Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 23 Four Signatures 1
Sherlock Holmes drew a bottle of potion from the corner of the mantelpiece, and a syringe from a leather-bound leather case.With pale, long, strong fingers, he adjusted the needle and rolled up the left cuff of his shirt.He silently looked at his arm, muscular but riddled with needles.After a while, he stuck the needle point into the flesh, pushed the medicine in, and then lay down in the easy chair, as if his body was satisfied, he let out a comfortable breath.

Every day, he has to inject this medicine three times.After a few months, I've gotten used to it.As time went on, my aversion to it grew.Whenever I think of this incident in the dead of night, I always feel uneasy.I have repeatedly wanted to tell him what was on my mind.But he has a weird temper and can't accept other people's opinions, so it is really difficult to dissuade him.His strong will, combined with his self-righteous attitude and the strange personality I observed and experienced in the days I spent with him, often made me feel timid and afraid to speak out.Besides, I don't want to make him unhappy.

One afternoon, perhaps because I had had a little wine at dinner, or perhaps his indifference irritated me, I could bear it no longer, and I felt compelled to warn him.

I asked, "Morphine or cocaine for today's shot?"

He just opened an old book, listened to my words, and raised his head listlessly: "[-]% solution of cocaine, do you want to try it?"

"No. I still haven't fully recovered from the war in Afghanistan. I don't want to make it worse," I replied bluntly.

He ignored my anger, just smiled and said: "Perhaps you are right, Watson. Of course I know that it is not good for the body. However, for me, it is more important than its strong stimulating and refreshing effect." Some of the side effects are less important."

"But you also have to consider the real benefits!" I said sincerely, "As you said, your brain will be excited by stimulation, but after all, it is not worth the gain. The deterioration of this kind of organ tissue will at least lead to long-term neurasthenia. You don't know what consequences this will bring to you. This is really not worth the loss. Why do you only care about this momentary pleasure at the expense of your outstanding talent and extraordinary ability? What about energy? Mind you, this is the advice not just of an old friend, but of a physician who takes responsibility for your health."

These words did not offend him, but on the contrary, he put his fingers together and rested his elbows on the arms of his chair, looking interested in continuing the conversation.

"My brain can't stop working for a moment," he said. "When I have nothing else to do, I'm restless. I solve difficult problems; decipher esoteric codes; or give me some of the most complex analysis work, and I feel at peace. Therefore, I will not need artificial stimulation. I hate the ordinary life and long for spiritual excitement. Therefore, I have created my own special occupation, and I am the only one in the world engaged in this occupation."

"The only private detective?" I said, looking up.

"The only private consulting detective," he replied. "I am the final and highest arbiter of detectives. When Gregson, Remy Read, or Athelney Jones are in trouble—as is often the case with them." If you have any problems—come to me for advice. I review materials and provide advice on handling cases with the qualification of an expert. I never seek merit. My name is not published in the newspaper. The work of venting my strange energy is the highest reward for me The joy of solving a case is my reward, and you remember some of the experience I gave you in the way I worked in the Jefferson Hopper case."

"Yes, I remember." I said sincerely. "That is a strange case that I have never encountered in my life. I recorded it from beginning to end in a pamphlet, and gave it a novel title: "A Study in Scarlet."

He shook his head dissatisfied.

"I have had a cursory reading of the pamphlet," he said, "and, to be honest, I am not flattered. Detective science is or should be an exact science, which should be approached with dispassion rather than passion. You are in its The color of romanticism is painted on it, just like adding love plots to Euclid's geometric and mathematical theorems."

"But there was indeed an element of coincidence in that case, and it is impossible for me to distort the facts."

"Some facts don't need to be written, or at least the key points should be highlighted. In that case, the only thing worth mentioning is how I successfully found the cause from the result, and then deduced the inevitable process of solving the case through careful and meticulous analysis. "

I wrote that pamphlet with the intention of making him happy, but unexpectedly, I was criticized instead, and I felt very uncomfortable.To be honest, I was irritated by his ego, and according to him, it seemed that every line of the article that made me smug should be used to describe his superiority.I have lived with him in Baker Street for several years, and I have more than once discovered a little hubris in my companion's quiet sermons.I said no more, but sat down and looked at my injured leg.It has been pierced by bullets before, and although it does not interfere with walking, sitting, or lying down, my leg hurts unbearably whenever the weather changes.

"Lately my business has extended to the whole continent of Europe." After a while, Holmes said slowly, filling his pipe carved from tree roots with tobacco, "last week there was a man named Franco I was approached by the man from Val de Leverard, who has recently made his mark in the French detective world. You may have heard of this man. He has Celtic instincts, but he lacks extensive knowledge. This is not in his favor. Further improve your skills. The case he asked for advice was about a will, which was very interesting. I introduced him to two cases with similar facts, one was the Jiacheng case in [-], and the other was the [-] The St. Louis case in [-]. These two cases showed him the way to solve the case. This is the letter of thanks I just received this morning."

As he spoke, he handed me a piece of foreign letter paper that was already uneven.I looked at it, and there were many compliments in the letter, such as "excellent", "extraordinary means" and "just right tricks", etc., which showed the foreigner's admiration for him.

"It's like a compliment a student pays a teacher when he speaks," I said.

"He thinks too highly of me," said Holmes softly. "His own talents must not be underestimated. He has already possessed two of the three qualities necessary for a good detective—observation and deduction. All that is missing is knowledge. He is now translating some of my articles into French."

"Your article?" I looked surprised.

"You don't know? Shame on me, I've written a couple of articles on the technical side. Do you remember? I told you about the article on identifying the various types of soot, in which I listed 140 types of soot and illustrated them in color the difference between them.

Soot is often used as evidence in criminal cases and can sometimes be a vital clue.Think about Jefferson?From Hou Po's case, you can understand that the ability to distinguish soot is of great help in solving the case.For example, being able to distinguish cigarette ash, you can determine in a case what kind of cigarette the murderer was smoking.This can greatly reduce your scouting range.To those who have mastered this skill, it is as easy to tell the black side of an Indian cigar from the white ash of 'black smoke' as it is to tell a cabbage from a potato. "

"You do have a remarkable talent for seeing small things," I said.

(End of this chapter)