The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 123 The Hound of the Baskervilles (4)
"If you value your life or have reason, stay out of the swamp."

Only the word "moor" is written in ink.

"Now," said Sir Henry Baskerville, "perhaps you can tell me, Mr. Holmes, what this means? Who is it that takes such an interest in my business?"

"What do you think of the matter, Dr. Mortimer? At any rate, you must admit that there is absolutely nothing supernatural in this letter?"

"Certainly, sir. But the sender may very well be a man who believes it to be a supernatural thing."

"What's the matter?" asked Sir Henry hastily. "I think you two know my affairs better than I do myself."

"When you leave this room, you will know what we know, I am sure, Sir Henry," said Sherlock Holmes. Interesting letter put together and sent yesterday evening. Have yesterday's Times, Watson?"

"It's in that corner."

"Can you have it for me, please? Open the page where the main review is dedicated." He scanned it quickly. "This important review is about free trade. Let me read you a passage from it." You may be deceived by rhetoric, thinking that the protection tax will encourage your business or industry, but if you start from a rational point of view, in the long run, such legislation will definitely keep the country away from prosperity and reduce the total value of imports, and lower the general standard of living in the country."

"What do you think of the matter, Watson?" cried Holmes joyfully, rubbing his hands together with satisfaction. "Don't you think that is a very admirable emotion?"

Dr. Mortimer looked at Holmes with professional interest, while Sir Henry Baskerville stared at me blankly.

"I don't know much about taxation," said Sir Henry, "but it seems to me that we've gotten a little off track as far as this note is concerned."

"On the contrary, I think we are on the right track, Sir Henry. Watson knows more about my method than you do, but I am afraid that even he does not fully appreciate the significance of this long sentence." .”

"Yes, I admit that I don't see a connection between the two."

"But, my dear Watson, the two are so closely connected that each word in the letter is drawn from this long sentence. For example: 'You', 'Your', 'Life' , 'rational', 'value', 'away', etc., can't you see where these words come from?"

"My God! That's right! Why, you're so clever!" cried Sir Henry.

"If there was any doubt about it, the fact that the words 'away' and 'value' are cut from the same place is enough to remove it."

"Well, now... indeed!"

"Indeed, Mr. Holmes, this is quite unexpected to me," said Dr. Mortimer, gazing at my friend in amazement. "If anyone else said that these words were cut from newspapers, I would believe them, but you can To point out which paper it was, and to say that it was an excerpt from an important review, is the greatest thing I have ever heard. How do you know?"

"I suppose, doctor, you can tell the difference between a black skull and an Eskimo skull?"

"certainly."

"But how to tell the difference?"

"Because that's my special hobby, the difference between the two is obvious. The brow ridge, the slope of the face, the line of the jaw, and..."

"That's my idiocy too, and the difference is as stark as the difference between Negroes and Eskimos to you. It seems to me that a small five in The Times and a halfpenny There is an equally great difference between the typefaces of the evening papers—poor type. Distinction between newspaper type is part of the basic knowledge of the criminologist. But, frankly, Once when I was young I confused the Leeds Mercury with the Western Morning Post. But the Times newspaper has such a peculiar font that it cannot be confused with any other newspaper. Because The letter was put together yesterday, so it is likely that the text could have been found in yesterday's paper."

"I see, then, Mr. Holmes," said Sir Henry Baskerville, "that the man who cut this message did it with a pair of scissors..."

"The nail-cutting scissors," said Holmes. "The scissors have very short blades, as you can see, for the man had to make two snips in order to cut out the word 'keep away.'"

"That's right. So someone cut out the words used in this note with a pair of short-bladed scissors, and pasted them with paste..."

"Glue," said Holmes.

"It's glued to the paper. But I can't figure out why the word 'Marsh' is written there?"

"Because he couldn't find the word in the paper. The other words are common words that can be found in any newspaper, but the word 'moor' doesn't appear often in newspapers."

"Oh, of course, and that will explain it all. Is there anything else you see in this note, Mr. Holmes?"

"There are one or two other signs to be studied. He has indeed taken great pains to eliminate all traces. The address, you can see, is scribbled. But the Times is a highly educated paper." Most people read it, but most people seldom read it. Therefore, we can assume that this letter was written by someone with some education, but he pretended to be an uneducated person.

"And judging from the fact that he tried to hide his handwriting, it seems that his handwriting may be recognized or checked by you. Also, you can see that the words are not pasted in a straight line, and some are pasted more closely. Other words are much higher. For example, the word "life" is posted in a very wrong place. This can be seen that the person pasting and pasting is careless, excited or flustered. All in all, I am more inclined to the latter idea , since the matter is clearly important, and the writer of this letter does not appear to be a careless person. If he was flustered, this raises a new question worth noting: why did he panic? ?Because any letter sent early in the morning will reach Sir Henry before he leaves the hotel. The writer is afraid of being caught--but of whom?"

"We're just guessing right now," said Dr. Mortimer.

"Well, it should be said that we are comparing various possibilities and trying our best to select the closest to reality. This is the scientific use of imagination. Reliable factual basis is always the starting point of our thinking. Now, there is one more point, you undoubtedly Call it wild guessing again, but I'm almost sure the address on this letter was written in a hotel."

"On what basis do you say that?"

"If you examine carefully, you will see that the nib and the ink have given the writer a great deal of trouble. Twice while writing a word, the nib caught the paper and spilled the ink; in writing this short In the middle of the short address, the ink dried three times, which means that the ink in the bottle is very low. You think that this is rarely the case with private pens and ink bottles, and it is certainly more common for these two conditions to appear at the same time. It's a rare thing, you know, that hotel pens and inks do. Really, I don't hesitate to say that if we could go to the hotels around Cherine Cross and check the wastebaskets, it would be as long as Find what is left of that copy of The Times from which the comments have been cut, and we shall soon find the man who sent the strange letter. Ah! Oops! What is this?"

He took the 13-by-17-inch letter paper with the lettering on it and carefully examined it within an inch or two of his eyes.

"what?"

"Nothing," he said, throwing down the paper. "It's a half-blank page with no watermark on it. That's all we can get from this strange letter, I think. Ah, Sir Henry." , has anything notable happened since you came to London?"

"Well, no, Mr. Holmes. I don't think so."

"Have you not noticed that anyone is watching your movements or following you?"

"I seem to have stepped into a fantastic novel," said our guest. "What the hell are you following me for?"

"We're about to talk about that. Before we get to that, is there anything else you want to tell us?"

"Well, what do you think is worth talking about?"

"I think anything out of the ordinary in everyday life is worth bringing up."

Sir Henry smiled and said: "I don't know much about the life of the British, because I spend most of my time in the United States and Canada. I think losing a leather shoe should not be considered a part of daily life here." Part of it?"

"Have you lost a shoe?"

"My dear sir," exclaimed Dr. Mortimer, "it has only been misplaced. You will find it when you get back to the hotel. What is the use of bothering Mr. Holmes with such trifles? "

"Well, he was the one who asked me if anything noteworthy had happened to me outside of my daily life."

"Yes," said Holmes, "however absurd the matter may appear. Do you mean that you have lost a shoe?"

"Well, it's just misplaced. Last night I left both shoes outside the door, and this morning I found only one left. I didn't ask anything from the shoe-shine guy. Finally The bad thing is, I just bought these high shoes from Riverside Road last night, and I haven't worn them yet."

"Since you haven't worn it yet, why do you put it outside and wipe it?"

"The light-brown loafers hadn't been oiled yet, so I left them outside."

"That is to say, yesterday you bought a pair of high leather shoes as soon as you arrived in London, didn't you?"

"And I did a lot of shopping, and Dr. Mortimer was running around with me. You know, since we're going to be a squire there, I should do as the Romans do, and dress in the local fashion. Maybe I'm in America. The ways I have been brought up in the West have made me look a little wild. I bought, among other things, my pair of brown high-top shoes for six pounds, but I had one stolen before I could put them on."

"It was a thing that was of no use unless it was paired," said Sherlock Holmes. "I confess that I share Dr. Mortimer's thoughts that the lost shoe may soon be found."

"Well, gentlemen," said the baronet firmly, "I feel that I have told all I know. It is now time for you to fulfill your promise, and to tell me in detail what concerns us all. .”

"Your request is very reasonable," replied Holmes. "I think it best, Dr. Mortimer, to repeat all that you know, as it was to us yesterday."

Encouraged, our scientific friend took the manuscript from his pocket, and gave the whole case as he had done the previous morning.Sir Henry Baskerville listened intently, and made occasional noises of surprise.

"Well, it seems that I have inherited a legacy with a grudge," he said at the end of his long account. Our family's favorite story, but I've never believed it before. Speaking of which, my uncle's death--ah, it's made me very uneasy, and I haven't figured it out yet. It seems you And it's not quite sure whether this is a case for the police, or a matter for a clergyman."

"Yes."

"Now there is this letter sent to the hotel where I stayed. I think it should have something to do with this matter."

"It shows that there are people who know more about what happens on the moor than we do," said Dr. Mortimer.

"One more thing," said Holmes, "that man meant no ill will to you, but merely warned you of danger."

"Maybe it's for their personal purposes, trying to scare me away."

"Ah, of course that is possible. I am very grateful to you, Dr. Mortimer, for presenting to me an interesting problem with many possibilities. But, Sir Henry, there is a very real problem at hand which must be dealt with at once. to decide whether you should go to Baskerville Hall or not?"

"Why don't I go?"

"There seems to be danger there."

"Does the danger you speak of come from the demon in my house, or from someone else?"

"Oh, that's exactly what we're trying to figure out."

"Whatever it may be, I answer in the affirmative. There is no devil in hell, Mr. Holmes, and no one in the world can prevent me from going back to my homeland. You may take that as my decision." When he spoke, his two thick eyebrows came together, and his face became dark red.Evidently the irascibility of the Baskervilles had not quite died away in their only descendant.

"At the same time," he went on, "I haven't had time to think about what you've told me. It's a big deal, and it's impossible for anyone to understand it all and make a decision. Make a decision after quiet contemplation. Mr. Holmes, it is now 11:30, and I must go back to my hotel at once. If you and your friend Dr. Watson can come to lunch with us at two o'clock, I will then be able to tell you more clearly how much this has shocked me."

"Watson, is it convenient for you?"

"no problem."

"Then you wait for us. Shall I call you a carriage?"

"I'd rather go for a walk, it does excite me."

"I am glad to walk with you," said his companion.

"I'll see you at two o'clock, then. Good-bye, and good morning!"

We heard the footsteps of two guests coming down the stairs and the closing of the door.

Holmes suddenly changed from a lazy and half-awake person to a person who can do what he says.

"Put on your shoes and hats, Watson, quick! Don't waste time!" He rushed into the room in his pajamas, and was out in a few seconds with his coat on.We hurried down the stairs into the street.About two hundred yards ahead of us in the direction of Oxford Street, Dr. Mortimer and Sir Baskerville were still in sight.

"Shall I run and stop them?"

"My God, please don't, my dear Watson. I am quite content with your company, if you will. Our friend is indeed clever, and this morning is a very fine walk. "

He picked up his pace, and the distance between us and them was cut in half.Then just behind them, keeping a distance of a hundred yards, we followed them up Oxford Street, which turned into Regent Street.Once our two friends stopped and looked into a shop-window, and Holmes did the same.After a while, he let out a soft cry of joy, and following his eager eyes, I saw a two-wheeled carriage parked across the street with a man in it, and now it was slowly moving forward .

"That's the man, Watson. Come! If nothing can be done, at least we can see him clearly."

For a moment I saw the face with the bushy black beard and the piercing eyes, turned towards us through the side window of the carriage.Suddenly he threw open the sliding roof windows, shouted to the coachman, and the carriage galloped down Regent Street.Holmes looked anxiously about for a carriage, but there was no empty one in sight.So he rushed out and chased wildly in the torrent of carriages and horses, but the carriage ran too fast and was gone.

"Well," said Holmes, gasping and pale, angrily, as he emerged from the tide of carriages and horses, "have we ever had such bad luck and done so badly? Watson, Watson! Sir, if you are honest, you should also record this matter as counter-evidence that I am invincible."

"Who is that person?"

"I do not know yet."

"Is it stalking?"

"Hmph, judging from what we heard, Baskerville has been closely watched since he came to the city. Otherwise, how could it be known so quickly that he lives in the Northumberland Hotel? If They were on his tail the first day, and I daresay they were on the next day. You may have seen that I went two or two times to the window while Dr. Mortimer was telling the tale. Second-rate."

"Yes, I do remember."

"At that time I was looking for people pretending to hang around in the street, but I didn't see any. Our opponent is very shrewd, Watson. It is a very delicate matter, although I can't be sure whether the opponent is good or malicious. But I thought he was a man of tact. Immediately after our friends said goodbye, I followed them in order to discover their shadowy followers. He had prepared a carriage so that he could loaf behind them, or dash past them so as not to attract their attention. His maneuver had the special advantage that if they rode in a With a carriage, he would be able to keep up with them in no time. However, there is obviously a disadvantage."

"Then he will be at the mercy of the coachman."

"Completely correct."

"We didn't write down the car number, what a pity."

"My dear Watson, although I look a little clumsy, you don't really imagine that I even forgot to write down the number, do you? No. 2704 is the car number we are looking for. However, it is right now We are of no use."

"I don't see what else you could have done in that situation."

"When I saw the carriage, I should have turned back at once, hired another carriage without haste, and followed it at a certain distance, or driven straight to Northumberland. Wait at the hotel. When the man we don't know follows Baskerville home, we can treat him in his own way, and see where he goes. But at that time, due to my Inadvertent impatience allowed our cunning opponents to take the lead, and we exposed ourselves and lost our target."

(End of this chapter)