Пригоди Шерлока Холмса
The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb
ItwasalittlepastsixwhenIarrived,soIwentfirsttohavemywounddressed,andthenthedoctorwaskindenoughtobringmealonghere. Iputthecaseintoyourhandsandshalldoexactlywhatyouadvise."
Webothsatinsilenceforsomelittletimeafterlisteningtothisextraordinarynarrative. ThenSherlockHolmespulleddownfromtheshelfoneoftheponderouscommonplacebooksinwhichheplacedhiscuttings.
"Hereisanadvertisementwhichwillinterestyou,"saidhe. "Itappearedinallthepapersaboutayearago. Listentothis:
"Lost,onthe9thinst.,Mr.JeremiahHayling,agedtwenty-six,ahydraulicengineer. Lefthislodgingsatteno’clockatnight,andhasnotbeenheardofsince. Wasdressedin—etc.,etc. Ha!Thatrepresentsthelasttimethatthecolonelneededtohavehismachineoverhauled,Ifancy."
"Goodheavens!"criedmypatient. "Thenthatexplainswhatthegirlsaid."
"Undoubtedly. Itisquiteclearthatthecolonelwasacoolanddesperateman,whowasabsolutelydeterminedthatnothingshouldstandinthewayofhislittlegame,likethoseout-and-outpirateswhowillleavenosurvivorfromacapturedship. Well,everymomentnowisprecious,soifyoufeelequaltoitweshallgodowntoScotlandYardatonceasapreliminarytostartingforEyford."
Somethreehoursorsoafterwardswewereallinthetraintogether,boundfromReadingtothelittleBerkshirevillage. TherewereSherlockHolmes,thehydraulicengineer,InspectorBradstreet,ofScotlandYard,aplain-clothesman,andmyself.
