The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 193 New Detective Case (15)
"The private life of this golden magnate has indeed a lot to blame," said Holmes, as we walked towards the station. "You see, Watson, we have a good deal of facts, some of which are new. I have arrived, but I still can't come to a conclusion. Although Mr. Bates clearly dislikes his employer, the information I get from him is that the owner was undoubtedly in the study when the accident was discovered, and had no time to commit crimes. Dinner is 08 It ended at :30 and everything was normal up to that point. Of course it was found that the time of the accident was at night, but the incident happened at the time it was written on the note. No Mr. Gibson has ever On the contrary, Miss Dunbar admitted that she had agreed to meet Mrs. Gibson at the bridge. She would not say anything else, because her lawyer advised her to reserve her defense until the trial. I have several extreme cases. Important questions need to be asked of her, and I have to see her to be at ease. I have to admit that this case is very unfavorable to her, except for one thing."

"What is it, Holmes?"

"On the point of finding the pistol in her closet."

"What?!" I said in surprise, "I thought this was the most unfavorable evidence!"

"No. I found this odd when I first read it, and now that I know the case I think it's the only one that stands. We don't need contradictions. Any contradictions are Something is wrong."

"I don't quite understand what you mean."

"Well, Watson, suppose you are a woman plotting to get rid of a rival in love. You have planned it. Written a note. The other party comes. You take up your pistol. You commit the crime. Everything is done very well." Neat, it can be said that the gods do not know it. Why did you just forget to destroy the stolen goods? There is a reed pond next to you. If you leave the gun there, you will never be found. Instead, you carefully take the gun home and put it in your own pocket. In the closet waiting for the police to search? I said, Watson, people who know you probably wouldn't say you're a man of conscience, but even you wouldn't do such a stupid thing, would you?"

"Maybe in a moment of emotion—"

"No, no, I don't believe that's possible. If the crime was planned, the destruction must be planned. So, I think we're dealing with a serious delusion."

"But there are still a lot of doubts that need to be resolved in your case."

"Yes, we're going to fix it. Once your point of view is reversed, the most unfavorable evidence becomes a clue to the truth. Take the pistol, for example. Miss Dunbar said she didn't know about the pistol. As we suppose Let's infer, if she's telling the truth. Then it's clear that the pistol was put in her closet by someone else. Who put it? The one who framed her. Or the murderer. You see, from Reasoning on the other hand, we have a whole new line of investigation."

As the formalities were not yet done, we had to stay at Winchester that night.The next morning, accompanied by Mr. Joyce Cummings, the up-and-coming lawyer for the defense, we were allowed to visit Miss Dunbar in prison.Having heard too many rumors about her, I was prepared to meet this beauty, but after the meeting I had to admit that she had left an extraordinary impression on me.No wonder the formidable King of Gold saw in her something more powerful than himself, something that could restrain and guide him.When you look at her powerful, clear-eyed, yet extremely sensitive face, you feel that, despite her impulsive actions, there is an inherent nobility in her qualities that always makes She makes a good impression on people.She was dark-skinned, slender, with an extraordinary figure, and a dignified expression.However, there was a helpless and mournful expression in her black eyes, like the confusion and helplessness caught in the net.When she learned that it was the famous Sherlock Holmes who came to see her and help her, there was a gleam of blood on her pale cheeks, and a gleam of hope in her eyes as she turned towards us.

"Perhaps Mr. Neil Gibson has told you something about us?" she asked in a low voice excitedly.

"Yes," replied Holmes, "you need not repeat those things. Having seen you, I am convinced that Mr. Gibson has told the truth, both as to your influence on him and to your chaste relationship. However, these circumstances Why didn't you make it clear in court?"

"At first I thought the accusation could not be established. I thought that as long as we wait patiently, everything will be clarified, and we don't need to talk about those unspeakable internal details of the family. Now I know that not only has it not been clarified, but it has become more serious."

"My lady," cried Holmes anxiously, "I beg you to have no illusions on this point. Mr. Cummings can assure you that the whole situation is against us, and that we must do our best. Work hard to win. It would be a serious self-deception to say you are not in great danger. Please do your best to cooperate with us so that the truth of the case can be unraveled."

"I will never hide anything."

"Then tell me about your relationship with Mrs. Gibson."

"She hates me, Mr. Holmes. She hates me with all the fervor of her tropical nature. She is a thoroughgoing creature, and hates me as much as she loves her husband. It may be." She has misinterpreted my relationship with her husband. I don't want to be unfair to her, but I think her intense love is physical, so she cannot understand the kind that intellectually, and even spiritually, took her. The relationship my husband and I were connected to, she also couldn't understand that I stayed just because I wanted to be a good influence on him. Now I understand that I was wrong, I shouldn't have stayed, since I caused unhappiness in others, although I can For sure, even if I leave, this unhappiness will not go away."

"Miss Dunbar," said Holmes, "please give me a detailed account of the events of that day."

"I can tell you the truth as far as I know, but I have no way of verifying it, and there are other circumstances of great importance, which I do not even understand, nor can I think of any way of explaining."

"As long as you can tell the truth, maybe someone else can explain it."

"Well, as to my going to Thor's Bridge that evening, it was because I had a note from Mrs. Gibson in the morning. It was on the desk in the room where I taught the children, and she probably put it there herself. The note She asked me to wait for her at the bridge after dinner, she had something important to say to me, and asked me to put the reply on the garden sundial, because she didn't want anyone to know. I don't understand why it should be kept secret, but I Still did what she said and accepted the date. She also asked me to burn her note, so I burned it in the classroom fireplace. She was very afraid of her husband, he used to be rough with her, I used to criticize him for it, so I just thought she was doing it to keep him from knowing about the meeting."

"But she kept your note carefully?"

"Yes. I'm surprised to hear she died with that note in her hand."

"and after?"

"Then I went to Thor's Bridge on time. She was waiting for me when I got there. I didn't know how much the poor thing hated me until this moment. She was like crazy - I think she is crazy, She has the kind of illusory and self-deceiving special talent that mental patients often have. Otherwise, how could she treat me indifferently every day but hate me so much in her heart? I don’t want to repeat what she said. She used the most vicious The language poured out all her fury and hatred. I couldn't say a word, I was petrified by her appearance. I covered my ears with my hands and turned around and ran. When I left her, she was still standing on the bridge and screaming at me Scolding."

"Is that where she was found later?"

"Within a few meters."

"But suppose she died shortly after you left, didn't you hear the gunshot?"

"No. But, to tell you the truth, Mr. Holmes, I was so distraught by her dreadful expletives that I fled straight to my room, not minding anything else."

"You mean you went back to the room. Did you leave the room again before the next morning?"

"Yes, after the news of the accident came, I ran out with others to have a look."

"Did you see Mr. Gibson then?"

"Yes, I saw him just back from the bridge. He sent for the doctor and the police."

"Do you think he was very emotional at the time?"

"Mr. Gibson is a strong-willed, self-controlled man. I don't think he's very emotional. But as someone who knows him well, I can see he's deeply emotional. .”

"Now for the most important point, the pistol found in your house. Have you seen it before?"

"Never, I swear."

"When did you find it?"

"The next morning, when the police conducted a search."

"In your closet?"

"Yes, on the bottom of my wardrobe, under my clothes."

"When did you estimate it was placed there?"

"The morning before, at least I didn't see it then."

"How do you know?"

"Because I tidied my closet the morning before."

"That's solid evidence. It means that someone came into your house and put a gun there for the purpose of planting."

"That must be the case."

"When did you do it?"

"Only during meal times, or when I'm teaching the kids in the classroom."

"That is when you got the note?"

"Yes, from then to all morning."

"Well, thank you, Miss Dunbar. Is there anything else that might help my investigation?"

"I can't think of any."

"There are signs of blows on the stone railing of the bridge, that is, fresh marks on the railing opposite the body. Do you think it has any special significance?"

"I guess it's a coincidence."

"But it's very strange, Miss Dunbar, very strange. Why did the traces appear at the exact time and where the accident happened?"

"But how could it be chiseled like that? It can only be chiseled like that with great force."

Holmes made no reply.His pale, intent face suddenly took on that tense, bewildered expression which, in my experience, was always his moment of genius.The nagging moment in his head was so obvious that none of us dared to speak.All of us—the lawyer, Miss Dunbar, and I—watched over him in silent, tense silence.Suddenly, he jumped up from his chair, trembling with nervousness and need for action.

"Come, Watson, come!" he cried.

"What's the matter, Mr. Holmes?"

"Don't worry, miss. Mr. Cummings, you just wait for my letter. By the blessing of the God of justice, I'm going to solve a case that will make all England applaud. Miss Dunbar, you will get it tomorrow." The news is here, trust me for now, the clouds are clearing, and the bright future of the truth is coming, and I have every confidence in that."

The distance from Winchester to Thor's Lake was not very far, but it seemed to me a long way because of my anxiety, but it was infinitely long to Holmes.For, because of the extreme excitement of his nerves, he could not sit still at all, and either paced up and down the carriage or tapped the cushion beside him with his long sensitive fingers.Suddenly, as we were approaching our destination, he sat down across from me—we occupied a first-class car alone—and he put his hands on my knees, with a particularly naughty look (this is his naughty look). typical when ) looked me straight in the eye.

"Watson," said he, "I remember that you were always armed when you accompanied me on cases."

It's good for him that I carry a weapon, because he has no regard for safety whenever he's thinking all he can do, so a couple of times my pistol came to the rescue.I told him this.

"Yes, yes, I am a little absent-minded in such matters. But do you have a pistol with you now?"

I took the gun out of my hip pocket. It was a short, nimble but very handy little weapon.He took the gun, opened the safety catch, poured out the bullets, and watched carefully.

"Heavy enough—heavy enough," he said.

"Yes, very strong."

He thought for a moment with the gun.

"Do you know, Watson?" said he, "that your gun is, I believe, closely connected with our investigation."

"Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm telling the truth. We're going to do an experiment. If the experiment works, the truth will be revealed. The experiment depends on the performance of this little pistol. Take out one cartridge, load the rest, and buckle Insurance, good! This adds weight, which will give better results."

I had no idea what was going on in his head, and he didn't explain it to me, but just sat there dreaming, and we got off at Hampshire little station.We hired a rickshaw, and in a quarter of an hour we were at the house of our intimate friend, the Inspector.

"A clue, Mr. Holmes? What clue?"

"It all depends on the performance of Dr. Watson's pistol," said my friend. "This is the pistol. Sir, sir, can you find me a piece of string about ten yards long?"

After a while, the police officer bought a roll of strong string from the village store.

"That will suffice," said Holmes. "Well, if it is convenient for you, we may begin the last part of our journey."

The sun was sinking, turning the rolling Hampshire moors into a wondrous autumn landscape.The police officer reluctantly walked with us, casting critical and suspicious glances at my friend from time to time, as if he had doubts about his sanity.As I approached the scene, I could tell that my friend, though seemingly calm, was actually very agitated.

"Yes," he said in answer to my question, "you have seen me fail before, Watson. Although I have an instinct in such matters, it sometimes leads me to be fooled. Just now in Winchester Gaol When I first crossed this idea in my mind, I believed it to be certain, but there is always a weakness of flexible minds, and that is that one can always come up with different alternative answers that lead us into Misguided. But then again—well, we'll find out when we try."

As he walked he fastened the end of the rope securely to the butt of his pistol.So we arrived at the scene of the accident.With the help of the police officer, Holmes drew very carefully the spot where the body lay.Then he searched in the bushes, and at last he found a rather large stone.He tied the stone to the other end of the rope, and then hung the stone from the stone railing above the water.Then he stood at the scene of the accident, the pistol in his hand, the rope between the gun and the stone was already stretched.

"Now!" he yelled.

As he spoke, he raised the pistol to his head and let go of it.The pistol was dragged away by the falling weight of the stone, smacked against the railing, and sank over the railing into the water.Holmes ran to it and knelt by the stone railing.He let out a cheer, which meant he had found what he was looking for.

"Is there any more convincing evidence than this?" he cried. "Come and see, Watson, your pistol solves all problems!" He pointed to the second chisel, which was similar in shape and size to the first. The gouges are exactly the same.

"We're staying at the hotel tonight," he said to the astonished officer, rising to his feet.

"You can find a salvage hook, and you can pick up my friend's pistol without much trouble. You can also get the pistol and the rope and stones used by the lady who wants revenge. A device to cover up her guilt and blame the murder on the innocent. Please tell Mr. Gibson that I will see him tomorrow morning in order to arrange the release of Miss Dunbar."

As we smoked our pipes at the village inn that night, Holmes briefly reviewed the events.

"I am afraid, Watson," said he, "that you do not add to my reputation by including this Thor Bridge case in your story. I am slow-witted, and lack that ability to unite imagination with reality. That was the basis of my art of detection. I admit that the gouges in the stone railings were a surefire piece of evidence, but I didn't find the answer sooner.

"We must admit that the powers of thought of this unfortunate woman are so deep and delicate that it is not easy to uncover her plots. I think that in all the cases we have handled, there is no more strange example of perverted love. How terrible. In her eyes, whether Miss Dunbar was her rival in spirit or in body, she was equally unforgivable. Apparently she blamed all the ill-treatment of her husband on Miss Dunbar's treatment of her husband. Confused. While determined to end her own life, she contrived to inflict a fate worse than instant death on her opponent.

"She was well planned. She designed to get the note from Miss Dunbar, creating the illusion that Miss Dunbar had planned to ask her to go to Thor's Bridge. Because she was eager to make people find the note, she still had the note in her hand to expose her. What she really meant. That alone should have aroused my suspicions earlier.

(End of this chapter)