a surgeon in London...a difficult riddle

[Caelan Arendor]

In the fog-dimmed streets of Victorian London, a wealthy surgeon walked with brisk purpose. The city lay in its usual cloak of soot and shadow, where lamplight struggled to hold back the night. As he turned a corner, he paused beside a narrow alley where a beggar seemed to lie slumped against a wall, one arm stretched across the cobblestones.

The beggar, evidently compelled by bitter poverty, accepted a deal with the surgeon: for a considerable sum, he would sell his left hand, which the doctor then removed in an operation. The rough, worn hand had been carefully washed and manicured beforehand.

 

The surgeon carefully wrapped the beggar’s surgically removed hand and sent it to a specific address in London. There, a group of people sat together around a table. They opened the package, examined the amputated hand with scrutiny, nodded in approval, and afterward discarded the hand.

 

If you can solve this riddle in a compelling way, I will call your name (your avatar) on an amateur radio frequency and praise your acumen and powers of deduction beyond measure. The world will listen to me—by the way, the message will, of course, be transmitted in the classic manner via Morse code.

[HeavyHalfMoonBlade]

I think I remember this one. Not quite exactly. 

 

The hand is meant to be the surgeons. I don't remember why. Were they shipwrecked and ate each person's hand so they wouldn't starve and no one would lose too much? And the surgeon did the operations on the understanding he too would cut his hand off at a later date. Gentleman's agreement and all that. Not a lot of eating in a hand though and why were the people all at the same address and yet not expect the surgeon to turn up in person?... Maybe it was a botched surgery that lost someone a hand? Something involving a verbal agreement, presumably backed up by the threat of force.

 

Anyway, that is why he bought the hand, why it was manicured and cleaned, and why the people threw it away. They only wanted to know the hand had been amputated, they didn't actually want it. 

[HeavyHalfMoonBlade]

Actually if I remember right, the version I heard (from my Dad, this kind of thing was right up his alley) was about legs. Which would make more sense for cannibalism. So maybe your version isn't quite as gruesome @Caelan Arendor, lol.

[Caelan Arendor]

3 hours ago, HeavyHalfMoonBlade said:

Actually if I remember right, the version I heard (from my Dad, this kind of thing was right up his alley) was about legs. Which would make more sense for cannibalism. So maybe your version isn't quite as gruesome @Caelan Arendor, lol.

I'm a bit disapointed, that you are right on track, I would have surmised a bit more confusion, 😗

But anyways, congrats!