The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 30 Four Signatures (14)
He lit a cigarette, stretched himself back in the armchair, and replied, "That's true, but you're looking rather than observing, and that's the difference. For example, the stairs from the hall below to this room , do you often go?"

"Well, no less than a few hundred times."

"Well, how many steps does this staircase have?"

"How many levels? I don't know."

"That's right! Because you're just looking, not observing. That's the point I'm talking about. I know there are seventeen steps in the stairs because I not only saw but also observed. Yes, because you're interested in these little things , and good at recording the cases I have experienced, then you may be interested in this case." He picked up a thick pink note from the table and handed it to me, "This is the latest postman It’s here, read it aloud.”

The note was undated, signed and addressed.

The note reads:

There is a man who will visit you at quarter past seven tonight, and I have something very important to discuss with you.Your recent service to the royal families of Europe has shown that you can be trusted to accomplish things beyond words.If such achievements have spread far and wide, we are also very familiar with them.I hope you will not go out until then.Please don't mind if visitors wear masks.

I said, "This is indeed a very mysterious thing. Do you know what it means?"

"I don't have a clue yet. It would be the biggest mistake to speculate before we know the facts. Because that would unknowingly make theories fit with the facts rather than confirm the facts with theories. Now there's only one note, and what can you deduce from it?"

I carefully examined the letter paper and the handwriting on it.

"The man who wrote this letter must be very rich," I said, looking at it for a while, trying to imitate my companion's method of reasoning. "This paper is very solid and crisp, and it will cost a crown at least for a stack."

"'Extremely' is a good word," said Holmes. "This is not English paper. You hold it up and look at it in the light."

I followed what he said and saw an uppercase "E" and a lowercase "g" in the paper texture, and an uppercase "P" and "G" with a lowercase "t" ".

"Do you know what that means?" asked Holmes.

"An acronym for the name of the man who made the paper."

"No, 'G' and lowercase 't' are German abbreviations for 'Gesellschaft', which means 'company', like we use 'Co' for company. 'P' is 'Papier', which means paper .There's 'Eg' left, let's look it up in the European Gazetteer." He took a thick brown book from the shelf and continued, "Eglow, Eglonitz, yes, Egria, yes A German-speaking country, that is, in Bohemia, not far from Carlsbad, the place where Wallenstein died suddenly, and is famous for its glass factories and paper factories. Dude, you know what it is Meaning?" His eyes sparkled, and he exhaled a gulp of cigarette smoke triumphantly.

I said, "This paper must have been made in Bohemia."

"Exactly," said Holmes, "and the letter is written by a German. Have you noticed the peculiar structure of the sentences in the letter? The French or the Russians do not write in this way, only the Germans use words in this way. Therefore, it is now necessary to What I know is the purpose of this masked German. If I heard correctly, he has already come, and our mystery will be solved immediately."

While he was speaking, there was a clear clatter of hooves and cart wheels against curbstones, and the doorbell rang.

Holmes whistled, and said, "It sounds like a two-horse carriage." He glanced out of the window, and added, "Yes, a lovely little carriage and a pair of handsome horses. A horse worth at least £150."

"I think I should step aside, Holmes."

"Anywhere, doctor, you stay here. I would be less interested without you. And the case looks interesting, and it would be a pity you missed it."

I said, "But your client..."

"Leave him alone. If I need your help, of course he needs it too. Here he is. You just sit in that armchair and watch us."

Then we heard a slow and heavy step, first on the stairs, through the passage, and stopped abruptly at the door.Then there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," said Holmes.

A man walked in. He was tall, more than six feet tall, with a broad chest and strong limbs.He was richly dressed, but, to the English eye, looked a little vulgar.His cuffs and double-breasted jacket were trimmed with rich sheepskin, and over his shoulders was a dark blue cloak lined with scarlet silk, with an emerald-encrusted brooch pinned to his neck.On his feet were calf-high leather boots trimmed with dark brown fur, giving his whole appearance a rough and luxurious look.He held a large-brimmed hat in his hand, and his face was covered with a black mask from forehead to cheekbones.He seemed to have just adjusted the mask, because when he first entered the room, his hand was still touching the mask.With thick, pendulous lips and a broad jaw, he looked like a man of strong character.

"Did you get my letter?" he asked, his voice low and husky with a thick German accent, "I told you I was coming to visit you." He looked back and forth between the two of us, Like not knowing who to talk to.

"Sit down, please," said Holmes. "This is my friend and colleague, Dr. Watson, who often assists me in my cases. Excuse me, what should I call you?"

"You may call me Count von Kramm. I am a nobleman of Bohemia. I hope this gentleman is a respectable and secretive person, so that I can also entrust matters of great importance to him. Otherwise, I'd rather talk to you alone."

Hearing this, I got up to go, but Holmes grabbed me, let me sit back in the armchair, and said: "We must talk about it together, or we will not talk about it." Then he said to the visitor: "In the In front of this gentleman, you can talk about everything you can talk to me."

The count shrugged his broad shoulders and said: "Then I first ask you two to keep absolute secrecy within two years. After two years, this matter will be irrelevant. Now we can say that this matter is so important that it may affect the history of all Europe."

"I promise you," said Holmes.

"Me too," I said.

The strange visitor continued: "Please forgive me for wearing a mask, because I was also entrusted by someone, and he didn't want you to know who he is. To be honest, the title I just mentioned is not my own."

"I already know that," said Holmes coldly.

"This is a matter of great importance, and every precaution must be taken to avoid serious injury to the honor of a European royal family. Frankly speaking, the King of Bohemia himself is involved in this matter."

"I know that too," said Holmes, leaning back in his armchair with closed eyes.

At this moment our visitor looked in amazement at Holmes, who was reclining wearily in his arm-chair.Holmes slowly opened his eyes, looked at the burly guest indifferently, and said, "If Your Majesty is willing to explain the case clearly, then I can serve you better."

Hearing this, the guest stood up excitedly from his chair and paced back and forth in the room uncontrollably.Then, with an air of determination, he tore off the mask from his face and threw it on the ground.

"You are right," said he, "I am the King of Bohemia, and why should I hide it now?"

Holmes murmured: "Exactly. Why bother? Before His Majesty even opened his mouth, I knew that my visitor was William Olmstanty."

Our visitor sat down again, passed his hand over his high white forehead, and said, "I really can't hide it from you. You can understand that I never do this kind of thing. But it's a big deal, If I had delegated it to someone else, I would have put myself in danger of being blackmailed. That is why I have come here from Prague to consult you, in modest clothes."

"Speak, then," said Holmes, and closed his eyes again.

"Simply put, it goes like this: During my visit to Warsaw about five years ago, I met a woman named Irene Adler. Perhaps you are familiar with that name."

"Doctor, please look up Irene Adler in my index," murmured Holmes, eyes still closed.

Over the years, he has been taking a method, which is to record some special people and things.Therefore, he can more or less provide some relevant information for any well-known people and events that happened.For this case I found material on her that was sandwiched between a rabbi and a staff officer who had written a monograph on deep-sea fishes.

"Let me see," said Holmes, taking the papers. "Well, born in New Jersey in [-], a contralto. Well, she used to be prima donna at the Imperial Opera in Warsaw. Then she quit the opera stage. Lives in London. As far as I understand, His Majesty must have been involved with this woman at the time, and you have written several letters to her that would implicate you, and now you want to get those letters back."

"Exactly. But how..."

"Have you ever been secretly married to her?"

"No."

"No legal papers or certificates or anything like that?"

"No."

Holmes said: "Then I do not understand, Your Majesty. Even if the young woman intends to use letters for blackmail or other purposes, how can she prove that they are genuine?"

"The letter was written in my own hand."

"It can be said to be fake."

"And my personal letterhead."

"It can be said to be stolen."

"The letter bears my own seal."

"It might as well be said to be a counterfeit."

"There are more pictures of me."

"It can also be said that it was bought."

"That's a picture of the two of us together."

"Oh! That would be bad. Your Majesty is too thoughtless."

"I was really crazy."

"You got yourself into trouble," said Holmes.

"I was just a crown prince at the time, very young. Now I'm only 30 years old."

"Now do you want to get that photo back?"

"Yes, we've tried several times, but failed."

"Why don't your majesty pay for the photos?"

"She won't sell."

"So, have you ever tried to steal it?"

"We have tried five times. Twice I paid for a search of her house; once we changed her luggage while she was traveling; and twice we stopped and searched her, But nothing came of it.”

"Didn't you find that picture once?"

"nothing."

"That is indeed an interesting question," said Holmes, laughing.

The King of Bohemia complained reproachfully: "But to me, it's just worry."

"True, but what is she going to do with the picture?"

"Destroy me."

"Why?"

The King of Bohemia replied, "Because I will soon be married."

"I have heard," said Holmes.

"I'm going to marry Zaks Meiningen, the second princess of the king of Scandinavia. You should know their strict family rules, right? She herself is an extremely sensitive person, as long as she has the slightest doubt about my character , this marriage will fall through."

"And what is Eileen Adler going to do?"

"She threatened me to send them the picture. I knew she could do it. You don't know her, she has a personality of steel. She has the face of the most beautiful woman and the heart of the toughest man. She knew I was going to marry another woman and she would do anything."

"Are you sure she hasn't sent the picture at this moment?"

"I'm sure."

"why?"

"Because she said she wouldn't send the picture until the day our engagement was officially announced. That would be next Monday."

"Then we still have three days," Holmes said, yawning. "That's plenty of time. I just have a few important things to attend to. Is Your Majesty going to stay in London for the time being?"

"Yes. You can find me at the Langham Hotel. The name is Count von Kramm."

"I'll keep you posted to let you know how we're progressing."

"That's great. I'm dying to hear the good news from you."

"So, what's the cost of the case?"

"it's up to you."

"Any conditions are fine?"

"I can tell you that I would offer a province in my territory in exchange for this photograph."

"And what about the immediate expenses?"

The King heard this, and took from under his cloak a heavy leather pouch, and laid it on the table.

"Here are three hundred pounds in gold and seven hundred notes," he said.

Holmes tore a piece of paper from his notebook, wrote the receipt and handed it to the king, and asked, "What is the address of the woman?"

"She lives at Brioni House, Serpentine Street, St. John's Wood."

Holmes wrote down the address, and asked again: "One more question. Is the photograph six inches?"

"Yes."

"Then, goodbye, Your Majesty, I believe I will bring you good news soon."

The king nodded his farewell.Hearing the sound of the wheels turning below, Holmes turned to me and said, "Good-bye, Watson. I would like to ask you to come here at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon, so that I may have a chat with you about this little matter."

two

I reached Baker Street next afternoon at three o'clock sharp, but Holmes had not yet returned.According to the landlady, he went out at eight o'clock in the morning.I sat down by the fire, intending to wait whenever he returned, for I was already deeply interested in his investigations.Although this case was not as incredible as the previous two crimes I have recorded, the circumstances of this case and the high status of the client have their own attractive points.Moreover, the current situation of the King of Bohemia is indeed a bit critical. If you put yourself in his place and think about it for him, you can't help feeling uneasy.

I admire Holmes's skillful grasp of the situation and the way he works with his keen and thorough reasoning, as well as his swift and delicate method of solving problems.He wins consistently, and that's what I'm used to.So, it never crossed my mind that he might fail too.

About four o'clock in the afternoon, the door of the house opened, and in came a coachman who looked drunk.He looked scruffy, with a whisker, a red face, and ragged clothes.Even though I knew my friend was good at disguising, it took me a long time to be sure it was really him.He nodded to me and entered the bedroom.In less than 5 minutes, he was wearing tweed clothes as usual, sitting in front of me with elegance.He put his hands in his pockets, stretched his legs in front of the fireplace, and burst out laughing.

"Ho, that's funny!" he exclaimed, stopping suddenly, and laughing again until he collapsed on his chair.

I asked him, "What's going on here?"

"It's so much fun! I bet you'll never guess what I've been up to and accomplished this morning."

"I can't guess. Perhaps you have been watching Miss Irene Adler's behavior, and perhaps have been at her apartment."

"True, but with a very unusual ending. Let me tell you, I left here this morning at a little after eight, disguised as an unemployed coachman. There is a fine feeling of sympathy and sympathy among the coachmen, if you Be one of them and they'll tell you everything you need to know. I found the Brioni house in no time. It was a small, elegant villa with two floors, a road in front and There was a garden with a built-in lock on the gate. On the right side of the villa was a large sitting room, richly decorated, with windows almost reaching the ground in length, but with those English-style latches on the windows, which even a child could open. Except from the The roof of the stable can reach outside the window of the corridor, so there is nothing worth noting. I went around the villa and looked carefully from all angles, but found nothing worth noting. Then, I wandered along the street, and as I expected, in a lane against the garden wall, I found a row of stables. I helped the coachmen groom their horses, and they gave me twopence, a glass of mixed wine, and two pipes. and gave me all I wanted to know about Miss Adler. In addition to her, they told me about several other people who lived in the neighbourhood, for whom I had no sympathy. I'm interested, but I have to listen."

"What kind of person is Irene Adler?" I asked.

"She was the prettiest of beauties, and all the men in the neighborhood fell for her. She lived a quiet life, reclusive except for singing at the opera and going out every afternoon in a carriage at five o'clock. She lived only with one The men were associative, and very close. The man was said to be dark and handsome. He called at least once a day, often twice. He lived in Temple, and his name was Godfrey Norton. The coachmen had been many times After I had sent him home, I was familiar with his affairs. After listening to what they said, I wandered around the Brioni house again, thinking about my course of action.

"This Godfrey Norton is evidently an important person in the matter. He's a lawyer. It doesn't sound very good. What's his relationship to that woman? What's the purpose of his frequent visits? She's his client." person, his friend, or his mistress? If it was his client, she might have given him the picture for safekeeping. If it was his mistress, it would be less likely to do that. The answer to that question will determine my Should the investigative work at Brioni House be continued, or should my attention be diverted to Norton's house at Temple? This is a difficult question for the time being, as it may widen the scope of the investigation. I fear that such trivial details will It bores you, but I must explain my difficulties to you if you wish to know."

"Tell me, I'm just listening!" I said.

Holmes continued: "While I was weighing the pros and cons in my mind, I suddenly saw a hansom pull up in front of Brioni's house, and a gentleman stepped out of it. He was a very handsome man, with a dark complexion. , with a moustache, was clearly the one I had heard. He seemed in a hurry, and ordered the coachman to wait for him. He passed in front of the maid who opened the door for him, showing an unrestrained demeanor.

(End of this chapter)