too, earned a reputation for fair dealing when members of the various rioting factions were brought to justice. He took up his post in the Turkish Embassy in London only six months ago.'
'And Count Balinsky – what kind of man is he?' asked Holmes.
'A man of very definite and set beliefs and of a violent temper, as you will have gathered from Orman Pasha's account,' said Lord Eversden, 'A dangerous man and not one to be trifled with. He is a strong believer in Pan- Slavism and has a deep-seated hatred and mistrust of the Turks. As for Baron Nopchka, he is a benign, if not very imaginative, nobleman, belonging to one of Austria-Hungary's oldest families. He is a close confidante of the Emperor. A liberal by temperament, he supported greater parliamentary representation for the Slavonic peoples of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but is secretly highly suspicious of the political activities of the Slays in his country.'
'Which leaves us with Mr George Leonticles, the Greek Consul,' said Mycroft, 'He, like Yusufoglu, has not been long in his post. He held a number of Greek Government positions in Greece before he came to England. Rumour has it that he was involved in certain political activities that earned him the Greek king's displeasure. He is a man of a somewhat nervous disposition and keeps himself largely to himself.'
'One final question; what was Mr Simeonov's London address?'
Mycroft drew out a small notebook from his pocket. 'Number. 6, Harrington Mews,W1,' he said, 'but I fear that the Bulgarian Legation is unlikely to furnish you with permission to visit the place. Since the British Government's refusal to support his Government's claims, the Bulgarian authorities have been quite uncooperative.'
Holmes and I returned to London during the early afternoon. On the way I ventured to say to my friend: 'Holmes, you have not so far commented on the singular presence of the loaded, but unfired, revolver beside Simeonov's body. I have been giving the matter some thought and can only conclude that the revolver was Simeonov's and that he tried to protect himself from his murderer by pulling out his own revolver when he realized that he was about to be shot. Do you agree?'
'The facts will bear that interpretation, I suppose,' replied Holmes, as the train arrived at Victoria station.
'Do any other interpretations occur to you?' I retorted.
'Yes, Watson,' replied Holmes, with a light in his eyes and leapt off the train. We hailed a cab and Holmes asked the driver to take us to the Russian Embassy. On arrival, Holmes, handing his card to the usher, asked to see the Ambassador. A few moments later, we were shown into Count Balinsky's sumptuous room.
Count Balinsky remained seated when we entered and regarded us coldly and with tight lips as we stood before his desk. He wore an expression of barely controlled anger and was turning Holmes' card over and over between his fingers. He was a lean man, with a pale face and eyes that burned like fire. He was clean-shaven, except for a pencil moustache that pointed abruptly upwards at the edges.
'You are the agent of the Turk, are you not?' he said coldly.
'I have been requested to look into the mystery of the late Mr Anton Simeonov's murder by His Excellency Orman Pasha,' replied Holmes.
'And you come to me for help?' he asked in tones of great astonishment.
'I came to ask whether you can shed any light on this tragic affair,' said Holmes.
'I can shed a great deal of light, Mr Holmes,' replied the Count, menacingly, 'That Turkish colonel did it. I told him so quite openly in everyone's presence.'
'What evidence do you have for this?' asked Holmes.
'Evidence?' asked the Count, with an expression of bitter amusement on his face, as though the request for evidence was of questionable taste. 'Who else had a motive? Why should any of the other guests, other than the Sultan's envoy, have wished to kill Simeonov? Orman Pasha was with Lord Eversden when the murder was committed, so that leaves Yusufoglu.'
'Someone else could have murdered him in order to incriminate Yusufoglu,' said Holmes, quietly, looking straight into the Count's eyes, 'It is even possible that Simeonov was murdered in order to foment trouble between your country and Turkey.'
The Count's eyes narrowed and his lips tightened. Suddenly, he stood up. 'Thank you, Mr Holmes,' he said, in a white rage, 'This interview is concluded.'
After our unceremonious ejection from the Russian Embassy, we took another cab, this time to the embassy ofAustria-Hungary. When we arrived there, we received a totally different kind of reception, for Baron Nopchka was very much a gentleman. He was of medium height and robust build and had fair hair, paling into silver at the temples. His patient expression, good-humoured eyes and elegant blond moustache all combined to give the impression of an honest middle-European nobleman; it was not difficult to imagine him wearing his Tyrolean hat and shooting wild boar at a hunting lodge in the Vienna woods. He rose as we entered his room and shook hands with us, saying how pleased he was to learn that my able friend had agreed to investigate the tragedy.
'Baron Nopchka,' began Holmes, after we sat down, 'it is my desire to arrive at a conclusion about this tragedy without delay. You will forgive me, therefore, if I ask you whether you have any suspicions as to who committed the murder.'
The Baron's eyebrows rose. 'That is not a very diplomatic question,' he replied, with a wry smile, 'but, under the extraordinary circumstances in which we find ourselves, I must admit that it is a fair one. Nevertheless, I cannot say that I have any ideas on the matter, but I can only express my devout hope that Colonel Yusufoglu is not the murderer, since the consequences are unthinkable. And yet Balinsky is convinced that it is he.'
'Where were you and Count Balinsky when you heard the shot that killed Simeonov?'
'I was in the smoking room and Balinsky, I believe, was in the library. At least, when I rushed out into the hall, I saw Balinsky outside the library door. We then ran up the stairs together.'
'You say that Count Balinsky was outside the library door; was he standing there, or did he appear to be running out of the library?'
'No, he was just standing there,' said the Baron, with a frown, as if some new thought had just struck him.
'Was there any indication of the direction in which he was walking before you rushed out of the smoking room?'
'No,' said the Baron again, still frowning, 'he was standing still, with his back to the library door.'
'Was the library door open or closed?'
'Closed.'
There was a silence, then Holmes spoke. 'Do you know where Mr George Leonticles was when the shot was fired?'
'No, I only saw him when I reached the upper landing. He was standing a few feet beyond where Simeonov lay, looking quite white.'
'In your opinion, would you say that he was capable of murder?'
'It is possible, of course, but he is such a mild-mannered man that I frankly cannot see him committing murder. He was quite shaken by the incident.'
'If he had killed Simeonov, he would have had good cause to appear shaken.'
'Yes, I expect he would.'
'You carried the body into the bedroom with Colonel Yusufoglu; did you notice whether the colonel was armed?'
'I certainly did not see any weapon. He was not wearing a jacket at the time and, after we placed the body on the bed we went downstairs together and he remained within my sight for at least the next hour.'
'Are you convinced of his innocence then?'
The Baron said nothing, but his frown returned. He shifted in his chair. 'Mr Holmes,' he said at length, 'there is something else
I feel I ought to tell you. I have shied away from so doing because
I do not know the meaning of what I witnessed and I feared that my account would only confuse matters and possibly incriminate
innocent individuals. However, from what I have heard of you and, moreover, now that I have met you in person, I am convinced that I can rely upon you utterly to arrive at the truth in this tangled affair.' Holmes bowed his head solemnly to the Baron.
'Shortly after I and the other guests arrived at Royston Manor, I went into the library to examine some of Lord Eversden's books. (Books are a great passion of mine, Mr Holmes.) As I entered, which I did quietly in order not to
