Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 51 Adventure History 9
"Father will go to France again within a week. Hesmer wrote to say that it is best not to meet before he leaves. During this period, we can correspond. He writes every day."

"Are you engaged to that gentleman at this time?"

"Ah, engaged. We were engaged on our first walk. Mr. Hesmer Angel . . . is a cashier at an office in Leadenhall Street."

"What office?"

"That's the point, Mr. Holmes. I don't know what kind of office it is."

"Where does he live?"

"Just live in the office."

"You don't know where he lives?"

"I don't know. The exact location is only known to be in Leadenhall Street."

"Where did you send the letter, then?"

"At the Post Office, Leadenhall Street, for him to pick up. He said his co-workers would laugh at him for correspondence with women if he mailed it to the office. So I was going to write it on a typewriter like him, but He disagreed. He said that the letter written by me looks more intimate, as if meeting me in person, but the typed letter always feels separated by a cold machine. Mr. Holmes, you see how much he likes it. Me, he can't even imagine such a small detail."

"That is the most telling thing," said Holmes. "I have always believed that the little things are the most important. Can you recall any little things about Mr. Hesmer Angel?"

"Remember, Mr. Holmes, he was a very shy character. He did not want us to be seen, so we used to walk in the evening instead of in the day. He talked and behaved like a gentleman, and he was so gentle, and even his voice was so gentle. Gentle. He said that he had tonsillitis and cervical gland enlargement when he was a child, so he had a bad voice, and his voice was thin and slurred. He was very well dressed, neat, and generous, and he, like me, had eyesight Not so good, always wearing light-tinted glasses that block the bright light."

"Well, what did your father do after he left?"

"Mr. Hesmer Angel came to my house again, and he suggested that we be married before my father came back. He was very sincere, and made me swear on my Bible that I would be true to him no matter what. My mother said, It was right for him to let me do this, which shows his sincere affection for me. At the beginning, my mother liked him very much, even more than me. She wanted me to be faithful to him. My mother said it showed that he liked me very much. They talked about Wedding in a week, I said I should tell my father, although I don't like to do it, I don't want to do things secretly. He said don't worry about my father, just tell him afterwards. However, I wrote to my father The letter was sent to Bordeaux, where the company's French office is located. But on the morning of my wedding, the letter was returned. Because when this letter arrived, he just started to return."

"It's such an unfortunate coincidence. Your wedding is Friday, then. Is it going to be a church?"

"Yes, without fanfare at all. We decided to have our wedding at St. Saviour's Church, Royal Cross. Hesmer picked us up in a two-seater carriage, and since there were two of us he let us both We got into this carriage and took a carriage by ourselves. The church we arrived first, the carriage arrived later, we waited for him to get off, but he never got off, the coachman got up from his seat to look at it. There was no one in there! The coachman said he saw Mr. Hesmer get into the coach, and he couldn't imagine where he had gone. That was last Friday, Mr. Holmes, and we haven't had any more since. His news."

"I don't think he will just leave me like this. He made me swear in the morning that no matter what happens, I will be faithful to him. I will always remember this oath, and he will one day make me fulfill this oath. Yes, judging from what happened later, this has a certain meaning."

"Suffice it to say, there's something to it. So you really think he's had an unexpected catastrophe?"

"Yes, I believe he has already anticipated some kind of danger, otherwise how could he say that kind of thing."

"But, did you never think that something unexpected would happen?"

"No."

"Also, what does your mother think of this matter?"

"She was very angry and told me never to mention it again."

"What about your father? Did you tell him?"

"Speaking of which, he seemed to think the same as I thought. He felt that there was an accident, but I will find out about Hesmo again. If he said that he would take me to the door of the church and disappear, to whom? It's no good either. If he'd borrowed my money, or married me and given him the property, he'd be fine with running away, but Hesmer never depends on anyone for his money, even if it's a shilling for me. , he doesn't care. Since this is the case, what else will happen? Why didn't he write me a letter? Well, I was almost driven crazy by him, and I couldn't sleep all night." She took He took out a handkerchief, covered his face and began to cry.

Holmes rose and said: "Don't be distressed. I will take care of the case for you, and I am sure we will come to a conclusion. From now on, don't worry about it any more. We will bear the burden for you. Yes, you'd better forget Mr. Hesmer as if you had never seen him."

"You mean, I won't see him again, do you?"

"I'm afraid not."

"What happened to him?"

"You leave this matter to me. I want an accurate description of Hesmer, and I need a letter from him."

She said: "I had a missing person in last Saturday's Chronicle. Look here, and here are four letters from him to me."

"Thank you, where is your mailing address?"

"31 Lyon Street, Kenboville."

"I know you don't know where Mr. Angel lives. Where, then, does your father work?"

"He works as a traveling salesman in the firm of Westerhaus Malbanque, a great importer of French red wines distributed throughout the world."

"Please leave these documents and remember my advice to you. The whole incident is over like this, don't let it affect your life."

"But I must be loyal to Hesmer. I will marry him as soon as he comes back."

Notwithstanding the ridiculous hat and dull face of our guest, there was a nobility in her simple mind which commanded our admiration.She put the little packet of papers on the table, said she would come when she was called, and left.

Sherlock Holmes sat there in silence, with his fingers still clasped together, his legs stretched forward, and his eyes fixed on the ceiling.After a while he took from the shelf the old greasy earthenware pipe which seemed to him like a counselor.He lit a cigarette, leaned back in the chair, and let the thick blue smoke surround him, looking listless.

"The girl is an interesting subject in her own right," he said. "I think she's a lot more interesting in person than in her case. In fact, her case is too commonplace. You check me You can find a similar case in the index of the [-] Andoufuds index; a similar thing happened in The Hague last year. It's all old tricks, but there is one or two plots in this incident. It's never been there before. The girl herself is the most thought-provoking."

"You seem to see a lot in her that I don't," I said.

"It's not that you can't see it, it's that you've missed it, Watson. You just don't know what to look for, and so you're missing valuable clues. I'll never make you realize the importance of your cuffs, sir." Thumbnail hints and large articles on shoelaces. Now, describe to me what you see in this lady's appearance."

"Well, she wore a wide-brimmed straw hat, blue-gray in color, with a brick-red feather in one side. A black blouse with black beads and black marble trim. Anyway Black. Dress brown, darker than coffee; neckline and cuffs trimmed with purple fluff. Gloves light gray, slightly frayed on right index finger. I didn't notice her boots. Little round gold earrings, a rather well-to-do air, a quiet demeanor, and an easy-going temper that makes one feel very comfortable."

Sherlock Holmes clapped his hands lightly, and laughed.

"To be honest, Watson, you have made great progress. It is true that you have missed important links, but you have mastered the method of observation, and you have observed carefully enough, and you have a strong ability to observe colors. But you must Don't stop at the general impression, man, focus on the details. I always look at a woman at her sleeves first; at a man, it's best to look at her knees. You see, too, this lady with purple sleeves Plush, this kind of material is the easiest to expose traces. The two stripes a little above her cuffs are where the typist's hand rests on the table, and the indentation is obvious; that kind of hand sewing machine will also leave similar indentations , but it will be on the left hand side, the side farthest from the thumb, unlike this indentation on the widest side. Then, I noticed her face and found that there was an indentation on each side of the bridge of her nose, that It was from the pince-nez, so I ventured that she was short-sighted and worked as a typewriter. She seemed taken aback by that."

"I was taken aback."

"But those marks were too obvious. Then I observed that her two boots were not actually a pair: for one had a patterned leather on the toe; the other didn't. There were five buckles on each, But she buttoned the bottom two on one boot, and the first, third, and fifth on the other. I was amazed and amused, so I concluded that she came out in a hurry, which is not profound."

"What else?" I've always been keenly interested in my friend's extraordinarily sharp and penetrating reasoning.

"I also noticed that she left a note before she left the house, which was hastily left after she was dressed. You noticed that the forefinger of her glove was a bit frayed, but you didn't notice the purple ink stains on her finger and glove. She wrote It was done in such a hurry that the pen went too far when dipping in the ink. It must have happened this morning, otherwise the ink wouldn't have stayed on the fingers so clearly. Well, you read the missing person notice to me. "

I read:

"Mr. Hesmer Angel disappeared on the morning of the [-]th. He was five feet seven inches tall, of a stocky build, with a sallow complexion, black hair, slightly bald on the crown, bushy black whiskers and mustaches, and light-colored dark glasses. , soft-spoken, wearing a silk-trimmed black frock coat, and Harris tweed gray trousers, he was employed at an office in Leadenhall Street.  …”

Well, don't read any more, the letters seem to me to be ordinary, except for one thing that stands out. "

"These letters, together with the names, were typed."

"See: 'Hesmore Angel.' But the address is nothing but 'Leydenhall Street.' The signature is telling and decisive in the case."

"I figured he probably wanted to be able to say it was his signature if someone sued him for breach of contract."

"No, that is not the point of the matter. I shall now write two letters, one to a firm in London; Come here and meet with us. This will settle the matter. We can have some intercourse with her male relatives. Well, Watson, we have nothing to do till we get a reply, and we will put it in the aside."

(End of this chapter)