Chapter 8 8 Baker Street Detective Squad

I asked, "What now? Toby has lost his ability to hit the target." Holmes took Toby off the barrel, led him out of the lumberyard, and said, "Toby acts according to his own opinion. If you calculate the amount of creosote transported in London every day, then you You can understand why we went the wrong way. There are many places where creosote is used, especially for wood preservation, and Toby should not be blamed." I suggested: "Let's go back to the place where the smell of oil is mixed." "Yes, fortunately the road is not far away. Toby hesitated on the left side of the Street of Knights. Obviously the direction of the oily smell diverged there. We took the wrong road, and now we have to follow another road to find it."

We lead Toby back to the original place where the mistake happened.Toby made a wide circle, and without trouble at all, ran off in a new direction. I said, "Be careful of Toby, don't let it lead us where the creosote barrels came from." "I thought of that too. But you see it runs on the sidewalk, and the barrel cart should go on the road, so we didn't go the wrong way this time." Passing Belmont Road and Princes Street, it ran towards the waterfront, until it reached a small timber wharf on Broad Street.Toby led us close to the water's edge, and stood looking at the water, humming through his nose.

Holmes said: "We are out of luck. They have embarked from here." Several small flat-bottomed boats and boats were moored to the pier.We led Toby to the boats, and though he sniffed very earnestly, he made no sign. Near the embarkation was a small brick house, and at the second window hung a wooden sign, in large letters: "Merdecai Smith."Underneath it was written in small print: "Boat rental: by the hour or by the day." There was another sign on the door, which said that there were other small steamboats here.There is a lot of coke piled up on the pier, and it can be known that it is the fuel of this steamer.Holmes looked round slowly, with a very unhappy face.

He said: "This matter seems to be a bit troublesome. They planned to hide their whereabouts in advance. Their shrewdness is beyond my expectation." He walked towards the door of the house, and a curly-haired little boy, about six years old, ran out of it.A fat, red-faced woman came up behind her, holding a sponge in her hand. She shouted: "Jack, come back and take a shower! Come back, you little devil! Your father will not spare you when he comes back and sees you like this!" Holmes took advantage of this opportunity to say, "Little boy! You have such a bright red face, and you are such a good boy! Jack, would you like anything?"

The boy thought for a moment and said, "I want a shilling." "Don't you want better than a shilling?" The innocent boy thought for a while and said, "It's best to give me two shillings." "Well, then, catch! Mrs. Smith, he's a good boy." "Sir, he's such a naughty man. My wife sometimes goes out all day, and I can't help him." Holmes feigned disappointment, and asked: "Ah, he has gone out? What an unfortunate coincidence! I have come to see Mr. Smith on business." "Sir, he has been away since yesterday morning. To tell you the truth, he has not come back so far, and I am a little anxious. But, sir, if you want to charter a boat, you can talk to me."

"I'll hire his steamboat." "That's the steamboat he went, sir. It's a wonder I know there isn't enough coal on board to burn it to and from Woolwich. I wouldn't be in such a hurry if he went in the gondola, because sometimes he Still farther to Gravesand. Besides, if he has something to do, he may be delayed, but how can the steamer get away without coal?" "Or he could buy some coal along the way." "Maybe, but he never does, and he's always saying it's too expensive for a sack of coal. Besides, I don't like the man with the wooden legs, his ugly face and foreign air. He comes here a lot, I don't know what's wrong with him."

"A man with a wooden leg?" asked Holmes in surprise. "Yes, sir! A monkey-headed boy who has been here more than once. He was the one who woke my wife out of bed last night. Also, my wife knew he was coming beforehand because he had put the steamboat The fire is waiting. Sir, I tell you the truth, I am really worried." "But my dear Mrs. Smith, don't worry yourself," said Holmes, shrugging his shoulders. How did you know it was the man with the wooden leg who came last night? I don't understand how you can be sure it was him. "Sir, I knew it from his thick, muffled accent. He knocked on the window a few times—it was about three o'clock—and said, 'Get up, buddy, we've got to go!' My wife put Jim—my oldest boy woke up too, and they went off without saying a word to me. I heard the wooden leg on the rocks."

"It's the one with the wooden leg that came, no companion?" "Sir, I can't tell. I didn't hear anyone else." "Mrs. Smith, as luck would have it, I'd like to hire a steamboat, because I've heard of this one a long time ago. . . Let me see! What's the name of this boat . . . ?" "Sir, the name of the ship is Dawn." "Ah! Is that the old green boat with the broad yellow line on the side?" "No, it's not. It's just like the neat little boats you see on the river, freshly painted, with two red lines painted on the black hull."

"Thank you, and I hope Mr. Smith will be back soon. I'm going down now, and if I come across the Dawn, I'll tell him you're thinking of her. You said that ship's funnel was Is it black?" "No, it's a black chimney with a white line." "Oh, yes, the hull is black. Good-bye, Mrs. Smith! There's a little sampan there, Watson. Ask him to ferry us across the river." After sitting on the boat, Holmes said: "The most important thing when talking to this kind of people is not to let them know that what they say is related to you, otherwise they will immediately stop talking. If you use words to tease, You'll get what you need to know."

"The steps we should take are clear," I said. "What steps do you think should be taken?" "Hire a steamer and go downriver in search of the Aurora." "My dear fellow, your method is too troublesome. The ship may be anchored at any wharf on either side of the bank from here to Greenwich. There are dozens of miles beyond the bridge. How long will it take to find it?" "Then ask the police to help?" "No, I might call in Ethelney Jones at the last minute. He's not a bad fellow, and I don't want to interfere with his duties. We've scouted this far, and I'd like to go it alone. go down."

"Can we put an advertisement in the newspaper so that we can get news of the Dawn from the owner of the dock?" "That's worse! Then the gangsters will know we're after them, and they're leaving England as fast as they can, and even now they don't want to go away. But when they thought it was safe, they There is no hurry to go. Jones's actions are to our advantage in this respect. Because his opinions can be seen in the newspapers every day, these gangsters will think that everyone is spying in the wrong direction, and they can rest for a while." As we disembarked in front of Millbank Jail, I asked, "What are we going to do?" "Now let's go back in this coach, have some breakfast, and sleep an hour, and maybe we'll have to run to-night. Stop at the telegraph office, coachman, please. We'll stay at Toby for a while, and maybe later. use it." We stopped at the Great Peter Street Post Office, and Holmes sent a telegram.He got in the car and asked me, "Do you know who I'm telegraphing?" "I have no idea." "Do you remember the Baker Street squad we employed in the Jefferson Hope case?" I laughed and said, "That's them!" "They might be of use in this case. If they fail, I have other means, but I would like to try them first. The telegram was sent to my little captain, Wiggins, and they This group of kids will be here before we finish breakfast." It was eight or nine o'clock in the morning.After a night of hard work, I felt extremely tired, and my legs were limping when I walked. I was really exhausted.In this case I did not have the professional zeal of my partner, nor did I regard it as a mere abstract theoretical problem.As for the murder of Bartholomew Sholto, because everyone didn't praise his usual behavior, so I don't have much dislike for the murderers.But when it comes to treasures, that's a different story.These treasures—or parts of them—should belong to Miss Morstan.When there is a chance to retrieve the treasure, I am willing to do my best to retrieve it.Yes, if the treasure can be recovered, I personally may never be able to get close to her.But when love is swayed by such thoughts, it becomes dull and selfish.If Holmes can find the murderer, I should try ten times harder to find the treasure. A bath and fresh change at home in Baker Street greatly refreshed my spirits.When they went downstairs, they saw that breakfast had already been prepared, and Holmes was pouring coffee there. He smiled and pointed to an open newspaper and said to me: "Look, this high-minded Jones and a vulgar reporter have taken care of this case. You've got enough trouble with this case, you'd better go ahead Eat your ham and eggs." I took the paper from him, with the headline "The Strange Case of Upper Norwood."The Standard reported: "At about twelve o'clock last night, Mr. Bartholomew Sholto, the owner of Sakuramoor Villa in Upper Norwood, died in the room. A batch of Indian treasures belonging to his father had been stolen. Mr. Thaddeus Sholto, the brother of the deceased, and Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson who came to visit the deceased first discovered the murder of the deceased. Fortunately, the police at that time Mr. Ethelney Jones, a well-known police detective, was at the Norwood police station and was able to be on the scene within half an hour of the tragedy. He was well trained and experienced, and he found clues shortly after his arrival. The brother of the deceased Thaddeus Sholto has been arrested on serious suspicion, along with Mrs. Burnstone, the housekeeper, Lal Rao, the Indian servant, and McMurdo, the porter. The way of entry and exit is very familiar. Due to Mr. Jones's skilled technique and precise observation, it has been proved that the murderer could neither enter the room through doors or windows, but must have sneaked in through a secret door from the roof. From this obvious fact, it can be concluded that this is not Ordinary burglary. This prompt and responsible handling on the part of the police shows the necessity of having an experienced officer in charge of the situation, and the importance of dispersing detectives across the city in order to arrive in time. The suggestion to conduct an investigation is worth considering." Holmes sipped his coffee and said with a smile, "This is great! What do you think?" "I think we were almost pointed out as murderers and arrested too." "I think so too. As long as he has another brainstorm, we still can't keep us from being arrested." At this moment the doorbell rang loudly, and then we heard Mrs. Hudson, our landlady, arguing loudly. I half stood up, and said, "My God! Holmes, these fellows have really come after us!" "Not yet. This is our unofficial army—the Baker Street motley crew." While talking, there were already the sounds of walking barefoot and talking loudly on the stairs.In came a dozen little street bums in rags.Although they came in clamorously, there was some discipline among them.Immediately they stood in a line, facing us, waiting for us to speak.One of them, the older one, who seemed to be the captain, stood in front, very pompous, but ridiculous in his shabby state. "I brought them at once, sir, at your order. The fare was three shillings and sixpence." Holmes handed him the money and said, "Here you are. I told you, Wiggins, that you should come by yourself if you need anything from now on. They listen to you and don't bring them all. My house cannot accommodate such people." But this time, it's good if all of you come here, you can all hear my orders. I'm looking for a steamboat named 'Dawn', and the owner is Mordecai Smith. There are two red lines on the black hull , there is a white line on the black chimney, this boat is down the river. I want a boy to stand guard on the dock at Merdecai Smith, across from Millbank Prison. Report as soon as the boat comes back. You must disperse On both sides of the downstream, search meticulously, and report as soon as there is news. Do you understand everything?" Wiggins said: "Yes, Commander, I heard everything clearly." "The pay will be the same as before. If you find the boat, you will get another one. This is your day's wages in advance. Go now!" He gave each one a shilling.The children went downstairs happily, and after a while, I saw them disappear in the middle of the road. Holmes stood up from the table, lit his pipe, and said: "As long as the boat remains afloat, we shall find her. They can run about, see all kinds of things, and overhear anyone. I expect they will have news of the steamboat to report before evening, at which point we'll have nothing to do but wait. We can't do anything until the Dawn or Merdecai Smith are found. Investigate." "Toby will just eat our leftovers. Will you sleep a little, Holmes?" "No, I don't feel tired. I have a very special constitution. I don't feel tired at all when I work. If I have nothing to do, it will make me tired. I'm going to smoke now. Think carefully about my The female customer entrusted us to do this strange thing. Our problem is not difficult to solve, because there are not many people with wooden legs, and the other person is even more unique." "You mentioned that other person again." "At least I didn't mean to keep a secret from you, but you may have your own ideas. Now consider all the circumstances: small footprints, bare feet with no shoes on, a stick with a stone at one end, quick movement and poisonous splinters .What conclusion do you draw from this?" I yelled, "A stranger! Probably an Indian with Jonnozan Small." He said: "It's not quite like that. At first, when I saw that there seemed to be strange weapons, I thought so too. But because of the special footprints, I thought about it in other ways. Residents of the Indian Peninsula Some are short, but none can leave such footprints. Indian natives have long and narrow feet, and Muslims wearing sandals are separated from other toes because the shoelaces are tied in the toe close to the thumb. These wood There is only one way for the thorns to come out from the blowpipe. Where shall we find such raw ones?" I said, "From South America." He stretched out his arm, took a thick book from the shelf, and said, "This is the first volume of the newly published Geographical Dictionary, which can be regarded as the latest authoritative work. What is written here?" The Andaman Islands are located in Bay of Bengal, 340 miles from Sumatra. 'Drink! Drink! What's this?' Wet weather, coral reefs, sharks, Port Burrell, prison camps, Rotland Island, poplars...' Ahh !Here!' The natives of the Andaman Islands can be called the smallest people in the world, although anthropologists also say that the people in Africa or America and Fuego are the shortest. The average height of people here is less than four feet, and men are much shorter than that. They are fierce, irritable, and obstinate by nature, but once trust and affection have been established with them, they will last till death.' Pay attention to this, Watson! Listen again. Below: 'They are naturally terrible, with large deformed heads, small fierce eyes, strange features, and extremely small hands and feet. Because of their fierceness and obstinacy, the British officials could not win them over despite all their efforts. They are always a scourge to shipwrecked sailors, often crushed in the head with stone-studded clubs, or stabbed with poisoned arrows. The result of such massacres is invariably human flesh. "What a lovely fellow! Watson! If this boy is left unattended and allowed to act freely, the result will be even more disastrous. I think that even Jonozan Small hired him. As a last resort." "But how did he find such a strange accomplice?" "Ah, I don't know about that. But since we know that Small is from the Andaman Islands, there is nothing strange about this native being with him. No doubt we will know more details later. ... Watson, it seems that you are very tired, you lie down on that sofa, and wait for me to urge you to sleep." He took the violin from the corner of the room, and began to play a low lullaby—a composition no doubt of his own, for he had a knack for composing on the spot.I can still vaguely remember his thin hands, his sincere face and the movement of the bowstring up and down.At that time, I was floating in the sound of music, and I fell into a dream, and I saw the sweet face of Merry Morstan smiling at me.

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