The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 83 Memoirs (12) ([-])
Today, I'm exhausted.Phelps, recovering from a serious illness, was still weak, and his misfortunes made him more irritable and frightened.I tried my best to make him happy by talking about my past in Afghanistan and India, talking about some social problems, and talking about some things that could relieve his worries, but it was of no avail.He was always haunted by the lost agreement, and he wondered, guessed, and wondered what Holmes was doing, what steps Lord Holdhurst was taking, and what we might hear in the morning.After late at night, he went from agitated to extremely painful.

"Do you trust Holmes very much?"

"I've seen him solve a lot of good cases."

"But he's never solved such a clueless case?"

"Wrong, I know that he has solved cases with fewer clues than your case."

"But it's not such a serious case, is it?"

"I don't know that. But I do know that he has handled very important cases for three European royal families."

"You know him well, Watson. He is such a marvelous figure that I shall never know how to understand him. Do you think he has any hope of success? Do you think he can solve the case?"

"He didn't say anything."

"That's not a good sign."

"On the contrary. I have noticed that when he loses a clue, he always says he has lost it. When he has found a clue and is not very sure, he is very reserved. Now, my dear friend, for this matter It doesn't help you to feel uneasy, so I advise you to go to bed and sleep well, so that you can deal with the news in the morning, good or bad, with energy."

At last I persuaded my companion to accept my advice, but I saw from his excited manner that he had no hope of sleeping peacefully.Indeed, his emotions also affected me. I also tossed and turned on the bed, unable to fall asleep, pondered over this strange question carefully, and made countless untenable inferences.Why did Holmes stay in Woking?Why did he want Miss Harrison to stay in the ward all day?Why was he so careful not to let Brillbrae's people know that he intended to stay near them?I racked my brains to find an answer consistent with all these facts, and finally I gradually fell asleep.

When I awoke, it was seven o'clock the next morning, and I got up immediately to go to Phelps' room.His face was haggard, and he must have been up all night.His first sentence was to ask whether Holmes had returned.

"As he has promised," I said, "he will be back in time."

Sure enough, just after eight o'clock, a carriage galloped up to the door, and my friend jumped out of it.Standing by the window, we saw his left hand was bandaged, his face serious and pale.He went into the house and came upstairs after a while.

"He seems exhausted," Phelps exclaimed.

I have to admit he was right. "After all," I said, "the clue to the case may still be in the city."

Phelps groaned.

"I don't know what it is," he said, "but I had such high hopes for his return. His hand was not hurt yesterday, though. What's the matter?"

"Holmes, are you all right?" I asked my friend, as he entered the room.

"Well, it's just a bruise on my clumsy hands and feet," he replied, nodding his greeting to us, "Mr. , is indeed the most secretive."

"I fear you have lost heart in solving the case."

"It was a very strange experience."

"The bandages on your hands mean you've taken risks," I said. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"Let's talk after breakfast, my dear Watson. Don't forget that I drove thirty miles this morning. I haven't heard back from my advertisement for a carriage, perhaps? Well, we can't expect everything to go well. .”

The table was ready, and I was about to ring when Mrs. Hudson brought tea and coffee.In a few minutes she brought three more breakfasts, and we sat down together, Holmes devouring them.I looked at him curiously, and Phelps was sullen and dejected.

"Mrs. Hudson is very good at emergencies," said Holmes, lifting the lid of a plate of chicken curry. "She can cook a limited number of dishes, but like a Scotch woman, she cooks this breakfast very well. What are you, Watson?" vegetable?"

"A ham and egg," I replied.

"Excellent! Mr. Phelps, what would you like to eat, chicken curry or ham and eggs? Otherwise, I invite you to eat your own portion."

"Thank you, I can't eat anything," Phelps said.

"Ah, come on! Please eat a little of the one in front of you."

"Thank you, I really don't want to eat."

"Well, then," said Holmes, with a mischievous wink, "I suppose you will not refuse my offer?"

As soon as Phelps opened the lid, there was a sudden scream, and his face was as pale as a dish, and he stared into the dish.It turned out that there was a small blue-gray paper scroll in the tray.He snatched it up, stared at it, pressed the scroll to his chest, shrieked with joy, danced wildly about the room, and sank into an armchair.He was weak from overexcitement.To keep him from fainting, we had to give him a little brandy.

"Come! Come!" said Holmes comfortingly, patting Phelps on the shoulder. "It would be too bad to have it suddenly placed before you like this, but Watson will tell you that I always I couldn’t help but want to make things a little dramatic.”

Phelps took Holmes' hand and kissed it.

"God bless you!" he cried, "you have saved my honor."

"Well, you know, my own honor is also at stake," said Holmes. "I should rest assured that my failure in a case is as unpleasant as your breach of trust."

Phelps tucked the precious document into the inside pocket of his jacket.

"I don't want to interrupt your breakfast, but I'm eager to know how and where you found it."

After drinking his cup of coffee and finishing his breakfast, Holmes got up, lit his pipe, and sat down in his chair.

"I told you what I did first, and how I went about doing it," said Holmes. "After parting from you at the station, I walked at my leisure through the beautiful Surrey landscape to a town called The little village of Pooley, had tea in the inn, filled the kettle, put a sandwich in my pocket, and got everything ready. I didn't return to Woking until evening, when I came to Bri It was dusk when we reached the road beside Albray.

"I waited until the road was clear of pedestrians, and I thought, there are never many people on that road. So I climbed over the fence and came to the back yard of the house."

"That gate is unlocked day and night," cried Phelps suddenly.

"Yes, but I love it very much. I chose a place where three fir-trees grew, and under the cover of these fir-trees, I went over and no one in the house could see me. I lurked in a nearby bush , creeping from tree to tree, as evidenced by the ripped knees of my trousers, up to that rhododendron bush just across from your bedroom window. There I hunkered down and waited.

"The curtains in your room were still drawn, and I could see Miss Harrison sitting at the table reading. It was a quarter past ten in the evening when she closed the book and shut the shutters and exited the bedroom.

"I heard her closing the door and clearly heard her locking the door with a key."

"Key?" Phelps called suddenly.

"Yes, I gave Miss Harrison advance orders to lock the door from outside your bedroom when she went to bed, and take the key herself. She did exactly as I was told, and I am sure that without her co-operation you would have You will not find that document in your coat pocket. After she left, the lights went out, and I was still squatting among the rhododendron bushes.

"It was a clear night, but it was still tiresome to watch. Of course, my excitement was like that of a fisherman lying on the river bank and watching the fish. However, the time was very long. The bells of Woking Church The clock struck, and I thought more than once that perhaps nothing would happen. But at last, about two o'clock in the morning, I heard the sound of the bolt being drawn and the key turned. It opened, and Mr. Joseph Harrison came out by moonlight."

"Joseph?!" Phelps suddenly shouted.

"He was bald, and wore a black cloak, so that in case of emergency he could immediately cover his face. He approached the window on tiptoe, inserted a long blade knife into the frame, and flung the latch. Then He pried open the window, inserted the knife again into the gap in the shutter, and swung the shutter open.

"I could see the room and his movements from my hiding place. He lit two candles on the mantelpiece, rolled up a corner of the rug by the door with his hands, and stooped to bring out a small square of wood for a plumber's Used to repair the gas pipe joint. The board covered the T-shaped gas pipe connection, and there was a pipe for the kitchen gas supply to the downstairs kitchen. Joseph took a small roll of paper from this hiding place, and the board was replaced. It was covered, and the rug was flattened, and the candles were blown out, for I was standing outside the window waiting for him, when he crashed into my arms.

"Ah, Mr. Joseph is much more fierce than I imagined! He came at me with a knife, and I had to grab him again, before I got the upper hand, and the knife cut my knuckles. Before we ended After the struggle, he looked like a murderer because he could only see with one eye, but he obeyed my advice and handed over the papers. I got the papers and let him go. However, this morning I gave Forbes sent a telegram with all the details. It would be nice if he was quick enough to catch his man. But if he got there, as I expected, the man had already escaped. , perhaps the Government would like to. Lord Holdhurst, and Mr. Percy Phelps, I think, would rather the case not go to court."

"My God!" groaned our client, "has this stolen document been with me in that room during the ten weeks of my agony?"

"Indeed."

"Then Joseph, Joseph is a villain and a thief!"

"I'm afraid Joseph is a more insidious and dangerous character than he appears to be. From what he has said to me this morning, I surmise that he has lost his fortune in stock trading, and has done anything bad to improve his luck." Come out. He is an extremely selfish man, who has no regard for his sister's happiness or your reputation when he gets the chance."

Percy Phelps sat back in his chair and said, "My head is spinning, and your words make me even more dizzy."

Holmes pointed out preachingly: "The main difficulty in your case is that there are too many clues. The most important clues are covered by irrelevant signs. We only need to select the main ones from the many facts. , will be able to string them in order. I began to doubt Joseph, mainly because you had planned to go home with him the night of the theft, and I naturally thought that he must come to you, because he was very concerned about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Very familiar, and on the way. Later, I heard you say that someone was eager to sneak into that bedroom.

"I thought it was only possible that Joseph hid things in that bedroom. You told us how you got Joseph out of the bedroom the other day when you went back to the bedroom with the doctor. That's when my suspicions turned to It has become affirmative. Especially on the first night when no one stayed with you, someone tried to sneak into the room, which shows that this uninvited guest is very familiar with the situation in the room."

"How blind I am!"

"The facts of my case were as follows: Joseph Harrison entered the Foreign Office by the side door leading into Charles Street, and because he knew the way, he went straight in when you were leaving the office, and found there There was no one, and he rang the bell at once. Just as he rang the bell, he found the papers on the table. At a glance, he thought it was a good opportunity to get a very valuable state paper, He pocketed it and walked away. As you recall, it was several minutes before the dozing doorman called your attention to the bell, long enough time for the burglar to escape.

"He took the first train back to Woking, examined the loot, was sure of its value, hid the agreement in what he thought was a very safe place, with the intention of taking it out in a day or two, and sending it to the French embassy or whatever he thought it was worth. A place where you can pay a premium. Your sudden return home caught him off guard and he was forced to move out of that bedroom.

"Since then there have been at least two people in the house, and he has never been able to bring out his treasure. The situation has driven him into a frenzy of anxiety. But at last he has his chance. He manages to get inside, but you Not asleep, his plan failed.

"You may recall that you did not take your usual medicine that night."

"I remember."

"I think he must have tampered with the medicine. He believes that you will be unconscious. Of course, I know that whenever there is a chance, he will try again. You leave the bedroom Naturally it was a great opportunity for him not to miss. I kept Miss Harrison in the house all day, so that he could not strike first in our absence. On the one hand, I wanted to make him think that there was no danger; on the other hand, As I said before, I will keep an eye on the bedroom. I already knew that the papers were probably hidden in the bedroom, but I didn't want to tear down all the floors and skirtings to search for it. I let him find it by himself. Take it out, so I can save a lot of trouble. Is there anything else you don't understand?"

"Why did he break through the window when he could have gone in the first time?" I asked.

"He has to go around seven bedrooms to get in through the door, and he can jump into the lawn from the window without any trouble. Any questions?"

"Don't you think he has murderous intentions? That knife can only be used as a murder weapon." Phelps asked.

"It may be so," replied Holmes, shrugging his shoulders. "I can only say with certainty that Mr. Joseph Harrison is by no means a gentleman of kindness."

last case

It is with a heavy heart that I write this last case, recording the outstanding genius of my friend Holmes.From the first time we met together in "Study in Scarlet", to his involvement in the "Naval Agreement" case.Thanks to his intervention, a serious international dispute was prevented.Although I write incoherently and without specificity, I always try to record the strange experience I shared with him.I had intended to stop with the case of the "Navy Agreement," and to say nothing of the case which had caused me the sorrow of my life.

Two years have passed, but this melancholy has not diminished in the slightest.Recently, however, Colonel James Moriarty published several letters in defense of his late brother.I have no choice but to tell the truth as it is.I am the only one who knows the whole truth and is convinced that the time has come when there is no use in hiding it.

As far as I know, there have been only three reports of this matter in the newspapers: the first, in the Geneva Magazine, May [-], [-]; The Reuters Telegram in the newspaper; the last, the letters I mentioned above, were published only recently.Both the first report and the second report were overly simplistic, and the last, a complete distortion of the facts.It is my duty to reveal for the first time the truth of what happened between Professor Moriarty and Holmes.

The reader will recall that, since my marriage and my practice as a doctor, the extremely intimate relationship between Holmes and myself has become somewhat distant.

He still came to me from time to time when he needed an assistant in the course of a case, but that was becoming less and less frequent.I found that in 24 I had recorded only three cases.During the winter of this year and the early spring of [-], I read in the newspapers that Holmes had been invited by the French government to investigate a case of great importance.I have had two letters from Holmes, one from Nardbon, the other from Nîmes.I guess he must be staying a long time in France.However, on the evening of April [-], [-], I unexpectedly saw him enter my consulting room.What struck me above all was that he looked paler and thinner than usual.

"Yes, I've been exhausting myself lately," he said before I could ask, seeing my expression, "I've been a little stressed lately. You don't object to me closing your blinds, do you?"

The lamp I use for reading is on the table, the only light in the room.Holmes walked along the wall, closed and fastened the two shutters.

"Are you afraid of something?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid."

"What are you afraid of?"

"Fear of air gun attack."

"My dear Holmes, what is the matter?"

"I think you know me very well, Watson, and you know that I am not a timid person. But if you are in danger and you don't admit it, you are foolish. Can you give me some advice?" A match?" Holmes smoked a cigarette, and seemed to enjoy its calming effect.

"I am sorry to disturb you so late," said Holmes. "I must also ask you to make an exception to allow me to climb over the back wall of your garden and leave your residence."

"But what's all this about?" I asked.

He held out his hand, and I saw by the light that his two knuckles were bleeding.

"You see, this is not something out of thin air." Holmes laughed. "It is real. It can even break a human hand. Is your lady at home?"

"She went to visit a friend."

"Really! Are you alone?"

"Yes."

"Then I can just ask you to go on a one-week trip to the European continent with me."

"To where?"

"Ah, anywhere is fine, I don't care."

(End of this chapter)