The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 192 New Detective Case (14)
"Then I can assure you that there is nothing filthy about us, and that our relationship is entirely that of an employer to a young female teacher who only talks to her in the presence of her children."

Holmes rose from his chair.

"I'm very busy, Mr. Gibson," he said, "and I don't have time or taste for rambling conversations. Good-bye."

The visitor also stood up, and his large, slack body looked down upon Holmes.There was a gleam of anger under his shaggy brows, and a slight blush on his sallow cheeks.

"What do you mean, Mr. Holmes? Are you rejecting my case?"

"Well, at least I reject you personally. I believe I have made my point."

"It's very clear, but what is the implication? Raise the price? Afraid of difficulty? Or something else? I have the right to ask for an explanation."

"You may have a right," said Holmes. "I can explain it to you. The case is complicated enough in itself, and if some false evidence is added to it, I think it will be less likely to be solved."

"You're saying I'm lying."

"I have expressed my meaning as tactfully as possible. If you insist on using that verb to express it, I have no objection."

An extremely ferocious expression appeared on the rich man's face, and he raised his huge fist.I jumped up from my seat at once, while Holmes, smiling lazily, went for his pipe.

"Don't be noisy, Mr. Gibson. I think even a little quarrel after breakfast is indigestible. I think it would do you good to go for a walk and think quietly."

The Gold King struggled to control his anger.I have to admire his self-control, his angry face has turned into an expression of indifference in a blink of an eye.

"Well, do as you please. You know how to conduct your own business. I cannot force you to take this case. But what you have done today will not do you any good. Mr. Holmes, I have beaten men stronger than you. With People I fight against don't end well."

"I have heard that a thousand times, and I am still the same," said Holmes, smiling. "Well, good-bye, Mr. Gibson. You have much to learn."

The guest walked out angrily.Holmes, on the other hand, smoked peacefully indifferently, staring dreamily at the ceiling.

"What do you think of it, Watson?" he asked at last.

"Well, to be honest, considering that he is a man who ruthlessly removes all obstacles in his path, his wife may be his obstacle and dislike, as Mr. Bates told us just now bluntly. ,So--"

"Yes, I see it the same way."

"But what about his relationship with the female teacher, and how did you find out?"

"Trick him, Watson, cheat! I consider the tone of his letter violent and abnormal, out of proportion to his quiet self-possession. Evidently he was moved, and For the defendant, not for the dead. To know the truth, you must understand the relationship between the three. You saw how calmly he fought when I attacked him with a single-handed approach. Then I tricked him to give him the impression that As if I knew with absolute certainty, I was only skeptical."

"Perhaps he will come back?"

"Certainly. Certainly. He won't let go like this. Listen! Isn't the doorbell ringing? His footsteps. Ah, Mr. Gibson, I told Watson just now that you should come."

The Golden King came back with a much quieter expression than when he left.There was still wounded pride in his angry eyes, but common sense and reason told him that he had to give in if he wanted to achieve his goal.

"Mr. Holmes, please forgive my recklessness just now. I have understood your good intentions. You have reasons to know the truth, whatever the facts may be, and I respect you for that. But on my honor and life, I will The relationship with Miss Dunbar has no bearing on this case."

"That's for me to decide, Mr. Gibson."

"Yes, I think so. You are like a surgeon who cannot make a diagnosis until he knows all the symptoms."

"Exactly. Exactly. A patient who conceals his illness from the doctor shows that he has some other purpose."

"Perhaps so, but you must admit, Mr. Holmes, that most people are always wary of being asked unceremoniously about their relationship with a woman—especially when there is genuine affection. There is some privacy deep in the heart that you don't want outsiders to touch. And you burst in. But your intentions are good, and you are forgiven. You want to save her. Now that the wall has been knocked down, the things inside have been Exposed, you can ask whatever you want. What do you want to know?"

"The fact."

The King of Gold hesitated for a moment, as one does when gathering one's thoughts.His grim, deeply lined face grew more melancholy and sullen.

"I can tell you briefly," he said at last, "that some things are painful and difficult to say. I only say what is necessary. I met my wife during the gold rushes in Brazil. Maria Bint was a horse The daughter of North officials, she was very beautiful. I was a passionate youth at that time, but even looking back today, I think she was a rare beauty at that time. Her character was also deep and rich, passionate, unrestrained, loyal and loyal , as impulsive as a tropical woman, which is completely different from the American women I know. Long story short, I fell in love with her and married her. Until the poetic romance passed--it took a few years--I Just realized we have nothing in common, not at all. My love is cooling off. If her love is also cold, it will be easy. But you know how weird women are! No matter what I do, it can't affect her My affection for me. The reason why I was cold to her, even cruel, as some people say, was because I knew that if I could destroy her love or turn love into hate, it would be both good for us. But in no way No way. She still loves me as much in the English woods as she did 20 years ago on the banks of the Amazon. No matter what I do, her loyalty to me remains the same.

"Then there was a Miss Dunbar in my life. She was hired to be our children's governess. You've probably seen her picture in the papers, and she was a beautiful woman. I didn't want to pretend I was superior, I admit. Living and being in touch with such a woman in a house, it is impossible for me not to develop a strong affection for her. Do you blame me, Mr. Holmes?"

"I don't blame you for thinking this way, but I blame you if you confess to her like this, because this young woman is in a sense protected by you."

"Well, perhaps," said the rich man, but for a moment his eyes flashed back with reproach. "I don't pretend to be noble either. I've been one all my life to take what I wanted, and All I need is to love this woman and possess her. That's what I told her."

"Hmph, you really confessed your love, didn't you?"

It was appalling when Holmes was emotional.

"I told her that if I could marry her, I would marry her, but it didn't depend on me. I said I didn't care about money, as long as she was happy, I would do anything for her."

"You seem very generous," said Holmes sarcastically.

"Don't mock me, Mr. Holmes. I have come to ask you legal advice, not moral questions. I did not invite you to comment."

"I have only taken this case for the young lady's sake," snapped Holmes. "What you have done is no more humane than murder. You are trying to destroy a weak girl who has been left alone. Rich people should learn a lesson, and let you know that not all people will be bought by you to forgive your sins."

I really didn't expect that the Golden King would accept this reprimand honestly.

"I feel that way myself now. I thank God that my plot didn't work out. She is determined not to follow through and will resign and leave immediately."

"Then why didn't you leave?"

"She came out to work not only for herself, but also to support others. If she resigned, she would ignore them. It was not an easy decision for her. After I swore that I would never disturb her peace again, she did Promised to stay. There was another reason. She wanted to do something for me with her kind heart."

"doing what?"

"Well, she knows something about my business. Mr. Holmes, I have a vast estate--a magnitude beyond what ordinary people can imagine. I can build and I can destroy--and generally I always destroy. Not only destroying people, but destroying Groups, cities, even countries. It is a brutal struggle between businesses, and the weak lose. I am doing my best. I will never cry, and I will never care if others cry. But she has a different opinion, and I miss her That's right. She's a big believer that one person's extra wealth shouldn't be based on a thousand people going bankrupt and starving. That's her point of view, and I believe she sees something longer than money. She thinks I'd listen to her , she believed she could do something good for the public by influencing my behavior. So she stayed on. And that’s what happened.”

"Can you explain this?"

The Golden King paused for a moment, resting his chin on his hands, and remained silent in thought.

"All the evidence is against her, and I can't deny that. Women do have an inner life, beyond a man's comprehension. At first, when it happened, I was so taken aback that I almost thought she was out of agitation. And totally against nature. I had an explanation in my head, and I'm telling you now, whether it's true or not. Apparently my wife is an extremely jealous woman. There's such a jealousy of spiritual relationships in the world that it compares to Jealousy in physical relations is more terrible. Although my wife has no reason to be jealous of my relationship with the governess--I see she knows it--she does feel that the English girl has a way of thinking and acting towards me that she has never felt before. Influence. While it's a good influence, it doesn't help. She hates her like crazy, she's always got the blood of an Amazonian shrew in her veins. She might have tried to murder Miss Dunbar - or threatened her with a gun, so to speak Tell her to leave us. There may have been a scuffle and the gun went off and killed the person with the gun instead."

"This possibility has already occurred to me," said Holmes. "It may be said to be the only alternative to premeditated murder."

"But she utterly denies that ever happened."

"Denials don't mean much, do they? One can understand that after such a thrilling woman would be so terrified after what happened that she would most likely go home in a daze with a gun in her hand, and that she might even Throw it with the clothes, and when the gun is found, she might just deny it, because it's impossible to explain. What do you use to disprove this assumption?"

"Dunbar himself."

"Maybe."

Holmes glanced at his watch. "I trust that we can obtain the necessary permits this morning, and arrive at Winchester by the evening train. It is quite possible that I shall not speak on the matter until after I have seen the young lady." Play a greater role for you, although I can't guarantee that it will reach the conclusion you expected."

Due to the delay in obtaining the official permit, we did not go to Winchester that day, but changed our plan and went to the Thor Lake area, the estate of Mr. Neil Gibson in Hampshire.He himself was not accompanied, but he gave us the address of Sergeant Sargent Coventry, the local policeman who had originally inspected the scene.He was a tall, thin, pale man with an odd air, which gave the impression that he knew much more than he dared to tell.He also had a habit of suddenly lowering his voice as if it was a matter of great importance, when in fact he was playing tricks.But these superficial flaws can't hide his essence as a decent and honest person, not arrogant enough to refuse to admit that he is limited and needs help.

"Anyway, I'd rather have you come than Scotland Yard, Mr. Holmes," said he. "When Scotland Yard gets involved, the local police are discredited for their successes and blamed for their failures. And I've heard you've always done your business." fair."

"I do not sign at all," said Holmes to the relieved and melancholy Inspector. "Even if I solve the problem, I do not ask for my name to be mentioned."

"You are very generous, to be sure. Your friend, Mr. Watson, is also very honest, as I know. Now, Mr. Holmes, I will ask you a question as we go thither. I will speak to you alone. ’ He looked around, as if afraid to speak, ‘don’t you think the case might be against Mr. Gibson himself?’

"I've thought about that."

"You haven't seen Miss Dunbar. She's a wonderful woman in every way. He probably finds his wife in the way. And these Americans are more likely to use a pistol than us English. It's his pistol."

"Is that confirmed?"

"Yes, that was one of a pair of pistols."

"One of a pair? Where's the other?"

"He had all sorts of weapons. We didn't find one exactly like this one, but the magazine held a pair of guns."

"If it's really one of a pair, you should be able to find the other."

"We have all the guns in his house, you can go and have a look."

"Let's talk about it later. Let's go and see the scene together."

We're speaking in the sheriff's hut, which has become a local police station.From here we walked about half a mile, through the rustling autumn meadows of golden littered fern, to a fence gate leading to Thunder Lake.Following a path from the pheasant sanctuary into a clearing, we came upon the crooked, half-timbered house, half Tudor, half Georgian, on top of the mound.Next to it is a long and narrow lake covered with reeds, and the central part is the narrowest.The carriage road crosses the lake along a stone bridge, and the two wings of the lake form some small pools.The officer stopped at the bridgehead, pointed to the ground and said, "This is where Mrs. Gibson's body was found."

"Has the body not been moved before your arrival?"

"It didn't move, they found me right away."

"Who is looking for you?"

"Mr. Gibson himself. He ran down from the house with others when there was a cry of trouble, and he insisted that nothing be moved until the police arrived."

"It was sensible. I read from the papers that it was shot at point-blank range."

"Yes, very close."

"Is it close to the right temple?"

"The muzzle is at the temple."

"How did the body fall?"

"Lying on her back. No signs of struggle, no murder weapon. She still clutches a note from Miss Dunbar in her left hand."

"You mean holding it in your hand?"

"Yes, we had a hard time breaking her fingers."

"This is a very important point. It rules out the possibility of posthumous posthumous posthumous evidence. What's more! I remember that the note was very brief. It read: 'I will be at the Bridge of Thor at nine o'clock. G. Dunbar' is that so?"

"Yes, Mr. Holmes."

"Does Miss Dunbar admit that she wrote the note?"

"Yes, admit it."

"How did she explain it?"

"She's going to plead in circuit court. She's saying nothing now."

"The case is indeed intriguing. The purpose of the note is very vague."

"However," said the inspector, "if I'm allowed to comment, I think the meaning of the note is the only clear one in the whole case."

Holmes shook his head.

"Now assuming the note was really from her, it was of course received an hour or two ago. Then why is the deceased still holding the note? She wouldn't need to read it during the interview? Wouldn't that be very strange?" Is it strange?"

"After you say that, I also think it's a bit strange."

"I need to sit down and think about it quietly." After speaking, he sat on the stone railing.I could see his watchful gray eyes looking around.Suddenly, he jumped up, ran to the opposite railing, took out his magnifying glass to examine the stone carefully.

"What a strange thing, how could there be gouges on the stone railing?" he said.

"Yes, we saw the gouges in the railing too. I think it might have been done by a passer-by."

The stone was gray and the gouges were white and the size of a sixpence piece.The texture of the stone is very hard, which requires a violent impact to form chiseling marks.

"It will take a lot of strength," said Holmes thoughtfully.He knocked hard on the stone railing with his cane a few times, but did not leave any marks. "It was indeed the result of a violent impact, and it was chiseled in a strange place. It was under the railing, not near the handrail."

"But it's at least fifteen feet away from the body."

"Yes, fifteen feet. Maybe it has nothing to do with the case, but it's worth our gamble. Well, here we go. You mean, no footprints around?"

"The ground is as hard as iron, Mr. Holmes. There are no traces at all."

"Then let's go. You can go to the house to see the weapons you mentioned. Then go to Winchester. I want to see Miss Dunbar first."

Mr. Gibson had not yet returned, and we met at his house the nervous Mr. Bates who had called on us in the morning.He shows us, with a sinister air, the formidable array of arms of his employer, the accumulation of a lifetime of adventure.

"Mr. Gibson has many enemies, which will not surprise anyone who knows his character and manners," he said. "He always sleeps with a loaded pistol in the drawer beside his bed. He A cruel and cruel man, we were all afraid of him sometimes. The dead lady was often terrified by him."

"Did you ever see him lay hands on her?"

"I'm not sure about this, but the cruelest way to treat a person is to insult his personality and dignity. He once said cruel and insulting words to his wife, even in front of the servant."

(End of this chapter)