Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 55 Adventure History 14
When I briefly browsed the records and notes of Sherlock Holmes detective cases that I kept from [-] to [-], I suddenly found that there are so many interesting materials in front of me, just like the sea , I don't even know where to start.There are cases which have become well-known to the press and magazines, but there are also cases which do not allow my friend to display the talents which the newspapers would like to cover.There were also cases in which he could not fully develop his special faculty of analysis, and, like some stories, became endless.In some cases, he only figured out part of them, and his analysis of the plot was only guesswork, not based on the correct logical argument that my friend valued.In this last class of cases, there is one that is so peculiar not only in its circumstances but in its ending that I am eager to recount it, even though certain truths of the case have never been, and probably never will be. I don't know.

I have kept the records of the series of cases which we dealt with in [-].Among the titles of these records are the following cases: "The Case of the Parador Mansion"; "The Case of the Amateur Beggars," who had a luxurious and extravagant club in the basement of a furniture store; "The United States "The Truth About the Wreck of the Sailboat 'Sophie Edson'"; "The Curious Case of Glass Peterson on Wizarding Island"; and "The Comberwell Poison Case".I remember that in the last case, when Holmes wound the dead man's watch, he found that it had been wound up two hours before, thus showing that the dead man had gone to bed at that time.This inference is very important to clarify the facts of the case.All these cases, the outlines of which I may someday perhaps outline, are none more grotesque and grotesque than the intricacies of which I am about to write.

It was late September, and the equinox storms were exceptionally violent.The storm has been beating the windows for a whole day, and at this moment, in the city of London, built by the wisdom of human beings, we have lost our usual enthusiasm for work and cannot but recognize the might of the great nature.It is like a ferocious beast that has not been tamed in an iron cage, roaring at humans through the fence of human civilization.As night fell, the storm became more violent.The wind whistled loudly for a while, and wept softly for a while, like the cry of a baby in the chimney of the fireplace.At one end of the fireplace, Holmes sat dejectedly, compiling a cross-reference to crime records, while at the other end I was buried in reading Cragg?A wonderful novel about the ocean by Russell.At this time, the wind roared outside the house, and the downpour gradually turned into a wave-like impact, which seemed to echo each other and blend into one with the theme of the novel.At that time my wife was visiting relatives and returned to her natal family, so these days I have become an old visitor to my former house in Baker Street.

"Hey," I said, looking up at my companion, "the doorbell is indeed ringing. Who's coming tonight? Some friend of yours, maybe?"

What friend shall I have but you?Also, I'm not encouraging people to visit. ’ he replied.

"Then, who must be the client?"

"If it is the client, the case must be very serious. If it is not serious, who would want to come out at this moment? But I think this person is more likely to be a close friend of the landlady's wife."

Holmes was wrong in his surmise, for at that moment there were steps in the passage, followed by a knock at the door.He stretched out his hand and turned the lamp that illuminated him to the side of the chair where the guest would sit, and said, "Come in."

The person who entered was a young man of about twenty-two years of age, neatly dressed and well behaved.The umbrella in his hand is constantly leaking water, and the raincoat on his body is shining brightly, which shows that he has passed through the storm all the way.Under the light, he looked around anxiously.At this moment I noticed that his face was very pale, and his eyes were drooping.Such an expression is often that of a person who is overwhelmed by great worries.

"I should apologize to you," he said, putting on a pair of gold-rimmed pince-nez. "I hope I have not disturbed you, but I am afraid that your neat and tidy house has been soiled with the muddy water I have brought from the storm."

"Give me your raincoat and umbrella. Hang them on the hooks. They will dry in a short time." said Holmes. I think you come from the Southwest. "

"Yes, I'm from Holtham."

"I see a mixture of clay and chalk sticking to the toe of your shoe. It's very eye-catching."

"I've come to ask you for advice."

"Good to say."

"I still need your help."

"That's hard to say."

"I have heard your name before, Mr. Holmes. I heard it from Major Prentgast, who said that you saved him from the scandal at the Tankville Club."

"Oh, of course. Someone falsely accused him of cheating."

"He said you could solve any problem."

"Then he's exaggerating a little bit."

"And said you never lost a battle."

"There is no general who wins every battle. I lost four times—three times by a man, and once by a woman."

"Compared to the number of cases you have solved, what is that!"

"Of course what you say is generally good. Generally speaking, I have succeeded."

"Then your business with me will surely succeed."

"Please move your chair a little closer to the fire, and tell me all about the case."

"This is extremely unusual."

"Really? All the cases entrusted to me are like this. My place has become the highest appeal court."

"But, sir, I would venture to ask: Is there anything more mysterious and inexplicable in your experience than the series of events which took place in my own house?"

"You have caught my interest at once," said Holmes. "Please tell us the facts first and foremost, and then I will ask you questions of details which I consider to be of vital importance."

The young man moved his chair closer to the hearth, and stretched his wet feet up to the fire.

He said: "My name is John Openshaw, and I don't think I have anything to do with the appalling thing that is happening before me. It's a legacy of past generations, and in order for you to understand the facts, I must say that rise.

"My grandfather had two sons - my uncle Elias and my father Joseph. My father had a small factory in Coventry and when bicycles came out he expanded the factory. He sold wear-resistant tyres. The patent right, the business is unprecedentedly prosperous. Therefore, after selling the factory, he can still rely on a huge sum of money to live a rich retirement life.

"My uncle Elias immigrated to the United States when he was young, and later became the owner of the Florida estate. I heard that the business was very good. During the Civil War, he fought bravely under Jackson's command, and later became Hood's subordinates, Promoted to colonel. When Confederate General Robert Lee surrendered, he returned to the estate, where he lived for three or four years. Returned to Europe about [-]-[-] and was at Sasay near Horsham He bought a small estate. He made a lot of money in the United States, so why did he leave? He left because he hated blacks and hated the Republican Party for giving blacks the right to vote. He was eccentric and withdrawn. He was full of obscenities. He never seemed to have been in town during the years he lived in Horsham. He had a garden and two or three plots around the house. He exercised here, but often He didn't go out for weeks at a time. He drank a lot of brandy every day and smoked a lot, but he refused to socialize, didn't want any friends, not even his own brothers.

"He didn't care about me at first, but the first time he saw me, I was a 12-year-old kid. He started liking me, so around 1878, he was back in England for seven or eight years, and he I asked my father to allow me to live with him, and to love me as much as possible in his way. He liked to play backgammon or draughts with me when he was sober, and let me deal with servants and various businessmen on his behalf. So until 16 At this age, I have become the head of the family. I am in charge of all the keys in the house, and I can do whatever I want and go wherever I want, as long as I don't disturb his private life. But there is a strange exception, that is He had a storage room in the attic which he kept locked for years, neither me nor anyone else. I had peeped through the keyhole like all curious boys, and it was a It was strange and disappointing that there was nothing but a large pile of wooden boxes and large and small bundles.

"One day in March, [-], a foreign postmarked letter lay on the table before my colonel's uncle's plate. His bills were all in cash. And he had no friends, so yes It was indeed unusual for him to receive a letter. 'It's from India!' He picked up the envelope and said, 'Pendicherry's postmark! What's the matter?' The shriveled orange core fell onto the plate. I couldn't help laughing when I saw it. But when I opened my mouth, I looked up and saw his face. I was shocked immediately, and the laughter stopped abruptly. I saw him grinning , looking ashen; the hand holding the envelope trembled, and the eyes were bulging with terror. 'K? K? K' he screamed. 'My God! My God! This is a sin Can't escape wow!'

"'What's the matter, Uncle?' I cried out.

"'Crippled.' He left the table and went back to his room, leaving behind the words that terrified me. I picked up the envelope in a state of amazement, and found that on the inside of it, where the seal had come off, , with three K's scribbled in red ink. There was nothing in the envelope but the five dried orange pips and the three K's. What was it that scared him out of his wits? I left He had left the table, and was about to go upstairs, when he happened to meet him in one hand with a rusty key, which must have belonged to the attic room, and in the other a brass box, which looked like a money-box.

"'They can do what they like, and I'll kill them, too,' he swore, and then he ordered me: 'May Ray light a fire in my room tonight, and then send to Horsham to kill the Buddha. Attorney de Ham, please.'

(End of this chapter)