This morning I saw a star twinkling just over the fore-yard the first since the beginning of May. There is considerable discontent among the crew many of whom are anxious to get back home to be in time for the herring season when labour always commands a high price upon the Scotch coast.

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, KStJ, DL (22 May 1859 7 July 1930) was a British writer best known for his detective fiction featuring the character Sherlock Holmes. Originally a physician, in 1887 he published A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels about Holmes and Dr. Watson. In addition, Doyle wrote over fifty short stories featuring the famous detective. The Sherlock Holmes stories are generally considered milestones in the field of crime fiction. Doyle was a prolific writer; his non-Sherlockian works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels.