The Return of Moriarty (36 page)

“Then if it's 'eathens that give you the creeps, you'd better mind yourself today, that's all.” Terremant spat with some feeling. “We'll have the place full of 'eathens before long. Foreigners, Eye-talians, Germans, Froggies and Spaniards. They're all coming in 'ere for this meeting the Professor's got together.”

“Then we really will have to watch the women. I 'ere as how you couldn't trust them Eye-talians with yer grandmother.”

“Well, you watch away: the women, the grub—and the bloody silver.”

Promptly at quarter-past eleven the cabs arrived at the various hotels. One of the young Italian men accompanied Luigi Sanzionare from the Westminster Palace; from Somerset House Esteban Segorbe traveled by himself; Fritz, the huge German, left Long's with Herr Schleifstein, and both the French bodyguards were with Jean Grisombre when he walked from the Royal Exeter.

Moriarty's desk had been moved into the bedroom, a large dining table taking its place. Around the table were six chairs. Of Moriarty's men, only Paget, Lee Chow and the two Jacobs brothers were going to be present in the room, though Terremant and his men would be within easy reach as they watched over the preparation of food and drink and its conveyance from the kitchens to Moriarty's private rooms.

Parker and a detachment of his lurkers, some of them armed with pistols and revolvers, were guarding the warehouse from all possible angles.

Moriarty, not in his brother's disguise, was dressed in black: a long frock coat, trousers and waistcoat, and a somewhat old-fashioned Mornington collar, looking for all the world like a doctor or banker. He waited, with Paget standing to his right and slightly behind him, to greet the arrivals at the top of the stairs. There were handshakes, smiles, bows and elaborate greetings. Sanzionare had not met Schleifstein, and Schleifstein had never met Grisombre. None of the visitors had ever seen Segorbe before today.

Already there had been agreement about the language problem, and the conference was to take place in English. Some of the accompanying personnel, however, did not speak English, so there was a great deal of sign-language passing between the rank and file.

Before matters could proceed toward luncheon, Moriarty called for silence.

“Gentlemen,” he said, “before I welcome you here officially, I have taken something of a liberty. We have another guest.”

There was an exchange of brief, yet nervous, looks.

“You need have no fears,” Moriarty smiled. “He is one of us. Indeed he hails from Europe, though he has taken on a new nationality.” He paused, his eyes searching the faces of his colleagues. “We are told that the United States of America is the great progressive country of our time—as indeed it is, for our friends there are already well organized. It is with our own interests at heart, then, that I have invited an emissary from that great country to—how can I put it?—to observe our deliberations.”

He nodded toward Paget, who opened the door, admitting a tall, burly man, about thirty years of age, dressed soberly in dark suiting, a pearl-gray cravat at his throat.

“May I present”—the Professor spread his arms wide in an extravagant gesture—” Mr. Paul Golden of New York City.”

Though he was heavily built, Golden gave the impression of remarkable alertness, with bright eyes that never ceased to move in an inquiring manner. When he spoke, there was a heavy nasality underlying the strong, almost Germanic, guttural accent.

“It is good to be here,” he said, a wispy smile crossing the thick lips. “My friends in The City—as we call New York—have asked me to carry their good wishes to you all. And I must thank you for the invitation which has allowed me to make the journey over the ocean. As the good Professor says, we are doing our best to work in an organized fashion. I shall enjoy and listen with interest.”

With some diffidence the other guests approached the American visitor; they shook hands with him and exchanged a few words.

Paget noted that Golden—whom the Professor had told him of only a short time before the meeting was about to commence—seemed reluctant to engage in any lengthy conversation.

After two or three glasses of sherry the party sat down to luncheon, served by Bill and Bert Jacobs, overlooked by Paget and Lee Chow, correct as butlers of long experience; the dishes were brought up from the kitchens by Fanny Jones and Mary McNiel, each with one of the watching punishers in tow.

Mrs. Kate Wright had excelled herself. Red pottage (made of haricot beans, tomatoes, beetroot, onions and celery) was followed by lobster cutlets. The meat course consisted of traditional roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, buttered carrots and turnips mashed together, baked potatoes and spring cabbage. Sanzionare made a joke by saying that Segorbe, Grisombre and himself should really have a papal dispensation, it being a Friday and them coming from families of the Roman Catholic persuasion. Schleifstein looked down his nose, thinking the remark neither funny nor in good taste. Golden smiled, as if he possessed knowledge of some secret jest.

Kate Wright's favorite London pudding was served next—a concoction of apricot jam, sponge finger biscuits, butter, milk, lemon and eggs. The meal was completed with Angels on Horseback, that particular savory being one of Moriarty's favorites; the Professor had always been partial to bacon and oysters.

While the five leaders ate lunch, their lieutenants ate from a cold buffet, laid out on a trestle table set under the window, though none of them let their eyes stray long from their particular chief.

When the meal was finished and all were replete, Moriarty called the table to order. Paget went out to make certain that Terremant had posted one of the punishers outside the door; the bodyguards and others took up their places, ranging themselves behind their respective leaders, and they all fell silent.

First they toasted one another by turns—Moriarty coldly businesslike; Sanzionare and Grisombre effusive; Schleifstein correct and distant, without warmth; Segorbe quiet and with a mocking quality; Golden respectful, maintaining his position as observer.

Moriarty then rose and began his long speech.
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“Gentlemen, I wish to welcome you here and thank you all for making the long and irksome journeys you have each undertaken from your homes and natural environments.

“In the last few years we have talked individually about the plans I have long conceived. All of us have had experience, which has taught us that where so-called unlawful activities are concerned, there is more to be said for concerted action than the individual and lonely forays made daily by men and women acting on their own initiative.

“The sneak thief, cracksman, dipper and mobsman, the macer and magsman, even the assassin and whore, can go about their business and net certain small benefits. They can be successful, fence their loot, plan their capers, but all in a vacuum. We have, I believe, all proved that the man acting in concert with those of his kind has more opportunities, more certainty of profit, more chance of evading the law.

“It may well be that I am an arrogant man, but I have reason to believe that of all of us here, I have the greatest experience—my organization being the largest, and controlling, as I do, the major elements not only in London, but also the bulk of England, Scotland and Wales.

“The loose and reciprocal arrangements we have had in the past few years also appear to have proved beyond doubt that an organization based on mutual trust, understanding and sharing is not only possible but decidedly in our interests. I make no bones about it, gentlmen, my lbject in calling this meeting today is to discuss the foundation of a superior network that will stretch throughout the length and breadth of the Continent of Europe—for the Continent is a vast storehouse of treasure and power: there for us to use, to take, to plunder, if you like.

“We are all aware that the men and women who work for us and under us are in the main creatures of limited education, with narrow intellects. So it strikes me that it is our duty, our responsibility, to care for these men and women, to guide, comfort and direct them and to see that their very able talents are deployed to the best advantage. If that can be done here in Great Britain, it can certainly be done on a Continental scale. That is my object.

“Now, none of us are fools—otherwise we would not be sitting here together, today. There is a need for lengthy discussion about many aspects of control, of the methods which we would need to maintain such an alliance—for that is how I see it: a grand alliance based on modern methods.

“This brings me to what may be the most important point I have to make. Progress, gentlemen, progress. For too long our brothers in crime have clung to old and hardened ways, neglecting even to notice that around us we are seeing the world alter as never before. Many of the advances in science are, I fear, regarded as mere fads and follies; not just by the world in general but by our own world in particular. The signs and portents of change are all about us, yet we do not see our lives being drastically altered. Think for a moment what difference has been made by the railway: the huge distances that can now be covered in a relatively short space of time. It is a shrinking world and I foresee it shrunken even more drastically. We must be alive to these matters, alive to them and harness them to our own advantage.

“For instance, the telephone and telegraph are already making strides so far undreamed of. In a matter of minutes it is possible to talk to somebody who is miles away, at the other end of our cities. In a matter of hours we can be in touch, by telegraph, with the far corners of Europe. We have already used these modern methods, but do you imagine that this is going to stop here? It should be obvious to any thinking man that our present telephone, telegraph and cablegram services are not going to remain as they are. They will progress; there is little to stop them. Within years we will be able to speak to each other over great distancesl. Imagine how that will affect our aims.

“Not only
our
aims, though, for it will also have bearing on the police forces of the world, governments, banks and industries. It is with these things in mind that we must plan. If we accept, then, that we are going to be able to communicate with more ease with each other over great distances we must also look at some of the other factors.

“I have spoken of the railways. There is also a new evolution taking place which concerns other forms of traveling. We are told that on the sea ships will be built that will not only be bigger and better but also faster. On land we all smile a little at the strange phenomenon of the horseless carriage. I would say to you, do not smile. What we are seeing in these noisy, shuddering and bumping vehicles is the dawn of a new kind of transportation, which will eventually totally outstrip anything we could dream of. Make no mistake about it.

“You will also be inclined to laugh at my next suggestion. We know the way the balloon, and ballooning, is becoming an increasingly popular novelty; and who amongst us has not smiled dubiously at the strange drawings and ideas held by many that man will one day be able to soar and fly like the birds?

“Yet, when you consider the achievements made in other fields, who can really doubt that the theories of seeming fools and dreamers will, in a short space of time, become a reality with which to be reckoned? Who has heard of the experiments taking place at this moment under the guidance of men like Otto Lilienthal? The time will come, as certainly as tomorrow, when men will travel through the skies just as they will travel with ease and comfort at ever increasing speeds on land and sea.

“My friends, I have spoken about the natural line of progress, fast overtaking us, that will inevitably have a bearing on our lives and on the manner in which we work. We now have to consider what the climate will be; who will control these changes. The answer is simple—politicians, industrialists, generals and the rich. They hold the key to all power and if we are to have any share in the fortune that awaits, we must also have a share in that power. How is this to be achieved?

“Our manner of business is classed by many as the business of evil. So be it. But in what conditions can this so-called evil best flower? I would suggest the word
chaos;
I would suggest the word
instability;
I would suggest the word
uncertainty:
three words that should be the cornerstones of our thinking.

“In the world today there are great revolutionary political movements smoldering under the surface of life, ready to erupt with the fire and violence of a volcano. From all parts of the Continent we hear of anarchy—assassinations, the detonation of bombs, the disruption of normal everyday existence, all performed in the name of political ideals and fervor.

“I would suggest to you that these methods of anarchy and unrest can be used by us to furnish our own interests. If we can assist and foster conditions of unrest, even perform anarchistic acts of our own volition, we can create a situation where the ripe pickings will fall to us like apples from the tree.

“It remains now for us to plan, to decide, to make ready for the harvest we can reap.”

There was silence as the Professor sat down. Then Grisombre began to applaud. With slight hesitation the others joined him, Schleifstein slapping the table soundly with the palm of his hand.

When the small but sincere ovation subsided, Grisombre rose, speaking in a strongly accented English, choosing his words with care.

“I find it interesting to hear the good Professor expound this theory. From my own experience I can attest to the fact that it is all valid thinking. It is true that I was a very young man in 1871, but I recall vividly the conditions which reigned in Paris at the time of the siege.”

His eyes darted toward Schleifstein, as though seeking some confirmation from a member of the race that had bested the French at the culmination of the Franco-Prussian war.

“The conditions were terrible, with food so scarce that some were reduced to eating rats. I remember the day they shot the elephants in the zoological gardens for food. But my overall recollection is that of a city open to plunder. I know of many men who made fortunes. The disruption of society can only lead us to greater strength and I, for one, welcome Professor Moriarty as our inspirational leader.”