PINNACLE BOOKS NEW YORK (27 page)

I
knew that I was not being twitted. Holmes'
expression
was as contrite as an erring schoolboy's,
so
I rallied some enthusiasm and plunged into my
tale.

"The
man's style led me to the conclusion that
rifles
were not his métier."

Holmes
registered enthusiasm. "Here your supe
rior
knowledge of firearms comes into play."

Remembering
his identification of the Beals rifle,
I
did not choose to accept this remark in whole but continued.
"Recall how the chap moved while shooting,
not
choosing to stay positioned as the
other marksmen
did?"

There
were wrinkles on Holmes' broad brow. "It
was
unusual, though I drew no conclusions from
it."

"He's
used to shooting at moving targets."

"Since
the target was stationary, he moved to compensate. How clever of
you."

I
regarded him warily. "You were already suspi
cious
of the man. Holmes, if you are leading me
on
. . ."

"I
assure you that is furthest from my mind. I did
not
take note of the point you are making." Holmes
paused
as though wondering why, then concluded.
"Possibly
for reasons I will relate in a moment. Tell
all,
good chap."

"Ledger,
for want of a better name, is really a
small-arms
expert. Gunfighter is the word that comes to mind."

"American,
then?"

"Oh
yes," I replied airily. "The speed with which he fired, his
frequent shooting from the hip, his use
of
the Beals revolving rifle, which is constructed like a handgun—it
all smacked of one from the
American
West. Southwest, I would guess."

"How
so?" Perhaps he was just trying to encour
age
me, but Holmes seemed captivated.

"I
spoke with the man."

My
friend nodded. "That I assumed."

"He
made use of the word
lagniappe
."
Since
Holmes
was regarding me with a questioning look,
I
continued, not without some pride I might add.
"It's
a colloquialism of the southern part of the
United
States. Refers to a gratuitous additive, like baker's dozen."

"Excellent,
excellent."

"In
his dressing room at the club I noted some
tools,
and upon questioning, the chap told me he intended to use half loads
for some handgun
exhibitions."

Holmes
merely shook his head, and I might have
detected
an expression of amazement in his eyes.
Or
was it pride?

"Another
American innovation. Trick-shooting
with
a handgun seldom requires range; and the
targets
are small, so there is little need for great
force
at impact. Professionals reduce the powder
charge
in the bullets, which in turn lessens the
recoil
at firing and increases the accuracy of the
man
behind the gun."

Holmes
burst out in a peal of laughter, most
unusual
for him. "Beekeeping on the Sussex Downs
moves
ever closer in my future plans as you talk,
old
friend. Will you allow me to take Mrs. Hudson
with
me?"

"Be
serious."

He
suppressed his merriment. "You've done a splendid job. Now we
but need conclusive proof."

"We
have it." I must say his reaction to my
coup-
de-ma
î
tre
was most gratifying.
"I've spent a
good part of the afternoon with our former client General Sternways.
While, out of
courtesy, consuming more
of his port than I fancy, I
learned that
the general knew of Ledger. He com
mented
that the man was indeed a splendid shot
despite
the fact that a boyhood accident had cost
him
the third and fourth fingers of his left hand."

"That's
it, then!" Holmes sprang from his chair
and
began pacing the room, unconsciously follow
ing
the path that I knew so well. "As to the
whereabouts
of the true Richard Ledger, we know
not;
but this chap is a proven imposter," he stated in that removed
tone as though speaking to him
self.
"We can assume that the fellow is an Ameri
can,
though I must say he passes himself off quite
well
as British. Therefore, I deduce that he's spent
some
time in England or knew the real Ledger well.
But
how does this aid us? To use an expression of
the
western United States that you are so well
versed
in, Watson, we've cast a wide loop in this
case.
It is time we began to tighten the noose."

"Just
a moment, Holmes. Before we dwell on
other
matters, what was it that alerted you to the
possibility
of a masquerader? Also, you fall very
easily
into the assumption—unproven—that he is
American."

Holmes
ceased his pacing to stand by the book
shelf,
his left hand outstretched to finger, unconsciously, the golden
statue on the fourth shelf that
was
a memento of a previous case.

"The
plan to defend the treasure train. It was good, but decidedly
un-British."

"You
know I can't follow that."

"Space
is the clue. From London to Great Yar
mouth,
a train passes through a stream of stations
and
steams by countless habitations. In the American West, the rails
stretch for hundreds of miles
without
encountering a village or inhabitant, for
that
matter, save grazing bison.
^*
The best means of
guarding
the gold here in England would have been
to
place some stout lads, well armed, within the
boxcar,
for surely they could defend it until the
sound
of a battle brought reinforcements. In Ameri
ca,
or at least the western part, it is a different
story.
Once the robbers gain control of the train,
they
have adequate time to force entry, for aid is far removed and the
noise of a conflict is wasted on the
desert
air."

^*
It
is interesting to note that Holmes professed but a vague knowledge of
western
America yet, quite correctly did not refer to buffalo.

"Of
course," I exclaimed. "The armored guardhouse being
designed to protect the engine as well
as
the cargo. To keep the train moving."

Satisfied
on this point, I fell silent and allowed
Holmes
to resume his thoughtful pacing. After a
period,
he came to a standstill by the mantle and
reached
for his cherrywood but thought the better
of
it. Instead, he went to the coal skuttle and
removed
a cigar from that most singular humidor.

"All
right, Watson, let us beat the wheat from the
chaff,
for it is nigh on to harvest time or better be."
Through
a cloud of aromatic smoke he became more specific. "Claymore
Frisbee informed me
today that there is
pressure on Inter-Ocean to pay
the
insurance claim. Chasseur is off to Cornwall for
a
stockholders' meeting but wants to deal with the matter directly upon
his return." He paused, considering a new question. "Why
Cornwall? His
principal backers are a
cadre of Scottish financiers.
No matter.
A cable from our friend von Shalloway
informs
me that the Deutsche Bank is negotiating a
deal
regarding four hundred thousand pounds'
worth
of gold."

"How
does that fit in?"

"
Mehr
Licht!
More light. Goethe's last
words are
apropos to the fine art of
deduction."

"Never
mind Goethe. I'm confused."

"Fortunately,
I am not. Mainly because of your
fortuitous
remark."

I
grunted. "That's the second time you've made reference to
something I said, Holmes, and I'm
dashed
if I know what it was."

"Your
exact words were: 'You have established a
possible
connection between Michael and Ezariah Trelawney.'"

"Both
Ramsey Michael and Ezariah Trelawney
are
dead, and I don't see what was revealing about my words."

"It
was the sound. We have three principals in
this
plot at the moment, and there is something
unusual
about their names: Michael, Ezariah, and
Hananish."

"The
latter not only being alive but up to his neck
in
the affair."

"Exactly.
Cast your mind back to Bible classes,
Watson.
Were there not three wise men in Babylon?
Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego."

"Shadrach,"
I exclaimed. "The code word used
by
the man who killed Ramsey Michael."

"Exactly.
But the three ancients were brought to
Babylon
from the land of Israel, where their names
were
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah."

I
just stared at Holmes, wide-eyed.

"Ezariah
Trelawney, Ramsey Michael, and Bur
ton
Hananish all served in the Crimea. They were
in
the same regiment and received honorable men
tion
in dispatches from Balaklava and Sevastopol.
Three
men whose names are so close to three
biblical
figures had to strike up an acquaintance. I
now
deal in theory, but there is so much corrobora
tion
that it might as well be fact. I envision a close
friendship,
which continued into civilian life. A
foray
into the byways of the larcenous could have been suggested by the
matter of the French gold,
though I
suspect they involved themselves in con
spiracies
prior to the treasure train. Remember
that
Michael had some hidden source of income. I
think
he uncovered the Credit Lyonnais matter, bringing it to the attention
of his banking cohorts. They secured the gold, and Michael probably
re
cruited the bully boys who did
the deed."

"Who
engineered it? Not three old men, surely?"

"All
with military experience, remember." I
sensed
that Holmes did not find this too palatable,
but
another thought then came to my mind.