Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 45 Adventure History (23)
"Does it look energized or listless?"

"Well, it's very lively, and its coat color is very smooth."

"Thank you, sorry to bother you, you continue."

"So we were on our way, and we drove for an hour or so. Colonel Lysander Stark said it was only seven miles, but I think it was at least nearly twelve miles. He sat silently with me. Next to me, I looked over several times, and found that he was also staring at me nervously. The road was very difficult, and we swayed back and forth with the bumps of the car. I looked out the window, wondering where we were. But The windows were made of frosted glass, and nothing could be seen except a few dim lights now and then. I tried to strike up conversations now and then, trying to break the dullness of the journey, but the Colonel only put me off with a few words, so that the topic never came up. Going down. The carriage stopped at last on a gravel road, and the colonel got out, and I followed him. Suddenly he pulled me into a door that was open in front of the carriage, and before he had time to see the house, I've been taken to a hall. I can still hear the creak of the carriage as it leaves.

"It was pitch dark in the house, and the Colonel muttered softly as he fumbled for matches. Suddenly, a door at the end of the corridor opened, and a bright light shone in our direction. The light grew brighter, and then a man with a The person with the lamp appeared in front of us. She leaned forward and looked at us. I also saw clearly that she was a very beautiful woman. Judging from the luster reflected on her black dress, the material should be very luxurious. She said a few words She seemed to be asking a question in a foreign language, but my companion answered her roughly. This surprised her, and nearly dropped the lamp in her hand. Then Colonel Stark whispered to her, and then said: Pushing her into the room, he came to me with a lamp in his hand.

"'You will wait here in this room,' he said, and opened another room, a simple and secluded one. In the center was a round table with some German books on it. He put The lamp was on top of a harmonium by the door. 'I won't keep you waiting,' and disappeared into the night.

"Though I don't know German, I can recognize two of them as scientific treatises and the rest as collections of poetry. I went to the window to see the country, but one of the oak shutters was closed, The windows were blocked. The house was fairly quiet, and there seemed to be an old clock ticking outside the corridor. Other than that, everything was dead. I was getting overwhelmed by an uneasy feeling: what are these Germans doing? Why do they live in this remote mountain village? Where is this place? I can't even tell the east, west, north, south, only know that it is about ten miles away from Ayzin.

"But I reckon Reading or some other big town is within that radius, so maybe it's not out of the way. But if it's so quiet, it must be in the country. I walk up and down the house, singing softly. I emboldened myself with a ditty, and I thought I was completely overwhelmed by the fifty-guinea reward.

"In the silence, the door of the room opened suddenly, and I heard no sound before. The woman squeezed through the crack of the door, and behind her was the dark hall. The dim light from the lamp in the room shone on her. On her pretty face, I could see her panic at a glance, and I was even more nervous. She tremblingly raised her finger to signal me to keep quiet, and quickly spoke a few broken English words to me, her eyes like a frightened horse pony, looking behind into the shadows as he spoke.

"She said: 'If I were you and ran away, I would never stay here, it wouldn't do you any good to stay.'

"'But, ma'am,' said I, 'I haven't worked yet. I'll go when I see the machine.'

"'Don't wait any longer,' she said, 'you can go out through this door, and no one will stop you.' She saw me smiling and waving her hands, then suddenly regained her composure, took a step forward, clasped her hands and said softly, 'Look at me For God's sake, run away before there's time.'

"'But I am stubborn by nature, and when I encounter obstacles, I will become more persistent. The rich reward, the exhausting travel, and the unpleasant night before me... Do you want to let everything go to waste? Why should I give up the reward, no Run away for work? I think she may have some kind of prejudice. Although her expression shocked me greatly, I was still firm and shook my head to indicate that I wanted to stay. She wanted to persuade me again, but uploaded There was a loud closing sound of the door and footsteps on the stairs. After hearing this, she raised her hands in a gesture of despair, and then disappeared as silently as when she came.

"Colonel Lysander Stark came in with a dumpy man. The colonel introduced me to Mr. Forcarson.

"'He is my secretary-manager,' said the colonel, 'and I remember the door is closed. I fear the draft will spoil you.'

"I said, 'On the contrary, I thought the room was stuffy, so I opened the door.'

"He gave me a suspicious look and said: 'Let's get to work, first we'll show you the machinery up there.'

"'I think I should wear a hat.'

"'No, it's in this house.'

"'Huh? Are you digging in the house?'

"'No, it's just pressed bricks here. It doesn't matter, we just need you to check the machine and point out the faults.'

"We went upstairs, the colonel went ahead with the lamp, and the fat manager and I followed. The house was like a maze, with many corridors, passages, narrow spiral staircases, and low doors. Trampled by generations, the threshold of the house is dented, the ground floor is not carpeted, nor is there any porcelain utensils, the white ash on the wall falls from time to time, and the dirty stains are still steaming. Although I He didn't accept the lady's warning, but still deliberately pretended to be indifferent, and deliberately observed the two people. Fukasen said very little, but from his few words, I concluded that he might be a fellow countryman.

"Colonel Lysander Stark opened the last low door, and inside was a small square room, too small for even three persons. So the colonel took me in, and Forkason stayed outside.

"He said: 'This is actually a hydraulic machine room, and it's not a joke if you start it. The ceiling of this room is also actually the bottom of the descending piston, and it's going to have tons of pressure when it hits this metal floor. There are some parallel water columns outside. After the water is pressurized, it will transmit and increase the pressure, so that the machine can run normally. But now the machine is running fine, but the rotation is not very flexible, so the pressure is not enough. Please check , and tell us how we can fix it.'

"I took his light and looked at the machine carefully. It was quite large and produced a lot of pressure. When I pushed the lever down, I heard a swishing sound and realized that there might be a crack in the machine, which would Caused water to flow back from the piston on one side. Next thing I found out was that one of the rubber gaskets on the drive rod head had shrunk so it couldn't plug the rod sleeve that lived in it and moved back and forth. That was the cause of the lack of pressure, I pointed them out These. They listened carefully and asked some key questions about how to fix the machine. After explaining to them clearly, we returned to the main room of the machine. Out of curiosity, I couldn't help but look at the machine carefully, and I knew at a glance that the bleach The story of the soil is an absolute lie. Because mining fuller's earth does not require such a powerful machine, otherwise it is ridiculous. The floor of the house is made of a large iron trough, the walls are all wooden, and the floor is covered with a layer of metal. Crumbs. I bent down to see what was going on, when suddenly there was a low German exclamation, and the colonel looked at me with a very ugly face.

"He asked: 'What are you doing?'

"I was duped and very angry. 'I'm admiring your fuller's earth,' I said, 'and if I knew what your machine is really for, I might be able to give you better advice.'

"As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I immediately regretted them. His face was even worse, and there was an evil light in his eyes.'

"He said: 'Very well, you'll know everything!' He stepped back and went out, slamming the door and turning the key in the lock. Can't open it either.

"'Hey!' I yelled, 'Colonel, let me out!'

"I heard a sound in the silence that made my heart pop. It was the rattle of levers and the swish of a leaking pipe, and he turned the machine on! By the lamp on the floor I , I saw the dark roof slowly pressing towards me. I knew it was powerful enough to crush me into a meat paste in a short time. I screamed, slammed on the door, picked the lock with my hands, and begged the colonel Let me go, but the sound of the machine swallows everything.

"My head was only a foot or two away from the roof, and I could touch the roof with my hand. At this moment, a thought flashed in my mind, what kind of posture can alleviate the pain of a person's death? If you lie on your stomach, that The pressure will all fall on the spine. Thinking of the bones being crushed, I tremble with fear. Maybe changing the position will be better. But I can’t lie on my back and watch the roof come down to me, right? I can’t stand anymore Straight, at this moment, I suddenly saw something, and there was a spark of hope in my heart.

"As I said, the roof and floor are made of iron, but the walls are made of wood. I saw a faint yellow light between the two panels. When I pushed down a small panel desperately, the light It was getting brighter and brighter. I couldn't believe there was a close door here. I rushed out and lay there gasping for breath on the other side of the wall. At that moment, the panel behind me closed again, and the lamp The shattering of the lamp and the clashing of iron plates a moment later showed that I had escaped from danger at the very last moment.

"I didn't wake up until someone pulled my wrist violently. I found myself lying in a corridor. A person was holding a candle in his right hand and was pulling me hard with his left hand. She was the kind friend. I was so stupid at the beginning. Ignore her advice!
"She yelled out of breath: 'Quick! Quick! They'll be here in a minute, you can't waste any more time, hurry up!'

"This time, I believed her completely. I immediately stood up and followed her out of the corridor, then ran down a spiral staircase, and came to a wide corridor. Before I could get my footing, I heard the sound of running and two people. One person was on the floor we had just been on, the other was below him, and the two echoed up and down. My guide stopped, looked around, and led me hurriedly through a door. It passed Towards a bedroom, moonlight is streaming in through the windows.

"She said: 'This is your last chance and you have to jump, even though it's high.'

"While she was speaking, there was already a light on the other side of the passage, and the colonel rushed over. He carried a lantern in one hand and a murder weapon like a butcher's cleaver in the other. I ran across the bedroom as hard as I could, and pushed open the window. The moonlight The garden was very quiet and fragrant, and it was some thirty feet or so below. I climbed up to the ledge, but hesitated to jump, for fear that my savior might be hurt, which would have saved her no matter what the danger. Just as he was thinking, the colonel rushed to the door, trying to push her to come in. But she hugged him hard and pushed him back.

"She called in English: 'Frieze! Frieze! You swore last time that you would never do this kind of thing again, and he won't tell!'

"'You're crazy, Alice!' he cried, pulling her away from her. 'You know, it's going to ruin us, let me go, he knows too much.' He pushed her away and ran to The window, and cut at me with that knife. At that time, my body was away from the window, but my hands were still holding on to the window sill. I felt a sharp pain, and as soon as I let go, I fell.'

"I just got a shock, but I didn't fall, so I got up quickly and ran to the bushes as hard as I could, because I knew I was not out of danger. I ran. I suddenly felt dizzy and nauseous, and I looked down. After looking at the injured hand, I realized that the thumb had been cut off, and the blood was still pouring out of the wound. I hurriedly wrapped the wound with a handkerchief, and after a burst of tinnitus, I passed out.

"When I woke up again, I didn't know how long I had been in a coma. The sun had already risen. My whole body was wet with dew, and the blood from the wound soaked my sleeves. The pain reminded me of the dangerous encounter last night again. When I thought of my pursuer, I jumped up again. Strangely enough, there were no houses or gardens around. I was lying in the corner of a hedge beside the road, and there was a long building not far away. Go Looking closer, it turned out to be the station where I got off last night. If it weren't for the injury on my hand, I would have thought it was just a nightmare.

"I walked into the station in a daze and inquired about the time of the morning train. They told me that there would be a train bound for Reading within an hour. I saw that the porter on duty was still the porter last night, so I hurriedly asked him about the time of the early train. Colonel Sand Stark. But the name seemed unfamiliar to him. I asked him if he had noticed the carriage waiting for me last night, and he said no. I asked him where the police station was nearby, and he said there was three miles away. one.

"It was a long way for a man as tired as I was, and I planned to go back to the city and go to the police. At about six o'clock, I finally got back to the city and bandaged the wound first. Then the doctor Just come here with me. The case is entrusted to you now, and I will fully cooperate."

After listening to this strange narration, the room fell into silence.Then Holmes took down from the shelf a heavy scrapbook.

"This advertisement may be of interest to you," said he, "probably in all the papers a year ago, and I shall read it:
Person missing: Mr. Jeremiah Hailin, aged 26.Occupation: Hydraulic engineer.After leaving the apartment at [-]:[-] p.m. on the [-]th of this month, his whereabouts are unknown.wearing...

"Ah! Wait a minute. I guess it looks like the last time the Colonel needed to have his machine overhauled."

"My God!" exclaimed my patient, "that just confirms what the lady said."

"There is no doubt that the Colonel is a ruthless desperado, who will allow nothing to get in his way. Like a pirate, he will not leave a life aboard a ship he captures. Well, time is of the essence, we must Take the first step at once, and make a report to Scotland Yard, if you can persist."

Three hours later, we boarded the train.On the road from Reading to the small village in Berkshire there were, besides Holmes, myself, and the hydraulic engineer, Inspector Bradstreet of Scotland Yard, and a plain-clothes policeman.Brasstreet put an army map of the county on his seat, and with a compass drew a circle around Eyzin.

"Here it is," he said. "This is a circle drawn from this station with a radius of ten miles. The place we are looking for is near the sideline. I remember you said ten miles, sir."

"The carriage drove for a full hour."

"You think they transported you that far while you were unconscious?"

"I guess, because in the blur I feel like I've been lifted."

I said, "But why didn't they continue to kill you when they found you passed out in the garden, and let you go. Was it because the woman's plea softened the villain's heart?"

"I don't think so. He's too cruel."

"The truth will come out," Brasstreet said.

"Look, I've drawn a circle, and the next step is to find the villain at which point."

"It seems to me that the place is not difficult to ascertain," said Holmes confidently.

"Really? You can be sure now?" asked the inspector. "Well, that's your judgement. Let's see who thinks like you. I think it's south, because it's more sparsely populated and very deserted." "

"I think it's east," said the patient.

"To the west, I think, there are some very remote villages," said the plainclothes detective.

"North, I think," said I, "for there are no hills there, and our friends say the wagons never go up."

The inspector smiled and said: "Oh, it seems that the opinions are not unified. We have made a big circle. Who will you vote for the most important vote?"

"You are all wrong."

"impossible?"

"Yes, you are all wrong, please listen to me," he put his finger in the center of the circle, "they are right here."

"But twelve miles?" said Hatherley hastily.

"Six miles each way, that's the easiest way. You also said that when you got into the carriage, the horse was full of energy. If it had already run twelve miles, how could it be still like that?"

"Indeed, it may well have been such a trick," said Bradstreet. "Obviously, the nature of the gang has become clear."

"There is no doubt," said Holmes, "that they were a mass counterfeiter, and that the machine was used to strike alloy coins instead of silver."

"We have been tracking this matter for a long time, and found that these criminals are very cunning," said the inspector. "They have been producing a large number of counterfeit half-crown notes. We have traced it to Redding, but we have no clues any further. They are very good at hiding their whereabouts, which is enough to prove that they are habitual criminals who are proficient in this way. Fortunately, with this clue, we must catch all of them now."

However, the inspector was wrong, and the criminals were not arrested.As our train pulled into the station, we saw a thick puff of smoke rising from behind a nearby grove, hanging like a gigantic ostrich feather over the scenic countryside.

"Is the house on fire?" asked Bradstreet as the train pulled out.

"Yes, sir," said the station master.

"When did the fire start?"

"I heard that it was night, and the fire was getting stronger and stronger. The house is now a sea of ​​flames."

"Whose house is that?"

"Dr. Petcher's."

The engineer said, "Excuse me, is Dr. Peecher a German, bony, with a long, pointed nose?" The station master laughed, "No, Dr. Peecher is an Englishman, and no one in our parish dresses so well. He's more particular. As far as I know, he lived with a man who was a foreigner, and a sick man. But he doesn't seem to be too greasy if you buy him a good steak."

Before the station master finished speaking, we rushed to the place where the fire broke out.The road went straight to the top of the hill, and in front of us was a tall whitewashed building.Flames were blazing from every crack in every window, and three fire engines were fighting in the garden, but to no avail.

(End of this chapter)