Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 103 The Return (14)
Sherlock Holmes smiled unnaturally.

"Duke, you probably don't realize how good my investigative skills are. Otherwise, you wouldn't find it easy to hide me. As far as I know, Mr. Reuben Hayes was arrested at eleven o'clock last night. Arrested. Before leaving school this morning, I received a telegram from the sheriff."

The Duke fell back on his chair and looked at my friend in surprise.

He said: "Your ability is too extraordinary. Have you already captured Rubin Hayes? I'm glad you told me about it. I hope it won't affect James' future."

"Your secretary?"

"No, he is my son."

Now it was Holmes' turn to be surprised.

"Frankly, I don't know anything about it. Can you explain more clearly?"

"I never meant to hide anything from you. I agree with you that, however miserable I may be under the circumstances, it would be wisest to tell the whole thing. It was James' stupidity and envy, What led me to this vulnerable and desperate situation. Mr. Holmes, when I was very young, I loved with the passion of my life. I proposed to my love, but she refused me for thousands of miles. It is this marriage that will hinder my better development. If she is still alive, I will never marry another woman. But she died and left me this child. I raised and educated this child just for She. I can't admit that he is my son in front of anyone, and the only thing I can do is to let him receive the best education, and hope that he will stay with me when he grows up. What I never expected is that he Knowing the truth, since then he has always used the power I gave him to create rumors within the scope of his ability, which makes me very sad. The misfortune of my married life has a lot to do with him. More importantly, he has always hated my young and ignorant legal heir. You may think why keep him at home under such circumstances? Just because he looks so much like his mother, for His mother, my pain never ends, he has not inherited one iota of his mother's loveliness. I can't let him go, and I have to send him to Herker for the safety of Arthur, Lord Salter. Dr. Stable's school.

"James and this fellow Hayes have always been in touch, because Hayes is my tenant and James is the rent collector. Hayes is just a rascal, but it is strange that they have become good friends. James James is fond of the company of dirty people. He made good use of the help of Lord Salter when he decided to kidnap Lord Salter. You remember I wrote to Arthur before it happened? After James read the letter, he also stuffed a note in the name of the duchess to ask him to meet in the grove "Xiaogang" near the school. The child believed it, and that evening James He rode away. He told me all this himself. He saw Arthur in the woods, and told Arthur that his mother was waiting for him on the moor. If he came to the woods again in the middle of the night, he would be happy. There'll be a horseman to take him to his mother. The poor little fellow fell into their trap, and he's on time, and sees that fellow Hayes, who's leading a pony, and Arthur gets on, So they set off together. In fact, someone was chasing them. James only heard about this yesterday. Hayes beat the man with a stick, and probably died of serious injuries. Hayes locked him in the hotel. In one room, let his wife watch, although she is kind, but completely controlled by her fierce husband.

"Mr. Holmes, that was the case when I first saw you two days ago. I didn't know much more than you did. You may ask him what motives he has for doing this? I can only tell you, James. James hated my heir very much, and there was a lot in it that he couldn't explain or understand. In his mind, he was the sole heir of all my property, and he hated the law that didn't make him a legal heir. Yet , and he had a very definite object, that he was anxious that I should not act in accordance with the law, and that he thought I was capable of doing so. He made every effort to prevent me from making Arthur my heir, and demanded that I I left him all my property clearly. He knew me well enough that he knew I would not hand him over to the police. I thought he would use this to blackmail me, but he never had time to do so. Because things were moving too fast for him, he hadn't had time to realize his plans.

"It was Heidegger's body that destroyed his vicious plans. James was terrified when he heard the news. We were sitting here yesterday, the two of us, when Huxtable called with the information. James was So sad, that's when I was sure of my doubts, which I hadn't had before, but I wasn't sure. Therefore, I blamed him for all his sins. He took the whole thing completely told me, and then he asked me to keep it secret for three more days, in order to save the life of his villainous accomplice. I yielded to his entreaties, and I am always very easy on him. He hastened to the inn and told Hayes, Let him run away. I must have caused gossip by going there by day, but by night it would be different. I hastened there to meet my dear Arthur, and I saw him well, but thought he had developed a great fear of violence .To keep my promise, but at the same time against my will, I tentatively agreed to leave the child there for three days in the care of his wife. Obviously, report the whereabouts of the child to the police without mentioning who the murderer is It is unreasonable. Of course I understand that if the murderer is punished, James will definitely be involved. Mr. Holmes, I confess to you, and I believe in you, so I will tell you everything without reservation or concealment. You, will you be as honest as me?"

Holmes said: "Yes, my lord duke. First, I must tell you that you are at a very disadvantage before the law. You have pardoned serious criminals and helped murderers escape. I think Wilde financed his escape. Is it from you too?"

The Duke nodded in acknowledgment.

"This matter is really serious. As far as I know, what should be blamed on you is that you are too irresponsible to your young son. Why do you keep him in such a dangerous place?"

"They assured me very seriously..."

"What kind of promises are those people! You can never be sure that a child will not be kidnapped again. You put this little child in danger in order to pamper your elder son who committed a felony. It is very unfair. "

The proud Duke had never received such criticism in his own house before, his face was red from forehead to chin, but his conscience drove him to remain silent.

"I am willing to help you, but there is one condition, that is, to call all the servants in your family, and I will let them issue orders as I wish."

Without saying a word, the Duke rang the bell, and a servant came in.

Holmes said: "You must be very happy to hear that the little master has been found. Your Excellency the Duke wants you to drive to the 'Gamecock' Hotel immediately to pick up the little master."

The servant went out happily."Now that we are certain of the future," said Holmes, "we can forget what happened in the past. I am not in an official position, and as long as justice can be done, I will not speak of what I know. I don't know what to say about Hayes, maybe the gallows is waiting for him. I don't want to save this kind of person at all. I don't know what he will say, but what is certain is that you understand better, my lord. Good for him. From the police point of view, he kidnapped children for ransom. If they can't find more evidence, I don't need to let them get involved in deeper and more complicated issues. But I warn you, Your Excellency, keeping Mr. Wilde here will only bring you misfortune."

"Mr. Holmes, I understand this, and it is settled. He will leave me for good, and let him go to Australia to fend for himself."

"My lord, if this is the case, I propose that you reconcile with the Duchess as soon as possible and restore your husband and wife relationship. Didn't you say that Mr. Wilde caused the misfortune of this marriage?"

"Mr. Holmes, I have made arrangements for this matter. I have written to my wife this morning."

Holmes stood up and said: "In this way, my friend and I will be very happy to have such a good result in such a short time. There is another small thing. I want to find out why the villain Hayes nailed the hooves of the horses. Ironpaw, did you learn this move from Wilde?"

The duke stood there, thinking for a while, a little surprised on his face, then he opened a door and we were taken into a large room decorated like a museum.We were led by him to a corner where there was a glass case, and he showed us the inscription on it.

"These iron paws were dug out of the moat of Holderness House, and were used only by horses, but were toed at the bottom of the iron chains to disorient the pursuers, and probably belonged to the wars that were often fought in the Middle Ages. Lord Holderness."

Holmes lifted the lid of the cabinet and touched the iron palm.His fingers were wet, and a room of thin fresh dirt was left on his skin.

He then closed the cupboard door and said: "Thank you, this is the second most interesting thing I've seen in the North of England."

"So what's the first thing?"

Holmes folded the check and put it carefully in his notebook. He patted it earnestly and said, "I am a poor man." Then he put the notebook deep in his underwear pocket.harpooned captain

I have never seen Holmes so fresh and healthy as he was in 1895.His increasing fame brought him many cases to be handled, and some of the famous people came to Baker Street in person.Even if I accidentally revealed the identities of one or two people, I would be accused of not being careful enough.Like those great artists who live for their art, Holmes never asks for undue payment for his unexpected merits.Except for the case of the Duke of Holderness, he was so lofty or self-willed that if the person involved couldn't get his sympathy, no matter how much money was offered to him, he would also be rejected by him.Sometimes, though, he could spend weeks working on a case for an ordinary client, as long as the case appealed to him and allowed him room to use his imagination and resourcefulness.

1895 was an unforgettable year, and all his time and energy were occupied by some strange, bizarre and contradictory cases.His marvelous investigation into the sudden death of Cardinal Tosca, at the behest of the Holy Pope, and the arrest of the notorious canary-keeper Wilson removed a villain from the East End.In addition to the two above-mentioned cases, there was a tragic case, namely, the strange case of the death of Captain Peter Garry at Woodmany Park.My friend's track record would not be perfect without a detailed account of the case.

In the first week of July, my friend was often away from where we lived, and he was out for a long time. I thought he must have a case to deal with.During this period, several people came to visit, saying that they were looking for Captain Basil, which made me understand that he was handling some cases under a false name.He has many pseudonyms, all for the needs of work, not to deliberately conceal his identity.He also has at least five residences in various places in London, using different names and occupations in different residences.He never told me what case he was investigating, and I wasn't used to asking either.But it seems that the case under investigation this time is very special.He left without breakfast, and while I was eating he came back again, wearing a hat, and carrying a barbed spear under his arm.

I called to him: "Good heavens! Holmes, you're not wandering about London with that thing?"

"I've been to a butcher shop and I've been back."

"The butcher shop?"

"I am very hungry now, my dear Watson, and it is a very good habit to exercise before breakfast. But you will never guess what I have done, and I bet you never will."

"I'm not interested in guessing nonsense."

He chuckled softly as he poured his coffee.

"If you had been to the back of Arradès's butcher's just now, you would have seen a dead pig hanging from the ceiling, dangling there. What is more interesting is that a gentleman wearing a shirt with this The weapon poked hard at it. It was me, and I'm glad I pierced it without too much effort. Would you like to try?"

"Not at all. Does it make sense for you to do something like this?"

"Perhaps it has something to do with the mystery at Woodman's. Ah, Hopkins, I had a telegram from you last night, and I wished very much that you would come and see me. Come and have breakfast."

Our guest was a sharp-witted man of about thirty, with a coat of plain tweed but always with the poise of an official uniform.I quickly recognized him as young Sheriff Stanley Hopkins.Holmes was convinced that he was a young man with great promise, and this young man admired, admired and respected my friend's method of solving crimes, but he sat down very depressed.

"Sir, thank you very much. I have already had breakfast. I spent the night in the city and came here to report yesterday."

"What is the content of your report?"

"Failure, sir, complete and utter failure."

"No progress at all?"

"Oh, no!"

"Well, I should like to investigate this case."

"Mr. Holmes, I'm really glad you're willing to take on this case. It's one of the most important cases I've ever had, and there's nothing I can do about it. Good heavens! Go and do me a favor."

"Okay, I just carefully read all the materials in front of me, including your investigation report. By the way, what do you think of the shredded tobacco pouch found at the scene of the crime? There are a few clues on it Don't you have any?"

Hopkins was taken aback.

"It's the man's own tobacco-pouch, sir. It has his initials sewn into it. It's made of sealskin, and he's a master sealer."

"But he didn't have a pipe at all. How is that to be explained?"

"Yes, sir, we didn't find that at all. He doesn't really like smoking, but maybe it's for his friends."

"Perhaps. Why do I mention the pipe? It is because I feel that it is the key to the case. My friend Watson knows nothing about it. For me, listen to the matter again. There is no harm in what happened, so you can give us a little more of the main facts."

He took a note from his pocket.

"This piece of paper says a lot about what Captain Peter Gary did in his life. He was born in 1845, he is 55 years old, and he was good at hunting seals and whales. Beast' captain. He made successive voyages, each with good grades. He retired in his second year as captain, 1883. He traveled for several years and eventually bought in Sussex A piece of land called Woodmany, near the Forrester estate where he lived for six years, was killed last week.

“This guy was a little bit special. He lived a puritanical life. He was a man of few words. He had a wife, a daughter in her twenties, and two maids, who changed frequently. It was an uncomfortable environment. Comfortable, sometimes unbearable. This man is often drunk, sometimes drunk like a real devil. Sometimes he drives his wife and daughter out of the house in the middle of the night, chasing them all over the yard and beating them until they scream The sound woke up the whole village.

"The vicar of this parish once came to his house and blamed him for his bad behaviour, and he lashed out at the old vicar and was arraigned for it. Anyway, Mr. Holmes, you're unlikely to find a better man than Peter." Gary is a wilder man. I have heard that he was like this when he was a captain. The sailors named him Black Peter, not only because of his dark face and beard, but also because of his hot temper. Everyone around was terrified. Needless to say, every neighbor hated and shunned him. Although he died tragically, I have never heard anyone express regret for his death.

"Mr. Holmes, you must have read the report. This man has a log cabin. Presumably this friend of yours has not heard of it. He has built a log cabin outside his house and calls it 'the little log cabin. Cabin', a few hundred yards from his home, where he slept every night. It was a one-room cabin, sixteen feet long by ten feet wide. He always kept his keys in his pocket, and the bedding was Cleaned and tidied up himself, and never allowed anyone else to enter his cabin. There were small windows on each side of the house, which were hung with curtains, and the windows were never opened. One of the windows faced the road. People used to glance at the cabin at night when it was lighted, and wondered what he was going to do. Mr. Holmes, investigations were likely to yield only what the windows of the cabin gave.

(End of this chapter)