Originally, I planned to stop writing about the glorious deeds of my great friend Mr. Sherlock Holmes after the publication of "The Strange Case of Grange Manor". It's not that I have nothing to write about. On the contrary, I still have hundreds of stories to write about.

This case is not covered, nor is it because readers are tired of this fine and unique man, but in fact because Holmes himself does not want me to continue publishing his stories. Although I think it is in his own interest to record some of his cases.

Detective work and even the detective industry are very beneficial, but he stubbornly wants to leave London and go to the hilly areas of Sussex to study his chemical research and beekeeping, so he does not agree with me to continue publishing, and also

He repeatedly asked me to respect his wishes. I told him that I had already said hello to the readers. Once "Beyond the First Bloodstain" is published, my story will come to an end, and I also feel that using such a

It is really appropriate to end this book with an important or even international case, so I finally got his consent and carefully told you about the following incident. Maybe some details will be lost when reminiscing.

It seems not clear enough, so please forgive me for my reservations.

It was an autumn day, the year cannot be specified, and I am sorry for that. It was a Tuesday morning, and two guests who were quite famous in Europe came to see Sherlock Holmes and I at the humble home in Baker Street. One of them was a very famous person.

Lord Belenger, who served as two British Prime Ministers. This man has a high nose, bright eyes, and full of majesty. The other guest has dark skin, delicate features, and elegant style. Although he is still young, he is not yet mature.

He is middle-aged, but obviously has a lot of experience. He is Trelawney Hope, the minister responsible for European affairs. The two of them sat side by side on our couch filled with documents. They looked worried and anxious, and you could tell

The reason why I came here must be to ask for something. Mr. Prime Minister had bulging veins in his hands and was holding the ivory handle of the umbrella tightly. He looked at me and then at Holmes. His stoic and haggard face was full of sorrow, and the man

The elegant minister also looked very uneasy, twirling his beard from time to time, and touching the pendant of his watch chain from time to time.

The minister said: "Mr. Holmes, at 8 o'clock this morning, I lost a very important document. After urgently notifying the Prime Minister, and on his advice, we immediately came to visit you."

"Have you notified the police?"

At this time the Prime Minister spoke. As everyone knows, he always speaks quickly and decisively: "No, you can't do this. Notifying the police is equivalent to telling the public that we do not want to see this result."

"Sir, can you tell us why?" Holmes asked with concern and curiosity.

"First of all, this is a very important document. Once it is released, it is likely to complicate the situation in Europe. It can be said to be related to war and peace. Therefore, the recovery of the document must be top secret, otherwise it will be unnecessary, because

The purpose of the person who stole the document was to publish the contents of the document."

"I understand the situation. Mr. Minister, can you explain in detail the situation of the missing documents?"

"Okay, Mr. Holmes, it's actually very simple. Just 6 days ago we received a letter, which was a letter from a foreign monarch. The content was of great importance, so I didn't even dare to put it in the safe, but

I carry it with me to my home in Whitehall Residential Street every day, and then lock it in the file box in my bedroom. The file was indeed still there last night. I changed clothes and had dinner, opened the box and checked it once, but it disappeared inexplicably this morning.

My wife and I were very alert when we slept, and we were both sure that no one came in during the night, but the documents just disappeared.”

"Excuse me, what is your dinner time?"

"7:30."

"Did you do anything else before going to bed?"

"My wife went out to watch a show, and I waited for her outside. It wasn't until 11:30 that we went back to the room to sleep."

"Then you can say that the file box was left unattended for almost four hours."

Only my servant and my wife's maid can enter the house in the morning, and no one is allowed in at other times. These two servants are very considerate and reliable, and have been working in our house for a long time. But neither of them can

I know that there are so important things in the file box that go beyond ordinary official documents.

"Then who else knows about this secret letter?"

"There is no one but me."

"Your wife should know!"

"No, sir, I told her after the letter was lost."

The Prime Minister obviously appreciated the minister's approach. He nodded and said: "Sir, I believe you have a strong sense of responsibility, and I am also convinced that you will put the confidentiality of such an important document above the feelings of your family.

.”

The minister nodded. "Thank you for your compliment. Before this morning, I never mentioned a word about this letter to my wife."

"So is it possible that she could guess?"

"Absolutely impossible, no one can guess it."

"Have you ever experienced losing files before?"

"That didn't happen, sir."

"Does anyone else in the whole of Britain know of such a letter?"

"Every cabinet minister was informed about this letter at yesterday's cabinet meeting, and the prime minister repeatedly emphasized that it should be kept secret. Unexpectedly, just a few hours later! It was lost in my hands!" The minister grabbed himself hard.

His hair was very depressed, and even his delicate face was distorted. Judging from this performance, we suddenly found that he was actually a passionate and impulsive person, and very sensitive. After that, his face calmed down a little and regained his noble look.

His temperament and tone became calmer, and he then explained to us:

"Only two or three officials know about this letter. I mean except the cabinet ministers. Apart from these people, Mr. Holmes, I guarantee that no one in Britain knows about it."

"So what's the situation like abroad?"

"I am sure that no one abroad has seen this letter except the monarch who wrote it himself. What can be believed is that the writer has not passed through anyone's hands. It is completely private."

Holmes thought for a moment and asked:

"Two gentlemen, let me take the liberty of asking, what is this letter mainly about, and why does it have such serious consequences?"

The two political figures looked at each other, and the Prime Minister frowned and said: "The envelope is thin and long, light blue, and stamped with red paint, which is the mark of a squatting lion. The signature of the letter writer is very eye-catching.

, because the font is very large.”

Holmes responded: "Thank you for providing these important information, but you still haven't told me what the letter actually said?"

"This matter is of great importance and is an extremely important national secret. I think the content has little to do with the case, so I don't think it is necessary to tell you. If you do your best to find this letter for us, the country will reward you.

You, we will do our best to give you the greatest reward!"

Sherlock Holmes smiled, stood up and said: "You two are very busy with official duties, and you can say that you have important responsibilities. Although I am only a little detective, I am also very busy, and there are many people visiting me! I am very

Sorry, I may not be able to help you much in this matter. It is a complete waste of time to talk like this."

The Prime Minister stood up abruptly, with an angry look in his deep-set eyes, which once intimidated all the cabinet ministers. He shouted: "How dare you talk to me like this..." Suddenly he suppressed his anger and forced himself to sit down.

We went down. We were silent for a minute or two, and no one spoke. The old man shrugged and said helplessly: "Mr. Holmes, just do as you say! You are right, only with complete trust can you

Judge."

The young minister also said: "I agree with the Prime Minister's statement."

"I trust you and your friend Dr. Watson, and I will tell you the whole truth now. At the same time, I also firmly believe that you love your country, and you know what will happen if this matter is leaked.

Terrible things are happening in our country."

"You may trust me!" Holmes replied seriously and seriously.

This foreign monarch wrote this letter because he was indignant about the rapid development of our country's colonies. This letter was written in a hurry, and it was all his personal thoughts. We investigated and found that none of his ministers actually understood this.

At the same time, this letter was written in a very impolite manner, and some of the sentences were fierce and provocative. If this letter were to be known to the British, it would definitely make the whole country angry and difficult to calm down. It can be said that once this letter is

If it becomes known to the public, it will lead to war within a week.

At this time Holmes wrote a name on a piece of paper and handed it to the Prime Minister.

"Yes, it's this person. This letter disappeared mysteriously. Such hasty loss of the letter will definitely cause our country to suffer huge losses and sacrifices."

"Then have you notified this monarch?"

"Yes, sir, we sent him a coded telegram immediately."

"Maybe he still wants this letter to be published!"

"No, we think that the monarch who wrote the letter actually felt that doing so was too impulsive and not very prudent. If a war really breaks out, his own country will be hit even more seriously."

"So, who will benefit from the publication of this letter? Who wants to steal the secret letter for what purpose?"

"Sir, this is more complicated to say, involving various relations in international politics. If you think about the entire political situation in Europe now, you may see the mystery of this letter. If the European continent is an armed fortress, composed of two

Military alliances check and balance each other, and our British Empire carefully maintains their balance in the middle. Now if Britain has to go to war with one of the alliances out of desperation, then it will not be a loss for the other alliance.

Is it an advantage? Regardless of whether it will be involved in this war or not, it will be beneficial. Do you understand?"

"You explained it very clearly. So it seems that the enemy of this foreign monarch wants to publish this letter to provoke a war between the country that sent the letter and our country."

"Yes, that's it."

"So, this letter is already in someone's hands, who will he give it to next?"

"Any minister from any country in Europe can do it. The person who stole the letter now may be on the train rushing to the agreed place."

After speaking, Mr. Trelawney Hope, the minister, lowered his head and groaned, appearing annoyed and painful. The Prime Minister patted him on the shoulder and said: "Dear Hope, poor man, you did nothing wrong. The loss of the letter is not yours."

It was caused by carelessness. Mr. Holmes, now that we have told you everything, what do you think should be done?"

Holmes shook his head helplessly.

"Gentlemen, if we can't find this letter, war will break out."

"Probably."

"Then, the next step is to prepare for the war."

"Mr. Holmes! You mean to say that the letter will never be recovered, is that right?"

"Think about those circumstances carefully and imagine that the document must have been stolen before 11:30 in the middle of the night, because the Pus have been in the house since then. So the letter should have been stolen at 7 last night

Sometime between 13:30 and 11:30, maybe just after 7:30. The person who stole the letter obviously knew that the letter was in that file box, and tried his best to get it. In this case, who has the letter now?
To be continued...