The Return of Sherlock Holmes Part 23 (2/2)
”Now, sir, I must ask you more particularly what this document is, and why its disappearance should have such ed a quick glance and the Preathered in a frown
”Mr Hol, thin one of pale blue colour There is a seal of red wax stae, bold handwriting to----”
”I fear, sir,” said Hol and indeed essential as these details are, s What WAS the letter?”
”That is a State secret of the utmost importance, and I fear that I cannot tell you, nor do I see that it is necessary If by the aid of the pohich you are said to possess you can find such an envelope as I describe with its enclosure, you will have deserved well of your country, and earned any rehich it lies in our power to bestow”
Sherlock Holmes rose with a smile
”You are two of the most busy men in the country,” said he, ”and in ret exceedingly that I cannot help you in this matter, and any continuation of this intervieould be a waste of ti to his feet with that quick, fierce gleam of his deep-set eyes before which a Cabinet has cowered ”I aer and resumed his seat For a minute or ed his shoulders
”We ht, and it is unreasonable for us to expect you to act unless we give you our entire confidence”
”I agree with you,” said the younger states entirely upon your honour and that of your colleague, Dr Watson I ine a greater misfortune for the country than that this affair should come out”
”You may safely trust us”
”The letter, then, is fron potentate who has been ruffled by some recent Colonial developments of this country It has been written hurriedly and upon his own responsibility entirely Inquiries have shown that his Ministers know nothing of the matter At the same time it is couched in so unfortunate a manner, and certain phrases in it are of so provocative a character, that its publication would undoubtedly lead to ain this country There would be such a ferment, sir, that I do not hesitate to say that within a week of the publication of that letter this country would be involved in a great war”
Holmes wrote a name upon a slip of paper and handed it to the Premier
”Exactly It was he And it is this letter--this letter which may well mean the expenditure of a thousand millions and the lives of a hundred thousand men--which has become lost in this unaccountable fashi+on”
”Have you inforram has been despatched”
”Perhaps he desires the publication of the letter”
”No, sir, we have strong reason to believe that he already understands that he has acted in an indiscreet and hot-headed reater blow to him and to his country than to us if this letter were to come out”
”If this is so, whose interest is it that, the letter should come out? Why should anyone desire to steal it or to publish it?”
”There, Mr Holh international politics But if you consider the European situation you will have no difficulty in perceiving the motive The whole of Europe is an arue which makes a fair balance of military power Great Britain holds the scales If Britain were driven into ith one confederacy, it would assure the supremacy of the other confederacy, whether they joined in the war or not Do you follow?”
”Very clearly It is then the interest of the enemies of this potentate to secure and publish this letter, so as to make a breach between his country and ours?”
”Yes, sir”
”And to ould this document be sent if it fell into the hands of an enereat Chancelleries of Europe It is probably speeding on its way thither at the present instant as fast as steam can take it”
Mr Trelawney Hope dropped his head on his chest and groaned aloud The Premier placed his hand kindly upon his shoulder
”It is your misfortune, my dear fellow No one can blalected Now, Mr Holmes, you are in full possession of the facts What course do you recommend?”
Holmes shook his head mournfully
”You think, sir, that unless this document is recovered there will be war?”
”I think it is very probable”
”Then, sir, prepare for war”
”That is a hard saying, Mr Holmes”
”Consider the facts, sir It is inconceivable that it was taken after eleven-thirty at night, since I understand that Mr Hope and his ere both in the room from that hour until the loss was found out It was taken, then, yesterday evening between seven-thirty and eleven-thirty, probably near the earlier hour, since whoever took it evidently knew that it was there and would naturally secure it as early as possible Now, sir, if a document of this importance were taken at that hour, where can it be now? No one has any reason to retain it It has been passed rapidly on to those who need it What chance haveto overtake or even to trace it? It is beyond our reach”
The Prime Minister rose froical, Mr Holmes I feel that the matter is indeed out of our hands”
”Let us presuument's sake, that the document was taken by the maid or by the valet----”
”They are both old and tried servants”
”I understand you to say that your room is on the second floor, that there is no entrance froo up unobserved It must, then, be somebody in the house who has taken it To ould the thief take it? To one of several international spies and secret agents, whose names are tolerably familiar to me There are three who inif each of the--especially if he has disappeared since last night-- ill have soone”
”Why should he be ?” asked the European Secretary ”He would take the letter to an Embassy in London, as likely as not”
”I fancy not These agents work independently, and their relations with the Embassies are often strained”
The Prime Minister nodded his acquiescence
”I believe you are right, Mr Holmes He would take so valuable a prize to headquarters with his own hands I think that your course of action is an excellent one Meanwhile, Hope, we cannot neglect all our other duties on account of this onethe day we shall communicate with you, and you will no doubt let us know the results of your own inquiries”
The two statesravely from the room
When our illustrious visitors had departed Holmes lit his pipe in silence and sat for so paper and was immersed in a sensational criht before, whento his feet, and laid his pipe down upon the mantelpiece
”Yes,” said he, ”there is no better way of approaching it The situation is desperate, but not hopeless Even now, if we could be sure which of them has taken it, it is just possible that it has not yet passed out of his hands After all, it is a question of money with these fellows, and I have the British treasury behind me If it's on the market I'll buy it--if it means another penny on the incoht hold it back to see what bids come from this side before he tries his luck on the other There are only those three capable of playing so bold a game--there are Oberstein, La Rothiere, and Eduardo Lucas I will see each of them”