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the_mystery_of_several_stupid_anonymous_letters
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the_mystery_of_several_stupid_anonymous_letters [2020/12/27 13:07] lverona removed |
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| - | Dr. Watson hated the bakery. For one thing, he had to stand in line. The other thing, even more frustrating, was that the bakery was right in front of their house, so Holmes peered through the binoculars at it and then greeted Watson with observations. For example, last week he told Watson all about the people he was standing in line with and based it on Watson`s dirty shoes. | + | Dr. Watson hated the bakery. For one, he had to stand in line. The other thing, even more frustrating, was that the bakery was right in front of their house, so Holmes peered through the binoculars at it and then greeted Watson with observations. For example, last week he told Watson all about the people he was standing in line with and based it all on Watson's dirty shoes. |
| - | However, this time Sherlock was preoccupied with a visitor and when Watson entered their sitting-room, he saw a good looking young man sitting in an armchair opposite Holmes. His face was anxious, in his hands he was nervously torturing a small piece of paper. | + | However, this time Sherlock was preoccupied with a visitor, and when Watson entered their sitting-room, he saw a good-looking young man sitting in an armchair opposite Holmes. His face was anxious, in his hands he was nervously torturing a small piece of paper. "I am a business man," he said. "I work in the bank for more then 7 years now. But lately I've been getting these damn anonymous letters. All of them are odd and seem like a joke, but then... it all happens!" |
| - | "I am a business man," he said. "I work in a bank for more then 7 years now. But lately I`ve been getting these damn anonymous letters. All of them are odd and seem like a joke, but then... it all happens!" | + | "Be more precise," Holmes said, "otherwise I feel myself an imbecile, and we've got Watson for that." |
| - | "Be more precise," said Holmes crossly, "otherwise I feel myself like an imbecile and we`ve got Watson for that." | + | "Well, look. Last weekend I got a letter, 'Dear Mr. Stapple, you will loose an apple.'" |
| - | + | ||
| - | "Well, look. Last weekend I got a letter: `Dear Mr. Stapple, you will loose an apple.`" | + | |
| "Yeah. And?" | "Yeah. And?" | ||
| - | "And I lost it! Yesterday someone stole my apple! Can you believe it? Or here`s another one, arrived last month: `Dear Mr. Berry, you will loose a cherry.` And I lost it too! A couple of days later I was robbed - one of the cherries from my pie was gone!" | + | "And I lost it! Yesterday I opened my lunch box, and the apple was gone! Can you believe it? Or here's another one, arrived just last month, 'Dear Mr. Berry, you will loose a cherry.' And I lost it too! A couple of days later I was robbed - one of the cherries from my cake was gone!" |
| - | "What a disaster!" concluded Holmes. | + | "What a disaster!" Holmes said. |
| - | Young man pulled out a big heap of small papers from his pocket. | + | Young man pulled out a big heap of small papers from his pocket. "Here are the rest of them: 'Dear Mr. Dorange, you will loose an orange', 'Dear Mr. Stumm, you will loose some plum', 'Dear Mr. Dwine, you will loose a lime'..." |
| - | "Here are the rest of them: `Dear Mr. Dorange, you will loose an orange`, `Dear Mr. Stumm, you will loose some plum`, `Dear Mr. Dwine, you will loose a lime`..." | + | "I get the idea," Holmes said. "Let me see those letters." The famous detective took one of the papers and carefully examined it with a magnifying glass. While doing that, he was significantly humming to himself. Watson and the young man patiently waited. At last, Holmes said, "That helped a lot. Now we can make certain conclusions. A logical chain reaction will lead us straight to the criminal." |
| - | "I get the idea," said Holmes. "Let me see those letters." | + | "How is that possible?" the young man exclaimed. |
| - | + | ||
| - | The famous detective took one of the papers and carefully examined it with a magnifying glass. While doing that, he was significantly humming to himself. Watson and the young man patiently waited and at last Holmes said: | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | "That helped a lot. Now we can make certain conclusions. A logical chain reaction will lead us straight to the criminal." | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | "How is that possible?" exclaimed the young man. | + | |
| "Elementary! For example, the letters are written on a piece of paper, so clearly we can state that the author is NOT an Egyptian." | "Elementary! For example, the letters are written on a piece of paper, so clearly we can state that the author is NOT an Egyptian." | ||
| Line 47: | Line 39: | ||
| "Do you have any non-Egyptian colleagues?" | "Do you have any non-Egyptian colleagues?" | ||
| - | The young man seemed to be puzzled: | + | The young man seemed to be puzzled. "Yeah, most of them, actually." |
| - | "Yeah, most of them, actually." | + | "Good," Holmes said. "Let's go further." |
| - | "Good," said Holmes. "Let`s go further." | + | Watson rolled his eyes and sighed. |
| - | As he continued, Watson rolled up his eyes and sighed. | + | "You probably haven't noticed that the lines of every letter are rhymed," Holmes said. "That gives us strong evidence as to the profession of the criminal." |
| - | "You probably haven`t noticed that the lines of every letter are rhymed," said Holmes. "That gives us strong evidence of the profession of the criminal." | + | "Really?" the young man said. |
| - | + | ||
| - | "Really?" said the young man with hope. | + | |
| "Sure. If the lines are rhymed, it is obvious that the author of the letters is a poet." | "Sure. If the lines are rhymed, it is obvious that the author of the letters is a poet." | ||
| Line 65: | Line 55: | ||
| "Do you have any non-Egyptian poet friends?" | "Do you have any non-Egyptian poet friends?" | ||
| - | "Um... I`m not really sure. I know a couple of guys who like writing poems on special occasions..." | + | "Um... I'm not really sure. I know a couple of guys who like writing poems on special occasions..." |
| - | + | ||
| - | "Well, you have to find that out," assured him Holmes. "But we can go even further. If you noticed, in every letter the criminal addresses you with a different name. So he most definitely suffers from bad memory. Usually this happens with older people. He also pathologically loves fruit. Do you know any old non-Egyptian poets who love fruit?" | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | The young man concentrated and thought for some time. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | "Well, my boss is far from being young, he likes an orange now and then, he reads Shakespeare and he is not from Egypt." | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | "There you go!" said Holmes solemnly. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | The young man smiled, but didn`t seem satisfied. He confusedly turned to Watson and whispered: | + | |
| - | "I`m not sure it`s my boss - he is rich and can buy lots of fruit himself." | + | "Well, you have to find that out," Holmes said. "But we can go even further. If you noticed, in every letter the criminal addresses you with a different name. So he most definitely suffers from bad memory. Usually this happens to older people. He also pathologically loves fruit. Do you know any old non-Egyptian poets who love fruit?" |
| - | Watson shook his head and said: | + | The young man focused and thought about it for some time. "Well, my boss is far from being young, he likes an orange now and then, he reads Shakespeare and he is not from Egypt." |
| - | "Holmes, the description is too general. Can you give more detail?" | + | "There you go!" said Holmes, with a sense of well-deserved accomplishment. |
| - | Holmes stopped puffing with his smoking pipe and grinned: | + | The young man smiled, but didn't seem satisfied. He turned to Watson and whispered, "I'm not sure it's my boss - he is pretty wealthy and can buy lots of fruit himself." |
| - | "Everyone wants the impossible... Well, let`s try..." | + | Watson shook his head and said, "Holmes, the description is too general. Can you provide us with a bit more detail?" |
| - | The legendary detective took another glance at the letters and after some thinking said: | + | Holmes stopped puffing with his smoking pipe and grinned, "Everyone wants the impossible... But let's try..." |
| - | "This guy used a lot of paper. And lots of ink too. He must be very rich." | + | The legendary detective took another glance at the letters and after some thinking said, "This guy used a lot of paper. And lots of ink too. He must be pretty wealthy." |
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the_mystery_of_several_stupid_anonymous_letters.1609092449.txt.gz · Last modified: 2020/12/27 13:07 by lverona
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