## Chapter 180: Survival Instinct in a Turning Tide of History
A thick, relentless rain shrouded London, stretching from its northernmost point to its southernmost.
Naturally, Greenwich was also caught in the downpour.
Inside the Whiston Instrument Shop, Arthur, sporting a wide-brimmed hat, stood with raindrops clinging to his shoulders. Leaning against the counter, he puffed away at his pipe, his sharp black eyes scanning the shop, which looked as if it had been ransacked by bandits.
After a long silence, Arthur finally spoke, “Mr. Whiston, why didn’t you call the police?”
“Call the police?” Whiston’s head emerged from behind the counter, his face still bearing traces of relief after the ordeal. “How dare I call the police? They all said they were sent by you!”
“Oh?” Arthur stroked his chin, pondering the statement. “You mean, I’m the one who brought the devils here?”
“Who else could it be? They were like lunatics! Every single one of them claimed they wanted to buy a gramophone. I told them we were out of stock, but they went crazy, shoving deposits into my arms.
I said I couldn’t make that many in such a short time, but they wouldn’t believe me. They even threatened me, saying if they didn’t get their gramophones on time, their lives would be miserable, and if their lives were miserable, mine wouldn’t be good either.
After spitting out these threats, they went ahead and bought all the other instruments in my shop. Before you came, a drunkard walked in. Seeing my empty shelves, he thought I was a furniture seller and simply dragged away my chair.”
Arthur rested his arm on the table, puffing on his pipe as he spoke, “Isn’t that great? Mr. Whiston, I congratulate you! Your business is booming!”
“Yeah! Thanks to you, my business is bloody booming!”
Perhaps out of frustration, the usually socially awkward Whiston blurted out an expletive in front of Arthur, “Those tricks you taught me are useless! Guns can’t scare anyone! I pulled out my gun, and within two seconds, they snatched it away!”
Arthur frowned at these words, “Guns couldn’t scare them?”
Whiston pounded on the table with his knuckles, his anger rising, “Of course not! Those guys have brains like they’ve been soaking in the Thames! They snatched my gun and even praised me. Those stupid donkeys said the gun I made was actually quite good! Mr. Hastings, tell me, if I can’t even scare those donkeys, how can I possibly scare the apprentices at the Royal Society?”
Arthur shook his head slightly, “It’s different, Mr. Whiston. Based on my experience in solving cases, it’s precisely because they are donkeys that they are not afraid of guns. People with little education or nothing to lose are often the least afraid of death. If it were the gentlemen and ladies themselves coming to buy gramophones, not their servants, you wouldn’t have encountered such an embarrassing situation. Remember, those upper-class folks are arguably the most life-loving group in all of Great Britain.”
Whiston simply grumbled in response, “What exactly did you tell them? I’ve never seen so many customers in my life, and it’s been the same situation for days. If it wasn’t raining today, my little shop would probably have been crammed to the brim again.”
Arthur shrugged, “Actually, I didn’t say anything, Mr. Whiston. Believe me, it’s the high quality of your products that brought in so many new customers. I merely added a little embellishment on top of that.”
Whiston didn’t believe Arthur’s lies. He scoffed, “Embellishment? You just embellish a little, and you attract so many flies? Oh! I really have to thank God for that! Thankfully you’re promoting gramophones, not chamber pots and toilets.”
Arthur just glanced at the Red Devil beside him, apologetically replying, “Actually, if the price is high enough, I can consider endorsing chamber pots and toilets. But considering a friend of mine has a deep grudge against toilets, I think it’s necessary to be considerate of his feelings at times.”
At this point, Arthur abruptly changed the subject, “But I’m here today not to discuss toilets with you. I wanted to ask if the gramophone I privately ordered from you some time ago is ready?”
Whiston’s face turned unpleasant, “Gramophones aren’t so easy to make. You’re not thinking about how many days it’s been since you notified me? Mr. Hastings, you need to understand that humans have limits. I’m a human, not a donkey.”
Arthur frowned slightly, leaning forward, lowering his voice, “Mr. Whiston, if you say so, then I have to discuss the matter of your missing gun with you. Do you know what a crime it is to steal a gun from a Scotland Yard officer?”
“Stolen?” Whiston shuddered, “Didn’t you give me the gun? If the gun is lost, I can just buy another one from the arsenal and give it back to you.”
“That won’t do.” Arthur shook his finger lightly, “Mr. Whiston, you may not know this. Because of a serious gun theft case in Scotland Yard earlier this year, every gun in Scotland Yard has been marked and numbered.”
Whiston’s eyes widened, “This…”
But soon, his eyes rolled, and he looked like a dead pig who didn’t fear boiling water, “The gun isn’t in my hands. How can you prove I stole it?”
Arthur couldn’t help but clap for Whiston, “Excellent logic, Mr. Whiston. The gun is indeed not in your hands, so I can only go door-to-door to those gentlemen and ladies’ homes and ask which servant took the gun.”
“Right! They took the gun, what does it have to do with me?”
“Yes, but where did they get their guns from?”
“From me.”
“And where did you get your gun from?”
“From you!” As soon as Whiston finished speaking, his face turned as black as the clouds outside. He trembled, pointing a finger at Arthur, “Mr. H…Hastings, you…you want to frame me?”
Arthur pulled out the tin box containing his tobacco, refilling his burnt-out pipe as he spoke, “No, I don’t want to frame you. You must know that Scotland Yard never frames good citizens. Especially in my district, such behavior is strictly forbidden.”
Whiston took a deep breath, leaning forward, softly asking, “What is your definition of a good citizen?”
Arthur took out a match and relit his pipe, “It’s simple, a good citizen is someone who is willing to cooperate with the police.”
Whiston continued to probe, “And how does one qualify as being willing to cooperate with the police?”
“It depends on the situation.”
“Then what about today’s situation?”
Arthur took a puff of his pipe, “Today’s good citizen refers to someone who can hand over two gramophones before I leave.”
Whiston slapped his face, closing his eyes and letting out a long sigh, “Mr. Hastings.”
“Yes?”
“I’m starting to regret knowing you.” Whiston looked up at the ceiling, his face filled with exhaustion, “If I had had the courage to stand on the platform of the Royal Society, perhaps I wouldn’t have met you.”
Arthur unceremoniously picked up the teapot on the counter and poured two cups, handing one to Whiston and holding the other in his hand.
With a clink, Arthur raised his cup in a toast to Whiston, “To our grand encounter!”
Whiston lifted his cup, draining the tea in one gulp, then slammed the cup down on the table, “To bloody damn courage!”
With that, Whiston sighed and walked towards the back room of the instrument shop to fetch the gramophone that Arthur had been eagerly anticipating.
The Red Devil, chuckling beside him, pushed his glasses up, “Arthur, it seems your speech training for him was quite successful! But Charles Whiston is really a strange fellow. It’s the first time I’ve seen someone get angry because they have too many paying customers.”
Arthur swirled the tea in his cup, “It’s nothing. Scientists are like that, a little bit of personality is to be expected. Given Mr. Whiston’s outstanding talent and ability, I think I can tolerate his little temper tantrums. After all, LPS will need people like him for its future work. I, a donkey who only knows how to swing a sword, can’t accomplish anything big on my own.”
The Red Devil rubbed his hands, grinning, “Oh! My dear Arthur, don’t underestimate your own talent for mischief. You can do many things that others wouldn’t even dare to think about, but the prerequisite is that you have to let go of some things. For example, to keep your London Bureau, you might need to do some things that can’t be seen.”
Arthur was taken aback by these words, then raised an eyebrow, asking, “By the tone of your voice, it seems the Wednesday Prime Minister’s Question Time went wrong?”
The Red Devil excitedly replied, “It’s not just wrong, it’s explosive!”
Arthur’s heart sank, “Did someone plant explosives in the House of Parliament again?”
“Not quite. Arthur, when I say explosive, I don’t mean that.”
Arthur let out a sigh of relief, “As long as no one died. I don’t want to run around chasing after a bunch of dead MPs. London has finally calmed down.”
The Red Devil, feigning mystery, said, “But even if no one died, the ministers in the Wellington cabinet are practically on their last legs.”
“Huh?” Arthur narrowed his eyes at the Red Devil, “Agareus, what are you up to?”
The Red Devil grinned, a flash of red tongue darting between his razor-sharp teeth, “Arthur, don’t you understand? The Whigs formally proposed a motion of no confidence against the cabinet to Parliament today. With the current situation, Wellington’s cabinet is teetering on the brink! Don’t blame me for not warning you. If you don’t want to be kicked out after the cabinet reshuffle, you better find a way to save yourself.”
But to everyone’s surprise, Arthur showed no shock, remaining unusually calm.
“I thought it was something big. It’s just a cabinet collapse? I thought those guys all went to meet God. Even if the Whigs take over, Scotland Yard will still be doing the same things. At most, my boss will be a different person.”
The Red Devil raised an eyebrow, “You’re not worried?”
“Worried? Of course I’m worried.”
Arthur smiled, “Why do you think I came here today? Don’t you remember? Our dear and reliable friend Charles, who does parliamentary reporting, just brought me the latest news a few days ago.
After analyzing the options he provided, I believe that if the Tories fall, the most likely person to take over as Home Secretary is Lord Melbourne, who likes to sleep soundly in Parliament. And my most important task today is to deliver the gramophone I pre-ordered to his sister, Lady Cowper.”
(End of Chapter)