almost defeated me!'
'He risked all by challenging you!'
'I was unforeseen-- surely he intended Sir Arthur to conduct the investigation. When you and I arrived, Robert must have realized he would stand or fall by his boldness. He offered Sir Arthur a compelling reason to dismiss my solution-- and me. Sir Arthur accepted the offering. How could he resist?'
Holmes gazed out the window of the train for a moment. Unmarred fields rippled past, like miniature green seas.
'If not for Robert's misapprehension about the velocity of light,' Holmes said, 'a misapprehension that I shared, I would have known what happened, and I would have known how-- but I never would have been certain who. '
'You sound curiously sympathetic, Holmes,' I said with disapproval.
'Indeed I am, Watson. Robert is clearly an honorable man.'
'Honorable!'
'He refused Sir Arthur's offer to relieve him of the year's rent. He has no wish to steal.'
'Only to lie.'
'Like Houdini. Like any entertainer, any storyteller. Shakespeare lied. You have lied yourself, my friend, in your descriptions of our adventures.'
'I have disguised individuals,' I said, taking offense. 'I have, yes, perhaps, dissembled occasionally...'
I hesitated, and then I nodded. 'Very well. I have lied.'
'Life is hard for people who work the land. You and I are prosperous, now, but remember what it was like when we were younger, scraping along from season to season, with never a new shirt or a pair of boots that did not let in the rain. Imagine seeing no better prospects. For the rest of your life.'
I suddenly remembered father and sons, and their new clothes.
'Who can blame them for creating a diversion, a mystery to attract sightseers, people of leisure with money to spare. People,' Holmes added, 'with a blind eye to turn to the evidence lying plain before them.'
'What of your commitment to the truth, Holmes?' I asked with some asperity.
'I know the truth,' he said. 'You know it. Sir Arthur knows it, but rejects it. I have kept the solution to other mysteries confidential; it is part of my duty. How is this different?'
I suddenly understood. Holmes's sympathy was not so much directed toward the hoaxers as away from the curiosity seekers who were willing, indeed eager, to be fooled.
'Very well, Holmes,' I said. 'I am content, if you are.'
We rode in silence for some miles, lulled by the rocking of the train, enjoying Sir Arthur's excellent cognac and the peaceful English countryside. I wondered what the world would be like if beings from another planet did visit us.
'Holmes,' I said.
'Yes, Watson?'
'Why was Sir Arthur so willing to pay you, when he did not believe your solution? What did he say to you, just as we left?'
'He said, 'I understand why you are such an extraordinary person. Like Houdini, you have good reason to hide your abilities, your true nature. I understand why Sherlock Holmes cannot be the one to reveal the truth about our visitors. I will do it, and you may trust me to keep your secret.' '
' Your secret?'
'Yes, Watson.' Holmes smiled. 'Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believes I am a Martian.'
Published by Alexandria Digital Literature. (http://www.alexlit.com/)
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