福尔摩斯探案主要内容 福尔摩斯探案经典:《恐怖谷》第2章Part3

福尔摩斯探案经典:《恐怖谷》第2章Part3  

"We are doing so
" Holmes interrupted. "All that I am saying has a very direct and vital bearing upon what you have called the Birlstone Mystery. In fact
it may in a sense be called the very centre of it."
MacDonald smiled feebly
and looked appealingly to me. "Your thoughts move a bit too quick for me
Mr. Holmes. You leave out a link or o
and I can't get over the gap. What in the whole wide world can be the connection beeen this dead painting man and the affair at Birlstone?"
"All knowledge es useful to the detective
" remarked Holmes. "Even the trivial fact that in the year 1865 a picture by Greuze entitled La Jeune Fille a l'Agneau fetched one million o hundred thousand francs--more than forty thousand pounds--at the Portalis sale may start a train of reflection in your mind."
It was clear that it did. The inspector looked honestly interested.
"I may remind you
" Holmes continued
"that the professor's salary can be ascertained in several trusorthy books of reference. It is seven hundred a year."
"Then how could he buy--"
"Quite so! How could he?"
"Ay
that's remarkable
" said the inspector thoughtfully. "Talk away
Mr. Holmes. I'm just loving it. It's fine!"
Holmes smiled. He was always warmed by genuine admiration--the characteristic of the real artist. "What about Birlstone?" he asked.
"We've time yet
" said the inspector
glancing at his watch. "I've a cab at the door
and it won't take us enty minutes to Victoria. But about this picture: I thought you told me once
Mr. Holmes
that you had never met Professor Moriarty."
"No
I never have."
"Then how do you know about his rooms?"
"Ah
that's another matter. I have been three times in his rooms
ice waiting for him under different pretexts and leaving before he came. Once--well
I can hardly tell about the once to an official detective. It was on the last occasion that I took the liberty of running over his papers--with the most unexpected results."
"You found something promising?"
"Absolutely nothing. That was what amazed me. However
you have now seen the point of the picture. It shows him to be a very wealthy man. How did he acquire wealth? He is unmarried. His younger brother is a station master in the west of England. His chair is worth seven hundred a year. And he owns a Greuze."
"Well?"