The Missing Boots

This subplot traces the apparently comic thefts that become evidence that the murderer is preparing a scent-tracking hound.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The New Pair

The New Pair A purchase in the Strand Henry buys new tan boots after arriving in London. A small annoyance He places them outside his hotel room and discovers that one is missing the next morning. The odd theft looks trivial beside the warning letter.

The Old Boot Vanishes

The Old Boot Vanishes A second loss Henry reports that an old black boot has disappeared as well. Holmes takes notice Holmes treats the detail seriously, recognizing that the old shoe may carry a useful scent. The mystery shifts from nuisance toward practical danger.

The New Boot Returns

The New Boot Returns An inexplicable return Henry finds the missing brown boot hidden in the room after it was previously searched. A clue in confusion The stranger’s apparent failure to secure the right shoe suggests an attempt to obtain something more useful. The sequence resists an ordinary explanation.

The Old Shoe’s Purpose

The Old Shoe’s Purpose A scent trail Holmes concludes that Stapleton needed Henry’s worn boot to set the hound on his track. A new shoe would fail The new boot carried too little of Henry’s scent, explaining why it was returned and an old one taken. A seemingly absurd incident confirms the use of a real dog.

The Boot in the Mire

The Boot in the Mire A trace of flight Holmes finds Henry’s missing black boot in the bog along Stapleton’s route. The case closes physically The shoe links the hound’s tracking method to the murderer’s attempt to escape through the mire. The lost object becomes material proof of the plot’s mechanics.

Henry’s first day in London

The next day at the hotel

After lunch during the same hotel visit

Holmes’s retrospective after the final confrontation

The morning after the final attack