One of my partner's flaws, if it can be called a flaw, is that he never wants to tell anyone about his overall plans and share them with others before they are realized. There is no doubt that on the one hand,

Because of his arrogant nature, he likes to dominate everything in the case and surprise those around him; on the other hand, because of the caution required by his special profession, he is never willing to take risks. In this way,

He often embarrasses his clients or assistants, and I have had many such unpleasant experiences, but none more so than this long drive in the dark. Before our eyes was this

A severe test, all our actions have entered the final stage, but my partner said nothing, and I can only subjectively infer the direction of his actions.

Later, I felt the cold wind blowing on my face, and the narrow road was dark and empty on both sides. It became clear to me that we were back in the swamp again, and I was eagerly anticipating what was about to happen.

It made all my nerves excited. Every step the horse took and every turn of the wheel brought us closer to the beginning of this adventure. Because the driver was temporarily invited, we couldn't say too much about the case.

, we can only talk about some trivial things, but in fact, our nerves have been tense due to emotional excitement and anxiety. When we passed Frankland's house, it was just a few steps away from Bathcowell Manor.

When the place where Sir Charles' accident occurred was getting closer and closer, the unnatural state of tension finally ended, and my mood finally calmed down. We did not rush the carriage to the door of the villa, but approached the road.

We got out of the car outside the gate. We paid the fare and asked the driver to return to Coombe Tracy immediately. Then we walked towards Merripit Stapleton House.

"Lethward, are you armed?"

Leisweid smiled and said: "As long as I wear pants, there will be a pocket behind my butt. Since there is a pocket, I will put something in it."

"Okay! Watson and I are also prepared for emergencies." "Mr. Holmes, you have concealed this matter very closely. Now, what should we do?"

"Just wait."

"I say, this is really not a comfortable place." Leithward said, shuddering uncontrollably and looking around, seeing the darkness of the hillside and the sea of ​​fog forming above Greenpen Mire.

"I saw it. There was a light in a house in front of us." "That's the Merripit Mansion, which is the end of our journey. Now, I ask you to walk on tiptoes and only whisper softly."

said Holmes.

We continued to walk along the path. It seemed that we were going to the mansion, but when we arrived about 200 meters away from the mansion, my partner stopped Leisweid and me.

"That's it," Holmes said. "The rocks on the right are our best barrier."

"Are we just going to wait here?" Raithwidt asked.

"Yes, right here, we are going to make a small-scale ambush. Leisweid, please come to this ditch. Watson, you have been inside the mansion, and you can tell the details of each room.

Where are the lattice windows on this side? What room are they from?"

"I think it's the kitchen window!" "Where's that bright room at the other end?" "It must be the dining room."

"The blinds are up. You know the terrain here best. You walk over quietly and see what they are doing, but don't let them know that someone is monitoring them."

I quietly walked along the path and hid behind a low wall. Surrounding the low wall was a forest of fruit trees that were not growing well. Through the shadows, I reached an area from which I could see into the uncultivated landscape.

Curtains on the window.

There were only two people in the room, the Baronet and Stapleton. They sat facing each other on both sides of a round table, with their sides facing me. Both of them were smoking cigars, with wine and coffee in front of them. Stapleton was talking a lot.

While the Jedi were talking, Sir Henry looked a little pale, felt helpless, and felt restless. Perhaps it was because he was worried about crossing the dangerous swamp alone, and his heart was a little heavy.

I had not long been watching them, when Stapleton suddenly stood up and left the room. At the same time the baronet refilled his glass of wine, leaned back in his chair, and blew out the rings of his cigar. I heard first a knock at the door, and then

It was the crisp sound of leather shoes stepping on the gravel road, and the footsteps passed by the path on the other side of the low wall where I was hiding. I looked from the top of the wall and found Stapleton's hut at the corner of the orchard.

He stopped at the door, the key was turned in the keyhole, and he went in. Then, there was a strange scuffling sound inside. He only stayed inside for about a minute. Later, I heard the key being turned in the keyhole again.

After turning for a moment, he returned to the room along the same path. I saw him and the baronet together again, so I slowly and gently returned to the place where Holmes and Leithwide were waiting for me, and told

What I observed about them.

"Watson, you mean, Mrs. Stapleton is not here?" asked my companion, after I had finished.

"Yes."

"Then where could she be? There's no light in any room except the kitchen."

"I can't imagine where she could be."

At this time, the thick white fog on the Great Greenpen Mire was slowly drifting towards our area, accumulating thicker and thicker, as if a wall had been erected next to us. Although the white fog was low, it was very thick.

And the boundaries are clear, and when illuminated by the moonlight, it looks like a large shining ice field, and there are raised rock hills one after another in the distance, like rocks born on the ice field. My partner turned his face to that

While looking at the gradually moving white fog, he said impatiently: "Watson, the heavy fog is coming towards us!"

"Is the situation serious?"

"It's indeed very serious. It might disrupt my plan! Now, Sir Henry can't stay too long. It's already 10 o'clock. Whether we can succeed or not, and his life safety, may all depend on whether he is there or not."

I came out before the white mist covered the path."

Above our heads, the night sky is bright and beautiful, half of the moon hangs in the sky, some stars shine with clear cold light, and the entire swamp is in a gentle and hazy light. In front of us is the dark shadow of the house, its

The jagged roof and the outline of the upright chimney are reflected in the starry night sky.

From the windows below, several relatively wide beams of golden light shone in the direction of the orchards and swamps. Suddenly, one of the beams went out, proving that the servants had left the kitchen, leaving only the dining room.

There was light, and the two people inside were still smoking cigars and talking. One was the host who was preparing to commit murder, and the other was an unsuspecting guest.

The thick fog that covered half of the swamp was white and wool-like. It was drifting towards the house every minute and every second, getting closer and closer. Some of the fog that arrived first was already giving off a golden glow.

The square window was rolled up, and the wall behind the orchard was no longer visible, but the upper half of the trees still stood on top of a white vortex of water vapor. While we were watching, billowing white mist had reached the two corners of the house.

, and gradually piled up into a thick wall. The second floor seemed like a strange ship floating on the frightening sea. My partner impatiently patted the rocks in front of him with his hands and stamped his feet.

"Within 15 minutes, if Sir Henry doesn't come out, the trail will be completely obscured by thick fog. In another half an hour, we won't be able to see it if we put our hands in front of our eyes."

"Should we retreat to a higher place?" "I think that's good."

So, when the white mist kept pouring towards us, we kept retreating until we were half a mile away from the house, but the white ocean with the stars and the moon shining on it continued to fade away.

are pushing in our direction.

"We may have retreated too far," said my companion. "Sir Henry will be overtaken before he comes near us. We cannot afford to take the risk, and we must hold on here at any cost."

He lay down, put his ear to the ground, and said:

"Thank God! I think I heard him coming out."

The silence of the swamp was broken by a rush of footsteps. We squatted among the rocks and looked attentively at the silver-white fog wall in front of us. The footsteps became louder and louder, and we expected someone to appear through the white fog.

He walked there as if walking through a white curtain. When he passed through the fog wall and stood under the night illuminated by the stars and moon, he looked around in a panic, and then quickly walked along

He walked along the path, passed a place very close to where the three of us were hiding, and then walked towards the hillside behind us. As he walked, he looked left and right uneasily.

My partner said "Shh" and I heard the sound of cocking the pistol head. He said: "Attention, the devil dog is coming!"

From the slowly advancing wall of fog, there was first a continuous soft "pitter patter" sound. The cloud-like white fog was less than 50 meters away from our hiding area, and the three of us were heading there.

My eyes were wide open, not sure what terrible guy would appear there. At that time, I was at Holmes's elbow. I looked at his face. His face was a little pale, but he showed an ecstatic expression.

His eyes were shining brightly under the light of the stars and moon. Suddenly, his eyes suddenly stared forward at a certain position, and his lips were wide open in surprise. At that time, Raiswid was so frightened that he screamed

, I lay on the ground and didn't dare to move. I jumped up and grabbed the pistol tightly with my numb hand. The scary guy rushing towards us in the fog and shadow scared me a little. It was indeed a big one.

The hunting dog is a big hunting dog as black as coal, but it is not the kind of hunting dog we usually see. Its open mouth is spitting fire, and its eyes are as bright as fire. The mouth, head, and neck hair are...

And the lower part of the neck was shining with light, and the black body suddenly rushed toward us from the wall of fog, and the extremely ferocious dog face. Even in the weirdest dreams of a mentally ill patient, nothing more sinister and more like this would appear.

The devil is an even more frightening guy.

The huge black guy ran down the path with long strides, chasing the baronet closely. The three of us were so frightened by this devil-like guy that before we recovered our consciousness,

The devil dog had already run in front of us. Holmes and I fired together, and the devil dog roared unpleasantly, indicating that at least one shot had hit it, but it did not stop and continued to shoot.

I chased him forward. Far away on the path, I saw the baronet looking back. Under the stars and moon, his face was as white as a sheet of paper. He was so frightened that he raised his hands and stared at the man who was chasing him.

A terrifying demon dog that refuses to give up.

The painful roar of the devil dog has completely eliminated the fear of Holmes and me. As long as it is afraid of bullets, it is not a real devil. Since we can hurt it, we can also kill it.

I have never seen anyone run as fast as my companion that night. I have always been called Scud, but Holmes actually ran as fast as I surpassed Leithsford, leaving me behind. When we

As we were running along the path, we heard the baronet shouting in front of us, and the low roar of the dog. When I arrived, I happened to see the dog leap up and kill Sir Henry.

He fell to the ground and wanted to bite his throat. At this critical moment, my partner pulled the trigger and fired five bullets from the revolver into the belly of the demon dog one after another, and it let out a last roar of pain.

, took a fierce bite in the air, then lay down on all fours, kicked his limbs wildly for a while, and then collapsed on the ground motionless. Panting heavily, I bent down and pointed my pistol at the terrifying

The dog's head was broken, but there was no use in pulling the trigger, the devil dog was already dead.

The baronet lay on the ground, his shock over, and we untied his collar. When my companion found that there was no wound on his body, indicating that the rescue had been in time, he expressed his thanks to God. After a while, Sir Henry's eyelids

It began to tremble, and he tried feebly to move. Leithward thrust the top of his brandy bottle between Sir Henry's upper and lower teeth, and the baronet's frightened eyes looked up at us.

"My God!" whispered the baronet, "what is that? Who the hell is that?"

"Whatever it was, it is dead," my companion said. "The devil in your family has been destroyed by us forever."

The body of the devil dog lying in front of us with its legs spread out is already frightening just from the size of its body and its strength. It is not a purebred mastiff, nor is it a purebred blood raccoon.

, seems to be a hybrid of these two types, with a terrifying and ferocious appearance, as big as a male lion. Even now, when it is dead and motionless, its big mouth still seems to be spraying outwards.

Blue flames, and a ring of fire appeared around the deep-set and cruel eyes. I touched its glowing mouth and raised my hand. In the darkness, my fingers also glowed.

"It turns out to be phosphorus," I said.

"What a cunning arrangement!" said my companion, sniffing at the dead dog. "It does not affect its keen sense of smell. I am sorry, Sir Henry, to have caused you such fright. I thought it was

An ordinary hunting dog never expected to be such a giant, and the thick fog almost prevented us from intercepting it," said Holmes.

"You have finally saved my life," said the baronet.

"But you took such a huge risk, can you still stand up?"

"Give me another sip of brandy, and I won't be afraid anymore. Oh, please help me up. According to your opinion, what should we do next?"

"You should stay here for now. You are not suitable for further adventure tonight. If you are willing to wait, one of our people will accompany you back to the manor."

The baronet struggled to stand up, but his face was still very pale and his hands and feet were trembling. We helped him to a stone, where he sat down and covered his face with his trembling hands.

"Now, we must leave you for a moment, Sir Henry," said my companion. "The rest must be done, and every minute counts. The evidence is there, and now it is only necessary

Catch the bad guy."

"The probability of finding him in the house is but one in a thousand," said Holmes, as we walked rapidly back along the path. "The sound of the gun must have told him that his trick was over."

"At that time, he was still some distance away from us, and the heavy fog might have blocked the gunfire."

"No. He must be following the devil dog so that he can drive it - you can completely believe this. Now, he has left, but we still have to search the house to prove this."

The front door was wide open, and the three of us rushed in. We quickly walked from room to room, and met the old and frightened manservant in the corridor. There was no light anywhere except the dining room.

The partner quickly turned on the lights and searched every corner of the house, but could not find any trace of the guy. Finally, he found that the door of a bedroom on the second floor was locked.

"There's someone inside," Leswidt shouted, "I heard something moving inside, kick the door open!"

Yes, there was a low sound of gunfire and noises in the house. My partner used the soles of his feet to push the door lock, and the door was kicked open. So the three of us burst into the bedroom.

. However, there was no person we were looking for in this bedroom - that insidious, daring villain. Instead, there was a strange and unexpected sight in front of us, and we stared there in surprise.

The place is arranged like a small museum. There are a row of small boxes with glass covers on the wall. They are full of butterfly, moth and other specimens. The so-called biologist, who is extremely cunning and dangerous, regards collecting these specimens as a kind of

For entertainment. In the middle of the bedroom stands a wooden stake, which was set up to support the old, moth-eaten beams across the roof. There is a person tied to this wooden stake, and she is tied up with a sheet so that she cannot make any sound. It is difficult to immediately identify that she is a woman.

It was a man. A handkerchief was tied around his neck to a wooden stake behind his back, and the other handkerchief covered the lower part of his face, only revealing a pair of black eyes - his eyes were full of pain, shame, and...

Some doubts—staring at us. After a while, we untied the person's mouth and body, and Mrs. Stapleton fell down before our eyes. When her head fell to the front

When I touched her breasts, I saw bright new whip marks on her neck, with red blood oozing out.

"The beast!" cried my companion. "Raithford, your brandy. Watson, please put her in a chair. She is in shock from exhaustion from abuse."

Soon, she opened her eyes.

"Is he safe?" she asked. "Has he escaped?" "Stapleton can't escape us, ma'am."

"No, I don't mean my husband. Sir Henry, is he all right?"

"He's fine."

"Where's the mutt?" "Dead."

She let out a long sigh.

"Thank God! Oh, this bastard! Look how he treated me!" She suddenly pulled up her sleeves, exposing her arms, and we saw the scars on them.

"But it's nothing - nothing! He tortured my body and polluted my spirit. If I still have some hope for him, if he loves me, no matter whether he is abused or alone,

I can endure the life of being deceived by him, or other pains, but now I understand that at this point, I am completely his deception and a pawn for all kinds of evil." She said, sadly.

Cried out.

"You are completely disappointed with him, madam?" said my companion: "Then, please tell us where we can find him. If you have helped him do bad things, now you come to help us

Aton for your sins!"

"There was only one place he could escape to," she said. "There was an old tin mine on an island in the middle of the Great Greenpen Mire. That's where he hid the mutt and where he did some cooking.

Having made all preparations to evade police pursuit, he will definitely escape there."

Like snow-white wool, the wall of fog tightly surrounded the outside of the window. My partner walked to the window holding the lamp.

"Look!" said Holmes, "no one can find the way into the Great Greenpen Mire this night."

She laughed, her eyes and teeth shining with ecstasy.

"He may be able to find his way in, but he will never get out," she cried. "How will he be able to see clearly those wooden sticks that serve as road signs tonight? He and I planted them together.

Mark the path through the mire, oh, how nice it would be if I could pull them all out tonight, then you can really do whatever you want with him."

It was evident that the pursuit of Stapleton would be in vain until the fog abated. We then left Leithward in charge of Stapleton House, while my partner and I accompanied Sir Henry back to the estate.

went. The true state of Stapleton could no longer be hidden from the baronet, and when he heard the true revelation of the woman he loved, he bore the blow bravely. But the shock of the night's adventure,

Sir Henry's nerves had been greatly traumatized, and before daybreak he was seized with a high fever, and lay unconscious on his bed. Dr. Mortimer was called in to attend to him. It was decided that before the baronet could regain his full spirits,

, to make a journey around the world, you must know what an energetic young man Sir Henry was before he became the owner of this ominous and huge fortune!

Now, I want to end this bizarre story as soon as possible. In the story, I try my best to let readers experience those extremely terrifying and vague conjectures, all of which have cast a shadow on our hearts for a long time, and

The ending is like this.

In the early morning of the next day after the death of the devil dog, the thick white fog dissipated. With Mrs. Stapleton as our guide, we arrived at the trail area that ran through the swamp that the couple had found. Watching her lead us to hunt down her husband.

With the eagerness and joy shown at the time, we realized how terrible and tragic this woman's past life situation was. We left her on a long and narrow peninsula-like solid peat ground.

Going deeper into the Great Mire, the ground becomes narrower. Starting from the end of this area, there are small wooden sticks inserted here and there. Along these small wooden sticks, it is impossible for ordinary people to walk through

The twists and turns of the paths between puddles with floating duckweeds and filthy mud puddles lead from one tangled bush to another. The lush reeds and slimy and green water plants exude the smell of decay, and the turbid air blows on your face.

Come, we lost our feet many times and fell into knee-deep trembling black mud puddles. After walking for several meters, the mud still stuck to our shoes and couldn't be shaken off. As we walked, the mud kept dragging our feet.

Heels, when we sink into the mud, it seems as if there is a vicious hand dragging us deeper into the mud, holding on very tightly and resolutely.

Only once did we find any evidence that someone had crossed the dangerous path before us. A black object appeared among a pile of cotton grass on the clay soil. My companion took only a few steps to the side from the path.

He took one step to get the object, and fell into the swamp, sinking as deep as his waist. If Leisweid and I hadn't pulled him out in time, he would never have been able to stand on solid land again. He held a

Black high-top old leather shoes with "Miles Toronto" printed on them.

"There is still something to gain from taking this mud bath," said Holmes. "This is the old leather shoe that Sir Henry lost in the hotel."

"It must have been left there by Stapleton when he escaped."

"That's right. After he let the devil dog smell the shoes to track Sir Henry, he still kept the shoes in his hand at first. When he realized that his trick had been exposed by us and ran away, he still held the leather shoes tightly in his hands.

, was left here on the way to escape. We figured it out, at least until here, the bad guy is still safe."

Although we can make various speculations, we will never be able to figure out more truth than this. In the swamp, it is impossible to see the footprints at all. Because the mud that comes up quickly covers the footprints. We walked

After passing the last section of the muddy path and reaching solid ground, everyone eagerly looked for Stapleton's footprints, but not a single footprint was found. If the earth did not lie, then last night, Stapleton's footprints were not found.

When Purton walked through the thick white fog towards the small island where he was hiding, he did not reach his destination. In a certain area of ​​​​Grimpen Mire, the yellow mud of the Great Mire had completely swallowed him.

This extremely cruel and cold-blooded animal was buried forever in the Great Mire.

On the small island surrounded by mire, where Stapleton hid his ferocious animals, we found many traces left behind. A large steering wheel and a shaft half filled with garbage proved that

This is the site of an abandoned mine. There are also the remains of extremely dilapidated miners' huts. There is no doubt that the mining workers were fumigated away by the stench of the surrounding large quagmire. In a small house, there is a horseshoe and a

Chains and some gnawed bones proved that this was the place where Stapleton had hidden the demon dog. Among the ruins, a skeleton lay with a ball of brown hair stuck to it.

"A dog!" said my companion. "It's Doctor Mortimer's curly spaniel. Poor Doctor Mortimer, he can never find his pet again. I don't believe there is one here."

What secret was unknown to us? Stapleton could hide his demon dog, but he could not silence the beast, and so we heard those roars at night, which were even louder in the daytime.

It wouldn't sound nice. In times of dire need, Stapleton kept the demon dog in the cabin outside Merripit's big house, but he did so at his own risk, and only when he thought he was ready.

, he dared to do this. There was a paste in an iron can, which was undoubtedly the luminous mixture that Stapleton applied to the devil dog. Of course, the reason why he took this approach was because he was under the influence of

Inspired by the stories and legends about devil dogs passed down from generation to generation by the Bascoville family, Sir Charles was frightened to death by this method. No wonder the poor fugitive Seldan, when he saw such a guy in the darkness of the swamp,

When chasing him from behind, we will run and scream like our friend Sir Henry. Even if we meet the devil dog, we may do the same. This is indeed a watertight conspiracy.

, not only can the person you want to murder be put to death without revealing anything, but also prevent the local people from in-depth investigation of such a devil dog. In the swamp, many people have seen this devil dog, and who of the people who have seen it dares

What's the matter? I said in London, my dear Watson, and now, I say again, we have never pursued a more dangerous man than Stapleton, who lies over there."
Chapter completed!