Elsie Cubitt
From The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia
Fictional character.
In the Sherlock Holmes stories
Born Elsie Patrick.
- Elsie Patrick was an American woman from Chicago with a troubled past connected to criminal circles (DANC 65). Her father was the leader of a Chicago gang and invented the "dancing men" cipher (DANC 564).
- In her youth, she was engaged to Abe Slaney, a dangerous criminal, but broke off the relationship when she rejected a life of crime (DANC 568).
- She fled to England, determined to leave her past behind, and married Hilton Cubitt under the condition that he would never ask about her earlier life (DANC 71).
- When Abe Slaney tracked her down, she began receiving threatening "dancing men" messages, which terrified her (DANC 53).
- During the fatal confrontation between Abe Slaney and her husband, she attempted to intervene, but Hilton Cubitt was shot dead; she then attempted to take her own life and was gravely wounded (DANC 183).
- She eventually recovered completely and, as Sherlock Holmes notes in the epilogue, remained a widow, dedicating herself to charity and managing her late husband's estate (DANC 605).
