Shadow of great britain

It's raining heavily in London today, and the thick curtain of rain is pressing down from the northernmost point to the southernmost point of London.

Of course, Greenwich was also caught in the majestic rain.

In the Wheatstone Musical Instruments Store, Arthur, who was wearing a big-brimmed hat, had a lot of rain falling on his shoulders. He leaned on the counter and puffed away mist. Between the clouds and mist, his sharp black eyes glanced back and forth as if he was being hunted by bandits. Ransacked the general store.

After a while, Arthur finally said: "Mr. Wheatstone, why didn't you call the police?"

"Call the police?" Wheatstone's head tremblingly emerged from under the counter. There was still a trace of happiness on his face: "How dare I call the police? Those people said they were introduced by you. of!"

"Oh?" Arthur held his chin and thought about this sentence: "You mean, it was me who led the Japanese here?"

"Who else but you? Those people are like crazy! One by one, they all said they wanted to buy a gramophone. I told them that there was no stock in the store at the moment, and they seemed to be crazy, scrambling to buy the gramophone. I put the deposit in my arms.

I said I couldn't do that much in a short time, but they didn't believe it one by one. Moreover, that group of people threatened me that if they couldn't get the goods on time, their lives would definitely be difficult in the future. If their lives were difficult, then I wouldn't want to have an easy life either.

After they said these harsh words, they quickly sold out all the other musical instruments in my store. There was a drunk guy who came into the store before you came. He saw that there was nothing on my shelves and thought I was a furniture seller, so he dragged my chair away. "

Arthur's arms were resting on the table. He puffed on his pipe and said, "Isn't this great? Mr. Wheatstone, I congratulate you. Business has been booming recently!"

"Yeah! Thanks to you, my business is booming!"

Perhaps out of anger, Wheatstone, who had always been afraid of social interaction, actually cursed directly in front of Arthur: "The tricks you taught me don't work at all, and guns can't scare anyone! I took out my gun." In less than two seconds, he was snatched away by that group of people!"

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but frowned: "Can't even a gun scare them?"

When Wheatstone said this, he banged his knuckles on the table angrily: "Isn't that right? Those people's heads were as if they were in the fucking Thames water. They took my gun and they were still bragging about it. Me. Those stupid donkeys actually said that this gun I made is pretty damn serious! Mr. Hastings, please tell me, if I can't scare these donkeys, why should I? Can you scare those apprentices at the Royal Society?"

Arthur shook his head slightly when he heard this: "This is different, Mr. Whetstone. According to my experience in handling cases, just because he is a donkey, he is not afraid of guns. People who do not read much or have nothing are usually the least afraid of death. , if those gentlemen and ladies came to buy the gramophone in person today, instead of their servants, you would not have encountered such embarrassment. You know, that group of upper-class people can be regarded as the most life-saving group of people in Great Britain."

When Wheatstone heard this, he just said angrily: "What on earth did you say to them? I have never seen so many guests in my life, and it has been the same situation these past few days. If it hadn't rained today, I’m afraid my small shop will be overrun by them again.”

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

Wheatstone didn't believe Arthur's lies. He curled his lips and said: "Polishing? You can attract so many flies just by polishing? Oh! Then I really have to thank God for everyone! Fortunately, you are endorsing phonographs instead of toilets and toilets. .”

When Arthur heard this, he just glanced at the red devil aside and replied apologetically: "Actually, if the price is high enough, I can also consider endorsing toilets and toilets. But since one of my friends has a problem with toilets, After a big feud, I feel that at some point, it is still necessary to take care of his feelings."

At this point, Arthur suddenly changed the subject: "But I came here today not to discuss the toilet with you. I came here to ask you, have you finished the gramophone that you and I privately ordered a while ago?" "

When Wheatstone heard this, he looked unhappy and said: "How can it be so easy to make a gramophone? You don't even think about it. How many days have it been since you notified me? Mr. Hastings, you must understand that everyone There are limits. I'm a human being, 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 the matter of losing your gun. You know that stealing a Scotland Yard How serious is the police officer’s pistol?”

"Theft?" Wheatstone was agitated: "Didn't you give me the pistol? If the gun is lost, the worst I can do is go to the arsenal to buy one and give it back to you."

"That's not possible." Arthur shook his finger gently: "Mr. Wheatstone, you may not know. Since there was a serious case of missing firearms at Scotland Yard in the first half of this year, since then, Scotland Yard's Every pistol is marked and numbered."

Wheatstone couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard this: "This..."

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

Arthur heard this and couldn't help but applauded Wheatstone: "Excellent logic, Mr. Wheatstone, the gun is indeed not in your hand, so I can only go door to door to the homes of those gentlemen and ladies. Ask whose servant took the gun."

"Yes! They took the gun, what does it have to do with me?"

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

"its me."

"Where did you get your gun?"

"You!" As soon as Wheatstone said these words, his face instantly darkened like the dark clouds outside the door. He raised his finger tremblingly, pointed at Arthur and said: "Black... Mr. Hastings, you...you want to frame me?"

While Arthur took out the iron box with tobacco in his pocket and filled it with a clean pipe, he said: "No, I didn't want to frame you. You have to know that Scotland Yard never framed good citizens. Especially in the area under my jurisdiction. In the police district, 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 relit his pipe: "It's very simple. If you are willing to cooperate with the police, you are a good citizen."

Wheatstone continued to ask: "Then what can we do to be willing to cooperate with the police?"

"It depends on the situation."

"What about today's situation?"

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

Wheatstone slapped his face, closed his eyes and sighed, "Mr. Hastings."

"Um?"

"I have begun to regret knowing you." Wheatstone looked up at the ceiling, his face full of mental and physical exhaustion: "If I had had the courage to stand on the podium of the Royal Society, maybe I would not have the same relationship with you. You meet."

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

There was only a tinkling sound, and Arthur held the teacup and clinked it with Wheatstone: "Here's to our great encounter!"

Wheatstone picked up the teacup and drank the tea in one gulp, then slammed the teacup on the table: "Here's to your damn courage!"

After saying this, Wheatstone sighed and walked to the back room of the musical instrument store to pick up the gramophone that Arthur had longed for.

Agares, who was smiling evilly on the side, pushed up his glasses, and the red devil said: "Arthur, it seems that your special speech training for him was very successful! But this Charles Whetstone is really a weirdo, I still This is the first time I saw someone getting angry because too many customers came to give money.”

Arthur swung the tea cup and said, "It's nothing. As an expert in science, you should have a little personality. In view of Mr. Wheatstone's outstanding talent and practical ability, I think I can tolerate his little temper." After all, the work of LPS in the future will rely more on talents like him. It’s not like I can do anything big just by relying on a donkey like me who only knows how to wield a sword."

The red devil rubbed his hands and laughed: "Oh! My dear Arthur, don't underestimate your talent for evil. You can do many things that others dare not think of, but the premise is that you must You have to let go of some things. For example, in order to keep your position in the Lun Statistics Bureau, you may need to do some shameful things first."

When Arthur heard this, he was stunned for a moment, then raised his eyebrows and asked: "From your tone, it seems that there is something wrong with the Wednesday Prime Minister's Questions being held today?"

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

Arthur's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, and he asked, "Has someone planted explosives in the Parliament Building again?"

"That's not the case. Arthur, that's not what I meant when I said explosive."

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief: "As long as no one died. I don't want to run around for a bunch of corpses of congressmen. London has finally calmed down recently."

When the red devil heard this, he pretended to be mysterious and said: "But even if no one died, the ministers in Wellington's cabinet are almost dying."

"Huh?" Arthur squinted his eyes and looked at the red devil, and he chased: "Agares, what are you doing?"

The Red Devil grinned, and in the gaps between his sharp fangs, which were as sharp as blades, was his long bright red tongue: "Arthur, don't you understand? The Whig Party has officially submitted a dissatisfaction with the cabinet to the Parliament today. Confidence motion, judging from the current situation, Wellington's cabinet is already in danger! Don't blame me for not reminding you, if you don't want to be kicked out after the cabinet change, you'd better find a way to save yourself quickly."

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

"I thought what was going on? Wasn't it just the fall of the cabinet? I thought all those people were sent to see God. Even if the Whigs came, Scotland Yard would still do those things, and at most they would be my immediate boss. The boss just changed."

The red devil raised his eyebrows and said, "Aren't you worried?"

"Worried, of course I am worried."

Arthur smiled and said: "Otherwise, what do you think I am here for today? Have you forgotten? Didn't our beloved and reliable friend Charles, who is engaged in parliamentary interviews, just bring me the latest news a few days ago?

Among the several options he gave, after analysis, I think that if the Tories collapse, the most likely person to take over as Home Secretary will be Viscount Melbourne, who likes to lie in Parliament and sleep soundly. And my most important trip today is to deliver the gramophone previously ordered to his sister, Mrs. Cowper. "