Finally, my gaze alighted on the letter from Lady Mary Cameron of Ballantyne Castle, the missive that had drawn us into that chilling adventure. I almost fancied that the mere memory of those few days in the Highlands had started the wound I sustained in the course of our investigation, to throb a little.
But these vicissitudes seemed of small consequence when compared with the infinite privilege of witnessing at first hand the great consulting detective’s prodigious intellect at work. I smiled to myself and settled back in my chair.
All in all, I reflected, it was well worth a little clutter, an occasional foul atmosphere, and the odd peppering with a fine sporting gun. And despite these many tribulations, I was looking forward with the keenest anticipation to Mr Petch’s imminent arrival and the start of yet another puzzling, perhaps even perilous, case. I checked my watch, then glanced across at the sheaf of blank telegraph forms Holmes habitually kept on his desk. I debated wiring Mary to propose she stay in Cambridge long enough to allow me to assist Holmes and record the case to its conclusion when my deliberations were interrupted; “A capital notion, Watson! There is still time for Billy to run to the telegraph office.”
“What the Devil Holmes! I did not speak!”
“Perhaps not aloud, I grant you, but your chain of thought and your resulting conclusion was as clear to me as had you spoken it.”
With mock severity I replied “May a man have no private thoughts in your company Holmes?” though in truth, I knew it occasionally amused him to exercise his extraordinary deductive talents for sheer devilment. My companion chuckled.
“Forgive me Watson. It is merely that when I observe a sequence of events, you know it is for me no more than second nature to arrange my observations into a coherent sequence or whole, and then deduce its most likely meaning. But perhaps I irritate you?”
I smiled. “Not in the least part; but I do confess to being deeply mystified as to the reasoning behind your suddenly agreeing heartily with a man’s unspoken sentiments. Pray continue.”
“The matter is surely simplicity itself, a fact you will no doubt churlishly disparage when I list my separate observations. My comment appears startling merely because I omit to tell you of the first six, and state only the seventh.”
“Come Holmes, you know full well in what high regard I hold your powers of observation and deduction; I would not be such a scrub as to decry your reasoning.”
“Very well then; you sat back perfectly contentedly with your cigar when suddenly your eye fixed disapprovingly upon my bench over yonder. To the uninitiated, it looks indeed chaotic and untidy, but in fact it is a most precisely ordered experiment, and is greatly assisting me in refining my own unique test for identifying the minutest of haemoglobin traces; from there your gaze wandered to my ballistic embellishment on the chimney breast, when you frowned severely, pursed your lips, shook your head and even let out a tiny ‘Tut!’ of reproof.
“Thereafter, in short order, and with varying degrees of disapproving frowns and grimaces, you dealt with my filing system, my tobacco pouch, my violin and the precarious pile of music, the matters I have in train on my desk, whereupon your gaze finally came to rest for some moments upon the letter from Ballantyne Castle, there propped behind the mantel-clock.
“At this you displayed a gamut of emotions, by turns thoughtful, then you briefly screwed your eyes tight shut, as if you were suffering a twinge of pain; a tiny tremor passed over you, instinctively your hand went unbidden to nurse your lately wounded shoulder, but then you leaned back in your chair with a beatific smile, and a contented sigh of satisfaction at the prospect of a new adventure; finally, you confirmed your line of thought by checking your watch and glancing across at the telegraph forms there on my desk.”
“Yet still I fail to comprehend your assertion.”
“It is somewhat obvious, is it not?
“Clearly you deeply disapprove of many aspects of life here at 221B – the clutter, the untidiness, the apparent disorganisation, and the infrequent though very real perils we occasionally encounter, but having considered the matter in the round, all in all you undoubtedly concluded that you would not change one jot or tittle for the world – and hence, you still yearn for more of the same! And so you are quite as delighted as I at the prospect of a case, and you are now considering wiring Mrs Watson to suggest she extend her visit for a few more days – hence I say, a capital notion!” I smiled. “Had I observed myself in a mirror, I believe I could have reached the same conclusion with ease Holmes.” He raised an admonitory finger.
I relented. “As always Holmes you are correct in every detail, and I shall wire Mary today. Perhaps, also, I shall remember to avert my face when next I require private thought!"
He gazed wistfully up at the Scottish letter and sighed.
“Would that such devilish puzzles as that would present themselves with rather greater frequency than of late; I have no doubt you will eventually write it up in your customary lively manner. But meanwhile the tides of human wickedness are flooding this great capital, and yet, without a case, I am as Canute against them; and so I like you, am singularly grateful for the timeliest appearance of Mr Petch with his unprecedented dilemma which...”
He was interrupted by a rap on the parlour door; “Come!” he called; the door opened to reveal Mrs Hudson disapprovingly proffering a calling card.
“It’s that Mr Petch again Mr Holmes. This time he says he has an appointment to see you.” Holmes raised his hand in a placatory gesture. “Quite correct Mrs Hudson; please be so kind as to show him up directly.
“Watson, be a good fellow and throw another shovel of coals upon the fire. The night is fast cooling and I am sure our visitor will welcome a respite from this bitter evening chill.”
Mr Petch, still visibly most agitated, stepped into the parlour. Holmes smiled benevolently at him; “Please draw that chair to the fire Mr Petch, and compose yourself if you will.
“It is my invariable experience that an emotional and disturbed state of mind, brought about by harrowing occurrences, is entirely detrimental to a clear account of its origins.”
Mr Henry Petch drew a long slow breath, exhaled through pursed lips and appeared to regain something of his earlier self-control.
“Of course Mr Holmes, but I believe I should first wish to address the matter of your fee. We are by no means a poor company, and I myself am not without substantial means, but I have no experience of the costs of consultancy work such as yours.” Holmes scrawled swiftly upon the reverse of a calling card and passed it to Mr Petch. “I have only one scale of fees Mr Petch which I rarely vary, save on very singular occasions when I may waive it.” Petch peered at the card. “That seems eminently satisfactory Mr Holmes; indeed, for the speedy and discreet return of the plates and paper I would willingly pay several times as much.
“Very well, I shall commence; my story started some seven days back, the 17th of December, when I had at long last completed one of the finest pieces of work in my entire life’s career – after three months of the most arduous and concentrated effort and many revisions, the new steel plates for the next issue of ten pound notes for The Bank of England were finally finished.
“Though I say it myself Mr Holmes, and I do not wish to play my own toast-master, they were an oeuvre d’art, my zenith and magnum opus, and I doubt I shall ever surpass them in skill, elegance and beauty or fine complexity of detail, even should I live to be one hundred.
“After being examined, approved and much admired by my two partners, they were wrapped in chamois leather and placed within the safe, where all master plates are stored. It is a most elaborate and advanced safe, incorporating the very latest devices offering the ultimate in security.
“As we would be closing the offices, workshops and printing room the following day around noon for two weeks – our annual Christmas closure you understand, for the purposes of maintenance and repairs – I resolved to proof the plates upon my return from the Christmas festivitie
s.
“We were fully aware that this year’s holiday would be somewhat busier than usual, because not only was there important routine maintenance to be performed upon much of the machinery within the printing room; in addition there would be the small team of workmen selected by Mr Perkins, applying pitch and bitumen to the flat roofs over the buildings, white-washing the walls and repairing and repainting the window-frames.”
“I trust I do not weary you with these details gentlemen, but they may perhaps be germane to the events I will shortly narrate for you. Any elision of these facts would be to present you with a less than complete account.”
“Not in the slightest part, Mr Petch; I find your detailed description thus far most informative.” Drily he added “I will, however, be grateful if you reserve the more convoluted elaborations and florid ornamentations for your engraving, where they serve their proper purpose.” I smiled to myself; my colleague was famously intolerant of prolixity.
“Ah... just so, Mr Holmes, just so. To resume then, at 4 o’clock on the afternoon of the 17th, when the last of the employees had left, Mr Perkins, Mr Bacon and I set off on a methodical round of the premises, so as to ensure their absolute security with our own eyes – a particular practice we have maintained for many years, despite the fact that we have both a day and a night watchman.
“And they are...?” Holmes interjected.
“Ah yes, Jacob Gunton and Jeremiah Shadwell – exceptionally sound fellows; late of The Royal Irish Fusiliers, sergeant-major and private respectively, both invalided out of India, men of quite irreproachable character, outstanding references vouchsafed by their commanding officer.” Holmes made a note in pencil on his shirt-cuff. “Thank you; please continue.”
“When we arrived at the plate vault I confess I succumbed to an overwhelming desire to view my finished work a final time before I would see it once again two weeks hence to produce the first glorious, pristine proofs. I unlocked the vault with its special key, and enjoyed a few quiet moments in self-indulgent appreciation of the elegance and sheer exuberance of the scrollwork, the regimented exactitude of the stippling and cross-hatching, and the truly sublime and noble appearance I had contrived to impart to the figure of Lady Britannia.
“After restoring the plates carefully in the safe, I re-locked it, a fact most positively confirmed by my watching partners – I myself instituted the affirmative procedure whereby I say ‘It is locked’ whereupon Mr Bacon will say ‘I see it locked’ and Mr Perkins confirms all with ‘I know it locked’.
“By this simple means we all may be assured that all master plates are safely under lock and key. We then checked and secured the paper-store, which somewhat resembles a large steel, close-barred cage of the sort still to be seen in Newgate or Millbank military prison, with its own unique key, performing the same ritual; you will understand that complete security for the special Henri Portal water-marked banknote paper is every bit as necessary as that for the plates that will eventually print upon it. I collected my document case from my office, and the three of us departed the premises, whereupon the watchman of the day, Sergeant Gunton, made all secure behind us. The time now would have been around half after the hour of four. I arrived at my house in Richmond, by hansom, somewhat before six, whereupon my wife and I sat down to dine.
“After dinner I read by the fire while my wife played the pianoforte until perhaps a half after ten, when we retired to bed.”
Holmes nodded somewhat impatiently.
“Events now turn very much for the worse. The following day, Wednesday the 18th, I arrived at the offices at my customary time of half after eight o’clock.
Along with my two partners and the regular staff, the only other employees on the site were the watchman of the day, Jacob Gunton, our engineer, Samuel Hollum, and Orman’s Roofing who had started upon their maintenance and decorating work.
“Mr Hollum left a little after noon having completed some important work on the proofing press. I checked the plate vault a final time and then we three partners made our customary tour of the premises, before bidding Gunton a festive farewell.
“I arrived home at about two o’clock, and the remainder of the afternoon was one of agreeable, quiet domesticity. My wife spent much of it in the kitchen with the new maid, in preparation of Christmas fare, flowers and the like, while I was occupied in my heated orchid house, where my greatest passion, second only to the love of guiding a razor-sharp burin through mirror-polished metal, is the cultivation of the exotic taxonomy Orchidaceae, most particularly, the magnificent but tender Madagascar species Angraecum Sesquipedale – they are beautiful but very demanding.
“At 4pm it was becoming dark, and my wife called me in to take tea. I secured the orchid-house and returned to the house. The evening passed pleasantly enough.
“About midnight, we were awakened by suspicious noises from the lane at the bottom of the garden – the glasshouse end – shortly followed by the sound of breaking glass.
“Collecting a poker downstairs in the drawing-room, I made my way with all haste to investigate. Upon reaching the glasshouse I heard loutish laughter and the sound of running footsteps receding into the distance; upon examining the glasshouse I discovered no fewer than seven large and three small panes shattered; further, the picket fence had been torn down and several specimen shrubs torn up by their roots.” Holmes furrowed his brow quizzically.
“What wicked iniquity is that, Mr Holmes? What manner of Goth takes joy in wantonly destroying a man’s simple, harmless enjoyment for no reason?”
After a moment’s thought Holmes responded.
“You may well be correct Mr Petch; it may be nothing more than a random act of cruel hooliganism. On the other hand, you will perhaps own it’s a rather curious business when someone troubles to pick their way along a dark country lane at midnight in the freezing depths of winter, solely with the intent of wrecking your glasshouse and destroying your garden? To what end I wonder? But please continue. There are already several aspects of your account which greatly arouse my interest.”
“By the time I conclude my tale Mr Holmes, I warrant you there will be a great many more. Much of that bitter night was occupied in nailing old blankets over the shattered panes to protect the tender plants from the frost – I should be sorely aggrieved to lose any of my specimens so unkindly and so senselessly.
“Having stoked up the small boiler which heats the water pipes in the orchid house, I retired feeling not a little angry and perturbed.
“The following morning I resolved to go into town early and locate, with all possible haste, a workman or two who might effect speedy repairs before the weather turned even colder. My hopes, however, were not high, as this was now last Thursday the 19th, just five days before Christmas Eve, and indeed, my fears were realised; I could find no man open for trade and also agreeable to visit Richmond so close to the festive season.
“I returned home quite disconsolate, so you may imagine my complete amazement, Mr Holmes, when upon my arrival as dusk fell I discovered all had been repaired, the fence sturdily fixed, the shrubs replanted, as if the vandalism had never occurred! It was as if I dreamed the whole affair!”
Throughout our client’s precise, even pedantic, narrative Holmes had been reclining, eyes half-closed, as was his habit when his interest was intensely aroused. Now he opened his eyes.
“My wife informed me that we had enjoyed the most fortuitous of good luck; shortly after my quitting the house, it seems two respectably-dressed tradesmen had arrived at our door. My wife learned from them that they had happened by chance to be passing along the lane shortly after my departure that morning, observed the damage, and offered to repair it at an exceptionally keen price, that self-same day! What astonishing good fortune is that, Mr Holmes?”
At this last disclosure my colleague sat bolt upright, eyes wide and shining, and exclaimed “That is indeed most suggestive. I have remarked it! Did your wife mention any other visitors to the house in your absenc
e?”
“None that was received, Mr Holmes; she did however say that a smartly attired, well-educated and most distraught lady had knocked on the door seeking help for her husband who had apparently taken a turn for the worse in the street. As our local doctor lives just a few doors away my wife sent Dulcie indoors for a glass of water for the gentleman, while she ran to summon Doctor Bentinck.
“Providentially, it seems that when she returned with the Doctor some fifteen minutes later, the afflicted gentleman was quite recovered and he and his wife were able to go on their way unaided...”
“Hum” said Holmes thoughtfully. “Tell me when your new maid first took up her duties?” The old engraver pondered a moment. “It was the last week in November Mr Holmes. Her letter of application for the post in response to our numerous advertisements in the newspapers, accompanied by a most outstanding reference, decided my wife upon the instant. She was insistent, indeed adamant upon engaging her, and certainly her work is perfectly satisfactory.”
“And the reference was furnished by...?”
“Let me recollect now; it was... ah yes, it was the Baroness Amanti, a lady of Italian extraction I believe, now resident in France.”
Holmes scrawled a further swift note on his cuff. “Then now let us move directly to the matter of the missing plates. Please start by telling me when and how you first discovered that they had vanished.”
“It happened in this way, Mr Holmes. Today morning I rose at my customary hour which is around six o’clock. Having made a pot of tea and examined my orchids, finding all as well as might be hoped under the trying circumstances visited upon me, I returned to the house where I determined to complete once and for all, a particularly complex design for some extremely high-value bearer-bonds I had started upon, now sadly fallen behind but still faithfully promised to no less august personages than the partners of the Swiss bank of Lombard Odier, upon our factory re-opening less than two weeks hence.
“Searching my document case I discovered to my great exasperation that I had neglected to bring home a folder containing some of the preliminary sketches, dimensions, textual matter and so on, so necessitating a return visit to our printing works.
Sherlock Holmes & The Master Engraver (Sherlock Holmes Revival) Page 3
