Знак четырех

VII. The Episode of the Barrel

           Aidedbythischart,theofficers—oroneofthem—getsthetreasureandbringsittoEngland,leaving,wewillsuppose,someconditionunderwhichhereceiveditunfulfilled.Now,then,whydidnotJonathanSmallgetthetreasurehimself?Theanswerisobvious.ThechartisdatedatatimewhenMorstanwasbroughtintocloseassociationwithconvicts.JonathanSmalldidnotgetthetreasurebecauseheandhisassociateswerethemselvesconvictsandcouldnotgetaway.”

           “Butthatismerespeculation,”saidI.

           “Itismorethanthat.Itistheonlyhypothesiswhichcoversthefacts.Letusseehowitfitsinwiththesequel.MajorSholtoremainsatpeaceforsomeyears,happyinthepossessionofhistreasure.ThenhereceivesaletterfromIndiawhichgiveshimagreatfright.Whatwasthat?”

           “Alettertosaythatthemenwhomhehadwrongedhadbeensetfree.”

           “Orhadescaped.Thatismuchmorelikely,forhewouldhaveknownwhattheirtermofimprisonmentwas.Itwouldnothavebeenasurprisetohim.Whatdoeshedothen?Heguardshimselfagainstawooden-leggedman,—awhiteman,markyou,forhemistakesawhitetradesmanforhim,andactuallyfiresapistolathim.Now,onlyonewhiteman’snameisonthechart.TheothersareHindoosorMohammedans.Thereisnootherwhiteman.Thereforewemaysaywithconfidencethatthewooden-leggedmanisidenticalwithJonathanSmall.Doesthereasoningstrikeyouasbeingfaulty?”

           “No:itisclearandconcise.”

           “Well,now,letusputourselvesintheplaceofJonathanSmall.Letuslookatitfromhispointofview.

Настройки
Фон страницы
Размер шрифта
Межстрочный интервал
Фразовые глаголы
Показать / Скрыть меню
Шрифт
Roboto Lora
Уведомления
Страница 69 из 154