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A Scandal inBohemia

The letter said:My name is Dr John Watson. I am a friend of the greatdetective, Sherlock Holmes.I got married a few months ago. After I got married, I did notsee Holmes very often. He stayed at his house on Baker Street. Hewas busy with the study of crime. Sherlock Holmes solvesmysteries that the police cannot solve.One night, I decided to visit Holmes. I rang the bell. He washappy to see me. I sat down and he offered me a cigar. Then hestood in front of the fire and looked at me."You look well. Married life is good for you," he said. "And Ican see that you are working as a doctor again. I also know thatyou went to the countryside this week, and that you have a

careless

servant girl.""My dear Holmes," I said, "you are very clever. It is true that Iwent for a walk in the country on Thursday. I came home verydirty. But I changed my clothes, so how do you know? It is alsotrue that we have a careless servant girl. How do you know allthese things?"Holmes laughed."It is easy," he said. "There are six

scratches

on your left shoe.I can see that a careless person cleaned your shoes. I know that youare working as a doctor again because you smell of antiseptic."I laughed at his reply. Holmes made everything sound soobvious."Look," he said. He gave me a sheet of pink writing paper."The postman brought this. Read it aloud."The letter did not have a date on it, and it did not have a

signature

or an address.A SCANDAL

IN

BOHEMIA

Dear Mr Holmes,A gentleman will come to see you tonight. He needs your helpwith something very serious. The man will wear a mask, so do notbe surprised. I know that I can trust you.

"This is a mystery," I said."What do you think?" Holmes asked.I looked carefully at the writing and the paper."I think that the writer is rich," I said. I wanted to be as clever as my friend. "The paper is unusual. It is expensive and verystrong.""Yes, it

is

unusual," said Holmes. "And it is not English paper.Hold it up to the light."I held it up. On the paper, I saw the letters

Eg, P

and

Gt.

"The

Gt

stands for 'Gesellschaft'," said Holmes. "That means'Company' in German. The

P

stands for 'Papier' - paper. So this paper is from a German-speaking country."Holmes took an encyclopedia from a shelf and opened it."Look. The

Eg

stands for 'Egria'. That is in Bohemia. What doyou think of that?""The paper is from Bohemia," I said."Precisely, my dear Watson. We must discover what this manwants. I think I can hear him now."We heard slow, heavy steps on the stairs. Then there was a loudknock at the door."Come in," said Holmes.A man entered. He was strong and tall. He wore expensiveclothes. There was a black mask on his face."Did you receive my letter?" he asked. He had a strong Germanaccent."Yes," said Holmes. "Please sit down. This is my friend andcolleague, Dr John Watson. Who are you?"6

7

A SHERLOCK HOLMES COLLECTION"I am Count von Kramm, a Bohemian nobleman. I want tospeak to you alone, please."I got up to go, but Holmes stopped me."You can trust my friend," he said to the count."You must both promise to keep my secret," said the count."We promise," said Holmes."I am sorry about this mask," our strange visitor continued."Count von Kramm is not my real name. I am here to see youbecause I want to prevent a scandal.""I know," said Holmes. He sat down and closed his eyes."You are Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, GrandDuke of Cassel-Falstein, and King of Bohemia. Your Majesty,please tell me how I can help you."The man was shocked. He jumped up from his chair. He pulled the mask off his face and threw it to the ground. Then hesaid, "I am sure you understand. I come myself because I cannottrust anyone with my secret. Five years ago, I visited Warsaw.There I met the famous opera singer, Irene Adler.""Watson, please find the notes I have about her," saidHolmes. He had notes about many interesting people. I foundthe notes quickly and gave them to Holmes."Let me see," he said. "Hmm! She was born in New Jersey.She sang at La Scala and at the Imperial Opera of Warsaw, butshe doesn't sing in operas now. Ah - now she is living inLondon! I believe Your Majesty fell in love with this youngwoman. You wrote her some love letters. And now you wantthose letters.""That's correct!" said the king. "But how do you know?"Holmes did not answer the question. He continued, "Youthink that she wants to show the letters to someone - but can she prove that you wrote them?""Yes. The writing paper is mine.""You can say that she stole it.""The letters have my seal."

A SHERLOCK HOLMES COLLECTIONA SCANDAL

IN

BOHEMIA"You can say that she copied the seal.""But there is also a photograph.""A photograph?""Yes, a photograph of me with her.""Oh, no. That is very bad. Your Majesty was very careless.""I was mad. I was only Crown Prince then. I was young.""Your Majesty must obtain this photograph.""I tried. It was impossible.""You must buy it from her.""She does not want to sell it.""Steal it.""We tried five times. We did not find it."Holmes laughed. "You have a big problem," he said."Yes, and it is very serious for me," said the king."What does Irene Adler want to do with the photograph?"Holmes asked."I am going to get married soon," said the king, "to ClotildeLothman von Saxe-Meningen. She is the daughter of the King of Scandinavia. Irene will give the photograph to Clotilde's family.They will stop the marriage. Irene

will not let me

marry another woman. She loves me.""I see. Are you staying in London?""Yes. I am staying at the Langham Hotel. Ask for Count vonKramm.""What is Miss Adler's address?""She lives at Briony Lodge in St John's Wood."Holmes wrote down the address. "Good night, Your Majesty. Ihope we will have good news for you soon. And good night,Watson. Please come tomorrow afternoon, at three o'clock. I want todiscuss this with you."I arrived at Baker Street at three o'clock the next day. Holmeswas not at home. I sat down by the fire to wait for him.At four o'clock the door opened. An untidy man walked into theroom. His clothes were old and he had a red face. I knew that10Holmes often wore

disguises.

But

I

was not sure if this person wasHolmes. The man walked into the bedroom. Yes, it was my friend!Five minutes later, Holmes came out of the bedroom. He wasclean and tidy and he wore a suit. He sat down in a chair by the fireand lit his pipe."Well, really!" he said."What?" I asked."Something very surprising happened this morning," he replied."What?" I asked again."I went to Irene Adler's house, Briony Lodge," said Holmes. "Iwas disguised as a

groom.

I spoke to the

carriage

drivers there. Ihelped them with their work. They told me about Miss Adler.""What did they tell you?" I asked."She is very beautiful. She lives quietly and sings at concerts.She drives to the park at five o'clock every day. She returns atexactly seven o'clock for dinner. She rarely goes out at other times.Only one man visits her, Mr Godfrey Norton. He visits her every dayand the carriage drivers often take him home. They told me all abouthim."Then, I walked up and down the road near the house andthought about Godfrey Norton. He is a lawyer. Does Miss Adler need his help? Are they friends? Has he got the photograph?"Suddenly, a carriage arrived at Briony Lodge. A man jumpedout. He was very handsome. I was sure that he was Mr Norton. Heshouted to the driver to wait. Then he ran into the house."I saw him in the sitting-room with Miss Adler. He walkedquickly up and down. He talked a lot and she listened. When he leftthe house, he

was in a hurry.

He looked at his watch anxiously. Hegot into the carriage." 'Drive to St Monica's church,' he shouted to the driver. 'Andhurry!'

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