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Wally's
statement prompted a groan from
Orloff.
"I
do hope this matter does not involve the Prescott
plates,
for the C.I.D. is still experiencing night
mares
regarding them."

By
this time I was scratching my head in a
bewildered
fashion, and as he did so often, Holmes
noticed
my puzzlement.
"A counterfeiter
named Prescott is said to have created plates capable of producing
Bank of England notes that would defy inspection anywhere.
Prescott was shot to death by an American crimi
nal,
and his engravings have never been located."
^*
Holmes turned back to Wally.

^*
Obviously
this adventure predates the matter of the Three Garridebs, in
which
Holmes not only captured Killer Evans, the man who shot the
counterfeiter,
but also recovered the Prescott plates.

"You
feel the certificates Hananish mentioned
are
so much rigmarole?"

"Not
necessarily, but it doesn't sound right. Let
us
pose a model situation in a framework of one on
one.
You," he pointed to Holmes, "are the Hananish
bank
while I am the Credit Lyonnais. You have the
gold
and prepare for its actual delivery, an unusual
situation."

"Hananish
pointed that out," said Holmes.

"I
arrange payment with legal tender, undoubt
edly
using Credit Lyonnais bank notes. These certificates of indebtedness
imply a mortgage, chattel,
which
is not the case. You're selling, I'm buying."

Had
Holmes' aquiline nose been capable, it certainly would have been
quivering at this point.
Yet
he indulged in a lengthy silence, finally break
ing
it with a suggestion.
"Let
us proceed with Hananish's explanation of
the
matter."

"It
may be dead-on," admitted the American. "Financial houses
can become mired down with unnecessary complexities while inefficient
ones
dote on them."

"The
gold is gathered by the consortium of
banks.
Trelawney is involved, possibly Michaels,
and
certainly Hananish." Holmes shot a glance at Orloff and I
suspected that there had been discus
sion
about the possible connection among the three
men
named. "The gold is ready for shipment and the bankers are in
receipt of the legal tender; certificates, or whatever, from the
Credit Lyonnais
."

"How
did that happen?" asked Wally bluntly.

"Hananish
said it did."

"According
to him, the French have paid for
something
they do not have." For the first time, Wally's homeland became
apparent in his style of speech. "I mean, we're all friends
together and all that. Everybody trusts everybody else, but doesn't
it seem a mite
casual?"

"When
viewed in that light, it does," admitted
the
sleuth.

"Something's
amiss in Denmark, Mr. Holmes,"
said
Wally, misquoting.

"Rotten,"
I said.

"What?"
queried the American.

"I
was just . . . never mind." I wished I'd kept silent.

Though
we had arrived at a breakthrough and
something
specific for the confidence expert to
explore,
Holmes was not prepared to abandon the
matter.
"How would you arrange this matter?"
he asked
Wally. "On the up and up,
of course." Evidently, Holmes regretted his last sentence for he
shot me a
quick glance. Fortunately, I
was able to preserve a bland expression.

Wally
had a ready answer. "The gold is ready for
shipment.
On behalf of the Credit Lyonnais, I
would
make payment to the west coast banks when
the
Inter-Ocean insurance policy is made out in
favor
of the Credit Lyonnais. That way if the gold is
not
delivered, the French banking firm is covered
for
the entire period of the transaction."

"Hananish
said the insurance policy was made
out
to the Birmingham and Northern, which was committed to turn it over
to the west coast banks if
the gold
disappeared."

"Did
he, now? Then Hananish and his banking
cronies
had the French payment and the gold and
in
addition were covered by the Inter-Ocean insurance policy."

In
spite of myself, I found words again. "Hanan
ish
stated specifically that the French certificates
became
valueless if the gold shipment was stolen."

The
American exhibited a wise smile that had the good grace not to seem
condescending. "I'm willing
to
accept the possibility that the French issued
some
sort of dated certificates that cease to be convertible if the gold
shipment does not cross the
Channel.
It's cumbersome, but not all things are
done
the easy way. Even so, for a brief period, the
bankers
here have half a million in gold and also
something
more than that in Credit Lyonnais notes. A million pounds all told
and when you are dealing
with that much
money, a day or even an hour can
make a
big difference."

Faced
with such logic, I could do naught but agree. "And they were
insured as well, as you
pointed out,"
I said.

"We
certainly have meat for the table of thought
here,"
said Holmes, and I knew he was fascinated
by
the possibilities that had opened up. "Our visit
to
the financier bore richer dividends than we ex
pected,
Watson. Perhaps it was worth the difficul
ties
you encountered later."

Noting
my gesture of agreement, Holmes' atten
tion
returned to the American. "We seem to have
explored
the matter of Burton Hananish thor
oughly.
Do you have anything to mention?"

"Yes
and it makes more sense now that there is the aroma of stale fish in
the air." Wally's eyes
shifted to
Orloff briefly. "A chance remark by your
friend
the bank examiner put me on to something
just
before coming here. Hananish may be trading
very
heavily in gold, for he just might have
sold
four hundred thousand pounds' worth to the
Deutsche
Bank."

Holmes'
noble head, lowered in thought, sud
denly
jerked upward. Orloff looked puzzled.

"What
does that have to do with this French
situation?"

"Probably
nothing, but for a small bank Hanan
ish
is certainly active in precious metals. I don't
know
whether this German sale was made through
the
consortium of banks or not. If Hananish trans
acted
it solo, he has a lot of gold available."

Holmes'
voice was never calmer, but there was a
bright
light in his eyes.
"When Watson and
I spoke with him, the finan
cier
mentioned that the Credit Lyonnais might go
to
the Deutsche Bank for the gold it now needs. He
was
quick to cover up the statement, but those
were
his words."

Wally
had bounded to his feet, his handsome face
aglow.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Mr.
Holmes?"

"I
imagine we are all savoring the idea," re
sponded
the sleuth. "A half a million is stolen from
the
Birmingham and Northern flyer, and of a
sudden,
Hananish has four hundred thousand
available
to sell to the Germans."

"We've
got him, Mr. Holmes," exclaimed the
American.
"He's nailed to the cross."

"But
we shall follow the diplomatic adage and
make
haste slowly," said my friend in a cautionary manner. Of course
he was stimulated, nay downright excited. He had to be, for it
would seem that
detailed investigation,
a careful sifting of facts, and
a
meticulous piecing together of the pieces of a
puzzle
had paid off again. All the things that
Holmes
had lectured me on since our first coming
together
had again proved their worth, but my
intimate
friend was always intent on tightening the
net
until not a minnow could escape.

His
keen face centered on Orloff. "First we must
check
the amount of gold that Hananish might
have
access to." Now the sleuth's eyes speared the
ebullient
American. "The details of the Deutsche
Bank
sale can be secured, I'm sure."

Wally,
who had recovered his composure,
nodded.

"And
now, Watson and I must return to London
on
the evening train for there is a shooting match
between
the Bagatelle Club rifle squad and Alvidon
Chasseur's
Wellington Club team."

Both
Orloff and Wally looked befuddled at this
sudden
switch of subjects, and Holmes elaborated
with
a chuckle.
"From the very beginning
of this tangled skein, the army, in an unofficial way, has been in
evidence. The late Ezariah Trelawney and Ramsey Michael were
veterans of the Crimea War, as is
Burton
Hananish. The security chief of the B & N
railroad
was formerly with the army of India.
Lastly,
the robbery of the Birmingham and North
ern
flyer was planned like a military maneuver,
while
a number of big businesses are hiring former army personnel for their
expertise with firearms. I
do not choose
to accept this as a coincidence. Come,
Watson,
we'd best make ready for our journey to
London."
There was a pleased lilt to Holmes'
voice,
for he was returning to Baker Street.

Chapter
12

At
the Wellington Gun Club

ON
THE train back from Gloucester, Holmes was
wrapped
up in his thoughts. I did not intrude on
them,
feeling that he was planning his next move. While he had made mention
of the marksmanship
contest, surely
there were more leads to be fol
lowed
and Holmes could not have anticipated the
results
of our journey to the west coast.

We
were approaching Reading when the sleuth
roused
himself from a thoughtful silence and
seemed
disposed to discuss the matter, which
found
great favor with me, as I had my usual
assortment
of questions.

"Watson,
there's more to it, you know." He was gazing
out the window at the passing
countryside,
and I forced myself to
smother a banal response
like, "There
is?"