# Mordecai Smith — The Sign of the Four character guide

> Mordecai Smith in The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Smith, Mr. Mordecai Smith, Smith, old Smith

**First appearance:** 0007-viii-the-baker-street-irregulars

## Snapshot

A red-faced, liquor-loving boat owner whose steam launch the Aurora becomes the villains' escape vessel down the Thames.

## Who they are

Smith hires out his fast launch to Small's men for good money and asks no questions, which makes him useful and expendable in equal measure. Holmes tracks him through Jacobson's Yard and uses a sentry to watch the Aurora, knowing Smith himself is likely ignorant of the larger crime. His ordinary greed is the hinge on which the river chase turns, and his launch is the reason the pursuit becomes a race.

## Relationships

### [Sherlock Holmes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sign_of_the_four_se/characters/sherlock_holmes)

_rivalry_

Mordecai Smith aids Jonathan Small's escape by providing his steam launch, becoming a target of Holmes's pursuit.

### [Sherlock Holmes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sign_of_the_four_se/characters/sherlock_holmes)

_rivalry_

Mordecai Smith aids Jonathan Small's escape by providing his steam launch, becoming a target of Holmes's pursuit.

## In the story

### [X: The End of the Islander](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sign_of_the_four_se/chapters/x-the-end-of-the-islander)

Smith is mentioned as the launch owner who was paid well and seen drunk, ordering the Aurora for eight o'clock.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sign_of_the_four_se/characters/mordecai_smith
- 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