Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 167: Investigating Strange Cases (9)
"Easily, Americans don't like this shoulder style, only the British do, and the toe of your boots is also a British tradition."

"Oh, I've become so assimilated by the English, and I've hardly noticed it. I've been in England for a while, and it's for something very important. So I dress as the Romans do." He paused. After a while, he became serious.

"I'm not here today to talk to you about clothing. Time is precious, so let's get to the point. I want to talk about the letter on your desk."

Holmes remained relaxed.

"Don't worry, Mr. Garrideb. My powers of observation are always useful in cases. Watson can attest to that. But I don't understand. Why did you come by yourself? Why didn't your Garrideb friend?" come with you?"

The young man suddenly looked very angry: "Coming together? I really don't understand why he wrote to you and what has it to do with you? It's just our business. If he didn't write a letter, I wouldn't be standing here , I don’t want to come here so much!”

Holmes said: "What's the matter? It's not that you can't see people. Your companion just wants to achieve the goal as soon as possible - the common goal of the two of you. I also have a set of methods to obtain various information. He asked me for help. It's very natural! Why are you angry?"

The visitor's expression softened a little.

He said: "You've got a point, anyway, you've read the letter by now. I don't want to involve the police in a purely personal matter, but if you help us find the man we desperately need, then that's another matter." Yes. But do you have any special method? I have tried almost all methods of finding someone."

"The method will be discussed later. As you say, Mr. Garrideb, since I know, I will definitely intervene. It would be better if you explain the matter in detail. My friend does not know it well, and the letter is not well written." detailed."

"is it necessary?"

"very necessary."

"Alright then." Although Joe Garrideb was not very willing, he still told the whole story.

He said: "I try to be as simple as possible. You know I come from Moorwell, Kansas. There is a rich man in my hometown, Alexander Garrideb. He made a fortune by tending the estate. Countless. He bought a lot of land, an area as large as several of your counties, such as forests, pastures, farms, mines, and cultivated land, all of which have made him countless money.

"This old rich man is alone, and no relatives or descendants have been heard of him. You may think that although the surname Garrideb is rare, it is usually nothing special. But this gentleman thinks otherwise. I am proud of my surname because it is rare. Originally, I had only heard of him, but one day he came to my residence, Tongzong, and was happy to find a person with the surname Garrideb. After getting acquainted with me , I know he has always had a desire to know how many people with the surname Garrideb exist in the world. I will look for it one day.' I didn't know why he said that at the time, and I didn't take it to heart, but his words came true soon.

"In less than a year after saying this, old Alexander died, and his will was unbelievable. It is not too much to say that it is the most special will ever written in Kansas. He divided his assets into three parts in his will, one The share is mine, but there is a condition, that is, you must find two other people named Garrideb, and give each of them an inheritance. One inheritance is 500 million US dollars, 500 million! Who doesn't want it? But he stipulated We three Garridebs must share, otherwise the money will be given to the public and no one will be allowed to use it.

"How tempting is this, as long as I find two people with the surname Garrideb, I will have 500 million! I closed the law firm, turned down everything, and came here to find someone. I searched all over the United States, remote No corner was spared. Strangely enough, there was no one with the surname Garrideb. So I came to England, first to London, and I was lucky to find Garrideb in the phone book immediately. Two days ago, I I found him and told him about the inheritance, of course he was very happy, but unfortunately, he is alone like me, and his relatives are all women, no men. But the will requires three grown men. Therefore , we have nothing but to find another one, and these are the details, Mr. Holmes. Can you help us find such a person? We can offer a high reward."

"Watson, it's really interesting!" Holmes said after lighting a big pipe and taking a puff. "What a strange idea. Then you didn't publish the missing person notice in newspapers or magazines? This method is effective for preservation."

"I thought about it a long time ago. I have published it in all newspapers and magazines, big and small, but I haven't heard anything about it."

"Really? That's strange. Let's leave that aside. Just now you said you were a Mullerville from Kansas, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"I had an old friend who lived there. He's dead now, but he was mayor of Moorville in 1890. His name was Dr. Lysander Starr."

"Oh, this respected old man, as you all know, the anecdote about Dr. Starr is still often mentioned. Well, don't bother, if there is any progress in the matter, we will let you know immediately, please help us Just keep an eye on it. Goodbye."

The young American bowed to us and went out.

Holmes smiled thoughtfully, with a strange expression on his pipe.

I asked him, "What's going on? What do you think of this?"

"It's so strange, it's just inexplicable."

"What is inexplicable?"

"I don't know what the purpose of this person is."

"Didn't he say that he wants to find someone surnamed Garrideb to share that huge inheritance?"

"It's all a lie! I almost asked him just now why he was telling all these lies, but I held back and let him be proud first, thinking that my deception is very clever."

"Lies? How do you know? Although what he said is strange, it's not necessarily impossible?"

Holmes took a breath and said, "It's not about what you're talking about. You see he's wearing, at least a year ago, typical English shoes and jacket, and he says he's just arrived in England from America. You know I'm sure Look at the missing persons column in any newspaper and never see him at all, obviously nonsense. Besides, I don't know a single Mullerville, Dr. Lysander Starr? I A nonsense name, he can answer it without changing his face. I almost admire his ability to make up stories. What is this guy trying to do? It seems that he is really an American, but he has only been in the UK for many years. But why? Want to make up a weird thing like Garrideb? Let's pay attention to this. Yes, there is another Garrideb. I don't know if he is also a liar. Well, there is his phone number, give him a call first. You Come on, Watson."

Although I have cooperated with Holmes many times and experienced his extraordinary observation and wisdom many times, I still admire him again and again.

I opened the phone book again, found Garrideb, pressed the displayed number, and I dialed.

A thin and weak voice came from the other end of the phone, and slightly trembling, as if it was an elderly person.

"Yes, I am Garrideb. I would like to have a word with Mr. Holmes. You don't mind."

I handed Holmes the microphone.I can only hear Holmes' speech on the phone, intermittently, but the overall content can be roughly guessed.

"Yes, he came in the morning. You didn't know each other before? I understand... How long?...Two days? It's really short, it seems that you don't know him very well... Yes, I know about you, it's very strange, very Interesting... are you excited? Yes, if it's all like what he said, it's really exciting... interview? I thought so too, what about tonight, you're waiting for us at home... yes, the two of us, I And Watson...the one with your surname will not be here tonight?...Then six o'clock, you're welcome, goodbye...see you soon."

In the evening, the late spring sunset is shining gently, and the buildings on both sides of the street are painted a brilliant golden yellow by the sunset, as if covered with a light gauze, which is very warm and moving.East Avenue is actually not very big. It is a branch of another main road, Aiqi Street, and it is very close to the famous theater.The environment here is elegant, even secluded. After living in the noisy and complicated environment for a long time, when I first arrived here, I felt clear and clear.We will go to No. 136 Lingk Road, at the north end of this street, the house is an old building, in the early Georgian architectural style, with a brick-built flat front, windows protruding from the wall, and two huge palm trees facing each other The windows, the branches and leaves are very luxuriant in summer, I can imagine the shade and coolness of the house at that time, but it is too bleak.

A small bronze plaque that read "Garrideb" hung outside the gray brick wall.You can tell at a glance that the bronze medal has been hanging here for many years.

Holmes pointed to the bronze plate and said to me: "This plate is not newly nailed. It seems that he is not a fake Garrideb. He really has such a strange name."

The house was very tall with many rooms, and Garrideb was on the first floor.Entering the floor, the door of each room is marked with the name of the resident, and this house is not all privately-lived rooms. The signs in front of some rooms show offices and other places. It seems that people living in this building Most of the residents are bachelors with irregular lives.

When we rang the doorbell, it was Garrideb who opened the door for us. While leading us into the house, he explained that there was an hourly maid who would finish work at four o'clock.This gentleman with a strange surname is tall, but his back is a bit hunchbacked, his muscles are loose, he is very thin, and the top of his head is a little bald. He is probably in his 60s.The most striking thing is his pale complexion, there is almost no trace of blood. It can be seen that he usually does not exercise, and he may not go out for a long time. Only when he has not seen the sun for many years can he have such a pale face.He wore a pair of big, round old glasses, and had a few short beards. He gave people a strange impression, but not too much, and there was a kind of kindness on his honest face.

The room we entered was as strange as its owner, a small museum filled with all sorts of strange things.The room was deep and spacious, and could be filled with rows of cupboards and cupboards, in which specimens of anatomy and geology were kept.We saw butterflies and moths of various styles in the transparent boxes on both sides of the door, colorful, big and small.A long table was placed in the middle of the room, and in the center of the table was a large copper microscope, surrounded by a mess of odds and ends, semi-finished products, finished products, and raw materials.In short, everything around shows the old man's extensive interests and huge collection.The house is full of collectibles, a row of plaster skulls are placed on it, and the words "×××" and "×××" are written on it, all of which are the names of some ancient humans.This Gary Deb is obviously interested in a variety of disciplines, and has researched them all.

He picked up an ancient coin, carefully rubbed it with lambskin, and held it in front of us, "The ancient Syracuse coins in their heyday were greatly degraded in the later period. I think they are the best coins at that time. Of course, some people even Praise Alexander Money, but I don't think so."

After putting down the coins, the old man picked up a vase again.

"This is real ancient Chinese porcelain. It was made during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. It was very difficult to find vases at that time. Even in China, this item was wanted by many people."

Speaking of this, he seemed to think of something, and quickly put the vase on the cabinet.

"Look at me, but I forgot to let you sit. Come, take this chair, and there's another one behind these bones, please, please sit down. Mr. Holmes and—oh, Dr. Watson. Please don't be offended, These are my hobbies, and the doctor always advises me to go out for activities, but what's the point of going out? These things in the house have attracted me very much. I can't use them all my life just to study them."

"Then you never leave this room?" asked Holmes, looking around with interest.

"I really don't go out, save for the nearest store to pick up some necessities," Mr Garrideb said.

"I love collecting stuff and nothing else would pull me out. But it would be nice to have a gold ingot drop out of the sky and give me $500 million if I could just find another Garrideb, I can't even believe it, but Mr. Qiao's words are very convincing, I am so lucky, so lucky!"

"I used to have a brother, but he passed away a few years ago. The other relatives are all women, so they don't meet the qualifications. But there are so many people in the world, there must be someone named Garrideb. Mr. Holmes, I have heard that Said that you are good at solving strange cases and difficult problems, so I wrote you a letter asking for your help. But I forgot to discuss it with the American guy. After all, it is between us. It seems that he is not very happy, but I am for the faster achievement of our common goals."

Holmes said: "You should come to me, otherwise—" He paused for a moment, and then changed the subject.

"Do you want 500 million that much? Isn't your collection more important than money?"

"My collection must be more important. But if I have money, I can buy more collections. I still lack more than a dozen butterfly specimens. They can be bought in the market, but the price is too expensive. I never dared to collect them all before." They, but if I have 500 million, my specimens can be almost complete, so my place will become the museum with the most complete varieties in the whole of Britain, how exciting it will be!"

Mr. Garrideb's eyes shone brightly as he spoke.It seems that whether he can find this person with the same surname is a very important problem for him.

"I understand how you feel. Let me ask you a few simple questions about Mr. America."

"Just ask."

"You said you didn't know him long, did you?"

"Yes. He just came to me last Thursday and told me about the last name."

"What about meeting me? Did he tell you?"

"He told me. He came to me when he came back from you."

"What's the reaction?"

"He was very angry before he went, thinking that writing to you would hurt his character, but he was very happy when he came back."

"Has he ever told you how he's going to find another Garrideb? Any plans?"

"I haven't heard him say that."

"So, did he ever take money or anything of value from you?"

"there has never been."

"Do you think he has any other special purpose?"

"Special purpose? What purpose can there be? Apart from the matter of the surname, no other intentions have been found."

"Did you tell him we were meeting today?"

"He said, he knew we were going to meet today."

Holmes pondered for a while and asked, "You have so many collections, surely some of them are very valuable?"

"On the contrary. To me these collectibles are everything, but to others they might be worth nothing. They're not really worth much."

"Then you are not afraid of thieves?"

"Don't be afraid. It's useless for thieves to steal this."

"How long have you lived in this house?"

"Maybe five years."

Holmes was about to continue asking, but was interrupted by a quick and loud knock on the door.

Old Garrideb went to answer the door, and the young American rushed in excitedly.He held up a newspaper and shouted excitedly: "Yes, yes! Mr. Garrideb, we are really going to get rich. As soon as I see the newspaper, I will tell you right away, congratulations! Our business is a success, It worked! Besides, Holmes, we are very grateful for your help, and we need not trouble you now, we have found it!"

As he spoke, he handed the newspaper to the owner of the house.After receiving the newspaper, the master widened his eyes behind the round glasses as much as possible. Holmes and I also leaned over and read the newspaper at the same time.

A few lines of advertisements in bold and large letters were written in the newspaper:
Richard Garrideb - Farm Machinery Suppliers
The store operates various agricultural machinery and accessories, including strapping machines, harvesters, four-wheeled agricultural vehicles, hand plows, scarifiers, seeders, etc., and provides agricultural machinery manufacturing technology. Welcome to negotiate business.

Contact: Grosswinner, Aston
Mr. Garrideb said excitedly: "It's really no trouble at all, it's so easy to find!"

The young American said on the side: "In Birmingham, I arranged for an agent, and he was there to help me investigate, and he sent me this paper today. Look, another Garrideb, let's hurry up Do it, I have written to him and told him that you will talk to him about the situation at four o'clock tomorrow afternoon."

"Me? Then you sent me as far as Birmingham?"

"It must be you! I am an American traveling around. If I go to him and tell such a story that does not seem to be true, I am afraid he will find it hard to believe. But you are different. You have strong and good social relations. An Englishman, he may be more likely to trust you. I was going to go with you, but I happen to have a very important business to-morrow, and I have to do it myself. So I must excuse you, and I will wait for news from you."

Mr. Garrideb said still hesitantly: "But I haven't traveled far for many years, and I'm afraid—"

"It's nothing. Besides, it's not too far away. It will take a few hours. There will be a train to Birmingham at twelve o'clock tomorrow morning, and it will arrive at two o'clock in the afternoon, so you can return that evening. As long as you see this person , explain the situation to him, and then you all need to apply for a notarial certificate to prove that there is a person named Garrideb. Look, I came all the way from the United States to find you, but you only traveled so far. It’s too simple. Just one step, and we will be successful!"

Holmes spoke at this moment: "Yes, Joe Garrideb is right, you just go on this trip, and it won't take you too much time."

Garrideb shrugged helplessly and said, "Okay, since you all say that, then I'll go. I can't lose the money I got."

The Americans clapped their hands excitedly: "That's it!"

Holmes smiled strangely and said, "Then I will wait for your good news."

"I have to leave first. Tomorrow morning, I will take you to Birmingham. Mr. Holmes, we are not going the same way, so goodbye, good luck ahead!" The American went out while talking.

I found that Holmes was much more relaxed at this moment, and the previous puzzlement on his face was gone.

He said: "Mr. Garrideb, if you don't mind, may I have a look at your collection? I like to learn all kinds of knowledge. Coming to you is really an eye-opener for me."

Garrideb was delighted to hear this, and he took off his large spectacles and put them on again, rubbing his hands.

(End of this chapter)