[Comprehensive Classics] Detective Mary

A gunshot successfully stopped the oppressive crowd.

Mary's palm holding the gun was soaked, but she wasn't afraid—it was much better to face angry workers than to face Professor Moriarty, at least she knew where the danger came from, and she didn't have to worry about the threats everywhere.The big deal is to go all out, Mary has seven bullets in her gun, and Mary can still easily take the lives of six people at such a distance after emptying the gun, of course she has nothing to fear.

Ms. Irene Adler's advice is also extremely valuable.The shot in the air and Mary's firm attitude created an unexpected tension between her and the crowd—no one dared to take a step forward, because no one wanted to testify Mary's cruel words with their lives.An almost eerie and urgent silence spread in the narrow back alley.

Fear cannot really override anger.Mary couldn't keep the confrontation for too long, and just before she could start thinking about it, a sharp whistle sounded from the main road.

After the bloodbath at the grocery store, the police finally came.

Mary seized the opportunity and immediately said: "Go to contact Franz Harvey, he will find another opportunity to organize a parade, do you want to fight against the police under such circumstances?"

Her words made the leading workers look at each other in dismay.Mary has only one gun by herself, but not the police.

"Don't hurry up?!" Mary shouted.

The police who were chasing and the "Franz Harvey" in Mary's mouth made the workers finally remember to back off.No one wanted to get shot, and the crowd finally dispersed, leaving only the two women in the back alley.

Mary quickly hid the gun, and it would be troublesome for the police to see that the previously confiscated gun was stolen again.

Mademoiselle Grégoire was too frightened to cry, and she still refused to let go of Marie's hand when a small police team arrived.People under stress can't listen to anything. Several police officers and Mary tried to talk and persuade, but Miss Gringoire just refused to move a step.

At a loss, the police officers called for the squad leader.

It was a man in his late forties. He strode forward and slapped Miss Grégoire immediately after seeing her state.

"Sorry," the police squad captain said, "we'll take you home, miss."

This slap stunned Mary, let alone Miss Grégoire.The terrified girl was beaten directly, she instinctively let go of Mary's arm, and let the police drag her away.

Only then did Mary come to her senses.

She looked at the captain of the police squad: "You have a lot of experience, sir."

The old policeman just twitched his mouth, he didn't look at Mary at all: "Thank you."

"may I know your name?"

He just glanced at Mary.

The four eyes met, and the emotion in the eyes of the old policeman made Mary clearly feel guarded—of course, now that the workers knew that Mary took in the injured Etienne, the policeman was also an insider.It is reasonable for the police to be on guard.

"Duma, madam," replied the constable, "I will send a policeman to take you home."

Mary shook her head.

"I'll just go back by myself," Mary said, "it's important to maintain order."

The old captain of the police squad laughed a few times, but didn't insist.

A policeman is not a team of policemen. What's the big deal if one less person is missing?Mary didn't want a police escort not because she missed the social order of the town, but because she didn't intend to go home.

The old police officer Duma knew this well, but at such a juncture, what's the use of detaining a rich lady from other places?He didn't say anything, just let Mary go.

After making sure that the police were not following her, Mary went straight to the hotel where Franz Harvey was staying.

When she came to the door of the hotel, she happened to meet Mr. Harvey who was running out in his coat.Seeing the intact Mary appearing in front of him, Mr. Franz Harvey stopped suddenly, and then heaved a long sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness."

When he walked forward, Mary even noticed that Mr. Reporter's hands were shaking. He looked at Mary carefully for a moment, and then recovered his language ability: "Thank God, you are all right, Miss Mary. I just heard about the grocery store. Are you and Mademoiselle Grégoire all right?"

"I'm fine," Mary replied, "Miss Grégoire is fine, and the police have escorted her home."

Mary succinctly relayed the story of the grocery store to Mr. Harvey, and the reporter nodded heavily after hearing this.

"You are right, Miss Mary," he said, "although I have always advocated that workers fight to gain their own rights, and it is okay to use force if necessary, but no matter how you hurt a young lady to vent your anger. If She deserves to be guillotined for her crimes, but she should not be humiliated in the streets."

"Have any workers come to see you, sir?" Mary asked.

"Have."

The reporter nodded: "I asked them to gather at the Fu'an Mine and wait for me. Some workers went down to work in the mine without permission, which also caused public outrage. However, conflicts in the mine should be resolved in the mine, so don't provoke other people in the town."

Thinking of the bloody scene outside the grocery store, Mary felt mixed feelings.

She took a deep breath: "I'll go with you, can I?"

Reporter: "Of course, Mr. Holmes?"

Mary was taken aback: "He's not with you?"

The puzzled look on Franz Harvey's face gave Mary the answer.

That's... that's weird.

Logically speaking, Sherlock Holmes has never been absent from scenes of intense conflict, and this is closely related to the investigation of the case.Mary thought he would be with Mr. Harvey, and Mr. Harvey thought Holmes was going to protect Mary, but he didn't expect that there was neither.

where will he be

Time did not allow Mary to think carefully. After getting the reporter's permission, Mary followed him all the way out of the small town of Massena and came to the Fu'an Mine.

There are also police here. The police surrounded the entrance of the mine in order to protect a few workers who went down to work. The workers who got the news gathered outside the Fu'an mine did not have any intention of confronting and attacking. They just stood in front of the police. Glaring at the "traitor" in his eyes, he expressed his feelings with silence.

The workers are still arriving one after another, and there are more and more people.

Even though she had lived in Milton for a while, Mary had never seen such a scene—the workers in Milton were different from the miners in Montsour, and the English town, which relied on the cotton textile industry for a living, was far from running out of ammunition and food. the point.With so many irrevocable people gathered in one place, even if Mary wore clothes different from theirs, it could not divert the wrath of the workers.Instead, Franz Harvey, who was in the front, got more attention.

The appearance of Mr. Reporter caused the silent crowd to stir up. They noticed that his workers were talking about the situation of the grocery store or the mine. The scene became very noisy for a while, and no one could hear other people's words clearly.

"Be quiet, be quiet."

Mr. Harvey was surrounded by them. He tried several times to maintain order but failed. In the end, the reporter was helpless. He turned around and saw the truck behind him, and jumped on it without saying a word: "Be quiet, comrades! What happened today I already know, please listen to me!"

A word of "Comrade" magically soothed the anxiety and anger of all the workers.

In an instant, the huge group of workers fell into silence again—but the depression just now was swept away, and the real calm returned.

Franz Harvey was still the same as Mary had first met her in London: disheveled hair, shirts that were never ironed, and even his coat, buttoned crookedly, standing in a corner because he was in a hurry to go out. The skinny appearance on the Taiwanese truck looked a little funny.

But no one will despise him, no one dares to despise him.Mr. Reporter looked around with bright eyes, and then spoke slowly.

"I have come here," he said loudly, "to replace Comrade Etienne. The most determined and conscious comrade among us, he was wounded at the forefront of the struggle without hesitation. I know you are sorry for that." , wanting to get justice for him.”

"right!!"

The young man closest to Mr. Reporter roared.His voice fell behind, and the crowd said in unison: "Yes, that's right! Get justice for Etienne!"

"I know, I know," Mr. Harvey continued, "I know that you can't make a sound. I know that you are angry, and I know that you want to get back your rights and the rewards you deserve after your labor. , I want the capitalists who are lying on top of our blood, sweat and even our lives to understand that we are not lambs to be slaughtered, and want our children to be fed as much as theirs!"

"Yep!"

The workers shouted: "Bread! Bread! Bread!"

The guns of the police and the workers gathered in one place were within a distance of 30 meters, but the distance of 30 meters spanned two completely different scenes. The heavily armed police clenched their guns and fell into dead silence, while the workers 30 meters away Their voices were earth-shattering.

"Bread, yes, bread."

Mr. Harvey echoed from a high place: "However, the capitalists would rather pour out the milk than give in to us. They even pointed guns at us, suppressed us with the police, and used the state machinery and government departments under their control. Block our mouths, cover our noses, and blindfold us! The old Mayou under the mine can give enough food and grass, but we, who work for the capitalists, can only wear shackles , working day and night with guns on their heads!"

"We're worse than horses."

A young man whispered.

"We are not even as good as horses, where do we get the right to be human?"

"Yes, comrades."

Mr. Harvey continued: "Our anger is to defend our human dignity and to defend our due rights, but they pointed their guns at us."

"muzzle."

In the solemn atmosphere, an elderly worker spoke tremblingly.

Before speaking, he coughed a few times and spit out a mouthful of black phlegm.His skin was black, his eyes were black, and the clothes on his body were also stained with black coal slag. Coal mine dust entered his lungs, his stomach, his blood vessels and his flesh—the old miner who relied on the mine for many years to survive almost Assimilated by that black and deep monster, he looked up at Franz Harvey.

"To die from starvation is to die," said the old miner, "to die at gunpoint is to die, and it will never be more tormented than starvation."

His words were like the last snowflakes of an avalanche, waking up the last workers who were still hesitating.

"It's death anyway," the workers whispered, "It's better to fight to the death!"

"Then turn anger into courage, comrades!"

Franz Harvey waved his hand: "Let the capitalists know that we'd rather be dead than crushed. Let's take down the guns of the police, let's build up walls, Paris, [-] Let us finish what people have not done in Mengsu Coal Mine!"

Mary never thought she could see such a scene with her own eyes.

She saw that the workers who were still losing their minds in the morning suddenly calmed down. She saw that the crowd who were afraid to approach because of the gunshots not long ago suddenly became fearless. She saw the dark crowd walking towards the mine without hesitation, ignoring Shouts and threats from the police.

She saw the workers fall, but the people behind still did not stop.They seized the weapons of the police in the conflict, but not to attack their fellow citizens, but as Franz Harvey said first - "to defend their rights as human beings" and to defend the place where they work.

In the past, every day and every night, the mines were like a ferocious monster that devoured countless workers whose spines were bent, but now they are vying for the opportunity to live with it.Rebellion and force are always accompanied by blood and human life, but such a scene in front of a desolate and dirty mine is extremely cruel but...almost sacred.

Suddenly Mary finally understood what Professor James Moriarty wanted.

What he wants is not control, not sacrifice. The mathematics professor in Paris is thousands of miles away from the Montsou coal mine, but he has already arranged everything two years ago.

The cotton spinning industry is just the first experiment he did. If the experiment fails, it doesn't matter, there will always be a next one.A professor is not a conspirator or a control freak. He is involved in economics, politics and even culture. The goal he wants to pursue still belongs to a professor, a scholar who is obsessed with research in a university.

All he wanted was what was in front of him.

An experiment designed by him to control variables.The environment of the Mengsou Coal Mine is almost closed, and everything is so perfect, presented in front of Mary, is the work of Professor James Moriarty.

A small war.

And the workers did not stop after occupying the Fu'an Mine.

Starting from the Fuan Mine, towards the direction of the small town of Massena, the workers began to use the mine waste soil, sand, gravel, and cart sundries to erect barriers. Franz Harvey did not leave for a minute or a second after his speech However, only two workers were sent to send Mary back to the edge of the town overnight.

And the lonely and desolate town of Marchenne has also changed its appearance because of the complete outbreak of contradictions.

The captain of the police squad, Duma, added more police force in the town. For a while, the town was in a state of panic, and the policemen with live ammunition wandered around repeatedly, always on guard against workers' resistance.

Mary's position suddenly became a little awkward.

She returned to the apartment, and not long afterward, Officer Dumas brought a personal visit, polite but strong enough to demand that the room be searched.But after finding out that there was only the injured Etienne and Catherine who took care of him in her apartment, she didn't make things difficult for her-in the words of Police Officer Dumas, Etienne was unconscious, he did not participate in the riots and fighting, It does not belong to the scope of arrest, and the police station has no room for a patient.

Before leaving, Duma police officer warned Mary not to go out easily during this time—and Mary would not.

Holmes never appeared.

Not only that, Mary suddenly realized that, except for the detective, Suvarin had never been there.Whatever his reason for coming to Monsourt, now that there was a riot, he would have to come forward if he wanted to achieve his goal.If you don't show up...after contacting Suvarin and Franz Harvey, they accused each other of having secret connections with the outside world, and Mary probably guessed what Holmes was going to do.

It is likely that he seized this opportunity and chose to follow Suvarin.

So before Holmes returns, all Mary can do is to observe the situation and wait for the result.

Such a wait is two days.

In the beginning, it was only the workers of Fu'an Mine who resisted, but the mood of resistance was like a spark falling on a haystack, igniting a raging flame. Within two days, the mine workers around Fu'an Mine made a unanimous decision, They followed suit, using the mine as their base, erected barriers, and armed themselves.

Mary felt that this situation would not last long.

Either the capitalists finally compromised, or the matter shocked the provincial capital, and the real army came to end everything.Fortunately, before the situation changed again, Marie finally got the first good news after coming to Marchenne.

On the third night, Mary assisted Catherine to change Étienne's bandages. When she was about to rest, she passed the stairs in the living room and suddenly heard the very familiar sound of a harmonica.

Mary paused, and immediately walked to the window.

She opened the window, and the melodious sound of the harmonica came, and it was another Irish ditty. Mary was relieved to hear the familiar style of music in a foreign country.The moonlight was bright, illuminating every plant, tree, slate, brick and tile in the town of Massena very clearly, so Mary also found the player by following the sound of the harmonica.

Of course it was Sherlock Holmes, standing at the corner of the other side of the street, his thin figure stood tall and straight under the moonlight like a black bamboo.To Mary's surprise, he changed into the unloader's outfit, and the very familiar Mr. Holmes returned—tidy clothes, black hair pulled back, and he didn't even forget his cane.In the gray town of Marchenne, a detective dressed in English looks up.

Returning after changing his clothes means that Sherlock Holmes' investigation in the town of Marchena has ended, and there is no need for him to continue to hide his identity here.

Across the street, Holmes put down his harmonica.

"A lot of things should have happened since I left," he said.

"The town is under martial law," Mary said by the window. "How did you get back, sir?"

"As long as you dress like a gentleman," Holmes sneered a few times, "there will be no police stopping you, and even if there are, it will always be much easier to face cross-examination."

"Where have you been?" Mary asked.

"A postman's job," replied Holmes, "has paid off."

Mary shivered.

She poked her head out eagerly: "So, sir, you found a clue?"

Holmes: "So to speak."

Mary: "Who the hell is lying?"

Holmes under the moonlight evoked a smug smile upon hearing this.

"That's the point, Miss Mary," he announced, putting the harmonica back in his pocket, "and neither Franz Harvey nor Suvarin is lying."