Mary's Nineteenth Century

A good night's dream.

Mary stepped into the carriage to the East End refreshed.

Through the car window, I glanced at the small building next door, wondering if Mycroft slept soundly last night?Did the story of Mrs. Roman and Mr. Minton continue in the dream?

I am in a good mood, even if I step into the dilapidated streets full of mud, I feel that the mottled walls are a little more age-precipitated.

However, Mary's bright mood did not last the whole day.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, one of the few inquires she had contacted in the East District received news that she had seen a pair of handsome men and women haunting the Bruenco Tavern four days ago.

The pub is located on Bunchy Street in the Finsbury area, about half an hour's walk from Whitechapel.

Bao Da heard about the special features of the bar, "there is a very peculiar competition event, which has been started more than 20 years ago - the dog-and-mouse competition.

In the game field in the basement of the bar, fifty spectators can enter and place bets.Most famously, in 1849, "Little Magic" from Manchester caught [-] mice in an hour, winning a big prize for the dog owner. "①

After hearing this weird game, Mary immediately had a question, where did the mice used as game items come from?

Could it be that they are kept in a warehouse, and then they are taken out and caught by dogs when the competition date comes, to see which dog catches more?At present, major research institutions have not started breeding mice, and the possibility of being one step ahead of the bar to produce sterile mouse breeding is too low.

Then there is one possibility left.

"Please don't tell me that a rat catcher caught a batch of live rats from the sewers and used them for rat-catching competitions?"

Mary thought of that scene, a group of mice were locked in a large cage densely, can their health be guaranteed?

It's not that the Mother of God even cares about the health of the mice, but that the group of mice are kept together and let the hounds catch them when the game starts.In the process of dogs catching mice, there will definitely be blood. If the hounds are not kept properly, they will be stained with germs, and dogs are raised by humans.

As soon as Mary reasoned, she again despaired of nineteenth-century medical common sense.

In this way, a potentially dangerous transmission chain of germs is created alive, and some infectious disease may break out one day.

"What's wrong with that? The rat catcher was supposed to deal with the rats, but killed them later."

Bao inquired and didn't realize there was a problem.

Rat people can also have an extra income. "Oh! If you're concerned about rat cleanliness, they're washed and rinsed before entering the arena."

enough!If you rinse it with clean water, it is also called clean?

Mary felt compelled to contact a high-volume newspaper to publicize the horrors of the plague.

To a certain extent, the underground black boxing studio is safer than the bar in the mouse catch competition, but these have nothing to do with Baoda.

"Don't talk about mice, talk about people."

Mary brought the topic back to the elopement duo, "Who in the bar had contact with the Wickhams?"

"You have to pay the drink fee per person to watch the game, and my informant didn't go in."

Bao inquired briefly about the rules of the rat-catch contest, similar to horse racing, where onlookers can place bets.

"Once a month, this month's mouse catching champion is a dachshund from Southampton. The couple you are looking for won the bet. It is said that they have won a lot, with dozens of times, at least four digits GBP."

A few thousand pounds, indeed won a lot.

According to Darcy's previous news, Wickham is being pursued by other people, which means that he doesn't have much money on him, and most of the gambling money is funded by Lydia.

Lydia brought about 1000 pounds of private money from London, and it can be multiplied dozens of times overnight, which can be regarded as a sudden wealth overnight.But don't forget that the dowry of each daughter in the Bennet family is only more than [-] pounds.

Mary felt bad.

The first win is too big, and not many people will stop in time.Wickham, don't make Lydia a gambler too.

For more specific information, you need to inquire at the Bruenco Tavern.

What Bao inquired was certain was that his informants hadn't seen the Wickhams in the East End for four days after the rat race.

However, the Eastern District is a mixed crowd, and there are more places you can't see than corners you can see clearly.Just because you haven't seen someone here doesn't mean they don't exist.

Bao inquired, but he didn't think Wickham and Wickham would stay in the chaotic area, "If you win the money, you can definitely stay in a better hotel."

That's right.

Mary wrote a note to explain the latest situation, and asked the newsboy to forward the news to Darcy, and asked him to arrange staff to find someone in a hotel with better conditions.Since Lydia has never experienced hard times, it is common practice to choose a hotel with better conditions to get rich overnight.

It was four days ago that he got a large amount of gambling money.

At present, it is known that Wickham has not appeared in the casino operated by the upright, and the two have won in the past few days

Where did the money man go?

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Bruenco's Tavern has not yet opened.

Reluctant to waste time, Mary successfully met the person in charge of the bar mouse-catching competition by virtue of her money-making ability.

"My God! You are Mr. Minton!"

The bar manager Thomas was exaggerated and excited when he opened his mouth, "At the reception held by the Bismarck family in Berlin last year, I had the honor to meet you from afar. I regret that I didn't have a chance to chat with you."

Last year, Marie participated in several high-level receptions in Berlin.

The reason for being invited was also simple, because the murderer of the crow was arrested in time, and he was not given another chance to insult a series of high-level Berlin officials.

"Mr. Thomas, hello."

Mary's tone was light, maintaining a proper distance.She wouldn't have a good impression of this bar just because of the coquettish game of the mouse-catching contest.

Unfortunately, the bar manager didn't mind at all.If Mr. Minton had a pleasant face, he would feel that it was demeaning,

"You are here today, what can I do for you?"

The manager asked politely, "If you want to participate in the special event of the mouse-hunting contest at the Bruenco Bar, I can reserve a good seat for you."

Mary shook her head with a polite smile.This girl never fails to know, and she hopes the next mouse-hunting contest won't happen.

"I'm here to inquire about two people. Please also recall if you have seen the man in the photo. He was one of the winners of the gambling game four days ago."

Just looking for someone.

The manager was a little disappointed that he hadn't landed a big client, but he didn't delay in identifying the photos.Since he just received a tip, as long as he can tell the news, he is willing to sell it well.

"I have an impression. This month's rat-catching champion dog has a big upset, making the two people bet 70 pounds and turned it up thirty times, winning two thousand and one."

The manager remembered clearly, "This man's name is Wickham, and he brought a beautiful lady to London. I'm sure the lady is not from London."

The manager paused, waiting for Mr. Minton to ask why.

Mary didn't ask the question as she wished at all, she could guess that Lydia would not be able to suppress her excitement after she got rich.

The bar manager's wording was a little more subtle. Rather than saying that Lydia is not from London, it is better to say that she is not a lady from a wealthy family.

"The Wickhams should sit down and have a few drinks after they've won. Mr. Thomas, I'd love to see you and them

There must have been a chat. "

Mary is familiar with the routine. The bar manager hopes to maintain a long-term customer relationship. The customer should not leave after winning, and it is best to keep spending. "Have you heard about the recent arrangement of the two?"

Why didn't Mr. Minton follow the routine of questioning?

The bar manager remembered the rumors that had been rumored. Yes, it is normal for Mr. Minton not to care about other ladies, because he only has Mrs. Roman, who has unfortunately passed away, in his heart.

Thinking wildly in his head, his expression is very serious.

"Recent arrangements? By the way, Wickham said a few words."

The manager said that Wickham and Wickham were very excited that night, and they immediately asked about the time of the next mouse-hunting competition. After learning that there was only one time per month, they were very disappointed. "I mean, those two are quite interested in betting on animals."

Bet on animals.

The well-known ones are horse racing, and the weird one is the rat catching contest. When it comes to bloody and cruel, it is beast fighting.

Mary wondered why Wickham chose the animal game.

Judging from Wickham's gambling experience, ordinary money gambling made him lose more than he wins, and winning the mouse-catching bet this time may be a good omen in his opinion.

"As far as I know, there have been recent bets on these animals in London."

The bar manager offered a list without waiting to ask.

"You may need it, but I don't know much. Why don't you come and sit in the bar later, the guests here know more than I do."

Really dedicated, not forgetting to solicit business for a moment.

Mary took the list, maybe she will come back to ask for clues later. "Thank you. I'm free. I'll bring a friend over for a drink."

This is just polite, so don't ask who your so-called friends are.

On the other side of London, Mycroft took over the task of finding Ferencz, and went to collect known information related to the East End in the morning.

The London authorities really don't care much about the slums, so there is very little real information that is useful in urgent needs. Even the architectural and rational distribution map of the entire East End is not clearly drawn, which is still the old version ten years ago.

This was an expected disappointment.

When they came to the hotel where Ferenc's master and servant stayed, the front desk indicated that Ferenc hadn't checked out, and the rent had been paid until the end of April, but he didn't come back for two or three days.

The rich Ferenc didn't care about the accommodation fee for a few days, but the waiter didn't know which day and which class of "Slum Tour" carriage he took.

can only go

Visit the departure station.There are actually three different companies operating this so-called sightseeing carriage.

During the whole afternoon of questioning, none of the coachmen remembered whether Ferenc's master and servant appeared among the passengers. Perhaps it can be explained by the fact that the two of them look nothing special.

Mycroft could only take different routes in turn.

It is necessary to substitute Ferencz’s tourist mentality. A son of an aristocrat who came to London to find excitement has already bought second-hand labor uniforms. What might attract his attention?

The image of the slums is much the same, the core is poverty, the only difference is which section of the street is dirtier.If there is anything special, the shadow of death is a special case, and Ratcliffe Avenue is the best among them.

Ratcliffe (Ratecliffe), from the English red cliff (redclift).

The original name may be due to the geological relationship. The soil here is red, but I never thought that there would be blood staining Ratcliffe Avenue later.

Mycroft remembered the old case from more than 60 years ago.

In 1822, there were two cases in which a baby's throat was brutally cut.The perpetrators of the two cases were unknown, and the eerie atmosphere shrouded Ratcliffe Avenue ever since.

At quarter-to-past eight in the night, the coach drove through the worst part of London.

The wind came in through the open window.It brought a stench, and it seemed to bring the cold atmosphere left by the old case.

"Guests, we will reach the terminal soon."

The coachman introduced while driving, "Not far ahead is the Yamlach pet store. You can buy all the animals you want on the first floor of that townhouse."

Obviously, that's not a place that sells furry cuties in the popular sense.

The carriage approached, and the streetlights shone on the posters outside the store, which depicted crocodiles, orangutans, tigers, elephants and other animals whose force value was several times higher than that of humans.

In the past, the horse-drawn carriage stopped here, and the passengers could just enter the store after sightseeing, but these two days are different.A notice was posted on the door of the store: "The owner is busy, only open in the morning, stay on April 4."

A group of tourists had no place to shop, some returned to the starting point with the public carriage, and some called their own cars to leave.

Mycroft stared at the notice in the pet shop, and the date of the inscription was the date when Ferenc's master and servant left the hotel.

Of all the slum tours, this one is the most popular for thrill seekers.

favor.If Ferenc came here, he would have visited the pet store, but he didn't know if the pet store was open at that time.

I will come back tomorrow morning when the pet store opens, and I need to go to another place before I rest tonight.

where to go?

The answer is almost obvious.

The carriage stopped in Pall Mall.

After returning home, Mycroft took some care of his appearance, took the gift box and went to the small building next door.

'clang--'

At night, the clock strikes ten o'clock.

Mary received Mycroft in the living room, and he came to the door with a gift box.

According to the packaging, it can be determined that it is the red wine of French Dream Winery.Prices for this wine have skyrocketed since the phylloxera disease ravaged the grapes.

"Mr. Holmes, it's already 22 o'clock. What's the business of you coming to me with a bottle of red wine?"

Mary did not wait for an answer, but guessed first. "Could it be that you want to invite me to drink a bottle of red wine on a whim and have a hangover together? Or is it a competition of who can get drunk better?"

What about after getting drunk?

Mary didn't continue talking, but just smiled jokingly, as if all the rest of the follow-up guesses were in the smile.

Mycroft: Who's trying to get who drunk?

He was sure that the origin and purpose of this wine was very simple, and it was one of the investigation fees for finding Ferenc's traces that he stole from Matthew yesterday.Now the gift is just to invite Mr. Minton to participate in the investigation together, there is no need for the two of them to drink empty bottles together tonight.

"Mr. Minton, you don't have to worry that I will invite you to hangover together. It is a gift money, and it is a gift money for you to participate in an investigation."

Mycroft said solemnly, "I'm looking for someone who is probably in the East End. So I hope you can help me."

"That's right, sorry, I misunderstood."

Mary dismissed the previous speculation indifferently, but changed the topic again.

"The person you want to investigate went to the East End, but why did you come to me? I have nothing to do with the slums. Unless you pay close attention to my life, you will know what I have been doing recently. I guessed right ?"

Mycroft: To be clear, who cares a lot about whom?

The author has something to say: ①The 1849 mouse-catching contest at the Bruenco Tavern, from "London, the Story of a Great City" [UK] Jerry White

②For rumors about Ratcliffe Avenue and Jamlach Pet Shop, refer to "600 Years of London" [English] Matthew Green