merchants to give him a duplicate receipt for an amount of corn
worth an immense sum. He made out a false duplicate for this immense
sum. It was further arranged that the merchant should deliver an
infinitesimal quantity of corn, worth a few shillings, and that the
corn storing-house should be set on fire and burnt. The stationmaster
was to receive a handsome commission. But, as it was impossible to
tamper with the books, owing to the number of officials employed,
in which the amounts received were entered and kept at the station,
it was likewise settled to burn the station and thus destroy the
compromising documents it contained, and render comparison between
the false duplicate received by the merchant and the original receipt
entered in the station books impossible. It was further settled to do
the burning by means of bombs and to attribute the whole affair to the
revolutionaries. The plot, however, had been discovered by the clerk in
the Prince’s office who was a friend of a new assistant stationmaster,
and he had brought the bombs to the house and had told the whole story
to the young Prince, who had immediately communicated with the Police
Captain of the district in the town of O----. As he finished his story
the young Prince added: “It shows what idiots our local police are,
because they suspected this very clerk of being a revolutionary.”
Holmes’ face remained impassive during the recital of this story, but
I could not help feeling that my friend was somewhat anxious. “It was
quite a problem in your line Mr. Holmes,” said the Princess, “but I
feel you have done enough for us in finding our saucepans, only I do
wish we could find the scoring book.” “I can’t remember,” said the
young Prince, “whether it was yesterday or the day before yesterday
morning that the book was in my room. I remember tearing a leaf out of
it, having no other paper handy, to write a receipt for the clerk who
brought me some money from the Kontora. But there was no money in it,
because I found the money I won last night, and the silver links also,
in a drawer. So the book wasn’t stolen.”
“Has any one looked in the card table?” asked the young Princess. And
as no one had looked there, a leaf of the card table was raised, and
there lay a small green book--the skat scoring book. At that moment
the butler entered the room endeavouring to master convulsions of
laughter, and said that the village police-inspector, the Stanovoi, was
outside saying he had received orders from St. Petersburg to arrest
Prince Alexander and to send him immediately to the town of O---- for
being implicated in an “expropriation” plot to rob the train. The whole
family burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter, and the old Prince
explained to Holmes that the police-inspector had probably made this
idiotic mistake on purpose, since he had twice been found poaching in
their woods and that they had complained and asked for his removal.
Then together with his son he went and interviewed the
police-inspector. They came back presently saying that the matter was
an idiotic and inexplicable mistake connected with the affair of the
station, but that the police-inspector, although he was well aware of
this, owing to the grudge he bore the family insisted on carrying out
his orders. So the young Prince had to leave for O---- that afternoon,
amidst universal merriment, and he exhorted Holmes as he departed to
obtain his release. We also left for Moscow the next day, whither
Holmes said he had suddenly been summoned upon urgent business. When we
arrived at Moscow we received a telegram saying that Prince Alexander
had been immediately released with many apologies for the mistake, that
the police-inspector had been dismissed from his post, and that the
merchant and the stationmaster had been arrested. Holmes never referred
to the matter again, nor does he like any mention made of the game
of skat. But it seems to me that this comparative failure only serves
to heighten the brilliance of his many successes, and it is for this
reason I have recorded it.
_Printed by_
MORRISON & GIBB LIMITED
_Edinburgh_
Transcriber's Note
Errors in punctuation have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation have been retained, except as noted below.
1. Page xii: "the government of Karkov" has been changed to "the
government of Kharkov".
2. Page 80: "as Virgil lead Dante" has been changed to "as Virgil leads
Dante".
3. Page 114: "and was the poineer of a movement" has been changed to
"and was the pioneer of a movement".
4. Page 122: "which appear to Count Tolstoy" has been changed to "which
appear to Count Tolstoi".
5. Page 182: "which acccompanied similar conditions" has been changed
to "which accompanied similar conditions".
6. Page 226: "sing and play on the Babalaika" has been changed to "sing
and play on the Balalaika".
7. Page 238: "hot and cold _zabouski_" has been changed to "hot and
cold _zakouski_".
8. Page 246: "When we got home he saw" has been changed to "When he got
home he saw".
9. Page 257: "Death to the Bourgoisie" has been changed to "Death to
the Bourgeoisie".
10. Page 272: "the dress of the Saxo Berussen Korps" has been changed
to "the dress of the Saxo-Borussen Korps".