a/n:prompt from Scarper Gallywest:-A 221 B challenge, ending in the word "Barbary." This one caused much head scratching...
I have written this as two 221Bs, both ending in "Barbary", so have stretched the prompt a little:-)
221B format devised by KCS
Holmes and companions do not belong to me.
POV of Watson
Barbary
My tale began this morning,
When a young girl graced our hallway;
An enchanting maid, called Mabel, who was crying, noisily.
Holmes deduced her job and status
From the way she wore her bonnet,
Three small marks upon her day dress, and a scarf tied clumsily.
~0~
I gave her my clean hankie,
Holmes spoke random words of comfort;
She blew her pretty nose and thanked us both, most charmingly.
She would be forever grateful
If we helped her solve a puzzle;
Or a future spent in prison seemed a possibility.
~0~
This young maid was in deep trouble;
There had been the accusation,
That she'd stolen several pieces of expensive jewellery.
The items had gone missing
From the bedroom of her mistress,
When no-one else was working in such close proximity.
~0~
Holmes agreed we'd help poor Mabel,
So I fetched my old revolver,
And the maid took both our hands in hers and smiled most gratefully.
The day was warm and sunny,
As we took a cab through London;
Holmes in front beside the cabbie, and young Mabel next to me.
~0~
We approached the house in question;
An impressive park-side mansion;
The park, nearby, was buzzing with intense activity.
Even I could tell the reason,
As I read the circus poster:
"See the jugglers, clowns and tigers, and the ape from Barbary!"
~0~
Mabel led us round the corner
To the entrance used by servants;
Up three flights of narrow staircase, moving almost silently.
Mabel whispered that her mistress
Would be out in town all morning.
We should really take advantage of this opportunity
~0~
We tiptoed to the bedroom
Where the missing jewels had vanished
And I watched while Holmes examined every detail carefully:
Just a partly open window
Many floors above the pavement,
And a vial of Jasmine perfume, smashed and spilled, quite messily.
~0~
Holmes peered through the open window
At the circus far below him,
Smiled and studied three small scratches which were hidden, partially.
"I am absolutely certain
I can lead you to the culprit;
If you'll join me at the circus, we can end this rapidly."
~0~
With an air of great excitement,
We set off to join the circus,
Found some cages in the background, which we checked painstakingly.
When the scent of oil of Jasmine
Wafted gently from the corner,
Holmes announced "I'll get those jewels back, just you leave it up to me..."
~0~
Holmes is resting now, thank goodness,
Those deep scratches must be painful,
I'm delighted that his wounds are not as bad as they could be.
Our young client's very grateful,
And I've one new tale recorded:
"The Adventure of the Jasmine Scented Ape from Barbary".
~0~
a/n2:While looking up a few alternatives for the use of the word Barbary; I discovered that the man appointed as Officer-in-charge-of-the-Apes, who looked after the Barbary apes of Gibraltar for 38 years, was a Sgt Alfred Holmes.
That pleased me greatly:-)
I doubt it would have pleased Holmes...