On the appointed day a comfortably spacious carriage called for us. We set off for the mine with Piotr Haritonovitch Hromikh, taking with us the barest necessities and leaving the rest of our luggage behind. Every fifteen miles or so fresh, well-fed horses replaced the ones driving our carriage. In no time we were at the Brothers’ Gold Mine. Here we were given a couple of rooms next to the quarters of Piotr Haritonovitch Hromikh and on the very first day met the entire administration. Our real names and professions were not revealed and we appeared to be tourists travelling to explore Siberia.
Early in the morning we rose at the same time as the workers when the siren sounded and made our way to the trench and machinery where we assiduously studied the mining operation. At the same time, I noticed how carefully Holmes watched the manager as well as members of the administration.
Daily, as soon as work ended, Sherlock Holmes used to vanish till late at night. The result of his walkabout was that no worker could visit any member of the administration without Holmes noticing.
One evening Holmes approached me, saying, ‘My dear Watson, the time has come for us to meet the mine detectives who do the secret watching.’
‘Why, have you noticed something?’
‘There are one or two things,’ he answered. ‘I have a feeling that Piotr Haritonovitch isn’t quite right when he says that the men who watch secretly are wrongfully trying to implicate the mine manager. I watched him for several days and noticed a very clever manoeuvre on his part.’
‘Namely?’ I prompted.
‘I noticed that he stopped for longer to watch work in progress where gold was densest. Let’s assume this is normal practice, but then he always finds an excuse to send away the supervisor on the spot. Of course, this shouldn’t be surprising either, as the manager is more likely to see something than a supervisor tired from a day’s supervision, but, in fact, this is not how it is. The labourers steal nuggets so skilfully that the attention of the supervisor has to wander for only a brief moment and the nugget vanishes. And our manager frequently pays no attention anyway. But then, late at night, two labourers he places at the best spots visit him.’
IV
That very evening we dropped in on Piotr Haritonovitch.
‘May I meet your so-called investigators?’ asked Holmes with the touch of a smile.
‘Of course,’ was the answer. ‘Do you wish to see them here?’
‘Are there many?’
‘Not really. Only two.’
‘Then let’s have them here,’ said Holmes with a nod.
Piotr Haritonovtch Hromikh went off and was back twenty minutes later accompanied by two ordinary mine labourers.
Holmes asked him to leave us alone with these investigators, which the owner did. He then proceeded to cross-examine the two men. From what they said, Holmes learned that the manager bought gold only from two workmen. These two workmen, in their turn, bought up stolen gold from the rest of the mineworkers in exchange for spirits given them by the manager. The whole operation was carried out so carefully that there was no evidence leading to the manager. As regards how much gold was stolen, this could only be established by the number of drunkards. At first it was thought that the gold was traded with spirits traders, but then it transpired there wasn’t a single one anywhere near the mine. And despite that, mine workers were drunk on this mine more often than elsewhere.
Further investigation led to the conclusion that the stolen gold was most likely gathered up by two labourers. This was done so cunningly that their identities could only be guessed at by the ingratiating manner shown them by their fellow-workers. As to how the gold was handed over and paid for, that was never detected. This is why there was no direct evidence against them. Several sudden, unexpected searches brought no results.
In the meantime, it was noted that these two workmen were in the manager’s distinct favour and often visited him. The manager made no attempt to conceal this favouritism. He said the two are exemplary workers, behave well, work better than anyone, don’t drink, have a positive influence on everyone, settle all minor disputes between the men and the administration which inevitably arise given the difficult existence in the mine.
Holmes heard them out with considerable attention.
‘You say that the number of drunkards or the amount of spirits consumed is an indication of the approximate quantity of alcohol stolen to be traded for stolen gold, is that not so?’ he asked when he had ended his cross-examination.
‘Yes,’ said one of the investigators. ‘We keep a precise record of everything.’
‘Then why isn’t the administration coming down hard on those most often drunk and cross-examining them specifically?’
The two investigators exchanged ironic looks. ‘Any mineworker would rather hang than reveal the source of forbidden drink,’ answered one of them.
‘Wonderful!’ said Holmes. ‘And how much stolen gold do you think the manager has put away.’
‘According to the sums we have done, approximately forty-eight Russian pounds. But it is possible he may have somewhat more. We can’t account for every bottle of spirits.’
‘When is Seltzoff going off?’
‘In three days. The work in the mine ends tomorrow and the caravan with mined gold goes off. Seltzoff has to stay another two days to submit all accounts and pay off the workmen.’
On this our conversation ended.
V
We returned to our quarters. For a long time Sherlock Holmes paced back and forth silently, deep in thought.
‘No, he wouldn’t trust that much gold to anyone else,’ he said at last, stopping by the window. ‘He is a single, lone man, has nobody close, and he has to take his treasure away sooner or later. The only question is this: will he take it with him now or hide it and return for it later.’
‘I think it is the latter,’ I said.
‘It all depends on how cautious he is. A thief always feels that he is being watched,’ said Holmes. ‘And I am prepared to stake my head that Seltzoff realizes he is being watched, especially given that he has already been searched. Only, he relies too strongly on his own cunning. If that is so, he will try to carry the gold with him, because he realizes clearly enough that a second opportunity might not arrive. Moreover, a return when the season is over would attract suspicion. It would be impossible to do so secretly, because there will always be someone around and if nobody is working, all the more reason to notice someone around than when work is in full progress.’
I couldn’t but agree with this line of thinking.
We began to wait patiently. Day and night, we took turns to keep Seltzoff under continuous scrutiny, except when he vanished inside his own quarters.
The next day the caravan left with the owner and the gold. Before he left, he revealed our true identities to the mine guard, asking him to give us every possible assistance.
Another day passed.
The manager made preparations to leave. His spacious leather-curtained personal coach was brought up to his quarters and his things brought out and placed in it.
‘We have to give the appearance that we are leaving,’ said Sherlock Holmes as evening fell. He spent some time in discussion with the mine guard.
We dropped in on the manager, thanked him for the hospitality we had been shown, and announced we were leaving that day.
‘We could travel together,’ proposed the manager.
‘Oh, no, thank you,’ answered Holmes. ‘As it is, I cannot forgive myself for having stayed today.’
A hardly perceptible ironic smile appeared on the manager’s face. We left him and immediately ordered a carriage to be prepared for us. Two hours later we were off with the mine guard.