from the Tartars to the Russians and then the French always as a gift, a gesture, a device to lay the groundwork for goodwill.'
'And, later, as collateral' added Holmes.
'Yet, at a certain point it became the object of criminal pursuit. You know, Mr. Holmes, that the Bird reappeared in the court of the Ottoman Sultan and was stolen from there around 1830 only to disappear again until Harry Hawker found it in Rhodes.'
Obviously this was news to Holmes and he said so. . 'Then,' continued Selkirk, 'it fell out of sight again for forty years.'
'I think fate played a hand there,' said Holmes. 'Conjecture, of course, but suppose Hawker went to Constantinople with his prize. He died before disposing of it and the statue remained in a trunk belonging to him for four decades.'
Selkirk seemed as happy as a small boy hearing a fanciful story of derring-do. 'While that thought does not shed light on the matter, it does fill out the canvas. Here, sir, is another tidbit for you. Prior to its appearance on the Island of Rhodes, the Bird is rumored to have been in Albania.'
Holmes thought for a moment. 'It was stolen from Rhodes in 1850. Would it have been in Albania, say in 1822?'
Selkirk shrugged and for a moment his intense eyes closed as though from weariness, but they snapped open again almost immediately.
'Perhaps we should return to the present,' suggested Holmes. His tone hardened. 'An inquiry agent, a Chinese seaman, and one Amos Gridley have died within the month. All because of the Bird. Gridley was an employee of yours. What do you intend to do?'
'Must I do something?' replied Selkirk, but these were only words. The financier's mind was racing, a fact obvious even to me.
'You should,' replied the detective. 'Chu's men picked up Gridley's trail and it led them here. The man's fall from the roof of his cottage was no accident. He was murdered, probably because of his loyalty to you. Doctor Watson and I benefited from information Chu did not have. Gridley was not only the man in the Nonpareil Club who came for the Golden Bird. He was also the man in Constantinople on its trail. Therefore, I deduced that he was an emissary of yours. How long do you think before the Oriental arrives at the same conclusion?'
Again Selkirk cackled and my fingers twitched with nervousness. 'Not long, sir. I'll give you that. Of course, his reaching me is another matter. A visit by his underlings and dacoits would not find a warm reception.'
'And yet,' persisted Holmes, 'it is a wise man who knows not to underestimate a resourceful enemy. You have been warned.'
'And by an unimpeachable source, Mr. Holmes.
Your words will not go unheeded. For this, I am in your debt. I shall repay you, of course. You said you wished the Golden Bird. You shall have it in due time. You have my word on that.'
By what means the financier effected a signal I do not know, but the door to the huge room opened and our pale guide reappeared.
'I tire, gentlemen,' said Selkirk, and there was a note of apology in his voice. 'You will be contacted shortly. Before departing, may I extract one promise? This matter has a way to go yet or I miss my guess. When it is over, return and we shall exchange words again. I do believe this has been one of the most pleasant days I can recall.'
The pale blond man was beside him now. With regret, Selkirk gestured to him.
'Show the gentlemen out, Cedric.'
Silently, our guide ushered us from this
13
Our Quarters Under Seige
135
When we had regained the road outside the feudal establishment of the financier-collector, Holmes set the horse to a good pace. He seemed distracted and showed no signs of voicing his thoughts but I could not preserve our silence, which was out of step with the mood I had anticipated.
'My dear Holmes, surely you are not disappearing into that mental world of yours. The old man said that you would have the Golden Bird. Your promise to Lindquist will be fulfilled. If you believe Selkirk, that is,' I added.
'Oh, I believe him, Watson. Which is why I am sorely puzzled. Consider, if you will, that we were not engaged in a fishing expedition. Actually, we were attempting to land a whale with no line at all.'
Holmes consistently referred to his adventures using the plural, which was gratifying but had no basis whatsoever in fact. I seldom knew what was flitting through his massive intellect and could certainly divine no reason from his last remark. But I knew that he would relieve my befuddlement if it suited his fancy, which it usually did.
'All we did, Watson, was drop a little bait into the water. A consulting detective and his associate acting in the interests of a metal worker in Berlin are hardly capable of mounting an offensive against one of the most powerful men in the world. So I hoped to tempt the old rascal with a colorful tale that might brighten his existence and, in return, gain some information which he might see fit to throw us in the manner of a king throwing a bag of coins to traveling minstrels.'
'Instead of which he promised to solve the matter for you.'
'I don't recall his saying that,' replied Holmes. His small smile had a grim quality to it. 'Actually, he suggested that this matter had a way to run yet. But he did promise us the Bird, that I cannot deny.'
'What is nagging at you, Holmes?'
'What did I do for him? He said that possibly I could be of use. Evidently, I was. True, he used my mention of Chu as an excuse to repay me but I'd told him nothing he did not already know. Watson, somehow I benefited the old brigand in some way. The Basil Selkirks of our world never give something without full value in return. He used me in some way and for the life of me I cannot fathom how.' The clip-clop of the horse's hooves was the only sound for a considerable period of time. 'Did Selkirk seem intrigued when I mentioned the year of 1822?'
'I can't say that he did,' I said, trying to recall that moment in the baronial surroundings we had just left. 'What prompted your remark, by the way?'
'It was the final clue given to us by the departed Barker.'
Following our return to St. Aubrey, we left the four-wheeler with Doctor Witherspoon and bade a rapid farewell to the rural hamlet. Fortunately, a train to London was due soon. Evidently, Holmes found no answer to the question plaguing him for our trip to the metropolis was made in silence.
The following morning, when I descended to the sitting room of our chambers, Holmes was not in evidence. This came as no surprise. The smell of tobacco was strong in the room and I sensed that my companion had spent much of the night ruminating on the strange collection of facts so far unearthed in this most unusual case. It took but little imagination to picture Holmes's tall, thin frame pacing the floor and arranging bits and pieces into various patterns only to sweep them aside like a mental jigsaw and begin all over again. That his restless disposition would cry for action and drive him elsewhere in search of a wisp of information which 'had to be' was in accord with his mode of operation in previous cases.
Mrs. Hudson, when serving breakfast, did reveal that he had departed at an early hour. In response to a question, she stated that he was clad in his familiar deerstalker and not decked out as an aged sea captain or any one of the myriad disguises which he could assume on short notice. This, of course, was no indication of where he had gone. I well knew that Holmes had other hideaways in the great city to which he could retire and clothe himself in a false identity to prowl the shadow-land of the lawless. It had often crossed my mind that he might have established domiciles under false names and recognized personalities with which to pursue the information, the whispers that often guided his precise mind to a solution. The thought of three or four Holmes in one city was, in my mind, a frightening concept for anyone bent on preying on society and I thanked my stars for a good honest
