30 April, 1870 - Field Notes
(Note: the following have been transcribed from Miss Sinclair's personal field shorthand. The notes appear to be grouped by category, and not in a strictly chronological order. Minute variations in the hand and the ink suggest that the notes were taken at various points throughout the day)

30 April, 1870
Notes regarding the Laboratory itself:

The laboratory is situated in a very large set of interconnected outbuildings. they include
1) a very large Hothouse of glass, obviously heated if we judge by the steamed windows
2) a surgical theater, presumably for vivisection
3) numerous volumes of research notes (which Sir C has begun cataloguing already)
4) a room full of cages of monkeys (C. capuchinis)
5) a room full of hutches of cavies (C. cobaya)
6) a well-stocked chemistry cabinet and equipment.

30 April 1870
Notes regarding the Monkeys and their room:

1) The cages number 13, with 3 being empty.
2) the upper ranks of stacked cages have plates with common numbers.
3) the lower several have greek letters: Iota, Kappa, Lambda
4) the cage labeled I is, of course, empty, being the former location of "Iota," whom Dr. Wilson shot dead.
5) the cage labeled K contains an unremarkable-looking capuchin. If he is like his former neighbor, however, he may be clever enough to conceal himself.
6) the cage labeled L looks as though it has been occupied recently, but it is currently empty. This suggests an escape. We must be particularly alert to signs of hypnogogic suggestion working on any of us.

7) Mrs C, contrary to my suggestion of caution and discretion, has begun asking the monkeys if any of them can speak. I had hoped to assess them without showing them that we know of this possibility, but there's no help for it now. Mrs C, completely ignoring the danger of another such as Iota, decided that our best approach was to try and make friends. She is convinced that these creatures must be innocent. I would rather withhold judgment until I have more evidence, but the option has been taken out of my hands.

8) Mrs C's actions have provoked a sort of response, from K--we noticed it listening very intently to our discussion. When queried directly, it started jumping around and screeching like the others, but it was too late, we had found it out. Mrs C attempted to bribe it with food to use the spelling board, but our efforts were interrupted (see notes on Cavy room).

9) Across from the bank of cages are several shelves full of preserved specimens in large jars...these are more capuchins, dissected or vivisected in various ways. They are labeled A through Q, and some with numerals, comprising 28 specimens in all. Knowing what I do about Dr Pilkington's work, I am not surprised to find that he kept the vivisected specimens in full view of their probable kindred. He must have known that they were developing intelligence, yet he chose to ignore the possibility of emotional affliction in such an arrangement. I am not surprised that Iota chose to kill him.

10) After our discovery of the hazard of the large utricularia in the hothouse (see "hothouse" notes), Miss W found a set of keys on the floor near the hothouse door. When she went to put them back on the hook, K saw her and became extremely agitated. It wouldn't spell in response to our queries, Through a series of yes/no questions, K indicated that L had gone into the hot house, and seemed to want us to get L out. Our discovery of evidence of L's demise seemed very upsetting to K.
Interesting evidence of emotional attachment and loyalty.

11) it is important to note that several of the numbered monkeys are female and two are visibly pregnant. My working hypothesis is that these are "brood" monkeys, and may be carrying young which would be designated with the greek letters indicating higher intelligence. I am sure that Dr Pilkington's notes will reveal the genealogy of those young and his expectations of them.

30 April 1870
Notes regarding the Cavy Room:

1) This room contains 8 banks of 6 hutches, each bank stacked 2 high.
2) each cage contains 6-8 cavies.
3) each cage is labeled with a code of numerals and letters combined. Perhaps this code indicates something of the genealogy of each cavy. The Dr's notes will probably tell us. The individual cavies do not appear to be marked--sloppy and dangerous in my opinion.

4) While Miss Ch was examining the hutches, she somehow managed to knock and entire bank of the cages over, freeing numerous cavies. Miss Ch and Lt W (how he managed to be in the room alone with her, I can't say, except Miss W was occupied with the cataloguing of notes). quickly closed the doors, preventing most from escaping afield: none made it through to the other workrooms, and only three made it through the door to the Hothouse. Lt W went after them (see notes on "hothouse").

Miss Ch, possibly drawing on her experience in rounding up wayward newts, had the inspired plan of putting food into some open cages and allowing the cavies to capture themselves. It worked quite well.

5) Our later recovery of 2 of those 3 cavies from the hothouse showed me a possibility of intelligence in those 2--they had reacted to the danger of the utricularia more sensibly than I would have expected. They seemed to recognize the dangerous plant--they had possibly witnessed the plant capturing the other cavy. They stayed away from it, and they did not seem to try very hard to evade capture by Miss W and myself. I asked Miss Ch to make sure they were placed in cages separate from the other cavies so we could identify them later.

6) Mrs C is continuing her campaign to win over any intelligent animals to our cause, attempting to coax them into revealing themselves. She stood near the cages with her ouija board, calling to them in a warm and motherly fashion. If I didn't know that intelligence in these subjects is a definite possibility, I would certainly have thought her mad.

I just hope that none of the servants or family comes by at an inopportune moment. Our credibility as experts would be completely destroyed.

30 April 1870
Notes regarding the Hothouse:

1) Initial examination of the hot house through the glass reveals a number of varying tropical plants. I see no sign of vegetable cultivation or of common ornamental flowers. I believe the Dr reserved this hothouse exclusively for his unusual scientific studies.

2) The most unusual plant in the hothouse is a very large specimen which looks to be a species of g. Utricularia, resembling our more local "carnivorous" bladderwort plants in a few salient points, but also having some features similar to the droserae or sundew. It is planted in a 30' x 30' square box of very damp soil, perhaps to simulate a boggy environment (our native utriculariae prefer a boggy soil). It has large numbers of very long tendrils, which have occasional eruptions of feathery leaves and of rather small bright pink flowers on long supple stalks. The tendrils seem to have some amount of motility, coiling up and stretching out (which is the feature most reminiscent of the sundew). The boggy ground may contain bladders used for capturing and consuming food. The flowers emit a strong, sweet odor, which may have an hallucinogenic or soporific effect.

3) The above observations were made as a result of the following untoward occurrence in the hothouse:
Lt W went into the hothouse pursuing three escaped cavies (see notes on "cavy room"). He had been gone for some time when I went into the hothouse to find him.
He was sitting on the ground near the large utricularia, in some emotional distress. I had known that his engagement to Miss Angela Glossop had come to an unhappy end, but I was surprised to see him crying openly about it, at this particular time. He did, in fact, seem quite delirious.
At this point, I noticed that the ground near the Lt showed some cavy prints ending abruptly in a sunken hole in the soil. Given the size of the plant, I thought it possible that the Lt might be in some danger, if not of being eaten, at least of being entangled by the plant and possibly burned by the acids the plant uses to digest its food (I could smell a faint tang of acid)

I led him outside and got him some fresh air, and he seemed to be somewhat better.
We have checked the locks on all the greenhouse doors, and made certain to put up signs to warn off any unwary persons.

4) It may be possible that the missing monkey, L, is hiding in the hothouse. It is also possible that L has the same powers of suggestion that I had. If so, L could potentially try to lure any of us into the hothouse. I cannot be entirely certain if the utriclularia is the source of Lt W's delusions, as he has been twice before overcome by a hostile monkey. Caution is in order.

5) The utricularia has shown another oddity. While Miss Ch was working with the cavies, she noticed that all of them nearest the window into the hothouse were looking quite fixedly toward the window. She leaned down to follow their gaze and noticed that they seemed to be looking at the utricularia's small blooms, which seemed to be waving slowly. Miss Ch then fainted, and the sound of her body hitting the glass wall and sliding down drew all the rest of us to investigate.

Miss Ch reported having some dreams, which she seemed ashamed and unwilling to discuss, but I can imagine from the color of her blush what the topic was. An aphrodisiac effect? That might also contribute to the topic of Lt W delusions. I count myself fortunate that I didn't receive an altogether different greeting from him when I brought him out of the hothouse earlier.

6) Apparently this plant will continue to interfere with the rest of our work until we discover its secrets. I suspect we will be compelled to destroy it for safety's sake, but I'd like to learn enough to ensure a complete and effective elimination of it. To that end, I will check the research notes for more information. I think that Miss W may be able to help with some chemical analyses of the plant's tissues and perfume, but I'd like to know more before we even venture in for a sample.

7) Our examination of Dr Pilkington's research brought us little about the plant, but a volume written by his son Andrew Pilkington proved more useful. He had apparently come across this plant in South America, where the natives call it "monkey killer." He had brought back seeds and cuttings to see if he could grow one. (Note to self: do not cultivate cuttings of plants with the word "killer" in the vernacular name).

According to the notes, it had not previously bloomed in captivity, and there is no mention of the hallucinogenic effects. If these effects are only deployed during blooming, how does the plant get food the rest of the time? I can think of a few reasons for this arrangement..

a) perhaps the plant blooms more often in its own habitat, and the blooms have adapted to help provide the plant with food in addition to their primary (reproductive) purpose.

b) perhaps the plant requires the increase in food only at the time that it produces its seeds, and therefore it only needs to attract prey during its bloom period, relying on chance capture the rest of the time.

Interesting, but all speculative at this point.

8) The Plant continues to be a nuisance and an hazard.

Miss W found some keys, apparently to this hothouse. Upon seeing them, K had a violent reaction, screeching and jumping (see notes on "monkey room"), and indicated that L had gone into the hothouse. K seemed to be aware of the hazard there, perhaps from hearing our conversation about it. Now knowing the plant's vernacular name, I felt it possible that L might not survive, but I felt we must make certain, either confirming its death or retrieving it to safe captivity if it lived.

Speculating upon the twofold hazard of the plant, Miss Whitnell and I covered our noses and mouths with camphor-soaked cloths to diminish the scent and covered our faces with veils to reduce the visual effects. We tied ropes around our waists, while the other ends were anchored outside the hothouse by Sir C, Mr C, Lt W, and Salmalin, so they could pull us out if we were overcome.

We started with the fringes of the room, hoping to find L hiding away from the plant. We worked our way inward, eventually stepping over and among the tendrils of the plant. We did manage to find two cavies, presumably the ones which had escaped earlier. I finally found the footprints of a capuchin, leading right to a depression in the ground, presumably the final resting place of our lost L (see notes on "monkey room")

9) Close-range observation of the plant leads me to further hypotheses:
The shape and color of the waving blooms resembles female primate reproductive organs (the others, notably Miss Ch, had tried to describe this to me earlier, but couldn't quite manage it).

Why? I think that this appearance, as well and the aphrodisiac chemistry of the scent, is a sure-fire lure to the plant's monkey prey. According to all my reading on primates, they have a very strong mating instinct, The females, when they come into estrus, emit scents and display engorged organs.

This plant seems to be capitalising on this element of monkey instinct to gather victims.

How interesting that humans seems to be just as vulnerable to this trickery. I wonder if other types of animals are affected as well.

10) Another plant present (which I observed somewhat hurriedly due to my other pressing business in the hothouse) is the ahengi, which was used by Paolo to achieve his trance-like state. I recognise the shape of the leaf, and can see that several of the plants had been stripped of leaves fairly recently. I did not pause to gather a sample, so my identification is not completely certain.

11) I have not yet gathered samples of our utricularia yet either. I have had to forestall several suggestions by our men of action to chop up the plant or shoot it with a rocket. I think one of those tactics might work, but on the other hand they might lead to dissemination or spreading of viable cuttings. I'd rather not let this organism run wild through the bogs and moors of our countryside.

30 April, 1870
Notes regarding the Kennel:

Around lunchtime, we went out to see to the third of Dr Pilkington's subject groups, the dogs.
1) Owen had already been out with them, apparently telling them about us and about his adventures in Town.

2) Mrs C again brought her board, hoping to get any of the others to communicate with her. We tried asking Owen which of the others are intelligent, but he seemed not to understand the question. I think perhaps our idea of "intelligent" is unclear to him. The only concrete criterion we can get an answer from him on is whether a given dog can spell or not. Very few seem to be able. Considering that a large part of the human population cannot read or write, I'd have to say it's not a valid criterion for the abilities we're really looking for.

3) We asked if any of the other dogs wanted to leave the estate with us, offering "freedom" to any who ask (though how we would arrange this with the Scarisbrick estate, I don't know). Most of the dogs seem content as they are.

4) Owen introduced us to his mother. She is a fine old bitch, unable to spell, but fairly intelligent and able to communicate with us through Owen. The unfortunate creature is growing old and unwell, though. She complains of the headache, fatigue, and lack of appetite. I would guess she has some sort of cancerous growth forming in the brain, though whether due to the Dr's tampering or to simple age is uncertain.

Mrs C patted her, and laid hands on her gently. It put me in mind of how Mrs C helped me when I was poisoned. Mindful of what Mr Ramsay said about my "gift, " I moved away so as not to interfere. Owen's mother indicated that she felt somewhat better.

In general, our time with the dogs was not very informative. Owen seems by far to be the brightest and most communicative of their lot.

30 April, 1870
Notes on the behaviour of Humans in and around the Scarisbrick household:

1) In general the Scarisbrick household seems to welcome us and wish our work to proceed quickly. Of course, anyone showing hostility to our efforts would draw suspicion upon himself.

2) At lunchtime we were greeted by a Mr Marcus Perthwaite, husband of one of the late Baron's granddaughters. Upon reflection, I recognised him as the Gentleman I had seen and heard talking to Dr Deemings' man out in the field this morning, discussing someone returning by train later this week.

3) Dr Wilson has spent much of the day searching for Mr Mortimer Hammersly, his sometime Assistant at the B.F. and C. Stein laboratories. Mr Hammersly, being a grandson of the late Baron, is here somewhere, but not immediately evident. Dr Wilson suspects that he is suffering one of his Polish fancies.

4) This was confirmed a bit later when Mr. Cuthbert, in his search for a machete to dismember the plant (see "hothouse" notes), discovered him making explosives in the garden shed. Also on his person was a newspaper article about a local registrar with a Polish surname.

5) Dr Wilson has continued to inquire about why Mr Hammersly has been left unobserved, when all in the family know of his delusions and the danger he can present. Also, he has inquired as to how Mr Hammersly came to have this article, certain to enflame his fears. No satisfactory answer has been forthcoming.

6) During the continuing inquiries, the head butler indicated (somewhat reluctantly) that Mr Marcus Perthwaite had been discussing Mr Bertowski (the county registrar) quite loudly outside Mr Hammersly's room. The butler had thought it odd, but saw no harm in it until we started asking questions.

7) Edward returned for lunch from a busy morning cataloguing wildflowers at my request. (I had sent him to do this to keep him out from underfoot. As it turned out, he did some very fine work, with nice drawings and some excellent guesses at Latin names for plants he didn't know). He reported a conversation he had overheard while out, between a woman and a man. The man was named "Hob Bertwhistle," and the woman's name was not given in conversation. Edward carefully recorded their words. Apparently, the two were discussing a "secret marriage" between two other people, and whether to continue to keep the secret.

8) Armed with this information, Mrs C and I roamed out in search of Miss Glossop, who would likely be able to tell us who Hob Bertwhistle might be.
When we found her, outside with her dogs, I said that a friend of mine in Town had asked me to carry greetings to his acquaintance, Hob Bertwhistle, but had not told me where to find him. Miss Glossop promptly declared that Hob is Dr. Deemings' Groundskeeper.

9) Guessing that this is who I saw speaking to Marcus Perthwaite this morning, I asked if Hob would be expecting someone of his household to be returning by train this week. Miss Glossop indicated that His daughter Clara would be returning from London shortly, and taking up the duties of Chambermaid, which will be a promotion from her previous duties as Scullerymaid..

10) Why are scullerymaids Sent Away, then promoted? I have known this to happen if they are secretly pregnant, and then someone wants to buy silence.

11) Upon hearing all these pieces of conversations, we (mainly the ladies of the party) have developed an admittedly diaphanous hypothesis:

a) the Secret Marriage was between Paolo and Clara, and that Clara's hypothetical child is his.

b) If Paolo proves to have been a legitimate heir to the Baronial title (due to some testimony of a Priest from South America, which we have heard about elsewhere), then his child could become the new Baron, dispossessing all the children of the late Baron's daughters (and their spouses).

c) The only person who could prove the marriage between Paolo and Clara would likely be the county registrar.

d) The Registrar just happens to have a Polish surname. Anyone who knows about Mr Hammersly's particular concern and his preferred way of dealing with it would know that he would stop at nothing to destroy such a person, and that his explosives would probably destroy all the records as well. The person who set him on the trail with hints would not have to do anything further, would have little risk of incrimination.

e) Marcus Perthwaite, like other husbands of the Baronial granddaughters, could stand to lose quite an income if a valid heir of Andrew Pilkington were to appear. We have the butler's story to indicate that Mr Perthwaite is the one who baited Mr Hammersly.

I have also the conversation I heard which suggests that Mr Perthwaite may be inquiring about Clara's whereabouts.

I must stress that I consider this only one possible solution, and it is heavily buttressed with conjecture. But it does give us an idea to guide our inquiries. We shall see what unfolds.

Miss W is going now to town to find the regis...

(notes trail off at this point)

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