shǒuyè>> wénxué>> 推理侦探>> 柯南道尔 Arthur Conan Doyle   英国 United Kingdom   温莎王朝   (1859年5月22日1930年7月7日)
shēnfèn 'àn A Case of Identity
   tóng 'ěr liǎng rén duì zuò zài bèi jiē suǒ de qián shuō lǎo xiōngshēng huó rén men suǒ néng xiǎng xiàng de yào miào zhǐ qiān bǎi bèizhēn zhèng cún zài de hěn píng cháng de shì qíng men lián xiǎng gǎn xiǎngjiǎ men néng gòu shǒu shǒu fēi chū chuāng áo xiáng zài zhè chéng shì de shàng kōngqīng qīng jiē kāi xiē dǐngkuī shì biān zhèng zài shēng de píng cháng de shì qíng guài de qiǎo shì de cèhuànào bié niǔ lìng rén jīng de lián chuàn de shì jiàn men dài dài duàn shēng zhedǎo zhì guài de jiēguǒzhè jiù huì shǐ qiē lǎo tào de kàn kāi tóu jiù zhī dào jié de xiǎo shuōbiàn suǒ rán wèi 'ér shī xiāo
   huí shuō:“ shì bìng xìnbào zhǐ shàng biǎo de 'àn jiàn bān shuō shí fēn dān diào nàizài de bào gào xiàn shí zhù dào liǎo diǎn chéng rènjiēguǒ shì yòu shù xìng。”
   'ěr shuō dào:“ yào chǎn shēng shí de xiào guǒ yùn yòng xiē xuǎn pàn duànbào gào méi yòu zhè xiē zhòng diǎn fàng dào fāng zhǎngguān de chén làn diào shàng liǎoér shì fàng zài guān chá zhě rèn wéi shì zhěng shì jiàn shǎo de shí zhì de jié shàngháo wènméi yòu shénme xiàng kōng jiàn guàn de dōng yàng rán de liǎo。”
   xiào zhe yáo yáo tóu shuō:“ shí fēn jiě zhè zhǒng xiǎng dāng rányóu suǒ chù de wèishì zhěng sān zhōu měi xiàn kùn jìng de rén de fēi zhèng shì wèn zhù shǒu jiù yòu huì jiē chù dào qiē xún cháng de rén shì shì zài zhè 'ér " héng héng cóng shàng jiǎn fèn chén bào héng héng " ràng men zuò shí yànzhè 'ér shì kàn dào de biāo :《 zhàng 》。 zhè tiáo xīn wén zhàn liǎo bàn lán piān shì kàn jiù wán quán míng bái biān shuō de shì shénmedāng rán luó zhōng qiān shè dào lìng rénkuáng huān làn yǐntuī tuī sǎng sǎngquán jiǎo shāng hén lěi lěi yòu tóng qíng xīn de mèi huò zhě fáng dōng tài tài děng děng zuì zhuō liè de zuò zhě xiǎng chū zhè gèng zhì làn zào de dōng liǎo。”
   'ěr guò bào zhǐ lüè sǎo shì liǎo xiàkāi kǒu dào:“ shí suǒ de duì de lùn diǎn lái shuō shì hěn qiàdàng dezhè shì dèng jiā fēn de 'àn shēng de shí hòu zhèng zài tóng 'àn yòu guān de xiē jié nòng qīng chǔzhàng shì jué duì de jiè jiǔ zhù zhěméi yòu bié de rénbèi kòng de xíng wéi shì yǎng chéng liǎo zhǒng guànzài měi cān jié shù shízǒng shì xià jiǎ xiàng de rēng jiāng rèn wéizhè jiàn shì zài bān jiǎng shì zhě de xiǎng xiàng shì huì shēng de lái diǎn yān chéng rèncóng suǒ de lái kàn yíng liǎo。”
   shēn shǒu chū de jiù jīn yān gài de zhōng xīn qiàn shàng liǎo shuǐ jīng de guāng cǎi duó tóng de zuò fēng jiǎn dān shēng huó chéng wéi xiān míng de duì zhào shì jiā píng lùn
  “ , " shuō,“ wàng yòu xīng méi jiàn liǎozhè shì guó wáng wéi chóu xiè zài 'ài lín · ài xiàngpiàn 'àn zhōng bāng liǎo de máng 'ér zèng sòng de xiǎo xiǎo niàn pǐn。”
  “ jiè zhǐ ? " kàn liǎo kàn shǒu zhǐ shàng guāng huī duó mùdì zuàn shí jiè zhǐ wèn dào
  “ zhè shì lán wáng shì sòng gěi deyóu gěi men de 'àn jiàn fēi cháng wēi miào biàn shì duì zhè me wèi zhí chéng chéng kěn kěn de liǎng jiàn xiǎo shì shù xià lái de péng yǒu biàn tòu 。”
  “ qián shǒu tóu shàng yòu shénme 'àn jiàn ? " hěn gǎn xīng wèn
  “ yòu me shí 'èr jiàndàn shì méi yòu jiàn shì bié yòu de men shì zhòng yào de liǎo jiědàn shì bìng shì yòu dedíquè xiàn zài tōng cháng zhòng yào de shì jiàn dǎo yòu guān chá mǐn fēn yīn guǒ guān de zhè yàng de diào chá gōng zuò jiù hěn yòu xīng wèi liǎozuì xíng yuè wǎng wǎng yuè jiǎn dānyīn wéi zuì xíng yuè bān shuōdòng jiù yuè míng xiǎnzhè xiē 'àn jiàn zhōngchú liǎo cóng sài lái yào bàn de 'àn jiàn wéi wài jiù méi yòu jiàn bié yòu liǎo guò zài guò huì 'érjiù huì yòu gèng yòu de 'àn jiàn sòng shàng mén lái deyīn wéi guǒ shì cuò 'ér cuò de huàxiàn zài yòu yòu wèi wěi tuō rén lái liǎo。”
   cóng shàng shēnzhàn dào kāi liǎo chuāng lián de chuāng qiánwǎng xià kàn zhe huī 'àn 'ér xiāo tiáo de lún dūn jiē dào cóng de jiān shàng wǎng wài kàn duì miàn rén hángdào shàng zhàn zhe gāo de rénjǐng shàng wéi zhe hòu máo wéi chā zhe zhī 'ér juǎnqū de máo de kuān biān mào wén jùn gōng jué rén mài nòng fēng qíng de tàiwāi dài zài zhǐ 'ěr duǒ shàng miànzài zhè yàng shèng zhuāng zhī xià shén qíng jǐn zhāngchí jué xiàng shàng kuī shì zhe men de chuāng tóng shí shēn qián hòu yáo huàng zheshǒu zhǐ fán zào 'ān nòng zhuóshǒu tào de niǔ kòu ránxiàng yóu yǒng zhě cóng 'àn shàng yuè shuǐ yàng chuān guò men tīng dào liǎo zhèn 'ěr de mén líng shēng
   'ěr yān tóu rēng dào shuō:“ zhè zhǒng zhēng zhào qián kàn jiàn guòzài rén hángdào shàng yáo yáo huàng huàng jīng cháng shì wèi zhe shēng liǎo qíng shì jiàn xiǎng yào zhēng xún xià bié rén de jiàndàn shì yòu dìng zhù shì fǒu yìng zhè yàng wēi miào de shì qíng gào bié rénjiù zài zhè diǎn shàng yào jiā biédāng rén jué nán rén zuò liǎo hěn duì de shì de shí hòu zài yáo huàng liǎotōng cháng de zhēng zhào shì děibǎ mén líng xiàn gěi duàn liǎoxiàn zài zhè men kàn zuò shì zhuāng liàn 'ài shì jiàn guò zhè bìng zěn me fèn ér zhǐ shì wǎng huò yōu shānghǎo zài qián qīn dēng mén zào fǎng men de tuán jiù yíng rèn 'ér jiě liǎo。”
   zhèng shuō zheyòu rén qiāo ménchuānzhuó hào de nán jìn lái bào gào shuō · lán xiǎo jiě lái fǎnghuà yīn wèi luòzhè wèi jiù chū xiàn zài chuānzhuó hēi hào de 'ǎi xiǎo shēn cái hòu miànfǎng suí zhe lǐng gǎng xiǎo chuán yáng fān 'ér lái de sōu shāng chuán 'ěr luò luò fāng 'ér yòu bīn bīn yòu de fēi fán tài huān yíng suí shǒu tuī shàng ménwēi wēi gōngqǐng zài shǒu shàng zuò xiàpiàn zhī jiānjiù yòu de zhǒng xīn zài yān de shén tài dǎliang liǎo fān
   shuō dào: " yǎn jīng jìn shìyào me duō jué yòu diǎn fèi jìn ?”
   huí dào:“ kāi shǐ què shí yòu diǎn fèi jìndàn shì xiàn zài yòng kàn jiù zhī dào de wèi zhì liǎo。 " rán huì dào zhè wèn huà de quán hán gǎn dào shí fēn zhèn jīngtái tóu lái yǎng shì zhe de kuān kuò 'ér xìng qíng shàn de liǎn shàng chū hài jīng zhī jiào dào:“ 'ěr xiān shēngnín tīng shuō guò ránzěn néng zhī dào zhè qiē ?”
   'ěr xiào zhe shuō dào:“ yào jǐn de gōng zuò jiù shì yào zhī dào xiē shì qíng duàn liàn néng gòu liǎo jiě bié rén suǒ lüè de fāng rán de huà zěn me huì lái qǐng jiào ?”
  “ xiān shēng shì cóng 'āi tài tài tīng shuō dào nín cái lái zhǎo nín de jiādōu rèn wéi de zhàng jīng liǎo 'ér zài zhǎo liǎoér nín què háo fèi jiù zhǎo dào liǎoò 'ěr xiān shēng pàn wàng nín néng zhè yàng bāng zhù bìng dàn shì chú liǎo suǒ de diǎn diǎn qián zhī wàipíng chéng de cái chǎnměi nián hái yòu bǎi yīng bàng de shōu zhǐ yào néng zhī dào huò · ān 'ěr xiān shēng de xiāo yuàn quán chū lái。”
   'ěr wèn dào:“ wèishénme zhè yàng cōng cōng máng máng kāi jiā lái zhǎo ? " shǒu zhǐ jiān dǐng zhuóshǒu zhǐ jiānyǎn jīng wàng zhe tiān huā bǎn
   · lán xiǎo jiě de yòu xiē máng rán ruò shī de liǎn shàng yòu chū xiàn liǎo jīng de shén shuō:“ shì de shì rán chū lái deyīn wéi kàn dào wēn bān xiān shēng héng héng jiù shì de qīn héng héng duì zhè shì guān xīnshǐ fēi cháng fèn kěn bào gào kěn dào nín zhè láizuì hòuyóu shénme dōubù gānzhǐ shì duàn shuō méi shìméi shì, ' shǐ shí fēn mào huǒ chuān shàng wài jiù gǎn lái zhǎo nín。”
  “ de qīn, " 'ěr shuō,“ dìng shì de yīn wéi shì tóng xìng。”
  “ cuòshì de jiào qīnjìn guǎn tīng lái hěn xiàoyīn wéi zhǐ suì líng liǎng yuè。”
  “ qīn hái jiàn zài ?”
  “ shì de qīn hái jiàn zài 'ěr xiān shēngzài qīn gāng jiǔ jiù chóngxīn jié hūn liǎoér qiě nán de jīhū nián qīng shí suìzhè shǐ hěn gāo xīng qīn shì zài tuō yuàn zuò guǎn shēng de liú xià lái xiāng dāng de zhè yóu qīn gōng tóu xiān shēng jīng yíng shìwēn bān xiān shēng lái jiù shǐ qīn chū mài liǎo zhè yīn wéi shì tuī xiāo jiǔ de xíng tuī xiāo yuán wèi hěn yōu yuè men chū mài shāng lián tóng gòng qiān bǎi yīng bàngjiǎ qīn hái huó zhe dào de qián shù huì zhè duō duō。”
   běn wéi 'ěr duì zhè yàng luàn zhāng méi tóu méi nǎo de shù huì gǎn dào yàn fán zhī xiāng fǎn què jīng huì shén qīng tīng zhe
   wèn dào:“ zhè diǎn 'ér shōu shì cóng zhè lái de ?”
  “ āxiān shēng shì shì lìng wài de shōu shì zài 'ào lán de nài liú gěi deshì xīn lán piàolìlǜ shì fēn piào jīn 'é shì 'èr qiān bǎi yīng bàngdàn shì zhǐ néng dòng yòng 。”
   'ěr shuō:“ duì shuō de shēn gǎn xīng rán měi nián yòng bǎi yīng bàng yàng kuǎnjiā shàng gōng zuò suǒ zhèng de qián chéng wèn xíngguò zhe shū shì de shēng huó xiāng xìn wèi shēn de shì yuē yòu liù shí yīng bàng de shōu jiù shēng huó hěn hǎo liǎo。”
  “ zhè shù xiǎo duō 'ěr xiān shēng néng guò hěn hǎo guònín xiǎng jiànzhǐ yào zhù zài jiā jiù yuàn chéng wèitā men de dānsuǒ dāng tóng men zhù zài de shí hòu men jiù yòng de qiándāng ránzhè zhǐ guò shì zàn shí dewēn bān xiān shēng měi de chū lái jiāo gěi qīn jué guāng yòng suǒ zhèng de diǎn qián jiù néng guò hěn hǎoměi zhāng zhèng liǎng biàn shì tiān wǎng wǎng néng shí dào 'èr shí zhāng。”
   'ěr shuō:“ jīng de qíng kuàng duì shuō qīng chǔ liǎozhè wèi shì de péng yǒu huá shēng zài miàn qián tóng zài miàn qián yàngtán huà shùqǐng tóng huò · ān 'ěr xiān shēng de guān quán gào men 。”
   lán xiǎo jiě de liǎn shàng fàn liǎo hóng yùnjǐn zhāng 'ān yòng shǒu nòng duǎn wài de xiāng biān shuō:“ jiàn shì zài méi zhuāng xiū gōng de huì shàng qīn zài shì de shí hòu men zǒng yào sòng piào gěi hòu men hái men piào sòng gěi qīnwēn bān xiān shēng yuàn men huì cóng lái yuàn men dào rèn fāng shèn zhì xiǎng jiào táng zuò bài huì hěn shēng de shì zhè xià dìng jué xīn qián wǎng jiù shì yào yòu shénme quán zhǐ shuō qīn de suǒ yòu péng yǒu huì zài men jié shí xiē rén shì hái shuō méi yòu shì de chuānér de jiàn cháng máo róng jīhū hái cóng lái méi yòu cóng guì chū lái chuān guòzuì hòu méi yòu bié de bàn wèile gōng de gōng shì 'ér dào guó liǎo qīn liǎng rénjiù suí tóng cóng qián dāng guò men gōng tóu de xiān shēng liǎozhèng shì zài dào huò · ān 'ěr xiān shēng。”
   'ěr shuō:“ xiǎngwēn bān xiān shēng cóng guó huí lái hòuduì guò huì de shì dìng hěn nǎo huǒ。”
  “ ā shì de tài dǎo hěn cuò xiào xiàosǒng sǒng jiān bǎnghái shuō ràng rén zuò yuàn zuò de shì shì méi yòu yòng de zǒng shì 'ài gànshénme jiù huì gànshénme。”
  “ míng bái liǎo xiǎng shì zài méi zhuāng xiū gōng huì shàng jiàn wèi jiào huò · ān 'ěr xiān shēng de。”
  “ xiān shēngshì de tiān wǎn shàng jiàn liǎo 'èr tiān lái fǎngwèn men shì fǒu píng 'ān shì huí dào jiā zài hòu men huì jiàn guò 'ěr xiān shēng shì shuō tóng sàn guò liǎng dàn shì hòu qīn yòu huí lái liǎoér huò · ān 'ěr xiān shēng jiù néng zài dào jiā lái liǎo。”
  “ néng ?”
  “ duì 'ānín zhī dào qīn huān yàng de shì qíngyào shì bàn dào zǒng shì ràng rèn rén lái fǎng zǒng shì shuō rén jiā yīngdāng 'ān tóng jiā de rén zài guò què cháng cháng duì qīn shuō rén shǒu xiān yào yòu de xiǎo juàn ér hái méi yòu。”
  “ me huò · ān 'ěr xiān shēng yòu zěn me yàng liǎo méi yòu shè lái kàn ?”
  “ ài qīn xīng nèi yòu yào guó liǎohuò lái xìn shuōzài zǒu zhī qián zuì hǎo yào jiàn miànzhè yàng gèng bǎo xiǎnzài zhè jiān men tōng xìnér qiě zǒng shì měi tiān dōuyòu xìn lái zǎo jiù xìn shōu jìn lái liǎoméi yòu yào ràng qīn zhī dào。”
  “ zhè shí hòu wèi xiān shēng dìng hūn liǎo méi yòu?”
  “ āshì dìng liǎo hūn de 'ěr xiān shēng men zài sàn hòu jiù dìng liǎo hūnhuò · ān 'ěr xiān shēng…… shì lāi dēng huò 'ěr jiē jiā bàn gōng shì de chū yuánér qiě……”
  “ shénme bàn gōng shì?”
  “ 'ěr xiān shēngzuì de máo bìng jiù chū zài zhè zhī dào。”
  “ me zhù zài ?”
  “ jiù zhù zài bàn gōng shì。”
  “ jìng zhī dào de zhǐ?”
  “ zhī dào…… zhǐ zhī dào lāi dēng huò 'ěr jiē。”
  “ me de xìn dào ?”
  “ dào lāi dēng huò 'ěr jiē yóu liú dài běn rén lǐng shuō guǒ dào bàn gōng shì bàn shì yuán huì cháo xiào rén tōng xìnyīn chū yòng xìn chū láixiàng suǒ zuò de yàngdàn shì yòu kěnyīn wéi shuō qīn xiě de xìn jiù xiàng tóng zhí jiē wǎng láiér de xìnzǒng jué zhe men liǎ zhōng jiān zhe shìde 'ěr xiān shēngzhè zhèng hǎo biǎo míng duō me huān xiē xiǎo shì qíng xiǎng hěn zhōu dào。”
   'ěr shuō:“ zhè zuì néng shuō míng wèn liǎocháng lái zhí rèn wéixiǎo shì qíng shì zuì zhòng yào guò de liǎo hái huò · ān 'ěr xiān shēng de xiǎo shì qíng ?”
  “ 'ěr xiān shēng shì fēi cháng miǎn tiǎn de rén nìngkě tóng zài wǎn shàng sàn yuàn zài bái tiān sàn yīn wéi shuō hěn yuàn shòu rén zhù zhǐ wén tài yōu xiánshèn zhì shuō huà de shēng yīn dōushì róu de gào yòu nián shí huàn guò biǎn táo xiàn yán jǐng xiàn zhǒng hòu sǎng zhí hǎoshuō huà lái hán hán shēng duì zhe zǒng shì hěn jiǎng jiūshí fēn zhěng jié dàn shì de shì hǎotóng yàngsuǒ dài shàng qiǎn yǎn jìngzhē dǎng huàn mùdì liàng guāng。”
  “ hǎo wēn bān xiān shēng zài guó hòu yòu zěn yàng ?”
  “ huò · ān 'ěr xiān shēng yòu lái jiā bìng qiě men zài qīn huí lái qián jiù jié hūn fēi cháng rèn zhēnyào shǒu fàng zài shèng jīng shàng shì guǎn shēng shénme shì qíngwǒdōu yào yǒng yuǎn zhōng shí qīn shuō yào shì shì shí fēn duì dezhè shì de qíng de biǎo shì qīn cóng kāi shǐ jiù duì yòu hǎo gǎnshèn zhì gèng huān zhè yàngdāng men tán lùn yào zài xīng nèi xíng hūn shí jiù qīn láidàn shì men liǎng réndōu shuō yòng dān xīn qīnzhǐ yào shì hòu gào shēng jiù liǎo qīn hái shuō huì zhè jiàn shì tóng qīn tán tuǒ de 'ěr xiān shēng bìng huān zhè yàng zhǒng zuò yóu guò suìquè dìng yào dào de yǔn shuō lái wèi miǎn xiàodàn shì xiǎng tōu tōu gān rèn shì qíngsuǒ xiě fēng xìn gěi qīn wǎng gōng zhù guó bàn shì chù suǒ zài 'ěr duōdàn shì jiù zài jié hūn tiān zǎo chénzhè fēng xìn tuì huí lái liǎo。”
  “ me méi yòu shōu dào zhè fēng xìn?”
  “ shì dexiān shēngyīn wéi zhè fēng xìn dào shí gāng hǎo jīng dòng shēn huí yīng guó lái liǎo。”
  “ cái qiǎo me de hūn shì 'ān pái zài xīng shì dìng zài jiào táng xíng de ?”
  “ shì dexiān shēngdàn shì jìng qiǎo qiǎo de diǎn zhāng yáng men jué dìng zài huáng jiā shí kǒu de shèng jiù shì zhù jiào táng xíng hūn hūn hòu dào shèng pān fàn diàn jìn zǎo cānhuò chéng liǎo liàng shuāng lún shuāng zuò chē lái jiē mendàn shì men shì liǎng rén jiù ràng men liǎng dēng shàng zhè liàng chēdāng shí jiē shàng gāng qiǎo yòu lìng wài liàng lún chē jiù zuò shàng liàng chē men xiān dào jiào táng lún chē suí hòu dào shí men děng dài xià chēquè méi yòu jiàn zǒu chū chē xiāng láidāng chē cóng gǎn chē de zuò wèi shàng xià láikàn kàn rén jīng shì yǐng zōng 'ér fēi liǎochē shuō méi xiǎng xiàng rén dào liǎoyīn wéi qīn yǎn zuò jìn chē xiāng de 'ěr xiān shēng shì shàng xīng cóng hòu jiù zài méi yòu tīng dào de xiāo liǎo。”
   'ěr shuō:“ kàn lái zhè yàng duì dài shì duì de 。”
  “ āxiān shēng duì tài hǎo liǎotài tiē liǎo huì zhè yàng kāi denín qiáo zǎo jiù duì shuō guǎn shēng shénme shì qíngwǒdōu yào zhōng shēng liào dào de shì qíng 'ér men fēn kāi yǒng yuǎn yào zhù duì jīng yòu liǎo shì yuē chí zǎo huì yòu tiān yào qiú shí jiàn zhè shì yuē dezài jié hūn dāng tiān zǎo chénshuō zhè yàng de huà yòu diǎn dàn shì cóng hòu shēng de shì qíng lái kànzhè shì yòu hán de liǎo。”
  “ shí fēn kěn dìng zhè shì yòu hán de me běn rén rèn wéi dào liǎo chū liào de fēi lái hènghuò?”
  “ shì xiān shēng xiāng xìn jiàn dào mǒu xiē wēi xiǎnfǒu huì jiǎng zhè yàng de huàzhī hòu xiǎng suǒ jiàn de shì zhōng shēng liǎo。”
  “ guò méi yòu xiǎng guò néng shēng shénme shì qíng ?”
  “ méi yòu。”
  “ hái yòu wèn qīn shì zěn yàng duì dài zhè jiàn shì de ?”
  “ hěn shēng bìng qiě duì shuōyǒng yuǎn yào zài zhè jiàn shì liǎo。”
  “ hái yòu qīn gào liǎo ?”
  “ gào liǎo tóng xiǎng yàngshì shēng liǎo shénme shìdàn shì jiāng huì chóngxīn dào huò de xiāo dezhào de shuō dài dào jiào táng mén kǒu jiù diū liǎo guǎn duì rèn rén lái shuō huì yòu shénme hǎo chù hǎo guǒ jiè liǎo de qiánhuò zhě tóng jié liǎo hūn 'ér cái chǎn zhuǎn ràng gěi yòu diǎn yóu shuōdàn shì huò zài qián zhè wèn shàng shì wán quán lài rén deduì de qián shì xiān lìng shì cóng lái xiè de rán hái huì shēng shénme shì wèishénme lián xìn xiě fēng āixiǎng lái zhēn bàn fēng bàn diāntōng xiāo néng yǎn。 " cóng shǒu lóng chōu chū kuài shǒu méng zhe liǎn kāi shǐ tòng lái
   'ěr biān zhàn lái biān shuō dào:“ yào wéi bàn zhè jiàn 'àn men dìng huì dào jiēguǒ dezhè diǎn háo wènxiàn zài ràng lái tiǎo zhè dān jiù yòng zhe zài cāo xīn liǎoyóu zhòng yào de shìràng huò xiān shēng cóng de zhōng xiāo shī jiù xiàng cóng de shēng huó zhōng xiāo shī liǎo yàng。”
  “ menín xiǎng huì zài jiàn dào liǎo ?”
  “ kǒng huì liǎo。”
  “ me chū liǎo shénme shì ?”
  “ zhè wèn jiāo gěi hǎo liǎo yuàn dào guān zhè rén de zhǔn què de miáo shùhái yào xiàn zài bǎo liú de de xìn jiàn。”
   shuō:“ zài shàng xīng liù de shì bàoshàng dēng guò xún zhǎo de guǎng gàozhè jiù shì zhè tiáo guǎng gàozhè hái yòu de fēng lái xìn。”
  “ xiè xiè de tōng xìn zhǐ ?”
  “ kǎn wéi 'ěr 'áng jiē hào。”
  “ zhī dào cóng lái méi yòu guò 'ān 'ěr xiān shēng de zhǐ me qīn de gōng zuò diǎn zài ?”
  “ shì fēn qiū de guó hóng táo jiǔ jìn kǒu shāng wéi háo · bān shāng xíng de xíng tuī xiāo yuán。”
  “ xiè xiè jīng qíng kuàng shuō hěn qīng chǔqǐng zhè xiē wén jiàn liú xià lái zhù gěi de quàn gàozhè zhěng shì jiàn jiù zhè yàng liǎo jié liǎo yào ràng yǐng xiǎng de shēng huó。”
  “ 'ěr xiān shēng duì tài hǎo liǎo shì zhè zuò dào yào zhōng shí huò huí lái jiù yào jié hūn。”
   men de rénjìn guǎn dài zhe dǐng xiào de mào xiǎn máng rán ruò shīdàn shì chún de zhōng chéng zhī xīn dài yòu zhǒng gāo shàng de qíng cāoshǐ men rán jìng xiǎo shù wén jiàn fàng zài zhuō shàng jiù kāi liǎodāyìng yào de shí hòudāng zài lái
   'ěr chén liǎo fēn zhōng de shǒu zhǐ jiān réng rán dǐng zhuóshǒu zhǐ jiānliǎng tuǐ xiàng qián shēn zhǎnyǎn jīng zhāoshàng dīng zhe tiān huā bǎnrán hòu cóng jià shàng xià shǐ yòng nián jiǔmǎn shì yóu de táo zhì yān dǒuzhè yān dǒu duì hǎo xiàng shì wèndiǎn rán yān hòu cháo hòu kào zài shàng nóng nóng de lán yān niǎo niǎo yíng ràoliǎn shàng xiàn chū xiàn chén de shén qíng
   shuō:“ niàn běn shēn jiù shì fēi cháng yòu de yán jiū duì xiàng xiàn běn rén xiǎo xiǎo de wèn gèng yòu shùn biàn shuō xià de wèn guò shì hěn píng cháng de wèn guǒ fān yuè xià de 'àn nián 'ān duō suǒ yǐn de huàjiù néng zhǎo dào tóng yàng de ér qiě nián zài hǎi shēng guò xiē lèi shì jiàn dōushì xiē lǎo zhù kàn zhōng yòu liǎng qíng jié dǎo shì xīn xiān de shì zhè wèi niàn běn rén què shì zuì rén shēn shěng de。”
   shuō:“ néng zài shēn shàng kàn chū hěn duō kàn chū lái de dōng 。”“ shì kàn chūhuá shēngér shì zhù zhī dào gāi kàn suǒ lüè liǎo suǒ yòu zhòng yào de dōng cóng lái méi yòu shǐ rèn shí dào xiù de zhòng yào xìngcóng zhǐ zhǐ jiá zhōng kàn chū wèn huò zhě zài xié dài shàng xiàn wèn hǎo cóng zhè niàn de wài biǎo kàn dào liǎo shénme miáo shù xià 。”“ tóu dài dǐng lán huī de kuān biān cǎo màomào shàng chā zhe gēn zhuān hóng máo de duǎn wài tào shì huī hēi deshàng miàn féng zhuì hēi zhū biān yuán xiāng qiàn xiǎo xiǎo de hēi shì de shàng shì de fēi shēnlǐng kòu shàng xiāng zhe zhǎi tiáo cháng máo róngshǒu tào shì qiǎn huī deyòu shǒu shí zhǐ jīng chuān de shénme xié dǎo méi yòu zhù guān chá shāo wēi yòu diǎn pàngdài zhe xià chuí de jīn 'ěr huánzǒng de pài kàn lái shì xiāng dāng deshén tài shì píng píng cháng chángshū shū yóu zài de。”
   'ěr qīng qīng pāi zhe zhǎngmǐn zuǐ wēi xiào
  “ huá shēng shì fèng chéng jìn hěn de zhè fān miáo shù què shí hěn hǎo rán lüè liǎo suǒ yòu zhòng yào de dōng dàn shì jīng zhǎng liǎo fāng guān chá yán de yǎn jīng hěn mǐn ruìlǎo jué kào bān yìn xiàngér yào zhōng zhù jié shǒu xiān zhuóyǎn de zǒng shì rén de xiù kàn nán rén shǒu xiān guān chá de wéi hǎoxiàng kàn dào de yàngzhè rén de xiù shàng yòu cháng máo róngzhè shì tòu hén de zuì yòu yòng de cái liàoshǒu wàn zài wǎng shàng diǎn de liǎng tiáo wén shì yuán zhe zhuō de fāngkàn lái shí fēn míng xiǎnshǒu yáo shì de féng rèn liú xià lèi shìde hén guò shì zài zuǒ shàng kāi zhǐ zuì yuǎn de biānér shì xiàng hén yàng zhèng hǎo héng guò zuì kuò de fēn rán hòu kàn kàn de liǎnjiàn liáng liǎng biān dōuyòu jiā yǎn jìng liú xià de 'āo hén dǎn chū jìn shì zhè liǎng zhǒng shuō zhè shǐ gǎn dào jīng 。”
  “ zhè shǐ gǎn dào jīng 。”
  “ shì diǎn cuòzhè shì hěn míng xiǎn de jiē zhe wǎng xià kàn hěn jīng yòu hěn gǎn xīng guān chá dàojìn guǎn suǒ chuān de liǎng zhǐ xuē bìng shì tóng deér shí shàng què shì duì zhǐ xuē jiān shàng yòu dài huā wén de bāo tóulìng zhǐ què méi yòu zhǐ xuē de kòu zhōng zhǐ kòu liǎo xià miàn liǎng ér lìng zhǐ kòu shàng sān kòu nuòdāng kàn jiàn wèi qīng nián chuān dài hěn zhěng jiédàn chū mén shí què chuānzhuó pèi duì de xuē xuē shàng kòu zhǐ kòu shàng bàn shuō míng jiā shí fēi cháng cōng mángzhè néng suàn shì shénme liǎo de tuī lùn 。”
  “ hái yòu ? " wèn dào de péng yǒu tòu chè de tuī jīng cháng yǐn qiáng liè de xīng
  “ shùn biàn shuō shuō zhù dào zài zǒu chū jiā mén zhī qián xiě liǎo zhāng tiáodàn shì zhè zhāng zhǐ tiáo shì zài chuān dài hǎo liǎo zhī hòu xiě de guān chá dào yòu shǒu tào de shí zhǐ fāng liǎo guò xiǎn rán méi yòu kàn dào shǒu tào shí zhǐ zhān liǎo shuǐ xiě hěn cōng mángzhàn shuǐ shí chā tài shēn liǎoshì qíng dìng shēng zài jīn chénfǒu huì qīng liú zài shǒu zhǐ shàngzhè qiē suī rán dōuhěn jiǎn dāndàn què hěn yòu guò huí dào zhèng shàng láihuá shēnggěi niàn niàn xún zhǎo huò · ān 'ěr xiān shēng de shì hǎo ?”
   xiǎo zhāng yìn shuà de tiáo còu dào dēng qián。 "( shì xiě dào): shí chén míng jiào huò · ān 'ěr de xiān shēng shī zōng rén shēn gāo yīng chǐ yīng cùn jiàn zhuàng dàn huángtóu hēitóu dǐng lüè liú yòu nóng hēi de jiá chún dài qiǎn jìngjiǎng huà shēng shī zōng qián shēn chuān xiāng biān hēi hēi bèi xīn huā huī bǎng tuǐliǎng biān yòu sōng jǐn dài de xuēbèi xīn shàng guà tiáo 'ài shì jīn liàn rén céng zài lāi dēng huò 'ěr jiē de shì suǒ rèn zhíruò yòu rén……”
  “ xíng liǎo, " 'ěr shuō,“ zhì xiē xìn jiàn, " kàn liǎo yǎn shuō:“ hěn bānchú liǎo yǐn yòng guò 'ěr zhā de huà wài zhōng méi yòu rèn guān dào huò xiān shēng de xiàn suǒ guò yòu diǎn hěn zhí zhù huì shǐ chī jīng。”
  “ zhè xiē xìn jiàn shì yòng de, " shuō
  “ jǐn lián qiān míng shì deqǐng kàn xìn gōng gōng zhěng zhěng de zhè xiǎo :‘ huò · ān 'ěr '。 yòu dàn shì zhǐ chú liǎo ' lāi dēng huò 'ěr jiē ' wàibié zhè shì shí fēn hán dezhè qiān míng hěn shuō míng wèn shì shí shàng men shuō shì jué dìng xìng de。”
  “ guān fāng miàn de?”
  “ de hǎo huǒ bànnán dào hái méi kàn chū zhè qiān míng běn 'àn de zhòng yào guān ?”
  “ gǎn shuō kàn chū lái liǎo xiǎng zài dàn yòu rén duì de huǐ yuē xíng wéi chū shí jiè fǒu rèn shì de qiān míng。”
  “ zhè shì wèn suǒ zài guò yào xiě liǎng fēng xìnzhè yàng jiù néng jiě jué wèn fēng gěi lún dūn de shānghánglìng fēng gěi wèi nián qīng xiǎo jiě de wēn bān xiān shēngqǐng wèn míng wǎn liù diǎn zhōng néng fǒu gēn men zài jiàn miàn men fáng gēn nán qīn shǔ jiāo dàohǎo shēngzài wèi shōu dào zhè liǎng fēng xìn de huí yīn zhī qián men méi yòu shénme shì qíng zuò liǎo men zhè xiǎo xiǎo de wèn zàn shí fàng fàng。”
   yòu hěn chōng fēn de yóu xiāng xìn de péng yǒu zài xíng dòng zhōng shì tuī zhìjīng guò rén desuǒ duì rén jiā qǐng zhēn chá zhè de 'àn de zhǒng xiōng yòu chéng zhúcóng róng de tài xiǎng dìng shì hěn yòu gēn de zhī dào zhǐ shī bài guò jiù shì guó wáng 'ài lín · ài zhào piàn 'àndàn shì dāng huí ' qiān míng ' zhǒng guài shì ' xuè de yán jiū ' lián zài hěn xún cháng de qíng kuàng shí jué guǒ lián tādōu jiě jué liǎo de huà zhēn shì shí fēn 'ào de 'àn liǎo
   kāi shí hái réng rán zài chōu zhe zhǐ hēi de táo zhì yān dǒu xiāng xìn míng wǎn zài lái shí jiù néng xiàn zhǎng liǎo zuì zhōng què zhèng · lán xiǎo jiě de shī zōng xīn láng dào shì rén de suǒ yòu xiàn suǒ
   dāng shí zhèng máng zhì liáo bìng qíng yán zhòng de huàn zhě 'èr tiān zài bìng chuáng biān yòu máng liǎo zhěng tiānjiāng jìn liù diǎn zhōng shí cái dào kòngxiá shì tiào shàng liàng shuāng lún xiǎo chē zhí shǐ bèi jiēyòu xiē dān xīn wǎn liǎo huì gǎn shàng wéi liǎo jié zhè zhuāng 'àn zhù zhī jiàn dào xiē luò · 'ěr shí rén zài jiāshòu cháng de shēn quán suō zài shēn xiàn xià de shǒu zhōngchǔyú bàn shuì bàn xǐng zhuàng tàilìng rén wàng 'ér shēng wèi de pái pái shāo píng shì guǎn sàn chū qīng xīn 'ér de yán suān wèishuō míng zhěng tiān mái shǒu 'ài de huà xué shì yàn
  “ wèijiě jué liǎo ? " biān wèn biān zǒu jìn mén
  “ jiě jué liǎoshì liú suān qīng bèi。”
  “ shuō de shì 'ā! " jiào dào
  “ xiǎng dào de shì zhí zài zuò shì yàn de zhè zhǒng yánsuī rán zuó tiān shuō guòzhè 'àn háo rèn shén zhī chùdàn shì yòu xiē jié hái shì ráo yòu wèi dewéi de quē hàn shì dān xīn méi yòu tiáo chéng chù 'è gùn。”
  “ shì shuí pāo lán xiǎo jiě de mùdì zài?”
   wèn gāng cóng kǒu zhōng shuō chū 'ěr hái méi lái kāi kǒu zuò men jiù tīng dào lóu dào xiǎng zhèn chén zhòng de jiǎo shēng yòu rén qiāo mén
  “ shì wèi niàn de zhān · wēn bān xiān shēng。 " 'ěr shuō dào,“ gěi xiě xìn shuōjiāng liù diǎn zhōng qián láiqǐng jìn ! " jìn mén de nán rén shēn jiēshízhōng děng shēn cáisān shí lái suì guā gān gān jìng jìng dàn huáng yīn qín de fèng chéng de yàng shuāng ruì rén de huī yǎn jīng xún wèn sǎo shì liǎo men liǎ yǎn dǐng yòu guāng de yuán shì mào zài biān jià shàngwēi wēi liǎo gōng shēn zuò zài jiù jìn de shàng
  “ wǎn 'ānzhān · wēn bān xiān shēng, " 'ěr shuō dào,“ xiǎng zhè fēng de xìn shì chū shǒu de zài xìn zhōng yuē dìng liù diǎn zhōng men jiàn miànshì ?”
  “ shì dexiān shēng shì shāo wēi lái chí liǎo guò shēn yóu 'ā hěn bào qiàn lán xiǎo jiě zhè zhǒng wēi dào de shì qíng lái fán jué hái shì yào jiā chǒu wài yáng de hǎo lái zhǎo menzhè shì wéi bèi liǎo de yuàn de men kàn dào liǎo shì hǎo róng chōng dòng de niàn dàn jué dìng gànshénme jiù nán zhìdāng rán duì men dǎo shì tài jiè yīn wéi men guān tīng méi yòu lián guò ràng zhè zhǒng jiā tíng de xìng zhāng yáng dào shè huì shàng què shì lìng rén gāo xīng de shìér qiězhè shì láo deyīn wéi zěn me néng zhǎo dào huò · ān 'ěr zhè rén ?”
  “ qià qià xiāng fǎn, " 'ěr píng jìng shuō,“ hěn yòu yóu xiāng xìn huì zhǎo dào huò · ān 'ěr xiān shēng。”
   wēn bān xiān shēng tīng liǎo shēn měng rán zhèn dòng liǎo xiàshǒu tào diào zài shàng shuō dào:“ tīng dào zhè fān huàgāo xīng liǎo。”
  “ guài de shì, " 'ěr shuō,“ xiàng shǒu shū yàng biǎo xiàn chū rén de xìngchú fēi shì xīn defǒu liǎng tái chū lái de shì huì yàng deyòu de bié de sǔn gèng hài xiēyòu de zhǐ sǔn liǎo biānwēn bān xiān shēngqǐng kàn de zhè zhāng duǎn jiān 'e' zǒng shì yòu diǎn qīng 'r' de wěi zǒng yòu diǎn 'ér quē sǔnhái yòu shí gèng jiā míng xiǎn de zhēng。”
  “ men de lái wǎng xìn hán dōushì shǐ yòng shì suǒ de zhè tái dedāng rán yòu diǎn 'ér sǔn liǎo, " men de rén shuō zhe liàng de xiǎo yǎn jīng xùn piē liǎo xià 'ěr
  “ wēn bān xiān shēngxiàn zài yào gào shénme shì zhēn zhèng yòu de yán jiū, " 'ěr shuō,“ xiǎng zài zhè tiān zài xiě piān duǎn de zhuān lùn wén lái chǎn shù fàn zuì de guān zhè shì wéi zhù de shǒu biān yòu fēng xiě míng shì lái shī zōng de nán rén de xìnquán shì de jǐn měi fēng xìn zhōng 'e' dōushì de 'r' dōushì quē wěi deér qiě guǒ yuàn shǐ yòng de fàng jìng kàn kàn me dào de shí zhēng shì zài mùdì。”
   wēn bān xiān shēng cóng shàng tiào liǎo láijiǎn mào shuō:“ 'ěr xiān shēng néng làng fèi shí jiān tīng zhè lèi zhī tánjiǎ néng zhuā dào rénjiù zhuā zhù hǎo liǎozhuā dào shíqǐng gào shēng。”
   'ěr kuà shàng qián mén suǒ suǒ shàngshuō:“ me jiù gào xiàn zài jīng zhuā dào liǎo。”
  “ shénmezài ? " wēn bān xiān shēng hǎn dàoxià lián zuǐ chún bái liǎozhǎ zhuóyǎn jīng kàn zhe xiàng diào jìn liǎo shǔ lóng de lǎo shǔ yàng
  “ ā rǎng rǎng yòu shénme yòng diǎn yòng chù méi yòu, " 'ěr wēn shuō,“ wēn bān xiān shēng shì gēn běn néng lài diào deshì qíng zài qīng chǔ guò liǎo shuō jiě jué liǎo jiǎn dān de wèn shí zài shì tài liǎo què shì jiǎn dān de wèn qǐng zuò xià men lái tán tán 。”
   rén zhěng tān zài shàngliǎn cāng báié shàng hàn shuǐ cén cénjié jiēbā shuō zhe:“ zhè…… zhè hái dào chū sòng de chéng 。”
  “ què shíkǒng shì hái dào zhè chéng dàn shìwēn bān xiān shēngjiù 'èr rén lái shuōzhè shì cóng wèi jiàn guò de zuì zuì cán zuì sàng xīn bìng kuáng guò de guǐ liǎoràng xiān shì qíng cóng tóu dào wěi shuō biànshuō duì fǎn 。”
   zhè rén suō chéng tuán zuò zài zhōngnǎo dài dào xiōng qiánshì chè bèi kuǎ liǎo de múyàng 'ěr jiǎo zài tái de jiǎo shàngshǒu chā zài kǒu dài xiàng hòu yǎng zhe shēn yán kāi shǐ shuō lái
  “ nán rén wèile tān jīn qián 'ér gēn nián líng yuǎn de rén jié liǎo hūn, " shuō dào,“ zhǐ yào 'ér gēn men píng shēng huó jiù xiǎng yòng de qiánjiù men suǒ chù de wèi lái shuōzhè qián cái xiāng dāng guānshī diào zhè qiánjìng kuàng jiāng xiāng tóngsuǒ zhí pàn mìng bǎo zhù 'ér wéi rén xīn shàn liáng 'ǎi xìng wēn róu duō qíngxiǎn 'ér jiànyòu zhè yàng pǐn mào shōu de niàn shì huì kōng shǒu guī fáng de guǒ jià rén de huàzhè dāng rán jiāng wèi zhe měi nián sǔn shī bǎi yīng bàng de shōu me de zěn yàng cái néng fáng zhǐ zhè zhuāng qīn shì xiǎn rán shì xiǎng shè guān zài jiā zhōngjìn zhǐ tóng yàng nián de péng yǒu men jiāo wǎng jiǔ xiàn zhè yàng zuò shì cháng jiǔ zhī biàn me tīng huà liǎojiān chí de quán zuì hòu jìng rán shēng chēng dìng yào huì liǎozhè me lái guǐ duō duān de zěn me bàn xiǎng chū liǎo de miào zài de xié zhù zhī xià wěi zhuāng láigěi mǐn ruì de yǎn jīng dài shàng jìnggěi de liǎn dài shàng jiǎ máo péng péng de jiǎ luò sāi qīng de shuō huà zhuāng zuò róu shēng mèi de 'ěr yóu 'ér jìn shì de wěi zhuāng jiù gèng xiǎn wàn shī huò · ān 'ěr xiān shēng de míng chū xiàn xiàng 'ér qiú 'àimiǎn 'ài shàng bié de nán rén。”
  “ dāng chū zhǐ guò shì gēn kāi wán xiào, " rén hēng hēng shuō,“ men gēn běn méi yòu xiǎng dào huì me chī qíng。”
  “ gēn běn néng shì kāi wán xiào guò wèi nián qīng niàn què shí shì bèi chōng hūn liǎo tóu nǎo xīn wéi de shì zài guócóng lái huái shì shàng liǎo dāng yīn shòu dào wèi xiān shēng de yīn qín fèng chéng 'ér gāo xīngér qīn de piàn zàn yáng shēng shǐ gèng jiā gāo xīng shì 'ān 'ěr xiān shēng kāi shǐ lái fǎngyīn wéi dàn zòu xiàoshì qíng jiù yào jìn xíng xià huì guò miàndìng liǎo hūnzhè jiù zuì hòu bǎo zhèng liǎo niàn de xīn huì zhuànxiàng bié réndàn shì pái néng yǒng yuǎn xià zhuāng zhe guó chūchāi xiāng dāng fánsuǒ jiù gān cuì shì qíng lái xìng de shōu chǎng biàn zài nián qīng niàn de xīn shàng liú xià yǒng miè de yìn xiàngzhè yàng lái fáng zhǐ yòu cháo néng huì kàn shàng qiú hūn de nán shìjiù chū xiàn liǎo shǒu 'àn shèng jīng shì bái tóu xié lǎo xíng hūn tiān de zǎo chén 'àn shì néng shēng mǒu zhǒng shì qíng děng zhān · wēn bān wàng lán xiǎo jiě duì huò · ān 'ěr zhōng zhēn ér duì de shēng nán kěn dìngzǒng 'ér yán zhī shǐ zài hòu de shí nián huì tīng cóng bié de nán rén de huàhuò péi dào liǎo jiào táng mén kǒu néng zài wǎng qián zǒu liǎo shuǎ liǎo lǎo huā zhāocóng lún chē de zhè shàn mén zuàn jìn yòu cóng shàn mén zuàn chū láiyōu zāi yóu zāi liù zǒu liǎo rèn wéi zhè jiù shì zhěng shì qíng de jīng guòwēn bān xiān shēng!”
   zài 'ěr shuō de shí hòu men de rén huī liǎo diǎn xìn cóng shàng zhàn liǎo láicāng bái de liǎn chū qiào de shén tài
  “ shì zhēn shì jiǎ 'ěr xiān shēng, " shuō dào,“ cōng míng guò rén 'ā yīnggāi gèng jiā cōng míng diǎn cái hǎozhè yàng jiù huì kàn dào shì zài qīn fàn ér shì shǐ zhōng méi yòu gān xià shénme gòu chéng de shì qíngdàn shì mén suǒ shàngzhǐ zhè jiàn shì jiù gòu shǐ yīn ' gōng rén shēn fēi liú ' ér shòu dào 。”
  “ jiù suàn xiàng suǒ shuō de nài , " 'ěr shuō zhe kāi suǒtuī kāi mén,“ shì zài méi yòu shuí yīnggāi shòu dào gèng chéng de liǎojiǎ zhè wèi nián qīng niàn yòu xiōng huò péng yǒu de huà men yīngdāng yòng biān chōu de liángzhēn gāi ! " kàn dào nán rén liǎn shàng de lěng xiào fèn zhànghóng liǎo liǎn jiē zhe shuō:“ zhè shì duì de wěi tuō rén suǒ yào chéng dān de rèndàn shì shǒu biān zhèng hǎo yòu tiáo liè biān xiǎng hái shì hǎohǎo chōu…… " kuài zǒu biān dàn shì biān hái wèi dào shǒulóu shàng jiù méi mìng xiǎng liǎo pīng pīng pāng pāng de jiǎo shēngchén zhòng de tīng mén pēng xiǎng liǎo shēng men cóng chuāng kàn jiàn zhān · wēn bān xiān shēng pàn mìng zài shàng fēi páo
  “ zhēn shì lěng de 'è gùn! " 'ěr biān shuō biān xiàochóngxīn zuò jìn de shǒu ,“ jiā huǒ fàn zuìzǒng yòu tiān zuì 'è bèi sòng shàng duàn tóu táicóng fāng miàn lái kànzhè 'àn jiàn bìng shì suǒ rán wèi de。”
  “ xiàn zài hái néng quán míng liǎo de tuī zhòu。 " shuō。“ xiǎn rán yīnggāi xiǎng dào de shìzhè huò · ān 'ěr xiān shēng de guài xíng wéi dìng shì yòu suǒ detóng yàng qīng chǔ de shì men kàn dào wéi néng gòu cóng zhè shì jiàn zhōng zhēn zhèng dào hǎo chù de rén zhǐ yòu zhè rán hòu kàn zhè shì shíliǎng rén cóng lái méi yòu zài guòér zǒng shì dāng rén zài shí lìng rén chū xiànzhè shì hěn yòu xìng de jìng de huà shēnggēn máo péng péng de luò sāi yàng 'àn shì zhe wěi zhuāngzhè xiē shì yòu xìng de yòng lái qiān míngcóng tuī xiǎng shì shú de zhì kàn dào diǎn zuì xiǎo de rèn chū shì xiě de zhè guài de zuò gèng jiā shēn liǎo de huái kàn dàosuǒ yòu zhè xiē de shì shí duō jié còu zài dōuzhǐ xiàng tóng fāng xiàng。”
  “ zěn yàng zhèng shí men ?”
  “ dàn rèn chū liǎo fàn rénjiù hěn róng zhèng shí zuì xíng rèn shí zhè rén gōng zuò de shāngháng jiē dào fèn yìn shuà chū lái de xún rén shì jiù cóng shì miáo shù de wài mào zhēng zhōng chú diào néng shì wěi zhuāng de jiēguǒ de fēn héng héng luò sāi yǎn jìng shēng yīn héng héng rán hòu zhè fèn xún rén pǐn shì gěi shānghángqǐng men gào diào liǎo wěi zhuāng fēn de wài mào zhēng shì fǒu tóng men shāngháng wèi chū wài xíng de rén xiāng xiàng zhù dào de diǎn xiě xìn dào de bàn gōng diǎn gěi běn rénqǐng shì fǒu lái zhè tàng suǒ liào de huí xìn shì yòng decóng huí xìn zhōng kàn chū de zhǒng zhǒng tóng yàng wēi de dàn yòu zhēng de máo bìngtóng yóu gěi sòng lái liǎo fēng lái fēn qiū jiē wéi háo · bān shāngháng de xìnxìn zhōng shuōwài mào miáo shù men de yuán zhān · wēn bān de fāng miàn wán quán xiāng quán qíng kuàngjiù shì zhè yàng。”
  “ me lán xiǎo jiě ?”
  “ jiǎ shì qíng gào jiāng huì xiāng xìn de hái yòu yàn :‘ xiāo rén xīn zhōng de chī xiǎngxiǎn cóng zhǎo xià qiǎng duó 。 ' fěi de dào gēn yàng fēng fěi de rén qíng shì gēn yàng shēn 。”
  ① néng gòu bèi sòng quán lán jīng de lín jiào héng héng zhě zhù
  ② luó shū qíng shī rénhéng héng zhě zhù


  "My dear fellow," said Sherlock Holmes as we sat on either side of the fire in his lodgings at Baker Street, "life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most outré results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable."
   "And yet I am not convinced of it," I answered. "The cases which come to light in the papers are, as a rule, bald enough, and vulgar enough. We have in our police reports realism pushed to its extreme limits, and yet the result is, it must be confessed, neither fascinating nor artistic."
   "A certain selection and discretion must be used in producing a realistic effect," remarked Holmes. "This is wanting in the police report, where more stress is laid, perhaps, upon the platitudes of the magistrate than upon the details, which to an observer contain the vital essence of the whole matter. Depend upon it, there is nothing so unnatural as the commonplace."
   I smiled and shook my head. "I can quite understand your thinking so." I said. "Of course, in your position of unofficial adviser and helper to everybody who is absolutely puzzled, throughout three continents, you are brought in contact with all that is strange and bizarre. But here"--I picked up the morning paper from the ground--"let us put it to a practical test. Here is the first heading upon which I come. 'A husband's cruelty to his wife.' There is half a column of print, but I know without reading it that it is all perfectly familiar to me. There is, of course, the other woman, the drink, the push, the blow, the bruise, the sympathetic sister or landlady. The crudest of writers could invent nothing more crude."
   "Indeed, your example is an unfortunate one for your argument," said Holmes, taking the paper and glancing his eye down it. "This is the Dundas separation case, and, as it happens, I was engaged in clearing up some small points in connection with it. The husband was a teetotaler, there was no other woman, and the conduct complained of was that he had drifted into the habit of winding up every meal by taking out his false teeth and hurling them at his wife, which, you will allow, is not an action likely to occur to the imagination of the average story-teller. Take a pinch of snuff, Doctor, and acknowledge that I have scored over you in your example."
   He held out his snuffbox of old gold, with a great amethyst in the centre of the lid. Its splendour was in such contrast to his homely ways and simple life that I could not help commenting upon it.
   "Ah," said he, "I forgot that I had not seen you for some weeks. It is a little souvenir from the King of Bohemia in return for my assistance in the case of the Irene Adler papers."
   "And the ring?" I asked, glancing at a remarkable brilliant which sparkled upon his finger.
   "It was from the reigning family of Holland, though the matter in which I served them was of such delicacy that I cannot confide it even to you, who have been good enough to chronicle one or two of my little problems."
   "And have you any on hand just now?" I asked with interest.
   "Some ten or twelve, but none which present any feature of interest. They are important, you understand, without being interesting. Indeed, I have found that it is usually in unimportant matters that there is a field for the observation, and for the quick analysis of cause and effect which gives the charm to an investigation. The larger crimes are apt to be the simpler, for the bigger the crime the more obvious, as a rule, is the motive. In these cases, save for one rather intricate matter which has been referred to me from Marseilles, there is nothing which presents any features of interest. It is possible, however, that I may have something better before very many minutes are over, for this is one of my clients, or I am much mistaken."
   He had risen from his chair and was standing between the parted blinds gazing down into the dull neutral-tinted London street. Looking over his shoulder, I saw that on the pavement opposite there stood a large woman with a heavy fur boa round her neck, and a large curling red feather in a broad-brimmed hat which was tilted in a coquettish Duchess of Devonshire fashion over her ear. From under this great panoply she peeped up in a nervous, hesitating fashion at our windows, while her body oscillated backward and forward, and her fingers fidgeted with her glove buttons. Suddenly, with a plunge, as of the swimmer who leaves the bank, she hurried across the road, and we heard the sharp clang of the bell.
   "I have seen those symptoms before," said Holmes, throwing his cigarette into the fire. "Oscillation upon the pavement always means an affaire de coeur. She would like advice, but is not sure that the matter is not too delicate for communication. And yet even here we may discriminate. When a woman has been seriously wronged by a man she no longer oscillates, and the usual symptom is a broken bell wire. Here we may take it that there is a love matter, but that the maiden is not so much angry as perplexed, or grieved. But here she comes in person to resolve our doubts."
   As he spoke there was a tap at the door, and the boy in buttons entered to announce Miss Mary Sutherland, while the lady herself loomed behind his small black figure like a full-sailed merchant-man behind a tiny pilot boat. Sherlock Holmes welcomed her with the easy courtesy for which he was remarkable, and, having closed the door and bowed her into an armchair, he looked her over in the minute and yet abstracted fashion which was peculiar to him.
   "Do you not find," he said, "that with your short sight it is a little trying to do so much typewriting?"
   "I did at first," she answered, "but now I know where the letters are without looking." Then, suddenly realising the full purport of his words, she gave a violent start and looked up, with fear and astonishment upon her broad, good-humoured face. "You've heard about me, Mr. Holmes," she cried, "else how could you know all that?"
   "Never mind," said Holmes, laughing; "it is my business to know things. Perhaps I have trained myself to see what others overlook. If not, why should you come to consult me?"
   "I came to you, sir, because I heard of you from Mrs. Etherege, whose husband you found so easy when the police and everyone had given him up for dead. Oh, Mr. Holmes, I wish you would do as much for me. I'm not rich, but still I have a hundred a year in my own right, besides the little that I make by the machine, and I would give it all to know what has become of Mr. Hosmer Angel."
   "Why did you come away to consult me in such a hurry?" asked Sherlock Holmes, with his finger-tips together and his eyes to the ceiling.
   Again a startled look came over the somewhat vacuous face of Miss Mary Sutherland. "Yes, I did bang out of the house," she said, "for it made me angry to see the easy way in which Mr. Windibank--that is, my father--took it all. He would not go to the police, and he would not go to you, and so at last, as he would do nothing and kept on saying that there was no harm done, it made me mad, and I just on with my things and came right away to you."
   "Your father," said Holmes, "your stepfather, surely, since the name is different."
   "Yes, my stepfather. I call him father, though it sounds funny, too, for he is only five years and two months older than myself."
   "And your mother is alive?"
   "Oh, yes, mother is alive and well. I wasn't best pleased, Mr. Holmes, when she married again so soon after father's death, and a man who was nearly fifteen years younger than herself. Father was a plumber in the Tottenham Court Road, and he left a tidy business behind him, which mother carried on with Mr. Hardy, the foreman; but when Mr. Windibank came he made her sell the business, for he was very superior, being a traveller in wines. They got 4700 pounds for the goodwill and interest, which wasn't near as much as father could have got if he had been alive."
   I had expected to see Sherlock Holmes impatient under this rambling and inconsequential narrative, but, on the contrary, he had listened with the greatest concentration of attention.
   "Your own little income," he asked, "does it come out of the business?"
   "Oh, no, sir. It is quite separate and was left me by my uncle Ned in Auckland. It is in New Zealand stock, paying 4 1/2 per cent. Two thousand five hundred pounds was the amount, but I can only touch the interest."
   "You interest me extremely," said Holmes. "And since you draw so large a sum as a hundred a year, with what you earn into the bargain, you no doubt travel a little and indulge yourself in every way. I believe that a single lady can get on very nicely upon an income of about 60 pounds."
   "I could do with much less than that, Mr. Holmes, but you understand that as long as I live at home I don't wish to be a burden to them, and so they have the use of the money just while I am staying with them. Of course, that is only just for the time. Mr. Windibank draws my interest every quarter and pays it over to mother, and I find that I can do pretty well with what I earn at typewriting. It brings me twopence a sheet, and I can often do from fifteen to twenty sheets in a day."
   "You have made your position very clear to me," said Holmes. "This is my friend, Dr. Watson, before whom you can speak as freely as before myself. Kindly tell us now all about your connection with Mr. Hosmer Angel."
   A flush stole over Miss Sutherland's face, and she picked nervously at the fringe of her jacket. "I met him first at the gasfitters' ball," she said. "They used to send father tickets when he was alive, and then afterwards they remembered us, and sent them to mother. Mr. Windibank did not wish us to go. He never did wish us to go anywhere. He would get quite mad if I wanted so much as to join a Sunday-school treat. But this time I was set on going, and I would go; for what right had he to prevent? He said the folk were not fit for us to know, when all father's friends were to be there. And he said that I had nothing fit to wear, when I had my purple plush that I had never so much as taken out of the drawer. At last, when nothing else would do, he went off to France upon the business of the firm, but we went, mother and I, with Mr. Hardy, who used to be our foreman, and it was there I met Mr. Hosmer Angel."
   "I suppose," said Holmes, "that when Mr. Windibank came back from France he was very annoyed at your having gone to the ball."
   "Oh, well, he was very good about it. He laughed, I remember, and shrugged his shoulders, and said there was no use denying anything to a woman, for she would have her way."
   "I see. Then at the gasfitters' ball you met, as I understand, a gentleman called Mr. Hosmer Angel."
   "Yes, sir. I met him that night, and he called next day to ask if we had got home all safe, and after that we met him--that is to say, Mr. Holmes, I met him twice for walks, but after that father came back again, and Mr. Hosmer Angel could not come to the house any more."
   "No?"
   "Well, you know father didn't like anything of the sort. He wouldn't have any visitors if he could help it, and he used to say that a woman should be happy in her own family circle. But then, as I used to say to mother, a woman wants her own circle to begin with, and I had not got mine yet."
   "But how about Mr. Hosmer Angel? Did he make no attempt to see you?"
   "Well, father was going off to France again in a week, and Hosmer wrote and said that it would be safer and better not to see each other until he had gone. We could write in the meantime, and he used to write every day. I took the letters in in the morning, so there was no need for father to know."
   "Were you engaged to the gentleman at this time?"
   "Oh, yes, Mr. Holmes. We were engaged after the first walk that we took. Hosmer--Mr. Angel--was a cashier in an office in Leadenhall Street--and--"
   "What office?"
   "That's the worst of it, Mr. Holmes, I don't know."
   "Where did he live, then?"
   "He slept on the premises."
   "And you don't know his address?"
   "No--except that it was Leadenhall Street."
   "Where did you address your letters, then?"
   "To the Leadenhall Street Post Office, to be left till called for. He said that if they were sent to the office he would be chaffed by all the other clerks about having letters from a lady, so I offered to typewrite them, like he did his, but he wouldn't have that, for he said that when I wrote them they seemed to come from me, but when they were typewritten he always felt that the machine had come between us. That will just show you how fond he was of me, Mr. Holmes, and the little things that he would think of."
   "It was most suggestive," said Holmes. "It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important. Can you remember any other little things about Mr. Hosmer Angel?"
   "He was a very shy man, Mr. Holmes. He would rather walk with me in the evening than in the daylight, for he said that he hated to be conspicuous. Very retiring and gentlemanly he was. Even his voice was gentle. He'd had the quinsy and swollen glands when he was young, he told me, and it had left him with a weak throat, and a hesitating, whispering fashion of speech. He was always well dressed, very neat and plain, but his eyes were weak, just as mine are, and he wore tinted glasses against the glare."
   "Well, and what happened when Mr. Windibank, your stepfather, returned to France?"
   "Mr. Hosmer Angel came to the house again and proposed that we should marry before father came back. He was in dreadful earnest and made me swear, with my hands on the Testament, that whatever happened I would always be true to him. Mother said he was quite right to make me swear, and that it was a sign of his passion. Mother was all in his favour from the first and was even fonder of him than I was. Then, when they talked of marrying within the week, I began to ask about father; but they both said never to mind about father, but just to tell him afterwards, and mother said she would make it all right with him. I didn't quite like that, Mr. Holmes. It seemed funny that I should ask his leave, as he was only a few years older than me; but I didn't want to do anything on the sly, so I wrote to father at Bordeaux, where the company has its French offices, but the letter came back to me on the very morning of the wedding."
   "It missed him, then?"
   "Yes, sir; for he had started to England just before it arrived."
   "Ha! that was unfortunate. Your wedding was arranged, then, for the Friday. Was it to be in church?"
   "Yes, sir, but very quietly. It was to be at St. Saviour's, near King's Cross, and we were to have breakfast afterwards at the St. Pancras Hotel. Hosmer came for us in a hansom, but as there were two of us he put us both into it and stepped himself into a four-wheeler, which happened to be the only other cab in the street. We got to the church first, and when the four-wheeler drove up we waited for him to step out, but he never did, and when the cabman got down from the box and looked there was no one there! The cabman said that he could not imagine what had become of him, for he had seen him get in with his own eyes. That was last Friday, Mr. Holmes, and I have never seen or heard anything since then to throw any light upon what became of him."
   "It seems to me that you have been very shamefully treated," said Holmes.
   "Oh, no, sir! He was too good and kind to leave me so. Why, all the morning he was saying to me that, whatever happened, I was to be true; and that even if something quite unforeseen occurred to separate us, I was always to remember that I was pledged to him, and that he would claim his pledge sooner or later. It seemed strange talk for a wedding-morning, but what has happened since gives a meaning to it."
   "Most certainly it does. Your own opinion is, then, that some unforeseen catastrophe has occurred to him?"
   "Yes, sir. I believe that he foresaw some danger, or else he would not have talked so. And then I think that what he foresaw happened."
   "But you have no notion as to what it could have been?"
   "None."
   "One more question. How did your mother take the matter?"
   "She was angry, and said that I was never to speak of the matter again."
   "And your father? Did you tell him?"
   "Yes; and he seemed to think, with me, that something had happened, and that I should hear of Hosmer again. As he said, what interest could anyone have in bringing me to the doors of the church, and then leaving me? Now, if he had borrowed my money, or if he had married me and got my money settled on him, there might be some reason, but Hosmer was very independent about money and never would look at a shilling of mine. And yet, what could have happened? And why could he not write? Oh, it drives me half-mad to think of it, and I can't sleep a wink at night." She pulled a little handkerchief out of her muff and began to sob heavily into it.
   "I shall glance into the case for you," said Holmes, rising, "and I have no doubt that we shall reach some definite result. Let the weight of the matter rest upon me now, and do not let your mind dwell upon it further. Above all, try to let Mr. Hosmer Angel vanish from your memory, as he has done from your life."
   "Then you don't think I'll see him again?"
   "I fear not."
   "Then what has happened to him?"
   "You will leave that question in my hands. I should like an accurate description of him and any letters of his which you can spare."
   "I advertised for him in last Saturday's Chronicle," said she. "Here is the slip and here are four letters from him."
   "Thank you. And your address?"
   "No. 31 Lyon Place, Camberwell."
   "Mr. Angel's address you never had, I understand. Where is your father's place of business?"
   "He travels for Westhouse & Marbank, the great claret importers of Fenchurch Street."
   "Thank you. You have made your statement very clearly. You will leave the papers here, and remember the advice which I have given you. Let the whole incident be a sealed book, and do not allow it to affect your life."
   "You are very kind, Mr. Holmes, but I cannot do that. I shall be true to Hosmer. He shall find me ready when he comes back."
   For all the preposterous hat and the vacuous face, there was something noble in the simple faith of our visitor which compelled our respect. She laid her little bundle of papers upon the table and went her way, with a promise to come again whenever she might be summoned.
   Sherlock Holmes sat silent for a few minutes with his fingertips still pressed together, his legs stretched out in front of him, and his gaze directed upward to the ceiling. Then he took down from the rack the old and oily clay pipe, which was to him as a counsellor, and, having lit it, he leaned back in his chair, with the thick blue cloud-wreaths spinning up from him, and a look of infinite languor in his face.
   "Quite an interesting study, that maiden," he observed. "I found her more interesting than her little problem, which, by the way, is rather a trite one. You will find parallel cases, if you consult my index, in Andover in '77, and there was something of the sort at The Hague last year. Old as is the idea, however, there were one or two details which were new to me. But the maiden herself was most instructive."
   "You appeared to read a good deal upon her which was quite invisible to me," I remarked.
   "Not invisible but unnoticed, Watson. You did not know where to look, and so you missed all that was important. I can never bring you to realise the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of thumb-nails, or the great issues that may hang from a boot-lace. Now, what did you gather from that woman's appearance? Describe it."
   "Well, she had a slate-coloured, broad-brimmed straw hat, with a feather of a brickish red. Her jacket was black, with black beads sewn upon it, and a fringe of little black jet ornaments. Her dress was brown, rather darker than coffee colour, with a little purple plush at the neck and sleeves. Her gloves were greyish and were worn through at the right forefinger. Her boots I didn't observe. She had small round, hanging gold earrings, and a general air of being fairly well-to-do in a vulgar, comfortable, easy-going way."
   Sherlock Holmes clapped his hands softly together and chuckled.
   "'Pon my word, Watson, you are coming along wonderfully. You have really done very well indeed. It is true that you have missed everything of importance, but you have hit upon the method, and you have a quick eye for colour. Never trust to general impressions, my boy, but concentrate yourself upon details. My first glance is always at a woman's sleeve. In a man it is perhaps better first to take the knee of the trouser. As you observe, this woman had plush upon her sleeves, which is a most useful material for showing traces. The double line a little above the wrist, where the typewritist presses against the table, was beautifully defined. The sewing-machine, of the hand type, leaves a similar mark, but only on the left arm, and on the side of it farthest from the thumb, instead of being right across the broadest part, as this was. I then glanced at her face, and, observing the dint of a pince-nez at either side of her nose, I ventured a remark upon short sight and typewriting, which seemed to surprise her."
   "It surprised me."
   "But, surely, it was obvious. I was then much surprised and interested on glancing down to observe that, though the boots which she was wearing were not unlike each other, they were really odd ones; the one having a slightly decorated toe-cap, and the other a plain one. One was buttoned only in the two lower buttons out of five, and the other at the first, third, and fifth. Now, when you see that a young lady, otherwise neatly dressed, has come away from home with odd boots, half-buttoned, it is no great deduction to say that she came away in a hurry."
   "And what else?" I asked, keenly interested, as I always was, by my friend's incisive reasoning.
   "I noted, in passing, that she had written a note before leaving home but after being fully dressed. You observed that her right glove was torn at the forefinger, but you did not apparently see that both glove and finger were stained with violet ink. She had written in a hurry and dipped her pen too deep. It must have been this morning, or the mark would not remain clear upon the finger. All this is amusing, though rather elementary, but I must go back to business, Watson. Would you mind reading me the advertised description of Mr. Hosmer Angel?"
   I held the little printed slip to the light.
   "Missing," it said, "on the morning of the fourteenth, a gentleman named Hosmer Angel. About five ft. seven in. in height; strongly built, sallow complexion, black hair, a little bald in the centre, bushy, black side-whiskers and moustache; tinted glasses, slight infirmity of speech. Was dressed, when last seen, in black frock-coat faced with silk, black waistcoat, gold Albert chain, and grey Harris tweed trousers, with brown gaiters over elastic-sided boots. Known to have been employed in an office in Leadenhall Street. Anybody bringing--"
   "That will do," said Holmes. "As to the letters," he continued, glancing over them, "they are very commonplace. Absolutely no clue in them to Mr. Angel, save that he quotes Balzac once. There is one remarkable point, however, which will no doubt strike you."
   "They are typewritten," I remarked.
   "Not only that, but the signature is typewritten. Look at the neat little 'Hosmer Angel' at the bottom. There is a date, you see, but no superscription except Leadenhall Street, which is rather vague. The point about the signature is very suggestive --in fact, we may call it conclusive."
   "Of what?"
   "My dear fellow, is it possible you do not see how strongly it bears upon the case?"
   "I cannot say that I do unless it were that he wished to be able to deny his signature if an action for breach of promise were instituted."
   "No, that was not the point. However, I shall write two letters, which should settle the matter. One is to a firm in the City, the other is to the young lady's stepfather, Mr. Windibank, asking him whether he could meet us here at six o'clock tomorrow evening. It is just as well that we should do business with the male relatives. And now, Doctor, we can do nothing until the answers to those letters come, so we may put our little problem upon the shelf for the interim."
   I had had so many reasons to believe in my friend's subtle powers of reasoning and extraordinary energy in action that I felt that he must have some solid grounds for the assured and easy demeanour with which he treated the singular mystery which he had been called upon to fathom. Once only had I known him to fail, in the case of the King of Bohemia and of the Irene Adler photograph; but when I looked back to the weird business of the Sign of Four, and the extraordinary circumstances connected with the Study in Scarlet, I felt that it would be a strange tangle indeed which he could not unravel.
   I left him then, still puffing at his black clay pipe, with the conviction that when I came again on the next evening I would find that he held in his hands all the clues which would lead up to the identity of the disappearing bridegroom of Miss Mary Sutherland.
   A professional case of great gravity was engaging my own attention at the time, and the whole of next day I was busy at the bedside of the sufferer. It was not until close upon six o'clock that I found myself free and was able to spring into a hansom and drive to Baker Street, half afraid that I might be too late to assist at the dénouement of the little mystery. I found Sherlock Holmes alone, however, half asleep, with his long, thin form curled up in the recesses of his armchair. A formidable array of bottles and test-tubes, with the pungent cleanly smell of hydrochloric acid, told me that he had spent his day in the chemical work which was so dear to him.
   "Well, have you solved it?" I asked as I entered.
   "Yes. It was the bisulphate of baryta."
   "No, no, the mystery!" I cried.
   "Oh, that! I thought of the salt that I have been working upon. There was never any mystery in the matter, though, as I said yesterday, some of the details are of interest. The only drawback is that there is no law, I fear, that can touch the scoundrel."
   "Who was he, then, and what was his object in deserting Miss Sutherland?"
   The question was hardly out of my mouth, and Holmes had not yet opened his lips to reply, when we heard a heavy footfall in the passage and a tap at the door.
   "This is the girl's stepfather, Mr. James Windibank," said Holmes. "He has written to me to say that he would be here at six. Come in!"
   The man who entered was a sturdy, middle-sized fellow, some thirty years of age, clean-shaven, and sallow-skinned, with a bland, insinuating manner, and a pair of wonderfully sharp and penetrating grey eyes. He shot a questioning glance at each of us, placed his shiny top-hat upon the sideboard, and with a slight bow sidled down into the nearest chair.
   "Good-evening, Mr. James Windibank," said Holmes. "I think that this typewritten letter is from you, in which you made an appointment with me for six o'clock?"
   "Yes, sir. I am afraid that I am a little late, but I am not quite my own master, you know. I am sorry that Miss Sutherland has troubled you about this little matter, for I think it is far better not to wash linen of the sort in public. It was quite against my wishes that she came, but she is a very excitable, impulsive girl, as you may have noticed, and she is not easily controlled when she has made up her mind on a point. Of course, I did not mind you so much, as you are not connected with the official police, but it is not pleasant to have a family misfortune like this noised abroad. Besides, it is a useless expense, for how could you possibly find this Hosmer Angel?"
   "On the contrary," said Holmes quietly; "I have every reason to believe that I will succeed in discovering Mr. Hosmer Angel."
   Mr. Windibank gave a violent start and dropped his gloves. "I am delighted to hear it," he said.
   "It is a curious thing," remarked Holmes, "that a typewriter has really quite as much individuality as a man's handwriting. Unless they are quite new, no two of them write exactly alike. Some letters get more worn than others, and some wear only on one side. Now, you remark in this note of yours, Mr. Windibank, that in every case there is some little slurring over of the 'e,' and a slight defect in the tail of the 'r.' There are fourteen other characteristics, but those are the more obvious."
   "We do all our correspondence with this machine at the office, and no doubt it is a little worn," our visitor answered, glancing keenly at Holmes with his bright little eyes.
   "And now I will show you what is really a very interesting study, Mr. Windibank," Holmes continued. "I think of writing another little monograph some of these days on the typewriter and its relation to crime. It is a subject to which I have devoted some little attention. I have here four letters which purport to come from the missing man. They are all typewritten. In each case, not only are the 'e's' slurred and the 'r's' tailless, but you will observe, if you care to use my magnifying lens, that the fourteen other characteristics to which I have alluded are there as well."
   Mr. Windibank sprang out of his chair and picked up his hat. "I cannot waste time over this sort of fantastic talk, Mr. Holmes," he said. "If you can catch the man, catch him, and let me know when you have done it."
   "Certainly," said Holmes, stepping over and turning the key in the door. "I let you know, then, that I have caught him!"
   "What! where?" shouted Mr. Windibank, turning white to his lips and glancing about him like a rat in a trap.
   "Oh, it won't do--really it won't," said Holmes suavely. "There is no possible getting out of it, Mr. Windibank. It is quite too transparent, and it was a very bad compliment when you said that it was impossible for me to solve so simple a question. That's right! Sit down and let us talk it over."
   Our visitor collapsed into a chair, with a ghastly face and a glitter of moisture on his brow. "It--it's not actionable," he stammered.
   "I am very much afraid that it is not. But between ourselves, Windibank, it was as cruel and selfish and heartless a trick in a petty way as ever came before me. Now, let me just run over the course of events, and you will contradict me if I go wrong."
   The man sat huddled up in his chair, with his head sunk upon his breast, like one who is utterly crushed. Holmes stuck his feet up on the corner of the mantelpiece and, leaning back with his hands in his pockets, began talking, rather to himself, as it seemed, than to us.
   "The man married a woman very much older than himself for her money," said he, "and he enjoyed the use of the money of the daughter as long as she lived with them. It was a considerable sum, for people in their position, and the loss of it would have made a serious difference. It was worth an effort to preserve it. The daughter was of a good, amiable disposition, but affectionate and warm-hearted in her ways, so that it was evident that with her fair personal advantages, and her little income, she would not be allowed to remain single long. Now her marriage would mean, of course, the loss of a hundred a year, so what does her stepfather do to prevent it? He takes the obvious course of keeping her at home and forbidding her to seek the company of people of her own age. But soon he found that that would not answer forever. She became restive, insisted upon her rights, and finally announced her positive intention of going to a certain ball. What does her clever stepfather do then? He conceives an idea more creditable to his head than to his heart. With the connivance and assistance of his wife he disguised himself, covered those keen eyes with tinted glasses, masked the face with a moustache and a pair of bushy whiskers, sunk that clear voice into an insinuating whisper, and doubly secure on account of the girl's short sight, he appears as Mr. Hosmer Angel, and keeps off other lovers by making love himself."
   "It was only a joke at first," groaned our visitor. "We never thought that she would have been so carried away."
   "Very likely not. However that may be, the young lady was very decidedly carried away, and, having quite made up her mind that her stepfather was in France, the suspicion of treachery never for an instant entered her mind. She was flattered by the gentleman's attentions, and the effect was increased by the loudly expressed admiration of her mother. Then Mr. Angel began to call, for it was obvious that the matter should be pushed as far as it would go if a real effect were to be produced. There were meetings, and an engagement, which would finally secure the girl's affections from turning towards anyone else. But the deception could not be kept up forever. These pretended journeys to France were rather cumbrous. The thing to do was clearly to bring the business to an end in such a dramatic manner that it would leave a permanent impression upon the young lady's mind and prevent her from looking upon any other suitor for some time to come. Hence those vows of fidelity exacted upon a Testament, and hence also the allusions to a possibility of something happening on the very morning of the wedding. James Windibank wished Miss Sutherland to be so bound to Hosmer Angel, and so uncertain as to his fate, that for ten years to come, at any rate, she would not listen to another man. As far as the church door he brought her, and then, as he could go no farther, he conveniently vanished away by the old trick of stepping in at one door of a four-wheeler and out at the other. I think that was the chain of events, Mr. Windibank!"
   Our visitor had recovered something of his assurance while Holmes had been talking, and he rose from his chair now with a cold sneer upon his pale face.
   "It may be so, or it may not, Mr. Holmes," said he, "but if you are so very sharp you ought to be sharp enough to know that it is you who are breaking the law now, and not me. I have done nothing actionable from the first, but as long as you keep that door locked you lay yourself open to an action for assault and illegal constraint."
   "The law cannot, as you say, touch you," said Holmes, unlocking and throwing open the door, "yet there never was a man who deserved punishment more. If the young lady has a brother or a friend, he ought to lay a whip across your shoulders. By Jove!" he continued, flushing up at the sight of the bitter sneer upon the man's face, "it is not part of my duties to my client, but here's a hunting crop handy, and I think I shall just treat myself to--" He took two swift steps to the whip, but before he could grasp it there was a wild clatter of steps upon the stairs, the heavy hall door banged, and from the window we could see Mr. James Windibank running at the top of his speed down the road.
   "There's a cold-blooded scoundrel!" said Holmes, laughing, as he threw himself down into his chair once more. "That fellow will rise from crime to crime until he does something very bad, and ends on a gallows. The case has, in some respects, been not entirely devoid of interest."
   "I cannot now entirely see all the steps of your reasoning," I remarked.
   "Well, of course it was obvious from the first that this Mr. Hosmer Angel must have some strong object for his curious conduct, and it was equally clear that the only man who really profited by the incident, as far as we could see, was the stepfather. Then the fact that the two men were never together, but that the one always appeared when the other was away, was suggestive. So were the tinted spectacles and the curious voice, which both hinted at a disguise, as did the bushy whiskers. My suspicions were all confirmed by his peculiar action in typewriting his signature, which, of course, inferred that his handwriting was so familiar to her that she would recognise even the smallest sample of it. You see all these isolated facts, together with many minor ones, all pointed in the same direction."
   "And how did you verify them?"
   "Having once spotted my man, it was easy to get corroboration. I knew the firm for which this man worked. Having taken the printed description. I eliminated everything from it which could be the result of a disguise--the whiskers, the glasses, the voice, and I sent it to the firm, with a request that they would inform me whether it answered to the description of any of their travellers. I had already noticed the peculiarities of the typewriter, and I wrote to the man himself at his business address asking him if he would come here. As I expected, his reply was typewritten and revealed the same trivial but characteristic defects. The same post brought me a letter from Westhouse & Marbank, of Fenchurch Street, to say that the description tallied in every respect with that of their employé, James Windibank. Voilà tout!"
   "And Miss Sutherland?"
   "If I tell her she will not believe me. You may remember the old Persian saying, 'There is danger for him who taketh the tiger cub, and danger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman.' There is as much sense in Hafiz as in Horace, and as much knowledge of the world."
shǒuyè>> wénxué>> 推理侦探>> 柯南道尔 Arthur Conan Doyle   英国 United Kingdom   温莎王朝   (1859年5月22日1930年7月7日)