The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 154
That same night, the two men showed up, each carrying a handbag.Lauren was older, taciturn, shrewd and steady.He wore an old frock coat, a soft felt hat, and a grizzled beard, making him look like a traveling preacher.His partner, Andrews, was a half-grown boy, frank and cheerful, talking and behaving like a jovial vacationer.Both men refused to drink, and in every way looked like true party members.They are powerful tools and murderers in the group.Lauren has been involved in this kind of activity fourteen times, and Andrews has had three similar experiences.

McMurdo found that they talked about what they had done in the past, with the pride of what they had done for the organization, but said nothing about what they were about to do.

"They picked us because neither I nor this kid was a teetotaler," Lauren explained, "and they believed we would never say something we shouldn't. It was an order from the county representative and we had to Obey, please don't take offense."

"Of course, we're all doing business for the club," Scanlon said, as the four were having dinner.

"Indeed, we would love to talk about the Charlie Williams case or the Simon Burt case, and other past homicides. But until we get this done, we have to keep quiet."

"There are six or seven people here who should be taught a lesson." McMurdo cursed. "I guess your target is not Jack Knox in the iron mining area? One day I will go and deal with him myself .”

"No, it's not his turn yet."

"Then Hermann Strauss?"

"No, nor is it."

"Well, since you are unwilling to say it, we will not force it, but I am willing to know."

Lauren smiled and shook her head.He still refused to speak.

Despite their reticence, Scanlon and McMurdo were determined to find out, to see what they called "the game."So one morning, when McMurdo finally heard them tiptoeing downstairs, he woke Scanlon and the two quickly changed.It was still dark, and the door was wide open.By the light they saw that the two men had reached the street, and McMurdo and Scanlon followed cautiously, walking through the snow.

Their residence was close to the edge of the town, and the two of them soon came to the intersection outside the town, where three people were already waiting.Lauren and Andrews had a quick word with them, and then walked together.It is conceivable that it must be a big job, so so many people are needed.They came to a fork in the road where several trails led to various mines, and these men took the road that led to Mount Crow.The owner of this mine is a very courageous and capable man named Josiah Dunn from England.He is full of energy and fearless of evil. For a long time, the mine he runs has maintained strict discipline and order in this valley shrouded in terror.

It was already daylight, and the workers were rushing to the construction site.Alone or in small groups, they walked along the coal-black path.

McMurdo and Scanlon blended in with the group, keeping within sight of those they were following.A puff of smoke rose, followed by a piercing honking of a siren.This is the preparatory bell before the start of work, which heralds the start of the day's work. In 10 minutes, the workers will go down to the well in cages to work.

They came to the clearing around the mine, where hundreds of miners stood, stamping their feet and breathing hot air on their hands because of the extreme cold.The strangers stood in the shadows near the engine room.Scanlon and McMurdo climbed onto a nearby pile of cinders, from which they could see the entire mine.They saw the mining technician, the bearded Scotsman Monsis came out of the engine room, blew his whistle, and commanded the cage to descend.

At this moment, a slender young man, clean-shaven and looking very sincere, walked towards the mine.When he came over, he found a group of silent guys standing beside the computer room, their hats were pulled down, and their faces were covered by the collars of their coats.For a moment, the manager had a premonition that the god of death was reaching out a pair of cold hands to him, but he quickly thought of his duty again, and walked over desperately to expel these intruders.

"Who are you?" he asked as he walked over, "what are you doing here?"

No one answered him.At this time, the teenager Andrews took a step forward and shot him in the stomach.Hundreds of miners waiting to go to work stood there helpless, motionless as if paralyzed.The manager covered the wound with his hands, bent over, and staggered aside.At this time, another murderer fired again, and his body fell to one side, struggling on a pile of slag.The Scotsman Monthis suddenly roared, picked up a big iron wrench and rushed towards the murderers, but two bullets shot at his face killed him immediately, and finally he fell in front of the murderers. by the feet.

At this time, an angry noise broke out in the crowd, and some miners rushed forward, but the murderers fired several shots at the top of the crowd, and the panicked crowd suddenly dispersed. out of his own home.

A few daring people gathered again and returned to the mine, but the murderers had long since disappeared in the morning mist.Although these men killed two people in front of hundreds of onlookers, none of them could swear to recognize them.

Scanlon and McMurdo head back home.Along the way, Scanlon was frustrated because it was the first time he had witnessed a murder, and it was not a "game" as he had thought.On their way back, the heart-piercing cries of the victim's wife kept lingering in their ears.McMurdo was greatly shocked and remained silent, but he did not take seriously the cowardice of his companion.

"Yes, it's like a war," McMurdo said repeatedly. "It's a war between us and them, ready to strike the other side, wherever it is."

That night, the branch office in the union building was filled with revelers.The death of the Crow Hill Coal Manager and Technician brought other blackmailed and terrified companies under the control of the chapter forces.They celebrated not only the success of the assassination attempt, but also the victories the chapter has achieved over the years.

In return for the successful completion of the five assassins sent by the county deputies, he asked the Vermissa chapter to secretly select three men to assassinate William Hales of Stecroy.The man was a well-known and beloved mine-owner in the Gilmerton area.He believed that he had no enemies in this world, because he was a model employer anyway.Insisting on efficiency at work, he fired several slacker employees who were drunk and riotous, but these people happened to be members of this evil organization.Even in the face of the threat of death, he never wavered in his resolve.However, in this free and civilized country, he was killed.

Ted Baldwin, who was in command of the operation, was lying sprawled on the honor seat next to the body owner.His flushed face and bloodshot eyes suggested he had been up all night and had been drinking too much.Before that, he and his two companions had been guarding the mountain all night.They were disheveled and weary, but they received a welcome that heroes returning from the Expendables had never received.

They described the experience over and over again with great enthusiasm, followed by excited cheers and wild laughter.At dusk, they lie in ambush on the top of a steep mountain, waiting for their prey to pass by.They knew that the horse had to walk slowly here.The weather was so cold that the victim was dragged off his horse and fired several times before he could draw a pistol from his fur coat.He once begged for mercy loudly, and his begging for mercy became the butt of repeated imitation by the diehards.

"Let's hear him howl again," the group yelled.

None of them knew the dead man, but the murder made them talk about it, and at the same time they were showing the diehards in the Gilmerton area that the brethren of the Vermissa chapter could be trusted.

Only one thing they didn't expect was a couple riding past while they were still dumping bullets on the limp corpse.Someone offered to kill them, but the two men had nothing to do with the mines, so under their sharp threats, the couple hurried away.And the mangled corpse was discarded on the mountain to warn the hard-hearted mine owners, while the three outstanding avengers disappeared in the unexplored wilderness.At this time they are enjoying the victory, the sound of praise and applause is endless.

It was a day for the diehards, and the whole valley was shrouded in clouds.However, just as a far-sighted general will pursue victory at the moment of victory, expand the results of the battle, and give the enemy no chance to breathe, a plan emerged in the vicious eyes of the master McGinty: to launch a new attack on those who opposed him. attack.That very night, as the drunken men parted ways, McGinty touched McMurdo on the arm and led him into the room where they had first met.

"Ah, my man," said McGinty, "here's your chance at last. You can do what you want."

"I'm proud of it," McMurdo replied.

"You can take two helpers, Menders and Larry, I have arranged. We can never stay here without Chester Wilcox. If you can get rid of him, All the chapters in the Coalfields will thank you."

"Anyway, I'll do my best. Who is he? Where can I find him?"

McGinty took the cigar from the corner of his mouth, tore a sheet of paper from his notepad, and drew a sketch.

"He's the director of the Decker Iron Ore Company. Hard-nosed, old Marine sergeant, wounded in the war, grey-haired. We tried to take him out twice, but it didn't work, Jim Carnaway Even killed for it, now it's up to you to finish it. Look, here's the house, at the crossroads of the Dyke Iron Company's iron field, the only one, just as it's pictured, Can't hear anything. It can't be done during the day, he's quick and accurate and shoots without questioning. But at night, yes, he lives with his wife and three kids, and a Servant, you have to kill them all, there is no other choice. If you put a pack of dynamite in front of his door, with a fuse on it..."

"What did this man do?"

"Didn't I already say he shot Jim Carnaway?"

"Why did he shoot him?"

"What does that have to do with you? Carnaway was shot at night as he approached his house. That's the end of our conversation. You go and prepare for it now."

"There are still women and two children. Shall we kill them together?"

"Otherwise how are we going to kill him?"

"They were innocent, which seemed a little too harsh."

"What kind of stupid talk is this? Have you changed your mind?"

"Relax, Mr. Senator, take it easy! What have I said or done that would make you think I would disobey my Lord's orders? Whether it's right or wrong, it's up to you here."

"So, will you finish it?"

"Of course I'll go."

"When?"

"Ah, I need a night or two to look at the house, make plans, and then..."

"Very well," said McGinty, shaking his hand, "it's up to you. We'll get everything ready for you. This final coup de grace will bring them all to us. .”

This sudden mission made McMurdo lost in thought.Chester Wilcox's lonely house, about five miles from Vermissa.On this night, McMurdo went alone to investigate the situation, and when he returned, it was already daylight.The next day he found Menders and Larry, two reckless young men, as cheerful as if they were going to a hunt.

Two nights later, they met outside the town, three armed, one carrying a bag of quarry explosives.It was two o'clock at night when they came near the lonely house.There was a strong wind at night, and the moonlight flickered under the cover of clouds.Fearful of attracting the hounds, they stepped forward cautiously, loaded guns in their hands.But all I could hear was the howling wind, the swaying shadows of the trees, and the surroundings were silent.

McMurdo stood quietly outside the door of this solitary house, not hearing any sound inside, so he put the explosive pack by the door, poked a hole with a knife, lit the fuse, and then went out with the two accomplices. Withdrew to a safe place in the distance, and squatted in a ditch to observe.The houses in the distance turned into ruins under the roar of the explosion, and they had completed their mission.Never before in the bloody history of the organization has there been such a clean masterpiece.

But unfortunately, their decisive action, which had been carefully planned, was in vain.After Chester Wilcox learned that many people had been killed, he had already expected that the die hard party would not let him go. Just the day before, he had moved his family to an unknown, safe and reliable place went, and was guarded by a squad of policemen.All that was blown up was an empty house, and the resolute old Marine Corps Sergeant still strictly managed his workers in the Dyke Iron Mine.

"Let me deal with him," said McMurdo. "Leave him to me, and even if it takes a year, I'll kill him."

The people in the branch gave him gratitude and trust, and the matter was temporarily over.

A few weeks later, a story appeared in the newspapers that Wilcox had been ambushed and killed.The brethren in the branch knew well that it was McMurdo continuing his unfinished work.

That's what the Freedmen's Chapter does, what the Crusaders do.They wrought terror and ruled over the vast and fertile valley, where people had long lived in fear.Why bother to record these evil facts?Is not the facts I have described sufficient to explain the nature of these men and their methods?

The crimes of these people have long been recorded in history, and people can see more details from these records.About the shooting of two policemen, Hunter and Evins, for having the audacity to arrest two diehards--two murders planned and carried out by the Vermissa chapter, who brutally murdered two The isolated and disarmed police.There is also the case of Mrs. Rabe being shot because the owner, McGinty, ordered her husband to be beaten half to death, but she clung to him tightly.And the murder of Jenkins Sr., followed by the murder of his brother.In addition, James Murdoch was tortured and maimed, Stanhorse's family was bombed, Struth was murdered... Tragedy happened one after another in this frightening winter.

The shadow of death looms over the uncanny valley.Spring is here, with gurgling streams and luxuriant vegetation, bringing vitality to the frost-torn nature, but people living in this uncanny valley still cannot see a glimmer of hope.The cloud hanging over them was at its darkest when the early summer of [-] approached.

six crises
This was the period when the Reign of Terror was at its height.McMurdo had been promoted to deacon of the congregation, and was expected to become the second head after McGinty.Now his accomplices would come to him for advice before they acted, and without his guidance and assistance, they would accomplish nothing.But as his reputation among the Freedmen grew, so did the citizens of Vermissa, who hated him.Despite the terrifying threat, the citizens have resolved to unite against their oppressors.The diehards got word that a secret meeting had been organized in the Herald office and that arms had been distributed to law-abiding civilians.McGinty and his men paid little heed to this.Because they are numerous and well-armed, while their opponents are disorganized and powerless, most of their actions end in aimless empty talk and powerless arrests.That was the unanimous view of McGinty, McMurdo, and the powerful in the room.

Club members usually meet on Saturday nights.One evening in May, just as McMurdo was leaving for a meeting, Maurice called on him unexpectedly.This cowardly man who was scoffed at by the brothers in the branch was now sad and frowning, his kind face looked haggard and emaciated.

"Can we chat briefly, Mr. McMurdo?"

"of course."

"I've never forgotten that we had a heart-to-heart conversation, and you kept your mouth shut even to the owner."

"Since you trust me, what else can I do? But that doesn't mean I agree with what you say."

"I know that. But you're the only one who can tell me the truth. Now I have a secret." He folded his hands on his chest. "It's driving me crazy. I wish it had happened. On any of you, not me. If I say it, someone will die. But if I don't, we're all doomed. May God guide me, I just don't know what to do now !"

McMurdo looked at the trembling man with earnest eyes, turned and poured him a glass of whiskey.

"Now this is your cure," McMurdo said. "Please tell me."

Morris drank the wine, and the blood returned to his pale face. "I just have to say a word, and you'll understand," he said. "A detective has started investigating us."

(End of this chapter)