"Yes, she got a copy after the fire."

"Have you met anyone who knew her in the United States?" "No."

"Or have you received a letter from there?" "No."

"Thank you, I need to think about this a little now. If this villa is still empty, it will be a little difficult for us. However, I think it is very likely that the residents inside were warned before you went in yesterday.

, therefore took shelter in advance, and now it is very likely that he has returned to the house. It is not very difficult for us to find out. I advise you to return to Norbury first, and then carefully observe the windows of the small villa. If you are sure that someone lives there

Inside, you don't need to force your way in, just send us a telegram. As long as we receive the telegram, we will rush to your place within an hour, and the truth of the matter will be clear soon."

"What if the villa is still vacant now?"

"If that's the case, I'll go there tomorrow and discuss it with you later. Goodbye! However, there is one thing. Before the matter is clarified, you'd better stop worrying."

"I don't think this is a good thing, Watson." Holmes said to me when he came back after sending Mr. Grant Munro to the door. "What do you think?"

"It's very difficult to do," I replied.

"By the way, if I'm not mistaken, there must be a fraud involved!" "Then, who is the one who committed the fraud?"

"Ah, who could it be but the one who lives in the only comfortable room, and hangs her wife's picture on the mantelpiece? Indeed, Watson, that dull face in the window is worthy of note, and I

No matter what, we must take care of this case."

"Have you made any inferences?"

"Yes, this is just a tentative inference, but if this inference proves to be wrong, it will inevitably surprise me. I think this woman's ex-husband lives in the small villa."

"Why do you think so?"

"Otherwise, how can we explain her behavior of being so panic-stricken and resolutely preventing her current husband from entering? According to my inference, the facts are basically like this: this woman got married in the United States, and her ex-husband had some kind of bad habit, or

She contracted some troublesome disease that made other people unwilling to contact or impaired her ability. She finally abandoned him, returned to England and changed her name, hoping to start a new life. What she showed her husband was a

It was just someone else's death certificate. Now that she had been married for three years, she felt that her situation was safe enough. But her traces were suddenly traced by her ex-husband, or in other words, a certain ** who was involved with the patient.

They found out. They wrote to the wife, threatening to expose her, so she asked for 100 pounds to try to get rid of them, but they still came. When the husband told his wife that there was a new tenant in the villa, she clearly tracked him.

Her people came. After her husband fell asleep, she ran out quietly, hoping to try to persuade them, but this time she failed. She went again early the next morning, but just as her husband said, when she came out

She happened to meet him. At this time, she had to promise not to go there again, but two days later, guided by a strong desire to get rid of such horrible neighbors, she made another attempt. This time, she brought them to her

She brought the photos she requested. She was meeting her ex-husband when the maid suddenly ran over and told the master that he had gone home. She knew her husband would definitely come to the villa, so she asked the people in the room to escape from the back door into the surrounding fir trees. Therefore.

, he didn’t see anyone in the house, it was an empty house. But if he goes there again tonight, it would be weird and the house is still empty. What do you think of my inference? "

"This is all speculation."

"But at least it is consistent with all the facts. If we find any new discrepancies, it will not be too late for us to reconsider. Until that friend gets a telegram from Norbury, we can only stay where we are."

However, we didn't wait too long before we finished our refreshments and received a telegram. The telegram said: "There are still people living in the villa, and I saw the face in the window. Please take the 7 o'clock train to meet you. All

The matter is waiting for you to come and handle it."

When we got off the train, he was already waiting on the platform. Under the station lights, he looked pale and worried, and his whole body was shaking.

"They are still there." He said, holding Holmes's sleeve tightly with his hand. "When I passed by the villa, I saw a light. We must solve it decisively and thoroughly now."

"What, then, are your plans?" asked Holmes, as we entered the dark tree-shaded path.

"I'm going to break in and see with my own eyes who is in the house. I hope you two can be witnesses."

"Your wife reminded you that it's best not to solve this mystery. Have you decided to take the risk?"

"Yes, I have made up my mind."

"Well, I think you are right. It is better to find out the truth than to be suspicious. We'd better go there right away. Of course, it is legally wrong for us to do this, but I think it is worth it.

.”

It was dark that night, so we came down from the road and turned onto a narrow path with hedges on both sides. It started to rain lightly. Mr. Grant Munro couldn't wait to run forward, and we followed him as closely as possible.

Walking with one foot shallow and one foot flat.

"That light belongs to my house." He pointed to the light flashing between the trees and whispered, "This is the villa I want to enter."

When he spoke, we had turned a corner on the path, and the house was very close. There was a yellow light on the ground in front of the door, indicating that the door was ajar, and a window upstairs was also very bright. We headed there

Looking over, I saw a dark shadow passing by the curtain.

"That's the monster!" Grant Munro shouted excitedly. "You can see with your own eyes that there is someone here. Now please come with me, and we will soon get to the bottom of everything."

As we approached the door, a woman suddenly walked out of the darkness and stood under the yellow light of the lamp. I couldn't see her face clearly in the dark, but I saw her raising her arms in a pleading manner.

attitude.

"For God's sake, don't do this! Jack," she shouted, "I expect you will definitely come tonight. My dear, please think carefully again! Trust me one last time, you will not

You will regret it.”

"Effie, I have believed you for too long," he shouted sharply. "Let me go! Get out of the way! I have to get in. My friends and I are going to settle this once and for all!" He pushed his wife aside.

With a push, we followed him and walked over. As soon as he opened the door, an old woman ran out and tried to stop her, but he pushed her away, and in a blink of an eye we were all upstairs. Grant

Munro ran to the lighted room, and we followed him in.

The bedroom was well decorated, warm and comfortable. There were two lit candles on the table and two on the mantelpiece. In a corner of the room, there seemed to be a little girl sitting bent over the table. We

As soon as she walked in the door, she turned her face away. She was wearing a red top and a pair of long white gloves. When she suddenly turned to us, I couldn't help but screamed in horror. Her face was very

The strange lead-grey color, the whole face was stiff and expressionless. In an instant, the mystery was solved. Holmes smiled and put his hand behind the little girl's ear, and a mask fell off her face.

It turned out that she was a charred little black girl. When she saw us stunned, she happily showed a row of white teeth. Seeing her funny look, I couldn't help laughing. But Grant Munro

He put a hand on his throat and stood there blankly looking at everything in front of him.

"Oh, my God!" he shouted. "How can this be?"

"Let me tell you what this is all about." His wife looked firm and proud, glanced at the people in the room, and said, "You forced me to tell you against my wishes, and now we must seek it.

A proper way. My ex-husband died in Atlanta, but our children are still alive."

"Your child?"

She took out a big silver box from her arms and said, "You've never seen it opened!"

"I don't think it can be opened!"

She clicked the spring lightly, and the lid of the box opened immediately, revealing a portrait of a man with a fresh and handsome face and a gentle demeanor, but his appearance was obviously of African descent.

"He is John Hebron of Atlanta." His wife said, "He is the noblest man in the world. In order to marry him, I broke off the relationship with people of my own kind, but when he was alive, I never

I have never regretted it. Unfortunately, our only child, unlike me, did not inherit the blood of his ancestors. As whites and blacks often intermarry, little Lucy is actually much darker than her father, but no matter whether she is black or white, she

They are all my dearest daughters and my mother's darlings." Having said this, the little girl ran forward and snuggled up to the woman's side. It was only because she was not in good health that a change of soil and water might not be good for her, so I

I entrusted her to the care of our former servant, a very loyal Scotswoman. I never thought of abandoning my child. But since I met you, Jack, and knew that I fell in love with you, I did not have the courage to tell you

I have a child, and I beg God to forgive me, because I was afraid of losing you, so I didn’t dare to tell you. I could only choose one of you. I was so cowardly that I finally gave up my child and chose you.

I have kept this matter secret from you for three years, but I often get information from the nanny that she is fine. However, I finally couldn't control my desire to see the child, although I always tried to suppress it.

This wish did not work at all. I was aware of the danger and was determined to have the child come, even if it was only for a few weeks. So I sent the nanny £100 and informed her that I had a small cottage nearby and she could come.

As my neighbor, I didn’t have to show up to contact her. I even told her not to let the child go outside during the day, and to cover the child’s face and hands. Even if someone saw her from the window, there would be no gossip.

Said that there was a little black man living in the neighbor's house. If I hadn't been too careful, I might have done something smarter, but because I was very worried about you seeing the truth, I was a little at a loss.

Someone was staying in this small villa. You were the first to tell me. I was supposed to wait until early morning, but I was so excited that I couldn't fall asleep because I thought you wouldn't usually be woken up, so I sneaked out quietly. I didn't expect that you would wake me up.

I found out, and my troubles began. You noticed my secret behavior the next day, but you forgave me and did not pursue it. Three days later, you broke in directly through the front door, but the nanny and the child escaped through the back door.

Went. The truth finally came out tonight. What are you going to do with me and the child? She clasped her hands and waited for a response.

After about 10 minutes, Grant Munro broke the silence first. His answer left me with a very pleasant memory. He picked up the little girl, kissed her, and then held the child in one hand.

Holding his wife's arm with one arm, he turned and walked toward the door.

"Why don't we go home first and then have a calm discussion!" He said, "Although I am not a saint, Effie, I think it will always be better than you imagine!"

Holmes and I also walked out of the path. At this time, Holmes pulled my sleeve.

"I think," he said, "we had better go back to London, where we would be more useful than staying in Norbury."

Throughout the night, Holmes never mentioned the case again, until finally he walked to the bedroom with a lit candle and said: "Watson, if in the future you feel that I am overconfident in my abilities, or that I have not worked hard enough in handling a case,

If that's not enough, please whisper 'Norbury' in my ear, and I will definitely be grateful."

【Legal Commentary】

In this story, first of all, we should express our appreciation for Effie's behavior of breaking through the barriers of racial discrimination for the sake of love. To have such courage in North America at the end of the 19th century was indeed beyond the capabilities of ordinary women. But after the death of her ex-husband, dealing with the children

There are some shortcomings in parenting.

my country's "Marriage Law" stipulates that after the death of one party to the marriage, the marriage relationship is automatically dissolved, then the child's custody issue should first be borne by the mother Effie. Article 36, paragraph 3, of the "Marriage Law" stipulates: After divorce, the breastfeeding period The principle is that the children who are still in the nursing period shall be raised by the nursing mother. If the two parties cannot reach an agreement due to disputes over the custody of the children after the nursing period, the people's court shall make a judgment based on the rights and interests of the children and the specific circumstances of both parties. Then in accordance with the "About the People's Article 1 of the "Several Specific Opinions of the Court on Handling Child Custody Issues in Divorce Cases" stipulates: Children under two years old generally live with their mother. If the mother has one of the following circumstances, she can live with her father: (1) Suffering from a disease that cannot be cured for a long time If the child is not suitable to live with the child due to infectious diseases or other serious diseases; (2) The child cannot fulfill the child support obligation due to the conditions for raising him, but the father requires the child to live with him; (3) Due to other reasons, the child is indeed unable to live with the mother. If there is a dispute over minor children over 10 years old living with their father and mother, the opinions of the children themselves should be taken into consideration. Paragraph 1 of Article 37 of the Marriage Law stipulates: "After divorce, for the children raised by one party, the other party shall bear the necessary expenses Part or all of the living expenses and education expenses, the amount of the expenses and the length of the period shall be agreed upon by both parties; if an agreement cannot be reached, the People's Court shall make a decision."

Paragraph 2 of Article 21 of the "Marriage Law" stipulates: "When parents fail to fulfill their child support obligations, children who are minors or cannot live independently have the right to require their parents to pay child support." When parents do not fulfill their child support obligations, they have the right to demand child support from their parents.

When children need support, they have the right to ask their parents to pay support, and may request the obligor's unit and relevant departments to mediate. If the parents still do not assume the obligation to support, minors and children who cannot live independently may file a petition with the People's Court

If a lawsuit is filed, the People's Court shall hear such cases. The People's Court shall first conduct mediation, and if the mediation fails, it shall make a judgment. If necessary, the People's Court may make a ruling first, and the obligor shall pay alimony in advance to protect minors and
Chapter completed!