clerk had helpedhim with it. A reference to the timetable showed that the 8:15 was thefirst train which it was possible for West to take after he had leftthe lady about 7:30.
"Let us reconstruct, Watson," said Holmes after half an hour ofsilence. "I am not aware that in all our joint researches we have everhad a case which was more difficult to get at. Every fresh advancewhich we make only reveals a fresh ridge beyond. And yet we have surelymade some appreciable progress.
"The effect of our inquiries at Woolwich has in the main been againstyoung Cadogan West; but the indications at the window would lendthemselves to a more favourable hypothesis. Let us suppose, forexample, that he had been approached by some foreign agent. It mighthave been done under such pledges as would have prevented him fromspeaking of it, and yet would have affected his thoughts in thedirection indicated by his remarks to his fiancee. Very good. We willnow suppose that as he went to the theatre with the young lady hesuddenly, in the fog, caught a glimpse of this same agent going in thedirection of the office. He was an impetuous man, quick in hisdecisions. Everything gave way to his duty. He followed the man,reached the window, saw the abstraction of the documents, and pursuedthe thief. In this way we get over the objection that no one wouldtake originals when he could make copies. This outsider had to takeoriginals. So far it holds together."
"What is the next step?"
"Then we come into difficulties. One would imagine that under suchcircumstances the first act of young Cadogan West would be to seize thevillain and raise the alarm. Why did he not do so? Could it have beenan official superior who took the papers? That would explain West'sconduct. Or could the chief have given West the slip in the fog, andWest started at once to London to head him off from his own rooms,presuming that he knew where the rooms were? The call must have beenvery pressing, since he left his girl standing in the fog and made noeffort to communicate with her. Our scent runs cold here, and there isa vast gap between either hypothesis and the laying of West's body,with seven papers in his pocket, on the roof of a Metropolitan train.My instinct now is to work from the other end. If Mycroft has given usthe list of addresses we may be able to pick our man and follow twotracks instead of one."
Surely enough, a note awaited us at Baker Street. A governmentmessenger had brought it post-haste. Holmes glanced at it and threw itover to me.
There are numerous small fry, but few who would handle so big anaffair. The only men worth considering are Adolph Mayer, of 13 GreatGeorge Street, Westminster; Louis La Rothiere, of Campden Mansions,Notting Hill; and Hugo Oberstein, 13 Caulfield Gardens, Kensington.The latter was known to be in town on Monday and is now reported ashaving left. Glad to hear you have seen some light. The Cabinetawaits your final report with the utmost anxiety. Urgentrepresentations have arrived from the very highest quarter. The wholeforce of the State is at your back if you should need it.
Mycroft.
"I'm afraid," said Holmes, smiling, "that all the queen's horses andall the queen's men cannot avail in this matter." He had spread outhis big map of London and leaned eagerly over it. "Well, well," said hepresently with an exclamation of satisfaction, "things are turning alittle in our direction at last. Why, Watson, I do honestly believethat we are going to pull it off, after all." He slapped me on theshoulder with a sudden burst of hilarity. "I am going out now. It isonly a reconnaissance. I will do nothing serious without my trustedcomrade and biographer at my elbow. Do you stay here, and the odds arethat you will see me again in an hour or two. If time hangs heavy getfoolscap and a pen, and begin your narrative of how we saved the State."
I felt some reflection of his elation in my own mind, for I knew wellthat he would not depart so far from his usual austerity of demeanourunless there was good cause for exultation. All the long Novemberevening I waited, filled with impatience for his return. At last,shortly after nine o'clock, there arrived a messenger with a note:
Am dining at Goldini's Restaurant, Gloucester Road, Kensington. Pleasecome at once and join me there. Bring with you a jemmy, a darklantern, a chisel, and a revolver.
S.H.
It was a nice equipment for a respectable citizen to carry through thedim, fog-draped streets. I stowed them all discreetly away in myovercoat and drove straight to the address given. There sat my friendat a little round table near the door of the garish Italian restaurant.
"Have you had something to eat? Then join me in a coffee and curacao.Try one of the proprietor's cigars. They are less poisonous than onewould expect. Have you the tools?"
"They are here, in my overcoat."
"Excellent. Let me give you a short sketch of what I have done, withsome indication of what we are about to do. Now it must be evident toyou, Watson, that this young man's body was PLACED on the roof of thetrain. That was clear from the instant that I determined the fact thatit was from the roof, and not from a carriage, that he had fallen."
"Could it not have been dropped from a bridge?"
"I should say it was impossible. If you examine the roofs you willfind that they are slightly rounded, and there is no railing roundthem. Therefore, we can say for certain that young Cadogan West wasplaced on it."
"How could he be placed there?"
"That was the question which we had to answer. There is only onepossible way. You are aware that the Underground runs clear of tunnelsat some points in the West End. I had a vague memory that as I havetravelled by it I have occasionally seen windows just above my head.Now, suppose that a train halted under such a window, would there beany difficulty in laying a body upon the roof?"
"It seems most improbable."
"We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingenciesfail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Hereall other contingencies HAVE failed. When I found that the leadinginternational agent, who had just left London, lived in a row of houseswhich abutted upon the Underground, I was so pleased that you were alittle astonished at my sudden frivolity."
"Oh, that was it, was it?"
"Yes, that was it. Mr. Hugo Oberstein, of 13 Caulfield Gardens, hadbecome my objective. I began my operations at Gloucester Road Station,where a very helpful official walked with me along the track andallowed me to satisfy myself not only that the back-stair windows ofCaulfield Gardens open on the line but the even more essential factthat, owing to the intersection of one of the larger railways, theUnderground trains are frequently held motionless for some minutes atthat very spot."
"Splendid, Holmes! You have got it!"
"So far--so far, Watson. We advance, but the goal is afar. Well,having seen the back of Caulfield Gardens, I visited the front andsatisfied myself that the bird was indeed flown. It is a considerablehouse, unfurnished, so far as I could judge, in the upper rooms.Oberstein lived there with a single valet, who was probably aconfederate entirely in his confidence. We must bear in mind thatOberstein has gone to the Continent to dispose of his booty, but notwith any idea of flight; for he had no reason to fear a warrant, andthe idea of an amateur domiciliary visit would certainly never occur tohim. Yet that is precisely what we are about to make."
"Could we not get a warrant and legalize it?"
"Hardly on the evidence."
"What can we hope to do?"
"We cannot tell what correspondence may be there."
"I don't like it, Holmes."
"My dear fellow, you shall keep watch in the street. I'll do thecriminal part. It's not a time to stick at trifles. Think ofMycroft's note, of the Admiralty, the Cabinet, the exalted person whowaits for news. We are bound to go."
My answer was to rise from the table.
"You are right, Holmes. We are bound to go."
He sprang up and shook me by the hand.
"I knew you would not shrink at the last," said he, and for a moment Isaw something in his eyes which was nearer to tenderness than I hadever seen. The next instant he was his masterful, practical self oncemore.
"It is nearly half a mil
e, but there is no hurry. Let us walk," saidhe. "Don't drop the instruments, I beg. Your arrest as a suspiciouscharacter would be a most unfortunate complication."
Caulfield Gardens was one of those lines of flat-faced pillared, andporticoed houses which are so prominent a product of the middleVictorian epoch in the West End of London. Next door there appeared tobe a children's party, for the merry buzz of young voices and theclatter of a piano resounded through the night. The fog still hungabout and screened us with its friendly shade. Holmes had lit hislantern and flashed it upon the massive door.
"This is a serious proposition," said he. "It is certainly bolted aswell as locked. We would do better in the area. There is an excellentarchway down yonder in
The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans Page 5