Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 145 The Last Greeting (7)
"Then only a shaved beard can smoke like this. Not to mention such a long beard, even a little, Watson, like yours, will be burnt."

I said, "Maybe use a cigarette holder?"

"No, no, look at the broken cigarette butt. Is there alone in the room, Mrs. Warren?"

"Sir, there is only one person. He eats very little. I'm afraid he doesn't have enough."

"Then we need to find some more evidence. Ma'am, you don't have to complain! The rent has already been collected. Although he is a little abnormal, don't make a fuss. Besides, he won't cause you any trouble.

"He gave you such a high rent, and if he has a little privacy, it doesn't matter to you. We can't interfere in people's private affairs, unless he breaks the law.

"However, since this matter is entrusted to me, I will take care of it. You go back and observe everything carefully. If there is any progress, let me know immediately! I will do my best to help you."

"Okay, then I'll go first." The landlady went out.

"There is something wrong with it, Watson. It may be a personal idiosyncrasy, but I think it is more complicated.

"I don't think the person who lives in the house is the same person who rented the house."

"why?"

"Besides the cigarette butts as evidence, there is another doubtful point!"

"where?"

"This man rented a room and left, and only this time, doesn't that mean something? He came back in the middle of the night, and no one saw him. If it was a different person, no one would know, who of us would know?" prove?
"Who can guarantee that the person who comes back is the original person?"

"Yes, very suspicious."

"Also, the person who rented the house spoke English very well. But the person in the house wrote 'matches' as 'match', so it must be from the dictionary. We all know that there are only singular and no plural in the dictionary Form. He wrote it like that to hide his lack of English."

"Right, that is it."

"Therefore, we now have reason to doubt him."

"What on earth is he trying to do?"

"That's exactly what we want to investigate him for. Watson, I have a very simple method, just wait."

He had taken a large volume filled with the valuable advertisements of the London newspapers which he usually kept.He opened the book and said, "Watson, let's take a look. Maybe we can find something."

"The world is so big, it's full of wonders! There are yells, moans, curses, curses, etc. But here can provide us with clues.

"This tenant is himself. If he writes to him, he will be found out, which will be bad for him. How did he get the news from the outside? It must be from the newspapers.

"We have no choice but to check the papers. But we can save ourselves a bit by checking the Daily News."

"Let me see, 'The woman with the yellow feather boa, at the Prince's Skating Playground', it's no use. This, 'Jim sure didn't upset her mother', let's not care about that.

"And this, 'If the lady passed out on the bus in Braston,' we're not interested in that. And, 'My heart longs all the time,' it's all nonsense.

"Oh? That's possible. Listen: 'Hold on, I'm looking for a safer way to communicate. For now, still use this advert. G'Let me see the date, it's the third day of the tenant's stay It's on. Doesn't it look like it? Quite like it.

"Although the tenant can't write English, he must be able to read English. I'll look for it again. This newspaper is from three days later.

"Written: 'Arranging carefully, waiting patiently. Clouds will soon pass. G' Nothing for the next week.

"Look here it's clearly stated, 'The road is mostly cleared. Chances are you'll be given a signal, A is one, B is two, and so on, and you'll see the message shortly. G'

"Here's last night's paper.

"Today's newspaper is nothing.

"It seems that this is really sent to the mysterious tenant. Let's wait."

So we wait.

The next morning my friend leaned against the fire, all smiles on his face.

"Watson, I'm right, read today's newspaper!"

I read the newspaper—"'A tall red house with a white stone facade, third floor, first window on the left, after dark. G.' Yes, it's for him. Let's find Mrs. Warren together."

We hadn't gone out the door when Mrs. Warren came in. I don't know why she was so excited.Mrs. Warren said: "Sir, I can't take it anymore. I must call the police. It's incredible. I wanted to tell him directly: 'You move away!' But I'd better listen to your opinion before deciding Go ahead. My patience is limited!"

"What's the matter?"

"They beat my husband!"

"Ah! Hit Mr. Warren?"

"Yes, it's too rough!"

"Who hit it?"

"I don't know! This morning, my husband was going to work. He worked for Leighton Company, in Tonenham Court Road. He left at seven o'clock, but he was beaten.

"He hadn't walked a few steps before he went out. Two people ran out from behind, wrapped his head in a cloth, and stuffed him into the carriage. Afterwards, the carriage drove him for more than an hour before opening the carriage to take him away. Throw it out of the car, and they run away.

"At that time, he was so frightened that he didn't know anything. He didn't know what was going on, what was the carriage, who was it. He got up and looked at the place where he was. The car went home.

"Now he's still lying on the bed and can't move!"

"So interesting?" said Holmes. "Has he not seen them?"

"no!"

"Did you hear what they said?"

"No."

"Then what does he know!"

"He was terrified at the time, and I just remember putting him in the wagon and being thrown off, like magic. There were at least two of them."

"Does this have anything to do with the tenant?"

"I think so. We've lived here for over 20 years and nothing like this has happened. I'd rather he go than have the money."

"What? Ma'am!"

"He must leave my place before dark."

"No, ma'am. I think it's more complicated than we think. There's a force threatening your lodger."

"what?"

"They must be waiting for your tenant in secret, but they saw the wrong person before dawn. They mistakenly thought that your husband was him. Later, they realized that they had made a mistake. Therefore, they let him go again."

"is it?"

"Yes, they didn't see the wrong person, so what could it be?"

"Then what to do?"

"Madam," said Holmes, "I should like to go with you to see the lodger."

"Then what shall I do! Unless I break in the door. But that's no good, because every time I put down the dishes and I'm just going downstairs, I hear him unlock the lock."

"He has to take it on the plate?"

"Correct."

"Ma'am, is there a place where I can see him?"

"I think about it!"

"Oh! I remembered. There is a place. There is a small room opposite that room. If you use a mirror and hide behind the door, you may be able to see—"

"Good! When does he have lunch?"

"A little over."

"Mrs. Warren, you go back first! Watson and I will go on time."

"OK, bye!"

We arrived at Mrs. Warren's house after twelve o'clock.

This brick building is very tall, on a narrow road northeast of the British Museum.Although it is not far from the main street, it is very tidy.

From there I could see Eaton Street and its splendid houses, and Holmes smiled and showed me a house.His eyes are so sharp that nothing escapes his eyes.

"Look at that house, Watson, 'a tall red house with a white stone front.' This is the place of the signal. We know the signal and the place, and there is no difficulty."

"There's a sign 'For Rent' on the window. This must be the place where they're signaling. Is Mrs. Warren ready?"

"Come with me, gentlemen, I'm all set."

We went to the hiding place.It was nice there, and in the dark we could make out the door of the lodger's room.We picked up the mirror and watched what was going on there from the mirror.

At this moment the bell rang.We looked at each other and smiled, and after a while, Mrs. Warren brought out the plate, and she put the plate on the chair by the door.Later, I walked away with heavy steps.

In a dark corner, we hold mirrors.The landlady's footsteps gradually died away.At this time, the sound of a key unlocking came from the opposite room, and the door opened.

We opened our eyes wide, and two slender hands immediately removed the plate from the chair.

After a while, the plate was put back in place.In the mirror, we saw a gloomy, beautiful, pale, terrified face. She looked at the door of our room and became even more terrified.

Suddenly, he slammed the door shut again, turned the key, and returned to the original state.

Holmes touched me, and we departed quietly.

My friend said: "Madam, let's go back first and come back in the evening."

So here we go.

At home, Holmes sat down in his chair and said, "I reckon I was right in my conjecture. Someone else has taken the place of the lodger. But I did not expect it to be a woman, Watson, and not an ordinary woman."

"She found us?"

"Yes. Maybe she felt a certain threat, otherwise she would not have been so alarmed. Watson, what happened is clear."

"how is it?"

"I guess it's a couple taking refuge in London, and they are particularly dangerous and frightened. They are very careful. Maybe the man has an urgent matter, but the woman must be absolutely safe. The problem is like this, it is very complicated. But he used This kind of method that no one has used to protect women shows that he is very smart and scheming.

"And the landlady didn't even know she existed. It was kept secret and kept the woman safe.

"Let's look at those notes again. Why did you write them in pencil? Obviously, you don't want to reveal that she is a woman, so as to avoid others guessing. And the two of them can't get close. If they get closer, it will be dangerous.

"This can be seen from the beating of the landlord, the house is surrounded by spies, or killers.

"He can only contact her through the missing person advertisement column in the newspaper, and we all know that."

"But what's the reason?"

"Yes! What are they after, Watson? This question cannot be ignored. Mrs. Warren must have exaggerated the matter. But it turns out that there is a more sinister side to it. It is not just a simple love affair. We have all seen it." The woman panicked when she saw the danger, and also heard about the beating of Mr. Warren, all of which were aimed at the tenants.

"Being cautious and keeping secrets proves that the success or failure of this matter is at hand. The beating of Mr. Warren shows that the enemy does not know that there is a woman living here, and they think it is still the man. This is very strange."

"But why do you still want to check? What do you want to get?"

"I don't want anything, Watson. Don't you think that when you see patients, you want to get a lot of money?"

"No, I just want to gain experience."

"Then I make art for art's sake."

"Art knows no bounds."

"Yes. There are a lot of cases that can educate us, and we can learn a lot from the case. Even if there is no money and cash, we will investigate it.

"Watson, let us investigate the case again when it is dark!"

It was getting dark, and we came to Mrs. Warren's.It was completely dark and nothing could be seen.There was silence all around, but the light from the windows seemed alive.

The landlady led us into a very dark living room. We stood by the window. At this time, there was another dim light in the darkness.Holmes pressed his thin face to the glass and said, "Watson, there is someone moving about in that room. We can see his figure. Look, he has come out again! He is holding a candle, looking around, sure It is on guard against the enemy.

"He began to wave the candle to signal. Look, it's an A. Watson, make a note, and we'll check it later.

"How much is this time?"

"twenty."

"Me too. Twenty is a T.

"Look again, how about this time?"

"Still T."

"Yes, still T. Then 'TENTA', Watson?"

"Yes."

"'ATTENTA' doesn't mean anything? It's three words: ATTEN, what about TA? It doesn't mean anything? Look, it's ATTEN again, the same as before. Watson, why did it stop again?"

"I do not know either."

"TA is separate, is that an abbreviation? Again, three times it's ATTENTA! Finished! He left the window, what does that mean? Watson."

"Password contact."

My companion laughed, and said: "Watson, the cipher is not difficult to understand. What language is it? Yes, Italian. A means that it signals to a woman—'Beware! Beware! Beware!' I Is the explanation correct?"

"I feel right!"

"A signal. Repeat three times. What are you looking out for? He's at the window again."

We can vaguely see the figure of a person.When he signaled again, we saw the candle move.

"Watson, the signal is faster than the first time, pay attention, remember."

So fast we can barely remember.

"Pericolo—Pericolo—yes, that's what it means, Watson, and the Italian word for 'dangerous' isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Another signal, PERI...ah, what are you doing?"

We saw the candles go out there, and the lights in the whole room there.

The third floor of that building went dark all at once, while the other floors were lit.The last signal was cut off, what's going on?Interrupted?Maybe the enemies got there.Thinking of this, we jumped off the windowsill together.He said: "Watson, the matter is very serious and dangerous. Maybe there is something wrong there, otherwise why would the signal be interrupted? We'd better contact the police station, but there is not enough time and it is dangerous. We cannot go away!"

"Can I go?"

"We must first find out the situation, so that we can take the next step. Come on, let's go and see what happened there."

We went down the street, and I looked back at Mrs. Warren's little attic we had just left.From the window on the top floor, a vague figure of a woman could be seen, staring blankly at the starry sky, as if she had stopped breathing, waiting for the signal to shake again.

We crossed the street, and there was a man standing by the door of the apartment building, wearing a scarf, a hat, and a coat.The man couldn't help being startled when the light hit our faces.

"Holmes!" he said.

Shaking hands with the famous Scotland Yard detective, my friend said: "Ah! Inspector Grayson, hello. What are you doing here?"

"Like you, you are investigating this case, how do you know about this case?"

"It was told. Sir, we are recording the signal."

"What? Signal?"

"Yes, that's the window. For some reason, it stopped halfway through the signal. So we want to see what's going on? I didn't expect to meet you, Sheriff. Since you are here, it's no problem. Let's go first gone."

Grayson said enthusiastically: "Mr. Holmes, don't do this. I feel that no matter where I am in the case, with your help, I will feel very at ease. There is only one exit from this house, and he can't escape."

"Who?"

"We are far ahead on this point, Mr. Holmes." As he spoke, he struck the ground with his cane. The sound was loud, and a coachman came at once with a whip.

He said to the driver: "May I introduce you to Mr. Holmes? This is Mr. Leighton. He is from the American Pinkett Detective Service."

Holmes asked: "Is it the hero who solved the mysterious case on Long Island Mountain?"

The Americans blushed in embarrassment when they heard this.His face was long and clean-shaven, and he was a quiet, shrewd man.He said: "I must run for my life, and if I can catch Giorgiano—"

"Is it from the Red Circle?"

"He's a well-known man in Europe, and we've heard of him in America. We know he's been wanted for fifty murders. But I've tried so hard to catch him.

"I've been following him since New York, and I've been following him for a week in London, looking for a chance to catch him myself. Mr. Grayson and I have been chasing him all the way to this building."

"But there's only one door here, and he can't escape. After he went in, three people came out from here, but I'm sure he wasn't among them."

"Mr. Holmes talked about signals. We don't know that, and he knows a lot that we don't. Listen to him!"

Therefore, Holmes briefly told us what we knew. After hearing this, the Americans clapped their hands and were very angry. "Has he spotted us?"

"Why do you think so?"

"Isn't it? Their accomplice signaled--they have a gang here. As you said, he told them to beware of danger and then interrupted. Did he know we were in the street? Or sensed the danger was there Approaching, wanting to avoid the danger, so he took action. Besides this, is there any other meaning?"

"We must go up at once."

"But we don't have a warrant."

Grayson said decisively: "He's in this dubious condition himself, and the place is uninhabited, and that's what will enable us to arrest him. Hope New York will help us."

In spite of our London police officers' lack of individual talent, no one dares to compare with them for courage.Grayson is so solid, capable, and shrewd that he decisively ordered to go upstairs and arrest people.It is also because of this that he holds an important position in the Scotland Police and has been promoted step by step in the officialdom.This is his style.The young man wanted to catch the criminal before him, but he left him far away.London police officers have more priority for such dangerous matters.We got to the third floor.

The door was ajar, and Gregson pushed it open.It was so dark in the room that I lit the lantern in his hand with a match.When the lights came on and we could see everything in the room, we gasped and saw a fresh bloodstain on the floor.From here it leads to the inner room, but the inner room is closed.

Grayson knocked open the door, lit up everything in the room with a lamp, and we looked in over his shoulder.In the middle of the floor lay a tall, dark-faced man, but his face was horribly twisted.There was a clear ring of blood on the head.

The body lay on a large oval plank.He spread his hands, bent over, with a painful expression, and a knife pierced his body straight from his throat.Judging from the signs, before he was beaten to death, he must have been knocked out and couldn't move a little bit.

On his right hand is a fearsome double-edged bullhorn dagger with a sheepskin glove beside it.

The American detective said, "He's Giorgiano the Negro. Someone's got a head start on us now."

"Mr. Holmes," said Grayson, "the candle is on the window-sill. What are you doing there?"

I looked back and saw Holmes light the candle, shake it eagerly, glance into the darkness, and then blew it out. "I think someone will help us," he said, coming over and standing there in thought.Two specialists are conducting an autopsy.

"Downstairs, you saw three people going out, do you still remember the faces of those three people?"

"Remember!"

"An average build guy in his thirties with a very dark skin and a beard?"

"Yes, and he was the last to come out."

"Okay, let's find him. Let me tell you about his appearance. There is still a very clear footprint of him here, is that enough?"

"But there are five million people in London! How can I find them?"

"With the help of this lady, I think I can find it." Hearing this, we all turned around, and saw a tall and beautiful woman standing at the door. She was Mrs. Warren's mysterious lodger.She was pale, and came slowly, with a very sad expression, staring at the corpse.

(End of this chapter)