Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 129 Uncanny Valley (7)
Drain the river, so we'll let you know first.

"Please write your name and have someone send it over around four o'clock. We will meet here at that time, and I can tell you that there is no need to investigate any further."

Near dusk, we met again. Holmes was very excited, and the two detectives were full of resentment.

Holmes said: "Everyone, please do a survey with me. You will definitely give me a positive evaluation of my conclusion. Put on more clothes. The temperature is relatively low at night. It may take a little longer. We will start now. Get there in the evening, let's go now!"

We walked some distance along the garden fence and entered the garden through the opening.The sky was rather dark, and we entered a position in the bushes, which was almost directly opposite the suspension bridge and the main entrance, and the suspension bridge had not been hoisted yet.

"What are we going to do?" Macdonald said.

"Shut up, be quiet!" said Holmes.

"Then we don't know what it's all about?"

Holmes said: "Watson always said that I am a talented actor. Mr. Macdonald, please don't disturb me. Life should be colorful. Would you like to watch some dramas with monotonous plots? To be a good detective, you have to Dare to imagine boldly. When your ideas are proven one by one, you can enjoy the joy of success. If everything is arranged, what's the point? Just wait and see! It will feast your eyes in a while. "

MacDonald controlled his emotions and said, "I hope we don't have hail, or a heavy rain."

"It won't be too long, right?" He couldn't help asking again.

Holmes said: "As a detective, you should not have normal life rules, but should act at the same time as criminals. Quick, look here!"

He asked us to look at the study room, and there was a person in the study room who was walking around incessantly.The study was facing us. After a while, the window was opened, and a person leaned out of the window with most of his body.He first observed cautiously to see if anyone was there, then he bent down, the sound of "squeaking" churning water broke the silence of the night, and slowly he fished out something from the river, and he took it into the In the house, never seen again.

"Quick, come!" said Holmes loudly.

Holmes went first, and we all followed him, when he rang the bell quickly.Ames opened the door, a little surprised, we all broke into the house at once, and the man was standing in the house just now.

This man was Buck, and he looked at us and said angrily, "What are you doing here?"

Holmes took a quick look around the room. He saw a big wet bag lying under the writing table, and rushed to it.

"Mr. Barker, I was looking for this, because it contains a dumbbell I was looking for. Is this what you just fished up?"

Buck asked in surprise: "How do you know?"

"Because I put it in the water."

"It's you?"

"To be more precise, I put it in the water again. Mr. MacDonald, you went in the wrong direction. I have been paying more attention to this missing dumbbell. You think, a room on the river, and A heavier thing is missing at this time, and it must be used to sink other things into the water together. For this reason, Ames and I used Watson's big umbrella handle to get this thing out last night. It came out, but then it was put back in."

"However, I want to find out who put the bag. We said that the river should be drained, so the person who released the bag must move his things. Now everyone knows. Let's listen to what Mr. Barker has to say."

Holmes immediately unwrapped the bag, and took out a dumb-bell and a pair of handsome boots, together with a bundle of clothes, a yellow jacket, a suit of gray tweed, a pair of socks, and a set of underwear.

Mr. Holmes said: "Everyone should know about this yellow coat!"

He took the lamp and said, "There are many pockets on this coat. It should be said that there is no problem in storing that gun. The label on the collar says 'Vermissa Town Clothing Store, USA.' As far as I know, The town of Vermissa is a well-known coal mining area in the United States, and it is quite prosperous. Mr. Barker, when you talked about Douglas’s ex-wife, didn’t you mention some coal producing area? And the abbreviation of Vermissa is the letter VV, Vermi The Sa Valley is also the uncanny valley, the murderer should come from there, Mr. Barker, it's up to you to talk about it."

Mr. Barker's face is like the cloudy and cloudy weather, with various expressions interlaced and changing, which is unpredictable.Finally, he said helplessly: "Since you know everything, you should continue talking!"

"Mr. Barker, it's better for you to be more decent."

"I can only say one thing. It is impossible for you to tell me any secrets, because I have no secrets to tell at all."

"If you don't say anything, we'll have to arrest you," MacDonald said.

Mr. Barker said coldly: "Whatever."

It can be seen that he is a hero, and it is estimated that he is not easy to deal with.

A woman's voice came from outside the door: "Buck, anyway, you have done a good job."

Holmes said: "Mrs. Douglas, he has indeed made great contributions to you. Please believe us and cooperate with us. You once told Watson that you have something to tell me. At that time, it was my mistake in judgment, so I didn't go to I'm looking for you, now my point of view has changed, if you don't say it, why don't you let Douglas come out and talk about it?" Mrs. Douglas was so surprised when she heard this, all her confidence disappeared.At this time, a ghost-like person seemed to come out of the corner, and suddenly appeared in front of us.At this time, even the two detectives and I were stunned.

Mrs. Douglas immediately embraced the man, and Mr. Barker took her hand.

Mrs. Douglas wanted to say something but didn't say anything: "I hope you..."

"How do you feel, Mr. Douglas?" said Holmes.

The man had a short beard and stared at us with divine eyes.

Later, he approached me and handed me a scroll.

He began to speak, very loudly. "I've heard of your name a long time ago. You are more interested in history, but I dare say that you have never seen the materials I just gave you. It was written by me just now. These may be of great interest to you." Very beneficial. Please use it boldly, there is something about the Uncanny Valley."

Holmes said: "Mr. Douglas, please tell me what just happened!"

"Mr. Holmes, don't be in a hurry. Let me have a cigarette first. I have suffered a lot these past two days. I haven't smoked a cigarette for two days. Mr. Holmes, I think you can understand this."

Holmes lit a cigarette for him, and Douglas took it, sucked it greedily, and said:

"Mr. Holmes, I am very lucky to meet you. Before you read the materials in Watson's hands, let me tell you some beautiful stories!"

It was only then that Macdonald came to his senses and said loudly, "You are Douglas, so who is that corpse? This is really strange. And, where did you suddenly appear from now?"

Holmes sighed and said, "Mr. Macdonald, didn't I show you the pamphlet? Since this was once the hiding place of King Charles I, there must be a good hiding place. Does it matter?"

MacDonald said indignantly, "Then why didn't you tell us earlier and make us do something useless?"

Holmes said: "I didn't know it all at once. I didn't figure it out until yesterday, and I couldn't verify it until tonight, so I let you relax. When I found the bag of clothes in the river, I was basically worried. Clear. The dead body we're looking at is not Mr. John Douglas at all, but the cyclist from Tombey Bridge Wools. No other conclusion is possible, so I conclude that Douglas It must be hidden, he is going to wait for the right time, and then he will take his wife and escape."

Douglas said: "It's true. I don't want to be punished by the law. I think this way I can escape the punishment of the law and get rid of the entanglement of those demons. However, from the beginning to the end, I have not done anything wrong. , and there's nothing I can't do again. I'll tell you my story, and you decide for yourself. Mr. Detective, I will never back down from the truth.

"A lot of things were written on that scroll. I'll just give a brief description here. For some reasons, I had a deep feud with these demons. They have been following me all these years and wanting to kill me , So I don't have a place to stay, and I can't get rid of their shadow no matter what.

"In order not to frighten my wife about this, I have kept the matter secret from her, but it was inevitable that she would not know anything about it. But she is as ignorant of the truth as you are now. It happened. It would have been nice if I had told her the truth that day, but it was too urgent. It's impossible, dear, don't you?" Douglas gave his wife a smile.

"I went to Tombridge Wools the other day, and I met my worst enemy, he made me suffer. I thought he must have followed me, so I made all the preparations. .I don't think I'll have a problem dealing with him.

"I didn't dare to come out all day the next day. To be precise, I didn't leave the house, because I thought he must be lying in ambush in a corner, and he might be ready to end my life at any time. After the drawbridge was pulled up at night , I calmed down a lot and didn't think about it anymore. But I didn't expect him to have entered the room. When I was patrolling in my pajamas according to my old habit, I suddenly had an ominous premonition telling me: Something happened. Sure enough, I saw the pair of boots peeking out from under the curtain as soon as I entered the study, and I knew everything at that moment.

"I put the candles calmly. At this time, he was approaching me with a knife. I picked up the hammer next to me to defend myself. When he swung the knife at me, I hit him with the hammer. The knife landed, and I knew I had hit him. Then he drew the gun quickly, and I went up and grabbed his barrel. And so we stood for over a minute. By then, it was clear to both of us who Letting go means no one dies.

"The barrel of the gun was always pointing up. Somehow, the trigger was pulled, and the gunpowder was sprayed in the opponent's face. In an instant, I recognized him as the man I met in Tombridge Wools. The man in the house, his name was Ted Baldwin, and his face was a horrible sight after he was shot with a musket.

"I was still dazed when Buck came in. Then I heard my wife come down the stairs. I didn't want her to see it. I let her go upstairs. I talked to Buck and he understood. Everything that happened. No one came during this time, I know, only the three of us know the truth of the matter.

"When I saw the party logo on Baldwin's right arm, I had an epiphany and realized that he was roughly the same size as me.

"And now he's unrecognizable. I asked Buck to help me change him into my pajamas, sank all his belongings into the river with the dumbbell, and put the card he was going to put next to my dead body on him. next to the dead body.

"I put my ring on him again, but not my wedding ring because the ring couldn't be removed. I put a piece of sticking plaster on my face, and then I put it on him. took one.

"That's all I have to say. If I can hide for a few more days, I can live in peace with my wife. Those demons know that I am dead, and all my troubles will disappear. Although Buck and my wife I don’t quite understand the truth, but they all support me. I know the hiding place in the villa very well, and Ames knows it too, but he never imagined that this hiding place would have anything to do with this matter. I hid in That secret room, and Mark did the rest.

"Buck blotted the window sill, and everything was in place, and then he rang the doorbell. That's how it all happened. It seems that I have to accept the punishment of the law."

Holmes said: "British law will not make you wronged, but I want to ask you how this man knows that you live here, how did he enter your house, and where did he hide to murder you?"

"I don't know about these either."

Holmes said: "You can't take it lightly. Maybe you still have more troubles, and even a bigger conspiracy is plotting. You have to continue to be careful."

Dear readers, the story is not quite over yet.Let us go back to 20 years ago now and take a look at what happened at that time, there will be more things that will shock you.

In the following narration, please don’t think that I have strayed from the topic. After all the difficult problems are solved, you will naturally understand. "Fleeing" Passengers
On February 1875, 2, the weather was extremely cold, and the Gilmerton Grand Canyon was besieged by heavy snow, and the snow in the pass was very deep.However, the railway is still open, because steam snow machines are constantly clearing the way.The evening train that connects the coal mines with the railroad workers' quarters was lumbering along the long tracks from Sturkbel to the town of Vermissa.The train travels to Helmdale via the Barton Bypass and finally arrives at the county town of Melton.Although it is a monorail, many wagons passing here are loaded with iron ore, coal and other products.It is well-known for its rich mineral deposits, and many outsiders with gold mining dreams are attracted to this most remote corner of the United States, and since then they have brought a busy development and a boiling life.

In the past, this was a barren land.Unexpectedly, this remote mountainous area full of forests and rocks has now been transformed into green fields and rich pastures. This prosperous scene must have been beyond the imagination of the first batch of pioneers.The train twisted and wriggled on the winding and uneven mountain road, and the towering cliffs on both sides of the railway and the dense forest covered with heavy snow passed by before the eyes of the passengers.

The first half of the train is the passenger carriage. The condition inside the carriage is very simple, with only a small oil lamp for lighting, and the light flickers in the dark night.Accompanied by the rumbling sound of the train, about 30 to [-] people in the carriage were shaking from side to side, in a drowsy state of sleep.From the outside, most of them are miners who have worked hard at the bottom of the valley all day, with dusty faces and safety lights tied around their waists.Perhaps to drive away the eerie silence, most of them smoked and chatted among themselves.At the other end of the car sat two men in uniform and badges who looked like police officers.

In addition to these miners, there are one or two passengers who look like small business owners and a few working-class women in the carriage. The most striking thing is a young man sitting alone in the corner of the carriage. He is the protagonist of our story. .He was about 30 years old, of medium build, with large, sparkling gray eyes and a great sense of humour.At this time, the eyes were looking at the surrounding passengers through the glasses with a questioning expression.He is always smiling, with a resolute and calm expression, and looks very kind and enthusiastic, which makes people feel good about him, as if anyone can be friends with him casually.I saw him with his lips tightly closed, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, with a half-smile, as if he was recalling the past, and seemed to be communicating silently with other people.He had brown hair and was supposed to be a likable Irishman, and he must have been very social, maybe a celebrity of some sort.

The charismatic young man chatted for a while with the miner closest to him, but the few words and vulgarity of the other party's voice soon made him relatively silent.The young man was quite disappointed, so he had no choice but to look out of the window.

The night outside the car window is confused, which easily reminds people of a touch of sadness.From time to time in the distance, there are red fires flashing, the slag on both sides of the railway, and the slag piles are a very unique scenery, as well as tall chimneys and scattered low wooden houses along the line, plus a little bit of light coming through the windows. The light makes passengers feel a little desire and reverie.Groups of dark-skinned passengers gathered at the parking stations passing by from time to time.

The Vermissa area is rich in coal and iron, but those intellectuals and social elites seldom visit.There are only strong, rough miners and traces of their lives in hard conditions.We are engaged in primitive and clumsy labor, tenacious and rough.

The young traveler frowned slightly as he looked at the bleak night scene in Vermissa Town. It seemed that he was not familiar with this place yet.From time to time, the young man took out a letter from his pocket to read, and then wrote indiscriminately, perhaps to write down the beautiful scenery outside the car, or perhaps his own feelings.Later, he pulled out a large Navy revolver from his waist, which did not fit his image of politeness.He held the pistol up to the light, and the brass bullets on the drums gleamed, evidently loaded.He then quickly put the gun in his pocket again, but was noticed by the miner sitting next to him.The miner was very curious and couldn't help asking: "Hey, friend, who are you guarding against?"

"Yes, I need it occasionally, especially with us." The young man smiled sheepishly.

"Where are you from?"

"Chicago."

"You must not know about our mining area, do you?"

"Yes."

The miner went on: "You'll find the same thing can be used here."

"Oh, really?" The young man seemed interested.

"Accidents often happen near this mining area."

"I haven't heard of anything that happened."

"Hey! There's a lot going on here, and you'll find out in a few days. How did you come here?"

"I've heard that if you want to do it, there must be a job here."

The miner asked, "Are you from the trade union?"

"Yes."

"Then you must have a job. Have you any friends here?"

"It's a pity, not yet, but it will be handed over later."

"How to communicate? Especially in this strange place."

"You know there's a branch of the Freedmen's in every town, and I'm a member, and wherever there's a branch, there's my friends."

(End of this chapter)