“Well, I’ll come out by the same train to-morrow, though it’smore than likely that my report will be a negative one.”
“God bless you for promising to come,” cried our client. “Itgives me fresh life to know that something is being done. By theway, I have had a letter from Lord Holdhurst.”
“Ha! What did he say?”
“He was cold, but not harsh. I dare say my severe illnessprevented him from being that. He repeated that the matter wasof the utmost importance, and added that no steps would be takenabout my future—by which he means, of course, my dismissal—until my health was restored and I had an opportunity of repairingmy misfortune.”
“Well, that was reasonable and considerate,” said Holmes.
“Come, Watson, for we have a good day’s work before us in town.”
Mr. Joseph Harrison drove us down to the station, and wewere soon whirling up in a Portsmouth train. Holmes was sunkin profound thought, and hardly opened his mouth until we hadpassed Clapham Junction.
“It’s a very cheery thing to come into London by any of theselines which run high, and allow you to look down upon the houseslike this.”
I thought he was joking, for the view was sordid enough, but hesoon explained himself.
“Look at those big, isolated clumps of building rising up abovethe slates, like brick islands in a lead-colored sea.”
“The board-schools.”
“Light-houses, my boy! Beacons of the future! Capsules withhundreds of bright little seeds in each, out of which will springthe wise, better England of the future. I suppose that man Phelpsdoes not drink?”
“I should not think so.”
“Nor should I, but we are bound to take every possibility intoaccount. The poor devil has certainly got himself into very deepwater, and it’s a question whether we shall ever be able to get himashore. What did you think of Miss Harrison?”
“A girl of strong character.”
“Yes, but she is a good sort, or I am mistaken. She and herbrother are the only children of an iron-master somewhere upNorthumberland way. He got engaged to her when traveling lastwinter, and she came down to be introduced to his people, withher brother as escort. Then came the smash, and she stayed on tonurse her lover, while brother Joseph, finding himself pretty snug,stayed on too. I’ve been making a few independent inquiries, yousee. But to-day must be a day of inquiries.”
“My practice——” I began.
“Oh, if you find your own cases more interesting than mine——”
said Holmes, with some asperity.
“I was going to say that my practice could get along very well fora day or two, since it is the slackest time in the year.”
“Excellent,” said he, recovering his good-humor. “Then we’lllook into this matter together. I think that we should begin byseeing Forbes. He can probably tell us all the details we want untilwe know from what side the case is to be approached.”
“You said you had a clue?”
“Well, we have several, but we can only test their value byfurther inquiry. The most difficult crime to track is the one whichis purposeless. Now this is not purposeless. Who is it who profitsby it? There is the French ambassador, there is the Russian, thereis whoever might sell it to either of these, and there is LordHoldhurst.”
“Lord Holdhurst!”
“Well, it is just conceivable that a statesman might find himselfin a position where he was not sorry to have such a documentaccidentally destroyed.”
“Not a statesman with the honorable record of Lord Holdhurst?”
“It is a possibility and we cannot afford to disregard it. We shallsee the noble lord to-day and find out if he can tell us anything.
Meanwhile I have already set inquiries on foot.”
“Already?”
“Yes, I sent wires from Woking station to every evening paperin London. This advertisement will appear in each of them.”
He handed over a sheet torn from a note-book. On it wasscribbled in pencil:
“￡10 reward. The number of the cab which dropped a fare at orabout the door of the Foreign Office in Charles Street at quarter toten in the evening of May 23d. Apply 221 B, Baker Street.”
“You are confident that the thief came in a cab?”
“If not, there is no harm done. But if Mr. Phelps is correct instating that there is no hiding-place either in the room or thecorridors, then the person must have come from outside. If hecame from outside on so wet a night, and yet left no trace of dampupon the linoleum, which was examined within a few minutes ofhis passing, then it is exceeding probable that he came in a cab.
Yes, I think that we may safely deduce a cab.”
“It sounds plausible.”
“That is one of the clues of which I spoke. It may lead us tosomething. And then, of course, there is the bell—which is themost distinctive feature of the case. Why should the bell ring?
Was it the thief who did it out of bravado? Or was it some onewho was with the thief who did it in order to prevent the crime?
Or was it an accident? Or was it——?” He sank back into the stateof intense and silent thought from which he had emerged; but itseemed to me, accustomed as I was to his every mood, that somenew possibility had dawned suddenly upon him.
It was twenty past three when we reached our terminus, andafter a hasty luncheon at the buffet we pushed on at once toScotland Yard. Holmes had already wired to Forbes, and we foundhim waiting to receive us—a small, foxy man with a sharp but by nomeans amiable expression. He was decidedly frigid in his manner tous, especially when he heard the errand upon which we had come.
“I’ve heard of your methods before now, Mr. Holmes,” said hetartly. “You are ready enough to use all the information that thepolice can lay at your disposal, and then you try to finish the caseyourself and bring discredit on them.”
“On the contrary,” said Holmes, “out of my last fifty-three casesmy name has only appeared in four, and the police have had all thecredit in forty-nine. I don’t blame you for not knowing this, foryou are young and inexperienced, but if you wish to get on in yournew duties you will work with me and not against me.”
“I’d be very glad of a hint or two,” said the detective, changinghis manner. “I’ve certainly had no credit from the case so far.”