# Tonga — The Sign of the Four character guide

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

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** little Tonga

**First appearance:** 0009-x-the-end-of-the-islander

## Snapshot

A small Andaman Islander with a blowpipe and poison darts, utterly loyal to Jonathan Small and utterly lethal.

## Who they are

Tonga is Small's silent, deadly companion, the hand that strikes while Small plans. He kills Bartholomew Sholto with a poisoned dart and later nearly kills Holmes and Watson on the Thames, yet Small speaks of him with something like affection. His savagery and devotion make him the story's most unsettling figure — a weapon with a heartbeat, and the reason the Agra treasure leaves bodies behind it.

## Relationships

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

_rivalry_

Tonga is Jonathan Small's Andaman Islander accomplice who murders Bartholomew Sholto and is hunted down by Holmes.

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

_rivalry_

Tonga is Jonathan Small's Andaman Islander accomplice who murders Bartholomew Sholto and is hunted down by Holmes.

## In the story

### [The Strange Story of Jonathan Small](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sign_of_the_four_se/chapters/xii-the-strange-story-of-jonathan-small)

Small's faithful Andaman Islander companion, mentioned as having helped in the escape and in disposing of the treasure.

## Links

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