Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 74 Adventure History 34
"The gas lamp was still half lit, and the boy, in shirt and trousers, was standing by it, holding the crown in his hand. He was wrenching it, and when he heard my cry, he let go and the crown fell on the ground. On the ground. I checked carefully and found that three pieces of green jade were missing in one corner.

"'You scoundrel!' I cried, 'you broke it! You made me lose my life! Where did the gems go?'

"'You mean I stole it?' he cried too.

"'Yes, you thief!' I exclaimed.

"'It's impossible to lose anything,' he said.

"'Three green jades are missing here, and you know where they are. I saw you were about to pull out another green jade, didn't you?'

"'You have had enough of your scolding,' said he; 'I can bear it no longer. Since you have insulted me thus, I will make no excuses. I will leave home early in the morning to seek another livelihood elsewhere.'

"'You will surely fall into the hands of the police!' I cried, 'I will get to the bottom of this matter!'

"'You don't want to know anything from me,' he said, uncharacteristically, excitedly, 'and if you want to call the police, send them to search!'

"At this time, the whole family woke up. Mary ran into my room first, saw the crown and Arthur's face, screamed, and fell to the ground. I immediately sent the maid to call the police, and asked them to immediately An inquiry was made. Then an inspector came in with a constable, and Arthur stood sullenly, and asked me if I intended to charge him with theft. I said, since the broken crown is the property of the state, it is The matter is not a private matter but a public matter. I have no choice but to act according to the law.

"'At least,' said he, 'you're not going to have me arrested right away. If I'd be allowed to leave this house for five minutes, we'd all be in good hands!'

"'Then you can get away and hide what you have stolen,' said I, begging Arthur not to forget that not only mine, but the honor of someone far more In danger, he might cause a scandal that would shock the country. But if he can tell me where the three emeralds are, all of this can be avoided.

"'You ought to face the matter,' said I, 'you were caught red-handed, and your denial will add to your crime. If you want to remedy it, you have to tell us where the emerald is hidden, and everything will be mitigated. .'

"'Leave your forgiveness to those who beg you for forgiveness.' He turned away from me contemptuously. I saw him so stubborn that no words could persuade him, and I had no choice but to call in the inspector He took custody, made a general search, and on him, the room where he lived and any place in the house where gems might be hidden were found, but the gems were nowhere to be found. So we used all kinds of inducements and threats, but the unfortunate boy Still refused to say a word. He was put in a cell this morning, and I rushed to beg you to solve the case after completing all the formalities the police asked me to do. The police publicly admit that they have nothing to gain at the moment. You can Spend as much as you think you need for it. I've put a reward of a thousand pounds on it. Good heavens, what shall I do? I've lost everything in one night—my reputation, my treasure, and my son. Ah! What should I do?

For some minutes Sherlock Holmes sat in silence, frowning, his eyes fixed on the fire.

"Do you usually have a lot of guests?" he asked.

"My partners and their families generally, and occasionally Arthur's friends. George Burnwell has been here a few times lately. No one else."

"Do you go out to social events a lot?"

"Arthur goes often. Mary and I stay at home."

"That's very unusual for a young girl!"

"She's quiet by nature. Besides, she's not young anymore, she's 24 years old."

"According to what you said, she was also very shocked by this incident?"

"Yes! Maybe she was more shocked than I was."

"Are you both convinced at the same time that your son is guilty?"

"What is there to doubt? I saw him take the crown in his hand."

"I don't think so because it's not positive evidence. Is the rest of the crown damaged?"

"Oh, twisted."

"Did it ever occur to you that he might be trying to straighten it?"

"God bless you! You're trying to win back my friendship with him, but it's hard. If he's innocent, why doesn't he talk?"

"Exactly. If he's guilty, why didn't he tell a lie? I think his silence can be interpreted in two ways. There are several things about this case that are very strange. How do the police think about the sound that wakes you from sleep?"

"They said it might have been Arthur closing his bedroom door."

"It's very similar! It's as if a murderer had to slam the door and wake up the whole family. How did they explain the missing gem?"

"Right now they're still banging on the floor and searching the furniture, hoping to find them."

"Have they ever thought of going outside the house?"

"Think about it, the whole garden has been carefully inspected."

"And here, my dear sirs," said Holmes, "is it not evident to you that the matter is more complicated than you and the police imagine? It appears to you as a simple matter. case; but I think it is really complicated. Your analysis is: you suppose your son goes to your living room, opens your cupboard, takes out that crown, breaks off a small part of it, and puts the wrench elsewhere. The three pieces of jade that were dropped were hidden in such an ingenious way that no one could find them, and then they returned to the room with the remaining 36 pieces, risking being discovered. Do you find this analysis convincing?"

"But what other analysis could there be?" If there were no bad motives, why didn't he explain it? "

"That is our business, to make things clear," replied Holmes. "Now, Mr. Holder, we shall set off together to your house, and let us examine it carefully."

Holmes insisted that I accompany him on the investigation, and I very much wished to go with me, for my curiosity and sympathy had been so deeply aroused by what we had just heard.I confess that, as to the criminality of the banker's son, I was at the time in the same opinion as the unfortunate father; but I had complete confidence in Holmes' judgment.For since he is dissatisfied with the accepted explanation, there must be some reason why there is still hope in the matter.During the whole journey to the southern suburbs, he sat silently, his chin resting on his chest, his hat was pulled down to cover his eyes, and he fell into deep thought.Our client, who now seemed to have renewed confidence and courage with a glimmer of hope, even talked to me incoherently about some of his business affairs.After a short train ride and a short walk, we arrived at the very luxurious Fairbairn lodgings of the great banker.

Fairbairan was very large, with a two-way driveway running along a snow-covered lawn to two large closed iron gates.From the intersection to the kitchen door, it is the entry and exit path for retailers.On the left there is a path leading to the stables, which is not in the courtyard and is an infrequently used public road.We stood at the door, and Holmes walked slowly round the house, past the peddler's lane in front of the house, and around the back of the garden into the lane leading to the stables.He walked up and down for a long time, and Mr. Holder and I went in to wait for him, when we were silent, a young lady came in.I have never seen such a pale woman.Her lips were also bloodless, but her eyes were red and swollen from crying.She came in quietly, as if in more pain than the banker.She didn't mind my presence, and went straight up to her uncle, and stroked his head with a woman's tenderness.

"You have ordered Arthur released, have you not, uncle?" she asked.

"No, my boy, this matter must be pursued to the end."

"But I'm sure he's innocent, I know he's done nothing wrong, and you'll regret being so harsh on him."

"If he's innocent, why doesn't he speak up?"

"Who knows? Maybe he's annoyed that you doubt him so much."

"How could I not have doubted him? I did see the crown in his hand then."

"Well, he just picked it up and looked at it. Take my word for it! He's not guilty. Let the matter go, don't mention it. How much our dear Arthur is in jail horrible!"

"I won't rest if I can't find the emeralds—never, Mary. I can't let it go, and I've got a gentleman from London to look into it."

"Is this the gentleman?" She turned to look at me.

"No, it's his friend. He's walking alone, and he's down the lane from the stables now.'

"The alley in the stable?" She raised her eyebrows. "What did he expect to find there? Oh, I think it's him." She pointed out the window.Holmes was walking towards us thoughtfully.

No sooner had my friend passed the threshold than the lady said eagerly: "Sir, I trust you will prove Arthur innocent." "

"I quite agree with you," said Holmes, brushing the snow off his shoe. "I think I have the honor of talking to Miss Mary Holder. May I ask you a question or two?" ?”

"Please, sir, if it will help to clarify the matter."

"Didn't you hear anything last night?"

"No, I didn't come down until my uncle spoke loudly, and I heard it."

"You shut the doors and windows last night, but did you bolt all the windows?"

"It's all bolted."

"Are the windows still bolted this morning?"

"It's all still latched."

"You have a maid, and she has a lover, don't you? You told your uncle last night that she was out to meet him?"

"Yes, she waits in that drawing room, and she may have heard what my uncle said about the crown."

"I know, you mean that she might have gone out and told his lover, and the two of them conspired to steal the crown."

"What's the use of these empty theories," cried the banker. "Didn't I tell you that I saw Arthur with the crown in his hand?"

"Take it easy, Mr. Holder, we must pursue the matter. Miss Holder, about the maid, you saw her come back from near the kitchen, didn't you?"

"Yes, when I went to see if the door was closed, I just met her sneaking back, and I saw the man in the dark."

"do you know him?"

"Of course I do! It's the vegetable vendor who brought us vegetables, named Francis Prosper."

"He stands on the left side of the door," said Holmes, "that is, away from the road leading into this door?"

"Yes."

"Is he still a man with a wooden leg?"

There was a sudden look of fear in the expressive eyes of the young lady. "Why, you look like a magician," she said, "how do you know that?" I was smiling.But Holmes's thin and eager face did not meet the other's smile.

"I should very much like to go upstairs now," said Holmes. "I may have to take a walk outside the house. Before I go upstairs, I should like to have another look at the downstairs windows."

My friend passed quickly from window to window, stopping only for a moment at the large window that looked out from the hall into the stable lane.He opened the window and examined the sill with special care with a high-power magnifying glass.

Finally, he said, "Now we can go upstairs."

The banker's living room was furnished simply: a carpet on the floor, a large chest of drawers, and a large mirror.Holmes went to the chest of drawers and stared at the lock.

"Which key do you use to open this lock?" he asked.

"With the key to the locker in the pantry."

"is it here?"

"Put it on the dressing table."

Holmes took it and opened the chest of drawers.

"It's a silent lock," he said, "that's why it didn't wake you up. This is the box that held the crown. We must have a look." He opened the box, took the crown out and put it in the On the table.There was a gap in one side of the crown, and three green jades had been pulled out of one corner.

"Now, Mr. Holder," said Holmes, "this corner is symmetrical with the corner of the missing green jade. I would like you to try if you can break it off."

The banker panicked and said, "I never dared to break it."

"Then let me try," said Holmes, breaking it off with all his strength, but the crown did not budge. "It seems loose to me," said he, "but, though my fingers are very strong, it is difficult to break it apart. It is impossible for an ordinary person to break it. Now, Mr. Holder, What if I did break it open? It would have sounded like a gunshot. You know what, if it happened only a few yards from your bedroom and you didn't make a sound Can't hear it?"

"I don't dare to think about anything, and I can't find any problems."

"But it may become clearer. What do you think, Miss Holder?"

"I'm as perplexed as my uncle."

"When you saw your son, he wasn't wearing shoes, was he?"

"Yes, only trousers and shirt."

"Thank you. We have indeed benefited a lot from this inquiry. We are so lucky. Mr. Holder, please allow me to continue the investigation outside."

He asked to go alone, explaining that more people would leave unnecessary footprints, which would make his work more difficult.When he came back after working for about an hour, he still had a mysterious expression on his face.

"I think I have seen all I need to see, Mr. Holder," said Holmes, "and I must go back to the house where I live."

"But where are the emeralds, Mr. Holmes?"

"I can't tell."

"Then I shall never see them?" cried the banker. "And my son?"

"My opinion is still that."

"So, my goodness, what the hell was going on in my room last night?"

"If you will come to me at my place in Baker Street tomorrow morning between nine and ten o'clock, I will try to make it as clear as I can. It is my understanding that you have entrusted me with carte blanche to do this for you." matter, as long as I can get back those green jades, you can pay me all possible withdrawals."

"It would cost me all my fortune to get them back!"

"Very well. I shall look into the matter before tomorrow morning. Good-bye. Perhaps I shall have to come here again before evening."

(End of this chapter)