The English version is called the sign of four, with the standard abbreviation: sign.

Lippincott Magazine of lippincott was first published in the United States in February, 1890.

The earlier Chinese versions were translated by Chang Kang and Wu Mengyou in 1903, The Case in the Case compiled by Commercial Press in 1904, and The Buddha Case translated by Liu Bannong in19/6 (received by Zhonghua Book Company).

In The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (I) published by Popular Publishing House 1979 and The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes (I) published by 198 1 year, this translation is the symbol of four, and the translators are all Yan Renzeng. Prior to this, on 1958, Popular Publishing House published a solo book "The Sign of Four" (Sherlock Holmes 2), which was translated by Yan Renzeng. I didn't see the original version of 1958, so I didn't compare it. I don't know if it has been revised.

For other Chinese versions, please refer to adventures of sherlock holmes: Appendix: List of Sherlock Holmes Stories in Chinese.

2. Characters appear

Four signatures:

Zhang Kefan Small

Muhammad Singh

Abdullah Kahn (Abdullah Kahn)

Doster Akbar

Captain Arthur Morstan: British officer.

Mary morstan: Captain Morstan's daughter.

Major John Schulto: The late British officer.

Thaddeus Schulto: The son of Major Schulto.

Bartholomew Schulto: thaddeus's twin brother.

McMurdo: bartholomew's servant.

Rahl Rao: bartholomew's housekeeper.

Mrs Si Tong: bartholomew's housekeeper.

Ethernie Jones: Detective from England Yard.

Old Sherman: Toby's master.

Toby: An ugly dog with long hair and drooping ears, but an amazing sense of smell.

Ship owner Mordecai Smith. The owner of the aurora.

Tongan: A native of Andaman Island.

Wiggins: Captain of Baker Street Team.

3。 abstract

This is July 7th, 1887. At the beginning of the story, Holmes was injecting 7% cocaine solution. His bad behavior has been going on for some time. Watson expressed strong opposition to this.

Merry came to visit Holmes for help. Her mother died when she was very young, and her father was a British officer stationed in India. She hasn't seen her father for many years and was sent to boarding school many years ago.

About ten years ago, her father returned to England on vacation. 1878 65438+On February 3rd, she received a telegram from her father saying that he had arrived at a hotel in London and asked her to come over. But when she arrived at the hotel that day and wanted to reunite with her father and daughter, she was told that her father had left the day before her arrival and never came back.

Major Schulto is a retired comrade-in-arms of her father's regiment. Schulto lived in London when her father disappeared. The two of them served together in the garrison on the island of Amman. 1on April 28th, 882, four years after the disappearance of Captain moston, Major Schulto died.

After Schulto's death, that is, from May 4th, 6 years ago, 1882, Merry began to receive an expensive pearl on the same day every year.

1On July 7th, 887, the day she visited Holmes, she received an anonymous letter asking her to meet outside a theater.

Merry found a treasure map with four signatures among her father's belongings.

They went to the theatre and were soon carried away by a horse to see thaddeus.

Thaddeus lives in a luxury apartment. He told them that his father brought back a lot of treasures from India, some of which should belong to Captain Mostain. When Captain Mostain arrived in London, he came to his father to clarify the matter. Before he died, Major Schulto told his two sons that he had a fierce quarrel with Captain Mostan, who had a serious heart attack and died of a heart attack in the process.

After their father's death, thaddeus and bartholomew immediately began to search their home thoroughly, but found no clues.

Finally, just a day ago, bartholomew finally found this treasure. Thaddeus hopes to give Melly a copy to make up for her father's mistake. Bacelo Miao reluctantly agreed.

When Watson, Holmes, Merry and thaddeus arrived at bartholomew's residence, they found that he was murdered by a poisonous thorn and the treasure was gone.

Children's songs stepped on pomegranate oil in bartholomew's laboratory, and Holmes began to pursue it with Toby's keen sense of smell. Toby finally took them to a pier by the Thames. Holmes found out that the target he was following rented a motorboat and left 24 hours ago.

Holmes asked Baker Street captain Wilkins to lead his men to search for the motorboat Dawn along the upper and lower reaches of the Thames. But they found nothing.

Holmes disguised himself as a sailor and began to explore for himself. He finally found that the missing ship was being repaired and learned that Moschi Smith and others would leave the shipyard at 8 pm. He contacted Jones and asked him to prepare a police motorboat on the other side of the shipyard to follow him when he left at dawn.

Dawn sails for the Esmeralda, which is preparing to sail for Brazil.

The police motorboat caught the dawn. In the process of chasing, the Amman native once blew a stinger at Holmes and Watson with a blowpipe, and was shot by Holmes and Watson, then fell into the river and drowned.

Watson went to see Merry with a treasure chest. But when the box was opened, I found it was empty. Because at this time, the obstacle formed by their huge "wealth" has disappeared, Watson summoned up the courage to propose to Merry, and Merry agreed.

It turned out that when Smallville found that he was about to be caught up by the police, he had scattered his treasure in the Thames about five miles long.

Smallville told Holmes and others his own story:

He used to be a soldier of the British army in India. Due to a series of changes, he finally came to a castle in Agra during the Great Rebellion. He and three Sikh soldiers killed a servant of the Turkish king and stole the treasure he brought.

Schulto and Mostain were officers in the prison at that time. Smallville made an agreement with the two of them to tell them where the treasure was hidden if it could help Smallville and the other four escape. But Schulto deceived smoot, Mostein and others, and he returned to England immediately after he got the treasure.

The small job is to help prison doctors, so he also learned some medical knowledge. Once, he found that a local named Tongge was seriously ill and dying. Under his careful care, Tongge slowly recovered. In this way, they became best friends. Tongge has a boat that Smallville used when he escaped from prison. It took smoot and Tong Ge several years to get back to London. Because Major Schulto hired someone to watch him closely, Smallville had no chance to get close to him until his death.

The story of "Four Signs" is over, and our hero's life goes on: Watson will marry Merry happily soon, and Holmes is addicted to cocaine bottles because there is no case to solve. ...

4. Other cases mentioned

1, study on blood characteristics.

2. A will case consulted by French detective Fran? ois Le Vial.

3. The case of Riga City is in 1857.

4. The case of St. Louis 187 1.

5. Mrs Cecil frist's family dispute.

6. The cases of India and Senniganbiya.

7. Bishop's treasure chest.

5. Sherlock Holmes' detective skills

1. Check the envelope.

2. Handwriting inspection.

3. Check the newspaper advertisements.

4, clear geographical indications (urban buildings).

5. Footprint inspection.

6, police dog tracking.

7. Use the Baker Street team.

8, makeup: old sailor.

9. Vehicle tracking: police motorboat.

6。 Sherlock Holmes' famous words

1, about Sherlock Holmes

My constitution is very special. I don't feel tired at work, but if I have nothing to do, I will be at a loss.

I have a strange constitution. I never remember that work made me feel tired, although doing nothing made me exhausted.

I'm fidgeting, fidgeting. When I have nothing to do, I become restless.

My mind resists stagnation.

I pursue spiritual stimulation.

I am eager to be refreshed.

I can't live without thinking.

I can't live without mental work. What's the point of living?

2. About women and love

Even the best woman can't be trusted completely.

Women can never be completely trusted-not the best women.

However, love is a sentimental thing, which is contradictory to my most important calm thinking. I will never get married, lest it affect my judgment.

Love is an emotional thing, and anything emotional is the opposite of the really cold reason that I think is above everything else. I will never marry myself, lest my judgment be biased.

Emotional influence will affect sober reason.

Emotional quality and clear reasoning are opposites.

3. About detective technology

Apart from other factors, the rest must be the truth.

Excluding all other factors, the rest must be the truth.

Haven't I told you many times that when you remove all the impossible factors, no matter what remains-no matter how incredible-is this the truth?

How many times have I told you that when you rule out the impossible, the rest, no matter how incredible, must be true.

Detective technology is-or should be-an exact science, and it should be studied in the same calm rather than emotional way.

Investigation is, or should be, an exact science, and it should be treated in the same cold and unemotional way.

I am never an exception. There are no exceptions to the law.

I never make an exception. Exceptions overturn the rules.

Winwood Reid has a good explanation for this problem. He believes that although everyone is an incomprehensible mystery, when human beings gather together, there is a law. For example, you can't predict a person's personality, but you can know human nature. Personality is different, but sex is eternal. That's what statisticians say.

Winwood Reid is very good at this problem. He commented that although the individual is an unsolvable problem, on the whole, he becomes a mathematical certainty. For example, you can never predict what a person will do, but you can tell exactly how much an average will reach. Individuals are different, but the percentage remains the same. Statisticians say so.

I never guess. Guess is a bad habit, which is harmful to logical reasoning.

I never guess. This is a shocking habit-the destruction of logical ability.