The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes - Jamyang Norbu [23]
'But somehow you did, didn't you, you old devil,' he chuckled, pushing up a pair of spectacles that always had a tendency to slip down his nose. 'Now, who is your friend here?'
'Mr Sigerson is from Norway, Sir. He is a ... an ... ah ... explorer.'
'An explorer? How interesting. Very glad to meet you, Sir. How can I be of service to you?'
'If it is not too much trouble,' said Sherlock Holmes, 'I would like to consult whatever literature you may have on Hirudenia!
'Hirudenia? Ah. You have come to the right place. We have every standard work on the subject, including a few very special and important reports that I may presume to say are not to be found anywhere in Europe at present. Please follow me.'
He led us into a long narrow chamber lined on either side with tall mahogany bookcases. He opened the glass-framed doors of one and peered short-sightedly at the collection of books inside.
'Could I trouble you for that?' He turned around, pointing at a low step-ladder nearby. I carried it over to him.
'Thank you.' He climbed up the first three steps and, peering closely at the spines of the books on the top shelf, commenced a litany of the names of the authors, who were, I suppose, all experts on 'Hirudenia] whatever that was.
'Fowler.,. Merridew... Konrad... Hackett, humm... Hackett. Don't think he'd be any good to you; fellow deals with invertebrate phyla in general. Konrad and Merridew are best especially on the hirudenia of this country.' He pulled out two slim volumes and, blowing the dust off the top, handed them to Holmes. 'Hope you find what you need in here. Not too fond of them myself. Strictiy a flora man. Blood thirsty brutes killed half my pack animals on an expedition once. Well, I will leave you to your research.'
Holmes sat on the step-ladder and began reading. He flipped over the pages of the first book impatiently, and when he got to the end put it aside with a snort of disgust. He must have found what he was after in the second book for he suddenly stopped flipping the pages and gave a little cry of triumph.
'Ha! Ha! Capital!' he chuckled, twitching with excitement, poring carefully over the page, underlining each sentence with a nervous finger. He occasionally paused to scribble brief notes on his cuff. After a long time he turned to me, shaking his head with feigned sorrow. 'Ah, me! It's a wicked world; and when a clever man turns his brain to revenge, it is the worst of all. I think I have enough information now...'
'Mr Holmes! You have solved...'
'Exactly, Mr Mookerjee. Only that I arrived at my conclusions last night, aided in part by the invigorating fumes of a few ounces of native tobacco. This ...' he said, closing the book with a thump, '... is merely confirmation.'
'But I don't understand how...'
'Patience,' he replied. 'All will be revealed in good time, I assure you. I have my own peculiar way of working, which you must forgive me. And now for a little recreation. I would like to avail myself of the services you offered to me on our first meeting aboard the ship, and be introduced to the sights of this city'
We left the library and, going down to the laboratory, said goodbye to Symington. The old botanist shook Holmes by the hand and made a not very subtle bid to elicit information about Holmes's purported explorations.
'Well, Mr Sigerson, I wish you the best of luck in your venture. Mookerjee here knows the ropes and ought to be able to safely guide you to ... ahh ... where did you say you were going to pursue your explorations?'
'I did not,' said Mr Holmes, the merest hint of amusement colouring his voice. 'But your cooperation has been invaluable, and it would be ungrateful of me to be reticent. In all confidence, I am telling you that it is my intention to enter Thibet and visit the fabled city of Lhassa.'
As I had feared, Symington at once began to greedily enumerate a long list of plant specimens we were to obtain for him in the highlands of Thibet.
'... remember, I want the Blue Poppy and the Stelleria decumbens, root and all...