https://www.sleuthsayers.org/2015/11/sherlock-holmes-and-allegorical-context.htmlThe above is an interesting article and pastiche I just encountered about J.M. Barrie (ACD's sometimes writing partner and eponymous personage of Barrie and Doyle's
Allahakbarries cricket team) and Doyle's somewhat lackluster writing projects that spawned a fun pastiche.
Note E.W. Hornung, P.G. Wodehouse, Doyle, and J.M. Barrie all played cricket together.
In that pastiche he refers to Watson's writing "The Adventure of the Man Without a Cork Leg" which could apply to the Sign of Four, perhaps.
A couple of fun facts: having a "cork leg" didn't mean that you had a wooden leg made of cork (which would not be strong enough to support a person's weight) but instead it meant that you had a prosthetic (rather than just a peg-leg), which were originally fashioned by John Cork in 1810.
Holmes identifies someone as a Scottish author because he has a book saying "Auld Licht something" sticking out of his pocket. The book in question is a reference to Barrie's own Auld Licht Idylls:
Anyhow, pretty fun in-joke between two master craftsmen of their day.
Max "Magic Jezail Bullet" Magee
"His left arm has been injured. He holds it in a stiff and unnatural manner."