Sherlock Holmes in Russia

A few minutes later, their figures appeared atop the steep bluff above us and from which we heard more shots.

Then, as we stumbled upwards, we saw the two opponents fall on each other and heard Holmes cry out, ‘Kartzeff!’

And the end came. No matter how long we searched for Holmes, no matter how loudly we hailed him, the deserted river bank remained deaf and dumb to us. Holmes and his enemy had vanished and we even couldn’t establish where they had gone.

VII

Tired and despondent, we returned to the ship after a four-hour-long search. ‘What’s this?’ asked Mahomet-Sultan through the interpreter, pointing at the bladder in my hand. I handed him my wretched trophy and something rolled around inside. Intuitively, I took back the bladder, tore it apart with my bare fingers and suddenly a huge black pearl rolled round our feet.

What happened to Holmes, I know not. All I know is that I went no further. I stayed at the scene of this sad occurrence with four sentries but a three-day search yielded no results.

From the papers, I was later to learn that the sailor Skalkin was the escaped prisoner, Foma Belkin. He confessed to being an accomplice of the notorious swindler and burglar, Kartzeff, in the theft of the pearl aboard the ship. An inspection of the ship revealed that under its right side there was some sort of cofferdam, through which the thief had crept out through an exit below the water line. The barge overseer was another member of the gang, but the barge labourers were completely innocent. Apart from all this, on the right-hand side of the ship, a cunningly attached rudder was found. It was this that Kartzeff had been able to operate, to bypass the ship’s rudder, making it plough into the sandbank.

6 THE COMMERCIAL CENTRE MYSTERY

P. Nikitin

I

This happened in 190*.

Sherlock Holmes had come to Nijni-Novgorod partly on holiday, partly to acquaint himself better with faraway Russia, of which the English have only a vague notion. Although there were no professional reasons for his visit, nevertheless, it was still noted locally. No matter how hard he tried not to be noticed, to remain aloof as he strolled around the town, he was followed by a bevy of curious citizens and heard his name whispered behind his back. Of course, he thought that all this attention was idle curiosity, but things turned out otherwise.

He was staying at the Post Hotel (by the Black Pond). On his third day, returning to his room, he was told by a porter that a gentleman had asked for him, and when told that he was out, had requested that he leave a message to indicate at what time he would be available for consultation.

‘When is he coming for my answer?’ asked Holmes.

‘This very evening,’ the hotel porter answered.

‘Splendid!’ said the detective. ‘I wasn’t intending to go anywhere in any case.’

The porter went off and Holmes stretched himself out on the settee with a local newspaper.

Here it must be said that the famous English detective had once spent two years in Buenos Aires, where he had boarded with a family of Russian émigrés. This close association with them resulted in his being fluent in Russian, both as regards knowledge of the language and pronunciation. Of course, he could never get rid of his English accent, but he spoke with such clarity, and his knowledge of the language was so profound, one would have thought he had spent an uninterrupted ten years in Russia.

Having read one newspaper, he picked up another, but soon his lids grew heavy. He covered his face against flies with a newspaper and dozed off.

II

A light tap at the door woke him. He must have slept for some time, because it was already dark outside. He rose, changed swiftly and said in his resonant voice, ‘Come in!’

The door opened and a thickset, middle-aged man came in. He was a man of some presence, wearing a summer coat cut in the latest fashion. In one gloved hand he held a felt hat and a silver-handled gold-monogrammed cane. He bowed courteously and asked to be excused for having called without an appointment.

‘You must be the gentleman who called earlier,’ said Holmes.

‘Indeed I am! I was here some hours ago but, unfortunately, missed you. I do beg of you to hear me out—’

‘I am at your service,’ Sherlock Holmes bowed. ‘I presume that you need my assistance in some matter, but I am surprised how you found out who I am, and that I am here at all.’

‘Oh!’ exclaimed the stranger. ‘The whole town is talking about you. In any case, your fame has crossed the sea and it is not surprising that, hearing of your arrival, I immediately decided to meet you.’

Flattered by such a response, Sherlock Holmes smiled and bowed. ‘Do take off your coat and make yourself comfortable.’

The guest threw off his coat and approached the detective, ‘Allow me, then, the honour of presenting myself. Ivan Vladimirovitch Terehoff,’ he said, giving his name, patronymic and surname. ‘I am a local merchant and a member of the First Guild.’ He gave a little bow.