Part 10 (2/2)
Something, however, had changed The Shadow's plan. Words had been spoken which had told him that speed was necessary. That was why The Shadow had insisted that Roger Mallikan stay. He had reason to believe that the s.h.i.+pping man could furnish facts at the proper time. The Shadow was determined to press the quest without delay.
CHAPTER XVI. THE VITAL SECRET.
”To gain the answer to our problem,” began The Shadow, ”we must consider more than the mere letters which appear upon this ribbon. We must take into consequence the factors that inspired Milton Callard to write urgent messages to three trusted friends.”
Silence followed The Shadow's quiet statement. The listeners were tense as they awaited new development.
”We may safely a.s.sume,” resumed The Shadow, ”that Milton Callard had placed his wealth in some hiding place. The key to that strong box lay in a single word: one that he feared to trust to any single individual.
”So Milton Callard clipped a ribbon into three pieces. We hold one portion” - The Shadow lifted the blue silk square - ”and its letters R X have led us to believe that the other portions bear two letters each.
”Of all the words in the English language, there cannot be many that contain those two letters together.
Still, the tracing of the proper word would be a difficult task, unless we found some way to limit it. I have discovered such a way. Through studying the very nature of this bit of ribbon.”
Listeners s.h.i.+fted. Commissioner Weston stepped forward. The Shadow, though leisurely in tone, was becoming impressive. His words were the forerunners of important findings. All present sensed that fact.
”Had the vital word been an ordinary one,” declared The Shadow, ”Milton Callard would have written it upon a strip of paper. He might have used white ribbon and printed the letters roughly with a pen.
Instead, he used a blue ribbon, on which were letters stamped in gold.
”Full letters, on a faded ribbon. Proof conclusive that Milton Callard did not prepare the ribbon specially.
Instead, he used a ribbon that chanced to be available. One that had previously served a definite purpose.”
Commissioner Weston was on the verge of speaking. Mallikan was staring at The Shadow; the s.h.i.+pping man's lips were set; his eyes showed a glimmer that might have been partial understanding. As Weston stopped; as Mallikan eased back in his chair, The Shadow spoke again.
”Such a ribbon,” he affirmed, ”would be found in one place only. Particularly when we note that its faded color and dull-gold letters have a weather-beaten look. This bit of ribbon, gentlemen, was cut from the blue, gold-lettered band that once encircled a sailor's hat.”
AN e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n came from Weston, as the commissioner thrust his hand forward to pick up the ribbon from the table. The Shadow had dropped the blue silk there. He was reaching for pencil and paper while he stared toward Mallikan. The s.h.i.+pping man was nodding; he could not have done otherwise.
”The key word,” a.s.serted The Shadow, ”is the name of a s.h.i.+p. That, alone, gives us an important lead. It tells us that we may be dealing with a proper name: that of some place or some person. Names are ourfirst choice; in considering them, let us first put down the letters that we have.”
Upon the sheet of paper, The Shadow inscribed the letters R X. He showed them to Weston, who was now close by the table. The commissioner nodded.
”R, X,” said The Shadow, slowly. ”Those letters cannot mark the beginning of a word. They might be the last two letters of a six-letter name. It is more likely, however, that they are two central letters.
”R and X must be preceded by a vowel. That limits us to a few letters: A, E, I, O, U - possibly Y. I have been going through the alphabet mentally, fitting consonants in front of those vowels; adding the letters R and X.”
”Like B, A, R, X?” inquired Weston. ”B, E, R, X, and so on?”
”Exactly,” replied The Shadow, ”and I have worked the process rapidly. Knowing that the name might be an odd one, yet quickly recognizable, I was swift in my process. As a result, I struck suddenly upon the word itself.”
To the left of the letters R X, The Shadow printed the letters X E. He pointed to the paper; Weston read the letters aloud.
”X, E, R, X,” repeated the commissioner. ”X, E, R, X - it sounds like 'zerx,' as nearly as I can p.r.o.nounce it”
”The name of a place,” prompted The Shadow, ”or a name of a person - probably a famous one”
”Xerxes!” exclaimed Weston. ”That is the name! The famous king of ancient Persia. Xerxes!”
WITH a calm nod, The Shadow inscribed the letters E S at the end of the line. He stretched forward and pa.s.sed the paper to Mallikan. The s.h.i.+pping man stared at the larger-lettered name: XERXES.
”Perhaps,” suggested The Shadow, ”you can tell us something regarding a s.h.i.+p named the Xerxes?”
”I can,” declared Mallikan, with a solemn nod. ”I must admit, Mr. Cranston, that I see the answer at last.
You must believe me, commissioner, when I tell you that this possible connection never occurred to me until Mr. Cranston developed it.
”I understand why Milton Callard ordered the meeting in my office. Had three bits of ribbon been laid on my desk, I would have arranged them in different order until they formed a word. Then I could have told what I knew about the Steams.h.i.+p Xerxes.”
”You have heard of the boat?” queried Weston, eagerly.
”Yes,” replied Mallikan. ”Anyone closely concerned with the India and China trade might have heard of the Xerxes.”
”You have traveled to the Orient, Cranston,” said Weston, turning to The Shadow. ”Do you know of the Xerxes?”
”No,” replied The Shadow, calmly. ”That was why I felt that Mr. Mallikan might prove indispensable.
Otherwise we should have been forced to wade through s.h.i.+pping records.”
”What about David Callard?” demanded Weston of Mallikan. ”Would he know of the s.h.i.+p?” ”Probably, if he heard the name,” returned Mallikan. ”The Xerxes was a very old freighter that plied over various routes. Its last scheduled runs were between Calcutta and Hong Kong. The latter city is close to Canton, where Dave Callard was located.
”Some of the s.h.i.+pments on the Xerxes were sent to the interior when the boat unloaded at Hong Kong.
Other goods were res.h.i.+pped across the Pacific, through the Panama Ca.n.a.l to New York. Our company, the Indo-China s.h.i.+pping Bureau, held a half interest in a fleet of freighters. The Xerxes belonged to a subsidiary company.”
”And the Xerxes is still in service?”
”No. A year ago, the fleet was broken up. The Xerxes became a tramp steamer, under command and owners.h.i.+p of its captain, William Jund. The old tub arrived here in New York and I understand that Jund tried to sell it. Apparently, he failed to do so.”
”Then where is the s.h.i.+p now?”
”Up the Hudson, near Poughkeepsie. Moored with a group of other forgotten vessels. Rusting away, totally neglected, unless Jund is still living aboard. Even with that, the s.h.i.+p would be going to absolute ruin. It has joined the ghost fleet.”
”The ghost fleet!”
”Yes. Vessels that have gone out of service. s.h.i.+ps that will never sail again, despite the hopes of their owners. The remnants of a once active merchant marine. Boats that could not survive a losing trade, but which have been kept intact in the slim hope that they may eventually be good for more than junk.”
MALLIKAN paused. Cardona was nodding wisely to indicate that he knew about the ghost fleet that the s.h.i.+pping man had mentioned. Weston also seemed to recall those old s.h.i.+ps that were banked far up the Hudson River. It was The Shadow, however, who spoke.
”Suppose, Mallikan,” he said, quietly, ”that today might be December fifth. That Ralgood and Shurrick were present with Hungerfeld; that this room represented your office. What would you tell them to do, once you had placed the three bits of ribbon together, to learn the name Xerxes?”
”That is easily answered,” replied Mallikan. ”I would say to go up the Hudson some day. Take a look for the Xerxes; find out who is aboard the s.h.i.+p. If we should find Captain Jund, we could tell him why we came.”
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