Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 67 Memoirs (1)
In the dark night, the BMW disappeared, the horse trainer was dumped in the wilderness, in the basement, the body of the butler lay with ancient treasures, and on the steep cliff, Holmes fought desperately with the murderer and wanted to die together.

silver white fronted horse

One morning, during the meal, Holmes suddenly said: "Watson, I must go once."

I asked in surprise: "Go once? Where are you going?"

Holmes replied, "Damner, there is King's Court."

I am not surprised by this.What really surprised me was that Holmes never asked about a bizarre case that was being discussed all over England recently.He walked up and down the house every day, frowning, thinking, smoking pipe after pipe of high-quality strong tobacco leaves, and often did not respond to my questions.He just flipped through the various newspapers every day.But even when he was silent, I knew exactly what he was thinking.Recently, at the Wessex Cup Championship, a horse trainer died tragically and a famous horse disappeared mysteriously. All parties are looking forward to the analysis and reasoning genius Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery.So it didn't surprise me that he was suddenly going to investigate this dramatic case at this time.

I said: "If it is convenient, I hope to go with you."

Holmes said: "Watson, I'm glad you can go too. The case looks interesting. We will not leave empty-handed. We will take the train to Paddington, and we will discuss the details of the case with you on the way. You Better take those binoculars."

An hour later, we were on a train bound for Exeter.Holmes sat in a first-class carriage, his chiseled face completely hidden by a traveling cap.We bought some papers of the day at Paddington Station, and he was skimming through them.He had read the last page of the paper before Reading Station was still far away.

Looking out the window, he said, "It's going very fast." Then he looked at his watch and said, "It's 53 and a half miles."

I said, "I didn't pay attention to the quarter mile count."

"I didn't count either, but those poles sixty yards apart by the railroad are easier to count. I suppose you already know about the murder of John Straker and the case of the silver-fronted horse?"

"I've seen it on the wire reports and the news."

"In this type of case, the role of logical reasoning should be more in analyzing the details of the case than in finding new evidence. It is indeed unusual, confusing, and involves the vital interests of many people. It is easy to guess, reason, and assume. Immediate effect, and how to disentangle the relationship between fact and fiction - the so-called theorists and journalists' fictions is not easy. Now, our task is to draw conclusions based on facts and determine the priority of the problem. This week Two, I have received a telegram from the owner of the horse, Colonel Rawls, and Sheriff Gregory, inviting me to cooperate with the Sheriff in solving the case."

I exclaimed: "Oh my God! Tuesday night, now it's Thursday morning, why are you leaving now?"

"Yes," said Holmes, "it was my fault, and I do make mistakes a lot. It's not the same as anyone who knows me from your memoirs knows. I just don't believe that the famous English horse can be found in the wild north of Damen Er. Hidden for so long. Until yesterday, I was looking forward to the news of the horse, because the horse thief was the murderer of the horse trainer. But today, there is no new development except a young man named Fitzroyle Simpson was arrested. , I had no choice but to act. However, I did not waste yesterday's time."

"So, do you have an idea?" I asked.

"Yes, at least to have a preliminary understanding of the important facts. I think that telling other people the details of a case is the best way to help yourself to understand the case. If you are not allowed to go into the case at this time If you understand, then it’s hard to expect your help.”

I sat on the chair with a cigarette, and he leaned towards me, and began to talk while gesticulating.

"The silver white-fronted horse with excellent pedigree and impressive records is of Somerley pedigree. It is now five years old and a victorious general in the racetrack. His owner, Colonel Rawls, is even more enviable.

"Before the tragedy, he was still the champion. People love him very much, and he never disappoints. Therefore, horse racing fans bet on him at three to one bets (when you bet, you lose three shares and you win three shares. Even so, it has never disappointed those who bet huge sums of money on it. Therefore, although the bets are very different, there are still people who are willing to bet. Of course, there are many People do not want it to participate in next Tuesday's game out of interest.

"As a matter of fact, the Colonel's training stable, King's Field, was fully aware of these matters. Therefore, in case of accidents, they took all measures to protect it. Colonel Rawls' jockey was originally John Straker, But then he had to retire because of his weight gain and someone else changed.Strike turned into a horse trainer.He is enthusiastic, honest and has now been a jockey for five years and a horse trainer for seven years for the Colonel.He There were three stable boys, one of whom slept in a small stable with four horses, and the other two slept in a straw shed not far away. All three boys were of excellent conduct. The trainer was married, but He had no children. He had but one servant, and lived comfortably in a cottage two hundred yards from the stables. In this deserted place, sparsely populated, there were only a few cottages further north, a few miles from here, in Tavistead Built by the merchants of the town of Tavisdeck, it is home to convalescent patients and those who like the fresh air of Damen Er. Two miles to the west is the town of Tavisdeck, and two miles across the wilderness outside the town, you can see Another stable, which belonged to Lord Beckward, and was managed by Rice Brown. A few gypsies lived here and there. The tragedy happened on a Monday night. It was about the same.

"It was business as usual that night. The horses were groomed and locked up in the stables, guarded by Nad Hunt, the stable boy, while the other two went to dinner at the trainer's house. At a few minutes past nine, the maid Edith Best sent Nader a plate of mutton curry. As there was running water in the stables, and the caretakers were not allowed to drink during their shifts, she did not bring drinks. Ilinose carried a lamp, For it was dark and the stables had to be crossed across moors.

"Thirty yards from the stables, she was called to a man. The man came out of the darkness, and by the help of a feeble light she saw him in gray baize, a felt hat, and leggings. In high boots and with a heavy ball-toed cane, he looks like a man of the upper class. He is about 30 years old, very pale and nervous.

"He asked: 'Excuse me, where am I now? Thanks to your lamp, I am not sleeping in the wilderness.'

"The maid answered: 'You are by the stables at King's Court.'

"He exclaimed in amazement: 'Excellent! Are you delivering meals to the little stable boy who sleeps in the stable?' The man produced a note, 'If you give it to the boy, you'll get a little A little money, enough to buy a nice new coat, I don't think you'd be too proud to dismiss it?"

"His serious expression surprised the maid, so he hurried to the window in the stable where the meal was served. The window was open, and the maid was going to tell Rick what had just happened, but the man come over.

"He leaned in from the window and said: 'Good evening, sir, shall we talk?'

"The maid said that the man was still touching the note she had just seen when he spoke.

"The stable boy asked: 'What are you doing here? I don't know you.'

"The stranger said: 'I know that your horses, the Silver Whitehead and the Baya Red and Brown, both competed in the Winsex Cup Stakes. On the red-brown colt, because the Bea red-brown can outrun a silver-fronted horse by a hundred yards in a five-furlong race. If you could tell me a little more reliable news, you'd have something more in your pocket."

"The stable boy said angrily: 'You damned scout, I'll show you what happened to the scout at King's Court!'

"He came out to let the dog go, and the maid ran home in fright. She looked back as she ran, and found that the man was still looking in the window. But when the stable boy came out with the dog, the man was gone. Yes, I searched around and there is no one."

I cut in and asked, "Wait a minute, did the little stable boy take the dog out without cutting the door?"

Holmes said in a low voice: "Watson, you are wonderful. In order to confirm this, I sent a telegram to Damener yesterday. As a result, the door is locked and the windows are too small to allow people to get in."

"After the other two stableboys came back from dinner, Nader sent someone to inform Straker of the details. Straker was very nervous when he knew about it. Although he didn't know what was going to happen, he was always in a bad mood. Ning. At about one o’clock, Mrs. Straker woke up and found her husband was dressing. He said that he would only go to see the horses in person before he could sleep in peace. The wife heard the sound of rain beating on the window outside, so she hoped He didn't want to go, but he couldn't listen, so he put on his raincoat and left.

"Early in the morning, when Mrs. Strike woke up, she did not see her husband. She hurriedly dressed and ran to the stables, where she found Nader, unconscious, curled up in a chair. The stable door was open, and inside But there was no sign of the famous horse and the horse trainer. At that time, the maid followed Mrs. Straker. They woke up the other two young stablemen who were sleeping in the straw shed, but they slept very hard at night, Didn't know anything. Apparently, Nader was under a strong anesthetic and couldn't wake him up no matter what they tried to do. They left Nader and went to find the famous horse and the trainer. They thought they were standing on the hill near the stable. The trainer could be seen from the hill, and it turned out that apart from the wilderness, they saw only one ominous thing.

"A quarter of a mile from the stables they found the trainer's coat. In the nearby moors there was a hollow where the unfortunate trainer lay: struck in the head with a blunt object, was shattered; his thigh was cut with a sharp instrument, leaving neat wounds; in his right hand he held a blood-stained knife, and it was evident that he had fought violently before his death; in his left hand It was a black and red tie, and both the maid and the waking Nader proved to belong to the stranger, and it was he who stood at the window and put the narcotics into the curry mutton. There were horse's hoof prints at the bottom of the valley, obviously, during the fight The horse was on the spot. Later, it was lost. Although the bounty for finding the horse was expensive, and although all the gypsies in Damener were watching, there was still no news about it. The food in the meal did contain narcotics, but the horse trainer's family who ate the same meal did not respond.

"The situation of the case is roughly like this. It is all factual statements, without my speculation. In addition, I will introduce the measures taken by the police to this case.

"Sheriff Gregory was in charge of the case, and he was a very capable detective who just lacked imagination. When he arrived on the scene, he immediately arrested the suspect, Fitzroyle Simpson. The suspect lived in the He was in those villas, so it was easy to find him. He was well-born, well-educated, and now works as a betting agent at the London Sports Club, and now has to live on it because he has lost all his money on the racetrack. Betting The record book records that he once lost [-] pounds on a silver and white-fronted horse. After he was arrested, he said bluntly, saying that he went to Damen Er just to inquire about the news of the famous King's Field horse, and of course he also wanted to know All about the second-best racehorse - kept at Silas Brown's Mapleton Stud. He professes no malice, but when confronted with the necktie found at the murder scene, he turns pale. Pale and speechless. His clothes were wet, having evidently been out in the rain that night, and his areca-wood cane was tipped with lead, which would have been fatal to a horse trainer. But strangely enough, Fitzroy There is no wound on Il's body, but there is obvious blood on the knife in the hand of the horse trainer. The situation is roughly the same, Watson, and I hope you can enlighten me. I will be very grateful."

Holmes's ability to summarize the case is superhuman. He explained the basic situation of the case in a concise and clear manner. Although I was fascinated by it, I still couldn't find the key points, let alone the interrelationships between them.

I said what I thought: "Maybe Strike scratched himself in the fight."

"It is possible," said Holmes. "If that were the case, then the defendant would have lost a case of innocence."

I asked again, "Does the police have any comments?"

"I'm afraid they think the opposite of what we do. They think it was Fitzroyle who anesthetized the keeper, opened the stable door with the pre-provided key, and led the horse out with a tie over its mouth— —Because there was no horse bridle, he slipped away with the door open. Unexpectedly, in the wilderness, he met a horse trainer, or was chased by a horse trainer who discovered the situation. They had a quarrel and then fought. The knife didn't hurt Simpson, it hurt himself. Simpson smashed the trainer's head with his leaden cane, and then hid the horse. Of course, the horse may have lost itself during their fight. Since there is no A more reasonable explanation is the fact that the police currently believe that this is the case. In any case, we can only clarify the situation by going to the scene first."

Towards the end of the night, we finally arrived at the town of Mistogo, a small town in the center of the vast wilderness of Damen Er.

Sergeant Gregory and the eminent Colonel Rawls are waiting for us.The sheriff was tall and handsome, with curly hair and a beard, and impressive blue eyes with sparkling eyes.Colonel Rawls was a short man with a monocle, a clean-shaven beard, a woolen frock coat, and a pair of high boots with leggings. He looked very smart and capable.

Seeing us, the colonel greeted us immediately: "It's a great honor to meet you, Mr. Holmes. The sheriff is doing his best to investigate. I hope to avenge poor Straker and find my beloved horse as soon as possible."

Holmes asked straight to the point: "What's new, Sheriff?"

The sheriff replied: "I'm very sorry, but there are no new leads. If you like, you can come to the scene in my open carriage before dark, and I will tell you on the way."

A few minutes later we were seated in a comfortable carriage and set out to drive through the streets of old Devonshire.I have been very interested in the conversation between the two detectives and have been listening carefully.Sheriff Gregory was eloquent about the case and his views, and Holmes occasionally interjected a word or two.What the sheriff told was exactly what Holmes had expected on the train.Colonel Rawls folded his arms and leaned back in his chair all the time without saying a word, his hat blocking his eyes.

The sheriff also said: "All signs are against Fitzroyle. I personally think that Fitzroyle is likely to be the murderer, but there is not enough evidence at present, and once new circumstances are discovered, the previous evidence may not be established. .”

"What do you think of Streker's wound?" asked Holmes.

The sheriff replied: "It is possible that he scratched himself when he fell."

"We talked about the possibility on the train, and my friend Watson thought so too, and the odds were against Simpson."

"Obviously the missing horse was brought to Simpson's attention, and he admitted to having been to the stables that night, and that his heavy cane was a good fit for the murder weapon, and that the tie was found at the scene. Can we not be sure based on the above evidence? File a lawsuit?"

Holmes just shook his head. "What is his purpose for stealing the horse? If he wants to harm it, he can kill it in the stable, which is easier. Have you found the duplicate key? Where did he get his anesthetic? Besides, he is a foreigner. Where can the famous horse be hidden? Besides, what explanation does he have for the note mentioned by the maid? The evidence is easily refuted by a clever lawyer."

"The problem you are wondering is actually easy to solve. He knows this place very well. He comes here twice a year and stays for a few days. He can also hide horses in pits in the wilderness or in abandoned mines. Medium. As for the keys, they can be thrown away when they are used up. The narcotics can also be brought from London. The note, he said, was only a ten-pound note. As he said, he did have such a note in his purse."

"Then how does he explain the tie?"

"He said the tie was indeed his, but it was lost long ago. But a new circumstance we have found proves that he brought the horse out of the stable."

Holmes listened carefully to his account.

"A group of gypsies had been on the scene on Monday night and left the next morning because we found many footprints. We agree that Simpson was accomplices of the gypsies and that he was either being chased or encountered tame horses It was the gypsies who took the horse while they were fighting with the division, and it is likely that it is now in their hands."

"It's entirely possible."

"We're searching for gypsies all over the moor and every stable around town."

"I heard that there is a horse training stable nearby?"

"Yes, we didn't lose sight of that, Desborough, the second favorite in Marseilles, was there, and the trainer Silas Brown had a bad relationship with the dead Stryker, and in this race he went The stakes were high, and the disappearance of the silver-fronted horse was in his favor. But we found nothing in that stable."

"Is this stable related to Simpson?"

"It doesn't matter at all."

(End of this chapter)