福尔摩斯探案集第5季 福尔摩斯探案经典:《恐怖谷》第2章Part5

福尔摩斯探案经典:《恐怖谷》第2章Part5  

"That he wanted no gossip about his wealth. No single man should know what he had. I have no doubt that he has enty banking accounts; the bulk of his fortune abroad in the Deutsche Bank or the Credit Lyonnais as likely as not. Sometime when you have a year or o to spare I mend to you the study of Professor Moriarty."
Inspector MacDonald had grown steadily more impressed as the conversation proceeded. He had lost himself in his interest. Now his practical Scotch intelligence brought him back with a snap to the matter in hand.
"He can keep
anyhow
" said he. "You've got us side-tracked with your interesting anecdotes
Mr. Holmes. What really counts is your remark that there is some connection beeen the professor and the crime. That you get from the warning received through the man Porlock. Can we for our present practical needs get any further than that?"
"We may form some conception as to the motives of the crime. It is
as I gather from your original remarks
an inexplicable
or at least an unexplained
murder. Now
presuming that the source of the crime is as we suspect it to be
there might be o different motives. In the first place
I may tell you that Moriarty rules with a rod of iron over his people. His discipline is tremendous. There is only one punishment in his code. It is death. Now we might suppose that this murdered man--this Douglas whose approaching fate was known by one of the arch-criminal's subordinates--had in some way betrayed the chief. His punishment followed
and would be known to all--if only to put the fear of death into them."
"Well
that is one suggestion
Mr. Holmes."
"The other is that it has been engineered by Moriarty in the ordinary course of business. Was there any robbery?"
"I have not heard."
"If so
it would
of course
be against the first hypothesis and in favour of the second. Moriarty may have been engaged to engineer it on a promise of part spoils
or he may have been paid so much down to manage it. Either is possible. But whichever it may be
or if it is some third bination
it is down at Birlstone that we must seek the solution. I know our man too well to suppose that he has left anything up here which may lead us to him."
"Then to Birlstone we must go!" cried MacDonald
jumping from his chair. "My word! it's later than I thought. I can give you
gentlemen
five minutes for preparation
and that is all."
"And ample for us both
" said Holmes
as he sprang up and hastened to change from his dressing gown to his coat. "While we are on our way
Mr. Mac
I will ask you to be good enough to tell me all about it."
"All about it" proved to be disappointingly little
and yet there was enough to assure us that the case before us might well be worthy of the expert's closest attention. He brightened and rubbed his thin hands together as he listened to the meagre but remarkable details. A long series of sterile weeks lay behind us
and here at last there was a fitting object for those remarkable powers which
like all special gifts
bee irksome to their owner when they are not in use. That razor brain blunted and rusted with inaction.