The Adventure of the Dancing Men Quiz

Answer: Stick figures

Hilton Cubitt had sent Sherlock Holmes a paper with a series of symbols that had appeared on his sundial. A similar set of dancing men had appeared on his windowsill, but Cubitt thought it had been a prank by the stable boy and had washed them away.

Answer: She fainted.

Hilton Cubitt had told his wife Elsie about the drawings on the windowsill and was surprised when she told him that she wanted to see the drawings if they should reappear. So when Hilton found a paper with the characters on the sundial, he showed Elsie, and she fainted.

Answer: She didn't want to talk about it.

Prior to their marriage, Elsie had told Hilton Cubitt that she had nothing to be "personally ashamed of" but that she had had "some very disagreeable associations". She told him she didn't want to talk about her past and that he would have to accept these conditions if he wanted to marry her.

Answer: "Elsie prepare to meet thy God"

Hilton Cubitt sent Holmes a copy of another set of dancing men that had appeared on his sundial. Once Holmes deciphered it, he told Watson that they needed to leave for Norfolk immediately. The last train had left for that day however, so they weren't able to go until the next morning.

Answer: Hilton Cubitt was dead.

Sherlock Holmes had deciphered the code and after receiving another message from Hilton Cubitt, he realized how serious the case was. He and Watson went to Norfolk but they were too late; Hilton Cubitt had been shot to death, and his wife Elsie was unconscious with a gunshot wound to her head.

Answer: A third bullet

A revolver was found at the scene of the murder, and it was missing two bullets. Since both Hilton Cubitt and his wife had bullets in them, it was initially believed to be an attempted murder/suicide. However, Sherlock Holmes found a bullet hole on the edge of the window opposite where the victims were lying, proving that a third shot had been made.

Answer: He was a dangerous crook from Chicago.

Sherlock Holmes had deciphered the name "Abe Slaney" from the notes, and believing that "Abe" was an American name, he contacted a friend in the New York police department to see if he knew anything about Slaney. His friend told Holmes that Slaney was a well-known and dangerous crook from Chicago.

Answer: She was unconscious.

Upon arriving in Norfolk, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were told that Hilton Cubitt was dead and his wife was unconscious with a bullet wound to the head. She was expected to survive, but she did not regain consciousness for the remainder of the investigation; Holmes had to solve the mystery without her testimony.

Answer: Holmes sent him a message with the dancing men.

Sherlock Holmes sent Abe Slaney a message that read "Come here at once", and he used the dancing men to compose the message. Slaney believed the message had to have come from Elsie, since only a few people knew about the dancing men. Her father had been the leader of the criminal gang for which Abe Slaney worked, and she had learned the code from them.

Answer: He was sentenced to penal servitude.

Abe Slaney was originally sentenced to death, but the sentence was changed to penal servitude due to the fact that Hilton Cubitt fired the first shot. Elsie Cubitt recovered from her wound, and she never remarried.