The Steampunk Detective (15 page)

He turned to see Ignatius Doyle.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he said. “What about you?”

“Not very well,” Mr Doyle admitted. “I kept waking up thinking about the battle ahead.” He drew his coat around him. “I thought you’d like to know that I’ve taken some steps regarding the poor creatures living on the island.”

“What will happen to them?”

“I spoke to Griffin. He is sending a team over there to find them all and bring them back. Hopefully a cure will be found for their condition.”

Jack looked out the window. “How long till we arrive at the falls?”

“We’ll be there in three hours. However, before we arrive, there’s something I’d like to give you.” He pulled out a small box and handed it to Jack.

“What is it?”

“Have a look inside.”

Jack opened it. The box contained a magnifying glass, a curious rubber object, a lump of something that looked like wax and a metal device with a series of springs and cogs measuring about three inches in length.

“Every detective must own a magnifying glass,” Mr Doyle explained. “The science of detection begins with one thing – observation. Following observation is deduction - assembling all the pieces into a coherent picture.”

Mr Doyle picked up the metal object. “This is a lock pick. A very handy device on occasion.”

Jack took it from him carefully.

He now had his lock pick. He really was a detective – or a criminal.

Mr Doyle seemed to read his mind. “Use only when necessary.”

Jack picked up the next object.

“A rubber nose,” Mr Doyle said gravely. “Every detective should own one. I shall show you later how it is applied.”

Jack looked into the box at the last item – the odd shaped piece of wax.

“My apologies,” Mr Doyle popped it into his mouth. “I was wondering where that cheese went.”

Looking into the box, Jack tried to remember when he had last received a gift.

He realised it was that last Christmas with his parents. His mother had given him a compass, a small brass object with a delicate needle that always pointed in the right direction. He still carried the gift with him everywhere, buried deep in his pocket as a reminder of his parents.

You’re still with me
, he thought.
Showing me the way.

“Thank you, Mr Doyle,” Jack said.

“You’re most welcome, my boy.”

A bell chimed.

“Ah, the morning alarm. We must now eat. A big day lies ahead of us.”

Jack put the objects into his pocket. They walked the length of the airship till they reached the galley. The room was now full of people, eating and drinking. A few soldiers were woofing down breakfasts. Scarlet and the others had assembled around a table at the end.

Mr Griffin looked up as Mr Doyle and Jack arrived.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” he said. “I was just about to detail our line of attack.”

Ignatius Doyle and Jack sat down. Jack looked over at Scarlet. She flashed him a smile and Jack felt slightly wobbly at the knees.

I think she likes me
, he thought. He hoped nothing happened to her. They were heading into battle, after all. Her father had tried to persuade her to remain behind and Jack found himself wishing she had. A battle was no place for a girl – even one as lively as Scarlet.

“We have been in communication with the Swiss government,” Mr Griffin said. “Having explained this situation to them, they have agreed to give us full cooperation during this crisis.”

“We will be making a targeted assault on the Phoenix compound. Our initial goal is to determine the status of the compound. If the Phoenix scientists are still in control of it, then we will negotiate a peaceful settlement. If the Nazis are in control, we will still attempt a peaceful resolution, but we must be prepared to use force if necessary.

“Mr Harker and Mr Bell have agreed to take us to the entrance of the compound. That is as far as their participation need entail. MI5 and the military will take over from there.”

“What is the status of the German government?” Mr Harker asked.

“There is still friction between our two countries,” Mr Griffin said. “The German government have agreed to co–operate with us, but we must remember the Nazis have enormous power in Germany.”

“How have they become so powerful?” Scarlet asked.

Thomas Griffin gave her a smile. “It’s wonderful to see a woman interested in politics.”

Scarlet bristled, but held her tongue.

“Sorry, Miss Bell,” Mr Griffin said. “I know you have a keen and intelligent mind.”

“I accept your apology.”

“Thank you,” he said. “Ten years have passed since the end of the great war. Germany was comprehensively defeated, but at the cost of millions of lives. The war ran for six years and only came to an end when the Americans allied with us. Their participation signalled the end for Germany.

“Since that time there has been a growing feeling in Germany that their leaders let them down. Many people still believe they would have won the war if their government had not surrendered.

“In addition, you are probably familiar with the issue of repatriation payments?”

“What’s repatriation?” Jack asked.

“It’s when money must be paid in compensation,” Mr Doyle explained. “In this case I believe Mr Griffin is speaking in terms of money paid back to Britain and other countries to compensate for the war.”

“I am,” Mr Griffin confirmed. “Those payments stifled the German economy for years. About three years ago the Germans declared national bankruptcy. This meant the repatriation payments were halted. A national building program began to rebuild the economy.”

“But they just completed building a metrotower,” Lucy Harker pointed out. “How could they afford such an enormous endeavour?”

“Much of that money was supplied in the form of loans from the world bank,” Mr Griffin said.

“Everyone seems to have wanted to rebuild Germany,” Scarlet said. “We seem to have been very generous.”

“Not so much generous as pragmatic,” Mr Griffin continued. “A stable German government is to everyone’s advantage.”

“And if Germany should become…unstable?” Scarlet asked.

Thomas Griffin looked grim. “The Nazis would seize their opportunity and Anton Drexler would probably be made Chancellor.”

A number of pings rang out over the ship’s intercom.

“That means we’re starting to descend,” Mr Griffin explained. “I’d prefer if everyone suited up as if they were leaving the ship.” He added, “Just in case.”

Everyone filed out of the room to their respective cabins. Jack followed Mr Doyle.

“What did Mr Griffin mean?” Jack asked. “When he said, ‘just in case’.”

“We may be heading into a battle,” Mr Doyle said sadly. “Anything might happen. If the airship is struck, then we will find ourselves lost in the snow. Best be rugged up if that should occur.”

Jack wondered about a worse possibility than being lost in the snow. Airships were powered by hydrogen. Every schoolboy knew it was highly combustible. One spark and the entire balloon could explode.

He returned to his cabin and pulled on a large coat. The airship was descending rapidly now. His ears were popping. He went back out into the corridor followed by Mr Doyle. The sun had risen over the hills, but it had begun to lightly snow. The ground grew closer and closer. Finally the airship seemed to hover only a few feet over the surface.

Looking through the window, he saw a metal rope ladder drop from the body of the airship. Men climbed down and started securing the airship to rocky points on the ground.

More men climbed out and onto the snow. Soldiers followed by Mr Griffin and Lucy and Scarlet’s fathers. They trooped off into the snow towards a wide valley. After a few minutes of walking, Jack saw them angle towards a gorge on the east side of the valley. They disappeared out of sight through the crack in the rock face.

Jack felt nervous. The ‘just in case’ comment had made him anxious about what lay ahead. He hated the idea of being stranded here in the snow without the airship to help them escape.

About twenty minutes later Jack heard Scarlet and Lucy clattering down the metal walkway. Scarlet stood next to him, looking through the window into the distance as Lucy moved over to Mr Doyle.

“How long do you think they’ll be?” Lucy asked.

To Jack’s surprise, Lucy had tears in her eyes as she gently laid a hand on Mr Doyle’s shoulder. She had seemed so difficult back at the London metrotower. Now she seemed like a completely different person. Jack realised she was probably terribly worried about her father.

“There, there, my dear,” Mr Doyle said gently. “We’ll know soon enough.” He looked down. “And you’ve hurt yourself.”

Jack looked down. Lucy’s right leg appeared bruised.

She looked down distractedly. “Silly me. I slipped down the steps earlier. I’m not quite myself at the moment.”

“They’re coming back,” Scarlet said.

They turned to the window again. Some of the men were trooping through the lightly falling snow towards them. After what seemed an eternity, Mr Griffin joined them on the viewing platform.

“Looks like nobody’s home,” he said cheerfully. “This was the society’s chief research laboratory. Jon Harker seems to think they may have abandoned the compound for another location. Anyway, you might be interested to see some of the novelties we’ve discovered.”

They all had to wear two types of footwear to go outside. The first was a warm boot that slipped over their normal shoes. The second was an odd looking snowshoe that looked to Jack like a tennis racket. The snowshoes had a hardwood frame with rawhide lacing. Jack immediately tripped over his feet when he tried to stand.

“Easy there,” Mr Doyle said. “They take some getting used to.”

Jack found he was able to clamber about after a few experimental walks up and down the gangway. Looking at his companions, he thought it interesting that once they were all dressed in their woolly overcoats, both the men and the women looked virtually identical. They made their way to the exit and slowly climbed down the ladder to the ground below.

For the first time he saw the other airships that had joined them on their journey. There were at least a dozen of the vessels, hanging above them at various altitudes. A number of them were clearly British, but he could also see a few French ships and a couple of others he did not recognise.

He pointed them out to Mr Doyle.

“Those are the Swiss airships,” he said. “They’re smaller than ours, but very quick and manoeuvrable.”

It was bitterly cold outside the airship, but Jack found the clothing helped enormously. A light breeze danced across the snow. Mr Griffin slowly led them across the valley. They walked in silence. Snow continued to fall lightly around them as they turned into the gorge.

After a few minutes Jack saw a crack in the rock face to the right. They angled towards it. Mr Griffin went first. The narrow crack widened into a tunnel. The mountain closed in around them. Jack was instantly aware of the scuffling sound of their boots.

Hey
, he thought.
Our tennis shoes are making a racket.

He did not share his joke with the others.

Jack saw a light at the end of the passage. Warm air wafted against his face as they made their way along the dark, narrow corridor. Finally they entered a large room, well lit, clean and bare. A number of snow shoes lay to one side. Obviously these belonged to the other men from the Britannia.

Jack looked up at the ceiling. “What are those lights? They don’t look like –.”

“Gas,” Mr Doyle said. “No. Indeed they don’t. I believe they are operated by an advanced form of electricity.”

“They certainly are,” Mr Griffin said.

Jack stared up at the lights in fascination. A series of balls about three inches across were set into the ceiling at intervals of a foot. They cast an even light across the entire interior of the room, unlike gas lamps which always flickered and jumped. Also, the lighting was far more pure – their gas equivalent always contained a yellow tinge.

“Fascinating,” Scarlet said. “What happens if you touch them?”

“I believe a filament is contained within the globe,” Mr Griffin said. “I imagine they would be rather hot to handle. Anyway, we had best keep moving. There is much more to see than this.”

“Amazing,” Lucy commented.

Mr Griffin gave a short laugh. “This is nothing. Follow me.”

He opened the door and they found themselves on a platform overlooking an enormous cavern almost half a mile across. Larger lights set into the ceiling across the immense cave illuminated the interior. Strange contraptions filled the cavern.

“Alice,” Mr Griffin said. “Welcome to Wonderland.”

There were too many objects for Jack to take in. In addition, he had no idea what most of them were. He saw a helicopter, similar to the one they had travelled in earlier, but this one was larger. A submarine also lay, almost like a discarded toy, against one wall. He knew little about the underwater craft, but this looked larger than anything he had seen in picture books.

One object he did recognise was a small steamer designed for space flight. The space vessel sat at the far end of the interior. A row of cannons studded the side facing them. In front of the steamer three rows of insect like machines stood like silent sentries.

“Incredible,” Mr Doyle said. “Simply incredible.”

“I don’t know where to look,” Scarlet said. “It really is like being in Aladdin’s cave.”

“And this is only one of them,” Mr Griffin said.

“There are others?” Mr Doyle asked.

“At least four others that we can find,” Mr Griffin replied. “As well as a mass of laboratories and testing chambers. It might well take months to fully explore this place. If it weren’t for –.”

A bang emanated from the far end of the cavern.

“That sounded like a shot,” Mr Doyle said.

“Wait here,” Mr Griffin said.

He hurried down the metal stairs to the base of the observation platform. One of the soldiers ran towards him, weaving his way through the mass of strange devices. More shots rang out. The men had an animated conversation for a moment before the soldier turned and ran back towards the other end of the cavern. Mr Griffin hurried back up the stairs.