The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 39 Four Signatures (23)
Holmes said calmly: "Well, I have given you your chance. Your lodgings are here. Good-bye. I will write you a note before I go."

Lestrade got out of the car resentfully, and we drove back to our hotel, where lunch was ready, and Holmes, without saying a word, was lost in thought, with an expression of pained bewilderment on his face.

After eating, he said, "Watson, I really don't know what to do with this matter. Sit down and I'll talk to you. Give me some advice."

I said, "Please tell me."

He said: "According to McCarthy, there are two things worth noting, and those two points are also noticed by the public. But I exonerated him for this, and they convicted him for it. It is a very different point of view. These two points are It was the 'cue' his father called and the 'lat' when he died, but the old man must have said more than that when he died, except that was the only word McCarthy heard."

"So, what does 'Cooy' mean?"

"It was obviously not calling his son because he didn't know at the time that his son was back and his son heard the word purely by accident. I knew he was calling someone he was dating. Because 'Cue' is Australian Common colloquial language when meeting, so I assume the person McCarthy is dating must be someone who has been to Australia."

"Then what does 'lat' mean?"

Holmes took a folded sheet of paper from his pocket, spread it out on the table, and said: "Here is a map of Colonial Victoria. I telegraphed to Bristol last night for it." He pointed to the map. on one spot, and said, "You read this."

I read: "Arat."

He raised his hand and said, "Read it again."

"Ballarat."

He said: "This is what the old man said when he was dying, but the voice was soft, so his son only heard the last two syllables of the word. The old man probably wanted to tell his son that the person who killed him was Baba. Somebody in Lelat."

I admired: "Your deduction is really wonderful!"

He said: "That's pretty obvious. You see, we can narrow down the area of ​​detection. Referring to what McCarthy said, then this man must be an Australian from Ballerat, wearing a gray overcoat, left-handed, He has a slight limp on his right leg, is tall, and lives locally. Because to get to this pond, you have to pass through a farm or manor, and it is not easy for strangers to come in."

I said: "Yes!"

He said: "The man was a tall man whose height can be inferred from the length of his stride and the boots he was wearing from the footprints of his feet."

I asked, "Then how do you tell if your right leg is slightly lame and you are left-handed?"

He said: "This is also very obvious, because his footprints are deep on the left and shallow on the right. It can be seen that his right foot is weaker than his left foot. This is obviously a slight lameness in his right leg."

I said, "Then, how do you know he is left-handed?"

"That's from the autopsy report of the police station, because the blow was hit on the back of the deceased, and the wound was on the left side of the brain. Because, if you are not left-handed, how can you hit the left side? In the father and son During the quarrel, this man stood behind the tree, because I once found cigar ashes under the tree. I have done research on ashes, and I have written a monograph on 140 ways to distinguish between pipes, cigars and cigarette ashes. So I conclude that the ashes on the ground are from Indian cigars, which are different from Rotterdam cigars."

I asked, "So, how do you know there is a cigarette holder?"

He said: "I saw that the cigarette butts on the ground did not show traces of being held in his mouth. It can be seen that he used a cigarette holder. And the cigarette butts were cut with a knife, but the incision was very irregular, so I also knew that he had a very blunt gun on his body. knife."

I said, "Holmes, you have cast a net from which he has nowhere to escape. And you have saved the life of an innocent man, you have brought him back from the brink of death. The truth is clear, the culprit was... ..."

"Mr. John Turner is visiting," said the hotel bellboy, ushering the guest in through the door.

The man who came in was handsome, he limped and looked old, but his deep wrinkles, resolute face and thick limbs made him look like a man of courage and courage. personality.His curving beard, silver-gray hair, and slightly drooping eyebrows imbue him with a dignified and authoritative demeanor.But his face was pale and his lips and nose were dark blue-purple.As soon as I saw him, I knew he was terminally ill.

"Sit down, please. Have you taken my note?" said Holmes politely.

"Yes, the janitor has passed it on to me. You said on the note that you wanted me to come here to meet you, so as not to have a bad influence."

"If I go to your manor, I'm afraid people will talk about it."

"Why do you want to see me?" He looked at my friend with a hopeless and tired look, as if his question had been answered.

"I know everything about McCarthy," said Holmes.

The old man lowered his head, covered his face with his hands, and said, "Please believe me, I will not let this young man get hurt. If the court finds him guilty, I will stand up."

"I'm glad you can say that," said Holmes gravely.

"I didn't speak up because of my daughter, if she knew I was arrested, she would be very sad."

"It's not that bad," said Holmes.

"What did you say?"

"I'm not an official detective. Your daughter asked me to come here to acquit McCarthy."

Old Turner said: "I am a dying man. I have been ill for many years. My doctor said I will not live a month. But I don't want to die in prison."

Holmes stood up and went to the table, picked up a pen, put a stack of papers in front of himself, and said, "Please tell the truth of the matter, I will record it, and then you sign it, Watson is a witness. I might show you your confession to save McCarthy. Of course, if absolutely necessary."

The elder Turner said: "Okay. I probably won't live to see the trial, so it doesn't matter much to me, I just don't want to shock Alice. Now I'll tell you. You don't know McCarthy, he What a devil. He held me hostage for 20 years and my whole life was ruined by him. It was in the 60s, when I was young, impulsive, restless, trying to do anything. Me and some bad guys There were gangs of gangsters and robbers. There were six of us, and we lived in dissolute ways, often robbing people at the station and intercepting wagons going to the mines. I was then called Black Jack of Ballerat. One day we attacked a The gold transportation team from Ballerat to Melbourne. The transportation team also has six people, which can be said to be evenly matched, but we killed four of them at the beginning, and we lost three people to get the gold. At that time The coachman is now McCarthy, and I put a gun to his head. It would have been nice if I had killed him, but I let him go. His eyes kept looking at me, as if to remember me We got that gold, made a fortune, and came to England without arousing anyone's suspicion. In England, we went our separate ways and lived our own lives, and I made up my mind to live a decent life from now on. I buy Came off the field and wanted to do something good to make up for the mistakes I made. I also got married and though my wife died early left me little Alice. Even when she was a baby, He was the best guide for me on the right path. In short, I repented and tried my best to make up for my past mistakes. However, my originally beautiful life was ruined by McCarthy.

"I was in town on errands and I met him on the street, he looked like he didn't even have a pair of shoes. He took my arm and said, 'Jack, we meet again. We will be family from now on. Yes, you take us in, we're just father and son. If you don't agree... England is a country of laws, and you can call the police with a shout.' They came to my estate like this, and I can't get rid of it. Get rid of them. He occupies my best land and pays no rent. I live in anxiety every day. I can't forget the past. No matter where I am, his grinning face will appear in front of me. Alice Growing up it was even worse because he knew I loved Alice the most and I was more afraid of her knowing my past than the police would know about it. If it's what he wants, he'll have it No. Whatever he wanted, I gave him without hesitation, land, money, a house, everything, until at last he asked me for something I couldn't give, he wanted my Alice.

"His son has grown up, and my daughter has also become a big girl. I am not in good health. Everyone knows this. If his son intervenes in my property, it will be beneficial to him. However, I firmly disagree with this matter. Agreed. I don't hate the lad, but he has his father's blood on him, which is too much for me. I firmly refused, and McCarthy threatened me. I told him that even if he used the most vicious methods, I would not agree. This marriage. So we agreed to meet at the pond between our two houses to settle the matter.

"When I got there, I saw their father and son talking, and I stood behind a tree smoking a cigar and waited until his son had gone. But, hearing him and his son talking, I was so excited He tried his best to persuade his son to marry my daughter, without considering whether she would agree or not. Thinking that I have been dominated by this demon for 20 years, and now I have to lose my daughter, I am so angry that I am going crazy. Although my mind is still I am awake and my limbs are still strong, but I know that I have no future to speak of. However, I still have my daughter. Only if I get rid of this demon, my daughter will be safe in the future. Mr. Holmes, I am so I want to do this too, even if I am given another chance, I will do it again. I am guilty, and I am willing to suffer a lifetime of sins to make up for my past mistakes, but I can’t get my daughter involved. Knocked him down like a ferocious beast, without the slightest remorse. His cry called his son back, and by this time I was hidden in the woods, but I had to go back Retrieve the overcoat which was lost during the escape. Mr. Holmes, this is what happened."

Old Turner signed the confession recorded by Holmes. Holmes said: "I have no right to judge you. I hope we will never be so tempted to lose ourselves."

"I hope so too. Now, what are you going to do?"

"I won't do anything for your health. You know you'll soon be tried by a higher court than the Circuit Court for what you've done. I'll be sure to keep your confession. , if McCarthy is found guilty, I will have to use it. If he is acquitted, it will not be seen by anyone. Even after your death, I will keep it secret for you."

Old Turner said: "Then, goodbye. When you are dying, you will also feel at peace when you think that you have allowed me to die peacefully." After finishing speaking, his tall body swayed out of the room.

Holmes was silent for a while, and said: "God bless us! Why is fate always so unfair to those who are alone and helpless? Whenever I hear of such cases, I think of Baxter's words, and say to myself: 'It is by God's grace that Sherlock Holmes has solved the case.'"

Later, James McCarthy was acquitted, because Holmes made many very favorable complaints, which provided conditions for the victory of McCarthy's lawyers.After meeting us, Turner Sr. lived another seven months and is now dead.Maybe there will be such a scenario in the future: McCarthy and Alice formed a wonderful family and lived a happy life.They will never know that in the past years, there have been clouds in their lives.

five orange pits
When I took a cursory look at the materials I recorded on Sherlock Holmes' investigations from [-] to [-], I found that there were so many of them that it dazzled me, and I didn't know how to choose.Among these cases, there are amazing ones and some ordinary ones. Some of them have only a beginning but no conclusion. Some cases he has only figured out part of the facts and made speculations, but there is no fact to prove them, so there is no conclusion.

In [-] this was the case with many of our cases, such as the Parador Mansions, the Amateur Beggars Pattern, the Lost American Galleon, the Ufa Island Mystery and finally the Camberwell Poisons.I remember that in the last case, when Holmes wound the dead man's watch, he found that it had been wound two hours before, thus proving that the dead man had gone to bed during that time.This is a crucial point in the whole case.I shall write of these cases at a later date, but now I shall record a case of a more peculiar nature.

It was late September, and the storm was unusually violent.The wind howls all day long, and the rain hits the windows. Even in the city of London, hearing the sound of wind and rain can cause a sense of fear.The sound of the wind was like an untamed beast in an iron cage, roaring at people through the fence.At night, the wind blows more violently.Holmes sat sadly by the fire, turning over the records of old cases.I was sitting across from him, buried in a seafaring novel by Clark Russell.At this time, the strong wind roared outside the house, and the pouring rain seemed to become the impact of waves, which almost merged with the description in the book.At that time, my wife had gone back to her family, so I had the opportunity to be a guest in Baker Street for a few days.

I looked up at my friend and said, "Huh? The doorbell rang. Who's coming tonight? Maybe it's your friend?"

"Unless it is your friend," said Holmes, "I would not have friends visiting in this weather."

I said, "Then, is it the client?"

He said: "If it's the client, it must be a very serious case, otherwise I wouldn't come in this weather and at this time. But I think it might be the landlady's guest."

Holmes guessed wrongly, for the step had passed down the passage, and there was a knock at the door.Holmes stretched out his hand, and turned the lamp which had been shining on him to the side of the empty chair which was intended for guests, and said, "Come in, please."

A young man in his twenties came in, well-dressed and dignified, but his face was a little pale, his eyes were bloodshot, as if he was overwhelmed by some kind of worry.The umbrella in his hand was full of rain, and the raincoat on his body also had raindrops, all of which showed that he had come in a storm.He looked at Holmes and said: "I am sorry, but I hope I have not disturbed you. I am afraid that I have brought muddy water from the storm into your tidy rooms."

"Give me your raincoat and umbrella, please," said Holmes. "I will hang them on their hooks, and they will be dry in a moment. You come from the South-West, I suppose."

"Yes, I'm from Horsham."

"It's obvious where you're coming from, from the grayish-white mud mixture on the toes of your boots."

The guest said, "I have something to ask you."

"That's easy to do."

"And I need your help."

"This is not an easy task."

"Mr. Holmes, I have long admired your name. I have heard from Major Prendergast that you saved him from the Tankville club scandal."

"Yes, he was falsely accused of gambling."

"He said you could fix anything."

"He was exaggerating."

"He said you never failed."

"Four times I have failed," said Holmes, "three times to a man and once to a woman."

"However, this is not comparable to the number of victories you have."

"Yes, I'm mostly successful."

"Then, I hope you will succeed in my matter."

"Please move your chair closer to the fire, and tell me your business in detail."

"It's an unusual thing," said the visitor.

"It is certainly an unusual thing to come to me," said Holmes.

"But, sir, I want to ask you, is there anything more mysterious and unexpected in your experience than what happened to my family?"

"I am very interested in what you have to say," said Holmes. "Please tell me the matter first, and I will ask you for the details later."

The visitor drew the chair closer and stretched his boots towards the fire.He said: "My name is John Openshaw. But I have nothing to do with it myself. It is an unsolved case which has been left unsolved, and to make you understand I must begin at the beginning. My grandfather I have two sons, my uncle Elias and my father Joseph.

"My father had a small factory in Convent. When the bicycle was invented, he expanded the factory. He patented Openshaw's anti-puncture tires. When the factory was profitable, he sold the factory to others. Rely on this huge sum of money to live a rich retirement life. My uncle Elias immigrated to the United States when he was young and became a manor owner in Florida. It is said that he managed there very smoothly. During the Civil War, he followed Jackson Fighting together, and later under General Hood, he was promoted to colonel. After the Confederate Commander Robert surrendered, the army was disbanded, and my uncle returned to his plantation, where he continued to live for three or four years.

(End of this chapter)