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us. He looked at Holmes, and his brows puckered as though he recalled something.
    Sherlock Holmes also looked at him and suddenly smiled, ‘I think you and I recognize each other, Captain,’ he said, raising his cap. ‘I had the honour of seeing you half a year ago at the headquarters of the Moscow police. As far as I remember, you were summoned in connection with counterfeit gold five-rouble pieces!’
    ‘Quite so!’ said the officer and saluted. ‘It took me a while to recognize you, but now I do. Aren’t you Mr Sherlock Holmes?’
    ‘Yes!’
    ‘And this is your friend, Dr Watson.’
    I bowed.
    On the one hand, Sherlock Holmes wasn’t shy or withdrawn when he met someone. On the other, he didn’t like to draw public attention to himself, which would have happened if anyone had heard his name pronounced aloud. So he suggested we adjourn to a separate little table in a corner of the station buffet.
    A waiter moved our food and cutlery and we took up our new places.
    ‘You’ve been transferred here from European Russia?’ asked Holmes.
    ‘Yes, four months ago,’ said the cavalry captain.
    ‘And if I am not mistaken, your surname is Zviagin.’
    ‘Absolutely right!’
    ‘And are you satisfied with your new appointment?’ asked Holmes.
    ‘Not particularly.’
    ‘Boring?’
    ‘Oh, no! The problem is that pilfering on the railroad, and especially on Siberian railways, is on such a monumental scale that not a single consignor can be assured his consignment is safe. I was assigned to investigate this phenomenon but, alas, I reckon with horror that I cannot cope with it.’
    ‘Really!’ Holmes gave an ironic little laugh.
    ‘There is so much pilfering and it is all so cleverly organized, I’m simply lost as to which one to investigate first and how!’
    ‘Have you any idea of the monetary scale of the pilfering, say in one month?’
    ‘Oh, yes!’
    ‘And, as a matter of interest—?’ asked Holmes.
    ‘Well, for example, take July. One hundred thousand roubles worth of state-owned consignments haven’t reached Manchuria and Harbin stations. Private cargoes worth seventy thousand never reached their destination.’
    ‘I say!’ exclaimed Holmes, taken considerably aback.
    ‘This may seem considerable to you foreigners,’ said Zviagin with a little laugh, ‘but in Russia, and especially here in Siberia, we are quite used to such sums.’
    At this moment, another officer of gendarmes came up to Zviagin.
    ‘From whence?’ asked Captain Zviagin
    The newcomer named one of the larger Siberian cities.
    ‘Passing through?’ asked Zviagin.
    ‘Yes, I took some leave to get about a little.’
    They exchanged a few words and the newcomer left.
    ‘There’s a lucky fellow,’ sighed Zviagin.
    ‘Who is he?’ asked Holmes.
    ‘Security Chief for his city. A year younger than me, a meretwelve years on the job, gets a salary of six thousand a year, plus another thirty thousand expenses for which he doesn’t have to account.’
    ‘What!’ Holmes asked in total shock. ‘Thirty thousand a year for which he doesn’t have to account!’
    ‘Yes!’
    ‘For what purpose?’
    ‘Finding spies, etcetera.’
    ‘Dammit, my dear Watson,’ exclaimed Holmes, absolutely stunned. ‘What would our Parliament have to say if presented with this sort of thing!’
    He turned to Zviagin again and asked, ‘Can one security department in a provincial town spend that on political investigation?’
    ‘Some have more,’ said Zviagin coolly.
    ‘I’ve never heard of any such thing,’ said Holmes, now thoroughly embarrassed. ‘One would think half your population are political offenders. But … if that’s so, the term loses its meaning.’
    ‘Not entirely,’ Zviagin answered with a smile. ‘In any case, talking to a foreigner about this is a waste of time. You do things your way and we do things our way.’ He gave another deep sigh and lit a cigarette.
    A subordinate appeared. ‘Your Excellency, the freight car