Читаем Sherlock Holmes in Russia полностью

Sherlock Holmes jumped at this word with a look of pleasure on his face. ‘Hurrah!’ he exclaimed. ‘So that’s the use to which this appliance was first put in Russia!’

‘I don’t understand,’ said Watson, looking puzzled.

‘Oh, haven’t you read anything about this remarkable new invention. It’s a so-called living and moving photograph.’

‘I’ve read about it,’ said Watson, sounding aggrieved. ‘What’s it got to do with the matter at hand?’

‘You’ll see,’ said Sherlock Holmes smugly.

[For the information of readers, the cinematograph had already appeared elsewhere, but in Russia it wasn’t widely known yet.]

‘Did you not note, Watson, a metal box nailed to the door of Alferakki’s shop?’ asked Sherlock Holmes.

‘I did see it,’ answered Watson. ‘I presume it is a ventilator or an electric meter.’

‘That’s what anyone is likely to think,’ Watson nodded. ‘Who would think that a projector, as yet unknown in Russia, is hidden inside. This is where a hole was knocked through the wall for a ventilator and it is through this hole that the light passed from the appliance in the metal box. From what Terehoff had to say, the shelves at the back of the store were covered with a large linen sheet at night. This sheet was the screen. All those demons, prancing skeletons, coffins, were projected on it.’

‘But how did they get the appliance to work?’ asked Watson.

‘It works automatically; the tape winds automatically. I remember now, traces of electric wires on the box to get the mechanism going. Well, my dear Watson, you certainly didn’t waste time and effort today. Keep on at it, do, and I’m sure you’ll come up with more of interest.’

‘Oh, no,’ answered Watson. ‘That’s all that I have for you. Now it’s your turn.’

‘My pleasure,’ said Sherlock Holmes. He lit up a cigar, drank a glass of Benedictine and, chasing it down with black coffee, began to speak.

VII

‘I examined Alferakki’s shop closely today. Even a cursory examination caused me to reconsider the whys and wherefores of the box you took for holding an electric meter. Thanks to you, all became clear, but I won’t labour the point. I was able to look over all the counters, but especially the shelves, and I made a significant discovery. The wall along the left side of the shop, with the exception of a little section at the back, is totally concealed by a huge cupboard filled with shelves. But, if you look at the depth of the shelves and the sides of the cupboard, its back does not touch the wall. The depth of the shelves, judging by the sides, is considerably less than the depth of the cupboard. What it means is this. There is a gap between the back of the cupboard and the wall, and you can get into that gap by way of the left-hand back corner of the shop.’

‘Hmm! That is, indeed, some discovery,’ exclaimed Watson.

‘But that is only the first part of what I discovered,’ said Sherlock Holmes. ‘The major discovery is that behind the wall of the cupboard there are building works in progress.’

‘What sort?’

‘Going through that shop, I glanced at the floor under the furniture supports. Someone had brought tiny bits of brick and mortar in on their shoes. There were more of these behind the counter, especially to the left and behind. Our friends are working on that wall to get at something. There is a textile shop to the left, but … hmm. We have to find out what’s going on no later than tonight, or we will be too late.’

Sherlock Holmes lapsed into a deep and thoughtful silence. ‘Well, Watson,’ he said finally, ‘time for you to change and check the taverns along the Bentakurovsky Canal. I, too, have one or two places to check up on. I’ll be in Vertunoff’s tavern in two hours. You’ll know me by the torn boots I’ll be waving about.’

They parted, each going his own way. It was six in the evening when three men entered one of the taverns along the Bentakurovsky Canal. There was the Greek Alferakki, Smith Copton and Alferakki’s sales assistant, Ivan Veskoff. They were followed along the canal by a typical vagrant, waving a pair of boots about. Right by Vertunoff’s tavern, he was joined by a porter. These were Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, who had changed their appearance so that nobody could recognize them.

‘They’re in there,’ Sherlock Holmes indicated the tavern door through which the three men had entered. ‘Ivan Veskoff is nine sheets to the wind already, and the other two are pretending to be, too. Watch them closely. In the meantime, let’s go inside.’

They stood outside, made a show of swearing at passers-by, and went in. But the men they sought were not there. They’d probably taken a private room. They sat down for a little while and Sherlock Holmes gestured to a waiter, ‘Hey, there, lad, find us a proper stall!’ His voice was rough and hoarse.

The waiter looked at them with questioning eyes, ‘Not enough space for you hereabouts?’

Sherlock Holmes grinned and winked slyly.

‘Don’t be difficult, you little pipsqueak. I’ve enough to grease a palm, and I feel crowded here,’ he said smugly.

Перейти на страницу:
Нет соединения с сервером, попробуйте зайти чуть позже