10:00 a.m.
Sherlock Hound and Dr. Watson got to their car and Hound started up the engine so they could get moving. While driving, Hound was going deep into his thoughts on the two boys that he and Watson just met recently.
"A boy who has a knowledge of magic and science and a boy who has a good memory. Hmmmm, we're getting pretty good so far." But Hound's train of thought slowly came to a stop when he heard Dr. Watson starting to yawn.
"Hound, I'm getting pretty bored on trying to look for recruits. How about we take a break for a while?"
"Sure thing, my dear Watson. Do you want to take a little walk at the National Gallery?"
"I sure would, Hound. Let's get going." Without hesitation, Hound changed his course from Baker Street to the local art gallery about two blocks from the headquarters of Scotland Yard. Once the two got to the place, they immediately stepped inside and saw that were a lot of people silently admiring the remarkable works of art that has been made in many different countries around the world.

One of the first paintings that the two admired the most was the famous Mona Lisa. In his mind, Sherlock Hound can remember that once, he and Watson had to steal it in order to get Mrs. Hudson back after she was kidnapped by Prof. Moriarty and his goons. While in disguise, Watson released a pack of mice and it frightened the people so much that they didn't see that the painting was gone! When Hound, Watson, and Moriarty met up to make the exchange, the crafty professor called Scotland Yard to arrest the two, but he later realized that he'd been tricked. You see, Hound was able to fool Moriarty by getting a copy of the painting and cover the original with a piece of paper that was the same color as the wall. With that, Moriarty has been foiledagain and Mrs. Hudson is safe and sound.
The next three paintings that they liked came from a previous case regarding the disappearance of three young art students and a collection of stolen reproductions. It turns out Moriarty has forced the three to work on a few fake reproductions and a phony landscape in order to get some easy cash. At the same time, he stole a few paintings and replaced them with those copies that in order to avoid suspicion from Inspector Lestrade. Unknown to Moriarty, the landscape that the students had done was actually a cryptograph that revealed where they were being held.
Thanks to that, Hound, Watson, and Scotland Yard were able to rescue them and get back the original works of art.

Dr. Watson let out a sigh of relief and said to Hound, "It's good that these paintings are safe where they belong, don't you think so?"
"Why of course, dear Watson." replied Hound taking his pipe out of his mouth. "I'm glad that we were able to help out in these kinds of situations."
"Plus, with Moriarty gone, there's no need to worry about any of these masterpieces being stolen again."
"Right you are, Watson. I've been hearing that the gallery has been tightening up their security lately, so..." Suddenly a mysterious figure swooshed past them and made quite a breeze that Watson's hat flew off and fell a few inches close to the wall.
"Oh, confound it." Watson muttered to himself as he quickly ran to get back his hat, but then, something strange happened to him. Once he took the second step across the floor, he suddenly slipped and slid across the floor to bump into the wall that shook the overhead painting so much that it was going to get him "framed." Luckily, Hound got in just in time to hold the painting back up and helped Watson get back up.
"Careful there, Watson." said Hound as he saw the overhead lights reflect over the wet stains on the floor. "It seems as though someone or something came through here and made this mess."
"But how can someone leave wet tracks without alarming the security?" asked Watson rubbing his back since that's where he mostly fell on.
"THAT my dear Watson is what we're going to find out." Without hesitation, the two went on into following the wet stains on the floor. It seems as though the stains left other civilians with their bottoms on the floor and a few masterpieces nearly fell to the floor. They soon came across the stairs and surprisingly,they can see that the stains went into different directions on each step.
"My word! This is impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible for this one, Watson." Hound then saw that the stains trailed around the corner and he suddenly came to a pause for thought. "Hmmmmm. I wonder..... Watson, we have to head back downstairs."
"Huh, why?"
"I'll show you. There is a reason why there are wet stains all around the gallery and
I don't think they were meant to harm anybody."
"How can you say that? I nearly got a mild concusion after I slipped."
"Just watch." Once they got back to where they were, Hound took his pipe out of his mouth and tilted it over a bit to sprinkle a little tobacco on the floor which was now dry. He turned Watson around so he too can look at the painting without looking suspicious and they both waited. Just as Hound expected, the figure came by making a trail of wet stains again, but he suddenly stopped when he saw the pieces of tobacco and started mopping. The two turned around and saw that the wet-marking speedster was a boy about 15 years old wearing overalls,
a green shirt and cap, and brown boots. He also had what looked like mops tied under his boots.

The crime-solving duo could hear the boy muttering to himself. "Great. Just great. Don't these people know I have to clean up this whole place every single..." He suddenly stopped when he saw both Hound and Watson standing next to him and that there was a pipe in the detective's mouth. "Wh-What? Put that pipe in your pocket!"
"Sorry," said Hound already executing his command. "I must have spilled a few after slipping on the wet mess you have made here."
"Sorry 'bout that, but that's my job. I have to keep this place clean at all costs and not have a single track of dirt, dust, or tobacco in this case left untouched in this gallery. By the way, me name's Leopold Hutchins. I'm the caretaker of the National Gallery, so try not to mess up the place!"
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hutchins. My name is Sherlock Hound and this is Dr. Watson."
"How do you do?" greeted Watson, even though his bottom still hurts.
"So, you're the team of crime solvers that everyone's talking about." replied Leopold as he started wiping his head from the hard work. "I've been hearing that you two once stopped Moriarty by keeping the Mona Lisa safe and by recovering the stolen reproductions. Well, we haven't had this much business since then."
"Well, we're glad to be of service, dear boy." said Watson tipping his hat.

Hound then noticed something quite odd. "I say, Leopold. That's a very fancy mop you got there." For Leopold's mop wasn't made of wood, it was metallic. Plus, the sponge part looked round like a ball.
Leopold answered, "Yeah, I invented it myself."
The detective had one eyebrow raised an stared at him, "YOU invented it?"
"Uh-huh." Leopold nodded his head. "Even though I'm a caretaker, I'm really good at inventing things, and I even have a knowledge of some of the greatest inventors of all time such as Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and even the Wright Brothers."
"Does that mop actually work?" asked Watson.
"Why, of course! Here, I'll show you." Leopold mopped up the last scrap of tobacco and lifted up his mop over the bucket. He then did something quite unexpected: he grabbed the covering of the bottom part of the pole and started pulling it, making the sponge look more like a stick.
Then, he started twisting it and it made the water come out and pour into the bucket. Watson was quite amazed, so was Sherlock Hound. "I've designed the fabric to hold up at least 40 oz. of water, so I can make this gallery twice as clean as the authorities wanted. Trouble is I have a tendency to rush while working and I often spill a few drops."
"Yes," said Hound. "I heard a few moaning complaints about your work around here."
Watson then asked, "Wait, if you were able to do so much around the gallery, how were you able to climb up the stairs without slipping?"
Leopold smiled and replied, "Ah, that part I thought about myself." He brought them over to the stairs. "Alright, now watch." Once again, he pulled up the sponge into its stick-like form and he bounced it a little to show its elasticity. Then, he grabbed both sides of the mop and pulled the steps apart so he could both of his boots onto them. With that, he immediately bounced up the stairs like a pogo stick and sponged up every dusty part that's there.
Once he got off, Hound said, "I say, Leo. That's very good. Do you invent other things to help you around the gallery?"
"Well sure, Mr. Hound." Leo answered. "There were a lot of improvements that I made with a few simple household tools. A few of my favorites are the extension duster, the fireproof dust-attracting broom, and of course, the Swiss Army Screwdriver."
Watson commented, "Well, you could do the community a great service with those kinds of things."
"Yeah, you could say that. But I have to be the caretaker of the National Gallery because my Dad did it and his Dad before him."
"Have you ever took any breaks to come home to your family?" Hound asked curiously.
"You look like you have been working for so long."
"Yeah, but this gallery is my home."
"Sounds kind of lonely." said Watson before getting shushed by Hound.
"Look, if you don't mind I have a job to do, and I'm gonna get meself a bowl of chili. Now, leave me alone."
Leo turned to leave, but he felt his shoulder being tugged by Sherlock Hound. "Hang on for a moment, Leo." He gave the technician of a caretaker the same card as before. "If you're interested in helping us out, you can come to our place. It will surely be a delight."
"Thanks, Mr. Hound." As the two turned to leave, Leo looked down at his card. Maybe joining Sherlock Hound can give off a better benefit for London than the job he's doing right now.