Steam City Pirates

by Jim Musgrave

  I took hold of the brass knocker on the door and slammed it down on the backing. Once, twice, three times, the metallic sound rang out through the house. I could hear footsteps, and then the white door swung open. A butler answered who appeared to be the shortest servant I had ever seen. He was a midget, such as General Tom Thumb from the Barnum Museum, and he took our coats and hats. He was almost completely covered by them, especially by Walter’s, and yet he managed to grunt and groan his way into the parlor where he handed them to a Negro maid who hung them inside the closet.

  He then turned to us, and his pinched face beamed up at us in welcome. “I will announce you to Mister Kennedy. He is practicing down in the shooting range,” he said in a high-pitched voice.

  I should have noticed when this midget closed the door because it was a strange type of closure. It did not close from gravity but from a steam pump of some kind on the hinges. As we stepped into the drawing room, I noticed that all the inside windows were barred shut. I recalled the home of the eccentric tobacco millionaire, John Anderson, in the Edgar Allan Poe murder case. Anderson was insane. What had happened to John Kennedy to cause such a change in his home security? The rest of the room had oil paintings, sofas and armoires, which were fairly conventional, but then I noticed there were gun racks on every wall as well. He had enough weaponry in that single room to hold off an attack by my General Billy Sherman.

  When Kennedy finally came into the room, I was ready for anything. I kept mentally planning the steps I needed to take to make a fast escape, but I was not very optimistic about the outcome. I kept picturing hundreds of mechanical men, pouring out of the walls, seizing the weapons to gun us down.

  “Gentlemen! I’m so happy to see you again. I see Bancroft has left you inside my cozy little gun den. He enjoys the looks of shock on the guests’ faces. I hired the little man after the Barnum Museum burned down for the second time, and they closed it forever. Poor little lad had no job, no family, and I thought I would give him both. He is a trusted servant, although his manners are a bit on the dark side. I suppose you might say he has a Napoleonic complex.

  “Yes, I often feel that way when I am with my friend Walter here. You remember McKenzie? He was with us on the Hester Jane Haskins case. In fact, this is the reason I am here, Superintendent. I wanted to ask you about your knowledge of Madame Haskins. When did you first meet her, and do you know where she might be today?” I shuffled my feet on the Persian rug, and I watched Kennedy’s eyes. His was nonplussed. His eyes began to roam quickly about the room as if he were the one looking for an escape.

  “Don’t be afraid, John. We already know about the pirates. What we don’t know is why they’re here and what they will do next. I was hoping you could help us determine their motivation and perhaps give us a clue as to where they might be located.” I hoped my additional prodding would bring it out of him.

  Kennedy let out a sigh. He appeared to be a man resigned to some dark secret that was eating at him. I still did not trust this man because of his involvement with Haskins and her group, but Kennedy was the closest person to this time traveler Haskins and what she might be doing now. The superintendent of police walked over to the divan and sat down. He put his head into his hands, shook his crop of auburn hair once, twice, and then looked up at us.

  “I do not know where they are located. Yes, I was involved with the organization, and I also know what their ultimate goals are because I was promised certain benefits once they are in power throughout New York City. However, despite what you may believe, I never knew about that horrible machine they were using in the Palace Theater to kill orphans! I am telling you this now because I want somebody to know other than me and the Society.” Kennedy’s voice was profound and despondent.

  “Simply tell us what you know. Right now we need to have information,” I said. I also knew that his use of the word “society” gave me an important clue. This word was one of the words on the side of the huge airship I saw when I traveled into the future. What it said on that balloon was: World Scientific Advancement Society for Progress.

  “The Society has informed me that Hester Haskins has been demoted. She is no longer in charge of business operations in our city. Instead, there is a new leader who was appointed by the Supreme Command. Don’t ask me about this command because I do not know who they are or where they are. I do know that the main objective of the Society is to create a steam-powered city here in New York. In addition, they plan to take over the corrupt Tammany Hall officials and replace them with their own officials. They promised me that I would be appointed as the new Steam City Police Commissioner.” Kennedy rubbed his hands together as if he were picturing his appointment and a parade down Wall Street.

  “I can see why you might like these goals,” I said, keeping any trace of sarcasm out of my tone.

  Kennedy waved his hand around the room. “That’s why I keep so many weapons. I am not naïve enough to believe Tammany Hall will go down quietly. If they come for me, I will be ready. I am quite enthusiastic about the prospect of a steam city, however. The benefits and the profits should be quite lucrative.”

  “The Taijitu Corporation was also quite profitable,” I reminded him. “But in the end, children were being prostituted and murdered to create that largesse.”

  “I realize that fact. I also wanted to be certain this larger group was not going to do something similar. They explained to me how they would turn our city into a place where the people could actually benefit from their inventions and their steam-powered systems all over our metropolitan area.”

  I was not impressed by his words, as I had seen for myself what these pirates were doing in the future. I wanted to keep him talking, however, as he was the first real contact with this group that I had enjoyed. “Tell me more about this steam city. How does stealing equate to a profitable and socially beneficial city infrastructure?”

  “What do you think our present government is doing? Tammany Hall is stealing this city blind! The Society has explained to me how they plan to first take from the rich by using steam-powered submarines and airships. With the profits, they are going to invest in miraculous heating and power systems all over our great city. For example, steam piping provides five times the heat temperature of water. In addition, there can be smaller pipes installed, which save on cost, and since steam responds immediately to a pressure drop along the lines of distribution, the system no longer needs to have costly and large circulating pumps. The entire city could be heated through an underground system! The Society believes this economical heating system should save many lives during our harsh winters.” Kennedy sat up on the cushion to straighten his military bearing. “I, for one, would be proud to keep the peace is such an innovative and humanitarian society!”

  “I see. But why does this Society have to resort to illegal means to get the money they need for all these magnanimous plans?” I wanted to probe a bit more deeply into Kennedy’s logic.

  “You know as well as I do that Tammany Hall will not give up their power without a fight. This is why the Society must work in absolute secrecy and stealth. Once they are able to acquire enough capital, they have assured me they will be turning that capital into investments to transform this city into a wonder for the ages. I simply wanted you to see what they have planned so that if Tammany Hall comes to get me, you will understand why. I honestly believe you are on the wrong track, O’Malley. These people are scientists, inventors and engineers. They can be trusted.” Kennedy stood up. “If you have no further questions, I must meet someone for dinner. I hope you will keep the information I have related to you secret. Even if you did tell someone, I doubt they would believe you,” he added, walking toward the hallway.

  “What if we wanted in on this little scheme? Who does one pay to get a slice ‘a yer pie?” Walter McKenzie spoke for the first time. I thought his question was quite good considering the situation we were in. If word got back to the “Society” that we were interested in becoming investors, the
n we might be able to follow our case with less fear of being pursued.

  “I am afraid I have no influence on the Society. They choose whomever they believe will benefit their cause. I chose to tell you about this because I needed some kind of insurance because of Tammany Hall. I have no others I can trust with my knowledge, but I am thankful to you for this. How did you find out about the Society?” Kennedy turned around to face me.

  “They paid me an unfriendly visit. This is why I was concerned about them. However, you have cleared things up for me, and I am thankful to you for that. We will advise you of future concerns, if you would do the same for us,” I said, listening to the steam escape when Kennedy opened the door.

  “They want to know who they can trust, O’Malley. Once they approve, you will not be subjected to any more interrogations. You can trust me on that,” Kennedy said, closing the door.

  When we got down to the bottom of the marble steps, I said, “We now have one idea of what this organization is doing. Of course, if they need people as well as money, then Kennedy should have no problem. I believe we have a race against time on our hands. We know for certain that these pirates will begin attacking and sinking ships sometime between today and two years from now. The first mystery to be solved is how we can determine the means they will be using when they first attempt their piracy of ships in New York Harbor. In order to do this, we probably need to discover where they are located. We already know they will use some kind of torpedo shot out of a submersible craft. They will also steal cargo from the ships using the giant airship I saw when I journeyed in our time machine. There are thousands of little steps that are needed to bring these pirates to the end result. What I saw that day two years from now was a group that was given free reign over New York City. They were able to steal and loot with full permission of the government. This must also mean that the state and federal governments were aware of their presence and activities as well.”

  “You mean these blackguards will have some kind of grip on the United States?” McKenzie asked.

  “Quite right, Walter. If we can find out what that power is that they possess, then we shall have discovered the key to stopping them. With our time travel, our sleuthing and our luck, we can attempt to reverse-engineer our way out of this prophecy of doom.” I stepped around another pig that was rooting through some garbage on the side of the street on Fifth Avenue, of all places.

  “You think them pirates will steam clean these pigs?” McKenzie laughed, kicking the big porker in his ham until he squealed and ran off.

  * * *

  When we returned to the temple, everybody was there as planned except for Bill Maguire. Becky told us her girls would be on the alert for any strange customers, and they also knew they would be listening for any discussions about balloons and submersibles. Doctor Adler and Seth had worked on the time machine to adjust the gauges and to re-supply the polarized neutrons.

  “Our visit to Superintendent Kennedy was quite illuminating,” I said, seated in my chair with all the others standing around me. “He is under the impression that this group is working for the good of city. He had no information about the location of the World Scientific Advancement Society for Progress, better known by us as the Steam City Pirates, but he says he is part of their organization.”

  “Oh, I see,” said Bessie, frowning, “the same way he was involved in the Taijitu Corporation’s orphanage.”

  “I am well aware of that fact, Missus Mergenthaler,” I said. “He also says that he was unaware of what Hester Jane Haskins was doing, just as he is probably unaware of what this Society is really doing. He just knows that they promised him a job as the new Police Chief under their administration.”

  “He believes these renegades will be running the city’s government?” Doctor Adler asked.

  “Correct. I have to admit, according to what I saw when I was in the future, this city was permitting these pirates to steal from the harbor, and I might also deduce that the state and even the federal government must have been aware of what was going on. Therein, said the great Shakespeare, lies the rub. Not only do we need to find out the location of these pirates, we must also uncover what kind of power they might possess that would allow them to steal. According to Kennedy, they are a group that uses its proceeds to advance steam-powered technology and other inventions to benefit mankind,” I explained.

  “Kennedy thinks we want in on the investment,” said Walter McKenzie, hitching up his trousers. “That was my idea,” he added.

  “Yes, I believe it’s a good thing that they might think we are interested in their enterprise. We might even be approached to contribute to the cause, so be on the look-out for such contacts in the near future,” I said.

  Everybody nodded his or her head in agreement.

  Bill Maguire came down the stairs. He looked a bit out of breath. His big frame was heaving from deep inhalations and exhalations.

  “What did ya see, me boy-o?” McKenzie asked him.

  Bill’s eyes were wide and round. He sat down on one of the chairs. “I don’t really know. It was strange, and it ended by me runnin’ out of that park as fast as I could!”

  “Just take your time, lad, and tell us what happened,” I said.

  “I was making me rounds in the park, just like you said I should do. I didn’t see anything except the usual strollers and bums pickin’ in the garbage cans. Then, I saw this peculiar gent walking like he was cramped in the legs. I recalled you tellin’ us about the mechanical man, Mister O’Malley, so I looked at him closely. Sure enough, he had those herky-jerky motions of his arms, and his head moved from side-to-side in the same unorthodox way. I decided to follow him, so I let him get far enough ahead of me that he wouldn’t suspect me.” Maguire placed his right index finger on his thigh, and then he placed his left index finger behind the right one about ten inches below it. “He was here, and I was walking about here, about ten yards behind him.”

  “And then?” asked Becky. “Did he try to accost you?”

  “Worse than that! He tried to gas me!” said Maguire, rubbing his face with both his big hands as if he were still attempting to get something off it.

  “Gas? Exactly what happened?” Seth wanted to know.

  “I saw the gentleman walk down a path toward the old Civil War statute of General McLellan. Then, as he stood there in front of this statue, there was this big puff of gas that came out of the ground all around him. The gas came at me like a fog, and then I saw them,” said Maguire.

  “Them? Who were they?” asked Doctor Adler.

  “There were about five of these little men wearing all black and pointing big guns at me! I didn’t have any weapons, so I just ran out of the park. Their little legs kept up with me at first, but I was able to pull away from them and make my way here.”

  “We saw a little man, a midget, when we over at Superintendent Kennedy’s mansion. I wonder if he could be connected to those men you saw in the park?” I asked.

  “It means Kennedy was lyin’ to us, O’Malley. He’s got a lot more to do with these pirates than he let on. I say we put some muscle on him and find out!” said McKenzie, and he smacked his right fist into his left palm.

  “Yes, there could be a connection,” I said, “but we must find some definite proof. It’s certainly a good clue to start on,” I added.

  “If they saw Maguire, then he will be on their suspect list,” said Bessie.

  “I don’t think they got a good look at me,” Maguire said. “The gas was enveloping me, and I started to run before they got close enough to identify me.”

  “Don’t keep saying gas,” I said. “What you saw was more likely steam. When I was at Kennedy’s I noticed his door had a steam-powered gadget on the hinges. It sprayed steam when it closed, and it closed very slowly. Kennedy then went on to explain how these scientists were going to use steam pipes all over the city and give all the people low-cost and effective heat during the winter.”

  “Nice heat, with yer own
little devils comin’ at ya from the mist!” said McKenzie.

  “I believe we have the first big lead in our case. We need to put more people in the park to spy, and I am going to think of some way to follow Kennedy around for a while. I believe he will be our link to finding where these pirates are doing their business. If it turns out to be in Central Park, then what Bill discovered is very important. Nice work!” I said, and I walked over to the young man and patted him on the back. I was well aware of his deceased brother, Dan, and I also wanted to perhaps make it up to him in some way.

  “Thank you, Mister O’Malley. I’m sorry about the steam. I really didn’t know what it was,” Maguire said.

  “That’s quite understandable. The different puzzle pieces must be slowly assembled by us, and then we can get a better overall picture. Right now, we are hunting for pieces, and you found a big one,” I admitted.

  “One of my fears is that this group actually has an ability to construct new inventions. We have no idea how far into the future they have gone. They may be able to bring back an inventor who can mesmerize an entire population into doing his bidding. Or, perhaps this inventor can construct a type of weapon to bring on what you Christians call ‘Armageddon.’ These horrendous possibilities have kept me awake quite a bit lately. I don’t mean to be negative,” said Doctor Adler. “We Germans tend to see the dark side of things. It’s in our nature.”

  “I agree with you, Doctor. I am not German, and I quite often expect the most ominous events to occur. When I was working on the Poe case, I almost believed I had summoned up the devil himself in Joshua Reynolds,” I said.

  “He was certainly evil,” said Becky. “But you can’t compare him to this Jane the Grabber. Not only did she try to run me out of business, she also brought back an inventor from a future I do not want to see. This man created a torture machine right out of Hell!”