adjacent car.
A more dignified approach and more fitting for an
overweight middle-aged general practitioner. I had
no desire to secure the services of a fellow physician
for treatment of a break or contusions.
Close
to, the gun emplacement revealed nothing that
I had not noted from a distance and Holmes seemed to be paying it
scant attention. He was inspecting the top of the boxcar and gestured
for Ledger to join him on the forward end nearest the engine.
He
had risen and was pointing toward a streak of white
paint running across the boxcar roof. "Was
this marking in some way connected with your
security measures?" he asked.
The
youngish man shook his head. "Mr. Chasseur originally
had a rectangular area marked in paint as
the position of the guard house. I indicated to him
that the line of fire would be improved if it was built
farther back, to which he agreed. Evidently, the
man who was to paint out the line only completed
a part of his job. We were in a bit of a rush
to get the train ready, you know."
Holmes
accepted this without question, but I noted
that he positioned one heel on the mark and strode
back past the armor-plated cubicle to the end
of the boxcar. Holmes could suit his stride to an
exact three feet and I knew he was measuring a
distance, though for what reason I could not fathom.
Nothing else about the train claimed his attention, so we descended
to the ground, where Holmes evidenced a considerable interest in our guide.
"How
long were you with the diamond people?" he
asked.
"Three
years. The mines are not as they once were,
which made my duties easier. They are now walled
compounds with more guards per acre than a military base. Getting in
and out is about as easy as getting close to the Crown jewels. To
mount a raid would take a trained
military unit and a sizeable one at
that. Therefore the main duty, in addition to maintaining an alert
guard force, was inspection of the
native diggers when they periodically left the compound to
rejoin their tribes in the interior. It's all been rather worked out
by formula. Prior to departure, an enema is used to make sure a diamond doesn't go out in someone's
intestines. Anyone leaving is stripped
to the buff and doctor- inspected, the
interior of his mouth as well."
"Necessary,
I suppose," commented Holmes. "What
brought you back to England?"
"A
friend of Mr. Chasseur is a major shareholder in
Kimberly and must have given me a spanking recommendation. The B &
N had some problem with warehouse thefts
and I was offered my present position.
Jumped at it, I might add. Africa is all very
well, but the boredom of the job was getting to me."
"I
can imagine. Where did the robbery take place?"
asked Holmes, suddenly shifting subjects.
"Outside
of Brent. A small village almost due north of Colchester."
We
were back by the dispatcher's now, and as Holmes
thanked Ledger for his trouble, a thought burst
upon me. "I say, we've rather
dismissed the idea of the thieves being
aboard the special when it pulled out. But
I noted a blind spot at the rear of the train. Might
they not have somehow overhauled the train as
it was leaving the yards?"
Again
it was Ledger who supplied the cold water. "The
special was routed on the main line," said the
security man.
"To
be red-balled through," added Holmes.
"Exactly."
There was a small smile on Ledger's tight
mouth, as though in recognition of Holmes' familiarity
with railroad jargon. "Along with a group
of trusted employees, I was right here to watch
her off, and she'd gained considerable speed by
the time she was out of our sight. They got to her beyond
the yards, Dr. Watson, or a whole group of us
had better have our eyes checked."
"Certainly
not necessary in your case," said Holmes,
and I noted that Ledger shot him a quick glance.
The comment did seem cryptic at first, but then Ledger was relatively
young and one could assume that his eyes
were keen. "You did not decide to
go with the bullion, and I have wondered
why." Holmes'
A more dignified approach and more fitting for an
overweight middle-aged general practitioner. I had
no desire to secure the services of a fellow physician
for treatment of a break or contusions.
Close
to, the gun emplacement revealed nothing that
I had not noted from a distance and Holmes seemed to be paying it
scant attention. He was inspecting the top of the boxcar and gestured
for Ledger to join him on the forward end nearest the engine.
He
had risen and was pointing toward a streak of white
paint running across the boxcar roof. "Was
this marking in some way connected with your
security measures?" he asked.
The
youngish man shook his head. "Mr. Chasseur originally
had a rectangular area marked in paint as
the position of the guard house. I indicated to him
that the line of fire would be improved if it was built
farther back, to which he agreed. Evidently, the
man who was to paint out the line only completed
a part of his job. We were in a bit of a rush
to get the train ready, you know."
Holmes
accepted this without question, but I noted
that he positioned one heel on the mark and strode
back past the armor-plated cubicle to the end
of the boxcar. Holmes could suit his stride to an
exact three feet and I knew he was measuring a
distance, though for what reason I could not fathom.
Nothing else about the train claimed his attention, so we descended
to the ground, where Holmes evidenced a considerable interest in our guide.
"How
long were you with the diamond people?" he
asked.
"Three
years. The mines are not as they once were,
which made my duties easier. They are now walled
compounds with more guards per acre than a military base. Getting in
and out is about as easy as getting close to the Crown jewels. To
mount a raid would take a trained
military unit and a sizeable one at
that. Therefore the main duty, in addition to maintaining an alert
guard force, was inspection of the
native diggers when they periodically left the compound to
rejoin their tribes in the interior. It's all been rather worked out
by formula. Prior to departure, an enema is used to make sure a diamond doesn't go out in someone's
intestines. Anyone leaving is stripped
to the buff and doctor- inspected, the
interior of his mouth as well."
"Necessary,
I suppose," commented Holmes. "What
brought you back to England?"
"A
friend of Mr. Chasseur is a major shareholder in
Kimberly and must have given me a spanking recommendation. The B &
N had some problem with warehouse thefts
and I was offered my present position.
Jumped at it, I might add. Africa is all very
well, but the boredom of the job was getting to me."
"I
can imagine. Where did the robbery take place?"
asked Holmes, suddenly shifting subjects.
"Outside
of Brent. A small village almost due north of Colchester."
We
were back by the dispatcher's now, and as Holmes
thanked Ledger for his trouble, a thought burst
upon me. "I say, we've rather
dismissed the idea of the thieves being
aboard the special when it pulled out. But
I noted a blind spot at the rear of the train. Might
they not have somehow overhauled the train as
it was leaving the yards?"
Again
it was Ledger who supplied the cold water. "The
special was routed on the main line," said the
security man.
"To
be red-balled through," added Holmes.
"Exactly."
There was a small smile on Ledger's tight
mouth, as though in recognition of Holmes' familiarity
with railroad jargon. "Along with a group
of trusted employees, I was right here to watch
her off, and she'd gained considerable speed by
the time she was out of our sight. They got to her beyond
the yards, Dr. Watson, or a whole group of us
had better have our eyes checked."
"Certainly
not necessary in your case," said Holmes,
and I noted that Ledger shot him a quick glance.
The comment did seem cryptic at first, but then Ledger was relatively
young and one could assume that his eyes
were keen. "You did not decide to
go with the bullion, and I have wondered
why." Holmes'
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