Lost Sherlock Holmes Story Found in Scottish Attic

It's been a treasure trove of recently discovered writings from famous authors: first Harper Lee, then Dr. Seuss, and now Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. An 80-year-old man in Scotland says he found a long-lost Sherlock Holmes story that appeared in a 1904 short-story collection, the New York Daily News reports. Walter Elliot says the 1,300-word tale, titled "Sherlock Holmes: Discovering the Border Burgs and, by Deduction, the Brig Bazaar," was contained in a 48-page booklet given to him by a friend more than 50 years ago. The booklet was produced and sold as part of a fundraising effort to replace a wooden bridge that had washed out in Selkirk in 1902, the Daily Record notes. "He really must have thought enough of the town to come down and take part and contribute a story to the book," Elliot tells the Daily News.

Without giving too much away, the story is about a journalist who tracks down the renowned detective and finds him talking with (who else) Dr. John Watson about a trip to Edinburgh and a mystery about a "Secret Cabinet." When Watson declines an invitation to go with Holmes, the sleuth uses his powers of deduction to figure out where Watson is headed instead. "I have no idea if it has ever been published—I've never seen it," Elliot tells the Record. "I've always been interested in history, and my family has always passed on stories, and I suppose this was one of the stories that was passed down." The book will reportedly be on display at a local pop-up museum—and you can read the story in full at the Daily Record. (More Scotland stories.)