ship. Other passengers also looked excitedly in that direction.
A man had climbed to the top of the aft funnel from the inside, and was now staring over the rim. His face, blackened from soot, peered out to the Irish coast. Then, after resting his chest against the rim, he gazed down upon the passenger decks.
‘Looks like one of the stokers,’ said a junior officer, who had been standing by the rail, taking notes on the loading operations. ‘Probably some Irishman wanting to look at the Emerald Isle.’
‘How did he get up there?’ Miss Storm-Fleming asked. ‘Won’t he suffocate?’
‘That fourth funnel’s a dummy. There is a ladder inside that leads up from the engine room. It is a long climb, but I suppose it is worth it for a breath of fresh Irish air.’
Miss Storm-Fleming and I laughed, as did the other passengers who had gathered round. That is, all but one. An old woman with a dark shawl wrapped around her shoulders continued to stare upwards in silence. Slowly, she made the sign of the cross across her chest.
‘Don’t worry, madam,’ said the officer. ‘He is perfectly safe. Some of the men who work below can climb better than chimpanzees.’
The woman, suddenly conscious of the attention she was receiving, nodded with a faint smile and walked away.
We returned to the rail and watched, as sacks of mail were loaded on to one of the tenders. Soon, the anchor was raised and the engines were fired up. The
‘I am afraid I must ask you to excuse me,’ I said. ‘I told Commodore Winter that I would meet him for lunch.’
‘Back to the musketeers? Well, just remember, I will be looking for opportunities to steal you away!’
‘I will look forward to seeing you again,’ I responded.
I walked down the stairway and found Holmes waiting on the promenade near the restaurant. He was pacing back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back.
‘Ah, Watson, good, you made it! Let us get a table. There is much I would like to accomplish this afternoon.’
‘Good afternoon, Holmes. And how have you been spending your time on board this beautiful ship?’
‘It is a wonderful vessel indeed, Watson. I was just down in one of the boiler rooms. Do you know, with a little experimentation I believe I could develop a method to identify where a sample of coal was mined, simply by running a chemical test on its ash. You see, while all coal ash may look the same, there are certain trace elements...’
I rather boldly interrupted my friend. ‘I need to tell you about a most interesting conversation I just had with a Baron Hans Von Stern. It seems his wife just received a blackmail note, and he asked me to look into the matter.’ I handed Holmes the note. ‘I declined at first, but he was very insistent. I told him I would give it some thought. Do you make anything of it?’
‘It is difficult to tell, but I would judge by the individual printing of the baroness’s name that the writer was a woman.’ Holmes removed a jack-knife from his pocket and carefully removed the word ‘Pay’ from the note. ‘And if I am not mistaken, the reverse side of this scrap of paper shows a portion of the cover of the most recent
‘It does appear to come from the
‘It is curious that the baron and his wife should receive a blackmail note after they have just boarded a ship bound for America. Why not deliver it while they are in their home country, near a bank where they keep their money. Still, it could be a genuine blackmail attempt. In any case, there is little we can do at present. Speak to the baroness and keep me informed of any new developments, and it might be wise to suggest to the baron that he contact the captain.’
‘I already have, and he declined. As far as I know, he has only told Miss Storm-Fleming and me.’
Holmes smiled. ‘I am glad to see that you are enjoying this trip so much, old friend. Well, Watson, it appears that we have made a number of other new friends on this cruise. It only seems proper that we invite them to dinner. The conversation could be very revealing. I think I will have a word with the captain about issuing some invitations. Perhaps we should meet Colonel Moriarty and Mr Bishop as well.’
‘Holmes?’
‘Six o’clock, Watson. And it will be black tie.’
THE EVENING OF THURSDAY 11 APRIL 1912
The ship’s bugler sounded a cheerful notice that only one hour remained to dress for dinner. First-class passengers began scurrying to their cabins. Those without personal maids or valets recruited stewardesses or stewards to help them through the ritual of formal dress. I had come prepared with formal attire and was just adjusting my waistcoat when Holmes knocked at my cabin door. Upon opening it, I saw Miss Norton, looking most delightful in her black evening dress, standing next to Holmes. True to form as Commodore Giles Winter, Holmes was in full dress naval uniform. Standing with calm, naval poise, he was a far cry from the energetic, often impatient master of detection I had known for so many years. But I knew that beneath the beard and uniform, the Holmes I knew was still eager to attack a new puzzle.
‘Remember, both of you, this dinner will afford us an excellent opportunity to observe our guests and any exchanges that may occur between them,’ Holmes said. ‘We must place ourselves around the table to see and hear as much as possible. The captain has sent personal invitations to each of the people on our list, and all have accepted.’
‘What should we be looking for?’ asked Miss Norton.
‘Anything and everything,’ Holmes replied. ‘Every detail, no matter how insignificant it may seem. We have witnessed some odd behaviour on board this ship. None of it may relate to the safety of the plans but we must take it all into account.’
We made our way to the grand staircase and descended one deck to the dining room. At the foot of the stairs we entered the reception room, where a number of passengers were clustered in small groups. The reception room was a place of simple, dignified beauty. It was decorated in Jacobean style, with white, carved panelling. On the wall directly ahead of us, a large French tapestry was displayed prominently above a sea of rich, dark carpet. Most of the passengers were standing, although a few took advantage of the comfortable cane chairs. Others gathered around the grand piano in the far left corner to listen to a medley of classical works.
Captain Smith was standing to the right, showing passengers a large, impressively detailed model of the
‘I wish we were able to display this model outside the glass case,’ Smith told the half-dozen or so passengers who had gathered around. ‘It is really quite a beautiful thing — one of several used by the designers when the ship was built. If I had a key to the case with me, I would remove some of the pull-away sections and show you the interior of the ship. You would be amazed by the detail. Unfortunately, they tell me that it won’t float. And that must be my ultimate test of a good ship — whether it is waterproof.’
The crowd laughed, and a few moved in for a closer look.
Captain Smith broke away and guided the three of us to a quiet corner.
‘The dinner party is all arranged. We’ll be sitting at the large oval table in the centre of the dining room. I cannot say I like the idea of young Bishop being there, though. It is somewhat of an honour for an officer to be invited to the captain’s table. There are others under my command who are more deserving than Bishop.’
‘Indeed, Captain, I appreciate the difficult position this puts you in. But I can assure you that this exercise is of great value to the safety of the plans.’
‘I understand, Mr Holmes. And now, if Miss Norton would care to join me, I suggest that we all go in for dinner.’
Miss Norton took the captain’s arm, and the two of them led the way into the main dining area. Other
