a/n: a sea shanty or sea song based on "The Adventure of Black Peter"
Thanks to Ennui Enigma and Zaydee for encouragement and suggestions:-)
Holmes and companions do not belong to me.
Black Peter
A man lay dead at Woodman's Lee;
A cold, hard-hearted man was he;
None thought his death a tragedy;
The man they called Black Peter.
~0~
He'd made his living under sail;
By hunting seal and hunting whale;
But crewmen told a different tale;
He'd earned the name, Black Peter.
~0~
Two days before his death, appeared
A fellow with a bristled beard
No man who saw him interfered
With one who knew Black Peter.
~0~
His daughter heard a scream ring out;
She'd often heard her father shout;
She slept that night, quite free from doubt
That ill befell Black Peter.
~0~
Next morn, the cabin door was spied,
Unlatched, unlocked and swinging wide;
But no-one dared to gaze inside,
Till noon, upon Black Peter.
~0~
His cabin was the blood-stained scene
Of murder foul and quite obscene;
A harpoon shaft was thrust quite clean,
And pierced straight through Black Peter.
~0~
His wife and daughter wished him dead,
And blessed his killer's hand instead;
A cruel and wretched life they'd led;
The family of Black Peter.
~0~
Three items caught the Yarder's eye;
The harpoon's empty shelf on high;
A book; a sealskin pouch nearby;
Initials matched Black Peter.
~0~
A gruesome murder case to solve;
A Yarder hoped he might involve
A man whose brain could help resolve
The killing of Black Peter.
~0~
Three men arrived at Woodman's Lee;
The scene was checked most carefully
A lock was scratched quite recently,
Belonging to Black Peter.
~0~
A midnight cabin watch took place;
They stood with bated breath in case
They met the killer face to face,
The man who'd killed Black Peter.
~0~
Their diligence was not in vain;
The "burglar" tried his hand again;
Caught out, he hoped he could explain
His grudge against Black Peter.
~0~
A tale of customers betrayed,
As plans to make amends were made.
This hopeful enterprise waylaid;
A victim of Black Peter.
~0~
His father's stricken yacht, storm-tossed;
A plea for help when all was lost;
He had not seen the deadly cost
Of dealing with Black Peter.
~0~
A motive, but too slightly built
To drive such weapons to the hilt;
Another man must bear the guilt
Of murdering Black Peter.
~0~
The Yarder's friend in Captain's guise
Stepped out to widely advertise
A whaling job, a tempting prize
For shipmates of Black Peter.
~0~
And, sure enough, a whaler came
Who hoped he had the skills to claim
The post, and also had the same
Initials as Black Peter.
~o~
The game was up; he saw too late
The job was merely set as bait.
He told them of the yachtsman's fate
When "rescued" by Black Peter
~0~
A murder witnessed out at sea
A chance to gain financially
He tracked him down to Woodman's Lee
And called upon Black Peter
~0~
He told them of that dreadful night;
A knife to hand, a desperate fight;
A harpoon thrust with fearful might;
Defence against Black Peter.
~0~
A man lay dead at Woodman's Lee;
A cold, hard-hearted man was he;
None thought his death a tragedy;
The man they called Black Peter.
~0~