I am aging gracefully in the world of famous books

Sherlock didn't particularly believe the unusual interest that Mycroft said.

However, time waits for no one. The two Holmes realized that innocent people were being threatened with their lives at this moment, so finding someone was the most important thing.

"Mycroft, who wrote you the letter? Does the other party know the exact hiding places of those people?"

Mycroft handed the letter to Sherlock and Watson.

"A letter from a gentleman signed J. Davenport, informing me that the house to which Mr. Melas, the interpreter, has been, is at Myrtles, Beckham, on the outskirts of Kent. apartment."

After reading the letter, Sherlock Holmes frowned. He took out the gun from the drawer and walked out:

"The situation is urgent, let's go to Mr. Melas first, and then go to Kent together."

The three of them acted quickly, only to find that they were one step too late.Mr. Melas, the interpreter of Pall Mall Street, had been taken away before they arrived.

They immediately realize that the greedy villains are out for revenge, and they must find the victims who are in danger as soon as possible.

"I hope the train to Kent will be faster than that carriage." Watson was very worried.

"However, we can't go directly to the train station. We have to go to the police headquarters first, find someone to issue a permit to enter a private house, and we have to ask an official police detective to act with us. Otherwise, not only will we not be able to save people , and get into big trouble."

Sherlock frowned, he calculated the time in his mind, and found that it was too late, he glanced sideways at Mycroft, and asked silently.

The other party shook his head: "It's too late, Sherlock. Even if you send a telegram to Kent County now, no one will accept it. They will delay the matter until the next day."

"In that case, we're going to Detective Grayson now."

The three men quickened their speed of action.

But it was 10pm when they got off at Beckham railway station in Kent, and they drove another half mile to the Myrtles flat.

In front of the dark apartment, Sherlock and the police detective passed through the ruts on the ground and judged that a carriage full of luggage had left here before they arrived.

"Are we late?" Watson asked anxiously.

Sherlock pursed his lips: "Those villains should have left. We can only pray that they didn't kill Mr. Melas. However, such hope is very slim, and that kind of person doesn't have much mercy."

The detective took a step forward and slammed the door knocker vigorously. There was no answer for a while, and the detective started ringing the doorbell again.

Sherlock took a step back and poked around, looking for informal ways of getting into the house.

However, just as Sherlock was about to pry the window, there was a noise in this seemingly dark and uninhabited house.

After a while, the door opened slowly, and a tall man looked at everyone outside the door vigilantly.

"Bruce, are you here?" Mycroft's voice echoed behind everyone.

The man who opened the door, that is, Bruce in Mycroft's words, finally saw the situation outside the door through the brightness of the lantern, and he was relieved.

"Mr. Holmes, it is you and your friends. Come in."

The tone and expression of the strong man Bruce became gentle and relaxed, but Inspector Gregson and John Watson, who knew nothing, did not dare to relax their vigilance. After all, according to their previous judgment, the people living in this house dared to Kidnapping villains.

Sherlock snorted softly, and he squinted at Mycroft:

"That's why you suddenly developed an unusual interest? Do you know that person is here?"

Mycroft shook his head, his tone frank and sincere:

"I knew she was in Kent, but I didn't know that she was involved in the case. I came here just to drop by and see her. We've been apart for a month, you know."

The two brothers walked into this strange house first as they were talking, seemingly unprepared.

With the help of Bruce's lantern, everyone saw clearly the appearance of the living room. Judging from the furnishings and decoration style, it was indeed the mysterious residence that Mr. Melas had described.

Passing through the dimly lit living room, at the head of the stairs, Sherlock Holmes took a step behind, turned his head and explained to Watson:

"That Bruce was an old friend's subordinate and bodyguard, so seeing him appear here, Mycroft and I realized that the acquaintance we both knew was also here."

"Does your acquaintance know those criminals? He is also involved?" Detective Grayson asked seriously.

Sherlock sneered: "Greyson, use your brain, there are so many obvious signs that my friend solved the trouble in advance and prevented a crime from happening, why do you think he is one of the criminals? Sheng, I have to tell you that the things we were worried about before are very likely not to happen, and someone saved people one step ahead of time."

"That's great, dear Holmes. I have always believed in your judgment very much, and this time is even more so. I hope you are right, both intellectually and emotionally. It's just that I have the honor to know that Mr. Name?" Watson looked curious.

He had seen that both Holmes had a great deal of confidence in the man, and were on good terms.The two brothers just saw each other's bodyguard appearing at the door, so they walked in unprepared.

The most interesting thing is that the mysterious gentleman also solved the case first. Regardless of whether he took advantage of the location or not, he solved the problem before Sherlock Holmes.

"His name is... Karl Krause."

Sherlock paused inconspicuously, and of course neither Watson nor Gregson heard his hesitation.

"Oh, so it's Mr. Claus," Watson repeated with a smile. Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide and looked at his roommate with some unbelievable surprise, "Wait, Carl. Claus? Holmes, tell me, my friend, is it I, no, the Mr. Claus that we all know?"

Sherlock raised his voice slightly: "Watson, you are making too much fuss. You are a doctor. And, since you know that Karl Claus is an Englishman and lives in London, we will know each other. What a surprise, you don't need to be so excited and surprised."

Watson waved his hands again and again, and said with a happy face:

"No no, Holmes, how can I not be excited if the man we are about to meet ... is Karl Krause? You know, my friend, that I will come out of the field alive and well. Back, there is no sequelae, thanks to the life-saving medicines developed by Mr. Claus, of course, his concept of parity is also highly respected..."

Just when Watson was expressing his admiration and gratitude to Mr. Claus to Sherlock, Mycroft, who was walking in the front, had already seen his beloved. He strode forward and hugged his wife very much. Nostalgic sigh.

Pei Xiang hugged her husband tenderly and kissed him quickly.

However, the tender time is extremely short, because she is using the identity of Karl Claus at this time.The sound of conversation from far and near came in her ears, and she gently pushed the excited Mycroft.

When the others entered the small living room through the turning of the stairs, what they saw was the scene of two gentlemen standing side by side.

There were warm and joyful smiles on their faces. Obviously, they were very happy to meet unexpectedly on such a night.

"Sherlock, long time no see!" Pei Xiang smiled at the big detective with a warm and familiar attitude.

"Klaus, it's a pleasure to see you, especially tonight, here."

Pei Xiang glanced at the two unfamiliar faces behind Sherlock, guessing that the more handsome gentleman must be John Watson.

She smiled at the two of them, and without introducing herself first, she pointed to a door and explained:

"Mr. Melas and the Greek Paul Cletti are resting inside. When I arrived with people, those people had just left here and locked Melas and Cletti in a room." A closed room with a large charcoal stove."

Detective Gregson followed Pei Xiang's instructions and stepped forward to open the door. He looked inside and found two gentlemen lying on the couch.

One of them was very fat and dark-skinned, and he must have been the interpreter, Mr. Melas.The other man was in extremely bad condition, skinny and pale, and if he could not groan in pain, Gregson would have thought he had died.

Sherlock passed Gregson into the room, glanced around, and said to his roommate.

"I think you are wanted here, Watson, and especially our unfortunate Mr. Paul Clettit."

Watson hurried into the room and examined the bodies of the two lying gentlemen.

After a while, he came out again and closed the door gently.

"The situation is fine. Both of them are not life-threatening. Mr. Melas will be fine after a night of rest. The trauma on his body only looks serious. As for Mr. Cletti, he should have suffered from prolonged hunger and violent attacks , the body is seriously damaged, and a long period of rest is required after that.”

Pei Xiang nodded: "When I arrived, the charcoal stove had just been lit, so the two of them didn't suffer again. Otherwise, with Mr. Cletti's poor physical condition... Sigh, that would be too annoying. Sorry."

Watson showed a grateful smile: "Yes, according to Mr. Cletti's physical condition, he really can't suffer any more injuries. We are almost going to lose that gentleman, but your subordinates are all They are very knowledgeable about emergency first aid, and I found that they took good care of the two wounded."

Pei Xiang smiled slightly and didn't say much.

Sherlock Holmes immediately said: "I guess, you have sent someone to track down those people's carriage? They took away Mr. Cletti's sister, Sophie Cletti."

"Yes, before dawn, the hostages and criminals will be brought back by my people. At that time, I will trouble this Mr. detective to take over."

While talking, Pei Xiang smiled politely at Detective Gregson, then turned to Mycroft and said, "Can you introduce these two outstanding gentlemen to me?"

Mycroft was happy to oblige.

Thus, Pei Xiang got acquainted with Watson and Gregson, and they were also very happy to learn that the man who saved lives was indeed the famous Karl Claus.

John Watson was especially excited. He held Pei Xiang's hand firmly and said sincere words of gratitude.

"Mr. Claus, the emergency medicines you developed have saved many lives. Those of us who survived the battlefield are very grateful to you."

Faced with such praise, Pei Xiang expressed that she deserved it, and she quickly clarified:

"Mr. Watson, those drugs were not developed by me alone. It should be said that they were the scientific research results of the entire laboratory. I was just lucky enough to participate in them. You can't just give me this kind of praise. Besides, I He is a businessman, and the original intention of investing in the laboratory is not so noble, he just wants to make money."

Watson's eyes were bright, and he felt that Mr. Claus, who was so humble and polite, was really a very good gentleman, and he was so lucky to know him!

By the way, this gentleman not only saves people with the results of scientific research, but is also very enthusiastic, intelligent, and compassionate. Tonight, he successfully rescued poor Mr. Melas and Mr. Cletti.

Thinking of this, John Watson looked at Pei Xiang with kindness and admiration.

Mycroft coughed lightly, held Pei Xiang's arm with a smile, moved him to the chair, and broke the hands of the two without a trace.

"Klaus, my friend, tell us how you found out about this? I have a lot of questions that I need you to answer."

Sherlock patted Watson on the shoulder, signaling him not to be so excited, he was just a profiteer with some moral bottom line, and there was really no need to elevate Klaus' status and contribution so much.

Pei Xiang watched the interaction between Sherlock and Watson with a smile, but Mycroft blocked his view without even looking twice.

"Mycroft, how did you find this place?"

Mycroft took out the letter: "I received this. A Mr. Davenport saw the advertisement placed by Mr. Melas, so he sent a letter and told us the location."

Pei Xiang nodded slightly: "I guess it was Davenport who told you, although it's a bit late."

Sherlock immediately asked: "Klaus, do you know this J. Davenport?"

"About more than a month ago, I got to know him through Dr. Theobald. He has a patent in his hand and hopes to get my investment."

Sherlock raised his eyebrows: "According to your business habits, you must investigate this Mr. Davenport a little bit. Well, let me infer briefly that this Mr. Davenport has some disgraceful past. , caught your attention?"

"Yes, I found out that Mr. Davenport actually had contacts with the notorious Wilson Kemp, and it seemed that the relationship was not shallow, and it seemed to be an old acquaintance, so I had to continue the investigation. After all, I don't want my 's investment is coveted by a scoundrel."

"What did you find out?" Mycroft wondered.

"I found out that Wilson Kemp and his friend Harold Latimer were plotting against a lady from Greece who came to England from a wealthy Greek family and was caught by Harold Latimer on the way. Momo seduced me and agreed to elope with him. I wanted to help the lady, but found that the lady's brother had also heard the news and rushed over from Greece. I thought, since the lady When the guardian of the young lady arrives, there is no need for me to intervene, so I stopped paying attention to them, but was busy discussing business."

At this time, Watson, who was listening, asked, "Mr. Claus, is the guardian from Greece you are talking about Mr. Paul Credit lying in the back room? And that lady is at this time." Miss Sophie Crettit who was taken away and hijacked?"

"Yes, Mr. Watson, they are the brothers and sisters. I didn't expect them to be so rampant. They not only abducted a young lady, but also arrested her brother and forced him to sign the property transfer document."

Pei Xiang looked down at the time and continued to tell:

"About three days ago, I went to visit Mr. Davenport, and found that he was in a very bad mood, worried, and his bad health became weaker. You know, as a friend of Holmes, I understand that a little bit. The art of reasoning, so I discovered some bad things from Mr. Davenport's few words. I realized at that time that the pair of Greek brothers and sisters I had paid attention to before might be in danger."

Watson's expression changed slightly, and he asked hesitantly:

"Wait, Mr. Claus, are you saying that Mr. Davenport, who informed us of this address, actually knew about these criminal activities all along, but he didn't stop them in time?"

"This has something to do with Mr. Davenport's past. According to my investigation, he failed Wilson Kemp's sister when he was young, and Mr. Davenport has always felt that he owed the Kemp siblings ever since. , wanting to make amends. Therefore, when he found out that Kemp was doing bad things, he hesitated, not knowing whether he should stop it, and he did not plan to report it, because he was worried that Kemp would be convicted.”

"That's not right, this gentleman is making mistakes again and again." Detective Grayson snorted coldly.

Pei Xiang nodded: "Yes, I persuaded him in the same way. I have been trying to find the hiding place of Kemp and Latimer since I found out that the situation was wrong. I persuaded Davenport while asking people to inquire. Sir, it was not until this evening that I deduced the location from various clues. I immediately brought my people here, and of course, before that, I had already obtained the permission to enter the private house. "

Mycroft immediately praised: "Mr. Claus, you are very powerful. Not only did you find this hidden place with your own reasoning, but you also successfully persuaded Mr. Davenport. Otherwise, he would not have written to us. Believe it."

Sherlock rolled his eyes silently.

Pei Xiang accepted the praise very happily, and winked quietly at Mycroft.

Watson sighed sincerely: "Yes, I completely agree with what Mr. Holmes said. Mr. Claus, you are really an outstanding gentleman. Without your hard work, active investigation and rescue, there may be two innocent people tonight Killed. And, those greedy people will continue to get away with it, hurting more kind-hearted believers."

"Mr. Watson, I am flattered by your praise again. Thank you for your affirmation."

Pei Xiang smiled brightly and spoke kindly.

To be honest, she now understood very well why Sherlock felt that Watson was the best partner.

Leaving aside John Watson's various advantages, just his demeanor and tone when he sincerely praises a person makes people feel very happy, more exaggerated and less blunt, Watson's attitude is just right.

Mycroft glanced at Sherlock lightly, and suddenly felt that his grown-up brother was quite useless, even his own partner couldn't win him over, tsk!

Until dawn, the pursuers finally brought back good news. The prisoner had been arrested, and Miss Sophie Cletti, who had been held hostage, had also been rescued.

Pei Xiang watched for a while, the brother and sister from Greece hugged each other and cried, the interpreter Melas was safe and sound, the police officers in Kent and Inspector Gregson were dealing with follow-up matters in an orderly manner, and everything was getting better , she planned to leave.

As soon as she moved, Mycroft naturally wanted to leave with her.

Sherlock was impatient to deal with the officials, and left the scene with Watson.

The four of them wanted to return to London, so they decided to take Pei Xiang's four-wheeled carriage.

Before getting into the car, they need to remove the delicate shopping bags piled on the empty seat and stuff them under and behind the seat.

When Watson was helping, he found that the items in these shopping bags were for women and children. He didn't think much about it, so he asked casually:

"Mr. Claus, is this your present for your wife and children?"

However, he regretted it after asking this sentence.For it is well known that the young and promising Mr. Claus has always been a bachelor.His net worth is getting richer and richer, his good reputation is getting louder and louder, and his private life is getting more and more attention.

Among them, one of the rumors about Mr. Claus's unwillingness to marry a wife and have children has been widely recognized.That is, Mr. Claus already has his own heart, but the beautiful woman is already married and living a very happy life.So, Mr. Krause willingly steps back and becomes a silent and infatuated guardian.

Pei Xiang noticed Watson's embarrassment, and after thinking about it for a while, he knew that this honest and kind gentleman had believed some rumors, and felt that his words had touched Mr. Claus's wound.

She immediately thought of playing around, and before Sherlock spoke, she showed a dejected and shallow smile, with a sad and lonely tone:

"Not for my wife and children, Mr. Watson, but ... for the family of an old friend, and I am now a carefree bachelor."

"Ah, sorry, I forgot Mr. Claus that you are still single."

Watson pretended not to notice the sadness in Mr. Claus's brow, but his heart was full of sympathy.

Klaus smiled with a good temper, seemingly calm: "It's nothing, no need to apologize, my friend."

Although he said so, when he lightly touched the box of a certain lady's shawl, his expression was affectionate and nostalgic.

Such a performance, in the view of John Watson, who is experienced in love, is to miss a certain woman who cannot ask for it through these gifts.

Watson instantly understood that these things on the car should be given by Mr. Claus to his sweetheart. Not only that, he even prepared many gifts for the other's children, which can definitely be called love.

Sherlock silently paid attention to the changes in Watson's expression, feeling helpless in his heart. The playful woman opposite him didn't say a few words, how many pictures did his roommate make up in his brain?

He squinted at Mycroft, of course he didn't expect this elder brother to be able to restrain his wife, he just wanted to see what the "single" man looked like at the moment.

Of course, Mycroft would not let his brother who is really single watch the fun, he answered leisurely:

"Klaus, did you only bring gifts for old friends' wives and children? Didn't you buy them for your old friends?"

Before Pei Xiang could answer, Watson coughed heavily.He widened his eyes, thinking that this is a very thorny question, who would think of bringing a gift to his rival?

He looked at Mycroft reproachfully, and felt that this Mr. Holmes, like his younger brother, lacked emotional intelligence and was unreasonable at certain times.

At the end of the long journey, Watson and Sherlock returned to the Baker Street apartment again.

Watson was sitting in a comfortable armchair recalling the whole story of the Greek interpreter case. He was thinking about various details. Suddenly, he stood up from the chair and let the notebook on his lap fall to the ground.

"Holmes, my friend, may I venture to ask a question?"

"Say, my friend."

"Before, when you were at the club, you talked to your brother, um... once said that your sister-in-law's name is Doris?"

"Yes, what's the matter?" Sherlock paused while holding the pipe.

"Then," Watson took a deep breath, "do you know what her last name was before she married?"

"Gladstone, Watson, Mycroft's wife is the eldest daughter of the Earl of Gladstone, and her maiden name was Doris Gladstone."

"That Doris Gladstone?" Watson said dryly.

Holmes raised his eyebrows: "Which Doris Gladstone?"

"That's, that's the lady that Mr. Claus really admires according to the rumors, that's, that's the lady Doris Gladstone who received the Queen's award and donated money to build many public libraries."

"Oh yes, it's her."

"So, Mr. Karl Claus's rival in love is your brother Mycroft Holmes? Then, those gifts were bought for his wife and children?"