Ah, yes: 'thoughtful' readers ~~ the very people who solve a mystery early on. But that was not RLS's intention. He meant for the mystery to persist, as to what hold H had on J to get him to sign a cheque for such a purpose, gaining access via that mysterious side-door, &c. It all comes out bit by bit, according to the rules postulated in that post of yours, until the climax. But surely appreciaton doesn't depend on the reader's knowing the outcome before the start ~~ that would be as crazy as Dorothy L Sayers writing on the title page of Busman's Honeymoon "It was Crutchley. He weighted the cactus pot with shot & hung it over the radiogram to fall on Nokes's head". It was the adoption of the phrase "a J&H" into the language that blew the intentions.

~M~