[Comprehensive Classics] Detective Mary

On the fourth day after Sherlock Holmes returned, information came from the outside world that Lear had mobilized the army and was about to come to solve the workers' riot in the Mengsou coal mine.

This incident made Katrin very disturbed—her parents, family members, and Chaval were all in the Fuan Mine, and the Maher family was almost at the forefront of snatching the police's guns.Up to now, the content of Katrin's prayers day and night has changed from the end of the confrontation to the reunion of the family.

The situation is becoming more and more tense. Fortunately, when the situation is so oppressive that people can't breathe, there is still a faint glimmer of hope.

Étienne woke up.

Étienne, who had a high fever, finally gradually subsided the fever. He was seriously injured, and he struggled back from the life and death line with his willpower and desire to survive.It took him a whole day to recover his strength, listening to Katrin talk about all the things that had happened in the past few days, and then the former worker youth leader made a decision that made Mary helpless and not at all unexpected.

"I have to go to everyone," Étienne said with a pale face, and his already thin body made him look weaker. "The comrades are fighting, and I can't hide in a safe place with peace of mind."

"If you have a body like yours, if there is a conflict," Mary advised, "it will only hinder the workers, so it's better to take care of it."

"Miss Mary."

Étienne smiled wryly.

His face still bears the signs of recovering from a serious illness, but his eyes have regained their clarity.

"I know you're thinking of me, and I'm grateful for you," he said, "but how about getting better? I'm afraid I won't be able to make it in time."

"you--"

"Miss Mary, let's go." Catherine interrupted suddenly.

"..."

Katrin who had no idea, Katrin who was at the mercy of Shaval and dare not refuse, and Katrin who had been caring for the wounded with all her heart, showed for the first time what Mary wanted to see, the expression that a woman with awakened self-awareness should have.

She didn't know whether it was Katrin who finally got the hang of it, or a female worker who had not received much education and was struggling to survive every day, subconsciously looking for her own home and way.In short, Catherine who said these words was calm and determined. She looked into Mary's eyes quietly and said slowly: "If the army shoots at our relatives and friends, even if Etienne and I survive in the end, hiding In a safe place away from the mine, it is intact and has no face to continue to survive."

"Even if it's death."

Etienne said loudly: "Death in the mine, that is our destination."

Mary was speechless.

She stood there in silence for a while, then took a deep breath, and as if determined to come to the town of Marchenne, she pulled out the gun that was almost inseparable from her waist, and put it in Étienne's palm.

The young worker was taken aback.

"Be sure to protect yourself," Mary urged, "and also protect Katrin. I don't care what kind of relationship you have with her or Shaval, or what happens to you after the conflict. But at this juncture, since you Call each other 'comrades,' so please take care of each other."

Katrin blinked, and then two lines of tears rolled down her delicate face.

"Thank you, Miss Mary," she said, "I will pray for you."

"It should be me praying for you."

Mary smiled and said, "Let's go, join the ranks of your companions."

Holmes had been back in Massena for five days when Étienne and Catherine left.

Five days was enough time for a false news to spread from the small town of Massena—Russian anarchists attempted to interfere in French politics, provoked coal miners to riot and even carried explosives to try to blow up the mine.His plan was discovered by Sherlock Holmes. Under the interrogation of the police, Suvarin confessed to his conspiracy. At the same time, he also produced letters and corresponding fundraising checks as evidence that his actions were directed by a mastermind behind the scenes. , the man behind the scenes is James Moriarty, a visiting professor at the University of Paris.

Unbeknownst to the police, before they arrested Souvarin, a letter instructed by Holmes and written by Souvarin himself was sent from the town of Massena to Paris.

On the morning of the sixth day, the army arrived.

Unlike the police who were temporarily transferred from the provincial capital, the arrival of the army brought the conflicts in the Mengsu coal mine to their peak.The army was small in number. They made a short repair in the town of Massena, and then went to the mine in a mighty way.

The weather was fine that day, the temperature was still not high, but the sky cleared.But the oppressive atmosphere in the town of Massena was hard to breathe. The whole street was even more desolate than during the strike. After the troops left, the doors and windows of all the residents were closed, and the streets were empty.

Mary walked out of the apartment.

She stepped on the cobblestone road in the town of Massena, the main road can almost be seen from one end of the town to the other, the police left, the army was heading to the Fuan mine, she walked alone on the street, as if she had strayed into some mirage vision , the whole town was dauntingly lonely.

In the end, Mary still saw the back of the human being.

Standing in front of the Mengsou Coal Mine's office was an all-too-familiar figure, Sherlock Holmes.Mary stepped forward and saw a second person.

A dozen meters away from Holmes, Professor James Moriarty stopped.

There was no difference when he met Paris, Professor Moriarty was still wearing an English-style beige coat with a dark scarf.When he saw Holmes and Mary, he took off his hat politely, revealing his gray hair and the thick frame under the brim.

The professor opened his mouth, perhaps his stammering habit suddenly hindered him, the old scholar paused before his words hit the ground, and then he said without haste: "Holmes, and Miss Mary."

"I have been waiting for you for six days, Professor," said Holmes.

"I know."

He nodded.

"You have to finish your business in Paris before you can come here," said the professor. "There are so many courses and a few lectures that it's not easy to find a competent replacement."

"The students will miss you."

"I'm not a professor at the University of Paris," he smiled. "Sooner or later, there will be a time of separation. But you, Holmes, you and I have known each other for two years... No, you were trying to find my identity even earlier. Clue, after such a long time, it finally came to the day when you took the initiative to send out an invitation."

Holmes said nothing.

Professor Moriarty flicked his hat: "Isn't it an invitation? Suvarin's letter is your tone, and it's my honor."

Holmes: "Aren't you afraid that I may invite someone to set up an ambush in the street, Professor?"

"I have nothing to be afraid of until now."

The professor put his hat back on.

"The worker's is the worker's, and your mine is yours," he said. "Let it all end here, and I think it's fine."