Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 2

Chapter 16 Memoirs 16
One summer evening, a few months after my marriage, I sat alone by the fire smoking my last pipe and dozing over a dull novel, exhausted by the day's work.My wife has gone upstairs, and the hall door has just been locked, and the servants have gone to rest.I lazily rose from my chair, and was knocking off the ashes of my pipe, when a loud bell rang.

I looked at my watch, it was already eleven forty-five.I thought, at this late hour, that there was no chance of a call, obviously a sick man, probably one who needed all night care.I was unhappy, but I had to go and open the door.Unexpectedly, it was Sherlock Holmes standing on the stone steps outside the door.

"Ah, Watson," said Holmes, "I wish I had not disturbed you and your ladyship's repose by coming to you at this hour."

"My dear Holmes, come in quickly."

"You seem surprised, which is true! I think you should be relieved now! Why are you still smoking that Acadia blend! From the fluffy ash on your clothes, I deduce that .Watson, if you cannot get rid of the habit of hiding your handkerchief in your sleeve, you will still not look like a pure commoner. May I spend the night with you to-night?"

"Extremely honored."

"You told me once that you had a single guest room. I see no occupants now, as evidenced by your hat rack."

"It would be my great honor if you stayed here tonight."

"Thanks, then I'll take a vacant peg on your hat rack. Unfortunately, the British workman was once in your house, and he was a bad omen. Not a gutter man?"

"No, it's a gas repairman."

"His boots left two stud prints on the oilcloth on your floor. No, thank you, I dined at Waterloo just now, but I'd be glad to have a pipe with you."

I handed him the pipe, and he sat across from me, smoking for a while in silence.I waited patiently for him to speak.

"See you've been busy lately," he said.

"Yes, I've been busy all day," I replied, "but how did you figure that out?"

Holmes chuckled.

"My dear Watson, I know your habits better than anyone else," said Holmes. "When you make your rounds, you walk when the short distances are short, and ride in a carriage when the long distances are short. Your boots have been worn, but a little It's not dirty, it's not difficult to know that you are very busy these days, and you often go to the doctor in a carriage."

"Brilliant!" I exclaimed.

"It is simple," said Holmes. "A man of good reasoning often arrives at surprising conclusions because he has overlooked the subtleties upon which his reasoning is based. My dear Watson, you The exaggeration of the work, and the deliberate concealment of some of the plot to the reader, will of course lead to the same effect. Now I am like those readers, because of a strange case that racks the brains, I have mastered some But I still lack a point or two to complete my theory. But I shall find it!" Holmes's eyes shone brightly, and his thin cheeks were slightly flushed.When I looked at him again, his face returned to the rigid Indian expression.This led many to think that he had lost his humanity, like a machine.

"There are several points of interest in this case," said Holmes. "I have made inquiries and studies of the case, and I think that the case is close to being solved. If you will help me in this last step, you will do well." It's been a huge help."

"very willing to!"

"Then can you go as far as Aldershot tomorrow?"

"Jackson can practice medicine for me."

"Excellent. Take the ten past eleven from Waterloo."

"That way, I'll have plenty of time to prepare."

"Then, if you are not sleepy, I can tell you the state of the case and what needs to be done."

"Before you came, I was very sleepy, but now I am very sober."

"I will try to tell you as briefly as I can about the supposed murder of Colonel Buckley, of the Munster Infantry in Aldershot, which I am investigating."

"I've never heard of that at all."

"The case has not been given enough attention, except locally. It was only two days ago. The simple situation is this: You know, the Munster Infantry is one of the most famous in the British army. The Irish Regiment. It established itself in two counter-insurgency campaigns in the Crimea and India. Since then, it has performed in many battles. Until this Monday night, this army was under the command of James. ·Colonel Buckley to command.Colonel Buckley, who started out as an ordinary soldier, was promoted for his bravery in fighting the Indian rebels, and later took command of his regiment.

"Colonel Buckley was married when he was a sergeant, to Nancy DeVoy, the daughter of a former sergeant in the regiment. It is entirely conceivable that the young couple would suffer some social shock in their new surroundings. However, they quickly adapted. It is said that Mrs. Buckley is very popular with the women of the regiment, and her husband is also very popular with the officers and soldiers. What needs to be added is that Mrs. Buckley is a beautiful woman, and now Same, even though she's been married for over 30 years.

"Colonel Buckley's family life always seemed to be happy. I learned a lot from his deputy and friend, Major Murphy. He said he had never heard of any discord between the couple. In general, Colonel Buckley loved his wife more than his wife loved Buckley. In the regiment, the couple was recognized as an exemplary middle-aged couple. From their relationship, one can see absolutely nothing Stuff can cause tragedy later.

"Colonel Barclay himself was usually a stout and lively old soldier, but he could also appear rough and vindictive at times. This temper never occurred to his wife. The Colonel sometimes showed a strange depression. The major said that when Colonel Barclay was joking with people at the dinner table, it seemed that an invisible hand would suddenly wipe the smile from his face. In the few days before the accident, he was in this depressed state, and his mood was extremely depressed. This depression and superstition were the only unusual features of his character which his companions observed. His superstition was manifested in his reluctance to be alone, especially after dark. People's arguments and suspicions.

"The 110st Battalion of Munster's Infantry (formerly the [-]th Seventh Battalion) was stationed in Aldershot for many years. The officers who had wives lived outside the barracks. Colonel Buckley always They live in a small villa called 'Lanjing' about half a mile from the barracks. The villa is a courtyard, and the west side is less than thirty yards from the road. The couple only hired a coachman and two maids. Because Buckley The couple has no children, and they usually have no guests, so only the couple and three servants live in the 'Lan Jing' villa.

"Let's talk now about what happened at the 'Lan Jing' villa at nine or ten o'clock on Monday night.

"Mrs Barclay is a Roman Catholic, and she is very interested in the activities of the St. George's Charity. The charity is run by the Watt Street Chapel, which gives out old clothes to the poor. There is a meeting of the Charity at eight o'clock that evening. Mrs. Buckley, after a hasty supper, went to a meeting. As she was leaving, the coachman heard her say a few homely words to her husband, telling him that he would be back soon. Then she invited the young Moore who lived in a nearby villa. Miss Leeson went together. The meeting lasted for 10 minutes, and Mrs. Buckley came home at [-]:[-], and they parted at Miss Morrison's door.

"There is a room in the 'Lan Jing' villa, which is specially used for early morning living. It faces the road and has a large glass door leading to the lawn. The lawn is only separated from the road by a low wall with iron railings. When returning home, It was this room that Mrs Buckley entered. The curtains were not drawn then, as the room was not usually used much at night. But Mrs Buckley lit the lamp, and had Jane Stewart, the maid, bring her a cup of tea, which Contrary to her usual habits, the colonel, who was sitting in the dining-room, when he heard his wife's return, went to meet her in the parlor in the morning. The coachman saw the colonel go into that room, and never came out alive.

"The tea that Mrs. Buckley asked for will be ready in 10 minutes. But when the maid came to the door, she heard the master and his wife arguing. She knocked on the door, but no one answered. She turned the door knob and found that It was locked from the inside. She ran to tell the cook. The two maids and the coachman came to the corridor together, and heard the couple still quarreling violently. They agreed that only Colonel Barclay and his wife were heard. A personal voice. Colonel Buckley's voice was low and disjointed, so that none of the three of them could make out what he said. On the contrary, the woman's voice was very painful, and when she spoke loudly, it seemed to be It can be heard clearly. She kept saying: 'What do you do now, you coward? What do you do now? Give me back my youth. I don't want to live with you anymore! You coward! You coward !' Then the servants suddenly heard a terrible cry, and at the same time heard a crashing sound and a terrifying scream from the woman. The coachman knew that tragedy had happened, and wanted to break in. But he couldn't. Yes, however, the coachman suddenly had an idea, and he ran out the front door and went around to the lawn of a French window opposite. One of the windows of the long window was open, and the coachman easily climbed in through the window. At this time, his mistress was already unconscious, lying stiff on the couch, and Colonel Buckley fell straight in a pool of blood, with his feet resting on the armrest of the single sofa and his head on the ground, near the fire. corner of the board.

"The coachman found that his master could not be saved, and first thought of opening the door, but the key was not on the inside of the door, and he couldn't find it anywhere. So he had to climb out of the window and ask the police officer and medical staff for help. Naturally , the lady was very suspicious because she was still in a coma and was carried to her own room by everyone. The colonel's body was laid flat on the sofa, and the police officers then searched the scene of the tragedy carefully.

"The unfortunate old soldier's mortal wound was in the back of the head, with a gash about two inches long, evidently caused by a sharp blow from some kind of iron instrument. Next to the body on the floor, stood a A carved hardwood stick with a bone handle. The colonel collected different types of weapons during his lifetime. The police guessed that this stick was one of his trophies. The servants said that they had never seen this stick before. However, if it is mixed in the room, it is very valuable Among the objects, it is possible to go unnoticed. The police found no other important clues in this room. There was only one incredible thing: the key was neither on Mrs. Barkley nor on the injured person, nor was the room Couldn't find it. A locksmith had to be called in from Aldershot to open the door.

"I was invited by Major Murphy to go to Aldershot on Tuesday morning to help the police solve the case. But after careful observation, it seems that the case is actually more bizarre than I first imagined.

"Before this room was inspected, the servants were questioned by the police. What they said was what I have just said. Jane Stewart, the maid, recalled one other noteworthy detail. As soon as she heard the sound of the quarrel , went immediately to the other two servants, and came back together. The first time she was there alone, she heard the masters' voices so low that they hardly heard anything. She judged by the tone of their voices that they were arguing. Yes. When I pressed hard, she remembered hearing the word 'David' twice from the lady. This point is very important to guess the reason for their quarrel. Because the colonel's name is James.

"Another thing about this case is that Colonel Buckley's face has become unrecognizable. It is said that the Colonel's face has taken on an expression of extreme horror, and has become unhuman. It must be that he has The foresight of his own fate aroused him terror. It was entirely in line with the police's opinion that the colonel might have been aware of his wife's plan to murder him. The fact that the wound was in the back of his head did not quite contradict this, for he was Wanting to turn around and avoid the blow, Mrs. Buckley was delirious due to a sudden attack of acute encephalitis, and it was temporarily impossible to understand anything from her.

"But I know from the officer that Miss Morrison, who was out with Mrs Buckley that night, denied any knowledge of the cause of her companion's outburst when she came home.

"After gathering these facts, Watson, I smoked several pipes in succession. Needless to say, the most extraordinary thing about this case is that the key to the door has been lost inexplicably. It is very obvious that the key has been taken away. Yes. There must therefore be a third person who had entered the room through the window. At last I found traces, which were quite different from what I expected. A person must have been in the room, and he entered from the road across the lawn. I got five very clear footprints of the man, one on the low wall, two on the lawn, and two less obvious ones, left on the dirty floor beside the window when he entered through the window. It is evident that he ran across the lawn, for the toe-marks are much deeper than the heel-marks. But it is not the man who interests me, but his accomplices."

Holmes took a large sheet of thin paper from his pocket, and spread it carefully on his lap.

On the paper was the paw print of a small animal, with five clear claws, the claws were very long, the size of a dessert spoon.

"It's a dog," I said.

(End of this chapter)