Chapter 7

Test yourself

Chapter 7: The Episode of the Barrel

Watson escorts Mary home then continues on his errand to pick up Toby the dog from Pinchin Lane.

Jones' arrests

When Watson reaches the lodge, he learns that Inspector Jones has arrested the whole household.
- This continues to add to the idea that the Victorian police force was incompetent. Jones has no idea who killed Bartholomew, so instead of trying to just solve the case, he arrests everyone.

Holmes' reenactment

Holmes decides to reenact part of the crime to add credibility to his case – he decides to climb up to the roof to determine how the accomplice got in.
Using the footprints and the scent of creosote, Holmes determines the accomplice’s route into the house.
During this examination, Holmes finds a pouch of poisoned darts/spines, just like the one used to kill Bartholomew.

Using Toby the dog

Next, Holmes uses Toby the dog to follow the scent of the creosote.
- The Victorian police force refused to use dogs in their own investigations (especially in the Jack the Ripper case), as they felt that it made them look amateurish.
- Conan Doyle shows Sherlock Holmes using any means to find evidence and solve his case.
As they follow Toby across London, Holmes notes more evidence along the way – e.g. the one-legged man’s handprint with a blood stain.

Barrels of creosote

They continue to follow Toby, who gets faster as he picks up a stronger scent.
Unfortunately, Toby leads them to barrels of creosote, not to Jonathan Small.

Sherlock's Conclusions in Chapter 7

As Sherlock and Watson are following Toby the dog across London, Sherlock Holmes offers his current conclusions on the case. His conclusions are:

Sholto finds treasure

Two English officers (Morstan and Sholto) learn about buried treasure.
Jonathan Small (a convict) draws them a map to the treasure.
Major Sholto retrieved the treasure and brought it to England.
Jonathan Small did not get the treasure because he was a convict and could not yet escape.
Major Sholto is peaceful until he gets a letter from India, which causes him a lot of anxiety – he learns that the convicts have been set free or escaped.

Small discovers the room

Jonathan Small reached the house and could not figure out where the treasure was hidden.
On that night (when Sholto died) he had been rifling through his papers to try and find a clue to the whereabouts of the treasure.
Jonathan Small, unable to find the treasure, disappears. He then discovers the hidden room in the attic but, due to his wooden leg, is unable to climb up to it.
Small finds an accomplice who can easily climb.

The mysterious accomplice

Holmes suggests that Small did not necessarily want Bartholomew dead, but that his accomplice had ‘savage instincts’ which drove him to murder.
He starts to describe the appearance of Jonathan Small.
Watson asks him about the accomplice, but Holmes refuses to tell him, saying ‘you will know all about it soon enough’.

Key Quotations from Chapter 7

Here are three key quotations from Chapter 7:

Holmes' strong case

‘Do not imagine that I depend for my success in this case upon the mere chance of one of these fellows having put his foot in the chemical’ (Sherlock Holmes).
- Holmes wants to make it clear that he has built up a strong case with solid evidence. He does and will not base his deductions on ‘chance’.
- He uses the adjective ‘mere’ to show that he knows the limitations to this kind of evidence and will not base his whole case upon it.

Watson's admiration for Holmes

‘I marvel at the means by which you obtain your results in this case’ (Dr Watson).
- Despite Holmes admitting to limitations within his methods of investigation, Watson still admires his intelligence and skill.
- He never questions that Holmes’ methods are correct – he seems interested in watching Holmes use different, sometimes unconventional methods to reach his conclusions.
- Watson cannot understand the way in which Holmes’ brain works, but he appreciates it.

Savagery of foreigners

‘Savage instincts’ (Sherlock Holmes).
- We later learn that Holmes knows that Jonathan Small’s accomplice was a pygmy from the Andaman Islands in India. Although we cannot argue that Sherlock Holmes himself was racist, it is important to note the racial attitudes of the time – the unknown man is assumed to be a ‘savage’ who wanted to murder someone.
- Victorians often assumed that people from other cultures were dangerous and immoral. Victorian readers might approve of this character as the villain in the story.

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

Jump to other topics