Sherlock Holmes & The Master Engraver (Sherlock Holmes Revival) by Ross Husband

outlandish story. It was earlier in December I was visited by a very smart gentleman, a Mr Asa Bormanstein – he sounded English but I thought he had a very faint accent, German maybe – anyway, he said he knew where there was some profitable work to be done, glazing and the like, but it couldn’t be done except on the 19th of December – not a day before and not a day after.
    “I thought this a rather odd business but he assured me it was just his way of doing things, and the pay would be generous, very generous indeed, and as I said Mr Watson, I needed the money.
    “I was to have so many panes of glass of such-and-such dimensions ready-cut for very early on Thursday morning, about five o’clock, and he would call for me.”
    Holmes listened closely, and made the occasional note on his legal pad. “This certainly was a most unusual commission. Can you describe Mr Bormanstein for me?” Madgwick considered awhile.
    “I would say he was well set-up, perhaps of middle or late-middle years, army-style moustache, smart and athletically-built, strong-looking, well-dressed, maybe a tad taller than average. And there was one other thing – I had the distinct feeling he might have been a military man at one time; just from the way he carried himself you understand, as if he were rather more accustomed to giving orders, than asking favours.”
    “Thank you. Your description is indeed precise to a point – I feel almost as if I have already encountered the gentleman myself. Please continue with your most interesting account Mr Madgwick.”
    “Very well; I had old Noah fed, watered, harnessed and in the shafts, and the wagon all loaded in the yard by five o’clock as instructed. Mr Bormanstein had told me it would be a tolerable fair ride to the customer so I threw in the nose-bag as well.
    “Now imagine my complete astonishment when he arrives, attired in common working man’s clothes and carrying a bag of tools and a shovel, which he held was on account that he would assist with the work, but did not require any imbursement for his time. Now how strange is that?” Holmes made no immediate reply, except to smile briefly as if satisfied with an expected outcome. “A most unusual tale Mr Madgwick; please do continue.
    “There’s not much worth the telling for some considerable while now; we set off and for the entire journey it was like travelling with the Sphinx. I tried to draw him on the client, where we were headed, the nature of the works, but all he replied was ‘all in good time’ or ‘you’ll see by and by’ and such-like. We left London by the Chiswick High Road and shortly after, we passed over the bridge at Kew.
    “This cheered me considerably, as the folk who live thereabouts are in the main a well-heeled lot, but when we went straight past the Royal Botanic Gardens I realised we must be headed for Richmond, and indeed, so it proved to be.
    “And now, something very funny occurred; he told me to pull over on a smart suburban street and wait,
    where he sat in perfect silence, watching a large villa a short ways along the road most intently. I will confess I was starting to feel a mite uneasy about this whole outlandish business, but as I said, I much needed the money, and so held my peace.
    “We waited for perhaps half an hour in silence, when at a little past nine o’clock, the front door of the villa that so occupied his attention opened, and out stepped a tall, elderly, bespectacled man, very well dressed and distinguished-looking; he set off at a brisk pace in the direction of the railway station and as he passed us on the far side of the road I noticed that the poor fellow seemed rather agitated, muttering and frowning and shaking his head.
    “For some reason this appeared to suit my strange companion very well, for as soon as the old gentleman vanished around the corner, Mr Bormanstein directed me to drive to the small lane at the rear of the villa, and wait there while he confirmed the