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

These were the main points of the servants’ evidence. They were sure that every door was locked from the inside, and that no one could have escaped from the house. They both remembered that they noticed the smell of powder when they ran out of their rooms. “It’s important to pay attention to[129] this fact,” said Holmes to us. “And now I think that we can do a careful examination of the room.”

The room was really small. There were a lot of book shelves and a writing-table at the window, which looked out on the garden. The body of the poor squire was lying on the floor. The bullet was fired at him from the front, and remained in his body. His death was certainly painless. There was no powder on his dressing-gown or on his hands. The country doctor said the lady had stains on her face, but none on her hands.

“Well, it means nothing, although the stains on the hands may mean everything,” said Holmes. “I think that Mr. Cubitt’s body may be removed now. So, doctor, you have not taken the bullet out which wounded the lady?”

“A serious operation is necessary. But there are still four patrons in the revolver. Two have been fired and there are two wounds.”

“It only seems so,” Holmes said. “Could you explain me then what’s this on the window-frame? It’s a mark of one more bullet.”

He turned suddenly, and his long, thin finger was pointing to a hole in the window-frame.

“Oh my!”[130] cried the inspector. “How did you notice that?”

“Because I looked for it.”

“Wonderful!” the country doctor said. “You are certainly right, sir. Then there was a third shot, and a third person must have been there. But who? And how did he manage to run away?”

“That is the problem which we have to solve,” said Sherlock Holmes. “Do you remember, Inspector Martin, when the servants said that they noticed a smell of powder when they left their rooms? And I said that this is very important?”

“Yes, sir. But I am afraid that I do not understand you.”

“It means that the door and the window were open during the firing. A draught was necessary to spread the smell of powder through the house. Both door and window were only open for a very short time, however.”

“How can you prove that?”

“Because the candle didn’t go out[131].”

“True!” the inspector cried.

“So if the window had been open at the time of the tragedy, it means that there was a third person, who stood outside and shot through the window. Any shot at this person might hit the window-frame. I looked there and yes, there was the bullet mark!”

“But the window was shut and locked…”

“The woman’s first instinct would be to shut and lock the window. But… what is this?”

It was a lady’s hand-bag which lay on the table, a little hand-bag of crocodile-skin and silver. Holmes opened it. There were twenty fifty-pound notes of the Bank of England, held together by an india-rubber band[132].

“It will be necessary in the trial,” said Holmes and gave the bag to the inspector. “Now let us concentrate on this third bullet. It was certainly fired from the inside of the room. I’d like to see Mrs. King, the cook, again… You said, Mrs. King, that you woke up because of a loud explosion. When you said that, did you mean that it was louder than the second one?”

“Well, sir, it is hard to say, because the moment before I was sleeping. But yes, it was very loud.”

“Don’t you think that it was two shots fired almost at the same time?”

“I am not sure, sir.”

“I believe it was. Inspector Martin, I think we’ve learned everything from this room. If you don’t mind, we shall see what fresh evidence are there in the garden.”

There was a flower-bed just under the window and we were very much surprised when we saw that it was in a mess[133]. There were a lot of footmarks on it. Large feet of a man with long, sharp toes. Holmes started looking for something, like a retriever for a wounded bird. Then he cried with satisfaction and picked up a little bullet.

“I thought so,” he said, “I think, Inspector Martin, that our case is almost complete.”

Exercises

1. Was Holmes happy to receive a letter and a telegram?

1) Yes, he was. He wanted to finish the case as fast as he could.

2) Yes, he was. He needed good news.

3) No, he wasn’t. He was worried when he received them.

4) No, he wasn’t. He didn’t want to work.

2. Why did Holmes decide to visit the Cubitts at once?

1) He wanted to talk with Mrs. Cubitt.

2) He was tired with Baker Street.

3) He solved the riddle and wanted to explain everything to Mr. Cubitt.

4) He wanted to know some details for his investigation.

3. How did Holmes feel when he found out what had happened?

1) He was worried and nervous and couldn’t work.

2) He was very gloomy and decided to come back home.