Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 66 The Legendary Hound (15)
"It's a period of his life that we're really interested in talking about now. The fellow has done a detailed investigation and found that someone was standing in the way of his acquisition of a large fortune. I guess when he first came, his goals were not clear. Well, when he took his wife for his sister, he had a bad idea, probably before he had settled down the whole plot. He evidently used his wife as a bait, and decided to get the property. .In order to realize this wish, he spared no expense and set up a comprehensive conspiracy. His first plan was to place his home near the ancestral home, and the second step was to train Charles Basque Sir Weir and his neighbors. Sir Childs told him about the family legend, so this fellow devised a way for Sir Childs to die, and there was no way to find the murderer. .

"He has been at work on this plot ever since the idea came to him. It was his wit and cunning to paint a hound, the dog from which he The best hound he bought in Flem Street, London, he brought it back on the Devonshire train. Lest others should find out, he led the dog a long way in the swamp. While catching insects, He groped his way through the swamp, found a hiding place for his dog, and shut him up, waiting for a good opportunity, which he did not come by himself, but which he had to create. Several times he wanted to end the life of the old knight, but there was no way. He also imagined using his wife to drag him into love, but her wife was not so obedient, and he even used cruel methods, beating, insulting, But all this could not change her determination. Staplet really couldn't help it. However, in the end he seized a rare opportunity. Because of Sir Childs' kindness, after he helped Laura Lyons Mrs. Staplet was in charge of a charitable fund. Because of Laura Lyons' marital problems and he pretended to be a bachelor, his words and deeds determined everything for her. He said that if she and her The husband is divorced and he is going to marry her. But he hears that Sir Childs is leaving soon and he has to do something, so he asks Mrs. Lyons to ask Sir Childs out. But he makes up A plausible reason prevented her from going to an appointment, and he succeeded.

"He came back from Coombe Tracy just before sunset, and brought his dog back from the isle. Dressed him up as a devil, and led him near the gate, where old Sir was waiting. Mrs. Laura Lyons. The dog was pleased by its master, jumped over the gate and rushed towards the old knight. When the old knight saw the big hound, which was exactly like the legend, he was terrified, and he cried out. He ran down the lane, and because of his bad heart, he had a sudden heart attack and died. The old knight ran on the path, and the dog ran on the grass, so no trace was left, only in the distance. paw prints were found everywhere. Soon the Hound was hidden in time, so it made people wonder, and the villagers really believed the legend, until we took over the case later. So much for the old Sir's death You can see how cunning it is, how well done it is. Of course, the Hound won't tell him about it, and the other two are his wife and Mrs. Laura Lyons. They just love The matter was a little doubtful, not certain. And he had them both in his hands, and he was very reassured about them. The whole well-thought-out plot was half-successful, but the rest was more troublesome.

"Perhaps he didn't know that Canada had an heir. He soon found out, however, from Mortimer, who had talked to him about Sir Henry's coming, and he wanted to get rid of him before he came." , so he came to London with his wife. Ever since his wife was not very obedient to him, he began to distrust her, and he didn't even dare to let her leave him. He was afraid that he would lose control of her because of this. He took her with him to London, and it was said in my investigations that he kept his wife in Meck and Beauchamp's private hotel, while he himself put on a fake beard and followed Sir Henry. The lady knew a thing or two about what he was doing, but she was too afraid of him to tell anything about it. What she did afterward was to write a threatening letter to Sir Henry with words cut out of a newspaper. Go Sir Henry.

"He's going to murder Sir Henry with his hound, so he has to smell what he's used. He managed to get one of Henry's things, but I'm sure the servants at the hotel must have accepted his bribe and paid for it." Helped him, but unfortunately the first shoe he got was new, so it was worthless. So they stole another, and now I decided it must involve a hound, and these little things might make People find it complicated, but careful consideration of these little things is the key to solving the case. When Sir Henry came to visit us the next day, Staplet was with him, and judging from his familiarity with our place, I think he His crimes are by no means limited to one or two cases. According to my investigation, he has participated in four major burglaries in the West, but has not been caught. The last one was at Foxton Field in May. The peculiarity of this is that a boy servant was brutally shot to death by a lone masked thief trying to capture him. I believe that Staplet thus supplemented his dwindling property, and he's been a dangerous outlaw all these years.

"When he escaped from me that morning, I knew what a cunning and cunning man he was. He also knew that I had taken the case, so his hopes of doing it in London were lost, and he returned to the The Marshes come to wait for Sir Henry."

I asked, "And where was his dog when he came to London?"

"I have paid special attention to this matter too. Staplet has a relative here, but he is not his accomplice. His name is Antony, and he is a valet of Melipie House. Their relationship goes back to When Stumpett was the headmaster. So he knew of Staplet's relationship with his wife, who has now run away. There are very few people with this surname in England, and in Spanish-speaking countries and in Spanish-speaking countries in America. Rarely. The man speaks English very well. I have seen the old man go into the Grimpen swamps once, so he tends the hound in the absence of the owner. He has no idea what the dog is for.

"Then the Staplets went back to Devonshire, and then you two. I don't know if you remember that when I checked the letter, I sniffed it carefully and I smelled a white winter jasmine There are about 70 kinds of perfumes. The smell of perfume made people know that this case will be related to a lady, so I thought of his wife. I confirmed the case step by step.

"I came to the moor to see what Staplet was doing. If I lived with you, I would have attracted his attention, so I didn't let you know. I came quietly when you thought I was still in London. To the swamp. I didn't suffer as much as you imagined there. I stayed in Coombe Tracy most of the time, and only went there in emergencies. Cartley was a great help to me, he always Watching you—Watson. So it's not too difficult to get any clues.

"As I have already told you, your letters to me came to me quickly, and were sent to Coombe Tracy as soon as they reached Baker Street. They are of great importance to me, especially It was about his life experience, so it pointed out a direction for me to investigate. But then the matter of Barrymore and the fugitive was mixed in, which hindered the progress of the case, but this is explained in another letter of yours. When you arrested me in the swamp as a mysterious person, I already knew all the details of the case, but I didn't get the evidence, but he killed the fugitive by mistake, which actually constituted a crime. If he didn't If he is caught on the spot, he will have to use Sir Henry as bait, which will seriously frighten Sir Henry, but we can get evidence in this way. I did not expect that the beast was like that, and we also We paid a heavy price for this mission by not predicting the fog. But Dr. Mortimer says it's only temporary, and a long journey will restore Sir Henry and heal the scars on his soul. He has always had a soft spot for that lady, but he never thought he would be cheated.

Staplet wanted his wife to be directly involved in the murder, but he discovered that he still didn't have complete control over her.She had been tempted to tell Sir Henry the matter, but seemed hesitant to reveal the whole truth.When Sir Henry proposes to her, it arouses Staplet's jealousy, and though it was part of his plan, he goes out of his way to prevent it.This may be human nature at work. He often invited Sir Henry to his house so that he would have more opportunities to strike. On the last day, she already knew all this. He became angry with embarrassment, he revealed his thoughts to her, and he said that he did not love her, and her previous tenderness and obedience suddenly turned into hatred.He knew that she would spoil his good deed, so he tied her to that pillar.He hoped that the legend would be blamed for Sir Henry's death, and that would be his way.But I think he is very wrong, and even if we were not there, he could only fail, because a woman of Spanish blood would not tolerate him insulting her like this, my dear Watson, is there anything I am missing? ? "

"He didn't expect to frighten Sir Henry with that frightening dog the way he frightened his uncle."

"The beast is fierce, and it doesn't get enough food. Its appearance at least scares people out of their heads. Now I still have one question that I don't understand. How can he make people believe that he is the heir?"

"I am afraid this question is beyond my competence. I am afraid you are overestimating me. It is difficult to estimate what a man will do in the future. Ah, Watson, it is time for us to relax now. To-night we will Just go to the theater, have you heard of Drezke's opera? Please clean up first, let's have dinner first."

(End of this chapter)