“One of Sherlock Holmes’s defects – if, indeed, one may call it a defect – was that he was exceedingly loth to communicate his full plans to any other person until the instant of their fulfillment. Partly it came no doubt from his own masterful nature, which loved to dominate and surprise those who were around him. Partly also from his professional caution, which urged him never to take any chances. The result, however, was very trying for those who were acting as his agents and assistants.”
Dr Watson, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, circa 1902