The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 114 The Return (29)
"I am the wife of Eustace Brackenstall. We have been married for a year. Our marriage is unhappy and there is no need to hide it. Even if I want to deny it, my neighbors will tell you Yes. I may also be partially responsible for the relationship between the two parties after marriage. I grew up in a relatively liberal and less conservative environment in southern Australia, so I am not used to the formal and formal British life. The main reason, however, arose from another well-known fact, namely, that Sir Brackenstall was a very heavy drinker, and that the company of such a man was wearisome even for an hour. Can you imagine how unbearable it is to have a lively woman stuck around him all day and all night? It is a crime, a blasphemy, and a corruption of morals to think that such a marriage should last. .Your absurd laws will bring disaster upon England, and God forbid all evil." She sat up, her cheeks flushed, her eyes blazing with anger from their bruised sockets.The stern maid returned the lady's head to the cushions forcefully and gently, and her angry, high-pitched voice gradually turned into an excited whimper.After a short pause she went on:

"Last night all the servants slept as usual on the new side of the house. The middle part of the house consists of the living room, the kitchen at the back and our bedroom upstairs. My maid Teresa lives above my bedroom No one else lives in the central part, and any noise will not wake up the servants on the new side. The robbers must know this, otherwise they would not dare to be so unscrupulous.

"Sir Eustace rested about 10:30 in the evening. By then the servants had retired to their rooms. Only my maid was awake, and she was in her own room waiting for orders. Before I went upstairs, there was always It was my habit to go everywhere myself to see if everything was in order, for Eustace was unreliable. I always went first to the kitchen, to the living room, to the shotgun room, to the billiard room, to the drawing room, and last to the dining room. I went to the window of the dining room, which was still hung with thick curtains. I suddenly felt a gust of wind blowing on my face, and then I saw that the window was still open. I opened the curtain, and there was a broad-shouldered man standing facing me A middle-aged man, he seems to have just walked into the house. The windows of the dining room are tall French windows, which can also be used as a door to the lawn. Light, I saw two people coming in behind this man. I took a step back in fright, and this man rushed towards me immediately. He grabbed my wrist and grabbed my neck again. I was about to shout, and he struck me hard on the eye with his fist, and I was knocked down. I must have passed out some minutes, for when I came to myself, I saw they had snapped the servant's bell-rope, and I, too, was fastened to an oaken chair at one end of the table. I was so bound that I could not move at all, and I could not cry out with a handkerchief in my mouth. Just then my unfortunate husband came. to the dining room. Apparently he heard some suspicious noises, so he was prepared. He was in pajamas and pajama bottoms, and he carried his favorite blackthorn stick in his hand. He rushed at the robber, but the older man The older one had already knelt down to pick up the cleaning rod from the grate, and when my husband walked over, he struck my husband fiercely on the head. My husband fell down with a groan, and never moved again. I passed out again, and I was unconscious for a few minutes. When I opened my eyes, I saw that they had taken out knives and forks from the sideboard, and a bottle of beer, each with a glass. As I have already said, one robber was older and had a beard, and the other two were underage children. They were probably a family—a father with two sons. They whispered a little, and then came to see if the I tied it tight. Then they went out and shut the window behind them. It was a good quarter of an hour before I got the handkerchief out of my mouth when I called to the maid to untie me. The other servants heard it, and we The police were called who immediately contacted Scotland Yard in London. Gentlemen, this is all I know and I hope I will not be made to repeat this ordeal."

Hopkins asked: "Mr. Holmes, is there any other question?"

"I don't want to bore Mrs. Brackenstall any longer," said Holmes, "and waste her time." Condition."

She said: "The three men hadn't even entered the house before I saw them. I was sitting by my bedroom window and in the moonlight I saw three men by the door, but I didn't put it out then. In my heart. After more than an hour, I heard the shout of the mistress before I ran downstairs and saw the poor man. Just as she herself said, Sir fell on the floor, his blood and brains splashed It filled the room. I think these things knocked her out, and she was tied up there with lots of blood splattered on her clothes. If it hadn't been for our Lady Mary Fraser of Port Adelaide, Australia, who is This Mrs. Brackenstall of Grange Manor has grown strong, and she must lose the courage to live. You have asked her long enough, gentlemen, and now she should go back to her room. Have a good rest."

The gaunt maid placed her hand on the shoulders of her mistress, with motherly tenderness, and led her away.

Hopkins said: "They've been together. She's brought up this lady who came to England with her when she left Australia eighteen months ago. Her name was Teresa Ritter and this kind of The maid is hard to find now. This way, Mr. Holmes, please."

Holmes's expressive face had lost its original intensity of interest, which I knew was due to the uncomplicated nature of the case which had lost its appeal to him.The only thing left to do was to arrest criminals, so why bother him with arresting ordinary criminals?The annoyance in my friend's eyes at this moment is like that of a learned medical expert who is called in for consultation and finds that the patient is only a common disease.But the dining room at Grange Manor was a different story, enough to attract Holmes' attention, and to excite his fading interest.

The restaurant is tall and large, with carved oak ceilings, rows of deer heads and ancient weapons painted on the surrounding walls, and oak panels at the lower end of the walls.Opposite the door were the tall French windows just mentioned, with three small windows on the right side, through which the dim winter sun came in, and on the left side, a large and deep fireplace with a large and thick fireplace above it. shelf.Beside the fire was a heavy oak chair, with arms on both sides and a cross-bar underneath.A purplish cord was fastened to the lace of the chair, and the cord ran from either side of the chair to the crosspiece below.When the woman was released, the rope was untied, but the knot remained on the rope.It is only these details that we notice later, for our attention is entirely focused on the corpse lying on the tiger-skin rug in front of the fireplace.

At first glance, the deceased was about 40 years old, tall and strong.He was lying on his back on the carpet, his white teeth bared from his short, black beard.He held his hands in fists before his head, and across them lay a stubby blackthorn stick.He has a dark complexion, a hooked nose, and his originally handsome appearance is distorted to look hideous and terrifying.He had evidently heard it from his bed, for he was wearing a richly embroidered pajamas and his feet were bare.His head was badly wounded, and the room was splattered with blood, showing how vicious and fatal the blow had been to him.Beside him lay the thick cleaning rod, which had been bent.Holmes examined the cleaning rod and the corpse.

Then he said: "This elderly Randall must be a very strong man."

"Exactly," Hopkins said. "I have some material on him, and he's a rough guy."

"We shall have no difficulty in catching him."

"It's not difficult at all. We've been hunting him down, and it's been said he's gone to America. Now that we know the gang's still in England, I'm sure they won't get away. We've called every port, and we'll have a reward by evening Get them. But it makes me wonder why they would do such a foolish thing when they know the lady can tell what they look like, and we can recognize them too?"

"One would think that Mrs. Brackenstall would also be killed by the band of robbers to silence them."

I reminded him: "Maybe they didn't expect Madam to wake up again after passing out."

"That's quite possible. If they thought she was completely unconscious, they probably wouldn't have killed her. Hopkins, is there anything about this Sir? I seem to have heard strange things about him."

"He's good-natured when he's sober, but he's a real devil when he's drunk or half-drunk. I say half-drunk because he's seldom dead drunk. The devil can do anything. Although he is rich and powerful, as far as I know, he rarely participates in social activities. It is said that he soaked the dog in kerosene and set it on fire, and the dog belonged to the lady. It took a lot of work to calm down. There was also an incident when he threw the water bottle at the maid Teresa Ritter. The two of us said privately that, after all, the family did not He's better. What are you looking at?"

Holmes knelt on the ground and examined the knots in the purple rope which had bound his lady, and then at the end which the robber had torn."When the rope is pulled down, the kitchen bell should go off," he said.

"No one can hear it. The kitchen is at the back of the house."

"How did the robber know of this? How dare he pull the bell-rope with impunity?"

"Mr. Holmes, you are quite right. I have thought this question over and over again. The robber must know the house very well, and the habits here. He must know that the servants go to bed early, and that no one can hear them." The kitchen bell. So he must be in collusion with one of the servants. It's obvious. But all eight servants are well behaved."

Holmes said: "If the situation of every servant is basically the same, then you must suspect the one whose master threw the water bottle on her head. But then you will suspect the mistress who the maid served faithfully. But this is secondary Yes, it will probably not be difficult for you to find out the accomplices after you catch Randall. What the lady said needs to be verified, and we can verify it with the real things at the scene." He walked to the window, opened the French-style window, and looked at the Looking at it, he said, "The ground under the window is hard, and there will be no traces here. The candles on the mantel are lit."

"Yes, they went out by the light of these candles and the candle in Madame's bedroom."

"What did they take?"

"Not much was taken, just six plates from the sideboard. Lady Brackenstall thought the robbers were too alarmed by Sir Eustace's death to get anything in time, which they would have taken The house was looted."

"That's a good explanation. They're said to have had a little wine."

"It must be to stabilize the mood."

"Exactly. Probably the three glasses on the sideboard haven't moved?"

"It didn't move, it remained the same as when they left."

"Let's come and see. Hey, what's this?"

Three glasses are placed side by side, each glass has been filled with wine, one of which still has the dregs of wine.The bottle was next to the glass, with more than half a bottle of beer in it, and a long, dirty cork beside it.The shape of the cork and the dust on the bottle indicated that the murderer was drinking no ordinary wine.

Holmes' expression changed suddenly.His listless look just now was gone, and his piercing eyes shone with wisdom and excitement.He picked up the cork and examined it carefully.

"How did they get the cork out?" he asked.

Hopkins pointed to the half-open drawer, which contained some napkins and a large corkscrew.

"Did Mrs. Brackenstall say anything about the corkscrew?"

"No, she said that when the bandits opened the wine bottle, she passed out."

"Actually they didn't use a corkscrew. They probably used a screw on a pocket knife, which wasn't more than an inch and a half long. A close look at the upper part of the cork showed that it took the screw three times to get the cork out. You actually use a corkscrew to hold the cork and you can pull it out in one stroke. When you catch this guy, you'll find out he has a utility knife on him."

"Brilliant analysis!" said Hopkins.

"But I don't know what the glasses mean. Mrs. Brackenstall did see the three drinking, didn't she?"

"Yes, she remembers that very well."

"That's all for the case, then. Is there anything else to say? But, Hopkins, you have to admit, these three glasses are special. Why? You don't see anything special? Well then." , never mind it. It may be that one has the know-how and ability not to take the simple explanation that is at hand, but to seek the complex answer. Of course, the glass thing could have been accidental. Well, Hopkins , goodbye! I don't think I can help you anymore. It seems to you that the case is clear. If there is anything new after Randall was caught, please let me know. I believe you will soon The case is successfully concluded. Come on, Watson, I think we can do something good when we go back."

On my way home I saw Holmes with a perplexed look on his face.Sometimes he tried to dispel the confusion on his face and talked eloquently; sometimes he was full of doubts, his brows were furrowed, his eyes were blank, and he didn't say a word.His thoughts were seen to return to the stately dining room of the Grange Manor.Just as our train was about to start slowly from a small suburban station, he suddenly pulled me off the train.

The last car of the train disappeared completely, and he said: "Excuse me, dear friend, for making you feel so sudden, because a thought suddenly occurred to me, Watson, that I cannot leave this case alone. I felt instinctively that things were turned upside down, that everything Upside down, I dare say it's upside down. But the lady's statement is impeccable, and the maid's testimony is perfect, down to the details. What makes me suspect? Three wine glasses, the three wine glasses. If I didn't put all the What I hear and see is taken for granted, and my mind is not disturbed by fabricated facts. If I go to re-examine everything at this time, will I get more information? I believe it will. Watson, we are sitting Wait on this bench for the train to Zisselhurst. I will now tell you my evidence, but first get rid of the idea that everything the maid and mistress say must be true. Don't let The lady's pitiful appearance clouded your judgment.

"If we think about it calmly, there are details in what the lady has said which may arouse our suspicions. The robbers had been raging at Seatonham fortnight before, and the papers had published their crimes and appearance, so whoever wants to make up a robber's story, of course they will think of them. In fact, the robber who got a lot of money usually wants to enjoy it quietly, and will not take risks easily. In addition Well, the robbers generally don't rob so early, and don't beat a woman to stop her from shouting, in fact, hitting her will make her shout harder. Also, if the number of robbers is enough to deal with one They generally don’t kill people. Also, they are generally very greedy, and they will take everything they can, not just a little. Finally, the robbers usually drink up all their wine, and don’t leave most of it. Bottle. Watson, don't you find it suspicious that there are so many unreasonable details?
"These things together mean a lot, of course, but each of them is possible in itself. The strangest thing to me is to tie the lady to the chair. I haven't quite figured that out yet." The robbers ought to kill her, Watson, or get her out of sight of their escape. But, at any rate, the lady's story is not entirely true. Besides, there is the question of the wine glass."

"What happened to those wine glasses?"

"Have you figured out the situation with the wine glass?"

"I figured it out."

"It says there were three people drinking out of glasses. Do you think that's possible?"

"Why is it impossible? All three glasses are stained with wine."

"Yes, but only one of the glasses had dross in it. Did you notice it? What do you think of it?"

"The last glass is likely to be dregs when poured."

"No. The wine bottle is full of wine. It will not happen that the first two glasses are very clear and the third glass is very cloudy. There are two explanations, and there are only two. One is that after filling the second glass, forcefully Shaked the bottle roughly, so there was dregs in the third glass. But that seems unlikely. Yes, it certainly is."

"Then how do you explain it?"

(End of this chapter)