Sherlock returns, excited to tell Watson of his discovery. He has unearthed the fact that Major Sholto died at roughly the same time in which Mary began to receive her pearls. He deduced that an heir to Sholto’s wealth must be somehow aware of Mary‘s situation and the peculiarity of her father’s disappearance. Mary arrives and Sherlock and Watson set forth with Mary to the Lyceum Theatre. 

On the way, Mary begins to explain the relationship between her father and Major Sholto, pointing it out as ‘particular’. She also thinks back to the stories her father used to tell her, via letters, of his time with Major Sholto, commanding troops on the Andaman Islands. She then offers Holmes a piece of paper she found on her father’s desk. 

The paper, when Holmes sees it, shows a building’s diagram with a red cross and the words ‘The sign of the four – Johnathan Small, Mahomet Singh, Abdullah Khan, Dost Akbar’. 

When they arrive at the Lyceum Theatre, all three are greeted by a peculiar man who directs them to another cab, which then takes the group elsewhere. Arriving at the new destination, the group find themselves in front of a substantial house and a Hindu servant greets them.