Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 2

Chapter 5 Memoirs 5
"She said, 'Jack, you're mad at me, I just came here to see if I could help my new neighbors.'

"I said, 'So you were here last night too?'

"She yelled: 'What are you talking about?'

"'I'm sure you were here last night, how did you know these people, and why did you come to see them in the middle of the night?'

"'I've never been here before.'

"I yelled: 'How dare you tell me such a lie? No, I'm going in to find out.'

"She was so excited that she gasped and said, 'No, Jack, for God's sake, don't go in there!' She yanked me away from the door with a brute force.

"She yelled, 'Jack, don't do this, I promise I'll tell you all about it in a few days.' She grabbed my free hand and pleaded frantically.

"She yelled: 'Jack, you just trust me this once. It's about our whole lives, trust me, Jack, you're going to regret it.'

"Her words of desperation and sincerity stopped me, and I stood at the door hesitantly.

"I said: 'As long as you promise me, I will believe you. You must promise not to come out at night and do things that I can't understand, but you also have the right to keep your own secrets. If you promise me, nothing like this will happen again. I promise to forget all the unpleasantness of the past.'

"She breathed a sigh of relief, and said aloud, 'Exactly as you wish. Come, let us go home, and I knew you would trust me.'

"For two days since then, my wife has kept her word and I've stayed home. But on the third day, I can assure you, she couldn't resist the pull and went there again.

"To get home, I took the [-] instead of the usual [-] train. I opened the door and the maid came running with a panicked face.

"I asked: 'Where's the madam?'

"She replied: 'She ... went for a walk.'

"All of a sudden, I suddenly became suspicious. When I ran upstairs, I found that she was indeed not in the house. When I inadvertently looked out the window, I saw the maid running towards the small villa. I knew right away My wife was there again, and she ordered the maid to post for her. I ran downstairs, and rushed out, shaking with rage. So I didn't knock, and turned the knob, and rushed in.

"The kettle on the stove in the kitchen was hissing incessantly, a big black cat was lying in a basket, and there was silence downstairs. The room was furnished and painted except for the bedroom where the strange face was seen from the window. Sophisticated and comfortable, everything else is ordinary and rough. And when I saw the full-body photo I took of my wife three months ago, all my suspicions turned into a fierce and painful flame.

"I stayed indoors for a while longer before I was sure there was no one there, and then I came home with a very heavy heart. My wife came into the front hall, and I was so annoyed that I rushed straight into the study, and she followed suit. I walked in.

"She said, 'Jack, I've broken my promise and I'm sorry, but I'm sure you'll forgive me when you know the truth.'

"I said: 'Then you tell me all about it!'

"She yelled, 'No, Jack, it's not time yet!'

"I said: 'If you don't tell me who the person you sent the picture to is and who lives in that villa, we can't even talk about trusting each other.' And then she left the house. I've since Haven't seen her since. This is the first time we've had an argument and I'm in shock and that's all I know. Early this morning it occurred to me that you could give me directions so I rushed over .I really don’t know what to do, I’ll leave everything to you.”

The man was very excited and talked intermittently.Holmes, resting his chin on his hand, was lost in thought.

He said: "Can you confirm that what you see through the window is a man's face?"

"No, because every time I see that face, it's far away."

"You're obviously not impressed with that face."

"The face was strangely dull, and the color seemed unnatural. When I approached him, it disappeared suddenly."

"About when did your wife ask you for the hundred pounds?"

"About two months ago."

"Have you seen a picture of her ex-husband?"

"No, all his documents were burned in a fire."

"Have you ever met anyone in the United States who knew her or who knew her situation in the United States?"

"No."

"Then have you ever received a letter from America?"

"No more."

"Okay, let me think about this for a while. But before you entered the house yesterday, the people inside might have gotten the news and avoided it, and they may have gone back now, so that our work will be more convenient. It's best Go back to Norbury first and look at the windows of that villa again. If there are people in there, don’t force your way in, just send us a telegram. We will rush over immediately after receiving the telegram.”

"What if the villa is still empty?"

"In that case, we'll discuss it with you when we get there tomorrow. Don't worry about it until you know the facts."

Holmes sent Mr. Grant Munro away, turned to me and said, "Watson, what do you think? I think there is something wrong with this matter."

"It's really difficult." I replied.

"Yeah, I guess there may be fraud in it."

"Then who is the liar?"

"The man must have lived in the only comfortable room, and in any case I shall not let the case pass, for the impassive face is so remarkable."

"Do you have any ideas now?"

"I only have some tentative inferences now. I think the woman's ex-husband is in that cottage."

"Where did you hear that?"

"If her ex-husband wasn't there, how do you say she's determined not to let her current husband in there? I'm guessing, it's likely that her ex-husband may have picked up some bad habits or something nasty in America disease, so that others do not want to contact him or his ability is reduced, so she abandons him and returns to England, changing her name, and for her ex-husband, she only shows a death certificate. Marriage with her current husband During the last three years she had come to believe that she was perfectly safe, but unfortunately she was exposed again, so they wrote her and threatened her. Although she gave them a hundred pounds, they came anyway. And as soon as the wife When she heard her husband mention the new residents of the villa, she naturally thought of them. So she ran to negotiate with them while her husband was asleep. The first time was unsuccessful, so she went for the second time. The next morning, when, as her husband told us, the two of them happened to meet, two days later, a strong desire to get rid of the dreaded neighbor prompted her to try again. Armed with the photographs they had requested, she Was negotiating with ex-husband when the maid told her he was coming this way, so they must have gone into the fir grove by the back door. There must be someone in the house tonight."

"It's just speculation."

"But it fits all the facts, and there is time for reconsideration. But until we have Mr. Munro's telegram from Norbury, we have to wait."

No sooner had tea been finished than the telegram came.

The telegram said: "There are people living in the villa. I saw that strange face. Please meet me by the 7 o'clock train. Everything will be handled by you."

When he got off the train, he was already waiting on the platform.He looked pale and trembling in the light of the station lights.

He held Holmes tightly by the sleeve, and said: "Mr. Holmes, I saw a light as I passed the villa. I am sure they are still there. We must get rid of it once and for all.

"I hope you two will be witnesses, because I want to break in and see who is in the house."

"Do you really want to break in desperately? Don't forget, your wife warned you that it's best not to solve this mystery."

"I've made up my mind now."

"It's better to find out than to have endless doubts. You're right, and now we're going right away. Even though it's legally untenable, it's worth a try."

The overcast sky began to drizzle, and Mr. Grant Munro rushed forward impatiently.

Pointing to the lights that flickered in the bushes, he whispered, "Over there is my home, and this is the villa."

While speaking, the house was in sight.A dim yellow light shone from a half-closed door, and a window upstairs was also very brightly lit by the light.When we looked up, a black shadow flashed by.

Suddenly, a woman stood in the golden light and shadow. Although I couldn't see her face clearly in the dark, I saw her raise her arms high in a gesture of pleading.

She yelled, "Jack, for God's sake, trust me one more time. Don't come in, you'll regret it."

He snapped, "I've trusted you for too long, Effie. I've got to get this over with!" He pushed his wife aside, opened the door, and pushed past an old woman in front of him who was trying to stop him people.He ran quickly into the lighted room, and we went in too.

A very well decorated, warm and cozy bedroom.A little girl sat hunched over under a table in a corner of the room.And as soon as we walked through the door, she turned her face away.Suddenly she turned to us and we saw a deadpan, leaden face which really took us by surprise.Holmes smiled, put his hand behind the girl's ear, and removed a mask.It turned out to be a little black girl.And when she saw our expressions, she showed her white teeth in a smile, and I couldn't help laughing, but Grant Munro looked at me stupidly, pressing his throat with one hand.

He yelled: "God, can someone tell me what's going on?"

His wife said with a firm face: "I can tell you that my husband died in Atlanta, but the child is still alive. Now the two of us must find a safe solution."

"your child?"

She took a large silver box from her bosom, and said to Munro, "You never saw me open it, did you?"

"I thought it couldn't be opened!"

Pressing the spring, she snapped open the lid.Inside was a portrait of a suave, handsome, but at first sight a man of African descent.

His wife said: "This is John Hebron of Atlanta, the most noble man in the world. I cut myself off from my own race in order to marry him, but I have never regretted it. Unfortunately, our only The child is of her ancestral line and not mine, and little Lucy is much darker than her father. But she is my dear little one." The little one ran to snuggle up beside the woman. "It was only because she was unhealthy, that a change of soil and water might do her no good, that I gave her to be raised by a faithful Scotch maid. I never thought of abandoning my children, but I dare not say I have them, because I was afraid that would lose you. And when I could only choose one of you, I abandoned my baby. And for three years I kept getting word from the nanny that she was all right without telling you. But But I couldn't suppress my desire to see the child. I sent the nanny a hundred pounds to let her know the location of the cottage, and we became neighbors. And I even covered the child's face and hands, and ordered her not to Go out. That way, there won't be any rumors about a little black person in the next house. If I could just relax a little bit, I wouldn't make it.

"You told me that someone lived there. I was too excited, so I couldn't wait for the morning. Because of your generosity, you didn't investigate my behavior the next day. The time you broke in through the front door later , the children and the nannies walked through the back door. Well, it’s all clear now, what are you going to do with us?”

Ten minutes later, Grant Munro broke the silence first.He stooped to pick up the child and kissed her, and then, with his wife in one arm and the child in the other, he made his way to the door, an answer that satisfied me very much.

He said: "Although I am not a saint, I am indeed better than you think. Let's discuss it after we go home."

Holmes tugged at my sleeve, and said: "We will certainly be more useful in London than here."

He didn't talk about the case all night, until before he went into the bedroom he said: "Whenever you think I'm too confident or not working hard enough, just say 'Norberry' and I'll be very grateful to you."

(End of this chapter)