II
Sherlock Holmes invited the two strangers to sit and tell him what was the matter. The older of the two was richly dressed in silk robes with stars on his chest. With a self-important air, he sank into a sofa and said something to Holmes in his incomprehensible tongue. Holmes heard him out with the patience of a statue.
When the Bukharan had finished, the interpreter took over. First of all, he announced that before us sat none other than a Minister of the Court of His Highness, the Emir of Bukhara, Hadji-Mehti-Mashadi-Mahomet-Sultan.
Next, speaking on behalf of Hadji-Mehti-Mashadi-Mahomet-Sultan, he came to business, heaping masses of praise on the famous detective, every possible flattering mention and thanks that Holmes had undertaken to help His Highness to find the missing memento of his mother, so dear to him. And only after having delivered himself of all this and given a few answers to Holmes’s queries, at a sign from the Minister of the Court, the interpreter set about explaining the heart of the matter.
‘It happened today,’ he began. ‘His Highness, having toured the town, made his way with his retinue to the wharf of the “Along the Volga” shipping line where the ship prepared for him was waiting.
‘It must be said that His Highness has one precious item which he particularly cherishes. This is a ring with a huge black pearl in the form of a pear. This pearl came to him from his mother, whom he loved very much. After her death, he had it set in a ring, but as he was afraid to lose or damage it, he wore it only at official functions, and as soon as a function was over, he would take it off immediately and hide it. The black pearl is regarded as a gloriously beautiful rarity. Foreign notable valued it at a million and a half roubles in your currency.’
‘Oho! That’s worth going to some trouble over,’ exclaimed Sherlock Holmes. ‘Such an amount must be the size of a Bukharan state loan.’
‘Of course,’ agreed the interpreter. ‘Today, in advance of his arrival in Nijni-Novgorod, His Highness placed the ring on his finger. He wore it as he rode through the town and when he went on board. When the first whistle blew, His Highness went to his cabin to change out of his offical dress and change into his travel clothes. There were guards outside his quarters. He was helped to wash and change. Before he washed his hands, he took his ring off and placed it on the washbasin. He sent away his valet and the Emir remembers that when the valet left, the ring was still where he had put it down. On his way out of the bedroom, His Highness neglected to put on the ring, but when he went out on deck, he remembered and returned immediately.
‘Imagine his consternation when the ring was no longer there. The alarm was raised. The sentries swear that nobody else had followed His Highness in or out of his bedroom. The soldiers who came with us on this trip are the Emir’s most loyal and faithful men. Moreover, they are so arranged that they watch each other. So there is no foundation for doubting their word. Nonetheless, they were all searched, but there were no clues to indicate anyone had entered the Emir’s quarters.’
‘Strange,’ said Holmes. ‘Perchance the Emir put the ring somewhere and simply forgot where.’
‘Oh, no,’ was the interpreter’s rejoinder. ‘His Highness has a very good memory and, besides, values the ring highly.’
‘What else has been done to find the ring?’
The interpreter addressed Mahomet-Sultan in Bukharan and listened respectfully to his reply, which he then translated for Holmes. ‘The ship is ringed on all sides by Russian police and our sentries both on shore and on the water.’
‘On the water, how?’
‘Around the ship, on the Volga, there are boats with sentries.’
‘How soon after the theft were the sentries put in place?’
‘As soon as the Emir announced the theft had taken place, that very moment Mahomet-Sultan ordered the ship to be surrounded on all sides and nobody was to be permitted on or off without being searched.’
‘But did anyone get off the ship after that?’
‘No.’
‘Do you know this for a fact?’
‘Yes, but you had best ask the sentries.’
A brief silence ensued.
‘Yes … a strange occurrence,’ Sherlock Holmes at last said thoughtfully, ‘an occurrence that is actually beginning to interest me. I’ll get everything I am likely to need this very minute and we’ll go.’
The interpreter translated this for Mahomet-Sultan, who nodded his head in approval.
Sherlock Holmes fetched his travel case. ‘My dear Watson,’ he turned to me, ‘I’d advise you to take a couple of sailor’s uniforms, make-up and a weapon. It is very possible we might not be able to get back for a few days.’
I complied instantly. Within a few minutes I had everything packed in a bag I could carry easily and was ready for any more instructions.
‘You’ll have to carry our things,’ Holmes said to the interpreter. ‘I am going to call a cab. Our things shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll travel light and neither you, nor anyone, must reveal anything about us.’
Sherlock Holmes called the cab himself, escorted the guests out and they took our baggage and two pieces of hand luggage.
III
‘Well, my dear Watson, time for us to start moving,’ said Holmes after a few minutes.
We made our way to the wharf. On the ship, alarm showed on every face. The interpreter met us and told Holmes he had been assigned a separate cabin in case he had to cross-examine or talk to anyone privately.
‘You did very well,’ said Holmes. ‘Are our things there?’
‘Yes.’ We were escorted to the cabin.
‘Now it’s necessary for me to have full access everywhere,’ said Holmes.
‘This has already been arranged,’ answered the interpreter. ‘You and your friend have already been pointed out to the sentries.’
‘In that case, leave us alone for now,’ said Holmes.
The interpreter bowed and departed.
‘Stay here for now, Watson.’ Holmes said to me. ‘I’ll go over the ship, look at one or two things and return to fetch you.’
‘Very well,’ I replied.
He left and I was left to myself. He was back a quarter of an hour later.
‘Let’s go, Watson,’ he said shortly.
A few steps along the corridor and we were outside the Emir’s quarters. The sentry at the door admitted us. The Emir’s quarters comprised four cabins with doors between all of them, and a reception room, which had been a first-class dining room. The Emir’s office was to the left of the entrance, then his bedroom. To the right were the sitting room and a parlour. Holmes and I turned left into the office and then the bedroom. The floors here were covered with thick, luxurious carpets.
Holmes paused at the threshold and began to scrutinise the premises closely.
This scrutiny appeared to penetrate every little nook and cranny. Then he squatted down and crawled along the floor, examining it through his magnifying glass. Then he examined the divan, bed and washbasin, carefully looking behind them; next he knocked on the walls and shook his head in perplexity. Finding nothing in the bedroom, he went into the office. One after another he examined the other rooms, but there were no clues anywhere.
Suddenly he smacked himself on his own forehead. ‘Now, now, Watson! We haven’t yet lifted the carpets.’
I smiled involuntarily, ‘I don’t suppose you think someone is sitting under them?’ I asked.
‘Not entirely, but … you see, Watson, I haven’t the slightest doubt that the thief didn’t come in through the door. The sentry would have seen him. Nor would the windows have been of any use to him. They are seemingly locked from inside, while the putty around the pane shows the glass was installed some time ago. This means the thief must have found a hidey-hole on the ship … and if that so, he is still aboard.’