Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 2

Chapter 41 Return 17
"Excellent! A second possibility is developing, Watson. Do you have a telegram? Please write me two, the first of which is: 'Ratcliffe Street, Maritime Co., Semna. Pie Three to come, at ten o'clock in the morning. - Basil.' That's the name I'm playing the character by. The other is: 'Stanley Hope, Sheriff, 46 Lord Street, Braston Kim. Come here at 09:30 tomorrow morning. If you are in a hurry, please call back. - Sherlock Holmes. 'For ten days, Watson, I have been haunted by this nasty thing. Get it out of your mind completely, and tomorrow will have the final result."

The next morning the sheriff arrived punctually, looking elated with the success of the case.

Holmes asked: "Do you think your solution is correct?"

"I don't think there's any way to be more fulfilling than that."

"As far as I can see the case has not been finally settled."

"Sir, is there any need for us to make further inquiries?"

"Are you aware of all aspects of the matter?"

"Totally clear, I found out that Nergen was at Bright's Hotel on the day of the accident, and that his room was on the first floor, with the intention of being free to come and go at any time. He went to Woodman Lee that night to meet Peter Gary in the lodge. , a quarrel broke out, and he harpooned him. He left a notebook on his escape, which contained questions about various securities that had been questioned about Peter Garry. Note that some of the securities were marked with marks, while Most are unmarked. The marked statements were found and traced in the London market. The rest are probably still in the possession of Peter Gary. It seems to me that young Nergan was eager to get the securities To the original owner, in order to pay the creditor. After he ran away, he dared not enter the house, but in order to obtain the desired situation, he had to go to the cottage again. Isn't it the case?"

Holmes shook his head.

"I see that there is a loophole in this, that it is impossible for this young man to kill. Have you ever harpooned an animal? No? My friend Watson can attest that it took me a whole morning to do it." This exercise. It's not an easy job, it requires a strong arm from the man, an accurate throw. The steel fork goes in so hard that the head sinks into the plank wall. You think this anemic young man can do it How could he drink rum with Black Peter in the middle of the night? Is he the one seen in profile on the curtain two days ago? No, Hopkins, this must be a strong, powerful man, we must Try to find this person."

The sheriff's face grew longer and longer as Holmes analyzed the case.His hopes and ambitions were shattered by Holmes' words.But he will never give up his position easily.

"Mr. Holmes, you will not deny that Mr. Nergan was present that night, will you? The notebook is the evidence. Where is the hideous criminal you speak of?"

"I think he's up there on the stairs now, Watson," said Holmes quite calmly. "Put your gun where it's easiest to reach." He stood up and put a sheet of paper on a table against the wall."Everything is ready," he said.

Mrs. Hudson came in and told that there were three people outside who wanted to see Captain Bales.

"Let them come in one by one," said Holmes.

The first one to enter was a small, amused-looking man, with rosy cheeks and grizzled, shaggy whiskers.

He took a letter from his pocket, and Holmes said: "What is your name?"

"James Lancaster."

"I'm sorry, sir, but the berths are full. Here's a gold half pound piece for you. Please go to that room and wait a few minutes."

The second person to enter was a slender, thin man with straight hair and sunken cheeks.His name was Hugh Pattins, and he too was not employed, but was also given a half-pound and was also waiting.

The third person has a peculiar appearance.His face was that of a lap-dog, with unkempt hair and eyebrows, thick and tufted, hanging down over his black, savage eyes.He saluted and stood there turning his hat with both hands like a sailor.

"Your name?" asked Holmes.

"Patrick Cairns."

"Are you a harpooner?"

"Yes, sir. I have sailed twenty-six times."

"Is it in Port Dandy?"

"Yes, sir."

"How much is it a month?"

"Eight pounds."

"Can you go to sea with us right now?"

"If I get my gear ready."

"What proof?"

"Yes, sir." He took out a roll of slips from his pocket, smudged with oil.Holmes glanced at it and returned it to him.

"You are exactly the man I am looking for. The contract is on the table against the wall. You sign it and you are hired."

Holmes leaned on his shoulder, and threw his hands across his neck.

He said, "Yes, that's it."

I heard the sound of metal clashing and a roar, and then the two of them rolled on the ground.Although he was handcuffed, the man was too strong. If Hopkins and I hadn't helped, Holmes might have been subdued by the seaman instead.The sailor gave up resistance only when I pointed the pistol to his temple.We tied his ankles with rope.

Holmes said: "I'm sorry, Hopkins, but the scrambled eggs are probably cold. But when you see the case successfully concluded, your breakfast will be much better."

Sheriff Hopkins was speechless in astonishment.

He blushed and blurted out: "Sir, I really don't know what to say. I think I have been wrong from beginning to end. You will always be your teacher and I will always be your student. Although everything you did just now I've seen it all, but I'd still like to know how you've handled it and what it even means."

Holmes said happily: "Through this case, you should know that the method of solving the case should not stick to the old rules. You put all your attention on the young Nergen, but you don't want to focus on Patrick? A little bit of Kainz, the real murderer."

The seaman interrupted our conversation.

He said: "Sir, I want you to be more objective and precise. You say I murdered Peter Gary, and I say I killed Peter Gary, but there is a big difference. Maybe you You won't believe what I'm saying, and maybe you'll take it as if I'm making up a story."

"We won't do that," said Holmes. "We would like to hear what you have to say."

"I don't talk much, and I swear to God, it's true. I know Black Peter well. When he drew his knife, I knew he was dead or I was dead, so I had to stab him with a harpoon. .That's how he died, and you call it murder. Whether Black Peter put a knife in my heart or put a noose around my neck, I'm going to die."

"Why do you come here?" asked Holmes.

"It starts at the beginning. In August 1883, Peter Garry was captain of the Unicorn of the Seas, and I was backup spear harpooner. We were sailing upwind from the Arctic Ocean, and at sea we rescued a Blown to the north in a small boat, with only one man on board, who looked like a novice sailor, we all thought that a large ship had sunk, and the man was going to the coast of Norway in this small boat, and we guessed that everyone else on the ship was killed We got the man on board our ship, and his luggage was recovered, except for an iron box. The man's name was never mentioned, and he disappeared the next night, knowing that I was the only one who went down with this man, for I saw with my own eyes, on the second watch in the night, that the captain bound the stranger's feet and threw him over the rail. Two days later we were by shore.

"Black Peter stopped sailing after a while, and I didn't know his whereabouts until years later. He killed the man for the contents of the iron box, and I think he should pay me a big secrecy fee by now.

"A sailor met him in London, and I went straight to him and asked him for money. He was very reasonable on the first night, and was going to give me a large sum of money, and when I went back the next day, he was drunk. Half drunk and very bad tempered. He was drinking more and more and his face was getting more and more wrong. I saw the harpoon hanging on the wall, and I thought I could use it to strike first. Then he said to I burst into flames, murderous gleams in my eyes, and he had a jack-knife in his hand. Before he could draw the jack-knife from its sheath, my harpoon pierced him. He The blood splashed all over me. After a while, I mustered up the courage to find the iron box on the shelf in the house, and I left the small room with this box. In my haste, I left the tobacco pouch in the room. on the table.

"Now I will tell you one of the strangest things. As soon as I came out of the house, I felt someone approaching, and I immediately hid quietly in the bushes. The person came sneaking up and came to the house. I yelled like a ghost, and then ran away like a ghost. I don't know who he is or what he wants to do here. I walked ten miles and got on the train at Dunboch Wilts , came to London.

"I found there was no money in the box, only some securities, but I dared not sell it. I didn't catch Black Peter, and I'm still stuck in London, except for my workmanship, I couldn't survive and that's when I saw an ad for a spearfisherman, so I went to the shipping company and they sent me here. That's the whole truth of the matter. But I repeat, I kill And the court should be grateful to me for killing Black Peter, because then they won't have to go to the gallows at great expense, and they won't have to waste that twine."

Holmes said: "You see, Hopkins, I think you should send this prisoner to the right place as soon as possible."

Hopkins said: "Mr. Holmes, I really don't know how to thank you. I still don't understand what you did to make the prisoner fall into your trap."

"I was lucky to catch the right clue. If I knew the notebook from the beginning, it may be like your original idea, and the thinking may be led elsewhere by this notebook. But what I heard can only make people feel Concentration on one aspect: amazing strength, skill with the harpoon, rum, the sealskin tobacco pouch with rough tobacco. It made me think of a sailor, and one of the kind who had hunted whales I think the initial 'P?C.' on the pouch is just a coincidence and not Peter Gary's initials. Didn't I ask if there was any whiskey or brandy in the house? Your answer is yes. How could it be possible to ignore the whiskey and brandy and drink rum if you were not a sailor? So I decided that the murderer must be a sailor."

"And how did you find him?"

"If the murderer was a seaman, he must have been a seaman on the Unicorn of the Seas. As far as I know, Peter Gary has never sailed on any other ship. So I wired to Dandy, asking for Here are the names of all the sailors on board the 'Unicorn of the Seas' in 1883. When I saw the name of the harpooner Patrick Cairns on the list, I figured he might be in London and wanted to get out of England for a while. Time. So I set up an expedition to the Arctic Ocean, paid a lot of money to hire harpooners, and worked under Captain Basil—that is, me, and no, the case came to an end."

"Brilliant! Fabulous!" exclaimed Hopkins, his face full of admiration.

Holmes said: "You have to release Nergen as soon as possible. At the same time, I think you should say sorry to him and return the iron box to him, but the securities sold by Peter Gary cannot be returned. Hopkins , you take this man away. If you want me to testify in court at trial, Watson and I will live somewhere in Norway, and I will write to you when I have settled down."

(End of this chapter)