Upstairs the result was the same. Everything was as they’d found it the last time they were there.
The notice board still had the cuttings about the great circus fire of the Barnum and Bailey, Ringling Brothers disaster.
They were about to leave when Freddie observed an additional notice pinned to the board. It was addressed to Giles.
Freddie took it from the board and handed it to his friend.
The envelope was unsealed. Giles held it in his hands for what seemed an age. He looked totally mystified and appeared reluctant to open it and read the contents.
On occasions like this Freddie knew it was best to keep a watching brief and not interrupt his close friend.
Several moments passed before Giles removed a sheet of paper and started to read. Lines on his furrowed brow deepened and a shake of the head was the only other indication of his puzzlement before he handed the sheet over to his waiting colleague.
It was headed: To Professor Dawson
I am well aware that you enjoy a conundrum, Professor, so if you solve this riddle you will go a long way to unravelling the predicament you are in at the moment. But a word of warning. Do not believe all you see or hear.
Go in the direction of a Hitchcock movie
Whose leading man had two names?
Seek out the KC on a forbidden isle and
Retrace half a century from March Twenty-first.
Learn of a Race that never was
On grassland that, unlike RAF Winkleigh, is now an airfield.
Near where the Seats of Rhouma stay
Is the secret you wish to solve one day?
‘I’m not entirely sure what this is all about,’ Freddie said as he handed back the note. ‘But whoever wrote this was the same person who spoke to me on the phone.’
‘What makes you think that?’
‘Do not believe all you see or hear. That’s in the letter and that was what was said to me on the phone.’
‘What does it all mean?’
‘I don’t know…you’re the one who loves conundrums.’
‘I think a phone call to a house near Lockerbie might help. I know someone there who loves to solve little brainteasers like this.’
There was a smirk on Freddie’s face as he remarked ’Yes…the lady is just the person to call. Why don’t you do that now?’
‘North by North West has to be the Hitchcock movie. That’s fairly clear, and I’m heading in that direction, in March, on my lecture cruise. But the rest is obscure. Yes, a phone call to that house in Scotland might just be what is required. I’ll do that now.’
Chapter 7
THE BLACK SQUADRON
When Giles returned to the control tower he found Freddie studying the cuttings pinned to the notice board.
The letter with the cryptic conundrum was still in Giles’ hand.
‘Did you make the call? Freddie asked with eager anticipation.
‘Yes, I did, but it was answered by Doreen, the housekeeper. She said Mrs. Ramsden was having a nap and her daughter was out. I said I’d call again later.’
‘Let me have another look at that riddle, Giles. There may be something we can fathom out with a concentrated effort.’
Both men grabbed chairs and sat down at one of the tables.
Giles spread the letter out, leaned back in his chair and looked at Freddie.’
‘One line, in particular, bothers me somewhat.’ He said.’
‘What line is that? They all bother me apart from the opening one.’
‘It’s the one with the KC on it. You know how I constantly correct you when you describe Horse Racing as the Sport of Kings?’
‘Yes, you keep telling me it ought to be the Sport of Queens because we have a lady as the monarch. But I always insist that, although we have a Queen on the throne, Racing is still the “Sport of Kings” and will remain so.’
You may be quite correct, Freddie, but the line that mentions the KC strikes me as odd for the simple reason that a King’s Counsel becomes a Queen’s Counsel when a lady is our monarch.’
‘So you think the KC should be QC?’
‘Yes I do.’
‘But, just for the sake of argument, supposing the KC is quite correct. Maybe it is not an abbreviation for King’s Counsel…but for something entirely different?’
‘I never thought of that, but, if what you’re inferring is correct, what could it possibly mean?’
‘I’m afraid I don’t know, but it’s something to be considered very seriously.’
‘If only I had an enlarged hippocampus!’
‘What, on earth, are you drivelling on about now, Giles?’
‘I’m sorry, Freddie, I seem to be inundating you with a collection of extraordinary expressions.’
‘Yes! Funambulism and impalement were just about as much as I could take a short while ago. But where the dickens did you get this hippo thing? Don’t tell me it’s another name for a ‘potamus?’
‘No, Freddie. It’s not.’
‘Well…?
‘It was a term used by the cabbie that drove me to the Tropicana show on New Year’s Eve. He told me he had an enlarged hippocampus. Apparently it’s a structure in the floor of the brain that enables lucky individuals, who have this abnormal configuration, to develop an extraordinary memory.’
‘We could do with him right now.’
‘Who?’
‘Your cabbie friend; the one with the enlarged thing. Next time you see him ask some questions and try and get some answers.’
The two colleagues headed for the canteen, in a jovial mood, though still trying to puzzle what the wording of the riddle meant. A spot of lunch and a conversation with a few of the riggers prompted Giles, accompanied by Freddie, to visit the circus barbers.
The usual “no racing tips, no politics” was a prelude to a trim as Giles sat down in the barber’s chair. Meanwhile Freddie had a few words with some of the other hairdressers.
What Giles gleaned from his visit was that he should keep an eye on two of the main characters; the Ringmaster and the Band Leader. Both were considered to be leading protagonists if a bid to usurp Ramon as circus owner was being made.
The early part of the afternoon was spent watching a few jugglers on stilts, after which Giles proposed that a return trip to the control tower might reveal further details of forthcoming rehearsals.
Late afternoon gloom was shrouding the winter quarters of the circus as Giles and Freddie approached the control tower. There was a light on as they entered and they could hear someone upstairs.
‘Is it all right for us to come in? Giles called out as Freddie opened the door.
‘Be my guests,’ said a familiar voice. Giles recognised it as the first voice he heard when he was met off the train at Eggesford station.
It was Hank Findley, the wire walker. He was busy pinning more information sheets on the notice board.
‘How’s the leg doing? Giles enquired when they were upstairs. ‘Are you almost ready to resume your act?’
‘It’s coming along and I should be able to walk the wire in a week or so. I want to be ready to perform when we give a show to the Devon folks at the end of February,’
‘I’d like to see that. If you’re not too busy can I ask you something?’
‘Sure…go ahead.’
‘Does the circus have more than one telephone?’
‘Yes there are several. The boss has one. I think there are two in the canteen, one in each hanger and, believe it or not, there’s a phone here in this building.’
‘I haven’t seen one in here.’
‘No, you won’t unless you know where to look. Come on, let me show you.’
Hank took Giles aside to a tiny alcove where, on a shelf and under a protective cover, there was a phone. To the astonishment of the professor of illusions there was also something else under that cover. It was a gleaming gauntlet; the very same gauntlet, he presumed, he’d last seen under his feet.
Giles ma
de every effort to conceal his surprise. ‘Can I use this phone on the odd occasion?’ he said.
‘I don’t see why not. Only the circus celebrities are allowed in here and you come into that category.’
Hank replaced the cover and both men returned to find a thoughtful Freddie studying the notice board.
‘Do you mind if I ask you a question, Mr. Findley?’ said Freddie as he turned to face the wire walker.
‘Not at all; please do. And please call me Hank.’
‘I gather you told my friend that he might hear aero engines at night or the sound of men scrambling to get airborne? I think those are the very words you used? What did you mean by that?’
‘Oh, that…that’s easy. It was the Black Squadron!’
‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand.’
‘It was all very hush-hush during the war years at most aerodromes; this one in particular. That’s probably why the Ministry of Defence or the RAF have always denied the existence of this place.’
‘But the Black Squadron…?’
‘161 squadron had Lysander aircraft, painted black that were used in clandestine stealth missions to drop spies and secret agents into occupied Europe. The men who flew these dangerous assignments, on moonless nights, undoubtedly influenced the outcome of the war and it’s probably no wonder that the RAF have never admitted the existence of this place. Few of these men knew the big picture and many never came back.’
‘Is it true that some local people still hear the sounds?’
‘So I’ve heard.’
‘You were here, Hank.’ Giles cross-examined. ‘Do you still hear them?’
‘Yes, I was here. And it was my suggestion that we use this site for our winter quarters. Yes, I still hear them, but I can never be sure if what I’m hearing is the wind swirling around the hangers and control tower, or my imagination. It can be quite eerie here at times. Excuse me, I have some important work to do.’
The American tightrope artiste gathered some papers and started to go downstairs. As he left the building he shouted back. ‘Don’t be afraid to use the phone; that’s what it’s there for.’
Upstairs both men looked at each other and smiled.
‘Why don’t we have another look at that written conundrum, Giles? Someone, who knows you intend travelling has to be the one who wrote it. If you can produce a short list of people to whom you mentioned your intended trip, that might clarify things a bit more.’
‘I agree. The only problem with that is that whoever heard it from me could have inadvertently passed it on to someone else.’
‘Point taken! But it would do no harm to go over those you told about that lecture cruise of yours.’
A thoughtful professor pondered, for what seemed an age to his friend, before uttering his conclusions. ‘The first time I mentioned my trip was to Madame Eva Zigana, the circus fortune teller. I did say to her that I would be joining a cruise of the Scottish Hebrides and the Shetland Isles in March.’
‘That’s a good start. The Hebrides would conform to the part about the Hitchcock movie and the month of March is mentioned significantly in the puzzle.’
‘That is a good start, as you say, but, if I remember correctly it was Madame Zigana who first brought the idea of travel into the conversation. She said I would probably succeed in my quest to solve Senhor Ramon’s problem if I travelled to some far off spots. She could have read that in any one of several magazines and as a fortune teller the most important way to influencing an individual before attempting to predict their future, would be to read as much about them as possible.’
‘Yes, Giles, I suppose that’s true. And if Madame Zigana could read up about you so could anyone else who was determined to lead you up the garden path.’
‘The Magician, Michael Wagner. I did mention my cruise after I congratulated him on his Vanishing Lady Illusion but he wouldn’t have had time to construct the conundrum. He did, however, attend the lecture I gave at the St James’s Club in December and it’s quite possible I gave that information to my audience there. He told me he’d been there and had also read a great deal about me in the newspapers. I may even have mentioned it to Hank Findley while he drove me to the station. I just can’t be sure. Regarding Hank, what did you make of his remarks about the Black Squadron?’
‘He seemed genuine enough. The entire operation was of stealth and we’re both aware that, during any war, such exploits can have dire consequences. They don’t always go according to plan.’
‘I have no problem with that, but what did you make of those phantom sounds and the possible odour of kerosene that he stressed?’
‘Well we both know there are Second World War airfields with a history of spectral images, but our connection with the Ghost Club impels us to be a bit more sceptical even though certain incidents are often difficult to explain.’
‘Imagination can distort things and auto-suggestion invariably lures the unsuspecting recipient into believing they see what they’re intended to see. Isn’t that the secret ingredient of the magician and illusionist?’
‘Do not believe all you see or hear,’ Freddie recapped.
‘Now where have I heard that before?’ Giles expounded further. ‘In close-up magic the onlooker is directed to look at a certain object while the manipulator is performing elsewhere.’
‘The quickness of the hand deceiving the eye, you mean?’
‘Not every time, Freddie. The converse can be just as effective. A slow movement may give the innocent bystander a false sense of security and a confidence that is misplaced. Hank gives the impression of being trustworthy in all he does or says, yet I’m not sure whether to take him at face value or not?’
‘He seems just a bit too plausible at times and maybe requires close scrutiny.’
A glance at his watch alerted Giles to get to his feet. ‘I think I’ll make another call to Lockerbie.’ He called out as he moved towards the alcove.
Freddie nodded acquiescence.
When Giles reached the alcove and removed the cover he was caught a little off guard. As he picked up the phone and started to dial it became clear that there was no sign of the gauntlet that had been there a short time ago. It had disappeared. Had it been there in the first place and had Hank removed it, or was it all a figment of his imagination?
At least fifteen minutes passed before Giles returned from the alcove.
‘Did you have any luck this time?’
‘Yes, Laura was back home and I gave her all the information about the riddle.’
‘How did she react?’
‘She agreed about the Hitchcock movie and, as it co-responded with my trip to the Inner Hebrides in March, she was of the opinion that the first line of the riddle had been written by someone who already knew of my intended journey to the North West.’
‘Did she have any clear thoughts on the other lines?’
‘No. not really, but she did say she would make some inquiries about the forbidden isle.’
‘It would obviously help things if we knew that. The KC puzzle might then have more meaning. Did she say anything about that?’
‘She agreed with your idea that if KC was not an abbreviation for King’s Counsel then the identification of the forbidden isle could make an awful difference…KC could possibly be the initials of someone important living on the isle.’
‘Did she say when she might have a solution to those clues?’
‘No, she didn’t say. But she asked if there was any likelihood of me travelling to visit her in Lockerbie around the second week in February when she expected to have made some progress about the forbidden isle. We could then both think things over like we used to do in those long ago days of the early forties.’
‘Don’t tell me, Giles, let me guess. You are going, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, I am. How did you guess?’
‘It’s your face, old son. The look on your face made everything abundantly clear. As an ex-teacher of mathematics it didn’t take me too lon
g to work out that the second week in February usually comes fairly close to the fourteenth, and if my information is correct that is St. Valentine’s Day and that might play a significant part in your getting together.’
‘You’re at it again, Freddie. You invariably, at some stage, try desperately to get me involved in the marriage stakes.’
‘With little or no success, I’m afraid. Still it’s always good to remember that the grey days of Winter are repeatedly followed by the colours of Spring.’
‘No comment, Freddie. Now are you ready for a visit to the circus canteen for a bite of dinner? We’ve had a busy day and the inner man requires a bit of sustenance.’
Freddie gathered up a few notes as he prepared to leave but it was Giles, grabbing him vigorously by an arm that stopped him in his tracks.
‘What on earth is that noise?’ The words that poured from Giles’ voice box were uttered with an incredulous alarm and a power that equalled the pressure on Freddie’s arm.
‘If I was on an airfield, that was still an airfield, I’d say it sounds like an aircraft coming in to land.’
‘But this is no longer an airfield, Freddie. It can’t land here.’ The tremor in his voice increased as did the grip on his colleague’s arm.’
‘It sounds much too real to be an aircraft of the Black Squadron…and what the hell is that smell?’ posed a perplexed Freddie as he broke free from the grip on his arm and pushed his companion outside before closing the control tower door.
The odour was quite distinct in the cool evening air.
‘That has to be kerosene, if I’m not mistaken!’ Giles’ anxiety was pronounced.
The aircraft engine noise grew louder as two pairs of eyes scanned the darkness. But, as the racket gradually began to decrease, as if signifying an aircraft coming to a halt, another sound grew. Was it the sound of men scrambling to get airborne as described by Hank, the walker of tightropes? No! It was the commotion of men running around urgently attempting to rectify a major problem.
Gauntlet of Fear Page 8