Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 41 Four Signatures 19
At this point he paused, and with handcuffed hands took Holmes' whiskey and water for him.As I watched him, I thought how cruel and vicious a man could be imagined by his cruel behavior and the nonchalance with which he told this appalling story.No matter how he is punished, he will never get any sympathy from me.Sherlock Holmes and Jones sat with their hands on their knees, listening to him with interest, but with disgust also on their faces.Small may have sensed it, for there was a resistance in his voice and manner as he went on.

He said: "There is no doubt that everything is terrible, but I want you to think about how many people in my position would rather be killed than those treasures when the knife is at the throat. As soon as he stepped into the castle, he and I were in a mortal situation. Because if he ran out of the castle, the whole thing would be exposed, and I would be court-martialed and shot. At such an extraordinary moment, the sentence will not be lenient."

Holmes interrupted him and said, "Go on to business!"

"Okay. Abdullah, Akbar, and I carried the body in. He was small, but he was heavy. Mohamet Hink stayed behind to guard the gate, and we carried him to the The place had already been prepared for him. This place was quite far from the gate of the castle. We passed a curved passage and entered a spacious and empty hall. The brick walls in the hall were all broken and there was a pit on the ground. It was like a natural tomb, we threw the body in and covered it up with broken bricks. When we were done, we went back to check the treasures.

"The iron chest stood where Erjimede began to be knocked down. This iron chest is now on your table. The key is attached to the carved Buddha handle on the lid of the chest by a silk rope. We use the key Opening the box, the jewels inside shone brightly under the light, just as I learned in fairy tales when I was a child. These jewels are really dazzling. After feasting our eyes, we counted the jewels and made a list The list contains 140 three top-quality diamonds, including a diamond named "Mughal the Great", which is said to be the second largest diamond in existence in the world, 97 emeralds, 170 rubies (some of which are small pieces); 40 yuan of red beans, 210 pieces of sapphire, 61 pieces of agate, and many green jade, agate, opal, turquoise and other gemstones that I did not know at the time. (However, I gradually I recognize it.) In addition to these, there are about [-] fine round pearls, twelve of which are inlaid in a gold crown. Now, only the gold crown is missing.

"At that time, after we counted, we put the jewelry back into the box and showed it to Mohamed Sink. Then, we solemnly swore again: the four of us will keep the secret strictly. At that time, we decided to hide the box first, and wait for it After the situation stabilizes, take it out and divide it equally. This batch of jewelry is too valuable. It is very unsafe to separate it and take it with each other. It is easy to be discovered by others and arouse their suspicion. Besides, we can't find the secret for a while. where we hid it. So we carried the box to the room where the body was buried, took a few bricks from the wall that was best preserved, put the treasure box in it, and bricked it up to restore it. I carefully remembered the location of the treasure. The next day, I drew a sketch of the treasure address for each of us, and signed the names of the four of us to mark the promise made by the four of us: from now on, every Every action of an individual represents the common interests of the four people, and no one can monopolize it. Sir, I can swear to God, I have never violated our oath.

"I don't think I'm going to tell you what the final outcome of the riots in India was. After Wilson took New Delhi and Cowley took Accra, the riots fell apart. New troops kept coming to India. Nano? Sahib took the opportunity to escape on the border, Colonel Krethhead led a rapid march column and wiped out the rebels in Accra, and India slowly returned to pre-war peace. All four of us dreamed of a day Divide the treasure equally, and fly far away. Who would have thought that in a blink of an eye, we would all be arrested and imprisoned for murdering Erjimede, and our beautiful dreams would come to naught.

"The thing is this: Erjimede came here to bury the jewels as a cronies of the earth king, but the earth king was too suspicious, he sent another cronies to follow Erjimede, and asked the servant to keep an eye on it. He. That night, he saw Ejimed enter the gate of the castle in the dark, and he thought he had buried the jewels, so he also entered the castle the next day, but he did not see Erjimed. He thought it was strange, so he told the guard squad leader, who reported to the commander. The commander ordered a thorough search in the whole fort, and as a result, Erjimed's body was found. Of the four of us, three was guarding the gate of the fort, and one of the passengers was with the dead. The arrest came quietly when we were not aware of the danger. By then the earth king had been deposed and expelled from India, except us , no one knew about the treasures in the iron box anymore, so no one mentioned those treasures during the interrogation process. However, the murder charge was hard to escape, and all four of us were identified as murderers. Three Indians were sentenced to life imprisonment, Life imprisonment, I was sentenced to death, and finally got a commutation, just like them.

"We feel that our own situation is very strange. Four of us have been sentenced to life imprisonment. I am afraid that there is no chance of regaining freedom in this life. At the same time, the four of us are keeping a secret together. As a result, if we can have those treasures, we will Immediately become a rich man and enjoy a happy life. Knowing that a large amount of wealth is waiting for us to take it, but here we have to suffer arbitrary abuse by the jailer in order to eat some brown rice and drink cold water. This kind of environment is unbearable. I really want to give it to It's driving me crazy. Fortunately, I am stubborn by nature, so I can bear it and wait for the time.

"Finally, my chance came. I moved from Agra to Madras and from there to Blair Island in the Andaman Islands. Because there were only a handful of white prisoners on the island, and I had been involved since the beginning. It did well, and soon I was given special treatment. I had a little hut of my own, in the town of Good Hope at the foot of Harriet Hill, a dreadful fever-endemic island not far from us. A tribe of cannibals who would sting us when they had the chance. We were there all day long, digging, digging ditches, planting sweet potatoes, and many other chores, and there was no leisure until night. There I have learned to dispense recipes for surgeons, and know a thing or two about surgery. I am always looking for a chance to escape, but this is hundreds of miles from any land, and the sea is almost calm. Therefore, it is almost impossible to escape.

"Surgeon Somerton is a dissolute and playful young man. The young officers in the garrison often go to his house to play cards and gamble at night. The pharmacy where I usually dispense medicines is only one wall away from his living room, and there is a small window between the two rooms. In the operating room, if I feel lonely, I often turn off the lights in the operating room, and then stand in front of the small window, listening to their conversation or watching them gamble. I am also good at playing cards, so I watched from the sidelines It's so enjoyable as if you are playing by yourself. The commanders of the Aboriginal troops, Major Sholto, Captain Morstein and Lieutenant Brown, and of course the owner who is a surgeon, are often played together. There are also two prison officers here These prison officers are all veterans of cards, they always win; the officers are not good at cards, they will lose every bet, the more they lose, the more irritable they are, the bigger the bets, and their money is almost stretched. Among these people In particular, Major Sholto lost the most. He first paid with money, and when the money ran out, he had to continue to use promissory notes. Sometimes he could win a little, and he would be bold and then bet even bigger , As a result, he lost even more, so that he was depressed all day long, and drank his sorrows with alcohol.

"One night he lost the most. The bet was over, and he and Captain Morstein walked slowly to camp. The major complained about his misfortune as they went. They were the best of friends, and stayed together all day. At that time, I was enjoying the cool outside the house when I heard what they said.

"When he came up to my house, the major said, 'Mostan, what should I do? I think I'll have to resign.'

"The captain patted him on the shoulder and said, 'Don't worry, man. I've been through worse things. But...' That's all I hear, but that's enough for me to think about. .

"Two days later, while Major Sholto was walking aimlessly by the sea, I went up to him and said:

"Major, I want to ask you something.'

"He took the cigar out of his mouth and said, 'What's the matter, Small?'

I said: 'Sir, my question is: If there is a collection of jewels, should it be given to the government or to private individuals?I know that there is half a million pounds worth of jewels buried in one place, but in my current situation, it is impossible to dig it up. If I want to donate it to the government, maybe my sentence will be commuted. '

"He took a deep breath, and kept staring at me with wide, wide-eyed eyes, as if trying to reach into the depths of my heart to see if I was telling the truth, and then he said: 'Half a million pounds, Small?'

'Yes sir, £50 ready jewels.Its original owner has fled in fear of crime, and the first person to dig it up is the owner of the 50 pounds. '

"He stammered: 'It should be given to the government, to the government.' But there was obvious perfunctory in his tone. I knew the major had taken the bait.

"So I probed further: 'Do you think I should report this to the governor?'

"'Take it easy, or you'll regret it afterwards. I think, Small, you'd better tell me the story of your discovery.'

"'I told him the whole story, but made some necessary changes in some places, so as not to reveal the place where the treasure was hidden. After I finished speaking, he stood there blankly, thinking for a long time. From From the quivering of his lips, it could be seen that a fierce struggle was going on in his heart.

"Finally, he said: 'Small, this is a big deal, you don't tell anyone, I'll tell you what to do when I think about it.'

"Two days later, he and his good friend Captain Morstan came to my little hut late at night with a lamp. He said, 'Small, I want you to tell Captain Morstan what you told me that day. listen.'

"So I told them all again.

"Sholto said: 'Sounds like the truth, doesn't it? Is it worth doing?'

"Captain Morstan nodded.

"The major said: 'Small, it's like this. My friend and I discussed your matter and agreed that this treasure is yours. After all, it is a private matter and has nothing to do with the government. Therefore, you have the right to make a decision. I think it's the best way to deal with it. The question now is what will you pay for it? If we agree, we may do it for you, or at least investigate it on your behalf." He looked like he didn't care, but his eyes showed excitement and greed.

"I also pretended to be indifferent, but I replied with joy in my heart: 'Gentlemen, in terms of conditions, there is only one person in my position, that is, I hope you can help me and my three friends to regain freedom, Then we will take you into our company and reward you both with one-fifth of the treasure.'

"He said: 'Hmph! One-fifth. Not very tempting. Not worth the risk.' I said: 'That's fifty thousand pounds each.'

"The question is how can we set you free again? You know very well that what you want is impossible.

"I replied: 'It's not difficult. I've thought it out very well. The only difficulty is the lack of a seaworthy speedboat and enough food. You just get us one and send us to Anywhere along the coast of India, you have fulfilled your obligations. But one thing must be emphasized, you can’t send me alone. The four of us have made an oath that we will never leave.”

"Mostan said: 'It's a dirty thing. But it's going to solve our urgent need.'

"The major said: 'Small, before we promise you this, we want to make sure that what you say is true. You might as well tell us where the jewels are hidden, and when the liner comes, I'll take a leave of absence to India Check it out there.'

(End of this chapter)