"Poor man!" Benjamin looked shocked. "After what he did to us?"
"Poor man," Cecily repeated. "What a wonderful life he could have lived, with his money and position, if he didn't set out to— what did he set out to do?"
"Overthrow the existing order," Moriarty suggested.
"Just so. And whatever for?"
"There are many injustices in the world," said the Duke of Albermar, who had come up behind them. "The poor are scrabbling for livelihood, for life itself, while the rich arrogantly indulge themselves in unseemly displays of wealth. But I'm afraid that von Linsz and the others like him are not trying to improve the lot of anyone but themselves; they wish to replace the existing world order with one to their liking—one with them at the top."
"Well," Barnett said, "maybe we've slowed them down."
"We have cut off one tentacle of the beast," the duke said, "but the creature still lives, and it will grow another and another—it will not be stilled until governments cease trying to establish their legitimacy by stirring up ancient hatreds and false rivalries, and join in a commonwealth of nations."
" 'Till the war-drum throbb'd no longer, and the battle-flags were furl'd / In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the world.' " recited Cecily.
Moriarty nodded. "Tennyson."
"That will not happen in our lifetimes," Benjamin said.
"Nor our sons, nor their sons," said the duke, "but it must happen if we are to survive without blasting ourselves back to savagery or oblivion. For the weapons are getting more powerful and the wars are getting more absolute."
"Tennyson goes on: 'Yet I doubt not thro' the ages one increasing purpose runs, / And the thoughts of men are widen'd with the process of the suns.' "
"It's always good to end on a hopeful note," the duke said. He looked at Moriarty. "Where do you go from here?" he asked.
"Norway, I think," said Moriarty. "There's a man in Trondheim who has published some interesting work on the corona of the sun, and I'd like to speak with him. After that, there are some interesting ruins in Algiers that I'd like to take a look at."
"Godspeed," the duke said. "You'll find a sizable check deposited to your account in London when you get back."
"Always welcome," said Professor James Moriarty.
The End
* * * * * *
Book information
THE
GREAT GAME
Also by
Michael Kurland
Featuring Professor Moriarty
The Infernal Device and Others
(includes The Infernal Device, The Paradol Paradox, and Death by Gaslight)
THE
GREAT GAME
A P R O F E S S O R M O R I A R T Y N O V E L
M I c h a e l K u r l a n d
ST. MARTIN'S MINOTAUR ** NEW YORK
the great game.
Copyright © 2001 by Michael Kurland.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Design by Lorelle Graffeo
www.minotaurbooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kurland, Michael.
The great game : a Professor Moriarty novel / Michael Kurland.—1st ed. p. cm.
ISBN 0-312-20891-X (hc)
ISBN 0-312-30505-2 (pbk)
1. Moriarty, Professor (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Scientists—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3561.U647 G7 2001
813'.54—dc21 2001019577
First St. Martin's Griffin Edition: February 2003
* * * * * *
Back cover
Labeled the "Napoleon of Crime" in Doyle's classic Sherlock Holmes stories, Professor James Moriarty is now what he has been portrayed to be. In this, the third of Michael Kurland's acclaimed novels featuring Moriarty, he is once again called into action when Holmes suddenly disappears. A man is killed by a crossbow bolt on Moriarty's doorstep and his help is sought in the case of a captured English spy. From these thin threads, Moriarty quickly realizes that if he is to save all of Europe from impending chaos, he must find and defeat his deadliest opponent ever
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover illustration by Jill Bauman
www.minotaurbooks.com
ST. MARTIN'S MINOTAUR
175 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10010
DISTRIBUTED IN CANADA BY H. B. FENN AND COMPANY, LTD.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Table of Contents
The Great Game
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE — PLAYING THE GAME
CHAPTER TWO — DOORWAY TO DEATH
CHAPTER THREE — THE FAT MAN
CHAPTER FOUR — THE FREEDOM LEAGUE
CHAPTER FIVE — LAKE COMO
CHAPTER SIX — CHARLES BREDLON SUMMERDANE
CHAPTER SEVEN — CHANCE
CHAPTER EIGHT — DEATH IN VIENNA
CHAPTER NINE — INCOGNITO
CHAPTER TEN — MORIARTY
CHAPTER ELEVEN — INNOCENCE BY ASSOCIATION
CHAPTER TWELVE — STONE WALLS
CHAPTER THIRTEEN — THE CLAIRVOYANT
CHAPTER FOURTEEN — SLIGHT OF MIND
CHAPTER FIFTEEN — THE CONSULTING DETECTIVE
CHAPTER SIXTEEN — A PERSON OF LITTLE IMPORTANCE
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN — WEISSERSCHLOSS
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN — YOUR AMERICAN COUSIN
CHAPTER NINETEEN — A CASTLE IN UHMSTEIN
CHAPTER TWENTY — BILLET REAPING
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE — GOOD-BYE TO ALL THAT
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO — MADAME MADELEINE VERLAINE
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE — RESCUE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR — THE BLOODY HANDPRINT
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE — ENGLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, AND RUSSIA
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX — THE TRAIN
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN — OF CABBAGES AND KINGS
Book information
The Great Game Page 34