A/N: Prompt from goodpenmanship: The newest member of the Irregulars seems to have intelligence and deductive abilities comparable to Sherlock Holmes.

Clue

Arthur knocked timidly, twice on the door,

Then entered the room with a hammering heart.

Suddenly conscious of everyone watching,

He moved to the fireplace, unsure how to start.

He gazed at the client, a lady resplendent

In velvet and silk, with a little fur wrap

Then looked at the doctor, who smiled his encouragement,

"Start your inquiries, my dear little chap."

One breath and then two, he addressed her politely,

The company there would expect nothing less.

He noted her tone, and her soft southern accent,

A scratch on her forearm, and mud on her dress.

She held out her handkerchief, Arthur inspected

An embroidered initial and a smudge of blue ink.

He stooped to examine the heel of her slipper,

Then paced up and down, for it helped him to think.

He picked up a pipe, though reluctant to smoke it,

And posed a few questions, and nodded his head.

He unfolded a ruler and measured her instep,

Then studied both slippers, plucked out a frayed thread.

Some magnification? The doctor assisted,

Produced a mahogany, curve-handled glass.

Arthur, delighted, sat down at the table

And peered at the thread and a small blade of grass.

He stood and surveyed the small audience waiting,

And reeled off the pertinent facts of the case,

While adjusting the oversized, borrowed deerstalker

Which threatened to slip and to cover his face.

He turned to dramatically point at the lady,

Not victim at all, but the cause of the crime!

The lady ( young Millicent ) grinned at him proudly,

He'd picked up the clues, in a very short time.

She gave back the "jewel" she'd concealed in her slipper

( A stone she'd picked up from her auntie's back yard)

The doctor ( young Wiggins) stood next to young Arthur

They bowed as the audience stood, clapping hard.

~0~

A highly inventive and improvised play.

The perfect distraction, on a cold winter's day.

~0~

A/N: Millicent is Mrs Hudson's niece, an OC, borrowed from Ennui Enigma:-)