Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 147 The Last Greeting (9)
"The trains were running from west to east at the place where his body was found. However, some of these cars were only city trains, and some came from Willesden and nearby small stations. It is absolutely certain that the deceased must have traveled The train in this direction traveled that night, but I don’t know where to get on the train.”

"Ticket! Just look at it and you'll know!"

"He has no ticket in his pocket!"

"What? How could it not! That's strange, Watson. As far as I know, there is no way to enter the railway platform without a ticket. Suppose he had a ticket, but why did he disappear? To hide his entrance. The location of the car? That's a certain possibility. Maybe it was left somewhere in the car, that's also a possibility. Very strange. No sign of robbery, I suppose?"

"No. Here is a list of his belongings. There are two pounds fifteen shillings in the wallet, a check for the Woolwich branch of the Capital and County Bank, and two tickets for the Woolwich Drama Theatre, yes. On the same day, there is also a bundle of technical documents."

Holmes heard this and cried out: "Watson, I have found the relationship between them! The British Government--Ulwich Arsenal--technical documents--my brother Mycroft, this is the whole case .He's here, if I hear you right. He's explaining the situation himself."

Sure enough, it was not long before Mycroft Holmes entered the room.He is burly, tall and strong, and does not appear to be very flexible, but there is an extremely smart head growing on this cumbersome body.There is an indescribable majesty in his brows, his silver-gray deep eyes are big and alert, the lines of his lips are even more resolute and firm, and his eyes are extremely sharp. I believe that no matter who sees him at first sight, they will easily ignore him. His tall stature, while never forgetting the charm of his extraordinary intelligence.

Entering with him was our old friend, Sergeant Rathride of Scotland Yard--lean and serious.The gloomy expressions of the two made people feel the seriousness of the problem.My friend said nothing as he shook hands with them.Mycroft flung off his coat and sat down on a chair.

"It's a nerve-wracking thing, Sherlock," said he. "You know, I don't like to change my habits, but this time the authorities say no. Now that I'm out of office, I'm a worse person. But , This time it is indeed a crisis, even the Prime Minister is in trouble. Looking at the entire Naval Operations Department, it is even more chaotic, as if a beehive has been smashed. Have you read about this case in the newspapers?"

"Just read a little bit, what does the technical document refer to?"

"Ah! That's where the problem lies! Fortunately, it hasn't been made public, otherwise, there will be a catastrophe. There is a document in the pocket of the murdered young man, which is the Bruce-Partington submarine plan."

The seriousness of Mycroft's expression when he said this was enough to show the seriousness of the matter.We sat there quietly waiting for him to speak.

"You must have heard of it, right?"

"I've only heard the name."

"Its importance is incomparable. It is the top secret of the British government. I can tell you that within the scope of this plan, there will be no more naval battles at all. Two years ago, the government began to secretly allocate A special fund was allocated for the implementation of this invention patent, and strict confidentiality measures were taken. This extremely complex plan includes more than 30 individual patents, each of which is an important part of the whole. We call this It is planned to be stored in a well-crafted safe in a secret office adjacent to the arsenal. The doors and windows of the office have anti-theft systems. Therefore, it is said that no matter what the circumstances, the documents cannot be easily taken away. It is the Navy's If the Chief Technician wants to check the plan, he must also go to the secret office in Woolwich, otherwise he will never see it. However, now we have found these secrets in the pocket of a young employee in downtown London. Officials believe , this is terrifying!"

"But haven't you already found it?"

"No, Sherlock, not at all! Here lies the danger! We have not recovered. Ten plans were taken from Woolwich, and Cadogan West had only seven. The three most important copies are missing - stolen and missing. My dear brother, please put all other things in your hands now, and stop worrying about the little things in the police department. This is a major international problem, you It has to be fixed. Why did Cadogan West steal the papers? Where are the three missing copies now? How did he die? Why is the body in that place? What can we do to undo this disaster ? If you can get this sorted out, then you've done a very good job of doing your country's duty."

"But why don't you take the case yourself? Mycroft, you can do what I can."

"Sherlock, every detail of this case has to be worked out. I need you to figure it out and tell me, and what I can do is offer you expert insight from an armchair. However, running around , collecting details, and inspecting with a magnifying glass—this is not what I am good at. You can definitely find out the truth, and I hope that your name will be included in the next honor book."

My friend smiled and shook his head.

"I don't do it for the sake of fame," he said, "but I'm quite interested in the case, and I'd like to study it. Please give me some more facts."

"This paper contains some key questions, and several addresses which may be of assistance to you. The officer in charge of the document is Sir James, whose honor and title occupy nearly two lines in the Who's Who. He was very conscientious, a man of high society and popularity. The point is that his patriotism cannot be questioned. There are two keys to the safe, one of which he is in charge of. During working hours on Monday, The papers are still in the safe. Sir James set out for London about three o'clock, and it is proved that he took the key with him when he left there. He had been at Admiral Sinclair's house in Barclay Square on the night of the accident. .”

"Has this been confirmed?"

"Confirmed, his brother, Colonel Valentine Walter, confirmed that he had left Woolwich; Admiral Sinclair confirmed that he was in London. So Sir James is no longer directly concerned with the matter."

"And what about the other key?"

"Mr Sidney Johnson kept it. He was a clerk and draftsman, forty years old, married, with five children. He was usually taciturn and slightly tempered, but on the whole he did a pretty good job. But He was on average with his colleagues, despite being extremely conscientious in his work. According to himself, he was at home all night after work on Mondays, with the keys on his watch chain, but this was only confirmed by his wife."

"Then tell us about the dead man."

"He is honest and honest. He has worked for ten years and performed very well. However, maybe because he is a young man, he has a bad temper and is easily impulsive, but he has always been honest and straightforward. This is obvious to all. Among his colleagues, his status is second only to Johnson. Because of his job, he has individual access to these programs every day."

"Who locked up the plan that night?"

"Mr. Johnson."

"Oh, then it's clear who took the plans? Deputy Clerk West took the plans, and indeed they were found on him."

"In that case, Sherlock, there are still many unanswered questions. Why did he take these plans in the first place?"

"I think it's because those proposals are worth a lot!"

"Then he could easily get thousands of pounds."

"Is there any other motive than taking the papers to sell in London?"

"No, I don't see any."

"Then, let's assume on this basis that if he wants to take these documents away, he must have a privately assigned key to do it—"

"At the same time, a few more keys will be issued, because the doors to the building and offices will need to be opened."

"That is, several keys need to be assigned privately, and then he got the plan and prepared to sell it in London, and planned to secretly put it back in the safe the next morning before people found out that the plan was lost. Unexpectedly, when he arrived in London He lost his life in carrying out this treasonous act."

"How did you lose your life?"

"We assume he was killed and thrown from the carriage on the way back to Woolwich."

"The body was found in Aldgate, quite a distance from London Bridge Station, and it is probable that he returned to Woolwich by this road."

"Let's imagine that there are many situations in which he passed London Bridge. For example, he may have met someone in the carriage, or he may have used force on the spot and died. It is also possible that he tried to leave the carriage. , As a result, he accidentally fell and fell to his death while turning outward. But someone else closed the car door, and the fog was so thick that no one could see clearly."

"Based on what we know so far, it is difficult to have a better explanation. But, Sherlock, you have to consider that there are many facts that you have not involved. For example, we might as well assume that this young man Cadogan West had already planned to steal the documents to London, so he must have made an appointment with foreign agents, and he must arrange the night so that no one would suspect him. But this is not the case, he took two The tickets for the theater suddenly slipped away while I was walking halfway with my fiancée."

"I don't think so," Lethred said.He has been sitting by and listening to everyone talking, and now he is a little impatient

"This is a bit too bizarre. This is the first point that does not make sense. There is also the second point that does not make sense. If we assume that he arrives in London and sees the foreign spy, he will definitely come back before morning, otherwise He had stolen ten shares, but only had seven in his pocket, so what about the other three? Surely he would not have left those three willingly. Besides, the reward for his treason was in the Where? It's supposed to be a large sum of money in his pocket."

"I see it very clearly," Lesred said, "and I believe that's what happened: He stole the documents and sold them, met with the agents because he couldn't agree on a price, so he turned around and went home, and the agents followed him. , and killed him on the train, took away those important documents, and threw the body off the train. Doesn’t that explain everything?”

"But why doesn't he have a ticket with him?"

"The name of the station on the ticket is likely to reveal the location of the agent's residence, so it was taken away by the agent."

"Well, Lethreid, very well," said Holmes. "Your reasoning is sound. But if that is the case, the case should be closed. On the one hand, the traitor is dead; on the other, Bruce Patin The Dunton submarine program must have reached the Continent as well. What else can we do?"

"Not nothing to do, Sherlock—something must be done!" cried Mycroft, standing up, "my intuition prevents me from agreeing to this explanation. It's not that simple. Do what you're capable of, go to the spot and scout! Interview some insiders! Do everything you can to dig out the details! Never in your career have you had such a good opportunity to serve your country."

"Yes, yes!" replied Holmes, shrugging his shoulders. "Come, Watson! And you, Lethreid, if you please, will you run with us for an hour or two? We shall begin our investigation of Aldgate. The station begins. Good-bye, Mycroft. I'll report to you before dark. But before you say something, don't get your hopes up."

An hour later, the three of us had already arrived at the scene of the crime, which was immediately to Algate Station after exiting the tunnel.An old gentleman with a rosy face and a humble attitude received us on behalf of the railway company.

"The young man's body is lying here," the old man said, pointing to a place three feet away from the railroad track. It could have been a fall from a train which, as far as we know, passed around midnight on Monday."

"Are there signs of violence in the carriage?"

"There were no signs of violence and no tickets were found."

"Find any open doors?"

"No."

"We have some new evidence this morning," said Lesred, "a passenger passing Algate Station on a train at [-]:[-] on a Monday evening, shortly before arriving at the station, heard ' There was a thud, as if someone had fallen on the railway. But because the fog was too thick to see anything, he didn't report it at that time. Well, Holmes, what's the matter with you?"

I saw my friend with a nervous expression on his face, staring at the tunnel with curved rails carefully.Algate is a junction station and has a gate network.At this moment, he was staring at the gate suspiciously, with eager and focused eyes.I am all too familiar with that vigilant look, as well as the tight lips, bushy eyebrows, and fluttering nose.

"The gate," he muttered, "is the gate."

"What's the matter with the gate? What do you mean?"

"I don't think there are so many gates on other railway lines?"

"Yes, very few indeed."

"There are curves, barriers, curves... oh, so that's it."

"What's the matter? Holmes, have you found a clue?"

"Conjecture--just conjecture. There may be more to the case, though. Unusual, very unusual. It's very strange, not to see any trace of blood along the way."

"There is no blood."

"It is said that he was seriously injured."

"It's just that the skull is broken, but the trauma is not serious."

"There should be blood stains left. Can I check the train that the passenger who heard the noise was on?"

"That's enough, Mr. Holmes. For the train has been taken apart, and the carriages have been reattached to other trains."

"I can assure you, Mr. Holmes," said Lethreid, "that every carriage has been carefully inspected, by me myself."

It seemed, however, that my friend always seemed to have a lack of confidence in those who were less intelligent and astute than himself, and this was one of his great faults.

"Perhaps you are right," he said, turning and walking away. "From the circumstances of the accident, it may not be necessary to investigate the carriage. Watson, I think that is the only way. Mr. Lesred, Then I shall trouble you no more. We must now go to Woolwich."

Back in London, Holmes wrote a telegram to his brother, which he showed to me before dispatch.It says:
There is some light in the darkness, but it may be lost at any time.Please send correspondents immediately to Baker Street with the names and detailed addresses of all foreign spies and secret agents operating in Britain.

sherlock

"It is necessary, Watson," said he, as we took our seats on the Woolwich train, "that Mycroft should be grateful to him for entrusting us with such a curious case." .”

His eager face still had a determined and energetic expression.I realized that by this time some instructive new situation had opened up a surprising line of thought for him.Just like a hound, when it is lazily lying in the den, it always has drooping tail and drooping ears, but once there is a situation, it will immediately tense up its muscles, and its eyes are like lightning, following the prey with strong smell Follow it thoroughly.Such was the series of changes in Holmes since this morning.A few hours ago he was still pacing limply in the foggy room in his gray pajamas, bored to the core.

"There were some materials to testify here, but I was so stupid that I didn't see the clues."

"But so far I haven't seen anything."

"I'm not sure what, but I have a guess that might bring us a step further. Maybe the young man was killed somewhere else, and the body was put on top of one of the cars." .”

"On the roof?!"

"Strange, isn't it? Think about it, the place where the body was found happened to be the place where the train bumped and swayed violently when it passed the barrier. Could it be a coincidence? Couldn't the things on the roof fall from here? The things in the carriage It's really hard to be affected by the barriers. I think the body either fell off the roof of the car, or it was a very amazing coincidence. Also, let's talk about the blood. If the blood in the body has already been lost somewhere else, then Naturally there will be no more on the track. Every detail is inspiring. And the energy of every little inspiration added together is amazing."

"Tickets are also a problem," I said.

"Yeah, we can't find a reason for not having a ticket, and that explains it. Everything is actually interconnected."

"However, this still cannot solve the cause of his death. Not only is the matter not clear, but it has become more complicated."

"It may be so," said Holmes thoughtfully. "Perhaps it is." Again he fell into thought, until the train reached Woolwich station.After getting off, he called a carriage and took out a note from Mycroft.

"We have several places to visit this afternoon," said he. "I think Sir James Walter should be the first to be seen."

The official residence of this dignitary is an exquisite villa with green lawns extending all the way to the Thames.The fog was clearing when we arrived, and the sun shone through the wet mist.The porter answered our bell to open the door.

"Sir James? Ah!" said the porter gravely. "He's dead this morning."

"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Holmes, "how did he die?"

"Will you come in first, sir, and meet his brother, Colonel Valentine?"

"Okay, that's the best."

We were led into a dimly lit living room.Soon we were received by a tall, handsome man with a shallow beard, Colonel Valentine, the brother of the deceased, about fifty years of age.His eyes were bewildered, his hair was disheveled, and he seemed to have not even washed his face. Obviously, he couldn't accept the sudden misfortune at home.When he talked about it, he was so sad that his speech was a little slurred.

"It is a monstrous scandal," said he. "My brother, Sir James, a man of great self-respect, cannot stand such a thing, and is heartbroken. He has always prided himself on the efficiency of his department, and it is a fatal matter." hit."

"We hoped to get some advice from him so that we could solve the case sooner."

(End of this chapter)