The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 15 Research on Scarlet Characters (14)
"However, they are very cunning. They must also be aware that they may be pursued, so they never go out alone, and never go out at night. I have been following them every day for two weeks, driving a carriage, but I never once saw them apart. Drebber was often drunk, but Stangerson was never negligent. I watched them from morning to night, but never had the opportunity. But I didn't because of it. And discouraged, because I always feel that the time for revenge is coming. My only fear is that this sickness in my chest will burst prematurely, and my revenge will be defeated.

"Finally, one evening, when I was driving a carriage at the place called Tarqueri where they lived, I suddenly saw a carriage drive up to the door of their residence. Immediately, some luggage was brought out. Soon Drebber and Stangerson came out, and they got into the car and drove away. I followed them at a good speed, and followed them at a distance. I was very disturbed at that time, lest they should change their residence again. I got out of the carriage at Stonton Station. I got a boy to keep my horses for me, and followed them into the platform. I heard them ask for a train to Liverpool, and the man on the station replied that there was a train just now. There won't be a second train for a few hours, Stangerson seemed annoyed when he heard that, but Dreb was happy. I was among the crowd, so close to them that I could hear Drebber said he had some personal business to attend to and would be back at once if Stangerson would wait for him. His companion stopped him and reminded him that they had Covenant to be together and not to go alone. Drebber replied that it was a delicate matter, and he must go alone. I could not hear what Stangerson said again, and then I heard Drebber swearing that Stan's Day Don't make any pretense to accuse him of Mr. Johnson, who is only his own hired servant. This will make the Secretary very disrespectful, so he will have to say no more. He only intends to discuss with Drebber, in case because of his And if the last train was delayed, he could be found at the Halliday Hotel. Drebber replied that he would be back on the platform before eleven o'clock, and he walked straight out of the station.

"The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I waited for day and night has finally arrived. My enemies are in my hands. When they are together, they can help each other, but when they are separated, they will fall into my hands. Even so, I did not act recklessly. I had already made a plan: the moment of revenge, if the enemy is not given the opportunity to know who killed him, if he is not allowed to understand why he was punished, Then this kind of revenge is unsatisfactory. My revenge plan has been arranged long ago. According to this plan, I want to let the person who has hurt me have a chance to understand that now is the time for him to be punished. Coincidentally, a few days ago, a man who was inspecting several houses in the Brixton Road area in my car left the key for one of them in my car. Although he took the key that night I got it back, but before he took the key, I took it out of the mold, and made one as it was. That way, in this big city, I could find at least one reliable place where I could Free to do my thing without hindrance. Now the problem to be solved was how to get Drebber into that house.

"He was on the road, and went into a tavern or two. He stayed in the last one for almost half an hour. When he came out he was shambling, obviously drunk. In my There happened to be a hansom ahead, and he beckoned and got into it. I followed closely all the way. My horse's nose was not more than a yard from the body of the driver in front. We passed Waterloo Bridge, at We ran miles and miles up and down the street. But, to my amazement, we returned to the place where he lived. I can't think of his motives for going there. But I continued to follow him, in the I pulled up about a hundred yards from the house. He entered the house, and his carriage drove away. Give me a glass of water, please, and I said I was thirsty."

I handed him a glass of water, which he drank in one gulp.

He said, "It feels better this way. Well, I waited for a quarter of an hour, or maybe a little longer, when I heard a noise like a fight coming from inside the house. Then the door swung open and two people appeared, one of them It was Drebber, and the other was a young lad I never saw before. The lad grabbed Drebber by the collar, and when they came to the edge of the steps he gave a push, and then another He kicked Drebber all the way to the street. He shook the wooden stick in his hand at Drebber and shouted angrily: "You dog! I will teach you a lesson, how dare you insult a good woman!" He was so angry that he wanted to It wasn't the scoundrel who dragged his legs and fled desperately up the street, I think the boy would have given him a good whipping with a stick. Drebber ran up to the turning, just in time to see my carriage, and called I jumped into the car at once. He said: "Take me to the Halliday Hotel."

"When I saw him in my carriage, I was overjoyed, and my heart beat violently. I was afraid that at this critical moment, my blood tumor would burst. I drove the carriage slowly, thinking I was thinking about what to do to be safe. I could have dragged him all the way to the countryside, and settled accounts with him on that desolate little road. When I was about to decide to do this, he suddenly settled it for me. This problem. At this time, his alcoholism was coming up again, and he asked me to stop outside a big hotel. He told me to wait for him, and went in. He stayed in there until the hotel closed, and he waited for him to come out. At that time, he was already drunk. I knew that I was already winning.

"Don't you think that I will kill him coldly and let it go. If I do this, I will just rigidly carry out a solemn trial. I will never do that. I have already decided to give him a chance. If he If he took the chance, he might still have a life. When I was a wanderer in America, I worked all kinds of jobs. I was at one time a janitor and sweeper in the laboratories of York College. There was One day, when the professor was explaining the knowledge of poisons, he showed the students something called alkaloids, which he extracted from a poison used by the natives in South America to make poisonous arrows. This poison is very toxic. Just a little bit of it can kill a man instantly. I remembered where the poison bottle was, and poured out a little after they were gone. I was a pretty good dispenser, so I made these poisons into pellets easily dissolving. I put one in each box, along with a pellet of the same shape but not poisonous. I decided then that, as soon as I could get my hands on it, The two gentlemen will each have a box, and each of them will eat one pill first, and I will eat the remaining one. This is as deadly as shooting with a handkerchief on the muzzle of a gun. , and no rattle yet. I've been carrying these boxes of pills with me since that day. Now it's time for me to use them.

"It was past midnight, close to one o'clock. It was a stormy night. The wind was blowing violently, and the rain was pouring down. Although it was a bleak scene outside, the sun was shining brightly in my heart, and I Almost cheered with joy. Gentlemen, if any of you have ever dreamed of something for 20 years, once it is within your reach, then you will understand how I felt at the time I lighted a cigar and puffed on it to calm my nerves. But my hands were trembling and my temples were throbbing with excitement. As I drove the carriage, I saw Old John Ferrier and sweet Lucy smiled at me in the dark. I saw as clearly as I see you all in this room now. They were always ahead of me all the way , walking on either side of the horse, and followed me to the empty house in Brixton Road.

"There is no one around, and there is no sound except the patter of rain. I looked into the car from the window and saw Dreb curled up in a ball, and fell asleep because of drunkenness. I Shaking his shoulders and saying: 'It's time to get out of the car.'

"He said: 'Yes, coachman.'

"I think he must have thought he had arrived at the hotel he just mentioned, because he got out of the car without asking any questions, and followed me into the garden in front of the empty house. At this time, he was still head-heavy. , couldn't even stand upright. I had to hold him up so he wouldn't fall. When we got to the door, I opened it and led him into the front room. I assure you all the way, Ferry Er father and daughter have been walking in front of us.

"'It's damn dark,' he said, stamping his feet.

"'We shall have light soon,' I said, and struck a match, and lighted a candle I had brought. Turning my face to him, I held the candle close to my face. I went on : 'Well, Enoch Dreb, now look who I am!'

"He stared at me drunkenly for a long time, and then I saw a look of horror suddenly appeared on his face, and the whole face suddenly convulsed, which meant that he had recognized me. His face was ashen and shaking with fright He backed away leisurely. I also saw big beads of sweat rolling down from his forehead to his eyebrows, and his teeth were also chattering up and down, making a rattling sound. Seeing his appearance, I couldn't help leaning against the door Laugh out loud. I've known for a long time that revenge is the happiest thing, but I never thought it would be like this.

"I said, 'You bastard! I've been chasing you from Salt Lake City to St. Petersburg and I've always let you escape. Now your wandering days are over. 'Cause, either you or me, never see you again Tomorrow's sun.' He stepped back a few more steps as I spoke. I could see from his face that he thought I was crazy. At that time, I was really like a madman. The veins throbbed like a blacksmith wielding a hammer, and I was convinced that if the blood had not gushed from my nostrils to relax me, I might have had an attack.

"'What do you think of Lucy Ferrier?' cried I, locking the door, and shaking the key before his eyes. 'Punishment is slow in coming, but I've got you now." I saw his timid lips quivering as I spoke, and he wanted to ask for his life. But, he knew, it was useless.

"He stammered: 'Are you going to murder me?'

"I replied: 'There is no such thing as murder. Is it murder to kill a mad dog? When you dragged my poor love away from her brutally murdered father, when you Did you feel any pity for her when you snatched her away in that damned, shameless new house of yours?'

"He cried: 'It was not I who killed her father!'

"'But it was you who broke her pure heart!' I snapped, passing the box of poisons before him. 'Let God judge us. Take one and eat it. One kills, one kills. A grain can be reborn. You choose the remaining one and I eat it. Let us see if there is justice in the world, or we are all just trying our luck.'

"He ducked away in fright and cried out, begging for his life. But I drew the knife and pressed it down his throat until he swallowed one and I swallowed the rest. We stood there face to face in silence for a minute or two, waiting to see who would die and who would live. He knew he had swallowed the poison when the pained expression appeared on his face. The way he was then How could I forget the face? I laughed out loud when I saw him like that, and held up Lucy's wedding ring to his eyes. But all this was only for a moment, because the alkaloids worked so fast. A painful spasm disfigured his face, and he shook with his hands stretched forward, then with a scream, he fell to the floor. I turned him over with my feet, and touched him with my hands. His heart stopped beating, he was dead!
"At this time, the blood kept flowing out of my nostrils, but I didn't pay attention. Somehow, I had a sudden idea and wrote a word on the wall with blood. Maybe there was a kind of prank at that time. The idea of ​​trying to lead the police astray, and I was indeed in a very lighthearted mood at the time. I remembered that there was a case in New York where a German was murdered. There was an argument in the Internet that it was the work of the Secret Party. I thought that the same word that confounded New Yorkers might also confuse Londoners. So I dipped my finger in my blood and wrote it on the wall. I found a suitable place to write this word on the Internet. Later, I went back to my carriage. I found that there was no one around, and it was still stormy outside. After I drove the carriage for a while , put my hand into the pocket where Lucy always kept her ring, and suddenly found that the ring was gone. I was shocked, because this thing was the only souvenir she left. I thought, maybe it was because I stooped to look at Drebber. I lost it when I saw the dead body. So I drove back again with the buggy. I parked the buggy in a side street nearby, and ventured up to the house. I would rather risk anything than I didn't want to lose the ring. But as soon as I approached the house, I ran into a policeman who had just come out of the house. I had to pretend to be drunk so as not to arouse his suspicion.

(End of this chapter)