London is always very dangerous at night, and in the final moments when the sun is sinking into the horizon, smart Londoners usually choose to hide early in their homes to enjoy the little sense of security, while the night life of stupid and unafraid drunkards has just begun.

If you want to make a sure business in 19th-century London, opening a cheap pub is definitely the way to go.

Of course, in order to build a good relationship with his customers, the tavern owner must possess some of the same qualities as his guests, and if this quality is not stupid, then he will have to spare his life.

And the most desperate tavern owner in London is naturally Judd Martin, the owner of the Martin Brasserie in Whitechurch.

As usual, just an hour after the tavern opened, the almost daily farce took place.

A drunken guest, who didn't know what was stimulated, stood on a stool with one foot, held a wine glass in his hand and scolded, "Big ...... All eyes are on me, and I'm going to tell you a truth! ”

The other guests threw their eyes on him, their faces with an unhealthy flush flashing with countless staring eyes.

"What are you going to say? Brother? ”

"You...... Hiccup, are you going to announce that you're a fool? ”

"I'm tired of hearing this joke, and if you say anything like this old stuff again, I'm going to punch you hard in the chin."

The guest just burped and said, "I'm going to tell you, all lawyers in the world are stupid!" Lao Tzu gave them so much money, but I still can't win my lawsuit! They're a bunch of authentic London ruffians! ”

When a guest who was originally drunk heard this, he suddenly held one hand on the table and forcibly straightened his waist: "This gentleman, you...... I ask you to take back your words, I don't allow you to insult me like this, you're just fucking farting! ”

"What's wrong? Are you a lawyer? ”

"No!" The guest burped and threw his torn felt hat to the ground: "I'm a London ruffian. ”

As soon as he finished saying this, the tavern burst into laughter, and a few sounds like the crowing of a donkey could be faintly heard.

At that moment, the barred door of the tavern was pushed open, and Arthur, dressed in a black trench coat, walked into the tavern with a pipe in his mouth, and glanced into the room with a frown, and asked Mr. Martin, "What's new in the shop?" I thought Londoners didn't eat donkeys. ”

When Mr. Martin saw the big backer coming, he hurriedly put down the beer glass he was wiping and greeted him: "Mr. Hastings, what are you kidding?" We've got something good here, don't we have to reserve one for you first? Now, where am I going to get you a Scotsman! ”

He took the coat off from Arthur's hand and hurriedly shouted at the back kitchen, "Annie! Annie! Mr. Hastings is here, and everything that should be prepared is quickly prepared, and it will be sent to the second floor in a moment! ”

Arthur didn't rush upstairs, but leaned against the pillar on the first floor and looked at the guests in the tavern.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for him to find a few familiar faces, and he casually called out a few names: "Brown, Taylor, Wilkins, you three have given me some points recently, don't make trouble." Scotland Yard has had a hard time lately, and if you hit the gun, don't blame me for not warning you. Although your eldest sister has probably given you an order, I think it's better to emphasize it to you again just to be on the safe side, do you understand? ”

The three hooligans lay on the wine table and raised their hands slightly, but looking at their eyes that were out of focus, it was estimated that they would not be able to hear these words.

Seeing this, Arthur only took a puff of cigarette: "I hope you don't wait until you step on the exile ship to regret it, at your age, you can't win the sympathy of the jury." ”

With that, he walked up the stairs into the private room on the second floor.

And here, an old friend of his has been waiting for a long time.

As soon as he stepped into the room, Arthur saw a bulky machine on the table in the room, and next to the machine sat a haggard Wheatstone.

Arthur opened his arms and smiled, "Charles, my most reliable chief scientific adviser to the London Police Intelligence Agency, I knew you wouldn't disappoint me." Although the delivery date was half a year later than we expected, you finally overcame the technical hurdles and delivered it to me when I needed it most. ”

Wheatstone let out a long sigh: "I knew this thing was so difficult to do, I shouldn't have taken this order from you in the first place." The complexity of this thing is not on the same level as that of a phonograph, and it took me three or four months to make up my knowledge of electromagnetism in order to do it well. But thankfully, the theories you put forward are correct, so I was able to hurry up and deliver today.

But, Arthur, I have to remind you that this thing is far more expensive to build than a phonograph, and since sound is to be converted into an electromagnetic signal, the wire used in this wire recorder must be of extremely high purity. In other words, this thing cannot be transferred to the civilian field on a large scale, at least in a short period of time. ”

Wheatstone thought that Arthur would be furious when he heard this, but who knew that Arthur was not only not angry, but nodded with great satisfaction: "Well done, Charles, this is exactly what I want." ”

Wheatstone was stunned for a long time, and after a long time, he tilted his head and frowned and asked, "Arthur, is there something wrong with your head?" When you first held a concert, you wanted to make the most profits, and secretly recorded exclusive records of those musicians. Why now you don't care about the commercial benefits of the product again. ”

Arthur walked over to the tape recorder, which was almost half a meter, pinched his chin and looked up and down, and muttered: "Although this volume is a bit large, it is probably impossible to sneak it somewhere, but fortunately, few people know its ......."

Wheatstone's hairs stood on end when he heard this, and he finally understood what Arthur had asked him to make this thing for.

Wheatstone stammered, "Ya...... Arthur, you ...... Do you want to ...... That's illegal! ”

When Arthur heard this, he just smiled slightly, and he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Charles, is there any law in Britain that prohibits recording?" ”

"This ......" Wheatstone's brain was short-circuited, he savored it, and suddenly exclaimed: "This ...... It doesn't seem to be ...... The tape recorder has just come out, how can there be legislation? But...... With all due respect, this is immoral after all! ”

Arthur dragged a chair and sat down, picked up the teapot on the table and poured himself a cup: "Immoral? Oh, my dear Charles, I don't know when you'll find a place to be a pastor. Besides, aren't you going to hear what I'm going to record with it? ”

Wheatstone asked, "And what are you going to record with it?" ”

Arthur sipped his lipstick tea: "Of course, some private recordings that are not suitable for public." ”

"Isn't that immoral?"

Arthur shook his finger slightly: "Charles, you can't say that. There's a saying in our York countryside that you can't pee into your own eating basin because you have to use it yourself. Although this is a vulgar statement, the truth is like this. If I tell you now that the London Police Intelligence Service is likely to be revoked for lack of this recording, and that all your research dollars will be lost, what should you do? ”

"This ......," Wheatstone asked, "Is it that serious?" ”

Arthur smiled and replied, "Oh, Charles, you're lucky that you're a scientist and not a police officer at Scotland Yard. So you don't know what kind of trouble we're in right now, and you don't have to worry about that, but ......"

As soon as Arthur said this, there was a knock at the door.

Immediately after, there was a voice that was so crooked that it seemed to have fallen into a sugar jar: "Mr. Hastings, my sweetheart, ask me over so late, it seems that you have figured it out?" You finally realize I'm worth two hundred pounds? ”

When Arthur heard this, he just pointed behind Wheatstone: "Look, Charles, what am I talking about, this is what I face every day." ”

Wheatstone just swallowed and foamed, "Really? Why do I find it tempting? But what's the deal with those two hundred pounds? ”

Arthur didn't answer Wheatstone's question, he just got up and pulled the door open, grabbed Fiona by the arm, and pulled her into the room.

As soon as Fiona entered the room, the smile on his face instantly froze, he looked at Wheatstone, who nodded to him with a shy smile on his face, and then turned his head to look at Arthur in the dark, and suddenly his almond-like eyes widened and asked, "Hastings, what do you mean?" The old lady is not such a casual woman, and I have to consider it if you double the money. ”

"Ma'am, you can't help but think that making money is too easy."

Arthur sat back in his chair, leaned back in his chair and asked, "Where's the intelligence?" After three days with Mr. Harrison, I can't get nothing. ”

When Fiona heard this, she just pouted dissatisfiedly, and then with a slight clinch of her hands, she took out an envelope from her bodice and threw it on the table: "Heh! It's really not interesting, working like this every day, why didn't it exhaust you to death? ”

Arthur was not annoyed when he heard this, but took a small bottle from his pocket and threw it at Fiona.

"What is this?"

Fiona grabbed the bottle, she looked down, and through the not-so-bright light, she could vaguely see an amber-colored semi-viscous liquid flowing in the small transparent glass bottle, and its brand name was engraved on the surface of the bottle, Rui Wei.

Fiona was slightly stunned: "This ......"

Arthur raised an eyebrow and asked, "So, can you go back to work now?" ”

"A bottle of perfume and you want to send me away?" Fiona snorted disdainfully, "Please, I'm not the kind of teenage innocent girl, your trick is too old-fashioned." ”

"Well, you're a shrewd woman." Arthur had a look of regret on his face, and he pulled out the hot ticket from his jacket pocket: "Then you take this, and the perfume will be returned to me." ”

"Pay you back? When something falls into my hands, it will be mine. Fiona put one hand in the corner of her eye and pretended to cry, "Oh! Ask a lovely lady for something to give away, Mr. Hastings, though you're a police officer, you have to pretend to be a gentleman even if you're pretending to be hard, right? ”

"Okay, okay." Arthur first opened the envelope and glanced at it, and then shook the ticket at Fiona: "For the sake of your good work, the ticket and perfume are yours, but I have to state in advance, this is the only time, and I will not be an example in the future." ”

When Fiona heard this, she leaned over and dangled her two hands on the ticket for a long time, her eyes narrowed slightly, and she stared at Arthur's face for a long time, but in the end, she still retracted her hand.

The blonde half-breed girl snorted from her nose dissatisfied: "Come on, if I take this money, you probably have to find a reason to quit me another day." Forget it, a bottle of perfume is a bottle of perfume, it's better than nothing. But, Mr. Hastings, as you said, this is only this time, and we will not make an example. ”

With that, Fiona lifted the hem of her skirt, tucked one foot behind her and bent her knee slightly in a standard lady's salute: "Goodnight, then, Mr. Hastings, I hope you are not with a man when I see you at night." It's been a long time, and I've grown a little bit. Even though a vulgar woman like me has been in the embassy for half a year, these cumbersome and high-class etiquette still let me learn seventy-seven-eighty-eight. ”

With a soft closing of the door, Whistlestone's glowing eyes also went out, and he couldn't help but shake his head, "What a beautiful lady." ”

Arthur also took his attention away from Fiona, and he put his hand in the inner pocket of his waistcoat, as if groping for something.

When Wheatstone saw him like this, he couldn't help but wonder, "Arthur, what are you doing?" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a clanging sound in his ears, and Arthur spread his hands, and a pile of colorful perfume bottles were placed on the table.

Wheatstone scratched his head: "Where are you going to stock here?" That's enough perfume to open a perfume shop. ”

In Wheatstone's confused eyes, Arthur calmly took a puff on his cigarette, put his arms on the table, and asked, "Charles." ”

"What's wrong?"

Arthur pointed to the perfume bottle on the table and said with some embarrassment: "You are a scientist who is obsessed with research, so you may not care about this." So let me introduce you first, this is the most fashionable perfume brand in London right now - Rui Puzzle. Each bottle of perfume is carefully prepared by the renowned French perfumer Monsieur Remy. And as you saw just now, each bottle of perfume is worth two hundred pounds. But since we are old friends, I can't cheat you, so let's just give you a discount, here are ten bottles, even if you are a thousand pounds, let's settle the payment for the tape recorder like this, do you think it's okay? ”

(End of chapter)