<P> It was worth a wound; it was worth many wounds; to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask . The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking . For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain . All my years of humble but single - minded service culminated in that moment of revelation . </P> <P> The first set of Holmes stories was published between 1887 and 1893 . Wishing to devote more time to his historical novels, Conan Doyle killed off Holmes in a final battle with the criminal mastermind Professor James Moriarty in "The Final Problem" (published 1893, but set in 1891). After resisting public pressure for eight years, the author wrote The Hound of the Baskervilles (serialised in 1901--1902, with an implicit setting before Holmes's death). In 1903, Conan Doyle wrote "The Adventure of the Empty House", set in 1894; Holmes reappears, explaining to a stunned Watson that he had faked his death in "The Final Problem" to fool his enemies . "The Adventure of the Empty House" marks the beginning of the second set of stories, which Conan Doyle wrote until 1927 . </P> <P> Holmes aficionados refer to the period from 1891 to 1894--between his disappearance and presumed death in "The Final Problem" and his reappearance in "The Adventure of the Empty House"--as the Great Hiatus (though 1908's "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge" is described as taking place in 1892 due to an error on Conan Doyle's part). The earliest known use of this expression is in the article "Sherlock Holmes and the Great Hiatus" by Edgar W. Smith, published in the July 1946 issue of The Baker Street Journal . </P> <P> In "His Last Bow", Holmes has retired to a small farm on the Sussex Downs and taken up beekeeping as his primary occupation . The move is not dated precisely, but can be presumed to predate 1904 (since it is referred to retrospectively in "The Second Stain", first published that year). The story features Holmes and Watson coming out of retirement to aid the war effort . Only one other adventure, "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane" (narrated by Holmes), takes place during the detective's retirement . </P>

How does holmes know the doctor had a dog