One evening in winter, my companion Holmes and I were sitting around the fireplace. Holmes said: "Dear Watson, I have a few documents at hand that I think are worth your reading. These documents all involve the murder of the murderer.

The Strange Case of the Loria Scott's Barque. Old Mr. Trevor, the Sheriff, was frightened to death by reading these documents."

Holmes took out a small dark round paper tube from the drawer, untied the rope, and then handed me a piece of azure paper, which was a short note with scrawled handwriting. The content on it was:

ThesupplyofgameforLondonisgoingsteadilyup.HeadkeeperHudson,Webelieve,hasbeennowtoldtoreceiveallordersforfly-paperand-for-preservationofyourhen-pheasantslife.

(Literally it can be translated as: The supply of game in London is steadily increasing. We are convinced that now the Chief Custodian Hudson has followed the instructions to accept all flypaper orders and save the life of your pheasant.)

After reading this incomprehensible note, I raised my head and found that Holmes was observing my reaction, and even pursed his lips in laughter.

"You seem a little dazed, don't you?" he said.

"I really don't understand how such a short note can scare people to death. In my opinion, this content is just talking in sleep."

"Yes. But the actual situation is that after reading this short note, the strong old man fell down and died like a target hit by a pistol."

"This does arouse my curiosity." I said, "But why did you just say that I have a special reason to study this case?"

"This is the first case I have taken on!"

I have been trying to find a way to ask my friend Holmes, hoping that he can tell me what prompted him to initially decide to turn to criminal detective activities, but he has never been interested in telling me. At this time, he was leaning on the armchair.

He sat down, put the documents on his knees, lit the pipe, smoked for a while, and looked at the documents repeatedly.

"Have you never heard me talk about Victor Trevor?" he asked. Victor Trevor was the only friend I made during my two years in college. I was originally very poor at socializing, Watson, and always liked to be alone.

I stayed in my room with a sad face, practicing my thinking method, so I rarely interacted with my peers. In sports, except for fencing and boxing, I didn’t like other sports, and my learning method at that time

It was also completely different from other people. Therefore, there was no need for us to interact. The only person I met was Trevor. This was because his dog bit my ankle one morning when I went to the chapel.

Such an unexpected event made us get to know each other from then on.

Although the initial relationship was relatively dull, it was still unforgettable. I lay in bed for 10 days and Trevor often came to visit me. At first, he only chatted for a few minutes and then left, but our chat time soon extended until

Before the end of that semester, we had become good friends. He was energetic and full-blooded, which was in obvious contrast to me in many aspects, but we also had many similarities. When I discovered that he also liked to be alone like me,

Our relationship became even closer. Later he invited me to the village of Dunnishorpe in Norfolk, where his father lived. I gladly accepted the invitation and spent a month's holiday there.

Old Trevor was not only a landowner, but also a peace officer. He was rich and powerful. Dunnishorpe Village is a small village north of Longmire, located on the outskirts of Broad City. Trevor's residence

It is an old-fashioned oak beam and brick house with a large area. There is a road in front of the door, with lush lime trees on both sides, and there are many swamps around it. It is an ideal place for hunting ducks and a treasure land for fishing.

There is a small library, which is very exquisite. It is said that it was bought together with the house from the original owner. In addition, there is a cook with good cooking skills. So if you are still not satisfied with a month's vacation here,

, then he must be too picky.

In addition, old Trevor's wife has passed away, and my good friend is his only son. I heard that he once had a daughter, but she died of diphtheria on the way to Birmingham. I am very interested in old Trevor.

Although he does not have much knowledge, he has strong physical and mental strength. From the appearance, he has a strong body and a thick body. He knows very little book knowledge, but he has traveled far and wide to see the world, and he is familiar with what he sees and hears.

, can still be remembered freshly. He has a head of disheveled gray hair, a brown face that looks weathered, and a pair of blue eyes that are so sharp that they are almost ferocious. However, in the countryside, he is known for his charity and kindness. He was in the court

It was also widely said that he was being lenient when handling the case.

Not long after I arrived at his house, one evening, as we were sitting and drinking wine together after dinner, little Trevor suddenly mentioned my habits of observation and reasoning. I had summarized it as a method at that time, although it was still a method.

I didn't realize the impact it would have on me throughout my life. This old man obviously thought his son was too exaggerated and thought my skills were just some minor tricks.

'Well, Mr. Holmes,' he said with an amused smile, 'I am an excellent subject. Let's see if you can infer anything from me!'

'Perhaps I can't deduce much,' I replied, 'I presume you have been worried about being attacked over the past year.'

Hearing this, the smile hanging on the corner of the old man's mouth suddenly disappeared, and he stared at me with his eyes in surprise.

'Ah, that's true.' He said, 'You know, Victor.' The old man turned to his son and said, 'The group of people who came to the swamp to poach, they swore to kill them since they were driven away by us.

We, and Mr. Edward Hawley, were actually attacked. I have been on guard since then, but how did you learn about it?'

'You have a very beautiful cane,' I replied. 'I see from the words engraved on the cane that you bought it just one year ago. But you spent a lot of time chiseling the head of the cane.

The hole was filled with molten lead, turning it into a substantial weapon. I suppose that if you were not concerned about any danger, you would not need to take this precaution.'

‘What else?’ he asked with a smile.

'When you were young, you often participated in boxing.'

'That's right. How did you know? Is my nose a little crooked?'

'Of course not,' I said, 'it's your ears that reveal the information. Your ears are particularly flat and wide, which is the characteristic of a boxer.'

'What else?'

'The calluses on your hands reveal that you have done a lot of mining work.'

'I did make my fortune in the gold mines.'

'You have been to New Zealand.'

'That's quite right.'

'You've been to Japan.'

'Exactly right.'

'There was a person with whom you had an unusually close relationship, whose initials were J.A., but who you later tried your best to completely erase from your mind.'

At this time, old Mr. Trevor stood up slowly, staring at me with a pair of big round blue eyes showing a strange and almost crazy look, and then he fell forward and hit his face on the table.

On the hard nut shell, he immediately passed out.

Watson, you can definitely guess how shocked his son and I were at that time. However, he was not unconscious for long. When we were about to untie his collar and pour the cold water in the finger-washing cup towards his face,

While pouring the water, he suddenly took a breath and sat up.

'Oh, children,' he said, forcing a smile on his face, 'I hope you are not frightened. I look strong on the outside, but my heart is weak and I faint easily. I don't know how you deduced this, Mr. Holmes.

, but I feel that whether they are real detectives or fictitious detectives, they are just a bunch of kids here. Sir, you can definitely make this your lifelong career. You might as well remember me as a full-fledged detective.

What the old man who knows the world said.'

Watson, you know this. At that time, I only did inference as a hobby. The first thing that prompted me to think of making this hobby a lifelong career was the old man's advice and his great appreciation of my ability.

But at that time, my host's sudden illness made me feel very uneasy and I couldn't think about other things.

'I hope nothing I said hurt you in any way,' I said.

'Oh, you did touch my sore spot. But I really want to know, how did you know, and how much do you know?' He said in a half-joking tone, but the horror in his eyes still did not completely fade away.

.

'It's not difficult.' I said, 'We were in the boat that day, and you rolled up your sleeves to catch fish. I saw the word J.A. tattooed on your arm. The shape of the word was still clear, but the strokes were erased.

It was not clear after erasing, and there were still ink stains around the words, indicating that you tried hard to erase the handwriting later. Therefore, it can be inferred that you were originally familiar with these two abbreviations, but later you hoped to forget them.'

"Your eyesight is really amazing!" He breathed a sigh of relief and said: "You are absolutely right about this, but we don't need to talk about it. Among all ghosts, the most vicious ones are the ghosts of our old acquaintances. We

Let's go to the billiard room and smoke a cigarette in peace!'

Since that day, although old Trevor's attitude toward me was still very cordial, there was always a hint of doubt mixed with the cordiality. Even his son felt this. 'My dad was shocked by you.'

Trevor said, 'He can no longer understand what things you know and what things you don't know.' According to my observation, although old Trevor avoids showing his doubts, his inner doubts are very clear.

Intense, it was vaguely revealed in every gesture. I finally understood that his uneasiness was caused by me, so I decided to say goodbye to them. However, the day before I was about to leave, something that seemed not big happened.

, which later proved to be very important.

At that time, Trevor and his son and I were sitting on chairs on the lawn in the garden, basking in the sun and enjoying the scenery of Broad. A maid came over and reported that there was a man outside the door asking to see old Mr. Trevor.

'What's his name?' asked old Trevor.

'He didn't say.'

'So, what does he want to do?'

'He said you two knew each other and he just wanted to have a chat with you.'

'Okay, you invite him here.' Soon a thin, haggard and wretched looking guy walked in. This man was dragging his feet, wearing an open jacket, and there was an obvious tar stain on the cuffs.

Wearing a red plaid shirt, cotton trousers underneath, and a pair of very worn boots. His thin brown face revealed a cunning look. He was always smiling, revealing a row of jagged

Uneven yellow teeth. His hands were covered with wrinkles and were half clenched into fists. It could be seen that it was a common posture among sailors. When he walked across the lawn listlessly towards us, I heard clearly

When old Trevor made a sound like a hiccup in his throat, he jumped out of his chair and hurried into the house. Within a few seconds, he ran back again. When he passed me,

I smelled an unusually strong smell of brandy.

'Hi, friend!' he said, 'what do you want from me?'

The sailor stood there, staring at old Trevor in confusion, still grinning.

'Don't you remember me?' asked the sailor.

'Oh, ah, you must be Hudson.' Old Trevor said in surprise.

'Yes, I am Hudson, sir.' The sailor said, 'Hi, it has been more than 30 years since we last met. Now, you are enjoying life in your home, but I am still struggling.

In distress.'

'Oh, you should know that I have not forgotten the past days.' Old Trevor said loudly, and at the same time he walked towards the sailor, whispered a few words, and then said loudly: "Please go to the kitchen first.

Come on, have something to eat or drink, and I promise to help you arrange a place."

'Thank you, sir!' the sailor said, brushing his forehead. 'I just got off a tramp cargo ship with a speed of 8 knots. I worked on that ship for two years and was short of manpower, so I was very
To be continued...