The Affair of the Chalk Cliffs Read Online Free PDF Page B

Narbondo’s submarine vessel has been sighted often enough near Eastbourne….”
    “Narbondo!” Tubby said, unable to contain his loathing any longer. “I’ll give that bloody reptile a taste of my blackthorn stick this time. See if I don’t!”
    “Pray that we have the opportunity,” I said, waving him silent.
    “You recall the experiment with Busby’s sapphire propulsion lamp,” the letter went on, “the way the crystal structure of the sapphire was destroyed in a single use. This is much the same, except that the lamp that transmits the madness ray makes use of an emerald. Even Narbondo’s coffers cannot support the continual destruction of emeralds, and I suspect that the three trials have cost him dearly. Busby had discovered a way to dissolve the emerald in acid, and then reconstruct it under high heat, so that the crystalline lattice would be perfect, impervious to the degenerative effects of the device. In short, Narbondo will want this fortified emerald, which Busby gave to me for safekeeping, although I fear that there is no such thing as safekeeping.
    “Busby was in great fear for his life there in Scarborough. I was to return the emerald to him in a fortnight if his fears were unfounded. Alas, they were not. Clearly it took Narbondo some time to discover that an unfortified emerald would deteriorate, but Busby’s notes must have mentioned the existence of the fortified emerald, and, I suspect, mentioned my name along with it. If not, then Narbondo would have no need to involve me at all. To the contrary, he would have a free hand with things, and the Crown, perhaps the planet, would be at his mercy. Hence my sending Hasbro to Chingford to retrieve the fortified emerald, which is the most valuable card in our hand. But in the end it must be destroyed, even if it means my own destruction. Narbondo can be tempted by it. It will draw him out. But he must not be allowed to possess it . If I’m taken, the ransom demand will shortly follow. I’ve tarried long enough. Sharp’s the word! ”
    This last was heavily underscored, with a blot of ink at the end where the tip of the nib had snapped off. The four of us who had set out from Victoria Station just a few hours ago were now two.
    “Feedle-de-de,” Tubby said, immensely unhappy. “Clearly he shouldn’t have gone into Heathfield alone, not with this much at stake. Elephants !”
    “Surely that wasn’t directed at you,” I told him. “It was meant to be a what? A metaphor, not an insult.”
    “I know that, you oaf. What I mean to say is that the venture wanted an elephant. He should have seen that. It was damned reckless of him not to. What’s this business of the lure and the prey?”
    “For my money,” I told him, “it means that Narbondo fabricated a letter from Thomas Bouch to draw St. Ives north to Scotland. Then, discovering that Alice had fortuitously gone on to Heathfield, he orchestrated this uncanny outbreak of madness, understanding full well that St. Ives would race straight into the heart of danger upon his return.”
    “ Orchestrated it ? So this entire thing was a ploy? What about the business at the Explorers Club, and the ship run aground? What does that have to do with St. Ives?”
    “Nothing and everything,” I told him. “I’d guess that they were merely trials. Narbondo effected them from out on Beachy Head. Do you know that our watch salesman bought a ticket last night on the Beachy Head Runner ? I did a bit of sleuthing there at Victoria Station, after you’d gone home after your things.”
    “Is that right?” Tubby said. “The blithering pie-faced devil. I should have beaten the man where he stood. But of course you’re neglecting the fact that scores of people bought that same ticket. We did, for instance, at least as far as Eridge.”
    “As did the railway thief.” I said, everything coming clear to me now. “It fits, don’t you see? Narbondo wouldn’t want an army of us in Heathfield. Given another