Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 51 Adventure History (29)
"I was terrified and I didn't know what to do, maybe I rushed to my room very fast. I don't remember anything, but I found myself lying on the bed shaking. I thought of you Well, Mr. Holmes, I can't go on without advice, and I'm afraid of the house, the man and the woman, the servants, and the child. They all frighten me, It would be great if you would go there with me. Of course I could get out of there, but my curiosity was as strong as my horror. So I decided to send you a telegram. I put on my hat and coat and walked to the appointment. The telegraph office half a mile away. I went back much more at ease, but when I entered the gate I began to feel uneasy, afraid that the dog would be let out. I ran in quietly, and nothing happened. At night, I was too excited to sleep in bed thinking I would see you soon. I took an easy leave of absence to come to Winchester this morning, but I had to be back before three o'clock, because the Rochesis I am going to be a guest tonight, and I have to take care of the children. Now, I have told you all my experiences, Mr. Holmes, and I wish I could understand what they all mean. And most importantly, what should I do?"

We were both stupefied by the story, and Holmes came to his senses, and stood up and walked up and down the room with his hands in his pockets, his face grave.

He asked, "Is Tole drunk and still awake?"

"Yes, I heard his wife tell Mrs. Rachaiser that she couldn't do anything with him."

"Very well, Mr. and Mrs. Rocheser are going out tonight?"

"Correct."

"Is there any basement out there that can be locked tightly?"

"Yes, the wine cellar will do."

"Miss Hunter, from the way you have handled this, you are an exceptionally resourceful and brave lady. Please think, can you do another heroic thing? If I don't think you are a remarkable woman, just I would never ask you to do that."

"Let me try, what should I do?"

"My friend and I were at the beech forest at seven o'clock, and Mr. and Mrs. Rocheser should have gone out by then. As for Toller, I think he might not be sober then. Then Mrs. Toller was left alone, She might call the police. It would be very helpful if you could send her on some errands in the cellar and lock her up there."

"I want to be able to do it."

"Excellent! Let's begin a thorough investigation of the matter, then. The only possible explanation is that you were invited there to impersonate someone who was actually locked up in that room, which is quite clear. As for The person imprisoned, I think it must be his daughter, Miss Alice Rocheser. If I remember correctly, she is said to have gone to Philadelphia, USA. You were selected because your appearance and hair color are similar to She was the same. Beautiful hair was cut off, maybe because of something she had, so of course they asked you to sacrifice it too. You saw that lock of hair by accident. The man on the road must have been her friend, and Probably her fiancé. Because when he saw you, you were wearing the girl's clothes, and you looked like her again, and from your smile and posture, he concluded that Alice was having a good time, thinking she His attention is no longer needed. The dog was released at night to prevent him from approaching her. That is clear. The most important point in the case is the character of the child."

"What's this got to do with children?" I exclaimed.

"You are a doctor, Watson, and you should know that in order to understand the temperament of a child, one must study the parents. The reverse is also true, then. I often study the character of the parents by studying the child. The character of the child Pretty brutal. So I think he's either inherited his father's character or his mother's, and in any case it's dangerous for the poor lady in their hands."

"Mr. Holmes, I believe you," said our client. "I am convinced by all that has happened in the past that you are right. Let us waste no time. Let the poor lady be rescued at once!"

"The people we have to deal with are very cunning, so we must be careful. We can do nothing before seven o'clock, and we will meet at seven o'clock, and it will not be long before we can solve the mystery."

We arrived at the purple-leaf beech forest exactly at seven o'clock, and left the two-wheeled carriage in a small inn by the roadside.The leaves of the beech bush in front of me shone like polished metal powder in the setting sun.This made me recognize the house at once, and we would have found it even if Miss Hunter hadn't been smiling at the door.

"Has everything been arranged?" asked Holmes.

There was a loud banging sound coming from somewhere downstairs. "Mrs. Toller is in the cellar," said she. "Her husband is on the kitchen rug, and here are his keys, exactly like Mr. Rocheser's."

"Well done!" praised Holmes. "Lead the way, and we shall soon know the end of this dark business."

We went upstairs, opened the door, walked down the passage, and came to the barrier that Miss Hunter had spoken of.Holmes cut the rope, removed the thick iron bar, and tried the lock with the bunch of keys, but in vain.There was no movement in the room, and Holmes could not help frowning in the silence.

"I don't think we're too late," said he. "Stand still, Watson, Miss Hunter, and put your shoulder on the door, and you won't get in."

It was an old and dilapidated door, and we pushed it together, and it collapsed in no time.The two of us rushed in, and there was nothing in the room except a simple crib, a small table and a basket of clothes.The skylight above was open, and the prisoners were nowhere to be seen.

Holmes said: "There is deceit here. They probably guessed Miss Hunter's plan and took her away in advance."

"How did you take it away?"

"From the skylight, the answer will be known soon." He climbed to the roof. "Ah, so it is," he cried. "There is a long ladder here, with one end leaning against the eaves. That's how he must have done it."

"But that's impossible," said Miss Hunter. "The ladder wasn't there when the Rachaels left."

"He must have come back again. I said he was cunning and dangerous. Someone has come upstairs. It must be him, Watson. You should have your pistol ready."

Before he finished speaking, he saw a very fat, strong and strong man standing at the door, holding a thick stick in his hand.Seeing him, Miss Hunter gave a shriek and shrank into a corner.Holmes stepped forward and faced him calmly.

"You bastard!" he said, "where did you hide your daughter?"

The fat man looked around, and also at the open skylight.

"It's time for me to ask you!" he roared. "You thieves! Thief spies! I've got you! You can't run away, and I'm going to make you suffer!" He turned around, ran downstairs.

"He's looking for the dog!" cried Miss Hunter.

"I have a pistol!" I said.

"Better close the door," said Holmes, and together we rushed down the stairs, and before we reached the hall we heard the barking of dogs, followed by a horrific scream, and the horrifying sound of dogs tearing at someone. , It made our pores stand up.A red-cheeked, elderly man ran out of the side door, waving his arms.

"My God!" he cried. "Who let him out? He hasn't eaten for two days. Hurry! Hurry! Or it will be too late!"

Holmes and I ran hastily, with Tole following us.The huge hound was biting its master's throat tightly with its black mouth.He rolled on the ground in pain, screaming miserably.I ran over and fired a shot, blowing its brains out.It fell, but its sharp teeth were still lodged in his fat neck.With great difficulty we separated the man from the dog, and carried him into the house.The person is still alive, but his flesh and blood are already bloody, which is very terrifying.We put him on the sofa and told Tolle to send a letter to his wife.We gathered around him, trying to find ways to ease his pain.Then the door opened and a tall, thin woman walked in.

"Mrs. Toller!" cried Miss Hunter.

"Yes, miss. It's a pity, miss, that you didn't tell me your plan, or you wouldn't have made so much trouble, after Mr. Rocheser released me when he came back, and then went up to find you."

"Ha!" said Holmes, staring at her. "It is evident that Mrs. Toler knows the matter better than anyone else."

"Yes, sir, I will now tell you all I know."

"Okay, please sit down and talk about it. I admit that I do have a few unclear points about this matter."

"I will tell you," she said, "that I wished I had come out of the cellar sooner. If it comes to court, please remember that I am on your side as a friend. For, I'm Miss Alice's friend."

"She was upset from when her father remarried. But at home, she didn't have any say. But her situation was not too bad until she met Mr. Fowler at a friend's house. It is said that according to the will, Alice Miss has family property rights. But because of her kindness and forbearance, she almost never said a word about rights, and left everything to her father. He could have assured her, but if she had a husband, then her husband She will definitely ask to get what she deserves within the scope of the law, so her father tried his best to prevent this from happening. He asked his daughter to sign a document stating that whether she was married or not, her money was at his disposal, but she never Signed. Later, she got encephalitis for six weeks, and she almost died. But in the end she recovered, but she was very thin, and her beautiful long hair was cut. Fortunately, his boyfriend Still loving her faithfully."

"Oh, thank you for telling us that," said Holmes. "As for the rest of the story, I think I can deduce that Mr. Rocheser has imprisoned her."

"Yes."

"And found Miss Hunter from London, just to get rid of Mr. Fowler's entanglement?"

"Yes, sir."

"Mr. Kefuler has always insisted on not giving up. Later, he met you and persuaded you with money or other means, making you feel that your interests are the same."

Mrs. Toller said quietly, "Mr. Fuller is a soft-spoken, generous man."

"He does this by keeping your husband drinking, and then telling you to have a ladder ready while the master is away."

"Yes, sir, indeed."

"We should thank you, Mrs. Toller, for keeping us informed. Now the village doctor and Mrs. Rachael will be coming soon. I think we should send Miss Hunter to Winchester, Watson." Go because I don't think our legal status is guaranteed here."

In this way, the secret of the purple-leaved beech forest was revealed.Mr. Rachaiser survived, but he became a decadent man, and depended on his faithful wife to take care of him, he lingered on.The old servants still lived with them, and perhaps they knew too much for Mr. Rocheser to dismiss them.Mr. Fowler applied for a charter at Southampton the day after his departure with Miss Rocheser, and they were married.Mr Fowler currently holds government positions on the island of Mauritius.As for Miss Hunter, I was disappointed by my friend Holmes, who was no longer interested in her because she was no longer the central figure in his problems.She is now the principal of a private school in Vassal.I judged that she would be very good in education.

(End of this chapter)