DRAMATIS PERSONAE
- PERCY “TADPOLE” PHELPS, former schoolmate of Watson and nephew of Holdhurst
- ARTHUR PINNER, gangster who hired Pycroft in order that Beddington could take the job he had just obtained.
- ANNIE HARRISON, engaged to Percy.
- JOSEPH HARRISON, her brother
- LORD HOLDHURST, prominent conservative politician.
- CHARLES GOROT, clerk and fellow employee of Percy.
- MR. & MRS. TEMGEY, commissionaire and his wife. He is a retired Coldstream guard.
- MR. FORBES, Scotland Yard agent assigned to the case.
- A CONSTABLE
- DR. FERRIER, accompanied Percy to his home on the night of the theft.
SUMMARY
Watson is married and in practice. He receives a letter from Phelps asking him to bring Holmes to his home to solve the theft of the Naval Treaty.Phelps was instructed to copy the Treaty by Holdhurst. This was an involved document written in French. It took several hours to copy it.
During the copying, Phelps took a coffee break. When he came back, the treaty was gone. After a frantic and futile search, Percy had a sudden attack of brain fever and was put immediately put to bed in the room Joseph had been occupying, as it was the most convenient.
Percy is insensate for five weeks, during which time the treaty is not found and no government has claimed possession of it. Percy writes Watson as soon as he is in possession of his senses.
Holmes solves the case. Joseph came to meet Percy the night of the theft. He arrived while Percy was taking his break. Seeing the treaty and realizing it was valuable, he took it (he had lost heavily in the market) and went home. He hid the treaty beneath the carpet in an access box. Phelps arrived shortly after and displaced Joseph from his room. Joseph could not retrieve the treaty because a nurse was in constant attendance of Percy, as was his sister. Holmes sends Percy to London in Watson’s care and lies in wait for Joseph who is caught red handed when he tries to retrieve the treaty. Since no harm was done and the treaty recovered, Holmes allows the thief to go free.
OTHER ADVENTURES MENTIONED
- The Second Stain
- The Tired Captain
- The Speckled Band.
DISGUISES
None
UNUSUAL DEDUCTIONS & bits
- Before seeing the treaty on Percy’s desk, Joseph rings the comissionaire’s bell.
- When Watson enters Baker street, Holmes is performing a chemical analysis, the results of which prove a man is guilty of murder.
- Holmes deduces that Percy’s dictated letter was written by “a woman of rare character.”
- In the midst of interrogating Percy, Holmes lapses into a reverie about the beauty of roses and flowers in general.
- Holmes tells Watson that England’s schools are the lighthouses of the future.
- Holmes discusses “The Bertillion System of Measurements”
- Official Abbreviation: NAVA
The Adventure Of The Naval Treaty was first published in the Strand Magazine, in 2 parts, October and November 1893
More about NAVA at:
Diogenes Club
And find the complete text
at the Diogenes Club.
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