Free Solomons Seal by Hammond Innes Page A

mind. He must have been over eighty, and at that age, nearing the end of his life …’ He sighed, a solicitor’s acceptance of the vagaries of elderly people. That’s what decided Captain Holland to sell up and come to England. Wanted to get away from it all.’
    â€˜You met him, did you?’
    He nodded. ‘When he bought the farm, and again when he sold it and purchased the little place in Aldeburgh.’
    â€˜What was he like?’
    â€˜An odd-looking man, mixed blood, you see. Not very sure of himself. Quite out of his depth running a farm here in England.’ He leaned back, his eyes half closed. ‘Can’t recall him very clearly, only that there was something about his manner that was a little strange, and his features – the nose rather broad and without character, large eyes and a low forehead under a mop of brown hair. Thickset, but rather shrivelled. He wasn’t at all well the last time I saw him, some disease of the tropics, hepatitis probably. He had a darkish skin that had a tinge of yellow in it. He died shortly afterwards. That’s when Miss Holland came to see me.’
    â€˜What nationality was her mother?’ I asked. ‘English?’
    â€˜No, Australian, I think. Captain Holland had been educated in Australia and had served in the Australian forces at the end of the last war. He probably met her then. At any rate, they were married shortly after.’
    â€˜You say he had mixed blood?’
    He nodded. ‘According to the information we dug out of the files, Colonel Holland’s first wife died just after the Kaiser’s war. The flu epidemic, I imagine. She would have been quite a young woman. Probably why he sold his ship-broking business and went out to Papua New Guinea.’
    â€˜To see if he could discover what had happened to the ship that went down with his brother?’
    â€˜Something like that, I imagine. It would have given him a purpose.’ He hesitated, then said, ‘You’re wondering about that young woman, I suppose. Well, no reason why you shouldn’t know. Miss Holland’s grandmother was from the islands, I can’t remember which. She was the daughter of a French trader.’ He said it as though that explained everything. ‘I suppose Holland was finding it pretty lonely up there in Papua New Guinea. He’d bought some land, a place called Kuamegu according to the photocopy of the deeds we have. That was in 1923 if I remember rightly, and he married this island girl the following year.’
    â€˜Was Captain Holland the only child?’ I asked.
    â€˜No, there was a sister. She’s married and lives in Perth.’
    â€˜So why did he come to England?’
    â€˜God knows. Probably because of his son, the younger one who had just left school.’
    I asked him about Timothy Holland then, but he couldn’t tell me much, only that he had failed at Sandhurst and had then gone out to Australia. ‘As you know, Australia became administrators for Papua New Guinea after the war, from I think 1952 until independence a few years ago. He was an officer in that Administration.’
    â€˜She said he was a patrol officer. Was he on duty when he was injured?’
    He shrugged. ‘I presume so.’
    â€˜How did it happen? Was he attacked?’
    â€˜No, it was an accident apparently. He was examining a ship while it was unloading and was hit by the cargo sling swinging on its boom. It knocked him into the hold. Just one of those things,’ he murmured, finishing his drink and glancing at his watch.
    â€˜Can you tell me anything about the elder brother?’ I asked. ‘Have you met him?’
    â€˜No, I’ve never met him. Why?’
    â€˜My guess is she intends joining him. He’s something to do with ships, I believe.’
    â€˜Yes. Runs his own vessel, a landing craft if I remember rightly. The Hollands have always been interested in island