The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 71 Memoirs (12) ([-])
"Of course it is easy to calculate. For example, when the fishing rod is six feet long, the projection is nine feet; when the tree is 64 feet high, the projection is 96 feet, and the direction of the shadow of the fishing rod is the direction of the elm tree. I measured this The distance, almost to the base of the manor wall. I drove the peg at this point. You can imagine, Watson, my delight when I found a small tapered hole in the ground not two inches from the peg. Crazy. I'm sure it's a mark from Brenton's measurements, and I'm following his old path.

"From this point we take a walk test, and taking my bearings with my pocket compass, I walk twenty paces north along the manor wall and drive a wooden peg. Then I take ten paces east and south After four steps, I arrived at the threshold of the old house. According to the location indicated by the ceremony, I walked two steps west, and I came to the corridor paved with stone slabs.

"Watson, I have never been so disappointed. I feel that there must be a fundamental error in my calculations. The setting sun illuminates the pavement of the passage. The tread is thin, but it is still firmly cast together by cement, and has not been moved for many years. Brenton obviously did not lay hands here. I knocked on the stone slab, and I could feel that there were no holes or cracks under the stone slab. However, Fortunately, Musgrave understood my purpose, and he was very excited to check the results of my calculations with the manuscript.

"'Below,' he cried aloud, 'you ignore a word: just below.'

"I thought at first that we were going to dig, but of course I knew I was wrong. 'So, is there a basement under the passage?' I asked aloud.

"'Yes, the basement is as old as these houses, and it is just below the passage, and enter by this door.'

"Going down the winding stone steps, my friend struck a match and lit the lantern on the barrel in the corner. In an instant, we saw our surroundings clearly, and we came to the place we were looking for , and someone has been here in the past few days.

"This place has long been used to store logs, but the short logs that had apparently been littered on the ground have now been piled up on both sides to make a space in the middle of the basement. There is a large heavy stone slab in the center of the space. He was wearing a rusty iron ring, and a thick black and white checked scarf was tied to the iron ring.

"'My God!' screamed my client, 'that's Brenton's scarf, I swear I've seen him wear it. What's this villain doing here?'

"At my suggestion, we called two local police officers and I grabbed my scarf and lifted the slate hard, but I could only move it a little bit. With the help of a policeman, I managed to move the slate aside. The slate There was a dark cellar below, into which we all gazed. Musgrave knelt by the cellar, and stuck his lantern in to search it.

"The cellar was about seven feet deep and four feet wide, and beside it stood a low wooden box with brass hoops, the lid of which had been opened, and this strange old-fashioned key in the lock. The surface of the box was covered with dust. Thick, planks rotted from moths and damp and covered with livid-grey wood fungus, nothing but old coins like the ones I'm holding are strewn across the bottom of the box.

"However, we couldn't pay attention to the old wooden box at this time, because our attention was all attracted by something curled up next to the wooden box. It was a human figure, dressed in black, squatting there, with its forehead pressed against the wooden box. On the side of the box, holding the box in both hands. This position made his whole body flooded with blood. When we came over, the figure, clothing and hair all indicated that the deceased was the missing housekeeper. This person had obviously been dead for a few days, but there were no obvious fatal wounds on his body. After the body was transported out of the basement, we still faced a tough question.

"I still confess, Watson, that I was then disappointed in my inquiries. I had hoped to settle the matter when I found the place as suggested in the ceremonial catechism. But here I am, Evidently I still have not been able to understand why the family took such elaborate precautions. Although I have found Brenton's body, I have not found out how he was killed, nor the missing girl. What role did I play in this matter? Sitting on a keg in the corner, I thought carefully about the whole case.

"Usually, Watson, you know my solution to such a situation. I first measure his intelligence, and try to imagine how I should behave in the same situation. Then the problem is easily solved. Because Brenton is a very smart person, he doesn't have to think about any deviations in his thinking. He knows that there are treasures hidden in the manor, and he has found the treasure spot accurately. When he finds that the stone slab is too heavy, he cannot When moving, what should he do next? Even if he has a trustworthy person outside the manor and asks this person for help, he must open the door and let him in, risking being discovered. The best way is to find someone in the manor Helper. But who could he ask for help? This girl once loved him. No matter how bad a man treats a woman, he will never admit that she no longer loves him. Maybe after a few courtesies, he will be with the girl Howe Erles reconciled and made an appointment to act together. They came to the basement together at night and worked together to lift the slate.

"However, it is too difficult for two people, one of whom is a woman, to lift this slate. Because it is not easy for me and the burly Sussex policeman to lift it. When they can't move What would they do if they moved the slabs? What would I do if it were me? I stood up and looked carefully at the various short logs lying on the ground. I immediately saw what I expected. A A log about three feet long, with a noticeable nick at one end, and a few pieces of wood that had evidently been flattened on the sides by heavy weights. They must have pushed some logs into the gaps as they lifted the slabs up, A log was erected against the slab until the gap could allow a person to climb in. Because when the weight of the slab rests on the log, which in turn rests on the edge of the other slab, there is a gap at the end of the log on the ground. so far my evidence is still solid.

"The question now is how can I reproduce what happened that night. Obviously, only one person can get into this cellar, and that is Brenton. The girl must be waiting on it. Brenton opened the wooden box and put the inside of the box. What happened after the package was handed over?

"Perhaps the smoldering vengeance that had been smoldering in the impulsive Celtic girl when she saw that the man who had wronged her (perhaps he treated her much worse than we supposed) could be at his mercy suddenly flared up. Get up? Maybe it was because the wood suddenly failed and the stone slabs fell by themselves, shutting Brenton to death in the cellar, and she just concealed the truth? Or did she suddenly push the top log away and let the stone slabs fall to block the hole? Whatever it was, I seemed to be able to see a woman grab the treasure and run wildly up the winding stairs, ignoring the muffled shouts behind her and the frantic pounding of her hands on the slate. It was the slab that made the opponent Her hapless lover was suffocated in the cellar.

"No wonder she was pale next morning, trembling with fright, and laughing hysterically. But what was in the box? What did any of these things have to do with her? Obviously, it must be me Her clients salvaged old metal and crystal stones from the lake. She took the opportunity to throw these things into the lake so that they could be destroyed.

"I sat there quietly for about twenty minutes, thinking thoroughly of the case. Musgrave remained standing, pale, with his lantern, gazing into the cellar.

"'You see, these are coins from the time of Charles I,' said he, drawing some gold coins from the box, 'and we have calculated the date of the Liturgy exactly right.'

"'We can find other things from the time of Charles I,' I exclaimed, suddenly thinking of the meaning that the first two sentences of the ceremony's question and answer might contain, 'let us see what is in the bag you fished out of the lake. something.'

"Going back to his study, he put those old things in front of me. As soon as I saw them, I knew he didn't value them, because the metal was almost black, and the stone was dull. However, I took I wiped a piece with my sleeve, and it glistened in my hand. The metalwork was shaped like a double ring, but it was twisted, and it no longer had the original shape.

"'I believe you remember,' said I, 'that the Royalists, who were still engaged in armed resistance in England after the death of King Charles I, fled and may have buried many of their most valuable treasures, to be dug up in peacetime. Pick.'

"'My ancestor, Sir Ralph Musgrave, was a well-known Royalist in the time of Charles I, and was Charles II's right-hand man in his flight,' said my friend.

"'Yes, yes!' I replied, 'well now, I think this is really the last key we are looking for. I must congratulate you on this treasure, which, tragic as it came, is a A priceless relic. As a historical treasure, it is of great significance.'

"'What the hell is it?' asked Musgrave in surprise.

"'It is nothing but an ancient crown of England.'

"'crown!'

"'Yes, think of the ceremonial catechism! How does it say! "Whose is it?It belonged to the one who left. ’ This refers to the execution of Charles I. Then ‘Who deserves it?The man who is coming". This refers to Charles II, who has been foreseen to come to this manor at Helstone. I think this dilapidated crown was once the Worn by King Tuart.'

"'How did it end up in the lake?'

"'It will take some time to answer that question.' Then I told him all the conjectures and arguments I had made, and I didn't finish the story until the night was dark and the moon was shining. .

"'Then why didn't Charles II come to claim the crown when he returned home?' asked Musgrave, putting the relic back into the linen bag.

"'Ah, this is a question we may never be able to answer. Perhaps Musgrave, who held the secret, died negligently and did not explain the significance of passing down this ritual as a guide to posterity. This ritual From generation to generation, to this day, a man has finally revealed the secret, and died in the adventure.'

"That's the story of the Musgrave ceremony, Watson. The crown stayed at Helstone. But they paid a large sum of money to keep the crown after the relevant legal process. I believe, As long as you mention my name, they will show you the crown. And that woman has never been heard from, and it is very likely that she has fled abroad with memories of crimes."

(End of this chapter)