Page 31 - Drinks Jorunal Vol 3

Oscar takes us to meet Mr Worth in the back of a theatre where he is accompanied
by a young actress of exceptional beauty called Lillie Langtry. Distracted and wanting

to impress the young dame, I proceed to challenge Worth to a series of wagers
involving lots of whiskey, bicycles, stilts and a tram. After a hallucinatory amount
of whiskey and winning of bets, it appears I gain Mr Worth’s trust, and he talks of

a man who has been blackmailing him to commit crime after crime. He begs me to
assist and free him from his Indenture.

He informs us that his blackmailer is known only as the ‘Professor’ and, having an
aversion to the cold, hides out in a West Country estate.

A smashing sound disturbs us. The Club we are in is raided by the Mutton Shunters.

Oscar delays the Peelers while we backslang it down the fire escape. Worth has
vanished into the ether taking the Gainsborough painting with him as well.

We get back to the laboratory to the horrifying news of a monstrous act of villainy
in the Whitechapel area. Doctor Bell has suggested that Arthur and I separate -

Arthur will tackle the “Whitechapel Monster” whilst I rush to London Paddington to
catch the morning train to Devon.

As Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle would say “The Game is Afoot!”

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