Повернення Шерлока Холмса
The Adventure of Black Peter
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“Haveyouanyreasontosuspectrobbery?”
“No,sir.Nothingseemedtohavebeentouched.”
“Dearme,itiscertainlyaveryinterestingcase.Thentherewasaknife,wastherenot?”
“Asheath-knife,stillinitssheath.Itlayatthefeetofthedeadman.Mrs.Careyhasidentifieditasbeingherhusband’sproperty.”
Holmeswaslostinthoughtforsometime.
“Well,”saidhe,atlast,“IsupposeIshallhavetocomeoutandhavealookatit.”
StanleyHopkinsgaveacryofjoy.
“Thankyou,sir.Thatwill,indeed,beaweightoffmymind.”
Holmesshookhisfingerattheinspector.
“Itwouldhavebeenaneasiertaskaweekago,”saidhe.“Butevennowmyvisitmaynotbeentirelyfruitless.Watson,ifyoucansparethetime,Ishouldbeverygladofyourcompany.Ifyouwillcallafour-wheeler,Hopkins,weshallbereadytostartforForestRowinaquarterofanhour.”
Alightingatthesmallwaysidestation,wedroveforsomemilesthroughtheremainsofwidespreadwoods,whichwereoncepartofthatgreatforestwhichforsolongheldtheSaxoninvadersatbay—theimpenetrable“weald,”forsixtyyearsthebulwarkofBritain.Vastsectionsofithavebeencleared,forthisistheseatofthefirstiron-worksofthecountry,andthetreeshavebeenfelledtosmelttheore.NowthericherfieldsoftheNorthhaveabsorbedthetrade,andnothingsavetheseravagedgrovesandgreatscarsintheearthshowtheworkofthepast.Here,inaclearinguponthegreenslopeofahill,stoodalong,low,stonehouse,approachedbyacurvingdriverunningthroughthefields.
