The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 59 Four Signatures (43)
My dearest uncle:
I feel that I have caused you so much distress that if I could choose again, this terrible thing might never have happened.Tormented by this thought, I can no longer live here peacefully, and I have decided to leave you forever.Please don't worry about me, I have a place to stay.Most importantly, please don't look for me, not only is it futile, but it may even hurt me.In short, no matter what my future holds, I will always be Mary who loves you the most.

"Mr. Holmes, what is the meaning of her letter? Is it telling us that she wants to take her own life?"

"No, not at all. Perhaps this is the best solution. Mr. Holder, I believe that you will soon bid farewell to your misery."

"Ah, are you sure, sir? Have you heard anything? Have you found out where the emeralds are?"

"I don't know if you can accept a thousand pounds for a piece of emerald."

"I'd like to pay ten thousand pounds."

"That's not necessary. Three thousand pounds will suffice. A small payment, I hope, will be the best. Have you brought your check? I'm sure a check for four thousand pounds will do the trick. It's over."

Although the banker was confused, he still wrote the check exactly.Holmes stepped forward and stopped in front of a writing desk. He took out a small gold paper bag and dumped the three green jades inside on the desk.

Our client screamed and grabbed the jade in his hand. "You succeeded!" He said incoherently, "I'm saved! I'm saved!"

Such an agitated reaction was on par with what he had suffered before.He pressed the three lost and recovered jade tightly to his chest.

"You still owe someone else some money, Mr. Holder." Holmes became very serious.

"Debt?" He picked up a pen, "How much? I'll write a check."

"No, not to me. Your son is a fine fellow, and you owe him a deep apology. If I had a boy like him, I should be proud of him."

"Then it really wasn't Arthur who took it?"

"I said it yesterday, and I'll say it again today, it's not him."

"You are sure that is the case, then we will go to him immediately and tell him the truth."

"He already knew. After I found out the truth of the matter, I went to him directly, but he was unwilling to tell me the matter, so I simply told him everything. He also had to admit my innocence I also pointed out a few places where I have doubts. The news you brought about your niece will definitely make him speak. "

"My God! Then, can you solve this strange mystery for me quickly?"

"I will certainly do so, and tell you the steps I have taken to get to the bottom of it. Let's start at the beginning, it's harder, and it's not easy for you - George Burnway There is an affair between Sir Earle and your niece Mary. If there is no accident, the two of them should have escaped together by now."

"My Mary? It's impossible!"

"It's very unfortunate, but it's a solid fact. Neither you nor your son knew what kind of man he was when he was accepted into your home as a guest. He was one of the most dangerous men in England. —A down-and-out gambler, a vicious rascal, a man without humanity and conscience. Your niece knows nothing about him. When he tells you the words of vows he used on other women. When the niece listened, she was proud and proud, thinking that only she could touch his heart. This devil conquered and used her with sweet words, and she would have a tryst with him almost every night."

"I cannot and will not believe it!" cried the banker, turning pale.

"Well, I will tell you what happened at your house the night before last. When your niece thought you had gone back to the bedroom, she sneaked out to the window which looked onto the stable path. Her lover. By standing longer, left his footprints deep in the snow. She spoke of the crown, and it kindled his evil greed, and by artifice he made her do his bidding. No doubt she loves you. But I think she is one of those women whose love for a lover blinds their judgment. You came downstairs before they had finished talking. It is true that she hastily closed the window and told you about the maid who had gone out on a date with her lover who had a prosthetic leg.

"After you finished talking to your son Arthur, he went to bed, tossing and turning because he still owed money to the club. In the middle of the night, he heard light footsteps in the corridor, so he got out of bed. Peeping out, it seemed very strange to him, he saw his cousin sneaking in the hallway until she entered your room. He was so surprised that he hurriedly put on a dress and hid in the dark to see what she was going to do. What. When she came out of your room, your son saw in the dim light of the passage that she was holding the most precious crown in her hand, and she walked towards the stairs. He panicked , dodged to hide behind the curtain at the door, from which she could see everything in the hall. Slowly she opened the window, passed the crown through the window, and handed it to the one in the dark. Then she reopened the window After closing it, he hurried back to her room from the curtain he used for concealment.

"He didn't say why, because he didn't want to expose the shameful behavior of his beloved woman. But as soon as she walked away, he realized at once how much misfortune this matter would bring you, and in time How important it was to save the thing. He ran downstairs, shirtless, barefoot, opened the window, and jumped out into the snow. He ran along the path, and in the dim moonlight he saw a The figure. Sir George Burnwell was running away in a hurry, but he was caught by Arthur who caught up, and the two men tore for the crown. Your son held one end of the crown, while the other end was caught by the other Grasp. During the wrestling and tearing, your son punched Sir George in the eye. At this time, something was torn. When your son found the crown in his hand, he hurried home, he He closed the window, went upstairs, and entered your room, when he noticed that the corner of the crown was bent, and when he was trying to straighten it, you appeared."

"Isn't this incredible?" The banker's palms were sweating.

"At that time, he thought you would give him the most sincere thanks for his actions, but in exchange for your insults and abuse. Anger began to rise in his heart. He was neither willing to explain the actual situation nor to express himself The woman he loves is exposed to contemptuous glances, so he hides her secrets with grace."

Mr Holder said: "That's why she passed out screaming as soon as she saw the crown. Oh my God! What a fool I am. Yes, he said to give me the crown." He has 5 minutes to go outside, my dear boy wants to find the lost gem at the scene of the accident! I am too cruel and ruthless, I have wronged him!"

"As soon as I arrived at your lodgings," continued Holmes, "I took a good look round to see if there were any traces in the snow which might help me. I know that there has been no snow since the night before. Over the snow, and there happens to be frost in between to protect the prints. I went to the road where the hawkers walked, and the shoe prints on it have been confused. However, on this side, a little distance from the kitchen In that place, I found the imprints of a woman standing there talking to a man, and one of the shoe prints was round, which showed that the man had a wooden prosthetic leg. I could even conclude that, Someone frightened them, because there were traces of the woman on the ground returning to the house in a hurry. This conclusion can be drawn from the deep front part of the footprints in the snow and the shallow back part. The person with the wooden artificial leg seems to have stayed for a while Just left, 'maids and lovers' was my guess. You told me about them, and I later proved that to be the case. I went to the garden and there was nothing but messy footprints , I knew it was a policeman's shoe print. But the footprints in the snow on the path leading to the stables opened up a long and complicated scene for me.

"There were the footprints of two people with boots and one with bare feet. I remembered what you told me, so I deduced that the footprint of the bare foot was left by your son. The footprint of the boot was walked back and forth several times. Yes, and the other footprints seemed to have been left by running very fast, and some of his footprints covered the footprint of the boot. It was obvious that he was after him later. I followed these tracks until I reached the pass. Looking toward the living room window, where the snow had been melted by the boots. I walked to the other side, a hundred yards or so from the trail. From the criss-crossing of The man in boots turned around and there appeared to be a fight. After searching carefully I found blood stains on the ground which confirmed my suspicions. The man in boots ran down the path and there was blood there too. The sidewalk was swept and the clue went there It was interrupted.

"Do you remember when I used a magnifying glass to check the window sills and window frames when I entered the house? I found that someone had entered and exited there. The outline of the foot was clearly discernible, it was left by a wet foot. At that time, I was very concerned about what happened there. It means that someone waited outside the window; someone else brought the crown there; what happened was seen by your son; he overtook the one who waited outside the window, And there was a fight with them; they took the crown with such force that it was damaged far more than one man could have done. Your son took it back, but left A small part of it was in the hands of the other party. I could only analyze it to this extent. The question we need to solve now is, who was that person? And who handed him the crown?
"I'm reminded of an old saying, 'When a man has eliminated all the impossible, what remains, however improbable, must be true.' I know that the one who holds the crown will never be you, Then there is only Mary and the maids left. But if it is the maids, how can your son be willing to be punished for them? There is no good reason for this idea. But he loves his cousin deeply, so he It makes sense to do it for her. What's more, it's not an honorable thing in itself, so he has to hide it. When I think of what you told me once, I saw it at the window She, and later her fainting at the sight of the crown, made my speculation a solid fact.

"But who is her accomplice? It can only be her lover. Who else in her heart can surpass her love for you? You rarely go out to socialize, and you have a few friends. But Sir George Burnwell was one of them. I've heard he was notorious for dealing with women. So it must be him who wears the boots and holds the three green jades .Although he knew that Arthur had found him, he had no qualms even so, knowing that if your son said anything, your family would suffer greatly.

"Well, with your good discernment you should have guessed what my second step would be. I went to Sir George's in the guise of a tramp, and I learned from his valet that his master the night before wounded and cut on the head. At last I bought for six shillings an old pair of boots which his master had thrown away. I took them to Streatham, and checked that they were the same as those left in The shoe prints there match, exactly."

"Last night I saw a rundown bum on the lane," Mr Holder said.

"Yes, that person is me. I have found out who I want to check, so I went home and changed my clothes. I have to play a delicate role. Scandal can only be avoided without litigation, I Knowing that the villain must have seen this too, I went straight to the door and asked him. At first, he refused to admit it. But after I pointed out all the details and circumstances of what happened, he took a stick from the wall Ready to intimidate me. However, I knew what kind of person I was facing. Before he raised his stick, I took out a pistol and pointed it at his head. At this time, he was calm. I told him that it was okay In exchange for money - a thousand pounds a piece. He immediately looked very regretful, 'Oh, too bad!' He said he had sold the gems to someone else for six hundred pounds. I promise Don't tell him, got the address of the buyer from him. I found the guy, talked about the price for a long time, and finally we settled for a thousand pounds a piece. Then I went to your son and I told him everything It was all done. At last I lay down in my own bed about two o'clock after what could be called a day full of hardships."

The banker stood up and said: "This is the day to save England from a great scandal. I can't thank you enough, sir, but I'll show you what you've worked for Your skills are rare. And now, I will fly to my son to offer him my deepest apologies. As for Mary, she has broken my heart. Your skills are great, but to tell her now It's not easy being there, is it?"

"I can say with absolute certainty," replied Holmes, "that she will be where Sir George Burnwell is. I can say with equal certainty that whatever crime she may have committed, she will soon be severely punished."

(End of this chapter)