Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 117 The Return (28)
He said: "I believe you are a good man, and I have misunderstood you. Now that you know the circumstances, it will be easy. About a year ago, Staunton had been in London for a considerable The daughter felt a strong love and married her. She was a clever, wise, kind, and beautiful girl. Anybody would be happy to have such a girl as his wife. However, Godfrey is the heir apparent to that eccentric nobleman, if The news came to him that Godfrey would lose all his inheritance. I knew the young man so well, and liked many of his qualities, that I did my best to help him not lose his inheritance. We have never let outsiders know about this matter. As long as this matter is known to one person, it will soon reach the old nobleman. It is very secluded here, and he does things carefully, so no one has known so far. The secret is only known to me and the servant, who has gone to Trumpington on business. But his wife is really unfortunate, she has a serious lung disease. Poor Staunton is going crazy with worry, but he Had to go to London for that game, and if he didn't want to go he had to give his reasons so he'd give his secret away. I sent him a telegram to reassure him that he wanted me to be as helpful as possible. Here's the telegram, Somehow you found out. I didn't tell him the severity of his illness because he couldn't help. But I told the truth to the patient's father, but her father was really very incompetent, so he told this matter told Staunton. He left London like a madman and knelt by his wife's bed, motionless, till this morning when death put an end to his wife's misery. That is the whole truth, Mr. Holmes, and I trust you will Will be tight-lipped."

Holmes shook the doctor's hand firmly.

We left the house full of sorrow, and came into this warm sunshine, my friend said to me slowly: "Watson, let's go!"
On a frosty morning in the winter of 1897, at dawn, someone pushed my shoulder.When I woke up, I saw that it was my friend Holmes.He held a candle in his hand and looked anxious.He leaned over and told me that there was an urgent case.

He called to me: "Quick, Watson, quick! This is a tricky business, don't ask why, just get dressed and follow me!"

About 10 minutes later, we got into the carriage.On the quiet street, the carriage rumbled forward, heading straight for Charing Cross Railway Station.The sky was slightly bright, and in the gray-white morning mist, we saw one or two workers going to the morning shift.Holmes packed himself in his heavy overcoat and said nothing, as did I, for it was cold and we had no breakfast at all.

We drank some hot tea at the train station, then went into the car to find a seat, and then we felt the body gradually warming up.The train was going to Kent, and he kept talking all the way, and I was just listening.He took a letter from his pocket and read aloud:
Kent Malsham, Grange Manor
[-]:[-] pm

Dear Mr. Holmes:
I want you to come and help me with this very peculiar case at once.You are very good at handling this kind of cases.Now, apart from the lady being released, all other items on the scene have not been moved.I beg you to come as quickly as you can, for it is not proper to leave Ser Eustace alone.

your faithful friend stanley hopkins

"Hopkins has called me on the scene seven times," said Holmes, "and has really required my assistance each time. I think you have all of his cases in your collection. I know that." You are very good at selecting materials, which makes up for your lack of satisfactory narrative. But when you look at all problems, you always start from the perspective of writing stories, not from the perspective of scientifically solving crimes, which can easily destroy its typical Exemplary. You have skimmed the techniques and details of the case so that you can describe the touching plot as much as you want, and your writing will only make readers emotional, and they will not be inspired and educated from these cases."

After hearing this, I said with some displeasure: "Then why don't you write it yourself?"

"My dear Watson, I would like to write very much. I am very busy at the moment, you know, but I think I will write a textbook in my later years, and cover the whole art and technique of detection. Now we have something like a Murder."

"That is to say, Sir Eustace is dead now?"

"I think that should be the case. Hopkins' letter shows that he was very emotional, but he is not an emotional person. So I think, someone must have been killed, waiting for our post-mortem. If it is suicide If he hadn't, he certainly wouldn't have called us. The letter mentioned that the wife was released, and it seems that she was locked in the house when the case happened. Watson, this case happened in high society. Look at this letter. The texture is very good, it has a family coat of arms, which is composed of two letters E, B, and the place where the accident happened is very beautiful. Hopkins never writes to me lightly, so we will definitely have a good time this morning. Busy. The murder happened before twelve o'clock last night."

"And how do you know?"

"It's easy to know by counting the train round trip and the time of work. After this case happened, go to the local police first, and then report it to Scotland Yard. Hopkins has to rush to the scene and send a letter to me. It takes at least It will take one night. Well, we have arrived at Zisselhast Station, and these questions will be resolved shortly."

We hurried along narrow country lanes for two miles to the gate of a manor.An old man who guards the door came to us and opened the door.His haggard face belies the unfortunate event that has taken place here.As soon as you walk into this magnificent manor, the first thing you see is two rows of old elm trees, which just form a tree-lined path leading directly to a spacious house.The front of the house is made of Palladian columns, and the central part of the house is covered with ivy, which makes it look very old and dated.But if you look through the tall windows, you can see that the house has been remodeled, and one side is completely new.A bright, young Hopkins greeted us in the aisle with an anxious look on his face.

"Mr. Holmes, Dr. Watson, I am very glad to have you here. I would not have ventured to do so if the circumstances were not so extraordinary. The lady has been awake for a while now, and she has explained the matter very clearly, so what we are about to do It won't be a lot. Do you have any impression of Louis Sam's gang of robbers?"

"Could it be that those three people surnamed Randall did it?"

"Yes, father and two sons. It is certain that they did it. About two weeks ago, they committed a crime in Seaton Ham. Someone saw it and reported it to our police. It must have killed someone so soon. That group of people did it. They must be sentenced to death!"

"Then that means Sir Eustace is dead?"

"Yes, his head was broken with a poker."

"The driver gave me my sir's name on the way. Was he Eustace Brackenstall?"

"Exactly. He's the richest man in Kent. His wife was in the bathroom. Poor thing, she saw such a horrible thing. When I saw her just now, she was dead. You'd better Go see her, listen to her tell you about this, and then we will go to check the situation of the restaurant together."

Mrs Brackenstall was a very unusual person, and I have seldom seen a woman of such grace, grace, and beauty.She has fair skin, blond hair, and dark blue eyes, and she can be called an all-powerful beauty.However, this tragic incident made her restless and haggard.From her injured and swollen eye sockets, it can be seen that she has to endure both mental pain and physical torture.Her tall, stern-looking maid was still washing her eyes.She lay tiredly on the couch.When I entered the room, her intelligent, observant eyes and alert expression showed that her senses and courage were not lost by this incident.She was wearing a loose blue and white morning gown, and beside her was a black dinner dress with white sequins.

She said wearily: "Mr. Hopkins, I've told you all that happened, can't you tell me again? But if you feel the need to tell me again, that's all right." .Did they go to the restaurant just now?"

"I think it's better to let them listen to Madam before speaking."

"Okay, I'll say it again. Whenever I think of the dead bodies in the restaurant, I feel horrible." She trembled and covered her face with her hands.Then the sleeves of the loose morning gown slid down, exposing her forearms.Holmes shouted in amazement: "Madam, you have suffered more than one wound! What's the matter?" I saw two wounds on Madam's white and tender forearm, which were still red and swollen. , and said: "Nothing, this has nothing to do with what happened last night. Please sit down and I will tell you everything that happened here."

"I am the wife of the deceased Eustace Brackenstall. I have been married for a year, but it is not at all necessary for me to hide the fact that our marriage is unhappy. I hate to admit it, but the neighbors do. I'll tell you the truth. Maybe I'm partly responsible for the way we get along. I grew up in southern Australia, where it's very liberal and unconventional. I'm not used to the formal British life here. But the chief cause of the misfortune was caused by another well-known fact, namely, that Sir Brackenstall was addicted to alcohol, and that he had no pleasure in it. With such a man, even if Even an hour can be annoying. Who can bear to have a lively, lovely, and clever lady tied to a person like him all day and all night? If anyone thinks that this kind of marriage If it should not be lifted, it is crime, blasphemy, and immorality. Your laws are so absurd that they will surely bring great disaster to England, and God will stop these evil acts." She sat up on the couch body, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes glared angrily from their swollen sockets.The stern-looking maid gently lowered the lady's head back on the cushions with her strong, gentle hand, and her angry, high-pitched voice gradually died down to an excited cry.

After a while she went on: "Last night all the servants went to rest, as usual, in the new side wing of the house. The central part of the house contains the sitting-room, the kitchen, and the upstairs bedrooms. Theresa, my maid, lives in the attic of my bedroom. There is no one else living in this central part, and no sound can reach the new side, let alone wake them up. Robbers Must understand this, otherwise, how could they be so bold?

"My husband went to bed at about 10:30. At that time, the servants had gone back to the house to rest. Only my maid was not asleep at the time, and she was waiting for orders in her attic. Whenever I wanted to rest, I always It was a habit I had acquired to go over the places myself to see if there was anything inappropriate, for I felt that Eustace was utterly unreliable. I started with the kitchen, then went to the pantry, shotgun The living room, the living room, and finally the dining room. When I walked to the window of the dining room, the thick curtains were hanging, and I suddenly felt a gust of wind blowing on my face, which made me realize that the window was not closed. I lifted the curtain , really frightened me, in front of me was a broad-shouldered middle-aged man, he may have just come in. The dining room windows are tall French windows, which can also be used as doors to the lawn. Looking at the candlestick used in the bedroom, with the faint light of the fire, I saw two people coming in behind this person. At that time, I was so scared that I only knew to back away, and the person immediately rushed towards me. He grabbed my wrist first and then grabbed my neck again. I was about to yell when his fist hit me in the eye and knocked me to the ground. I must have passed out, but it didn't take long when I woke up When I came over, I saw that he broke the bell rope that called the servant, and tied me tightly to an oak chair. I was tied so tightly that I couldn't move at all, and my mouth was gagged A handkerchief, unable to make a sound. At this time, my unfortunate husband also came to the restaurant. It was obvious that he must have heard something wrong, so he came prepared. He was in pajamas, his hand He held his favorite blackthorn stick in his hand. He rushed at the robber. The man had already squatted down and took the poker from the grate. When my husband walked by, the man slammed his head My husband yelled and then fell down, and never got up again. I was frightened again and lost consciousness. After about a few minutes, when I opened my eyes again, Saw them take out knives and forks and a bottle of wine from the sideboard, each with a glass in his hand. I told you that the young robber had a beard, and the other two children who seemed to be underage, it seemed that they might be the father I took my two sons with me to commit the crime. They whispered a few words, and then came to see if I was tied up. Then they left together, and closed the window again. It took about 15 minutes. got the handkerchief out of my mouth and yelled at the maid to come and untie me. The other servants heard it at the same time. We called the police and immediately got in touch with the London police. Gentlemen, as far as I know That's all, I don't think I'll be asked to tell this painful experience from now on?"

Hopkins asked: "Mr. Holmes, do you have any questions?"

"I don't want to disturb my lady now, much less to make her feel impatient," said Holmes.

Then he said to the maid: "Before I go to the restaurant, can you tell us more about the matter?"

"I saw the three before they entered the house," said the maid. "I was sitting by the window of my lodging. In the moonlight I saw the three men loitering furtively by the gate. But I didn't take it seriously at the time. About an hour later, I heard my mistress's cry, and I ran downstairs and saw the poor, sad creature. It was as she said, sir He fell to the ground, terribly, with his blood and brains splattered everywhere. I think these things must have frightened the lady into a faint. She was tied there, and there were quite a few blood spots on her body. If If Mrs. Brackenstall hadn't been strong-willed, I'm afraid she would have lost the courage to live. Gentlemen, you have been asking her questions for a long time, and now it is time for her to go back to her room and rest."

The lanky maid put her hand on the mistress's shoulder like a mother, her movements were so gentle, and then led her away.

Hopkins said: "The two of them have always lived together. The lady has been taken care of by her since she was a child. Eighteen months ago, the lady left Australia, and she also followed to the UK. She called Theresa Ritter, there is no such servant anywhere. This way, Mr. Holmes."

The richness of expression on Holmes's face was gone, and I think it may be because the case was too simple to be so attractive as he had imagined.It seemed that the next thing to do was to bring the criminals to justice, and arresting such criminals would not need to bother him.At this time, I saw that his eyes were very restless, just like the restlessness shown when a professional with profound knowledge is called to see a doctor, only to find that the person suffers from common minor ailments.Still, the dining room at Grange Manor was beautiful and quaint, and this must have caught his attention and kindled his fading interest.

The restaurant is tall and large, with patterns carved on the rafters and ceiling, and rows of ancient weapons and deer heads painted on the surrounding walls, and rafter panels under the walls.Opposite the door were tall French windows, with three small windows on the right, through which the weak winter sun came in; and on the left, a large, deep fireplace with a large, thick mantelpiece.Beside the fire was a heavy rafter chair with arms on both sides and a cross-bar underneath.A fuchsia cord was fastened to the lace of the chair, and it ran through either side of the chair to the crossbar below.When the woman was released, the rope was untied, but the knot remained on the rope.We did not notice these details until later, when all our attention was absorbed by the corpse lying on the tiger-skin rug in front of the fireplace.

At first glance, the deceased was only in his forties, with a strong physique and a tall stature.He was lying on his back, his teeth showing through his short, black beard.His hands were clasped in front of his head, and a stubby blackthorn stick lay across them.He has a dark complexion, a hooked nose, and a majestic appearance, but now his facial features have long been distorted, and his face is hideous and frightening.He had evidently heard voices in his bed, for he was wearing rich and richly embroidered pajamas and was barefoot.His head injury was very serious, and the room was splattered with blood, which showed that the fatal blow he received was very serious.Beside him lay the very thick poker, bent long ago by the force of the impact.Holmes examined the poker and the corpse carefully.

He then said: "This elderly Mr. Randall must have great strength."

(End of this chapter)