At 3 o'clock in the morning, the detective chief of Sussex received an urgent telegram from Birlstone. He took a light horse carriage from the headquarters and rushed there. The horse was panting from exhaustion. He passed the 5:40 am train.

We sent the report to Scotland Yard, and at 12 noon, he was already waiting for us at Birlstone train station. Detective White Mason has a gentle temperament, a calm face, wearing a loose tweed jacket, and a rosy face.

, his body is slightly fat, his legs are slightly bent inward, but he is strong and powerful, and his high buttoned boots make him look more energetic. Overall, he looks like either a short farmer or a hunter who has reached retirement age.

Guard, you could say he looked like anything, but he just didn't look like the local detective.

"Mr. Macdonald, this is an unusual case," the detective said over and over again. "If those people in the press find out about this, they will come to them like flies to an egg. I hope we can get there before they can."

Let's get the work done before these busybodies come and mess everything up. In my mind, this has never happened before. Mr. Holmes, there must be something that piques your interest.

, I must be right! Ah, and you, Dr. Watson, you will definitely have to provide some advice until we finally finish. You will be staying at the Westerville Amazing Hotel and nowhere else.

It is said that the house is quite nice and clean, and the servants will help you carry your luggage. Gentlemen, please come with me!"

Detective White Mason was lively and kind. It only took 10 minutes for us to arrive at the place where we were staying. As soon as we sat down in the lounge of the small hotel, we began to discuss the situation of the case. The situation can be seen in the previous description of Mike.

Donner recorded something from time to time, while Holmes listened carefully with an expression of surprise and admiration, like a plant expert carefully appreciating rare flowers.

"It's incredible!" Holmes exclaimed after listening to the introduction of the case. "It's so strange! I have never encountered a stranger case than this!"

"I had guessed you were going to say that, Mr. Holmes!" said Mr. White Mason happily. "We have caught up. Between 3 and 4 o'clock this morning, I learned from Sergeant Wilson.

I have told you all the circumstances. I rushed here with all my strength! Alas, there is no need to rush like this, because when I got here, there was nothing I could do immediately. Officer Wilson had everything under control, and I carried out

After checking and researching, I added a little bit of my own opinions.”

"What is your own opinion?" Holmes looked very anxious.

"That's right, first of all, I checked the hammer carefully. Dr. Wood also helped me, and there was no trace of violence on it. At first, I thought maybe Mr. Douglas had used this hammer in self-defense.

, so that he might leave marks on the hammer and then discard it on the carpet, but the hammer would be clean and there would be no traces."

"Of course, that doesn't mean much," said Sergeant McDonald. "There are quite a few hammer homicides that leave no trace."

It is true, so this does not mean that this hammer has not been used. But if there are any traces, it will be useful. In fact, I found nothing. Then I checked the musket. This is a musket with large lead bullets, just like

Officer Wilson said that the triggers were tied together, and as long as the rear one was pulled, the two musket barrels would fire bullets at the same time. Whoever did this must have been determined and ruthless. The gun was cut off

It is no longer than 2 feet long. It is very easy to hide it in a coat. Although the name of the manufacturer is not engraved on the musket, the groove between the two barrels is also engraved with "PEN"

"Three letters, the other letters should have been sawed off directly. Officer Wilson said.

"The capital letter P is in cursive style. Are the other two capital letters smaller?" Holmes asked.

"exactly!"

"That's right. The manufacturer of this weapon is a company in Pennsylvania that specializes in manufacturing small arms and is very famous in the United States."

White Mason stared at Holmes like a barefoot country doctor looking at a specialist from a big city hospital, and a single word could clear away the clouds of all his difficult questions.

"Mr. Holmes, you are so right, I can't believe it! Can you remember the names of all the arms manufacturing factories in the world?"

Holmes waved his hand, not wanting to continue the topic.

The detective continued: "This is obviously an American musket." "There seems to be records in the book that truncated muskets are used as weapons in some areas of the Americas. Regardless of the name on the gun, there are signs that the person who broke into the house and committed the murder was

Appears to be an American."

Officer McDonald shook his head and said: "Brother, don't think too much, there is no evidence that anyone has been to this manor yet!"

"Then what do the open windows, the bloody shoe prints on the windowsill, the weird business card, the boot prints in the corner, and the musket mean?"

"All of this can be faked. Mr. Douglas is an American. It may be said that he has stayed in the United States for a long time, and so is Mr. Buck. There is no need to bring in a strange American from outside the home to explain these American traces."

"But Butler Ames..." "What's wrong? Is he reliable?"

"Quite reliable. He stayed with Sir Charles Chandos for ten years. Later, when Douglas bought the estate five years ago, he came over. He said he had never seen such a gun in the estate before.

.”

"But this musket has been modified to be so easy to hide. The barrel was cut off just for this purpose. It can be put into any box. How can he guarantee that there is no such gun in the manor?"

"But he did promise that he had never seen it!"

Inspector Macdonald, a stubborn Scotland Yard man, shook his head.

"Anyway, I don't believe that anyone from outside has been here. I suggest you think again." Once the argument failed, Macdonald's Aberdeen accent became thicker and he said: "As you said, let's say this gun is imported.

Damn, everything is done by outsiders, so please think again about the impact of such a hypothesis! Oh my god, man, how can people believe it! This is completely contrary to common sense! Mr. Holmes, I

If you have any questions about this, please help us make a judgment!"

"Then, Mr. Mac, you might as well tell me your reasons." Holmes said fairly.

"If there is a murderer, then he is definitely not a thief. The wedding ring and the card show that this is a premeditated murder out of personal grudges. So now, a person sneaks into the house and attempts to murder. If he

He still has some brains. He must know that it is very difficult to escape. There is water all around the house, so what should he do now? What kind of weapon is easy to use? It must be a weapon with minimal noise.

This way he can immediately jump over the window, cross the moat and leave calmly after doing this, which is understandable! And if he shoots so loudly, the entire manor will soon run over and before he crosses the river

We can find him and catch him, isn't that so, Mr. Holmes?"

"Very well, your reasons are very good." My friend Holmes replied thoughtfully, "To prove these indeed requires a lot of reasons. So, Mr. White Mason, did you go to the other side of the moat immediately to check

Are there any traces of someone swimming ashore?"

"Mr. Holmes, there is nothing over there. Because the opposite bank is full of rocks, it is very difficult to find traces."

"No footprints or handprints at all?" "Not at all!"

"Haha, in this case, Mr. Mason, you should agree that we go to the manor immediately, right? There may be some small clues that can enlighten us!"

"Mr. Holmes, this was originally my suggestion, but I think it's best for us to understand all the details before going, otherwise, if there is anything that is not polite to you..." White Mason looked at him hesitantly.

explain.

"Mr. Holmes worked with me," said Inspector Macdonald. "He is a decent man with nothing to hide."

Holmes laughed and said: "My personal understanding of this job is that the purpose of participating in the case is to achieve justice and help the police. If I don't cooperate with the authorities, it must be their problem. I never think about fighting.

Merit or something. Also, Mr. Mason, I have the right to think about the case in my own way throughout the entire process, and hand over my answers at the right time - I think at the right time, from beginning to end, not at a certain period of the case.

"

"I believe in you. It is our honor to ask you to participate in the investigation. We will not have any reservations!" White Mason said enthusiastically, "Also, Dr. Watson, we will also ask you to come with us. We will

I also want to appear in your work!"

Walking along the antique country street, elm trees with their treetops cut off are planted on both sides. A little further away is a pair of ancient stone pillars, which have faded slightly due to long-term exposure to wind and sun.

Mottled and covered with moss. The objects on the top of the stone pillars have lost their original shape. In the past, they used to be two stone lions standing on the back feet of Birlstone. Walking along the winding driveway for a while, the surroundings are surrounded by grass and grass.

Oak trees, this is a scene that can only be seen in the British countryside. Then a sharp turn reveals a long and low Jacobean villa. The bricks have turned dark brown, and next to it is an old-fashioned garden.

, with neatly trimmed yew trees on both sides. When we walked to the front of the manor, we saw a beautiful and magnificent moat and a wooden suspension bridge. The river reflected the winter sunshine and shimmered like a mercury mirror.

The manor has gone through 300 years since it was built, reflecting the vicissitudes of life, the joys and sorrows of many generations. The strange thing is that because of the long history, the harbingers of evil can be seen on these ancient walls.

.The weird and high roof, the weird protruding gables, everything seemed to be covering up a gloomy and horrific crime. Those dark windows, the gloomy scenery in front of me, and the washing of the water all made me feel that there was nothing more suitable for this to happen.

A tragic place.

"That's the window," Mason said. "It's on the right side of the drawbridge. It's open just as it was when we found it last night."

"It's not wide enough for a person to fit in easily!"

"Perhaps it is a thin man. Your reasoning is of no use to us, Mr. Holmes. We can squeeze through."

Holmes walked towards the moat, looked across, and examined the raised stone bank and the edge of the grass behind.

"No need to look, Detective Holmes," Mason said. "There's nothing there. There's no trace of anyone coming ashore. Why would he leave any traces, right?"

"Yes, he doesn't need it. Well...is the water in the moat so turbid?"

"This is generally the case. When the river flows down, it will bring in sediment."

"How deep is the river?"

"It's about three feet deep in the middle, and two feet deep on the sides."

"Then obviously no one will drown in here." "Not even a child will drown."

We crossed the suspension bridge, and a strange-looking and frighteningly thin servant came to greet us. He was Butler Ames. The old man was extremely frightened. His face was pale and his whole body was still shaking slightly. We saw

When we arrived, Country Constable Wilson was a tall man who looked cautious and worried. He was still at the crime scene, but Dr. Wood had already left.

"Officer, did you find anything new?" Detective Mason asked. "Nothing."

"Okay, then you go back first. Thank you for your hard work. If necessary, we will send someone to fetch you. It is best for the housekeeper not to come in and let him inform Mr. Cecil Barker, the housekeeper and Mrs. Douglas. We are still

I have something to ask. Gentlemen, please let me tell you my opinion now, and then you can refer to it to draw your conclusions."

This rural detective left a deep impression on me. He has a solid grasp of the details of the facts, a calm and clear mind, and a lot of common sense. With these, he will definitely be able to achieve certain results in his profession.

, and Holmes listened to his remarks very carefully, completely unlike the official commentator, who showed impatience from time to time.

"First of all, the first question is, we must know whether this case is a suicide or a homicide, right? If it is a suicide, then we must believe that the deceased wanted to take off the wedding ring at the beginning, walk to the scene in pajamas, and leave

He went to the corner behind the curtain and stepped on shoe prints to give people the illusion that someone had been waiting for him here. Then he had to open the window and get the blood on it..."

"It's absolutely impossible, we don't think so," said Officer McDonald.

"So obviously, this cannot be a suicide, it must be a homicide. The next thing we need to know is, is the murderer an outsider or an insider?"
To be continued...