Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 12 Research on Scarlet Characters 12
In the western part of the North American continent, there is a large barren desert.For many years it has held back the development of culture.From the Sierra Nevada to Nebraska, from the Yellowstone River in the north to Colorado in the south, is a completely deserted and silent area.But in this uninhabited area, the natural scenery is not static.There are high mountains covered with snow all the year round, gloomy and dark valleys, rivers rushing between rocky canyons, and endless wastelands, covered with snow in winter and gray alkaline land in summer. .This area is generally desolate and silent, extremely sad.

In this hopeless land, no one lives.Only the Pawnees and Blackfoot Indians occasionally pass by in groups on their way to other hunting areas.Even the bravest and strongest people don't want to stay here for a while, and hope to go to the prairie as soon as possible.In this lifeless land, only coyotes loomed through the undergrowth, giant eagles hovered in the air, and a few hulking grizzly bears foraged in the gloomy canyons.They are the only inhabitants of the desert.

There is probably no place in the world more bleak and desolate than the northern foothills of the Sierra Blanca.Looking up from a distance, there are only patches of saline-alkali land separated by dwarf live oak forests in the desert.On the horizon, snow-covered peaks rise one after another, shining with silver light.There is no life in this land, and nothing related to life can be found.Not a single bird flew in the gray sky, and there were no traces of animals on the dark earth.Dead silence is the biggest feature here.Listen carefully, in this vast land, there is no sound, only a despairing silence.

Strictly speaking, there is nothing related to life in this vast wilderness, and it is not very realistic.At the foot of the Sierra Blanca, there is a winding path through the desert, disappearing at the end of the horizon.This path was created by countless adventurers and rolled out by countless vehicles.Piles of white things can be seen everywhere on the side of the road, glistening under the sun, and glaring more and more on the gray saline-alkali ground.When I got closer, I found that they were all terrible white bones, some were thick cattle bones, and some were small human bones.On this long road of [-] miles of business travel, people continue to move forward on the remains of their predecessors.

On the 40th of May, 60, a lonely traveler looked down on this miserable field from the hill of Blanca.On the surface, he is like a ghost spirit guarding the wilderness.No matter how good a person is at observing things around him, he cannot tell whether he is [-] or [-].His face was thin and gaunt, with chapped brown skin wrapped around protruding bones.His brown hair was grizzled, his eyes were listless and sunken deep in their sockets, and he held a rifle in one hand with little more muscle than skeleton.He propped his rifle on the ground and stood there.His massive body shows that he was once a big and strong man.But now, his face was weakened, and his clothes seemed to be getting bigger and bigger on his skinny body. It seemed that he was old and unbearable.He seemed to be on the verge of death from excessive hunger and thirst.

Enduring the torment of hunger and thirst, holding a glimmer of life, he walked along the valley and trekked to this high ground through untold hardships, hoping to find a little water source.But now, he only sees the endless saline-alkali land and the barren hills in the distance, and he can't even see the shadow of a tree, let alone the source of water.In this vast wasteland, there is no hope of life.He looked around with wide, bewildered eyes, and he knew clearly that his life's journey was coming to an end, that he was going to die in this wasteland. "What's the difference between dying here and dying in a comfortable bed 20 years from now?" he murmured as he sat in the shadow of a rock.

Before sitting down, he put down the rifle in his hand, and then put down a large bundle on his right shoulder, which was wrapped in a gray shawl.Because I was so tired that I had no strength, when I put down my burden, I fell to the ground very hard.There was a cry from inside the bundle, and a frightened face with shining brown eyes emerged, and two fat little hands stretched out.

"You hurt me from falling." The child complained in a childish voice.

"Really, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it." The man said apologetically.Then, he opened the bag and took out a beautiful little girl from inside.The little girl was about five years old, wearing a pink top, a sackcloth bib, and a pair of delicate shoes on her feet.It can be seen that her mother took good care of her.The child's rosy face was gone, but her arms and legs were strong, which proved that she hadn't suffered too much.

"Does it still hurt now?" He asked with concern, the child was still rubbing the matted blond hair at the back of his head.

"Just kiss it here," she said earnestly, pointing out the sore spot on her head, "Mother always says that. Where's Mother?"

"Mother's gone. You'll see her soon."

"Going away?" said the little girl, "that's strange, why didn't she say goodbye to me? She used to say goodbye to me even when she went to drink tea at her aunt's house, but this time she has been away for three days. My mouth is so dry, is there nothing to eat or drink?"

"Nothing, baby, nothing. Just be patient. Put your head on me and you'll feel better. What's that in your hand?"

"Beautiful things!" the little girl exclaimed happily, holding up two shiny flakes of mica. "I'll give these to Brother Bob when I get home."

"It won't be long before you see something more beautiful than this," said the man without expression. "Just wait a little longer. I was just about to tell you... Do you remember the day we left the river?" Is it the case?"

"Oh, remember."

"Well, back then we believed we'd run into another river soon... Do you understand? But something went wrong, maybe it was the compass, maybe the map, maybe something else... Anyway we never Can find the river. We've run out of water, and there's only a little left, for you children. And then... and then..."

"Later you couldn't even wash your face." The little girl interrupted him and interjected solemnly, looking up at his dirty face.

"Not only can't wash your face, but you can't even drink water. Then Mr. Benton was the first to go, then Peter the Indian, Mrs. McCanglick and Johnny Reds, and then... honey ...is your mother."

"The mother is dead too!" The little girl cried, and then covered her face with her bib, weeping sadly.

"Yes, don't be sad, child, now it's just you and me. I thought maybe I could find water in this direction, so I walked here step by step with you behind my back. It seems that our situation has not improved. The two of us now There is little hope of surviving."

"Does that mean we are going to die too?" The little girl stopped her tears when she heard this, and raised her tear-stained face as if happily asking.

"I suppose so."

"Then why didn't you say so sooner?" said the little girl with a happy smile. "You really scared me just now. Well, if you die, you can be with your mother again."

"Yes, I will, my dear."

"You too. At that time, I want to tell my mother that you are very good to me. I think, my mother will definitely meet us at the gate of heaven. She has a big water bottle in her hand and holds me and Bob's love. The buckwheat pancakes we ate were burnt brown on both sides and were steaming. But how long do we have to wait before we die?"

"I don't know, I won't want it for long," said his lord, staring above the northern horizon.

In the sky in the distance, there are three black dots, which are getting bigger and bigger, coming fiercely.After a while it became clear that they were three large gray-brown birds.They hovered over the two of them for several weeks and landed on the big rock above.These are three giant eagles, or bald eagles as they are called in the American West. Their appearance heralds the imminent death.

"Rooster and hen," the little girl cried happily, pointing to the three hoodoos.She clapped her little hands, intending to blast them into flight. "Do you think this place was made by God?"

"Of course it is," replied the adult.He was surprised that the child asked such a question suddenly.

"He made Elena over there, he made Missouri, did he make this place? I don't think God made it here, but someone else made it. The man made it so badly that he forgot the trees and the water make."

The adult asked uncertainly, "Let's pray, shall we?"

"But it's not evening yet," replied the little girl.

"It doesn't matter, don't worry, God won't blame us for praying during the day. Well, start praying, just like you prayed every night when passing through the wasteland."

"Why don't you pray?" the little girl asked curiously with her eyes wide open.

The grown-up replied, "I don't remember the prayers anymore. I haven't prayed since I was a child. But it's never too late to pray. You say the prayers, and I'll follow you."

The little girl spread the fur skin on the ground and said, "Then, please kneel down and hold your hands like this, it will be much better."

(End of this chapter)