In 1878, after I received my doctorate in medicine from the University of London, I went to Netley to further study the required courses for military medicine. There, I completed all the required courses, and was then sent to the Fifth Army in Northumberland.

The regiment was stationed in India at that time. The second war in Afghanistan broke out before I arrived at the regiment. When I landed in Bombay, I heard that the regiment I belonged to had crossed the mountains.

Despite this, I followed some soldiers who were also lagging behind me and reached Kandahar safely. There I found the regiment to which I belonged and immediately assumed my new post.

Many people received honors or promotions through this battle, but all I received was disaster and misfortune. After I was transferred to the Buck State Brigade, I participated in the decisive battle of Maiwand with the brigade. In this battle

I was hit in the shoulder by a Jezer bullet, which shattered the shoulder bone and grazed the artery below the collarbone. If my loyal and brave orderly Murray hadn't thrown me onto the horse's back, I would have been safe.

If you take me back to the British position, I will fall into the hands of those extremely cruel Gaji people.

The trauma caused unbearable bone pain and a haggard appearance. Coupled with the long-term fatigue of tossing and turning, my body was even more weak. So, I was sent to the rear hospital in Boschul at the same time as a large number of wounded people. There, my

My health gradually improved. However, when I could walk around the ward a little and even bask in the sun on the corridor, I fell ill again and contracted typhoid, the most unfortunate disease in India.

.In this way, for the next few months, I was in a coma and dying. Finally, I finally regained my consciousness and gradually recovered. However, because of this serious illness, I looked abnormal.

I was haggard and physically weak, so after consultation with the doctors, they decided to send me back to the UK immediately without any delay. In this way, I was sent back to the country on the troop transport ship "Olenz" for a month.

Finally, I landed at the dock in Portsmouth. At that time, my health was so bad that it was almost beyond recovery. However, the government gave me three quarters of leave, which gave me enough time to recuperate.

As I had no relatives in England, I was as free as air, or as free as a man who earns eleven shillings and sixpence a day. Under such circumstances, it was natural that I was sucked in.

London is the "big cesspool" where all the lazy people and vagrants in the British Empire have gathered. I lived in an apartment on the Riverside Road in London for a while and lived an uncomfortable and boring life.

In life, I spent all the money as soon as I got it, far beyond what I could afford, so my financial situation became worse and worse. Soon, I decided: I must get out of this "big cesspool"

"Move to the country; otherwise, I would have to completely change my lifestyle. I chose the latter method, determined to leave this apartment and find another place where the cost was not high.

On the day I decided to do this, I was standing in front of Clayton's Bar. Suddenly, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw that it was little Stamford, who was my friend when I was at Butts.

Assistant. In this crowded urban area of ​​London, I can actually meet such an acquaintance. For a lonely person, it is indeed a very happy thing. Although little Stanford's relationship with me was average before,

I greeted him ecstatically now. He seemed very happy to see me, so I immediately warmly invited him to ride with me to the Houben Restaurant for lunch.

When we were riding a carriage through downtown London, little Stamford asked me in surprise: "Watson, what have you been doing recently? You look sallow and thin, as if you only have a handful of bones left!"

I briefly described my dangerous experience to him. Before I had finished speaking, we arrived at Houben's restaurant.

After hearing my misfortune, little Stamford said sympathetically: "What a poor guy! What are your plans now?"

"I want to find a place to live first and rent a few cheap and comfortable houses. I wonder if you can help me solve this problem?" I answered like this.

"What a strange thing! You are the second person to talk to me like this today." said little Stamford.

"Who's the first one?" I asked.

"He works in a hospital laboratory. This morning, he complained to me, saying that he had found several good houses, but the rent was too high and he couldn't afford it alone, and he couldn't find anyone to share the house with him."

I said, "That's right! If he really wants to find someone to live with, then I am exactly the person he is looking for. I think having a companion is much better than living alone."

Little Stamford looked at me in surprise through the wine glass and said, "You don't know Sherlock Holmes yet, maybe you won't be willing to be his long-term partner!"

"Why? Does he have any shortcomings?" I asked.

Little Stamford replied: "Oh! I'm not saying he has any shortcomings. He just has some weird ideas - he always tirelessly explores some profound scientific issues. As far as I know, he is a very upright person.

!”

"Maybe he is a person who studies medicine?" I said.

No! I have no idea what he is studying.

But I believe he is well versed in anatomy and a first-rate pharmacist.

However, as far as I know, he has never studied medicine systematically. What he studied was also complex, unsystematic, and fragmented. However, he accumulated a lot of weird theoretical knowledge, enough to make his professors and mentors feel that

surprise.

"Did you never ask him what kind of problems he was studying?" I asked.

"No. He never speaks his mind casually. Even when he is happy, he is eloquent. He also seems to be particularly talkative and never talks about it."

"I would really like to meet him. If I want to share a house with others, then I would rather live with someone who likes to study and is calm. My body is still relatively weak now and I can't stand excitement or noise. In Afghanistan,

I've had enough of that feeling and I don't want to suffer it anymore in my life. But how can I meet your friend?" I said.

"Now, he must be in the laboratory. He either won't go for a few weeks, or he works there forgetting sleep and food. If you like, we can take the car to visit him after dinner!" replied little Stanford.

"Of course I do!" I said. Then we changed the subject and talked about other things.

As we left Houben's and went to the hospital, little Stanford told me more about Mr. Holmes. He said: "If you don't get along with him, don't blame me. I'm just in the laboratory."

I met him occasionally and got to know a little bit about him. Besides, I know nothing about other things about him. Since you propose to do this, please don't hold me responsible."

I replied: "If I can't get along with him, it won't be difficult to break up." I stared at little Stanford and then said: "I think you seem to be letting this matter go. There must be some reason for this. Isn't it this?

Is this gentleman really that terrible? Or is there some other reason? Don't be so reluctant to talk."

Little Stanford smiled and said: "It is really difficult to express indescribable things in words. In my opinion, Holmes is a bit too scientific. I almost concluded that he is a cold-blooded animal. I remember there was

Once, he asked a friend to taste a pinch of plant alkaloids. You have to understand that he did not do this out of malice, but out of a scientific motive to accurately understand the effects of this drug. To be honest, I think

He himself would swallow the drug in one gulp. It seems that he has a strong preference for accurate theoretical knowledge."

"There's nothing wrong with this spirit!" I commented.

Little Stamford said: "Yes, but it was a bit excessive. Later, he even used a stick to beat the corpse in the autopsy room. This should be considered a strange thing!"

"Beat the corpse?" I was extremely confused.

"Yes, he did this to understand what kind of injuries can be caused by beating a person with a stick after death. I did see him beating a corpse with my own eyes."

"Didn't you say that he is not a medical student?" I asked.

"Yes! But God knows what he is studying." Little Stanford said: "Now that we are here, you can see for yourself what kind of person he is!"

Little Stanford said, and we got out of the car. Then, we walked into a very narrow alley. Then, we entered through a small side door and came to the wing of a large hospital. I don't know this place.

Strange, I walked up the white stone steps without anyone guiding me, and walked through a long corridor. The walls of the corridor were painted white, and there were many small dark brown doors on both sides. There was a low arched aisle at the end of the corridor, from which

This leads all the way to the hospital laboratory.

The laboratory is a large and tall room with many tables arranged haphazardly. Several large and short tables are arranged vertically and horizontally, with many test tubes, distilling bottles, and small bottles with flashing blue flames.

The Bunsen burner was placed on the table. There was only one person in the laboratory. He was sitting in front of a table far away from the door, concentrating on his work on the table. Although he heard our footsteps, he only responded.

He turned around and took a look. Then, he jumped up and cheered happily: "I found it! I found it..." He said loudly to little Stamford while running towards us with a test tube in his hand.

, "I discovered a reagent that can only be used to precipitate blood-colored proteins, and nothing else will work." Even if what he discovered was a gold mine, he might not be more excited than he is now.

"This is Mr. Holmes! This is Dr. Watson!" little Stanford introduced.

"Hello!" Holmes said to me warmly, and held my hand firmly. I couldn't believe how strong his hand was. He said, "I see that you have been to Afghanistan.

"

"How did you know?" I asked in surprise.

"This is nothing special!" He chuckled: "What I want to talk about now is the issue of blood proteins. You must have seen the importance of my discovery, right?"

"No doubt, chemically, this is very interesting, but in practical terms..." I hesitated.

"What? Sir, this is one of the most important discoveries in practical forensic medicine in recent years. Can't you see that this reagent allows us to identify blood stains with great accuracy? Please come here!" Holmes

He grabbed the cuffs of my clothes and pulled me to the front of the table where he had just worked. "Let's get some blood," he said, pricking his finger with a long needle, and then using a straw

Suck in that drop of blood.

"Now, I put this drop of blood into 500 grams of water. Please note that this mixture is no different from pure water on the surface. In this solution, the proportion of blood is less than one millionth.

Despite this, I am sure we can still get a specific reaction." As he spoke, he put a few white crystals into the container, and then added a few drops of transparent liquid. Before long, the solution appeared

Dark red, with some brown particles gradually settling to the bottom of the bottle.

"Hey!" He clapped his hands and shouted excitedly like a child getting a new toy: "What do you think?"

"It looks like this is a very precise experiment." I commented.

"Excellent! Excellent! The old method of experimenting with wound healing fluid was difficult and inaccurate. The method of examining blood cells with a microscope was also poor. Suppose the blood stain had dried for several hours before using a microscope.

Testing will have no effect. Now, no matter whether the blood stain is new or old, this new reagent will work equally well. If this experimental method had appeared earlier, then many criminals in the world who are now at large would have been

He was punished by law."

"Indeed!" I agreed.

"Many criminal cases are often determined by this point. It may take several months after the crime is committed before the suspect can be traced. After examining the suspect's shirt or other clothing, if brown spots are found on it, then these

Are the spots stains of mud or blood, traces of juice or rust, or something else? These questions often make many experts feel embarrassed. Why is this? It is due to the lack of accurate testing methods. Now there are

If you know the 'Sherlock Holmes test', there will be no difficulties in the future..." When he said this, his eyes were bright. Finally, he put a hand on his chest and bowed.

, seemingly greeting the imaginary applauding audience.

Seeing his cheerful look, I was surprised and quickly said with a smile: "Congratulations!"

"Last year, the von Bischof case occurred in the Frankfurt area. If such a test method had been available at that time, then the criminal would have been hanged long ago. In addition, there is also the notorious Mason of the Bradford area.

The famous Moller, Lofouau in the Montpellier region, Samson in the New Orleans region, etc. I can cite more than 20 cases. If this method is adopted in these cases, it will play a decisive role.

' added Holmes.

Little Stamford couldn't help laughing and said: "You seem to be a walking dictionary of criminal cases. You can really start such a newspaper, just name it 'Police News Record Newspaper'!"

"A newspaper like this must be very interesting to read." Holmes said as he put a small piece of adhesive plaster on the wound on his finger: "I have to be careful." He turned to me and smiled, and then said

"Because I often come into contact with toxic substances." He said and stretched out his hand for me to see. I saw that the adhesive plaster of the same size was almost covered with his hand, and due to long-term exposure to strong acid, his hand had already

Changed color.

"We came to you because of something." Little Stanford said, sitting on a three-legged high stool, pushing the stool towards me with one foot, and then said: "

This friend of mine is looking for a cheap place to live, and because you happened to complain that you couldn't find anyone to share the house with, I just wanted to introduce you two to each other."

When Holmes heard that I wanted to share a house with him, he was very happy. He said: "I am looking at an apartment-style house in Baker Street. It is perfectly suitable for the two of us. However, I hope you will not be disgusted with tobacco."

odor."

"I always smoke Boat cigarettes." I answered.

"That's great! I often have to come into contact with some chemicals and do experiments. Don't you get bored of it?"

"It's not annoying, it's not annoying." I said quickly.

"Let me think about it - what other shortcomings do I have? Oh, occasionally I will be in a bad mood and won't speak for several days in a row. When this happens, don't think that I am angry with you, just let it take its course.

, I will be fine in a few days. You might as well tell me what shortcomings you have? Before two people share a house, it is best for each other to know each other's biggest shortcomings."

I couldn't help laughing when I heard Holmes getting to the bottom of it. I said, "I have a pet, a little tiger dog. Because my nerves have been stimulated, I am most afraid of noises, and I am very lazy. I may not know what to do every day.

I have to get up at the right time. I had other bad habits when I was strong, but these are the main ones now."

"Would you be considered noisy if you play the violin?" he asked eagerly again.

"That depends on the level of the violinist. If the violin is played well, it will be as sweet as fairy music; if it is not played well..." I replied.

"Ha! That's good. If you are satisfied with the house, I think we can consider the matter settled." Holmes said with a happy smile.

"When are we going to look at the house together?" I asked.

"Tomorrow at noon! You come here to see me first, and then we go together and decide everything." He replied.

I held his hand and said, "Okay! Tomorrow at noon! We'll see you on time!"

When I left with little Stanford, Holmes was still busy doing experiments. Little Stanford and I walked toward the apartment where I lived.

"Let me ask you." I stopped suddenly, turned to little Stanford and said, "It's really strange, how did he know that I came back from Afghanistan?"

Little Stamford smiled and said: "This is the most special thing about Sherlock Holmes. Many people want to know how he saw his problem!"

"Hi! He is indeed very mysterious." I rubbed my hands and said, "It's really interesting. Thank you very much for bringing me together with him. You know, 'Starting with specific people is the most appropriate way to explore human beings.'

, that’s really the case.”

"Well! You must go and explore him." Little Stanford said when he said goodbye to me: "However, you will find that he is indeed a difficult character to explore. I can guarantee that you understand him better than he does.

You are so thorough. Goodbye!"
Chapter completed!