Mr Melas

Mr Melas lives above Mycroft Holmes in his lodgings, and the two enjoy the Diogenes Club. He is a short, stout man with black hair, beard, and olive complexion. Thanks to Mycroft he becomes the client of Sherlock Holmes in the short story "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter". 
Mr Melas is a successful interpreter of many languages but particularly Greek, residing in London. He finds himself brought to The Myrtles, a house in Beckenham by Harold Latimer. Here, Melas learns of Kratides being forcibly starved by Latimer and Kemp, Melas is forced to interpret the demands of the two villains and the responses of Kratides. As time goes on in this interview, Melas discovers more of Kratides's plight and upon returning to London seeks the help of Mycroft Holmes who calls his brother Sherlock for assistance. An ad is soon placed inquiring of the missing man, and this places Melas in danger. Kemp and Latimer abduct and attempt to kill both Melas and Kratides by leaving them in a room of burning charcoal (carbon monoxide poisoning) while running off with Kratides's sister. Holmes employs Mr Gregson of Scotland Yard and breaks into the house. They manage to save Melas but Kratides dies as they pull him to freedom. The story ends months later, with Holmes and Watson learning Kratides' sister has successfully stabbed her captors to death in Buda-Pesth and escaped. 
This story is one of the very few instances where Watson refers to the younger Holmes brother as Sherlock, to properly differentiate from the older Mycroft. 
Category:Characters: Sherlock Holmes (1954)