Sherlock Holmes and the Chinese Junk Affair and Other Stories (2 page)

‘“One of these underground roads even extended nearly as far as the local railway station, to where he would travel in his coach. On emerging into the daylight, he would draw the blinds so no one would observe him. On arriving he entrained, and down to London he would go.”

‘I remembered the Duke because he was involved in a court case, and mentioned this to Rodger.

‘“Yes, that is correct. After the Duke’s death in 1879, in a most celebrated case at the time, a man named Druce claimed to be the legitimate son of the Duke, he being the son of a secret marriage between the Duke and a woman of low birth by the name of Druce, who ran a bazaar in Baker Street. Forgive me, Simon, I digress. Follow me and I will show you the ballroom.”

‘We went out of the dining-room into the entrance hall where, to the left, was a very wide door. Rodger opened it. “Here is the entrance, and the steps down to the ballroom. You will notice the ballroom was never finished. Great grandmother broke her hip and, because she could no longer dance, lost interest in the ballroom idea and so it has remained, just an underground concrete shell.”’

Sir Simon paused and, looking from Holmes to me, said, ‘I think I should now take some time to describe this room. The entrance led as I have already mentioned, from the side of the main entrance hall. It was intended, I gather, that guests would arrive at the main entrance of the Hall, leave their coats and hats, and then descend down the staircase to the ballroom. The entrance to the ballroom was six feet wide and ten feet high. I later measured it. There were twenty wide steps down into the ballroom which measured thirty-five feet in width and sixty-five feet in length. Again I know because I measured it. The ballroom was a perfect oblong shape except for the protruding stairs from the entrance doors. The place was as the builders had left it, bare concrete walls and ceiling, but needed only plastering, ornate ceiling, decorations; you know, everything which would have made it into a delightful ballroom.

‘However, it was what was in the room that made me stop and stare in disbelief. Along the centre of the floor was the keel of a boat. Beginning a few feet from the bottom of the staircase and ending a few feet from the rear wall. Over fifty feet in length. I could see it was to be a boat, because the ribs down one side were already in place.

‘If that was not enough of a shock, to see a boat being built underground with no hope of ever getting it out, then it was compounded by the sight of ten grinning Chinamen standing in a row, who, when I stared at them, each in turn bowed from the waist and continued to grin. Mr Holmes, I thought it about as bizarre a situation as one could ever come across.’

I looked sideways at Holmes and saw the look of supreme pleasure upon his face. An architect who is asked to design a cathedral or an artist commanded to paint the Royal Monarch could not have had a more satisfying expression.

Here was not a lurid domestic murder or a criminal case of burglary which seemed to have been Holmes’s lot for some time now, but a case that had all the trappings of mystery and intrigue, to equal the best of his others. It involved the highest in the land and the story that was already unique was only yet half told.

‘I think I had better ring for some more coffee. I’m afraid I have much more to tell,’ said Sir Simon. Holmes eased himself in his chair to make himself more comfortable.

‘I have listened to many strange accounts in my life but I am sure Dr Watson will agree that this looks like being the strangest yet.’

I agreed and took the opportunity to also stretch out my legs. The coffee was brought in almost at once and after Sir Simon did the honours, continued with his account.

‘I turned to Rodger and saw he was smiling. He said, “Let us retire and have a drink by the fire and let these good chaps rest after their day’s labour.” He waved his hand to them and they in turn, grinned and bowed to us again.

‘Over drinks Rodger explained that the Chinese were constructing a full-sized ocean-going wooden junk, and that it would take about six months to build. He wanted me to visit Halam Hall and observe the progress, month by month.

‘When I laughed and asked why he was building a Chinese junk, in a building where there was no hope of ever getting it out, he only smiled and replied, “Well, if you will come down once a month and observe its construction, eventually on completion, all will be revealed.” I ask you, Mr Holmes, what man could resist such an invitation?

‘Each month I journeyed to Halam Hall and enjoyed an excellent meal, good wine and a complete rest from the London scene. I looked forward to those weekends. Rodger was wonderful company. He had such a huge store of anecdotes about his years abroad, and his general knowledge of most subjects, like your own, Mr Holmes, is phenomenal; he was a great raconteur and also a good listener.

‘Each time I visited, I was shown the progress the Chinamen were making with the construction of the junk. I was surprised and amazed at the amount of timber being used. The progress was quite remarkable.

‘On my second visit, for instance, the ribs of the vessel had been completed and the shape and size it would eventually be, was very evident. On my third visit planking was being fastened to the ribs, and on each occasion, the Chinamen ceased work, lined up at the side of the vessel, bowed to me and grinned.’

Holmes interrupted. ‘You examined the work then, at close hand?’

‘Oh, yes, the carcase of the vessel was constructed of the most substantial timbers. The keel itself of oak must have weighed many tons.

‘As the months passed by, I would take a look at the progress they were making from the steps; the Chinamen sawing and planing away. I would wave to the grinning Chinamen upon leaving, looking forward to Rodger’s excellent dinner and his company.’

‘One other question,’ said Holmes. ‘Did Rodger Hardy ever give a reason why he had gone to China in the first instance?’

Sir Simon placed his hands together, fingertip to fingertip, as Holmes is prone to do. ‘Strange you should ask that, because I, too, was curious. It appeared that he had met at a social gathering Aurel Stein, the Jewish intellectual who had become the Registrar of the Punjab University and Principal of the Oriental College in Lahore.

‘Aurel Stein was infatuated with the East and began his archaeological work in the Middle East and then on to Kashmir. But it was his enthusiasm for the wilderness of Central China and the lost cities of the Silk Road that fired the imagination of Rodger Hardy. Aurel Stein talked of the Lop Desert and Mongolia; of the prospects a white man could expect from trading in China. But it was the rumour which Aurel Stein had heard from many sources, that great scientific strides were being made by a number of Chinese scientists in the field of electricity, which excited Rodger.

‘The rumour was to do with the passage of electricity without using wire or cable, that was the attraction for him. He told me it became an obsession to find these scientists, to discover if it were true. He knew that such a discovery would make him a fortune here in Europe and America.

‘Bribery and political manoeuvring made it possible for him to travel about in China and search for this small group of scientists, which he of course eventually found and joined. Together they developed what he called the “Transposer”.’

Holmes repeated the word, ‘The “Transposer”, what is that?’

Sir Simon replied, ‘I will explain later as I reveal the case. I am sorry, gentlemen, the story is a long one, but please bear with me a while longer.’

Holmes said, ‘I find your account fascinating, as I am sure Dr Watson does. Pray proceed.’

Sir Simon leaned forward, his hands placed flat upon his knees. ‘It was on my last visit in April when I was to experience the shock of my life, and to have revealed to me the reason why I had been chosen to witness, month by month, the most extraordinary construction of this vessel in the underground ballroom.

‘I had been chosen, I realise now, as a reliable witness to observe an invention which could alter the whole balance of power in the world. I can assure you, Great Britain and her Empire could be at great peril from it.’

He paused and his voice became almost conspiratorial. ‘I shall never forget that weekend, Mr Holmes. When I visited the ballroom, the vessel was completed; painted with even the masts and sails lain along its deck ready for stepping. The Chinamen, though, were nowhere to be seen. However, surrounding the vessel were ten feet tall wooden posts, at a distance apart of five or six feet. Fastened to the posts starting at the base, and at every foot in height, were strands of copper wire. The whole vessel was caged in with these strands of copper wire, stretching all the way around it.

‘There was a buzzing sound too, and Rodger warned me not to touch the wires or put my hand between them as the vessel was being electrically energised.

‘I walked around the vessel in an almost bewildered state. What was it all about, I asked myself? To say I was perplexed would be putting it mildly. Was Rodger mad? Was
I
mad? I continued to walk around it in silence; my mind puzzled by the whole situation.

‘I followed Rodger up the steps and stopped; looked down on the extraordinary scene and, in the entrance hall, for the first time noticed the open door of what was the old cloakroom. I glanced inside and was amazed to see a sort of switch-board with all sorts of dials and switches on it. There were thick electric cables running across the floor, and I could hear the sound of what I presume were powerful generators, also the hiss of a steam engine, used to power the generators.

‘When I caught up with Rodger he turned and said, “I know you are surprised; you want to know what is going on, but I assure you, all will be made clear shortly.”

‘I was so surprised, I opened my mouth, but no words came forth. Rodger slapped me on the back. “Come on, old friend, let us eat, drink and forget all about what you have just seen until—” He looked at his watch. “It is ten minutes past seven now. If all goes well, in two hours’ time, all will be revealed and I will answer any questions you may care to ask.”

‘With that I followed Rodger into the dining-room and after the superb game pie and wines, I soon began to forget the shock I had experienced, and even began to look forward to having the mystery of the goings-on in the ballroom revealed.

‘Little did I realise, Mr Holmes, what I was to witness would soon cause me, and the government, the most monumental worry I have ever known. The shift of world power could be in the balance and the way of life altered for everyone.’

Sir Simon rose and poured himself a drink, indicating to Holmes and me that we were welcome to the same if we so wished. Holmes and I shook our heads; we waited with bated breath for Sir Simon to continue, which he did after sitting down.

‘I well remember the aged grandfather clock in the dining-room striking the hour of nine. Rodger rose and, excusing himself, said he would be absent for a couple of minutes. It was five past the hour when he returned; he stood by the fireplace and looked down at me.

‘“Well, Simon, I told you that if all goes well in two hours’ time all would be revealed, the mystery would be no more, and you will know what it is all about. Now is the time; if you will be so good as to follow me, please.”

‘I followed Rodger out of the dining-room, into the hallway and down the ballroom steps. I looked and stood absolutely still. I could not believe what I was seeing. I continued to look. Rodger stood behind me and never said a word. There was not a sound to be heard; silence prevailed.

‘The electric humming from the generators had stopped, so had the hiss of the steam engine. It was as quiet as the grave. I continued to be speechless, rubbing my eyes as though it might help to explain what I was seeing, or, to put it more accurately, not seeing.’

Sir Simon’s voice dropped to almost a whisper. Holmes and I leaned forward to enable us to catch whatever he was to say.

‘Mr Holmes, the ballroom was empty! Yes, empty! The electric lights around the room lit up that huge empty space.’

He paused; the seconds ticked by, then he continued in that still muted voice. ‘The only things remaining were the wooden poles supporting the lengths of copper wire; still in place, forming a cage, but the vessel itself had vanished into thin air.

‘That huge Chinese junk, which only two hours before had taken up the whole space of the ballroom, was gone. I stood there, speechless, as though dumb. Perhaps a minute passed, it may have been more, I don’t really remember. My brain could not take it in. That huge vessel weighing thirty, perhaps forty, tons had vanished.

‘It would have taken a week at least, I imagine, to have reduced it to scrap, to enable it to have been taken piece by piece, up those steps and out through the doorway. Yet it had vanished, nothing of it remained.

‘I felt Rodger’s hand upon my shoulder. In a voice we reserve for speaking to someone in a state of shock, as I was, he said, “Come on, old chap, let’s have a drink. I’m sorry I didn’t realise it would be such a surprise, well, shock to you.”’

Sir Simon looked at Holmes and then to me. Holmes didn’t say anything. I think we were both anxious not to break the spell which the account had created on all three of us. Sir Simon at last continued.

‘It was some time before I was back to anything like normality and was able to discuss the phenomenon I had witnessed. Believe me, Mr Holmes, it was truly a phenomenon. The gist of the conversation afterwards was this.