Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 63 The Legendary Hound (12)
The two of us staggered to the corpse. Against the background of the moon, the horrible scene of the corpse was reflected on our eyelids, and tears filled my eye sockets.

"Holmes, how are we going to carry him back?"

At this moment Holmes gave an exclamation.He danced and grabbed me and shook me.

I yelled, "You're crazy!" There was nothing I could do about his capriciousness.

"Look, beard, beard, beard!"

"What beard?"

"He is not Sir Henry, he is Celdan."

I moved the body a bit.The blood-stained beard turned up, and I saw his high brow and beastly face—not Sir Henry!He is indeed Seldan.

I understood everything immediately.I once heard Sir Henry say that he gave some of his old clothes to the steward, who in turn gave them to his brother-in-law to help him escape from misery, and at first I saw he was dressed from top to bottom Sir Henry's clothes, thought he was Sir Henry.It's just that this person died too badly, and this must be God's punishment for him.I told Holmes all this, and now my blood boiled with excitement.

He said: "Seldan's death is entirely due to his wearing this suit. There is also a clue about the missing high leather shoes. The dog must have smelled Sir Henry's shoes and followed them. But One thing I don't understand is how could Seldan know that the dog was behind him in such a dark night?"

"He must have heard it."

"A man like him would never be afraid to be like this if he heard the sound of the hound. And he dared not shout. Judging from his shout, he knew that the hound was chasing him and must have run away." A long way. But how did he know?"

"Another thing that is more mysterious to me is if..."

"I don't want to do any guesswork right now."

"Why did you let the hound out to-night? I don't think he'd let it out just because he thought Sir Henry would be there."

"Of the two problems, mine is probably the more intractable. I think your question will soon be answered, but mine may remain a mystery forever. We cannot ignore what to do with this corpse now." Bar!"

"Or let's put him in a shed first, and then call the police."

"All right, let's take him to a cabin first. What's the matter, Watson? Is it really him? Don't you say a word that shows suspicion. Otherwise, my whole plan will be ruined." .”

Across the swamp, I saw a man coming towards us, the fireworks of his cigar flickering.I could see that he was Staplet.When he saw us here, he was taken aback for a moment, and then walked towards us.

"Oh, Watson, why have you come here so late at night? Oh, dear! What's the matter? Someone's hurt? Please don't tell me it's our friend Sir Henry!"

He hurried past us and bent over the dead man.I heard him gasp in a sharp breath, and the cigar dropped from his fingers.

"Who, who is this person?"

"It's Seldan, the fugitive."

Staplet paled, but he did his best to conceal his surprise.He seemed a little disappointed.

"My God! How did he die?"

"While I was walking here, I heard his cries for help. I think he fell to his death."

"I heard the cry too, so I followed. I thought it was Sir Henry?"

"Why do you think it's Sir Henry?"

Turning his eyes from me to Holmes, he asked, "Have you heard any other sounds besides his cries for help?"

Holmes shook his head and said, "No, did you hear that?"

"I didn't hear that either."

"Then why do you ask that?"

"Ah! People tell about that legend, and about seeing that monster at night, so I ask you if you heard any noise?"

I said, "We heard nothing but cries for help."

"How do you think he died?"

"Oh, I think he must have lived here for a long time, and he has gone crazy. So he ran in the swamp to release his inner depression, and unfortunately hit a rock and broke his neck."

"That's a reasonable argument," said Staplet, sighing. "Now he won't have to worry about his escape any more, what do you think, Holmes?"

"Yes. I think he has fulfilled a wish too." Holmes went on: "You know people very quickly, sir."

"After Watson came here, people said that you must come too, and you have caught up with this tragedy."

"Yes, I feel very lucky that such a thing happened to me when I came here. I believe everything Watson has explained and I don't want to stay here anymore. I will go back tomorrow."

"Are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'm leaving tomorrow."

"I hope that your coming this time can clarify the things that people are confused about."

Holmes showed an expression as if he could do nothing. "One cannot succeed only by subjective imagination. Investigators need facts, not legends and rumours. This case has not been handled satisfactorily."

My partner was talking casually, and the biologist stared at him, and then said: "I wanted to carry him to my house first, but thinking of him like this would scare my sister, so I didn't dare to bring him to my house." He's been carried back. Now let's cover his head! Do it tomorrow morning!"

It was thus arranged that Holmes and I declined his invitation and set off for Baskerville Park.Now there was only Staplet left here.When I looked back, I saw that figure was still moving slowly towards the distance in the vast swamp; place.lead snake out of hole

"We can now act," said Holmes. "The composure of the fellow is wonderful. He is so calm in the face of what should be a shocking situation when he discovers that his plot has killed someone wrongly." .I have mentioned to you before that our opponent is not an easy man to deal with."

"It's a pity he's already seen you."

"But it's impossible."

"In this way, do you think it will have any impact on his plan?"

"The only effect is to make him more cautious, perhaps he will act immediately, perhaps like most criminals who are a little bit clever, he may believe too much in his own cleverness, and imagine that he has completely put us Lied to it."

"Why didn't we catch him then?"

"You are impatient, Watson, and you just want to have a good time. Let us imagine, if we catch him tonight, will it do us any good? It's not good for him." , we can't prove anything, because his methods are very cunning. If he planned this matter alone, we can find some evidence, but if we pull out this big hunting dog in broad daylight, it will be difficult for us to think The plan of putting a rope around its owner's neck is going nowhere."

"Don't we have evidence?"

"No, we are only speculating and imagining. If we only have this one story and such 'evidence', we will not be laughed to death by the judge."

"Isn't the death of Childs good evidence?"

"There is no evidence of his death, although you and I know how he was killed. But what do we have to convince those jurors? Where is the hound's footprint? Where is his dog's tooth? Why? People know that dogs don't bite dead bodies, and Sir Childs died before the dog caught up with him. There must be proof of all this, but we can't get it now."

"And what happened tonight?"

"As to this evening, although his death was closely connected with the hound, we did not see the dog, but only heard such a voice. We must not rush, Watson. We must make the whole Deliberate murder has been shown in front of people with evidence, so we must do our best to find conclusive evidence."

"How do you think we should find it?"

"I'd like a break from Mrs. Laura Lyons. We'll make it if we tell her everything, and nothing else. I hope we'll have the upper hand tomorrow."

Next, he was silent as before.When we came to Baskerville Hall, I asked, "Are you going in?"

"I'd better go in! There's no need to hide any more. But don't tell Sir Henry about the hound, just explain it to him as you did to Staplet. That will save him As for being too nervous. By the way, you wrote me that you were going to supper at the Staplet's to-morrow, didn't you?"

"Yes, we have an appointment."

"Tomorrow, you just say that you have something to do, and let Sir Henry go by himself, so it will be easier to arrange. If we have already missed the dinner time, I think we can have supper."

Sir Henry was on the verge of jumping for joy at the sight of Holmes.Because he had always expected Holmes to handle the case himself.

When he found that Holmes had come empty-handed, he couldn't help feeling suspicious.We told Sir Henry these things at supper.I also told the news to the Barrymores. Barrymore didn't show much sadness, but his wife burst into tears when she heard the bad news.For the people in the village, they wished that Seldan would die soon.But she doesn't think so, he will always be her naughty little brother.This man was really a heinous man, and there was not even a woman who cried for him when he was dying.

"I have been at home since Watson went out, and I have been very bored. One thing pleases me, though, is that I have kept my word. If I hadn't sworn that I would never go out, I think I could have Enjoyed the evening, because Staplet invited me to his place."

"Perhaps it would have been a merry evening if you had gone," said Holmes, with some sarcasm. We thought, however, that the fugitive who fell to his death was you. I wonder if you can cheer up after knowing all this? ?”

Sir Henry opened his eyes wide and asked in surprise, "Why is this so?"

"Did you know that the dead man was wearing your clothes, maybe it was given to him by Barrymore, and maybe the police will come after you."

"Probably not. Because those clothes don't have any marks."

"Then he was lucky, and in fact you are all luckier. Legally speaking, you have all committed a crime. As an impartial detective, I am almost certain that it was my duty, first and foremost, to arrest your family. Watson's letter is the evidence. "

Sir Henry asked: "How is our case going? It's a very complicated matter. I think Watson and I have been overwhelmed by all this nonsense when we came here."

"It won't be long. The case is really too complicated. There are only a few things left to be cleared up, but I don't think it will take long."

"Watson and I heard a hound barking once in the swamp. Did Watson tell you? But I swear, it's not some legend or superstition. I've had experience with dogs .As soon as I heard it, I knew that this hunting dog is really not an ordinary hunting dog."

"However, if you can help, I will subdue it."

"Okay. I'll do whatever you ask me to do."

"Okay. Please don't ask why until I let you do it. You'll know afterward."

"I will definitely listen to you."

"If you'll do what I say, I think it'll be soon..."

Holmes stopped talking abruptly, and looked intently at the place above my head.He is so serious, so attentive.He is simply the embodiment of alertness and wisdom.

"what happened?"

We both stood up at the same time.After a while, his eyes looked down, and I understood that he was suppressing the frenzied joy in his heart.His face has never leaked, but his eyes have shown excitement.

Pointing to a row of portraits on the wall, he said, "It's interesting. Actually, I know a lot about art. However, Watson may not admit it. It's just that he is jealous of me. My relationship with Watson Opinions vary, and I think the portraits are pretty good."

Sir Henry said, "I'm very pleased with your compliment. But I'm not an expert, and I can't see the good or the bad. I can't imagine you're in the mood to appreciate it."

"What's so good about the painting, I can tell it at a glance, I can see it now, this is Naylor's painting, this is Reynolds' painting, these are your ancestors, right?"

"Yes."

"Then you know their names?"

"Barrymore once told me about it."

"Who is this soldier with a telescope?"

"He is Rear Admiral Baskerville, who served under Rodney. This is Sir William Baskerville in the blue coat, who was Chairman of the House Committee when Pitt was Prime Minister."

"And what about the knight?"

"He is the Xiuguo who has a bad character. He brought misfortune to our family. The legend of the hunting dog was formed from him."

I also looked carefully at the portrait.

"He seemed a gentle man," said Holmes, "and was not at all what I had imagined."

"But this portrait is indeed him! You see his name and the date '1647' written on the back."

The portrait was so commonplace indeed that Holmes made no further comment on it, but merely stared at it.

Later, when Sir Henry returned, Holmes took me into the room of the portraits, and holding a candle in his hand, he illuminated the portraits of the dead.

"What's here?"

I looked at the wide-brimmed hat, the curly hair on the brow, the collar trimmed with white lace, and the serious face in the midst of these foils.He looked very serious and indifferent, with thin lips and piercing eyes.

"Did you see that he didn't have a sense of deja vu?"

"He's kind of like Henry, but not quite."

"Yes, a little bit."

He held up the candle, shielding his wide-brimmed hat and hanging curls with his arm.

"My God!" I exclaimed. "He's like Staplet."

Holmes laughed. "My eyes have special functions, and I won't be fooled by some accessory decorations."

"Great, maybe this is his portrait!"

"Not him. This should be a kind of inheritance, not only physically but also spiritually. People who read these will definitely believe in the theory of reincarnation. Obviously, Staplet is also a descendant of this family."

"This is a case of conspiracy to usurp property."

"Yes, I think so. The lead was caught in time. Now we can arrest him. I'm sure he'll fall into our net tomorrow like the butterflies."

As we were leaving the room I heard Holmes chuckle suddenly.He seldom smiles like this, and whenever he smiles, it always indicates that someone is going to be in trouble.

The next morning, we all got up early.But when we got up, Holmes had turned back from the outside.

He said excitedly: "Ah, today we can have a good time. My net has been laid, and I want to see if I can catch this big fish!"

"where did you go?"

"I went and sent a telegram telling them about Cerdan. I promise you won't be involved. I also told Cartley about my situation. If he didn't know what happened to me, he would always be in fear." Wait for me."

"What shall we do next?"

"That will have to be discussed with Sir Henry. Oh, here he is."

"Holmes, Watson, hello. You really look like a general planning a campaign with the chief of staff."

"really? Haha."

"However, I have to listen to the soldiers."

"Well, I understand that you are going to dinner at the Staplet's to-night."

"I should like you to come with me. They are very kind. I think they will welcome you."

"No, Watson and I are going back to London."

"What, back to London?"

"Yes, we must go back."

Sir Henry looked particularly unhappy.

"Why do you want to leave me at a critical moment? You also know that it is not safe for me to be here alone."

"My dear Sir Henry, please believe me. You can do as I tell you. When you go, tell Mr. Staplet that we are in a hurry and must go back today. We hope to be back as soon as possible. Please take this message from me to him."

"If you insist on going."

"That's the way it is. I'll tell you for sure."

Sir Henry frowned, evidently dissatisfied with our excursion.

He said coldly, "Then when are you going to leave?"

"We'll go after dinner. We'll go to Combe Tracy first. Watson, write to Staples to express your apology for not being able to come to the dinner."

"Can you take me with you?"

"No, you must stay. Do you remember what you promised me?"

"Okay, then I'll stay!"

"Also, I want you to go to Melipie Mansion in a carriage, and then ask your carriage to go back first, so that Staplet can know that you are going to come back on foot."

"That's a walk through the swamp!"

"Correct!"

"Didn't you tell me not to do this?"

"I assure you that you will have no problems. I am very confident in your current state. You must do as I say."

"Okay, then I will listen to you."

"If you love your life, when you cross the swamp, you must take the road, and never take other roads."

"I will do it."

"All right. We're off at once so we can get back early."

Although I heard Holmes say that he was leaving here today, I never expected him to take me with him.Nor do I understand how Sir Henry could be left alone in such extreme danger?But I can't object, I can only listen to Holmes.

In this way we took leave of Sir Henry, and in a short time we were at Coombe Tracey Station, where we sent the coachman back.There is a little boy waiting for us.

"Sir, do you have any orders?"

(End of this chapter)