PINNACLE BOOKS NEW YORK by Unknown Read Free Book Online Page A

positioned
close to the spur line. He investigated that
section closely but found no marks of a bicycle or
horse."
    "Then
we can assume one of the thieves was fleet of
foot." The detective's next question surprised me.
"What was the original purpose of the spur line?"
    "To
service a tin mine that petered out a number of years ago."
    "The
boxcar came to a stop near the end of track?"
    "Quite
close to it." Frisbee let a silence grow, and then
his eyes narrowed as he posed the key ques tion.
"What do you think?"
    "I
can give you a one-sentence summation," replied
Holmes. "It is a pity that the security methods
of the Birmingham and Northern were not
planned as carefully as the robbery."
    "Had
they been, I would not be here," stated the banker
laconically.
    Holmes
shook his head. "I fear your visit, as welcome
as it is, has been for naught."
    "We
must talk of that."
    "To
no avail," said Holmes, and there was a note of
finality in his voice. "You stated that you had heard
of our encounter"—his eyes flashed to me for a
brief moment—"with Alvidon Daniel Chasseur of the B &
N. As a result of it, I vowed to have nothing to
do with his stolen bullion."
    "It's
not really his problem," stated Frisbee. "Or his
bullion either. Chasseur took on this gold transfer
with an eye to future business. Shipments of
special cargo. That's a nautical
expression, but it has come to have
meaning with land transporta tion as
well. If the thing had worked smoothly, his armored-train
idea might have caught on in other fields.
However, that much gold in one place incurred
a risk, so he took a policy on the shipment with
our Inter-Ocean insurance division. If the gold isn't
recovered, we stand to lose half a million pounds,
the face value of our short-term coverage."
    Holmes'
manner had changed with Frisbee's words, but he stood by his guns,
albeit in a less dogmatic manner.
    "An
investigation would involve my coming in contact
with that man again . . ."
    "Holmes,
if we have to remit the insurance money,
Chasseur's only problem is loss of face for having
the bullion spirited out from under him. This
matter has all the elements that I know you love so well. Take that
Herefordshire banker Trelawney, for instance."
    "Ezariah
Trelawney?" exclaimed Holmes with a lightning
glance in my direction. "What has he to do
with it?"
    "Trelawney
arranged the consortium of west coast
banks that provided the gold in the first place.
Murdered, you know."
    "We
certainly do," I said forcefully.
    Frisbee
registered surprise at my vehemence but shrewdly sensed that the wind
had shifted and held his silence.
    Holmes
had risen again and unconsciously retrieved his cherrywood.
Chewing on its stem, he stared into
space for a moment before returning his intense
gaze to Frisbee. "Sometimes fate
steps in," he stated. "All right, I'll
take on the bullion case on behalf of Inter-Ocean Trust."

    Chapter
5
    The
Armored Train
    ONCE
MY FRIEND had committed himself, Claymore Frisbee hastened
proceedings by the simple method of
saying yes to everything. He seemed plagued
by the fear that the great sleuth might change
his mind. I could have reassured him on that
point, for when Holmes decided on a course of action,
he stuck to it with the tenacity of the English
bulldog. The banker agreed to arrange an appointment
with Richard Ledger, the B & N head of
security, and while Holmes was gazing out the bow window considering
other necessary lines of investigation,
Frisbee handed me an unmarked envelope that had to be a pre-prepared
persuasion ploy.
    I
could guess what it contained. Holmes' habitu al
reserve was most apparent in his reluctance to consider
or discuss money, an enduring neurosis of the English upper middle
class. Frisbee, who knew his man, had written a generous check for
expenses to nail down the detective's
involvement in the bullion problem.
Regardless of his motive, I men tally
thanked the banker, for this case gave indica tions
of a widespread search and Holmes was sure to