William Seil - The Furt The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - The Titanic Tragedy

It was a joy to see the first of these passengers heading towards the lifeboats. But I shuddered to think of the steerage passengers still below who would, quite probably, lose their lives in the next few hours. And what of the crew down below who were valiantly operating the pumps and keeping the electric power flowing?

I looked at my watch. It was 1.25. We were late for our rendezvous with Holmes and Miss Norton, so we moved quickly, running forwards along the starboard deck.

En route, we saw Futrelle. He was walking aft and appeared to be lost in thought.

‘Futrelle, I am so glad that we found you,’ I said. ‘Where is your wife?’

‘I put May in a boat not five minutes ago. She is safe now.’

‘Futrelle, I...’

‘Doctor, I have spoken to Holmes and Miss Norton. They told me everything.’

‘Please, join us, Mr Futrelle. We are on our way to meet them now.’

‘No, no thank you. I prefer to be alone with my own thoughts.’

‘Futrelle...’ I searched for the right words.

‘But I must thank you, Doctor. My thanks to both you and Mr Holmes. It was truly a case to remember.’

He shook both our hands. Futrelle began to turn, but then paused. ‘I do believe I have discovered a plan by which Professor Van Dusen could escape safely from this situation. I fear, however, that it is not for me.’

He smiled, waved slowly, and began to walk away.

Miss Storm-Fleming and I moved quickly to the forward funnel, where we hoped to meet Holmes and Miss Norton. Instead, we found only Miss Norton. She was pacing up and down nervously.

‘Where have you two been? I thought of going to look for you, but...’

‘Where is Holmes?’ I asked.

‘He has gone to meet Moriarty.’

‘What! But why?’

‘While we were returning to meet you, a page ran up and delivered a note. It was from the colonel. He said he knew the commodore’s true identity, and demanded that Mr Holmes meet him immediately.’

‘Meet him where?’ I asked.

‘Mr Holmes did not show me the note.’ She reached into her pocket. ‘But he did write a note of his own and asked me to give it to you.’

I hesitated before unfolding the paper, which I recognized as a sheet from Holmes’s notebook.

My dear Watson,

I write these few lines as I prepare to meet Colonel Moriarty, who has sent me an invitation that I simply cannot resist. The colonel has written a note stating that if I do not meet him immediately, ‘innocent lives will suffer’. It is hard to imagine more suffering than will take place on board this ship tonight, but nevertheless, my curiosity compels me to see what this vengeful creature has in mind.

Reading between the lines, I have deduced from his note that the colonel is a freelance agent who meant to profit from the theft of the submarine plans. I have no doubt that it was he who hired Bishop and Strickley to steal the plans, and then murdered them to prevent them from giving him away. He has, no doubt, friends in high places, since he knew that both I and the plans would be on board this ship. I would place his intellect at a level equal to that of the late Professor Moriarty. But I am afraid that he was not being honest earlier when he said that he had forgiven me for the death of his brother. That appears to be foremost on his mind at this fateful hour.

In a way, I must thank the colonel for providing an opportunity to face death in a way that is most satisfactory to me. As you know, I abhor inactivity, and this gives me the chance to use these final moments to pay my respects to those values I have held for so long. My only regret is that it prevents me from saying my proper goodbyes to you, old friend. I would have been lost on this mission without my Boswell. Please make sure that Miss Norton and Miss Storm-Fleming board a lifeboat, and save yourself if you can. I regard you as the best and wisest man it has ever been my privilege to know.

Very sincerely yours,

Sherlock Holmes.

I passed the note to Miss Storm-Fleming and Miss Norton, who each read the letter in silence.

‘We did find Tommy and his family,’ said Miss Norton eventually. ‘We told them about the ship and, with the help of Mr Lightoller, got Tommy and his mother on board one of the lifeboats.’

‘That is indeed good news,’ I said, finding that I had to clear my throat to speak. ‘Thank you, Miss Norton. I just hope that Tommy does not lose his father tonight.’

‘There’s more. Before we went to the lifeboat, Mr Holmes took Tommy aside and spoke to him. I do not know what they said, but after a while, Tommy was grinning ear to ear. Then Mr Holmes handed something to Tommy, patted him on the back and took him back to his parents. He would not tell me what he said to Tommy. He just said he and the boy were having a little professional discussion.’

‘You do not suppose Mr Holmes told him his true identity, do you?’ said Miss Storm-Fleming, ever mindful of the absolute need for security.

‘Oh, I doubt it,’ I said with a smile. ‘But then again...’

‘Do you suppose we should look for him and try to help him?’ Miss Norton asked.

‘No, Miss Norton, you have your job to do and I have mine. After I put you and Miss Storm-Fleming into a lifeboat, I will try to track him down. He tricked me into missing the last fight he had with a Moriarty. This time, I plan to be there at his side.’

I expected to hear a protest from Miss Storm-Fleming, but she was silent. Instead, she took my arm and smiled at me in a way that seemed to reflect a knowledge beyond my mortal comprehension. Miss Norton took my other arm and the three of us walked over to the forward end of the boat deck.

I had been so preoccupied that I had not noticed how much the situation on board had deteriorated. By now the bow of the mighty ship was low in the water and the first signs of panic had begun to show. A group of men had gathered around a boarding lifeboat and were trying to push their way into the small craft. For a moment, it appeared that the boat, and all passengers on board, might be in some jeopardy. Could it hold up if the mob broke past the crew and tried to jump on board at once?

Suddenly, two shots rang out, sending bright flashes across the night sky. The mob immediately backed away, and gradually moved on to find better opportunities. Some of the crew and two bystanders then jumped on board the boat and forcibly removed two men who, without the support of the mob, offered little resistance.

‘Women and children only!’ shouted Chief Officer Wilde, who was in charge of loading the boat. ‘Last call. We will be lowering away in a few moments! Would all women and children please step forward!’

I looked at the small craft. It was Englehardt Collapsible C, which had been loaded into the davits of long-departed Lifeboat No. 1. The canvas sides looked frail, but I had no doubt that it would hold up on the calm sea. Inside, passengers were frightened and restless. I saw one young girl with a serious gash on her head, possibly the result of the recent altercation.

‘Last call!’ Wilde shouted again. ‘We are about to lower away! There are still a few seats available!’

But there were no women or children nearby. I did, however, see Mr J Bruce Ismay, who was doing his best to assist Wilde with his duties.

‘Lower away!’ Wilde said.

‘Wait a minute!’ I shouted. ‘I have two more for you.’

‘Very good, Doctor. Get them on quickly.’ Wilde held up his hand to the crewman who was handling the davits.

‘Doctor Watson,’ someone shouted. It was a familiar voice. I turned to see the stern face of Captain Smith. ‘Why do you not join them? We have an injury on board and your medical knowledge is needed. No doubt it will be needed much more as the night progresses.’