More than half a month was gone since our adventure of stolen papers. The facts were put forth in the "Daily London" next day but it was to my great disappointment, I found that it was a shame on the ways and methods of my companion which helped him to arrive to results so quickly. The name of Young Detective given lovingly by Public though was a cherry top for Tricky X and his performance. While Tricky went away to live in his quarters at Camera lodgings,  Flace street , Bristol. His father was a dashing young policemen being recently promoted to rank of Inspector.

Inspector Saltwater was not his real father but he had adopted Tricky X . However , there were often only cook and housekeeper in home as Inspector seldom returned home early which was good for my companion's peculiar studies of specimens.

Being close to policemen , Tricky could get the thread of investigation going in any particular case which has surfaced up and then drove to its conclusion. It was a possibility but I haven't still witnessed it. However when I look back at the cases of Tricky X , I found this case of Emerald Crown not only to be a very huge princely matter but also it shoved the brick in everyone's mind that "Tricky X can be assumed as last court of appeal"

When I look back on my notes, I trace the brief of these cases from 26 April , 1916, the very same day of our arrival at Tricky X's lodgings. My aunt thought after a week Tricky X had left that he must be feeling very lonely and so allowed me to go there and stay with him until the end of holidays. However as far as I know him , that wasn't the case. For when I stepped out of carriage, it took him a while to answer my knock. I entered a room full of darkness save a light on desk by lamp. There were different books scattered all over floor and he was lying on ground with his hands sunk upon chest and eyes peering at me.

"So we are both going to same school now?" I sighed sitting on a chair.

"Yes! In couple of weeks. I think I solved a mystery last year ." He exhaled.

"Wow! Didn't even leave school. " I chuckled.

"Yeah ! I am bit bored. I need a case ." He sighed.

"Well! Why don't you check the newspaper? I am sure England has lot of crimes to offer you ." I said taking up a newspaper as I saw crime statistics.

"And none worth my taste . Simple thefts or disappearance of animals. Give me some real deal." He said sitting up .

"Well! Looks like you will have to wait quite a while then."I smirked as he laid back again sighing.

"I know. I know, my dear fellow." All of sudden we heard a knock on door .

"Your cook is quite early, isn't it ?" I remarked.

"It is not cook. Listen to that rattle . It is continuous. There is someone who is in hurry to get me . The matter is urgent which means there is something interesting. Go open it , William." He remarked.

"Thanks as if I wouldn't have opened it by myself." I shook my head and just as I opened the door , a man rushed inside.

"You must help me . You must.." The man begged kneeling in front of Tricky X.

"Sir! Please contol yourself. Here ! Take a chair and tell us what is troubling you ?" I told him closing the door .

The man was now looking much better after drinking brandy which we had given him from refrigerator. What would Mr Saltwater say ? Well ! We didn't think of that .

"I am sorry for my outburst. It is only because I have very limited time. I wouldn't waste any more time and come to present the facts before you . My name is David McCarthy. I am one of the many attendants in King George Frederick Ernest Albert's palace. This time of year there is a very large exhibition held in Bristol every year to show important articrafts from history and prize jewelleries of royal houses at a Museum so that public can see them and admire them . This also includes Queen Victoria's crown.

The exhibition is going to be held in three days time and we all were looking very forward to it because there were certain gifts given to all the servants and attendants after the exhibition from the funds that were recieved by Royal house.

Last night King George retired to his chambers and kept his crown , formerly belonging to Queen Victoria beside him on a table. The room was locked from inside and the only window in the room was closed with barrier and shutter. Only two people have keys to King George Frederick Ernest Albert's chambers. Me and and an old clergymen. The old clergymen was currently in France on a diplomatic mission so I was the only one left there .

When the sun rose next day , we heard a horrific shriek from his room. The Crown had disappeared. There was no sign of scratches on either door and entering through the windows were out of question. I realised that the blame will soon fall on me since I was the only with key. The police are looking for me . I didn't have much time. So I ran to you straight. You have solved the mystery of stolen documents with such ingenuity that I can only hope you can see it in mine. I didn't steal the crown. You must believe me." He trembled.

"This is intriguing. I must admit. From what was the crown made of?" He asked.

"Emerald." David answered.

"Did you notice anything out of ordinary ? Anything even a peculiar smell or dust !" Tricky X crossed his arms.

"Now that you ask it . I did notice that there was a peculiar smell in room but no one bothered about it since all were busy on where was the crown. " He stated.

"Who visited King George's chambers last night before she retired?" Tricky X questionned

"Sir ! At least four people came inside but none of them stayed for more than two minutes there and when I locked the door , I saw that the Crown was still there . It is most curious that how did the Emerald Crown disappeared. " He shook his head.

"Has the news reached newspaper ?" I asked.

"No ! The police have thought it best not to reveal it to public yet for it would cause a Scandal in England that Royals can't protect their own property and cause uproar in mass . But the crown must be found in 3 days because if exhibition is cancelled, public will know something is wrong and news will soon reach papers." He sighed.

"Thank you Mr McCarthy! You have been very helpful. I assure you that we will try our best to find the Crown and prove you innocent. " Tricky X rose up as he nodded.

Before I could shook his hands, our gates were stormed as two policemen came and handcuffed David.

"Mr David McCarthy ! You are under arrest for theft of the Emerald Crown of King  George Frederick Ernest Albert. You have right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court of law." The policemen stated as they dragged him away.

"Find the Crown, Mr Tricky X . Please." He said as they took him away.

"What were you doing with him?" Inspector Saltwater asked coming in .

"Good morning, Mr Saltwater." I greeted him as he reciprocated.

"He came to ask my help to prove that he wasn't behind the theft of the Emerald Crown. I believe him. " Tricky looked at him.

"Do you now? Look , Tricky, I admire your brain that it capable of thinking so far at your age but this case is as plain as a day . He is the one who stole the crown." Inspector told him.

"Why ? Just because he was the only one with key." Tricky argued

"No ! Not just that . We have learned the recently David was challenged to a duel . He lost the money and was in a large sum of debt. When we went to inquire there ,the man said he paid it just last evening. How did he have so much money? Certainly not on salary given by Royal house. So he met up with a dealer who offered him advance from which he paid his dues in exchange for stealing the Crown. " Inspector finished.

"Oh! He failed to mention about that , didn't he ?" Inspector remarked at Tricky X's surprised face.

"Yes! He did. Can I have a chat with him . Just for five minutes?" He asked.

"Fine! Come on. I will take you there." Inspector sighed as we both stepped into the carriage.

"Mr McCarthy ! If you want my help, then don't hide any information from me . For instance how did you manage to pay such large sum of money to clear your debt ?" Tricky X fumed.

"I am sorry, sir . But I didn't clear my debt . I was in an Inn called Baskets at Numver street all night just after I left the door locked ." He said.

"You are saying that you never went there . But how did the man get payment from you ?" I asked surprised.

"Well! William! That is the question, isn't it ? This is becoming more intriguing. Do you have anything else that you are hiding from me then now is the time to tell?" Tricky asked.

"No sir! That is all " He nodded.

We told what he said to the Inspector who laughed.

"The man is lying. He stopped on the way , met his dealer, collected money , paid his debts and then went to Inn. " He said.

"Alright! When did he leave King George's palace?"  Tricky asked him.

"About 9 pm . It was quite late then and guards saw him walking out ." He told us.

"Alright! Thanks dad. See you ." He chuckled and I bowed awkwardly as we left the police station .

"Carriage." Tricky waved his hands as one stopped and we got inside.

"To where , sir ?" The man asked.

"To Balmoral Castle." Tricky X said as the carriage started.
[I know Balmoral castle isn't in Bristol but this is fiction so deal with it .]

"What do you make of it , William?" He asked me.

"Well! Reviewing everything he just said, I think that if someone else did this time theft , then it may be quite possible that instead of man lying about being paid actually recieved it by someone who was impersonating as David so that he can be framed." I sighed.

"That seems quite possible, William. Good ! And yes! Even if it happened, the man is clearly a professional . I don't believe he would leave any traces of him there so that will be a dead end to chase. However the very fact that he went to such lengths to make police believe in him as suspect either suggest his necessity to not fall under radar of police or a personal enmity against David . Although the latter is quite unlikely indeed." Tricky X remarked.

"This is a very definitive case. But if another man did steal the crown, then how did he since David claims that crown was still safe when he locked the door and there was no possible way of entering the room." I wondered.

"That is the crux of this mystery, William. Without it , why would we be still getting worked up over it !" He chuckled as the carriage stopped.

"Thank you ." Tricky paid him money as the carriage started to go .

"Do you think they will allow us inside there ?" I asked stopping him as he proceeded.

"I am not sure but it is certainly worth a try , isn't it ?" He remarked.

"Yeah! " I sighed as we walked to the gates but were stopped by the guards.

"My name is Tricky X and this is my colleague...He looked at me as I nodded. "William"

"Yes! But this is restricted area."They solemnly replied.

"I am the one who saved England from almost losing the war . If King George can't see me , then I doubt that anyone is worthy enough of his Grace's sight." I looked at them.

Before they could say anything, a guard came from inside and whispered something in their ears.

"Alright! Go ." They cleared the way as we proceeded.

"What made them change their minds?" I asked as I saw that he was smiling already knowing that it was going to happen.

We entered the throne room which was laiden with gold and all the riches but real sight was King George sitting on his throne with..her crown. Oh ! It was not the emerald one . Probably backup crown.

"Your majesty." We bowed down taking off our hats and then looked back .

"So what was that important that you two kids were troubling my guards?" He asked .

"We are no kids , Your majesty. We know of the delicate matter that currently surrounds you and were hoping to look at the place where the deed happened in order to get a clearer view of what might have happened so as to restore things back to order." Tricky said discreetly as he knew that King didn't want the news to get out.

He rose up ." Come with me."

"How do you know about this?" He asked as we walked through the passageway .

"I am afraid we can't reveal the source. After all we must protect our client ." Tricky said.

"You can be assured that if he is on the case, he will probably solve it . He founded the documents concerning oil routes to Germany few weeks ago . You might have heard about it in newspaper." I told him as she appeared uneasy at Tricky's reply.

"I understand. Yes ! I did. Although I am not quite sure that if Bristol police force is already on the case , how can you two expect to solve it before them !" He smirked as we came inside the room.

Tricky stopped in his tracks as we stopped too and like a hound searching for his prey in the woods during the dark , his eyes drifted from one place to another observing everything. He was currently observing the pedestal where crown was placed last night.

The room was quite lavish . There was a barred window as stated by Mr McCarthy. The bed linen were of fine silk. There was a table lamp beside the bed. On the ceiling , pendant of golden lights was hanging . There were several paintings including Henry VIII and Alfred I.

Before I could think of describing the beautiful room more, I saw him lying down on ground trying to see beneath the bed . After few seconds, he sprang up .

"Thank you , Your Majesty. Now if you could provide me address of guests who attended your party last night." He asked .

"Tricky! Perhaps a bit more polite." I suggested .

"No! It is fine. There is not a moment to waste . Go to my secretary and take all the information you need." He told us as we thanked her and went away .

We were now back standing outside the palace . I was still wondering how life must have been for royals living there .

"William! Why don't you return to house? I think I need to take a bit of stroll to clear my mind." He said. I had a little choice for walking with him now meant complete silence and I couldn't manage to stay that way for hours with him as he did.

It was getting quite late and dark and I was still waiting for him. Then I heard the door creaking open and he came in sight. He was filled with dust and mud all over. I quickly told him to clean himself up before his housekeeper could shriek at him.

"So was your day well spent?" I asked crossing my arms.

"Ah! William ! You mustn't take it that way . Your trait of suggestion , ability to explain others about my methods and reasons and your yet developing silence makes you as much as invaluable companion for me in the case that I can't say I would achieve these results alone." He remarked.

"But I didn't even say... Thanks." I trailed off seeing who I was talking to.

"I have sent a letter to Mr Charles Princeton of Surrey. He will be arriving soon . Let's tidy up out room, shall we ?" He chuckled sipping tea.

"You know you may find it quite amusing but for me every minute you talk without explaining things to me create a suspense that threatens to consume me with every passing moment I wait ." I told him setting up cushions.

"Just few minutes and then you will be as much as caught up in this as I am." He chuckled.

There was a knock on the door as we hastily sat down.

"Come in!" I said.

An elderly gentleman in his late 40s appeared with his stick. He was wearing a large hat much like style of Abrahm Lincoln appeared. He was six feet tall , had a face saying "business only" and eyes looking intently at my companion as if he was very displeased by him.

"Please sit down , Mr Princeton. Would you like a cup of tea?" I asked .

"No! I am good." He grunted sitting down.

"Mr Princeton ! My name is Tricky X but you already know that by the letter I sent you . I assure you that we will try to help you but only if you tell us the truth." Tricky X looked at him.

"The truth? What truth? You asked me here saying you had matters of royal importance to discuss and now you make assurances out of nowhere." He grunted.

"Mr Princeton. The truth about the Emerald crown of King George nay Formerly Queen Victoria" He crossed his arms.

"What about it ?" His expressions changed as he looked at him.

"Very well. I know you were one of the four guests that went to see King George last night and you are the one behind the disappearence of the Emerald Crown to be exhibited at exhibition two days later " He pressed him.

"This is ridiculous. You have nothing to say but words that won't be held credible and bluffs." He rose up turning to leave .

"In that case, Mr Princeton, you wouldn't mind if the police searches your house and found large stockpiles of thermite and nitrate and several books related to Goldschmidt process." He looked at Mr Princeton as the colour drained from his face. His breath got heavy as he sat down on the chair.

"Good. Now I will present the facts. The facts that I know by my investigation. Mr Charles Princeton, you were one of the esteemed guests of Queen Victoria that is known to all but before that when you were a Colonel in major regiment of Artillery 456 stationed in Calcutta. You met Queen Victoria there who arrived there as a guest and were quite charming according to newspapers. But on the day of departure, when you persisted on accompanying her , she laughed "Why must you man wag behind me?" At which you left her but that insult stayed deep in the heart striking poison waiting for revenge. Soon afterwards you returned from your station to England and had completely forgotten or believe to have forgotten about Queen Victoria when you heard King George was going to display her crown in exhibition. You couldn't resist, could you ? That perfect chance of taking revenge you have so hoped for. Being in army probably gave you many ideas about explosives and you figured out a different way to use thermite. You heated nitrate in condensed state so that it can fuse with molecules of thermite saving you the trouble to heat thermite to super high temperature which is required generally . You converted it to very carefully powder and carried it in your pendant.

Because the Emerald Crown was never stolen , was it ? It was destroyed to ashes. It's fate has began the very moment you entered her room and sprinkled the powder on crown. The heat from the fireplace slowly and slowly heated the air above crown igniting the nitrate and then first gallium stones melted and then the crown followed. One of the richest royalty turned to dust in couple of hours all while King George slept and no one the wiser.

Because I knew that a man who can pay such large sum of money just to solidify the charges against already suspected person is no poor or in need of money. No! The man is driven by revenge and in the dark when anyone can barely see , you handed him the notes and proceeded on the way . The paid man was already fed up of David. Why would he care if he saw clearly or not ? He would just say anything to get him in trouble. You knew that , didn't you ? I know you paid him because I walked myself to Inn from that place and enquired when David reached there and calculated my own time and his. A very slight difference. Not possible at all to meet someone, take money, pay and then go . Is there anything else I have left out." Tricky arched back as both him and me looked stunned. Me because I just got to know what really happened to the Emerald Crown and him shocked that he was actually discovered.

"No ! That is what happened. I just wanted to get back at her but in a way that that someone doesn't realise my hand behind this but also see what is humiliation. Now with her emerald crown gone , the news will soon break out that not even one of the most guarded palace is safe in England . That King George can't even protect his crown, leave people. A perfect dirt on those royals " He looked at us .

We both inhaled deeply as me and Tricky looked at each other.

"Very well. At least David McCarthy will be cleared of all the false charges." I remarked.

"Will that be your consolation prize?" He chuckled as the we heard the doors open and saw Inspector Saltwater coming in.

"You called me ?" He asked looking at Tricky and then looked at our guest.

" Yes! May I present you Mr Charles Princeton, the real culprit behind the destruction of The Emerald Crown ." He rose up .

"Destruction ?" He asked handcuffing Mr Princeton . Tricky explained as he sighed.

"Well Tricky! You again were quite ahead of us . Good going. Mr McCarthy will be released soon. Take care ." Inspector said and carried Mr Princeton away closing the door.

I arched back on my chair groaning" Wow! This was a great mystery."

"Yeah ! It was." He agreed .

"You know there is still one thing puzzling me in this whole series of events?" I looked at him.

"Well pray tell, William?" He asked.

"How could King George manage to sleep through all the time while his crown was corroding to ashes? I mean the fires..smell." I wondered.

"Well! That is one of the few questions we humans can't actually manage to answer." He chuckled.

"So what are you naming this mystery?" Tricky asked eagerly.

"Mystery of the Emerald Crown ." I said.

"Oh! Isn't that too elementary?" He doubted.

"How about "The revenging man's scandal"?" He suggested.

"Tricky! Trust me when I say it , you better stick to solving mysteries and leave the writing to me." I looked at him as we both chuckled.

Recorded-26 April, 1916