My friend Sherlock Holmes has never been in a state of high concentration and health, both physically and mentally, as he was in 1895. As his reputation grew day by day, countless cases followed, and many very famous figures of the time also came to us.

The humble house in Baker Street. Sometimes I would be blamed for even hinting at the identity of one or two of them, and I would feel that I was not cautious enough. Holmes has always been like those great artists who only care about art and do not care about compensation.

He did not ask for high detective fees from the client because of his immeasurable achievements, but there was one exception, and that was the case of Duke Holdrith. He was so noble and willful, if it were not for the experience of the client,

In order to sympathize with him, I think that even if he has a huge fortune, Holmes will still turn him away. Sometimes for a very ordinary client, he can even spend several weeks studying the case intently, as long as the case is bizarre enough.

Enough for him to give full play to his endless wisdom.

In this unforgettable year of 1895, all that occupied his energy was a series of bizarre and very contradictory cases, including the later very famous investigation into the sudden death of Cardinal Tosca. This ingenious investigation was based on the Pope's

It was carried out under special instructions, and also included the arrest of the notorious canary-keeper named Wilson, which eradicated a big scourge in the East End of London. The above two strange cases had just ended, and what followed was

It was a tragedy that occurred at Woodman's Lee Manor, where Captain Peter Carey died mysteriously. If I did not tell this bizarre incident, Mr. Sherlock Holmes' numerous crime-solving records would not be perfect.

In the first week of July, my friend often left our house and stayed for a long time. It was obvious that he had a case waiting for him to deal with. During this period, I had received several vulgar people who asked for help.

I asked about Captain Basil, so I was able to find out that he was working somewhere under a pseudonym. He had to use many pseudonyms to conceal his formidable identity. He had at least five residences in London.

For him to live temporarily, these five residences correspond to different names and occupations. He usually doesn't tell me what he is investigating, and I don't have the habit of asking. But this time his investigation seems special to me.

He went out before breakfast, and when I was about to start breakfast, he strode in without taking off his hat, and holding a short, barbed spear under his arm that looked very much like an umbrella.

I shouted to him: "Oh my God! Holmes, you're not going to carry this thing around London with you, are you?"

"I ran to a butcher's shop with this thing and then came back." He answered noncommittally.

"Butcher shop?"

"Now I have a great appetite, dear friend, and it seems very necessary to exercise before breakfast. But can you guess what kind of exercise I do? I bet you can't guess it."

"I don't want to guess either."

He poured himself a cup of coffee and chuckled softly.

"If you had just come with me to Allardyce's butcher's shop, you would have seen a dead pig hanging precariously from the ceiling behind him, and there was also a gentleman in a starched shirt, and he put it in my hand

This weapon really jabbed the dead pig hard. Being the gentleman that I am, I was very pleased that I managed to pierce it without much effort. Would you be interested in giving it a try?"

"Absolutely not interested, why would you do this?"

"Because I guess this has something to do with a bizarre case that happened at Woodman Lee Manor." At this moment, the door opened and a man walked in, so he stepped forward and said, "Ah, Hopkin

, I received your telegram last night, I look forward to meeting you, let’s have breakfast together!”

The visitor looked very smart. He was about 30 years old. He was wearing a simple and elegant tweed jacket with a hint of the straightness and rigor that he was used to wearing in official uniforms. I recognized him immediately. He was a very young police chief.

His name was Stanley Hopkins. Holmes felt that he had a great future and was a promising young man, and he respected Sherlock Holmes, a famous detective who was good at scientific reasoning and detection, as a student would for his teacher.

And admiration. At this time, Hopkin looked a little depressed and sat down with a look on his face.

"Thank you very much, sir. I had already eaten before coming here. I came to the city yesterday to report and spent the night there."

"What did you report?"

"It's a failure, sir, a complete and utter failure." "Is there no progress at all?"

"no progress."

"Oh, I am somewhat interested in investigating this case."

"Mr. Holmes, I really hope you can participate. This is the first major case I have encountered so far that I can't do anything about. For the sake of God, you must help!"

"Okay, okay, I happened to have carefully studied all the materials I have so far, including the investigation report. I want to ask you by the way, what do you know about the tobacco bag found at the crime scene?

What do you think? Are there any clues related to this? "

Hopkin looked surprised when he heard this question.

"Sir, that's the man's own tobacco bag, a bag made of sealskin, with his initials embroidered on the inside, for he himself is an experienced sealer."

"But he doesn't have a pipe himself, does he?"

"No, sir, we didn't find any at the scene, and he rarely smokes, but he might light one for his friends who come to visit him."

"It is possible. The reason why I mentioned this tobacco bag first is because if I conduct an investigation, I personally prefer to start with this bag first. My friend Dr. Watson does not know this case yet. As for

As for me, I might as well hear the whole incident again, so I would like you to give us a brief account of the general situation of this case!"

Stanley Hopkins took a note from his pocket.

Here is a chronology listing the life of Captain Peter Carey. He was born in 1845 and is 50 years old this year. His best thing is catching seals and whales. He became a captain in 1883.

The captain of the sealing ship "Sea Unicorn" in Port Dickson, he maintained a record of good results every time he sailed. In the second year of his becoming captain, oh, that was 1884, he retired

After retiring, he spent several years traveling, and finally settled in Sussex. He bought a small place near the residential area of ​​Forrest, which was called Woodman Lee.

, where he lived for six years until he was found murdered last week.

This man has a very special character. He usually lives a strict Puritan life. In life, he doesn't like to talk and is a bit melancholic. He has a wife and a daughter. The daughter is already in her 20s. In addition, there are two maids at home.

.Because of the boring and reportedly unbearable environment at home, his family often changed maids. This man had a habit of drinking, and when he got drunk he became a drunken devil. Neighbors could hear it, and sometimes he

In the middle of the night, when he was drunk, he would drive his wife and daughter out and beat them with a belt or something, causing them to run around the garden and scream, and the whole village would be disturbed by the screams.

Awake.

We learned that once a priest from the local parish came to his home and accused him of bad behavior. He was summoned by the local authorities for swearing at the old priest. In short, it is very simple to say that Mr. Holmes is difficult to see.

There is no one more arrogant and unreasonable than him. In addition, I also learned that he was not much better when he was a captain. The sailors gave him a nickname called "Black Peter". This is not only because of his dark hair.

His face and dark beard, and his violent bad temper made people around him afraid to approach. There is no doubt that he was not very popular with his neighbors, and people tried their best to avoid him. When the tragic news of his death spread around

Word spread that no one around him expressed regret for his death.

Mr. Holmes, I believe you must have learned from that investigative report that he owned a small cabin. Perhaps your friend did not know anything about it. He built a wooden cabin and named it '

Cabin', this cabin is just outside his house about a few hundred meters away from his home. He spends every night in this cabin. This cabin is 16 feet long and 10 feet wide. It is a single room. He

He kept the keys and tidied the room himself, including cleaning the items in the room. He never allowed anyone to step into his house. There were small windows on all sides of the house. The windows were never opened, and the curtains were hung on them all year round.

A window facing the road. Whenever night falls, the cabin will be illuminated by lights. People often talk about this cabin and wonder what he is doing inside. Mr. Holmes, what we can know

As a result, this is all that the cabin's windows provide.

Do you still remember that two days before the accident, at about 1 o'clock in the morning, there was a local stonemason named Slater. He passed by this house in the Forest Residential Area and stopped.

He saw the light coming from the window shining on several trees next to him. The stonemason swore: 'I can clearly see a head swinging from side to side through the curtains. The important thing is that this swinging shadow is definitely not Peter Kay's.

He is very familiar with Kaili. This swinging head can be seen to be covered with beard, but it is different from the captain's thick beard. This man's beard is short and forward. This is the origin of the stonemason.

He spent two hours in a small hotel next to the road, which was still some distance from the window of the wooden house. According to him, he saw it on Monday and the murder happened on Wednesday of that week.

On Tuesday, Peter Carey was again drunken and rowdy, as violent and rude as a beast that wants to eat people. He stayed around his house, and his wife and daughter heard him coming back and ran out until late at night.

He just returned to the hut. At about 2 o'clock in the morning the next day, his daughter heard a frightening scream coming from the direction of the hut. The sound sounded very scary (his daughter always slept with the window open)

). Since he usually yelled when he was drunk, he did not attract anyone's attention at the time. One of his maids got up at about 7 o'clock and found that the door of the hut was open, but because Black Peter was usually too lethargic

People were timid, so no one approached the open room, and no one dared to go in until noon. People crowded around the open door, looking in, and the scene inside the room made them pale with fright.

I ran home quickly. Within an hour, I arrived at the scene.

Mr. Holmes, you know that I am usually quite calm, but listen to me, when I looked over and saw the scene in the room, I was also frightened. The room was filled with a large group of mung bean flies.

, the whole room is like a noisy slaughterhouse. As soon as you enter this room, you will understand why it is called a cabin. When you enter the room, you will feel like you are standing on a boat. At one end of the room is a

There is a bed with a storage box next to it with maps and some charts on it. An oil painting of the "Unicorn of the Sea" hangs on the wall. A row of logbooks are neatly placed on a shelf in the room.

The situation was the same as being in the captain's cabin. He was lying across the room, his face had become extremely distorted by pain, the beard at the corners of his mouth was gray, and it was upturned due to fright. A fishing steel fork

It stabbed straight into his chest and stuck into the wooden wall behind his back, just like a small insect nailed to a cardboard shell. When people heard the extremely painful roar, it was obvious that at that moment he had already

died.

Sir, I understand your usual principles for handling cases and abide by these principles. I only allowed others to enter the scene after carefully checking the ground inside and outside the house, but no footprints were found on the scene.

"You mean no footprints were found?"

"Yes, sir, no traces were found."

"My good brother Hopkin, among the many cases I have experienced, I have never experienced a flying animal committing a crime. As long as the criminal has two legs, there must be footprints left behind, and even if there are not, there will be footprints.

Traces of having visited a certain object, or traces of something being moved in an unnoticeable manner. As long as we use scientific methods to investigate, these things can be discovered by us. A whole room, a room splattered with blood,

Can't we find any traces that allow us to find clues? Through the investigation you just described, I found that there are some things that you accidentally missed."

Hearing my friend's sarcasm, the young police chief shrugged with a little embarrassment.

"Mr. Holmes, I was extremely foolish not to invite you to survey the scene, but it is an irreversible established fact that there are other items in that room that should attract our attention. One is the one that impaled him.

That murder weapon, that harpoon. There was a tool shelf on the wall at that time, and the murderer grabbed the harpoon on the shelf. There are still two hanging there, with an empty space next to it. The wooden handle of this harpoon is carved

There were the words 'SS, Sea Unicorn, Dandy'. From these I concluded that the murder occurred in an extremely angry environment, and I speculated that the suspect had casually grabbed the harpoon and committed the murder. The incident occurred at about 2 o'clock in the morning.

When it happened, Peter Carey was already dressed, which undoubtedly showed that he and the murderer had had a date before. In addition, a bottle of Roma and two used glasses found on the table also proved that

at this point."

Holmes asked: "Your two inferences are reasonable. In addition to Roma wine, is there any other wine in the house?"

"Well, there is a small wine cabinet above the storage box. There is brandy and whiskey in it, but it seems to have nothing to do with our investigation of the case, because it seems that the wine bottles in the cabinet are full of wine and have not been touched at all.

.”

Holmes said: "Despite this, the wine in the cabinet is still very important to us. However, I would like you to tell me first what you think is the situation of other items related to this case!"

"That tobacco bag on the table." "Where is it on the table?"

"It's placed in the middle of the table. It's a tobacco bag made of sealskin. It's made of unprocessed fur sealskin. It has a leather cord on it and the word 'P.C.' on the inside of the lid.

There is also half an ounce of cut tobacco in the bag, which looks very strong and seems to be reserved for sailors."

"Very good! Are there any others?"

Stanley Hopkins took out a notebook from his pocket. The tawny cover looked a little old, and the stubble on the edges was dirty. The first page had the prefix "J.H.N." and the date "1883" written on it.

Holmes put the book on the table and examined it carefully. Hopkins and I stood behind him and looked at each other. On the second page there were three letters "C.P.R." written in block letters, followed by several pages of densely packed numbers.

Then there are titles such as "Argentina", "Costa Rica", "Saint Paulo", etc. There are several pages of symbols and numbers in the text under the titles.

"What do these words mean?" asked Holmes. "These appear to be statements of exchange securities. 'J.H.N.' stands for the broker's initials, and 'C.P.R.' is the name of his customer."

Holmes said: "Do you think it's appropriate to think that 'C.P.R.' stands for Canadian Pacific Railway?"

Stanley Hopkins struck his thighs with both hands, scolding himself in a low voice for his reaction.

Then Hopkin shouted: "How stupid I am! You are so right. Then, we only need to know the meaning of the remaining three initials 'J.H.N.'. I once said that these securities

I have investigated the old statements of the exchange and found no names with the same initials as these three inside and outside the exchange in 1883, but I still think this is the most important clue. Mr. Holmes, do you think this is possible?

These initials are the abbreviations of the name of the person who appeared at the scene of the crime. To put it bluntly, they belong to the murderer. In addition, I also think that the notebook containing a large amount of valuable securities just illustrates the motive of the crime."

Through the face of Sherlock Holmes, I found that the progress of this case surprised him somewhat.

He said slowly: "I completely agree with the two arguments you made above. I admit that it was this notebook that you discovered at the beginning but did not mention to me that changed my previous inference. Before, I

All inferences about this case are not based on the contents of this notebook. Have you conducted any investigation into the securities mentioned in this notebook?"

"I am conducting investigations in this area on the exchange, but a large part of the full list of South American Concern stock holders is not here, but in South America. It will take several weeks of investigation to find out these shares."

Holmes took out a magnifying glass and carefully examined the outer cover of the notebook.

"There are signs of dirt here," he said.

"Yes, sir, that's blood. I told you I picked it up from the ground."

"Is the blood spot on the front cover or the back cover of the book?" "On the side next to the floor, sir."

"There is no doubt that the notebook was dropped after the murder."

"Mr. Holmes, that's the truth. I understand it very well. I guess the murderer ran away in a hurry after committing the crime and then fell by the door."

"I assume there is no property of the deceased in these securities, is that right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you have any factual basis to conclude that this is a robbery and murder case?"

"No, sir. No sign of anything being tampered with."

"Ah, that's an interesting case. You told me there was a knife there, didn't you?"

"Yes, sir, it was a sheathed knife, which lay at the deceased's feet, still in the scabbard. Mrs. Carey said it was Captain Carey's knife."

Holmes fell into deep thought for a moment.

Finally he said: "I think it is necessary for me to see the scene in person."

Stanley Hopkins exclaimed happily: "Thank you so much, sir, it will relieve my stress."

Holmes waved his hand politely to the sergeant.

He said: "This matter would have been very easy a week ago, but if we go now, it may not be completely useless. Watson, if you have time, I am very happy for you to come with me to the scene. Hopkin, please

Please help me call a carriage, and in a quarter of an hour, let’s set off for Forest Residential Area!”

After we parked the car at a small inn on the roadside, we hurried through the ruins of a large forest. This forest stretching for several miles was part of a British fort that once blocked the Saxon invaders for 60 years.

, known as the uninvadable "forest zone". Most of the trees inside have been cut down. Here is the first steel factory in the UK. Most of the trees were cut down to make steel. Now the steel factory has been moved to

In the north, only desolate woods and uneven ground are left. Not far away can be seen a green hill, a long and low stone house standing in the open space on the slope, and a field extending from the door not far away.

There is a winding path through the road. There is a wooden house near the main road. Three sides of it are surrounded by bushes. The door and a window next to it are facing us. That place is the scene of the murder.

Stanley Hopkin led us into the house and introduced our purpose to the haggard-looking, gray-haired woman in front of us - this was the widow of the deceased. There were several deep wrinkles on her haggard face, red and swollen

Deep in her eyes, the look of fear has not disappeared. Years of violent abuse have made the fear deeply hidden. Next to her is her daughter, a girl with blond hair, who is also pale, mentioning the death of her father.

, she looked relaxed and excited, and only said: "In my opinion, the thief is blind and dared to steal my father's money, but I didn't expect that he was the one who died!" Her face was shining with resistance.

Her eyes were accompanied by a tone of blessing the one who stabbed her father to death. Her mother grabbed her daughter and stopped her from talking any more. It seemed that Black Peter tortured their family so much that we walked out of the dark room.

The house was bathed in daylight, and I felt relieved. Then we walked along a path in the field that had been trodden by the feet of the dead.

The structure of this cabin couldn't be simpler. Wooden walls surrounded the room. Even the roof was made of wood. There was a window next to the door and another window opposite the end. Stanley Hopkin took out his pocket

He took the key and bent to aim it at the keyhole. At this time, he paused, with a surprised expression on his concentrated face.

He said: "Someone picked the lock."

The obvious fact, the knife marks on the wooden parts and the scratched white paint, all told us that the door seemed to have just been broken open, and Holmes was checking the window at this time.

"Someone tried to get in through the window. No matter who this person was, he failed and did not get in. This is a very stupid thief."

The young police chief muttered: "This is so unusual. I swear to God, these marks weren't there last night."

I reminded him: "Maybe there are very curious people in this village!"

"This is unlikely. No one would dare to approach this place, let alone someone breaking in. Mr. Holmes, what do you think of this matter?"

"I guess we're extremely lucky."

"Are you saying this person will come back again?"

"The possibility is very high. He didn't expect the door to be locked last time, so he needs to get a pocket knife to open the door. What should he do if he didn't succeed this time?"

"Bring the appropriate tools and wait until the next night to come over and try again."

"Well. If we don't wait here and wait, then we are making a big mistake. Let me go inside the hut and have a look."

The traces of murder had been cleanly cleaned, but the furnishings in the house had not been moved. Holmes examined them one by one with concentration for two hours, but his expression told me that he still found nothing. As he continued to examine patiently, I saw

At one point he stopped.

"Hopkin, have you taken anything off this shelf?"

"Nothing, sir."

"Something must have been taken away by someone else. This place is less dusty than other places. There may be a book or a small box or something like that. Well, it seems like nothing happened. Watson, let's

Go for a walk in the woods over there and breathe some fresh air! Hopkins, let's wait here tonight for his arrival!"

It was already after 11 o'clock when we arranged this little ambush. Hopkin advocated opening the door, but Holmes felt that this was to scare the snake. The lock was something that could be easily picked, a small piece of strong iron.

That would be done. Holmes also suggested that we had better wait for him in the bushes near the corner of the house. If the man lit a lamp, we could see his face and find out what he wanted to do sneaking here in the middle of the night.

Although the waiting time is long and boring, it feels like a thrill of adventure. We are like hunters waiting by the pool to catch animals that come to drink water. We are secretly wondering who this beast that sneaks here in the middle of the night is.

What kind of thing? A maiming tiger that you have to fight to catch? Or a evasive jackal that is scary to the timid and defenseless?

We crouched silently in the bushes, eagerly waiting for any possible situation. At first, we could hear the footsteps of people returning to the village very late, and there were also faint conversations coming from the village.

Sounds, these once attracted our great attention, but later we found out that they were just irrelevant sounds, and these all disappeared one after another as the night progressed. There was silence all around, and the occasional church bell reminded us of the past.

Sometimes we can feel the rustling sound of drizzle falling on the leaves above our heads.

Just after the clock struck two-thirty, the darkness before dawn came. Suddenly, a dull and sharp ticking sound came from the gate, which made us immediately alert and surprised. We saw someone approaching step by step across the path, and then

There was a long silence, and I was wondering if this was a false alarm, but suddenly there was light footsteps from the other side of the room, which caught our attention. After a while, I heard the friction and collision of metal again.

It was obvious that he was trying hard to open the door lock. This time he had experience or changed his tools, because we heard a sudden "click", and then the door "squeaked" open. A match

It was lit, and then we saw that the interior of the hut was filled with the light of candles. Through the gauzy curtains, we stared closely at the scene inside the house.

This uninvited guest at night has a thin body, and the black beard on his chin makes his pale face even more pale and scary. It can be seen that he is a young man, he seems to be in his early 20s. I have never seen anyone so surprised as him. He

His upper teeth were tapping his lower teeth, and he was obviously shivering, and his limbs were shaking constantly. He was dressed like a gentleman, with a Norfolk-style coat on him, a pair of bloomers on his lower body, and a skullcap on his head.

Staring around, panicked, he then put the candle end on the table and walked to a corner. At this time, we couldn't see him. From a distance, he seemed to be holding a big book in his hand and walked to the table again.

, this big book was one of the logbooks placed on the shelf. He leaned on the table and flipped through the big book until he found what he wanted. He clenched his fists and looked a little angry.

, closed the book heavily and put it back into place. Then he turned around and blew out the candle. Just before he could turn around and walk out of the room, Hopkin's hand grabbed his collar tightly.

.When he realized that he had been arrested, I heard him looking up to the sky and sighing. We lit the candles that had just been extinguished. Under the direct gaze of the detective, he curled up and trembled. He sat on the storage box, confused.

He looked at this person and then at that person.

Stanley Hopkin said: "Who are you, my friend? What brings you here?"

The man straightened up and looked at us, trying to appear calm.

He said: "Are you detectives? Do you think I have something to do with Captain Carey's death? I can guarantee that I am innocent."

Hopkin said: "We will figure this out. Can you tell me your name first?"

"John Hopeley Nelligan."

I saw Holmes and Hopkins gesture to each other.

"Why are you here?"

"I have a secret, can I trust you?"

"No, no need."

"Then why should I tell you?"

"If you don't tell us, it will be very detrimental to you when we interrogate you in the future."

The young man became embarrassed.

He said: "Okay! Let me tell you, there is nothing to hide, but I personally don't want the old rumors to spread around again. Have you heard about the Dawson and Nergen companies?"

From Hopkin's facial expression he had no idea, but I could see that Holmes was very interested.

So he said: "You mean those western bankers? They lost a million pounds. In Cornwall, half the bankers went bankrupt. Nergen was later found missing. Yes, he is my father."

We finally have something useful, but the distance between a banker who went bankrupt and is now missing, and a Black Peter impaled on the wall with his own harpoon seems a bit too big. For this reason, we

They all began to listen to this young man's story with rapt attention...

This incident mainly involved my father. Dowson had retired at the time. I had just turned 10 years old at the time, but I could still feel it because this incident cast a shadow and humiliation on the whole family. People spread rumors about my father.

He took away all the securities and fled, which is very untrue. Because my father has always believed in being able to repay the debt. He believed that if there was enough time for him to turn the securities into cash, everything would be solved smoothly.

.When the summons for my father’s arrest had just been issued, he fled to Norway on his small yacht. I still remember the scene when he said goodbye to my mother on the night before he left. He took her away

He made a list of all securities and left us a backup. Before leaving, he swore that he would come back to clear his name and promised us that he would never implicate those who trusted him. Unfortunately, from then on, he

There has been no news of me or the yacht. My mother and I both feel that he and the yacht, including the securities he took with him when he left, have sunk to the bottom of the sea. We have a reliable businessman friend who not long ago discovered that there was a problem in the London market.

They were the same securities that my father had taken away. You can certainly imagine how surprised we were when we heard the news. I spent several months trying to trace where these securities came from. During this period

After going through many twists and turns, I finally discovered that the first person to sell these securities was the owner of this cabin, Captain Peter Carey.

Of course, I tried my best to do some research on him, and I found that he was once the captain of a whaling ship. This ship happened to be returning from the Arctic Ocean when my father took a speedboat to Norway. That autumn experience

There were a lot of storms blowing in from the south, and I suspect my father's yacht was probably blown north until it encountered the whaler. If these assumptions are true, what happened to my father? Anyway, I guess I have to

Meeting with Peter Carey, he could figure out how the securities appeared in the market, which would prove that my father did not sell the securities and that he did not take them to make a fortune for himself.

I came to Sussex intending to meet the captain, and at this time I heard that he had been killed, and from the coroner's report I learned of the existence of this hut, and that the log book was still kept in the hut.

I thought that if I could see the logbook recording what happened on board the Sea Unicorn in August 1883, the mystery of my father's disappearance would be solved. Last night I tried to

I came in and looked through these logbooks, but the door was not opened. So I chose to try again tonight. I found the logbooks for that period, but the pages in August had been torn out by others, and then you caught them.

I.

Hopkin asked him: "Is that all the truth you have to say?"

"Yes, all the facts." He said while avoiding our eyes.

"Is there anything else that needs to be added?" He hesitated for a moment.

"Gone."

"Have you ever been to this place before last night?" "Never."

Hopkin held up the notebook with blood stains on the outside as evidence. The first page had this person's name at the beginning. He shouted to Nergen: "Then how do you explain this thing?"

The poor man's expression darkened, and he covered his face with trembling hands.

He looked pained: "About this book, how did you get it? I can't remember. I think I lost it in the hotel."

Hopkin interrupted him sternly: "That's enough. If you have anything else you want to make up, just leave it in court! Now I'm going to take you to the police station. Mr. Holmes, thank you very much and your

My friend Dr. Watson is here, but the facts are before us. Your time was wasted this time. Even if you were not here, the case could still have a successful result like this. Despite this, I still express my gratitude to you for coming.

! I still have a room for you at the Bramblett Hotel. Now, let’s go back to the village together!”

The next morning, as we were walking back to London in the carriage, Holmes turned to me and asked: "Watson, what do you think of this matter?"

"Anyway, I feel like you're not satisfied."

"Oh, dear friend, I am very satisfied. However, I do not agree very much with Stanley Hopkins's way of handling the case. I originally hoped that he would have good judgment and handling of this case, but the result is that I

Disappointment. A detective should have the ability to always be prepared to explore whether there is another possibility, and to always be prepared for the probability and principles of such a possibility."

"So for this case, what is the second possibility?"

"That's what I've been investigating. It's hard for me to guarantee what the outcome will be, but for now it seems I'm going to continue."

When we returned to Baker Street, there were several letters sent in the past few days waiting for Holmes to open and read. He opened one of the letters and laughed proudly while reading it.

"Great, Watson! The second possibility I mentioned is developing according to my plan. Do you have any telegrams there? Send me two telegrams. The first one goes to Ratcliffe

Main Street, Shipping Company, Semuna'. The content is: Please send 3 people quickly to ensure that they arrive at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. - Basil. This is one of my pseudonyms. The content of the other letter is: Briston District Luo

No. 46 De Street, Sheriff Stanley Hopkins. Come for breakfast at 9:30 tomorrow morning. Important. If you can't make it, please call back. - Sherlock Holmes. Watson, this annoying case has troubled me.

I have had trouble sleeping and eating these past few days. From today on, I will eradicate it from my heart, and tomorrow we will have the final result."

The young police chief arrived on time, and we enjoyed the sumptuous breakfast prepared by Mrs. Hudson together. The young police chief seemed very excited because he had successfully solved the murder of Black Peter.

Holmes asked: "Do you really think you've solved all your problems this way?"

"I can't think of any other more suitable or perfect way, sir."

"In my opinion, the case is not over yet."

"Mr. Holmes, this is beyond my expectation. Then what else do we need to continue to investigate further?"

"Does your explanation cover all aspects of the matter?"

"It is obvious! I have learned that this Nergen arrived at the Bramblett Hotel on the day of the accident, pretending to play golf. He stayed on the first floor because he wanted to be able to go out whenever he wanted.

Free access. On the night of the incident, he went to Woodman Lee and had an interview with Peter Carey in that hut. They had a dispute. In desperation, he picked up the harpoon and stabbed him to death.

.He panicked and dropped the notebook on the ground when he fled in a hurry. He took this notebook with him in order to question Peter Carey face to face about those securities. Maybe you are studying that notebook

We have noticed at the time that most of the securities are not marked, while some securities are clearly marked. The marked ones were found to have appeared on the London market by Nergen. As for the rest,

It should be in the hands of Carey himself. According to Nergen's own account, he was eager to prove that these securities originally belonged to his father so that he could repay the creditor in time. For a period of time after he ran away, he was very scared and conflicted. He was afraid of coming.

Here he was, but for the sake of those remaining securities, he had to take the plunge again. It couldn't be more obvious."

Holmes smiled and shook his head.

"There is only one most critical loophole in this. He has no ability to kill. Have you ever tried to use that harpoon to pierce an animal's body? No? Hum, dear friend, this extremely small thing should have aroused your interest long ago.

Sufficient attention. Let my friend Watson tell you how I spent a whole morning doing this experiment. It is really a difficult thing, which requires sufficient strength and regular practice of accuracy.

.At the crime scene, it was found that the steel fork was pierced with such force that the steel fork penetrated the body and sank into the wall. How could this thin and weak-looking anemic young man have such great strength? Drinking with Black Peter in the middle of the night

Who is drinking rum? Could it be this thin young man? Could it be the figure that the mason found on the curtain two days ago? No, you are wrong, Hopkin, that man is strong and powerful, and that is what we must

The murderer we are looking for."

As Holmes conducted in-depth analysis, the sergeant's face grew longer and longer. These words dampened his excitement and ambition. However, he would never give up easily without some debate.

"Mr. Holmes, even if you told me those reasons, it is undeniable that Nergen was at the scene on the night of the crime, and the notebook is ironclad evidence. Even if you have such and such reasons, my proofs are still satisfactory to the jury.

Also, who is the powerful and terrible murderer you mentioned, and where is he now?"

Holmes said calmly: "I think he is at the exit of the stairs now. Watson, I suggest you put the gun somewhere within easy reach." He stood up and put a piece of paper with writing on it on it.

The table against the wall said: "Everything is ready."

As soon as the rough conversation outside came in, Mrs. Hudson opened the door and said, "There are three people outside who want to see Captain Basil."

Holmes motioned to Mrs. Hudson: "You tell them to come in one by one."

The first person pushed open the door and came in. He was short, and his appearance made people want to laugh. He had a red face with gray and fluffy sideburns.

Holmes took out a letter from his pocket and asked: "What is your name?"

"James Lancaster."

"I'm sorry, Lancaster, but there are no more berths available. Here is half a gold pound. Please go into that room and wait for me for a few minutes."

The second man who came in was slender and thin, with straight hair and sunken cheeks. His name was Hugh Pattins. He was also not hired. After receiving half a gold pound from Holmes, he also entered.

He went to that room and waited.

The third person who came in looked a little strange. He had a ferocious face like a bulldog, his hair and beard were messy, and his two thick eyebrows drooped to cover a pair of dark, deep-set eyes.

He saluted Holmes, then stood like a sailor, still turning his hat with his hands.

Holmes asked: "What is your name?"

"My name is Patrick Cairns."

"Are you a spearfisher?"

"Yes, I have been to sea 26 times."

"Port Dandy?"

"Yes."

"How much do you earn every month?"

"Eight pounds a month, sir."

"Can you go out to sea immediately with this expedition?"

"Just give me a little time to prepare, sir."

"Do you have relevant proof?"

"Here, sir," he said, and took out from his pocket a roll of sheets that had been rubbed out of shape and stained with oil. Holmes took it, looked at it, and gave it back to him.

He said: "You are the person I am looking for. There is our contract on the table against the wall. If you sign it, we will be settled."

Holmes came up behind him and put his arms around his neck. "That's all," he said.

Then there was a sound of metal colliding continuously, and an angry roar like an enraged bull. The sailor and Holmes struggled on the ground. Although Holmes had handcuffed his hands, his strength was not enough.

It was so big that Holmes was almost subdued by the sailor, so we quickly jumped out to help him. When I took out my pistol and pointed the black muzzle at his temple ruthlessly and forcefully, he realized

No longer able to resist in vain, we picked up the rope and tied his ankles tightly, and then stood up panting.

Sherlock Holmes said: "Hopkin, I'm sorry, but the delicious scrambled eggs may have gone cold. But when you think that the case is finally completed successfully, you can continue to enjoy this delicious breakfast!"

Stanley Hopkins was dumbfounded.

His face turned red from shame, and before he had time to think about it, he said: "Mr. Holmes, I don't know what to say to you. I was deceived by myself at the beginning, but now you make me understand that I should never forget that you are

My teacher. Although I witnessed everything with my own eyes just now, I still wonder what happened and what it meant."

Holmes said excitedly: "Very good! You will not gain any wisdom without going through this incident. You should learn a lesson from this incident, that is, you cannot stick to one method of solving crimes. You focus all your attention on the young man."

Nergen, so there was no attention left to focus on Patrick Cairns, the man who actually murdered Peter Carey."

Suddenly the seaman's hoarse voice interrupted us.

He said: "Sir, listen to me, I have no objection to you doing this to me, but I just hope that you can be more accurate. Just now you said that I murdered Black Peter, but I want to tell you that I killed him

Yes, there is a big difference between murder and killing. Maybe you don’t believe me, or maybe you think I’m making it up.”

Holmes answered him: "We are not doing this, let us listen to what you want to say!"

"I'm going to tell you what happened, and I swear to God that I'm telling the truth. I know Black Peter so well that when he pulled out the knife, I knew that if I didn't resist, he would kill me.

He died, so in desperation I picked up the harpoon next to me and stabbed him, and he died like this. But you just said that I murdered him, but it is incorrect, because whether it was Black Peter who stabbed me with the knife

Or strangle me with a noose, I will die the same, so I must defend myself and resist."

After hearing this, Holmes paused and thought for a moment, seemed to agree with his explanation, and then continued to ask: "Then how did you find this place?"

Talking about this, let me tell you from the beginning. Give me a stool to sit on, so that it is easier to talk. This was in 1883 - in August of that year. Peter Carey was in

I was the captain of the Sea Unicorn, and I was the back-up spearfisher on the ship. We were sailing against the wind, and on the way back from the large pieces of broken ice in the Arctic Ocean, there were actually strong winds blowing for a whole week.

In a strong southerly wind, we encountered a small speedboat that had been blown north, and we rescued the boat. There was only one person on board at the time, and he looked like a newbie. Most of the sailors on our boat thought there was another boat.

The ship had sunk, and the other crew members had perished. Only this man escaped and got on the small ship to go to Norway. Anyway, we rescued him. He and the captain had a long conversation in the cabin. We took him

When he was salvaged, there was only a tin box next to him. No one knew his name, at least I didn't know anything about it, and he disappeared the next night, as if he had never been on the ship. At that time

There was a rumor circulating on the ship that this man might have jumped into the sea by himself, or he might have been swept away by the big storm at that time. But only one of them knew his true whereabouts, and that person was me, because I was on duty late at night.

In class two, I saw with my own eyes that the captain tied his feet and threw him off the ship. I was petrified at the time, but I knew the captain’s character too well, so I didn’t dare to say anything. I could only pray for the poor man.

Later, after our ship sailed on the sea for two days, we saw the Setland Lighthouse.

I kept silent about this matter, wanting to see how it would develop. By the time we arrived in Scotland, no one mentioned it anymore. A person who had nothing to do with us had an accident at sea, and there was no need for anyone to spend any energy on it.

I went to ask. Soon, Carey retired. It was not until many years later that I found out where he was. I guessed that he killed the person he rescued that night for no reason, for the sake of the contents of the iron box.

So I'm going to find him and ask him to give me some money.

I heard that a sailor saw him in London, so I found out his address through the sailor, so I found him and asked him for money. We got along well the first night, and he promised to give me a sum of money.

The money was enough for me to never go to sea again in my life. We agreed to settle the matter in two nights. When I went to find him again, he was already half drunk and his temper was obviously very bad, so we sat down to drink.

Reminiscing about old times. As he drank more and more, I noticed that his face became more and more ugly. I caught a glimpse of the harpoon hanging on the wall, and I thought that I might be able to use it later.

Later, he yelled at me rudely, with a fierce look in his eyes. He held a big folding knife in his hand, as if he wanted to kill me right away. Before his knife was pulled out of the sheath,

I picked up the harpoon and stabbed him hard. He immediately let out a sharp scream! As his face became more and more blurred, I just stayed there, with his blood splattered all over my body.

.After a while, when I found that the surroundings were quiet again, I boldly looked around the room again, and I immediately saw the iron box on the shelf. It can be said that I am just like Peter Carey.

, all had the right to take the box, so I took it and ran away in a hurry, but in my desperation I forgot my tobacco bag on the table.

However, I want to tell you something very strange that I discovered that day. When I got out of the hut, I saw someone walking over from a distance. When I saw the opportunity, I immediately hid in the bushes nearby.

Get up. I saw a person sneaking into the room quietly. When he saw the scene in the room, he shouted and ran away without a trace. Who was he?

I didn't know what I was doing here. I didn't want to stay too long, so I walked 16 kilometers to Donbuchi Wilts, where I got on the train bound for London.

As soon as I got on the train, I opened the box and found that there was no money at all except some securities, but I didn't dare to sell them. I failed to control Zwarte Peter, and I was alone in London with no money.

No, I only have my fishing skills. At this time, I saw the very tempting advertisement for hiring a fisherman, so I went to apply for a job at the shipping company, and they asked me to come here to meet you, and then

Now this is the case, this is what happened, I need to reiterate again, I killed him, the law should be grateful to me for saving them the cost of a noose.

Holmes stood up, lit his pipe and said: "The whole truth is revealed. Mr. Hopkins, I think you should send the murderer to a safe place quickly! This house is not suitable for a torture chamber, and Mr. Patrick Cairns is huge and burly.

My body takes up a lot of space in this house."

Hopkin looked very excited: "Mr. Holmes, I have nothing to say. I really don't know how to express my gratitude! Even now, I am still a little confused about the fact that you let the prisoner throw himself into a trap.

"

"This is all due to the relatively accurate clues I caught at the beginning. If I had known that the notebook was at the scene, I might have been led to other places like your original idea, and all my energy was concentrated on one point.

, that is, extraordinary strength, experienced experience in using harpoons, Roma wine, and sealskin pipes filled with rough tobacco, all of which will be concentrated in a sailor who has experienced whaling. I am sure that the words on the tobacco bag

It's just a coincidence that the first 'P.C.' is not Peter Carey. You once said that he rarely smoked and didn't have a pipe. Do you remember that I asked you that besides rum, there was nothing in the house.

Are there other alcoholic drinks like whiskey and brandy? You said there are. So how many people already have these alcoholic drinks and still drink Roma even if they don’t go to sea? So I’m sure the murderer should be a sailor.”

"Then how did you find him? The city of London is so big." "Dear Sheriff, this is very simple. If the murderer is a sailor, then he must have worked on the 'Sea Unicorn'

Because I learned that Peter Carey had not been on any other ship, and then I found out the names of all the sailors on the "Unicorn of the Sea" in 1883 through telegrams from Dundee. When I saw the spearman

When the name Patrick Cairns was on the list, I knew I was almost done. I speculated that he was currently in London, and perhaps he was leaving for a while. So I went to East London and set up an Arctic Ocean expedition under a false identity.

, looking for a well-paid harpooner to work under Captain Basil – and you see he’s taken the bait!”

Hopkins shouted excitedly: "How wonderful! How wonderful!" Holmes said: "Release Nergen quickly, and I tell you, you should solemnly apologize to him and return the iron box to its original owner. Of course,

Those that Peter Carey has sold are irretrievable. Hopkins, you go outside and hire a carriage to take this man away at once. If you will allow me to attend his trial, give it to me and Watson when the time comes.

Write a letter and the address is somewhere in Norway - I'll give you the details later."

【Legal Commentary】

The story revolves around some valuable securities. The banker Nergen fled to Norway with these securities. So what crime did the banker Nergen commit? To answer this question, we must use China's "Criminal Law"

The relevant regulations on the crime of occupational embezzlement are explained. Personnel of companies, enterprises or other units who take advantage of their positions to illegally appropriate the property of their units for themselves, if the amount is relatively large, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 5 years or criminal detention;

If the amount is huge, the person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 5 years, and may also be subject to confiscation of property.

If a person engaged in official duties in a state-owned company, enterprise or other state-owned unit and a person assigned by a state-owned company, enterprise or other state-owned unit to perform official duties in a non-state-owned company, enterprise or other unit commits the acts mentioned in the preceding paragraph, he or she shall be punished in accordance with Article 380 of this Law.
Chapter completed!