Baker Street Charterers

Her voice was clear and echoed in the alley, and the three of them turned their heads subconsciously, and saw the girl with the disheveled red hair and the dirty men's clothing showing a friendly smile, and said politely to them, "Can you please let me go?" Do you want to drive my friend?"

Probably because the tone and expression of her question didn't match the situation at the moment, the other party was stunned for a few seconds, looked at each other, and then burst into a burst of laughter, the hooligan who grabbed the young man's collar let go, and looked up and down at the smiling girl , with malicious intent in his eyes, parted lips, black and yellow mottled teeth, and a hoarse voice, "Hey, look what we saw, the injustice...a little girl?"

Nora raised her eyebrows, she didn't show the timid expression they expected, she just curled her lips, as if impatient, "I said, why don't you go up together, I'm very hungry, and I don't have the time and energy to play this boring game with you game."

This contemptuous attitude angered the group of gangsters. They showed annoyed expressions, and it seemed that the leader gave him a wink. The short and fat man behind him immediately came over aggressively, and he was about to grab him with his hand. her collar.

Nora's expression remained unchanged. Before the dry, cracked fingers on the opposite side touched her, she kicked out suddenly, hitting an unspeakable part of the man, and before the man jumped in pain, he slashed with a knife. To his neck, he knocked the man to the ground with one blow, clutching his crotch until he burst into tears, alas.

Her movements were completely inappropriate for her age, and the young man who was about to stop her was immediately stunned, with a look of disbelief on her face.The remaining two exchanged glances, and then rushed up together.

"It would have been better to do this earlier, it's a waste of time." Nora murmured, she turned sideways and nimbly avoided the fingers of the gangster who was stretching out to grab her neck, and bent her elbow to take advantage of the gap in his hand to strike hard to the side, hitting the man's fragile body. The acupuncture points on the waist hit a tall and strong man close to 1.9 meters on the spot until he bent over and cried out in pain, almost losing his fighting power.While the iron was hot, she bent her index finger forward and bumped into the bastard's temple, and the bastard didn't even have a chance to resist and immediately fell down clutching his waist, his face full of pain.

The person who was going to rush up immediately stopped in place, watching his companions kicking the iron plate one after another in panic, he took a step back at a loss, and looked at the girl who was looking up in fear.

Nora clasped her ten fingers together, making crackling noises from her fingertips, her eyes rolled away, revealing her original polite smile, "Do you want to come again?"

The ruffian swallowed, and wisely chose to escape, completely ignoring his companions on the ground, turned around and ran along the alley without a trace.

Nora sighed in frustration, then raised her head, met the young man's bewildered face, and waved in a very friendly and enthusiastic greeting, "Hi, Mr. Watson."

"How do you know about me..." Watson asked halfway subconsciously, and suddenly realized that what he wanted to say was not this, and immediately stood up, looked her up and down, a little unbelievable, and a little dazed, "God... a A lady who easily knocked down two men..."

Nora shrugged and didn't take it seriously, "Since you are safe and sound, I should bid farewell. I hope that the next time I see you, I will be in a more formal setting. Goodbye, Mr. Watson."

She turned and left, but was stopped by the young man behind her. She turned her head and looked at him suspiciously.

The young man showed a gentle and reassuring smile, "I didn't expect a lady to save me, which makes me feel grateful and ashamed."

Nora groaned, and waited for a few seconds, only to find that the other party just looked at her with a hesitant face and said nothing, and asked again impatiently, "Is there anything else?"

Watson's expression of hesitation was more obvious. He took a step forward, but just stepped on the finger of the unconscious ruffian, and the other party let out a scream at the right time.He withdrew his feet with a flushed face, and when he saw Nora's emerald green eyes, which seemed to be smiling but not smiling, he felt that those pupils were as bright as fire. He felt more and more embarrassed, but he still asked in an unsteady tone in a gentlemanly manner. , "I, I don't know your name yet."

"Nora." She answered very simply, watching with interest the young man trying to smooth the wrinkled collar, and finally gave up. She admired the other party's embarrassing and funny expression for a while, and finally said briskly, "What do you want?" What are you saying? Sir, even though I am a homeless man, I also need to eat, and you are wasting my time."

The attitude was straightforward, and the other party was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly remembered something, and asked without any thought, "Wandering? You, you don't have a place to live?"

Nora was a little impatient. According to her character, she didn't need to bother with such troubles at all. She only helped her because she stole his mother's pocket watch, but only this time.She raised her eyebrows, showing a sneer expression of "you know what you are asking".

The young man smiled awkwardly, with a hesitant expression on his face. After a pause for a few seconds, he finally chose to ask, "If you don't mind... I think I can help..."

Nora was stunned, and the interest in her eyes became more obvious. She simply leaned half of her body on the cold wall, her eyes shone like opals, and her tone was brisk, "Oh?"

"My friend just introduced me to a shared apartment." Watson's words were always smoother, his eyes were clear and gentle, although his expression was still a little uncomfortable, "I heard that there is still a vacant room there. Say something nice to the landlord, maybe you can find a place to stay..."

"Help me find a house?" Nora repeated slowly, with a half-smile.Watson was stunned for a moment, and immediately realized the meaning in her lowered voice, and quickly explained, "No, I didn't mean that, I just think you are a girl, you shouldn't be wandering outside at such a young age..."

Nora straightened her body, her eyes paused for a moment in his eyes showing sincere pity and apology, she was silent for a few seconds, and smiled casually, "Okay, where are you?"

Watson was taken aback by her more straightforward attitude. He came back to his senses, smiled gently, his face relaxed, and he even had time to joke, "Aren't you afraid that I will lie to you?"

Nora glanced at him inexplicably, "What do you think?" Her eyes drifted to the two pale-faced hooligans on the ground.

Watson touched his nose and answered in a good-tempered manner, "You are a brave and agile girl."

Nora put her hand on the hideous gold-plated pocket watch in her bosom, and accepted the other party's compliment with peace of mind.

Watson led her all the way west.He is a kind and friendly young man who is unexpectedly talkative. He introduces his name as John. He talks about his childhood in Australia, his trip to India, and his participation in the war in Afghanistan.Perhaps it was because Nora rescued him from the hooligans, he treated her with more sincerity, and almost responded to Nora's occasional questions.

This made Nora's impression of him better - after all, it is rare to see such a passionate and generous young man, although he claims to be 29 years old now, and his appearance looks younger than his age .

"Are you a military doctor?" Nora suddenly asked when Watson was talking about his memories of India.

Watson was stunned for a moment, then nodded, and asked curiously, "How did you guess that?"

"Your hairstyle, your standing posture, it shows that you are a soldier - of course you mentioned that you have been to Afghanistan." Nora looked at his face, and then all the way down, "There is a gap between the index finger and the thumb of the right hand. Thin calluses, the left side of the middle finger is also there, but the rest of the fingers are normal, what does it mean? You often hold knives. A soldier who often comes into contact with knives? I can’t think of anything other than a military doctor.”

Nora smiled and continued, "The hairstyle is the same, but it has grown a lot, and I observed that your shoulder seems to have been injured-no offense meant. I guess you retired because of the wound around the shoulder Back in the UK, I was in the hospital for a long time before, your lining has medicine stains that haven't been cleaned, I smell a hydrogen peroxide..."

Before she finished speaking, she felt Watson's surprised eyes. She paused, then closed her mouth and raised her eyebrows, "Sir?"

"Impressive." Watson marveled, more curious about her past. "How did you... I mean, you don't look like a down-and-out... lady at all." His words were euphemistic.

"My father was a...well, doctor." She nodded matter-of-factly. "And then he died, and my mother couldn't run the...clinic, so we went bankrupt. Then she died too, because of the debt I sold my house and became homeless."

Her lies were spun smoothly, and her expression was calm and composed. Watson did not doubt the truth of it at all, but just nodded with pity, "Oh, poor Nora, you have suffered so much at such a young age, I……"

"It's nothing." Her expression was unexpectedly calm, "I can always live, no matter what method I use—" At this point, her tone suddenly changed, and she showed a bright smile purely and enthusiastically, "Look , I have met you, good Mr. Watson, have I not?"

Watson was a little embarrassed by this direct and explicit praise. He lowered his head and smiled, his eyes became more gentle and compassionate. It seemed that in his eyes, Nora was a little girl with an unfortunate family background but a keen, cheerful and good skill.

He didn't mean anything else to help her, but he couldn't bear to have such a young girl suffer innocently from the cold and starve. Even though he wasn't rich, God made them meet twice in one day, and she helped him, Then he should reach out to her, shouldn't he?

Nora kept smiling and listened to Watson's smooth and soft story, until passing by the subway station, he walked to a closed red brick house on Baker Street, looked at the "221" sign on it, and said "Here we are, here we are."

He also seemed to be a bit restrained when he came to this place for the first time, but he couldn't show any hesitation in front of a lady.Watson cleared his throat, reached out and knocked on the closed wooden door, then took a step back, holding his breath and waiting for the sound behind the door.

Two minutes later, Nora cast him a puzzled look.

Watson also seemed a little surprised, wondering if the landlord was leaving home at this moment, and was about to go up to try again, but the door was suddenly opened, and an expressionless face appeared from behind the door.

The man was recognizable and troublesome--out of professional habit, Nora judged him immediately.

About six feet tall, slender because of being very thin.A pair of gray eyes that could not reveal any emotion, looked at the two uninvited guests calmly and rationally at this moment, looking cold because they were too calm.His nose is higher than the average British, and his jaw is slightly protruding, making his whole face look alert, sharp and aloof.He was wearing a camel black checked wool coat, an old white shirt, and a very wide snap tie at the neck.The trousers on the lower body were slightly wrinkled due to the owner's thinness, but the standing posture was straight and vigilant, as if they did not welcome their visit.

The other party didn't fully open the door, half of his face was blocked by the shadow, and he looked a little gloomy, but he quickly broke this impression - he looked at the two of them calmly for a while, with a slightly condescending expression , Lazy at the beginning, but at the end, he said in a very crisp tone, "I thought there was only one tenant."

His voice has a vague nasal tone, a very typical London accent, and his voice is deep and magnetic. If you don't look at his slightly withdrawn face, Nora should have a good impression of his good voice.

But she soon discovered why she couldn't like this man - because the man obviously didn't like her, to be more specific, it should be that the man didn't seem to welcome the lady, and the look he threw at her was indifferent and devoid of love .

It is in great contrast with Watson's enthusiasm and consideration.

Apparently Watson was also a little surprised. After he said in a low voice, "I remember the landlord seems to be a lady", he suddenly reacted and asked tentatively, "Are you Sherlock Holmes?"

kindness?Nora seemed to hear a somewhat familiar name.Holmes?

Her gaze stayed on the other person's face for two seconds, and then moved away - it should be a coincidence, there are quite a few Holmes surnamed in the world, especially in England, and she could not judge his identity arbitrarily because of this.

but……

Nora suddenly looked up at the "221b" on the house number——John Watson, Sherlock Holmes, and Britain in the nineteenth century...

Her complexion suddenly became strange.

Watson didn't notice his companion's emotions. He suddenly realized, extended his hand friendly, and introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Watson, John Watson, and this is Miss Nora. I'm here..."

"What is the most valuable thing on your body?" The other party suddenly interrupted him and asked without thinking.

Watson let out a surprise, and realized later, "What did you say?"

Holmes narrowed his eyes slightly, as if feeling drowsy, his gray eyes were dull and dull, but his voice was completely opposite clear and smooth, "Good Mr. Watson, before you bring a thief home, check See if you've lost any valuables—out of an abundance of caution."

Nora's eyes sharpened instantly, and she stared at the other party. Holmes didn't seem to notice it, and he yawned, as if he felt that it was very boring and tedious to easily reveal her identity with just one glance.

"Thief?" Unexpectedly, Watson did not frantically search for the things he was carrying, but raised his voice to refute the other party's conclusion, "I think you may have misunderstood, Nora can't be a thief, she even helped My busy-"

"Really?" In contrast to the silence of the only lady, Holmes just stared at Watson's face indifferently with his gray eyes. Probably because of his appearance, he looked very withdrawn and unreasonable. "Thin, pale, shortly away, penniless, hitchhiking to London, and walking with a gentleman who also arrived here not long ago... I can't wait to guess what this young lady's purpose is—to make I'll see what she's done for you...perhaps by pulling a nice man out of a muddy trail with a gunshot wound?"

Watson was almost dumbfounded, "You, how could you..."

"This kind of question is so simple that even guessing is an insult to my intelligence." The other party spoke aggressively and mercilessly, but he didn't seem to be complacent about offending the lady, and he just came to a conclusion after pure analysis.In order to make his words more true, he even thought it was superfluous, but in fact added with strong evidence, "I guess that the clever and flexible lovely Miss Nora, 'accidentally' in Hit you in the street?"

At this moment, it seems that "smart", "flexible", and "cute" have all become some kind of ironic derogatory terms in his mouth.

Nora looked at him without blinking, and kept a precious silence on all near-factual speculation.

Watson was stunned in place, and after he realized it, he looked at Nora in embarrassment. There was a look of guilt on his face, but in his eyes, it was clear that he was [-]% convinced by Holmes' words.Maybe out of consideration for her face, he didn't search for her face to face, but asked softly with the last chance, "It's not true, it was just a coincidence when you passed that alley, right?"

"Of course." Nora replied very quickly, "That is indeed a coincidence."

On the contrary, this sentence confirmed the correctness of Holmes' conjecture in a certain way.Watson looked at her, a little disbelieving and a little disappointed, but before he could find an excuse to comfort himself and Nora, she had already opened her mouth——

"I did steal your pocket watch, that's why I know your name is Watson." Nora's face remained motionless, she was completely free of the shame and uneasiness after being caught, her emerald green eyes were calm and bright, and even her tone was extremely sincere "But I understand that you are a kind and warm-hearted man, a real gentleman. I can't do anything to someone like you, so I put your things back." After a pause, she pursed her lips slightly, Finally, with a sense of guilt, "...I'm sorry."

Watson reached into his pocket, and sure enough, he touched the piece of mother's belongings. He looked at Nora with some confusion, and finally sighed, and said in a low voice, "No matter what, I was helped by you, even though Nora Made some unladylike acts, but I believe it was only out of livelihood - penniless, as Holmes said."

This time she was really surprised. Was it really the legendary good old Watson who could easily forgive her for stealing his mother's pocket watch, and even excused her——

She was also slightly moved when she was used to being selfish and indifferent.

This is a genuinely kind man—Nora gave a genuine smile. "Thank you, Watson."