The Adventure of the Wax Gamblers by John Dickson Carr

John Dickson Carr

John Dickson Carr was an American author of detective stories, who also published under the pen names Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn....

 is a Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...

 story. The story was published in the 1954 collection, The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes

The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes

The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes is a short story collection written by Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr, first published in 1954.The stories contained in the collection are:*"The Adventure of the Seven Clocks"*"The Adventure of the Gold Hunter"...

, a joint enterprise of Adrian Conan Doyle

Adrian Conan Doyle

Adrian Malcolm Conan Doyle was the youngest son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his second wife Jean, Lady Conan Doyle. He had two siblings, a sister, Jean, and a brother, Denis....

 and John Dickson Carr.

Plot

While waiting up late one night, Holmes and Watson are visited by the night watchman of a famous waxworks and his grand–daughter. The watchman has noticed that the playing cards in the hand of a wax figure in a Chamber of Horrors exhibit have changed. Holmes becomes immediately interested in this mystery and sends Watson to the exhibit to remove the cards in an orderly fashion and to bring them back to him in some envelopes. Holmes then demonstrates that the altered cards are related to the scandalous behavior of a gentleman and his wagering on horse races.

" ' At the mouth of the Thames,' " he read, " ' on the island of —' "

"Holmes, my question concerned the answer to our problem!"

"This is the answer to our problem."

Two versions of the Darlington Substitution Scandal, which had been mentioned in A Scandal in Bohemia

A Scandal in Bohemia

"A Scandal in Bohemia" was the first of Arthur Conan Doyle's 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories to be published in The Strand Magazine and the first Sherlock Holmes story illustrated by Sidney Paget....

, are referenced in this story.