The Case of the Golden
Pennies
My name is Dr. John Watson. I work with the infamous Sherlock Holmes. The story you are about to hear took place on the brisk morning of November 15, 1906. Holmes and I had just come into the living room of 221b Baker Street after walking through the crisp morning air to the market to buy some milk for Mrs. Marple, our housekeeper. She was widowed seven years ago and has worked with Holmes and I for the last five years. This morning she had on a yellow flowered dress and an off- white apron. Her frizzy gray hair was pulled neatly back into a loose bun. When she heard us come in, she came bustling out of the kitchen, "Finally, I thought I would never get my milk! What took so long?"
"We are very sorry, Maple. Watson and I were just discussing our last case. The one that has to do with the dog who ate an abundance of apple seeds and died of cyanide poisoning."
"Apple seeds and cyanide--I just don't understand what they have in common," Mrs. Marple sighed.
"Don't feel bad, Maple," I said handing her the milk bottles, "Holmes had to explain it to me, too. Apple seeds have a small amount of cyanide in them; and if you eat enough of them, they can kill you."
"Oh," Mrs. Marple said, a little disturbed. "Why don't you gentlemen go sit down and I'll make you some pancakes."
So Holmes and I walked over by the fireplace. I sat on the soft brown couch and Holmes went to his usual big brownish-red armchair. Holmes picked his violin up off of the small round mahogany table and played a sad melody while I looked at the pictures on the old mantle above the fireplace. Shortly after Holmes and I had finished our delicious pancake breakfast, there was a loud knock on the door. "Will you please answer the door, Watson?" asked Holmes lighting his pipe.
I opened the door and saw a middle-aged man with brown hair that was starting to gray. He was strong and had an unhappy expression on his face. He had on a nice plaid shirt and tie with black shoes and pants. He wore a dark green trench coat and had a small black briefcase in his left hand.
"Is this the home of Sherlock Holmes?" he inquired gruffly.
"Yes; yes, it is," I stuttered, stepping backwards.
Seeing that I was intimidated by this enormous man, Holmes jumped out of his chair and walked calmly over saying, "I am Sherlock Holmes, and this," indicating me, "is my trusted colleague Dr. John Watson. How may we be of service?"
"Well, I have a mystery that needs solving."
"Then come over here and sit down. Watson, please get Maple to make some tea and biscuits for our guest." Holmes said this while leading the man to a chair near the fireplace. I went into the kitchen to talk to Mrs. Marple.
"What was that about?" Mrs. Marple inquired curiously.
"A gentleman has come to ask Holmes to help him with a case; would you be so kind as to make some biscuits and tea for him?" I said nonchalantly. Then I left the small brightly lit kitchen and went back into the living room.
"Now, sir, please tell me your name, a little about yourself, and then about your dilemma," requested Holmes. I walked over to the sofa I had been sitting on earlier and again sat on.
"My name is William Perry. I work as head of the London Bank, the one on the corner of Copper Rd. and Main St. When I was a young boy, I always dreamed of working in the bank. It seemed to me that rich people always worked in the bank and I wanted to be rich. You see, my family was the poorest of the poor. Ten children&emdash;who wouldn't be broke with that many mouths to feed every day."
The kitchen door opened and Mrs. Marple came out with hot biscuits and tea. "Sorry to interrupt; here is some tea and biscuits." She set the tray down on the mahogany table, then turned to leave.
"Thank you, Maple," Holmes called, then seeing Mr. Perry's confused expression, explained, "Maple Marple is our housekeeper. She does the cooking and cleaning for us. Maple has been living here for about five years. Please, continue your story."
"Let's see, I just said there were ten children in my family. Well, we kind of had to fend for ourselves once we reached age nine. My parents didn't kick us out of the house; we just had to get ourselves fed." He paused to take a sip of the warm tea, "This tea is exquisite."
"Yes, it is," Holmes said taking a sip as well.
"Anyway, once I was on my own, I watched the people go in and out of the bank wearing expensive suits and nice black shoes. I was determined to become one of them. I worked hard to make money and get an education. Eventually, I obtained money and a somewhat good education. I mostly focused on math and business skills. My first attempt to get a job at the bank failed. My second endeavor was a little better. I got to sit on a hard wooden bench all day behind a barred window which people would hand their money through to be put in the vault. I did this for about two years and then was finally promoted to managing all of the workers behind the barred windows. After three year of that, I was promoted to be the assistant of the head man at the bank. Four years of that and I was elected head of the bank by the eleven other head bank assistants. I have been the head man for five years. That brings us to the now." He finished with a sigh.
"That's a very interesting story," Holmes said. "Now I would like to hear about your plight."
"Two days ago, on November 13, I was sitting in my office looking over some papers when I heard a timid knock on the door. 'Come in,' I called. The door opened and a scrawny man came in. 'Hello, Marty, do you need something?' I said turning to him and putting my papers down.
"'Well,' he said fearfully, 'I was working downstairs behind the barred windows and something interesting happened.'
"'Something interesting,' I said raising an eyebrow, 'come sit down and tell me.'
"Marty came over and sat down quickly in the brown leather chair facing my desk. 'Okay, Marty, tell me what happened.'
"'Well, sir,' he squirmed nervously in his chair.
"'Yes, Marty,' I said gently, trying to calm him.
"'Well, I wasŠI meanŠit wasn't my fault.'
"'Marty, what wasn't your fault?'
"'He just left and then someone came in yelling.'
"'Calm down; tell me everything from the beginning and go slowly.' I was trying to keep my voice calm, although inside I was very worried.
"'I was working as usual when a man with brown hair wearing a gray cap and jacket came up to the counter. 'What can I do for you today, sir?' I asked politely. He didn't say anything, just threw a small cloth sack at me and ran off. Before the guards could get him, he was gone. I opened the bag and saw golden pennies. I didn't know what to do so I closed the bag. A second later a man in a white hat and jacket with brown hair and a mustache burst through the doors. He had a sack like the one I was holding but much bigger. He was yelling about golden pennies that he had come across. The guards ran after him, but before they got to him, he yelled, 'I'm the only one who has these pennies. They are very rare. If you want one, I'll sell them. Ten pounds for one gold penny.' The guards grabbed him and took him away. Then I came up to you, sir.'
"'Well, Marty, do you have the bag with you?' I asked when he had finished his story.
"'Yes, it's right here.' He handed the bag to me; I opened it and stared in disbelief. The pennies were, in fact, gold. I was amazed.
"'I didn't know what to do with the bag. I thought maybe the man in the gray suite stole them and the man selling them just hadn't noticed yet or maybe the pennies aren't really gold,' Marty said.
"'Well, Marty, I don't know either. Go back to work, please.'
"'You mean I'm not going to get fired?'
"'No, of course not; you're not responsible for the pennies or what happened down there,' I said.
"'Thank you, sir. Good bye,' Marty replied getting up and leaving. Then I came here, one because I don't know what to do with the pennies and two because I want to know if they are or are not gold pennies."
"That's quite a predicament you're in. Don't you agree, Watson?"
"Yes, that's very interesting, Holmes."
"Mr. Perry, do you have the pennies with you?" asked Holmes.
"Yes, I do," answered William Perry digging in his jacket pocket and pulling out the sack. "Here they are," he said as he handed the bag over to Holmes.
"Very interesting. They appear to be gold, don't they, Watson?" he said as he handed them over to me.
"Oh my," I gasped, quite surprised. "They're extraordinary!" I handed them back to Holmes who put them in the bag and set it on the table.
"Mr. Perry, would you mind if I do a few tests on the pennies to see if they really are gold?" asked Holmes.
"No, go right ahead," replied Mr. Perry. I then had an idea.
"Mr. Perry, could you have Marty give you a complete description of the man in gray and the man in white?"
"Yes, I will go back to the bank later today when he is working. I could bring the description tomorrow."
"That would be wonderful. Thank you," I said.
"Now, I must be going; but I will see you tomorrow," Mr. Perry said standing up.
"Very well, Mr. Perry, until tomorrow," Holmes said getting up and going to the door.
"Good day, Mr. Perry," I said walking after them.
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"That was a wonderful lunch, Maple," I said as Mrs. Marple cleared the table.
"Yes, yes, delicious," said Holmes as he walked over to pick up his violin.
"Say Holmes, what were the experiments you wanted to do on the pennies?" I asked.
"Well, I've been thinking. The pennies may have an alloy covering."
"What does that mean?" I asked extremely confused.
"Well, an alloy is too metals melted together. As you know, pure gold is very soft and you can bend it and move it around."
"But you can't bend the pennies so they can't be pure gold!" I said excitedly.
"Precisely, dear Watson. But now, since we know the penny isn't gold, what is it?" Holmes had put down his violin and was now pacing back and forth smoking his pipe. "If I remember correctly, pennies are made of copper."
"Nothing new or surprising in that fact," I said somewhat sarcastically.
"Do we have any zinc lying around, Watson?" Holmes asks, turning abruptly toward me.
"Well, I just don't know. It's not something I normally have with me," I said that rather sarcastically and then seriously, "Why?"
"I just remembered something my father told me once. Copper plus a zinc solution makes a gold color," Holmes said pacing again.
"Are you sure?" I asked knowing it was a stupid question to ask. Of course, he was sure.
"There's only one way to find out." Holmes walked over to the side of the living room that was used as a laboratory. He started looking in his many jars of metals that had been ground up into powder.
"Ah, here it is," Holmes exclaimed. "Watson, get me a penny."
"Yes, sir," I said running to find a penny.
When I came back, Holmes had added water to his zinc powder to make a zinc solution. He was heating it over a hot plate. I gave him five pennies and he dropped one of them into the zinc solution. After ten minutes, he took the penny out with a pair of tweezers and the penny was completely silver. He ran to the kitchen with the penny and washed it off in the sink. Then he dried it and brought it back to the table where he placed it on the hot plate. Then the most extraordinary thing happened. The penny turned to gold right before my eyes. First a faint gold and then a brighter, stronger gold.
"Ah hah!" Holmes cried. He ran to the bag and grabbed a penny from it. They were exactly the same color.
"So, we know why the pennies appear to be gold, what now?" I asked.
"We wait for tomorrow." Holmes replied walking to his chair. "When Mr. Perry comes tomorrow, we will tell him about our discovery.
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The next morning I got up early to go for a long walk around London. It was very nice; the birds were singing merrily in the treetops and everyone was asleep. It was a very calming time. When I got back to 221b Baker St., I picked up the newspaper from the ground and gasped when I looked at the front page and saw: "MAN SUES LONDON BANK FOR STEALING HIS GOLDEN PENNIES." I ran inside and yelled out "Holmes, you won't believe this. Come here!" A few moments later he came out in his robe and slippers looking rather grumpy.
"What do you want?" Holmes demanded angerly.
All I did was to hold up the newspaper. He snatched it from me and his angry expression changed at once as he sank down into his chair.
"Mr. Perry will probably be here shortly. You might want to change clothes," I said sullenly going into the kitchen. Holmes sat there for tem more minutes in silence, just thinking.
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A few minutes after we had breakfast (at 9), we heard a knock on the door. Neither of us moved for a moment. Mrs. Marple came to the rescue. She hurried out of the kitchen and opened the door. First Mr. Perry walked in, then a small man we didn't recognize. He was later revealed to us as Marty, the employee who received the golden pennies.
"Hello Holmes, Watson. This is Marty Millard," Mr. Perry said as he came in and walked over to the couch. Turning to Holmes he asked, "Did you see the paper this morning?"
"Yes, I did. I haven't stopped thinking about it." Then, turning to Marty, he said, "Please describe the man in gray in as much detail as possible."
"He had a gray top hat with a white ribbon tied on the bottom. He was in a plain gray suit with a matching jacket. He had on black shoes and an expensive gold watch. He had a scar on the right side of his chin. He had blue eyes and dark brown hair. That's really all I remember about that man. Wait, when he ran off, he had a limp."
"Now the man in white. He had on a plain white top hat with a matching suit and jacket. He was also wearing black shoes. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes, just like the other man."
"Did you notice if the man in white had a scar on the right side of his chin?" Holmes asked.
"I couldn't see that side of his face so I don't know. I'm sorry," Marty answered.
"That's okay, Marty; you've been very helpful. Thank you." Then turning to me he said, "Please hand me the newspaper, Watson." I handed him the newspaper and he read the article aloud.
"'A local resident, Eddie Puss, has decided to sue the London Bank claiming the head man in the bank, William Perry, has stolen a bag of golden pennies. The event took place on November 13. He came in to sell some of his golden pennies and was escorted out by the guards. It was not until after he had returned to his home that he realized he was missing some pennies. Puss believes it was the bank that took them so they could obtain even more money. The police want to hear Perry's side of the story before they take action.'"
"Interesting article," I said when Holmes had finished. I turned to Holmes and asked, "Should we show Mr. Perry what we discovered?"
"Good idea," Holmes said brightening a little. "Mr. Perry, Watson and I did an experiment in which we soaked a regular penny in a zinc solution. Then we put it on a hot plate. The two metals, copper and zinc, melted together to make an alloy which looks gold. It seems that Mr. Eddie Puss just changed the color of the pennies and is ripping everyone off."
Mr. Perry looked at Holmes in utter amazement. "So why did someone throw the pennies at Marty?" Mr. Perry asked.
"Well, I don't know. I'll have to think about that," Holmes said.
Marty suddenly cried out, "Mr. Holmes, I just remembered something about the man in white, Eddie Puss. He had a limp too."
"Really, that's very interesting. Marty, if you remember anything else, contact me at once."
"I'll do that," Marty said.
"I'm sorry Holmes, but Marty and I must go now. Please try to figure out this mystery as soon as possible. It could ruin everything I've worked for." Mr. Perry stood up and walked to the door. Marty followed, then Holmes, and finally me. After they left, Holmes started to talk to me.
"Watson, I can't figure it out. Why would the man in gray drop the pennies in Marty's hands. It doesn't make any sense," Holmes said starting to pace with his pipe again.
"Well, I don't know," I said stupidly.
"How did Eddie Puss know someone from the bank had the coins? If he was going to sue, then he would want to be sure he had a chance," Holmes said walking faster.
"Are you saying the man in gray is working with Eddie Puss?" I asked in disbelief.
"Maybe, it makes sense. I need more definite information though or some evidence that they were in cahoots. Eddie Puss' case is already starting to look weak since we know the golden pennies are not really gold. He will have a hard time convincing the court he is innocent, especially if we can prove that the man in gray is working with him." Holmes said this as he put his pipe down and then he played a couple of songs on his violin before he went off to bed. I sat for a while longer, then went to bed as well.
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The next morning I woke to a loud knock on the door. I put on my robe and slippers to answer the door, but Holmes was already there, fully dressed. When he answered the door, to my surprise Marty was standing there.
"Well, hello, Marty," Holmes said obviously surprised.
"Mr. Holmes, sorry to call on you so early, sir, but I have to go into work which starts in half an hour; and I can't be late andŠ"
"Marty."
"Yes, sir."
"Why did you come here?"
"Oh, when I got up this morning, I suddenly remembered something that both men had in common."
"What was it, Marty?"
"You won't believe this, but both of the men, the gray one and the white one, were missing their thumb on their right hand."
"That's very interesting, Marty. Thank you for telling me," Holmes said thinking.
After Marty left, I asked Holmes what he was thinking about. I got no answer. I walked back to my bedroom to let Holmes think. A few moments later I heard Holmes yell, "Watson, come quickly! I know what happened." I heard the door slam and went running out to find Holmes. When I went outside, I found him all the way down the street. When I caught up to him, I asked what he was doing.
"We are paying a visit to Mr. Eddie Puss." He glanced at me, "Watson, why are you walking around London in your slippers and robe. Never mind, I don't want to know."
When we got to Mr. Puss's house, Holmes talked to him casually about what happened the day his pennies were stolen from the bank. He eventually tricked Mr. Puss into giving away the fact that he was both the man in gray and in white. Holmes also got him to admit that the pennies were not really gold and he just wanted to make money. Then Holmes said we must be going and we just walked out.
"We did it, Watson. We did it," Holmes cried.
"Did what!?!" I yelled back.
"Then Holmes pulled out a recorder that he had somehow concealed under his coat. He had been up all night trying to create some sort of listening devise(which was why he was fully dressed in the morning). Apparently, he succeeded.
Holmes gave the recorder to Mr. Perry who had enough evidence to convict Eddie Puss. Everything was back to normal in London. I later asked Holmes how he figured it out and all he said to me was "Elementary, my dear Watson."