Today's London is covered with a thick curtain of rain from the northernmost point of London to the southernmost point.

Greenwich, of course, was also caught in the rain.

In the Wheatstone Musical Instrument Store, Arthur, wearing a big-brimmed hat, had a lot of rain falling on his shoulders, and he leaned against the counter and swallowed the clouds, and between the clouds, his sharp black eyes scanned back and forth the store as if it had been ransacked by bandits.

After a long while, Arthur spoke, "Mr. Wheatstone, why didn't you call the police?" ”

"Call the police?" Wheatstone's head shuddered from under the counter, and there was still a hint of happiness on his face for the rest of his life: "How dare I call the police?" Those people say they were introduced by you! ”

"Oh?" Arthur pinched his chin and pondered the words, "You mean to say that I brought the devil here?" ”

"Who else but you? Those people are like crazy! One of them counted one, and they all said they wanted to buy a gramophone. I told them that the store was out of stock, and they seemed to be going crazy, scrambling to stuff the deposit into my arms.

I said I couldn't do that much in a short period of time, and they didn't believe it one by one. And the group of people also threatened me that if they can't get the goods when the time comes, they will definitely have a hard time in the future, and if they have a hard time, then I don't want to have a good time.

After they put these harsh words behind, they snapped up the other instruments in my store. Before you came, a drunken man came into the store, and he saw that I didn't have anything on the shelves, and thought I was a furniture seller, so he dragged my chair away. ”

With his arm resting on the table, Arthur sipped his pipe and said, "Isn't that good?" I congratulate you, Mr. Wheatstone, on your recent business boom! ”

"Yes! Thanks to you, my business is booming! ”

Perhaps angry, Wheatstone, who has always been afraid of social interactions, burst out in front of Arthur: "Those tricks you taught me are not good at all, and guns can't scare anyone at all!" I didn't have to take out my gun for two seconds before it was snatched away by the group! ”

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help frowning: "Can't the gun scare them?" ”

Wheatstone said this, and angrily tapped his knuckles on the table: "Isn't it? The guy's head was like a head in the Thames, and they snatched my gun and praised me. Those stupid asses actually said, "This gun I made is pretty fucking like that!" Tell me, Mr. Hastings, if I can't even frighten this herd of donkeys, can I scare the apprentices of the Royal Society? ”

Arthur shook his head slightly, "It's different, Mr. Wheatstone. According to my experience in handling cases, it is precisely because I am a donkey that I am not afraid of guns. People who don't read much, or have nothing, are usually the least afraid of death, and if the gentlemen and ladies had come to buy the gramophone in person, instead of their servants, you wouldn't have suffered such an embarrassment. You know, those upper-class people can almost be regarded as the most life-saving group in Great Britain. ”

When Wheatstone heard this, he just said angrily, "What the hell did you say to them?" I've never seen so many customers in my life, and it's been the same for the past few days, and if it hadn't rained today, I'm afraid my little shop would have to be stuffed with them again. ”

Arthur shrugged: "Actually, I didn't say anything, Mr. Wheatstone, you have to believe that it is the quality of your products that has brought so many new customers, and I am just polishing on this basis." ”

Wheatstone didn't believe Arthur's nonsense, and he pouted, "Polish? Can you attract so many flies just by polishing? Oh! Then I really have to thank God for everyone! Thankfully, you're endorsing a gramophone, not a toilet or toilet. ”

When Arthur heard this, he just glanced at the red devil on the side, and he replied apologetically: "Actually, if the price is high enough, I can also consider endorsing the toilet and toilet." But given that a friend of mine has a feud with the toilet, I feel that at some point, it is necessary to take care of his feelings. ”

Speaking of this, Arthur suddenly changed his words: "But I came here today on purpose, not to discuss the toilet with you." I'm here to ask you, have you done the gramophone I booked privately with you a while ago? ”

When Wheatstone heard this, he said with an unhappy face: "Where is the gramophone so easy to make, and you don't want to think about it, it's only been a few days since you notified me?" One thing you have to understand, Mr. Hastings, is that there are limits to human beings. I'm a man, not a donkey. ”

Arthur frowned slightly, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his voice: "Mr. Wheatstone, if you say that, then I will have to discuss with you about losing your gun." Do you know how big a crime it is to steal a pistol from a Scottish Yard police officer? ”

"Theft?" Wheatstone was excited: "Didn't you give me the pistol?" If I lose the gun, I'll go to the arsenal and buy one and return it to you. ”

"That's not going to work." Arthur shook his finger slightly: "Mr. Wheatstone, you may not know. Since there was a serious case of missing firearms in Scotland Yard in the first half of this year, every pistol in Scotland Yard has been marked and numbered since then. ”

Wheatstone's eyes widened when he heard this: "This ......"

But soon, his eyes rolled, and he looked like a dead pig who was not afraid of boiling water: "The gun is not in my hand, how can you prove that I stole the gun?" ”

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but applaud Wheatstone: "Very good logic, Mr. Wheatstone, the gun is indeed not in your hand, so I can only go door to door to ask those gentlemen and ladies whose servants got the gun." ”

"That's right! They got the gun, what does it matter to me? ”

"Yes, but where did they get their guns?"

"Me."

"Where did you get your gun?"

"You!" As soon as Wheatstone said this, his face instantly turned black like a dark cloud outside the door, and he raised his finger tremblingly, pointed at Arthur and said, "Black...... Mr. Hastings, you ...... You want to frame me? ”

Arthur pulled out the tin box with tobacco in his pocket and filled it with a clean pipe, and said, "No, I didn't try to frame you. You know, Scotland Yard never frames good citizens. Especially in the police district under my jurisdiction, such situations are strictly prohibited. ”

Wheatstone took a deep breath, leaned forward, and asked softly, "What is your definition of a good citizen?" ”

Arthur took out a match and re-lit his pipe: "It's very simple, if you are willing to cooperate with the police, you are a good citizen." ”

Wheatstone continued: "So what does it mean to be willing to cooperate with the police?" ”

"It depends."

"And what about today?"

Arthur took a puff of his pipe: "Today's good citizen means being able to hand over two phonographs before I leave." ”

Wheatstone slapped his face, and he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, "Mr. Hastings." ”

"Huh?"

"I'm starting to regret knowing you a little." Wheatstone looked up at the ceiling, his face full of exhaustion: "If I had had the courage to stand on the podium of the Royal Society, perhaps I would not have met you." ”

Arthur unceremoniously lifted the teapot on the counter and gently poured two cups, one to Wheatstone and one in his hand.

Only a clank was heard, and Arthur held the teacup and touched Wheatstone: "Respect for our great encounter!" ”

Wheatstone picked up the teacup and drank it down, then slammed the teacup on the table: "To the fucking courage!" ”

With that, Wheatstone sighed and went to the back room of the musical instrument shop, and went to get the gramophone he had been thinking of for Arthur.

Agareth, who was smiling evilly, pushed his glasses, and the Red Devil spoke: "Arthur, it seems that your special training for his speech has been very successful!" But this Charles Wheatstone is also such a weirdo, and this is the first time I've seen someone get angry because there are too many guests who come to deliver money. ”

Arthur shook his teacup as he spoke, "It's nothing, an expert in science, a little personality is deserved." Given Mr. Wheatstone's exceptional talent and hands-on ability, I feel I can tolerate this little temper of his. After all, in the future, the work of LPS will rely on talents like him. A donkey like me, who can only wield swords and swords, can't do much of a thing. ”

The Red Devil rubbed his hands together and smiled, "Oh! My dear Arthur, don't take your own evil talents too lightly. You can do a lot of things that no one else can think of, but only if you have to be able to let go of something. For example, in order to keep your Ethics Bureau, you may need to do something shady first. ”

When Arthur heard this, he was stunned for a moment, then raised his eyebrows and asked, "Listening to your tone, it seems that there was a problem with the Prime Minister's questioning on Wednesday today?" ”

The Red Devil said excitedly: "It's not just a problem, it's explosive!" ”

Arthur chuckled as he asked, "Someone planted explosives in the Capitol again?" ”

"Not really. Arthur, I don't mean that by explosiveness. ”

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief: "It's okay if there are no dead people." I don't want to run around for a pile of corpses of parliamentarians, and London has had a hard time stopping lately. ”

When the Red Devil heard this, he pretended to be mysterious and said, "But even if there are no dead people, the ministers of Wellington's cabinet are almost dying." ”

"Huh?" Arthur squinted at the Red Devil, and he opened his mouth to chase, "Agareth, what the hell are you up to?" ”

The Red Devil grinned, and between the sharp fangs of a knife, it was his long bright red tongue that he flicked: "Arthur, don't you understand? The Whigs have formally submitted a motion of no confidence in the Cabinet to Parliament today, and with the current situation, Wellington's Cabinet is already in jeopardy! Don't blame me for not reminding you, if you don't want to be kicked out after the cabinet changes, you'd better think of a way to save your life. ”

Who knew that Arthur was not surprised when he heard this, but was unusually calm.

"I thought what was the matter, wasn't it the fall of the cabinet? I thought they were all sent to God. Even if the Whigs came up, Scotland Yard would still do those things, at most my immediate boss would change someone. ”

The Red Devil raised his eyebrows and said, "You're not worried? ”

"Worried, of course I'm worried."

Arthur smiled, "Otherwise, what do you think I'm here for today?" Have you forgotten? Didn't our dear and reliable friend Charles, who is engaged in parliamentary interviews, just bring back the latest news for me the other day?

Of the options he has given, I think that if the Tories fall, the most likely person to succeed as Home Secretary will be the Viscount of Melbourne, who likes to lie down in Parliament and fall asleep. And my most important trip today was to deliver the gramophone that my sister Mrs. Cooper had booked. ”

(End of chapter)