Summary “Stolen Letter” By
On an autumn evening, the narrator rests with his friend Auguste Dupin and remembers his investigations into “Murders on Morgue Street” and “The Mysteries of Mary Roger.” Suddenly, an old acquaintance, the prefect of the Paris police, comes to them. The clerk of the order wants to consult with Dupin about the matter of state importance, which gives him a lot of trouble.
For the prefect, the matter is simple and complex at the same time. Before his story, the prefect asks listeners to keep the information confidential. From the royal apartments, a young lady was kidnapped by a letter of the greatest importance, more accurately substituted for another, less important. The kidnapper is known – saw how he took the document – it’s Minister D. In addition, it is known that the document is still with him. The minister uses the document for the sake of power, not knowing the measures, that is, blackmailing the girl. To receive the letter back
Proceeding from this, the prefect made two conclusions: first – the authority gives possession of the document, and not the use of it; the second – it is important that the owner could provide it momentarily and be able to immediately destroy it. With his deductions agrees and Dupin.
Policemen spend in the house of the minister, in secret from himself, a thorough search, but find nothing. Prefect personally for three months, almost nightly searches the chambers of the official – but to no avail. The minister is stopped twice by alleged robbers and tries to find a letter, but this does not bear fruit. Finally, the prefect reads the narrator and Dupin the most accurate description of the letter, and then leaves.
A month later the policeman again visits Dupin. He is in deep despondency and despair. Whoever will help, he is ready to write out his personal check for 50 thousand francs. After giving the policeman a vague advice on the steps to be taken, Dupin asks for a check, and then he is ready to give the prefect a letter.
Meanwhile, the detective gives an explanation to his friend. If the letter were really hidden in the usual way, then the prefect would certainly find it. In order to hide something well, it’s better not to hide it at all. Dupin paid the minister two visits: for the first time he noticed the letter in the most prominent place, in the second, with the help of a distracting maneuver, replaced the letter with an exact copy. The substitution of the letter was dictated by considerations of security, Dupin’s political preferences, and by the old bad deed of the minister in relation to the detective.
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