In less than a week, "No One Left Alive" made London paper expensive,

On the streets, in the alleys, in the bars, people are basically talking about the nursery rhyme and the fate of the characters in the book.

If this continues, the Sherlock Holmes series may not be in a good position.

Doyle couldn't sit still after all.

As soon as his train arrived in London, he rode non-stop in the night to Strand's Street.

His wife, Hawkins, muttered, "You're in too much of a hurry, aren't you?" ”

Doyle glared at her angrily, and lifted the curtain of the carriage,

The sound of discussion outside came into the carriage,

"I'm going to die without "No One Survives". Heck, there's only two days left until Wednesday. ”

"Do you subscribe to The Scotsman too?"

"Of course."

"Who do you think this mysterious author Lu will be? Could it be the Scottish? Hiss...... I think it's really possible, as you should all know, that Dr. Doyle was born in Edinburgh. ”

……

With a swipe, Doyle closed the curtain,

Comparing it to Lu Shi gave him an indescribable feeling, like swallowing a fly, and as a result, the fly was fine, buzzing and flying in his mouth.

He shrugged his shoulders unpleasantly,

"Did you hear that?"

Hawkins didn't know about the discord between her husband and Lu Shi, so she could only try to comfort: "Don't think about it." Don't forget, England is Sherlock Holmes' territory. ”

This sentence is actually quite awkward,

Doyle would prefer to hear that "Britain is Arthur Conan Doyle's territory".

He sighed helplessly and closed his eyes.

Hawkins slapped a sycophant on the horse's leg before he knew it, and it was not good to say anything when he saw his husband resting.

The inside of the carriage was quiet.

The carriage galloped towards Strand.

Strands Street is featured in The Scarlet Study, where Watson lived before he shared a house with Sherlock Holmes.

It is located on the banks of the River Thames in central London, next to Charing Cross, and Buckingham Palace in the southwest corner.

By analogy, Strands Street is equivalent to the core street in the first ring of the capital, and it is no wonder that Watson in the book can't stand the money and has to find a roommate.

Not long after, the carriage stopped in front of a magazine.

The English at the front of the magazine -

Strand Magazine，

In fact, it should be translated as "Strand", but strand has the meaning of riverside, so many countries translate it as "Seaside Magazine", so that many translators in later generations will be wrong.

It's a proper noun anyway, it doesn't matter.

Doyle jumped out of the car, tipped the coachman, asked him to help look at the luggage, and then knocked directly on the door of the magazine.

"Herbert, I know you're not gone yet."

Herbert Greenhoff Smith is the editor of Waterfront Magazine.

After a while, the door opened.

A tall white man stood in the doorway, holding his fingers against the frames of his glasses, his eyes widened, and he looked Doyle up and down, as if he was X-raying Doyle.

He said, "Oh my God! Look who's coming! ”

While talking, the two couldn't help but hug each other.

Smith patted Doyle on the shoulder and said, "Aren't you going to live in Edinburgh for a while?" Why did you come back so early? ”

His gaze fell on Hawkins, and he nodded very gentlemanly: "It's not an easy journey, is it?" I've heard that some factories in Paris have started to make cars that don't start by hand, and in a few years we will be able to use them, and they will be more comfortable than horse-drawn carriages. ”

The coachman muttered, "The Oldsmobile car doesn't run as fast as my horse." ”

Smith didn't think it was upset and laughed.

Doyle helpless,

"Let's stop talking nonsense, I'm here to find you for business."

Smith also became serious and led the two into the door.

The layout of the magazine is very simple, with only two editorial rooms and a core office area in the middle, with desks, chairs and narrow aisles piled with manuscript paper and magazines.

Smith moved the chair casually,

"Sit."

Doyle sat down, then took out a stack of manuscript paper from his briefcase,

Above it is a small print in lead:

Chapter 1: Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

This is obviously a chapter title for a novel.

Smith was surprised, "Arthur, you weren't ...... before You're not...... Didn't you seal the pen? ”

He stumbled and couldn't speak.

Doyle didn't answer the words of the pen and said: "5,000 pounds, the price we talked about before, you can't make a bargain." ”

Smith's brow furrowed,

Doyle can't be short of money, the previous manuscript fee can't be spent at all, not to mention that Doyle's main job is still an ophthalmologist, and his income is not low.

Smith was curious,

"What the hell is going on?"

Doyle was a little annoyed by this sentence, and whispered to him, "Won't you read my manuscript?" ”

It's a strange attitude.

Smith couldn't help but be a little alert, and cautiously picked up the manuscript,

It was a novella called "The Hound of the Baskervilles."

After reading it at a glance and ten lines, Smith felt that the writing style was still Doyle's original style, and the choice of words and sentences was not much different, but the way of constructing the story had changed slightly.

He pondered for a moment and said, "It's interesting, but the idea always feels familiar to me." ”

This is actually a temptation.

Unexpectedly, Doyle directly and generously admitted: "This "Hound of the Baskervilles" is influenced and inspired by "Legend of the Western Regions", and you will feel familiar with it for granted. ”

In fact, "The Hound of the Baskervilles" was considered by many to be Doyle's plagiarism, and even worse, some speculate that he hired Freisher Robinson, the editor of the Daily Weekly, as a gunman.

And Freisher Robinson is the author of "Legend of the Western Regions".

It can only be said that there are indeed similarities between the two books.

Smith was silent for a moment and asked, "Have you got the author of "Legend of the Western Regions"?" ”

Doyle's complexion remained unchanged,

"As I said earlier, it's 'influence and inspiration', not plagiarism, what do you do with the author?"

It's very artistic.

Smith is in charge of Doyle's work,

For editors, the development of the magazine should come first, and what the truth is is completely irrelevant.

Still, Doyle's hurried delivery puzzled him.

He bowed his head and pondered,

Suddenly, a novel crossed my mind—

"No One Survives".

Smith instantly figured out the joints and looked at Doyle, like a mirror in his heart.

But the communication of English gentlemen does not need to be investigated,

He smiled and brought the topic back to the novel: "It's a good choice to bring Sherlock Holmes back in the form of a memoir, and if the sales are still hot, you might as well officially resurrect him." ”

In fact, that's what Doyle did.

"The Hound of the Baskervilles", serialized in August 1901,

The first article of The Return, "The Empty House," was first published in January 1903.

It's just that I didn't expect Lu Shi to be like a butterfly with wings, and used "No One Survives" to force Holmes to climb up from under the Reichenbach Waterfall earlier.

Smith suddenly clapped his hands,

"Okay, as we talked about before, 5,000 pounds."

The matter of publication is finalized.

Doyle couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, and his confidence suddenly rose,

Lu Shi is a Chinese, and his ability to write in English is not strong, and it is impossible for "No One Survived" to maintain a high standard.

Moreover, The Scotsman and The Manchester Guardian just want to take advantage of Lu Shi's identity, and if the novel goes wrong, he will definitely be abandoned like a clown,

The Times and The Telegraph, which support the Conservative Party, will follow suit: "Look, this is the Chinese!" The monkey picked up the pen and imitated human writing, but after all, it could only be crowned by the monkey, and it was in vain. ”

Since the Chinese are monkeys, the war to colonize China is just,

How can it be unjust to send civilization to barbarism?

likewise

The Anglo-Boer war was just,

The Anglo-Afghan war was just,

The Anglo-Mysore war was just,

……

Doyle said: "I'm going to give an interview to The Times tomorrow to preview the return of Sherlock Holmes. ”

Obviously, this is a fight against "No One Left Alive" and the mysterious author Lu.

Smith was happy to see it happen,

If it can promote sales, why oppose it?

He straightened Erlang's legs: "I'm looking forward to it." ”

Doyle didn't catch the urgency in the other party's tone, and said to himself: "Don't worry, I'm good at handling interviews." ”

He had only one thing on his mind at the moment:

As long as Holmes goes on the offensive, everything will be fine.