Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 114 The Return (25)
"Sir, you guessed wrong. It's the exact opposite of what you think. He ate a lot this morning. I've never seen him eat so much. After lunch he asked for a big plate of steak. I was surprised, but I haven't been able to eat anything since I saw Mr. Smith lying on the floor like that early yesterday morning. Maybe there are all kinds of people in the world, and the professor is not affected by this at all and can still eat Go down and eat."

We spent the morning in the garden.Stanley Hopkins went to the village to investigate some other rumors that some children had seen a very strange woman on Kesham Road.But when my friend heard this letter, he seemed to lose his strength all of a sudden.I had never seen him so absent-minded before, and even this news from Hopkins did not arouse his interest.Hopkins said: "One child said that he did see a woman who looked exactly like Sherlock Holmes described, she wore a pair of spectacles, and perhaps had a pinched nose." Susan served us while we ate. Her words, on the contrary, aroused Holmes's great interest by telling something about the matter.She said: "Yesterday morning, Mr. Smith went out for a walk. He came back half an hour and the tragedy happened." I really don't understand how the walk has anything to do with this case, and I know very well that he included it in the investigation. It's in the process.Suddenly he got up, looked at his watch, and said, "It's two o'clock, gentlemen, and we should go and speak to the professor about this."

The professor had just finished his meal, and the empty plates on the table showed that he had a good appetite, and what the housekeeper said was true.He turned his head and looked at us with that flickering gaze. I think he is indeed a little mysterious.He was dressed by this time and was sitting in an armchair by the fire, smoking a cigarette.

"Mr. Holmes, have you figured out this strange case?" He pushed the pack of cigarettes on the table towards my friend. The hands touched each other, knocked over the cigarette case, and the cigarette fell to the ground.We had to kneel down to pick up the cigarettes scattered all over the floor, which took about a minute or two.When we stood up again, I saw the light in my friend's eyes, his cheeks were rosy, and he had that fleeting look of battle that I've only seen in the most dire situations once.

"Yeah, I've got it all figured out," he said.

Hopkins and I just opened our mouths and couldn't speak.The old professor's old face kept trembling, and at the same time showed a mocking smile.

"Really? In the garden?"

"No, it's right here."

"Here! When?"

"It's about this time."

"Mr. Holmes, you must be joking. I must remind you that this matter is not a joke, and you should not talk nonsense."

"Professor Coren, my conclusions have been arrived at after careful investigation, so I am sure it is absolutely correct. I am not sure what your purpose is and what role you played in this case. Perhaps You'll tell me in a moment. Also for convenience, let me tell you what happened in the past two days, so that you know what I'm looking for.

"Yesterday a woman entered your study. The purpose of her coming here is to take away the documents in your desk cabinet. She has the same key as yours. I have checked your key carefully. There is no Slight discoloration from that scratch. I understand from other pertinent evidence that you were unaware of her coming to rob your papers, so you are not considered an accomplice."

At this moment, the professor exhaled a puff of smoke, and said, "This is very interesting, so you already know a lot about this woman, and you know her subsequent actions?"

"Yes, sir, I was about to say it. At the very beginning, she was caught by your secretary. To get away, she took a knife and stabbed your poor secretary. I would like to say that the case It happened purely by misfortune, I don't think stabbing him was the woman's original intention. Because if it was a premeditated murder, she would definitely be carrying a weapon. Afterwards, she was very scared of what she had done and was desperate to get away as soon as possible At the scene, unexpectedly, she lost her glasses when she was fighting with the dead, and she was highly myopic. It happened that the aisles on both sides were covered with coconut palm woven mats. When she realized that she was going in the wrong direction, it was too late and the way of retreat had been completely cut off. What should she do now? , it is even more impossible to stand still there, so I had to bite the bullet and go on. She went upstairs, opened the door, and came to your room."

The old professor sat there, staring at Holmes dumbfounded, with a look of great surprise and fear on his face.He shrugged his shoulders with mock ease and let out a harsh smirk.

He said: "Sir, your deduction is very wonderful, but there is a small loophole. You should know that I didn't go out that day and stayed in the house all day."

"Professor Kellen, I understand this very well."

"You mean I was lying on the bed and didn't see her come in?"

"No, on the contrary, you saw her come in, you spoke to her, you knew her, and you helped her escape."

The professor suddenly laughed out loud, and then he stood up abruptly, eyes with the last sliver of hope.

He shouted: "Are you crazy? What nonsense are you talking about? How could I help her escape? Where is she!"

Pointing to the tall bookcase, Holmes said calmly, "There it is."

The old man was stunned for a moment. He raised his hands tremblingly, and then his whole body suddenly fell on the chair.At this time, the door of the bookcase in the corner of the room was suddenly pushed open, and the woman came out in a hurry and came to the middle of the room. She said in a strange foreign accent: "You are right! I am right here."

She was covered in dust and there were cobwebs hanging from her clothes.She was not good-looking, and her appearance was exactly as Holmes surmised, but her chin was a little long, which gave her a personality.Her eyesight was not good, and she went from dark to bright, so she stood there blinking her eyes in order to see our position and identity.Although she is not beautiful enough, she has a dignified manner and a calm demeanor, showing a stubborn and bold expression, which shocked all the people present.

Stanley Hopkins grabbed her arms and was about to handcuff her.She looked serious and pushed Hopkins away.The old professor leaned back in his chair, trembling slightly, and cast gloomy eyes on her.

She said: "Sir, I was arrested. I stood there and heard it all, so I understand that you must have found out the truth. I will tell what I did. I killed the young man. You guess that It was an accident, and it was correct. At that time, I didn’t know that what I was holding was a knife. I didn’t think much about it. I just grabbed something and stabbed at him in despair. The purpose was to make him let go of me. I said It's all true."

"Madam," said Holmes, "I am sure you are telling the truth. I think you are not in very good health."

Her complexion was not good-looking, coupled with the streaks of dust, she looked terrible.She sat on the edge of the bed and said: "I don't have much time left, but I must tell you the whole truth. I am his wife, he is not an Englishman, but a Russian through and through, and I don't want to Say his name."

At this moment, the professor was very excited and shouted: "God bless you, Anna!"

She glanced at him with contempt and said: "Sergis, why do you want to live such a miserable life? You have ruined so many people in this life, is it good for you? But in Before God beckons to you, whether you die or not is your own business. But I must make it clear, otherwise, there is really no chance."

"Gentlemen, I said that I was his wife. He was 50 years old when we got married, and I was just a 20-year-old girl. I don't want to say which city in Russia I went to university in."

The old man muttered again: "God bless you, Anna."

"As you probably know, we were innovators, revolutionaries, and anarchists. We got a lot of people together, and then we got into trouble because a sheriff was killed and some of us got caught. But he, In order to get a lot of money, and to save his life, he betrayed his wife and partners and gave evidence to those who opposed me. In doing so, we were all arrested and some of us were sent to prison Guillotine, the other part was exiled to Siberia, but not for life. My husband came to England with that ill-gotten wealth and lived a comfortable and peaceful life. He knew very well that if we knew his whereabouts, super But in a week he'll be dead."

At this time, the old man stretched out his trembling hand and took another cigarette.He said: "Anna, my life and death are up to you, you can deal with me as you like, you have always been very kind to me."

She said: "I haven't told you about his biggest sin. In our group, there is a comrade who is a good friend of mine now. He is noble and selfless and likes to help people. My husband has none of these qualities. He hates Violence, if the use of violence is a crime, we have all but he. He always wrote us, telling us not to use violence lightly. These letters are enough to keep him from punishment, and also in my diary. Equally provable, for I wrote in my diary my feelings for him and my thoughts for both of us. My husband saw my diary and these letters, hid them secretly, and went around saying that the young man should Sentenced to death. Aleksei was sent to Siberia as a criminal, to work in a salt trade, even though his purpose had not yet been achieved. You bastard, think about it, such a good person has to suffer like this Tragic experience, and you, your life is in my hands, I still let you go."

The old man said while smoking: "Anna, you are a noble and pure woman."

She rose slowly, but then sat down again with a loud cry.

She said: "I had to finish the story. After I finished my sentence, I worked hard to find these letters and diaries. If the Russian authorities got these things, they would definitely release my friend. I later learned that he was in the UK. , after a lot of trouble, I finally found his address, which took me several months. Of course I knew that he must still have these things. I was still serving a prison sentence in Siberia, and he wrote to me, Just use the words in my diary to blame me. I know him well, he is very jealous and vengeful by nature, he will never give me the diary willingly, I want to get those things, I have to personally Go find it, so I hired a private detective. He came to my husband's house as a secretary - your second secretary, Sergis, he left after a short time working here, he knows the stuff After being placed in a small cabinet, he took a sample of the key. He didn’t want to do anything else, he just gave me the floor plan of the house, and told me that the secretary usually lives upstairs, and he usually doesn’t work in the morning. The man was in the study. So finally I mustered up the courage to take what I wanted in person, but what a price I paid for it!

"As soon as I took out my diary and letters and tried to lock the cabinet, I was caught by the young man. I saw him on the road that morning and asked him where Cologne lived, but I never expected He's Cologne's secretary."

Holmes said: "That's right! The secretary must have told the professor when he came back from the outside, saying what kind of woman he met on the road. What Willoughby wanted to say before he died was: 'It is he who mentioned the matter to the professor. The woman who passed by killed him.'”

The woman's face twitched, looking very painful, and said to him almost in a commanding tone: "Please let me finish, please? I ran out of the study as soon as the young man fell down, but I didn't I entered my husband's room by the wrong door. He wanted to report on me, so I warned him: If he really did this, I would definitely not let him go. If he wanted to hand me over to the police, I would He will tell all about him. I don't want to live on the edge, mainly because my goal has not been achieved. He knows me very well, I can do it if I can say it, and his life is closely related to me Lianlian, it is because of this that he protects me. He puts me in that little dark corner that only he knows. He asks the servants to bring more food so that I can share some. We discussed it, as long as When the police left here, I ran away secretly and never came back, but I was found out by you, this is the last word I said before my death." She took out a small bag from her chest, and then said: "This small bag can save Ali Kexie. Sir, I think you must have a good reputation and a sense of justice. I entrust this thing to you and ask you to forward it to the Russian embassy. I have done my duty and..."

"Quick, get out of her way," cried Holmes. He sprang across the room and took out a phial in her hand.

She fell on the bed and said: "It's too late! It's really too late! When I came out, I had already taken medicine, I was so dizzy, I thought I was going to die! Sir, I beg you...don't Forget about... that little... bag."

As we drove back to the city, Holmes said: "The case is rather simple, but it is thought-provoking. At the beginning, we seized the pince-nez as a clue, although the young man was lucky enough to catch him on his deathbed. Glasses, though at the time, I wasn't entirely sure about that, whether we'd be able to fix the problem. Obviously, from the strength of the glasses, the man couldn't do without them. He couldn't do anything. Hopkins When you made me believe, sir, that she was actually passing the meadow and not deliberate, do you remember that I said it was a very unusual thing to do, but in fact I thought it impossible unless she There was another pair of glasses. So I started another hypothesis, this person has never left the house. When I saw that there were two identical hallways, I speculated that she might have gone the wrong way, so she Possibly in the professor's room, I've scoured every nook and cranny for hiding places. The carpet is stapled together in one piece, so I don't think there's going to be a living hole in the floor. You know Well, many old bookcases have hiding places behind them. I saw a lot of books thrown on the floor, but how can the bookcase be empty? I think the bookcase may be a door. But I don't have any evidence to prove it, but the rug is dun, so i kept smoking and spilling ashes in front of suspicious bookcases, simple but quite effective. then i got down, and i figured it out. you were there, i said The professor's appetite increased and you didn't understand it, which of course aroused suspicion, after all, he was letting someone else eat. Later, we went upstairs again, and I pretended to overturn the cigarette pack to check it out. I know from the ashes on the carpet that someone came out of the bookcase after we left. Hopkins, we've arrived, and congratulations on cracking this case. You must go back to the police station, we Going to the Russian embassy, ​​goodbye, my friend." The central defender who disappeared on the spot
When we lived in Baker Street, we used to receive telegrams so queer and outlandish that perhaps they are not worth mentioning.However, seven or eight years ago, on a gloomy February morning, we received a telegram that still impresses me, and puzzled my friend for about fifteen minutes.The telegram was addressed to him and read as follows:

Please wait for me.Unfortunately, the right central defender is missing and is in urgent need tomorrow.

Overton

Holmes looked at it repeatedly, and said, "Here is the postmark of Riverside. It was distributed at 36:[-]. I think he must have been very excited when he sent the telegram. Otherwise, he would have spoken so incoherently. I guarantee that I will He'll definitely be here by the time the Times is finished, and then we can sort things out." We had an easy time working during that time, so we welcome anything, big or small.

Life experience tells me that days with nothing to do are too boring.Because his mind is too sensitive, if there is nothing for him to think about, it will be very dangerous.At my insistence, he has been off the stimulants for several years now, because the drugs prevented him from doing something meaningful.Currently, under normal circumstances, he no longer needs to take this medicine.But I know very well that his illness has not completely recovered, it is just lurking in the body, and there is a possibility of relapse at any time.Sometimes, I saw his sunken eye sockets, his face was sombre, and he looked unfathomable.So, whoever sent this telegram, I cannot help but be extremely grateful for his ability to bring us the unsolved riddle.Storms and storms bring more joy to my friends than fair days.

As he said, Overton was here himself.His business card reads: Cyril Overton, Trinity College, University of Cambridge.He was a well-built young man with broad shoulders, and he barricaded the door as he entered.He was handsome, but with a haggard face, and looked at us slowly with lifeless eyes.

"Which one is Mr. Sherlock Holmes?"

My friend nodded to him.

"I have been to Scotland Yard, Mr. Holmes, and there I met Inspector Hopkins. He told me to come to you, saying that it would be better for you to solve the case without the official detective."

"Please take a seat and tell us your problem!"

(End of this chapter)