Discussion Post: The Reigate Squires

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Welcome back, friends! Today we're looking at The Reigate Squires (or Squire or Puzzle...), and it's another where a sickly Holmes stumbles upon a mystery during a convalescence a la The Devil's Foot. What did you think of it? As always here are a few of my thoughts and questions to get you started. Please add your own!

- So who do you think sent for Watson to tell him Holmes was ill in Lyons? Holmes himself? Was he really sick at all? Or was he just tired and depressed? Or lonely?

- Watson says Holmes and Hayter have much in common. Do you see the similarity he describes? What do you think he means?

- Has anyone ever been as lucky as Holmes to have a friend like Watson? The good doctor comes running to another country at the drop of a hat when he is needed, he keeps an eye on Holmes' health when Holmes can't be bothered, he is willing to cover and take the blame in Holmes' schemes, trusting the detective implicitly, and he is admiring and impressed rather than insulted and furious when he discovers Holmes faked his dramatic fainting spell. He is an extraordinary companion.

- "I was sorry to cause you the sympathetic pain which I know that you felt." Is he really? Certainly doesn't seem like it. And this is just the first time (I think) Holmes scares the hell out of Watson in this way. He has even worse things in store for his friend and everyone else later, as we know.

- One thing that is very curious about the Reigate affair here is that at the end of it, we still don't really know what was going on. Who is Annie Morrison? What was she doing with Alec Cunningham and William Kirwan?