The Sign of Four Thugs
The four names signed on the map of the Agra treasure.
"The Sign of the Four" is the mark of four men in the novel of that name: Jonathan Small, Mahomet Singh, Abdullah Khan and Dost Akbar. Their names, with four small cross-like symbols, are written on a map of a fortress found in Captain Morstan's desk. A note reading "The Sign of Four" was also found pinned to Major Sholto's body.
Quick Facts
- First appearance
- The Sign of Four
Lore & Background
Small confesses how the four came together. During the 1857 rebellion he fled to the Agra fortress, where Sikh troopers overpowered him on guard one night and gave him a choice: be killed, or help them waylay a man who served an outlawed rajah and was bringing his jewels to the fortress for safekeeping. The robbery and murder took place and the crime was discovered, though the hidden jewels were not. Small and his accomplices were sentenced to penal servitude and later moved to a prison in the Andaman Islands.
Reader's Guide
After Major Sholto stole the treasure, Small vowed vengeance. He escaped with the help of Tonga, an islander whose life he had once saved. In London, Bartholomew Sholto is found dead with a poisonous thorn above his ear and the treasure box gone. Holmes chases Small's hired steam launch, the Aurora, on the Thames: Tonga tries to shoot a dart at Holmes and is shot dead, and Small is captured after scattering the gems into the river.
Did You Know?
- Tonga, Small's Andamanese accomplice, tries to shoot a dart at Holmes during the river chase.
- The gang's activities are directly tied to the colonial history of British India.
More in Criminals & Organizations
Elsewhere in Sherlock Holmes
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