Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 52 Adventure History 10
I have great confidence in Holmes' reasoning ability and vigorous energy. Therefore, seeing his well-thought-out and methodical attitude towards the difficult cases to be solved, I think he must be very sure.I know that among all the cases he has solved, he has failed only once, that of the photograph of Erina Adler.However, when I think of the strange things about "Four Signatures" and "Study in Scarlet", I feel that if Holmes can't solve the case, it is really too mysterious.

He was still smoking his old pipe when I left, and I'm sure by the time I return tomorrow he'll have a clue of who the missing groom was.

After returning, I was busy treating a seriously ill patient, and took care of him for a whole day the next day, and I didn't finish my work until almost six o'clock.I drove to Baker Street in a hansom, fearing that I would be too late to be of help to Holmes.When I saw him he was at home by himself, curled up in an armchair, looking sleepy.With the dreaded flasks and test tubes in front of him emitting the pungent smell of hydrochloric acid, it seemed that he had done another day of chemical experiments.

"Is the problem solved?" I asked as I walked in.

"Solved, it's barium bisulfate."

"Well, I'm not talking about this case, but that case!" I cried.

"Ah, that! I've been thinking about that experiment I did. Yesterday, as I said, there's nothing strange about the case, but there's something interesting about it. My only regret is that I can't find a law." That villain can be punished."

"Who the hell is he? Why did he abandon Miss Sutherland?"

As soon as I finished speaking, before Holmes opened his mouth, there was a sound of heavy footsteps from the corridor, followed by a knock on the door.

"The client's stepfather, Mr. Windibank, is here," said Holmes. "He wrote back to me and said he would come before six o'clock. Please come in!" A man in his mid-thirties with a strong body and yellow skin walked in. A clean-shaven man of about sixty years old, with a flattering air, took one look at both of us, took off his round hat, and put it on the side stand.He bowed slightly to us and sat sideways in the chair.

"Good evening, Mr. Windibank," said Holmes. "I suppose it is you who typed this letter, which promises us to meet at six o'clock?"

"Yes, sir. I may be a little late, but I must. I am very sorry that Miss Sutherland has troubled you with such a trifle, and I think it is better to keep it private. She came to you, I don't agree at all. You may also find that she has a big temper and is agitated. If she decides to do something, she has to do it. Of course, I don't care about you. You have nothing to do with the official police, but you are spreading this scandal to the society. It's not very good either. Besides, it's useless, how did you find that Hesmo Angel?"

"On the contrary," said Holmes quite calmly. "I can assure you that I will find that Mr. Hesmer Angel."

Mr. Windibank dropped his glove with a start, but he said, with forced composure, "I'm so glad to hear that."

"The curious thing," said Holmes, "is that a typewriter is as reflective of a person's personality as a handwriting? No two typewriters will produce the same type unless they are brand new. Some letters are more worn out, some on one side only. Now, Mr. Windibank, you can see in this note you typed that "the letter 'e' is always a little blurred; and the letter 'r' It's the tail that's always missing something.In addition to these two points, there are fourteen other characters with similar characteristics, but these two are more obvious. "

"All correspondence in our office is typed on this typewriter, and it is quite natural to see some wear and tear," said our visitor, casting a quick glance at Holmes.

"Then I'll show you something now, Mr. Windibank, which is very interesting to study," continued Holmes. "I intend to write a dissertation these days on the relationship between typewriters and crime. It's been a while. Now I have four letters, all from the missing man, all typed. Not only is every 'e' blurred in these letters, but every ' r' has no tail. If you will use my magnifying glass, you will find fourteen other features all in these letters."

At this, Mr. Windibank sprang up from his chair, snatched up his hat, and said: "I have no time for your nonsense, Mr. Holmes. If you can catch the fellow Just catch it and let me know when the time comes."

"Of course I want to inform you," said Holmes, stepping up to the door and locking it, "then I will tell you that I have caught the man."

"What! Where is it?" exclaimed Windibank, his face paled, his lips darkened, and he looked around in panic like a trapped mouse.

"It's no use--it's no use," said Holmes mildly. "There's no denying it, Mr. Windibank. You just said it was impossible for me to solve such a simple problem, and that flattery says it all." It's too impolite. It's so obvious, it's so simple! Sit down, we've got to talk about it."

The guest slumped on a chair, his face was pale, and a layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. "But, it's not a crime, there's no way to prosecute it," he stammered.

"I'm afraid it is, but, we say privately, your game is cruel, selfish, and heartless to the last degree. It's the first time I've ever met a man like you. Well, I'll tell you what happened, If I'm wrong, you can refute."

Windibank slumped on the chair, looking completely broken.Holmes put his feet on the corner of the mantelpiece, leaned back in the chair, put his hands in his pockets, and began to narrate to himself.

"That man married a woman ten years older than him for money," he said, "and if that woman's daughter lived with them, they could keep using that poor girl's money. That money meant nothing to them. It's very important, and if they don't get it, their lives will change a lot. Therefore, they tried everything to maintain the status quo. The daughter is very gentle, kind, and sentimental. Obviously, with her appearance and character, she still If she had an income, they would not be celibate. If she married, they would lose their handsome income of a hundred pounds a year. What did her stepfather do to keep her from marrying? At first, he tried to keep her in the At home, keep her out of contact with other friends. Later, he realized that this was not a long-term solution. She became more and more assertive, asserting her rights, and going to prom. In this case, she What did my stepfather do? He came up with a vile, vicious plan. With the help of his wife, he disguised himself with a fake beard, light-colored sunglasses, and a soft-spoken voice. Because my daughter is a very short-sighted person, I can't see his disguise at all. He appeared in front of his daughter with the name Hesmo Angel and proposed to her to prevent her from falling in love with other men."

"At first, I just wanted to play a joke on him," the man argued feebly, "but I didn't expect her to be so infatuated."

"No joke at all. But the poor girl has been kept in the dark, dazed by love, and has always thought her stepfather was in France. She is fascinated by the gentleman's gentleness, and by the mother's Delighted with the compliment. Then Mr. Angel came to visit, because that would keep things going. After a few meetings, they got engaged, and now the girl will never change her mind. But there must be an end to the deceit, always It’s not a matter of going to France, so let’s bring this matter to a dramatic ending, so that the girl will never forget him, and prevent her from falling in love with others. So, a scene of pressing hands on the Bible Swearing her eternal fidelity to him, and giving her some sort of hint on the morning of the wedding, Mr. Windibank wishes Miss Sutherland to be faithful to Hesmer Angel, and to be unpredictable about his life or death. In short, it will keep her from marrying other men for ten years. Helmer accompanied her to church, but he could not go any further, so he got in through the door of the carriage, and Come out that door. That's the whole story, Mr Windibank."

When Holmes told these facts, Windibank's pale face improved a little.

"Mr. Holmes, you are very clever. You should be a little wiser, and you will see that it is you who violate the law. I have never done anything like this, and you locked the door, and that is what got you sued for it."

"Even if the law can do nothing against you, as you say," said Holmes, unlocking the door, "you deserve more punishment than anyone else, and if this young girl had any brothers or friends, they would certainly whip you." Seeing the sarcasm on the man's face, Holmes said angrily, "It's not my responsibility, but I happen to have a hunting whip..." He walked quickly to get the whip.After getting it in my hand, I heard a burst of violent footsteps on the stairs, and then I heard the door shut with a bang.From the window we saw Mr. Windibank running down the street at the speed of his life.

"The villain!" "He'll be guillotined eventually. Still, it's an interesting case."

"I still don't quite understand your reasoning," I said.

"That secretive Mr. Hesmer Angel must be up to something, and that was clear from the start. It's also clear that the only beneficiary in this affair, from what we can see, is this It is also instructive that these two people are never seen at the same time, it is always the one who leaves and the other arrives. Colored glasses, weird voice and mustache, whiskers, everything Suggests disguise. His signature on the typewriter confirms his cunning even more, for this rare practice shows that the girl is familiar with his handwriting, and she can recognize even a little bit of it. Now you see all these isolated The facts and other details point to the same goal."

"Then how do you verify it?"

"Once I've identified who I'm after, it's easy to confirm. I know what company this guy works for, so as soon as I got the missing persons notice, I contacted that company and removed everything in it. Possible camouflage—whiskers, tinted spectacles, voice, etc., please tell me if there is anyone among their salesmen who matches it. I have noticed those features of the typewriter, so I gave him Wrote a letter and sent it to his office address asking if he could come here. His reply was, as I expected, typewritten, and with the same characteristic flaws. The same mail arrived at There is also a letter from Westinghouse and Mabenck & Co., Fenches Street, stating that the features described in the missing person's notice are in every respect consistent with their employee, James Windibank. This is La!"

"And what about Miss Sutherland?"

"Now, tell her the truth and she won't believe me. Remember that old Persian proverb: 'Trying to dispel the illusion in a woman's heart is tantamount to taking her offspring from the tiger's claws.'" Hafiz and Horace has his own reason, and each has his own reason."

(End of this chapter)