Prompt from Domina Temporis: Watson's time in Australia

AN: I confess I did not know or perhaps did not recall that Watson spent his young days in Australia, moving to England to attend school. This is one reason I enjoy these annual challenges. I learn new things about old friends.

Crossword

"A nine letter word for lake in Australia," murmured Sherlock Holmes, tapping his chin with a stub of pencil.

"I beg your pardon?" said Dr. Watson, looking up to find his friend peering intently at a badly wrinkled page from a newspaper. Holmes' legs were stretched out in front of him, his heels resting comfortably on the old bearskin hearthrug. Between his teeth, he clinched a new cherry wood pipe, quite cold and without smoke. Holmes did not react to his query, so Watson asked, "Did you say something, Holmes?"

"What?" Holmes' gaze jerked from the page, a light of frustration gleaming in his eyes. "Oh. Your pardon, Doctor. It is this American crossword that came in that package from Parker in New York."

"Your photographer friend?" Watson asked. "Works for the Daily Trumpet or something like it?"

"Daily Bugle," corrected Holmes. "I have most of the answers, but these two confound me. Nothing quite fits and the words in question intersect with a single letter. Not very sporting of them."

"Indeed? Doesn't sound like a proper crossword."

"The Americans do things a little differently, Watson," Holmes said, returning his gaze to the paper. "Rather than our grid pattern, which is quite skeletal, theirs is composed of rows of little boxes. The words intersect one another at odd intervals and I must say the intersections can be quite helpful in solving the puzzle. As I said, though, in the cases of these words, each intersects with only one other word."

"Did you say the clue was a nine letter word for a lake in Australia?" Watson asked, leaning forward curiously.

"Actually, the clue is 'Lake in Australia'." Holmes scowled at the newspaper. "The word has nine letters, the second of which is 'I'. There must be thousands of lakes in Australia. One must assume this is a famous lake, though."

"Nine letters. The second is 'I'." Watson felt a slow smile spread across his lips. "Try billabong."

"Try what?" Holmes regarded his friend as if he had suddenly sprouted a second head and a third arm.

"Billabong, Holmes," Watson said and smirked, shaking his head in bemusement.

Holmes regarded the crossword again. He envisioned the letters in their places and then shot a questioning look at his friend.

"It is a nonsense word, Watson."

"It is an Australian word for lake, Holmes." Watson leaned back in his chair and smiled warmly. "It's what Australians call an oxbow lake. Many of them only fill with water when it rains. Somewhat safer to swim in one because there are no fish, so the crocodiles do not usually live in them."

Holmes blinked and slowly the truth dawned on him.

"I had nearly forgotten that you spent your early years there. Crocodiles? Did you ever see one?"

"I saw many, though it is the one you don't see that you must worry about."

"No doubt!" laughed Holmes, and penciled in the letters. "Don't suppose you know a five letter word for grey bear, do you?"

"Ha!" barked Watson. "Koala. Not actually a bear, though. A marsupial."

"Koala… yes. That fits perfectly." Again, Holmes penciled in the word. "Now that's done, Watson. Thank you. It must have been fascinating living down there."

"Fascinating? I suppose it was. Very different from England. Different from everywhere. And dangerous."

"How so?"

"Spiders as big as your hand, Holmes. Deadly venom. Inch long ants with a sting that feels like a bullet and can be just as deadly, even to a full-grown man."

"There are deadly spiders in Africa and the Americas, Watson," Holmes said dismissively. "These ants of yours sound like poppycock."

"No more poppycock than a giant rat from Sumatra." Watson saw his friend blanch at mention of the creature they had dealt with aboard that floundering hulk and knew he had him. Smiling grimly, he went on, "I have seen a swarm of bull ants kill a dog in a matter of minutes. The poor thing. There are deadly snakes, and lizards longer than you are tall. The worst, though Holmes, is the drop bear."

"Drop bear?" Holmes wondered, only half believing.

"Terrifying creatures. Hardly distinguishable from their placid cousins, the koalas." Watson leaned forward, elbows on knees and an avid leer upon his face. "They lie in wait for prey to wander beneath their trees, Holmes. Some innocent person strolls under them or stops in the shade and BAM! Down drops a drop bear. Six-inch fangs and three-inch claws rending and tearing! Terrible way to go. That's why the cattle are kept away from the wood lines and groves."

Silence filled the room as Holmes sat staring at his friend, the American crossword forgotten. His keen eyes probed but met no more than the avid leer on Watson's face. After a moment, the doctor settled back and loaded his pipe, an air of smug confidence exuding from him.

Slowly, Holmes rose and went to his bookshelf where he kept a complete set of encyclopedias. Watson clamped down on his pipe and stared into the fire, fighting to suppress his mirth as his friend placed several volumes on his desk and began rapidly paging through them.