No. 1 Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle
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be taken to quench what might grow to_be an immense scandal and seriously compromise one_of_the reigning families of Europe . to_speak plainly, the matter implicates the great house of Ormstein, hereditary kings of Bohemia ."

" i_was also aware of_that," murmured Holmes, settling himself down in_his armchair and closing his eyes .

our visitor glanced with some apparent surprise at_the languid, lounging figure of_the man who had_been no_doubt depicted to him as_the most incisive reasoner and most energetic agent in Europe .Holmes slowly reopened his eyes and looked impatiently at his gigantic client .

" if your majesty would condescend to state your case," he remarked, " i_should_be better able to advise you ."

the man sprang from_his chair and paced up and down the room in uncontrollable agitation . then, with a gesture of desperation, he tore the mask from_his face and hurled it upon_the ground ." you_are right," he cried; " I_am the king . why should I attempt to conceal it ? "

" why, indeed ? " murmured Holmes ." your majesty had_not spoken before i_was aware that i_was addressing Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, grand duke of Cassel-Felstein, and hereditary king of Bohemia ."

" but you_can understand," said our strange visitor, sitting down once more and passing his hand over his high white forehead, " you_can understand that I_am not accustomed to doing such business in my own person . yet the matter was so delicate that I_could_not confide it to an agent without putting myself in_his power . I_have come incognito from Prague for_the_purpose of consulting you ."

" then, pray consult," said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more .

" the facts are briefly these: some five years_ago, during a lengthy visit to Warsaw, I_made the acquaintance of_the wellknown adventuress, Irene Adler . the name is no_doubt farmiliar to_you ."

" kindly look her up in my index, doctor," murmured Holmes without opening his eyes . for many years he had adopted a system of docketing all paragraphs concerning men and things, so that_it_was difficult to name a subject or a person on_which he_could_not at once furnish information . in this_case I_found her biography sandwiched in between that of a Hebrew rabbi and_that of a staff- commander who had written a monograph upon_the deep- sea fishes .

" let me see ! " said Holmes ." hum ! born in New_Jersey in_the year 1858 . contralto-- hum ! La Scala, hum ! Prima donna imperial opera of Warsaw-- yes ! retired from operatic stage--ha ! Living in London-- quite so ! your majesty, as I understand, became entangled with_this young person, wrote her some compromising letters, and_is now desirous of getting those letters back ."

" precisely so . but how--"

" was there a secret marriage ? "

" none ."

" no legal papers or certificates ? "

" none ."

" then I fail to_follow your majesty . if_this young person should produce her letters for blackmailing or other purposes, how is she to_prove their authenticity ? "

" there_is the writing ."

"Pooh, pooh ! forgery ."

" my private note- paper ."

" stolen ."

" my own seal ."

" imitated ."

" my photograph ."

" bought ."

" we were both in_the photograph ."

"Oh, dear ! that_is very bad ! your majesty has indeed committed an indiscretion ."

" i_was mad-- insane ."

" you_have compromised yourself seriously ."

" i_was only crown prince then . i_was young . I_am but thirty now ."

" it must_be recovered ."

" we_have tried and failed ."

" your majesty must pay . it must_be bought ."

" she will not sell ."

" stolen, then ."

"Five attempts have_been made . twice burglars in my pay ransacked her house . once we diverted her luggage when she travelled . twice she has_been waylaid . there_has_been no result ."

" no sign of it ? "

" absolutely none ."

Holmes laughed ." it_is quite a pretty little problem," said he .

" but a very serious one to_me," returned the king reproachfully .

" very, indeed . and what does she propose to_do with_the photograph ? "

" to ruin me ."

" but how ? "

" I_am about to_be married ."

" so I_have heard ."

" to Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, second daughter of_the king of Scandinavia . you_may know the stnct principles of her family . she_is herself the very soul of delicacy .a shadow of a doubt as_to my conduct would bring the matter to an end ."

" and Irene Adler ? "

"Threatens to send_them the photograph . and she will do_it . I_know that she will do_it . you_do_not know her, but she has a soul of steel . she has_the face of_the most beautiful of women, and_the mind of_the most resolute of men . rather than i_should marry another woman, there_are no lengths to_which she_would not go-- none ."

" you_are_sure that she has_not sent it yet ? "

" I_am_sure ."

" and why ? "

" because she has said that she_would send it on_the day when_the betrothal was publicly proclaimed . that_will_be next Monday ."

"Oh, then we_have three days yet," said Holmes with a yawn ." that_is very fortunate, as I_have one_or_two matters of importance to look into just at present . your majesty will, of_course, stay in London for_the_present ? "

" certainly . you_will_find me at_the Langham under the name of_the count Von Kramm ."

" then I_shall drop you a line to let you_know how we progress ."

" pray do_so . I_shall_be all anxiety ."

" then, as_to money ? "

" you_have carte blanche ."

" absolutely ? "

"I tell you that i_would give one_of_the provinces of_my kingdom to_have that photograph ."

" and for present expenses ? "

the king took a heavy chamois leather bag from under his cloak and laid it on_the table .

" there_are three hundred pounds in gold and seven hundred in notes," he_said .

Holmes scribbled a receipt upon a sheet of_his note- book and handed it to him .

" and Mademoiselle's address ? " he asked .

" is Briony lodge, serpentine avenue, St .John's wood ."

Holmes took a note of it ." one other question," said he ." was_the photograph a cabinet ? "

" it_was ."

" then, good- night, your majesty, and I trust that we_shall soon have some good news for_you . and good- night, Watson," he added, as_the wheels of_the royal brougham rolled down the street ." if_you wlll be good enough to_call to- morrow afternoon at three o'clock i_should like to chat this little matter over with_you ." [ edit]

II .

at three o'clock precisely i_was at baker street, but Holmes had_not yet returned . the landlady informed me that he had left the house shortly after eight o'clock in_the morning .I sat down beside the fire, however, with_the intention of awaiting him, however long he_might_be . i_was already deeply interested in_his inquiry, for, though it_was surrounded by none_of_the grim and strange features which were associated with_the two crimes which I_have already recorded, still, the nature of_the case and_the exalted station of_his client gave it a character of_its own . indeed, apart from_the nature of_the investigation which my friend had on hand, there_was something in_his masterly grasp of a situation, and_his keen, incisive reasoning, which made it a pleasure to_me to study his system of work, and to_follow the quick, subtle methods by_which he disentangled the most inextricable mysteries . so accustomed was I to_his invariable success that_the very possibility of_his failing had ceased to enter into my head .

it_was close upon four before_the door opened, and adrunkenlooking groom, ill-kempt and side- whiskered, with an inflamed face and disreputable clothes, walked into_the room . accustomed as i_was to my friend's amazing powers in_the use of disguises, I had to look three times before i_was certain that_it_was indeed he . with a nod he vanished into_the bedroom, whence he emerged in five minutes tweed- suited and respectable, as of old .Putting his hands into his pockets, he stretched out his legs in front of_the fire and laughed heartily for some minutes .

" well, really ! " he cried, and then he choked and laughed again until he_was obliged to lie back, limp and helpless, in_the chair .

" what_is it ? "

" it's quite too funny . I_am_sure you_could never guess how I employed my morning, or what I ended by doing ."

" I_can't imagine .I suppose that you_have_been watching the habits, and perhaps the house, of miss Irene Adler ."

" quite so; but the sequel was rather unusual . i_will tell you, however .I left the house a little after eight o'clock this_morning in_the character of a groom out of work . there_is a wonderful sympathy and freemasonry among horsy men . be one_of_them, and you_will know all that_there_is to_know .I soon found Briony lodge . it_is a bijou villa, with a garden at_the back . but built out in front right up_to_the road, two stories .Chubb lock to_the door . large sitting- room on_the right side, well furnished, with long windows almost to_the floor, and those preposterous English window fasteners which a child could open . behind there_was nothing remarkable, save that_the passage window could_be reached from_the top of_the coach- house .I walked round it and examined it closely from every point of view, but without noting anything else of interest .

"I then lounged down the street and found, as I expected, that there_was amews in alane which runs down by one wall of_the garden .I lent the ostlers a hand in rubbing down their horses, and received in exchange twopence, a glass of half and half, two fills of shag tobacco, and as_much information as I_could desire about miss Adler, to_say nothing of half a dozen other people in_the neighborhood in whom i_was not in_the least interested, but whose biographies i_was compelled to listen to ."

" and what of Irene Adler ? " I asked .

"Oh, she has turned all the men's heads down in_that part . she is_the daintiest thing under a bonnet on_this planet . so say the serpentine-mews, to a man . she lives quietly, sings at concerts, drives out at five every day, and returns at seven sharp for dinner . seldom goes out at other times, except when she sings . has only_one male visitor, but a good_deal of him . he_is dark, handsome, and dashing, never calls less_than once a day, and often twice . he_is aMr Godfrey Norton, of_the inner temple . see the advantages of acabman as aconfidant . they had driven him home a dozen times from serpentine-mews, and knew all about him . when I had listened to all they had to_tell, I began to walk up and down near Briony lodge once more, and to_think over my plan of campaign .

" this Godfrey Norton was evidently an important factor in_the matter . he_was a lawyer . that sounded ominous . what_was the relation between_them, and what the object of_his repeated visits ? was she his client, his friend, or his mistress ? if_the former, she had probably transferred the photograph to_his keeping . if_the latter, it_was less likely . on_the issue of_this question depended whether i_should continue my work at Briony lodge, or turn my attention to_the gentleman's chambers in_the temple . it_was a delicate point . and it widened the field of_my inquiry . I_fear that I bore you with_these details, but I_have to let you_see my little difficulties, if_you_are to understand the situation ."

" I_am following you closely," I answered .

" i_was still balancing the matter in my mind when a hansom cab drove up_to Briony lodge, and a gentleman sprang out . he_was aremarkably handsome man, dark, aquiline, and moustached--evidently the man of whom I had heard . he appeared to_be in a great hurry, shouted to_the cabman to wait, and brushed past the maid who opened the door with_the air of a man who was thoroughly at home .

" he_was in_the house about half an hour, and I_could catch glimpses of him in_the windows of_the sitting- room, pacing up and down, talking excitedly, and waving his arms . of her I could_see nothing . presently he emerged, looking even more flurried than before . as he stepped up_to_the cab, he pulled a gold watch from_his pocket and looked at it earnestly, ' drive like the devil,' he shouted, ' first to gross & Hankey's in regent street, and then to_the church of St . Monica in_the Edgeware road . half a guinea if_you_do it in twenty minutes ! '

" away they went, and i_was just wondering whether I should_not do well to_follow them when up the lane came a neat little landau, the coachman with_his coat only half- buttoned, and_his tie under his ear, while all the tags of_his harness were sticking out_of_the buckles . it hadn't pulled up before she shot out_of_the hall door and into_it .I only caught a glimpse of her at_the moment, but she was a lovely woman, with a face that a man might die for .

"' the church of St . Monica, John,' she cried, ' and half a sovereign if_you reach it in twenty minutes .'

" this_was quite too good to lose, Watson . i_was just balancing whether i_should run for_it, or whether i_should perch behind her landau when a cab came through_the street . the driver looked twice at such a shabby fare, but I jumped in before he_could object .' the church of St . Monica,' said I, ' and half a sovereign if_you reach it in twenty minutes .' it_was twenty-five minutes to twelve, and of_course it_was clear enough what_was in_the wind .

" my cabby drove fast .I don't think I ever drove faster, but the others were there before_us . the cab and_the landau with their steaming horses were in front of_the door when I arrived .I paid the man and hurried into_the church . there_was not a soul there save the two whom I had followed and a surpliced clergyman, who seemed to_be expostulating with_them . they were all

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