Arthur ordered a beer and mixed it in a penny room, leaning against the wall and quietly listening to the impromptu tunes of the wandering singer, in the dim light and noisy environment, Arthur in a trench coat seemed to blend in.

In that dark corner, no one cared what kind of identity this big man was, and what purpose he was here.

Even Fiona's little sisters only paid attention to him at first, and then stopped caring about him.

As for the East End gangsters who came in late, the older ones wanted to come up and talk to Arthur, but after being politely refused, they also found a free spot to watch the play by themselves.

The younger thugs were still curious about the identity of the big young man, and it wasn't until they learned from the old thug's mysterious tone that it was Mr. Arthur Hastings, that they began to feel an inexplicable sense of horror.

The name Arthur Hastings seemed to most of the East Side guys like something strange that was both distant and within reach.

When you haven't met him, you always feel that he is a big stone in your heart, and the old man often takes out this name as a kind of intimidation and education when he teaches his younger brother who has just entered the industry.

But when he does come to you, he doesn't seem to be so spirited, it's not some kind of evil alarm star with a black cloak, scheming, and a few sharp fangs at the corners of his mouth, and he doesn't seem to have the habit of sitting by the window facing the moonlight and drinking blood from a silver cup.

Judging by his face to-day, at least, Mr. Hastings was quite happy with a penny of ale.

The only thing worth noting was the plate he was carrying, not ham, not smoked fish, not bacon, omelette and butter jam toast as middle-class gentlemen often ate, but a plate of salt-baked peanuts.

The East End ruffians who often come to the tavern know that there is no such thing on the menu of Martin's Tavern, and the greedy and grumpy Mr. Martin has never accepted additional orders from customers, and can ask Martin to obediently serve him a plate of peanuts, which does show that this taciturn big man is indeed the same Mr. Hastings who makes the eldest sister stammer.

The young thugs watched Arthur's movements, consciously or unconsciously, as they saw him put peanuts into his mouth one by one, and from time to time he hummed a few words to the words of the wandering singer.

Suddenly, Mr. Martin opened the curtain of the penny house and entered, and he walked up to Arthur and nodded a few words, followed by a middle-sized young man with riding boots, a wooden suitcase, a seal beard, and piercing eyes.

The thugs who had been a soldier only had to look at it to know that the young man who was following Martin must have been a soldier, and that he should have been an officer, because his steps were so hard that when he swung his arms, one hand swung widely, but the other hand did not shake much, and at a glance he knew that he was used to holding a command knife.

Arthur listened to Martin's narration as he ate, then nodded slightly, stood up, and handed Martin the empty plate he held in his hand.

For the first time, the thugs heard the magnetic husky voice of the Scotland Yard bigwig: "Peanuts ...... today"

The thugs held their breath and raised their hearts to their throats one by one, and they saw Arthur lift the edge of his trench coat to reveal the Hastings M1831.

They thought to themselves: Could this be because the peanuts are boiled hard, and they plan to kill Mr. Martin?

They saw Arthur's hand droop slowly, then jerked it into his trouser pocket and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth.

Arthur wiped his mouth with one hand, and pointed to his throat with the other and said: "Today's peanuts, there is too much salt, and I have been sucked away, listen to my voice." ”

Martin said with a smile on his face: "It's really my fault, when I baked peanuts, I kept thinking about you telling me not to cut corners in business, I thought too much, and the amount of salt I didn't control." Look, why don't I get you some lighter dishes, or some gin for you? ”

Arthur waved his hand lightly: "Drink too much, I can't get drunk in front of the guests, otherwise how can I talk about business?" ”

"You're saying that I'm not thinking it through. Then do you want to go up now, or ......" Martin glanced back at the place where the thugs had gathered, and then said with a half-hunched smile "Mr. Hastings......"

Arthur followed Martin's gaze, his gaze fell on a young man with brown hair and black eyes, a peaked cap, a white shirt, an open dark gray long-sleeved jacket, and a pair of dirt-resistant dark black bib pants, which was a classic East End Wharf gangster outfit.

Arthur poured the last bit of beer into his mouth and asked, "Is that what Anne has a crush on?" ”

Martin took off his hat to reveal the narrow black peninsula he was lying on his stomach in the stubborn Mediterranean: "Yes, how much do you think I should pay you?" ”

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but shake his head: "Martin, Martin, what did I do to make you disrespect me so much?" I said a long time ago that if you come to me as a friend, then those who try to hurt you and your family will get their due retribution. ”

Arthur didn't say much, but asked Louis Bonaparte, who was standing behind Martin: "When you were studying at the Swiss military academy, did the instructors teach you how to deal with the ruffians?" ”

Louis Bonaparte said with a cold face: "When I was in the Swiss Military Academy, I studied the Prussian military regulations, do you want to hear about it?" ”

Arthur thought for a moment, nodded slightly, and said, "How did the Prussians deal with troublemakers?" ”

Louis Bonaparte proclaimed: "According to Prussian military law, those who disobey the orders of their officers shall be punished with caning, whether they confront or argue." As for the number of canes, depending on the physical condition of the person being punished, a maximum of 30 lashes may be applied. Soldiers who threaten their commanders with swords or other weapons are punishable by death without pardon. Soldiers are punished by hanging for stealing their superiors and other people's property, car crashes are punished for roadblocks, fingers are cut off for those who lie with false oaths, burns at the stake for spell casters, and alcoholics on duty are shackled and paraded in public displays and deprived of all military honors. ”

Arthur couldn't help but shake his head when he heard this: "That sounds like the Prussian army is too cruel. ”

Speaking of this, Arthur looked up at the place where the thugs gathered, and he asked, "I know that some of you have retired from the army, how do you punish soldiers in the British army?" ”

When a few of the old thugs heard this, they just laughed, and they took off their hats and replied, "Mr. Hastings, our rules are not so elaborate there, and most of the time we use the Nine-Tailed Leather Whip. I've had 50 lashes, and it's no better than being burned at the stake. ”

"You can carry fifty lashes alive is also an iron beating, and there is a man in our regiment who has been beaten to death by a military judge after thirty lashes."

"Then he must have not given the military judge any money, or he had offended him in peacetime."

"It's not necessarily like that, I've heard that some regiments will soak the whip in urine before the execution, and when the skin on the body is opened, the urine will melt into the wound, and it is normal for ordinary people to die after 30 lashes."

"That's why I said, don't be a soldier for anything, especially the army, it's not as good as livestock."

The old thugs talk about their early years, while the young thugs turn pale from the horrors of the army.

When Arthur heard this, he just put his hat back on, smiled at them and said, "In that case, you don't want to go back to the Army to revisit your old place, right?" ”

"Of course not, even if I go to the graveyard, I won't go back there."

"Mr. Hastings, don't be joking. This sentence fell on my ears, and I probably couldn't sleep well for three days. ”

Arthur nodded slightly: "Then please remember to stay away from Miss Anne, a man who can't stand thirty lashes can't control her." By the way, I'm not kidding. ”

When the thugs heard this, they immediately understood what Arthur meant, and they also knew that there was a young man in their house who seemed to have hooked up with Anne.

The old thugs bared their teeth and grinned: "Don't worry, Mr. Hastings, we all treat Anne as our own sister, and whoever dares to fight her idea must ask our fist first." ”

"If we want to put Anne on the line, we don't need him to be whipped thirty times, as long as he can survive 50 lashes, then I will treat him as a man."

"That's right, it's got to be a pee-stained whip."

When the brown-haired young thug heard these words, his lips turned slightly blue with fright, and he barely managed to squeeze out a smile and echoed, "That's right, Anne is not a bastard who can touch anything. ”

Seeing him like this, Arthur just shook his head lightly and whispered, "It seems that Anne's vision is really bad." ”

With that, he led Louis Bonaparte out of the penny house.

Martin hurriedly followed, and he wanted to say something to Arthur: "Mr. Hastings......"

But before he could finish speaking, Arthur put his finger between his lips, pointed to the empty plate that still had a little salt in Martin's hand, and said, "Martin, you are an honest man, so remember, you owe me not only a good plate of peanuts, but also a friendship." I may or may not need your help one day, but before that day comes, please accept it as a gift to bless you with the renovation of your shop. ”

Martin said gratefully, "Of course, of course, Mr. Hastings, I will remember." ”

Arthur smiled and nodded, and without looking back, led Louis Bonaparte up the stairs to the private room on the second floor.

He pushed open the door of the private room, and in front of the window of the room, a muscular man in the middle of his white shirt was standing straight in front of the window, as if admiring the light rain drifting outside the window.

When Arthur saw this, he didn't go in directly, but took out a business card from his pocket and looked at it, and then compared it with the prime man in front of him, and then smiled and read out the honorific name on the business card: "French Sword Master, Foil Napoleon, Guardian Gladiolus from Paris, Mr. François-Joseph Bertrand?" ”

Hearing Arthur call out his series of titles, the other party only snorted softly, and then chanted the same: "Then you must be: the swift Wellington of Scotland Yard, the second captain Kidd who runs rampant in the English Channel, the fearless red-bearded Barbarossa, the apprentice who fought him on the Barbary pirates, the sword saint Fiore is invincible, and the one who shouted no hero to make George Silver famous, Mr. Arthur Hastings?" ”

Arthur was stunned when he heard this, and he muttered to Louis Bonaparte beside him, "What's going on?" ”

Louis Bonaparte coughed lightly, and he lowered his voice: "The idea of Monsieur de Rothschild, the manuscript written by Monsieur de Raeli, the honorific name given by Monsieur Dumas, the propaganda of the Times yesterday, the front page headlines of current affairs." Didn't you read the newspaper today? I'll just put it on the second stack of your desk, the one pressed underneath the police meeting papers. ”

Arthur then understood what was going on, and he couldn't help but shake his head and said, "I've been busy dealing with the priests and Gladstone today, and I haven't read the newspaper for a day, and it turns out that I have made a big news." These three bastards are still working hard to make money! ”

Louis Bonaparte just whispered: "Actually, it's good, I heard that the ticket price for this sword duel has been speculated higher and higher." If it weren't for that, how could we ......?"

When he said this, he just glanced at the suitcase he was carrying, and he said, "Sir, don't talk so much, let's get to the point." ”

But this time, before Arthur could speak, Bertrand had already turned around first: "Mr. Hastings, why are you standing at the door?" Come in and sit down, I don't have a sword or a gun with me today. ”

When Arthur heard this, he smiled brightly and said, "Of course, what happens on the stage is on the stage, and we can be friends off the stage." I have always separated work and life, and I believe you are the same. ”

The two of them came to the table and sat down, Bertrand looked up at the decoration and the murals on the walls to support the scenes, and couldn't help but sigh: "Although the decoration here is not at all comparable to the luxury restaurants in London, this is the East End of London after all." It's surprising that there are such restaurant boxes in the East End. ”

Arthur took a sip of tea, and he frowned a little because of the bitter tea: "The dirty and narrow streets of the East End often give people the illusion, but in fact, there are some unknown treasures here, just like this box. Mr. Bertrand, this is not worth making a fuss about. ”

Bertrand laughed, "Of course, but what surprised me even more was that you would ask me to meet at a restaurant in the East End." When I first got invited, I thought someone was joking with me. Until now, I still have such doubts, are you really Mr. Arthur Hastings? ”

Arthur took a piece of candy and put it in the black teacup: "It doesn't matter if I'm Arthur Hastings or not, the important thing is that I'm here to make friends with you." As I said earlier, the sword competition is not important at all, it is a job, and I value you more than simply winning or losing. Although we have only known each other for a short time, these three or two sentences made me realize that you are very cheerful. ”

When Bertrand heard this, he leaned back in his chair, and folded his hands around him, and said, "Say whatever you want, Mr. Hastings." I don't like beating around the bush, and I don't like the sun hidden behind dark clouds in London. You also know the way the French are made, we are not the same as the British. ”

Louis Bonaparte couldn't help frowning when he heard this.

His hand drooped slightly, ready to reach into his pocket, but before he could do so, Arthur gently held him down.

Arthur smiled and said, "Oh, very good. Mr. Bertrand, to be honest, I'm actually a straightforward person. I am not a good character to find in Britain, and if it weren't for that, I wouldn't have been able to make friends with the French. In case you didn't know, I also have a French tenant. In fact, I don't mean anything else when I ask you to come here today, I just want to reconcile accounts with you. I would like to know, how much of the appearance fee you took from the organizers? ”

"You're going to go to such great lengths just to ask this?" Bertrand was a little speechless, and he spoke, "Fifty pounds." ”

When Arthur heard this, he folded his fingers and calculated: "As far as I know, there are more than 10,000 tickets prepared for this competition, of which 4,000 standing tickets cost sixpence, 4,000 sitting tickets cost one shilling, 1,500 tickets for the front row and second floor cost three shillings, and the other 500 are box tickets priced at half a pound. And this is only the official price, if you take the ticket from the middleman, the price is even higher. And that's not even counting the food and beverage revenue from the theater bar during the show. In other words, this game, even according to the lowest and lowest income calculation, can collect 775 pounds for the ticket price alone. And you only took fifty pounds to play with me at the dueling table, do you think that is too good value for money? ”

When Bertrand heard this, he frowned and asked, "What do you mean, Mr. Hastings?" ”

"No, I don't mean anything." Arthur rested his arms on the table, crossed his fingers to support his chin and smiled, "I just want to be friends with you." ”

Bertrand said, "Mr. Hastings, regardless of the fact that this game is about honor, and we don't seem to be friends yet. ”

Arthur chuckled softly, "It's okay, we'll be soon." ”

After that, he opened his mouth and said, "Louie." ”

Louis Bonaparte slammed the suitcase on the table, unlocked it, and slammed the lid open, revealing a brand new pound before Bertrand's eyes.

Bertrand was stunned for a moment, and then stood up in shock: "You...... What are you guys doing here?! ”

Arthur motioned for him to sit down, then pointed to a box of pounds and smiled back, "We don't want to do anything, Mr. Bertrand." You may not know, I have very few friends, but I have a lot of pounds. So, as you can see, I'm just going to make friends with you. ”

(End of chapter)