Jonathan Small is the main antagonist of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel The Sign of the Four. He is a peg-legged man who knows the secret about a valuable treasure trove from India.
History[]
Small came from a poor family in Worcestershire, England. He joined the army, and served in India. During that time, he was swimming in the Ganges when a crocodile bit his leg off, leaving him crippled. He was saved by another soldier, who was the best swimmer in the regiment. Later, Small worked on a plantation as an overseer, and during the Indian mutiny of 1857 his friends were killed and he was forced to flee to the fort at Agra to save himself.
At Agra, Small was charged as a guard. Two Sikhs, on duty with him, took him hostage and told him of their plan to kill a distinguished servant of a Raja, who was to arrive shortly carrying a box full of the Raja's jewels. If he refused to join them they would kill him. They promised there was no danger to the fort, which was under siege and Small's duty to defend. Given these facts Small readily agreed.
Small, the two men, and a third Sikh killed the merchant, hid the body and treasure, and drew a map with each of them signing as the Sign of Four, and pledging an alliance to always act in the best interest of the group.
Their plan was ruined when the merchant was reported missing by another servant sent to watch over him, leading to the discovery of the body, although the treasure was not found. The three Sikhs (Muhammad Singh, Dost Akbar and Abdullah Khan) were sentenced to serve life in gaol. Small was at first sentenced to death, later commuted to hard labour for life in the Andaman Islands.
In prison, Small overheard two officers of guard, Captain Arthur Morstan and Major John Sholto, talking about their gambling losses and how they may have to hand in their commissions and be ruined. He told them about the treasure, and also told them that if they help him and his friends, they can have equal share amounting to £50,000 each. Morstan sent Sholto to verify the treasure's existence, but Sholto tricked Small and Morstan and took the entire treasure back to England, resigning from the army. Small was enraged. Sometime during his sentence, he saved an Aborigine pygmy, Tonga, from death, who then became fiercely loyal to him.
In 1882 Small then with Tonga managed to escape the prison by killing a guard who had tormented him during his incarceration. He fatally struck the guard in the head with his wooden leg, saying later that that was his only crime. After escaping from the island in Tonga's boat, they travelled the world, earning money by exhibiting Tonga as a cannibal, including him eating raw flesh.
When they reached England, Small found out where Major Sholto was but not where he'd stashed the treasure. Sholto was by this time a dying man, and had called his sons Thaddeus and Bartholomew to him to reveal the treasure's location. A glimpse of Small's face in the window panicked Sholto so much that he died right then, before he could reveal the treasure's whereabouts to his sons. Small kept an eye on the house through an agent on the inside, though he travelled much. In 1888, Small found out about Bartholomew's recovery of the treasure. Small wanted to stage a robbery. Tonga, who was quite agile, climbed up the wall of Sholto's estate, Pondicherry Lodge, and tied a rope which Small could ascend. When they reached the window, Small saw Bartholomew Sholto. Small wanted only to tie him up, but Tonga, who got there first, fatally shot him with a poisoned dart, evoking rage and reproach from Small.
Small took the treasure and fled Pondicherry Lodge. He engaged a fast steam launch, the Aurora, for their escape to a liner bound for South America, paying its owner handsomely for his cooperation, but was tracked down by Holmes, Watson, and the police as they attempted to escape to their own boat. In the chase on the Thames, Holmes and Watson killed Tonga, who tried to kill them with a poison dart. While the Aurora managed to make it to the shore, Small's wooden leg got stuck in the mud and he was quickly apprehended. Upon its retrieval from the Aurora, they discover the treasure box to be empty - Small had dumped it overboard just prior to his capture to prevent anyone else from having use of it.
At Baker Street, Small told his history, and the police took him away to gaol.
Small admits but doesn't express regret for any of the crimes he was involved in - except for the death of Bartholomew Sholto, which was carried out by Tonga against his wishes. He observes that despite his "claim" to the Agra Treasure that it never brought anything except bad luck to those who tried to possess it {The raja who originally owned it was driven out of India and lost his lands and fortune; the merchant to whom it was entrusted was killed for it; Major Sholto lived with fear and guilt for years; Bartholomew Sholto was murdered shortly after recovering the treasure; and Small has spent over half of his life building a breakwater in the Andaman Islands and will likely spend the rest of his life digging drains in Dartmoor Prison}.
Mary Morstan, however, received the gold chaplet and several pearls, and married Dr Watson.
Trivia[]
Jonathan Small was an unfortunate man, followed by bad luck, which was manifested in him losing his leg, getting put in prison for a crime he was forced to commit to survive, and his plan of getting the treasure back failed. He was not evil and sadistic by nature, but he was an unfortunate man driven by fate to commit crimes. Furthermore, his act of saving Tonga showed that he was a good man, who knew mercy and compassion, but but was simply cursed by bad luck. He ended up in prison once again at the end of novel.
Small can be compared with Victor Hugo's Jean Valjean, who also was an unfortunate man, but Valjean was at least lucky enough to be able to redeem himself and make up for his deeds, before dying happily as a free man with a good family.