Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 38 Four Signatures 16
Our prisoner sat in the cabin, facing the tin box he had worked so hard to get.He was a dark-skinned fellow with a staring eye.There was extraordinary courage in his eyes.His auburn face showed that he had been engaged in outdoor hard labor for a long time.His long beard and protruding jaw indicated that he was a stubborn man.Most of his curly hair is gray and he is in his mid-fifties.Normally, his face is not ugly.But, in a fit of rage, his bushy eyebrows and provocative jaw took on a hideous aspect.There he sat, with his handcuffed hands between his legs, and from time to time fixed his piercing eyes on the box that had made him guilty.It seemed to me that his inner hatred was stronger than his outward grief.Once he looked at me hatefully, and there seemed to be some sense of humor in his eyes.

Holmes lit a cigarette and said, "Mr. Jonathan Small, I am very sorry that the matter has come to this."

He replied bluntly: "I feel the same way as you do, sir. I think I'm dead this time. But I swear, Mr. Sholto was not killed by me. It was a poisonous stinger shot by that little bastard, which killed him." He was stabbed. I don't know about it, sir. I'm sorry Mr. Sholto is dead, and I whipped the kid with a rope for that. But what's the use of whipping him? What? Mr. Sholto can't come back to life."

Holmes said: "Have a cigarette. You're soaked all over. You'd better drink some wine to warm yourself up. Let me ask you, you are the second one to enter the house by climbing the rope. How do you know that the short and thin man Can the nigger hold a match against Mr. Sholto?"

"Sir, it sounds as if you were there at the time. I thought there was no one in the room. I knew the living habits of the people in this room very well. As a rule, it was Mr. Sholto who was supposed to have dinner downstairs." At this point I will not tell a lie, I think the truth is the best defense. If the old major was in the house at that time, I would have strangled him without mercy. Killing him is like smoking This kind of cigar is the same, it's not a big deal. But now I'm going to be put in prison for this little Sholto. I've never had any trouble with him. I don't have any hatred with him. Why kill him? ?”

"You are at the moment in the custody of Mr Ethelney Jones of the Metropolitan Police. He has given us permission to take you to my house and I shall take your statement first. You must tell me the truth, and if so perhaps I can Help me, I think I can prove that the man was stabbed to death before you entered the room."

"Yes, sir. The man was dead when I entered the room. When I climbed in the window and saw his head tilted and grinning, I was shocked. I have never been so frightened in my life." If Tonk hadn't run so fast, I would have killed him in a fit of rage. That's why he later told me how he dropped the stick and the bag of stingers in his panic. I guess It was this thing that gave you the clues to follow. As for how you connected the clues and caught me, I don’t know. I won’t blame you on this point. I only blame myself.” He With a wry smile, he said again: "However, the ins and outs of this matter are so bizarre. I, the person most entitled to the 50 pounds, spent the first half of my life building breakwaters in the Andaman Islands, and then Half my life seems to be spent digging gutters in Datlo. I have had bad luck since I met that Achmet merchant and had an affair with the treasure of Agra. But then again, the No one is unlucky for this treasure. Merchant Achmet died because of the treasure, Major Sholto brought him fear and guilt because of the treasure, and I will serve hard labor for life because of the treasure."

At this time, Ethelney?Jones put his head into the cabin, and said: "You look like a family reunion. Holmes, please give me a drink. I think we should all congratulate each other. It's a pity that we didn't catch that one alive. It was not our fault, however. He was beaten to death in the river by his own fault. Hey, Holmes, it was thanks to you to be quick, or he would have killed you."

Holmes said: "There is still a happy ending, but I didn't expect the 'Dawn' to be so fast."

Jones said: "Smith claimed that the Dawn was the fastest steamboat on the Thames. If someone helped him, we would never catch her. He also insisted that he had no knowledge of the case.

"He really doesn't know," exclaimed Small. "We chartered his boat because we heard it was fast, and of course you can't tell him about the case. Just paid him a big price. And I told him, If he can put us on board the Namenada at Graveshand, bound for Brazil, he'll get another big payment."

Jones said: "We will decide whether he is guilty or not. Although the arrest was quick, we will be very cautious during the trial." Jones's words and deeds showed his arrogant and contemptuous nature.I saw from Holmes' fleeting smile that Jones's remarks had also attracted his attention.

Jones went on: "The boat is coming to Wackers Hall Bridge, doctor, and you can go down here with the treasure. You must know how much responsibility I have for this operation, which is quite irregular. But since I have said it, I will not take it back. But it is so valuable that it is necessary for me to have a sheriff go with you. Will you go by car?"

"Yes."

"Small, where's the key to the box? If we can open the box, we must first count it, or you will have to break the box."

Small said coldly, "At the bottom of the river."

"You are really unnecessary. You are sincerely making trouble for us. However, it is in vain. We have spent a lot of manpower and material resources. Doctor, I don't have to tell you to be careful. When you return, take the box directly to Baker Street Come on, we'll wait for you there before going to the police station."

We disembarked at Wackers Hall with our heavy boxes. Fifteen minutes later, the mild-mannered sheriff escorted me to Cecil?Mrs Brister's home.The maid who came to open the door was obviously very surprised by the midnight visitor. She said that Madam was not there and might not come back until late at night, and Miss Morstan was staying in the living room.I went into the living room with the suitcase, leaving the sheriff waiting in the car.

Miss Morstan was sitting in front of the window, wearing a translucent white dress with red bows on her waist and neck.She was sitting on a wicker chair, her whole body was covered in soft light, a snow-white arm rested on the back of the chair, her face had a sweet and solemn expression, and her fluffy hair was reflected golden yellow by the light.Her movements and expressions showed that she was full of melancholy at the moment.She heard footsteps, stood up and saw that it was me, a blush on her face showed joy.

She said: "I thought it was Mrs Brister when I heard the carriage outside the door. I didn't expect it to be you. Do you have any good news?"

I put the box on the table, forced myself to suppress my irritability, and said in a happy tone: "Look at this box, what I bring you is better than any news, and it is a thousand times more important than any news." , this is your wealth."

She glanced at the box indifferently, and said, "Is this the treasure?"

"Yes. Half of the treasures of Agra in the box belong to you, and the other half belong to Mr. Thaddeus? .There are very few such wealthy young ladies in England. Isn't that a joy, you say?"

Perhaps my performance was a bit too much, she saw that a large part of my congratulations were not from the heart.She looked at me suspiciously and said, "Even if I got these treasures, it's all thanks to you."

I said, "No, it's all due to Sherlock Holmes. His brilliant mind has also worked hard on this case, and in the end he almost failed. If I were alone, I would not be able to find any clues. here."

She said: "Doctor Watson, please sit down and tell me the details."

I told her everything that had happened since my last meeting: Holmes' new theory, the discovery of the Dawn, Ethelney?A visit from Jones, a midnight adventure and a chase on the London River.She heard quietly that when it was said that we were almost poisoned to death, her face suddenly turned pale and bloodless, as if she was about to faint.

I hastily poured some water for her and comforted her again.She said: "It's okay, I'm just a little nervous. I heard that you were nearly murdered. I'm really worried for you."

I said: "Everything is over, nothing. Don't talk about these boring things, let's change the atmosphere and be happy. This is a treasure I brought here for you. I think you will be willing to open it yourself it."

She said: "This is great." However, there was no excitement in her tone.Perhaps it was because it had taken so much painstaking effort to obtain it that she had to put it off, or it would appear that she was ungrateful.

She looked at the box and said, "It's really beautiful. Was it made in India?"

"This is the famous Benariz metalwork in India."

She tried to weigh the box and said, "It's heavy. The box alone is worth a lot. But where's the key?"

I replied, "Small threw it into the Thames. We'll have to borrow Mrs Forrester's poker."

In front of the box is a thick and heavy iron ring, on which a statue of Buddha is cast.I inserted the tongs into the iron ring and pried it upwards. With a "click", the hasp of the box opened. I lifted the lid with trembling fingers and looked inside the box excitedly. We were both stunned: the box was empty.

No wonder the box is so heavy.It is made of two-thirds of an inch thick iron plate on all sides, very strong and exquisitely made, and it can be seen at a glance that it is specially used to store treasures.But now inside, there is not even a piece of cloth or metal debris, it is completely empty.

Regarding this, Miss Morstan was unexpectedly calm and said, "The treasure has since disappeared."

I realized the meaning of this sentence, and the large shadow deep in my heart was dispelled by her words.This extraordinary treasure of Agra weighed heavily on my heart, and now it has been removed.Undoubtedly, this is a selfish, despicable and evil thought, and I think that the only obstacle between the two of us is money.

I was so overjoyed that I couldn't help saying, "Thank you, God!"

She asked with a surprised smile, "Why do you say that?"

I couldn't help holding her hand, but she didn't shrink back.I said: "Because I can get what I want. Mei Li, I love you as sincerely as any man loves a woman he loves. In the past, those treasures and wealth blocked my mouth. Now that the treasure is gone, the barrier is removed, there is no need to tell you how much I love you. That's why I say 'Thank you, God!'

As I took her to my side, she said softly, "Then I too will say: 'Thank you, God.'"

No matter who lost the treasure, I was very happy, but I got a treasure that night.

(End of this chapter)