Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 54 Adventure History 12
"Don't talk nonsense. Here and there are the footprints of your left foot that turned in. But it disappeared by the reeds. If those people have not destroyed this pond, I came here, and the problem will be clear. The gatekeeper led This group of people came from here, and the footprints covered the body six to eight feet around. However, here is a pair of footprints that appeared three times, and they were not connected with these footprints." Taking out the magnifying glass, he began to talk to himself : "These are the footprints of McCarthy. He walked back and forth twice, and the footprints on the soles of his feet were very deep, showing that he ran very fast once, because he saw his father lying on the ground and ran quickly to see. This is the old man. McCarthy's pacing footprints. These are the marks where the top of the butt of the gun had landed on the ground as McCarthy stood listening to his father. So what are these marks? Square-toed boots that came and went and went Come here... This is the footprint to come back to get the coat, but where did it come from?" He looked back and forth, and the footprints could be traced to the edge of the woods.Holmes continued to walk along the footprints, followed all the way to the other side, and then lay down on the ground again, shouting triumphantly.For a long time, he turned over the leaves and some dead branches, put something like soil into the envelope, and carefully checked the ground and bark.He found a jagged stone among the moss, examined it carefully, and put it also in the envelope.Then he followed a path through the woods to the road, without finding any trace.

He smiled and said, "This case is so interesting. I will go to the porter to chat with Morun for a while, and then I will make some notes for him. After that, we can have lunch. You go back to the carriage first."

Holmes still held the stone which he had picked up in the wood.Let's go back to Ross together.

On the way, he took out the stone and said to Remy Reid, "Old McCarthy was killed by this weapon."

"But what is the sign?"

"No sign of it."

"Then, why do you say it's a murder weapon?"

"The grass under the stone is still alive, which means that this stone was just placed there. Moreover, the shape of this stone is exactly the same as the scars of the deceased."

"Then who is the murderer?"

"He should be a tall man. Left-handed, with a slight limp on the right leg, wearing high-heeled hunting boots, and a gray overcoat; Knife, we can rely on these signs enough."

"I'm still not sure about that," Remy Reid said.

"I have my reasons," said Holmes. "Perhaps I shall take the train back to London in the evening."

"Aren't you planning on taking your case?"

"No, the case is quite clear."

"But what about those suspicious things?"

"I've untied it."

"Then who is the murderer?"

"The man I described."

"I can't run around looking for this gentleman. I'm going to be laughed at," said Ray Mired.

Holmes looked at him and said: "I have given you the opportunity to solve the case. I will leave you a note."

We went back to the hotel after we parted ways with Ray Mirade.Lunch is ready.Holmes was silent as he ate, brooding constantly.

When the meal was over he said to me: "Let us chat for a while, Watson. I have some doubts, and I would like to hear your opinion. My thoughts first."

"You say it."

"Two things caught my attention at the same time in McCarthy's testimony. The first is that, according to his statement, his father called 'Cooey' before seeing him. The second is that : The deceased uttered a few words before dying, but McCarthy only heard the word 'lat'. Let's analyze it."

"What does 'Cooy' mean?"

"I don't think the word was called for his son because he thought his son wasn't home. He just wanted to get the attention of the people he was meeting. 'Cooey' is only a common name among Australians. So , and I speculate that the man McCarthy was dating at the pond may have been to Australia as well."

"Then how does 'lat' explain it?"

Having produced a map, Holmes said to me: "This is a map of Colonial Victoria." He pointed out a place on the map for me to read the location, and I said, "Ballerat."

"Ballerat."

"That's right, old McCarthy wanted to call it 'Ballerat', but his son could only hear the last two syllables clearly. Old McCarthy wanted to tell his son that the murderer was someone from Ballerat. someone."

I couldn't help saying with admiration: "It's great."

"It's all obvious. I've narrowed down the murderer considerably. If McCarthy's story is true, the man must have had a gray overcoat. Since the man has a gray coat and has been to Australia Ballerat, then our clouded minds may be cleared."

"Indeed."

"He must know the place like the back of his hand, because to get to the pond you have to go through Hatherley Farm or Turner Park, and it's not accessible to strangers.

"We're on the scene just to tease out the details of the case, and I've already told stupid Remy Read who the murderer was."

"How did you detect those details?"

"By observing the little things carefully."

"You can probably tell his approximate height from the size of his stride. His boots from his footprints."

"That's a special pair of boots."

"Then how do you decide he's crippled?"

"His right footprint is obviously not as clear as the left footprint. It can be seen that the strength of the right foot is not as strong as the left foot."

"How do you know he's a lefty?"

"The blow was coming right behind him from the left side, and if he didn't use his left hand, how could he have hit it on the left side? This guy had been hiding behind a tree while the old McCarthys were talking. Smoking. Because there are cigar ashes on the ground, according to my research on cigar ash, he smoked Indian cigars. I have studied the smoke deeply, found the ashes, and I found the butts of Indian cigars in the moss.”

"Then where is the cigarette holder?"

"I found that he didn't hold the end of the cigarette in his mouth, which shows that he used a cigarette holder. The end of the cigar was cut with a knife. But from the irregular cut, it can be seen that he must have cut it with a very dull knife. .”

I said, "Holmes, the case is clear indeed, and you have cleared McCarthy just as you cut the noose that was about his neck. There is hope in the case. But who is the murderer . . . ...".

"Mr. John? Turner came to visit Mr. Holmes," a guest was ushered into our room by the hotel bellboy.

The man who came was a familiar face, but it was memorable: hunched back and limping, because he walked very slowly, but he gave people a dignified impression, with his curly beard, gently drooping hair and silver-gray eyebrows , All show that his identity and status are different from ordinary people.But he was a very sick, dying man, with a pale face and a dark purple-blue lip and nose.

Holmes rose and said, "Sit down, please. I trust you have seen my note."

"Yes, it was brought by the concierge. You said that you invited me to the hotel in order to avoid gossip."

"I feel that if I visit you at your estate I shall invite gossip."

"Why did you ask me?" He looked at Holmes.There was desperation in his eyes, as if his question had been answered.

"You should come," said Holmes. "It would be more fitting to answer his look than to answer his question."

The old man cried out in pain: "Forgive me, God! I will not let this young man take my place. I swear, if he is found guilty, I will fight for him."

"I'm glad you are," said Holmes, looking at him.

"The reason why I said it so late is that my daughter will be upset - she will be very sad when she finds out that I am a murderer."

Holmes said: "Perhaps the court may not necessarily arrest you."

"Why did you say that?"

"Because I'm not an official detective. I'm working on your daughter's case, but we have to clear McCarthy."

Mr. Turner said: "I have been suffering from diabetes for many years. I am afraid I will not live for a month. However, I would rather die at home than in prison." Write it down, and you sign it, and Mr. Watson can testify. I will not use it except in extreme cases. I pledge my personality to you."

The old man said, "I promise you. I've put my life and death on the line, and it's still a question of whether I'll survive until the circuit trial? So it doesn't matter much to me. I just don't want Alice to know. I don't want She was shocked. Now let me tell you the story. It's been a long time in the planning, but it won't be long."

"Old McCarthy was evil incarnate. I was tortured by him for 20 years and he ruined my life. He got hold of me. Let me tell you first how I got caught by this devil .

"It was the early 60s, and I was mining in the colony. After the mine failed, I joined a gang of bad guys and became robbers. We robbed stations and stopped carriages for a living. My name was Ballerat? black jack.

"Once we made money by roadside raiding a gold convoy from Ballerat to Melbourne. But I didn't kill the coachman - old McCarthy. That buried me The bane of life's misery. I let him go. The gold made us rich, and in England we parted, and I made up my mind to stop being a robber and live a clean life. My estate was put up for sale, so, I bought it, and I married a young girl, and I had a lovely daughter, little Alice. She was a part of my life, so I lived more quietly. I do good things To make up for past mistakes, my life was very happy, but I met the terrible McCarthy.

"I was in town on errands, and I met him in the street. He was a poor beggar then.

"He met me and begged me and said: 'Jack, we are old friends. You take me and my only son to your house. Otherwise, I will tell what you have done, England. It is a society ruled by law, and the police will appear at any time.

"So I was forced to take them to my land. From then on, he stalked me. I rented the best land to him, but he didn't charge a penny. He always reminded me that I was a robber, and when my Things got worse when my daughter grew up. Because he caught my weakness, I didn't want little Alice to know about my past. , I gave him everything, land, money, and a house, but when he asked for my lovely daughter, I couldn't bear it.

"His son marrying Alice and then getting my whole fortune is a no-win for him. I can't stand it, old McCarthy is always threatening me. I replied that even if he put Say it all, and I don't care anymore. Finally, we decided to meet at that pond to discuss a solution.

"He was talking to his son when I got there, so I had to hide behind a tree and smoke until he was alone. But as soon as I heard what he was talking to my son, the evil thoughts in my heart took over. The upper hand. He is urging his son to marry my daughter without any consideration of what she will think, as if my daughter is a street whore. The thought of himself and his most beloved daughter being at the mercy of a villain like him I'm going mad with anger. Can't I get rid of it? I'm a dying man, so I don't care; although my mind is still sane and my limbs are still strong, I know that my life is finished. But I still A fortune and a daughter! I knew that if I could just shut up that foul mouth, I would save everything. So I did it, Mr. Holmes, and I would like to do it again. I have sinned deeply, and I have suffered for it all my life. But I couldn't bear to have my daughter fall into the same net that made me submit. I knocked him down like a beast. His son ran away when he heard him howl. I came back, but I was hidden in the woods. But then I had to run back and retrieve the cloak that I had shaken off in my haste of flight. That, sir, is the truth of the whole thing."

The old man signed the confession.Holmes said to him: "It is not my right to judge you."

"What are you going to do?"

"Considering your poor health, I don't want to do anything, but you should also know that you will be tried by a higher court in the near future. I will keep the secret for you. But if you can't let the wheat If Cassie proves innocent, I'll have to make it public. Otherwise, I'll keep it a secret from you whether you live or die."

Mr. Turner said: "Goodbye, Mr. Holmes. When you are dying, you will be more relieved to think that you have kept a secret for me and let me rest in peace. You will enter heaven in peace." The old man left calmly .

Holmes meditated for a while, and said: "Every time I encounter a similar case, I often think of Baxter's words and say to myself: It is entirely by God's blessing that Sherlock Holmes has solved this case. Why is fate always To play tricks on these poor, helpless mortals?"

With the help of Holmes, the defense lawyer's defense was very strong, so James McCarthy was acquitted and released.After the case was over, the elder Turner lived for seven months before he passed away.We can envision the prospect that McCarthy and Alice are finally living together, happily.They may never know that before they got together, there were so many tragic stories and bitter histories.

(End of this chapter)