Sherlock Holmes and the Treasure Train

case histories you make available, on occasion, to the reading public. He must know of my . . . er . . . our excellent connections in Berlin.'

I interrupted, excitedly. 'Surely he is in fear of exactly what has happened—your ferreting out the Credit Lyonnais-Deutsche Bank-Bank of England arrangement, which leads right back to him.'

As Holmes mused on this, I added with conviction, 'I'm jolly glad that Burlington Bertie and Tiny are on the job. Where have you got them tucked away?'

'In Professor von Krugg's house next door,' replied Holmes, his mind elsewhere. I smiled at this, for Holmes was Professor von Krugg, the seldom-seen language expert.

'Slippery Styles is staked out in the empty house across the street,' added my friend.

'Good show, Holmes. For once you are taking precautions regarding your safety.'

'And yours, old fellow,' he said, rising to his feet.

I felt a stab of emotion, for he consistently tried to do that. Holmes was standing by the desk, looking down at the letter from his brother.

'Mycroft added a postscript to this which is intriguing: 'Am, of a sudden, interested in your investigation relative to the Deutsche Bank. Please keep me informed.''

His eyes swiveled up to meet mine. 'Now what has gotten the wind up with Mycroft relative to the German banking institution?'

'I certainly don't know, but we've gone around and around on this matter and there are a couple of points you can clear up.'

Holmes crossed to the mantle in search of a pipe. 'I'm at your service.'

'About Ledger. He's an imposter. What are you going to do about it?'

'I really don't know. If he's sincere in lending aid, he's much better situated to investigate the hired marksmen than we are. As regards his assuming the identity of Richard Ledger, I'm not at all sure that has any connection with the train robbery.'

I allowed the matter to rest there and pursued another thought that had been tantalizing me. 'It is past history, Holmes, but how did you show up so opportunely on that river tug?'

My friend smiled. 'As though by divine providence? But think a moment, Watson, and all is clear. You are spirited away on the river road leaving an obvious trail, which Orloff promptly picked up. On my return to the Red Grouse Inn I learned what Orloff had and, in addition, that he was in hot pursuit. With the thought that he could handle anything that came his way, I chose to survey the area by water. Your captors might have tried to spirit you away via the river, you know?'

Finally satisfied on this point, I found myself suddenly at a loss for words. Holmes sensed my mood. 'Come aloft,^* Watson,' he cried. 'A good dinner, a bottle of wine, and conversation removed from this business at hand. 'Twill lead to clear minds for the busy times ahead.'

^*An unusual expression for Holmes. Of naval origin and meaning 'Let's enjoy ourselves.' The great detective does use it in conjunction with a bottle of wine, and the expression is thought to have been associated with 'high with wine,' though it is doubtful that Holmes was suggesting that he and his confrere get stoned.

Chapter 14

The Unanticipated Fact

WHEN I descended from my bedchamber the following morning, I found Holmes at breakfast and in good spirits. He waved a cablegram at me as I poured my coffee.

'I was about to call you, good fellow, for we will have visitors shortly.'

'Not that Lightfoot, I trust,' I mumbled, pouring thick Devonshire cream into my cup.

'There is no report on Moriarty's former henchman, but Orloff will be with us, along with our ally in Fenley.'

I had not as yet sampled my morning eye-opener, which was unfortunate. 'Wallingford?' I exclaimed, and could have bit my lips in vexation, for I had let the cat out for fair.

Holmes was way ahead of me. 'Do not be concerned, Watson. During our last meeting at the Red Grouse, you treated the man's words with unusual deference and I deduced that you knew his true identity.'

'Holmes, I did not mean to pry . . .' I began, shamefaced.

'Tut, tut. You must have found out from Orloff, for he is the only one involved that knows. Anyone who can extract information from our security agent friend does not deserve censure from me, but rather warrants admiration.'

Considerably buoyed by these words, I attacked my morning meal with gusto. Holmes did provide a codicil to his sporting statement. 'For his peace of mind, let us not refer to Mr. Wallingford by his name.'

'I understand,' I replied, munching on one of Mrs. Hudson's really superior scones.

It was shortly after the vestiges of our breakfast were cleared away that the security agent and the former confidence man arrived.

To my surprise I learned that they had come from Shaw. I had assumed that they both arrived on our doorstep from Gloucester, but the reasons became obvious as the meeting of minds progressed.

The American was as buoyant as the last time I had seen him, and he obviously felt that his labors had born fruit.

'I think I've got it, Mr. Holmes. How it all started, I mean. Your suggestion that I run a parallel investigation on Ezariah Trelawney was what gave me the key. Also that constable, Bennett by name, took your cable to heart and opened a lot of doors for me.'

'Good man,' commented Holmes.

'Trelawney, after his army service, returned to Shaw and went to work at the bank. He was good at his job. Shaw is a small place, and his advancement was rapid. Now the bank made a practice of keeping a supply of gold on hand. It dated back to the Napoleonic wars. They had to get a courier to Stockholm, Sweden, and it was at that time that a false rumor spread over England that the French fleet had triumphed at Trafalgar and Nelson had been defeated. There was widespread panic. In times like that, paper doesn't talk. The Shaw Bank did not have sufficient gold available to tempt a merchant skipper to carry their man to Sweden, and whatever the deal was, it fell through. So a policy was established to have a certain amount of gold, sovereigns or whatever, on hand at all times. Modern business methods antiquated this idea, but it had produced a favorable climate with depositors. Shaw is an agrarian area, and people close to the land tend to think in basics. Floods, frosts, pestilence, and the like. The fact that the Shaw Bank kept gold in its vaults led to its gaining a considerable reputation as being sound and conservative.'

Wallingford paused in his report and a smile crossed his face. 'You know, the old gold-brick dodge always worked in the sticks . . .' He caught himself and affected a cough to cover his embarrassment at this revelation.

'Anyway, the gold-in-reserve idea became rather a trademark of Trelawney's bank, and it spread to other west coast banks as well.'

'Explaining how they happened to readily have a surplus of the precious metal,' said Holmes. He had indicated no impatience at Wallingford's detailed recounting, and I sensed that he was much interested in the complete picture of the Trelawney-Hananish operation.

'Hananish returned to Gloucester after being mustered out, and he was more fortunate in that his father was president of the bank there and he rather inherited the position.'

Holmes, his eyes on the ceiling, suddenly shot Wallingford a sharp glance, which the man interpreted. 'Both Hananish's bank and the one in Shaw were publicly owned, each by a small group of stockholders.'

Holmes' gaze retreated, again, to the ceiling.

'The gold reserve in both banks was annually listed as part of the assets, but most of the time it wasn't there at all.'

Holmes leaned forward in his chair suddenly, and Wallingford certainly had my attention as well. Orloff, already privy to the information, was blowing smoke rings.

'Under the banking laws, there are spot checks by examiners; but Trelawney was prepared for this, Hananish as well. If there was official inquiry as to the whereabouts of the reserve gold, Trelawney had at hand a letter of credit from Hananish's bank for the amount of the gold plus the date that the metal would be returned and the