Shadow of great britain

It was foggy everywhere in the Port of London in the early morning.

Arthur stood on London Bridge in casual clothes, holding an onion ring bread in his hand. He ate while admiring the scenery of the Thames River.

Although the sun has just risen, there is already a busy scene on the Thames River. Countless ships are blocked at the mouth of the river, waiting to enter the dock, and sailors and boatmen are shouting and cursing one after another.

Some of them spoke English with different regional accents, and some were communicating in a language that Arthur couldn't understand.

But even if Arthur couldn't understand, it still didn't prevent him from deciphering what kind of heated exchange they were having from the sailors' red, rough faces and splashing spit.

"Damn it! What are those sons of bitches doing out front? When the stars were still in the sky, I was waiting here. Now that the sun is out, I'm still stuck here. Didn't it say that London's docks are being expanded? ? Where the hell did the expansion go! Did those idiots in the council swallow up all the money?"

"Do you think you're the only one who's in a hurry? If you have the guts, you can sail the boat and capsize all the boats in front of you. If you don't, just shut up that stinky mouth of yours, you idiot!"

"Do you think I don't dare?"

"You dare, you dare, why don't you crash into it? Look at your medieval antique ship. Those who don't know may think you just fished it out from under the water. The bottom of the ship is full of barnacles, so do you I’m not afraid that one day when I go out to sea and encounter a big wave, the boat will break apart and you son of a bitch will drown in the water.”

"Okay, okay, sailors like you who run offshore just don't have any patience. I can wait for several months for my ship to return from South America. Can't you even endure it all morning?"

"What the hell are you talking about? You guys who go across the ocean are transporting storable goods, and what I'm transporting is seafood. If I don't unload the goods at the port, all my fish will be fucking rotten! Besides, it's none of your business to quarrel with me. The thing is, just because someone else is wrong doesn’t mean you are right, you idiot!”

"You fucking curse again?"

"I'll fuck you!"

Arthur leaned on the stone pier of London Bridge and finished eating the onion rings. Then he took out his pipe and held it in his mouth, lighting it with a match. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"The daily 'stage play' on the Thames is still as exciting as ever. It's much more exciting than the shows at the Old Vic."

"Arthur."

Agares tilted his body and leaned on the bridge with his elbows. He put his fist against his head, and he could hear ten thousand dissatisfaction in his tone.

"You're going to the theater, but can you go and refund your boat ticket first? It's been two days, and there's been no news from Scotland Yard about Willocks. Can you finally believe me this time?" "

Arthur didn't take Agares' words to heart at all. His attention was still focused on the battle on the Thames.

In response to Agares' question, he just waved his hand: "It's still early and the ticket office hasn't opened yet. I'm not in a hurry. Why are you in a hurry?"

"Hey! Arthur, fuck you!"

Agares was possessed by the sailor in an instant. He was about to scold Arthur, but before he could say anything, a man suddenly walked over to Arthur and patted him on the back.

"Hey, Arthur! How did you resolve the matter with your two colleagues last time? Do you need my help?"

Arthur turned around and saw that it was Elder, his old classmate, who was talking to him.

"Not bad. I helped them get some family connections, and finally got them out."

"Relationship at home?"

Elder raised his eyebrows, smiled and hooked up with him and said, "I didn't see it! Arthur! You turned out to be a secretive young man! What? Is it related to a big shot in your family who left?"

Arthur took a puff of cigarette: "Of course it's related to Arthur Hastings."

"Arthur Hastings?" Elder wondered, "Are there any elders in your family with the same name as you?"

"What are you thinking about, Elder? It's my own relationship."

"Are you back at Scotland Yard again?"

Arthur took off his pipe helplessly: "Elder, don't you usually read newspapers? Not only did I go back, I was also promoted."

Elder said disdainfully: "Why should I read that thing? Only people who need to learn can read newspapers, and I am already a top student in classical literature.

Besides, it's useless for navigation. I'm too busy improving my drawing skills to be distracted by all the shit going on around London.

Moreover, what does your promotion have to do with whether I read the newspaper or not? Newspapers don’t even report on this kind of thing!

Although I occasionally buy a newspaper, it tells little stories about life, such as the duke's mistress, the lawyer's maid, the tutor for the children, and so on. "

Arthur's brows furrowed more and more as he listened: "What newspapers do you usually read? Why can't I buy this kind?"

Elder said proudly: "That's because you didn't look hard enough. If you look hard enough, you will definitely find it."

He pulled Arthur in front of him, covered his ears with his hands, and spoke in a low voice.

"Listen to me, in the Greenwich area where you live, enter Christmas Road from the north entrance, walk about two hundred feet and then turn left. There is a small alley with two chimneys. Every Wednesday From three to five o'clock in the afternoon, as long as there is no heavy rain, there will be a man in his 50s wearing a gray hat and a black coat..."

Arthur quickly covered his mouth when he heard this.

He looked at him with a serious face: "Elder, you can't say any more. This kind of newspaper, as soon as it sounds, you will know that it has not paid stamp duty. It is illegal to not pay stamp duty, and this case happened in my jurisdiction. inside.

If I don't know about this kind of thing, forget it. If I know it, I can forget it if I can't find it out. But your information is too detailed. If you keep talking, I will have to take care of it. "

Elder was so shocked that he covered his forehead and shouted: "Oh my God! I almost forgot that you are a policeman."

Arthur looked at his nervous friend and didn't know what to say, so he had to ask instead.

"Elder, why are you here today?"

"Our ship was recently undergoing maintenance nearby, so I came here specifically to take a look and complete the task assigned to me by Colonel Fitzroy. He asked me to meet the naturalist who replaced you.

By the way, I haven’t asked you yet. Now that you've gone back to Scotland Yard, why are you still traveling in casual clothes? Have you changed the rules there? "

"No. Scotland Yard gave me a few days off. They said I had been too tired recently and asked me to rest for a week."

Elder exclaimed: "Fuck! How big a leader have you become? That Scotland Yard can give you a day off?"

Arthur smiled: "Not that big, just a police inspector."

"I don't know much about Scotland Yard. If you compare it to the Royal Navy, what rank would a police inspector be?"

Arthur lit his pipe: "What is your uncle's military rank?"

Elder took it for granted and said: "Rear Admiral! Why did you forget this?"

"That's the equivalent of a rear admiral."

Elder heard this and punched Arthur with a smile: "Damn you! Let's go, since you have a holiday, let's go have a drink to celebrate!"

"Aren't you going to meet the naturalist?"

Elder waved his hand as if it didn't matter and said: "Sorry, let him wait for a while. Who told him to graduate from Cambridge? I still value the friendship between our classmates at the University of London."