Baker Street Charterers

London was one of the largest commercial cities in the world in the [-]th century, and it was the gathering place of British politics, economy and culture. In this era when Britain still had a very high discourse authority, London, as its capital, naturally possessed Enviable wealth and technology.But just like the accompanying relationship between light and shadow, no matter how glamorous and prosperous a city is on the surface, there is a lot of filth hidden behind it.Here live the richest gentlemen and the most beautiful ladies in the world, as well as the poorest slums and the lowest waifs, who can be seen in the shadows of every street.

These people walk in the streets and alleys every day, reaching out to beg for food and money for the day from passers-by. They wear dirty and ragged clothes, have no fixed residence, and no one pays attention to their existence, just like the ghosts in the shadows. Dirt, humble but eternal.

But Holmes' target now is these people, beggars, vagrants, most of them have nothing, but they have one thing in common-no one will care about their existence or death.

That remark of Adolf opened a new window for Holmes.

"Do you think these vagrants are also related to the missing children?" Nora asked suspiciously on the way to London's largest homeless base camp - an underground passage that was originally dug for wartime trenches but is now abandoned. Holmes, and then got a firm answer from the other party.

"That's right." Holmes put on his favorite top hat. His expression was not as relaxed as usual, but he frowned slightly and lowered his eyes to think, "You can think about how many Orphans will become beggars on the streets, but few well-meaning people will take them home. If one day a street child disappears without reason, will you notice it?"

"No." Nora replied, she seemed to think of something, her brows sank suddenly, "You mean..."

"Wiggins once mentioned to me about the disappearance of street children, but this is normal." Holmes pursed his lips and said in a deep voice, "Children freeze to death or starve to death every day, and even the high queen can't help it." To change this situation, but..."

He looked at the crowded street in the distance, "Natural death and unexplained disappearance are completely different things."

"Sir!" Wiggins, standing at the crossroads and looking around from time to time, finally spotted them, waved to them, and shouted, "Here!"

Holmes nodded and walked over.Wiggins led them around a long alley, then pointed to an underground opening with loose chains, and said, "This is it."

Holmes took a step forward. The chain was not locked, and it was easily pulled away.Holmes stood at the door and took a look inside. It was dark, but there was a smell that hadn't been cleaned for a long time. It was very quiet.

"Wiggins... Have you noticed recently that there are other street children missing?" Holmes turned his head, looked at this clever boy, and asked gently.

"Yes." Wiggins scratched his head, looking very distressed, "every week, children disappear, although they are not with me...but everyone is very worried, afraid that they will disappear at some point."

"When did you find out about this?" Nora asked.

"About half a year ago..." the boy replied honestly, "The girl who was begging with John in the East End of London suddenly disappeared, and then she went to find her friend... Sir, you are here to investigate these disappearances child?"

"It's not just them," Holmes opened the iron door, which creaked and creaked. He walked into the darkness without hesitation, but his voice was low and calm, "I'm looking for someone whose heart and lungs have turned black." executioner."

Nora followed him into this underground passage. Behind the door was a gradually sloping slope, and the air became humid and cold. The place should be very wide, with the howling wind constantly hitting the solid mud wall. The sound of their steady footsteps, there was a dead silence.

After walking for more than 50 meters, the line of sight gradually became clearer, and blurred spots of light fell from the top, forming bunches of thin spots on the ground.Nora raised her head, and faintly heard the sound of a carriage rolling over the manhole cover. She probably guessed that there was a bustling street above them, but it was quiet and silent below, like a deserted battlefield.

Going forward, I finally saw traces of someone here. There are piles of scattered clothes, broken living utensils and occasional homeless people who are sleeping soundly.They walked past them quietly, and soon saw a scene similar to the one before. The difference was that there were more people here, and many of them were awake. When they heard the noise, they lazily turned their heads to look at them. Very wary, more of a slaughter-like look.

They are neatly dressed, clean-faced, and elegant, and they don't look like tourists who come here to watch.

Holmes glanced around very quickly, and then settled on a homeless man whose back was facing them, who seemed to be sleeping soundly, then walked over quickly, squatted down in front of him, and said in a low voice, "Eugene? "

The other party opened his bewildered eyes, stared blankly at him for a while, then widened his eyes in surprise, immediately woke up, and whispered, "Holmes?"

The great detective smiled, "Long time no see, Eugene."

The other party scratched his head, "It's been a long time, it's been almost a year and a half since the last ceremony... What do you want me to do this time?"

"We do need your help." Holmes looked around. Many people turned their heads to look at this side. He lowered his voice, "I want to ask you about the missing vagrant."

Eugene paused, and the expression on his dirty face, which could not see the facial features, changed. He was very old, probably over 50 years old, and his cloudy eyes were always half open and half closed as if he hadn't woken up. At this sentence, he showed a strange and helpless stiff smile, and replied in a low voice, "But someone finally found out here... I am old, so I don't worry about running to another place as soon as I open my eyes one day." I went to the place, but the children here...fear all day long, afraid that one day they will go out and never come back."

Hearing the old man's emotional words, Nora's eyes moved, and she suddenly turned her head to look at a sneaky figure next to her, who was curled up by the wall not far from them. Although her face was not facing this way, her neck was stretched out. Leaning there motionless.Nora has always been very sensitive to other people's scrutiny. She stood in the shadows, and the other party didn't notice her heavy eyes staring at him, and was still eavesdropping intently.

Holmes' voice came over in a low voice, "So it's true that children have been missing all this time?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, Mr. Holmes, this kind of thing happens all the time, but at most everyone can only protect themselves, and can only watch and do nothing about this kind of thing... But since half a year ago At first, more and more children disappeared, including poor little Lisa, who just went to the train station and disappeared."

"The railway station?" asked Holmes. "Which one?"

"The one at Euston, Oxford Street," replied the old tramp, who paused, and said in an old, sad voice, "no one cares for our lives ... but they are still children, Mr. Holmes, please find them if you can." return."

Holmes nodded in the darkness, even though he knew the other party would not be able to see him, and said in a low and steady voice, "Yes, I will try my best."

He stood up, and was about to turn his head to talk to Nora, but Nora quietly covered his lips with her hands. He was stunned for a moment, and saw the other party's bright green eyes blinking at him, pointing to a A vague figure who sneakily wants to leave here.

"Hush," Nora pointed her index finger at him, and Holmes immediately understood what she meant. He turned his head and whispered something to Eugene. After that, he and Nora followed him around a dark road without a sound. Passage, and went out from another exit that they didn't know.

The other party seemed to be very anxious. Holmes and Nora were very cautious, keeping a distance of ten meters away from each other, watching and following them neither far nor near.They dragged each other like this for about ten minutes, until the other party unconsciously led them to a remote, somewhat desolate suburb. He slipped into a small forest, and his figure suddenly disappeared behind the bushes.

As a homeless man who doesn't have enough food and clothing every day, this guy's legs and feet are too flexible, and his skills are too agile.

Holmes and Nora raised their heads. An old and quiet orphanage was located not far away. The sign of it was not clear after being exposed to wind and rain. It took them a while to make out the writing on it, "Saint Lawrence Orphanage".

"The orphanage..." Nora murmured, "I hope things don't turn out the way I thought, otherwise I don't know how many children will suffer because of it."

Holmes stood there. Without thinking for a long time, he turned to her and said in a deep voice, "Dear Marianne, Lieutenant Stanford wants to go to the orphanage to adopt a lovely child this time. As his wife, would you agree?"

"..." Nora blinked, role-playing again?Without hesitation, she reached out and took Holmes' arm, and said with a smile, "Of course, I like children very much, Mr. Stanford."