Chapter 12: Jonathan Small's Stories

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Chapter 12: Jonathan Small's Story (Part 1)

In Chapter 12, Jonathan Small reveals the story of his past.

Small loses his leg

Small was born in Worcester but had had to leave home because he got into trouble over a girl.
To escape trouble, he joined the army infantry which was heading for India.
Soon after arriving in India, Small went swimming in the Ganges and had his leg bitten off by a crocodile – this is why he wears a wooden leg.
Small spent five months in hospital recovering – when he left, he was discharged from the army and got a job on an Indian plantation.

Indian mutiny

Not long after he started, the Indian mutiny broke out – suddenly, there were vicious men fighting all over the countryside.
One day, Small discovered that the plantation owner and his family had been killed. Small fled to Agra to escape the fighting and save his own life.
Whilst the fighting raged on, Small joined forces with the people in Agra to help to protect the city.

Small is attacked

Soon, two Sikh men were placed under his command at Agra – Mohamet Singh and Abdullah Khan.
One evening, Singh and Khan grabbed Small and pointed a gun at his head – they told him about an Indian rajah who was hiding a servant in the city under the name of Achmet – Achmet had the rajah’s treasure with him.

Dost Akbar

The two men gave Small the option of helping them or being killed.
They also revealed the existence of a man called Dost Akbar, who was pretending an allegiance to Achmet to enable him to enact their plan to obtain his treasure.
The two Sikh men told Small that Achmet would be caught and killed, and his treasure would go to the government – so, they reasoned, it was better to kill him and enjoy the treasure themselves.

Chapter 12: Jonathan Small's Story (Part 2)

In Chapter 12, Jonathan Small reveals the story of his past.

The men bury Achmet

The plan went ahead and the men (Small and the two Sikh men) waited to Achmet to appear. But they did not plan on Achmet fighting back.
Jonathan Small saw the fight and stepped in – he killed Achmet with very little thought.
The men then carried Achmet’s body to a grave they had dug and went back to the treasure. They hid it, with the intention of returning once it was safe to travel out of India with it.

The men are imprisoned

They each agreed not to take the treasure for themselves, and then Small created maps to the treasure, each signed with ‘sign of the four’.
But it was not long before suspicions were raised and the rajah discovered that Achmet had been killed.
Jonathan Small, Abdullah Khan, Mohamet Singh and Dost Akbar were imprisoned for murder and theft.
The four men were sent to the Andaman Islands to carry out their prison sentence.
Whilst on the Andaman Islands, Small met Captain Morstan and Major Sholto.

Small vows revenge

One night, Small overheard Major Sholto talking about being in debt and used this knowledge to barter his way off the island – he told Sholto and Morstan about the treasure, agreeing to share it with them if they freed him.
Sholto and Morstan agreed to the deal. Not long after, Major Sholto returned to England, claiming that he had inherited a fortune from an uncle. When they checked, they found the Agra treasure missing.
Major Sholto had stolen the treasure.
From that point forward, Small vowed revenge on Major Sholto.

Chapter 12: Jonathan Small Meets Tonga

In Chapter 12, Jonathan Small explains how he met Tonga, a native of the Andaman Islands, who became his apprentice.

Tonga is devoted to Small

Tonga came to like Small when he offered Tonga some medical treatment while he was ill and dying.
Small took advantage of Tonga liking him and used Tonga to help him to escape: ‘I found that he was devoted to me and would do anything to serve me’.
On his way off the island, Small confesses to using his wooden leg to bludgeon a man he hated.

Small and Tonga go to London

Small and Tonga slowly made their way to London, with Small constantly dreaming of taking revenge on Major Sholto.
When Small heard that Major Sholto was dying, he hurried to his home and searched through his papers, trying to find evidence of the location of the Agra treasure.
With no leads, he retreated and bided his time – he used Tonga as an exhibit at fairs to raise money: ‘the black cannibal’.

Tonga murders Bartholomew

Eventually, Small heard about the treasure being in the roof space at Pondicherry Lodge and returned to retrieve it – during the visit, Tonga murdered Bartholomew.

1Context

1.1Victorian England & British Empire

1.1.1Author Background

1.1.2Victorian Crime & Police

1.1.3Historical Context

1.1.4Victorian London

1.1.5Women

1.1.6The British Empire

1.1.7End of Topic Test - Author & Victorian Police

1.1.8End of Topic Test - Victorian London & Empire

2Plot Summary

2.1Chapter Summaries

2.1.1Chapter 1

2.1.2Chapter 2

2.1.3Chapter 3

2.1.4Chapter 4

2.1.5Chapter 5

2.1.6Chapter 6

2.1.7Chapter 7

2.1.8Chapter 8

2.1.9Chapter 9

2.1.10Chapter 10

2.1.11Chapter 11

2.1.12Chapter 12

2.1.13Chapter 12: Jonathan Small's Stories

2.1.14End of Topic Test - Chapters 1-6

2.1.15End of Topic Test - Chapters 7-12

3Characters

3.1Key Characters

3.1.1Sherlock Holmes

3.1.2Sherlock Holmes: Quotations

3.1.3Dr John Watson

3.1.4Mary Morstan

3.1.5End of Topic Test - Key Characters

3.1.6Exam-Style Questions - Mary & Dr Watson

3.2Other Characters

3.2.1Thaddeus Sholto

3.2.2Jonathan Small

3.2.3End of Topic Test - Thaddeus and Jonathan Small

3.3Grade 9 - Key Characters

3.3.1Grade 9 - Key Characters

3.3.2Extract Analysis - Tonga

4Key Themes

4.1Key Themes

4.1.1Corruption

4.1.2Criminals & Victims

4.1.3Victorian Fear

4.1.4British Empire & Imperialism

4.1.5Duality

4.1.6End of Topic Test - Key Themes

5Writing Techniques

5.1Writing Techniques

5.1.1Narrative Voice

5.1.2Dialogue

5.1.3Structure

5.1.4Structure & Characters

5.1.5Pathetic Fallacy

5.1.6End of Topic Test - Writing Techniques

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