The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 109 The Return (24)
"Yes, I don't know the cause of the matter. I feel that the matter is now as it was before I went to investigate, and there is no progress. But when I started the investigation, it seemed very simple and could not go wrong. Mr. Holmes, there was no motive for the murder. This How is that possible? What bothers me is that I can't find a motive for the murder. A man is dead—of course no one can deny that—but I see no reason why he should be killed."

Holmes lit his cigar, leaned back in his chair, and said, "Please explain in more detail."

Stanley Hopkins said: "I have got the facts quite clear. But the meaning of the facts is beyond my comprehension. According to my investigations, it is this: A few years ago, an elderly Columb The professor bought this country house, the former Yorksleigh house. Because of his illness, the professor spent half of the time in bed, and the other half of the time he limped around the house with a cane or sat in a wheelchair. The gardener pushed him around the garden. Neighbors liked to hang out with him. He was a well-known learned man. He had an older housekeeper, Mrs. Marco, and a maid, Susan Tower. He has been attended by these two women since he came here, and the two women seem to have a good reputation. The professor is writing a monograph. About a year ago he felt it necessary to hire a secretary to assist him in writing it. He also invited two, but neither was suitable. The third, Mr. Willoughby Smith, was a young man who had just graduated from university. The professor was very satisfied with him. The job of the secretary was to record the professor's dictation in the morning and consult it in the evening materials, to prepare for the next day's work. Willoughby Smith has no record of bad behavior either when he was young or when he was studying at Cambridge. The professor admires him very much. I read his certificate, he Always good-natured, mild-tempered, and hard-working. It was just such a young man who was murdered this morning in the professor's study."

The wind howled, squeaking the windows.Holmes and I moved closer to the fireplace at the same time.The young detective continued the story unhurriedly: "I don't think there is a house in all England that is as reclusive as the Professor's. His family can go for weeks without a soul leaving the yard gate. The Professor is absorbed in his work." , was indifferent to other matters. Young Smith knew no neighbors and lived like his master. The two women had nothing to do to get out of this yard. Mortimer, the gardener who pushed the wheelchair for the professor Er was in the Crimean War and is now on a pension from the army, and is also a good man. He lives at one end of the garden, where there are three cottages. These are the only people in the old Yoxley. The main road from Tom to London is only a hundred yards away, and there is a bolt on the door, and anyone who wants to come in can come in.

"I'm going to give the testimony of Susan Tarleton, the only one who can tell a little about the circumstances. It happened between eleven and twelve o'clock in the morning. She was upstairs at the time, in the front bedroom Professor Colum was still in bed and did not get up until after noon in bad weather. The housekeeper was busy at the back of the house. Willoughby Smith was in his bedroom. Then she heard Willoughby Smith. Robbie went down the hall and went down into the study, which was just at her feet. She didn't see him, but she knew Willoughby's swift, strong footsteps so well she was sure she couldn't be mistaken. She didn't hear the close The sound of the study door, and a terrible cry came from the room below. The cry was full of hoarseness and despair. It sounded weird and unnatural, so it was impossible to tell whether it was a man or a woman. At the same time There was another sound of heavy footsteps, which almost shook the old house, and then it was quiet again, and everything was as usual. Susan was stunned, and it took a while for her to pluck up the courage to go downstairs. She saw the The door was closed, and she opened it to see Willoughby lying on the floor. At first she did not see the wound, but when she tried to lift him, she saw the blood running down his neck. A small but deep wound, the carotid artery was severed, and the murder weapon was a small knife. The handle of the knife was made of ivory, and the back of the knife was very hard. The small knife was a tool used to seal documents on the professor's desk.

"The maid at first thought Smith was dead, and when she poured water from the cold water bottle on his forehead, he opened his eyes for a moment and murmured, 'Professor, it's her.' Susan swore it was Willow. Than said the exact words. He was still trying to say something, and once raised his right hand. Then he dropped his hand and died.

"At this moment the housekeeper arrived on the scene, but she was too late to hear Willoughby's dying words. She left Susan to watch the body, and ran upstairs to the professor's bedroom. The professor was sitting on the bed, panicking. Uneasy, because from the sound just now, he knew something terrible had happened. Mrs. Mark was sure, the professor was still in his pajamas, and Mortimemile usually came to help the professor dress at twelve o'clock at noon. The professor said he heard There was a cry in the distance, but he didn't know anything else. He couldn't explain the young man's dying words: 'Professor, it's her.' But he thought it was delirious nonsense. The professor thought Willow Bee had no enemies and could not explain the motive for the murder. He immediately told Mortimer to call the local police. A little later, the local sheriff called me. There was nothing before I got there move, and the sheriff has set strict rules that no one may approach the house from the sidewalk. Mr. Holmes, this case is a good opportunity to use your theory, and the conditions are in place."

My friend said with a smile and humor: "Is everything in place? Mr. Sherlock Holmes is still missing. Let us have your opinion first, Mr. Hopkins. What do you think of this murder?" "

"Mr. Holmes, please take a look at this sketch first. From it, you can roughly see the location of the professor's study and the location of the relevant premises. Then you will easily understand my investigation."

He opened the sketch and laid it on Holmes' lap.I stood up, walked over to Holmes, and looked at the picture.Now I copy it below.


Of course, this is a sketch, and I only drew a few places that I think are important.Other places you can imagine when I tell.We first assume that the murderer walked into the study, but how did she get in?There is no doubt that she must have passed the garden path and entered by the back door. This way she can go straight to the study, and she has to make a detour from other places.Moreover, the murderer must have escaped along the same route, because Susan had already locked the other two exits of the study room when she went downstairs.The other leads directly to the professor's bedroom.Therefore, I paid attention to the path in the garden from the beginning. Due to the recent rain, the path is very wet, and there must be footprints.

"During the investigation, I found that the murderer was very cautious and sophisticated, and no footprints were left on the trail. However, it was obvious that someone walked along the grass on both sides of the trail, because the grass there was trampled down. This person must be the murderer , because the rain started at night, and neither the gardener nor the others were there that morning."

"Excuse me," said Holmes. "Where does this path lead to?"

"Access to the main road."

"How long is the trail?"

"About a hundred yards."

"Near the gate, you should be able to find some traces, right?"

"Unfortunately there are bricks all over the gate."

"So, are there any traces on the road?"

"The road has been trampled into mud."

"What a pity! Then do the footprints in the grass come in or go out?"

"I can't say for sure. Because the footprints are not clear."

Holmes said impatiently: "Indeed, it has been raining heavily and the wind has been blowing fiercely. It may be more difficult for me to distinguish the footprints than to look at the piece of paper. There is no way. Hopkins, when When you know there is nothing you can do, what's your next step?"

"Mr. Holmes, I think I have gained something. I am sure that someone has entered the house cautiously from the outside. I inspected the passage. Go to the study. There is not much furniture in the study. There is mainly a writing desk with a fixed cabinet underneath. The cabinet has two rows of drawers, and a small cabinet in the middle. The drawers are all open and the small cabinet is locked. The drawers are probably always open. There are no valuables in it. There are some important documents in the small cabinet, but there is no trace of tampering. The professor told me that nothing was lost. It seems that nothing was stolen.

"I'm going to check the young man's body. The body is near the left side of the cabinet, which has been marked on the picture. The knife was stabbed on the right side of the neck, and it was pierced from the back to the front, so it cannot be suicide."

Holmes said: "Unless he falls and the knife is stuck in the neck."

"Yes, I thought so too, but the knife was a few feet away from the body, so it was impossible. Of course, the deceased's own words can also testify. In addition, the deceased held a knife in his right hand. important piece of evidence."

Stanley Hopkins took a small paper packet from his pocket, opened it, and produced a pair of gold-rimmed pince-nez with a black ribbon broken in two hanging from the end.He said: "Willoughby Smith had excellent eyesight and he must have taken the glasses from the murderer's face or body."

Holmes took the glasses and began to enjoy them with great interest.He put the glasses on the bridge of his nose, tried to see things, went to the window to look outside, and then leaned into the light to examine the glasses carefully.Finally, with a good laugh, he sat down at the table, picked up a piece of paper, wrote a few lines, and threw it across to Stanley Hopkins.

"That's all I can help you with," said he, "perhaps it will be of some use."

Hopkins read aloud: "Look for a well-dressed, well-mannered woman dressed like an aristocrat. She has a broad nose, eyes set close together, a wrinkled forehead, a dull face, perhaps her The shoulders are still a bit narrow. There are indications that she has been to the same optical shop at least twice in recent months. Her glasses are highly prescribed. There are not many optical shops in the city, so it is not difficult to find her."

Both Hopkins and I looked surprised, but Holmes only smiled, and went on: "The above conclusion is easy to follow. The spectacles are more powerful than other things, and this is a special pair. Glasses. This pair of glasses is very delicate, and with the last words of the deceased, it is not difficult to draw the conclusion that the glasses belonged to a lady. Why she is an elegant, well-dressed person is because, I think a person wearing gold-rimmed glasses People don't dress casually. Have you noticed that the clips on this pair of glasses are very wide, which means that this woman has a wide nose at the bottom. Such noses are generally short and thick, but there are many exceptions. So I dare not make a judgment on this point. My face is narrow, but my eyes are not in line with the center of the lens. It can be seen that the eyes of this woman are very close to the nose. Watson, you can see that the lens is sunken, indicating the prescription It's deep. One's eyes squint all the time, and that has to have an effect on the rest of the body, giving the forehead, the eyelids, and the shoulders certain characteristics."

I said, "Yes, your analysis makes sense. But, I have to admit, I don't understand how you came up with the idea that she went to the optician twice."

Holmes took off his spectacles and held them in his hands. "You will see that the clips of the spectacles are lined with cork to prevent pinching the nose. One of the corks is faded and a little worn, while the other is new. Evidently this One of the corks came off on the side and was replaced with a new one. The old cork, I don't think it's been there for a few months. The two corks are identical, so I presume she's been to the same optician twice."

Hopkins said enviously: "My God, it's amazing! I have all the evidence, but I can't do anything, but I have thought about visiting various optical shops in London."

"Of course you're going. Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"No, I've told you everything I know. Maybe you know more. We have checked all the strangers who appeared on the main road or at the train station, and we haven't found anything. This matter The motives for the murders are the real headaches. Nobody can tell what it was."

"Oh, I can't help you here! Do you want us to go and see tomorrow?"

"Mr. Holmes, it would be great if you could come. There is a train from Charing Cross to Casham at six in the morning, and you can reach Yoxley House at eight or nine."

"To-morrow we will take this train. Some parts of this case are indeed fascinating, and I would like to go. It is almost one o'clock, and we'd better sleep for a few hours. You must be very comfortable sleeping on the sofa in front of the fireplace. To-morrow Before I leave, I'll light the alcohol lamp and make you a cup of coffee."

The next morning, the wind died down.It was still cold when we set off.The harsh winter sun shone lazily on the Thames and the marshes on its banks.After a tedious journey we disembarked at a station a few miles from Kesham.While waiting for the carriage, we had a hasty breakfast, and as soon as we arrived at Yorksleigh House, we started working immediately.A policeman was waiting for us at the garden gate.

"Wilson, any news?"

"Sir, no."

"Has anyone reported seeing a stranger?"

"No. No one came or left at the station yesterday."

"Have you asked hotels and other places where lodging is available?"

"I have asked, sir. There is no one connected with the case."

"It's not far from here to Kesham. Someone who lives in Kesham or gets on a train there won't attract attention. That's the lane I was talking about, Mr. Holmes. I assure you there were no footprints on it yesterday." .”

"Which side of the trail are the footprints in the grass?"

"This side, sir. On the very narrow edge between the path and the flower-bed. It's out of sight now. I saw it quite well yesterday."

Holmes stooped and looked over the grass. "Yes, someone is passing here," said Holmes. "The woman must have walked carefully, or she would have left her mark, and if she had gone on the other side of the path, she would have left her mark on the wet ground." Clearer traces."

"Yes, sir, she must be a very level-headed person."

Holmes was absorbed in his thoughts.

"You say she must have walked out this way?"

"Yes, sir, there is no other way."

"From this stretch of grass?"

"Certainly so, Mr. Holmes."

"Well, this murder was well done—very well, has the lane come to an end? Let's go on. I suppose the little gate to the garden is usually left open. Well, then the guest must have Came in here. She hadn't thought of killing then, or she'd have had a weapon instead of the knife on the desk. She walked down the aisle without leaving a mark on the coconut wool mat, and then She went into the study. How long was she in the study? We cannot tell."

"Just a few minutes, sir. I forgot to tell you that Mrs. Mark, the housekeeper, said she was cleaning the study a quarter of an hour before the accident."

"That tells us a time limit. The lady came into the study, what did she do? She went to the desk. Why? Not for the contents of the drawer. If there was anything worth her holding, it must have been locked." Get up. She wants to get something in the little cabinet, huh? Something seems to have scratched the little cabinet, what's the matter with the mark? Watson, light a match. Hopkins, why didn't you tell me there was a scratch on the bookcase? What about the marks?"

Holmes examined the scratch, which had begun on the copper plate to the right of the keyhole, and was about four inches long, and had scratched the surface of the cabinet.

"I see, Mr. Holmes, but there are always scratches around the keyhole."

"This scratch is new, very new. Look, the scratched place on the copper sheet is very bright! The color of the old scratch is the same as the surface color of the copper sheet. Use my magnifying glass to look at the paint here. The paint on either side of the track looks like dirt turned up on either side of a furrow. Is Mrs. Mark there?"

An older, sad-looking woman entered the house.

"Did you wipe the cabinet yesterday morning?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you see this trace?"

"I don't, sir."

"Surely you don't, or the rag would have wiped off the paint. Who holds the key to this cabinet?"

"The key is on the Professor's fob."

"Is it an ordinary key?"

"It's a car cloth key."

"Well, Mrs. Marco, you may go. Now we have made some progress. The lady went into the study, came to the cabinet, and either opened it or tried to open it. At this moment, Willow Bee Smith came into the house. Hastily drawing the key out, she accidentally scratched a mark on the cabinet door. Willoughby caught her, and she picked up something close at hand, which happened to be the knife. , in order to get Willoughby to let her go, so she went to Willoughby. It was a fatal blow. After Willoughby fell, she ran away, maybe with what she wanted to take, maybe not. Maid Is Susan here? Susan, can she get out of that door after you hear the shouting?"

"No, sir, not at all. If anyone were in the passage, I would have seen it from above. The door has not been opened, or I would have heard the sound."

"There's no problem with the exit here. Then the lady must have escaped the way she came. I know the aisle here leads to the professor's bedroom. So there is no exit here?"

"No, sir."

"Come on, let's go and see the professor together. Hey, Hopkins, this is very important, indeed very important. The corridor leading to the professor's bedroom is also covered with coconut wool mats."

"But what does that have to do with the case?"

(End of this chapter)