Renowned London consulting detective noted for exceptional analytical skill; his methods once resolved the Camberwell poisoning case.

Sherlock Holmes

Unnamed spouse of Dr. John Watson; away visiting her mother.

Watson's wife

Young man (about 22) from Horsham seeking Holmes's advice and help regarding a mysterious family threat involving orange pips.

John Openshaw

Wrongfully accused in the Tankerville Club scandal; credits Holmes with saving him.

Major Prendergast

Coventry factory owner; patentee of the 'Open Shore Unbreakable Tyre'; retired comfortably.

Joseph Openshaw

Former Confederate officer who made a fortune in America; returned to Sussex near Horsham around 1869–70; solitary, heavy drinker and smoker; kept a locked attic room.

Elias Openshaw

Received a Pondicherry-letter containing five orange pips and 'K.K.K.' in red ink; reacted with terror; produced a brass box marked K.K.K., ordered a fire, and summoned a lawyer.

Horsham solicitor who prepared Elias Openshaw’s will and had John witness it.

Mr. Fordham

Servant at Elias Openshaw’s house; asked to make a fire in his room.

Mary (servant)

Found dead face downward in a shallow garden pool; jury returned a verdict of suicide.

Entered into possession of Elias Openshaw’s Horsham property and £14,000 after Elias’s death.

Received a letter from Dundee containing five orange pips with the message 'Put the papers on the sundial'; later fell into a chalk pit and died; jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

Commands a fort on Portsdown Hill; telegrams John after Joseph’s accident.

Major Freebody

Urges John Openshaw to seek help from Sherlock Holmes.

Named on an 1869 diary page: 'Hudson came.—Same old platform.'

Hudson

Appears on the 1869 diary page with the note 'Set the Pips'; later entry reads 'Macaulay cleared.'

Macaulay

Appears on the 1869 diary page as 'John Swain—of St. Augustine' with notes 'Set the Pips' and 'cleared.'

John Swain

Appears on the 1869 diary page with the note 'Set the Pips' and 'Visited Paramore.—All well.'

Paramore

Medical doctor and close friend/roommate of Sherlock Holmes at Baker Street; narrator of the case; married.

Dr. John Watson

Identified by Holmes’s interpretation as a target of the society’s warning.

Holmes’s interpretation of the diary implies Hudson may be connected to the society’s activities.

Identified by Holmes’s interpretation as a target who 'cleared' after receiving the society’s warning.

Found dead near Waterloo Bridge after a stormy night; newspaper reports no signs of violence and conjecture an accidental fall while hurrying to catch a train.

H Division officer who heard a cry near Waterloo Bridge and helped recover John Openshaw’s body.

Police Constable Cook

Captain of the bark Lone Star; identified by Holmes as leader of the group behind the orange-pips threats; homeward bound for Savannah.

Captain James Calhoun

One of two native-born American mates on the Lone Star; was ashore the night before the ship sailed.

Lone Star mate (unnamed) 2

Lone Star mate (unnamed) 1

Watson is married; his wife is away visiting her mother.

John comes to Holmes for advice and help with a mysterious family threat.

Prendergast had previously sought Holmes’s help in the Tankerville Club scandal.

Elias and Joseph are the two sons of John Openshaw’s grandfather.

Elias took John to live with him when John was about twelve and made him functionally master of the house.

Elias retained Mr. Fordham to prepare his will.

Mary works as a servant in Elias Openshaw’s house.

Elias’s will leaves his estate to Joseph Openshaw.

Joseph visits his friend Major Freebody at Portsdown Hill.

Prendergast speaks with John and advises him to consult Holmes.

Hudson is noted arriving on Elias’s 1869 diary page, indicating some association.

Close friends and housemates at Baker Street who work cases together.

Holmes reads the diary as indicating that the pips were sent to Macaulay as a warning from the society Elias had papers about.

By Holmes’s interpretation of the diary, Hudson may be associated with the society’s activities connected to the pips.

Holmes’s interpretation suggests the pips were sent to John Swain, who later 'cleared' according to the diary.

Holmes’s interpretation suggests the pips were sent to Paramore as a warning.

After John’s death near Waterloo Bridge, Holmes regards the matter personally and continues to pursue the culprits.

PC Cook, on duty near Waterloo Bridge, heard a cry and helped recover John’s body.

Identified by Holmes as the leader of the gang suspected in the orange-pips campaign tied to the Openshaw deaths.

Holmes identifies Calhoun as the leader of the gang he seeks.

Serve together aboard the bark Lone Star.

A young man from Horsham arrives at Baker Street during a storm, asking Holmes for advice and help.

John Openshaw seeks Holmes’s help

A letter from Pondicherry arrives for Elias Openshaw; five dried orange pips fall out and 'K.K.K.' is written inside.

Elias Openshaw receives five orange pips

Elias summons his lawyer, burns papers, opens a brass box marked K.K.K., and has a will prepared and witnessed by John.

Elias burns papers and executes a will

Elias is found face down in a shallow garden pool; a jury returns a verdict of suicide.

Death of Elias Openshaw ruled suicide

Joseph enters into possession of the Horsham property and funds following Elias’s death.

Joseph Openshaw inherits Horsham estate

A Dundee-postmarked letter arrives for Joseph containing five orange pips and the message 'Put the papers on the sundial.'

Joseph Openshaw receives five orange pips

Joseph is found with a shattered skull after falling into an unfenced chalk pit; the jury rules accidental death.

Death of Joseph Openshaw ruled accidental

A London Eastern Division letter arrives for John Openshaw with five orange pips and the same sundial message.

John Openshaw receives five orange pips

Despite skepticism, the police provide a constable to stay at John’s house.

Police assign a guard to John Openshaw

Consulting an encyclopedia and the pattern of warnings, Holmes concludes K.K.K. refers to the Ku Klux Klan and that a group is pursuing the Openshaws.

Holmes identifies the Ku Klux Klan

A newspaper reports that John Openshaw’s body was recovered from the Thames; the incident is conjectured to be an accident.

John Openshaw found dead near Waterloo Bridge

Holmes prepares and posts an envelope with five orange pips to Captain James Calhoun of the bark Lone Star, marked 'S.H. for J.O.'

Holmes sends five pips to Captain Calhoun

Reviewing shipping records, Holmes identifies the Lone Star and its American captain and mates as linked to the pip letters; the ship has just sailed for Savannah.

Holmes traces suspects to the bark Lone Star

Severe gales prevent delivery of Holmes’s warning; later, only a stern-post marked 'L.S.' is found adrift in the Atlantic.