"I had one or two questions which I wished to ask you, Lord Holdhurst."
"I shall be happy to give you any information in my power."
"Was it in this room that you gave your instructions as to the copyingof the document?"
"It was."
"Then you could hardly have been overheard?"
"It is out of the question."
"Did you ever mention to any one that it was your intention to give anyone the treaty to be copied?"
"Never."
"You are certain of that?"
"Absolutely."
"Well, since you never said so, and Mr. Phelps never said so, and nobodyelse knew anything of the matter, then the thief's presence in the roomwas purely accidental. He saw his chance and he took it."
The statesman smiled. "You take me out of my province there," said he.
Holmes considered for a moment. "There is another very importantpoint which I wish to discuss with you," said he. "You feared, as Iunderstand, that very grave results might follow from the details ofthis treaty becoming known."
A shadow passed over the expressive face of the statesman. "Very graveresults indeed."
"And have they occurred?"
"Not yet."
"If the treaty had reached, let us say, the French or Russian ForeignOffice, you would expect to hear of it?"
"I should," said Lord Holdhurst, with a wry face.
"Since nearly ten weeks have elapsed, then, and nothing has been heard,it is not unfair to suppose that for some reason the treaty has notreached them."
Lord Holdhurst shrugged his shoulders.
"We can hardly suppose, Mr. Holmes, that the thief took the treaty inorder to frame it and hang it up."
"Perhaps he is waiting for a better price."
"If he waits a little longer he will get no price at all. The treatywill cease to be secret in a few months."
"That is most important," said Holmes. "Of course, it is a possiblesupposition that the thief has had a sudden illness--"
"An attack of brain-fever, for example?" asked the statesman, flashing aswift glance at him.
"I did not say so," said Holmes, imperturbably. "And now, LordHoldhurst, we have already taken up too much of your valuable time, andwe shall wish you good-day."
"Every success to your investigation, be the criminal who it may,"answered the nobleman, as he bowed us out the door.
"He's a fine fellow," said Holmes, as we came out into Whitehall. "Buthe has a struggle to keep up his position. He is far
from rich and hasmany calls. You noticed, of course, that his boots had been resoled.Now, Watson, I won't detain you from your legitimate work any longer.I shall do nothing more to-day, unless I have an answer to my cabadvertisement. But I should be extremely obliged to you if you wouldcome down with me to Woking to-morrow, by the same train which we tookyesterday."
I met him accordingly next morning and we traveled down to Wokingtogether. He had had no answer to his advertisement, he said, and nofresh light had been thrown upon the case. He had, when he so willedit, the utter immobility of countenance of a red Indian, and I couldnot gather from his appearance whether he was satisfied or not withthe position of the case. His conversation, I remember, was about theBertillon system of measurements, and he expressed his enthusiasticadmiration of the French savant.