Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 56 Adventure History 15
"I did as he was told. When the lawyer came, he called me into his room. There was a blazing fire, and there was a pile of fluffy black ash on the grate, like burnt paper. The brass The box was left open, and there was nothing in it. I glanced at the box, and was surprised to find that the same three Ks were printed on the lid of the box as on the envelope in the morning.

"'John, I want you to be a witness to my will.' said my uncle to me. 'I leave my estate, with its advantages and disadvantages, to my brother, your father. There is no doubt about the inheritance It will be passed on to you in the future. If you can enjoy it in peace, all the better; but in case you find it impossible to enjoy it, child, then I advise you to save it for your sworn enemy. I am sorry to give You left such a double-edged sword; but I can't tell you which way things will go. Please sign where Mr. Ford points out.'

"I signed the will as directed by the lawyer, and the lawyer took it away. You can imagine, Mr. Holmes, what a haunting impression this queer incident must have made on me. I pondered over it, Thinking things over and over again, but I can't figure out the mystery. Said that with the passage of time, and nothing happened to interfere with our daily life, the inexplicable fear that this incident left in my heart gradually faded away. Reduced, but not eradicated. And I can see the changes in my uncle: he is more alcoholic and socially withdrawn. He locks himself in the room most of the time, but sometimes he rushes out of the room and becomes drunk, sometimes Revolver in hand, tearing and pinching in the garden, shouting, yelling over and over again that he is not afraid of the devil or man, and that no one should imprison him like a sheep, he is like a man who can no longer A person who endures the deepest fear in his heart. Whenever this happens, I see his face glistening with sweat, no matter how cold the weather is, as if he just came out of the bathtub.

"It turned out that once, he got drunk again and ran out. When I found him, he fell face down in a shallow sump in the garden, dead. We didn't find anyone Any sign of homicide, therefore, was ruled a 'suicide' event. I, however, do not believe he committed suicide. But it did happen. According to the will, my father inherited everything from him."

"Wait a moment," said Holmes. "This is indeed one of the strangest cases that I have ever had to deal with. Please give me the date of your uncle's receipt of that letter, and the date of his death."

"Date of receipt is March [-], [-]. Died on May [-]."

"Please continue."

"My father took my uncle's estate by will. We found the brass box, but it was empty. On the inside of the lid was a paper tag with three capital letters 'K, K, K', Also attached below are the words "Letters, Memorandums, Receipts, and a Record", which may indicate the nature of the things that my uncle destroyed. In addition to many scattered documents and a notebook that records my uncle's life in America Some of it was about political events during the rebuilding of the Southern states after the war, and it was clear that my uncle had been active in campaigning against corrupt officials sent from the North.

"At the beginning of [-], my father moved into my uncle's room, and we passed the year safely, but on the fourth day after New Year's Day, while we were having breakfast, we also received a letter, from which Five shriveled orange pits rolled out. He was also terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.

"'How could this be?' my father asked me.

"It's 'K, K, K,' I said.

"He looked at the inside of the envelope, 'very correct', he exclaimed, 'exactly the same, there are words on this'.

"'Put the papers on the sundial,' I read, looking at the envelope.

"'What document? On what sundial?'.

"'Only the garden has sundials,' said I, and the papers must have been burned by my uncle.

"Father got a little angry, 'Who sent it?'

"'From London.' I glanced at the postmark.

"He said, 'The sundial, the paper, what have I got to do with it?'

"'Let's call the police,' I argued.

"'I can't have them laughing at our absurdities.'

"'Then let me report the case.'

"'No, we don't need to worry about such nonsense.'

"Because he was so stubborn, I walked away in horror, feeling like some disaster was about to happen.

"On the third day after receiving the letter, my father went to see Major Freebody. His old friend, now commander of a fort on Mount Putzstein. I am very happy for his visit, as if he left home but I was wrong. On the second day of his departure, the major sent me a telegram asking me to come to him immediately. My father fell in a deep chalk pit, in the vicinity There were many such pits. His skull was broken, and he lay unconscious in it. I hastened to see him, but he never regained consciousness, and passed away. Apparently he came from Fulheim before evening. Returning home, unfamiliar with the country roads, and the chalk pit was unobstructed by railings, the coroner quickly made a judgment of 'death by accident'. I examined everything connected with his death with great care, but But no evidence of murderous intent was found. There were no footprints, no signs of violence, no robbery, and no record of strangers on the road. But even if I don't tell you, you know that I am very upset Yes. I can almost conclude that there must be someone plotting some kind of conspiracy around him.

"In this case, I have inherited the property. You may ask why not just sell it. My answer is: Because I believe that, due to some accidents during my uncle's life, it is determined to a certain extent. Calamity in our house. So calamity must threaten us equally in every house.

"It has been two years and eight months since my father's death in January, [-]. During that time I have been reasonably happy in Holtham. I have even begun to hold Such a hope: disaster is far from my family forever, it has been buried with my previous generation. But who would have thought that my self-comfort was too early. Yesterday morning, disaster came again, the situation is the same as my father It’s exactly the same as what I encountered.”

The young man went to the table, took out the crumpled envelope from his vest pocket, and poured out five shriveled orange pits from it.

"Here's the envelope," he went on, "postmarked East End of London. It's the same as the envelope my father received, with the words 'KKK'. And then 'Put papers on sundial'. "

"Have you taken any measures?" asked Holmes.

"No."

"No?!"

"I feel that there is nothing I can do. This conspiracy cannot be prevented by any measures."

"No, no," cried Holmes, "you must act now, and now you must muster your spirits and save yourself."

"I have sought help from the police."

"is it?"

"However, they found it interesting. In their view, the deaths of two of my relatives were accidental and had no connection with these letters."

Holmes said angrily: "Too stupid!"

"Didn't they protect you tonight?"

"No."

"Then why didn't you come to me in the first place?" he cried.

"I don't know. It was only today, from Major Prendergas, that I found out I was looking for you."

"It's been two full days since you got the letter, and I'll take action before then. Is there anything else to enlighten us?"

"There is one," said John Openshaw.He took out a piece of blue paper, "When my uncle was burning documents, I saw some unburned papers of this color in the pile of paper ashes. I found this paper. Except for the mention of orange pits, it seemed Not very useful."

The two of us looked at the paper."March [-]" was inscribed on the top, with ragged edges, and was indeed torn from a notebook, which read as follows:

Day [-]: Old platform.Come Hudson.Sticking to the same old politics.

Seven Days: Deliver the orange pits to Augustine's Macaulay, Palamino, and John Swain.

Nine Days: Clear Macaulay.

Ten Days: Clear John Swain.

Twelfth: Consultation with Palamino.all the best.

"Thank you," said Holmes, returning the paper to his visitor.I have to go now.You must go home now and act now. "

"How shall I do it?" asked the young man.

"Only one thing. But it must be done at once. Put this note in that brass box. And a note saying that the other papers have been burned by your uncle, and this is the only one left." Note. You must speak sincerely. Then, place the brass case on the sundial."

"You don't have to think about revenge, your safety is the first thing to bear the brunt now; the second is to expose the secret and punish the criminal gang."

"I will do as you bid."

"A pressing danger is approaching you. How will you go back?"

"Take the train from Waterloo Station."

"It's not too late. There are still many people on the street. I believe you will be safe, but you must be very careful."

"I have a weapon."

"Okay, I'll start handling your case tomorrow."

"Then I'll wait for you in Holkin?"

"No, the point is in London. I'll go there and investigate."

"Then I'll see you again in a day or two. Let me tell you about it." He bid us farewell.

"This, Watson, is one of the most novel cases I have ever had," said he.

"In addition to the 'signature of the four', it may be this piece."

"Yes, this John Openshaw seems to be in greater danger than Sholto."

"You already have some sort of confirmation?"

"Their nature is beyond doubt."

"What the hell is going on here? Who is 'K? K? K'? Why does he keep pestering the family?"

(End of this chapter)