by Robert P. Nash
In the pantheon of Sherlockian villains, few are as infamous as the man Holmes called "the second most dangerous man in London." I refer, of course, to Colonel Sebastian Moran. As you know, Colonel Moran's criminal resume includes service as Professor Moriarty's chief of staff, and the attempted murder of Sherlock Holmes on not one, but two separate occasions. A careful reading of the Canon, however, and in particular The Adventure of the Empty House, reveals a number of oddities and inconsistencies relating to Colonel Moran. As a result, I am prepared to make the bold assertion that not only was Colonel Moran not a criminal, but that he may even have been an ally of Holmes in an as yet unknown case. Those who find themselves totally incapable of contemplating such a possibility, are reminded of Holmes' claim that "I make a point of never having any prejudices, and of following docilely wherever fact may lead me." (REIG)
First, let us review Colonel Moran's career before he turned to a life of crime. He was the son of Sir Augustus Moran, C.B. (Companion of the Bath), one-time British Minister to Persia. After receiving his education at Eton and Oxford, he went on to become an officer in Her Majesty's Indian army. He saw service in the campaign against the Jowaki Afridis (1877-78) and also in the Second Afghan War where he served with distinction, being mentioned in dispatches for his actions at Charasaib [Charasia] (October 6, 1879). In addition, he also developed a reputation as an outstanding marksman and big game hunter. He shared that knowledge in two books Heavy Game of the Himalayas and Three Months in the Jungle. Certainly, this is not the normal career path of a dangerous criminal. As Dr. Watson so aptly noted, "this is astonishing. . .the man's career is that of an honourable soldier."
So, how does Holmes explain Moran's descent into criminal activity? He begins by stating that there "are some trees, Watson, which grow to a certain height and then suddenly develop some unsightly eccentricity." He then proceeds to relate that he has "a theory that the individual represents in his development the whole procession of his ancestors, and that such a sudden turn to good or evil stands for some strong influence which came into the line of his pedigree. The person becomes, as it were, the epitome of the history of his own family." Watson's very understandable response to this rather bizarre theory is "it is surely rather fanciful." Holmes merely replies, "Well, I don't insist upon it." This seems a curiously lackadaisical analysis and response on Holmes' part, especially given the fact that Moran and his minions had supposedly dogged Holmes steps for the previous three years.
Colonel Moran's prowess as a marksman and hunter are well-documented in the Canon. We also know that before the events at the Reichenbach Falls, Holmes had knowledge of Moriarty's possession of an air-gun. I remind you of the conversation that took place in The Final Problem. Watson asks Holmes if he is "afraid of something?" Holmes says "Well, I am." "Of what?" asks Watson. "Of air-guns," answers Holmes! I think it can be safely assumed that it would have been Colonel Moran who was in possession of this deadly weapon. How is it then, that shortly after Holmes' deadly struggle with Moriarty at Reichenbach, that Moran, an acknowledged hunter and marksman, was reduced to lobbing stones in an attempt to end Holmes' life? While we are on the subject, do we really believe that a man of Moran's considerable abilities was so easily duped by Holmes' decoy in The Adventure of the Empty House. As you will recall, Moran put an expanding bullet, fired from an air gun, squarely through the head of a lifelike replica of Holmes as it sat in repose at 221B Baker Street, dutifully turned every fifteen minutes by Mrs. Hudson. Even Holmes is surprised by the success of his trap saying, "I wonder that my very simple stratagem could deceive so old a shikari." Indeed, I would suggest that Moran's succumbing to such a ploy borders on the highly improbable, especially since Holmes later admits that Moran's "nerves have not lost their steadiness nor his eyes their keenness."
It is also most curious that until the very moment when Moran was apprehended by Holmes and Watson at Camden House, Watson, by his own admission, had never heard of Moran. How is it that Watson knew of Moriarty as a result of events in The Final Problem, but had no knowledge of Moriarty's dangerous chief of staff? Strange indeed!
Next, let us examine Colonel Moran and the murder of the honourable Ronald Adair. After the events at the "empty house," Holmes is not interested in seeing charges brought against Moran for attempting to murder Holmes. Instead, he surprises everyone present by charging Moran with the murder of Ronald Adair. When Watson asks what Moran's motive could be for such a crime, Holmes responds in a strange fashion saying "Ah! my dear Watson, there we come into those realms of conjecture where the most logical mind may be at fault. Each may form his own hypothesis upon the present evidence, and yours is as likely to be correct as mine." Holmes then proceeds to speculate that Moran must have murdered Adair because Adair found out Moran was cheating at cards, and Moran "who lived by his ill-gotten card gains" would thereby lose his livelihood. Holmes concludes this musing by curiously asking Watson "Will it pass?" This seems unusual behavior on Holmes' part.
Let us, however, more closely examine Moran's apparent motive. As Moriarty's chief of staff, Moran was paid a salary of 6,000 pounds, more we are told, than the Prime Minister. "That's paying for brains" says Holmes (VALL). After Moriarty's death at Reichenbach, Moran became heir to what little remained of Moriarty's criminal organization. Holmes himself, however, reported that "so cleverly was the colonel concealed that even when the Moriarty gang was broken up we could not incriminate him." Furthermore, with Moriarty's death, Moran became in Holmes' own estimation, the most dangerous man in London. Holmes was absent for almost three years. Are we seriously to believe that with Holmes out of the way, a man of Moran's intelligence and ability was reduced to cheating at cards to keep food on the table? Surely not.
Finally, and most importantly, we have the strange matter of Holmes' feigned death, a period lasting from May 1891 to April 1894, and known as the Great Hiatus. The Great Hiatus has bewildered and intrigued Sherlockians for many years. Indeed, many if not most, have serious doubts about the official version of Holmes' activities during this period, the main question being "what was Holmes really doing?" I will not try to address such theories, but rather I am more interested in the rationale for Holmes' absence. Holmes' supposed reason for feigning his own death was because he wanted the remaining members of Moriarty's gang to think he was dead. As he later told Watson, "I owe you many apologies, my dear Watson, but it was all-important that it should be thought I was dead, and it is quite certain that you would not have written so convincing an account of my unhappy end had you not yourself thought that it was true." So, for a period of three years we are told only Holmes' brother Mycroft knew the truth of his continued existence. But there was, in fact, at least one other person who knew that Holmes was not dead - Colonel Sebastian Moran! For, as we learn later, shortly after Moriarty plunged to his doom at Reichenbach Falls, Colonel Moran was reportedly trying to finish off Holmes by flinging rocks at him. Therefore, Holmes' stated reason for keeping Watson in the dark for an unprecedented three years, was false, because if Moran knew that Holmes was still alive, so presumably did those of Moriarty's henchmen who remained at large. Something is clearly going on here, and there are only two explanations. Either Holmes was deliberately lying and Watson never realized it, or Watson was covering up a truth which Holmes, or some higher authority, did not want made public. I think you will agree that the latter explanation is the more likely of the two.
Well, then, what are we to make of all this? It may well be that the facts of the case surrounding Colonel Moran and The Adventure of the Empty House are just as the good Doctor has set them down. As we know, in his zeal to chronicle Holmes' exploits, Watson was often less than careful with his facts. I think, however, the number and scope of the peculiarities in this case suggest some other game was afoot. And here we admittedly must move into the realm of conjecture. It would seem logical to conclude, however, that Holmes' mysterious three-year disappearance and his curious relationship with Colonel Moran suggest the possibility of some kind of deep cover operation, which apparently necessitated that Moran be associated with Moriarty in the public's mind, and that he be framed with the murder of Ronald Adair. Before his battle with Moriarty, Holmes had been on some unknown assignment to the French government. Holmes' itinerary during the Great Hiatus took him to several trouble spots in the British Empire, including Khartoum, Persia, and Tibet, or more generally the vicinity of British India and Afghanistan. Could it be more than coincidence that Moran's father had been British minister to Persia, and that Moran himself was well-acquainted with British India and Afghanistan? Could it be more than coincidence that Moran's infamous air-gun was constructed by the blind German nobleman Von Herder, or that one of the few places in the Canon where Moran's name crops up is in His Last Bow, where Holmes did battle with the German agent Von Bork on the eve of the First World War? Could Holmes and Moran have been involved in some form of espionage directed against Germany? Also, Holmes' mysterious brother Mycroft was reportedly the only confidant of Holmes during the Great Hiatus. You will recall, that according to Holmes, Mycroft "occasionally is the British Government." (BRUC) Unfortunately, such theorizing must currently remain just that. As Holmes has correctly admonished, "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly, one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts." (SCAN) I only know that I can no longer accept at face value, Dr. Watson's official version of events.
Therefore, I will merely conclude by suggesting that perhaps the "Case of the Criminal Colonel" should be added to the "Giant Rat of Sumatra" as a "case for which the world is not yet ready." (SUSS)