Authors: Unknown
The somewhat taunting manner of
the financier had
disappeared
and there was admiration in his bright eyes. "I respect a man
who does not waste time with useless
questions,
Mr. Holmes, but I've seldom been thought of
as
obvious. What prompted you to divine my move?"
"You told me. You said the
Bird was of no great
worth,
at least not enough to excite your interest. Ob
viously,
you learned that your Oriental rival was going
to
great lengths to secure the statue. You felt, of course, that he knew
something you did not and joined in the chase."
Selkirk was nodding in
satisfaction. "You say it as it
was.
I believe, Mr. Holmes, that we should strike a bar
gain,
for you might be of use to me. Tell me what you
wish
to know. If I choose to answer, I will do so truth
fully."
This surprising reaction seemed
what Holmes ex
pected.
He attacked the matter in his usual methodical
manner.
"You don't know what prompts
the Oriental to covet the Golden Bird but could you hazard a guess?"
A negative movement of the head
was his answer.
"Is the name, Vasil D'Anglas
familiar to you?"
"A worker in rare metals,
living in Berlin. Proficient. I know he bought the Bird from the
dealer in Constantinople. He is not known as a collector."
"Possibly not in your segment
of the spectrum," said
Holmes,
drily. "He informed me that the Bird had be
come
a passion with his family and himself."
Selkirk shrugged. His manner
indicated that he could accept this explanation as reasonable so
Holmes switched to another tack.
"I find the history of the
object interesting. Through
the
ages knowledge of its existence has persisted."
Since my friend's voice trailed
off, Selkirk filled the
void
of sound. "Gold will always command respect.
From
the graves of Scythian chieftains to New York's
East
River."
My face, which Holmes often
accused of being a
ready
mirror of my thoughts, must have registered confusion. Selkirk
seemed to have his attention centered on Holmes, but his next words
were to me.
"There is a British frigate
sunk there, Doctor. It car
ried
the payroll for the British army fighting the War of Independence in
the Colonies. There have been many
attempts
to reach the sunken vessel for the pay was in
gold.
Alas, the currents of Hell's Gate have defied the searchers. I merely
use it as an instance. Gold is forever
the
magnet of mankind. As regards the Bird, there is
the
craftsmanship to consider. It is an object of value
and
I would welcome it to my collection though I would
hardly
take elaborate steps to secure it."
"As yet
...
there are those who did, and before
the
Oriental."
Holmes had risen and was staring
into the great fire
place.
As a result, he may not have noticed the sudden
shift
in the birdlike eyes of the financier. Selkirk's lips
parted
for a moment as though a question trembled
upon
them, but he suppressed it. Quiet settled over the
cavernous
room, broken only by the snap and crackle of the flames in the hearth
that sent dancing shadows into the room. Holmes began to list facts,
as though their voicing would allow him to inspect them with
greater
accuracy, to search for a flaw or inconsistency
that
would lead his mind to hidden truths.
"Your man, Gridley, was a day
behind the Oriental's
emissaries
in Constantinople. But he, or you, figured
that
the statue was to be transported to England aboard the
Asian
Star.
When the
Chinese sailor reached Lon
don,
the statue concealed in his personal Buddha, it was your hirelings,
members of the Dowson gang, who took
the
statue from him. Frustrated, Chu San Fu ordered an
attack
on Dowson's stronghold, the Nonpareil Club. But
Gridley
preceded them, paid Dowson the arranged fee,
and
either departed from the club just before the attack
or,
more likely, succeeded in escaping during it. In any
case,
all signs point to your having the Golden Bird,
Mr.
Selkirk."
Holmes turned from his scrutiny of
the fire and faced the financier, loosening the power of his
commanding personality as he did so.
Selkirk again exhibited his
death-mask grin and his
face
was nodding excitedly with what seemed like satis
faction
or possibly gratification.
"Better and better. In truth,
Mr. Holmes, you do
amaze
me and that is surely not the first time you've
heard
those words. You have recreated a chain of
events
which certainly fit the facts at your disposal.
Like
a glove, they do. Not that I'll admit to any of it but we'll let your
recounting stand as a basis to work from.
Indeed
we shall. But did you not mention that others
had
pursued the Bird with more than the usual persis
tence?"
Holmes recaptured his quiet smile.
"You know all
the
facts relating to the Bird's history. If the signs are as
I
read them, you would learn everything about the ob
ject
if only to frustrate your opponent."
"For a fact," agreed
Selkirk. "But perhaps I have not
benefited
by your interpretation of them."
Holmes chose to acquiesce. "We
shall not speculate
on
the Bird's unknown origin or its equally unknown creator, a fact
obscured by the mists of time. Its passing
from
the Tartars to the French court and then into the
hands
of Napoleon is, in my opinion, not relevant to the
problem.
But I do find the Bird's being stolen from the Island of Rhodes of
great interest indeed."
This time Selkirk could not
smother a question.
"Why?"
"Because it was stolen by
Harry Hawker. During an infamous, though successful, career, Hawker
was the tool of Jonathan Wild, a master criminal of the past century.
Was Wild intrigued by this art object that had gone from hand to hand
through the years?"
Now it was Selkirk who was gazing
thoughtfully into
space.
"If he was, we must ask why? The Bird passed
from
the Tartars to the Russians and then the French
always
as a gift, a gesture, a device to lay the ground
work
for goodwill."
"And, later, as collateral"
added Holmes.
"Yet, at a certain point it
became the object of crimi
nal
pursuit. You know, Mr. Holmes, that the Bird reappeared in the
court of the Ottoman Sultan and was sto
len
from there around 1830 only to disappear again
until
Harry Hawker found it in Rhodes."
Obviously this was news to Holmes
and he said so. . "Then," continued Selkirk, "it fell
out of sight again
for
forty years."
"I think fate played a hand
there," said Holmes.
"Conjecture,
of course, but suppose Hawker went to Constantinople with his prize.
He died before disposing
of
it and the statue remained in a trunk belonging to
him
for four decades."
Selkirk seemed as happy as a small
boy hearing a
fanciful
story of derring-do. "While that thought does
not
shed light on the matter, it does fill out the canvas.
Here,
sir, is another tidbit for you. Prior to its appear
ance
on the Island of Rhodes, the Bird is rumored to
have
been in Albania."
Holmes thought for a moment. "It
was stolen from Rhodes in 1850. Would it have been in Albania, say in
1822?"
Selkirk shrugged and for a moment
his intense eyes
closed
as though from weariness, but they snapped open again almost
immediately.
"Perhaps we should return to
the present," suggested
Holmes.
His tone hardened. "An inquiry agent, a
Chinese
seaman, and one Amos Gridley have died
within
the month. All because of the Bird. Gridley was
an
employee of yours. What do you intend to do?"
"Must I do something?"
replied Selkirk, but these were only words. The financier's mind was
racing, a
fact
obvious even to me.
"You should," replied
the detective. "Chu's men
picked
up Gridley's trail and it led them here. The
man's
fall from the roof of his cottage was no accident.
He
was murdered, probably because of his loyalty to
you.
Doctor Watson and I benefited from information
Chu
did not have. Gridley was not only the man in the Nonpareil Club who
came for the Golden Bird. He was
also
the man in Constantinople on its trail. Therefore, I
deduced
that he was an emissary of yours. How long do
you
think before the Oriental arrives at the same con
clusion?"
Again Selkirk cackled and my
fingers twitched with
nervousness.
"Not long, sir. I'll give you that. Of
course,
his reaching me is another matter. A visit by his
underlings
and dacoits would not find a warm reception."
"And yet," persisted
Holmes, "it is a wise man who
knows
not to underestimate a resourceful enemy. You
have
been warned."
"And by an unimpeachable
source, Mr. Holmes.
Your words will not go unheeded.
For this, I am in
your
debt. I shall repay you, of course. You said you
wished
the Golden Bird. You shall have it in due time. You have my word on
that."
By what means the financier
effected a signal I do not know, but the door to the huge room opened
and
our pale guide
reappeared.
"I tire, gentlemen,"
said Selkirk, and there was a note
of
apology in his voice. "You will be contacted shortly.
Before
departing, may I extract one promise? This matter has a way to
go yet or I miss my guess. When it is over, return and we shall
exchange words again. I do
believe
this has been one of the most pleasant days I
can
recall."
The pale blond man was beside him
now. With re
gret,
Selkirk gestured to him.
"Show the gentlemen out,
Cedric."
Silently, our guide ushered us
from this
outré
room
and
away from one of the strangest interviews I had
ever
been witness to in my many years at the side of
Sherlock
Holmes. As we reached the door, I threw a
glance
over my shoulder at the frail, dried-up figure,
huddled
in his robe beside the blazing fire. It was the last time that I ever
saw the frightening Basil Selkirk.