The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 20 Four Signatures (4)
Our new friend coiled up the pipe of the hookah, and took out from behind the curtain a long, thick overcoat with a lambskin collar.Though the night was still sweltering, he buttoned it tightly from top to bottom, and finally put on a rabbit-skin hat, which was buttoned over the ears.Except for his thin face, the rest of his body has been covered.As he led us out of the corridor, he said: "My body is so weak that I can only be regarded as a sick person."

Our carriage was waiting outside, evidently ready for our journey, for the coachman set off at once at full speed.Thaddeus talked on and on, louder than the wheels turning.

He said: "Batholomew is a smart man. Guess how he found the treasure? He finally concluded that the treasure was hidden in the house. He calculated the volume of the entire house and carefully measured every corner , not an inch was missed by him. He finally found that the height of the building was 74 feet, but he measured the height of each room separately. He used the method of drilling to determine the thickness of the slab, and then added The height of the room was only seventy feet altogether. The difference was four feet. The difference could only be found in the roof. He punched a hole in the lath and plaster ceiling of the uppermost floor of the house. .There, yes, up there, he found a closed attic room, unknown to anyone. The treasure chest was on the two rafters in the center of the ceiling. He took the treasure chest out of the hole He came down and found the jewels inside. He estimated the total value of the jewels at no less than £50."

Hearing this gigantic number, we looked at each other with wide eyes.If we can help Miss Morstan get her fair share, she will go from a poor governess to England's richest heir in no time.Of course, her faithful friends should all be happy for her.But I was very ashamed in my heart, my conscience was covered by my selfishness, and it was like a heavy stone was weighing on my heart.I mumbled a few words of congratulations, then sat there dejected, bowed my head, and then paid no attention even to what our new friend said.He was obviously a melancholic, and I vaguely remembered that he seemed to name a series of symptoms, and took out countless secret recipes from his wallet, hoping that I could explain the content and function of these secret recipes to him.I wish he'd forgotten all about my answer to him that night.Holmes remembered that I had advised him not to take more than two drops of castor oil, and advised him to take large doses of strychnine as a sedative.Anyway, I was finally relieved when the carriage stopped suddenly and the coachman jumped out and opened the door.

When Mr. Thaddeus Sholto helped Miss Morstan get out of the car, he said, "Miss Morstan, this is Sakura Marsh Villa."

The Tragedy at the Five Sakuranuma Villa

It was nearly eleven o'clock at night when we reached the last leg of our evening's adventure.The fog had cleared from London, and the night was very still, with a warm westerly wind blowing away the clouds, through which the half-moon now and then showed its face.The road ahead was already relatively clear, but Thaddeus Sholto took off a headlight in order to illuminate the road ahead of us more clearly.

The Yingnuma villa was built on a square, surrounded by high stone walls, and broken glass was inserted on the top of the walls.A narrow door with iron splints was the only entrance.Our guide slammed twice on the door.

A rough voice came from inside: "Who?"

"It's me, McMurdo. Who else could be here at this time?"

There was a whining sound from inside, followed by the sound of a key turning.The door flew back, and out came a small but strong man who stood inside with a lantern.The yellow light illuminated his protruding face and bright suspicious eyes.

"Is that you, Mr. Thaddeus? But who are they? I cannot invite them in without my master's order."

"They can't be invited in? McMurdo, you can't! I told my brother last night that I was bringing some friends to-day."

"Mr. Thaddeus, the master hasn't left the house all day, and I haven't heard any orders from him. You know the rules of the master. I can let you in, but your friend has to wait outside the door temporarily." .”

This is something unexpected!Thaddeus Sholto glared at him, as if embarrassed.He shouted: "You are too disgraceful! Can't I guarantee them? There is also a young lady here, and she must not be allowed to wait on the street late at night."

The gatekeeper still insisted: "Mr. Thaddeus, I'm really sorry, these few may be your friends, but they are not the master's friends. The reason why the master pays me is to let me do my duty, and it is my duty." , I shall do my best. I don't know any of your friends."

"You must know me, McMurdo," cried Holmes kindly. "I don't think you'll forget me. You remember four years ago at Allison's that you had a three-time fight. The amateur boxer from the first bout?"

"Is that Mr. Sherlock Holmes?" cried the boxer, "for God's sake! I didn't recognize you! Instead of standing there and saying nothing, give me your jaw-dropping blow." , then I already know who you are! Ah, you are a talented but self-defeating person, you are such a person! If you continue to practice, your achievements will be immeasurable!"

Holmes smiled at me and said, "You see, Watson, even if I fail to achieve anything, I can at least be suitable for a career. Our friends will not let us suffer from the cold outside."

He replied, "Come in, sir! Come in, even your friends! I am so sorry, Mr. Thaddeus, but I have been told by the master that I must know who your friends are before I dare invite them in."

Entering the door is a path paved with cobblestones, zigzags through a desolate open space, and leads directly to a large house with a square shape and an ordinary structure hidden in the bushes.The shading of the branches and leaves made the house look very gloomy, and only a moonlight shone on the corner of the house, shining on the upper window of the attic.Such a large house was so gloomy that people felt chills, and even Thaddeus Sholto felt a little uneasy, and his hand holding the lamp trembled, making the lamp squeak.

He said: "I really don't understand, something must have happened here. I told Bartholomew that we were coming tonight, but his windows have no lights. I really don't understand what's going on! "

Holmes asked: "Is he always on his guard?"

"Yes, he has inherited our father's habit. You know, he is my father's favorite son, and I sometimes think that my father must have told him more than he told me. That is Basso in the moonlight." The window of Lomiu's bedroom. The window is brightly lit by the moon, but I don't think there is any light in it."

Holmes said: "There is no light inside, but there is a flickering light in the small window by the door."

"Oh, that's the housekeeper's room. That's the light in old Mrs. Burnstone's room. She'll tell us all she knows. Please wait here, because she doesn't know beforehand that if we go in together , perhaps she will find it strange. But, hush! What's that?"

He held the lamp up high, causing the light to wobble with trembling hands.Miss Morstan held my wrist tightly, and we stood there in high tension, our hearts beating rapidly, and we listened.In the middle of the night, from this huge and dark house, there were continuous bursts of shrill and terrifying women's cries.

Thaddeus said: "This is Mrs. Bornstone's voice. She is the only woman in this house. Please wait here, and I will be right back." He hurried to the door and knocked in the way he was accustomed to. twice.We saw a tall woman and invited him in as if she were a relative.

"Oh, Mr. Thaddeus, how wonderful it is for you to come! What a coincidence you have come! Oh, Mr. Thaddeus!" These overjoyed words could still be faintly heard after the door was closed.

Holding the lamp which our guide had left for us, Holmes examined slowly and carefully the surroundings of the house and the great heaps of rubbish which had accumulated in the clearing.Miss Morstan stood with me, her hand clasping mine.Love is a wonderful thing.The two of us hadn't met the day before, and neither of us had said a word of flirting today, but now in the face of disaster, our hands will be held tightly together by coincidence.It was funny when I thought about it later, the action seemed instinctive.Later, she often told me that she felt that she could only get comfort and protection by cuddling with me.The two of us are like children, standing together hand in hand, we don't care about the dangers around us, and our hearts are open.

She looked around and said, "What a strange place!"

"It seems like all the moles in England have come here. I've only seen anything like it on the side of the hill near Birla Wright, where the prospectors were drilling."

Holmes said: "This place has also been excavated many times, leaving traces of searching for treasures. Don't forget, they spent six years looking for it. No wonder this land is like a gravel pit."

At this moment the door flew open, and Thaddeus Sholto ran out, his hands stretched forward, and his eyes full of terror.

He shouted: "Something must have happened to Bartholomew! I'm terrified! My nerves can't stand such stimulation." He really looked terrified.His face protruding from the large lambskin collar was convulsed and bloodless, and his expression was like that of a panicked child crying for help.

"Let's go into the house," said Holmes firmly and simply.

Thaddeus pleaded: "Come in! Come in! I don't know what to do!"

We followed him into the housekeeper's room on the left side of the passage.The old lady, who was pacing up and down the room in a state of shock, seemed comforted by the sight of Miss Morstan.

She cried to Miss Morstan emotionally: "My God, how good it is to see your gentle and quiet face! It makes me feel better to see you! What a rough day I am!"

My companion gently patted her wrinkled hands, whispered a few gentle words of comfort to her, and the old lady's pale face gradually turned red.

She explained: "The master locked the door and didn't answer me. I waited here all day for him to call. He often likes to be alone, but an hour ago, I was afraid of accidents, so I went upstairs and passed through the keyhole." Peeped in. You must go up, Mr. Thaddeus, you must see for yourself! For ten years, in Mr. Bartholomew's joy and sorrow, I have seen Yes, but I never saw such a face as he has now."

Sherlock Holmes led the way with a lamp, but Thaddeus was so frightened that his teeth chattered and his legs trembled. Fortunately, I supported him and we went upstairs together.On his way upstairs, Holmes twice took out his magnifying glass from his pocket, and examined carefully the mud marks left on the brown carpet of the stairs.He walked up slowly step by step, lowered the lamp, and looked at the sides carefully.Miss Morstan remained downstairs, with the housekeeper, who was still in a panic.

After going up three stairs, there is a rather long corridor in front of it. There is an Indian tapestry hanging on the right wall, and there are three doors on the left.Holmes continued to walk slowly and observe systematically.We followed, our long shadows cast across the passage behind us.The third door is our destination.Holmes knocked hard on the door, but there was no answer.He turned the knob again and pushed the door hard, but it couldn't be opened.We put the lamp close to the crack of the door, and we could see that the inside was bolted upside down with a thick door lock.The key has been twisted so the keyhole is not completely closed.Sherlock Holmes stooped to look through the keyhole, then stood up again immediately, gasping for breath.

I have never seen him so excited.He said: "Watson, it is indeed a bit scary here. Come and see what is going on."

I looked in through the keyhole and drew back immediately in fright.The faint moonlight shone in the room, and there was a vague face that seemed to be hanging in mid-air watching me, and the position below the face was hidden in the shadow.It was a face exactly like that of our companion Thaddeus, with the same shiny bald head, the same cluster of red hair, the same bloodless face, but the expression was rigid.A terrible grin, a grin with unnatural teeth.Nothing could be more creepy than seeing such a smiling face in a room so silent in the moonlight.The faces in the room were so like our little friend that I couldn't help turning my head to see if he was still around.I suddenly remembered that he once said that he and his brother are twin brothers.

I said to Holmes: "This is too dreadful! What shall we do now?"

He replied: "Be sure to open the door." Then he threw himself towards the door, putting all his weight on the lock.The door rang, but it still wasn't opened.We rushed together, and with a bang, the lock broke, and we entered Bartholomew's room.

The room was furnished like a chemistry laboratory.On the wall facing the door are two rows of glass bottles with glass stoppers.The table was covered with Bunsen burners, test tubes and stills.In one corner of the wall were many bottles of acid, one of which appeared to be leaking, and a stream of black liquid flowed out.A particularly pungent tar smell filled the air.On one side of the house, on a straggling pile of lath and plaster, stood a ladder, above which there was a hole in the ceiling, large enough to admit a person in and out.Beneath the ladder was a long coil of rope, lying untidy on the ground.

In an armchair near the table sat the occupant of the room, with his head on his left shoulder and a wry smile.He was frozen, apparently dead for a long time.Not only his facial expression is special, but even his limbs are curled up differently from normal dead people.Beside one of his hands resting on the table lay a strange implement--a rough brown stick, with a stone like a hammer tied to it with coarse twine.Next to it was a torn piece of paper torn from a notebook with a few words scrawled on it.Holmes glanced at it and handed it to me.

He raised his eyebrows and said, "Look."

In the light, I was horrified to see "Four Signatures" written on it.

I asked, "My God, what, what's going on here?"

Holmes, who was stooping to examine the corpse, replied casually: "Murder! Ah, it's just as I expected, look!" He pointed to a long black thorn in the hair above the ear of the dead body.

I said, "Like a thorn."

"It's just a thorn. You can pull it out. But be careful, there's poison on this thorn."

I pulled it out with my thumb and forefinger.As soon as the thorns were taken out, the wound closed quickly. Except for a little blood stain that could explain the existence of the wound, it was difficult to find other traces left behind.

I said, "It was so strange and incomprehensible to me, and I am even more confused now."

He replied: "On the contrary, every link is clear. I only need to clarify a few more links, and the whole case can be closed."

We have almost forgotten our companions since we entered the house.He was still standing at the door, still trembling and moaning.Suddenly, he shrieked in disappointment.

He cried, "The treasure is all lost! They have taken it all! We took it out of that hole, and I helped him get it down! I was the last to see him! I saw him last night." When I left him and went downstairs, I heard him lock the door."

"What time was it then?"

"It was ten o'clock in the evening. Now that he is dead, the police will surely suspect that I killed him when they come, and they will. But you two don't think so? You don't think I killed him." Kill him? If I killed him, would I still ask you to come? Oh, my God! Oh, my God! I know I'm going crazy!" He skipped his feet, convulsed with rage .

Holmes patted him on the shoulder and said kindly: "Mr. Sholto, don't be afraid, you have no reason to be afraid. Please listen to me, go to the police station by car and report the incident, and promise to do our best to assist them. We will wait for you here return."

The little man followed Holmes' instructions in a dazed way, and we watched him stagger down the stairs in the dark.

[-]. Make judgments based on the scene

Holmes rubbed his hands together and said, "We still have half an hour, Watson, and we must make good use of it. I have already told you that the case is basically clear, but we must not be too confident to avoid mistakes. Now It seems simple, but maybe there are more mysterious things hidden in it."

I couldn't help asking: "Simple?"

He said like an old professor explaining to his students: "Of course it's easy! Please sit over there in the corner and don't let your footprints confuse the evidence. Now get to work! First things first, these people are How did you get in? How did you get out? The door hasn’t been opened since last night. Is there a window?” He walked forward with a lamp in his hand, he didn’t seem to be talking to me, he was just muttering loudly to himself: "The window was closed from the inside. The frame was solid, with no hinges on the sides. We opened it. There was no rain pipe next to it. The roof was far away. But someone stood on the sill. Last night There's a footprint on the window-sill after a light rain. Here's a round mud print, another on the floor, and another by the table. Look here, Watson! That's good evidence."

(End of this chapter)