Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 101 The Return (12)
Holmes didn't mind at all. "I don't think it's necessary, doctor, it's really unnecessary. The air in the Northlands is refreshing, so I want to live here in the grasslands for a few days to collect my thoughts. Live at your school or nearby The inn, of course, is up to you."

It was evident that the poor doctor was very hesitant.However, the Duke of Redbeard rescued him with his deep and loud voice.

"Dr. Huxtable, Mr. Wilde's statement is very correct. If you and I have discussed it properly, today's incident will not happen. Now that the matter has come to an end, it is necessary for us to ask Holmes to help. Don't Come to the inn, come to my Holderness house, and you are very welcome."

"Thank you, Lord Duke, for your kindness. In order to make the investigation more convenient, I think it is more appropriate to stay at the scene." Holmes replied.

"Mr. Holmes, as you please. Whatever you want to know from Mr. Wilde and me, just ask."

"It is really possible to visit your mansion in the future. The only thing I want to ask now is, do you think of the reason for Mr. Ling's mysterious disappearance?"

"No, sir."

"Forgive my indiscretion, I mentioned something that hurt you, but it cannot be avoided. Do you think it has something to do with the Duchess?"

It can be seen that this great man seems to be thinking about something.

He finally replied: "I don't think so."

"Duke, one more thing is that you wrote a letter to Young Master Ling on the day of his accident."

"Not that day, but the day before."

"Yes, but he got the letter on the day it happened, didn't he?"

"Yes."

"Is there anything in this letter of yours which disturbed him and caused him to go away?"

"No, sir, not at all possible."

"Did you send the letter yourself?"

Just as the Duke was about to answer, his secretary replied first, "Your Excellency the Duke never sends letters by himself. That letter was placed on the table in the study like the other letters, and I put it in the mailbag myself."

"Are you sure that this letter is among those letters?"

"Yes, I have."

"How many letters did the duke write that day?"

"Twenty to thirty letters. I have always had a lot of correspondence, but does it have anything to do with this case?"

"It's not entirely unrelated," said Holmes.

The duke went on to say: "I have asked the police to divert part of their attention to the south of France. I don't think the duchess would ever instigate a child to do such a stupid thing. But the child is very stubborn, and he is likely to be instigated by the Germans. Ran to the lady with help. Dr Huxtable, we must go back now."

I could see that Holmes wanted to ask some other questions, but the nobleman suddenly said that the conversation was over.Apparently, it was out of place with his aristocratic status to talk about his private affairs with someone he didn't know well, and he didn't want to create a situation where, as questions were raised one after another, something he'd carefully concealed over the years Things will be revealed mercilessly.

As soon as they left, my companion began a thorough investigation, with the urgency that was his usual style.

We checked the room where the child had lived and found nothing, but we were pretty sure the only way he could escape was through the window.The house and belongings of the German teacher did not provide any clues.The ivy branch in front of his window broke, perhaps unable to bear his weight.By the light of the lamp we saw the mark of a heel where he had landed in the green grass.This footprint is enough to show that the German teacher escaped at night.

Sherlock Holmes went out alone, and did not return until eleven o'clock at night.He got an official map of the district, took it to my room, laid it out on the bed, put the lamp in the center of the map, and smoked while looking at it, occasionally pointing with the pipe at places of particular interest to us.

He said: "Watson, this case is very interesting. Judging from the facts of the case itself, there are a few places on the map that definitely need more attention. While this case is just starting to be dealt with, I want to let you know that what I just referred to Those terrains are inextricably linked to our investigation."

"Come on, look at the map. This darker square is the Abbey School. I'll put a needle in it. This one is the main road. It runs east-west and passes by the front of the school. You can also see what's in the school. There is no side road for a mile on either side. If the two men were to leave the main road, it would be the only road to cross."

"Yes, it is so."

"Fortunately, we can probably ascertain that no one passed the road on the night when the two of them, one big and one young, went away. There was a country policeman on guard at the place where the pipes were laid, from about twelve to midnight at night. Six o'clock in the morning. According to the policeman, he has never left his post, and he has never seen one person, one person, or two people. If someone passes by here, he said that he will definitely notice it. According to the process of my conversation with him , His words can be believed, that is, there is no need to investigate the east side. Let's look at the west side again. There is a hotel called 'Red Bull'. That night, the hostess fell ill, and she sent someone to Macleton for a doctor Unfortunately, the doctor was not in the clinic at the time, so I came here the next day. The people in the store were paying attention at night, waiting for the doctor to appear, and there was a person standing outside looking at the road. They all said that no one passed by here. If If their words can also be believed, it means that the west side is fine. From this point of view, it is impossible for the fleeing people to leave by the main road."

"And what about bicycles?" I asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, that's what we're going to talk about. Bicycles. Going further down the line: if they didn't take the main road, then they must have gone through the village to the south or north of the school. It's absolutely certain that there's a lot of cultivated land to the south, and Separated by a stone wall, it is not possible to ride a bicycle here. We can not consider from the south. Now let's look at the north, where there is a small forest called 'Xiaogang', and further away is a large area of ​​rolling Lower Gil The moor, which rises higher and higher, extends about ten miles away, with Holderness House on one side, about ten miles along the road, and only six miles from this moor. .It is very desolate there, but flat land, except for a few small farm sheds, where the farmers used to raise some cattle and sheep, as well as doves and curlews. You will not see it again until you pass the Chesterfield Highway. Nothing else. On the other side there's a church, a few farmhouses, and an inn. Farther on, the hill gets steeper, and it's obvious we're going to start our search from the north."

I asked again: "Why didn't you mention the bicycle?"

Holmes replied impatiently: "Okay! A person who is a good cyclist must ride on the main road? He can also ride on the wilderness. Besides, there are many small roads there, and it was the time of the full moon." Ye. Hey, what's the sound?"

There was a quick knock at the door, and Dr Huxtable entered.In his hand was a cricket cap, blue with a white chevron on the top.

Dr Huxtable exclaimed: "Thank God! We have a clue now! At least I know which way the boy came from, and the hat belongs to him."

"Where did you find it?"

"It was found from the caravan of the gypsies. They had camped overnight in this ancient wilderness. They left on Tuesday. After the police chased them today, they found it when they checked the vehicle."

"How do they explain that?"

"They couldn't tell at all, and lied that they picked it up there on Tuesday morning. The bastards, they must know where the baby is. Thank God, they are all locked up. The majesty of the law or the duke's money will always let them Open your mouth."

After the doctor left, Holmes said: "Great, this is enough to prove that our reasoning is correct. It is necessary for us to go to the Lower Gill Wasteland again to find new and more useful evidence. The police have not only captured those few people Nothing else was done. You see, Watson, here is a channel of water running through the moor. We have marked it, and in places it widens into a swamp, especially between Holderness Hall and the school. The area in between. The weather is dry now, and it is futile to look for imprints anywhere else, but in this area, there is a good chance of finding their imprints. Let's go and see together tomorrow morning, and try to Find out the silver lining of this mysterious disappearance."

Just after dawn, I opened my eyes and saw the tall, lanky Holmes standing beside my bed.He was already dressed and had obviously been out.

He said: "I went out just now and checked the lawn and the bicycle shed in front of the window. I also went to Xiaogang to have a look. Watson, I have cooked cocoa and it is stored there. I must Please hurry up, we have too much to do today."

His eyes were full of joy, his cheeks were rosy, like a skilled craftsman who is satisfied with the exquisite work he is about to complete.Holmes was very agile and sharp at this time. Unlike in Baker Street, he was no longer pale and reticent.Now he is agile and eager to try. I think this day will be very tiring.

However, the day got off to a frustrating start.Full of hope, we strode across the rich peaty tawny moors, through many paths, and finally arrived at the vast green swamp.It was the swamp that separated us from Holderness House.If the boy had come home, he would have passed by, and would have left his mark.But in any case, we found no traces of any kind.My friend, looking sullen, walked up and down the edge of the marsh, trying to find some traces there, but here and there were the hoof-prints of sheep, and about a mile or two away, the hoof-prints of cattle, and others Couldn't find anything more.

Holmes looked listlessly at the rolling open moor in the distance and said, "Let's go to the wetland ahead and have a look. Look! Look! What's this!"

We walked up a narrow, dark path.In the wet mud in the middle of the trail, there were clearly tracks of bicycles.

I yelled, "Ah, we finally found it."

Holmes, however, showed displeasure.He shook his head, looking a little strange, as if he was waiting for something to show up.

He said: "It's a bike run, but it's definitely not that one. I'm familiar with all 42 bike tires, can you tell which one it is? It's a Dunlop tire with plus Thick straps. The German teacher Heidegger did not use this brand. The math teacher Evelyn knew this very well. He said that Heidegger’s car used Palmer brand tires, which had stripes on them. So This mark was not left by him when he passed by."

"So, this is the child's?"

"As long as we can prove that the kid has his own bike, it's very likely. But it's hard for us to do that right now. You see, the trail shows that the cyclist came from the direction of the school."

"It's also possible to ride in the direction of the school."

"No, that's not right, my dear Watson. Of course, the heavy weight of the rear wheels makes the track deeper, and there are several cross tracks of the front and rear wheels, which are buried because the track of the front wheels is very shallow. This point It's definitely coming from the direction of the school. It may or may not have something to do with our investigation. But before we go from here, let's go back and see."

We started walking back, and after a few hundred yards, we came to a swamp where the bike tracks were gone.Continue to walk forward along the path, the spring water in front "ticks", and the track of the bicycle appears again.Unfortunately, the bike prints were almost buried by the cow prints.Continue to go forward and there is no trace, and the path leads directly to "Xiaogang", which is a small forest behind the school.I think the car must have come out of there.Holmes sat down on a rock, resting his chin on his hand.I was smoking there, but he didn't move.

After a while, he said: "It is very likely that this is the case. This person is very cunning. He changed the tire of the bicycle when he came out, leaving a trail that is difficult to discern. I would like to work with this smart person." Let's not talk about this, let's focus on that wetland, there are many things we haven't found yet!"

On the edge of that wet field, we continued to check carefully, and soon there were good results.In its lower part, there is a muddy path.Holmes walked over to look, and with a cry of delight, left the mark of the Palmer tire in the middle of the path, as if a bundle of wires had rubbed against the ground.

Holmes exclaimed happily: "This is definitely left by Mr. Heidegger! Watson, my inference is correct."

"Great, congratulations!"

"But we have more things to do now. Please, don't walk on the path, we can follow the tracks of the cars. I don't think it will be too far."

We walked straight forward and saw that there were many wetlands in this small wasteland, and the traces of bicycles were obvious.

Holmes said: "It is absolutely certain that the cyclist must have been accelerating at that time, because the front and rear tire tracks were equally deep and clear. The only thing that can explain it is that the man put all his weight on the handlebars , like the last leg of a sprint during a race. Ah, he fell."

There were irregularly shaped blotches of varying width and narrowness, as could be seen in the tracks left by the bicycle, extending for several yards.Then there were a few footprints, and then there were tire tracks.

I reminded him: "The car slipped to one side."

Holmes showed me a bunch of crushed gorse flowers, the yellow flowers of which were spotted with red blood.I was very surprised that there were such blood spots on the heather on the path.

Holmes said: "Get out of the way, Watson, don't add extra footprints at will! What will happen ahead? He may get up and ride after being injured and fell. But why is there no track of another bicycle? On the other side There are marks left by the hoofs of cattle and sheep on the path. Could he have been driven to death by a bull? No, absolutely impossible! There are no human footprints to be seen here at all. Watson, we must go on. We continue to follow the blood and Tire marks, this person will definitely not escape."

We made persistent efforts and continued to track. After a while, we saw tire tracks circling continuously on the slippery path.I looked forward, and suddenly, I saw a shiny metal object in the dense gorse bushes over there.The two of us ran over and dragged the bicycle out of it. The tires were Palmer brand. One of the pedals was bent. There were blood spots and streaks of blood in front of it. It was horrific.There seemed to be a shoe on the other side among the bushes, and we ran across it, and there lay the unfortunate man, a tall, well-bearded man with broken spectacles, A single blow shattered the skull to death.To be able to ride a bike after such a serious injury is clearly a very brave man.He was wearing shoes but no socks, and his unbuttoned coat was a nightgown he wore for sleeping. It was absolutely certain that this was the German teacher.

Holmes turned over the body respectfully and examined it carefully.Afterwards he sat there thinking for a while, and I could see from his furrowed brow that he felt that this miserable man would not be of much help to the ensuing investigation.

He finally said: "Watson, I really don't know what to do next. I think we should continue to investigate. Since we have spent so long, we can't waste even an hour. Besides, We must report the discovery of the body to the police, and take better care of the poor man's body." "I'll send the note back for you."

"No, I need your support and help. Hey, look over there, it seems that someone is digging peat. Call him over and let him deliver it."

I called the man, and Holmes told the frightened man to send a note to the Doctor.

Then he said: "Watson, the harvest this morning is that we have got two leads. One is a bicycle with Palmer tires, which is what we are seeing now, and the other is a bicycle with thick Dunlop tires." .If we continue to investigate this clue, we must think about what to do next. See what we really have and can use for us, and separate the essential from the accidental."

"First, I hope you can make it clear that the child's departure must be voluntary. After he came down from the window, he either left alone or with other people. This should be absolutely certain."

I totally agree with him.

"Now let's talk about the unfortunate German teacher again. The child left dressed, which proves that he knew what he was going to do beforehand. But the German left undressed, confirming his certainty He left in a hurry when the situation was critical."

"That is absolutely certain."

"But why did he go out? It may be because he was at the bedroom window and found the child going away, or he was chasing him on his bicycle in order to catch up with him and bring him back. Unfortunately, he met him on the way." risk."

"Maybe."

"I want to talk about the most important part in the deduction process. A grown-up chasing a child is all right, but why ride a bike? I've heard he's great on a bike. If he doesn't see the kid To leave so quickly, probably wouldn't have done that."

"But whose other bicycle is it?"

(End of this chapter)