The third person will only enter through the window. According to me, a thorough inspection of the room and the lawn is necessary before any clues left by the mysterious person can be discovered. You know my investigation methods, Hua

Sir, during the investigation of this case, I used almost all kinds of methods, and I finally found the traces, but they were completely different from what I expected. One person did come indoors. He walked across the road and across the lawn.

When I entered the house, I found a total of 5 clear footprints of the man: one on the roadside where he climbed over the low wall; two on the lawn; and the other two were less obvious, left behind when he climbed through the window and entered the room.

It was on the stained floor near the window. He had obviously run across the lawn, because the prints of his toes were shallow and the prints of his heels were much deeper. But what surprised me was not this person, but his companion.

.

"His companion!"

Holmes took a large piece of tissue paper from his pocket and spread it carefully on his knees.

"What do you think this is?" asked Holmes.

The paper shows the paw print of a small animal, with 5 very clear claw fingers, the claw tip is very long, and the entire mark is as big as a snack spoon.

"This is a dog's paw print," I said.

"A dog, have you ever heard of it climbing up the curtain? But on the curtain, I actually saw clear marks of this animal climbing up."

"Is that a monkey?"

"But these are not monkey paw prints."

"what is that?"

"Not a dog, not a cat, not a monkey, or anything else we are familiar with. I have tried hard to describe what this animal looks like based on the size of its paw prints. These four paw prints are from when it was standing still.

You see, the distance from front paw to hind paw is at least 15 inches. Add in the length of the head and neck, and you can almost deduce that this animal must be at least two feet long, and if it has a tail, it will be longer. However, now

Let's take a look at the other dimensions. This animal once walked, and we measured the length of one step. Each step was only about 3 inches. As you can easily understand, this animal has a long body but short legs. This

Although the animal has no hair left behind, its general shape must be like what I said. It can climb up the curtains, so it should be some kind of carnivore."

"How did you deduce that?"

"Since there was a canary's cage hanging on the window, it climbed up the curtain as if to catch the bird."

"So, what kind of beast is it?"

"Well, if I could name it, that would help a lot in solving the case. Generally speaking, it might be a weasel or something, but it's much bigger than the ones I've seen before."

"But how does this relate to this crime?"

"That's not clear yet. But we've learned quite a bit, don't you think? We've learned that the curtains were down, the lights were on, and that a man had been standing on the road and saw the Buckleys.

We also learned that he took a strange animal and ran across the lawn into the house. He may have hit the colonel, or he may have been frightened after the colonel found him and fell, and the colonel hit his head on the corner of the stove.

.Finally, we also learned a strange fact that the intruder took the key to the room with him when he left."

"These findings of yours seem to make things more confusing." I said.

"Yes, these circumstances do show that this case is much more complicated than initially thought. After thinking deeply about this matter, I decided to investigate this case from another aspect. Oh, Watson, I delayed your sleep. About

I will tell you the rest in detail on our way to Aldershot tomorrow."

"Thank you, you have reached the most mysterious point, which makes me want to stop."

That's right. When Mrs. Buckley left home at 7:30, her relationship with her husband was still very harmonious. I should have mentioned that although she was not very considerate and gentle, the coachman heard the tone of her voice when speaking to her husband.

It was still very harmonious. Now, there is no doubt that as soon as she returned home, she walked into the early morning sitting room where her husband could not be there. As any woman in a fluctuating mood often does, she gave the order

Someone prepared tea for her. Later, when the colonel suddenly came into the room to see her, she couldn't help but excitedly reproached her husband. Therefore, something must have happened between 7:30 and 9 o'clock.

, which completely changed her feelings for the colonel. But within this hour and a half, Miss Morrison had been with Mrs. Buckley. Therefore, although Miss Morrison did not admit it, she was sure that in fact she knew

Some facts about this matter.

At first I suspected that the young Miss Morrison might have a relationship with the old soldier, and she admitted it to the colonel's wife that night. This could explain why the colonel's wife returned home in a very bad mood, and it could also explain why the colonel's wife returned home in a very bad mood.

The speculation as to why the girl refused to tell what had happened was not entirely inconsistent with what the servant had heard. But Mrs. Buckley had spoken of David; and the Colonel's fidelity to his wife was known to all, so it was

It is inconsistent with my initial guess, not to mention the tragic intrusion of a third party. Naturally, this has nothing to do with the above guess. It is not easy to choose the right steps. However, overall, I

I am more accepting of the idea of ​​excluding an affair between the colonel and the young lady. However, I am more convinced that Miss Morrison must know why Mrs. Buckley hates her husband. My method is not complicated, it is to pay a visit.

Miss Morrison, tell her clearly that I firmly believe that she is an insider of the facts, and let her know that if this matter is not clarified, her friend Mrs. Buckley will be tried for the main crime.

Miss Morrison is small and elegant, with shy eyes and light yellow blond hair. She seems smart and witty. After I told her what happened, she sat in her chair quietly and pondered for a moment, and then turned to

I, in a serious manner, revealed something worthy of attention. I will briefly tell you about it now.

"I once promised my friend to keep this secret for her, and I have to keep it since I promised." Miss Morrison continued, but when faced with my poor friend being accused of such a serious crime, she herself

She is ill and unable to speak. If I can really help her, then I would rather give up my promise and tell you everything that happened on Monday night.

When we returned from the Watt Street Charity Meeting, it was about 8:45. On the way home, we had to pass through Hudson Street, which is a quiet avenue with only one streetlight on the left side of the street. When we walked

As we approached the street lamp, a man with a severe hunched back came towards us. He was carrying something like a small box on one of his shoulders. He looked like a cripple, because his upper body was very rickets.

His head was lowered very low, and his knees were bent when walking. When we passed by him, he raised his head to look at us under the reflection of the street lamp. As soon as he saw us, he stopped immediately and made an amazing sound at the same time.

Mrs. Buckley exclaimed with horror and pathos: "Oh God, it's Nancy!" At that time, Mrs. Buckley's face instantly turned pale. If she hadn't been supported by the scary-looking man in time, she would have fallen on the spot. I was going to shout.

Police, but to my surprise, Mrs. Buckley spoke very politely to the person in front of her.

Mrs. Buckley said tremblingly: "Oh, Henry! For these 30 years, I thought you were no longer alive."

'I am already dead.' This man said, his tone of voice was frightening, and his face was very gloomy and scary. I still often dream about his eyes at that time. His hair and beard were gray, and his cheeks were shrunken as if

shriveled fruit.

'My dear, I want to say a few words to this person. Please take a few steps first and don't be afraid.' She said to me, trying to be as relaxed as possible, but her face was still as pale as a death, and her lips were

He was shaking so much that he could hardly speak.

I followed her wishes and left first, and they talked for a few minutes in total. When she caught up with me again, I saw her eyes were burning, and the poor disabled man, I saw him standing next to the lamppost, angry.

Her clenched fists were dancing in the air like crazy. She didn't say a word during the whole journey. It wasn't until she reached the door of my house that she suddenly took my hand and begged me not to tell anyone what happened on the road.

'He is an old acquaintance of mine who is now down and out,' she said. I promised her to keep it secret for her, so she kissed me and we never saw each other again. Now I have told the whole truth.

I gave it to you. The reason why I didn't tell the police before was because I didn't know that my friend was in such danger. Now that I understand, I will tell the whole story, hoping that it will be beneficial to her.

Watson, this is what I learned from Miss Morrison. You can easily imagine that it was to me like a night traveler finally seeing a glimmer of light. Everything that had previously been irrelevant suddenly came back to life.

Their original faces and the whole process of this case seemed to have emerged before my eyes. My next step was, of course, to find the person who left an unusual impression on Mrs. Buckley. If this person has not left Orr

Deshot, this thing shouldn't be difficult to do. There are not many people living in this place, especially a disabled person who is more likely to attract people's attention. I spent a day looking for him. In the evening, Watson

, that is, this evening, I found this man. His name was Henry Wood, and he lived on the street where they met that night. He had only been here for five days. He was a juggler. Every day after dusk

, he would go around various private soldiers' clubs and perform several shows there. He often brought an animal with him, which was packed in that small box. The landlady seemed a little afraid of the animal.

, because it was the first time she had seen such an animal. The landlady said that he often played several tricks with this strange animal, which was what the landlady told me. She finally added that it was very difficult for a man who was so popular as he was.

It is incredible that a tortured person can survive. This person sometimes says some incomprehensible things, but in the past two nights, the landlady heard him crying quietly in the bedroom. He is not short of money, but he

What the landlady gave me when I paid the deposit seemed to be a silver florin. Watson, she showed it to me, and it was an Indian rupee.

My dear friend, now you can clearly see why I came to see you. It is obvious that after he broke up with the two women that night, he followed them from a distance. When he looked out the window and saw the colonel and his wife

quarreling, he suddenly broke in, and the little animal he packed in the small wooden box jumped out. These are all certain things. In the end, what happened in that room? Perhaps the only thing in the world

He can tell us.

"Are you going to ask him?"

"Of course. But I need a witness present."

"Then you want me to be a witness?"

"If you don't object, then of course it is. If he can explain the matter clearly, that would be the best. If he doesn't, then we have no other good way but to arrest him in advance."

"But how do you know that he will still be there when we get there?" I said.

"Don't worry, I have taken some measures. I hired a boy in Baker Street and told him to guard this man. No matter where he goes, he can't get rid of this boy. We will go to Hudson tomorrow

I found him on the street. Oh, Watson, if I delay your sleep any longer, then I will really be committing a crime."

We rushed to the place where the tragedy occurred at noon the next day, and under the guidance of Holmes, we immediately went to Hudson Street. Although Holmes's bad emotions were exposed, I could see at a glance that he was trying to suppress it.

My own excitement. I personally find it curious, fun, and exciting. This is something he and I experience every time when we investigate cases.

"That street has arrived." Holmes said as we walked into a short street. Both sides of the street were full of two-story brick buildings. Then he pointed in front of him and said, "Hey, Simpson is here to report."

"Mr. Holmes, he's in there." A street kid ran towards us and said loudly.

"You did a good job, Simpson!" Holmes patted the waif's head affectionately and said, "Watson, come quickly, this is the house." Holmes handed a business card in, indicating that he was here for something.

Excuse me. A few minutes later, we met the person we wanted to visit. Although the weather was very hot, this person was still huddled by the stove, and the whole hut was as hot as an oven. The person in front of us was hunched over, and his body was

He was huddled in the chair, which made him feel extremely ugly from a certain angle. But when he turned his face to us, I found that although this face was dark and thin, it must have been quite handsome in the past. His pair of yellow eyes

His eyes glared at us with confusion. He did not speak or stand up. He just pointed at two chairs and motioned for us to sit down.

"I think you must be Mr. Henry Wood who was in India!" Holmes said amiably. "We have come to disturb you because of the unfortunate death of Colonel Buckley."

"How can I know this?"

"That's what I hope to find out. I think you understand that if this matter is not cleared up, Mrs. Buckley, an old friend of yours, will basically be tried for murder."

When the man heard this, he was suddenly shocked.
To be continued...