Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 28 Four Signatures 6
"He went on: 'I'm going to tell you how Morstan died. He had been suffering from heart failure for years, but he never told anyone. Only I knew. While serving in India, some kind of adventure made me and he got a great deal of treasure. I took it back to England which belonged to both of us. The night Morstad arrived in London, he came straight here to get his share. He came on foot from the station. Here I was brought in by my faithful old servant Lal Jorda, who is now dead. On the question of dividing the treasure, I had a dispute with Mostan, and we quarreled very violently. Mostan was furious. He fell down and jumped up from the chair. At that short moment, he suddenly put his hands on his chest, his face was gray, and he fell backwards with his head up. His head hit the corner of the treasure chest. When I went over and bent over When I lifted him up, I was horrified to find that he had died of heart failure.'

"'I sat for a long time distraught, not knowing what to do with myself. Naturally, the first thing I should have done was to call the police, but given the circumstances, I couldn't call the police, because I was very likely to be charged. As the murderer. He died suddenly during a quarrel with me, and his wounds are extremely bad for me. Besides, the official inquiry will definitely lead to the treasure, and I have to keep it very secret. He told me, Nobody knows he's here. So I don't think it's necessary to let others know about it.

"'While I was still thinking about this, I looked up and saw my servant Lal Jorda standing at the door. He came in quietly, bolted the door quietly, and said to me: 'Don't be afraid, master. Hide him, no one knows you killed him but us two. Let's get rid of him fast, in the middle of the night, who will know?' I said, 'I didn't kill him.' Lal Joda shook his head and said with a smile, "I heard it all, master, I heard you quarreling, I heard him fall and hit the box.Don't worry, I won't say anything.Everyone here is asleep.Let's bury him together. His words reminded me. Did I not trust my faithful servant and instead pray to the twelve jurors who sat on the trial bench to acquit me? Ral? Joda and I put his The body was buried, and within a few days, the news of Captain Morstein's disappearance was published in major newspapers throughout the city. I tell you these facts, and you say, is it my fault for Morstein's death? My fault is You shouldn’t bury the corpse and monopolize the treasure. I also take Mostan’s share as my own, so I want you to return the treasure to his daughter. Put your ears together, the treasure is hidden in...'

"Before he finished speaking, his expression suddenly changed, his eyes looked out in horror, his jaw drooped, and he kept shouting: 'Get out, please... please drive him out!' That tone was full of terror. , I will never forget it. We moved our eyes to the window he was staring at. In the dark night, we found a terrifying face looking in from the glass window. We saw him change due to squeezing A white nose. A hairy face with two murderous eyes staring and a malevolent expression on his face. We rushed to the window quickly, but we were a step too late, and the horrible face disappeared. We chased outside There was no trace of the person. When we came back to see our father, he had stopped breathing.

"That night, we gathered a lot of people and searched the entire garden. The uninvited guest left only one obvious footprint on the flower bed, and nothing else. If we only looked at this footprint, we might still suspect that the face was just A phantom. Soon we got further evidence that a group of people were secretly watching us. The next morning, we found the window of my father's bedroom opened and the house searched thoroughly. One day A piece of torn paper was nailed to the box, on which was written: 'Four Signatures', in scrawled handwriting. What this sentence means, and who is this person who sneaked into the house and searched for it, we have never known. What is puzzling is that although my father's cabinets and boxes have been turned over, his belongings are not missing. My brother and I intuitively thought that this strange incident must have something to do with my father's usual expression of fear, but until now we have Haven't figured it out."

The little man paused, lit his hookah again, and took a few puffs thoughtfully.We sat in silence, listening intently to his uncanny story.Miss Morstan turned pale when she heard about her father's death, and I feared she would faint.There was a Venetian stained-glass carafe on the table, and I poured her a glass of water from the bottle before she recovered.Sherlock Holmes leaned back and closed his eyes in thought.As soon as I saw him, I couldn't help thinking that just this morning he had said that life was dull, and now he had one of the most exciting cases to solve.Mr. Thaddeus Sholto sat looking at this and that, obviously proud of the effect his narrative had on us.Afterwards, smoking a hookah, he continued, "You can easily imagine how excited my brother and I were when we heard my father talk about those treasures.

For weeks, if not months, we dug in every nook and cranny of the garden, trying to find the treasure, but in vain.We were maddened with rage at the thought that the place where the treasure was kept was left in his dying mouth, so short of saying a word.Just by the string of pearls, we can judge how valuable those elusive treasures are.I had a discussion with my brother Basolonio about the fate of this string of pearls.These pearls were obviously very valuable, and he was a little hard to part with.My brother was in the same trouble as my father with regard to his friends and treasure.He believes that if this string of pearls is given away, it may cause gossip and even trouble.All I can do is to persuade my brother, let me find Miss Morstan's address, and then send her a pearl that has been removed every once in a while, so that at least she won't have to worry about living. "

My partner said sincerely, "You are so kind. Your actions are so touching."

The dwarf waved his hand disapprovingly: "We are just the custodian of this treasure. It should not belong to me. This is my idea, but my brother doesn't take it seriously. We have enough money ourselves, and I have no higher expectations. Besides, It's unacceptable to bully a young woman."

"Because we both disagreed on this issue, we had to part in the end. I left Sakuranuma Villa with an Indian servant and William the boxer. Yesterday, I discovered one of the most important things-the treasure has been found. I Only then did I get in touch with Miss Morstan. Now we will go to Upper Ruowood together to pursue our share from my brother. Last night, I have already expressed my opinion to my brother Basolonio. Maybe he didn't welcome us, but he finally agreed to let us go."

"You have been right all along, sir," said Holmes. "We will tell you in return what you do not know. But it is getting late now, and we must hurry to business."

Our new friend unhurriedly coiled up the pipe of the hookah, and took out from behind the curtain a long lambskin leader's coat.Although the night was not very cold, he buttoned his overcoat tightly from top to bottom, and finally he put on a rabbit fur hat, with the flaps over his ears, so that nothing but his changeable, thin face Except for the face, the rest of the body is completely covered.

When leading us to the corridor, he said: "I am weak, and I am completely a dying candle."

Our carriage is already waiting outside.After we got into the carriage, Thaddeus said again: "Basolonio is very clever. He concluded that the treasure is hidden in the house. Finally, a hole was punched in the ceiling of the house on the first floor, and a closed one was found. I know the attic. That's where the treasure chest was. He took it out of the hole and found it full of jewels. The total value of the jewels was no less than half a million pounds."

Hearing such an astonishing number, both of us couldn't help but stare at each other with wide eyes.If we can help Miss Morstan get her fair share, she will go from being a poor governess to England's richest heiress in no time.True, as her faithful friend, I should be glad for her windfall.But, I'm ashamed to say, because my selfishness has occupied my whole heart, at this moment it's like being weighed down by a huge boulder, and I can't be happy at all.He said a few insincere polite words bluntly and mechanically, and then sat there with his head drooped listlessly and silent.Our new acquaintance was obviously a complete intractable patient, and I vaguely remember him listing out a long list of symptoms, and drawing out of his pocket wallet a number of quack remedies that I hope I can understand. The content and function of these secret recipes are explained.I really hope he forgets everything I said to him that night.Holmes remembered that I had advised him not to take more than two drops of castor oil that night, and that he had been advised to take large doses of strychnine as a sedative.This is the typical nonsense of an absent-minded doctor.In any case, I didn't recover until the carriage stopped suddenly and the coachman opened the door.

When Thaddeus Sholto helped Mostan get out of the car, he said, "Miss Mostan, this is the Yingzan Villa."

(End of this chapter)