Sherlock Holmes and the Chinese Junk Affair and Other Stories Read Free Page A

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