn dort, wo wir am wenigsten etwas selbst leisten können, da kann Gott durch uns am meisten bewirken. Wo wir etwas nicht können, kommt Gott auf die Bühne. Meine Unvollkommenheit ist nämlich die größte Chance für Gott, zu zeigen, wie er an uns wirken kann. So will er uns in diese Welt senden. Nicht als christliche Überflieger, sondern als gottgesegnete Normalos mit Ecken und Kanten, Fehlern und Schwächen. Aber Normalos, die von Gott dazu befähigt sind mehr zu sein. Also: Du musst kein Superstar sein, um Gott zu dienen. Sondern du kannst darauf vertrauen, dass Gott dich benutzen will - und dass er dich gut ausrüstet für die Aufgaben, die er für dich hat. Gott beruft nicht die Begabten, sondern er begabt die Berufenen. Be blessed Manuel Weitere Posts zu diesem Thema: + Nebendarsteller + Drehbuch deines Lebens + Kampf gegen Drachen Bildquelle:http://ift.tt/2jZ3N2x via Blogger http://ift.tt/2ny5x4P

[mariana-oconnor]

The Engineer's Thumb pt 3

Last we left off, Mr Victor Hatherley, hydraulic engineer and secret giant panda, was accounting how he had ignored very clear and present warnings, almost been crushed to death, had his thumb hacked off by a cleaver and very likely contracted sepsis in a ghost house.

“Here is an advertisement which will interest you,” said he. “It appeared in all the papers about a year ago. Listen to this: “‘Lost, on the 9th inst., Mr. Jeremiah Hayling, aged twenty-six, a hydraulic engineer. Left his lodgings at ten o'clock at night, and has not been heard of since.'"

RIP Mr Hayling. I hope you died quickly and not in the squishing chamber.

"It is quite clear that the colonel was a cool and desperate man,"

But is he actually a colonel? That's the real question.

There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer, Inspector Bradstreet, of Scotland Yard, a plain-clothes man, and myself.

Ah yes, my dear companions: Sherlock Holmes, Inspector Bradstreet, and *checks hands*... a hydraulic engineer.

How come Victor doesn't get a name here? Hey, ACD, did you forget a character's name in the middle of a story and just couldn't be bothered to look a few paragraphs upwards? I get that Ctrl+F wasn't possible back then, but these short stories aren't that long.

“And you think that they brought you back all that way when you were unconscious?”

I am 90% sure they did not touch him while he was unconscious, they just took him on the carriage in one big circle until they were right back near the station again, and he just woke up where he fell.

“Oh, we shall soon clear up all that,” said Bradstreet. “Well, I have drawn my circle, and I only wish I knew at what point upon it the folk that we are in search of are to be found.”

Right in the middle. Bet you. I mean, you're a fictional character and even if you weren't this was over a century ago. But I bet you metaphysically.

“Oh, yes, you can. This is my point.” He placed his finger in the centre of the circle. “This is where we shall find them.” “But the twelve-mile drive?” gasped Hatherley.

Knew it! Also, ACD remembered Victor's surname, excellent. Very proud of you! He's been really carefully ignoring it for the last few paragraphs, just not using dialogue tags or saying 'my patient'. Took a minute, but he got there.

“None at all,” said Holmes. “They are coiners on a large scale, and have used the machine to form the amalgam which has taken the place of silver.”

Hey, and I was right about what they were doing. Boom.

Interesting thought... did Hatherley realise this when he was poking around in the press and found the metallic deposits? Because his whole 'I'd like to talk to you about your Fuller's Earth' thing, if he knew about the forgery, sounds a little like 'Hey, how about you cut me in on this', or maybe the opening stages of some blackmailing.

But I'm maligning his character with no evidence. I just wish I knew how he thought that was going to play out. Was he dumb enough to think that nothing illegal was going on? But if he knew something illegal was going on, why call them out on it like that.

But the inspector was mistaken, for those criminals were not destined to fall into the hands of justice.

Again? Holmes has to be the least successful literary detective of all time when it comes to actually catching criminals. Was there not even a convenient shipwreck this time? Although it makes sense they wouldn't stick around when Hatherley's run off with enough information and evidence to get them caught.

As we rolled into Eyford Station we saw a gigantic column of smoke which streamed up from behind a small clump of trees in the neighbourhood and hung like an immense ostrich feather over the landscape.

So, either they're burning the evidence, or they've accidentally burnt themselves to death and that's why they didn't come after Victor - because they were too busy being on fire.

“Dr. Becher's.” “Tell me,” broke in the engineer, “is Dr. Becher a German, very thin, with a long, sharp nose?” The station-master laughed heartily. “No, sir, Dr. Becher is an Englishman..."

Becher certainly looks more like a Germanic name than an English name. Also, is this guy really a doctor? And if he's a medical doctor and he lives right next door, then why didn't the station guard last night see Hatherley's bleeding thumbless hand and say 'oh, there's a doctor just 'round the corner. You should have him take a look at that!'

I'm a little confused on the timeline, too. This is all the same day, right. They leave for Berkshire 3 hours after Mr Hatherley finishes his tale, which he tells on the same day he arrives on the train after having lost his thumb. So last night, when the building was on fire, was the night when he was first unconscious, and then sitting at the station waiting for a train. The fire should have been visible from the station if it's that close, and Hatherley didn't get on a train until the morning, so... did no one notice the fire right next door, or did they just not care?

Maybe the fire just wasn't big enough to be seen during the night, so no one outside noticed it until after Victor had left in the morning. Doesn't explain why the guard didn't suggest Victor take his missing thumb to the nearby medical professional, though.

"There can be no question that it was your oil-lamp which, when it was crushed in the press, set fire to the wooden walls, though no doubt they were too excited in the chase after you to observe it at the time."

I forgot about the oil lamp. It's doing a pretty good job of getting rid of the evidence, though.

Early that morning a peasant had met a cart containing several people and some very bulky boxes driving rapidly in the direction of Reading.

Was the word 'peasant' still used in the 1890s? Really? It's a very medieval/dark ages kind of word.

It should at least take them a while to set up again. They're going to need to build another person-squishing machine, and given that they're clearly not very good at hydraulics, I assume they have to kidnap someone to do that for them. Or maybe they just have a diagram that they can follow, but they don't know how it works. And they've left behind all the raw materials, so they'll have to get their hands on that again.

The firemen had been much perturbed at the strange arrangements which they had found within, and still more so by discovering a newly severed human thumb upon a window-sill of the second floor.

The firemen are very sensible people. Although I find it weird that the thumb survived on the windowsill, given that fire was billowing out of the windows in the description earlier.

How our hydraulic engineer had been conveyed from the garden to the spot where he recovered his senses might have remained forever a mystery were it not for the soft mould, which told us a very plain tale. He had evidently been carried down by two persons, one of whom had remarkably small feet and the other unusually large ones. On the whole, it was most probable that the silent Englishman, being less bold or less murderous than his companion, had assisted the woman to bear the unconscious man out of the way of danger.

OK, so they did move him. I was pretty sure that they just didn't find him and he was too out of it on blood loss and adrenaline to know where he'd ended up. Mainly this seems like a really stupid thing for them to do, though. Clearly they've already killed one hydraulics engineer, leaving Victor alive to run away and tell people seems kind of dumb at this point. Obviously not murdering people is the right thing to do, but in this situation it's also a dumb move. No one worked out you killed the last one... eh, what's one more?

“Well,” said our engineer ruefully as we took our seats to return once more to London, “it has been a pretty business for me! I have lost my thumb and I have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and what have I gained?” “Experience,” said Holmes, laughing. “Indirectly it may be of value, you know; you have only to put it into words to gain the reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your existence.”

#LifeLessons #LearningExperience

Such a fun story of how he was almost crushed to death and had his thumb chopped off by violent criminals who are still at large!

Yeah, that'll get people to buy you drinks, for sure. Although as previously discussed, you probably won't be alive to enjoy them. And you're going to have to relearn how to do things with only one opposable thumb if you don't die of sepsis. But maybe next time someone tries to warn you three times to not do something, you'll actually listen. Or you can get enough XP to increase your wisdom score and not end up in a situation like this again.

I wonder how many other hydraulic engineers Fritz went on to murder. It was probably fine.