The Adventure of the Three Garridebs
by Arthur Conan Doyle
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A Sherlock Holmes 'story of incident'. An American calling himself John Garrideb, Counsellor at Law, tells a fantastic tale: an eccentric millionaire, Alexander Hamilton Garrideb, has left a fortune to be shared among three men bearing the rare surname Garrideb. One is the elderly London collector Nathan Garrideb, and a third is needed to unlock five million dollars each. Holmes quickly senses the story is a 'rigmarole of lies', the man's English clothes betray long residence in London, and there were no genuine newspaper advertisements. Holmes identifies the American as 'Killer' Evans, a dangerous criminal. The whole invention is a scheme to lure the harmless Nathan Garrideb out of his rooms, which were once the home of a murdered counterfeiter, Rodger Presbury, whose secret printing press and forged notes lie hidden beneath the floor. Holmes and Watson trap Evans; he shoots and slightly wounds Watson, and Holmes' fierce concern for his friend reveals the depth of their bond. Evans is arrested and the counterfeiting outfit recovered.
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This detective story of incident turns on the unravelling of an elaborate hoax. Its interest lies in Holmes' deductive brilliance, the gradual exposure of the villain, and the touching glimpse of the loyalty and love between Holmes and Watson.
The strange legacy
An American, John Garrideb, tells Holmes and Watson of an eccentric Kansas millionaire, Alexander Hamilton Garrideb, whose will leaves a fortune to be divided among three men named Garrideb. One is the London collector Nathan Garrideb; a third must be found to release five million dollars for each. The tale seems whimsical, and money is promised to whoever helps find a third Garrideb.
Holmes sees through the lie
Holmes notes that the 'American' wears an English coat and boots worn with a year's use, contradicting his claim of being newly arrived; that no advertisements ever appeared in the agony columns; and that his invented 'Dr Lysander Starr of Topeka' does not exist. Holmes concludes the man is telling 'a rigmarole of lies' and is really a long-resident American rascal with some hidden motive.
The forged advertisement and 'Killer' Evans
A fake advertisement for a third Garrideb (Howard Garrideb, a maker of agricultural machinery) is produced to send the harmless Nathan Garrideb off to Birmingham. Its American spelling ('plow', 'buckboards', 'artesian wells') betrays its origin. At Scotland Yard, Holmes identifies the American from the Rogues' Gallery as 'Killer' Evans, alias James Winter/Morecroft, a dangerous gunman who once shot the counterfeiter Rodger Presbury.
The hidden press and the trap
Holmes deduces that Presbury, the counterfeiter Evans killed, once lived in Nathan Garrideb's very room, and that his secret printing press and forged notes lie hidden beneath the floor. Evans invented the Garrideb hoax to get the collector out of the way. Holmes and Watson hide and surprise Evans as he opens a trapdoor to the cellar. Evans fires two shots, slightly wounding Watson; Holmes strikes him down. Evans is arrested and the counterfeiter's outfit recovered.
Loyalty revealed
When Watson is grazed by Evans' bullet, the usually cold Holmes shows sudden, deep anxiety, 'For God's sake, say that you are not hurt!' Watson feels that the wound was worth many wounds to glimpse 'the great heart' behind Holmes' austere mask. Poor Nathan Garrideb never recovers from the collapse of his 'castle in the air' and ends in a nursing home.