Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 27 Four Signatures 5
The Indian took us in and walked through a corridor. This corridor was somewhat dirty and the lights were dim and dim. It was a very inconspicuous passage.He pushed open the door on the right, and in the soft light, I saw a short man with a pointed head.All the hair on the top of his head fell out, except for a ring of red hair around it, like a ring of fir trees suddenly sprouting from the side of a bare mountain.He stood there, rubbing his hands together.The expression on his face fluctuated, from smiling to frowning.His drooping lips couldn't hide his yellow teeth, which came in and out, and even if he used his hands to cover the lower part of his face from time to time, it couldn't hide much of his ugliness.He was just over 30 years old, and although he was bald, he didn't look old.

Several times he said aloud: "Miss Morstan, I am at your service." "Gentlemen, I am at your service. Come, come to my room. It is not very big, but it is designed to my liking. Here It’s a cultural oasis in the desert, just in the wild south of London.”

The arrangement in this room makes us feel strange.At first glance, it looks like a finest diamond set in a rough brass setting.Its architectural style is incongruous with the furnishings of the house. The curtains and tapestries are very luxurious, and the exquisite mirror frames and oriental vases are sandwiched between them.The thick and soft carpet is amber and black, and walking on it is like walking on soft green grass, which is very comfortable.Two tiger skins were spread across the carpet.A large hookah made in India is placed on the mat in the corner of the room, making the room more oriental.A gold thread looms across the ceiling, terminating in a silver dove-style pendant light.After the hanging lamp was lit, there was a fresh fragrance in the room.

The short man still looked uneasy, and he introduced with a smile: "My name is Thaddeus? Sholto, and you are Miss Morstan. How about these two gentlemen?"

"This is Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and this is Dr. Watson," she introduced to her host.

He shouted excitedly: "Ah, one is a doctor! Do you have a stethoscope? I want to beg you—you can listen to me. It's hard work. Maybe the mitral flap of my heart is not very good. The aorta is okay. , check the mitral flap."

According to his request, I listened to his heart, and I couldn't find anything wrong with him except that his whole body was trembling due to extreme tension.

"Everything is fine," I said, "don't worry."

"Miss Morstan, please forgive my anxiety," he said briskly. "I often feel uncomfortable. I always think it's the mitral valve in my heart. The doctor said everything is normal, so I can rest assured. Moss Miss Tan, if your father could control his emotions and not overburden his heart, he might still be alive now."

How can such a serious topic be spoken without any mental preparation?I couldn't help being angry from the bottom of my heart, and really wanted to slap him hard.Sure enough, Miss Morstan sat down with a pale complexion, and said, "I knew my father was no longer alive."

"I can tell you all about the matter," he said, "and give you justice; and whatever happens to my brother Basolonio, I will do justice. I am glad that your friend is here. Delighted. They are not only your protectors, but witnesses of what I have done and said. We can deal with my brother Basolonio, and no outsider is needed in this matter-neither the police, nor Government officials. All problems can be easily solved without them. My brother Basolonio would never approve if the matter were to be made public."

With that, he sat down on a low stool and stared at us with his dull blue eyes, expecting an answer.

"I promise," said Holmes, "that whatever you may say, I shall keep to myself from the rest of the world."

I also nodded in agreement.

"That's good! Very good!" he said. "Miss Morstan, would you like a glass of claret, or an aromatic wine? I have no other wine. Will you open a bottle? No drink? Yes." Well. Well, you won't mind me smoking this light scent of oriental tobacco. I'm a little nervous, and the non-choking hookah is an effective sedative."

He lit the hookah, and the rose water in the chimney smoked slowly.The three of us sat in a semicircle, with our heads outstretched and our chins resting on our hands, and this strange, restless bald man sat between us, bewildered, smoking a cigarette.

He said: "When I first wrote to you, I planned to give you my address; but I was afraid that you would misunderstand and bring the police. That's why I made this arrangement and first called my servant William James to meet you. I absolutely believe in his ability to adapt. I told him not to bring you here as long as he thinks the situation is suspicious. I hope you can understand my good intentions. I am lonely, even aloof Nobody likes to associate with people, especially the police. They are the most unrefined. I don't think there is anything in the world more vulgar than the police. I don't like vulgar things naturally, so I hardly associate with vulgar people. .As you can see, I live in a refined taste. I am good at art appreciation, which is my lifelong pursuit. This landscape painting is an authentic Krutt. Some connoisseurs may doubt that the Salvador ? The authenticity of Rosa’s work, but the Bouguet painting is genuine. But now I prefer the French modern school.”

"Excuse me, Mr. Sholto, but you have brought us here to tell us something. It is getting late, and I hope our conversation will be brief and to the point."

He replied: "It will take some time, because we have to go to Upper Ruowood to meet my brother Bartholonio. We will all go, and I hope we can beat him. What he has done to me, I think it is right." Reasonable things are very angry. I had a heated argument with him last night, and you can't imagine how fierce and difficult he is when he is angry."

I ventured to interject, "If we're going to Upper Ruowood, we'd better start at once."

He laughed until he blushed, and then cried: "That's not right. If I take you to him suddenly, I don't know what he will do. We must prepare beforehand. Now I will take you to him." Let me introduce the situation of my family to you. First of all, I have to prepare. However, I don't know much about the situation in this matter. I will do my best.

"Maybe you have already guessed who my father is. He is Major John Shurto, who was stationed in India. He made a lot of money in India, about 11 years ago. After he retired, he brought back a lot of money. , as well as precious antiques and a few Indian servants, and then bought the Sakura Marsh Villa in Upper Ruowood. Since then, he has lived a wealthy and comfortable life. My father only has us twins.

"I still remember the repercussions caused by the disappearance of Captain Morstein in the society. We read about it from the newspaper, which introduced it in great detail. He is a friend of my father, so we often do not hesitate in front of him. Talk about it mindfully, and even, sometimes, he speculates with us what happened to Captain Morstein. We never thought that this matter would have anything to do with my father.—Only he knows where Ethel Morstein is . . .—he kept the whole affair a secret in his heart.

"But we have a vague sense that something—something terrible—has been bothering Father. He doesn't usually go out alone, and he employs two boxers as bodyguards. One of them is William who sent you here today. The champion of British lightweight boxing. My father never revealed his thoughts to us. However, according to my observation, my father was very wary of people with a wooden leg. He even shot one of them with a gun. In fact, it was just an ordinary trader. We paid a lot of medical bills to finish it. My brother and I thought it was just a whim of my father. Later, after an incident, we knew the real reason .

"It was the spring of [-], and my father received a letter from India. The letter hit him unexpectedly hard. He nearly fainted after reading it at the breakfast table. He had been ill since then, and we knew nothing of the contents of the letter. At the end of April, the doctor concluded that he was hopeless, and told us to come to him to hear the will.

"When we entered the room, he told us to close the door and come to either side of the bed. He told us an amazing thing.

"On his deathbed, he said, he regretted only one thing. It was his treatment of the Orphan of Morstan. Because of his greed, she did not get these treasures, at least half of which belonged to her. However, he has never used these treasures. But as long as he knows that treasures are hidden around him, he is very satisfied, and he does not want to share with anyone. He pointed out to us a string of beads next to the medicine bottle, Even though he had found it for Miss Morstan, he couldn't part with it. He said that the treasure of Agra should be given to Miss Morstan fairly, but not before his death, The collar can't be given either. Because maybe he can recover his health.

(End of this chapter)