‘The first and obvious conclusion and one which I am sure, Lestrade, you have already reached, is that they were taken so that they could be copied.’
‘Indeed, Mr Holmes, that is a certainty.’
‘Obviously, the Admiralty is most concerned that it is possible for secret plans and documents to be stolen. In this case they have, as we might say, been “borrowed”. Not only that, it seems from what you say, no one was aware they had been taken or returned. I assume you have visited the scene of the crime?’
‘Yes, I was instructed to go to the Admiralty. The naval officer responsible for them, a Lieutenant Dreyer, showed me the locked cabinet from which the secret papers and drawings had been removed from their folder. He said that a thorough search was made but they were not found. Now this is the strange part of the affair. I asked the lieutenant to open the cabinet so that I might look for some evidence as to how they had been removed. He unlocked the door and took out the folder in which the plans were kept. When he opened it he was very surprised, as I was, to find that the missing plans had been returned. He had no idea when they had been put back.’
‘The obvious question, Lestrade, is how many people have a key to the cabinet?’
‘Only Lieutenant Dreyer. He told me that he kept the key with him at all times.’
I accompanied Holmes and Lestrade to the Admiralty. We were shown the buff folder stamped ‘Most Confidential’. It lay in the top drawer of the cabinet. Holmes closely examined both the drawer and the exterior of the cabinet. Both Lestrade and I expressed no astonishment when he lay on the polished floor and closely studied its surface. However, Lieutenant Dreyer raised a questioning eyebrow at the sight of the great detective lying prone.
Holmes got up and, turning to the lieutenant, said, ‘Could anyone have made a copy of the key to the cabinet?’
‘As I told the superintendent, I keep it with me at all times.’
‘Now, Lieutenant, am I to understand that you have no ideas concerning when the papers were taken and when they were returned?’
‘I regret, Mr Holmes, I have none. All I can tell you is that during the ten days before I found that the papers were missing I had opened the cabinet a few times in order to take out various other papers. During that time I had no occasion to take out that particular folder. Although I clearly remembered that each time I opened the cabinet I could see it lying in the top drawer.’
‘Well, thank you,’ said Holmes. ‘I cannot recall many similar cases with which I have been involved, where valuable items have just been borrowed rather than stolen.’
The lieutenant explained that the device involved many gear wheels and ballistic cams. I had no idea what a ballistic cam was. Apparently it had been conceived by a civilian dabbling in artillery matters as a pastime, when he was not managing his very large and successful shop-fitting company. Holmes indicated that he may have deduced how the plans had been removed and returned. However, he refused to devolve his reasoning until he was absolutely sure.
On our way back to Baker Street he said, ‘This may turn out to be a most interesting case.’
‘No doubt, Holmes. However, I found the lieutenant’s description of the device described in the plans most difficult to understand. Surely, as with our field artillery, all one has to do is to make sure the gun is pointing at the target and allow for the range?’
‘Although I’m no expert on such matters, Watson, I can appreciate that when one ship is firing at another, and that both are moving, then a gun has to be pointed ahead of the target. Just as in the same way when shooting at a running animal we have to “lead” the target. In a duel between two ships, the distance between them could be constantly changing and this too has to be taken into account. Of course, what the plans are all about is not so important as finding where they have been, and who took them.’
Part Two
A Miss Smith arrives
The next day we had just finished breakfast when Mrs Hudson brought in a hand-carried letter. Holmes read it and said, ‘Listen to this, Watson. It urges me to help the bearer, a Miss Smith, who is most distressed. It’s signed by an acquaintance of mine from our time up at Cambridge.’
‘Mrs Hudson, please show the lady in.’
Our visitor was a handsome young woman. She was neatly and not ostentatiously dressed. Her leg-of-mutton sleeves were not the exaggerated width affected by so many women. After introducing me, Holmes led her to the chair facing the window so that he could study her expressions and her dress.
With a smile he said, ‘Now, Miss Smith, you have an unusual name.’
‘Mr Holmes, I would rather not use my real name. Is that important?’
‘Not for the moment. However, you may have to reveal it at some time. The letter from my friend suggests the matter is urgent. I can see that you are most distressed. Tell me how Doctor Watson and I may be of assistance.’
‘We were kidnapped. That is, Jack Forest, my fiancé, and myself.’
‘Kidnapped, you say. That is very serious. Now, Miss Smith, please let us start at the very beginning of your harrowing adventure and tell me everything that happened. Please leave nothing out. The seemingly most insignificant detail can prove in the end to be of the greatest importance. Just a moment. Before you describe what happened to you, would you mind removing your gloves?’
She looked surprised but took them off.
‘I see you are accustomed to using a typewriting machine.’
‘How could you know that? We have never met before.’
‘It is my profession to note such things. For the moment, never mind how. Now please continue.’
‘Mr Holmes, my fiancé and I were abducted from outside my home three days ago. When we were taken they separated us.’
‘Then as you are here I can assume that both of you were not held for very long.’
‘I was held for only about a day yet the dreadful thing, Mr Holmes, is that, even though they let me go, they still have my fiancé.’
‘What have the police to say about all this?’
‘Nothing, Mr Holmes. They seemed not to believe what I told them. They said they would look into the matter. I have heard nothing since. I appealed to my uncle for help and it was he who gave me your name.’
‘Were either of you molested or injured?’
‘No, more shocked than injured. Although I have no idea where Jack is or whether he has been harmed. A strange thing is that when they released me they offered me fifty guineas.’
‘Fifty guineas, Miss, er, Smith!’
‘Yes, they told me it was in payment for the work I had done for them.’
‘Typewriting, no doubt,’ said Holmes.
‘That is so, but I refused to take their money. I questioned them about Jack but they would not tell me anything.’
Part Three
Abducted
I poured out some coffee and handed Miss Smith a cup. She took a few sips and then, slowly at first, she told us what had occurred.
‘I am an orphan and live with my aged aunt in Notting Hill. Jack and I were standing on the steps of the house. It was about nine in the evening. We were saying goodbye when two men rushed upon us. One held a gun to Jack’s head. The other seized my arms and said, “Don’t cry out or your lover will be dead”. We were bundled into a cab that had been waiting close by. It was then that a handkerchief was pressed to my face and I began to feel most peculiar. I can only recall a few things after that. I felt as if I were in a dream. I remember the sounds and smell of a large station. I was dimly aware of being in a train, of being half supported off the train at some station and then a long journey in a cab. Some time later, I have no idea how long except that it was getting light, I found I was lying on a bed in a strange room. A tall woman stood by the bed and said, “Make no noise. No shouting or your Jack will suffer”.’
At that point in her account, Holmes said, ‘Were you able to see anything out of the windows?’
‘No, they had thick paper or
cloth covering them. I could not see out.’
‘Was the room large or small, and what did you do?’
‘It was large and the ceiling sloped at the sides. I got off the bed and went to the door. It was not locked and I discovered that I was being confined to the upper floor of a large house. There was a bathroom, a hallway with a locked door and two large rooms, one of which was where I had been lying. The tall woman brought me food and after I had tried to eat some of it two men came in. One was carrying a typewriting machine. The other put some drawings and typewritten sheets on the table. I was instructed to sit at the machine and copy what was on the papers. Although, as you have observed, Mr Holmes, I am a typewriter, I found the typed documents were full of some very strange words. Some symbols and Greek characters had been inked in because they were not part of the usual keyboard.
‘As I operated the machine one of the men stood behind me and now and then told me to stop and ignore the next paragraph I was copying. Instead, I was to typewrite what was written on a sheet of paper he placed beside me. After I had done that I had to continue copying from the pages as before. I was kept at the task for most of the morning. A severe headache caused me to work very slowly.’
I could see that she was finding the strain of retelling her adventure too much for her. I persuaded Holmes to let Mrs Hudson take care of her for a while.
When we were alone I said, ‘I know you do not place much importance to coincidences. Nevertheless I think, in this case, we have a singular coincidence.’
‘What do you mean, Watson?’
‘The Admiralty papers that were taken, and those that Miss Smith was set to copy.’
‘Of course. Most observant of you. I have been thinking entirely along the wrong lines, Watson. What made you connect the two cases?’
‘As one might say, an elementary observation. Our lady typewriter told us about the strange words and the symbols that had to be inked in. The Admiralty papers that had been taken and then returned described a very complicated machine that involved abstruse mathematics and Greek characters.’
‘Yes, yes. We have it, or I should say you have it. The villains, as we might say, “borrowed” the scientific papers describing the ballistics calculating machine and made Miss Smith copy them. However, that explanation is too obvious. No, this is more than just copying secret plans. If some foreign agent wanted to obtain the Royal Navy’s secret, why make a copy and then just return it?’
When Miss Smith felt able to continue her account, Holmes put questions to her that he hoped might provide an indication to where she and her fiancé had been taken.
‘Miss Smith, when you were in the house could you tell from any sounds coming from outside whether you were in a large town? Could you hear any vehicles and possibly many people passing by?’
‘I am sure the house was not in a large town. There was little sound from outside.’
‘Could you hear what I would term country sounds? For example, the bleating of sheep or the lowing of cattle? What about the smell associated with haymaking?’
‘All I could smell, Mr Holmes, and it was very strong, was that of fruit.’
‘Fruit, you say. Apples, for example?’
‘No, more like the smell I remember when my mother made jam.’
‘Most interesting. Now let us go back to the nighttime journey to the house, wherever it was. I appreciate that you had been drugged and that your memory of the events may not be clear. Now, please, and this is very important, you are sure they took you to one of the big termini?’
‘Very sure. There was a lot of noise of trains moving about and there was much smoke in the air.’
‘Good, we are making some progress. My next question is a vital one. When you were forcibly placed in the cab, I presume the effects of the drug had not taken full effect?’
‘That is so, Mr Holmes.’
‘Then the question is, were you aware of the cab crossing any of the bridges over the river? The sounds would be distinctive. Your home is not far from the river and on this side.’
‘I’m certain we did not cross a bridge.’
‘Now, when you were taken on to the train, were there any very distinctive sounds?’
‘I am afraid one station and its trains sound very much the same.’
Holmes turned to me. ‘Watson, as a railway enthusiast, you have recently acquired a considerable interest in their minutiae. Can you suggest something that may help. A sound, for instance?’
I was flattered, I have to confess, whenever Holmes involved me directly with a case.
‘Miss Smith, I am going to try and imitate a noise some locomotives make. Please listen to my amateurish effort of mimicry. Did you hear a “pish tish” noise frequently repeated?’ was my first question.
‘Oh, of course, yes, I do recall it. That sound seemed to be all round us as we waited for the train to start.’
‘Excellent. Now during the journey did you hear anyone outside the train shouting out the name of any of the stations at which the train may have stopped?’
‘I dimly recall the name “Chester” being called out. I also remember thinking how strange to be in Chester.’
‘Any other names,’ I asked.
‘Doctor Watson, the events of that night were very confusing. I cannot be sure about anything that may have happened. Perhaps I did hear the word “Ford”.’
Holmes listened to my attempts to elicit facts about Miss Smith’s journey.
‘Two things puzzle me, Watson. Would there have been time in which to reach Chester before dawn and what is the significance of the “pish tish” sound you made?’
I resisted the word ‘elementary’ and replied to his questions. ‘The “pish tish” noise is the sound made by the Westinghouse air brake pumps of locomotives. Miss Smith recalls the sound and, if I am correct, she is sure she had passed through a large terminus. You can hear the sound of air brake pumps at Victoria, Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street and at London Bridge as well, but that station is over the river. She also recalls the very smoky atmosphere and the sounds of many trains. At that time of the night Liverpool Street is still very busy and full of smoke. Therefore, I am certain Miss Smith was taken through that station.’
‘Now that is interesting, Watson. She heard the name Chester. Can one get to Chester from Liverpool Street and at that time of the night? Surely it’s Euston for Chester?’
I warmed to the railway aspect of the case and responded, ‘And from Paddington or even from St Pancras, although you may have to break your journey.’
‘Now, Miss Smith, how did you get back to your home?’
‘I regret I cannot help you very much, Mr Holmes. That night I was once again taken in a closed cab for a very long journey. The woman was with me all the time, even when we stopped for refreshment. I dared not call for help because I did not want any harm to come to Jack.’
‘Now this is a very important question. Can you recall how long the journey in the cab took?’
‘It seemed to go on for hours. And then we took a train.’
‘Watson, please will you help again?’
‘Miss Smith, once again I must ask you to remember details of the train and any unusual sounds. Can you recall details of the compartment, for example?’
‘I’m sorry, Doctor Watson, I cannot help you any more. Throughout the dreadful journey I was hardly aware of anything about me. I am certain they had put an opiate in the drink I was given before we left the house.’
‘Can we assume that the train was going to London?’
‘Well, yes. After a time my mind was clearer and I recognized King’s Cross station. It was there that they hailed a cab, gave the driver some money and my address. When the cab started I ordered the driver to take me to the nearest police station. As I told you, they were not very helpful.’
Holmes listened patiently to my efforts at playing the interrogator. When I decided that it was unfair to press Miss Smith on the subject any further, he su
ggested that I summarize the implications of what we had been told.
‘The villains, obviously, took great care to hide the location of the house. That is why they took Miss Smith through Liverpool Street and then brought her back through King’s Cross. As you reminded me, Holmes, journeys have often been deliberately extended and taken devious routes in order to confuse the direction, distance and destination. I can only conclude that the house is somewhere within a triangle formed by the Cambridge line of the Great Northern and the main line of the Great Eastern.’
‘Very good, Watson. You have applied very good reasoning to the case. Now if we study the railway map it may provide a lead.’
He opened out the railway gazetteer.
‘If we consider the aroma of jam or, perhaps, marmalade manufacture, there are two places that we need to consider: Elsenham and Tiptree. They are about twenty-five miles apart. Both are on the Great Eastern from Liverpool Street. Which of the two to select, I am not sure. I do not approve of gambling and I do not let chance enter into an investigation. However, there have to be exceptions. In this case the new marmalade that has been on the breakfast table recently carries the name Tiptree. Furthermore if we concentrate on the Great Eastern main line and look at the station names we find Chelmsford. There’s your “Ford”, Miss Smith.’
‘Yes, Mr Holmes, I must have just heard part of the name Chelmsford.’
‘Moving on, we come to Colchester and there’s your “Chester”.’
‘From Colchester, you were taken in a closed cab to the house. You cannot recall in which direction or for how long. As Doctor Watson mentioned, in similar cases the villains have confused the search by taking a roundabout, time-consuming route.’
‘I am sorry. I cannot remember much about the journey from the station which you say must have been Colchester.’
Sherlock Holmes at the Breakfast Table Page 19