[Comprehensive Classics] Detective Mary

Étienne was shot, and his coat was covered in blood, making it impossible for Marie to judge the location of the gunshot wound.Several workers hurriedly put him on the sofa, and Mary looked around: "Where are the Sherlocks?"

Reporter Harvey: "Sherlock Holmes took the initiative to take the responsibility of diverting the police away. Don't worry, Miss Mary, the detective said that he had a plan before we parted ways."

Mary: "..."

It would be better not to say this!Sherlock Holmes' plan also included giving himself the devil's heels, so how could Mary feel relieved?However, now is not the time to worry about him. No matter how anxious Mary is, she can only suppress her anxiety—Etienne was shot!

She ordered Katrin to bring hot water and clean towels, but it was not enough.Reporter Harvey cut off Etienne's shirt, and the bullet hit his shoulder. Even though the workers kept pressing on his wound, the blood had already stained the sofa in Mary's living room. They did not have any professional medical equipment. With such a blood loss, it is not convenient to take out the shrapnel, if this continues, it will kill people!

Reporter Harvey: "Miss Mary, do you have any liquor here?"

Mary: "I'll look for it."

Katrin: "I'm going!"

Mary was taken aback.

Catherine found an unopened bottle of spirits in the wine cellar, and she knelt down, raised Etienne's head, and helped him drink several sips without Mary or the reporter Harvey saying much.

"What should I do next?" Catherine looked up at Mary, almost asking for help on behalf of Etienne, "Miss Mary, how should I deal with the gunshot wound?"

Mary could hardly speak.

She thought that Katrin, who had never seen such a tragic situation, would panic, but she did not expect that Katrin showed the amazing adaptability of a daughter of a poor family at a time of crisis—living in a miner's house with no food to eat, all the year round Working in the dark underground, Katrin, who is used to all the harsh environments that are almost hellish, learned a different way to fight against death.

She may be ignorant, but the burden of survival is behind her, which also makes children from poor families have an astonishing desire to survive.

— to live.

So, such a simple sentence, in the eyes of Katrin and the workers, it is indeed an extremely difficult thing that must be fought for.

Suddenly, Mary seemed to understand Holmes' decision. He said, "She can't win the trust of the workers, even he can't." Mary was once depressed and frustrated by this, but now Catherine's firm gaze gave her another kind of confidence. experience.

But now is not the time for emotion.

Mary didn't even think about it: "The shrapnel has to be taken out."

Reporter Harvey: "I'll do it."

Franz Harvey from the Workers' International was more experienced than Mary, who had only simple hygiene knowledge.Mr. Reporter rolled up his sleeves. He first let Mary soak the towel with spirits, let Etienne bite firmly, and then picked up the tweezers after sanitizing them with alcohol.

"Hold him down," warned, "don't let him move his shoulders."

That being said, even though several workers held Etienne tightly, when reporter Harvey inserted the tweezers into the bloody wound, Etienne, who was biting the towel, let out a scream that was almost screaming.

The tragic scene made the workers couldn't help but look away, but Katrin didn't.

The young girl grabbed Etienne's hand, and the young man clenched his fingers because of the pain. His nails left a bloodstain on the back of Catherine's hand, but Catherine still refused to let Etienne go.She stared wide-eyed and refused to look away for a moment, as if she could help the injured to share the pain and suffering.

The time passed extremely long.

There is no anesthetic, no sterile environment, and no professional medical staff.Reporter Harvey did his best to help Etienne take out the shrapnel from the wound, and then he could only use the ordinary needle and thread soaked in spirits to suture the open flesh.

In the end, Étienne almost lost the strength to speak, and the process of dealing with the wound was no less than a war.When the Harvey reporter cut the black line short, everyone couldn't help but wipe off their sweat.

But just because the wound is stitched up doesn't mean the matter is over.

There were no antibiotics in the nineteenth century—and even if they were, workers' savings would not afford them.The shadow of infection and inflammation still couldn't dissipate on the head of the young worker, and Catherine wiped off the cold sweat and the stains on Etienne's face, holding his head and whispering: "It's okay, Etienne, it's okay. "

Etienne slowly opened his eyes.

He glanced gratefully at Mary and Reporter Harvey, then raised his eyes and landed on Katrin.

"Katelyn," he spoke reluctantly, his voice becoming extremely hoarse because of the roar just now, "I have something to tell you, I—"

"—I don't listen."

Catherine interrupted Etienne decisively.

"What do you have to say, tell me after you recover," Katrin said quickly, "People can't finish their words in times of crisis, and they will lose their temper and won't be able to hold on. So I won't listen to you , Etienne, you must get well."

"It's better to take him back to the room to rest."

Mary hurriedly said, "Katrin, you can tidy up the guest bedroom and take care of him, okay?"

Catherine nodded, and the workers put Etienne up again, and Catherine went ahead to make the bed in the guest bedroom.

Up to this moment, Sherlock Holmes has not returned.

Marie walked to the living room window, opened the curtains, and what fell into her eyes was the streets of Massena.The location of her apartment is very good, it is located on the only main road in the town, and anyone who comes and goes can have a clear view.

And now it was dead silent outside.

There was no shadow of the detective, and there was no sound, not even the chirping of animals, only the slight vibration of the cold wind blowing on the window.The worries that had been temporarily put aside because of the urgency of the situation crept back into her heart again, and Mary looked down at her hands, which were still covered with Etienne's blood, which had solidified between the nails.

That was so glaring.

Mary probably understood Holmes's "own plan", specifically what he planned to do.

The next day, she put on the latest Parisian dresses, and even a rare hat made by Lydia herself, and knocked on Mr. Enebo's door with her maid Katrin.

The general manager of Mengsu Coal Mine gave Mary the expected answer with a rather ugly face.

"Holmes was caught by the police last night." He wiped his forehead. "It is said that he participated in a private meeting of workers. This is not easy, Miss Mary. The point is that he still has a gun with him."

Mary sneered.

Her disdainful attitude was exchanged for Mr. Enebo's guilty look.

It's right to be guilty, Mary seldom shows such obvious negative emotions, and her sneer is not entirely to echo the arrogant image she created, but rather from the heart.

"With all due respect, sir," Mary said indifferently, "if he hadn't been carrying a gun, do you think he could just be arrested?"

The police shot Étienne, and the leader of the youth workers remains unconscious in Marie's apartment to this day.Hearing that Holmes was arrested for holding a gun, Mary not only did not regret giving him the gun, but even felt a little scared.

If they were really unprepared that night, they would really have to fight the muzzle of the police with their flesh and blood.Sherlock Holmes was determined not to be the first to point a hot weapon at others. The police must have fired the gun first. If he hadn't reached the point of no return, how could he be found with a gun? !

Mr. Enebo's guilty conscience proves that he knows that even if Holmes "has a gun", it is completely reasonable for the police to arrest him.

"I gave the gun to Holmes," Mary said. "I just thought it would be so dangerous for workers to go on strike, and I let him use it for self-defense, but I never thought that it would be used for self-defense in the end, right, to protect himself in front of the police?"

Mr. Enebo: "..."

Mary's words were almost acrimonious, which made the general manager speechless for a long time.

"It's not impossible." He rubbed his hands for Rare, "It is said that the police station only received a report saying that there was such a thing, but the number of workers present last night was far from the level of the rally, and they only captured Holmes A person, there is no evidence at all, isn't it? It's just that the operation may require-"

"Isn't it money?"

Mary snorted coldly with a contemptuous gesture: "Do you think I'm short of money, Mr. Enebo?"

Mr. Enebo: "Of course not! It's just that I don't think it's worth spending money to catch a worker."

"Whether it's worth it or not is up to me," Mary said with a cold face, as if she was offended by Mr. Enebo's words, "He is mine, and how much I exchange is my business. Do you have to be judged by others?"

"Yes Yes."

No matter how much Mr. Enebet thought that Mary Bennet was making trouble out of no reason, he dared not say it because of his status: what a joke, the lady of the Gregoire family liked this lady from Paris very much, let alone She is also a close friend of Irene Adler's boudoir, which means that Mary Bennet is likely to know many high-ranking officials and nobles along with the singers of the Paris Opera House, which is far from being provoked by a manager of a northern coal mine like him.

Although in the mind of the general manager, there is no need to go to the police station to spend money to get an unloading worker, but it is not the money of Enebo's family, nor is it consuming his reputation.

Originally, Mrs. Enebo wanted to tell his nephew about his marriage with Miss Bennet, but until today, I believe his wife will give up on her own.

Mr. Enebo was at a loss. Under Mary's strong gesture, he had no choice but to lead her to the police station to collect someone.

"It's just for your sake," the police officer couldn't help muttering after learning about his intentions, "Manager Enebo, it's not a trivial matter for workers to carry guns."

"I think it's not a trivial matter for you to detain citizens." Mary mocked.

Under the action of Mr. Enebo as an intermediary, Mary took out the money and fished Holmes out of the police station.

The good news is that Holmes was not abused.There were some minor injuries on the detective's stern face, but the policemen shouted and shouted, pushing and shoving inevitably, as long as he was fine.He was locked up with several workers whom Marie had or did not meet, including even Chaval.

Mary's heart tightened when she saw the bruise on the corner of Holmes' mouth, and she almost blurted out the word "Sherlock", until Holmes looked up before her as if she had sensed it, and the detective's calm expression quickly calmed Mary down—in the eyes of outsiders In fact, Mary Bennet is a rich girl who is dissatisfied with others snatching her "toys". It is impossible for her and a "unloader" to call each other by first name.

So Mary had to suppress the emotions in her heart and put on an indifferent attitude: "Aren't you leaving soon?"

As for Chaval...

Before Mary left, she glanced at the young man who was still locked up. Before, he almost got into a fight with Etienne and Holmes on the street, but now the two of them stayed in the same room for a whole night, and there was no sign of any conflict.Even seeing Mary herself who was blocking him, Shawar didn't react much.

Holmes must have said something to him.

Mary kept all her questions in her stomach, and waited until she got back to the apartment. She closed the door. Sherlock Holmes didn't ask about Etienne, didn't explain what he had experienced in the police station. He saw Mary turn around. , When the four eyes met, the detective said the first sentence after they met.

"There is an internal response among the workers," said Holmes.

This sentence immediately made Mary put all her problems and concerns behind her.

She frowned: "You mean, it wasn't the people who responded to Suvarin who ambushed you, but someone notified the police in advance?"

Holmes sat down. After all, it was not a pleasant day at the police station.Seeing the slight injuries on his face, Mary couldn't help feeling distressed. She silently took a towel, dipped it in cold water, and handed it to the detective.

"Thank you."

He took the towel and covered the bruises at the corners of his mouth: "Suvarin is an anarchist. He communicates secretly with others. There are two possibilities. First, the correspondent is trying to fight against the government just like him; second, He was directed by someone, maybe Moriarty, maybe someone else, to mess with the situation."

Mary probably understood.

"If it's the former, he has the same interests as the workers and won't disrupt the situation."

Holmes nodded: "If it's the latter, no matter whether the person disrupting the situation is Professor Moriarty or not, you should understand that it is impossible for the police to stop me or other workers from conducting an investigation."

"Then I... don't understand."

Mary was a little puzzled: "If there is an internal response among the workers, why did he call the police in advance? Isn't it to prevent you from catching Suvarin, which is contradictory."

"You can't presuppose suspects, Mary."

Holmes once again emphasized his point of view: "'To prevent Suvarin from being caught', the first premise is that Suvarin has a clue. We just went to investigate, but we did not expect to be ambushed. On the other hand, it may be this Nai Ying tried to pour dirty water on Suwarin and deliberately misled us."

"Does this prove that Suvarin is not Moriarty's man?"

"Probably not, but suspicion is not ruled out."

"..."

Mary was lost in thought.

Indeed, if it is said that Holmes found the evidence of Suvarin's secret contact with people before, then a deliberate ambush now makes the fact that it is almost a certainty become confusing when Suvarin does not have sufficient motives to attract the police stand up.

However, this can be regarded as progress in the case-at least they are not as helpless as if they had just arrived in Marchena.

After exchanging information, Mary returned her gaze to the bruise on Mr. Holmes' face.

Her worried gaze was exchanged for the detective's indifferent expression: "Some flesh wounds, it doesn't matter. I have to make a struggle to look like that.

"So you were arrested on purpose." Mary felt relieved.

When reporter Franz Harvey said that Holmes was in charge of the rear, distracted the police but never returned, Mary had already guessed this point.Without needing any means of deduction, Mary was sure that he would not be arrested rashly, relying on her confidence in Holmes' abilities.

If he is not arrested, the police will catch up with Etienne who was shot and injured sooner or later. Instead, it is safer to be handcuffed directly.

"I need a little time to think," said Holmes, "especially after being separated from the workers' group. The harvest is not bad, especially after persuading Chaval not to trouble Etienne."

Seeing that Shawar is not someone who easily listens to other people's advice, Mary couldn't help asking curiously: "How did you persuade him?"

"I didn't persuade him."

Holmes hooked the corners of his mouth and said proudly: "I just told him that Etienne was shot and his life was in danger. The workers who live together are like this, Mary. There may be conflicts among them, but even Chaval This kind of person who doesn't want to use his brain or reason, also knows very well that Etienne can't die, and there can't be any troubles."

Because he is the leader among the young workers.

On weekdays, maybe Chaval would be jealous of Étienne's literacy, having all kinds of knowledge, and being able to initiate speeches that incite workers' emotions, but jealousy is jealousy, contradictions are contradictions, Chaval is very clear that everything Etienne does is not for himself, It's for everyone.

Strike was meaningless in his eyes, and no matter how much effort was wasted, it did not mean that he would really confront Étienne.

How to put it, it is a kind of beast-like intuition, which can make ignorant people smell their companions in the dark.

"And," added Holmes, "Chaval told me that Souvarin's secret letters were not only recent, but had taken place before Étienne came to Montsou. But then it was not so Nervous, he didn't see anything wrong."

"In this way," Mary hesitated, "either he had planned with others long ago, or the letter from Russia is nothing unusual."

"It's all possible."

"so what should I do now?"

"Just keep quiet."

Holmes said firmly: "Since there is an internal response among the workers, Mary, it should not be aimed at the working class, but more likely at you and me. Under such conditions, you cannot trust anyone, not even Katrin."

Mary understands.

Originally, she didn't have any idea of ​​blindly trusting others.Everyone in Marchenne was alienated from her, and Marie could feel it.The workers were skeptical of her appearance, and the managers and investors feared her because of her identity.Mary is not a fool who just gives. When the other party does not give her sincerity, she will not naively rush forward to give her sincerity.

The only one she could trust now was Sherlock Holmes, and vice versa.

Realizing this Mary's expression softened.

The detective was somewhat tired after a day at the police station and the conflicts he had experienced.But he was in good spirits, even brighter than usual in his thoughts.

As Holmes spoke, he subconsciously stroked the back of his neck with the other hand: "The police will not detain Shaval for too long, they need to be in charge of board and lodging, and when he comes out in a few days, he will bring your gun with you." come out."

"Do not worry about it."

"You still need a gun for your defense," said Holmes.

Mary noticed that he frowned when he touched the back of his neck: "Did your back hurt too, Sherlock?"

Holmes: "I'll just apply a cold towel."

Mary: "I'll help you."

She ran to the apartment kitchen and soaked the last towel.It was still cold, and Mary couldn't help shivering when she touched the cold water, but that was just fine for bloodless flesh wounds.

After returning to the living room, Mary sat beside Holmes: "Low your head."

Holmes: "I myself—"

Mary: "Head down, please?"

Holmes: "..."

The detective showed a rare expression of resignation, and he did so.Holmes leaned slightly towards Mary, lowering his figure while closing the distance between the two of them.

The skin on the back of his neck was exposed, and Mary could clearly see a piece of bruised purple, which happened to be strangled at the neckline, no wonder it hurt.Mary could feel his thin muscles subconsciously tense as he pressed the cold towel against it.

The last time he was so close was in Blackwood's underground prison; the last time he was in the hallucination of the devil's heel.Having known Holmes for so long, every time Mary approached him, she was either accompanied by danger or worried.It seems that there is no chance if there is no trouble.

It's different now.

Holmes' breath was blowing on the side of Mary's face. She raised her head subconsciously, and was surprised to find that they were so close, so close that their breaths almost intertwined.Mary could even see the pupil lines in his light-colored eyes, and feel the masculine warmth coming from his body.

In an instant, the movements of the two people stopped.

But that was only for a moment, before Mary realized the wider and deeper emotions, a sudden knock on the door pulled her back to reality.

Mary got up in a hurry, she pressed her chest and ran to open the door.

Standing in front of the apartment was reporter Harvey. He originally had a serious face, but when he saw Mary, he showed a look of astonishment: "Miss Mary, what's wrong with your face?"

Mary: "Huh?"

She touched her face subconsciously, only to realize that her cheeks became hot at some point.

"No, it's nothing." Mary let out a long breath, and forced down the panic in her heart, "You came just in time, sir, I got Sherlock out of the police station, and he's all right."

Hearing that Holmes was fine, Reporter Harvey's tense body completely relaxed.

"Great!"

He sighed, and then frowned again: "Suvarin must have planned to ambush us, he must be arrested for questioning!"

Uh……

Mary couldn't help but glanced back at Holmes. It seemed that the Harvey reporter's prejudice was deeper than Mary's suspicion, which could explain it.

The author has something to say: Mary: Which of you dares to touch my people? !fried hair.jpg