The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 146 Uncanny Valley (8)
"Ah, good luck," he said.We never spoke again that night.

seven answers
After breakfast the next morning, we arrived at the local police station.I saw Constable Macdonald and White Mason conferring secretly in a small drawing room.After a while, they began to carefully sort and extract the many letters and telegrams piled up on the table, three of which had been placed on the other side.

"Is the owner of that bicycle still on the hunt?" asked Holmes cheerfully, going forward. "Is there any latest news about this mob?"

Pointing to the pile of letters in front of him, MacDonald said dejectedly: "At present we have received letters from Leicester, Nottingham, Southampton, Derby, East Ham, Richmond and fourteen other places. Report letters. The situation in East Ham, Leicester and Liverpool is obviously not good for him. In fact, he is already under police surveillance. But it seems that there are fugitives in yellow coats all over the country."

"Alas!" said Holmes sympathetically, "and now, Mr. Macdonald, and you, Mr. White Mason, I must offer you a piece of sincere advice. You will remember that, when I first set out to investigate this case, I I have put forward such a condition: I will not express some opinions to you without sufficient verification; I will work out the plan independently until I find satisfactory answers and prove them to be right. Therefore, for now I I still can’t tell you my way of handling the case. However, I also said that I should be fair to you. I can’t just watch you waste your energy and investigate in vain without reminding you. It would be too unfair to you. So today I'm going to give you one piece of advice, which is: 'Give it up'."

Macdonald and White Mason stared at their venerable colleague with wide-eyed surprise.

"Do you think the case is lost?" cried MacDonald.

"I don't think your current approach will work, but that doesn't mean the case won't come to light."

"But this cyclist wasn't a figment of our imagination. We know his physical features, his suitcase and his bicycle. This man must be hiding somewhere now, why don't we arrest him immediately live?"

"Yes, yes. He's hiding somewhere, obviously, and we can get him. But I don't want you to waste your time and energy going to East Ham or Liverpool, I'm sure we'll find him." A shortcut to solving the case."

"It is your fault that you have concealed something from us, Mr. Holmes." MacDonald was a little annoyed.

"Mr. MacDonald, you know my way of working. But I want to keep some secrets for the shortest possible time. I just want to try to confirm the details of a few cases in my own way, which is very difficult. Easy to do. Then I will bid you farewell, go back to London, and leave the rest of the finishing work for you. Otherwise, I will be so sorry to you. Because in the cases I have experienced, I really can't recall What could be more novel and interesting than this."

"I'm really confused, Mr. Holmes. We saw you last night when we came back from Tunbridge Wells, and you generally agreed with our judgment. But what happened after that, and what did you say?" Have a completely different view of the case?"

"Well, since you've asked, I might as well tell you. As I said, I spent a few hours last night alone at the estate."

"So, what did you find?"

"Ah, so far I can only give you a brief answer. By the way, I have just read an introductory material on that old manor. The content is concise and interesting. In the hands of local vendors, It only costs a penny." And Holmes drew from his waistcoat pocket a little booklet bearing a rough engraving of the old manor.

"My dear Mr. MacDonald," continued Holmes, "when you are in the atmosphere of history and culture and are deeply affected by it, this pamphlet will arouse your enthusiasm for handling cases even more. Weary, I assure you, that even such a short introductory text conjures up images of what this ancient building might have been. Allow me to read you a paragraph: 'Birlstone Hall was in Built in the fifth year of the accession of James I, it stands on the site of another ancient building, and is one of the most complete examples of the Jacobean period, with a moat.  …'”

"Mr. Holmes, stop playing tricks on us!"

"Tsk tsk, Mr. MacDonald! I see you are getting impatient. Well, since you are not very interested in the text, I will not read it verbatim. But I must say that the pamphlet mentions In [-], among the parliamentarians who opposed Charles I, a colonel had obtained this homestead. It was also mentioned that Charles I hid here for a few days during the English Civil War, and George II also once Been here to visit. You have to admit that this old manor has various connections with many historical events."

"I am sure of that, Mr. Holmes, but it has nothing to do with our case."

"Doesn't matter? Will it matter? My dear Mr. MacDonald, broad-mindedness is the most important basic skill in our business. The interaction of various concepts and the indirect application of knowledge are often beneficial. Shallow. With all due respect, I am only an expert on crime, but I am older and perhaps more experienced than you."

"I admit that you are right," said Macdonald earnestly. "I think you have your reasons, but you needn't beat around the bush."

"Well, well, I can leave that history behind and return to the present. As I said, I was at the estate last night, but I saw neither Mr. Barker nor Mrs. Douglas. I Didn't feel it necessary to bother them. I was gratified to hear that the woman hadn't grown haggard, and had a good dinner. I paid a special visit to the kind housekeeper, Mr. Ames , and talked with him for a while in a friendly atmosphere, he finally agreed to let me stay alone in the study for a while without anyone else knowing."

"What, with that corpse!" I yelled suddenly.

"No, no, it has been restored now. Mr. Macdonald, I hear it was with your permission. The room is in order, and I was in it for a while, very enlightened."

"What have you done?"

"Oh, don't take this simple matter so mysteriously. I was looking for the missing dumb-bell. It has always held a great weight in my reasoning of the case. At last I found it."

"Where did you find it?"

"Ah, we are not far from the unknown truth. Let me investigate this matter, and if I go a little further, I can tell you everything I know."

"Well, we'll just have to agree to let you do what you want," said MacDonald, "but you just told us to drop it. Why on earth is that?"

"For the simple reason, my dear Mr. MacDonald, that you have not found out who was the subject of the investigation in the first place."

"We are investigating the murder of the owner of Birlstone Hall."

"Yes, that's right. But stop trying to track down the mysterious owner of the bicycle. I assure you, it won't help the case much."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"If you wish, I will tell you in detail what to do."

"Well, I must admit that there is always some truth to your eccentric methods. I will do as you say."

"And you, Mr. White Mason?"

Mr. Holmes was as foreign to the country detective as he was to his manner, who looked at us blankly.

"Well, if Sergeant MacDonald thinks it's right, it's the same for me," White Mason said at last.

"Excellent!" said Holmes. "Then I advise you to take a walk in the country. I have heard that the scenery from the foot of Birlstone Hill to the Great Weald Forest is very beautiful. Although I am not familiar with the situation here, and cannot recommend you a suitable restaurant, I think you will find a place for lunch. When you come back in the evening, you will be very comfortable, though tired..."

"My man, your joke is too far!" cried Macdonald, rising suddenly from his chair.

"Well, well, spend the day as you please," said Holmes, patting MacDonald on the shoulder cheerfully. "You may do what you like, but you must come before evening." Meet me here, by all means, Mr MacDonald."

"That sounds like something a sane man would say."

"The suggestion I have just made is very good, only I don't want to impose it. Just join me here as long as I want. But now, before we part, I want you to write a letter to Mr. Barker. note."

"it is good."

"If there is no objection, then I say, you write. Are you ready? 'My dear sir, I think it is our duty to drain the water from the moat, and hope that by this method, we can find...'"

"It's not possible," MacDonald said. "We've checked."

"Tut tut, my dear sir, please write as I say."

"Okay, please continue."

"'I hope that through this method, we can find clues that are beneficial to us in solving the case. I have already arranged that workers will come to divert the river away tomorrow morning...'"

"This is impossible!"

"'Drain the river, so I thought it best to tell you first.'

"Sign your name now, and have it sent there around four o'clock in the afternoon. We shall then meet in this room. Until then, we may go our separate ways. I assure you that this investigation has been temporarily closed. One paragraph."

Near dusk, we gathered together again.Holmes looked very serious, I was full of curiosity, and the two detectives were obviously very dissatisfied and very annoyed.

"Well, gentlemen," said my friend gravely, "I beg you to come with me now, and examine all the circumstances, and then you shall judge, and see what I have observed and what I have drawn. Whether the conclusion is true or not. It is cold at night, and I don’t know how long I have to go, so please try to dress warmly. The most important thing is that we must arrive at the scene before dark. If you have no objection, we are now Let's go."

The manor garden was surrounded by a fence, and we walked along the fence until we saw a gap in the fence, and we slipped into the garden through the gap.In the darkening sky we followed Holmes until we came near a bush that was almost opposite the gate of the manor and the drawbridge.Before the drawbridge was raised, Holmes crouched down behind a laurel bush, and the three of us crouched in the same way.

"Well, what are we going to do now?" MacDonald asked abruptly.

"We shall wait patiently and try to make as little noise as possible," replied Holmes.

"Why on earth are we here? I think you should be honest with us!"

Holmes said with a smile: "Watson always said that I was a playwright in real life. The artistic temperament that I burst out from time to time often made me stubbornly want to put on a good play. Just ask those straightforward accusations, or whether they hit the nail on the head?" What's the point of closing a case like this? Mr. Macdonald, if we can't always make our case work full of expectation, tension and excitement, then this profession will really become tedious and boring. Those slightly Shi Xiaoji's wit, keen deduction, flexible prediction, bold assumption, and finally confirmed - all the joy brought about by it, shouldn't we be proud of it? At this moment, you will be because of the prey in front of you. I am thrilled to be caught, but if I am as accurate as a clock that has already been set, how can you feel this happiness? Please be patient, Mr. Macdonald, the answer will be revealed soon."

"Well, I hope this pride, excitement, etc., as you call them, will come true before we all freeze," said the detective from London, resignedly and humorously.

We all agree with this statement now, because the time we waited is too long to bear.The night gradually enveloped this long and gloomy old manor. The cold wind blowing over the moat made it cold and damp. We felt the biting cold and our teeth chattered unceasingly.There was only one lamp at the gate, and a small patch of yellow light shone from the gloomy study.Other than that, it was pitch black and silent.

"How long are we going to stay here?" MacDonald couldn't help asking, "What are we waiting for?"

"It is difficult for me to calculate the exact time." Holmes said very severely. It would be much more convenient for us if the criminals could arrange their crimes as punctually as the train timetable.As for what we're waiting for...hey, look at that, that's our prey! "

While he was speaking, the yellow light in the study was interrupted by a figure walking back and forth.The laurel grove where we hid was within a hundred feet of the window of the study.At this time, the window was suddenly pushed open, and we vaguely saw a person leaning out, looking around outside, sneaking and sneaking, as if afraid of being seen.Then the figure stopped, stared forward for a moment, and then he leaned forward, in this silent night, we could hear the slight sound of the river, the man seemed to be holding something in his hand, constantly Stirring the moat water.Then, suddenly, like a fisherman fishing for a fish, he fished out a big and round thing from the water.When he was about to drag the thing through the window, the light was blocked again.

"Now!" said Holmes. "Go!"

We all stood up, staggering behind Holmes, ignoring our numb legs.But he ran fast, and after crossing the suspension bridge, he rang the doorbell vigorously.The door was opened, Ames stood in the doorway in astonishment, Holmes pushed him away without a word, and we rushed into the study with him, and the man we were waiting for was inside .

The yellow light just now came from the oil lamp on the table.This oil lamp is now in the hands of Cecil Barker, who holds it up as we come in.Behind the light was his strong, resolute, clean-shaven face, his eyes glaring at us.

"What do you mean?" cried Buck. "What are you looking for?"

Holmes scanned the room quickly, then flung himself on a wet bundle tucked under the desk.

"That's what I'm looking for, Mr. Barker. This is the bag with the dumbbells in it. You just fished it out of the moat."

Buck stared at Holmes with a surprised expression and said, "How do you know this?"

"It's very simple, I put it in the water."

"You put it in? You?!"

"Perhaps I should say that I reintroduced it," said Holmes.

"Mr. MacDonald, you remember that missing dumb-bell I mentioned, but you were so busy with other things that you almost forgot about it, which was supposed to lead you to the answer. The house Being so close to the river, and losing something of weight, it's easy to assume that someone used it to sink something to the bottom. At least it's worth a guess for me to check. With the help of Ames , I had the opportunity to stay in this study to do this interesting experiment. Last night I used Dr. Watson's umbrella to scoop up this bundle and examine the contents.

"But the most important point is that we should prove: who is the one who put it in the water. Therefore, we announced that we will drain the water in the moat tomorrow, so that the person who hides the burden must be in Get it back before daylight. At least four of us saw who was the first to salvage the load. Now you know the answer, Mr. Barker."

Sherlock Holmes placed the wet bundle on the table beside the oil lamp, unfastened its ties, and from it took a dumb-bell, which he placed beside the other in the corner.Then he took out a pair of boots, pointed to the toes, and said, "Look, they're made in America." Then he took out a long sheathed knife from them, and laid them on the table.Finally, another bundle of clothes was untied: a set of underwear, a pair of socks, a gray duffel coat, and a yellow jacket.

"The clothes, with the exception of this short yellow coat, are common clothes," said Holmes. "But this coat is interesting and inspiring."

(End of this chapter)