[Sherlock Holmes] The Legend of the Nightingale

(Nightingale's Diary)

Just three days after we inspected the site, Baker Street ushered in a panicked but more or less clear-headed visitor: Mr. Moore, the landlord of Sakura Swamp Villa.Dr. Watson was already at the clinic, and I carefully discussed with Merry about the funeral.Holmes is still out of the mundane world, lying in a state of trance in the narrow space of the sofa, but we all know that he has no need for drugs now.From the window on the second floor, I saw Mr. Moore trembling and anxious as he got out of the carriage, but the honest man did not come upstairs until Mrs. Hudson reported and Holmes' permission was obtained.

"Mr. Holmes, I don't know if this matter has anything to do with the case, but I don't think the authorities will take it seriously. These strange trivial matters can only be discussed with you." Mr. Moore said uneasily as soon as he entered the door. , and then saw Mei Li and me, and hurriedly bowed to us.Seeing that Holmes was still motionless, I approached him and whispered in his ear:

"Sakura Swamp Villa."

Holmes jumped up suddenly and nearly knocked me over.

"Ah, Mr. Moore." He quickly straightened his clothes and shook hands with the landlord, "What's the matter?"

Poor Mr. Moore had a look of dismay, "So I was talking for nothing," and Holmes didn't look like he was playing a trick on him.

"A gentleman came to Yingnuma Villa this morning and said he wanted to see the house."

"There is no need to sift out any particulars, Mr. Moore, as I am concerned with everything." Holmes beckoned the hesitant landlord to go on.

"I was surprised at first that someone would want to live in it so soon after a murder just happened. But he said he didn't mind what happened before as long as it was cheaper. So I showed him around the house. See Mr. Sholto's room, he suddenly asked: 'Are the previous tenants' things still here?'

"'Certainly not, sir,' I answered, 'and the previous tenant's things have been removed.'

"'But I hear that the previous lodger was—for some unfortunate reason not here,' said he.

"'Yes, sir, but the police brought his family and took away what belonged to him.'

"I don't know if it's just my psychology, but I think he looks a little irritable. 'Isn't there any left?' he asked.

"'No, not even the tiniest odds and ends. But why should the sir care?'

"Our conversation couldn't go on here. He didn't seem interested in talking about renting a house. He shirked that he needed to think about it again, and left in a hurry without even asking the price. After he left, I felt that something was a little strange, and it was too late. I called the police and followed him out the door. But my stalking skills were too bad, he seemed to realize that he was being followed after walking too far, and turned around and turned into a small theater. When I chased him in, he was already mixed in with the crowd I can't find it in any of them. I didn't dare to delay, but I drove directly to Baker Street to report the situation to you, Mr. Holmes."

"Anyway, your news has saved us a lot of trouble." Holmes smiled. "Do you remember what this visitor looked like?"

"The face is an elderly gentleman, but he has no gray hair, his hair is a strange red color, he has no beard, he is tall, and he speaks in a low voice."

"And the color of the eyes? Well, that's a tough question to ask. That's good enough, Mr. Moore."

Holmes paid the landlord for this extra errand, and sent him off.At this time, he looked back at the two women in the room, his eyes were a little confused, as if he couldn't figure out why the two of us were here.

"It seems that there is still a good show to be played, ladies." The detective spoke after a long time. "Miss Sholto, do you have any impression of the person he just described?"

"No, I don't know such a person." She said softly.

"It would be great if this man could have been kept at that time. He has a vital relationship with this case. But he is a dangerous person, and Mr. Moore cannot be asked to take this risk. After three days, he came back to inquire about Sholto Mr.'s things, what do you mean?"

"He didn't get what he wanted?" I said. "Sounds unlikely, but he's behaving like he's coming back for something that's been missed. It's very important that he has to risk his way back to the scene to find it, But it’s too dangerous to go back immediately, so I went to Yingnuma Villa to inquire after three days.”

"That's right, Nightingale."

"But hasn't he already taken the brooch that hides the mystery?"

"You should always draw conclusions from phenomena, rather than negate phenomena with conclusions." Sherlock Holmes said calmly, "If the new phenomenon does not match the results you introduced, you should improve your conclusions. Today's incident shows that although he got something , but not all of them. Mr. Sholto was much smarter than we thought. He probably split a message into at least two parts, only one of which was in the brooch, so the killer had to return to the scene hoping to retrieve the rest. No doubt he will find Baker Street soon. Before that, let's see if we can find that part of the information."

"Certainly not in the letter to Merry," I said. "They've got rid of the envelope and the paper. There's something left that Mr. Sholto might give Merry with the brooch, or, maybe He was going to tell her the rest himself?"

Holmes shook his head gravely. "Miss Meili, what we are going to do next may be a little dangerous, I hope you can hold on."

"There's nothing I can't accomplish for my family," she replied.

"Very good. The murderer now thinks that you have taken away your brother's things together with the clues. To find the treasure, they must start with you. They will come to trouble you in the near future, but this may also be the fastest way to catch them. Starting today, the three of us will take turns guarding you 24 hours a day to ensure your safety and wait for them to show up. But the premise of all this is that nothing will happen to your body. If this attempt will bring you danger, We'd rather find another way."

"As I said just now, Mr. Holmes, there is nothing I can't do in this matter." Meili's eyes were astonishingly calm. "You all know that I have a heart problem. If I am still like an ordinary girl, There is no way I can live now.”

"Really shifts?" I said in surprise. "I just don't think it's fair to make this decision in Watson's absence. He still has a clinic to look after."

"Exclude him, then, and we will share equally? Well, don't take it seriously. Believe me, the doctor will be very willing to participate in this activity." Holmes said with a half-smile.

The next few days can be described as wonderful.Meili's tenacity is rare.Losing three relatives within one month, she did not grieve uncontrollably for too long. On the contrary, we all clearly felt a kind of hard light on her body, like some kind of mineral. real texture.She is no longer as startled as she was when she first appeared. I even suspect that she is a bit similar to me. Sometimes she suddenly makes some crazy moves just to make herself seem to meet the needs of the scene, but she doesn't necessarily care about it in her heart.She talked to us calmly about the funeral, but refused to wear the customary black veil or black dress, insisting that she could not in this way find a refuge for her weakness until she had avenged her two brothers.She went for a walk in the park with me as if nothing had happened, but the truth is that her life is probably in greater danger now than when she first arrived in London.After several twists and turns, she no longer even had the money to bury Thaddeus.221B Baker Street advanced her the money.At first she also wanted to send a letter to Edinburgh.According to her, there was now only one faithful old servant in the whole house, Laljoda, who had followed her real father, Mostan, and had come with her to the Sholto house.

"Is there no one else in the house?" Watson asked.

"No more. And it can be said that he is my only relative now."

"Feel sorry."

"Your butler stayed in the house when you left Edinburgh?" asked Holmes.

"No. He doesn't want to leave the old house, and someone staying in the house can also be used to confuse, pretend that the three of us are still there, and buy us time. God, if Ral knew that the brothers have been... I really don't know how he can stand this blow!"

"I'm afraid there's nothing more dangerous than that," said Watson. "Have you ever thought about it, Miss Merry, that if they tried to find the treasure directly from your house by violent means, Joda's home alone might be more dangerous than yours?" Bigger in London."

Mellie put her hands nervously on her chest.

"I really haven't thought about it."

"Write a letter to Edinburgh," said Holmes, who had been silent all this time, at last. "It would be better if Mr. Georda came to London as soon as he received the letter, and if he could not come, he must write back as soon as possible. That is, if he now If you're okay."

Poor Merry slumped pale on the sofa.Watson gave Holmes a dissatisfied look.

"I'm sorry, Miss Merry, but I may have made a mistake." Holmes added under pressure from his roommate. "Until we receive a reply, no one can draw any conclusions. After all, we now know that both murderers are in London." , not in Edinburgh."

The time allocation of the three of us is like this: Watson in the morning, Holmes in the afternoon, and Meli and I live in Watson's room in the evening, and Watson sleeps in the living room.I can't protest just because the hours are as long as the two of them combined.I would also often substitute for Watson during the day.During this period, Meili and I talked about a lot of things. Under normal circumstances, no one would confide in a new person so quickly, but in extraordinary times, when danger is pervasive, people always rely on each other inexplicably .

"I've never seen a girl like you," Merry said to me once as we sat in the park, "making a living in London by yourself in such a - interesting occupation."

"It's not earning a living now," I said. "There is hardly any source of livelihood."

She put her hand on mine, looking tender.

"Sometimes I think, there's probably no one in the world in a worse situation than me."

"I know." I sighed, "The most terrifying thing is often the internal disintegration, not the external pressure."

"You look old when you talk like that. You're under 20, aren't you?"

"Not 19 years old. But my experience now is almost as wonderful as that of people who are older."

"How long will you be here?"

"Ok?"

I looked at Mei Li inexplicably, and met her sea-like eyes.

"Won't stay in Baker Street forever?" she said earnestly. "When the dust settles, if you want to find another way, you can come back to Edinburgh with me. I'll help you find a job, and you can be there too." settle down."

"I've heard people talk about this topic countless times, and they say the same thing. But I don't take their opinions."

"Then what are you going to do next?"

"No need to do anything. This is my home, the only place in the UK where I can spend the night in peace. But we can now discuss what you will do in the future."

"Ok?"

"Do you remember that when we came home yesterday, Dr. Watson and Holmes were in the living room, and the two of us found upstairs..."

"Ah, there's no need to continue." Mei Li blushed, and hurriedly wanted to interrupt me.

"Honestly, Holmes doesn't send flowers, and don't tell me that those flowers are there for me."

"My God, Angela, please stop talking."

The author has something to say: There is hope for the girl, doctors please come on.

Let me add that the stalker asking about eye color is a dialogue from Rathbone's version of the Hound of the Baskervilles.Yes, it was agreed to be the JB version, but sometimes it seems to be confusing...