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It was I had to admit a pretty horde, and one a man or woman would give a lot to lay hands on. Holmes had managed by a combination of skilful field work and ruthlessly employed logic deduced the thief of the Tsaritsa jewles and we had tracked the man across half of Russia before running him to earth in a remote and wild corner of the world far to close to Afghanistan for my entire peace of mind. I knew that even a single one of the gems scattered on the table before us would be worth a tribes warriors and a chieftains ransom. They could also mean our deaths if we were found with them.
"So, thief dispatched, goods recovered," I said dryly "just the small problem of getting back to St Petersburg alive and with everything."
"We'll just have to smuggle them back old boy." Holmes replied nocholantly "if our inept friend here can get them out this far we should have no trouble getting them back."
I forbore from pointing out that our thief was a native and so could pass through the country without attracting much notice and, riskily, had carried the gems away in a box made to resemble first a bible and then a Koran. Either disguise would have seen him slain if the ruse was discovered and we as obvious strangers would command attention and have our luggage searched and all our documents checked and rechecked as we journeyed. It had been the manner of of our travels and travails through out the case, Holmes clearly knew this and was pacing up and down distractedly bending his mind to the problem. I set about wrapping the glittering temptations in a shirt from my luggage when Holmes gave a strangled exclamation and rushed over to my trunk.
"Watson! You do still drag that old rugby ball of yours around with you?" He asked rummaging through the trunk
"Yes." I answered looking in sudden understanding between the bundle on the table and the ball held triumphantly in Holmes hands. "Look Old Cock they're not all going to fit in that without some tell tale bumps giving the game away."
Holmes tossed a couple of cricket balls at me with his other hand "What kind of Englishmen would we be with out a cricket ball or two?"
It was a long night unpicking stitches, stuffing the balls to make sure that the contents was safe and well hidden and then restitching and gluing them back together, it was a labor we had cause to be thankful for over the next three weeks of travel and when we at last returned to St Petersburg it was with our contraband intact and undiscovered much to the delight of the Tsar and his family.
Other concerns had driven the case from my mind by the time a package arrived for Holmes and myself from St Petersburg months later and in the press of another case it stood unopened on the table for another week after delivery until one evening when all was done and Holmes and I were at leisure he opened the package and laughed.
"See here Watson, I don't think we'll be making much use of this sporting equipment!"
I couldn't help but laugh with him, the package had contained a small rugby and cricket ball in delicate china and exquisitely decorated and gilded with a note of thanks from the Tsar.