Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 48 Adventure History 6
I believe that I am no more stupid than Holmes, but when I am with him, I always have a feeling: I am too stupid.For example, this matter, I saw everything he saw, and I heard everything he heard, but after listening to him, I knew that he had grasped the ins and outs of what happened, and even foresaw what would happen in the future What's up.As for me, I didn't notice anything, and I was still very confused about the matter.When I drove back to my Kensington house, I thought the whole thing over again.From the red-headed copying of the Encyclopaedia Britannica to the scouting of Sachs-Coburg Square, and to the hints of Holmes at the moment of parting.What are you going to do when you go out tonight?Why did you ask me to bring a gun?Where are you going?What are you doing?From what Holmes said, it was clear that the young man in the pawn shop must be very difficult to deal with, and that he might be up to some tricks.I always want to sort out these things, but I can't get any results. After thinking about it, the whole incident is still chaotic and absurd.I have no choice but to ignore them, and I will understand at night anyway.

It was a quarter past nine when I came out of the house, and I walked across the park, that is, from Oxford Street to Baker Street.I saw two hansoms parked at the door.I went into the hall and heard voices from upstairs.Entering Holmes' room, I saw him talking lively with two other people.One of them I know, detective Ethelney from the police station?Jones, the other, was a tall, lanky man in a shiny hat and a thick, elegant frock coat.

"Well, we are all here," said Holmes, buttoning up his duffel coat as he spoke, and taking down his hunting whip from the rack.He added: "Watson, I suppose you know Mr. Jones of Scotland Yard? Let me introduce you. This is Mr. Merriwether, who is also our partner tonight."

Jones said proudly: "Look, Doctor, we're together again. We're an expert on the hunt, and he just needs an old dog like me to help him and he'll catch it."

"Let's hope our hunt doesn't end in vain with a wild goose," said Mr. Merriwether sullenly.

"Just trust Mr. Holmes, sir," said the official detective, proudly. "He has his own way of doing things, and, if I say frankly, his way is a bit too theoretical and a bit too incredible, but He has the qualities of a detective. It is not too much to say that he is more accurate than the official police in many cases, such as the Sholto murder and the jewel theft in Agra."

"Oh, Mr. Jones, I don't disagree with you," said the stranger, somewhat disdainfully. "I still missed a game of bridge. It's the first Saturday in twenty-seven years that I don't play bridge."

"I think," said Sherlock Holmes, "that you will find yourself playing a much bigger and more exciting game to-night than you have ever played before. Your stake is about thirty thousand pounds, Mr. Merriweather. As for you , Mr. Jones, your bet is the man you have been trying to catch."

"John? Corey! He's a murderer, a thief, harborer and forger. He's young, Mr. Merriweather, but he's already a crime boss. It's imperative to catch him." Jones introduced this young man who appeared as a pawnbroker to everyone, "This little John Corey is a very smart man. His grandfather is the Royal Duke, and he himself has studied at Eton College and Oxford University. He is shrewd and cunning. But we never knew where to catch him, although we saw signs of him everywhere. One week he was breaking doors in Scotland and the next he was in Cowell raising money for an orphanage. I've been following him for years Yes, but I've never seen his shadow."

Holmes went on: "I wish I could have the honor of introducing you to each other this evening. I have dealt with Mr. John Corey once or twice, and I agree with you that he is a criminal. Well, ten years have passed." It's past time, and it's time for us to set off. You two take the first car, and Watson and I take the second car to follow."

It was a long journey, but Sherlock Holmes didn't say a word along the way, just leaning on the carriage seat and humming the music he listened to in the afternoon.The carriage chugged its way through the labyrinth of gas-lit streets until at last it merged into the traffic of Farrington Street.Holmes then spoke.

"Coming soon," said my friend, "this man Meriwether is a director of the bank, and is very interested in the case; and I think Jones should be brought in too, though he's a little too stupid for the job. But he's good, and he has the great advantage of being as brave as a dog and as tenacious as a crayfish when he gets hold of his man. Here we are, and they're waiting."

We came to the same crowded street we had visited in the morning.After the carriage had been sent away, Mr. Merriwether led the way through a narrow passage, and opened a side door to let us in.There was another small corridor inside, ending in a huge iron door.He opened the iron gate and led us down a spiral stone staircase to a forbidding gate.It's gone underground.Mr. Merriwether stopped, lit a lantern, and led us down a dim passage that smelled of earth.When the third door was opened, we entered a high and spacious basement, where many wooden crates and many heavy boxes were piled up.

"It's not easy to get in here from above," said Holmes, holding up the lamp and looking around.

"You can't get in from below." Mr. Merriwether said, poking hard at the stone slab with his crutch. "Oh, my God! How does it sound hollow!" He raised his head in amazement.

"I must ask you to take it easy!" snapped Holmes. "You are endangering our general attack! Which box will you sit on, will you, please?"

This Mr. Merriweather was sitting on a crate in remorse.At this time, Holmes knelt down on the ground with a lantern and a magnifying glass in his hands, carefully examining the gaps between the stone slabs.He finished checking in a while, stood up, and put the magnifying glass in his pocket.

He said: "We have to wait at least an hour, because they will not move until the pawnbroker is asleep. As soon as he is asleep, they will move immediately, and the sooner they move, the time to escape is less." The richer. I think you have seen, Watson, that this is the basement of a branch of a great London bank. Mr. Merriwether is chairman of the bank, and he can tell you why bold criminals would The basement is so interesting."

Mr. Merriwether whispered: "There's French gold here. We've been alerted long ago that they're being stalked."

"French gold?"

"Yes, a few months ago, we happened upon an opportunity to increase our sources of funds. For this purpose, we borrowed thirty thousand French gold coins from the Bank of France. Now you all know, we have never had time to take out these gold coins , so it has been kept in the basement. There are two thousand French gold coins in this crate where I am sitting, all wrapped in tin foil. Now our bank has more gold reserves than any branch. , so the directors are very concerned about this."

"You are understandable to be worried," said Holmes. "Now we must arrange things. I reckon the matter will be cleared up in an hour. Mr. Merriwether, we shall cover the lantern with the shade."

"Waiting in the dark?"

"I'm afraid so. I had brought a deck of cards, thinking that the four of us would be good enough for a game of bridge. But I think now that the enemy is about to move, we can't let the light out, lest there be accidents. Now, we will choose Take your places. These criminals are audacious men, but we're going to take him off guard. We've got to play it safe, or we'll get hurt. I'm standing behind this crate, and you're all hiding Behind those boxes. If you see me throwing lights at them, you will jump on them. Watson, if they shoot, you will kill them without mercy."

(End of this chapter)