I took the letter and assured the visitors that I would make sure to give it to Holmes. Once they had gone, I summoned Mrs Hudson. ‘Once again I must ask that you help me to revive him. Apparently his presence in the real world is urgently required.’
The next morning, after a night of hot baths, cold baths and numerous concoctions that I had devised, Holmes was nearly his usual self. A message was sent inviting the emissaries, whoever they were, to an early meeting at Baker Street.
‘You know, I have been thinking about the two gentlemen who are so anxious to talk to you. I am certain they are naval officers.’
‘Indeed, Watson. You are becoming more of a detective every day. Tell me about the reasons for your conclusion.’
‘Their boots gave me the first clue. You are always reminding me that one of the most important and indeed the first observation to be made of someone is their feet, or rather their footwear. I noted immediately that their boots had the very square toes that are characteristic of the boots of a naval person. However, I did not jump to any conclusions based on just one fact. I recalled your advice. I then observed their countenance. Both exhibited what I might term “weather-beaten” faces and the eyes were surrounded by a myriad of small lines denoting many years of peering into the distance. Another feature that confirmed my first observation was the way in which their cravats were tied.’
Holmes received the two men who, obviously from their bearing and manner, had come about business of the realm. They would not disclose their names. However, when they produced a letter to Holmes signed by his brother Mycroft, their names did not matter. At that point I moved to the door, saying, ‘I believe these gentlemen would prefer that I withdraw.’
One of them spoke. ‘No need, Doctor Watson. Please stay, because since we were last here we have been instructed to say that, if Mr Holmes desires it, you can be privy to the matter.’ Holmes nodded his agreement.
‘Mr Holmes,’ said the other visitor, ‘as your brother indicates, we must have your help in tracing a valuable item and in catching the person or persons that stole it. A famous laboratory at Cambridge is conducting experiments on behalf of the Admiralty. The experiments involve Hertzian waves and a device that may be of vital importance to the navy. The work is most secret. Regrettably, the national press came upon an old local newspaper report about research into Hertzian waves at the university. Otherwise it had been hoped that the work would not have been mentioned.’
The other nameless man took up the story.
‘Apparently the thief gained access somehow to the laboratory, although there were no signs of forcible entry. Also, at the time, the only keys to the only door were on the person of the head of the laboratory, a Professor Rains.’
Holmes interrupted him.
‘Is that the Professor Rains of the Department of Philosophical Science?’
‘Indeed the very one. He is most perturbed by the loss of something called a Boswell Concentrator, particularly as, should the research programme be delayed, then the government might withhold financial support. I have to tell you that within certain circles the project is being termed a solution looking for a problem. None of the admirals privy to the work can see any use for the device even if it were perfected. However, my own opinion is that it may prove extremely useful. There is always the possibility that the secrets of the device might pass to a foreign power. If that were to happen and the device were to work, then the Royal Navy could be at a great disadvantage in the event of a war.’
‘We will have to inspect the laboratory and its surroundings as soon as possible. Clues have a habit of fading with time,’ said Holmes.
‘Of course, Mr Holmes. We both hoped for and anticipated your cooperation to the extent that a carriage is already at your door and tickets to Cambridge await you at the barrier at King’s Cross. There is a train at 9.30.’
‘We have yet to have our breakfast,’ said I.
‘May we suggest that it will save time if you refresh yourselves in the station breakfast room at King’s Cross? I have always found the service to be most prompt.’
We were met at the laboratory by Professor Rains who showed us round. He led us to a small enclosure within the laboratory. Unlocking the door, he said, ‘This is where we conduct the very special experiments and this is where the concentrator is tested, and from where it was taken. By the way, Mr Holmes, did you enjoy your breakfast at King’s Cross? I could not help observing a faint trace of marmalade on your waistcoat; a very distinctive brand is served up in the station breakfast room.’
Holmes ignored the comment and I surmised was wondering, Why so many people and, for that matter, writers, try to play the detective? He then asked, ‘Professor, may I see a drawing or illustration of the concentrator?’
‘Certainly, Mr Holmes.’ He unfolded a drawing marked ‘Most Confidential’. ‘As you see, it is two foot in length and conical with a base diameter of six inches. There are two threaded terminals with nuts to which wires can be secured. More than that I cannot tell you.’
Holmes studied the drawing for a few minutes and then remarked.
‘I presume the secret is within its body otherwise it appears to be nothing more than a decorative finial?’
‘Correct. However, what is in the interior must remain a secret even from you, Mr Holmes, though I cannot see that it will hamper your investigation. I wish I could tell you more.’
‘I hope it will not. Now we need to look for something that will lead to how entry was effected, how the concentrator was removed, and by whom.’
Holmes made his usual meticulous inspection of the scene of the crime. As was his custom he did not confine his activities to the immediate vicinity of the bench on which the concentrator had been lying. He made sure that there were no marks to indicate that the door locks had been tampered with or picked.
‘At this stage of the investigation,’ said Holmes, ‘the only reasonably certain conclusion to be reached is that only one burglar has been inside the laboratory. Now, am I right in assuming, Professor, that the object in question is not too heavy?’
‘I regret, as I said, I’m not permitted to disclose such information. Even to you.’
Under one of the benches, Holmes’ keen eye revealed a small heap of tobacco ash, which he carefully scooped into a fold of paper. Further on there was another heap of ash. The bench on which the concentrator had lain, and the two heaps of ash, formed a line pointing toward the end wall of the laboratory. Ten feet above his head, as he stood at the wall, was one of the oriole windows with a fanlight. He observed that the fanlights for all the windows were operated by a system of rods high up under the roof. They were all operated from one lever and, as the professor informed us, it was always locked in the closed position when the laboratory was shut for the night. Furthermore it was interlocked with the door.
‘It appears,’ said Holmes, ‘that the only way out is through one of the oriole windows, yet how? The benches are bolted to the floor and, as you said, Professor, when you left the laboratory there was no ladder inside. However, these marks are of a chair being dragged across the polished floor. It could have been used by the burglar to gain the window. Even so he must have been very tall and very strong.’
He tested his theory by standing on a chair yet he could only stretch to within an inch of the window.
‘Professor, may we have the windows open, please?’ When the lever was operated, all the windows opened except the one above Holmes’ head.
‘I can just make out,’ said he, ‘that the rod which should have been connected to its crank is not. Somehow the thief was strong enough not only to gain the window ledge, he was also able to force the mechanism. The window had fallen shut behind him.’
Inspection at the foot of the wall on the outside disclosed two deep footprints.
‘These footprints and the window mechanism that had been forced clearly indicate how the thief left the laboratory,’ said Holmes. ‘Having satisfied myself concerning th
e method of leaving, I shall turn my mind to working out how the thief had entered this seemingly impregnable laboratory. As we can see, there are no signs of footprints pointing toward the wall and neither are there any marks of a ladder or rope having been used.’
I ventured to say, ‘I am inclined to think that this is another Trojan Horse case.’
‘You mean the criminal was already inside the laboratory when it was locked up for the night.’ He paused and then said, ‘You could be right. I agree, some of the signs suggest that that is what happened. What we have to do now is find the hiding place. What about the cupboards and the work benches?’
The professor replied, ‘As you can see, they are full with shelves and the benches have drawers underneath and thick supporting frames. There is no space for anyone to hide.’
Holmes looked around and then asked, ‘What about this tall narrow cupboard? A man might just be able to fit in there. Let’s open it and see. Ah, it’s locked. Have you the key, Professor?’
‘Well, no. This cupboard came from the Royal Society of Science. It contains a surprise gift on my becoming Professor Emeritus. Apparently, it holds some special apparatus that I have always wanted to have for my particular interest in science, and which I shall continue with in my remaining years. I had a letter from the society advising me that I was to be honoured with a gift. It also requested that I might allow a small ceremony to take place in the laboratory at which I would be presented with a key to the cupboard. In agreeing to this I was very aware that when that happened the concentrator would have to be locked away and that no mention could be made of it.’
‘Who signed the letter?’ asked Holmes.
‘The secretary of the society.’
‘Are you familiar with his signature?’
‘I cannot really say. I have had very few letters from him.’
‘If you will allow me, Professor, may I see the letter?’
‘Certainly. I happen to have it with me.’
After reading the letter Holmes said, ‘So, the society’s representatives failed to arrive?’
‘Yes. I was so concerned over the loss of the concentrator that I forgot all about their pending visit.’
‘And, of course, the cupboard arrived the day before the burglary.’ commented Holmes.
‘That was so.’
‘May I keep the letter for the time being?’
‘Certainly if it is going to help your investigation.’
It was then that Holmes started to pick the lock of the cupboard.
‘I say, you must not do that. As I said, this is a gift that. …’
Holmes waved aside the professor’s protest.
‘I am sorry, I must. Turn your back so as not to spoil the surprise, though I doubt that will be necessary because I expect our bird has flown.’
There was nothing inside. Holmes made a careful inspection of the interior of the cupboard. He found nothing of interest other than a row of large ventilation holes. Moving the cupboard away from the wall revealed a small brass plate at the base of the back panel.
‘His or their first mistake. This is the maker’s plate on which we have an address. I can tell you, Professor, that such a seemingly mundane clue often provides a significant pointer toward a solution. How was the cupboard delivered?’
‘By a common carrier. Two men used a porter’s trolley and I directed them to bring it into the laboratory.’
Holmes then made a further examination of the bench from which the concentrator had been taken.
Back at Baker Street, Holmes settled in his chair and, amid a cloud of tobacco smoke, set his mind to sorting through the facts of the case. I anticipated that eventually he would start testing various hypotheses on me.
Eventually, I ventured to interrupt his thoughts about the case. ‘Why didn’t you inspect the ground outside the wall first?’
‘Because, Watson, I might have been prejudiced in my judgement over other clues. Footprints outside a crime scene more often than not can be saved for later, just as a child saves the icing on the cake until last. However, sometimes they can lead one to very wrong conclusions.’
At this point in our discussion a telegram arrived. Holmes looked at it and exclaimed, ‘Capital! Watson, your conclusions were correct. This message from Mycroft tells us more about the affair, and reveals that the two gentlemen were indeed naval officers. Events have now moved on. You recall the references to Hertzian waves in the papers. Well, it seems that Professor Rain and his team have developed a method of harnessing these waves in such a manner that they can be formed into a beam similar to that of a beam of light. The more enlightened officers in the navy support the project. The ability to detect the presence of an enemy vessel without revealing your own position, as would a searchlight, would be most advantageous. However, do not ask me to explain how it works. Like you, the concept of ethereal waves composed of electricity is beyond my mental powers.’
‘An astounding device. No wonder its presence is so secret,’ said I.
‘We are charged with two things. One, and of the utmost importance, recover the device and two, track down the thief or thieves. I have now been told that, as was suspected, a certain undisclosed foreign power may be behind the burglary at Cambridge. We now need to visit the cabinet maker that made the cupboard. Mycroft has arranged for Inspector Lestrade to accompany us.’
At first the owner of the small furniture factory, located in the East End, refused to answer questions about his customers. Lestrade produced a warrant that unlocked both tongue and memory.
‘Yes, there was two gen’lmen that ordered a queer cupboard.’
‘Queer, you say. How?’ asked Holmes.
‘Well, sir, they wanted it six feet and six inches tall, twenty inches wide and two foot deep. They wanted ventilation holes in it.’
‘Can you recall, in any way, the two men who placed the order?’
‘The one that give me another five guineas on top of what I was charging them was a very big man. The extra was to make me say nothing to nobody about the cupboard or them. The other was a beanpole of a man. I can’t say I liked the look of his eye. Now you mention it he had a dark face an’ a black moustache. He had a silver-topped cane. When he also said like I was to keep my mouth shut he prodded me ’ard with his cane.’
‘And to where was the cupboard to be consigned?’
‘You mean where ’ad it got to be sent to?’
‘Yes. Also the name of the addressee?’
‘Adressy? Oh, you mean the man what wanted to ’ave it. The name was I think Millard and he lived at a place called something like Grenchester.’
Holmes was losing his patience with the protracted extraction of vital information.
‘You have an order book, no doubt. The name and address should be in there.’
‘Yes, ’er tis. Now let’s see. It was about a week ago. Maybe longer. Wait a minute! The page’s been torn out. It was there when the railway carter came for the cupboard.’
‘I’m not surprised. Never mind. You have the carbon copy?’
‘That’s been an’ gone as well.’
Holmes looked closely at the dog-eared book and said, ‘I will take the next page with me.’
On the way back to Baker Street, Holmes drew attention to the sequence of events involved in the case.
‘On the first day the professor receives the letter advising him of the delivery of the cupboard. On the fourth day the cupboard arrives at the laboratory and the thief emerges from it after the laboratory has been locked for the night. That was also the day when the moon was at its brightest, so he did not need a dark lantern. On the fifth day the loss is discovered. That is also the day we witnessed the event of the fleeing man at Midshire.
‘The description of that man matches one of the two at the cabinet maker’s. You recall that the cabinet was six foot and six inches high. An average-sized burglar would have fitted in a much shorter cupboard. Although, I have to confess, there is only a thin thr
ead connecting the two. However, there are two new facts that have emerged relating to the thief. Firstly, the papers this morning carry reports about a search that is continuing for a man who violently attacked another in Meadborough. The poor fellow succumbed to his injuries. The date given matches that of our fleeing man in the train. And that was at Meadborough. Secondly, my habit of reading the first class passenger list of steamers arriving at these shores disclosed the name of a Major Raymond Tresscot-Jones of Hodges Light Horse of Bengal. A request to my brother disclosed, from the regimental lists and from the India Office, that the major was no longer a major. He had been cashiered for embezzlement of the mess funds. He had also, somehow, avoided being incarcerated by the civil authorities for the brutality with which he punished his servants. His singular name led me to my commonplace books. There I found that, some thirty years ago, a young officer of the same name in the 11th Hussars had been ordered by Cardigan to sell his commission. Apparently, Tresscot-Jones’ brutal and uncaring treatment of his men was even too much for the earl himself. You will remember how the notorious earl often had a man flogged close to death for some trivial offence.’
‘Well, Holmes, it seems then that the identity of the probable criminal is more than likely Tresscot-Jones. Could the other man who was at the cabinet maker’s be Moriarty?’
‘Possibly. The description tends to suggest so. The nature of the crime is such that he could be the mastermind.’
Lestrade nodded agreement.
Holmes continued, ‘In the meantime, I have another line of inquiry to pursue. It concerns tobacco ash. I found ash in the laboratory and this evening I shall refresh my memory on the subject by going through the notes and observations I made some time ago when writing a monograph about how to identify the different types of ash.’
Sherlock Holmes at the Breakfast Table Page 10