The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 57 Four Signatures (41)
"He said: 'Mr. Holder, I often hear people mention your loan business to me.' I said: 'Yes sir, as long as the collateral meets the requirements, we are happy to handle this business.' He said "I am anxious to get fifty thousand pounds at once. Of course, it is easy to get it if I borrow it from my friend. But I would rather put it in business order and talk about it myself. You should understand that in order to I am in a position where it is inappropriate to accept gifts from others casually." I said, "May I ask, how long will you need this money?" He replied: "Next Monday I will There is a large sum of money recovered, and I can repay the loan to you at that time. At any interest, you can do it as you think fit. But the most important thing to me is that I need the money urgently, and you It would be best if I could get it right away.’ I said, ‘If the money was mine, I’d be honored, and I wouldn’t say a word. But now it’s in the name of the bank, and I must Considering the other shareholders, I mean, I still have to trouble you to go through the relevant procedures.' He said: 'I would rather have such procedures.' While speaking, he put a black square Moroccan The leather box was picked up, "You should have heard of the emerald crown, right?" I said, "It is a rare treasure in our empire." "That's right!" He opened the box, flesh-colored The velvet padding under it set off the splendid jewel he had just mentioned. He continued: "Here are 39 priceless emeralds. The value of the lower frame alone is invaluable. This top The minimum price of the crown should be twice the amount I borrowed. I want to keep it here as collateral for my loan.' I held the precious box in my hand and turned my somewhat bewildered eyes to That noble patron.

"'Are you doubting its value?' he asked. 'No, no, it's not. I just think...' He said: 'You can rest assured that this thing is here. If I don't I wouldn't have dreamed of doing it if I was sure I could get it back in four days. It's just a formality. Isn't that enough collateral?' I said, 'It's enough.' He explained: "Mr. Holder, the reason why I did this is because I usually hear compliments about your good credit, which also expresses my full trust in you. I mortgage it to you, on the one hand, I hope you can Be careful and keep this secret. It is even more important that you take every possible precaution to keep it safe. For if it is damaged in the slightest, it goes without saying that it will cause a big scandal. .Either any part is damaged as badly as the whole, because the emerald on it is unique and cannot be repaired. However, I leave it here with great confidence because of you. I will meet you on Monday Come and pick it up in the morning.'

"Seeing that my client was in a hurry to go away, I couldn't say anything more. I called the cashier and ordered him to pay the fifty thousand pounds. After he left, I stayed alone in the office. Before me was the precious casket. I could not help but begin to feel a little apprehensive about the great responsibility I was about to undertake. It was a national treasure and if anything should have happened it would have been irreparable. I regret it I regretted why I did such a business and took such a responsibility. But it was too late, I could only lock it in my safe, and then deal with other things.

"At night, I felt that it would be too imprudent to put such a valuable thing in the office. Before this, the safes of banks were often stolen, let alone my safe? If anything, I would be in a terrible position. So I decided that I would carry this box with me for the next few days, and never leave it. Having made up my mind, I hired a cab to take it with me. I returned home to Streatham with this treasure, and with some relief I carried it upstairs and locked it in a cupboard in my bedroom.

"Mr. Holmes, I will now give you an account of the circumstances of my house, so that you may have a complete idea of ​​the whole situation. My coachman and valet sleep out of the house, and I have three maids who have been with me for many years, faithful and without Nothing suspicious. There is, however, a lady-in-waiting named Lucy Pardy who has only been here a few months, but she is excellent and I am perfectly satisfied with what she does. She is a very beautiful girl, and from time to time Getting a few admirers to hang around is the only flaw we find in her, but we all agree that she's a perfectly good girl.

"That's all about the servants in the house. It's so simple and needless to say. I'm a widower, and I have an only son named Arthur, Mr. Holmes, and he's disappointed me so badly! It's certainly my fault. People say he was spoiled by me, which is very possible. After my beloved wife died, I felt that the only person I loved was him. I couldn't even bear to see him without a smile on his face. If at first I can be stricter with him, maybe it will be good for both of us, but I really can't. I hope he can inherit my business, but he has no business talent, he is wild. To be honest, I also He dared not entrust large sums of money to his charge. Although he was very young, he had already joined an aristocratic club, where he behaved suavely, and soon became acquainted with many spendthrift rich children. He began Keen to play high stakes games and gamble money at the racetracks, but he loses a lot, so he keeps asking me for money to help him pay off his debts and keep his name. He's also tried more than once to get out of the mess But he had a friend, Sir George Burnwell, to whom my son succumbed again and again.

"And I'm not at all surprised that someone like Sir George Burnwell can have an effect on my son. My son brings him into the house from time to time and I don't know what to do with his attitude. Comments. He is older and more informed than my son, and is a smooth guy. He is well-groomed, personable and well-spoken. But, aside from his charm, when I stop to think about him At that time, his sly language and gloomy eyes made me realize that he is a person who cannot be completely trusted. And I also have the same idea as Little Mary, she is a person who is good at insight into other people's temperament.

"Speaking of which, I have not told you about Mary. She is my niece. My brother passed away five years ago, so I adopted her and regarded her as my own. Daughter. She was the sunshine of the house—gentle, lovely, and beautiful, a good housekeeper, a good housekeeper, and a quiet, dignified, nice girl. She was my right hand, and I would never have lived without her. Know what to do. There is only one thing she doesn't like. My son has proposed to her twice - because he really loves her, but she has refused. I think, if someone If she can lead my son to the right path, then it must be her, and my son's life after marriage will also change. But now, it is too late! It will never be undone!
"Mr. Holmes, I think you are fully aware of the circumstances of my family, and I shall now continue with the story of the unfortunate incident which happened to me.

"That evening, as we were sitting in the drawing-room drinking coffee after supper, I told Arthur and Mary about it, and told them that the treasure was in my room, but I did not tell my The name of the customer. I am sure that Lucy Pardy left the room after bringing us coffee, but I am not sure whether she closed the door when she went out. Mary and Arthur were very pleased. Interested, they told me they wanted me to show it to them, but I figured it was better not to.

"Arthur asked, 'Where did you keep that?' I said, 'In a cupboard in my room.' And he said, 'Oh, I hope no thief comes and steals it in the night.' And I replied : 'I locked the cupboard.' He said: 'Well, any old key will open it. I used the key from the kitchen cupboard when I was little.' talking, so I didn’t pay attention to his words. However, when he followed me to my room that night, his face was very ugly. He lowered his eyes and said, “Father, can you give me two hundred pounds?” I immediately He said sternly: 'No, I cannot! I have been too generous to you in money.' He said: 'Please have mercy on me, I really need this money badly, otherwise I would I don't have the face to show up at the club again!' I said: 'That would be great.' He said: 'Yes. But you don't want me to leave a dishonored person, such a disgraceful thing I can't stand it, I have to raise this money. If you really won't give it to me, then I have to think of other ways.' I was very angry at that time, because it was already a month for him For the third time he asked me for money. 'I won't give you a penny today,' I cried. When I had finished he gave me a low bow and left the room without a word.

"After he went out, I opened the cabinet and saw that the treasure was safe, so I locked the cabinet. Then I started going around to see if the doors and windows were closed. Normally, this was Mary's job. That night, I thought it would be better for me to make the rounds myself, and when I came down the stairs, Mary was standing alone by the window in the hall, and she was closing the window when I approached her. She seemed troubled and said to me, 'Dad, tell me, did you let Lucy out tonight?' I said, 'Of course not!' She said, 'She just came in through the back door. I think she I don't think it's safe to meet someone at the side door, and she must be stopped." I said, "You can tell her tomorrow morning, and if you don't want to say it, then I'll do it. You Are you sure everything is closed?' She replied, 'I'm sure, Dad.' 'Okay, good night, then!' I kissed her and went upstairs to the bedroom, where I soon fell asleep.

"Mr. Holmes, I will try my best to tell you everything in detail. I hope it will be easier for you to grasp the case. If there is anything I have not explained clearly, please do mention it."

"On the contrary," said Holmes, "your account is very clear."

"Now, I'm going to talk about that, and I hope you can understand it completely. I'm usually a light sleeper, but that night I couldn't sleep soundly because of something on my mind. At about two o'clock in the morning, I was I was awakened by some noises in the room. When I was fully awake, the previous sounds disappeared, but I felt that I had heard the sound of someone gently opening the window, and I listened intently. Suddenly, I felt very Panic, because I clearly heard the sound of footsteps in the room, someone walking gently. Filled with fear, I quietly got up from the bed and looked over from the corner of the bedroom door. I exclaimed: 'Arthur, you rascal, you thief! How dare you touch the crown?'

"The gas lamp was still half on in that room, and by the light I saw my abominable boy in shirt and shorts, holding the crown in his hand. He looked as if he was struggling That thing. After hearing my scream, the crown in his hand fell to the ground, and his face turned pale. I quickly picked it up and checked it, and found that there were three pieces of green jade on a gold corner. I yelled frantically, 'You scum! You broke it! You discredited me for the rest of my life! Where did you put the gem you stole?' He yelled, 'Steal?!' I Shouting him by the shoulders, he shouted: 'Yes, you thief!' He said, 'Nothing is missing, and nothing can be lost.' "Three jades are missing here. You must know where they are. Do you still want me to call you a liar? Do you think I didn't see that you were trying to get another green jade off?" He said: "You have scolded enough, I can't take it anymore. Since you If you want to accuse me, I don't want to say a word about it. Tomorrow morning, I will leave your house and go out to earn my own living.' I said like crazy: 'You must fall The police! I want to find out about this matter!' I didn't expect it, and he also shouted uncharacteristically: "You won't learn anything from me. If you want to call the police, let them search it." up!'

"Because I woke up the whole family by shouting in anger. Mary was the first to rush into my room. She saw the crown and Arthur's expression at a glance. She knew what was going on. Just listen She let out an exclamation, and then fainted on the ground. I immediately sent the maid to the police, and decided to ask them to investigate. When the prosecutor and a policeman came to my house, Arthur stood with his arms raised angrily. He asked Am I going to sue him for theft. I replied that since the crown he broke is state property, it is no longer a private matter, it is a matter of the country's honor. I have decided that everything will be dealt with by the law. He said : 'At least you shouldn't arrest me right away, it would do you and me a great benefit if I could leave the house for five minutes.' Hidden.' At this moment, I realized a terrible situation, I said to Arthur that it was not only me, but also the honorable customer, whose reputation was at stake, and the matter It may cause great shame. But if he tells what he did with the three missing emeralds, he will be cleared. He said to me with a sneer: 'Leave your forgiveness to those You beg for mercy." Then he turned away. I think he has become so stubborn that no words can change him. There is no other way, so I have to ask the police to take him into custody and conduct a comprehensive search immediately. His body , and his room and places in the house where possible treasures may be hidden have been searched, but no trace can be found. Our persuasion and intimidation have not been able to make him speak. He was sent to the cell this morning , and I came to you in a hurry after I had done my formalities with the police, and begged you to use your wisdom and skills to help me. The police have publicly said that they have found nothing. How much money is needed for this, please just say, I have put a bounty in the amount of a thousand pounds. My God, what the hell am I going to do? Overnight I lost my name, my jewel and my son. Ah, what can I do !"

He put his head in his hands, rocked his whole body back and forth, and murmured to himself like a child in pain.

For some minutes Holmes sat in silence, his brow furrowed, his eyes fixed on the fire.

"Do you usually see many friends?" he asked after a while.

"Just with my partners and family, and Arthur's friends. George Burnwell has been here a few times lately. I don't think there's anyone else."

"Do you often socialize?"

"Arthur often went to some social functions. Mary and I mostly stayed at home, and neither of us wanted to go out to socialize."

"It's kind of unusual for a young girl not to socialize."

"She is quiet by nature. Besides, she is not very young anymore, she is 24 years old."

"From what you have said, she seems to have been greatly shocked by this incident," said Holmes.

"Yes, she was probably more shocked than I was."

"Do you think it was your son who committed the crime?"

"Is there any doubt about it? I saw him holding the crown in both hands."

"I don't think that's conclusive evidence. Is there any damage to the rest of the crown?"

"Yes, it has been bent."

"Then, did it ever occur to you that he might have been trying to straighten it?"

He said: "God bless you, you're doing all you can for us, but it's so hard. What the hell was he doing there? If he was innocent, why didn't he argue?"

"Yes. But if he is guilty, why doesn't he just invent a lie to justify himself? His silence can be explained in two ways. As for the case, I think there are several Suspicious place. How did the police think the sound that woke you from your sleep?"

"They guessed it might have been Arthur closing his bedroom door."

"Oh, that's really strange! A burglar would slam a door loudly to wake a sleeping man. So what did they say about the three missing gems?"

"They're still trying to find it, searching for furniture, banging on floors, hoping they'll find it."

"Didn't it occur to them to look outside the house?"

"Yes, they searched diligently, and examined the whole garden closely."

"My dear sir," said Holmes, "is it not evident that this case is far more complicated than either you or the police think? In your opinion, it is nothing more than a simple case. case, but I think it's extraordinarily complex. You think your son got out of his bed, took a huge risk, went into your bedroom, opened your cupboard, took out that crown, used a lot Breaking off a small part of the top with all his strength, he went to another place and hid three of the 39 green jade in an extremely concealed way. Then he returned to the bedroom with the 36 green jade, making him I am in danger of being discovered by others, so I ask you, is this analysis reliable?"

(End of this chapter)