Sherlock Holmes and the

valley of
Fear summary:
Sherlock Holmes receives a cipher message from Fred Porlock,
an agent of Professor Moriarty. But after sending the cipher
message Porlock changes his mind due to the fear of Moriarty.
So instead of sending the key, He sends a second note in which
he denies giving the key to Holmes. From the cipher message
and the second note, Holmes concludes that the key is a book
cipher; the book used is a large common one (with at least 534
pages) and so on. On decoding the cipher note, he learns that it
is a warning letter stating that Douglas of Birlstone is in danger.
Soon, both(Holmes & Dr. Watson) of them are visited by
Mcdonald who is their friend and Policeman. He reveals to them
that the same Douglas has been murdered in Birlstone. Upon
investigation, it is found that he has been killed by a shotgun.
Along with the disfigured body, they also find a card on which
“V.V.341” was written. Other clues in the room included a
bloody footprint on the windowsill, a missing dumbbell, and the
dead man’s missing wedding ring. Soon after, one more piece of
evidence was found which was a bicycle camouflaged just
outside the house grounds. The house servants, Mrs. Douglas the
wife of the dead man, and Cecil Barker a good friend of the dead
man are interrogated. After the interrogation, Holmes reveals to
Dr. Watson that he believes that Mrs. Douglas and Barker are
together in a conspiracy. Even though the other detectives hired
for the investigation have their theories, Holmes tells Watson
 that he believes the whole case is somehow related to the
missing dumbbell. He decides to spend the night in the same
room Douglas was murdered taking nothing but an umbrella.
After Holmes's observation in the room where the murder
occurred, he announces that he has solved the case and asks
them to join him at night in a stakeout. During the stakeout,
which was happening behind the bushes situated in front of the
same room where the murder had occurred, Holmes, Watson,
and the other detectives notice a man who was taking out
something from the moat that surrounds the house. On
confronting the person, they discover that the person was none
other than Cecil Barker and the object he was taking out of the
moat was the missing dumbbell in a bag. The bag also contained
a suit of clothing, a knife, and a pair of boots. Last night, when
Holmes was staying in the room, he noticed the same bag with
the help of the umbrella he had and kept the bag in the same
place so that Barker could claim it. To their amazement, Holmes
reveals that Douglas is alive. Upon telling this, a hidden
compartment in the room opens, and Douglas steps out. Douglas
explains the truth to everyone that years ago he Vermissa Valley
in America, which was a coal-mining district. There his name
was McMurdo. He disclosed hatred towards the Policeman
which attracted a man named Scanlan. Scanlan revealed to him
(McMurdo) that he is a member of a secret society named order
of the freemen which was headed by a cruel man named
McGinty. Soon he also joined society. It is revealed that the
freemen of this society go by another name; the scrowrers, a
mafia-like society that suppresses the people of Vermissa
Valley. The gang was reigning without any terror until they
were challenged by a detective from Pinkerton named Birdy
Edwards. He(McMurdo) informs the group that he knows Birdy
 Edwards and has a brilliant plan. He (McMurdo) lured Edwards
to his apartment where McGinty with his men were already
hiding. But, He (McMurdo) changed the game and revealed to
society that he was Birdy Edwards and he just joined the group
to collect information and use it against them. He was warned by
a group member, Baldwin that he will not leave
Edwards/McMurdo. He knew that the group will hunt for him so
he ended up coming to England. H even changed his name to
John Douglas. The same thing happened too. Baldwin, with a
shotgun, came to kill Douglas. During the struggle of the two,
Baldwin got shot in the face from the shotgun. But with the help
and support of his wife and his friend he planned his fake death.
It would also prevent any threat from his enemies in future.
THE END……