Louis glanced at the gentleman who spoke, of medium stature, with a dark brown yarmulke, a trench coat that was blown by the wind, and a beard that had fallen from the rain.

Although his beard made him look much older, Louis would have thought that he was a mature gentleman in his forties. However, this experience in the Police Intelligence Bureau taught him a lot of useful skills in recognizing people, and Louie quickly judged that the gentleman in front of him should not be more than thirty years old.

Louis had a judgment in his heart, and even his words became much more confident, and he asked with a smile: "Let me guess, you know Mr. Babbage, and Mr. Babbage used to be a Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge University. Are you his student? An outstanding Cambridge graduate? ”

When the gentleman sitting across from him heard this, he just grabbed his pipe and shook his head: "I do want to go to Cambridge, and it would be a great honour for me to be a student of Mr. Babbage." After all, as you said, he was the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at Cambridge, the same position that Sir Isaac Newton once held. But unfortunately, Cambridge tuition fees are just too expensive for me to afford. ”

Louis was disappointed by the disappointment, but he wasn't too sad. Because guessing that someone else is going through this kind of thing, most of the time it's normal to guess wrong, after all, he's not that person, the clever detective Hastings.

Thinking of this, Louis suddenly became playful, and he wanted to take the opportunity to make fun of his detective friend: "Arthur, what do you think?" ”

As soon as he spoke, Louis noticed Arthur, who was sitting next to him, pinching his chin and looking at a unique scimitar hanging from the gentleman's waist.

It was indeed a miraculous weapon, with the blade bent inwards and a V-shaped groove at the junction between the blade and the hilt, like a dog's leg.

Arthur suddenly turned to the strange gentleman and asked, "Have you been in India?" ”

The gentleman was stunned by the question, and he nodded hesitantly: "I served in Madras, India, for five years, and I just retired from there earlier this year. ”

Arthur thought for a moment and asked, "Are there Gurkha stationed near the unit you serve?" ”

"Gurkhas, you actually know the Gurkhas."

Mr. Strange was amazed: "There are no Gurkha people in the vicinity of the unit I serve, but the unit I serve in is itself composed of Gurkhas, the Gurkha Regiment of the East India Company, and the soldiers there are all brave little men from the mountains of Nepal with olive skin. ”

Louis was also surprised when he heard this: "Sir, you are a British, why did the East India Company arrange for you to serve in the Gurkha Regiment?" ”

"No, no, you're mistaken, I'm an officer, not a soldier." The stranger waved his hand again and again: "Before I was discharged from the army, I was in charge of commanding an infantry platoon of thirty people in the Gurkha regiment. ”

Louis smiled and asked, "Isn't that good?" Why don't you just keep working there? If you're lucky enough to fight a few more beautiful battles later, you might be able to become a general in the future at your age. Didn't I remember that the Duke of Wellington came from India? ”

When the stranger heard this, he just took a puff of his cigarette, shook his head and sighed.

"Man, you're thinking too much about things in the military. That's why I took the little inheritance my father left me and donated it to an Indian army second lieutenant. At that time, I thought that although the conditions in India were not as good as those in Britain itself, many of Britain's great names had made their fortunes there, and maybe I could replicate their success paths.

I thought about suffering more when I was young, and I would be blessed when I was older. But when I arrived in India, I realized that I was naïve. Everyone knew that the Duke of Wellington had his origins in India, but no one told me that when His Excellency came to India, his eldest brother, Richard Wellesley, was the Governor of India.

If it weren't for his brother's connections, His Excellency the Duke would never have been able to serve as commander-in-chief of the Fourth Anglo-Maiden War with the rank of colonel. Although His Excellency proved that he was indeed the greatest army commander in British history, he was a fledgling boy at the time of the Fourth Anglo-Maiden War, having fought only one battle in Europe and lost it. Although he hasn't lost since.

I don't say this to attack His Excellency the Duke, but I just want to make a fact. If His Excellency the Duke did not have this relationship with his brother, then it would be absolutely impossible for him to be used in India after losing the war. He couldn't even be a colonel, but like me, he spent five years in the position of second lieutenant, and then he was disgraced. ”

The stranger's sour speech also piqued Louis's interest.

He asked, "Although I know that there is such a thing as a donation officer within the British army, didn't you pay the money when you went to India?" ”

The stranger sighed helplessly: "I only paid the money of the second lieutenant, and if I want to go up, I have to increase the money step by step." In recent years, it has been relatively peaceful in India, and there are no battles in normal times, so it is almost impossible to be promoted because of merit. So, if you want to climb up, just one sentence - the pound is in place. ”

Louis took a deep breath and said, "It's really dark!" ”

Arthur asked, "How much does the rank of second lieutenant cost?" ”

The stranger hugged his knees and smoked a cigarette: "Take an ordinary line infantry regiment as an example, among the ranks that can be purchased, the lowest rank is 450 pounds for second lieutenant, and the highest rank is 4500 pounds for lieutenant colonel. If you want to go to the cavalry and guards regiments, then you have to add money. You should know about the Cold Creek Guards Infantry Regiment, right?

It is the ace infantry regiment whose motto is 'second to none', and the price of their rank is also second to none, I heard that the price of the lieutenant colonel in Leng Creek has been raised to 9,000 pounds some time ago.

Although my rank of second lieutenant was not in Lengxi, because I wanted to go to India, and India is recognized by everyone as a fat poor, I also had a lot of blood at that time. I asked someone to take the position, and it was not easy to win the position for 700 pounds. ”

When Arthur heard this, he smiled and said, "Now I finally understand why you can't afford to pay the Cambridge tuition." ”

The stranger smiled self-deprecatingly: "Who's to say it's not?" Although my father left me a fairly large inheritance, he couldn't stop me from going to India to serve as a soldier! If I had chosen to study at Cambridge, I would have spent £500 at most to cover my tuition fees and living expenses at university, and I would have been able to buy a small house in London for my own with the rest of the money. Unfortunately, I can't afford to go to either Oxford or Cambridge now, and in the first half of this year, I went to the Duchy of Württemberg in Germany to study at the University of Heidelberg in order to find some cheap schools. ”

Louie couldn't hide the smile on his face when he heard this.

Although he felt that he was miserable to be mixed like this as a descendant of the Napoleonic family, seeing the existence of like-minded guys could always relieve his psychological pressure a little.

Louis comforted with kind words: "Don't be too sad, people's luck will change." You have had bad luck in the past few years, maybe God intends to arrange for you to go more smoothly in the future? And the University of Heidelberg is not as bad as you say, although it is not as famous in Britain as Oxford or Cambridge, but it is still a good university. Didn't I remember that Mr. Hegel was a professor there? ”

"Hegel?" The stranger shook his head and said, "He left early, and now he is the president of the University of Berlin." However, I saw him when I went to Berlin, and he didn't seem to be in good health, and he didn't seem to be able to lift his strength when he was speaking. But although Hegel's lecture didn't give me enough pleasure, I saw some delightful gadgets at the University of Berlin. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have dropped out of Heidelberg University and just run all the way back to Britain. ”

Louis was curious: "Oh? What good things have you discovered? ”

The stranger said, "Hmm...... I don't know if you know anything about electromagnetism, it's a new invention in electromagnetism. An electromagnetic telegraph made by Baron Pavel Schilling, a Russian diplomat in Berlin.

It uses the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction to transmit signals using 6 wires, 1 wire to transmit the call at the beginning, and 1 wire as a common wire for the return of current. Six magnetic needles were designed to express different information through the combination of their deflections, corresponding to the codes of the 32 Russian letters.

I was amazed when I saw this new invention, and although the telegraph was still very rudimentary and could only transmit four or five feet of distance, I thought that if I improved on this basis, I would be able to make a telegraph that could transmit messages over long distances across Europe.

On the night I watched the invention show, I was tossing and turning in bed and couldn't sleep. I had been in India for five years, but God gave me such a chance to turn around. If I could make a telegraph, I would soon become one of the richest young men in Britain, like Mr. Wheatstone, who invented the record press.

And the best option to get a telegraph machine is to return to Britain. All of Europe knows that Britain is at the forefront of the new discipline of electromagnetism. Michael Faraday, William Sturgeon, Arthur Hastings, etc., the list of names is enough to show that Britain has a leading edge in the field of electromagnetism.

When Baron Pavel Schilling presented his new invention at the University of Berlin, he also acknowledged the influence of Faraday and Hastings on the birth of the telegraph. If there was no final paper on electromagnetic induction, then the electromagnetic telegraph would not be fundamentally logically valid. So it wasn't too difficult for me to give up my medical degree at Heidelberg University and return to Britain. My life was almost ruined by the Army, and at worst, it was nothing more than that, so I don't mind gambling on the telegraph again. ”

When Louis heard this, his face suddenly became a little strange, and the corners of his mouth twitched and glanced at Arthur beside him.

Arthur burned out the last bit of cigarette, took off his pipe and knocked on the footstool to pour out the ashes: "In that case, I seem to know who you are." ”

"Huh?" The stranger frowned, "Do you know me?" You've served in India as well, we've seen that before? ”

Arthur took two coins out of his bosom and handed them to the shoe-shiner, then smiled and held out his hand to the stranger: "You are Mr. William Cook, right?" Charles told me before that he had made a new friend who had returned from serving in India, and since you were Charles's friend, you were my friend. It's a pleasure to meet you, and I take the liberty of introducing myself, I'm Arthur Hastings. ”

When the stranger heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then his mouth opened violently, and he could almost stuff two goose eggs into his mouth.

"You...... Are you the famous Mr. Hastings? Mr. Wheatstone had mentioned you to me before, but I didn't expect to meet you outside Greyham College today. ”

"Huh?" Arthur raised an eyebrow and said, "Charles and you mentioned me?" What did he say? ”

Cook hurriedly shook Arthur's hand: "Mr. Wheatstone told me to be more wary of you." Of course, it could be that I misunderstood the meaning, or I misheard it. After all, he was busy researching the telegraph at the time, and he casually mentioned this to me. Maybe he has a mouthful. ”

Louis also smiled and extended his hand to Cook: "Mr. Wheatstone is indeed not very good at communicating with people, but he is a kind and honest man. That's all I can say, Mr. Cook. ”

Arthur didn't mind being joked, but he had to settle down with Cook before the joke became a reality.

After all, although Wheatstone is not good at communicating, he is very good at scientific invention. The guy who can be recognized by him must be very talented and accomplished in scientific research.

Arthur asked, "Mr. Cook, though your decision to gamble on the telegraph is indeed very bold. But I think it's too risky to drop out of Heidelberg University rashly. If you don't do it this time, how do you plan to live in the future? ”

"This ......"

Cook was stunned by Arthur's question, it's not that he hasn't thought about this problem, it's just that people, sometimes they just don't want to face it.

Cook smiled wryly, "To be honest, I don't know. However, when I served in India, I still saved some money in my hands, plus some inheritance left by my father, which should be enough for me to support me for a while. But if you want to go on to university for a degree, I'm afraid you don't have a chance. After all, university tuition fees in Britain often start at 300 pounds. ”

"Well......" Arthur shook his head slightly, "I can't say that, at least I know that there is a university that is quite cheap." Did you know about the University of London? ”

"University of London?" Cook sighed, "Mr. Hastings, don't make fun of me. Didn't they even get a degree? And judging from its social reputation, reading there not only does not enhance one's own value, but may bring negative effects. After all, a school that does not have a prayer room and preaches atheism is not accepted by many people. ”

"I can't say that." Arthur spoke: "The University of London never preaches atheism, we just don't actively preach theism. ”

"Isn't not atheism if you don't preach theism...... No, that's not right...... Wait, us? Mr. Hastings, are you ......?"

Louis smiled and introduced at the right time: "That's right, Mr. Hastings graduated from the University of London. By the way, the Royal Warrant from the University of London has been officially approved by Parliament, so if you're looking for a degree, you can do go there and study for one, at least leave yourself a trail back, right? ”

Arthur quipped, "But even if you don't go to the University of London, it's nothing." After all, in the Royal Society, even a high school graduate can be considered a high degree. Mr. Faraday often jokes that he only went to elementary school, and that there is no necessary connection between doing research and going to university. The degree certificate of multiple universities does not change much, but occasionally it gives people a little blind confidence that they think they are very knowledgeable. ”

(End of chapter)