Available Answers

1. 1.

   Arrange the sentences in the order of the events in the story.

   1. Mr Sandeford of Reading brought the bust of Napoleon, which Holmes had asked for.
   2. The third bust was found in the front garden of an empty house in Campden House Road, broken into fragments.
   3. Holmes found the black pearl of the Borgias in the broken pieces of the Napoleon bust.
   4. Holmes and Lestrade made their way to Gelder and Company.
   5. The shop of Morse Hudson in kennington Road was burgled.
   6. Beppo had made a hole in the wet plaster, dropped in the pearl and covered it again.
   7. Beppo began to search for the busts once he was released from jail.
   8. Dr Barnicot found his house burgled during the night. But nothing was missing wxcept the bust of Napoleon.
2. 2.

   On one such occasion, he confessed that he was quite confused by a case he was handling. 'It seems unimportant, but queer. Very queer'.

   1. Who is being referred to as 'he'? What was the occasion?
   2. What was the first case of burglary that had been reported?
   3. What had been the second case?
   4. What was 'queer' about the cases?
3. 3.

   'I entered this room and found the windows open and noticed the bust was gone from the mantelpiece. I walked to the front doorstep and nearly fell over a dead man lying there'.

   1. Who is the speaker in the extract? How long ago had he bought the bust?
   2. Describe the murdered man. Who did he turn out to be?
   3. What was the murdered man carrying in his pockets?
   4. Where was the bust found?
4. 4.

   Before long, a lithe, dark figure sped up the garden path and vanished past the hall light.

   1. Who was the 'figure'? What do you know of his background?
   2. Where was he? Who else was there at the time?
   3. Why had he come to that place?
   4. What heppened immediately afterwards?
5. 5.

   Holmes placed a ten pound note on the table and asked him to sign a paper in our presence. It simply said that in return for the money, he transferred every possible right to the bust to Sherlock Holmes.

   1. Whom did Holmes buy the bust from? Why did he make him sign the agreement?
   2. What did Holmes do next? What startling discovery was made?
   3. Explain in your own words the revelation made by Holmes that solved the case.
   4. What previous crime did Holmes recall to solve the case?
6. 6.

   Do you think an ineteresting detective story needs a criminal as clever as the detective? Was Beppo a clever criminal? Give reasons for your answer.