Free The Firebird Mystery by Darrell Pitt

gunmen, allowing Mr Doyle to climb after them. Jack eased open a window. The Lion’s Mane was tethered beside the building.
    â€˜With a bit of luck we should be able to jump onto the balloon and slide down the side,’ Mr Doyle said.
    Jack judged the distance. Blimey , he thought. That’s going to take more than a bit of luck.
    â€˜We need to create a diversion,’ Mr Doyle said. ‘Jack, lend me a hand. Scarlet, continue firing, if you will.’
    Scarlet kept shooting at the men at the far end of the warehouse. Each time they tried to manoeuvre to the centre aisle, she fired another pot shot at them. Smoke and fire continued to spread and their attackers yelled to one another.
    â€˜The boxes are not too heavy,’ Mr Doyle said. ‘But this will require our combined strength if it is to work.’
    The detective braced his feet against the cases on the shelf in front of them. Jack did the same.
    â€˜We’ll push on the count of three,’ Mr Doyle said. ‘One, two…three!’
    They applied all their strength. At first Jack thought nothing was happening, and then he realised the shelf was beginning to tip.
    â€˜Release!’ Mr Doyle said.
    Pulling their legs back, the stack rocked towards them.
    â€˜And again!’ Mr Doyle cried.
    They pushed the shelf and this time it seemed to hover, balanced as if on a knife edge, until an instant later it fell away, slamming into the next shelf.
    â€˜Quickly!’ Mr Doyle yelled. ‘Out the window!’
    Jack shoved the window open wide. A narrow ledge ran around the outside of the building. Jack glanced back inside the warehouse. The shelves were toppling away like a row of dominoes. Smoke billowed everywhere. He heard screaming and crashing.
    He leapt from the window and landed face first against the airship’s balloon. Using the friction of the surface, he slid down the side until he slipped off and landed on his feet. He saw Scarlet follow his lead. She leapt across to the balloon and slid down. The girl suddenly became airborne and landed on him.
    â€˜Oomph!’ Jack gasped.
    Scarlet rolled over. ‘Jack! I’m so sorry.’
    â€˜That’s quite all right,’ Jack said. He had momentarily seen the underneath of Scarlet’s dress and realised he was blushing furiously. ‘Here’s Mr Doyle.’
    Mr Doyle landed next to them rather more adeptly. ‘Hurry, you two. We’d better move before those chaps recover.’
    Mr Doyle untied the airship and they piled into the gondola. The airship rose quickly over the buildings. Jack looked back at the warehouse. A window exploded and smoke trailed up into the evening sky. The rain had stopped.
    He saw the men run from the structure and make a hasty getaway. By the time the Lion’s Mane had climbed high above the city, the warehouse had been reduced to a star fallen to earth, radiant in the heart of the darkening landscape.
    The last light of day played along the horizon like the pieces of a broken bottle. Only the metrotower was visible, rising like a Roman column from the fog-enshrouded city.
    Scarlet let out a sob.
    â€˜My dear.’ Mr Doyle locked the airship’s steering wheel. ‘Are you all right?’
    Jack felt as if his heart were about to burst from his chest. Scarlet had been so strong during the whole ordeal. If she burst into tears, he was afraid he would too.
    â€˜No, I fear I am not.’ Scarlet dabbed at her face with a handkerchief. ‘We have been through so much and not moved ahead an inch.’
    â€˜On the contrary,’ Mr Doyle said. ‘A fortunate clue has landed in our laps.’
    â€˜A clue? What clue?’ Jack asked.
    Mr Doyle returned to the steering panel of the airship. ‘The fellows back at the warehouse were speaking German.’
    â€˜And you could understand them?’
    Mr Doyle nodded. ‘It is one of the twelve languages of which I have a passing