The Cunning of John Clay

It is just before ten o’clock when Watson walks into your office. He is perfectly on time.

“Our party is complete,” you proclaim. “Watson, you already know Mr. Jones, of Scotland Yard. Allow me to introduce Mr. Merryweather, our companion in tonight’s adventure.”

“I hope this will not be a wild goose chase,” grumbles Mr. Merryweather.

“You may place your confidence in Mr. Holmes,” replies the Scotland Yard officer. “He has the makings of a detective in him.”

“Oh, if you say so, Mr. Jones, it is all right then,” says Mr. Merryweather.

“I think you will find the night worth your while,” you assure the men. “For you, Mr. Merryweather, the stake will be three million dollars. For you, Jones, it will be the man you’ve been tracking for years.”

“John Clay, the murderer, thief, and forger,” Mr. Jones explains. “I would rather have my handcuffs on him than on any criminal in London. He’s a remarkable man, this young John Clay. His brain is as cunning as his fingers. We find clues of him at every turn, but we never know where to find the man himself.”

“I hope that I may introduce you tonight,” you say. “It is past ten and quite time that we start. If you two will take the first carriage, Watson and I will follow in the second.”

***

You remain mostly silent during the long drive. The carriage rattles through an endless maze of streets until it turns onto Farrington Street.

“We are close now,” you remark. “Merryweather is a bank director and personally interested in the matter. I thought it as well to have Jones with us. He is as brave as a bulldog. Here we are, and they are waiting for us.”

You reach the same road that you visited in the morning. Following Mr. Merryweather, you pass down a passage and through a side door, into a small corridor. It ends at a massive iron gate. Mr. Merryweather opens the gate and leads you down a flight of stone steps, to another iron gate.

Mr. Merryweather stops to light a lantern. Then he conducts you down a dark, earth-smelling passage. He opens a third door, revealing a huge vault, which is filled with crates.

“You are not vulnerable from above,” you remark, holding up the lantern and gazing upward.

“Nor from below,” says Mr. Merryweather. He strikes his stick upon the floor. “Why, dear me, it sounds quite hollow!” he exclaims, looking up in surprise.

“I must really ask you to be a little more quiet!” you snap. “Might I beg that you sit down upon one of those boxes and not to interfere?”

Mr. Merryweather perches himself upon a crate with a hurt expression on his face. You fall onto your knees. With the lantern and a magnifying lens, you examine the cracks between the stones. A few seconds is enough. You spring to your feet again.

“We have at least an hour before us,” you remark. “They can hardly take any steps until the pawnbroker is safely in bed. Then they will not lose a minute. The sooner they do their work, the longer they will have for their escape. We are in the cellar of the Coburg Bank. Mr. Merryweather is the director, and he will explain that there are reasons why the criminals of London should take an interest in this cellar.”

“Our French gold,” whispers the director. “We have had warnings that an attempt might be made upon it.”

“Your French gold?” Watson asks.

“We borrowed three million dollars from the Bank of France. It has become known that we have never unpacked the money. It is still lying in our cellar.”

“And now it is time that we arrange our little plans,” you say. “I expect that, within an hour, matters will come to a head. In the meantime, Mr. Merryweather, we must cover the lanterns.”

“And sit in the dark?”

“I am afraid so. I see that the enemy’s preparations have gone so far that we cannot risk the presence of a light. Now, we must choose our positions.”

You glance around the cellar, looking for a spot. Is it wiser to hide several feet away from the place where John Clay will enter? Or should you crouch directly behind Clay’s entrance? If you are farther from him, you will be well hidden. But if you are closer, you will reach the villain more quickly. It is a difficult decision. What will you choose to do?