10:10 a.m.
After a few slick maneuvers to avoid the other wet stains on the floor, Sherlock Hound and Dr. Watson finally got out of the gallery and were on their way back to the car. But as soon as they went down the first few steps, an officer from Scotland Yard fell from his ladder and landed on another officer searching the grounds.
"Ohhhh, yes. They're still searching around." said Hound quite amused.
"Can't they just take a break?" asked an amused Watson. "They are totally making themselves look like complete idiots."
"Seriously." But then something caught Hound's eye at one of the buildings at the corner.
"Hmmm?" It might have been his imagination or one of the officers looked a little bit shorter than the rest of his group that he's with. The officer looked more like a 16-year old boy looking for clues next to the ladder with his magnifying glass. Then, he stopped to check if anyone was looking and he immediately raised up his magnifying glass in order to get in some sunlight. Once that was accomplished, he aimed the sunlight at the step where an officer was standing in the ladder. The heat of the sunlight cutted through the wooden step and the officer fell through it and caused a chain reaction with the other officers below. The boy also aimed the heat at another officer's pants from behind and it soon caught on fire! Luckily, the poor guy was able to break through the fire hydrant, which also blasted the other officers all across the market. The boy had a mischievous smile as he put his magnifying glass back into his pocket.
Sherlock Hound had his suspicions on the boy. "You're a little too short and crafty to be an officer of Scotland Yard."
"I say," began Watson. "How was that boy able to blend in with Scotland Yard if he's not officially in?"
"That, my dear Watson, is what we're going to find out. Come on!" The two immediately went to confront the boy.

Hound was the first to speak. "Excuse me, dear boy."
The boy turned around and saw the crime-solving duo standing right behind him. "Oh! Good day, Sherlock. What brings you here?" His voice sounded gruff, but Hound knew he was playing with him.
"We want to ask you the same question."
The boy looked at them strangely as if they were nuts. "Me? Why, the same as the rest of these officers: Helping out the London community in order to keep them safe from any harm."
Watson looked into his eyes and protested, "But, you've been causing harm to the other officers and making them look foolish."
The boy smiled mischievously as he replied, "Well, it's just my way of saying that Scotland Yard has done a lot worse than it has been these past few days. I mean, have you ever seen those guys when they're investigating? All they do is cause more ruckus than finding evidence."
"So, in other words, you don't really trust Scotland Yard that much anymore." said Watson.
The boy nodded in agreement. "And besides, London needs more private detectives like you two gentlemen. I've read a lot about you in the daily papers. You're smart, you're fast, you can even solve some of the most toughest situations there are."
Sherlock Hound took out his pipe and said, "Well, thanks for the compliment, but don't you think others would agree with you on that?"
The boy thought for a moment and said, "Yes and no. Yes, because there have been complaints spreading across London lately. Some about the stolen bell from Big Ben, others about the gold bullion, and so on. And of course no, because without law enforcers, we as citizens are completely
helpless against the unknown dangers that can lurk around every corner."
"I see your point there. Well, let's see what the Inspector thinks about both your actions and opinions.
At once the boy started to break a sweat. "Yeah, but I think he's already too busy with his duties."
"Then, we'll just have to turn you in ourselves." said Watson.
The boy immediately raised up his hands as if surrendering. "Hey, hey, come on, gentleman. I was just pulling your legs. Sure, I'll come with you to the station...in a moment." He started to have a mischievous smile on his face.
Both Watson and Hound looked confused. "Why exactly are you smiling?" asked Watson.
Suddenly, he started to smell something smoky, but it wasn't a fire. Then, it starting to brighten up for some reason. It was then that he started to see that the boy's police badge on his hat was reflecting the sunlight down to his magnifying glass into Sherlock Hound's pipe! The tobacco
inside exploded and the crime-solving duo was left coughing in the smoke. When it finally cleared out, they both saw the boy running out into the streets.
"Come, my dear Watson!" exclaimed Hound. "We shouldn't let him get away!"

The first place that boy trailed off at was the docks and the two just saw him cross the corner before disappearing. the two turned the corner as well, only to find that the boy was nowhere to be found, just a few sailors, boxes of cargo, and of course, sailing ships.
"Hmmm, that boy is slippier than I thought." Sherlock Hound thought in his mind.
Watson came over to talk with one of the sailors there. "Excuse me, sir."
The sailor turned around, and he looked a little strange. "What is it?" he asked in a gruff voice.
"Uh, have you seen a policeman running around here?"
"Sorry, I was still below deck before you came along. But, if I had a good guess, try the local outdoor market across town."
"OK, thanks for the help."
"Anytime." He winked at Hound's helper before returning back to the detective.
"Any luck?" Hound asked.
"Well, the sailor over there says that he could be heading to the outdoor market close by."
"Let's get on our way then." Meanwhile, Hound looked over at the sailor whom Watson was talking too. He was suddenly getting a weird feeling about him, but that didn't matter. What matters now is that they have to catch up with the boy.
The market was very crowded on their arrival and it could be hard to tell where the boy can be hiding. To try to make the search easier, Hound headed to the fruit and vegetable row, while Watson headed to the dairy and grain row. The detective soon saw the clerk already checking any of the oranges if they're rotten or too ripe.
"Excuse me, sir."
"Yes, what is it?" the clerk asked in a Southern London accent. Somehow, the clerk looked a little more strange than that gruff sailor.
Sherlock Hound had one eyebrow raised in confusion. "Uhhh, I'm looking for a policeman who was actually a little short in stature. Have you seen anyone?"
"Yeah, I did. He talked to me a little bit about you and the chubby one following him here. If you're really that desperate, you better head him off at that building two blocks away from the National Gallery."
Hound was quite shocked by the clerk's response. "Scotland Yard Headquarters?"
"Whatever, probably going back to his job. Look, I got a lot of work to do. Good luck finding that guy." The clerk walked away and got to the vegetable section, leaving the detective quite confused.
"There sure are some crazy characters here in London." He called to Watson and said,
"Come, we must head to Scotland Yard. I have a feeling we'll find our friend there."

While they were running to get to the station, Watson asked, "I don't get it, Hound. Why does only one person see the boy but not anyone else? There were a lot of people at both the docks and the market."
Hound responded, "Yes, I consider it quite unusual. Only one witness in each location....."
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Wait a minute! I think I have a good idea why. C'mon Watson, we must hurry before he runs loose again!" The two finally made it to the headquarters and just as Hound suspected, the cops never saw the boy, but they had a hard grudge against him. Then,
he started to hear something quite strange from the left side. Both he and Watson headed over and found a young teenaged boy lying on a bench, playing a strange instrument.
"Excuse me." asked Watson.
"Hm?" The boy opened his eyes and saw the crime-solving duo standing before him.
"Sorry to bother you," Hound began. "but we're wondering what you were playing."
"This?" The boy held up his instrument that sort of looked like a triangular-shaped violin. "This is a bowed psaltery."
Hound took out his pipe. "A bowed psaltery? Like the instrument from Germany?"
"That's right. See, I can play this like a violin using a bow." The bow looked more like a smaller kind an archer uses. "Watch." And right away, the boy started to play a little bit of Pachelbel's Serenade. The music was very soothing that it seemed as though the whole world was standing still as it listens to what the boy is playing.
Once he finished, Watson commented, "I say, that is really good!"
"Thanks, governor."
"By the way, we wanted to ask you if you've seen a boy police officer coming around here."
"None that I could think of but the crackheads at Scotland Yard. Besides, how would you feel if you are trying to protect your country when you're only wrecking it little by little."
"Well, I guess he doesn't know anything. Let's go, Hound." Watson was about to leave, but was stopped by the detective.

"Hang on, Watson." He turned back to the boy. "Say, I want to ask how the weather was at the docks today."
"Why would I know anything about the docks? Place has a strong fish smell, barely can go on for a few seconds before leaving the place."
Hound knew that the boy was trying to be smart with him, so he tried another approach. "So, how was the trip to the marketplace?"
"Are you kidding? That place was crowded with people. Didn't have enough time to get any oranges, many of us love 'em these days y'know?"
Then, Hound noticed something in the boy's pocket and he knew that this one will tick him off. "I see, so I understand you're also on duty."
The boy looked at Hound strangely. "What?"
"If you know the police so much, you should've known when you're breaktime was already up and you should be out there helping out Scotland Yard."
"Where do ya come with the idea that I'm the local law?"
"He's right, Hound." said Watson. "A boy like him can't be old enough to be in law enforcement."
"Well, there is one possible reason, and I'm staring at it right now."
"What?" The boy looked at Hound thinking he was crazy. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about that star?"
At that moment, the boy was frozen stiff. "Star? What star?"
"The one in your pocket. You can't be in law enforcement without a star."
It took a few minutes, but the boy finally let out a deep sigh. "Well, you got me there."
And with that, he took the police badge star out of his pocket.

This shocked Watson greatly. "I-I don't believe it. Hound! How did you know it was him?"
Other than seeing the outline of a star in his pocket, he was his own witness."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it turns out that there was only one person who saw the boy because he, the policeman, the sailor, and the clerk were all the same person."
"How is that so?"
"I'll explain it." said the boy. As he rose up, Hound noticed a ring on his left finger with a symbol of a carnation on it. "You see.... I really, really love to play like I'm someone else. Sometimes, I want to dig deep into a person with either a low or high position and see if I'll live the same way as them. And it has gone well so far."
But Watson started to protest. "Well, you do realize that others have been hurt because of your little game."
"I didn't say I did it to everyone, I just did it to the cops. Like I said before, after all the trouble that they caused while trying to assist the good people of London, I don't think it's worth trusting them anymore."
"Say," began Hound. "Are you a McAllister?"
"Huh, you probably noticed my family crest on my ring, but yes, I am. My name's Anthony."
Watson looked shocked. "But, if you're part of one of the most well-known aristocratic families in London, why do you hang out here if you know you'll become a mess?"
"Well, the mansion is great, nothing wrong with it. I mean, you could easily enjoy a life of luxury of privilege, but... I always wonder what's happening outside the mansion. How are the people living even if they're a lower class, know what I mean?"
"Yes, I could see that."
Hound then continued. "So, in order for you to fit in with the crowd, you need to act and dress up like them?"
"That's right, Mr. Hound. And they don't know that I'm an aristo, know why?"
The two looked at each other. "Uh, no. Why?" asked Watson.
Anthony started to twirl his first index fingers in the air and chanted, "Because I'm just a master of disguise, because I'm just a master of disguise, because I'm just...." He stopped right away when Hound konked him on the head. "Thanks, I needed that."
"You're welcome." Hound started to ruffle his hand in his pocket to get another card.
"I say, you do have a pretty good talent. So, how would you like it if you can get an early job and work with us?"
"Well," Anthony felt a little unsure. "It depends, I need to have my parents' permission."
"But, of course. You always need to let them know about something before you do it."
With that, he gave the boy the card. "Just let us know alright?"
"Thanks, Mr. Hound." As the crime-solving duo left, Anthony began to have thoughts about using his special talent and join one of the greatest minds in London.