Unknown by Braven Read Free Book Online

cigarette case saved his life. Following the
robbery, Spaulding sold out and dropped from sight. Five years back
that was, and you will note that the Deets's arrived in Surrey at
that time."
    "It fits. I'll give
you that," I admitted. Another thought crossed my mind. "If
Rapp brought up the matter of the explorer and author in '94, that
must have been right after your visit to the Khalifa at Khartoum."
    I had always been
tantalized by the real reason for Holmes's journey to Mecca and then
to the Sudan, but he brushed aside my bait quickly.
    "Sir Randolph Rapp
was very interested in Captain Spaulding, as I am right now. It's the
matter of the Sacred Sword, you see."
    I sighed. "Please,
Holmes, can we run that last bit over again."
    My friend smiled,
replaced the "S" file in the bookshelf, and took his pipe
from the mantel. "In the folklore of Arabia, it is said
that the sword of the prophet Mohammed still exists, secreted away in
some subterranean crypt in an unknown oasis. The unsheathing of the
Sacred Sword is to signal the rising of the followers of the
Crescent, who are then to drive the infidels into the sea."
    "A holy war,"
I exclaimed, "in keeping with what Mycroft fears. But what
has the late Captain Spaulding to do with that?"
    "You know that
Rapp, in his line of work, picks up a lot of rumors and is a great
believer that myths and folktales have a basis in fact. Somehow he
caught wind of the whisper that an Arabian chieftain feared that
the Sacred Sword would be used as a device to lead his people to
annihilation, a bloodbath. He supposedly gave the sword to
Captain Spaulding, considered a true friend of the Islamics,
despite the fact that he was Christian. Spaulding was to remove
the weapon to England until such time as it could be returned without
being an instrument to incite and inflame."
    I was shaking my head
and should have known better.
    "That sounds a bit
far-fetched, Holmes."
    "A moment. The
attempted robbery at the Spauldings' dwelling in Stoke Newington may
have been an attempt to secure the sword entrusted to the Captain.
Whatever, it got their wind up and they changed their residence
posthaste and their name as well."
    Holmes puffed on his
pipe furiously for a moment.
    "We can dissect the
matter piecemeal, ol' chap, but we're rather flogging a dead horse.
The recent intruder at the Spauldings' home in Surrey was not a thief
to my mind at all. To use the language of the ha'penny dreadfuls, he
was 'casing the joint.'"
    "Attempting to find
out where the sword was hidden," I said suddenly.
    "Now you're on the
track." Holmes's voice held a tone of approval. "Consider
Deets's, nee Spaulding's, reaction. He knew what the intruder was
doing there. Though nothing was taken, he still enlisted our aid
in hopes of finding out how to forestall a future attempt. He might
well have called in the police, but I think the prospect of Scotland
Yard on the scene rattled him. Suppose they located the hiding place
of the sword?"
    I was being drawn to
Holmes's idea in spite of myself and tried to use the logic that he
had made famous.
    "All right, let us
say that your brother's fear of an uprising is well-founded. We
have proof, by virtue of the dead Cruthers, that a tomb could well
play a part. The dagger he brought is tangible—I can see it,
and his dying words certainly tie in Chu San Fu to the matter."
    "Who else has the
resources and the overbearing ego to involve himself in such a wild
scheme?"
    "But where does
that leave this Sacred Sword idea?"
    "We have been
introduced to two situations, but do not place them in opposition to
each other, ol' boy. They both face towards the Mid East,
specifically Egypt. Let us consider them with an intellectual
togetherness."
    "You feel the Sword
is part of Chu's plot?"
    Holmes was knocking out
his pipe on the stones of the fireplace.
    "The wily old dog
is a bit of a showman, you know. With the Sacred Sword, he might well
set himself up as a latter-day prophet, a leader of