The streets were so cramped that only one horse-drawn carriage could be allowed to move forward, and the male residents and pedestrians on both sides wore simple shirts and jackets, or simply washed yellowed cloth jackets, with high sleeves and hats mostly of old styles.

This kind of dress is rarely seen on the streets of ordinary urban areas, because it is not gentlemanly enough, and it is not even possible to hold your head up and talk to some people in formal clothes.

Because of the inferior clothing.

As for the women, they were basically the same plain skirts, unlike the rest of the city, which was wide and beautiful, and they also wore aprons around the waist and abdomen, which was not much different from the maids in ordinary homes.

In fact, nearly half of them have worked as maids in large households, and the remaining half of them include the elderly and children.

Don't get me wrong, being a maid in this day and age is not a shameful thing, on the contrary, as a person at the bottom of society, being able to go to some decent family to be a maid is actually a good thing to be expected, not only is the remuneration higher than weaving cloth and basket weaving at home, and if you are lucky enough to meet a generous master, you may also get some extra income.

With a little luck, a young poor girl may be able to escape the poverty she is living today, and if she can't become Mrs. Kuo, she can become the mistress of a middle-class family, wearing a modest dress to go to the opera and enjoy the troupe performances, which is the life that most slum girls pursue all their lives.

Among these people, Donald and Sherlock seem to be a little incompatible, not only in their clothing, but also in their own unique temperament.

This makes many people around them look at them, and the meaning in their eyes is good and bad, but it is not so comfortable after all.

"Sir, where is No. 6 Fani Street? We have something to entrust to the rat catcher. ”

As an assistant, Donald didn't have the power to be shy and embarrassed, adjusted his emotions, met a passerby who seemed kind, and successfully knew the route.

Even in the district of Bangli, the rat catcher lives in the middle of nowhere, because he often deals with rats, and in order to carry out some experiments on rat catching, he has no fewer rats in his house than some garbage dumps.

Although they are all locked in an iron cage, living next to such a house, there must be a lot of pressure in my heart, what if I wake up one day and find rats all over the ground?

It's not a horror movie, but it's not much closer.

"That's it ahead, right?"

Sherlock pointed to an extended wooden sign twenty meters ahead, with the outline of a mouse drawn on it and the red cross that covered most of it.

Compared to the area just passed, it was more deserted, and the houses were almost all small two-story buildings in disrepair, with cracks, broken wooden planks that branched off, and a crumbling appearance as if to say that as long as the wind was stronger, it would dare to fall straight down.

"There don't seem to be many ...... around"

When I passed, I caught a glimpse of many of the houses around me with their doors open, not to mention the inside of the doors, but also the ground outside the doors with a lot of dust accumulated.

"It should be an abandoned area, people go to the empty building, and after a while, there should be a government department to demolish it or rent out the entire plot of land for the construction of a factory, this kind of thing is very common recently, and the land in the city is cheaper than this, but you can't find a few pieces. ”

The construction of factories is very cost-oriented, and compared to some shops, this form of building can obviously find good land for construction in slums.

Naturally, the government agreed, and the factories would not only provide large tax revenues, but also jobs, so that some people in the slums who usually had nothing to do would have jobs, so that they would not wander around the city, and the crime rate would also drop accordingly.

Count it in one fell swoop, good thing!

When I got to the door of the rat catcher's shop, the door was closed, and the curtain was still drawn inside.

Knock knock~

"Is anyone there? We've got a rat catch!"

Sherlock went up and knocked on the door, waited for 5 seconds, and didn't respond.

"It's the same thing, rat catcher, whose usual job is to catch rats in various houses outside. ”

It's still a little frustrating to say this, this rat catcher is the key clue at present, whether it's a thief or not, there is always some information, but if people can't find it, how can they check it down?

"Don't worry, look at this, the lights are on inside, be careful later. ”

There was a small hole in the curtain of the window next to it, and when Sherlock knocked on the door, he saw that the light was on inside.

It is really difficult to pull the curtains and light the kerosene lamps during the day, but after waiting for another 10 seconds, no one opened the door.

Donald stepped forward and slapped the door twice in succession.

"What do you mean by the lights are on inside and you don't open the door? Even if you don't take the job, you have to say it to your face, my brother has a bad temper, and he will smash the front of your house later, don't blame us for being heavy!"

People don't open the door, so it's still necessary to make some means.

Squeak~

"Two gentlemen, I'm old and have limited mobility, I'm sorry. ”

Looking down, the old man in front of him was a little strange, hunched over, his figure only reaching Sherlock's chest, and wearing a black wide-brimmed silk top hat mentioned by the jeweler Able on top of his head, covering his entire face, and he could only be judged by his drooping gray beard and hoarse voice.

In addition, he was covered with a black cloak, and some of it was dragged to the ground, and the bulge behind him was unsettling.

The tone of his speech was very gentle, and he apologized when he opened the door, which made Donald very embarrassed

"Can we go in and talk? Actually, I have something I want to ask for. ”

"Yes, yes...... Are you sure you want to come in? None of the previous customers were able to stay in the store for more than a minute. ”

The ratcatcher's words caused Donald and Sherlock to look at each other, listening to the incessant creaking behind the door, and they could probably think of what was behind the door.

In order to handle the case, this risk still has to be taken, and he stepped into the threshold without hesitation, Sherlock walked in front, Donald walked in the last and closed the door, and did not close it, but just covered it gently, and when he entered this kind of place, he had to leave a way back for himself, and close the door tightly, which was to make trouble for himself.

The scene on the rooftop is vivid.

The 20-square-meter hall is full of black iron cages, of all sizes and shapes, and the contents are the same.

Mouse, mouse, rat!

Even people who have no fear of this creature will have chills down their spines when they arrive in such a place, and goosebumps will start from beginning to end.

Donald is like this, and Sherlock is probably about the same, but both of them have a certain ability in emotional restraint, even if they are upset by the unstoppable cries of the rats around them, their expressions are silent.

The ratcatcher stood behind the inner workbench, with wires, pliers, and a half-made cage on it, and an old metal bell that caught Donald's attention, similar to the one used to call cattle on the farm.

Behind the workbench is a large wooden cabinet with many partitions.

"You don't want to catch mice, do you? Ordinary employers don't come in the door, what's the matter?"

The ratcatcher still didn't look up, just fiddled with the iron cage on the table.

"Jeweler Byd Able's warehouse was stolen, you must have been to his house the other day, did you notice anything strange?"

Sherlock didn't say anything about his speculation with Donald, but he did reveal some information in order to see how the ratcatcher reacted.

Before the words fell, the movements of the rat catcher's hands suddenly stopped, and the squeaks behind the two suddenly became noisy...... Donald's hands behind his back tightened, and his eyes glanced at the side, Sherlock's right hand had been placed on the waistline of his trousers, and the black trench coat covering his head was unbuttoned at some point.

"You found out?"

The ratcatcher asked rhetorically.

"Found what?"

"Those rats...... Something is wrong with them!"

The ratcatcher uttered this in a hoarse tone, and he seemed to know something.

"What's wrong?"

Sherlock asked.

"About half a month ago, all of a sudden number of people came to me, and they told me that there were rats in the house, swarms of rats! They got into the pipes of the house from the sewers, appeared in the warehouse, in the storage room, broke the furniture, contaminated the food...... This should not be a habit of rats, I have never seen such a blatant colony of rats before, some time ago during a few rat hunts I even saw a huge mouse, it knows how to think...... I'm sure of that!"

The ratcatcher spoke his mind, which coincided with their previous conjectures.

"Isn't it that big?"

Donald gestured to the shape.

"Yes, I saw it on the farm, when it was pounced on a little lamb with a flock of rats, biting, gnawing, full of ferocity, you have seen it?"

"Well, now isn't the time to discuss who has seen a big rat, did you find anything unusual when you were catching rats at Able's house, why rats are in large numbers in his house, I want to know that. ”

Knowing that there is indeed a problem with these rats, all that remains is to get to the root of the problem step by step.

"I don't know...... Normally, this is not the case, in the past, the places where large groups of rats were found were usually some taverns, shopping malls and other large buildings, and this rarely happened in private houses, and I was also shocked when I went to Mr. Ebel's house, those rats did not know where to get into his house, there must be a passage......"

The ratcatcher spoke to himself, his words staccato.

"Where did you catch the most rats, and now that you've done your job, you've definitely caught mice, right?"

"Of course, my craft was passed down to me by my father, and the place with the most rats...... Near the sink in the kitchen for washing dishes, I remembered that it was strange that the pipes in Mr. Abel's house were very thick, unlike in ordinary people's homes. ”

"Pipeline..... It's the plumber!"

Sherlock turned his head, his face full of excitement, and he found the key to breaking the game.

At this time, Donald's eyes were looking at the rat catcher's room, his eyes narrowed and the light was not visible, and he pinched a pinch of silver-gray powder between his fingers, and sprinkled it when he entered the door.