Notes From the Dispatch Box of John H Watson, MD

by Ashton, Hugh

  My father, being of the amiably honest class of English tradesmen, was horrified at this setback to my career. He had, I believe, entertained some hopes that I would become ordained as a clergyman in the Church of England, a prospect which now fills me with some amusement, given my current circumstances. He now proposed to me that I take a post in his enterprise, with the eventual goal of taking over the business when he retired. However, I had no wish to spend my days at a desk surrounded by pens and paper. I therefore took myself off to France, where I spent six months among the Apaches of Paris, and a further half year in Naples, where I came into contact with some of the Camorra, the notorious Italian criminal society. I may say that my knowledge of English customs and society, not to mention my knowledge of the language, was of great value to the Neapolitan gangs with whom I associated, who were thereby able to relieve many wealthy English travellers of their money by a variety of tricks and ruses.

  In this way, I was well able to support my adventures abroad. Those to whom I provided my aid were more than generous in providing me with a portion of the spoils. This provided me with the way in which I proposed to lead my life, at least for the next few years. However, I resolved that I would take no part in any crime of violence. Even when I was with the Parisian Apaches, I had refused to take part in any assaults against persons, and had confined myself to acting as an informant regarding movements of my fellow countrymen, provided such information would not lead to any injury. I had likewise come to a similar agreement with the Neapolitan gangs. Such money as was taken from the English tourists there was taken by craft and stealth, rather than violence. Strangely enough, my French and Italian colleagues seemed to respect me for my preference, and saw it as the mark of an English gentleman.

  You may put it down to a natural delicacy, or whatever you please, but the fact remains that I entertained, and retain to this day, a horror of causing harm to my fellow-man, for whatever reason. This prejudice has exposed me to the scorn of others, but I have resolutely continued to abide by these principles, inexplicable as they may seem.

  By removing myself from the scene of the actual crime, I felt myself to be less likely to suffer the effects of the law should the worst come to the worst. I saw my future path as a supplier of information and intelligence to those who would perform the actual deed. This seemed to me to be an admirable way in which I could continue to exist, and I therefore returned to London, armed with an introduction to one of the foremost organising criminals in that city, Professor James Moriarty.

  I called at the address which I had been given, and left my card. I had seen no reason to use any name other than the one with which I was born. Indeed, if he wished to verify my antecedents—to take up references, if you will—he had only to make enquiries in Oxford, where he could discover for himself that I was to be trusted in such matters as he himself found himself involved.

  The next day, I received an invitation to present myself for interview at a suburban address on the other side of London to that where I had left my card.

  On arrival at the house, I was admitted by a servant, and found myself facing a man in whom I instantly recognised an intelligence that appeared at least equal to my own. I had made some enquiries before my visit, and I knew that the man before me had a reputation in the field of mathematics—a subject in which I had little ability and less interest. Even so, this man was not to be regarded lightly.

  “ How did you hear of my name ? ” were his first words to me.

  “ I was given your name by Signor Gasparini in Naples.”

  The name of the famous leader of one of the largest gangs of the Camorra had its effect. “ So you claim to know him ? ” he asked me, his eyes burning. “ Tell me the names of his two daughters.”

  “ I never heard that he had any daughters,” I answered him. “ To the best of my knowledge he has three sons, named Antonio, Luigi, and Pietro.”

  “ Very good, very good,” he chuckled. “ Of course, such information could be obtained by other means. Tell me, then, what you know of Lady Symington-Hopkins.”

  The lady in question was one of the English travellers to whom I have previously alluded, who had been relieved of the responsibility and cares associated with the ownership of a valuable diamond necklace during her stay in Naples. It was I who had informed Signor Gasparini and his men of her habits, intelligence which had allowed them to carry out the theft. I presented Professor Moriarty with all the information that I felt was relevant to the incident.

  “ Excellent,” he replied. “ Such information could only come from one who was party to this little adventure. Tell me more about yourself.”

  I proceeded to give him the outline of the facts that I have written above. He sat in his chair silently, unmoving, as I told my tale. When I had finished speaking, there was silence for a few minutes while he appeared to consider my words. At length he spoke.

  “ And what is it that you propose to do for me ? ”

  I proceeded to outline my proposal, which was that I, being a personable and well-educated young man, could work my way into the fringes of society and thereby gain information which could be of use to Professor Moriarty’s minions. I concluded by saying, “ I realise that it is difficult for me to make demands of you, sir, but I would request that I not be involved in any incidents where violence is involved. I have a horror of such.”

  Moriarty raised his eyebrows. “ I have never heard of such a thing,” he exclaimed. “ Do you really have such a delicate stomach regarding such matters ? ”

  “ Sir,” I explained, “ I do indeed have scruples about such behaviour, and while I feel I am justified in relieving my fellow men of their material possessions, I do not feel that I have the same right to relieve them of their lives or of their health.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “ I find your scruples to be most amusing,” he told me. “ Very well, then. Of course you will require some compensation for your efforts, will you not ? What do you consider to be a suitable fee ? Would a tenth part of the proceeds seem appropriate ? ”

  “ When I was working in Naples, I received fifteen per centum,” I answered him, as coolly as I dared.

  “ Our Italian friends obviously reward genius well. However you can rest assured that the prices I am able to obtain as the results of your neighbours will be considerably in excess of those within the reach of Signor Gasparini. If you do your job well, I can promise you that you will be a very wealthy man indeed. Let me give you an assignment and I can then judge for myself the quality of your work. If it meets my demands, which I may tell you now are exacting, then maybe I can consider a figure higher than my original offer.”

  “ Thank you, sir.”

  “ There is, however, one further condition that I must impose on you. While you are in my service, you are in my service alone. You must perform no work of this kind for any other person, or on your own account. I am your employer, and your efforts must be directed solely in the directions towards which I point you. I am a generous employer, and you may be sure that even if your work fails to bring in the revenue that I expect it to do, you will not be allowed to go penniless. Even the meanest of my employees, as long as he continues to work for me, and works to further my ends, deserves this. Note well, though, that failure to observe my rules, or any attempt at treachery, will inevitably result in your death. Rest assured of that last.”

  “ And should I wish to terminate my employment with you ? ”

  “ I do not see that as a very likely possibility, but let me explain how we would deal with that situation. Should you wish to cease your association with me, you will give me one month’s notice, as is the standard practice. At the end of that month you will cease to work for me, and I will cease from issuing further orders to you. However, you should be aware that by leaving my employ, you do not cease to be under my scrutiny. My agents are everywhere, and you will be watched. Should you take it into your head to contact the police or any similar agency regarding me
or my activities or those of my agents, or should you imagine that the skills and knowledge that you have gained through your association with me can be put to use on your own account, you will be killed.”

  He said these last words in a completely matter-of-fact tone that chilled me far more than if they had been uttered in anger or in a threatening tone of voice.

  “ I understand, sir.”

  “ Good, I am pleased to hear it. So you are sure that you wish to work for me under these conditions ? ”

  “ If I were to reply in the negative ? ” I ventured.

  “ The same conditions would apply as those I have just described for those leaving my employ. You would be watched, and at the least sign of your attempting to contact the authorities, or of setting up in business on your own, you would cease to be. I hope that is clear ? ”

  “ Perfectly clear. I accept your terms.”

  “ Excellent. Welcome to my little organisation. For obvious reasons, there is to be no written contract between us, but you will find me a man of my word. As long as you continue to obey my instructions you will find that you will not want for anything. By the way, it is most unlikely that we will meet again. I always like to see for myself the quality of the higher members of my organisation, such as you will undoubtedly prove to be, but I find it to be less than convenient, or perhaps I should say that I feel more secure, if I keep future meetings to a minimum. As an intelligent man, I am sure that you understand this. A very good day to you, sir.”

  He rose, and without shaking hands, he turned and left the room. The servant who had admitted me appeared once more and showed me to the door. I had many questions to ask, but none to ask them of, and I left the house not a little perplexed and bewildered, but felt assured that I had secured some sort of future for myself in the country of my birth.

  x

  John Clay speaks 2: The air-gun

  I

  n a short space of time I found myself heavily involved with the execution of the tasks connected with Professor Moriarty’s business. As he had told me, I hardly ever met him again in person, but typically received my instructions through the medium of a post office box rented in a false name, using a cipher to which I had been given the key in a meeting with a subordinate. The cipher was an ingenious one, of which I do not propose to give the details here. Suffice it to say that to the best of my knowledge, in the years in which I used this cipher, the authorities never managed to break the code.

  On those rare occasions when personal contact was needed, the messenger was usually Colonel Sebastian Moran, a large heavyset man who managed to inspire respect through his physical presence alone. One day I received a message in the now familiar code inviting me to a meeting with him. On my arrival at the specified location—a bench beside the Serpentine in Hyde Park—Moran nodded familiarly to me as I sat down beside him.

  “ I know that you can speak French and Italian,” he said to me. “ How’s your German ? ”

  “ Maybe not fluent, at least as far as speaking it is concerned, but fair enough. I can read it with sufficient ease to understand the writings of Goethe in the original.”

  He snorted. “ Hard enough to understand the blighter in translation. Got through two pages once, and gave it up. In any case, if your command of the language is that good, we wish you to make a little expedition to Germany,” he went on. “ There is no advantage to us if you are unduly modest your linguistic abilities. Do not hide such lights under a bushel in the future.”

  I made some gesture to indicate my understanding, and he continued.

  “ I am confident that you will be able to manage our business when you meet Herr von Herder.” I should mention that whenever Colonel Moran talked to me, he always use the word “ we” when referring to the wishes of Professor Moriarty, as if he and Moriarty were as one in everything. I had my doubts, though, as to whether this was actually the case, and regarded it as being a mere affectation on his part.

  “ May I ask the nature of my errand ? ”

  “ It is merely to collect a piece of machinery which is being made to our special order. Circumstances prohibit me from making the collection myself. I am needed here to attend to certain matters.”

  Naturally, I had no choice but to accept the “ invitation”. I caught the boat train from Victoria the next afternoon, and made my way from Ostend to Essen, where I lodged in a small but comfortable hotel, the expenses of which I knew would be recompensed by Moriarty. Indeed, the professor had kept his word with as regarded money. My share of the proceeds of the robberies performed on the basis of the intelligence that I supplied remained at one-tenth of the total, but as he had told me, Moriarty was able to receive a higher price for the stolen goods than had been possible in Naples, and my income was correspondingly increased. I do not regard myself as being hopelessly addicted to material gain, unlike others of my new colleagues, and I was more than content with the one-tenth share that had been allotted to me, saving most of it, though naturally I did not use a bank for the purpose. As regards what the colonel always termed “ operational expenses”, I had no cause for complaint. If I ever had to travel on Moriarty’s business, I almost invariably travelled in the first class of whatever transport I used, and the lodgings in which I stayed were of a similar high quality; the expenses for these always being paid promptly and without complaint.

  The morning after my arrival in Essen, I made my way to the address that I had been given. On knocking at the door and giving my name, I was admitted by a servant into a workshop filled with lathes and other machinery, the purpose of many of which was completely unknown to me. My studies at Eton and Oxford had not prepared me for such mechanical skills.

  Seated in a corner of the workshop sat a small wizened old man whose general appearance, and ugly wrinkled face especially, reminded me of the gnomes of legend, busy polishing a piece of metal of unfamiliar shape. As he turned his face in my direction, I noticed that he was wearing spectacles whose lenses were of dark smoked glass. He greeted me in German, and I answered him in the same language. He held out his hand in greeting, in my general direction, but not precisely directed towards me. With a start, it came to me that this mechanic was blind.

  I extended my hand in response, and he grasped it with a firm grip. His hand was dry and rough, the result obviously of many hours of labour.

  “ Would you prefer that we speak English ? ” he asked me, in fluent but accented English.

  “ If that is agreeable to you,” I replied.

  He chuckled. “ I spent several years in England, before circumstances forced me to leave. I knew too many things about certain people, and certain people knew too many things about me.”

  My time spent in the service of Moriarty, and my natural caution regarding such matters, had taught me not to enquire too deeply into such matters, and though my curiosity was aroused, I refrained from asking any more questions.

  “ So, you have come for Colonel Moran’s little toy ? ” he asked me.

  I was unsurprised to learn that the name of Colonel Moran, rather than that of Professor Moriarty, was associated with this business. As I implied earlier, Moriarty preferred to hide in the shadows, allowing his minions such as myself to take the risks with which he would himself sooner not be associated. “ So I believe. Though he gave me no idea as to the nature of the machinery which I was to collect from you.”

  “ Then let me show you. I believe you will find it amusing. Have the goodness to pass me a long package wrapped in oilskin that you will find on the third shelf above my head.”

  I was impressed by the accuracy with which he described an object which he was unable to see with his own eyes and passed down the package, marvelling at its weight.

  “ Open it,” he commanded me.

  On my unwrapping the bundle, I beheld a collection of metal parts, together with a long complex piece of machinery consisting of two cylinders, ingeniously fixed to each other side-by-side. I must have made some noise of astonishment
or puzzlement, because von Herder started to laugh softly. “ I can tell that you have no idea in your head what it is that I have constructed for the colonel.”

  “ I have not the faintest idea,” I confessed. “ If I was pressed for an opinion, I would say that it was a gun of some description, but I have never seen a gun like it.” As it happens, my acquaintance with firearms was slim, so to confess my unfamiliarity hardly reflected to my discredit, in my eyes.

  “ Then let me show you,” he said. With dazzling speed, his hands moved to assemble the components of the mechanism until it took on the appearance of a rifle, albeit one of a somewhat unfamiliar shape. All the while, his blind eyes appeared to be fixed on my face, a circumstance which I found to be more than a little unnerving. At length his hands stopped moving and he parted his lips in a grim smile of satisfaction. “ Here you are,” he invited, extending the weapon towards me.

  “ I am still in the dark,” I told him.

  “ The colonel has told you nothing of this, I can tell,” he replied. “ I do not perceive it will do any harm if I inform you of the purpose of this work that I have completed, which is some of the finest that I have ever produced. This, sir, is indeed a gun. A very special gun for a very special purpose. Firstly, allow me to point out that it is an air-gun. The advantage of an air-gun is that it may be fired, even in the middle of a crowd, or in a busy thoroughfare, without attracting undue attention. Its operation is nearly silent. In addition, I would like you to examine the barrel of this gun.”