The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 45 Four Signatures (29)
"I bought them from Covent Garden, and I bought a total of 24."

"Oh, I know the garden too, but who is the owner?"

"The owner's name is Breckenridge."

"Oh, I don't know him. Boss, I wish you good business. Goodbye!"

As we left the hotel and walked into the cold street, Holmes buttoned up his coat and said: "Now we go to Breckenridge, Watson, and you know, though at the end of the rope we are looking for a goose." , but at that end, we will find a man who will be sentenced to seven years in prison, unless we can prove that he is not guilty. However, our visit may just prove that he is a thief. In short, we have found a A lead that the cops overlooked. Now we'll follow that lead until we get to the bottom of it. Now let's hurry south."

We crossed Holborn Street, walked over Endel Street, and walked some more winding roads to Covent Garden Market.The owner of a stall with Breckenridge's name on its sign was helping a boy close his stall.The boss had a thin face and a beard.

Holmes stepped forward and said, "Good night! It is so cold to-night!"

The boss nodded and eyed us suspiciously.

Pointing to the empty baskets, Holmes said, "It seems that your geese are all sold out?"

"Come tomorrow morning, there are five hundred of them."

"That will not do," said Holmes.

The man said, "In this case, there are still a few stalls with the gas lights on over there."

"But I was introduced to you," said Holmes.

"Who introduced you?"

"The owner of the Alpha Hotel."

"Oh yes. I sold him 24."

"Those geese are lovely. Where did you get them?"

To our amazement, this small problem turned the boss into a rage.He raised his head, put his hands on his hips, and shouted, "What on earth do you want to do? Talk straight."

"As I have said," said Holmes, "I should like to know who sold you your goose."

"Really? If so, I don't want to tell you."

"It's nothing serious, and I don't understand why you're so angry."

"Angry? You'd be angry if you were pestered like I was. Pay, buy, and the deal is over. But you're asking, 'Where did you get the goose?'" Who sold it to Yours?" "How's your goose?" I'm afraid only geese are willing to listen to such long-winded questions."

"But I have nothing to do with anyone else who asks these questions," said Holmes, "and the bet is blown if you don't tell me, but I stand by my point, and I've put five pounds on it, and I'm sure I'll eat it." The goose is raised in the countryside."

The boss said: "Then your five pounds is gone, because it was bred in the city."

"There are no such fine geese in town."

"some."

"I do not believe."

"Do you think you know more about poultry than I do? Let me tell you, those geese sold to the Alpha Hotel are raised in the city."

"But I don't believe your words," insisted Holmes.

The boss said, "Well, do you want to bet?"

"It's just to make you lose a few dollars, because I know I'm right. But I'm willing to bet you with a gold coin, so that I can teach you not to be stubborn in the future."

The boss laughed and said, "Give me the ledger, Bill."

The little boy brought over a thin little ledger and a general ledger with an oily cover, and spread them out under the chandelier.

The boss said: "Mr. Confidence, look at this account book. This is the list of people who sold geese to me. The numbers are written under the names, and the accounts will be recorded in the general ledger. Now look at this page written in red ink. , is the list of people in the city. Look at the third line, please read it yourself.”

"Good. Look at the next line."

"Sold to the Alpha Hotel Wendygate on the same day for twelve shillings."

The boss said, "What else do you have to say now?"

Holmes seemed disappointed. He took a gold coin out of his pocket, threw it on the counter, and walked away with an air of disgust.After walking a few steps, he stopped under a street lamp and said with a chuckle: "When you meet this kind of bearded person who doesn't want to disclose the secret, you can always make a bet to make him tell the truth. I dare say that even if I offered him a hundred pounds, I would not be able to make him say so well. I think the matter is somewhat secured, Watson. The only thing we have to think about now is tonight. To call on Mrs. Oakshott, to-morrow. But from what the proprietor said, there may be others who are anxious to know. We should therefore--"

His words were suddenly interrupted by a noise from the stall we had just left.We looked back and saw a small young man standing in front of the stall with the owner, Breckenridge, in the light.The boss clenched his fist as if to hit the young man.

The proprietor cried out, "I'm sick of you and your geese! To hell with you! If you pester me again, I'll be offended. Call Mrs. Oakshott and I'll answer." Hers, but what does it matter to you? Have I ever bought a goose from you?"

The young man begged and said, "No, but there is a goose in there that is mine!"

"Then you go to Mrs. Oakshott!"

"She asked me to ask you."

"Oh, then you go and ask the King of Prussia, I don't care about that. I've heard enough, get out of here!" He rushed forward fiercely, and the young man quickly disappeared into the darkness .

Holmes said to me in a low voice: "Haha, we don't need to go to Brixton Road. Come with me and see what we can find on this young man."

We hastened through the throng in pursuit of the young man, and Holmes tapped him lightly on the shoulder.The man turned sharply, and in the light I saw that he was terrified.

He asked, "Who are you? What's the matter?"

Holmes said gently: "Excuse me. I overheard your conversation with that boss just now. I thought maybe I could help you."

He said, "Who are you? How do you know what I want to do?"

"My name is Sherlock Holmes, and it is my job to know what others don't."

"But what do you know about it?"

"Excuse me, I know all about it. You're trying to find a goose. It was sold by Mrs Oakshott, Brixton Road, to the proprietor of Breckenridge, who in turn sold it to the Alpha Hotel Mr Wendigate, proprietor, and at last Mr Henry Bate, a member of the Goose Club."

The young man suddenly stretched out his slightly trembling hands and shouted, "Oh! Sir, you are exactly the person I want to meet. I am very interested in this matter."

Holmes stopped a passing carriage and said to him: "In this case, instead of talking in this cold street, we might as well talk slowly in a warm room. But before you go, please tell me your name. "

The young man hesitated for a moment, looked aside, and said, "My name is John Robinson."

"No," said Holmes kindly. "I am asking for your real name. It is inconvenient to use a pseudonym."

After hearing this, the young man blushed suddenly on his pale face, and said, "Well, then, my real name is James Ryder."

"Yes," said Holmes, "it is you who is the head waiter at the Hotel World. Please get aboard. I will tell you what you want to know."

The young man looked at us with a frightened expression, as if he didn't know whether we were a blessing or a curse to him.Then he got into the carriage, and we didn't speak in the car.Our new partner clasped and loosened his hands, looking very tense.Half an hour later, we returned to our apartment on Baker Street.

As we entered the house, Holmes said cheerfully: "We have arrived. The fire is very pleasant in this weather. Mr. Ryder, you seem to be cold. Please sit down in the wicker chair. Before we settle the matter I'll put on my slippers before I do a trifle. Oh, well. You want to know how the goose is doing now, don't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"I think the goose you're looking for is white, but with a black line on its tail. Is that right?"

Ryder trembled and said, "Sir, can you tell me where the goose is now?"

"It's here with me."

"here?"

"Yes. This goose is very strange, and I know why you are so interested in it. When the goose died, it laid an egg - the most precious, the most beautiful, the brightest blue little egg. I have put It's in my museum."

After hearing this, Ryder stood up suddenly, holding the stove shelf with his right hand.Holmes opened his safe and took out the sapphire, which shone brilliantly like a star.Ryder stared blankly at the jewel, not knowing whether to admit it or deny it.

"The scene is over," said Holmes calmly. "Stand still, Ryder, or the fire in the hearth will burn you. Help him sit down, Watson. He has not yet had the courage to steal. Here He's had a little brandy. Well, he looks better now. He's a very small man."

After a while Ryder stood up, but nearly collapsed from the weakness of his legs, and the brandy added a touch of color to his cheeks, and sat down again, looking at Holmes with frightened eyes.

"I have the greater part of the evidence in this case," said Holmes, "but there are some minor matters which I have yet to clear up in order to bring the case to a more satisfactory conclusion. Have you ever heard of the Countess of Morcar's sapphire, Ryder?"

"I heard it from Catherine Cusack," he said.

"Oh, she's the Countess's maid. You're tempted by this windfall without knowing that it's been committed before by someone more talented than you. Besides, you're doing it badly. You want to set the blame on To the plumber who had a similar theft, you conspired with Cusack to purposely call him into the room, and when he was gone, you stole the gem and exclaimed that the room was stolen, so the unfortunate man Arrested, and you..."

Ryder suddenly fell to his knees, grabbed Holmes' knees and begged, "For God's sake, please forgive me! Think of my father and mother, if they know this, they will be heartbroken. I've never done anything bad before and I'll never do it again. I can swear it, I can swear it on the Bible. Please don't take this to court! For God's sake, please don't Do!"

Holmes said seriously, "Sit back in your chair! You know how to beg for mercy now, but you should also think of poor Horner, who knows nothing about this matter, and has been locked up for a long time."

"I can run away, Mr. Holmes, I can leave the country, because there are no witnesses, and the charges against him will be dropped."

"Hmph! We'll talk about that. But first let's talk about what happened after that. How did the gem get into the goose's stomach, and how did the goose get into the market? Tell the truth, and maybe there will be an absolution." Chance."

Ryder stuck out his tongue and licked his chapped lips. "I must be telling the truth, sir. After Horner's arrest, I thought it best to hide the gem immediately, because the police might search my room. But There was not a single place of concealment in the hotel, so I left the hotel pretending to be sent, and ran to my sister's. She married Oakshott, lived in Brixton Road, and kept geese by trade. I went I met a lot of people on the road and I felt like they were police or detectives. It was a cold night but by the time I reached Brixton Road I was sweating. My sister asked me what happened , why blushed, I told her I was upset about the theft in the hotel, then I went out to the backyard to smoke and think what to do.

"I used to have a friend named Maudsley, who had served time at Paigntonville for a crime. He met me one day and told me about the art of stealing and how to get it off your hands. I Believe he won't betray me, because I know a thing or two about him. So I decided to go to Kilburn to find him. I figured he would teach me how to exchange gems for money. But, how can I get there safely Where? When I got here from the hotel, I was worried that I might be searched on the way, and the gem was in my vest pocket. I leaned against the wall and watched a group of geese swinging around me. , I suddenly thought of a way, and I thought that even the most outstanding detective would be concealed.

"My sister gave me permission to choose one of her geese a few weeks ago as a Christmas present for me. I know she means what she says. Well, I might as well take the goose now so that the You can hide the gem in the belly of the goose and take it to Kilburn. There is a shed in the back yard, and I drove out a big white goose from behind the shed. There was a black line on the tail. I caught the goose and hard I opened the beak of the goose and stuffed the jewel into the throat of the goose. The goose swallowed the jewel in one gulp, and I felt that the jewel had gone down its esophagus into its crop. The goose flapped its wings, Struggling hard. At this time my sister heard the sound and came to see what was going on. When I turned to talk to her, the goose broke free from my hand and jumped into the geese. She said: 'James , What did you catch that goose for?' I said: 'You promised me a goose for Christmas, I think that goose is the fattest.' She said: 'I have already prepared the goose for you, It is a white and fat goose. We have 26 geese, one for you, one for us to eat, and the other 24 are just to be sold in the market.' I said: 'Thank you. But I want the one I just caught.' She said, 'The one left for you is fatter than the one you caught, and we fattened it up for you.' I said, 'It's okay, I like the one I caught. The goose that has arrived, and wants to take it away now.’ She said: ‘Well, kill it now, and you can take it away in a moment.’ That’s it, Mr. Holmes, I killed the goose and took it with me. I saw it and ran to Kilburn. I saw Maudsley and told him the story, and he laughed. I slit the goose open with a knife, but my heart went cold because there was nothing in the crop. There was no sapphire. I knew there must be something wrong with it. So I ran back to my sister's house and went to the backyard to see that there were no geese. I called, 'Maggie, where are the geese?' she said "It has been sold to Breckenridge in Covent Garden." I asked: "Is there one of them that is also white and black-tailed, like the one I picked?" She said: "Yes, there are I couldn't tell the difference between the two geese with white bodies and black tails.' I understood what was the matter at once, and turned and ran quickly to Breckenridge's, but he also sold the geese without telling me. Who did I sell to. You heard what I said just now, no matter how much I asked him, he always said that. My sister thought I was crazy, and I sometimes thought I was going crazy. Now, although I don’t get my The treasure I got by selling my personality, but I have been branded as a thief. God forgive me! God forgive me!" At this point, he covered his face with his hands and began to cry.

For a long time, the room was silent, except for Ryder's heavy breathing and Holmes tapping his fingers on the table.Suddenly Holmes stood up, opened the door, and said, "Get out!"

"Sir, what did you say?! Oh, God bless you!"

"Needless to say, get out!"

Needless to say now, there was a sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, followed by the slam of the door, and the young man ran out into the street.

Holmes said: "Watson, we don't have to go to the police. If Horner is in danger now, that's another matter. But since that guy has escaped, the case will be closed. Although I let a A prisoner, but saved a man's soul. This man will not do evil again, he is terrified. If we send him to prison, maybe he will become a lifelong criminal. And now it's amnesty time , and we're on our way. We've stumbled upon this peculiar problem, and it's been solved, and that's our reward. If you're still interested, Watson, we can start working on another case. Well, the key to it is also a poultry."

Speckled Tape Case

I have been studying the crime-solving skills of my friend Sherlock Holmes for eight years, during which time I have recorded more than 70 cases.I glanced over the cases and found that most of them were tragic, although there were some funny ones, but most of them were only eccentric, but none of them were ordinary.Because his interest lies not in remuneration, but in his exploration of detective skills.He never investigates ordinary cases, but concentrates on unique and almost absurd cases.But, of all strange cases, none seems to me more queer than that of the Roylotts.This happened in the early days of my association with Holmes, when I lived with Holmes in Baker Street, before I was married.I should have documented this earlier, but then I had to keep it a secret.It wasn't until last month that the woman who kept me secret died suddenly and tragically that I was freed from the shackles.Now, the time has come for the truth to be revealed, for I know that there have been many accounts of Dr Grimsby Roylott's death which make it even stranger than it really is.

It was one morning in early April, [-]. I had just woken up from my sleep to find Holmes standing by my bed, fully dressed.Most of the time, he likes to sleep late, but the clock on the fireplace is just a quarter past seven. I looked at him and blinked in surprise, feeling a little unhappy, because my life is very regular.

He said: "Watson, I'm sorry to wake you up. However, everyone can't sleep well this morning. First, Mrs. Hudson was woken up by knocking on the door, and then she took revenge on me as usual. Now I come wake you up."

I said, "So what's the matter? Is there a fire?"

(End of this chapter)