The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 27 Four Signatures (11)
"Law?!" The criminal roared, "What a beautiful law! If the treasure is not ours, whose is it? The treasure is not earned by them, but it must be given to them. Is this fair? Look at me The one who earned the treasure: For 20 years, he lived in the wetland where the fever was rampant, worked hard under the mangroves all day long, and was locked in a dirty prison at night, shackled and bitten by mosquitoes. Afflicted with malaria and abused by every odious black-faced jailer who likes to take out whites, that's the price I earn for Agra's treasure! And you're coming to give me some justice. Is it because Don't you think it's unfair that I refuse to let others enjoy what I've worked so hard for? I'd rather be hanged or have a poisoned sting than live in prison and let another People take the money that should be mine and have fun!" At this time, Small was no longer as silent as before, and he poured out these words incessantly.His eyes were bright, and the handcuffs were vibrated loudly with his excited hands.Seeing him so angry and impulsive, I could understand why Major Sholto was terrified when he heard the news that the prisoner had escaped and returned.This is very natural and entirely valid.

"You forget," said Holmes calmly, "that we are utterly ignorant of these matters. You have not told us the whole story, and therefore have no way of showing how reasonable you were."

"Ah, sir, what you say is fair and reasonable. Although I should thank you for putting me in handcuffs, but I don't resent... It's all aboveboard and just. If you will listen to my story , I will not hide anything, I will tell the truth. Thank you, please put the glass beside me, I will put my lips to the glass when I am thirsty.

"I'm from Worcester State, and I live near the city of Boshur. There are many people from our Smao tribe living there. I sometimes want to go back and have a look, but because I have always behaved indiscriminately, the tribe may not welcome me They are all stable Christians, respected peasants in the country, but I have always been a tramp. When I was here, I got into trouble because of love, and I couldn't hide at home, so I had to find another way out. It happened that the infantry three The regiment was about to be transferred to India. In order to escape, I joined the army and chose to live on military pay.

"However, my military life was not destined to last long. When I was just learning goose marching and how to use a rifle, once I went swimming in the Ganges, a crocodile in the middle of it cut me completely like a surgical operation. My calf was bitten off. Luckily the squad leader, John Holder, a good swimmer, was also in the river. I passed out from the shock and loss of blood. If Holder hadn't grabbed me and swam to the shore, I would have drowned Died. I was in the hospital for five months before limping out with a wooden leg. I was disenrolled due to disability, making it harder to find employment.

"As you can imagine, I was not yet 20 years old, and I became a useless cripple. It was bad enough luck. But after being embarrassed, my fortune turned around, and it happened that a newcomer to India to manage an indigo garden, named The owner named Abbe White was looking for someone to oversee the coolies at the indigo farm. The owner happened to be a friend of the head of the unit I was with. The head took care of me a lot because of my disability. Long story short, the head highly recommended it Me. Because this job is mainly riding on a horse, and I can still clamp the belly of the horse with my knees. Although I am disabled, riding a horse is not a problem. My job is to patrol the estate, supervise the workers and put them away. I report to the owner of my work at all times. The pay is good and the accommodation is comfortable, so I have the idea of ​​doing this work for the rest of my life. The owner, Mr. Abbey White, is a kind man, and he often comes to my cabin to smoke a cigarette and talk. Chat, because the white people there are not like here, they care about each other.

"Ah, the good times didn't last long. Suddenly, unexpectedly, a great rebellion broke out. One month people lived and worked as in the motherland, but in the next month, more than 20 black devils were out of control, turning the whole of India Hell. Of course, some of you have seen these things in the newspapers, or know more than me who can't read, because I only know what I see. The place where our Indigo Park is located is called Mutra, near the edge of the northwestern provinces. Every night, the house is burned red with flames. Every day, small squads of European soldiers protect their families and drive past our indigo gardens to the nearest army stationed Mr. Arbor White, the owner of the estate, was a stubborn man, and thought that the news of the mutiny was somewhat exaggerated. He thought that the mutiny would be calmed down soon, but he still sat on the verandah drinking and smoking as usual. But there were already wars all around. I and a Mr. and Mrs. Dawson, an account manager, were devoted to our duties and were inseparable from him. Well, one day a change came. I was going to a distant garden that day. At dusk I rode back slowly. On the way my eyes were caught by a crouching mass on the bottom of the steep canyon. I rode down to look, and I was horrified. It was Dawson's wife who had been cut. There were strips of corpses that had been half-eaten by jackals and wild dogs. Dawson's body was lying not far away, holding an empty pistol in his hand, lying and pressing together in front of him The dead bodies of four Indian soldiers. I pulled the reins, not knowing where to go, when I suddenly saw the owner’s house on fire, and the flames had already reached the roof. I knew that it would be of no benefit to the owner to rush there. Will put my own life in. From where I stand I can see hundreds of niggas in red dancing at the burning house, a few of them pointed at me, and then two stray bullets came from I flew over my head. I turned my horse's head and ran towards the rice fields. I escaped to the city of Agra late at night.

"But in fact Agra is not a very safe place. The whole of India is in chaos. Wherever the British can gather a few people, they can only keep a small area within the range of the guns. Everywhere else the British Men have become homeless refugees. This is a war of millions against hundreds. The saddest thing is that our enemies, whether infantry, cavalry or artillery, are the best fighters we have trained , they use our weapons, and the bugle tunes are the same as ours. At Agra there is the 100rd Bengal Fusiliers Regiment, with some Indians, two cavalry companies, and a battery of artillery. There is also a new company The Volunteer Squad is made up of businessmen and government workers. Even though I had wooden legs, I still participated. We went to Sagenji to fight the rebels in early July, and we also repelled them for a period of time. Later, because of lack of ammunition, we Back into the city again. Only the worst news came from every direction - which is no surprise, because we are in the center of the rebellion as long as you look at the map. Lucknow is in the east, More than [-] miles apart; Comp City is to the south, about the same distance. Pain, carnage, and brutality everywhere.

"Agra is a great city, inhabited by all kinds of strange and terrible devils. In the narrow and crooked streets, our few Englishmen cannot be defended. Therefore, our governor mobilized the army, On the other side of the river, a position was established in an old Agra fort. I wonder if any of you have heard of this old fort or read about it. This old fort is a very strange place-- I have been to many queer places, but this is one of the strangest I have ever seen in my life. First of all, it is huge, I reckon it covers many acres of land, the newer part is so large that it can Contains all our troops, women and children, and baggage. But this newer part is not as big as the old part. No one dares to go there, because scorpions and centipedes are entrenched there. The old castle is completely empty It is easy to get lost in the large halls, winding corridors and winding corridors. Therefore, few people go to the old castle, but occasionally people with torches go in to explore together.

"The little river that flows in front of the old castle forms a moat. There are many gates on the sides and back of the castle. Naturally, there must be guards here and where our troops live. Our numbers are too small, It is impossible to take care of every corner of the whole fort and all the artillery positions, so it is absolutely impossible to send heavy guards at countless fort gates. Our solution is to set up a central guard room in the center of the fort, and every One of the fort gates was guarded by a white man with two or three Indian soldiers. For a fixed period of time every night I was in charge of guarding a small isolated gate on the south-west side of the fort. Under my command were two Sikh soldiers. The instruction I received was: in case of emergency, as long as you fire a shot, people will come to respond from the central guard room. But our place is more than 200 steps away from the center of the fort, and we have to go through many long and winding labyrinths. Corridors and passages. I doubt very much that, in the event of an actual attack, rescuers would arrive in time.

"I am a new soldier and a handicapped man, but I am very proud of being a small leader. The first two nights I and my two Indian soldiers from Punjab province guarded the gate of the fort. One of their names was Mohamit Singh and one called Abdla Khan. They are all tall, fierce-looking fellows. They are battle-hardened, and they all fought us in the battle of Chirenwala. They both speak good English, but I didn't hear them talking. The two of them always like to stand next to each other and babble all night long in weird Sikh. I'm usually alone Standing outside the gate of the fort, looking down at the wide and winding river and the flickering lights of the big city. The pounding of drums and the sound of Indian gongs, the shouting and shouting of rebels who have sucked up their opium, All night we were reminded that there was a dangerous enemy on the other side of the river. Every two hours, the night duty officer went to the guard posts to check once, just in case of accidents.

"The third night I was on guard, the sky was cloudy and there was light rain. It was really distressing to stand for several hours in this weather. I tried to talk to the two Indian soldiers, but they still didn't want to answer me. At two o'clock in the latter part of the night, the patrol, which broke the silence of the night a little, passed. Since my companion would not talk to me, I put down my gun, took out my pipe, and struck a match. Suddenly two Indian soldiers shot at me. I rushed up, one person snatched my gun, opened the safety catch on the gun and pointed the muzzle at my head. The other drew a big knife and put it on my neck, and gritted his teeth Said, just put the knife in my throat any time I move.

"It occurred to me first that they must be with the rebels, and that was the beginning of their assault. If they took this gate, the whole fortress would surely fall into enemy hands, and the women and children in it would suffer Same thing happened to me at Comm. Maybe some of you are thinking, I'm talking nonsense here for myself, but I swear when I think about it, even though I know the point of the knife is in my throat, I I still opened my mouth and wanted to yell. Even if it is the last one, maybe this can give a warning to the central guard room. The person holding me seems to have known what I was thinking, just when I was about to make a sound , he whispered to me: 'Don't make a sound, the fort is safe, and there are no rebels on this side of the river.' His words sounded as if they were true. I knew that if I spoke, I would be killed, and I never The guy saw it in his brown eyes, so I didn't make a sound. I waited to see what they were going to do with me.

"The one who is taller and fiercer, Abdul Khan, said to me: 'Sir, listen to me. Now there are only two ways for you to choose: one way is to cooperate with us, and the other way is to let you I can't even make a sound. The matter is too big for any of us to hesitate. Either you swear to God with all your heart to cooperate with us to the end, or we will throw your body in the river tonight, and then we will rebel. There is absolutely no middle ground besides the army brothers. Which way do you choose, life or death? We can only give you 3 minutes to make a decision, because time is short, and this matter must be settled before the next patrol arrives. '

"I replied: 'You didn't tell me what was going on, how did I make a decision? But I told you, if your schemes involved the safety of the fort, I couldn't cooperate with you. Just give me a knife, and I will pleasure!'

"He said: 'This matter has nothing to do with the fort, I just want you to do the same thing that you Britons came to India for - to get rich. If you decide to cooperate with us tonight, we will start with This knife solemnly swears to you--a vow never broken by a Sikh--to give you a fair share of the wealth gained. A quarter of the treasure is yours, and no more It is more just than that.'

"I asked: 'What treasure? I would like to make a fortune with you, but you must tell me what to do.'

"He said: 'Then do you swear? Swear on your father's body, your mother's reputation and your religious beliefs that you will never do or say anything against us in the future.'

"I answered: 'I am willing to swear so long as the fortress is not threatened.'

"'Then my companions and I swear to give you a quarter of the treasure. That is to say, four of us, each with an equal share.'

"I said, 'There are only three of us!'

"'No. Durst Akber must share. While waiting for him, I can tell you the secret. Mohamit Singh please stand outside the door and let me know when they come Us, sir, the thing is, I know Europeans keep their promises, so we can trust you. If you are an Indian who is used to telling lies, however much you swear to God, your blood must have been on mine Knife, and your body was thrown in the river. But we trust the British, and the British trust us. Well, hear me out."

"In the north of our country there is an earth king, whose territory is small but rich in property. Half of his property is handed down from his father, and the other half is collected by himself. He loves money and is very stingy. After the rebellion broke out, the earth king heard that the white people had been massacred, so he joined the rebels to resist the white people. But he was also afraid that if the white people succeeded, he would suffer disadvantages. After hesitating for a long time, he could not make a decision. Finally he thought of He divided all his property into two shares, put all gold, silver and coins in the safe in his palace, and put all jewelry and diamonds in another iron box, and then sent a man pretending to be a businessman If the rebels win, he keeps the gold and silver coins; if the white people win, the money is lost, but there are diamonds and jewels to keep. After dividing his property in this way, he invested The rebels--because the rebels are strong on his borders. Do you think, sir, that his property should go to those who have always been loyal to one side?'

"'This merchant in disguise, who was sent under the name of Achmet, is now in the city of Agra, and he is about to infiltrate the fort. His companion is my ally brother Durst Akbol, and he knows the secret .Dest Akber and we have agreed to bring him in tonight through the gate of the fort which we are guarding. They will be coming soon and he knows that Mohamit Singh and I are waiting for him. This The place is very quiet, and no one will know of their arrival. From now on, there will be no more businessman Achimet in the world, and the treasures of the earth king will be shared equally among us. Sir, what do you think?'

"In Worcester State, life is valued and considered sacred, but it is not the same in this day of war and chaos, when everyone is unable to protect themselves. The life and death of the businessman Achmet , I thought it was insignificant at the time, but those treasures moved me. I imagined how to dispose of such a fortune when I returned to my hometown, and imagined when the villagers saw me, a person who has never done anything good, with pockets full of money. When the gold coin came back, how would he look at me with wide eyes. Therefore, I made up my mind. But Abdler Khan thought I was hesitating, so he pressed him again.

"He said: 'Sir, please think again, if this man is caught by the commander, he will be executed, and all the treasures will be confiscated, and no one will get a penny. Now that he has fallen into our hands, Why not settle him privately and divide his treasure equally? There is a great difference between mine and the army's treasury. These treasures are enough to make each of us very rich. We are far away from others and will not Anyone know, do you think there is a better idea than this? Sir, please tell me again, are you with us, or must we make you an enemy?"

"I replied: 'My heart and soul are with you.'

"He gave me the gun back and said: 'That's great, we trust that your oath, like ours, will always be kept. Now it's just a matter of waiting for my ally and the businessman.'

"I asked: 'So, does your ally know our plan?'

"'He is the mastermind, and he planned it all. Let us now go outside the door and stand guard with Mohamit Singh.'

(End of this chapter)