A Sherlock Holmes Adventure. Based on “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle”
Learning Objective: to summarize the plot of a mystery through an in-role writing task
Scene 1
221B BAKER STREET,
DECEMBER 27, 1889
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SD1: The lights come up on a living room strewn with books and papers. A fire crackles in the fireplace.
SD2: Dr. Watson answers a knock on the door.
Holmes (offstage): Who is it, Watson?
Watson (yelling): It’s Mr. Peterson and Officer Turner!
Holmes (offstage): Come to wish us a happy Christmas? They are rather late.
Turner (yelling): Actually, we—
SD1: Sherlock Holmes walks in.
Turner (in a normal voice): Actually, we could use your help.
Peterson: I saw a gang of ruffians attack someone last night. As I rushed over to help, the scoundrels ran off—and so did the unfortunate victim. But he left this hat behind.
SD2: Peterson holds up a tattered hat.
Turner: He also left this goose behind.
SD1: Turner holds up a dead goose.
Turner: It has a black stripe on its tail and a tag on its leg that reads “For Mrs. Henry Baker.”
Watson: There must be hundreds of Henry Bakers in London.
Turner: Precisely our problem. I realize that this is a minor mystery, Mr. Holmes, but I would like you to find the owner of these items. We must make sure he was not harmed.
Holmes: By all means. Leave the hat with me.
Peterson: And the goose?
Holmes: Take it home, Peterson. Your family might as well enjoy it before it spoils.
SD2: Peterson and Turner leave.
SD1: Holmes studies the hat.
Holmes: The owner of this hat was once well-to-do but has fallen on hard times. He is an older man who is not in the best of shape. And he has just had a haircut.
Watson: You deduced all that from one hat?
Holmes: Yes, Watson, look: It is an expensive hat, but old and worn out. So this fellow has surely come down in the world since purchasing it. The traces of sweat inside indicate he perspires greatly, so he must be out of shape. And these bits of gray hair—from a recent haircut—tell us that he is a gentleman of some age.
Watson: You do have an answer to everything!
Scene 2
221B BAKER STREET,
THE NEXT DAY
SD2: There is an urgent knocking at the door.
SD1: Holmes opens it to find Peterson, his eyes wide and his cheeks flushed.
Peterson: The goose, Mr. Holmes ! See what my wife has found in its gut!
SD2: He holds out a brilliant blue gemstone.
Holmes: By Jove! That’s the Countess of Morcar’s blue carbuncle!
Peterson: It was lost at the Hotel Cosmopolitan just five days ago.
Watson: As I recall, the police caught the culprit.
Holmes: It seems our little mystery has suddenly become much more important.
Scene 3
THE HOTEL COSMOPOLITAN,
FIVE DAYS EARLIER
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SD1: In an exquisite hotel room, a finely dressed woman paces as her maid looks on.
Countess: Oh, Catherine, you cannot imagine what that carbuncle means to me.
Cusack: That plumber must have stolen it.
SD2: Officer Turner walks in with a man in handcuffs.
Turner: Miss Cusack, is this the man who was here earlier?
Cusack: Yes, Officer. That is John Horner, the plumber.
Turner: And were you here at the time of the theft?
Cusack: No. The Countess and I went out after he arrived. When we returned, he was gone—and so was the stone.
Horner: I was only checkin’ them pipes—and there warn’t nothin’ wrong wiv ’em neither.
Countess: Tell me what you’ve done with my precious blue carbuncle!
Turner: Now then, Mr. Horner, you’re no stranger to crime, are you?
Horner: I was arrested many years ago, but I was only a kid. Now I ’ave a job and a wife and a daugh’er—and I takes right good care of ’em too!
Turner: Once a thief, always a thief, I say.
Horner: I am innocent, I tell you, innocent!
SD1: Turner drags Horner away.
Scene 4
221B BAKER STREET,
DECEMBER 29
Holmes: Mr. Baker should be here soon. I placed lost-and-found ads for his hat and goose in all the papers.
SD2: There is a timid knock at the door.
Holmes (opening the door) : Mr. Henry Baker? Do come in.
Watson (to Holmes): Why, he is exactly as you predicted.
Holmes: Of course, Watson. Mr. Baker, is this your hat?
Baker: Yes, sir. I know it well, as I have not been able to purchase a new one for years.
Holmes: I am glad to return it to you. By the way, we ate the goose.
Baker (surprised) : You—you ate it!
Watson: It would have spoiled.
Holmes: I presume that this fresh goose I’ve bought you will make an acceptable replacement?
Baker: Oh, certainly. How very kind of you, sir!
Holmes: Mr. Baker, would you mind telling me where you purchased that delicious goose?
Baker: I bought it from Mr. Windigate, at the Alpha Inn.
Holmes: Much obliged, Mr. Baker.
Baker: It is I who am much obliged to you, sir.
SD1: Baker bows deeply and leaves.
Holmes: So much for Mr. Henry Baker. He clearly knows nothing of the carbuncle.
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Sherlock Holmes Forever
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories were wildly popular. When Conan Doyle tried to end the series by killing off Sherlock, the public outcry was so intense that he brought Sherlock back to life. The brilliant detective has sparked countless adaptations, including the recent movie Enola Holmes, starring Millie Bobby Brown as Sherlock’s sister.
Scene 5
THE ALPHA INN,
LATER THAT DAY
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SD2: Holmes and Watson enter a pub.
Watson (approaching the owner): Mr. Windigate, I wonder if you would tell us where you get your fine geese.
Windigate: From Mrs. Oakshott o’er on Brixton Road. Hand-fed, they is. Best geese in London.
SD1: Another man enters and strides over to Windigate.
Ryder: You Windigate?
Windigate: Last I checked.
Ryder: Did you sell a goose with a black stripe on its tail?
Windigate: Why is everyone askin’ ’bout me geese?
Ryder: Please. It is important. Who bought the goose with the black stripe?
Windigate: How d’you reckon I’d remember that? A goose is a goose is a goose!
SD2: Wringing his hands, Ryder leaves. Holmes and Watson quietly follow.
SD1: Outside, Holmes spots a few boys selling newspapers.
Holmes: Boys, there’s a shilling apiece for you if you find out where that man goes.
Tom: A shilling apiece!
Percy: How’s about two shillings?
Holmes: Fine. Only do not let him see you following.
Jack: Don’t worry. We’ll be invisible.
Scene 6
BAKER STREET,
THAT EVENING
SD2: Tom, Percy, and Jack arrive at Baker Street.
Holmes: So, what did you find out?
Tom: That man’s name is James Ryder, sir.
Percy: We followed ’im to Brixton Road.
Jack: To Mrs. Oakshott’s house . . .
SD1: Flashback: The lights dim, and a house with a large yard appears in the middle of the stage.
SD2: A woman hums as she tosses grain to her geese.
Oakshott: Hmm hmm hmm . . .
SD1: A man taps her on the shoulder. She whirls around.
Oakshott: Ack! You scared me half to death! What are you doing here again?
Ryder: Windigate knows nothing about that goose !
Oakshott: What do you expect me to do about it? I still haven’t the faintest idea what all this fuss is about.
Ryder: I told you, I took the wrong goose for . . . for my Christmas dinner. I . . . Oh, Maggie, I have made the most dreadful mistake.
Oakshott: My poor brother. I see you are upset. But why? One goose is as good as the next, is it not?
SD2: Ryder drops his face into his hands as the lights fade. The flashback ends.
SD1: The lights come back up on Baker Street.
Tom: We can’t figure why anyone’d be sad o’er a goose.
Percy: I wouldn’t get upset ’bout a goose.
Jack: Me neither. ’Specially if I was eatin’ it.
Holmes: Well done, boys. Well done.
SD2: Holmes gives them their shillings.
Scene 7
THE HOTEL COSMOPOLITAN,
THE NEXT DAY
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SD1: Holmes and Watson wait outside a back door to the Hotel Cosmopolitan.
SD2: Ryder approaches, and Holmes steps forward.
Holmes: Ah, Mr. Ryder.
Ryder (nervously): How do you know my name?
Holmes: It is my business to know what others do not. I also know that you are an employee of the Hotel Cosmopolitan, and that you have been searching for a goose.
Ryder: But how . . . ? Do you know what happened to my goose? I’ve been searching for it everywhere !
Holmes: As a matter of fact, your goose made its way to me. And a most remarkable bird it proved to be.
SD1: Ryder turns pale.
Watson: Come with us to Baker Street, Mr. Ryder.
Holmes: Indeed. We have a visitor to receive.
SD2: Ryder groans but follows Holmes and Watson down the street.
Scene 8
221B BAKER STREET,
that evening
SD1: Holmes and Watson chat quietly in front of the fireplace. Ryder paces the room.
SD2: There is a knock at the door. Holmes answers and Countess Morcar and Catherine Cusack walk in.
Countess (bursting in): Mr. Holmes, you summoned me! Have you found my blue carbuncle?
SD1: Holmes removes the blue jewel from his pocket.
Countess: Oh, thank goodness! But who is this man?
Holmes: This is James Ryder. He stole your carbuncle.
Countess: I thought the plumber was the thief.
Holmes: Mr. Horner is innocent. Isn’t that true, Ryder?
Ryder: Oh, have mercy ! I never went wrong before. It’s just that when she told me about the carbuncle—
Watson: When who told you about the carbuncle?
SD2: Ryder points a shaking finger at Catherine Cusack.
Ryder: Her—Miss Catherine Cusack.
Countess (gasping): Catherine, can this be true?
SD1: Catherine looks stricken but says nothing.
Holmes: Remember that the plumber, Mr. Horner, said the pipes in your room were fine. They were. Ryder and his accomplice, Miss Cusack, called Mr. Horner because they knew the police would suspect a man with a criminal past.
Countess: How dreadful!
Holmes: After Mr. Horner left, Mr. Ryder came to lock up the room. That’s when he stole the jewel. It was easy, as your maid had told him just where to find it. Have I got it right so far, Miss Cusack?
Cusack (quietly): Forgive me, Countess.
Watson: But how did the carbuncle end up in a goose?
Holmes: Ryder wanted to hide it, so he fed it to one of his sister’s geese. Unfortunately, his sister sold that goose to Mr. Windigate, who then sold it to Mr. Baker.
Ryder: It is all true! I stuffed the gem down the throat of a goose with a black stripe on its tail—so I could recognize the goose later. Then I told my sister which goose I wanted for Christmas dinner. But later when I cut the goose open, there was no gem. I hadn’t realized—
Holmes: —that your sister had two geese with a black stripe.
Ryder (weeping): Yes. I took the wrong one. Now I am a branded thief—without having touched the wealth for which I sold my character.
Holmes: Ryder, you broke the law and framed an innocent man. You and Miss Cusack deserve to be punished. But perhaps your guilt is punishment enough. After all, the Countess has her jewel and Mr. Horner will be set free.
Ryder: Oh, please, sir! I will never do wrong again.
Cusack: Nor will I ever again let greed get the better of me.
Countess: Well, it is the season of forgiveness.
Holmes: Very well. Be gone!
Ryder: Oh bless you! Bless you both!
SD2: Ryder and Cusack scurry out the door.
Holmes: I suppose that by letting them go I have broken the law—but it is just possible that I have saved their souls. Send them to jail now and make them jailbirds for life, I daresay. And now, Watson, let’s be off. I feel it is time to investigate a new bird.
Watson: Indeed. I am starving, and a goose dinner sounds delightful.
Writing Prompt
Choose a character and write a journal entry as that character about the events of the play. Be sure to explain what happened and how you feel about it.
This play was originally published in the November 2022 issue.
Essential questions: What makes a character memorable? How are mysteries solved? What is justice?
1. PREPARING TO READ (15 MINUTES)
Do Now: Anticipation Guide (5 minutes)
Project the Theme Anticipation Guide on your whiteboard or share the Google Forms version with each student (both available in your Resources tab). Have students decide whether they agree or disagree with each statement, then discuss. After reading the play, ask students to share whether any of their answers have changed and, if so, why. You could also have them complete the Theme Anticipation Guide as one of the characters.
Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)
Project Vocabulary: Definitions and Practice. Review the definitions as a class. Highlighted words: accomplice, carbuncle, culprit, deduced, exquisite, obliged, ruffians, timid. Optionally, print or share the interactive link directly to your LMS and have students preview the words and complete the activity independently beforehand. (Audio pronunciations of the words and a read-aloud of the definitions are embedded in the interactive slides.)
2. READING AND DISCUSSING (45 MINUTES)
Have a volunteer read the As You Read box on page 17 of the magazine or at the top of the digital story page.
Close-Reading Question (15 minutes)
Critical-Thinking Questions (5 minutes)
Holmes says that by letting Ryder and Cusack go, he may have “saved their souls.” What do you think he means? Do you think Holmes did the right thing in letting them go? Answers will vary. Holmes’s next remark, “Send them to jail now and make them jailbirds for life, I daresay,” helps illuminate what he may mean: If Ryder and Cusack go to jail, the experience might turn them into hardened criminals—or maybe he means that they, like John Horner, will be looked upon with suspicion from then on. When Holmes says he may have saved their souls, he may mean that by giving them a second chance, he is encouraging them to change their behavior—because people have a tendency to meet the expectations put on them. Answers to the second question will vary.
3. SKILL BUILDING AND WRITING (30 MINUTES)
Have students complete the Writing Planner: Sherlock Holmes. This activity will help them organize their ideas in preparation for the writing prompt on page 21 in the printed magazine and at the bottom of the digital story page.
Alternatively, have students choose a culminating task from the Choice Board, a menu of differentiated activities.
4. CONNECTED READING
