Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 174: Investigating Strange Cases (16)
I shouted: "It's time to destroy this evil guy!" The three of us pushed a big stone into the water hard. The bodily fluid slowly overflowed, staining a large area of ​​water.

"What is this thing? Why haven't I seen it? There is no such animal in the local area." The police officer is a local, and he is very curious about this thing.

I said: "It's definitely not a local product, maybe it was blown by the sea breeze, and it came to this lagoon with the sea water. Let's go to my house for coffee, and I will tell you a personal experience, that is, the unforgettable experience. The painful experience inspired me."

When we went back to the study, Murdoch was much better, but still in pain, so still unable to speak.Enduring the pain, he introduced the situation.In fact, he didn't know what happened, he just felt pain all over his body, and then he desperately went back to the shore.

"I have a book called "Outdoors" by the naturalist JG Wood. In the book it says that he encountered this animal at sea and almost died. He later recorded his experience in detail and explained why. This Animals are extremely poisonous. Once it stings, the poison quickly spreads throughout the body——

"The cyan jellyfish, a fluffy, tangled, round, brown hideous stinger. He later related his agony after being stung by one of these creatures on the Kent seashore. The animal's fibers stretched very long , People can't prevent it. And once touched, even at a distance, they can die.

"Its fibers are entangled on the body. The human body is like a whipping mark, which is left by each fiber. The network point is formed by the interlacing of fibers. The fibers pierce the subcutaneous nerve, and a bleeding point will be formed.

"Not only the stabbed part hurts, but the whole body hurts. Especially the chest, the heart beats faster and slower at times, and loses its routine.

"Although he was only exposed to these poisonous fibers at a distance, he suffered a lot. After the poisoning, he was pale, breathing hard, and his chest seemed to burst. He used a whole bottle of brandy, and finally saved his life. All The state of pain is the same as that of McPherson. Mr. Inspector, that is the cause of death of the deceased."

Murdoch said: "This also proves my innocence, Mr. Police Officer and Mr. Holmes, I still don't blame you. You are serious and responsible for your work. If I didn't encounter this bad luck, maybe I wouldn't be able to wash away my suspicions." .”

"You are wrong. I found out the answer yesterday. If Mr. Inspector hadn't come to see me this morning, I would have gone to the lagoon."

"How do you know about this strange animal?"

"Because of my profession, I like to read some anecdotes, and my mind is full of uncommon and messy knowledge. The 'lion's mane' that McPherson called has been lingering in my mind, and I seem to have seen it somewhere. Maybe McPherson saw Monster, so 'lion's mane' to remind us not to go there."

Murdoch said: "I am going, but before I go, I would like to say a few words about the relationship between me, McPherson and Miss Maud. I liked Maud before, she is very lovable .When I knew she loved McPherson, I withdrew voluntarily. I only hoped that Maud and McPherson would be happy. As long as she is happy, I will be happy. I sent love letters for them, and you once asked her. Out Afterwards, I first notified Maude, I was afraid that you would use a rough way that she couldn't stand. She didn't tell you these things to protect me. After I finished speaking, I have to go back to school for a break. "

Strayhurst took the initiative and said, "Wait a minute, let's go back together. Forget about the bad times, I think we can be good friends!" The two of them walked away amicably.

The police officer still doesn't seem to understand what happened.He stared and said, "You are amazing! Seeing is worse than hearing, you really deserve your reputation!"

I don't like to hear such compliments.

"The towel was dry, and I mistakenly thought that McPherson hadn't been in the water. If I'd thought he'd been in the water, the case would have been easier. Anyway, I made a mistake, I used to make fun of you guys, The butt of my laughing stock is now in your hands too." Tenant's True Face

I have a lot of information, all of which are cases that Holmes has handled over the years.Therefore, it is very easy for me to introduce the cases he has handled to my friends.A random volume from the chronological rows will be of particular interest to the reader, and it will also be of interest to anyone who intends to study the political and social scandals of the period.Those are the things that dread most of all those who write to us to keep this or that secret for him.Please rest assured that Mr. Holmes not only has superb ability to handle cases, but also has a rigorous and responsible spirit and noble moral character.I don't talk nonsense either.But some people are afraid of showing their ugliness, and even want to destroy the record, which is really annoying.Sherlock Holmes and I solemnly warn those people that if the same thing happens again, we will not tolerate it, so don't blame us for speaking your ugly face; I hope you think twice before acting, or you will bear the consequences; Nor can it destroy our memory.

Sherlock Holmes is not a god, and there are many problems that cannot be solved by keen observation and superhuman deduction.He also relied on objective facts.Holmes sometimes obtained them when he searched for them, and sometimes failed after all his troubles.There are some fantastic cases where the truth suddenly comes to light after years of being unsolved, without our great detective needing a lot of thought.This is the case below.

One morning I received a note from Holmes asking me to come over.I saw him sitting in a smoky room, and he must have smoked a lot, because he always shut himself off with smoke when there was a problem.There was another woman nearby, older and richer-looking, who must have come to provide questions.

Holmes said to me: "Let me introduce you. This is Mrs. McLella. She lives in South Bricotston. She has a strange story. Listen, maybe I need your help." Well, besides, you can smoke your cigarettes boldly, Mrs. McLilla doesn't mind."

"Then please speak."

"Mrs. Merrill, I'll be seeing Mrs. Rundle shortly. Will you please tell her I'm taking someone with you?"

The wife said, "Anything is fine. I think she'd like to take anyone with you, and she wants to see you as soon as possible."

"Then this afternoon. Mrs. Merrill, please tell us more about the situation. Watson doesn't understand the situation yet. Let me check my memory by the way. You said that Mrs. Rundle often wears a veil. You haven't seen her for many years." The real face, I just saw it accidentally once."

Mrs. McLeary said, "I wish I hadn't seen one."

"Is her face particularly frightening?"

"It can scare people to death. Mr. Holmes, I don't know what disaster happened to her. The milkman accidentally saw her face and threw the milk bucket to scare her away. He thought he had encountered a devil in broad daylight. I also saw it by accident that time." Her face, almost fainted. After putting on the veil, she said to me: 'I'm sorry, Mrs. McLeary. Now you know why I always wear a veil.'”

"Why is she like this?"

"I don't know either. Although she has lived in my house for several years, we don't see each other very often."

"Didn't she show you any proof when you first came here?"

"No. Holmes, please forgive me. I understand that it is the rule. But she is rich, and pays a quarter's rent in advance without saying anything. It is rare to find such a generous tenant. I live on rent. Therefore, unwilling to reject such a wealthy client, she stayed. As far as I know, since she moved here, there has been no deviant behavior."

"She was so willing to bid that it was easy to rent a house. But why did you choose?"

"My house is very secluded, far away from the busy city. It's just me, the house is very quiet, and I only accept one tenant. She likes to be alone, so she pays a lot of money to rent."

"This woman is so strange, no wonder you want to find me. I must find out."

"I don't really care about that. As long as she pays on time, I don't want to know her secret."

"But why did you come to me?"

"She couldn't go on, she was going to have a nervous breakdown, and her secrets were overwhelming her. In the middle of the night, she kept shouting: 'Help, help!' 'You're a devil!' Every time I heard this She was very scared. She may have dreamed about the tragic experience that hurt her face but she couldn’t get rid of it. I asked her to go to the pastor or the police for help. She shook her head and said, “Going to the pastor can’t save my face, and I don’t want the police to save my face.” I know about it. I don’t know who to talk to.’ I suggested to her: ‘You can find the famous Sherlock Holmes detective. He is very kind and willing to help the victims. If you must tell the secret in your heart, you can find him. "She listened to my words as if she had found a savior, and forced me to come to you. She didn't know you before. She asked me to tell you that she was the wife of the circus Rondel, and gave me Abbas. Barwa, this strange place name. She said that after hearing this, you will definitely go to see her. So I came to you, what do you mean?"

Holmes said: "I will definitely go. The facts she has to tell are very important. Mrs. Merrill, please go back first. I will discuss it with Watson. We will go at three o'clock in the afternoon."

With our answer, the landlady left very satisfied.My friend has been rummaging through the many case records on the bookshelf.The case he wanted to investigate seemed to be very old, and he had been looking for it for a long time.He kept nodding his head and turned the pages with his hands, as if he had found it.He was sitting on the floor with books in his lap, surrounded by books, and he was so happy.

"Do you remember, Watson, the tragedy of Abbas Barwa? I suspected the case then, but there was nothing I could do about it. There was nothing I could do about it, but now the truth is about to be revealed."

"Can not remember."

"We went together at that time. The case was not resolved in the end, and there was no direct investigation into the case, so the impression was not very deep."

"Please help me remember."

"Okay. Rondel is quite famous. He ran a large-scale circus, and with his own strength, he defeated two very strong competitors - Wormwell and Sanger, who were very famous at the time. The circus. But when he died he was a drunkard, and the circus was getting worse every day. They were going to Wimbledon on the day they slept in Abbas Barwa, a small Berkshire village. So they did not perform in this small village.

"There is an African lion Sahara King in the circus. It is majestic and majestic, and its performances are shocking. The man and lion together in the cage is a specialty of the Randalls. People who have seen their performances are amazed at their courage and courage. This is their In a photo of the performance, Rondel is clumsy and dull, almost like a wooden barrel, but his wife is charming. The police said that a lion is a beast, and there are signs before it shows its fierceness, but the couple are too confident, and Forget that lions are not always tame. I think this is just unfounded speculation, no one has seen what happened. One of the parties is dead, and the other is frightened and mutilated. Can't testify.

"Both of them always feed the lions at night, and that task is never delegated to anyone else. They think it's a closer relationship with the lions, it's good for the show, and it's good for their safety. Sometimes alone, sometimes together Go. Something happened the day they went together. No one knows what changed there, so it's left to guesswork. I don't think any of these explanations make sense, but I can't find a more plausible one.

"In the middle of the night, the lion's roar and the woman's screams woke up everyone in the circus. Everyone knew that something unfortunate had happened. When people ran out of their tents and took torches to the place where the accident happened, everyone was stunned. Rondel's back of the head was pawed by the lion, and he sank. The paw prints can still be seen, and he fell down. He was more than ten meters away from the cage. It was obvious that he had escaped, but he was still caught up by the lion. His wife was lying on her back outside the gate of the lion cage, and the lion was riding on her. Her face was beyond recognition and was torn out of recognition by the lion. Both Griggs the Clown and Leonardo the Hercules drove the lion away together. How it got out, I can't explain now. People think that maybe when they were about to open the door to go in, the lion rushed out and threw them down. But my suspicion is: when Mrs. Rundle was carried back to the tent, she Shouted in a coma: "Coward, you are a coward!" I don't know who was scolding. She was so frightened that she returned to normal after half a year. But it was all too late, and the body was checked and no abnormalities were found, so it was treated as accidental death That's it. That's the end of the matter."

"Is there any doubt?"

"There are indeed doubts. Edmund was a young officer of the Berkshire Police. He was very clever and asked a few questions. We are friends, which is why I have intervened in the case. We think the same."

"Is he tall and thin?"

"Yes. Looks like you've remembered something."

"Where did he think he had to consider?"

"Although we don't know the details, we can also deduce it according to common sense. If the lion came out of the cage to escape, and saw Rondel, it would pounce on him. Rondel turned his head and ran away, and the lion slapped him on the back of the head. But the lion Why didn't the lion run away as soon as possible, but came back to attack Mrs. Rundle? The lion could have eaten Rundle, and it seemed that he didn't want to eat people. Why did the lion jump on her to tear her face? After being carried back, she kept She yelled and complained that her husband didn't protect her. But when she saw the lion, she killed her husband first, so what's the use of yelling?"

"you are right."

"A man's voice was also heard that day among the lion's roar and the women's screams."

"Is it Rondel?"

"Perhaps. But if Rondel had been slapped to death as soon as the lion came out of the cage, it should not be possible to have his cry. But someone did hear the man's voice."

"Maybe it was the shouting later. Because something happened, everyone in the camp was shouting loudly, and they couldn't tell where the voice came from. I have some ideas about the others."

"Tell me about it."

"They approached the cage together, and the lion came out and jumped on them. The woman tried to get into the cage, which was the safest way. But when she reached the door, the lion knocked her down. Her husband turned and ran but was chased by the lion and killed him. Kill it. She blames her husband for being timid in critical moments. If they work together, they may be able to subdue the lion."

"A very good idea, Watson! But I would like to ask a question."

"Go ahead."

"How did the lion get out if neither of them got to the cage?"

"It was planned."

"The lion and the couple have had a certain relationship for a long time. But why are they desperate to kill them this time?"

"Someone once provoked the lion so that he could not distinguish between friend and foe."

Holmes thought for a while, probably thinking that what I said was quite reasonable.

"Watson, your explanation is correct. Randall has a violent personality, especially when he loses his temper after drinking, and often punches and kicks circus performers. This kind of person must have angered many people, probably these People look for opportunities to get revenge. Mrs. Rundle called the devil at night. It may be Rundle. He is not good to his wife. Well, let's not waste time guessing. There is some good food in the kitchen. Let's eat before we work."

In a short time we arrived in the carriage at the door of Mrs. Merrill's house, which was indeed very quiet.She is waiting for us at the door.As she went upstairs, she told us that we must never ask her words that are too irritating, and be careful to annoy her.Mrs. McLille obviously didn't want to lose such a tenant.Up the carpeted stairs we went to Mrs. Rundle's room.

This room is dark, damp, and poorly ventilated. It resembles the temperament of the hostess. I don’t know how I feel when I often live in this kind of room?It's unfortunate that the woman came here to taste solitude after suffering like that.She was sitting on the sofa. Although the light was very dark and she couldn't see clearly, she could still see that she was much fatter than in the photo, and the charming demeanor of that year was still there. She must have been very fascinating when she was young.Most of her face was covered by a thick veil, only her small mouth and slightly raised chin were exposed.Her voice is also very attractive.

She said: "Mr. Holmes, I think you know what happened to me. Thank you very much for coming."

"I will definitely come. We have never met, and I have never handled this case. How do you know that I know this case?"

"I got it from the Edmund policeman. He said you were a good detective and interested in the case. I didn't tell him anything, and that was probably my fault."

"It's not true. It is wise to tell the truth, but you may have a reason for lying."

"You are quite right. Because it is a matter of a person's life. I loved him so much, and he loved me. But now he is worthless. Since then, I have hated him. Even so, I still dare not speak about it. How conflicted I am, having been silent for so many years."

"Do you dare to tell the truth now?"

"I have no worries now, so it's not a question of daring or not. He is dead, and I don't want to make this matter forever unclear because of my death, so I will tell you the secret."

"You should have explained the situation to the police, not me."

"As soon as it is announced to the authorities, I will become the focus of everyone's discussion. I can't bear this kind of blow. What will people say about me? I don't live long, and I want to leave this world quietly. I don't tell the police, nor is it to escape Legal sanctions. I came to you today because I heard that you are very strict and responsible, and I hope you can keep it secret for me after you understand the truth."

"Thank you for your trust. If you have not violated the law, I will never say; but if you have violated the law, then I am not sure whether I will go to the police to report it."

"I have read a lot about you from newspapers over the years and know your character. The only thing I can do and the only way to understand the world is to read. No matter what you think of me after hearing my tragic life experience I must say it all. It may ease my conscience. But, Mr. Holmes, I know you are very sympathetic."

"Madam, please feel free to speak! We will listen carefully."

The woman took a photograph from a drawer.The man in the photo is very strong, with well-developed muscles in his arms and chest.With his stomach straight, his arms crossed in front of his chest, he smiled very contentedly.This man is very attractive to the opposite sex. "He's Leonardo."

"Is that the Hercules?"

"Yes, look at this photo of my husband again."

(End of this chapter)