Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 25 Adventure History (3)
"Based on the exorbitant price: eight shillings a bed, eight pence a glass of wine, it shows how high-class the hotel is. There are few hotels in London that charge such an expensive price. In Northumberland Street, the second one I visited The registers of a hotel clearly show that an American named Francis Hay Moulton had left the day before. On examining his accounts, I found exactly those accounts which I had seen on the duplicated receipt. The Mr. America left a message saying that his letters could be forwarded to 226 Gordon Square. I rushed there, and luckily the lovers were at home. I made some suggestions to them as an elder. I said, anyway, they are the best To explain everything to the public, and especially to Lord Saint-Simon. I invited them to come and meet him, and as you have seen, they did come as promised."

"However, the ending does not seem to be happy," I said. "My lord's behavior is obviously not smart."

"Oh, sir," said Holmes with a smile, "if after a series of troubles such as proposals and marriages, you find that your wife and wealth have disappeared in an instant, I'm afraid you won't be able to relax. I think we should Lord St. Simeon, be a little more forgiving, and thank God that we should not suffer the same misfortune some day. Move the chair over, and pass me the violin. We must now consider how we shall pass this dreary autumn night." Threatening the King photo
Sherlock Holmes has always referred to her as "the woman," and I have never heard him refer to her by anything else.In Holmes' opinion, she is more outstanding than any other woman, because she has both talents and looks.However, this does not mean that Holmes fell in love with Irene Adler.Because Holmes is an extremely rational, prudent, calm and calm person, all emotions, especially love, are extremely incompatible with him.He seems to me like a perfect machine specially designed to observe and reason about the real world.And once he becomes an affectionate person, he will be completely at a loss.He has never said anything affectionate in his life, and the most frequent tone is ridicule and sarcasm.Most observers, however, appreciate that kind of tender love, because it reveals a person's actions and motives more closely to the truth.But it has to be admitted that this kind of emotion does distract a seasoned theorist, interfere with his rigorous and careful thinking, and make people's intellectual achievements doubtful.If strong personal emotions are added to a person's brain, it may cause more serious consequences than sand mixed in a precision instrument, or a crack in a high-powered microscope lens.However, a woman, the dead woman Irene Adler, did remain in Holmes' memory for a long time.

I have seen Holmes very seldom in these days, especially since my marriage, and the number of times I have seen him has been pitifully seldom.Because of that wonderful new life and the joys of being the head of a family that fascinated me.The unrestrained Sherlock Holmes is not used to this traditional routine, so he still lives in the former house, and still spends all day in those old books on Baker Street.He was always on cocaine for a week, and then he worked like crazy for a week, and that was his life, a life of drug-induced lethargy alternating with hyper-working states of the same origin.He is still the same as before, still keen on the study of criminal behavior, still willing to use his extraordinary intelligence and insight to find clues, solve cases, and then help the police solve those mysteries that are considered unsolvable.From time to time, I also heard about him, for example, he was invited to Odessa and solved the assassination of Rebeuf, and there was also Tincomali's Edkinson tragedy and his excellent work. The mission commissioned by the Royal Netherlands and so on.Apart from the fact that I, like the rest of the reader, had seen these events reported in the papers, I knew next to nothing about him.

On the night of March 1888th, 3, I happened to pass Baker Street on my way back from a medical visit (by which time I had begun to return to my old profession).When I saw the very familiar door again, the past scenes immediately came to mind.Over the years, deep in my heart, it has always been difficult to completely separate my personal pursuit from the mysterious incident that I once felt in the case of "Tracking in Scarlet".The moment the car passed through the gate, an eager desire to reminisce with Holmes couldn't go away. What problem was he studying recently?The light came out from his room, and I looked up for a while, and saw his silhouette walking back and forth twice, with his head down, his hands behind his back, his tall, thin body pacing back and forth in the room.This is a scene I am very familiar with, and these actions tell me that he is working.I'm pretty sure he's just woken up from sleep, thinking about the question that just occurred to him, searching for new clues.I rang the doorbell a few times and was ushered into a room that once belonged to me in part.

Holmes seemed less than enthusiastic about my arrival, which had rarely happened before.Of course, I can still feel his surprise when he saw me suddenly. Although he didn't say anything, there was an undisguised kindness in his eyes.He pointed to the armchair for me to sit down, then threw me a box of cigars, and pointed to the alcohol bottle and the small gas stove in the corner.He stood before the fire and looked at me with his peculiar expression.

He said: "Watson, you are indeed very suitable for marriage. I think you have gained at least seven and a half pounds since the last parting."

"Seven pounds," I said to him.

"No, I think it is more than seven pounds, Watson. It should be more than seven pounds. If I am not mistaken, you have resumed your practice of medicine, have you? You never said you would continue to practice medicine before."

"how do you know?"

"I saw it myself, and I inferred it at the same time. Otherwise, how would I know that you have been getting wet in the rain recently, and you have hired a maid, and that maid is also clumsy."

"Oh, my dear Holmes, you are marvelous! If you had been born centuries ago, you would have been burned alive at the stake. It is true. I went to the country once on Thursday, walked, and returned Drenched in the rain! But now that I've changed my clothes, it's hard to imagine how you'd tell. Speaking of that maid, Mary Jane, she's hopeless, my wife fired her , How on earth did you infer it?"

He laughed very smugly, rubbing his long thin fingers as he laughed.

"It's easy," he said. "I just saw six nearly parallel cracks on the inside of your left shoe. These cracks indicate that someone tried to remove the mud on the heel, but fumbled down the heel. On the same basis, I deduce that you have been out in the rain, and that the inexperienced maid in London caused the unsightly cracks in your shoes. As for knowing that you have been a doctor again, it is because, if a A gentleman with the smell of iodine on his body and a spot of silver nitrate on his right index finger came into my room. His top hat seemed to hide a stethoscope, and his right side was bulging. If you say that such a person is not a doctor, he will What do you do?"

In this way, he deduced it without any effort, and I couldn't help laughing out loud, saying: "Hearing you say that, everything seems to be so simple, and it's ridiculously simple, as if I have the ability to deduce it. Before you explain your reasoning, I don't know your next step of reasoning, but I still think my eyesight is no worse than yours."

He lit a cigarette, half-lyed in the armchair lazily, and said: "It is true, but you are just watching, and I am observing. There is a clear difference between the two. For example, you often walk The stairs from the hall below to this room?"

"Go often."

"About how many times?"

"There should be hundreds of times."

"So, how many steps does this staircase have?"

"How many levels? I really don't know."

"Isn't that right? You only look but don't observe. I, because I have observed, know that there are seventeen steps in the stairs. Since you are still interested in details and often record my experience, then I miss you Might be interested in this too.” He handed me a thick pink post-it note that had been sitting on the desk. “The postman delivered it recently,” he told me. “You read aloud read it."

The note has no date, no signature and no address.

It says:

Someone is coming tonight at [-]:[-] to discuss something important with you.You have recently served a European royal family with distinction, and your success has proved that you are up to great things.This evaluation has been broadcast to all directions, and we know it very well.Please don't go out.Please don't take offense if the visitor wears a mask.

"It's mysterious," I said. "What do you think of it?"

"I don't have a clue at the moment. You know, it's a big taboo to speculate without finding enough factual basis. We should not make the facts subordinate to the theory far-fetchedly, but let the theory adapt to the facts. At present, all I have is It's this note, can you deduce anything?"

I carefully observed the note and the handwriting on it.

"The man who wrote this note may be very rich," I said, trying to imitate Holmes's reasoning habits. "The paper is of such excellent quality that half a crown can't buy a stack of it."

"Special—that's the word," said Holmes. "It's not made in England at all. Look into the light."

I picked up the paper and took a photo from a high place.It was found that a large "E" and a small "g", a "P" and a "G", and a small "t" were intertwined in the texture of the paper.

"Do you know what that means?" asked Holmes.

"Of course, it is the maker's name, or more precisely, the letters of his name."

"No, the 'G' and the small 't' stand for 'Gesellschoft' which means 'company' in German. As we often use the abbreviation 'CO'. The letter 'P' stands for 'Papier' and also It means 'paper'. This 'Eg', we must look up the "Mainland Geographical Names Dictionary." He took a thick brown leather dictionary from the bookshelf while talking. Eghw, Eglonits - here, Egria.It means Bohemia in German, a country not far from Carlsbad known for its glass crafts and paper mills.Haha, Watson, do you know what it means? "He was a little proud, his eyes were shining, and he spit out a circle of smoke from his mouth.

"This paper is made in Bohemia."

"Exactly, this note is from a German. Did you notice that, 'This review has been broadcast so far, I'll know', the sentence structure is very special. The French and Russians would never write that, only the Germans People mess up verbs. So now my important task is to figure out what the German who writes on bohemian paper and wears a mask to hide his identity is. Listen, if I hear you right, He's here, and we're about to solve the mystery."

As he was speaking, there came from outside the crisp clatter of horses' hoofs and wheels on the curb stones, and then we heard the bell ring and Holmes whistled happily.

"It sounds like there were two horses," he said, "and yes, there must have been two." He looked outside, and then said, "A fine little carriage and a pair of handsome horses, worth 150 ki Nee, Watson, if nothing else, the case will be very profitable."

"I think I must go, Holmes."

"What do you say? Please sit here, Watson. It would be very bad if I did not have such a good assistant as you. This case looks very interesting, and it would be a pity if the opportunity should be missed."

"But your client..."

"Don't mind him. I may need your help, and I think he does too. Well, here he is, Watson, will you just sit in your chair and watch us well?"

At this time, there was a heavy and slow sound of footsteps, passed the stairs, passed the tunnel, and finally came to our door, and then there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" said Holmes.

Then came in a man about six feet six inches tall, with a broad chest and strong-looking limbs.He was richly dressed, but slightly vulgar for this part of England.He wore a double-breasted jacket with wide lambskin trims on the sleeves and front slits, a dark blue cloak over the shoulders, lined with scarlet silk, and a flame-green inlaid collar pinned to the neck. On his feet, he wore a pair of calf-length leather boots, and the boots were inlaid with dark brown fur.This gorgeous dress left a deep impression on us.He also held a large-brimmed hat in his hand, and he wore a black mask over his face, covering his cheekbones.Apparently he had just adjusted the mask before entering the room, because his hand was still around it when he entered the room.From the lower part of the face exposed outside the mask, it can be seen that this person has thick and drooping lips and a long and straight chin. He should be a stubborn and strong person.

"Did you see the note I wrote you?" he asked, his voice low and husky with a thick German accent. "I'm coming to visit you, that's clearly stated in the note." He looked at the two of us as if he didn't know who to talk to.

"Sit down, please," said Holmes. "He is my colleague and friend—Mr. Watson, who used to help me solve cases. I would like to ask, what should I call you?"

"Just call me Count von Kramm, I am a Bohemian nobleman. Your friend should also be a rigorous and respectable person? Can I also entrust him with extremely important matters? Otherwise, I I just want to talk to you alone."

Hearing this, I stood up and wanted to go. Holmes grabbed me, pushed me back into the chair and said to the man: "If you want to talk, talk to us, otherwise don't talk. In front of my friends, you can talk freely. "

Count von Kramm shrugged his broad shoulders and said: "In this case, you two must first promise that you must keep it secret. It will only take two years, and it will not matter in the future. Because its current importance can even affect the whole of Europe." History development."

"I will keep it absolutely confidential," Holmes promised him.

"Me too," I said.

"I suppose you don't care about the mask," said the count. "The person who sent me did not want you to know who I am, so I must explain that the name I have just told you is false."

"Of course I know that," said Holmes coldly.

"The situation is very urgent. In order to prevent the matter from developing into a scandal and hurting a royal family in Europe, we have to do everything possible. Let me tell you directly that this matter will affect the Omstein family - the hereditary king of Bohemia .”

"I know that too," said Holmes, sitting down in the armchair and closing his eyes.

In the minds of the visiting guests, Holmes should have been the most thorough analysis of the entire European problem, the most rigorous thinking, and the most energetic detective.At this moment, however, his listless indolence really surprised the visitor.Holmes slowly opened his eyes and looked at the Night Visitor in a nonchalant way.

He suddenly said: "If Your Majesty is willing to condescend to tell you the whole case, I will serve you better." After hearing this, the visitor immediately stood up from his chair, and he walked around the room, unable to control his emotions. In the end, he tore off the mask on his face in despair and threw it on the ground.

He roared: "You guessed it right, I am the king, there is no need to hide it anymore."

"Oh, really?" asked Holmes. "Before you even opened your mouth, I knew that His Majesty was the Grand Duke of Castle-Vilstein, the Hereditary King of Bohemia, William Godreich Sigi. Smond von Ormstein."

"But you must understand me," the queer earl sat down, touched his high, white forehead, and continued, "you must understand that I am not good at doing this kind of thing myself. But it is too important Well, if I tell it to a detective, I'm afraid I'll be in his hands from now on. I've come here from Prague, expecting a lot from you."

"Then go ahead," said Holmes, closing his eyes again.

"The thing is this: I met by chance five years ago during my long-term visit to Warsaw a very famous female adventurer, Irene Adler, a name you should be familiar with."

"Watson, help me find Irene Adler in the data," Holmes said with his eyes still closed.Over the years, he has been using this method, that is, to label the material of many people and things for review.Therefore, it is not easy to find a person or thing for which he cannot provide material.After a while, I found the filing materials about that woman.It was sandwiched between two documents about a rabbi and a staff officer who had written some papers on deep-sea fish. "Show me," said Holmes. "Hmm! Born in New Jersey in 1858. Alto, Italian Opera House—Hmmm! Primamass of the Imperial Opera House in Warsaw—retired from opera—yes! She lives in London—good! I understand that you are connected with this lady, and you are now anxious to get back the letter you wrote to her which would have affected you."

"Yes, very correct."

"Were you secretly married to her?"

"No."

"Is there any legal document or proof?"

"nor."

"I don't understand that, Sire. If she wants to use those letters to blackmail you, or for some other purpose, how can she prove that they are not fake?"

"I wrote the words on the letter."

"Bah! Fake."

"It's my personal letterhead."

"Stolen it."

"It has my seal."

"It could be a forgery, too."

"And my picture."

"Bought it."

"But we're both in the picture."

"Ah? This is not easy, Your Majesty, your life seems to be somewhat disorderly."

(End of this chapter)