Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 54 The Legendary Hound (3)
"Indeed, the whole house smells strongly of smoke."

"I can't take it anymore, can you open the window?"

"Okay, you spend all day in the club, right?" he said, opening the window.

"Oh, my dear Holmes," I said in surprise.

"I guess right?"

"Yes, how do you know?"

He looked at me and laughed.

"Watson, it's because you are relaxed. If a person goes out on a muddy and rainy day and comes back in the evening with a clean body, it means that he has stayed still all day, and he has no relatives or friends here. You say Where will he go?"

"Yeah, it's pretty obvious."

"There's a lot of people who just don't see the pretty obvious, where do you think I'm staying?"

"Didn't you stay at home all the time?"

"No, I'm in Devonshire."

"Then it must be your soul?"

"Yes, my soul went. During this time, I drank two pots of coffee and smoked a lot. After you left, I had a map of the swamp from the Stanford police station. I My soul has been on this map for a whole day, and I am already familiar with the path there."

"Is this map very detailed?"

"Yes." He pointed to a place on the map. "You see, this place is very important. This is Baskerville Hall."

"Are there trees around it?"

"Yes, it's the yew road that Mortimer was talking about. But there's no clear indication on the map. But I think it goes down here. On the right is the swamp, and these little houses are Green Basin Village, where Mortimer lives. Almost no one lives in this clearing. Here is what he calls Ryford Manor, where the biologist Staplet lives. Two farmhouses here in the swamp , are Gotao and Vermeer. Farther away is the large prison in Princestown. There was a tragedy here, and today we will put on a good show with them."

"There must be no grass growing here, right?"

"No, the environment here is so beautiful that even the devil wants to occupy this land."

"Then you also believe in the legend of the devil."

"The real devil is a person, isn't it? Let's analyze two issues first. First, did any crime ever happen there? The second is, what kind of crime is it? If the legend is true, Then we'll have to wrestle with the supernatural. That way, we don't need to investigate. However, this situation will be considered after all assumptions have been overturned. Now, if you don't mind, I'll The windows were closed. I think thick air concentrates one's thoughts better, and I have always liked to think that way. Well, Watson, have you considered the matter?"

"Thinking about it, I think about it all the time at the club during the day."

"What do you think of this matter?"

"It's so confusing, I can't figure it out at all."

"However, there are a few special things in this case, such as the change of footprints. What do you think of this?"

"Mortimer said he found the footprints gradually turning into toe prints."

"He merely repeated what the coroner said. Who walks on tiptoe?"

"How to explain these?"

"Watson, don't you know? Isn't that what people leave when they run?"

"Then why is he running?"

"That's the crux of the matter. There are indications that Childs was frightened before he ran."

"How did you know this?"

"These are all based on my imagination. Because if he is afraid, he may lose his direction. If the groom's testimony is true, he must be running and calling for help, but he ran in the opposite direction. He must have been waiting for someone that night. Why wait there instead of at home?"

"You said he was waiting for someone?"

"Yes, he is waiting for someone, because Sir is older and not in good health, so he will not go there just for a walk. The doctor's judgment is very accurate. He said that Sir stayed there for five to five days. 10 minutes, it's not an ordinary thing."

"But he walks every night!"

"I didn't say that he waited every night at the door leading to the swamp. That was the last night before he went to London, so why did he go to the swamp? Well, let's not analyze it until tomorrow Talk to Dr. Mortimer and Sir Henry! Come, please bring me the violin, and let me play you a tune!" Sir's heir

We had cleared the table early, and Holmes sat in a chair in his dressing-gown, awaiting their arrival.

Doctor Mortimer and the baronet arrived punctually.From the outside, the baron is about 30 years old, not too tall, with a pair of big eyes, thick eyebrows, and a resolute face.Dressed in red Scottish attire, he looked weathered and outdoorsy.

However, he appeared confident and somewhat gentlemanly.

"This is Sir Henry Baskerville," said Dr. Mortimer.

"This is Mr. Sherlock Holmes," continued Dr. Mortimer.

"Oh, it's a pleasure to see you, and if my friends don't bring me to see you, I'll come by myself. I've heard of you for a long time. This morning I had a problem I couldn't solve."

"Tea, please, Sir Henry. You mean that you had a trouble when you arrived in London?"

"It's really nothing, maybe a joke, if you can think of it that way. I received an anonymous letter as soon as I arrived." He handed the letter to Holmes, and we all leaned over curiously.The letter paper is ordinary letter paper, the address for the letter is "Northumberland Hotel", the handwriting is irregular, and the postmark is "Charing Cross Road", and the date of sending the letter is last night.

"Who knows that you live in this hotel?" Holmes fixed his alert eyes on the visitor.

"No one knows. It was decided after I saw Mr. Mortimer."

"Dr. Namotimer has been there?"

"No, but I've stayed there with friends before. But we hadn't decided on this hotel then."

"Well, someone must be paying attention to your actions." Holmes took out the letter paper from the envelope and opened it. In the middle of the letter paper was a sentence pasted in printed letters: "If you value your life, or If you are rational, please stay away from the swamp." Among them, only the three characters "swamp" are written in ink.

Sir Henry said: "Now, Mr. Holmes, can you tell me who is so interested in my affairs?"

"Dr. Mortimer, tell me your opinion. Do you still believe in ghosts this time?"

"Something, sir, isn't the sender very strange?"

Sir Henry asked eagerly: "What are you talking about? I can't understand anything."

"I assure you," said Holmes, "that you will know as much as we have before you leave this room. Let us now discuss this letter. It must have been assembled and sent last night. Please, Watson." Get me The Times."

I handed him the newspaper.He flipped to one of the pages inside, skimmed through it, and then read it aloud.

"Perhaps you believe the rhetoric that a protection tax would encourage you, but rationally, in the long run, such a law would certainly lead the country away from prosperity, reduce the total value of imports, and lower the average value of the island. standard of living."

Holmes was elated again.

"What do you think of the matter, Watson? Don't you admire his abilities?"

Dr. Mortimer looked at Holmes with professional interest, while Sir Henry fixed me with vacant eyes.

Sir Henry frowned and said, "I don't know anything about taxes or anything like that, but aren't we digressing?"

"No, we're right on topic! Watson is already familiar with the method I'm using, but I'm afraid he doesn't quite know it this time."

"Yes, I still don't understand what the relationship between the two is?"

"My dear Watson! How closely they are connected. The words in this letter are drawn from this newspaper. You see, 'you', 'your', 'life', 'value ’, ‘rational’, haven’t you discovered these words yet?”

Sir Henry exclaimed: "My God, you are so right."

"If you don't understand, the words 'away' and 'value' are drawn from here, so you should know now!"

"Well, that's true!"

"Yes, these are things I didn't expect. It's easy to cut the words out of a newspaper, but it's the most remarkable thing you can tell where he cut them from. How do you know that? "

"Doctor, I suppose you can tell the difference between a black skull and an Eskimo skull without any mistakes?"

"Yes."

"Then how do you tell the difference?"

"I have studied these skulls, and they are quite different, for example, in terms of the brow bone, the slope of the face, the line of the jaw bone."

"I also like to distinguish, so those differences are quite obvious. There is a fundamental difference in my eyes between the small type five used in The Times and the clumsy type used in the evening papers that can be bought for half a penny. Research Newspaper printing is a compulsory subject for me. I have made mistakes, however. I once confused the Leeds Mercury with the Western Morning Post when I was young. However, the Times It’s different, especially the font used in the comment column, I can recognize it at a glance. And because this letter was sent out on the same day, I thought of the fragment in the newspaper.”

Sir Henry nodded and said, "I understand, I understand. Did the person who cut this letter use a pair of scissors or—"

"No," said Holmes. "He used a pair of nail clippers. You see, he cut the word 'leave' twice."

"Oh, that's right. That is, the man cut out the words with nail clippers and glued them to the stationery?"

"Not paste, but glue," said Holmes.

"It's glued on, so why is 'The Swamp' handwritten?"

"Well, because he couldn't find the word in the papers, and 'swamp' isn't a very common word."

"Mr. Holmes, now we understand. Do you have any new discoveries?"

"There are a few other clues. He has taken great pains to keep it from being seen. You see, the address is very illegible. But the Times, besides being a highly educated newspaper, It was read by very few people other than those who were educated. We can therefore deduce that the letter was written by someone who was fairly educated, but he was trying to pretend to be an uneducated person. He wanted to hide My own handwriting, I am afraid that others will see it. Also, you see, these words are not pasted in a straight line. The word 'life' is pasted crookedly. Does this mean that the paster is careless? No, absolutely not. This is a This is an important matter. Since he can think of using newspapers to post letters, he must be a careful person. Then he is flustered, but why is he flustered? Post the letter in the morning, and it will reach Sir Henry in the evening. No need to worry. Is that because he was seen while posting?"

Dr. Mortimer said, "We're just guessing right now."

Holmes said: "Oh, doctor, please don't say that. We should say that we are reasoning. And, I will not say this now, that is to say that the address on this letter must be written at the hotel."

"What is your basis for saying this?"

"As long as you examine this letter carefully, you will find that the nib of the pen hangs on the paper twice and splashes ink after writing three words. Moreover, the ink has dried three times during the writing of this word. Think about it, personally. How can this happen to my pens? And the two things happen at the same time, which is rare. But hotel pens often have this problem. I think we should go to the wastebasket near Charing Cross , as long as we find the mutilated copy of The Times, we shall be able to discover the sender."

He put the letter in a bright place and shone it again and again.

"There is not even a handprint on this half-blank sheet of paper. I am afraid that there are so many clues that can be obtained from it. Sir Henry, has anything worth noting happened since you arrived in London?"

"I think there is nothing more, Mr. Holmes."

"Have you noticed that someone is following you?"

"I'm afraid we've strayed too far from the point, and it'll be hell if anyone follows me, a pauper."

"That's what we're going to talk about next. Do you have any clues that seem suspicious?"

"I don't know what you want to hear?"

"As long as you think it is abnormal, say it!"

Sir Henry smiled.

"I have been living in the United States and Canada, and I don't know much about the living habits of the British. I don't know if it is abnormal to lose a leather shoe in life?"

"You lost a shoe?" asked Mortimer in surprise. "Sir Henry, don't make such a joke. You may have misplaced it, and you can't remember it for a while. Go back to the hotel and look for it. Maybe you will find it."

"I thought so too, but it was Holmes asking me what was going on outside my life."

"Yes, however small the matter may be. You mean that you have lost a shoe, don't you?" said Holmes.

"Yes. Maybe I misplaced it. Last night when I went to bed I put the shoe out of the house and woke up this morning with one left. I asked the shoe shiner if he had seen it, and he said no. Most annoying What's more, I just bought these high-top shoes and haven't tried them yet."

"You haven't worn it, why put it outside?"

"Because those shoes haven't been oiled yet, so I put them out to have them oiled."

"That means you bought a lot of things when you came to London, including these shoes?"

"Mortimer bought it with me. You also know that if I want to be a gentleman, I have to behave like a gentleman! I have been living in the United States for so many years, and my life is inevitably a bit bohemian. Except for buying some clothes , I bought a pair of shoes, but they were stolen before I wore them."

"If only one shoe is stolen, he will be of no use. Your shoe will be returned in no time."

Sir Henry said in a begging tone: "Gentlemen, I have told all I know, and you should honor your promises."

Holmes replied: "Your request is not too much, Mortimer, I think you should do it!"

Encouraged by this, the doctor took the manuscript out of his pocket again.He told it all over again as he told Holmes yesterday.Sir Henry listened attentively, and now and then he let out a few shrieks.

Sir Henry said after listening to the doctor's narration: "Then I have inherited such a grudge. I have heard the legend about the great hunting dog, but I have never believed it. My uncle's Death hit me hard. It seems you haven't quite decided whether the matter is in the hands of the policeman or the clergyman?"

"I think this strange letter must have something to do with it."

Dr. Mortimer said, "It seems that someone knows better than we do what's going on in the swamp."

Holmes said: "This man is quite concerned about you, and he has warned you of danger."

"I think he must have a purpose, he doesn't want me to stay."

"Yes, it is possible. I am very grateful to you, Dr. Mortimer, for giving me some useful clues in my work. The question now, Sir Henry, is whether you would like to remain at Baskerville Park." Woolen cloth?"

"Why don't I stay?"

"Because there is still great danger there."

"Is the danger there referring to the great hounds of legend, or to real people?"

"Ah, we don't know now, we are investigating."

"I don't believe in devils anyway, Mr. Holmes, and nothing can prevent me from staying. You may take this as my last reply."

He frowned and blushed as he spoke.It was obvious that the family's violent temper was still present in him.

He went on to say: "The things you said, I haven't thought about it carefully, because it is a big thing after all, and it is impossible to make a decision by talking about it casually. I want to think about it carefully. Oh, now It's 11:30, and I'm going back to the hotel. I hope you and Watson will come and join us for lunch, and I'll think about it then. I'll let you know."

"Watson, can you go?"

"Yes, I will definitely go."

"Wait a moment, please. I will go and hire a carriage for you."

"Thanks, no. I want to go for a walk, and this is disturbing me."

Mortimer said, "I'd be glad to go out with you, too. Good-bye, then, and see you at two o'clock."

After finishing speaking, they went downstairs, only to hear the door closing with a "bang".

Holmes seemed taken aback. "Watson, get dressed quickly. We have no time to waste." With that, Holmes ran to the back room and changed his clothes.We hurried downstairs.Looking along Oxford Street, Dr. Mortimer and Sir Baskerville were mingling with the crowd.

"Or should I run over and stop them?"

"No, Watson, please don't. I need only your company. The weather is fine this morning for a walk."

Holmes quickened his pace until we were about a hundred yards or more away from them.We followed them, keeping a steady distance.We followed them all the way down Bullod Street, and then turned into Regent Street.Once they both stopped to look into the shop windows. Holmes was looking in the same way. Suddenly he cried out. I looked in the direction he was looking and saw a car following. Behind them, there is a man inside.

"Quickly, Watson, this is the man. Even if we cannot catch him, we should see what he looks like."

At this moment, I saw the face with the big beard and piercing eyes.

The man looked sideways to the rear and soon spotted us.He drew down the curtain and said something to the coachman, and the carriage set off at a gallop.Holmes looked around for a carriage, but there was not even an empty one.So he rushed out, trying to catch up.But the speed of the carriage was too fast, and it disappeared in no time.

Holmes emerged from the crowd panting.

"It's really unlucky today. Why did I do such a thing. Watson, please write this down as a testimony of my failure!"

"Who was that person you were chasing just now?"

"I didn't see clearly."

"Is he the one following Sir Henry?"

(End of this chapter)