Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 9 The Tracking of Blood Letters (8)
"What's the sound?" He vaguely heard some voices.Although the sound was very small, it was still audible because of the silence of the night.He listened intently, the sound came from the direction of the gate.Ferrier came quietly into the drawing room, holding his breath, and the sound came closer in a moment.Then he heard someone knocking on the door, is it the person who came to assassinate him or the person who wrote the deadline?Thinking of this, Ferrier became even more nervous, thinking that it would be better to die than to live in a panic all day long.Thinking about it this way, he was not afraid of anything, so he jumped forward, pulled the latch, opened the door and prepared to fight to the death.There was silence outside the door, only a few stars were twinkling in the clear sky, and there was nothing in front of him except the garden in front of him.He looked around again, but there was still no one.Ferrier breathed a sigh of relief, and glanced at his feet casually. This glance did not matter, and it almost surprised him, because there was a person lying on the ground.Seeing this scene, Ferrier was so frightened that he almost couldn't stand up.He leaned against the wall, held his throat with his hands, looked carefully at the ground, and found that the person on the ground was crawling towards him.Only then did Ferrier discover that this man was none other than Jefferson Hope whom he had been waiting for.

"Oh, my God! What you! How did you get in here?"

"Get me something to eat first!" Coincidentally, Ferrier's dinner was still on the table untouched.He rushed over and started to eat, and asked while eating, "Is Lucy okay?"

"Fortunately, I never told her about these dangers," said Ferrier.

"Very well, you know? The house is surrounded, so I kept crawling in. They are very powerful, but it is not easy to catch people like me." At this time John Ferry Ecai came to his senses. He held Hou Po's hand tightly and said, "You are a man of promise. You are our only hope, and only you can save us."

"You are right, you are indeed the person I respect the most, but frankly, if this matter is only for you, then I really have to weigh it. But it concerns Lucy, and I must bring her Get out of this place controlled by the Mormons. From now on, there will be no Hoppers in the Utah area."

"So, what shall we do now?"

"Tomorrow's the deadline. We must act now. I've got a mule, two horses, and it's over at Eagle's Glen. How much money do you have now?"

"2000 yuan gold and 5000 yuan banknotes."

"Well, I've got some here, and they'll be enough together. Go and wake Lucy now." Ferrier went upstairs to call Lucy, and Jefferson Hope had packed everything he could eat. Into a bag, also filled a few bottles of water.He took care of this, and Ferrier and Lucy came out.The two young men greeted each other hurriedly, without any time to elaborate.Time is very important to them, even a minute and a second may determine their life or death.

"We must act cautiously. There are people watching the front and back doors, and we can only go out through the side windows." Jefferson Hope spoke in a low and forceful voice. He knew that there were many difficulties ahead, but he insisted on breaking through.They had to cross the fields in front of the gate and get halfway up the mountain before daylight.

Ferrier asked: "What if we are stopped?" Hou Po patted the revolver under his clothes, and said with a smile: "With it, we don't have to be afraid." Ferrier looked around his home, It's already dark here, and now that he's leaving here forever, it's a bit sad.However, when he thought of his daughter, he became firm again.Just on this land, there are lush forests and vast and fertile fields. On the surface, everything is so beautiful, but who would believe that behind this beauty, there are countless crimes and murderous intentions? .The young man's face looked even more tense and pale at this moment, and it was not difficult to see that he understood the current serious situation very well.

Ferrier carried the purse, Jefferson Hope carried the food, and Lucy some of her own.They opened the window quietly, and just as the moon was hidden by a dark cloud, they jumped out one by one, and then slipped across the garden, hiding first in the dark under the garden hedge.Then slowly moved to a gap leading to the wheat field.As soon as they reached the gap, Hou Po suddenly pulled the father and daughter and rushed to a dark place, and they were already sweating from nervousness.Hou Po had experienced on the grasslands before, so even the slightest movement could not escape his ears.Sure enough, as soon as they hid, they heard the miserable cry of an owl.At the same time, a few faint figures appeared at the gap they created with their own hands.Immediately afterwards there was another miserable cry, and a figure came out from the darkness.

One said, "Wait till the third bleat is done." The other went on, "Well, shall I speak to Brother Draper?"

"Tell him, and let him pass it on to others. Nine to seven!"

Another followed up with a "seven to five."It seems that "nine to seven" and "seven to five" are their secret codes.As soon as those people walked not far, Hou Po led the father and daughter out of the gap and quickly crossed the field.Lucy was exhausted, and Hope pulled her forward quickly, and said out of breath, "Now that we have passed the danger zone, we must hurry on."

On the main road, they accelerated their speed even more. Although they encountered some people, they all avoided them.As they approached the edge of the town, Hou Po led them along a rough path.In the dark of night, this rough path is Eagle Valley, and there are their horses.Thanks to Hou Po who has been here for many years, he has not lost his way even among the rocks.They followed a stream and came to a great rock, where a mule and two horses were waiting for them.The three got on their horses and continued to flee on the rugged mountain road.

On one side of the mountain road is a cliff, and the stone beams on the cliff are like the ribs of the devil.The other side was so full of rocks that it was impossible to walk.In the middle there is a rough path, only big enough for one person to pass.Even people with good riding skills have to spend some troubles on such a difficult road, but the three of them feel more and more comfortable, because they no longer have to live the life ruled by the devil.

However, after a while, they discovered that they had not really escaped from the Mormons' net.Because they found a sentry standing alone on a dark and deep rock, and at the same time the sentry also spotted them, and he cried out: "Who is there?"

Jefferson Hope touched the rifle next to the saddle and replied, "Passenger for Nevada." The sentryman pulled the trigger, as if he was going to shoot at any time.

"Who allowed it?" he asked again.

Ferrier replied: "It is allowed by the Four Saints."

"Nine to seven." The sentry shouted again.

Hou Po suddenly remembered the secret signal just now, and called out "seven to five".The sentinel said, "Come on, God bless you."

After passing the last line of defense set up by the Mormons, the road ahead gradually became easier.The three hurriedly let their horses gallop, leaving only the lonely sentry behind them, holding a gun in their hands, and continued to look ahead.Failed to escape
It was a very dangerous night for the Ferriers and Hou Po. After crossing the dangerous cliffs and the winding mountain roads, they finally escaped from the clutches of the devil.At dawn, they had come to the mountains covered with ice and snow.The mountains are layered on top of each other, stretching all the way to the horizon.There are huge boulders on both sides of the road, and it seems that they may hit them at any time.This is indeed not unfounded worry, because a huge boulder rolled down before, and the horse neighed in fright.

When the sun rises from the east, all the strange peaks are dyed crimson, like flickering and burning birthday candles, making people yearn for a better life.The beautiful scenery made the three of them more motivated to move forward. They found a water source and drank their horses, and they also ate a few mouthfuls of dry food.Lucy really wanted to lie down and rest for a while, but Hou Po dissuaded her: "No, they must be chasing us now, we must hurry up and hurry, and we will be fine when we reach Dakason City."

After a day and a night of running, the three of them were already exhausted.They calculated and estimated that they were more than 30 miles away from the enemy.At night, they slept under a big rock, and continued on their way when the sky was slightly bright.No one followed them along the way. They thought they were liberated and free, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.But what they never expected was that the devil's claws were actually not far away at this time, and were gradually approaching.

At noon the next day, they ran out of food, but they were not worried, because both of them had been good hunters.They chose a secluded place, picked some firewood and lit a fire to keep warm.At this time, it was half a mountain at an altitude of [-] feet, and it was cold and windy.Hou Po tied up his horse and said, "I'll try my luck." After speaking, he got up and left with his rifle.The father and daughter were still in his sight at first, but after a while a huge boulder appeared, blocking his view and he couldn't see them.

Hou Po turned over several canyons, but still found nothing.He looked carefully at the ground and found the hoofprints of wild bears, but found nothing after searching for a long time.Just as he was about to go back in disappointment, he suddenly found a Canadian argali called "Big Horn".It was standing on a high rock with its back to Hou Po, defenseless.Hou Po seized the opportunity to aim the gun at it, and the bullet flew past.The beast received a fatal blow, fell down immediately, and then rolled down the ravine.

The thing was very fat, and Hope tried to carry it, but it was too heavy.He had no choice but to cut off its four legs and take them away.At this time, the sun was about to set, and the surrounding area was vast, and he didn't know which direction to go back.For a while, the valley became bumpy, and it was impossible to tell which direction it came from.He tried walking in one direction, but felt something was wrong after walking for a while, so he came back and walked in another direction.After a few rounds of tossing like this, the sky finally completely darkened.He forced himself to sit down and think calmly for a while, and finally he found an accurate direction.The direction is mastered, but the small roads are very difficult to walk, and with the hunting meat he just caught on his back, he feels that he really can't walk.But when he thought of Lucy, Hou Po could not help but increase his strength, and insisted on walking forward.Today's harvest made him very satisfied, because the hunting meat was enough for their future trips.After walking with heavy steps like this for a long time, he finally recalled that this was the entrance of the valley where they stopped just now.He thought they must be worried about him, so he shouted before he walked over: "I'm back!" However, he only heard his own echo.He yelled a few more times, but it was still just his own echo. He began to suspect that he had gone the wrong way, but his intuition immediately told him no.He began to have an indescribable panic in his heart, so he hurriedly dropped the hunting meat on his back and went straight to the place where he had rested.

Going around the rock, he saw the place where they had rested at a glance.There were still burning coals, but nothing else.Where are the old man and the young girl?All this can only explain one problem, a devastating disaster happened here.Hou Po was at a loss for a moment, only feeling dizzy.He leaned against the rock for a while and calmed down, and finally came to his senses.After all, he is a strong-willed man.He picked up a half-burnt wooden stick from the stove and blew it on fire, and carefully looked around. There were horseshoe prints everywhere on the ground. Judging from the direction of these hoof prints, it should be heading towards Salt Lake City.They must have taken father and daughter back again.Suddenly, he caught sight of a low tomb, apparently freshly built.This made him almost collapse, because there was a wooden stick standing on the mound, with a line of striking words carved on it:
John Ferrier

lived in salt lake city

Died on August 1960, [-]
He had only been away for a few hours, and he never expected to say goodbye to the old man forever.Jefferson Hope looked around again, hoping to find some other clues, but he found nothing.It seemed that Lucy had fallen into the hands of the Mormons.Is it all predestined?Lucy is going to marry the elder's son and become a concubine, but she and her beloved will never be together.Thinking about this, Hou Po felt that he didn't want to live anymore, he really wanted to just die here and be with this old man forever.But after calming down, he warned himself that he must not die, but must avenge Lucy.The heart of vengeance recalled Hou Po's will, and he began to gradually regain his former firmness.His determination to revenge may be influenced by the Indians he had a lot of contact with.Kneeling beside Ferrier's grave, Hou Po was very sad. He felt sorry for the old man, and even more sorry for Lucy.He thought that only by killing those enemies with his own hands, could he alleviate his guilt towards the father and daughter.Pale and expressionless, he returned along the path, found the meat he had hunted, and roasted it on the fire.This bit of animal meat will be his food for the next few days.Wrapping up the roast, he began trudging back along the roads the Mormons had taken, the ones they had escaped from.When he couldn't take it anymore, he lay down on the rocks, slept for a few hours, and went on walking as soon as he opened his eyes.On the morning of the sixth day, he finally returned to this unfortunate place of escape - Eagle Valley.Looking from a distance, there are Mormon farms and homes everywhere, just like when they left.He looked haggard and lost a lot of weight. Standing on the top of the cliff, he stretched out his arms and shook his fist angrily at the land.After entering the city, he saw flags and slogans hanging everywhere on the street, and he didn't know what tricks the Mormons were playing again.Suddenly, he heard the neighing of a horse, and looked up to see a knight running towards him.When the two sides could see each other clearly, Hou Po recognized this person at a glance, because he had helped him before.His name was Kaupo, and Hou Po greeted him. "Do you still know me? I'm Jefferson Hope," he offered.

Cooper looked at him strangely, and couldn't believe that the expressionless, dim-eyed, ragged tramp in front of him was Hou Po.But when he saw who it was, he immediately became very nervous.

"You are crazy, dare to come here, do you know that you are wanted. You go!"

"I'm not afraid, it doesn't matter if you're wanted or not. I beg you to answer a few questions for me, because we used to be friends, don't reject me."

Cooper was very disturbed. He looked around and said, "Quickly, here even the stones have ears, and the trees have eyes."

"How is Lucy Ferrier?"

"She was forced to marry young Draper yesterday. Why, what's the matter with you? You're lost."

"I'm fine, what are you talking about? She's married?" He fell down on the rock in despair.

"Married yesterday, and that's why the streets are filled with flags, and who she's supposed to marry--Little Draper and little Stangerson fell out, because they've gone after you. Although It was Stangerson who killed Lucy's father, so he had great credit, and Lucy should belong to him. But the Four Saints Conference decided that Lucy should marry the little Draper, because Draper was very powerful. But I don't think this scene will last long, I saw Lucy yesterday, her face was pale and her hair was disheveled, she was like a female ghost. What, you want to go?"

"Yes," said Jefferson Hope, rising to his feet.He was expressionless and his eyes were red.

"Where are you going?" Copper asked.

"Don't worry about it." He strode into the deep mountains and old forests.This is a dangerous area where wild beasts often move.However, Hou Po's current level of ferocity may not be comparable to any beast.

Kaupo's words soon became reality.Because of the tragic death of her father and the fact that she was forced to marry her enemy, Lucy was depressed all day long, and finally went crazy, and died of depression within a few days.Little Draper married Lucy for the sake of Ferrier's property, so he was not sad when Lucy died. On the contrary, his wives and concubines felt very sympathetic to Lucy, and they buried Lucy in accordance with the Mormon custom. The night before had been keeping vigil for her.The next morning, when they were still sitting around the coffin, the door of the house suddenly opened, and a man with disheveled clothes and a vicissitudes of life suddenly broke in.The women were all dumbfounded until they saw the man walk up to Lucy's body, bent down and kissed Lucy's forehead.He took her hand and took off the wedding ring.He yelled, "She must not be buried with it!" and by the time the people realized, he was nowhere to be seen.

Since then, Jefferson Hope has been living a savage life in the mountains, and the thought of revenge for Lucy has filled his whole body and mind.People in Utah City know that there is a strange person in the mountains, and he can sometimes be seen wandering outside the city.On one occasion, a bullet pierced a windowpane in Stangerson's home, narrowly missing Stangerson.Another time, when Draper was walking under the cliff in the mountains, a big rock suddenly slipped down from it. Fortunately, he avoided the disaster in time.When they found out that someone was trying to murder them, both of them sent people into the mountains to catch the strange person, but they never succeeded.Helpless, they had no choice but to be careful and hired bodyguards to follow them all day.It was not until after a long time that there seemed to be no sign that their lives were in danger, that the two of them relaxed their vigilance.Perhaps, they thought, the man's vengeance had cooled.

In fact, they were wrong. Hou Po's desire for revenge not only did not become cold, but became stronger and stronger.He lives for revenge.He began to realize that he had to take good care of his body, and he couldn't just die like this. If he died, all the pain he had suffered would be meaningless.Thinking of this, he left the harsh environment in the deep mountains and old forests, and returned to the Nevada mine.He wants to regain his strength and accumulate money for further action.

(End of this chapter)