SGB Chapter 239

## Chapter 239: Troublesome Imps and a Special Commission (7K)

**Chapter 239: Troublesome Imps and a Special Commission (7K)**

London, Westminster, 4 Whitehall Street.

Arthur and Disraeli had just stepped out of the carriage, and before they had gone far, they saw two familiar figures at the corner of the street leading to Trafalgar Square.

Arthur’s brows furrowed slightly. Seeing this, Disraeli asked, “Arthur, what’s wrong?”

“Shh!”

Arthur motioned for Disraeli to be quiet, then cautiously walked forward. He then, as if catching rabbits, lifted the two lads, aged eight or nine, by their collars.

“Allen, Adam, you better explain yourselves. Why are you playing marbles on Whitehall Street when you should be at grammar school?”

Adam turned his head, then shivered in fright. “A… Arthur, isn’t it Friday today? Allen said you usually get off early on Friday afternoons to work part-time as a pianist at the theatre.”

Hearing this, Arthur didn’t know whether to be angry or amused. He shrugged and said, “You seem to know my schedule quite well. Normally, I should be meeting with Mr. Moselle at this time, but today is an exception. Adam, Allen, you two little devils are out of luck today, you’ve run into me. Never mind that, how did you sneak out from under the teachers’ watchful eyes?”

Allen Pinkerton, who was being held by Arthur in his right hand, replied, “Sir, we were dismissed early with the teacher’s permission.”

“Oh? Is that so? Is it a holiday today?” Arthur pondered for a moment. “Did Jesus rise again? No, I remember Jesus didn’t rise today, I should be the one who rose today.”

Pinkerton said solemnly, “Sir, I’m not joking with you. We asked the teacher for permission to come back home early to take care of Adam’s mother who just gave birth. I told the teacher that Adam’s mother just gave birth to a little sister, so we had to come back home early to help Sergeant Tom.”

Disraeli chuckled beside him, “Kid, you’re wrong, Mrs. Tom had twins. Adam doesn’t just have a sister, he has a brother too.”

Pinkerton, hearing this, raised an index finger and emphasized, “Yes, I know, sir, but we’re saving the brother excuse for next week!”

Hearing this, Arthur put the two boys down and tapped their heads with his finger. “Can’t you two little rascals do something good?”

Pinkerton replied, “We’re always doing good things, sir. You might not know, but we just gave a poor old lady two pence, that’s all the money we had.”

Hearing this, Arthur raised an eyebrow, rubbed his head, and said, “It seems that putting you under Tom’s care has had some effect. Good job, kid. But there are so many poor people in London, why did you choose that old lady in particular?”

Adam, hearing this, just scratched the back of his head and grinned foolishly. “It’s simple, because that old lady sells candy.”

Arthur, hearing this, just grabbed the two boys by their collars and threw them into the carriage. Then he took a shilling from his pocket and stuffed it into the coachman’s hand. “Sir, please take these two troublemakers back to Greenwich Grammar School, and say hello to the teacher for me.”

He then, with a warning tone, said to the two boys, “You two better stay there until Mrs. Tom picks you up. Especially you, Allen, I formally notify you that your monthly snack allowance is suspended. By the way, the final disbursement of the allowance will be directly linked to your next grammar school exam scores.

If you have any objections to this resolution, please raise it at the next London Police Intelligence Bureau internal work meeting, and we will vote on this proposal. However, I can tell you very clearly that even if you raise it, it’s useless, because Tom, Tony and the other officers are all on my side on this matter.

As for you, Adam, haven’t you always been envious of Allen’s snack allowance? I can also tell you clearly that if you can guarantee an A-plus or above in this year’s grammar school exam, I will approve your application. Otherwise, I will not only reject your application, but I will also tell your parents about what you and Allen did today.

You are 9 years old this year, according to the general British concept, you are no longer a child. As a mature British gentleman, you must learn to be responsible for your actions.”

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, Adam let out a wail.

“Oh, no, Mr. Hastings, you’re a good man, you can’t do this! Please don’t tell my parents, they’ll be heartbroken.”

Pinkerton, hearing this, stood on the carriage seat and pleaded, “Sir, you can’t swallow my allowance with a clear conscience, we just learned the Bible recently, it says that God declared judgment on elders and human leaders because they increased their wealth by exploiting and abusing the poor. Please, you stopped my allowance, you will definitely go to hell in the future, you are a good person, I don’t want you to go there.”

Arthur leaned against the carriage door with one hand: “You see, Allen, this is where the benefits of reading come in. If you hadn’t studied the Bible, you wouldn’t even know that swallowing someone else’s allowance is going to hell. But you’re right, I will definitely go to hell in the future, but I probably won’t be going for the crime of exploiting and abusing the poor.

If I’m going to hell, I have other ways to go. You might not know, but I have connections in hell. Also, Allen, your snack allowance is just suspended, I’ve given you a chance to reform, getting an A in the grammar exam shouldn’t be that hard for your smart little head, right?”

Pinkerton, seeing that playing the可怜 (pitiful) card was useless, could only grit his teeth in anger. “Damn it! So you’re determined?”

Arthur nodded slightly. “Allen, don’t be so angry. The Bureau has set up a special fund for the education of minor employees specifically for your education. If you go to the University of London in the future, your university tuition will be fully subsidized.”

Pinkerton asked, “What if I want to go to Cambridge or Oxford?”

Arthur simply replied, “Then I guarantee that another employee of ours, Mr. Eldon Carter, will propose a motion to immediately dismiss you at the internal meeting.”

“What about your attitude?”

Arthur pondered for a moment: “Given the current educational atmosphere at Oxford and Cambridge, I currently lean towards supporting Mr. Carter’s proposal.”

Seeing the two boys slumped in the carriage seats like frostbitten eggplants, Arthur finally closed the carriage door with satisfaction, and said to the coachman, “Sir, you can leave now. By the way, if it’s not too much trouble, after they get off, please watch them walk back to school before leaving. These two little rascals are so slippery, they can get into trouble if you don’t pay attention for a moment.”

The coachman, hearing this, was delighted to raise his whip and lightly touch his hat. “Don’t worry, officer. I’ll make sure these two young masters sit back in their school seats properly. Honestly, if these were my sons, I’d definitely give them two lashes, you’re too gentle.”

Arthur just shrugged, he took a puff of his cigar and said, “No way, these two little devils are too bold. I’m afraid if I give them two lashes, they might steal their father’s gun and shoot me in the back.”

The coachman, hearing this, just burst into laughter. After they said goodbye, Arthur watched the departing carriage and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Disraeli, seeing his expression, just found it amusing: “Arthur Hastings, the brightest star in the entire London police force, the cold-faced detective who makes any criminal tremble at a glance, is made uneasy by two little devils. It seems that educating children is a bigger challenge than apprehending criminals.”

Arthur exhaled a puff of smoke and nodded: “Benjamin, you don’t understand, I’m just the present of Scotland Yard, but these two little devils could be the future of Scotland Yard. Paying the price now is always easier than correcting it later.”

Disraeli just blinked and smiled, “Then good luck to the future of Scotland Yard.”

With that, he walked towards the Home Office on his own, leaning on his cane.

The Red Devil, hearing this, just smiled mischievously and stroked the parchment in his hand, as if devoutly reciting: “The Lord said: Give, and you shall receive. Arthur, I didn’t expect you to be a supporter of this kind of rhetoric, but don’t forget that giving doesn’t bring anything, Judas will still betray Jesus, and Peter will still deny his Lord.

One can beat evil out of whiteness, and one can beat whiteness out of evil. Mankind is divided into heroes and ants, the difference between the two is that heroes can do some so-called bad things for a good outcome, no big deal.”

Arthur, hearing this, felt a sense of familiarity. He turned his head to look at Agareus, just chuckled and stroked his chin: “Agareus, I didn’t expect you, the Devil, to be so fond of dealing with great writers! To influence the world by influencing them, this is indeed a good method for a Devil. But it’s strange to say, looking back, none of them have succumbed to you.”

Agareus didn’t say much, the Red Devil just smiled: “Don’t say that, Arthur, aren’t you the same? Look at what Alexandre Dumas wrote in the chapter of The Count of Monte Cristo, through the mouth of Father Faria: ‘To catch a criminal, you have to find the one who benefits from the crime. Edmond Dantès is gone, so who benefits?’ My dear Arthur, aren’t you doing the same thing I am?”

Arthur just took a puff of his cigar: “That’s true, I need to think about what I said, who benefits from ruining Scotland Yard? Thinking back, there might be too many beneficiaries. If the malice is directed at one person, then I can quickly determine the target, but if the malice is directed at an organization, things can get serious. All the criminals in London hate Scotland Yard, are the die-hard Tory MPs who uphold traditional Toryism now trying to put themselves on the same level as criminals?”

Agareus clasped his hands together and smiled: “If that’s the case, what are you going to do about them?”

Arthur just stroked his white gloves: “It’s simple, although I’m different from Edmond Dantès, the protagonist of The Count of Monte Cristo, I don’t have the treasure of Monte Cristo to back me up. But correspondingly, I still have a lot of other resources at my disposal. If they insist on going against me, I don’t mind continuing to provide Alexandre with some follow-up plot material, for example, playing the role of the mastermind behind the scenes. I just wonder, this time, which lucky guy wants to go crazy.”

The Red Devil’s lips curled up, almost reaching his ears. His red tongue swiped back and forth across his sharp white teeth, complimenting in a sickening tone: “Oh, my dear Arthur, after being quiet for half a year, you’re finally going to make a move. How about I give you a little extra? If you can take down the entire British Parliament, I’ll reward you with the crown.”

Arthur, hearing this, just raised an eyebrow: “Agareus, don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. If the MPs are all gone, they’ll force Baal to sign the Magna Carta in hell and establish a constitutional monarchy. What, are you, the fallen general, going to take advantage of the chaos and go back to be the Cromwell of Hell? Or are you going to learn from Napoleon and roar to the soldiers of the Devil’s army, ‘Hell, your Duke is back’?”

With that, Arthur, using his newly bought cane with some difficulty, limped after Disraeli.

Leaving Agareus standing there dumbfounded, after a long while, he slapped his thigh and woke up, “Arthur, you’re a goddamn genius, how come I didn’t think of that? Wait a minute, how about I add something else to the deal?”

Arthur had just caught up when he saw Disraeli chatting with someone on the road in front of the Home Secretary’s residence.

The magazine editor, who had “Caesar of Britain” as his ultimate life goal, spotted Lady Norton, who had just walked out of the mansion’s front door, and Viscount Melbourne, who was seeing her off.

The proud young man, not afraid of the brilliance of the big shots, instead took advantage of his gradually shifting reputation in the British literary world to strike up a conversation with Lady Norton.

Disraeli took off his hat and said, “Lady Norton, it’s been a long time, I’ve been trying to commission you ever since the last party. It’s a coincidence to meet you here today, why don’t we settle the matter of the manuscript here?”

Lady Norton was obviously surprised by Disraeli’s appearance. Before she could react, Viscount Melbourne, with a curious look, asked, “Caroline, who is this?”

Lady Norton came back to her senses and quickly introduced Disraeli to the Viscount. “William, this is the author of ‘The Young Duke’, and also the editor of ‘The Englishman’ – Mr. Benjamin Disraeli.”

Viscount Melbourne, hearing this, politely took off his gloves and extended his hand to Disraeli. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Disraeli, I can’t believe you’ve achieved so much at such a young age. Caroline has been recommending ‘The Englishman’ to me, she told me it’s a very interesting magazine, she basically spends all her boring spare time reading it.”

Disraeli, hearing this, was beaming. “That’s nothing, Your Lordship. To be honest, being a literary magazine editor is just a small footnote in my life journey. In my heart, I have a much grander ideal.”

Viscount Melbourne, hearing this, just smiled. “Is that so? What is your ideal?”

Disraeli stood tall and proud, “My ideal is to one day work in the office across the street from Whitehall Street, yes, I’m talking about number 10! You watch, I’m going to be the Prime Minister of this country one day.”

Although Viscount Melbourne knew that arrogance was a trait of young people, it was still rare to see someone as blatant as Disraeli.

If it had been Viscount Palmerston, he might have mocked Disraeli for being presumptuous, but thankfully, Viscount Melbourne was not the type to throw cold water on people.

He just said tactfully, “A very grand ideal, it’s also commendable to have the courage to say it out loud. However, before going to the office at 10 Downing Street, perhaps you could consider coming to Whitehall Street for a visit…”

As he said this, Viscount Melbourne suddenly saw Arthur limping towards them. He pointed to Arthur behind Disraeli and said, “As you can see, among the young British people of your age group, I think this one is the most outstanding at the moment. Perhaps you can chat with him more when you have time.”

Lady Norton saw Arthur walking over and raised her hand slightly to greet him. “Mr. Hastings.”

Arthur also took off his hat and returned the greeting. “It’s a pleasure to see you, Lady Norton.”

Lady Norton saw Arthur limping and asked curiously, “You… What happened to you?”

Arthur just replied, “Nothing, I’m just getting used to my new tool. You might not know, but I’ve recently been appointed to be in charge of Scotland Yard’s police intelligence work. In order to make myself inconspicuous in various places, I’m trying to learn the behavioral habits of people from different walks of life.”

Lady Norton, hearing this, suddenly realized. “So you’re playing the role of a gentlemanly cripple today?”

“Well… almost, ma’am.” Arthur pondered for a moment, then said sheepishly, “But to be precise, I’m actually playing the role of Mr. Talleyrand-Périgord, the French ambassador.”

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, even Viscount Melbourne, who was always serious, couldn’t help but laugh. He laughed and said, “Arthur, that’s enough, I had dinner with Mr. Talleyrand last week, he has a pretty good opinion of you.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Arthur pretended to be confused, “Then he should let me know.”

As he said this, Viscount Melbourne suddenly remembered the case that Scotland Yard had forwarded to him this morning. He asked cautiously, “Arthur, you’re not involved in the Harrison affair, are you?”

Arthur, hearing this, smiled shyly. “Unfortunately, Your Lordship, if you had asked me earlier, it would have been better.”

“Harrison MP?” Lady Norton asked in confusion, “What happened to him?”

Viscount Melbourne, hearing this, hesitated for a long time, and finally just shook his head. “Caroline, don’t ask about this.”

Lady Norton, hearing this, knew that Viscount Melbourne must have encountered some problems. She thought for a moment and finally decided not to embarrass him.

“Alright, William, you must have something you can’t say, I understand.”

Viscount Melbourne smiled. “Thank you for your understanding, my dear.”

With that, he turned back to the Home Secretary’s residence.

As soon as he left, Lady Norton was about to get on the carriage and continue her journey.

Arthur, seeing this, quickly nudged Disraeli with his elbow.

The Caesar of Britain understood and immediately stepped forward to stop the carriage. “Madam, are you really not considering the commission? To be honest, we’re offering a pretty generous fee. I’ve always believed that when brilliant authors gather together to discuss, they always spark creative sparks. Just like what Mr. Sigma and I have been doing all along.”

Lady Norton, hearing this, just smiled and replied, “Oh, my head, I almost forgot about this. Of course I’m interested in contributing to ‘The Englishman’, but I have a portrait appointment with a painter this afternoon. Mr. Disraeli, if you don’t mind, why don’t we talk about it tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

Disraeli, hearing this, suddenly rolled his eyes. He remembered the gossip he had heard from other ladies at the last party. “Tomorrow is fine, then I’ll go to Mr. Arthur Sigma today to discuss the manuscripts for the next few issues.”

Lady Norton was about to close the carriage door, but as soon as she heard the name Arthur Sigma, she stopped pulling the door. “You’re going to see Mr. Arthur Sigma today? The author of ‘The Hastings Detective Collection’?”

“Of course.” Disraeli tugged at his collar. “I originally wanted to invite you to go with me. I’ve always believed that when brilliant authors gather together to discuss, they always spark creative sparks. Just like what Mr. Sigma and I have been doing all along.”

Lady Norton, hearing this, hesitated for a long time, and finally sighed in resignation. “Sigh… I really want to meet him, but… The portrait appointment can’t be changed, Mr. Disraeli, I’m really sorry.”

Arthur, hearing this, suddenly said, “If it can’t be changed, then let’s go to the studio together. I’m not busy today anyway, Madam, what do you think?”

Lady Norton, hearing this, looked into Arthur’s eyes and widened them. “Mr. Hastings? Wait… Arthur Sigma? ‘The Hastings Detective Collection’? Did you write that book?”

Arthur, hearing this, just shook his head. “No, I didn’t write it.”

Lady Norton, hearing this, covered her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s right, you, a great detective, wouldn’t have time to write novels.”

Arthur smiled. “I didn’t write it, but it’s a true story, Madam, it’s a factual literary work. So, can we go to the studio to discuss now?”

Lady Norton, hearing this, was first excited, but then she had a sense of blame. Her eyes were full of doubt, but she had a smile on her lips. “Mr. Hastings, you’re really joking, I remember there was a devil in that book. Is the devil also factual?”

Arthur nodded. “Of course, Madam, what’s so great about the devil, maybe God will appear later.”

Lady Norton, hearing this, smiled and wrinkled her nose. “Alright, Mr. Disraeli and Mr. God, now, please get in the carriage.”

There’s another chapter of about 5K today.

(End of chapter)