I admit that the character of my friend Sherlock Holmes is simply a little different, and this often troubles me. Although his thinking methods are very sharp, he handles cases in an orderly manner, and his clothes are simple and neat, his living habits are completely different.

Zhang Li was an annoyance to those who lived with him. As for myself, I am not blameless in this regard. When I was in Afghanistan, the messy work and bohemian temperament had already made me

Quite careless, not what a doctor should look like at all. However, for me there is still a limit. When I witnessed a man put the cigarette into the pipe, put the tobacco leaves to the top of the Persian slippers, and used a big folding

I felt good about myself when I stabbed some unanswered letters with my knife in the middle of the wooden mantelpiece. Besides, I had always felt that pistol practice was an obvious outdoor pastime, but Holmes would sit in an armchair when the mood struck.

above, using his precious pistol and 100 rounds of ammunition, carrying forward the patriotism of Queen Victoria, and decorating the opposite wall with bullet marks. I thought that this would neither improve the atmosphere inside nor the appearance of the house.

Our rooms are often filled with chemicals and criminal relics, often placed in unexpected places, occasionally in butter dishes, or popping up in other places where no one even notices them. However, I

The biggest problem is his files. Holmes doesn't like to destroy files, especially those related to his previous cases. He will only concentrate on summarizing and processing those files once every two years. Because of this kind of energy, just like me in these

As mentioned in some places in the scattered memoirs, he could only be famous when he achieved outstanding achievements. But this enthusiasm will soon disappear, and then he will react very coldly.

For a while, he only kept company with the violin and books every day, and his range of activities was limited to the sofa to the table. Over time, bundles of his manuscript documents were piled up in every corner of the room, and he would definitely not burn them.

, and only he himself has the power to move them even an inch.

One winter night, as we were sitting around the fire, I suddenly suggested to him that after he had copied the summary into the memo, he would spend two hours tidying up the room and making the living environment more comfortable. He

There was no way to refuse this reasonable request, but with an unhappy face, he walked into the dormitory alone and came back a few minutes later, holding a large iron box in his hand. He placed the box in the middle of the floor and picked up a small stool.

, then I squatted in front of the big box and opened the lid. I found that one-third of the space inside the box was filled with documents, all of which were tied into small bundles with red ribbons.

"Watson, there are many cases stored here." Holmes looked at me and said, "I think if you knew what was in my box, you would ask me to take them all out instead of asking

I’ll put in what I haven’t put in.”

"So, these are all the records of your early cases?" I asked, "I have always wanted to take some notes on these cases!"

"Yes, Watson, these are all cases I handled before I became famous." Holmes carefully took out bundles of documents. "These are not all records of successful cases, my friend," he said, "but some of them are

There are quite a few that are very charming. This one is about the Tarleton Murders, this one is about the Vanberg Liquor Case, this one is The Adventures of the Old Russian Woman, and this one is about the Curious Case of the Aluminum Cane

records, the abominable case of lame Ricorit. And this one, oh, this is a somewhat novel case."

Holmes reached into the box and took out a small wooden box from the bottom of the box. The lid of the box could be moved, much like a children's toy box. From the box he took out a crumpled piece of paper and an old-fashioned copper key.

, a wooden peg wrapped in a ball of string, and three old rusty metal round plates.

"Hey, Watson, can you guess what these things are about?" Holmes asked with a smile on my face.

"These are some rare collectibles."

"Yes, they are very strange, but what happens around them will make you even more amazed!"

“So do these things have a history?”

"Not only do they have history, but they are history themselves." "What do you mean?"

My friend Holmes took them out one by one and arranged them in a line along the edge of the table. Then he sat back in his chair and looked at these items with a look of satisfaction in his eyes.

"These..." he said, "are all things I intentionally left as memories of the Masklev Ceremony."

I had heard him mention this case more than once, but I had never been able to understand the details. "If you would tell me about it in detail..." I said, "I would be very happy!"

"Then this clutter is just immobile?" Holmes loudly said calmly: Oh, your neatness is impossible again, Watson. But if this case can be added to your case record, I will

I am very happy. Because this case is not only rare in domestic criminal records, but I believe it is also very unique even abroad. It would be a great pity if I were to collect my insignificant achievements but miss this strange case.

Regarding the 'Gloria Scott' sailing ship incident, I think you have certainly not forgotten that I told you about the unfortunate man's life experience. My chat with him gave me the first idea of ​​​​a career.

problem, and then my life-long career became a consulting detective. Now I have become world-famous. Both the public and the police regard me as the highest court of appeal for difficult cases. Even at the beginning of your relationship with me,

When I was working on the case of "exploring the secret of scarlet letters" that you later wrote about, although my business was not very large at the time, I already had a lot of customers. However, it was so difficult for me at the beginning.

I think it is hard for you to imagine how long it took to achieve success.

I first came to London, the capital, and lived on Montague Street next to the British Museum. Since I had nothing to do, I devoted myself to studying various sciences to lay the foundation for future achievements. At that time, I was asked to solve crimes intermittently, usually mainly

Introduced by some of my old classmates. Since in the last few years of my college life, I and my thinking methods were often discussed by people, the third case I solved was the Masklev Ceremony case.

And it also gave me the first step towards the career I have today.

Reginald Masklev and I were students at the same school. We had met once. Because he looked very arrogant, he was not very popular with everyone. However, I always felt that his arrogance was actually trying to hide it.

He is shy in his bones. He has the appearance of a typical aristocratic child, with a tall and thin body, a tall nose, and big bright eyes. He speaks and does things in a leisurely and gentle manner. Of course, he is indeed a big man.

Descendants of the most traditional aristocratic family in England. But in the 16th century, their descendants, belonging to the second son, left the Muscliff family in the north and settled in western Sussex. The Hermitage

Alstone Manor is probably the oldest building still inhabited by people in the area. He was born in Sussex, and the environment there seems to have had a great impact on him. Every time I look at his pale face

And his clever face, or the unique posture of his head, can't help but be associated with those gray archways, mullioned windows and all the remains of the ancient castle. Once or twice, we chatted unconsciously

When I woke up, I still remember him repeatedly emphasizing that he was very interested in learning about my method of observation and reasoning.

We had not seen each other for four years, and one morning he came to see me on Montague Street. He had hardly changed, and he looked like an upper-class young man. He was already very particular about his clothes, and he still maintained his old unique style.

Quiet and elegant demeanor.

'Masklev, have you been well?' I asked after we shook hands warmly.

'You may have heard that my father passed away. Masklev said with a hint of sadness that it has been two years since he left. Since then, I naturally had to take over Helstone Manor. Since I am our

The councilors in that district are very busy because of this. But, Holmes, I heard that in actual life, your amazing skills have begun to be used?'

'That's right,' I said, 'I've started to make a living from this little cleverness!'

'I'm so glad to hear you say that, because your advice is very valuable to me at the moment. I have encountered many strange things in Helstone, and the police have not been able to find any clues. This is indeed the most unusual thing.

's unspeakable case.'

Watson, you can imagine how impatient I was when I heard him talk about the case. Since I had been idle for several months, the opportunity I had been eagerly awaiting finally came. In the bottom of my heart,

I believe that I can succeed where others have failed, and now I finally have a chance to try my hand at it.

‘Please tell me the details.’ I said loudly.

Masklev sat down opposite me and lit the cigarette I handed him.

'You should know.' He said, although I am single, there is no shortage of people around me. Helstone Manor has a lot of servants. Since it is a remote and messy old manor, it naturally needs a lot of people to take care of it.

I don't want to fire them either, and whenever it's pheasant hunting season, I often hold family dinners in the villa to keep my guests overnight. It's not possible to be short of manpower. I have a total of 8 maids, 2 male servants, and a cook.

There is one steward and one footman each; of course, there is another team for the garden and the stables.

My butler, Brenton, was the longest-serving servant. When he was first hired by my father, he was an unqualified elementary school teacher. But he was full of energy and personality, and soon gained the respect of the whole family. He

He is of medium stature, has a handsome face, and has a handsome forehead. Although he has been in my family for 20 years, he is still less than 40 years old. He has many advantages and outstanding talents. He can speak several languages ​​and can play almost every song.

It is indeed a bit incredible that he is willing to be a servant for a long time but is very satisfied with his musical instrument. But I think Brenton is content with the status quo and lacks enough energy to change anything. Indeed, as long as anyone who has visited our home

, all have deep memories of this housekeeper.

But Brenton also has flaws, that is, he is tainted with the style of Don Juan. It is not difficult to imagine that in a remote place, it would be easy for him to play the role of a libertine. During the period when he first got married, his performance was quite good.

Yes, but he has been in trouble ever since his wife died. A few months ago, he was engaged to Rachel Howells, the second-in-command of my estate.

We had hoped that he would regain some composure, but he soon abandoned Rachel for Janet Tregellis, the daughter of the head gamekeeper. Rachel was a very

A nice girl, but she has the excitable character of a Welsh person. She suffered from meningitis not long ago and could only walk yesterday. Compared with her before, she has become a sad ghost. This is what happened.

The first dramatic incident in Helstone is followed by the second dramatic incident, which makes us forget the first incident, this time caused by the fall from grace and dismissal of the butler Brenton.

The thing is this: yes, this person is very smart, but his intelligence is mistaken for his cleverness. Because his intelligence makes him too curious about other people's affairs. I really didn't expect that he would be so deeply attracted by curiosity, until something happened

It was an accidental incident that caught my attention.

As I said, this is a messy old manor. One day last week, to be precise, it was last Thursday night. After dinner, I foolishly drank a cup of strong coffee. As a result, I couldn't sleep for a long time.

I worked hard until 2 o'clock in the morning. I really felt that there was no possibility of falling asleep, so I got up from the bed, lit a candle, and prepared to continue reading an unfinished novel. However, I left the book in the billiard room.

inside, so I put on my pajamas and walked out of the bedroom to get them.

When I went to the billiard room, I had to go down a flight of stairs and then pass through a corridor, which at the end led to the library and gun storage room. Then I walked into the corridor and suddenly noticed a faint light coming from the open library door**

At that time, you can easily guess how surprised I was. Before going to bed, I personally turned off the lights in the library and closed the door. Of course, my first instinct was that a burglar had sneaked in.

In Helstone Manor, many trophies of ancient weapons were decorated on the walls of the corridor. I picked out a battle ax from among them, then dropped the candle, walked quietly through the corridor, and peeked into the door.

Staying in the library is actually the butler Brenton. He is sitting neatly on an easy chair, with a piece of paper that looks like a map spread out on his knees, holding his hand on his forehead, and is deep in thought.

.I stood there dumbfounded, secretly spying on his actions. There was a small lit candle beside the table. With the help of the candlelight, I saw him stand up from the chair and walk to the nearby writing desk.

He opened a locked drawer, took out a document from it, sat back to his previous seat, spread the document on the table against the candle, and began to study the contents on it with concentration. Seeing him flip through it so calmly

Our family's documents, I suddenly became angry, and I rushed forward. At this time, Brenton suddenly raised his head and found that it was me standing at the door. He jumped up, his face changed color with fright, and he hurriedly

He stuffed the chart-like document he had just explored into his arms.

I said: 'Wow! You are actually repaying the trust we have given you. You don't have to stay here tomorrow.'

He bowed in great frustration and slipped away from me without saying a word. The candle on the table was still lit, and I took a look with the help of the weak candlelight to see what document he had taken out of the desk. I had no idea at all.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be an insignificant document, just a copy of some questions and answers in a strange ancient ritual. This ritual was called the "Maskeleff Rite" and was a ritual exclusive to our family. It used to be

For hundreds of years, as long as we, members of the Masklev family, have grown up, we will perform this ritual. To put it bluntly, this is only a private matter related to our family, just like our personal heraldry.

It may be of some importance to archaeologists, but it really has no practical use.'

"Let's continue talking about that document now!" I said. 'If you think it is really necessary.' Masklev also replied with a slight hesitation, OK, I will continue to talk: I took the cloth

I locked the desk again with the key left by Renton, and was about to turn around and leave. Suddenly I saw that Brenton had returned and stood in front of me, which surprised me.

He was very excited and shouted with a trembling voice: "Master, Master Masklev, I can't lose this face. Master, although I have a humble status, I value face the most in this life. Losing this face is equivalent to killing me."

Master, if you want to end your life, you will be responsible for my death. I will do this. This is true. Master, if you never want to keep me after this happens, then for the sake of God

Please allow me to apply to you to leave within a month, as if I resigned voluntarily. Master Masklev, it is okay to resign, but it is absolutely unacceptable for me to be kicked out in front of all my acquaintances.

of.'

I replied: 'Brenton, you don't deserve to be taken care of at all. Your behavior is really bad. However, since you have been in our family for so long, I have no intention of making you embarrassed in public. But a month is too long, and you can't wait for a week.
To be continued...