# Major John Sholto — The Sign of the Four character guide

> Major John Sholto in The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Major Sholto, Sholto

**First appearance:** 0003-iv-the-story-of-the-bald-headed-man

## Snapshot

A dead army officer whose hidden possession of the Agra treasure bred fear, guilt, and a curse that outlived him.

## Who they are

Sholto was the officer who brought the Agra treasure back from India and kept it for himself, a decision that poisoned his remaining years with dread of discovery. Even Jonathan Small, who admits he would have knifed the old major without a second thought, treats him as the original author of the whole misfortune. His guilty secret is the buried root from which the Norwood tragedy and the entire hunt for the treasure grow.

## In the story

### [II: The Statement of the Case](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sign_of_the_four_se/chapters/ii-the-statement-of-the-case)

A former brother officer of Captain Morstan, living at Upper Norwood, but unaware of Morstan's return to England.

### [In Quest of a Solution](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sign_of_the_four_se/chapters/iii-in-quest-of-a-solution)

Mentioned as having died on April 28, 1882; his death is key to Holmes's deductions about the mystery.

### [IV: The Story of the Bald-Headed Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sign_of_the_four_se/chapters/iv-the-story-of-the-bald-headed-man)

Deceased; his deathbed confession reveals the circumstances of Captain Morstan's death.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sign_of_the_four_se/characters/major_sholto
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sign_of_the_four_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sign_of_the_four_se/characters