The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 119 The Return (34)
"Mrs. Hilda, one minute will suffice. I know that you have been to Eduardo Lucas and that you have given him a letter; I know how you got this letter from its hiding place under the rug."

She stared at Holmes palely, and twice opened her mouth but could not speak.After a while, she said aloud: "You are mad, Mr. Holmes, you are mad."

Holmes took a small piece of cardboard from his pocket.This is the part of the face cut out from a photo.

"I've been carrying this," said Holmes, "because I thought it might come in handy. The policeman has recognized the photograph."

She took a breath and leaned back in the chair.

"Lady Hilda, the letter is in your hands, and there is still time to make amends. I don't want to trouble you. I return this lost letter to your husband, and my task is completed. I hope you will accept my opinion, And tell me the truth. This is your last chance."

Her courage is truly admirable.At this point, she didn't want to admit defeat.

"I repeat to you, Mr. Holmes, that this is sheer absurdity."

Holmes rose from his chair and said regretfully, "I am sorry for you, Mrs. Hilda. I have tried my best for you, but it has all been in vain."

Holmes rang the bell.The butler came in.

"Is Mr. Trilony Hope at home?"

"Sir, he's home at a quarter past twelve."

Holmes looked at his watch and said: "There is still a quarter of an hour. I shall wait for him."

As soon as the butler walked out of the room, Mrs. Hilda knelt down in front of Holmes. She spread her hands, looked up at Holmes, with tears in her eyes, and begged bitterly, "Forgive me, Mr. Holmes, Forgive me! For God's sake, don't tell my husband! I love him so much! I don't want to upset him even the slightest bit, but it will break his heart."

Holmes lifted the lady up and said, "Very well, madam, you have finally understood. Time is running out. Where is the letter?"

She hurried to a writing desk, took out the key to open the drawer, and took out a letter. The envelope was very long and the color was light blue.

"Here is the letter, Mr. Holmes. I swear I have not opened it."

Holmes muttered: "How do we put the letter back? Quick, quick, we must do something at once! Where is the paper-box?"

"Still in his bedroom."

"What luck! Madame, bring the box here!"

After a while, she came with a flat red box in her hand.

"How did you open it before? You have a duplicate key? Yes, of course you do. Open the chest!"

Hilda took a small key out of her bosom.The box was opened and filled with papers.Holmes slipped the letter into one of the lower files, between two pages.After closing and locking the chest, the lady took it back to the bedroom.

Holmes said: "Now everything is ready, just wait for your husband. There are still 10 minutes. Mrs. Hilda, I have done my best to protect you. I only ask you to use these 10 minutes to repay me and tell me frankly. Me, what is your real purpose in doing this unusual thing."

"Mr. Holmes," said the lady aloud, "I will tell you everything. I would rather have my right hand cut off than give my husband the slightest trouble! I am afraid there will never be a woman in London who loves herself so much as I do." but if he knew what I had done, he would never forgive me, even though I was forced to. Because he takes his reputation very seriously, he will never forget or forgive other people's mistakes Yes, Mr. Holmes, you must save me! My happiness, his happiness, and our lives are all at stake!"

"Ma'am, hurry up, time is running out!"

"The problem, sir, is one of my letters, an indiscreet, stupid letter, written before my marriage, in a whim of my affections. My letter was innocent, but I Husband will think it's a crime. If he reads this letter, he will never trust me again. I tried to forget about it. But then this Lucas guy wrote me and told me it was in his hands , and to give it to my husband. I begged him to be kind enough to return the letter to me. He said he would return it to me if I would just give him the documents he asked for from the file box. My husband's There was a spy in the office, and it was he who told Lucas of such a letter. He assured me that my husband would not be harmed by it. Put yourself in my shoes, Mr. Holmes, and what should I do?"

"Tell your husband everything."

"No, Mr. Holmes, no! On the one hand it would destroy our happiness, and on the other it would be a very dreadful thing--to get my husband's papers. But I know nothing about politics, but I know love and The importance of trust. Mr. Holmes, I took the papers! I took the mold of the key. Lucas gave me a duplicate key. I opened the file box, took out the papers and sent them to Godolphin Street."

"What happened there?"

"I knocked on the door as agreed, and he opened it, and I followed him into the house, but I did not close the hall door, for I was afraid of being alone with this man. I remember when I went in, the outside There was a woman. Our business was soon over. My letter was on his desk. I handed him the papers, and he returned the letter. Just then there was a voice at the door , Hearing footsteps in the doorway again, Lucas quickly lifted the carpet, stuffed the documents into a hiding place, and then covered the carpet again.

"What happened after that was a nightmare. I saw a woman with a dark, demented face and heard her speaking in French and she said: 'I didn't wait in vain for I found you with her! 'The two fought viciously. Lucas had a chair in his hand, and the woman had a shiny knife in her hand. It was such a horrible scene that I rushed out of the house and left the house. The next morning I read that Lucas was killed in the newspaper. I was very happy that night because I got my letter back. But I didn't think about the consequences of it at all.

"It was only the next morning that I realized that I had merely replaced old distress with new ones. My husband's anxieties about losing the papers made me uneasy. I was on the verge of falling on my knees and confessing to him that I had taken the documents. documents. But it means that I have to tell the past. I came to you that morning to understand the seriousness of the mistake I made. From the moment I took the documents, I have been thinking about how to get them Get it back. If Lucas hadn't hidden the letter at the time, I wouldn't even know where it was hidden. How do I get into the house? I went to the place two days in a row, but the door is always closed .I made one last attempt last night. How I got it, you guessed it. I brought the file back and wanted to destroy it because there was no way I could put this file back without having to admit my mistake. God Ah, I hear his steps on the stairs!"

The European Secretary stormed into the house excitedly."What news, Mr. Holmes, what news?" said he.

"There is hope."

With a look of surprise on his face, he said, "Thank God! The Prime Minister is coming to have lunch with me. Can he come and listen? Although he is very strong-willed, I know that since this incident, he has almost Didn't get a good night's sleep. Jacob, you have the Prime Minister upstairs. I think it's a political thing, my dear, and we'll have lunch with you in the dining room in a few minutes."

The Prime Minister's demeanor was remarkably composed, but his excited eyes and large, trembling hands showed that he was as excited as his younger colleague.

"Mr. Holmes, I hear you have good news?"

My friend replied: "So far, I still haven't fully figured it out. I have investigated all the possible places where the lost documents may be lost, but I can't find them, but I'm sure there is no need to worry about danger."

"This is not the way, Mr. Holmes. We cannot live forever on the crater. We must get to the bottom of the matter."

"There's hope of finding the papers, which is why I'm here. The more I think about it, the more I think the papers won't leave the house."

"Mr. Holmes!"

"If the documents were taken out, they must have been published by now."

"Would someone take the papers just to keep them in his house?"

"I don't believe anyone could have taken the letter away."

"Then why isn't the letter in the file box?"

"I also don't think the documents will leave the file box."

"Mr. Holmes, it is a very inappropriate time to make such a joke. I assure you that the letter is not in the box."

"Have you checked the box since Tuesday morning?"

"No, it's not necessary."

"Do you think it's possible that you were negligent?"

"it's out of the question."

"I'm not saying it's necessarily the case, but I know it happened. I think there were other papers in the box, maybe mixed up with other papers."

"This file is placed on top."

"It's quite possible that someone shook the case and messed it up."

"No, no, I took it all out once."

The Prime Minister said, "That's easy, Hope. Let's bring the file box here."

The Minister rang the bell and called: "Jacobs, bring the file box. It's ridiculous and a waste of time, but I can't convince you otherwise. Thank you, Jacobs, for putting it here The key is always on my fob-chain. Look at the papers. Letter from Lord Melo, Sir Charles Hardy's report, Memorandum from Belgrade, Notes on the Russo-German Grain Tax, a letter from Madrid, Flo Lord Bellinger's letter - my God! What is it! Lord Bellinger, Lord Bellinger!"

The Prime Minister took the pale blue letter eagerly from him, and exclaimed: "Yes, it is this one. It is untouched! Hope, I congratulate you."

"Thank you, thank you! A stone has fallen from my heart at last. But it is unthinkable—impossible. Mr. Holmes, you are a magician, a magician! How do you know the letter is still there?" here?"

"Because I know the letter is nowhere else."

"I can't believe my eyes!" said he, hurrying to the door. "Where's my wife? I'm going to tell her it's over, Hilda! Hilda!" We heard The sound of him calling on the stairs.

The Prime Minister looked at Holmes with rolling eyes.

He said, "Sir, there must be something wrong here. How did the papers get back in the box?"

Holmes smiled and avoided those curious eyes.

"We also have our diplomatic secrets." As he spoke, he picked up his hat, turned and walked towards the door.

(End of this chapter)