The Final Problem: Part One

Summary

Sherlock Holmes Short Stories

Episode: The Final Problem – Part One

Date: April 15, 2026
Host & Narrator: Hugh Bonneville (as Dr. John Watson)
Podcast by: NOISER
Main Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson, Professor James Moriarty

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Episode Overview

Theme:
This episode marks the beginning of the legendary confrontation between Sherlock Holmes and Professor James Moriarty, Holmes’ greatest adversary—the so-called Napoleon of crime. The story is told through the voice of Dr. Watson, reflecting both nostalgia and dread as he records Holmes’ final and most perilous case. The episode details Holmes’ hunt to dismantle Moriarty’s criminal network just as Moriarty turns his full power on Holmes. This sets the stage for an intense battle of wits and survival, culminating in the duo’s hurried flight across Europe.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Watson’s Foreboding Introduction

• [00:32] Watson (Bonneville) sets a somber tone, stating:
  “...the last words in which I shall ever record the singular gifts by which my friend Mr. Sherlock Holmes was distinguished.”
  Watson reveals his reluctance to revisit these events, but feels obligated by public misinformation.

The Return of Holmes

• [04:45] Holmes unexpectedly appears at Watson’s consulting room, looking “paler and thinner than usual,” indicating he’s under great strain.
• Holmes insists on shutting the shutters and preparing to escape by the back garden, a sign of extreme caution.
  • “I have been a little pressed of late. Have you any objection to my closing your shutters?” (Holmes, 05:07)

Explicit Danger from Moriarty

• [05:31] Holmes explicitly names his fear: air-guns (a notorious weapon in the Holmes canon—a silent, deadly threat).
• He reveals bruised and bleeding knuckles, evidence of a recent struggle and the gravity of the threat.

Holmes Explains Moriarty’s Genius

• [07:21] Holmes delivers a comprehensive account of Moriarty’s background, brilliance, and criminal reach:
  • “He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson. ...He sits motionless, like a spider in the center of its web...” (Holmes, 10:22–10:39)
  • His criminal network is described as vast and nearly impenetrable, making him as formidable as Holmes himself.

The Silent Duel

• [13:09] Holmes outlines his campaign against Moriarty:
  • “Again and again he strove to break away, but I as often headed him off. ...It would take its place as the most brilliant bit of thrust and parry work in the history of detection.” (Holmes, 13:09–13:23)
• The plan to capture the whole syndicate hinges on a delicate timeline. If they move prematurely, all may be lost.

The Imminent Threat—Moriarty’s Confrontation

• [14:19] Holmes recounts his face-to-face meeting with Moriarty:
  • The villain appears at Holmes’ door, and the tension is palpable. Holmes is armed and ready.
  • Moriarty: “All that I have to say has already crossed your mind.” (16:30)
  • Holmes: “Then possibly my answer has crossed yours.”
  • Moriarty’s threats are chilling: “It is inevitable destruction. You stand in the way not merely of an individual but of a mighty organization...” (18:40)

Attempts on Holmes’ Life

• [21:03] Holmes details a series of assassination attempts—nearly run down by a van, a brick dropped from a roof, an assault by a thug.
• Holmes says these attacks can never be traced back to Moriarty, underlining the professor’s reach and caution.

Holmes’ Escape Plan

• [23:11] Recognizing the severity of the threat, Holmes plans to leave England, asking Watson to proceed with maximum caution:
  • Detailed and elaborate travel instructions are given to avoid surveillance and traps.
  • Watson is to meet Holmes on the Continental Express; the rendezvous is the “second first class carriage from the front.” (25:01)

Disguises and Close Calls at the Station

• [27:06] Watson assists a bedraggled Italian priest, who turns out to be Holmes in disguise:
  • “The aged ecclesiastic had turned his face towards me...the whole frame collapsed again, and Holmes had gone as quickly as he had come.” (28:06–28:19)
• As the train departs, Moriarty himself is seen hurrying to catch them, but just misses:
  • “With all our precautions, you see that we have cut it rather fine...” (Holmes, 29:02)

Baker Street Under Siege

• [29:16] News arrives that Holmes’ rooms at Baker Street have been set on fire, implying Moriarty’s desperation.
• Holmes reveals the coachman who delivered Watson is his brother, Mycroft, to maintain secrecy.

Holmes Predicts Moriarty’s Moves

• [30:10] Holmes explains the chase isn’t over; he expects Moriarty to use every clever means to catch them, including special trains.
• As they disembark at Canterbury to break the trail, they witness a special train in pursuit:
  • “There he goes, said Holmes...” (32:39)
  • Holmes speculates Moriarty would have made a “murderous attack” had he overtaken them. (32:59)

Episode Cliffhanger

• [33:13] The episode closes with the pair pondering their next move as Moriarty slips their net, and a preview of their travels into Europe is teased for next episode:
  • “Next time...Holmes tackles the greatest mystery of all, that eternal, insoluble problem that all of us must face.” (33:13)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Holmes on Moriarty’s anonymity:
  “The man pervades London and no one has heard of him. That's what puts him on a pinnacle in the records of crime.” (07:24)
• Holmes on his ambition:
  “If I could beat that man, ... I should feel that my own career had reached its summit...” (07:40)
• Moriarty’s threat:
  “It is not danger, ... It is inevitable destruction. ... You must stand clear, Mr. Holmes, or be trodden underfoot.” (18:40)
• Holmes, after a day of attacks:
  “You will not wonder, Watson, that my first act on entering your rooms was to close your shutters...” (22:43)
• Holmes on their continuing flight:
  “It would take its place as the most brilliant bit of thrust and parry work in the history of detection.” (13:23)

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Important Segments & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |---|---| | 00:32 | Watson introduces the stakes and reasons for writing the account. | | 04:45 | Holmes’ late-night appearance at Watson’s home. | | 05:13 | Holmes’ extreme caution—shutters and plans to flee. | | 07:21 | Holmes summarizes Moriarty’s rise and criminal empire. | | 13:09 | Holmes explains the undercover campaign against Moriarty and its stakes. | | 14:19 | Holmes’ chilling interview with Moriarty. | | 21:03 | Holmes reveals multiple assassination attempts. | | 23:41 | Holmes instructs Watson in elaborate escape plan. | | 27:06 | Watson is joined by a disguised Holmes at the train. | | 29:16 | Baker Street set aflame—Moriarty’s reach. | | 30:10 | Holmes anticipates Moriarty’s pursuit on the continent. | | 32:39 | Holmes and Watson see Moriarty’s special train at Canterbury. | | 33:13 | Preview of next episode: the climax at the Swiss waterfall. |

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Tone & Storytelling Style

Narrated in a wistful, suspenseful, and conversational tone—balancing Watson’s melancholy and admiration for Holmes with moments of banter. The dialogue is terse, clever, and loaded with mutual respect and wariness between Holmes and Moriarty.

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Summary

The Final Problem: Part One launches Holmes and Watson into an elaborate game of cat-and-mouse with the brilliant and lethal Professor Moriarty. With cunning travel plans, close brushes with death, rapid disguises, and a perilous chase from London into Europe, this episode captures the essence of late Holmsian drama and the eternal struggle between order and chaos. The episode ends on the precipice of even greater danger, with Holmes and Watson on the run, Moriarty in cunning pursuit, and the promise of a climactic showdown ahead.

Transcript

[Narrator/Announcer]

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[Dr. John Watson]

I'm Hugh Bonneville and welcome to Sherlock Holmes Short Stories, the series where we delve into the files of fiction's most brilliant detective. Following his keen mind and unerring instincts from the first subtle clue to the final dramatic revelation. This time Holmes faces the one man in the world whom he considers his intellectual equal, Professor James Moriarty, the so called Napoleon of crime. For many years now, Holmes has been working to bring down Moriarty's crime syndicate. Now at last, he stands on the verge of completing his life's work. But Moriarty doesn't intend to go down quietly.

[Sherlock Holmes]

And when Holmes nemesis finally catches up

[Dr. John Watson]

with him, the great detective will find himself between a rock and a hard place with no solution in sight. From the Noiza Podcast Network, this is the Final Problem Part one. It is with a heavy heart that I take up my pen to write these, the last words in which I shall ever record the singular gifts by which my friend Mr. Sherlock Holmes was distinguished. In an incoherent and, as I deeply feel an entirely inadequate fashion, I have

[Sherlock Holmes]

endeavoured to give some account of my

[Dr. John Watson]

strange experiences in his company, from the chance which first brought us together at the period of the Study in Scarlet, up to the time of his interference in the matter of the Naval treaty, an interference which had the unquestionable effect of preventing a serious international complication. It was my intention to have stopped there and to have said nothing of that event which has created a void in my life, which the lapse of two years has done little to fill. My hand has been forced, however, by

[Sherlock Holmes]

the recent letters in which Colonel James

[Dr. John Watson]

Moriarty defends the memory of his brother. And I have no choice but to lay the facts before the public exactly as they occurred. I alone know the absolute truth of the matter, and I am satisfied that the time has come when no good purpose is to be served by its suppression. As far as I know, there have been only three accounts in the public press that in the Journal de Geneve on May 6, 1891, the Reuters Dispatch in the English papers on May 7,

[Sherlock Holmes]

and finally the recent letter to which

[Dr. John Watson]

I have alluded of these, the first and second were extremely condensed, while the last is, as I shall now show, an absolute perversion of the facts. It lies with me to tell for the first time what really took place between Professor Moriarty and Mr. Sherlock Holmes. It may be remembered that after my marriage and my subsequent start in private practice, the very intimate relations which had existed between Holmes and myself became to some extent modified. He still came to me from time to time when he desired a companion in his investigation, who but these occasions grew more and more seldom until I found that in the year 1890 there were only three cases of which I retain any record. During the winter of that year and the early spring of 1891 I saw in the papers that he had been engaged by the French government upon a matter of supreme importance. And I received two notes from Holmes dated from Narbonne and from Nimes from from which I gathered that his stay in France was likely to be a long one. It was with some surprise, therefore, that

[Sherlock Holmes]

I saw him walk into my consulting

[Dr. John Watson]

room upon the evening of April 24th.

[Sherlock Holmes]

It struck me that he was looking

[Dr. John Watson]

even paler and thinner than usual.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Yes, I have been using myself up

[Dr. John Watson]

rather too freely, he remarked in answer to my look rather than to my words.

[Sherlock Holmes]

I have been a little pressed of late. Have you any objection to my closing your shutters?

[Dr. John Watson]

The only light in the room came from the lamp upon the table at which I had been reading. Holmes edged his way round the wall and flinging the shutters together, he bolted them securely.

[Professor James Moriarty]

You are afraid of something? I asked.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Well, I am.

[Dr. John Watson]

Of what?

[Sherlock Holmes]

Of air guns.

[Dr. John Watson]

My dear Holmes.

[Professor James Moriarty]

What do you mean?

[Sherlock Holmes]

I think that you know me well enough, Watson, to understand that I am

[Dr. John Watson]

by no means a nervous man.

[Sherlock Holmes]

At the same time, it is stupidity

[Dr. John Watson]

rather than courage to refuse to recognize danger when it is close upon you.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Might I trouble you for a match?

[Dr. John Watson]

He drew in the smoke of his cigarette as if the soothing influence was grateful to him.

[Sherlock Holmes]

I must apologise for calling so late, said he.

[Dr. John Watson]

And I must further beg you to

[Sherlock Holmes]

be so unconventional as to allow me to leave your house presently by scrambling

[Dr. John Watson]

over your back garden wall.

[Professor James Moriarty]

But what does it all mean? I asked.

[Dr. John Watson]

He held out his hand and I

[Sherlock Holmes]

saw in the light of the lamp

[Dr. John Watson]

that two of his knuckles were burst and bleeding.

[Sherlock Holmes]

It is not an airy nothing, you

[Dr. John Watson]

see, said he, smiling.

[Sherlock Holmes]

On the contrary, it is solid enough for a man to break his hand over. Is Mrs. Watson in?

[Dr. John Watson]

She is away upon a visit.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Indeed? You are alone?

[Dr. John Watson]

Quite.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Then it Makes it the easier for me to propose that you should come away with me for a week. To the continent.

[Dr. John Watson]

Where?

[Sherlock Holmes]

Oh, anywhere. It's all the same to me.

[Dr. John Watson]

There was something very strange in all this. It was not Holmes's nature to take an aimless holiday. And something about his pale, worn face told me that his nerves were at their highest tension. He saw the question in my eyes and putting his fingertips together and his elbows upon his knees, he explained the situation.

[Sherlock Holmes]

You have probably never heard of Professor Moriarty, said he. Never I. There's the genius and the wonder of the thing. He cried. The man pervades London and no one has heard of him. That's what puts him on a pinnacle in the records of crime. I tell you, Watson, in all seriousness that if I could beat that man, if I could find free society of him, I should feel that my own career had reached its summit and I should be prepared to turn to some more placid line in life. Between ourselves. The recent cases in which I have been of assistance to the Royal family of Scandinavia and to the French Republic have left me in such a position that I could continue to live in the quiet fashion which is most congenial to me and to concentrate my attention upon my chemical researches. But I could not rest, Watson. I could not sit quiet in my chair if I thought that such a man as Professor Moriarty were walking the streets of London unchallenged.

[Professor James Moriarty]

What has he done then?

[Sherlock Holmes]

His career has been an extraordinary one. He is a man of good birth and excellent education, endowed by nature with a phenomenal mathematical faculty. At the age of 21 he wrote a treatise upon the Binomial theorem which has had a European vogue. On the strength of it he won the mathematical chair at one of our smaller universities and had, to all appearances a most brilliant career before him. But the man had hereditary tendencies of

[Dr. John Watson]

the most diabolical kind.

[Sherlock Holmes]

The criminal strain ran in his blood which, instead of being modified, was increased and rendered infinitely more dangerous by his extraordinary mental powers. Dark rumours gathered round him in the university town and eventually he was compelled to resign his chair and to come down to London where he set up as an army coach. So much is known to the world. But what I am telling you now is what I have myself discovered. As you are aware, Watson, there is no one who knows the higher criminal

[Dr. John Watson]

world of London so well as I do.

[Sherlock Holmes]

For years past I have continually been conscious of some power behind the malefactor, some deep organizing power which forever stands

[Dr. John Watson]

in the way of the law and throws its shield over the wrongdoer again and again, in cases of the most varying sorts, forgery cases, robberies, murders.

[Sherlock Holmes]

I have felt the presence of this force and I have deduced its action. In many of those undiscovered crimes in which I have not been personally consulted for years I have endeavoured to break through the veil which shrouded it. And at last the time came when I seized my thread and followed it until it led me, after a thousand

[Dr. John Watson]

cunning windings, to ex Professor Moriarty, of mathematical celebrity. He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson.

[Sherlock Holmes]

He is the organizer of half that

[Dr. John Watson]

is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city.

[Sherlock Holmes]

He is a genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of the first order. He sits motionless like a spider in the center of its web. But that web has a thousand radiations and he knows well every quiver of each of them. He does little himself. He only plans.

[Dr. John Watson]

But his agents are numerous and splendidly organized.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Is there a crime to be done? A paper to be abstracted, we will say, a house to be rifled? A man to be removed? The word is passed to the Professor. The matter is organized and carried out. The agent may be caught. In that case, money is found for his bail or his defence. But the central power which uses the agent is never caught, never so much as suspected. This was the organization which I deduced,

[Dr. John Watson]

Watson, and which I devoted my whole energy to exposing and breaking up.

[Sherlock Holmes]

But the professor was fenced round with safeguards so cunningly devised that dark what I would.

[Dr. John Watson]

It seemed impossible to get evidence which would convict in a court of law.

[Sherlock Holmes]

You know my powers, my dear Watson. And yet, at the end of three months I was forced to confess that I had at last met an antagonist who was my intellectual equal.

[Dr. John Watson]

My horror at his crimes was lost in my admiration at his skill.

[Sherlock Holmes]

But at last he made a triponly a little, little trip.

[Dr. John Watson]

But it was more than he could afford. When I was so close upon him,

[Sherlock Holmes]

I had my chance. And starting from that point, I have woven my net round him until now. It is all ready to close in three days. That is to say, on Monday next, matters will be ripe and the professor, with all the principal members of his

[Dr. John Watson]

gang, will be in the hands of the police. Then will come the greatest criminal trial

[Sherlock Holmes]

of the century, the clearing up of

[Dr. John Watson]

over 40 mysteries and the rope for all of them. But if we move at all prematurely,

[Sherlock Holmes]

you understand, they may slip out of

[Dr. John Watson]

our hands even at the last moment. Now, if I could have done this without the knowledge of Professor Moriarty all would have been well, but he was too wily for that.

[Sherlock Holmes]

He saw every step which I took

[Dr. John Watson]

to draw my coils round him. Again and again he strove to break

[Sherlock Holmes]

away, but I as often headed him off. I tell you, my friend, that if a detailed account of that silent contest

[Dr. John Watson]

could be written, it would take its

[Sherlock Holmes]

place as the most brilliant bit of thrust and parry work in the history of detection.

[Professor James Moriarty]

Never have I risen to such a

[Dr. John Watson]

height, and never have I been so

[Sherlock Holmes]

hard pressed by an opponent.

[Dr. John Watson]

He cut deep, and yet I just undercut him.

[Narrator/Announcer]

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[Dr. John Watson]

this morning the

[Sherlock Holmes]

last steps were taken and three days

[Dr. John Watson]

only were wanted to complete the business. I was sitting in my room thinking the matter over when the door opened and Professor Moriarty stood before me. My nerves are fairly proof, Watson, but I must confess to a start when I saw the very man who had been so much in my thoughts standing there on my threshold. His appearance was quite familiar to me. He is extremely tall and thin.

[Sherlock Holmes]

His forehead domes out in a white curve, and his two eyes are deeply sunken in his head. He is clean shaven, pale and ascetic looking, retaining something of the professor in his features. His shoulders are rounded from much study, and his face protrudes forward and is forever slowly oscillating from side to side

[Dr. John Watson]

in a curiously reptilian fashion. He peered at me with great curiosity, and in his puckered eyes. You have less frontal development than I should have expected, said he at last. It is a dangerous habit to finger

[Professor James Moriarty]

loaded firearms in the pocket of one's dressing gown.

[Sherlock Holmes]

The fact is that upon his entrance I had instantly recognized the extreme personal danger in which I lay. The only conceivable escape for him lay in silencing my tongue. In an instant I had slipped the revolver from the drawer into my pocket and was covering him through the cloth. At his remark I drew the weapon out and laid it cocked upon the table. He still smiled and blinked, but there was something about his eyes which made me feel very glad that I had it there. You evidently don't know me, said he. On the contrary, I answered, I think it is Fairly evident that I do. Pray take a chair. I can spare you five minutes if you have anything to say.

[Dr. John Watson]

All that I have to say has

[Professor James Moriarty]

already crossed your mind, said he.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Then possibly my answer has crossed yours, I replied.

[Dr. John Watson]

You stand fast.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Absolutely. He clapped his hand into his pocket

[Dr. John Watson]

and I raised the pistol from the

[Sherlock Holmes]

table, but he merely drew out a memorandum book in which he had scribbled some dates.

[Professor James Moriarty]

You crossed my path on the 4th of January, said he. On the 23rd you incommoded me. By the middle of February I was seriously inconvenienced by you.

[Sherlock Holmes]

At the end of March I was

[Dr. John Watson]

absolutely hampered in my plans. And now at the close of April

[Sherlock Holmes]

I find myself placed in such a

[Professor James Moriarty]

position through your continual persecution that I am in positive danger of losing my liberty. The situation is becoming an impossible one.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Have you any suggestion to make?

[Professor James Moriarty]

I asked. You must drop it, Mr. Holmes, said

[Dr. John Watson]

he, swaying his face about.

[Professor James Moriarty]

You really must, you know.

[Sherlock Holmes]

After Monday, said I. Tut tut, said he.

[Dr. John Watson]

I am quite sure that a man

[Professor James Moriarty]

of your intelligence will see that there can be but one outcome to this affair. It is necessary that you should withdraw.

[Dr. John Watson]

You have worked things in such a

[Professor James Moriarty]

fashion that we have only one resource left. It has been an intellectual treat to me to see the way in which you have grappled with this affair. And I say unaffectedly that that it would be a grief to me to be forced to take any extreme measure. You smile, sir, but I assure you that it really would.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Danger is part of my trade, I remarked.

[Professor James Moriarty]

That is not danger, said he. It is inevitable destruction. You stand in the way not merely of an individual but of a mighty organization, the full extent of which you with all your cleverness have been unable to realize. You must stand clear, Mr. Holmes, or be trodden underfoot.

[Sherlock Holmes]

I am afraid, said I, rising, that in the pleasure of this conversation I am neglecting business of importance which awaits me elsewhere. He rose also and looked at me in silence, shaking his head sadly.

[Professor James Moriarty]

Well, well, said he at last. It seems a pity, but I have done what I could. I know every move of your game. You can do nothing before Monday. It has been a duel between you and me, Mr. Holmes. You hope to place me in the dark. I tell you that I will never stand in the dock.

[Sherlock Holmes]

You hope to beat me.

[Professor James Moriarty]

I tell you that you will never beat me.

[Sherlock Holmes]

If you are clever enough to bring

[Professor James Moriarty]

destruction upon me, rest assured that I shall do as much to you.

[Sherlock Holmes]

You have paid me several compliments, Mr. Moriarty said I. Let me pay you one in return. When I say that if I were assured of the former eventuality, I would, in the interests of the public, cheerfully accept the latter, but not the other, he snarled, and so turned his rounded back upon me and went peering and

[Dr. John Watson]

blinking out of the room.

[Sherlock Holmes]

That was my singular interview with Professor Moriarty. I confess that it left an unpleasant effect upon my mind. Mind? His soft, precise fashion of speech leaves a conviction of sincerity which a mere bully could not produce. Of course you will say, why not take police precautions against him? The reason is that I am well

[Dr. John Watson]

convinced that it is from his agents the blow will fall.

[Sherlock Holmes]

I have the best proofs that it would be so.

[Dr. John Watson]

You have already been assaulted, my dear Watson.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Professor Moriarty is not a man who lets the grass grow under his feet. I went out about midday to transact some business in Oxford Street. As I passed the corner which leads from Bentinck street onto the Welbeck street crossing, a two horse van, furiously driven, whizzed round and was on me like a flash. I sprang for the footpath and saved myself by the fraction of a second. The van dashed round by Marylebone Lane and was gone in an instant. I kept the pavement after that, Watson. But as I walked down Vere Street, a brick came down from the roof of one of the houses and was shattered to fragments at my feet. I called the police and had the place examined. There were slates and bricks piled up on the roof preparatory to some repairs, and they would have me believe that the wind had toppled over one of these. Of course, I knew better, but I could prove nothing. I took a cab after that and reached my brother's room, rooms in Pall Mall, where I spent the day. Now I have come round to you

[Dr. John Watson]

and on my way I was attacked

[Sherlock Holmes]

by a rough with a bludgeon. I knocked him down and the police have him in custody. But I can tell you with the most absolute confidence that no possible connection will ever be traced between the gentleman upon whose front teeth I have barked my knuckles and the retiring mathematical coach

[Dr. John Watson]

who is, I dare say, working out problems upon a blackboard 10 miles away.

[Sherlock Holmes]

You will not wonder, Watson, that my first act on entering your rooms was

[Dr. John Watson]

to close your shutters, and that I have been compelled to ask your permission

[Sherlock Holmes]

to leave the house by some less conspicuous exit than the front door.

[Dr. John Watson]

I had often admired my friend's courage, but never more than now, as he sat quietly checking off a series of incidents which must have combined to make up a day of horror. You will spend the night here, I said.

[Sherlock Holmes]

No, my friend. You might find Me, a dangerous guest. I have my plans laid and all will be well. Matters have gone so far now that they can move without my help. As far as the arrest goes, though my presence is necessary for a conviction. It is obvious therefore that I cannot do better than get away for the few days which remain before the police are at liberty to act. It would be a great pleasure to me therefore if you could come on to the continent with me.

[Dr. John Watson]

The practice is quiet said I, and I have an accommodating neighbour. I should be glad to come and

[Sherlock Holmes]

to start to morrow morning if necessary. Oh yes, it is most necessary. Then these are your instructions and I beg my dear Watson that you will obey them to the letter for you are now playing a double handed game with me against the cleverest rogue and the most powerful syndicate of criminals in Europe. Now listen, you will despatch whatever luggage you intend to take by a trusty messenger unaddressed to Victoria tonight. In the morning you will send for a hansom desiring your man to take neither the first nor nor the second which may present itself. Into this hansom you will jump and you will drive to the Strand end of the Lowther Arcade handing the address to the cabman upon a slip of paper with the request that he will not throw it away. Have your fare ready and the instant that your cab stops dash through the arcade timing yourself to reach the other side. At a quarter past nine you will find a small brougham waiting close to the curb driven by a fellow with a heavy black cloak in tipped at the collar with red. Into this you will step and you will reach Victoria in time for the Continental Express.

[Dr. John Watson]

Where shall I meet you?

[Sherlock Holmes]

At the station. The second first class carriage from the front will be reserved for us.

[Dr. John Watson]

The carriage is our rendezvous then?

[Sherlock Holmes]

Yes.

[Dr. John Watson]

It was in vain that I asked Holmes to remain for the evening. It was evident to me that he thought he might bring trouble to the roof he was under and that that was the motive which impelled him to go. With a few hurried words as to our plans for the morrow he rose and came out with me into the garden, clambering over the wall which leads into Mortimer street and immediately whistling for a hansom in which I heard him drive away. In the morning I obeyed Holmes's injunctions to the letter. A hansom was procured with such precaution as would prevent its being one which was placed ready for us and I drove immediately after breakfast to the Lowther Arcade through which I hurried at the top of my speed a brougham was waiting with a very massive driver wrapped in a dark cloak, who, the instant

[Sherlock Holmes]

that I had stepped in, whipped up

[Dr. John Watson]

the horse and rattled off to Victoria station. On my alighting there, he turned the

[Sherlock Holmes]

carriage and dashed away again without so

[Dr. John Watson]

much as a look in my direction. So far all had gone admirably. My luggage was waiting for me, and I had no difficulty in finding the carriage which Holmes had indicated, the less so as it was the only one in the train which was marked engaged. My only source of anxiety now was the non appearance of Holmes. The station clock marked only seven minutes from the time when we were due to start. In vain, I searched among the groups

[Sherlock Holmes]

of travelers and leave takers for the

[Dr. John Watson]

lithe figure of my friend. There was no sign of him. I spent a few minutes in assisting

[Sherlock Holmes]

a venerable Italian priest who was endeavoring

[Dr. John Watson]

to make a porter understand in his broken English that his luggage was to

[Sherlock Holmes]

be booked through to Paris.

[Dr. John Watson]

Then, having taken another look round, I returned to my carriage, where I found that the porter, in spite of the

[Sherlock Holmes]

ticket, had given me my decrepit Italian

[Dr. John Watson]

friend as a traveling companion. It was useless for me to explain to him that his presence was an

[Sherlock Holmes]

intrusion, for my Italian was even more

[Dr. John Watson]

limited than his English. So I shrugged my shoulders resignedly and continued to look out anxiously for my friend. A chill of fear had come over me as I thought that his absence might mean that some blow had fallen during the night.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Already the doors had all been shut and the whistle blown when my dear Watson, said a voice, you have not even condescended to say good morning.

[Dr. John Watson]

I turned in uncontrollable astonishment. The aged ecclesiastic had turned his face towards me. For an instant the wrinkles were smoothed away, the nose drew away from the

[Sherlock Holmes]

chin, the lower lip ceased to protrude and the mouth to mumble.

[Dr. John Watson]

The dull eyes regained their fire.

[Sherlock Holmes]

The drooping figure expanded. The next, the whole frame collapsed again,

[Dr. John Watson]

and Holmes had gone as quickly as he had come.

[Professor James Moriarty]

Good heavens. I cried. How you startled me.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Every precaution is still necessary, he whispered.

[Professor James Moriarty]

I have reason to think that they

[Sherlock Holmes]

are hot upon our trail.

[Professor James Moriarty]

Ah, there is Moriarty himself.

[Dr. John Watson]

The train had already begun to move as Holmes spoke. Glancing back, I saw a tall man pushing his way furiously through the crowd

[Sherlock Holmes]

and waving his hand as if he

[Dr. John Watson]

desired to have the train stopped. It was too late, however, for we were rapidly gathering momentum and an instant later had shot clear of the station.

[Sherlock Holmes]

With all our precautions. You see that we have cut it

[Dr. John Watson]

rather fine, said Holmes, laughing.

[Sherlock Holmes]

He rose and, throwing off the black cassock and hat which had formed his disguise.

[Dr. John Watson]

He packed them away in a handbag.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Have you seen the morning paper, Watson? No. You haven't seen about Baker street then?

[Professor James Moriarty]

Baker Street?

[Sherlock Holmes]

They set fire to our rooms last night. No great harm was done.

[Professor James Moriarty]

Good heavens, Holmes, this is intolerable.

[Sherlock Holmes]

They must have lost my track completely after their bludgeoned man was arrested. Otherwise they could not have imagined that I had returned to my rooms. They have evidently taken the precaution of watching you, however, and that is what has brought Moriarty to Victoria. You could not have made any slip in coming.

[Dr. John Watson]

I did exactly what you advised.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Did you find your brougham? Yes, it was waiting. Did you recognize your coachman? No, it was my brother, Mycroft. It is an advantage to get about in such a case without taking a mercenary into your confidence. But we must plan what we are to do about Moriarty.

[Dr. John Watson]

Now, as this is an express, and as the boat runs in connection with

[Sherlock Holmes]

it, I should think we have shaken him off very effectively. My dear Watson, you evidently did not realize my meaning when I said that this man may be taken as being quite on the same intellectual plane as myself. You do not imagine that if I were the pursuer I should allow myself to be baffled by so slight an obstacle. Why then should you think so meanly of him?

[Dr. John Watson]

What will he do?

[Sherlock Holmes]

What I should do.

[Dr. John Watson]

What would you do then?

[Sherlock Holmes]

Engage especial.

[Dr. John Watson]

But it must be late.

[Sherlock Holmes]

By no means. This train stops at Canterbury and there is always at least a quarter of an hour's delay at the boat. He will catch us there.

[Dr. John Watson]

One would think that we were the criminals. Let us have him arrested on his arrival.

[Sherlock Holmes]

It would be to ruin the work of three months. We should get the big fish, but

[Dr. John Watson]

the smaller would dart right and left

[Sherlock Holmes]

out of the net.

[Dr. John Watson]

On Monday we should have them all.

[Sherlock Holmes]

No, an arrest is inadmissible.

[Professor James Moriarty]

What then?

[Sherlock Holmes]

We shall get out at Canterbury.

[Dr. John Watson]

And then?

[Sherlock Holmes]

Well, then we must make a cross country journey to Newhaven and so over to Dieppe. Moriarty will again do what I should do. He will get on to Paris, mark down our luggage and wait for two days at the depot. In the meantime we shall treat ourselves to a couple of carpet bags, encourage the manufactures of the countries through which we travel and make our way at our leisure into Switzerland via Luxembourg and Basel. At Canterbury, therefore, we alighted, only to find that we should have to wait an hour before we could get a train to Newhaven.

[Dr. John Watson]

I was still looking rather ruefully after the rapidly disappearing luggage van which contained my wardrobe when Holmes pulled my sleeve and pointed up the line.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Already, you see, said he, far away from among the Kentish woods, there rose a thin spray of smoke.

[Dr. John Watson]

A minute later a carriage and engine could be seen flying along the open curve which leads to the station. We had hardly time to take our

[Sherlock Holmes]

place behind a pile of luggage when it passed with a rattle and a

[Dr. John Watson]

roar, beating a blast of hot air into our faces.

[Sherlock Holmes]

There he goes, said Holmes, as we

[Dr. John Watson]

watched the carriage swing and rock over the points.

[Sherlock Holmes]

There are limits, you see, to our friend's intelligence. It would have been a coup de

[Dr. John Watson]

maitre had he deduced what I would

[Sherlock Holmes]

deduce and acted accordingly.

[Dr. John Watson]

And what would he have done had he overtaken us?

[Sherlock Holmes]

There cannot be the least doubt that he would have made a murderous attack upon me.

[Dr. John Watson]

It is, however, a game at which two may play.

[Sherlock Holmes]

The question now is whether we should take a premature lunch here or run

[Dr. John Watson]

our chance of starving before we reach the buffet at New Haven. Next time on Sherlock Holmes Short Stories. The adventure continues as Holmes and Watson arrive in Europe. Moriarty slips the net Holmes has set for him, and at the summit of a raging Swiss waterfall, Holmes tackles the greatest mystery of all, that eternal, insoluble problem that all of us must face. In the end, that's next time.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Can't wait a week until the next episode? Well, listen to it right away by subscribing to Noiser Plus. Head to www.noiser.comscriptions for more information or

[Dr. John Watson]

click the link in the episode description.