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Authors: William Seil
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said the officer. ‘He is perfectly safe. Some of the men who work below can climb better than chimpanzees.’
The woman, suddenly conscious of the attention she was receiving, nodded with a faint smile and walked away.
We returned to the rail and watched, as sacks of mail were loaded on to one of the tenders. Soon, the anchor was raised and the engines were fired up. The Titanic was ready to head for open sea.
‘I am afraid I must ask you to excuse me,’ I said. ‘I told Commodore Winter that I would meet him for lunch.’
‘Back to the musketeers? Well, just remember, I will be looking for opportunities to steal you away!’
‘I will look forward to seeing you again,’ I responded.
I walked down the stairway and found Holmes waiting on the promenade near the restaurant. He was pacing back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back.
‘Ah, Watson, good, you made it! Let us get a table. There is much I would like to accomplish this afternoon.’
‘Good afternoon, Holmes. And how have you been spending your time on board this beautiful ship?’
‘It is a wonderful vessel indeed, Watson. I was just down in one of the boiler rooms. Do you know, with a little experimentation I believe Icould develop a method to identify where a sample of coal was mined, simply by running a chemical test on its ash. You see, while all coal ash may look the same, there are certain trace elements...’
I rather boldly interrupted my friend. ‘I need to tell you about a most interesting conversation I just had with a Baron Hans Von Stern. It seems his wife just received a blackmail note, and he asked me to look into the matter.’ I handed Holmes the note. ‘I declined at first, but he was very insistent. I told him I would give it some thought. Do you make anything of it?’
‘It is difficult to tell, but I would judge by the individual printing of the baroness’s name that the writer was a woman.’ Holmes removed a jack-knife from his pocket and carefully removed the word ‘Pay’ from the note. ‘And if I am not mistaken, the reverse side of this scrap of paper shows a portion of the cover of the most recent Strand Magazine . I believe an article of yours ran in that issue.’
‘It does appear to come from the Strand ... Do you think the baroness is in any danger?’
‘It is curious that the baron and his wife should receive a blackmail note after they have just boarded a ship bound for America. Why not deliver it while they are in their home country, near a bank where they keep their money. Still, it could be a genuine blackmail attempt. In any case, there is little we can do at present. Speak to the baroness and keep me informed of any new developments, and it might be wise to suggest to the baron that he contact the captain.’
‘I already have, and he declined. As far as I know, he has only told Miss Storm-Fleming and me.’
Holmes smiled. ‘I am glad to see that you are enjoying this trip so much, old friend. Well, Watson, it appears that we have made a number of other new friends on this cruise. It only seems proper that we invite them to dinner. The conversation could be very revealing. I think I willhave a word with the captain about issuing some invitations. Perhaps we should meet Colonel Moriarty and Mr Bishop as well.’
‘Holmes?’
‘Six o’clock, Watson. And it will be black tie.’
Chapter Eight
T HE E VENING OF T HURSDAY 11 A PRIL 1912
T he ship’s bugler sounded a cheerful notice that only one hour remained to dress for dinner. First-class passengers began scurrying to their cabins. Those without personal maids or valets recruited stewardesses or stewards to help them through the ritual of formal dress. I had come prepared with formal attire and was just adjusting my waistcoat when Holmes knocked at my cabin door. Upon opening it, I saw Miss Norton, looking most delightful in her black evening dress, standing next to Holmes. True to form as Commodore Giles Winter, Holmes was in
The woman, suddenly conscious of the attention she was receiving, nodded with a faint smile and walked away.
We returned to the rail and watched, as sacks of mail were loaded on to one of the tenders. Soon, the anchor was raised and the engines were fired up. The Titanic was ready to head for open sea.
‘I am afraid I must ask you to excuse me,’ I said. ‘I told Commodore Winter that I would meet him for lunch.’
‘Back to the musketeers? Well, just remember, I will be looking for opportunities to steal you away!’
‘I will look forward to seeing you again,’ I responded.
I walked down the stairway and found Holmes waiting on the promenade near the restaurant. He was pacing back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back.
‘Ah, Watson, good, you made it! Let us get a table. There is much I would like to accomplish this afternoon.’
‘Good afternoon, Holmes. And how have you been spending your time on board this beautiful ship?’
‘It is a wonderful vessel indeed, Watson. I was just down in one of the boiler rooms. Do you know, with a little experimentation I believe Icould develop a method to identify where a sample of coal was mined, simply by running a chemical test on its ash. You see, while all coal ash may look the same, there are certain trace elements...’
I rather boldly interrupted my friend. ‘I need to tell you about a most interesting conversation I just had with a Baron Hans Von Stern. It seems his wife just received a blackmail note, and he asked me to look into the matter.’ I handed Holmes the note. ‘I declined at first, but he was very insistent. I told him I would give it some thought. Do you make anything of it?’
‘It is difficult to tell, but I would judge by the individual printing of the baroness’s name that the writer was a woman.’ Holmes removed a jack-knife from his pocket and carefully removed the word ‘Pay’ from the note. ‘And if I am not mistaken, the reverse side of this scrap of paper shows a portion of the cover of the most recent Strand Magazine . I believe an article of yours ran in that issue.’
‘It does appear to come from the Strand ... Do you think the baroness is in any danger?’
‘It is curious that the baron and his wife should receive a blackmail note after they have just boarded a ship bound for America. Why not deliver it while they are in their home country, near a bank where they keep their money. Still, it could be a genuine blackmail attempt. In any case, there is little we can do at present. Speak to the baroness and keep me informed of any new developments, and it might be wise to suggest to the baron that he contact the captain.’
‘I already have, and he declined. As far as I know, he has only told Miss Storm-Fleming and me.’
Holmes smiled. ‘I am glad to see that you are enjoying this trip so much, old friend. Well, Watson, it appears that we have made a number of other new friends on this cruise. It only seems proper that we invite them to dinner. The conversation could be very revealing. I think I willhave a word with the captain about issuing some invitations. Perhaps we should meet Colonel Moriarty and Mr Bishop as well.’
‘Holmes?’
‘Six o’clock, Watson. And it will be black tie.’
Chapter Eight
T HE E VENING OF T HURSDAY 11 A PRIL 1912
T he ship’s bugler sounded a cheerful notice that only one hour remained to dress for dinner. First-class passengers began scurrying to their cabins. Those without personal maids or valets recruited stewardesses or stewards to help them through the ritual of formal dress. I had come prepared with formal attire and was just adjusting my waistcoat when Holmes knocked at my cabin door. Upon opening it, I saw Miss Norton, looking most delightful in her black evening dress, standing next to Holmes. True to form as Commodore Giles Winter, Holmes was in
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