Prompt: A countryside adventure, from Wordwielder
Once Holmes retired to Sussex Downs and I removed myself to a practice on Queen Anne Street, I soon found myself with extra time on my hands I knew not what to do with. Assisting Holmes on his cases had taken up much of my time in previous years, and when not involved in a case, we often spent time at the concert halls, art galleries and restaurants of the city. Of course my practice took up a great deal of time, but I soon found myself in search of a hobby.
My searches led me to that new invention taking up the streets of London and the world in the early twentieth century, the automobile. No longer a unique sight that caused all passersby to stop and gaze, soon every fifth vehicle on the street was horseless.
As a doctor, I saw at once the benefits of being able to make rounds in my own vehicle rather than depending on expensive hansom cabs, but as an old adventurer, I confess my interest was more sporting in nature. I had never been a great hand at driving a carriage, but I began to itch to try my hand at the wheel.
Some months into my practice, I at last had enough to purchase myself a cheaper model and set about at once learning to drive it. The methods of controlling the vehicle were different from anything I had previously encountered and took some getting used to, but I soon mastered the skills required and my rounds took me half the time they used to. I enjoyed very much taking my new car out on the weekends, finding much of London more easily accessible than it had been, and the sleek style of the automobile was an improvement on the drab hansom cabs of yesteryear. It seemed to me as if the previous century had finally passed, to make way for the new.
I was often the recipient of invitations to visit Sussex Downs, and found I relished the chance to see the countryside and the break from London that it represented. Holmes's little cottage was picturesque, quaint and I had by now spent many happy weekends exploring the cliffs and assisting in jarring honey. When Holmes phoned me (another marvelous modern invention) to invite me for a summer visit, I thought with excitement that I would finally have the chance to test out my new 'car on a longer drive before showing it to Holmes.
A drive of a few hours, I soon found out, was an entirely different undertaking than even the longest drives around London. I had to plan out with extreme care where I could stop to refuel, as petrol stations were not as common in the countryside, and the trip took me several hours. The country roads, too, were less suited for driving upon than in London, but the freedom of taking myself out into the countryside, stopping where I pleased and seeing the sights, was unmatched.
When I arrived at Holmes's cottage, he was engaged in some chores to do with his beehives, taking off his gloves as he came to meet me. "Ah, Watson, I surmised you had purchased one of these contraptions," he said.
"You had?" I asked. Holmes's leaps of deductions should not surprise me after all these years, but I could not imagine how he had guessed such a thing. I had made no mention of my new acquisition, and he had not seen me since long before I purchased it.
"When you accept my invitation but send no word of what train you were taking, nor a time I should expect to collect you, I could only conclude that you intended to arrive here directly. As walking such a distance is beyond your capability, the only logical conclusion was that you have purchased an automobile."
"Genius," I said, though I smiled as I saw Holmes eyeing my 'car with a suspicious expression. "You do not approve?"
"It exists; I can hardly disapprove of it in that respect, nor are you likely to sell it again if my opinion of automobiles in general differs from yours," Holmes said. "I confess I am surprised you arrived in one piece, however. I am given to understand that these cars are none too reliable on long journeys."
"I did have to stop several times," I admitted. "But it handled perfectly well. I am very satisfied with its performance, actually. The greater problem was the roads. If they were better maintained I should not have had any problem."
"Hmm," Holmes said. "Give me a hansom and a reliable horse any day."
Holmes occasionally formed strange opinions from which he could not be shaken, and after so many years I knew better than to argue. I simply smiled. "I propose that tonight I drive us into town to go to the local pub," I said instead.
Holmes laughed. "Watson, if you think that I will ever get into one of these contraptions, you do not know me well enough."
As I had known him for nigh on thirty years, I let this pass. "You have said yourself that it is a capital mistake to theorize without facts," I said. "You cannot form an opinion if you do not ever use one. And as you said yourself, we cannot walk into town."
Holmes knew when he had been cornered, and conceded with no little bitterness. "Very well, Watson, I shall ride as a passenger this once, though I do not believe this will change my opinion in the slightest."
"We shall see," I said.
We spent an enjoyable afternoon discussing the news from London and before long, we headed outside. "You must wear a longer coat," I admonished. "The roads are quite dusty, especially here in the country." I handed Holmes a second pair of driving goggles.
"You cannot mean me to wear these," he said. "I look like an aviator!"
"No doubt another modern contraption you have no intention of making use of," I said, though in this case I must agree with him. Aeroplanes had far too many crashes for my liking, nearly all fatal.
Holmes climbed into the passenger seat, clutching the door and the seat as tightly as he could. As I slowly began to drive, a sharp intake of breath next to me alerted me to Holmes's state of mind.
"It is nothing," he said, noticing my concerned look. "Merely strange to look ahead and see nothing powering this vehicle."
This from a man who I had seen hanging off a hansom cab as it tore through the streets of London, narrowly missing other carriages in the midst of a chase. "It was strange at first," I said. "I have grown used to it. I expect your hansom cabs will be a thing of the past before long."
Holmes clutched the door harder as I turned toward town. "These do not tip easily, do they?" he asked.
"Far less easy than a hansom," I said, for I had seen more than one top-heavy cab tipped over in the street. "I-"
I was interrupted by a bump that sent us both out of our seats, and the steering wheel out of my control. I veered until I was able to put the brakes on and stop on the side of the road.
"What was that?" Holmes asked.
I was by now examining my car's front wheels, bent out of shape by something. "I expect we hit a rock," I said. "Blast these country roads." I had often had cause to bemoan the spindly, weak wheels and the ill-maintained country roads were not conducive to driving. "I am sorry," I said.
"I suppose I will not say that a hansom would not have had such an incident," Holmes said, in an example of his sometimes offensive sense of humor.
"You know as well as I that a horse can throw a shoe," I said irritably. "I suppose we shall have to walk now, though I hate to leave my car here."
"These roads are not well traveled," Holmes said. "And there is no automobile repair shop in town, as there are no automobiles. But at least, with a broken wheel, no one will be able to steal it as we walk into town to get help."
Holmes was correct, as always, though I still did not wish to leave my car unattended. "Do you know what would be a useful invention?" I asked. "A 'phone one could take wherever one went."
Holmes laughed out loud. "And be interrupted all day long? Watson, imagine what a nuisance such a thing would be. Come, let us find our way to town, where they have proper telephones, and you can phone someone to come fix your car. We will probably still have time to go to the pub as well."
Holmes was right, so we resigned ourselves to the long walk into town, though it did afford us the opportunity to view the sunset on the way.
I suppose that is what is meant when people say that every cloud has a silver lining.