Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 39 Four Signatures 17
It was very late before I got back to the car.The sheriff waited patiently.Facing the empty box with no treasures, he was very disappointed.

He said dejectedly: "The prize money is wasted now! Without the treasure, how can there be a prize? If the treasure is there, my partner Sam Brown and I will each get a bonus of 1 pound tonight."

I said: "Thaddeus Sholto is a rich man, no matter whether the treasure is there or not, his bonus is still indispensable for you." However, the sheriff still shook his head in frustration: "Ethelney Mr Jones would think it was a mess."

The sheriff's prediction was right.When we returned to Baker Street and showed Detective Jones the empty case, he was bewildered.The three of them—Holmes, the prisoner, and Mr. Jones—had just returned to Baker Street, having reported to the police station, having changed their plans.My partner, as usual, reclined lazily in his armchair, and Small sat across from him expressionlessly, with his prosthetic leg on his good one, as I showed the empty case When showing it to everyone, he actually leaned back in his chair and laughed out loud.

Ethelney?Jones yelled at Small, "It's a good job for you!"

Small still shouted: "I have thrown this treasure into the river. You will never find it. This treasure belongs to me and the three people in the prison camp on Andaman Island. Since the four of us have to I will dispose of this treasure on their behalf. I think the three of them will agree with me. This is in line with the oath made by the four of us when we signed: We will always be one."

Ethelney?Jones cried, "You're lying. Wouldn't it be easier if you didn't throw the box with it?"

Small said: "It's easy for me to throw it away, so it's easy for you to catch it. Anyone who can catch me can also fish up the treasure box from the river. Now the treasures have been scattered by me in the five-mile-long river. , it’s not so easy to pick it up. No one can get what I can’t get.”

Jones said: "Small, do you know the vicious nature of what you did? If you were not sabotaging in this way, but assisting us, you may not be sure. When you are sentenced, you will be given a lighter sentence."

The criminals yelled and said, "What a grandiose speech! But who does this treasure belong to? Isn't it ours? The treasure doesn't belong to them, and the law has to award it to them. Is this fair?" Who knows how much I paid to get this batch of treasures. It has been 20 years, and I have stayed in the wet land where the miasma was raging for 20 years. During the day, I spent all day under the mangrove tree Doing hard work, and at night, locked in a dirty shed, bitten by grave bugs, endemic with malaria, handcuffed and fettered, ready to endure all kinds of insults from those black jailers anytime, anywhere. Abuse of white prisoners is a new thing. I have exchanged such a heavy price for the treasures of Agra, but you want to talk about fairness with me. If you take out the treasures I have gone through so much for others to enjoy, you will be happy It's called fairness. Is there such a fairness in the world? I would rather be hanged, or let Tongke shoot me with a poisonous sting, than let others squander my treasure, but I have to live an inhuman life in prison Life."

Very different from the original taciturnity, his words poured out like running water.His eyes flashed menacingly, and his hands were so excited that the handcuffs kept clanging.Seeing him like this, I finally understood why Major Sholto's face turned pale when he heard the news of the prisoner's escape. From this point of view, it was completely normal.

But Holmes said to him calmly: "Small, we don't know anything about your case. If you don't tell us what happened, how can we judge whether you are right or not?"

"Sir, you are just. I don't blame you, though you said you put the handcuffs on me... It's all very natural. If you'd like to hear my story, I'll tell you the whole truth, I don't hide anything. Thank you, put the cup next to me. When I am thirsty, I will naturally drink from the cup.

"I'm originally from Worcestershire, and I live in Bossel City. Sometimes I want to go back and have a look. There are a lot of Smalls there, but I'm not very discreet, and my people don't necessarily want me to go back. They I am a devout believer and a respectable small farmer, but I am an idle bum. I had to run away from home because of troubles in my love that year, and I had to run away to find another livelihood. It happened that the [-]rd Infantry Regiment was going to be sent to India In order to make a living, I also joined the army and started my journey of living on military pay.

"However, my army career was doomed to be short-lived. An accident happened when I was just learning goose marching and using a rifle. Once I went swimming in the Ganges, and just in the middle of the river, a Like a surgeon performing an operation, the crocodile cleanly bit off my entire right calf from the knee joint down. Due to fright and loss of blood, I passed out. Fortunately, John Hodder, an expert swimmer and monitor of the company, Also in the river, he grabbed me and swam to the shore, I survived being buried in the belly of a fish. I spent five months in the hospital and had this prosthetic leg fitted. After I got out of the hospital, I was disqualified from the military due to disability , life will be even more difficult from then on.

"You can imagine how bad luck it is for a man to be a useless cripple before the age of 20. Who knows, I was lucky soon after I got into trouble. A man named Abel? White's plantation wants a I was an overseer to help him supervise the life of the coolies in the park. The owner happened to be a friend of the colonel in my former army. Since the accident, the colonel has been very kind to me. The colonel tried hard to recommend me to this park Lord. Because this work is mainly on horseback, my knees can still clamp the horse's belly. Although I lost half of my leg, riding a horse is still not a problem. My job is to patrol the manor and check the attendance and labor of the workers. report to the owner of the plantation. The remuneration is good and the lodgings are reasonably comfortable, so that I am eager to spend the rest of my life on the plantation. Mr. Albert White is a pleasant and easy-going man. He often comes to my cottage Smoking a cigarette and chatting. Caucasians who are away from home take care of each other, and they all have a kind of intimacy of seeing fellow villagers, unlike the white people in my hometown who never communicate with each other.

"Well, who knows that the good times don't last long. Suddenly, the Indian national rebellion broke out. In the first month, people didn't feel much of a storm. But in the second month, 20 niggers were like wild horses running wild. Lost restraint, turning the whole of India into a hell. Of course, you know all this better than I do, because you can read the reports in the newspapers, while I, who cannot read much, can only use my eyes See, go and experience it for yourself. I can only know what's going on around me. Our plantation is in Matna, bordering the Northwest provinces. During the days of the riots, every night, the sky was red with the flames of burning houses; during the day Groups of European soldiers escorted their wives and children through our estate to the city of Agra, where the army was stationed. Mr. Albert White was obstinate, and thought the reports of these mutinies were a little too exaggerated. The chaotic situation will not last long. He is still sitting leisurely on his balcony, smoking and drinking his whiskey. Mr. Dawson and his wife, the manor housekeeper, and I stick to Mr. White's side.

On a fine day, disaster finally came. I happened to go out to other estates on that day, and I rode home slowly until dusk. On the way, my eyes were attracted by a pile of crouching things at the bottom of a steep canyon. up.I rode down to look, and couldn't help being terrified. Dawson's body was lying not far away.Dawson's wife had been chopped into pieces, and the body had been eaten by jackals and wild dogs to nothing but a pile of wreckage.He was still holding a fully loaded pistol in his hand, and in front of him lay the corpses of four rebel soldiers criss-crossed.I was holding the reins, not knowing what to do, when I saw the house of Mr. Albert White, the owner of the estate, burning, and the flames had rushed to the roof.I know that it is useless to rush over at this time, and I will also risk my life.From where I was standing I could clearly see a lot of niggers in red coats dancing around the burning house, some of them turned and pointed in my direction, followed by two bullets Fly past my head.I turned my horse's head and galloped away, and arrived in the city of Accra in the middle of the night.

"However, Accra is not a safe haven. In fact, the whole of India is like a hornet's nest. The British gathered together, tried their best to protect only a small piece of land within gun range, and the British everywhere else became This is a war of millions against hundreds. But what pains us most is that our well-trained soldiers are now rebelling, whether cavalry, infantry, or artillery, are involved Rebellion. Their weapons and equipment are provided by us, and even the tune of the bugle is the same as ours. The [-]rd Bengal Fusiliers are stationed in Accra. It is composed of two Indian cavalry and a company of artillery. Apart from , and a new volunteer army was formed by businessmen and civil servants, and I dragged my wooden legs to participate. We drove to Shaganchi in early July and drove back the rebels there for a while. Do not return to the city.

The news coming around couldn't have been worse.Look at the map and you'll see that our place is in the heart of the riots.A little more than a hundred miles to the east is Accra; just as far to the south is the city of Campo.Riots and killings filled the surrounding area.

"The city of Accra has a large area, and there are all kinds of pagans living in it. They believe in all kinds of religions. In the crooked streets, it is difficult for a few British to defend tightly. The commander dispatched troops I arrived at the ancient castle of Accra on the other side of the river, and used this place as a position. Have you heard any rumors about this ancient castle? I have been to many places in my life, but this ancient castle is the one I have never seen in my life The most mysterious and peculiar place I have ever been to. The area of ​​the castle is very large, divided into two parts, the old and the new. The newer part alone accommodated the entire army, family members and all the supplies, and it was more than enough. And the new The part is much smaller than the old part. The old castle is full of scorpions and centipedes, no one dares to go there. So many halls and rooms, you can't even find a person. Many corridors and corridors twist and turn , Intricate, people who go in can easily get lost. For these reasons, almost no one goes inside, but occasionally some bold people will go there with a torch.

"The small river flowing in front of the old castle is a natural barrier. There are many doors on both sides and the back of the castle that can be entered and exited, which requires some soldiers to guard. But our number is too small, and we have to defend the whole castle. Every corner has to take care of the artillery positions, and it is absolutely impossible to set up heavy troops at the many gates of the fort. Finally, we came up with a way to set up a central guard room in the center of the fort. A white man led two or three Indian soldiers guarded a fort gate. I was sent to an isolated small fort gate in the southwest of the fort, and guarded for a period of time every night. Two Sikh soldiers were dispatched by me. The instructions they gave me said: there is a dangerous situation , shoot immediately, and the central guard room will send people to respond. However, there are about two hundred steps from the central guard room to the small fort gate, and there are still maze-like corridors and corridors in the middle. If there is a critical situation, reinforcements Will it arrive in time? I am deeply concerned about that.

(End of this chapter)