Артур Дойл - Приключения Шерлока Холмса / The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (сборник)

“Whom do you suspect?” he asked.

“I’ll tell you later. There are several points in this problem which I haven’t explained to you yet. But I think it will be better if we wait a bit, and then I’ll explain everything.”

“As you wish, Mr. Holmes, but we must catch the murderer.”

“I don’t want to make mysteries, but it is impossible at the moment to start long and difficult explanations. I have the threads of this affair all in my hand[134]. Even if this lady should never recover we can still reconstruct the events of last night. First of all I’d like to know whether there is a hotel in this neighbourhood, called ‘Elrige’s’?”

We asked the servants, but none of them had heard of such a place. Only the stable-boy remembered that a farmer of that name lived some miles in the direction of East Ruston.

“Is it a lonely farm?”

“Very lonely, sir.”

“Perhaps they have not heard yet of all that happened here during the night?”

“Maybe not, sir.”

Holmes thought for a little and then he suddenly smiled.

“Saddle a horse, boy,” he said. “Take a note to Elrige’s Farm.”

He took out from his pocket all the pieces of paper with the dancing men. He worked with them for some time at the table. Finally he gave a note to the boy. He said to put it into the hands of the person to whom it was addressed, and especially not to answer any questions. I saw the note – it was addressed to Mr. Abe Slaney, Elrige’s Farm, East Ruston, Norfolk.

“I think, inspector,” Holmes said, “if my calculations are correct, you should telegraph for an escort. We may catch a very dangerous prisoner. The boy who takes this note could help with your telegram. If there is an afternoon train to town, Watson, I think we should take it, because I have to finish my chemical analysis, and this investigation comes to an end.”

When the boy with the note left, Sherlock Holmes gave some instructions to the servants. If any visitor came to Mrs. Cubitt, they shouldn’t tell him anything about what had happened. And he should be led right to the living-room. He said it was very important. Finally he seated in the living-room and said that we must wait until we could see what would happen. The doctor left to his patients, and only the inspector and I remained.

“I think that now I can help you to spend this hour in an interesting way,” said Holmes. He came up to the table and spread out in front of him the various papers on which were drawn the dancing men.

“As to you, my friend Watson, I should finally satisfy your curiosity. To you, inspector, the whole story may seem remarkable. I must tell you how I met Mr. Hilton Cubitt in Baker Street.” He shortly told the facts which have already been mentioned.

“So who knew that these childish symbols could lead to such a tragedy! I know all forms of secret writings and I am the author of some, by the way[135]. But this is new to me. The man who invented this one, tried to conceal that these symbols could have a meaning and presented them as drawings of children.”

“However, when I understood that the symbols stood for the letters, the solution was easy enough. The first message was so short that it was impossible for me to read it. But I guessed that the symbol

meant E. As all we know, E is the most common letter in the English alphabet, and even in a short sentence we could find it most often[136]. There were fifteen symbols in the first message, four were the same. So it was reasonable to mark them as E. In some cases the figure was with a flag in his hands and in some cases not. And I came to an idea that the flags were used to break the sentence up into words.”

“And that’s it. It would be an endless task to try all the letters until the message was meaningful. That’s why I waited for fresh material. In my second interview with Mr. Hilton Cubitt he gave me two other short sentences and one message, which was (there was no flag) a single word. Here are the symbols. Now, in the single word I have already got the two E’s: the second and the fourth letter in a word of five letters. It might be ‘sever’, or ‘lever’ or… ‘never’. There is no doubt[137] the latter as a reply is the most probable. And we can assume that it was a reply written by the lady. Now we can say that these symbols mean N, V and R.”

“Even now I was in some difficulty[138], but suddenly it occurred to me[139] that if this person, who drew these dancing men, had been close with the lady in her past, a combination which contained two E’s with three letters between might mean the name ‘ELSIE’. It was certainly some appeal to ‘Elsie’. In this way I had got my L, S, and I. But what appeal could it be? There were only four letters in the word before ‘Elsie,’ and it ended in E. Surely the word must be ‘COME. ‘ I tried all other words ending in E, but ‘COME’ was the most appropriate. So now I had C, O, and M. And I started reading the first message once more. It was like this:

M.ERE..E SL.NE.

“Now the first letter can only be A, which repeats three times in this short sentence. And the H is also obvious in the second word. Now it becomes:

AM HERE A.E SLANE.

Or, if we fill the rest in the name:

AM HERE ABE SLANEY.

I had so many letters now that I could read the second message, which was:

A. ELRI.ES.

Here I could only put T and G for the missing letters. I thought it was the name of some house or hotel at which the man was staying[140].”

Inspector Martin and I had listened with interest to the full story how our friend managed to solve this riddle of the dancing men.

“What did you do then, sir?” asked the inspector.

“I guessed that this Slaney was an American, because Abe is an American name, and because a letter from America gave a start of all the trouble. I was sure that there was some criminal secret here. The way the lady spoke about her past helped me to think so. I called my friend from New York, Wilson Hargreave, policeman. I asked him whether the name of Abe Slaney was known to him. Here is his reply: ‘The most dangerous cheater in Chicago’. That evening Hilton Cubitt sent me the last message from Slaney. It took this form:

ELSIE.RE.ARE TO MEET THY[141] GO.

I completed the message with a P and a D which showed me that this man was now threatening. I at once came to Norfolk with my friend and colleague, Dr. Watson, but, unfortunately, the worst had already happened.”

“It is great to work with you, Mr. Holmes,” said the inspector, warmly. “You will excuse me, however, if I speak frankly to you. I’m responsible for this case. If this Abe Slaney is really the murderer and if he has escaped while I’m sitting here, I’ll get into serious trouble[142].”

“Don’t worry. He will not escape.”

“How do you know?”

“To escape would be a confession of guilt.”

“Then let us go to arrest him.”

“No, we expect him here every minute.”

“But why should he come?”

“Because I have written to him and asked him.”

“But this is incredible, Mr. Holmes! Why should he come because you have asked him? Isn’t it suspicious?”

“I think I have written the letter correctly,” said Sherlock Holmes. “In fact, if I am not mistaken[143], here he comes.”

A man was walking up the path which led to the door. He was very tall and handsome, dressed in a grey suit, with a Panama hat. He had a black beard and a great hooked nose. He walked up the path with the face as if the place belonged to him. We heard a ring at the bell.

“I think, gentlemen,” said Holmes, quietly, “that we had better take up our position behind the door. It is necessary to take every precaution[144] when you deal with such a person. You will need your handcuffs, inspector. I will talk.”

We waited in silence for a minute… one of those minutes which one can never forget. Then the door opened and the man stepped in.

Exercises

1. Was Inspector Martin happy to work with Mr. Holmes?

1) Yes, he was, it was great to work with him.

2) Yes, he was but at first he didn’t like him.

3) No, he wasn’t but at first he liked him.

4) No, he wasn’t because he could get into serious trouble.

2. Why didn’t Sherlock Holmes explain everything to his colleagues at once?

1) He liked to make mysteries.

2) He didn’t want to share it with anybody.

3) He had no time.

4) It would take time and he wanted to act immediately.

3. Who was Elrige?

1) A farmer

2) A policeman

3) A doctor

4) A cheater

4. What was the first letter that Holmes guessed?

1) K

2) M

3) I

4) E

Why?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. Why was Inspector Martin worried that Abe Slaney could escape?

1) He was responsible for this case.

2) He forgot his handcuffs.

3) He had no escort to help him.

4) Sherlock Holmes talked too much.

6. Why did Holmes call the policeman from New York?

1) He wanted to know if the name Abe Slaney was American.

2) He wanted to know if Mrs. Cubitt was known to him.

3) He wanted to ask for his advice.

4) He wanted to know if Abe Slaney was a criminal.

7. Why couldn’t Slaney escape?

1) He was in handcuffs.

2) He wanted to be sent in prison.

3) It would be a confession of guilt.

4) It wasn’t mentioned in the text.

8. Describe Abe Slaney:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

9. Choose the right verbs:

If any visitor…………… to Mrs. Cubitt, they shouldn’t…………… him anything about what…………….

1) came, told, happened

2) came, tell, had happened

3) had come, tell, had happened

4) come, told, happened

10. Complete the sentences with these words and expressions:

no doubt, difficulty, by the way, every precaution, mistaken, get into, occurred

1) In fact, if I am not……………, here he comes.

2) Even now I was in some……………, but suddenly it…………… to me that this person had been close with the lady in her past.

3) It is necessary to take…………… when you deal with such a person.

4) There is…………… that the latter as a reply is the most probable.

5) If this Abe Slaney is really the murderer and if he has escaped while I’m sitting here, I’ll…………… serious trouble.

6) I know all forms of secret writings and I am the author of some…………….

11. Insert the right prepositions:

by, into, for, in, to, with, at, without

1) He worked with them…………… some time…………… the table.

2) Finally he gave a note…………… the boy.

3) And we can assume that it was a reply written…………… the lady.

4) I think that now I can help you to spend this hour…………… an interesting way.

5) Inspector Martin was filled……… admiration and ready to follow…………… question wherever Holmes led.

6) And I came to an idea that the flags were used to break the sentence up…………… words.

12. Complete the table:

V

In a second Holmes put a pistol to the man’s head[145] and Martin put the handcuffs on. It was all done so quickly that the man was helpless before he knew that he was attacked. He looked at us and started laughing.

“Well, gentlemen, you have caught me this time. I have no choice. But I came here in answer to a letter from Mrs. Hilton Cubitt. Don’t tell me that she is with you! Don’t tell me that she helped to set a trap for me[146]!”

“Mrs. Hilton Cubitt was seriously injured and is dying now.”

“You’re crazy!” he cried, furiosly. “It was he who was hurt, not she! Who could hurt my little Elsie? Yes, I threatened her, God forgive me, but I didn’t touch a hair of her pretty head. Don’t say such things… you! Say that she is not hurt!”

“We found her near her dead husband, and she was terribly wounded.”

He groaned and hid his face in his hands. For five minutes he was silent. Then he raised his face and spoke with cold despair.

“I have nothing to hide from you, gentlemen,” he said. “I shot the man but he also had his shot at me, so it’s not a murder. But if you think that I could hurt that woman, then you don’t know me… and her. I always loved her. No one loved a woman more than I loved her. I had a right to her.[147] Who was this Englishman that came between us? I tell you that I had the first right to her, and that I was here to get her back.”

“She ran away from you when she found out who you are,” said Holmes, severely. “She left America to escape from you, and she married an honourable gentleman in England. You followed and frightened her. You wanted to persuade her to leave the husband whom she loved and respected. She feared and hated you. So you killed Mr. Cubitt and nearly made Mrs. Cubitt to commit suicide.[148] That is what you’ve done, Mr. Abe Slaney, and you will answer for it in the trial.”

“If Elsie dies I don’t care what happens,” said the American. He opened one of his hands and saw a note.