Part 15 (1/2)
I realised Miss Hobbes was standing beside round beside him and cupped his face in her hands ”Maurice?” And thenHis eyes flickered open, and he looked up at us, confused ”Has it gone?”
”Yes, it's gone,” I said, with a heavy sigh ”Although we're lucky to be alive I fear it was a rather abortive encounter”
Newbury grinned as he pulled hi himself down ”On the contrary, Dr Watson Noe knohat it is Toive me, Sir Maurice, but how exactly do you propose to capture a mechanical beast of that size?”
Newbury laughed and took Miss Hobbes's proffered hand in order to pull hi net,” he replied, clapping lanced at Miss Hobbes ”You look shaken, Miss Hobbes Are you all right?”
”Yes,” she replied, dabbing with a handkerchief at a minor cut on her temple Her hair had shaken loose and she was flushed I recall thinking at the time, however, that it was not so much the encounter with the submersible that had shaken her, but her fear for Newbury ”Yes, I'm quite well”
Newbury nodded, but it was clear he was not entirely satisfied with her answer ”Now, I'm sure we could all do with a stiff brandy Let's repair to Cleveland Avenue where we can rest, tend our wounds, and discuss our strategy for to into step I was keen to put some distance between our little band and the scene of the disturbance, and to find somewhere warm to rest er, I had found myself quite swept up in the adventure and mystery of it all There were questions to be answered Who had thatout at me with such a pale, haunted expression? What was the purpose of the vehicle, and why had the pilot spared my life at the last moment?
I knew I'd be unable to rest until I had the answers to those questions And besides, I was anxious to know more of these re Both Newbury and Miss Hobbes had shown reer Not only that, but they had remained entirely unperturbed by the appearance of the bizarre machine, as if they'd seen its like a hundred tiued to kno they planned to tackle theday, and I knew that whatever scheht, I would be unable to resist playing a role
The following day I woke to a spas muscle in my left calf I felt tired and drained, and my body ached as it hadn't done for years Nevertheless, I also felt soorated by the recollection ofIt see et to the bottom of the matter
I washed and dressed and worked theeased I was badly bruised from where I'd fallen, and my elboas painful to ht have been an old soldier, but I was a soldier still, and I kne to pick myself up and carry on
I took a stout breakfast of porridge and fruit, and then set out to call on Bro A short trip on the Underground took me across town, and the brisk walk at the other end did much to clear my head It was a cold, darey, brooding and pregnant
Upon my arrival, Broife-a oman in her late thirties, ore a permanently startled expression-infored the quartera momentary respite from his patients He ushered anise a pot of tea
It was clear almost immediately that I'd been correct in my assumption that Broould have thrown himself into his work in an effort to dispel his anxiety over the events of two nights previous He acted as if the encounter had never even occurred, and when I raised the subject he waved er wished to discuss it Still, I persisted, and when I began to relate the story of my own encounter with theevery detail
”So I am not, after all, bound for Bedlam,” he said when I'd finished He did so with a jovial smile, but the relief was plain to see on his face ”Thank you, John”
”You were never bound for Bedla yourself You should consider allowing yourself a holiday with that pretty wife of yours”
He smiled at this and poured the tea ”I think, my dear friend, that I should find such a holiday even ht encounter with a hed and reached foras if, for once, I'd been able to lift a weight from his shoulders Newbury had said he'd need ti's activities-that he needed to speak with a man named Aldous Renwick-and so, left to my own devices, I decided to head to Baker Street in order to take luncheon with Holmes I was still rankled with him for his dismissive attitude the previous day, but felt it would not do to let things fester between us He had, after all, no other friends upon which to prevail if he found hied solitude; despite his protestations to the opposite, Holmes needed an audience
I found hie after page of arcane diagrams, each of which appeared to depict co his ratty old dressing gown and his unlit pipe was clenched between his teeth Dark rings had developed beneath his hooded eyes, and he appeared gaunt I guessed he had not been to bed since I had last seen hione for a stroll
He didn't look up when Mrs Hudson showed me into the room, but waved for me to take a seat I shi+fted a heap of newspapers to the floor in order to do so
”Well, Hol forward, hoping to draw his attention froht's activities by the river were quite invigorating”
”H to look up from his book
”I saw it for myself,” I continued, determined that he'd hear reata pilot Things looked a bit hairy for a while, on account of the afore Sir Maurice, his associate Miss Hobbes, and me Had to chase him off with my revolver in the end You should have seen it, Holmes Quite remarkable”
At this, Hol his faaze upon me ”What was that, Watson? I fear I didn't quite catch what you said”
I issued a long, fa, Holmes,” I said, deflated ”It wasn't ile eyebrow, and then tossed the book he'd been reading onto the floor It landed with a dull thud on the carpet byout upon the divan like a luxuriating cat, resting his slippered feet upon the arned dis?” I asked ”It looks as if you've barely left the drawing room these past two days Your search for Mr Xavier Gray is not, I presulanced atupon his lips ”Oh, I'd say the investigation is proceeding quite as planned, Watson The edwith Hol all of his ations, his methods could still see back in my chair ”I'm famished and in need of one of Mrs Hudson's hearty broths” I kneas a liberty, but I felt I'd earned it after the events of the following evening, and besides, it looked as if Holmes could do with a square ht actually eat
”You shall not be disappointed, Watson, if you have it in you to bide your time in that chair for another twenty-six s”
”Ah,”You heard Mrs Hudson place the pot upon the stove, and, over recent months- if not years-you've worked to memorised her routine from the very sounds she makes as she toils Now, you're able to fatho from the basement, and predict the dish and the exact ave a cheerful guffaw ”Close, Watson Very close She came to inform me just a few moments before you arrived-fourbeef steith dus, in half an hour's time”
I could not suppress a chuckle ”Well, I'd better pop down and ask if she wouldn'tto rise fro his pipe, ”I attended to that yesterday”
”Yesterday?” I asked, incredulous ”Whatever do you mean?”
”I mean that I asked Mrs Hudson to make a special effort to prepare a hearty lunch-your favourite stew, in fact-given that you'd be stopping by after what undoubtedly would have proved to have been a harrowing night on Cheyne Walk, grappling with monsters and such like” He struck a match with a flourish and lit his pipe
”You astound me, Holmes,” was about aswhen Mrs Hudson called us to the dining roo my visit to Baker Street, still a little baffled by Holress in his case, I dropped in at my club to pass a few hours of quiet reflection Duly restored, I called ho-before setting out to meet Newbury and the others at Cheyne Walk It was dark by then and the streets already had an abandoned, desolate air; a thick, syrupy fog had descended along with the darkness to s the pedestrian population scuttling to the warreed to meet at the very sae ic dictated that this was the most likely place for us to lay our trap We had, while sat around the fire drinking brandy in Newbury's drawing rooht select a different stretch of the e his surprise confrontation with our little band Miss Hobbes had argued, however, that there must have been some reason why he should so far have chosen to scale the walls at that particular point All of the witness reports confirmed such was his habit We'd decided between us that it would therefore e our trap in the vicinity
I was, as yet, unaware of the nature of this trap, and it wasn't until I rounded the corner of Cheyne Walk and saw the spectacle of it laid out before et soe, box-shaped construct, about the height of a ain, sat squat at the far end of the street Black se, and even from ten feet away I could feel the heat of its furnace and s coal The noise, too, was horrendous: a whirring, clacking cacophony, the sound of spinning turbines, powered by steam Thick bunches of copper cable coiled froenerator, and atheloves The cables sparked and popped with the violent electricity that coursed through thes, and Miss Hobbes stood off to one side, watching the river for any signs of hed politely to announce my presence
”Dr Watson!” Newbury called cheerfully, looking up for aI was startled to see his expression alter suddenly from apparent pleasure to ilanced down to see that, in erously close to one of the live cables My left boot was only a fraction of an inch frohtest adjustrily discharge into ed away froh to breathe a sigh of relief I moved over to join Newbury and theto electrocute it?” I asked, impressed by the machinery they'd been able to erect in just a few hours
”Quite so, Dr Watson When that led in these electrified cables, the resulting surge of power should render it temporarily immovable,” replied Newbury
”Yes, and teruffly He straightened his back, laying the last of the cables into position and turning to faceyou should do is consider touching the machine itself If you do, you'll be blown clear into the river by the resulting shock They'll be fishi+ng you out with a net”
Newbury laughed ”Dr Watson, ood friend, Aldous Renwick”
”A pleasure,” I said, taking his hand
In truth, I find it difficult to select words hich to adequately describe the appearance of such a unique and eccentric individual Aldous Renwick defied easy interpretation As I have already described, his hair was a wild, wispy mess upon his head, and he was unshaven, his lower face covered in wiry grey bristles His teeth were yellowed from tobacco sh I placed hi shi+rt, open at the collar, over which he wore a thick leather sof all, however, was the appearance of his left eye, or rather the object embedded in the socket where his left eye should have been