Free Sherlock Holmes and the Chinese Junk Affair and Other Stories by Roy Templeman Page B

from the village. Plus a young stable boy. The young lad lived over the stable and looked after the horse and drove the dogcart; he helped the gardener too. On a later visit to Halam Hall, I spoke to them all in turn except the stable lad, who had by then joined the Army. They all remarked that the Chinamen kept very much to themselves and confirmed what I had already gathered, that Rodger Hardy was a fine gentleman, considerate and generous. When he closed the Hall and put it up for sale, he gave them all a handsome present of money as a way of showing his appreciation of them.
    ‘The village people told of loads of wood and strange objects being delivered by steam traction lorries from time to time, passing through the village on the way up to the Hall.
    ‘From my Chinese friends I found out that when Rodger Hardy first showed Sir Simon the keel and ribs of the junk, they were of genuine wood. But the heavy baulks of timber which you saw, Sir Simon, making up the keel, were in fact only thin planks, made to appear like thick heavy oak timbers.
    ‘On your second visit a month later, and you again inspected the progress which had been made of the building of the junk, again you could touch and see it was definitely wood. The sawdust, offcuts of wood and shavings, all went to confirm this. However, between that second visit and third visit, the keel and wooden ribs of the vessel had been taken away and the cardboard and paper construction replaced it.
    ‘They obstructed, with timber and tools, the foot of the stairs leading into the ballroom, making it difficult for you to inspect the hull closely. The lighting was not good either; several of the lamps were unlit. Rodger Hardy had made the excuse that he was having trouble with them, I believe.’ Holmes looked at Sir Simon who nodded agreement.
    Holmes continued. ‘Rodger Hardy had chosen you, his witness, very well.’ He again looked towards Sir Simon and said, ‘Sir Simon, like many, no doubt, of the Cabinet, is not remotely aware of the ways men work wood with axe, saw and plane. The shavings, sawdust, wood and tools lying around were enough to give the impression and create the illusion that what you were seeing was a vessel made of solid English oak, and having been given a brief view of the month’s progress, there your interest ended.
    ‘Now had you, Sir Simon, been a carpenter, or a craftsman of any kind, you would have been sufficiently interested in another’s craftsmanship to observe it closer and perhaps ask questions about its construction.’
    Holmes uncrossed his long legs again, took another sip from his glass and continued. ‘Rodger Hardy relied upon this very fact. He might have chosen a friend or acquaintance from the civil service, the admiralty, or parliament, to be a witness, but when he heard that his old university friend was now a member of the Cabinet he concluded he could find no better person.
    ‘Relying upon Sir Simon’s lack of curiosity and interest in all things of a technical nature, he was able to impress him with a glimpse of electric cables, dials and switches. To add further authenticity to the occasion, he rigged up a simple mechanical device which, when turned by hand, by one of the Chinamen in this case, gave a humming sound easily mistaken for an electrical generator. The driving power for the generators was supposed to be provided by two hired steam tractors, but only their noise, and the hiss of steam, was really needed to create the illusion.
    ‘Of course, Rodger Hardy was aware that any investigating team coming to Halam Hall would want to know how the generators were powered. The two steam-tractor drivers made great play of obtaining water from the village pond, both on the day before the demonstration, and on their departure next day. Thus the village people would provide ample verification of how steam tractors were seen to have been used at the Hall on the evening in question.
    ‘The posts and strands of copper