Sherlock HolmesGetting Young Again

When I arrived at 221B Baker Street, Holmes was sitting in his chair. His face looked serious. He didn’t say hello.

For thirty minutes, he didn’t speak. I sat in my chair and waited.

Then, suddenly, he looked at me and smiled.

“Sorry, Watson,” he said. “I was thinking. I have an interesting case. A very strange one.”

I was curious. “Tell me, Holmes,” I said.

“Have you ever noticed the behaviour of dogs?” Holmes asked. “Dogs show us many things about their owners.”

I didn’t understand. “Dogs?” I asked.

“Yes,” Holmes said. “Happy people have happy dogs. Angry people have angry dogs. But listen to this. A dog loved its owner for many years. Now, suddenly, it attacks him! Why?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Is this your case?”

Holmes looked at me. “Watson, small things are important. This is no small thing. It’s a very serious case.”

I sat back. “Tell me more,” I said.

This was the start of one of the strangest cases in Sherlock Holmes’ career.

I sat back in my chair, feeling disappointed. Was this the reason I was called here? Holmes looked at me and said, “The same old Watson! You never learn that small things can lead to big problems. Isn’t it strange that a well-known professor of science, like Professor Presbury, who has a loyal dog, is now being attacked by his own dog? What do you think?”

I said, “The dog is ill.”

Holmes replied, “That could be true, but the dog attacks no one else. It only attacks the professor on special occasions. Very strange, Watson, very strange.”

Holmes started explaining. “Professor Presbury is famous for his academic work. He’s a widower with a daughter, Edith. He is a strong man, but a few months ago, his life changed. He got engaged to a younger woman, Alice. The family didn’t approve of it because of the professor’s age.

“One day, the professor left home without telling anyone. When he came back two weeks later, he looked tired. He didn’t tell anyone where he had been. A letter from Prague showed that the professor had been there. After that, something changed.”

The professor became strange. His family felt that he was not the same person. He was still intelligent. His daughter tried to understand him, but it was impossible.

Mr Bennett explained that the professor brought back a small wooden box from his trip. (Mr Bennett is Professor Presbury’s assistant and the fiancé of his daughter, Edith.)

Mr Bennett touched the box once, but the professor got very angry.

Mr Bennett kept a diary and wrote down the dates of strange things that happened. The professor’s dog, Roy, attacked him on July 2nd, July 11th, and July 20th. After that, the dog was kept in the stables.

“Two nights ago, Mr Bennett was woken up at 2 AM. He heard a strange noise. He looked outside and saw the professor crawling down the hallway, moving on his hands and feet. He seemed normal at first but then suddenly jumped up and ran away. He couldn’t understand what was happening.”

Last night, he heard the dog barking loudly. His daughter saw the professor’s face at her window on the second floor. There was no ladder, but he was there!

“We need to see him. Let’s go tomorrow to check on him.”

Holmes smiled and said, “Tomorrow we will go to Cambridge.”

On Monday morning, we travelled to the famous university town. Holmes didn’t talk about the case until we dropped our bags at the hotel.

“I think we can meet the professor before lunch. He’s giving a lecture at 11 AM, and he’ll be home after that,” Holmes said.

I asked, “Why are we visiting him?”

Holmes looked at his notebook. “Something strange happened on August 26th. We’ll say we have an appointment with him. He’ll think it’s true.”

I wasn’t sure, but I agreed.

A local man took us to the professor’s house. The house was very nice, with lawns and flowers. When we went inside, he was waiting for us.

The professor was tall and serious-looking. He looked at our cards and said, “Please sit down. How can I help you?”

Holmes smiled and said, “I want to ask you the same thing, Professor.”

“Me?” the professor said.

“Someone told me you needed my help,” Holmes replied.

“Who told you that?” the professor asked, looking suspicious.

Holmes didn’t answer directly. He said, “I’m sorry if I made a mistake.”

Holmes didn’t get upset. He said, “We are sorry for bothering you.”

But the professor became very angry. He shouted and shook his hands at us. He was acting strangely.

Holmes and I left the professor’s house. Holmes found the situation funny.

“Our friend is very nervous,” Holmes said. “We weren’t very polite, but we got the information we needed. Still, Watson, I think someone is following us.”

We heard footsteps behind us. It wasn’t the professor. It was Mr Bennett, the professor’s assistant.

“I’m sorry, Mr Holmes. I want to apologise,” Mr Bennett said.

“No problem,” Holmes replied. “It’s part of the job.”

Mr Bennett continued, “I’ve never seen him so angry. He’s becoming more dangerous. His daughter and I are scared. His mind is still clear, but his behaviour is strange.”

Mr Bennett took us to Miss Presbury’s window. It was hard to reach, but there was a water pipe that someone could use to climb up.

“I couldn’t climb it,” Mr Bennett said. Holmes nodded.

“The professor is writing to someone in London,” Mr Bennett said. “I’ve got the address.”

Mr Bennett handed Holmes the address. “Dorak… sounds like a Slavic name. It’s important. We’ll head back to London this afternoon. There’s no crime to charge the professor with, and we can’t prove he’s insane. We need more time.”

“What should we do?” Mr Bennett asked.

“Patience,” Holmes said. “Next Tuesday might be the turning point. Let Miss Presbury stay with us for now. If the professor is in a good mood, everything will be fine.”

Holmes added, “The professor isn’t stupid. He’ll figure out that we’re here to investigate.”

On our way to the hotel, Holmes stopped at a post office to send a telegram. Later, we received an answer from Mr Mercer: “I visited Dorak. He’s an old Bohemian man who has a large shop.”

Holmes explained, “Mercer handles routine investigations. Knowing about Dorak is important since the professor is secretly writing to him. It’s also connected to the professor’s trip to Prague.”

“But we have a lot of confusing events that don’t seem to connect. For example, what does a dog’s anger have to do with a visit to Prague? And what does that have to do with a man crawling down a hallway?”

Holmes and Watson stayed in Cambridge to observe the professor’s strange behaviour. Mr Bennett, his assistant, reported that things seemed normal for a while. However, Holmes had a theory that every nine days, the professor took a drug. It made him act violently, and it was connected to a mysterious contact in Prague.

Holmes suggested they stay alert, as they believed that the next day, the professor’s behaviour would become strange again. They planned to follow him quietly if he left his room at night. Holmes also wanted to investigate a small box the professor kept, believing it might hold key information.

The next day, Holmes and Watson waited outside the professor’s house. Holmes was sure that the professor’s strange behaviour, the box, and his visit to Prague were all connected.

That night, just after midnight, the house went completely silent. Then, slowly, a door opened in the dark.

That night, Holmes, Watson, and Mr Bennett decided to follow the professor to observe his strange behaviour. They saw him standing in the doorway in his dressing gown. He looked normal at first. But then, he suddenly crouched down, moving on his hands and feet like an animal. He was very agile, climbing up the wall of the house, acting almost as if he was enjoying it.

After climbing the wall, he went to the stables, where his wolfhound was tied up. The professor deliberately provoked the dog, using a stick to make it angrier. The dog, already furious, broke free from its chain and attacked the professor.

The attack was terrifying. The dog went straight for the professor’s throat and bit him deeply. Holmes, Watson, and Mr Bennett rushed to separate them. It was difficult and dangerous, but with Bennett’s help, they managed to get the dog under control.

The professor was badly hurt, with a deep wound near his throat, but they managed to carry him back to his room. Bennett helped Watson treat the professor’s injuries. After some treatment, the professor fell into a deep sleep.

Holmes believed the professor needed proper medical attention, especially from a surgeon, to fully assess his injuries.

Mr Bennett was very worried and asked Holmes to keep things quiet. He was afraid that if the professor’s strange behaviour became known, it could ruin his career and affect his daughter’s reputation. Holmes agreed and said they could try to keep it a secret, now that they had the key to solving the problem.

They found some items in the professor’s box: a used syringe, an empty bottle, a nearly full one, and some strange letters. One of the letters was from Prague, signed by Dr Lowenstein. Holmes read it out loud.

The professor was using a dangerous serum made from the blood of Langur monkeys — powerful animals from the mountains of the Himalayas — to try to make himself younger.

Holmes explained that the professor’s desire to be younger came from his love for a younger woman. Trying to fight nature led him to dangerous actions. The serum was risky, and it was clear that the professor was using it without realising the potential harm. Holmes said he would write to Lowenstein and make him accountable for the dangerous serum.

“Even the best people can end up behaving like animals if they stray from their natural path,” Holmes said, holding the vial of serum. “Once I write to the man behind this and make him accountable for the poison he’s spreading, we won’t have more trouble. But it could happen again. Someone else may try a better way. This is a real danger to humanity.”

“People focused on material, selfish desires would seek to live longer. But those with a higher spiritual call wouldn’t. It could lead to the survival of the unfit. Just think about what could happen to the world.”

“Now, Mr Bennett, we’ve solved the puzzle. The dog, Roy, sensed the change in the professor faster than anyone else, thanks to his keen sense of smell. It was the monkey, not the professor, that Roy attacked, just like it was the monkey that provoked Roy. The monkey’s climbing was just for fun, and I suspect it was just by chance that it reached the young lady’s window.”

Holmes looked at Watson. “There’s a train to London soon, but we have time for tea at the Chequers before we catch it.”