After I retired, I encountered another rare and difficult case. It is no exaggeration to say that the difficulty of solving it was definitely no less difficult than any case I had handled before, and it came to me. This happened to me.

After retiring to my little house in Sussex, I was already fully enjoying the quiet pastoral life I had long dreamed of. After I retired, Watson almost completely withdrew from my life, and all my interactions with him were

He only came to spend a weekend occasionally. Therefore, I had to record the case myself. If my Watson were present, how would he play up the tense beginning of the incident and how I overcame the difficulties and finally won the victory?

?But he was not there after all, so I can only use my straightforward way of describing my difficult journey in solving the mystery of the lion's mane.

At the southern foot of the Sussex Hills, there is a small villa of mine, facing the vast strait. From this promontory, the entire coast is covered with chalk cliffs. If you want to walk to the sea, there is only one

It is a long, steep and rugged path, and it is also extremely slippery. At the end of the path, even when the tide is high, a 100-meter beach covered with pebbles remains. However, there are curved depressions everywhere on the beach, which is very natural.

A wonderful swimming pool that is refilled with seawater at every high tide. On a coastline that stretches for miles in either direction, there is only one village, Walworth.

My villa is isolated, and all the members of my villa are only me, the old housekeeper, and my bees. 0.8 kilometers away is Harold Stallhurst's famous private gable school.

, it is a large building with dozens of young students receiving various vocational training, as well as several teachers. In his youth, Stallhurst was a well-known rowing expert at Cambridge University and a well-known rowing expert at Cambridge University.

An all-round excellent college student. We have maintained a good relationship since I retired to the seaside, and he is the only friend with whom I can freely visit each other in the evening without invitation.

At the end of July 1907, a strong sea breeze blew here, and the rushing seawater was alluvial to the bottom of the cliff, forming a large saltwater lake after the tide receded. The sea was calm in the morning, and the washed beach was fresh and pleasant. On such a beautiful day,

, it was too difficult to work from home, so I walked out for a walk as soon as I got up and breathed in the fresh air around me. I was walking along the cliff on the path leading to the beach, when I suddenly heard Mr. Stallhurst behind me.

Shout and cheer.

"What a wonderful morning, Mr. Holmes! I bet you will come out."

"Go swimming, right?"

"Your set of inferences are here again." He smiled brightly and pointed at his bulging pockets: "Yes, McPherson came out early in the morning. Maybe I can meet him."

Mr. Fitzroy Macpherson is a young teacher who teaches science. His originally strong body was significantly weakened by heart disease after suffering from rheumatic fever. But he is a natural athlete no matter what.

, he is outstanding in almost all relatively soft sports. He insists on swimming all year round. Because I also love swimming, I often meet him unexpectedly.

At this time, we discovered Mr. McPherson. On the edge of the cliff at the end of the path, we first saw his head, and then his swaying figure. Like a drunken man, he suddenly let out a scream, and at the same time looked at

When he raised his hands to his head, he fell down in front of him. Stackhurst and I were about 50 meters away from him. We quickly ran over to support his body. It was obvious that he was not alive.

His sunken eyes and cheeks turned blue with horror all showed signs of death. Suddenly, a trace of anger appeared on his face, and he uttered a few vague words with a serious warning expression, but I only listened.

The last three words that came out of his lips were "lion's mane". Its meaning was incomprehensible, but I really couldn't pronounce it as any other word. After he finished speaking, he half arched his body, spread out his hands, and

He fell sideways, and to be more precise, he died. My companion was so frightened by the unexpected incident that he didn't know what to do. And I, yes, every nerve in my body was immediately alert, and this was inevitable.

, this situation immediately showed that this was not an ordinary case. He was only wearing a Burberry raincoat and trousers, and a pair of untied canvas shoes. When he fell, the Burberry was hurriedly draped over his shoulders.

The raincoat slipped down, exposing his body. We were very surprised to find that there were many dark red stripes on his back, as if someone had whipped him violently with a thin whip, and the whip must be elastic.

Because the long whip marks were around his shoulders and ribs. Blood was dripping from the corners of his mouth. He bit his lower lip in agony, and looked at us with a convulsed and abnormal face.

It showed that he had experienced extreme pain. Stallhurst was standing next to him, and when I was kneeling next to the deceased, a shadow suddenly came over me. When I looked up, I saw that it was Ian Murdoch walking beside us. He

He is a mathematics teacher, tall and thin, with dark complexion. Because he rarely talks and has a withdrawn temperament, it is difficult to call him a friend. He seems to live in an abstract conic section or an unknowable root world.

It has nothing to do with daily life. Students often regard him as a monster. He might have been the object of ridicule by the students, but this man exudes a foreign temperament. In addition to his black eyes and dark complexion, it is also reflected in his

His occasional temper tantrums can best be described as violent. Once, Mr. McPherson's puppy annoyed him. He grabbed the puppy and threw it out of the glass window. If it weren't for the fact that he was a

On the face of this outstanding teacher, this incident alone has already caused him to be fired by Stallhurst. Suddenly this weird man came to us. He was indeed shocked by the sight of the dead in front of him, although the dog throwing incident showed that

There was a lack of friendship between him and the deceased.

"God, poor man! What can I do? Can I be of any help?"

"Were you together just now? Do you know what happened?"

"We are not together. I came out late today. I just came out of school and haven't gone to the beach yet. What can I do?"

"You immediately go to the Volvos branch police station to report the crime."

So he turned around and ran away at a sprint speed of 100 meters. I couldn't help but take the case on my own initiative, while Mr. Stallhurst, who was stunned, was still guarding the deceased. My first step, of course, was

It was to find out who was at the seaside. From the top of the path, I could see the entire seaside at a glance. There was no one in sight, only two or three figures swaying in Volvos in the distance. After knowing this, I walked down the path.

The chalky soil is mixed with lime mudstone and clay. I saw the same person's footprints up and down the path. It seemed that no one else had gone to the seaside from this road this morning. In one place, there were still

There were traces of his palms pressed on the slope, which only showed that McPherson had fallen. Many small circular pits were also found, which showed that he had knelt down many times. By the saltwater lake left by the low tide at the lower end of the path

His towel was placed on a rock, which showed that he had taken off his clothes here. Since the towel was dry and folded, he must have never been in the water. I looked carefully among the cobblestones and found that there were two places where he had left his clothes.

The canvas shoe prints and barefoot footprints showed that he was preparing to enter the water, although the dry towel proved that he did not actually enter the water.

The problem before me is already very clear - it should be said that it is one of the strangest problems I have ever encountered in my life. It took McPherson only a quarter of an hour to reach the beach before his death, because Stallhurst followed closely from school.

This is certain. He was ready to swim and had taken off his clothes, which was proved by the barefoot footprints. Then he suddenly put on his clothes in a hurry - because the buttons were not fastened at all, and he had just entered the water or at least had not

He wiped himself dry and returned in a hurry. The reason why he changed his mind was because he was brutally whipped. He even bit his lip to endure the pain. He crawled away from that place with his last breath and died. What was it?

Why are people so cruel? Yes, there are many small holes at the base of the cliff, but under the sunlight, it is impossible to hide anything there. And those figures in the distance on the seaside, they are too far away

, it is impossible to connect with this case, and it is also across the saltwater lake where McPherson was preparing to swim before his death. The lake water rushes straight to the cliff. On the sea, there are two or three fishing boats in the distance. If you have time, you can go and explore the boats.

Because there were several clues for investigation in front of me, but none of them were clear. When I returned to the deceased, several people had gathered around to watch. Of course, Stackhurst still stayed there, silently

Doc has just summoned Anderson, the village policeman. Anderson is a tall man with a yellow moustache. He looks strong and slow. He is a representative of the typical Sussex type-this kind of people appear to be

Under his dull and bulky appearance, there is often a wise mind hidden. He listened without saying a word and wrote down the key points of what we said one by one. Finally, I was pulled aside by him and said: "Mr. Holmes, please

You don’t hesitate to give me your advice, this is a big case for me, if I don’t handle it well, my superior Lewis will look down on me.”

I suggested that he call their immediate superiors and a doctor immediately. Before they arrived, everything at the scene should be kept as it was, and there should be no more new footprints. Taking advantage of this time, I took the deceased's pocket and

After a search, there was a handkerchief, a folding knife, and a folding business card holder. A corner of paper was exposed from the inside. I opened it and showed it to the police. On it was a woman's cursory handwriting:

Please don't worry, I will definitely be there.

It seemed to be a lover's date, but neither the time nor the place was written down. The police put the paper back into the business card holder, and at the same time put the other items back into the deceased's Burberry raincoat pocket. Since there was no other situation at the moment, it was recommended to be thorough.

After searching the base of the cliff, I went home to have breakfast.

An hour or two later, Mr. Stackhurst came to my house. He said that the body had been moved to the school, and an autopsy was being conducted there. In addition, he also brought some more definite and important information. Yes, just as I expected.

, The search under the wall yielded no results. However, he carefully checked McPherson's desk and saw several closely related letters. The correspondent was Miss Maude Bellamy of Fulworth Village. In this way,

The author of the note on his body was found.

"The police took the letter away." He explained, "I can't get the letter, but I am sure that this is not a superficial and casual relationship. However, there is no connection between this matter and this accident. It is just that

The girl just had a date with him."

"But it can't be in a swimming pool that you are all familiar with!" I said.

"Today's situation was just a coincidence. Those students originally went with McPherson."

"Is it really a coincidence?"

Mr. Stackhurst frowned and fell into thought.

"It was Murdoch who didn't let the students go," he said. "He insisted on teaching algebra before breakfast. Now, he feels very sad about the tragedy that happened today."

"But I heard that they don't seem to have a good relationship."

"The relationship was not good for a while. However, over the past year, Murdoch and McPherson have become quite harmonious. It can be said that Murdoch has never been so close to others. His personality has always been a bit weird."

"I see. I seem to still have the impression that you once told me that they had a quarrel over the mistreatment of dogs."

"That happened a long time ago."

"Maybe there's some resentment left."

"No, absolutely not. I have no doubt that they are truly good friends."

"Then we need to know about that girl. Do you know her?"

"Almost everyone knows her. The girl is a local beauty, and a standard beauty. She will attract attention no matter where she is. I knew that Mr. McPherson was pursuing her, but I didn't expect that it had progressed to such an extent.

To the extent written above.”

"What kind of person is she?"

"That girl is the daughter of old Tom Bellamy. The fishing boats and swimming pool changing rooms in Volvos are all his father's assets. Old Tom was originally just a fisherman, but now he is very prosperous. His business is owned by

He runs it with his son William."

"Shall we go to Volvos and pay them a visit?"

"What's the excuse?"

"Excuses are not difficult to find. In any case, the deceased could not have died of self-abuse! Someone should have wielded a whip. Of course, if the whipping really caused trauma, in this remote place, there would not be many people he interacted with.

Many. If we search every corner carefully, we will always find some kind of motive, and motive is the trigger that leads to the criminal."

If the mood had not been disturbed by the tragedy that I witnessed, actually walking on this grassland filled with the fragrance of thyme would have been a very pleasant thing. This small seaside fishing village of Volvos is located in a semicircle near the bay.

, behind the old-fashioned village are several modern houses, Mr. Stallhurst led me there.

"This is what Bellamy calls 'Port Hill House'. It's the house with the turrets and bluestone tiles. For a man who works hard with nothing, this is really not bad - hey, look!"

The door to the garden of the villa opened, and a man came out. Looking at the tall, thin and lazy figure, it was none other than the math teacher Murdoch. We had met on the road a few minutes after the incident.

"Hi!" Mr. Stallhurst greeted him. He nodded, glanced at us with his strange black eyes, and was about to leave, but was stopped by his principal.

"What are you doing here?" Mr. Stackhurst asked him puzzledly.

When Murdoch heard such a question, he blushed with anger and retorted: "Sir, I am your subordinate at school, but I have no obligation to report my private actions to you."

Mr. Stallhurst's nerves, after the stress of the whole day, had become sensitive and irritable, otherwise he would not have been so impatient, and he could hardly control his temper.

"Mr. Murdoch, your answer is rude and simply presumptuous."

"Your own problem falls into the same category."

"I can't tolerate your repeated rudeness. Please find another higher position as soon as possible!"

"I'm ready to go. Now that I've lost the only friend who made me want to be here today."

After saying that, he strode away. My friend Stackhurst stared at him angrily: "Have you ever seen such a shameful person?" he almost shouted angrily.

What impressed me most was that Murdoch seized the first opportunity to escape from the crime scene. At this time, a vague doubt began to appear in my mind. Maybe by visiting Bellamy's house, I could make the murderer

The question was further clarified, Mr. Stackhurst braced himself, and together we entered the house.

The owner, Mr. Bellamy, was middle-aged and had a big red beard. He looked like he was angry, and his face soon turned red.

"No, sir, I refuse to hear any details. My son..." he said, pointing to the strong, dark-faced young man in the corner of the room: "He and I both believe that Maud is being pursued by McPherson.

It is simply an insult to her. Sir, he has never brought up the topic of marriage, but there are a lot of correspondence, appointments, and many other things that we are disgusted with. She lost her mother, and we are her protectors.

determination……"

But Miss Maud walked in, and he swallowed his words. Now, even we have to admit that this girl is indeed radiant no matter where she goes in the world. It is unimaginable that in this environment and this

There is such a beautiful flower growing in the family. For me, women have never been particularly attractive, because my mind is always under the control of my brain. However, when I witnessed her original beauty,

With her face full of fresh grassland blood and a perfect and clear face, I am sure that no young man would be willing to be a prisoner in her lap. It was such a beautiful girl. She suddenly opened the door and walked in, staring with a pair of beautiful and nervous big eyes.

, stood in front of my friend Stadhurst.

"I have heard that Fitzroy is dead," she said. "Please don't worry and tell me the details!"

"The news was told to us by another gentleman." Her father explained hurriedly.

"There is no need to involve my sister in this matter!" the young man roared.

The girl glared at her brother dissatisfiedly and even fiercely, and said: "William, this is my own business. Please allow me to solve my own affairs in my own way. Based on the current situation, it is not ruled out that someone has committed a crime.

If I can help find the criminal, it can be regarded as my small contribution to the deceased."

So, Mr. Stallhurst briefly told her what happened. She listened so calmly and attentively that I not only marveled at her unique beauty, but also her tough character. In my mind,

In my impression, Maud Bellamy was always a perfect and extraordinary woman. It seemed that she recognized me from my appearance, because she finally turned to me and said: "Mr. Holmes, please find the murderer as soon as possible."

Find them out and let them face legal sanctions! No matter who they are, you will get my help and sympathy." I seemed to feel that while she was speaking, she also glanced at her father and brother with a challenging look.

"Thank you!" I said, "I understand that women's intuition on these matters has always been valuable. When you mentioned 'them', did you realize that there was more than one person involved in this matter?"

"I know Mr. McPherson well. He is brave and powerful. It is difficult to deal with him alone."

"Can I talk to you alone?"

"Maud!" her father shouted dissatisfied. Miss Maud said calmly to her father: "I told you not to get involved in this matter."

She looked at me helplessly and said, "What can I do?"

"Actually, the matter will soon spread to the public, so it is okay for me to discuss it here." I said, "I originally planned to talk to you alone, but if your father doesn't agree, he will also

Let’s join the discussion together!” Then I mentioned the note in the deceased’s pocket.

"During the autopsy, this note will inevitably be released. How do you explain this?"

"There is nothing unspeakable," she replied, "We are already engaged. There is no reason for announcing it, except that Fitzroy is disinherited by his old and dying uncle if he does not comply with his uncle's will.

If you get married, that's it."

"You should have told us earlier," Bellamy yelled.

"Dad, if you showed any sympathy, I would have told you."

"I object to my daughter dating people whose social status does not match her." "It is precisely your prejudice against him that prevented us from telling you about that date..." She said and took out a card from her pocket.

The crumpled note said, "That's my reply to this note."

Contents of the note:

Honey:

When the sun first sets on Tuesday, I'm at my old place on the beach. This is the only time I can spare.

F.M "Tuesday is today, and we were supposed to meet tonight." I turned over the note, looked at it, and said, "This was not sent by mail. How did it get into your hands?"

"I don't want to answer this question because it really has nothing to do with the case. I will definitely not reserve any relevant questions."

She did indeed do so, but it was of no value to the investigation of the case. She did not think that her fiancé had any hidden enemies, but she admitted that she had several fanatical suitors.

"Can I ask you, is Mr. Murdoch one of the suitors?"

The girl's face suddenly turned red and she looked a little flustered.

"I think there was a time when he was. But once he found out about Fozroy's relationship with me, it was a completely different story."

The mystery surrounding this weirdo once again became certain. His files had to be investigated and his room privately searched. As the principal, Mr. Stallhurst also volunteered to help me investigate, because in his feeling

Suspicion also arose. We returned from Harbor Villa just like this. The original clueless case seemed to have a clue in our hands.

A week passed, and the autopsy did not yield any clues, so the trial had to be suspended to look for new evidence. Stallhurst carefully investigated his staff and also took the opportunity to check Murdoch's room, but nothing happened.

Nothing was found. I carefully inspected the entire scene myself and found no new conclusions. Readers may have noticed that in our previous investigation records, there has never been a case that left me so helpless, even if it was just a hypothesis.

, and couldn't even come up with a solution, and then the dog incident occurred.

It also originated from my butler, who first heard about it from that wonderful radio, which was used by people to understand all kinds of country news.

"Sir, there is tragic news. Mr. McPherson's dog..." my butler suddenly said after dinner one day.

I usually have no interest in such conversations, but McPherson's name stimulated my attention.

"How is Mr. McPherson's dog?"

"He died, sir, of deep sorrow for his master."

"Where did you hear that?"

"Everyone is talking about this. The dog was very excited and didn't eat for a week. Today, two students from Gables School found it dead on the beach, right where its owner had an accident."

"It's at that place!" At this time, a vague concept appeared in my intuition: This must be an important issue. If only the dog died, this would be in line with the dog's kind and loyal nature. But if it was at the original location, it would be completely

It’s different. Why is the desolate seaside dangerous to dogs? Isn’t it also a target of enemies? Is it? Yes, although the feeling is not clear yet, an idea has been produced in my brain. I took a few minutes

After that, I went to the school and found him in Staplehurst's study. At my request, he called in Sudbury and Blount - the two students who found the dog.

"Yes, the dog is lying by the lake." Blount said, "It must have gone there sniffing its owner's footsteps."

Then I personally went to see the faithful puppy. It was lying on the mat in the hall. It was an Airedre hound. The dog's body was stiff, with two eyeballs protruding, and its limbs were spasmodic.

It looks like pain.

I went directly to the swimming lake from school. The sun had already set, and the lake was covered with the shadow of the cliff, shining dimly. From a distance, it looked like a piece of lead. There was not a single person in sight, only two waterbirds in mid-air.

It was circling and chirping. In the gradually dimming light, the puppy's footprints could still be vaguely seen on the beach, near the stone where Mr. McPherson put his towel. The surrounding shadows became darker and darker, and I stood there

I have been thinking about it for a long time, and there are thousands of thoughts in my mind. I think everyone has experienced that kind of nightmare-like thinking. You clearly know that what you are searching for is the key object, and you also clearly know that it is in your mind, but

But it never became clear. This was my mental state when I stood there alone that night, and then I turned around and walked slowly home.

When I reached the end of the path, I suddenly remembered, like a flash of lightning, it suddenly illuminated what I had been thinking about. Readers will know that just as Watson described me, my mind contained a lot of magical knowledge and lacked science.

Systematic, but this knowledge is valuable to my business. My brain is like a warehouse, filled with various packages. There are so many that I can’t figure them out clearly. There is only one

Rough concept. In fact, I have always understood that there is something in my mind that is key to solving the case, but it is not clear yet. However, I also know that I can make it come to light. Even though it is very bizarre, it is always

It's possible, I'm ready to do a thorough experiment.

The attic of my house was filled with all kinds of books. As soon as I got home, I got into the room and rummaged through it for an hour. Then I walked out, holding a brown book with silver letters in my hand.

, I couldn’t wait to find the chapter that I vaguely remembered. As expected, it was an incredible idea, but I had to find out that it was indeed true, otherwise my heart would not be at peace, and I

I went to bed very late, eagerly looking forward to tomorrow's experiment.

However, I encountered an annoying interruption in this work. I had just drank my morning tea in a hurry and was about to set off for the seaside. Officer Bader from the Sussex County Police Department came to my house. This man looked calm and steady, with full eyes.

Showing deep thought, he looked at me with unusual confusion and said: "Mr. Holmes, I understand that you have rich experience. I am here today. It is not a formal visit, so I won't say more. I will get straight to the point. This McPherson case is indeed

I am helpless. Do you think I should arrest him?"

"You mean Mr. Murdoch, right?"

"That's right. After thinking about it, I can't find anyone else. We have narrowed the circle of suspicious people to an extremely small size. If it's not him, who could it be?"

"What's your evidence against him?"

His route of collecting information was the same as my initial guess. The first was Murdoch's eccentric character and his own mystery, just like the fiery temper he showed in the puppy incident; the second was that he had indeed been

He had a quarrel with the deceased; also, he may have resented Macpherson's pursuit of Miss Bellamy. The key points he grasped were almost the same as mine, but there was a lack of new things, except that Murdoch seemed to be preparing to leave.

, no other new clues have been found yet.

"Now that there is so much evidence against him, what situation will I be put in if I let him go?"

The police officer, who looked stout and slightly dull, was indeed troubled.

"Please think about it again," I advised. "There are some important holes in your assumption. On the early morning of the accident, he had definite evidence of alibi because he was teaching the students, and until the last moment, he had no evidence of alibi.

We met McPherson a few minutes after discovering him, but he came from the back road. In addition, don't forget that he can't kill someone as strong as him alone. Also, the murder instrument

What is it again?"

"It must be a soft whip."

"Have you done any research on the scars?"

"Both the doctor and I saw it."

"But I looked at it very carefully with the lens, and there was something special about it."

"Mr. Holmes, what characteristics did you find?"

I walked over to the table, picked up an enlarged photo that was on the table, and explained, "This is how I solve cases like this."

"Mr. Holmes, you are indeed very thorough in your work."

"Why else would you call me a famous detective? Let's take a closer look at this scar around the right shoulder. Do you find anything different?"

"No."

"The depth of this scar is obviously uneven, and there are many bleeding spots. The same is true for a scar here. What do you think this indicates?"

"I really don't know, what do you think?"

"I may understand, or I may not understand. But I may find a clear answer soon. As long as I can explain the evidence of the bleeding spots, it will be of great help in finding the murderer."

"I have an unrelated analogy," the police officer said. "If you put a red net on your back, the blood spots will represent the intersections of the net cables."

"This is a wonderful analogy. Maybe we might as well say more accurately that the whip should have nine leather strips with many knots on it?"

"Excellent, Mr. Holmes, you are right."

"Mr. Badr, there are other different reasons for the injury. In any case, you lack sufficient evidence to arrest him. In addition, there is also the last word 'lion's mane' left by the deceased before his death."

"I considered whether 'Lion' was 'Ian'..."

"I've thought about it, but the second word doesn't look like 'Murdoch' at all. He shouted it out in a high voice. I'm sure it's 'lion's mane'."

"Mr. Holmes, do you have any other ideas?" "A little bit. But I don't want to discuss it until I find stronger evidence."

“So when will the credentials be found?”

"Maybe it won't take long, in an hour!"

The police officer touched his chin and looked at me questioningly.

"Mr. Holmes, I wish I could understand what you have in mind. Perhaps it's those fishing boats."

"No, those ships are too far apart."

"So, is it Bellamy and his powerful son? They are very prejudiced against McPherson, will they fix him?"

"No, I don't want to say anything until I get it right." I said with a smile, "Mr. Police Officer, we each have our own things to do. If you come here at noon..."

At this point, we are seriously disturbed, and of course this is also the starting point for the end of the case.

The door to my outhouse was suddenly opened, and there were stumbling footsteps in the corridor. Then Murdoch staggered in. He was frighteningly pale, with disheveled hair and disheveled clothes. He was holding on to the table with his thin hands.

Standing.

"Brandy! Get the brandy quickly!" As soon as he finished breathing heavily, he fell down on the sofa.

He was not alone. Immediately afterwards, Stackhurst also came in. His hat was either missing or had been removed, and his clothes were almost as messy as Murdoch's.

"Bring the brandy quickly!" he shouted with the same urgency, "He is in critical condition. It took me all my strength to get him here. He fainted twice on the way."

After drinking half a glass of strong alcohol, Murdoch experienced a strange change. He actually raised his body with one hand, took off his shirt, and shouted: "Hurry up, get the oil, morphine."

, Morphine!" He shouted almost hysterically, "No matter what it is, come and curb this inhuman pain!"

When the police officer and I saw the scars on his back, we shouted almost simultaneously. Murdock's shoulder was actually covered with the same criss-crossing red and swollen network of scars that caused McPherson's death.

The pain was obviously extremely terrifying, and it must not be a local symptom. Because his breathing continued to stop, his entire face turned blue, he scratched his chest with both hands and gasped hard, and large beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.

It is no exaggeration to say that he was facing death at any time. We kept pouring brandy into him, and each time we drank it, he could temporarily wake up again. After we used cotton dipped in vegetable oil to smear the wound, it seemed that his

The pain subsided a little, and finally his head fell heavily on the mat. When life functions reach the limit of exhaustion, perhaps sleep is the last resting place that this life can avoid. He was in a comatose state, which at least relieved the pain.

.

"It is impossible to ask him questions at the present situation." Stackhurst said to me after the situation settled for a while, "God! What is going on, Mr. Holmes, what is going on?"

"Where did you find him?" I asked anxiously.

"On the seaside, that's where Mr. McPherson died. If his heart hadn't been stronger than McPherson's, he would have died long ago. I felt like he was dying twice on the way. It was too far to go to school, so

Just come to you."

"Did you see him on the beach?"

"I was walking on the path on the cliff when I suddenly heard his shout, and then I found him standing by the water, shaking like a drunken man. I quickly ran down and helped him put on his clothes.

He picked up his clothes and helped him up. Oh, Holmes, for the sake of God, please do your best to rid this place of harm. Now this place is simply uninhabitable. Can a wise man like you really do this?

Isn’t there any way?”

"Stalhurst, I think I still have a way, please come with me! And you, police officer, let's go together! I really want to see if I can catch the murderer!"

We entrusted the comatose patient to the care of the housekeeper, and the three of us headed to the deadly saltwater lake. There were towels and clothes on the rocks by the lake. I walked slowly around the water, and the two of them followed suit.

I walked. Most parts of the lake are shallow, but the place where the coast bends under the cliff is as deep as four or five feet. However, this is where swimmers will inevitably swim. The green waves here are full of green waves, as if

Crystal. There were some stones at the root of the cliff. I walked slowly along the stones and carefully looked into the depths of the water. Oh, just under the deepest and quietest lake, my eyes finally touched what I was looking for.

Something, I couldn't help shouting excitedly.

"Cyanogen jellyfish!" I shouted loudly: "Cyanogen jellyfish! Come and see the lion's mane!"

This monster really does look like a tuft of hair captured from a lion's mane. It grows on a reef three feet deep in the water. It is a monster that can float with the waves. There are many thin silver strips growing under the yellow tuft.

He was doing contraction and contraction movements slowly and forcefully there.

"This thing has done so many evil things, it's time for it to be put to death!" I shouted, "Stylehurst, come and help me to kill this abominable murderer!"

Coincidentally, there was a big stone on the reef on the shore. We pushed it together, and the stone fell into the lake with a "crash". When the water calmed down, we saw that the big stone was pressing on the reef under the water.

, there is still yellow mucous membrane exposed on the edge of the reef, indicating that the jellyfish is indeed pressed underneath. There is a very thick oily mucus squeezed out from under the stone, gradually staining a large area of ​​​​the lake.

"Oh, I'm stumped by this monster!" the police officer exhaled and shouted, "Mr. Holmes, what on earth is this? I grew up in this area, but I have never seen this kind of guy, Susie

There is nothing like this in Kesburn.”

"It would be better without it," I said, "perhaps the southwesterly wind has brought it here. Please follow me home, and I will let you hear the horror of a man who encountered this danger at sea.

He will never forget it."

When we returned to the study, Murdoch had recovered to the point where he could sit up. He felt severely dizzy, accompanied by spasms of pain. He spoke incoherently. He had no idea what was going on, but his whole body

The pain suddenly became unbearable, and I tried my best to finally climb onto the shore.

"I have a book here." I introduced, which solved this perhaps eternal mystery for the first time. The name of the book is "Outdoors", and the author is the famous nature observer JG. Wood. Once, he met

This kind of monster almost died, so he tried his best to use as much knowledge as possible to explain it. The poisonous power of this animal is definitely not that of a cobra, and the degree of pain it causes is much greater. I am now

Let’s read a brief summary:

'When a swimmer sees a cluster of round, fluffy brown mucous membranes and fibers, like a ball of lion's mane and silver paper, then you must be highly vigilant at this time. This is the very scary stinging animal cyanide jellyfish.

.'

"You see, this description couldn't be more clear, isn't it?"

He himself encountered this animal once when he was swimming on the Kent beach. He saw the animal extending a nearly invisible filament, about 50 feet long, as long as it was touched by the filament.

Everyone is facing the threat of death. Even though he was touched from a distance, he almost died.

'Numerous filaments cause red streaks on the skin, but upon closer inspection they turn out to be fine spots or vesicles. Any spot looks like a red-hot fine needle sticking into a nerve.'

He explained that the local pain was only the slightest part of the whole indescribable pain.

'The severe pain radiated to the entire chest. I fell down as if I had been shot. My heartbeat suddenly stopped. Then there were six or seven wild beats. It felt like my heart was about to rush out of my chest.'

"The person felt as if he was almost dead, even though he only touched the poison thread on the undulating sea surface, not in the limited and calm swimming lake. He said that after being poisoned, he could hardly recognize his own appearance.

His face was extremely pale, wrinkled, and haggard. He drank a bottle of brandy violently, as if to save his life. Mr. Police Officer, I will give you this book, it is clear

It perfectly describes the tragedy of Mr. McPherson."

"And at the same time, he also gave me my innocence." Murdoch interjected with a sarcastic smile, "Mr. Police Officer, I don't blame you, nor do I blame you, Mr. Holmes, after all, your doubts are understandable. I think

, I was able to clear my suspicion before I was on the verge of being arrested because I shared what happened to my poor friend.”

"That's not accurate, Mr. Murdoch. In fact, I have already started to solve this case. If I had arrived at the beach as planned earlier, I should have been able to save you from this disaster."

"Mr. Holmes, how did you know?"

"I am a very messy reader, with all kinds of knowledge piled up in my mind, some of which I don't remember clearly. The words 'Lion's Mane' have been lingering in my mind. I remember that I once read in a strange book

It was seen on the record of Mr. McPherson. You have all discovered that these words can indeed describe the monster. I am sure that when Mr. McPherson saw it, it must have been floating on the water, and 'lion's mane' was

The first name he could think of, he wanted to warn us."

"Anyway, at least I have been clarified." Murdoch said and stood up slowly, and added: "But I want to explain the last two sentences. Because I know that you have investigated some things about me, I

I admit that I did fall in love with that beautiful girl, but after I knew that she chose my friend McPherson, I only had one wish left, which was to help her win happiness. I would rather hide behind and act as their protector

I often help them deliver letters. Because they and I are close friends and she is the closest person to me, I rush to inform her of my friend’s death. I am worried that others will beat me to it and use a kind of

The disaster was told to her in a cold, bolt-from-the-blue way. She didn't tell you about our relationship, lest you blame me and make me suffer. Well, good-bye, I must go back to school, because I really need to lie down in bed.

"

At this time, Staplehurst stretched out his hand to him and said: "Our nerves have been overly tense these days. Murdoch, please forget the misunderstanding. We will understand each other better in the future."

After saying that, they held hands and left in a friendly manner. The police officer did not leave, but stared at me with wide eyes.

"Oh my God, you are so awesome!" Finally, he shouted excitedly: "I have read about your deeds before, but I have never believed it. You are so awesome!"

I can only shake my head. If I accept this kind of compliment, it will undoubtedly lower my standards.

"My reaction was very slow at first - even unforgivably slow. If the body had been found in the water, I would have solved the case quickly. I was blinded by the towel, and poor Mr. McPherson did not bother to wipe himself.

But I mistakenly thought that he had never been in the water. Really, this is exactly where I made a mistake. Ha, Mr. Police Officer, I have often teased your compatriots in the National Police Agency. This time, the cyanide jellyfish has avenged the National Police Agency.

.”

【Legal Commentary】

Because Murdoch had a grudge against the deceased, everyone naturally regarded him as a suspect, and Formosa said that "evidence" must be paid attention to. In the criminal law of our country, regarding arrests, "three certificates, three terms, one sentence, one batch, one sentence"

One execution".

Three certificates: 1. There is evidence to prove that the crime occurred; 2. There is evidence to prove that the crime was committed by the criminal suspect; 3. The evidence that proves that the criminal suspect committed the crime has been verified to be true.

Stage three: serious illness, pregnancy, and breastfeeding.

1. Imprisonment: A penalty of fixed-term imprisonment or more may be imposed.

Batch: The procuratorate’s approval of the public security agency’s request to arrest a criminal suspect.

One decision: I think it should be two decisions. The procuratorate and the court have the right to decide to arrest the suspect.

1. Execution: The arrest of criminal suspects and defendants shall be carried out by the public security organs.

Corresponding provisions of the Criminal Code regarding arrests:

According to the law, for criminal suspects and defendants who may be sentenced to a sentence of imprisonment or above for crimes proven by evidence, measures such as bail pending trial and residential surveillance are not enough to prevent social dangers. However, if arrest is necessary, they should be arrested.
Chapter completed!