Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 74 Memoirs (8)
"After thinking hard, I finally found the key answer. I found that starting from the first word, reading every second word can form a meaningful short note, and these meanings are enough to make the old man fall into despair .

"These words were succinct, a warning letter and I immediately read it to my friend 'ThegameisupHudsonhastoldallFlyforyourlife'

"My friend covered his face with trembling hands. He said: 'It must be so. It's a disgrace, worse than death. But what's the point of 'in charge' and 'pheasant?'

"'These words have no special meaning, but they are useful to us if we can't find the sender. You see, he started by writing "The····game····is" etc. , These are the real meanings that are intended to be expressed, and after that, two words will be added in each space. If it is assumed that he just wrote it by hand, then it can be concluded that he likes hunting or raising small animals. Do you know Beddoes?'

"He said: 'As you reminded me, I remembered something. Beddoes invited us to hunt with him every autumn.'

"I said: 'Then it must be he who wrote the letter. Now we have only to ascertain what secrets the sailor knew, and with what he threatened these two men.'

"My friend said bitterly: 'Mr. Holmes, I am afraid that is a shameful thing! However, I do not want to hide it from you. It was written by my father when he knew that Hudson was going to report. According to the doctor's order Say, I found this statement in a Japanese cabinet just now. I have not the courage to look at it myself, so please read it.'

"My friend gave me these sheets, Watson, and I read them to him that evening, and I will read them to you now. You see, on the outside of these sheets is written:'" Glory HMS Ascot "The Diary of the Barque. Set sail from Farmeene, 1855th October, 10, and sank at 8°11′N, 6°15′W, 20th November of the same year.' Journal inside It is written in letter form.

My dear son, since I cannot escape the approaching disgrace, nor can I escape the mediocrity of my old age, I frankly say that I am now not afraid of the law, nor of my post in the county, nor of my acquaintances. Belittled.But when you think of your love for me and the respect you have for me, the sense of shame arises spontaneously.It cuts my heart like a knife.But if what I fear happens to happen, I would like you to take a close look at this diary.Then you will understand why I deserve to be punished.But if nothing happens and this piece of paper comes into your hands, I beseech you, for God's sake, for the sake of your beloved dead mother, for our father and son's sake , burn it, forget it.

However, when you read this letter, that must be the time when things came to light.I will either be in prison, or I will be dead.But no matter what the situation is, since there is no need to hide it anymore, I am willing to swear that the following things are completely true, and I hope to forgive you.

My dear boy, my name was not Drever, I was James Armitage when I was young.Now you should know why I fainted after hearing Holmes' words!Because what he said sounded like he had revealed the secret of my name change.As Armitage, I used to work in a bank in London and was sentenced to exile by the court for breaking the law.Don't blame me, boy, for embezzling public funds because I had to pay a gambling debt.At that time, I believed that I would be able to make up the money before being discovered.But the most dreadful misfortune befell me. The money I had hoped for did not come, and the bank audit was brought forward, so that my deficit was exposed.This case could be dealt with leniently today, but the law was much harsher 30 years ago.So, on my 23rd birthday, I was convicted and locked up with 37 other felons on the deck of the Gloria Scott, about to be exiled to Australia.

In 1855, Crimea was at war.Most of the ships that originally carried criminals were used for military transportation, so the government had to use smaller and poorly equipped ships to send criminals. The "Gloria Scott" sailing ship was originally used for Chinese tea business. It is an ancient style, with a very heavy bow and a very wide hull. Compared with the new fast sailing ships at that time, it cannot be compared.The weight of the ship was five hundred tons, and there were 38 criminals, 26 crew members, eighteen soldiers, a captain, three mates, a doctor, a priest and four jailers on board. When we set sail, we claimed to be 100 people.

Usually, the cell partitions of prison ships are made of thick oak, but this ship was improvised, so the partitions were very thin.Just as we were escorted to the pier, I spotted a very special person.He was very young, with a handsome face, no mustache or beard, a slender nose, and a narrow mouth. He was placed in the stern of the boat, and the cell was next to mine.I noticed him when I got on the boat, because he seemed indifferent, walked with a swagger, and was tall-at least six and a half feet tall, others could only reach his shoulders, so he was very different from so many depressed faces .When I saw this energetic and resolute face, I was greatly shocked, as if someone sent a warm stove on a cold winter night.I am very happy to have such a neighbor to accompany me all the way.When I was deep in sleep at night, a voice suddenly came over. It turned out that he had dug a hole in the partition between us, which made me even more ecstatic.

He said, "Hey, friend! What's your name? What crime are you here for?"

I told him the situation and asked his name at the same time.

He replied, "My name is Jack Prendergast. By God, just do it with me and you'll never regret it."

I had heard about his case before his arrest, and it was a national sensation.It is said that he was of noble birth, shrewd and capable, but he was infected with some incurable vices, and by means of ingenious deceit, he defrauded a large amount of property from the dignitaries and rich people of London.

When he heard that I knew him, he was very proud: "Oh! My dear friend, you actually remember my affairs."

"Indeed, I remember very well."

"So, do you remember anything special about that case?"

"What's so special about the case itself?"

"I got a whopping sum of almost £25."

"I heard that there are so many."

"But the police didn't find that money, you know?"

"do not know."

"Friend, do you know the whereabouts of this money?"

"I can not guess it."

He suddenly raised his voice and said, "This money is in my hands. It has always been like this! I have more gold pounds than your hair! I said, friend, as long as you have money, you can do whatever you want. Hello." You said that a person who can do whatever he wants would be willing to stay here and wait to die? Especially the cargo hold of this dilapidated ship is full of rats and bedbugs.”

I said, "Yeah, if only someone would save us."

He said, "Do you really think so? If you will take the risk, I can do it. I have a friend who will get us out."

I asked in amazement: "Really? He is really reliable?"

Seeing my doubts, he said decisively: "Absolutely reliable, sir! He will not only try his best to save me, but also save other fellow shipwrecks. You can rest assured that he is completely trustworthy. Swear on the Bible, he will get you out."

That was the tone of his voice.At first I thought he was joking and didn't take it seriously.But after some time he tested me again, and swore to me again, and revealed that a secret plan was in the making to take the ship.I heard that twelve prisoners joined the plan before boarding the ship, and they made full preparations.The leader is naturally this Prendergast, and money is the bridge and motivation for his actions.

Prendergast said: "He had a great partner, a very honest and trustworthy guy, and he was in charge of the money. Do you know where he is now? He's on the boat, that's where we are. The chaplain of the boat. Yes, the chaplain, in the holy black coat, with all his papers. Most importantly, he has enough money to buy the whole boat. Now, all All the sailors were his confidantes—he bought them with money, and they agreed to sign for employment. The two jailers and the second mate were also bought by him. He didn't buy the captain, because the captain is not worth buying."

I asked him, "But what exactly are we going to do?"

He said: "We want the clothes of the soldiers on the ship to be dyed redder than the uniforms made by the tailors!"

"But they have weapons!"

"Boy, we have weapons too, with two pistols each, and all the sailors behind us. If this doesn't work out, it's worse than women. Today, you'd better talk to the cellmate on your left. , to see if he is trustworthy."

I did as he said.Through conversations, I learned that the inmate on my left was also very young, named Evans, who committed a crime of making counterfeit money and received the same punishment as me.He changed his name and is now a wealthy man in the south of England.He agreed to take part in this covert operation because we are the only ones who can save us.Eventually, only two inmates did not join before the boat reached the bay.One is weak-willed and we cannot trust him; the other is jaundiced and of no use to us.

At the beginning of the operation, the plan went smoothly.The sailors looked like rogues just waiting for such a thing, and fake priests often came to the cell to encourage us.He was carrying a black schoolbag, which seemed to be full of scriptures, and he was very busy connecting us.In this way, on the third day, we were each equipped with a file, two pistols, twenty rounds, and a pound of dynamite.The two jailers had been bought by Prendergast early on, and the second officer on board was also their accomplice.Now only the captain, two mates, two other jailers, a doctor, and Lieutenant Martin and his eighteen men are our enemies.Although things are progressing steadily, we are still very cautious and cautious. We originally planned to launch an assault during the night when they were relatively relaxed.However, the final hands-on time was earlier than originally planned.The situation is roughly like this:
Just three weeks after the ship set sail, the doctor came one evening to see a prisoner.When he reached under the prisoner's bed, he found a pistol.If he leaves without changing his face, maybe our plan will be completely ruined.But he was very timid, and he screamed on the spot, his face pale.This made the prisoner realize what was happening and he was grabbed.The unfortunate doctor was gagged and bound to the bed before he could raise the alarm.We swarmed from the door to the deck that had been opened when the doctor came.Two sentries were shot to death, and a squad leader heard the sound, but was also shot to death before he understood what was going on.The other two sentries who were guarding the hatch were getting ready to fight with their bayonets--perhaps they were out of bullets, for they didn't shoot at us, and were easily dealt with.Just as we were rushing to the captain's cabin, there was a shot from inside.When I went in, I saw the captain lying on the ground, the Atlantic navigation chart nailed on the table was stained, and the pastor stood beside him, the gun in his hand was still smoking.The two mates had been tied up, and it looked like the whole plan had worked.

Adjacent to the captain's cabin was the officer's cabin, and we rushed there, clattered on chairs, and began talking and yelling.The Reverend Wilson brought a case of wine from the cargo box in the cabin.We took out the brown wine, broke the neck of the bottle, and poured it vigorously into the tall wine glass, celebrating our freedom with joy.Suddenly, there was an unexpected gunshot, and the cabin was filled with smoke.At first I couldn't see anything clearly because of the long table.It wasn't until the smoke dissipated that I realized that my eyes were bloody.The pastor and eight other prisoners were shot and killed.I still remember that scene vividly, and I feel sick when I think of the bright red blood and the brown wine.At that time, we were all terrified.Thanks to Prendergast, he roared like a bull in the ring and rushed out, and everyone rushed out after him.When we rushed out of the cabin, we found the lieutenant and his ten soldiers standing at the stern.It turned out that there was a revolving skylight in the official cabin directly above the table, and by opening the window a little, they could shoot at us from the window.We went up there before they had time to reload.Although they fought hard, it was of no avail. In less than 5 minutes, we sent them all to the west.God!Sailboats became slaughterhouses!Like an angry demon, Prendergast picked up the surviving soldiers like chickens, and threw them into the sea desperately.There was a wounded sergeant who was still swimming in the sea for a while until someone shot him in the head with a gun.At the end of the battle, all but two jailers, two mates, and a doctor were wiped out.

We had a dispute about what to do with them.Most people are happy to be free again and don't want to kill again.It is one thing to kill a soldier who is fighting us with a weapon in his hand, but quite another to kill an unarmed one.Some of us were reluctant to kill any more, but Prendergast and his accomplices disagreed.He believes that if we want to obtain permanent safety, we must silence everything, lest someone will testify and expose us in the future.At last, however, he agreed to leave here in a boat if we wished.In order not to continue the criminal activities, we readily agree.Prendergast gave each of us a sailor's suit, a bucket of corned beef, a small bucket of biscuits, and a compass.Finally, he gave us a nautical chart and instructed us to say that we are sailors on a ship that sank at 15° north latitude and 25° west longitude.Then he cut the rope and let us go.

Now, dear son, is the most astonishing part of the story.The ship was sailing against the wind when the disturbance occurred.After leaving the ship, we set sail again, and sailed with the northeast wind.Evans and I were the few highly educated members of the gang.So the two of us studied the charts together and were in charge of figuring out where we were and setting out the target course.This is a very serious responsibility and needs to be handled carefully.At that time, seven hundred miles to the east was the coast of Africa, and five hundred miles to the north were the Cape Verde Islands.Since the wind was blowing from the north, we thought it best to sail towards Sierra Leone.So we changed course and started heading north.At this time, the hull of the three-masted sailing ship was no longer visible, only the tall masts could be seen.When we looked back at it inadvertently, we found a thick black smoke column rising from there, straight into the sky, like a weird big tree hanging in the sky.A few seconds later we heard a loud bang, and by the time the smoke cleared, the barque had completely disappeared.We hastened to change course again, and headed for the sailboat with full force.The rising smoke told us that something had happened to the ship.

We got there with great difficulty, thinking at first that we were too late to save anyone.Because we only found broken boats and broken masts drifting on the sea, but there was no one.Just as we were about to leave in disappointment, we suddenly heard someone shouting for help. We looked over and saw a person struggling desperately on a broken board not far away.We hastened to get him aboard, and this man was Hudson, a sailor.He was burned by the fire and was too tired to speak a word.He didn't tell what had happened until the next morning.

After we were gone, Prendergast began to lay hands on the five surviving men.First killed the two jailers, and then threw them into the sea, and the third officer also suffered the same fate.Then Prendergast himself went to the middle cabin and cut the doctor's throat.Of the five, only the brave first mate remained.When he saw Prendergast approaching him with the bloody butcher's knife in his hand, he broke free from the loose rope and rushed to the deck and plunged into the stern cabin.There were twelve prisoners approaching him at the same time with guns, and only then did he find him sitting next to the powder barrel with fire in his hand.The first mate threatened that if anyone dared to touch him, he would die with the whole ship.Before the words were finished, the gunpowder exploded.Hudson believes that the gunpowder was not ignited by the first mate, but that someone shot the gunpowder barrel.But no matter whose reason it was, at this point, the three-masted sailboat and the murderer on board had completely disappeared.

That, my dear boy, was the whole of that dreadful incident in which I was a part.We were picked up the next day by the brig "Codespoor" bound for Australia.The captain of the ship had complete confidence in our claim to be the sailors of the wrecked ship.The Admiralty also recorded the Gloria Scott as an ordinary wreck, while its true fate was completely concealed.Later, the "Codespo" arrived in Sydney Harbour.After going ashore, Evans and I worked incognito as miners.In that place where people from all over the world gather, we easily hide our past identities and experiences.What happened next is needless to say, we all got rich and started to travel the world, and eventually returned to England as wealthy colonists and bought property.In the past 20 years, we have lived a peaceful and happy life, and have always hoped to bury all the terrible experiences of the past as soon as possible.But then the sailor found us, and I recognized him at once as Hudson.I felt very bad at the time, and I really don't know how he found us.He takes advantage of our guilt and keeps blackmailing us.Now, my dear son, you should understand why I want to curry favor with him.At this point, I believe you will also sympathize with my fear at the time.Although he left us to go to another victim's house, he was still intimidating us indirectly.

(End of this chapter)