The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 22 Four Signatures (6)
It was almost two o'clock in the evening when we reached Mrs Sissel Forrester's house.The servants were already asleep, but Mrs. Forrester was so concerned about Miss Morstan's strange letter that she sat by the lamp and waited for Miss Morstan, who opened the door for us herself.She is a middle-aged woman with good manners.She put her arms around Miss Morstan's waist affectionately, and expressed her condolences like a loving mother, which gave me infinite comfort.It can be seen that Miss Morstan's status here is obviously not an employed person, but a respected friend.After being introduced, Mrs. Forrester cordially invited me in and asked me to tell her about my adventures tonight.I had no choice but to explain to her that I still had an important mission, and promised her to report the progress of the case to her at any time in the future.After I took my leave and boarded the car, I took a careful look back. I seemed to see their dignified figures standing on the steps holding hands. Lights, hanging weather gauges, and polished banisters.In this dreary time, my spirits were brightened by the sight of such a quiet English family.The more I thought about what had happened tonight, the darker the future seemed.When the carriage was driving on the silent road illuminated by gas street lamps, I recalled this series of plots again.The basic issues that have been ascertained so far are Captain Morstan's death, the jewels sent, the newspaper advertisements and the letters Miss Morstan received.All these events we have roughly identified.But these events lead us into deeper, more miserable, and more mysterious realms.Treasures from India, the strange pictures in Captain Morstan's luggage, the strange appearance of Major Sholto when he was dying, the discovery of the treasure and the murder of the treasure discoverer that happened immediately after, the various strange phenomena at the time of the murder, those Footprints, a strange weapon, the same words found on a piece of paper as in Captain Morstan's drawing.This is really a series of intricate plots. Unless one has the same talent as Sherlock Holmes, ordinary people must be helpless and unable to find clues.

Pinchenley is a row of narrow, dilapidated two-story buildings at the end of the Lymbes district.I called in front of gate 3 for a long time before anyone answered.Finally, candlelight appeared behind the shutters, and then a human head appeared from the upper window.

The exposed head yelled, "Go away, drunk! If you keep yelling, I'll set 43 dogs out to bite you!"

I said, "Just let a dog out, that's what I'm here for."

The voice shouted again: "Go away! I have a hammer in this bag. If you don't dodge me, throw it down!"

I yelled again: "I don't want a hammer, I just want a dog."

Sherman yelled, "Cut the bullshit! Stand back. I'll throw the hammer down when I count one, two, three."

I just said: "Mr. Sherlock Holmes..." These words had incredible magic power, the windows of the building were closed immediately, and the door opened within a minute.Mr. Sherman was a tall, thin old man with exposed veins in his neck, a hunchback, and blue-light glasses.

He said: "Mr. Holmes' friends are always welcome here. Sit inside, sir. Beware of that badger, it bites." The weasel shouted: "Naughty! Naughty! Don't catch this gentleman." And said: "Sir, don't be afraid, this is just a lizard, it has no fangs, I put it in the house to eat beetles Don't blame me for my rudeness to you just now, but because urchins often come here to make trouble and quarrel with me. But what does Mr. Sherlock Holmes want?"

"He wants one of your dogs."

"Ah, it must be Toby."

"Yes, it's Toby."

"Toby lives in the seventh column on the left." Sherman led the way slowly, holding a candle, past the strange animals he had collected.Under the dim and flickering light, I vaguely saw bright eyes looking at us secretly in every corner.Even the shelves above our heads were lined with wild birds, their dreams awakened by our sound, and they lazily shifted their weight from one talon to the other.

Toby was an ugly long-haired lop-eared dog--of mixed breed.It has yellow and white fur, and it wobbles when it walks.After I fed him a piece of candy from Sherman, we formed a friendship, and he followed me into the car.When I returned to Sakuranuma Villa, the clock had just struck three o'clock.I found that McMurdo, the ex-boxer, had been taken to the police station with Mr. Sholto as an accomplice.Two policemen guarded the gate, and I mentioned the detective's name before they let me in with the dog.

Holmes was standing on the steps, with his hands in his pockets and a pipe in his mouth.

He cried: "Oh, you brought him! Good dog, good dog! Ethelney Jones has gone. We have had a great quarrel since you left. He not only brought our friend Seddy Erce arrested, and the gatekeeper, the housekeeper, and the Indian servant. The yard is ours now, except the sheriff, who is upstairs. Leave the dog here, we go upstairs. go."

We tied the dog to the leg of the table just inside the door, and went upstairs again.Everything in the room remained the same as before, except that a sheet was covered over the dead body.A tired sheriff was leaning in the corner.

My buddy called out, "Sheriff, please lend me your bull's-eye lamp. Tie this piece of cardboard around my neck so it hangs on my chest. Thank you! Now I have to take it off Boots and socks. Please, Watson, take your boots and socks downstairs. I am now going to try my hand at climbing. Please dip this handkerchief lightly in creosote. Well, just a little. Please again. Come with me to the attic."

We climbed up from the hole.Holmes illuminated the footprints in the dust again with the lamp, and said, "Please pay special attention to these footprints. Do you see anything special here?"

I replied, "These are the footprints of a child or a little woman."

"Is there nothing else but the size of the feet?"

"It seems to be the same as the general one."

"Never the same. Look here! Here's a right footprint in the dust, and now I've made a bare right footprint of mine next to him, and you see the main difference."

"Your toes are all close together, and this little footprint has five fingers separated."

"Very true, very true. Remember that. Now go to that hanging window and smell the frame. I stand here because I have this handkerchief."

I went to smell it and found it had a pungent creosote smell.

"This is where he stepped on before he left. If you can tell it, then Toby will have no problem identifying the smell. Now please go downstairs and let Toby go, and wait for me to come down."

When I went down to the courtyard, Holmes was already on the roof.There is a lamp hanging on his chest, like a big firefly crawling slowly on the roof.After a while, it disappeared behind the chimney, and then went around the back loomingly.I also turned to the back and found him sitting on the corner of the eaves.

"Is that you, Watson?" he cried.

"it's me."

"This is where the man went up and down. What's that black thing down there?"

"A bucket."

"Is there a cover?"

"Have."

"Is there a ladder nearby?"

"No."

"What a bastard! Going down from here is the most dangerous. But since he can climb up from here, I can jump from here. This water pipe seems to be very strong. Whatever it is, I'm coming down!"

There was a sound of rustling footsteps, and the light fell steadily along the wall, and then he landed on the barrel with a light jump, and then jumped to the ground again.

He said, putting on his boots and stockings, "It was easy to follow the man's tracks. He loosened all the tiles along the way. In his haste, he missed this thing. According to your doctors, it confirmed My diagnosis was not wrong."

What he showed me was a bag made of colored straw, about the size of a cigarette pack, with a few worthless beads on the outside and six black wooden thorns inside, one pointed at one end and one at the other. Round, like the one pierced on Bartholomew Sholto's head.

He said: "It's a dangerous weapon, be careful not to stab you. I'm so happy to have this because it could be all his weapons. And we might not be stabbed. I'd rather be shot than May the thorn poison you. Watson, do you have the courage to run the six miles?"

I replied, "No problem."

"Can your legs hold up?"

"It can stand it."

He put the creosote-soaked handkerchief on Touby's nose and said, "Hey, Toby! Good Toby! Smell this, Toby, smell it!" Toby stood with his hairy legs spread apart. , the nose is turned up, as if the winemaker is tasting the wine.Holmes threw away the towel, tied a strong rope around the dog's neck, and led him under the barrel.Immediately the dog let out a continuous high-pitched, trembling bark.It sniffed the ground with its nose, its tail raised high, and it followed the scent and ran forward.We pulled the rope and followed closely behind.

At this time, the east had gradually turned white, and it was possible to look into the distance in the gray cold light.Behind me is the big house with four squares, the windows are dimmed, and the high bare walls stand bleakly and lonely behind us.The courtyard was littered with rubbish and overgrown with bushes. This miserable scene just matched the tragedy of last night.

We passed through the messy mounds and pits in the courtyard and reached under the fence.Toby came running along with us, howling anxiously in the shadow of the wall.At last we came to a corner where a young beech tree grew.In the lower part, the joints of the bricks have been worn away, and the corners of the bricks have been rounded, as if they were often used as stepping stones.Holmes climbed up, took the dog from me, and put him on the other side.

When I also climbed up the wall, he said: "There is still a handprint of the wooden-legged man on the wall, look at the blood stains left on the white ash. Fortunately, there was no heavy rain last night. The smell can still linger on the road."

As we walked through busy London, I wondered if Toby could follow the scent to the murderer.But Toby sniffed the ground without hesitation, and staggered forward, so I was soon relieved.Apparently the strong creosote smell was stronger than anything else on the road.

"Don't think me," said Holmes, "that I was able to solve the case only by the fact that one man stepped his foot in the chemical. I already know several other ways of catching the murderer. But since luck has put this last Convenience is brought to us, and it is my fault if we do not make use of it. This is nothing more than a simplification of a problem that requires profound knowledge. To solve a crime by a simple clue is It’s hard to show our achievements.”

I said: "There is still a lot of merit. I think, Holmes, that your method in this case is more amazing, more profound and puzzling than that in the murder of Jefferson Hope. For example, Well, how can you describe the man with the wooden leg with such certainty?"

"Well, man, it's a very simple matter in itself, and I don't mean to exaggerate, the whole situation is plain and simple. Two officers in command of the prisoner's detachment heard a secret about the treasure. A Jonozan Small The Englishman drew a picture for them. You remember, the name was written on Captain Morstan's picture. He signed it himself, and signed it for his accomplice, and this is what they call the 'four Signed'. These two officers found the treasure according to this picture—or one of them—and brought it back to England. I think that the person who brought the treasure may not have fully fulfilled the original agreement. Then, why Didn't Jonozan Small get the treasures himself? The answer is obvious. The date the picture was drawn was when Morstan was approaching the prisoners. The reason why Jonozan Small didn't get the treasures was because He and his accomplices are all prisoners and have no freedom of movement."

I said, "It's just speculation."

"No. This is not speculation, but the only plausible assumption. Let us see how these assumptions agree with the later facts. After returning home with treasures, Major Sholto lived in peace for several years, but one day he Why has he been alarmed by a letter from India?"

"The letter said that the prisoners who were deceived by him have been released from prison after serving their sentences."

"Rather than getting out of prison, it is more reasonable to say that they escaped from prison, because Major Sholto knew their sentences. If they were released from prison, he would not panic. What measures did he take at that time?" What? He is very wary of people with wooden legs. The person with wooden legs is a Caucasian, because he shot and accidentally injured a British businessman with wooden legs. There is only one Caucasian name on the picture, and the rest They are all Indian or Muslim names, so we can know that the man with the wooden leg is Jonothan Small. Do you think these theories are full of subjective consciousness?"

"It's not, it's very concise."

"Well, now let's put ourselves in Jonozan Small's position and analyze this matter. He returned to England for two purposes, one is to obtain the treasure he deserves, and two Came to avenge whoever cheated him. He found Sholto's place, and most likely bought off one of his family members. There was a servant called Lal Rao, we didn't meet, Bones Mrs. Tong said his conduct was bad. Small did not find the place where the treasure was hidden, because no one but the major himself and a dead faithful servant knew about it. On this day, Small suddenly heard that the major was dying, and he feared the secret of the treasure He was going to be buried in the loess with the major's body, so in a rage, he risked being caught by the guards and ran to the window of the dying man. At that time, the major's two sons were by the major's bed, so he didn't He was able to enter the house. He held a grudge against the deceased, and re-entered the house that night, flipping through the papers, hoping to get a clue to the treasure. Disappointed, he left a note with four signatures as a marker. In His plan is undoubtedly to leave the same mark next to the body after killing the major, indicating that this is not an ordinary murder, but to avenge his companions for the sake of justice. Such a weird approach It is common, and sometimes it can reveal something about the murderer. Do you understand all of this?"

"It's very clear."

"But what else can Jonozan Small do? The only thing he can do is to keep an eye on other people's search for treasure. Maybe he will leave England for a while and come back to inquire about the news. When the attic and the treasure are found , someone reported it to him immediately. This further proves that he undoubtedly has an insider. With wooden legs, it is absolutely impossible for Jon Nuozan to climb up the tall building of Bartholomew Sholto's house , so he took a queer accomplice and told him to go upstairs first. Unfortunately his bare feet were accidentally stained with creosote, so Toby was brought in, and a half-pay officer with a wounded foot Had to limp six miles."

"So, the murderer is the accomplice, not Small."

"Yes. Judging from the way Small stomped his feet in the house, he was still very opposed to doing it. He and Bartholomew Sholto didn't have any hatred, at most he gagged his mouth and tied him up Just get up. Killing will kill you, and he won't do it himself. His accomplice, in a moment of savagery, stabbed him with a poisonous stab. He couldn't undo the mess, so Jonozan Small left a note saying, He stole the treasure and fled with his accomplices. These are some of the situations I can infer. As for his appearance, of course, we can analyze it from the fact that he has been detained in the scorching Andaman Island for many years. It is known that he must be Chinese. He was young and very dark. His height could be judged from the length of his stride. He had a great deal of beard on his face, which Thaddeus Sholto had seen through the window. There was probably nothing else missing. gone."

"And what about the accomplice?"

"Oh, there's nothing mysterious about that, and you'll soon find out. How fresh the morning air is! Look at that red cloud, as beautiful as the feathers of a flamingo, and the red sun has passed over London. There are thousands of men on whom the sun shines, but few have such a strange mission as the two of us. How small our sliver of ambition is in nature! Read John Paul Do you have any ideas?"

"I got it somewhat. I read Carlyle first, and then I studied his."

"It's like going back from the river to the lake. He once said a strange but profound saying, 'The real greatness of a man lies in his ability to realize his own smallness', you see here also mentions comparison and identification The power of this is a sublime proof in itself. There is much food for thought to be found in Richter's work. Have you brought your pistol?"

"I have this cane."

"We'll probably need them as soon as we find them. I'll give Small to you, and if his accomplice is dishonest, I'll shoot him with a pistol." He took out his revolver and loaded two The bullet was put back in the right pocket of his overcoat.

(End of this chapter)