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The country was, as has already been stated, in the throes of apolitical crisis, and the attention of the public was further distractedby the important and sensational developments in Paris, where a hugescandal threatened to destroy the Government and to wreck thereputations of many of the leading men in France. The papers were fullof these events, and the singular disappearance of the special trainattracted less attention than would have been the case in more peacefultimes. The grotesque nature of the event helped to detract from itsimportance, for the papers were disinclined to believe the facts asreported to them. More than one of the London journals treated thematter as an ingenious hoax, until the coroner’s inquest upon theunfortunate driver (an inquest which elicited nothing of importance)convinced them of the tragedy of the incident.
Mr. Bland, accompanied by Inspector Collins, the senior detectiveofficer in the service of the company, went down to Kenyon Junction thesame evening, and their research lasted throughout the following day,but was attended with purely negative results. Not only was no tracefound of the missing train, but no conjecture could be put forward whichcould possibly explain the facts. At the same time, Inspector Collins’sofficial report (which lies before me as I write) served to show thatthe possibilities were more numerous than might have been expected.
“In the stretch of railway between these two points,” said he, “thecountry is dotted with ironworks and collieries. Of these, some arebeing worked and some have been abandoned. There are no fewer thantwelve which have small gauge lines which run trolly-cars down to themain line. These can, of course, be disregarded. Besides these, however,there are seven which have or have had, proper lines running down andconnecting with points to the main line, so as to convey their producefrom the mouth of the mine to the great centres of distribution. Inevery case these lines are only a few miles in length. Out of the seven,four belong to collieries which are worked out, or at least to shaftswhich are no longer used. These are the Redgauntlet, Hero, Slough ofDespond, and Heartsease mines, the latter having ten years ago been oneof the principal mines in Lancashire. These four side lines may beeliminated from our inquiry, for, to prevent possible accidents, therails nearest to the main line have been taken up, and there is nolonger any connection. There remain three other side lines leading—
(_a_) To the Carnstock Iron Works;
(_b_) To the Big Ben Colliery;
(_c_) To the Perseverance Colliery.
“Of these the Big Ben line is not more than a quarter of a mile long,and ends at a dead wall of coal waiting removal from the mouth of themine. Nothing had been seen or heard there of any special. The CarnstockIron Works line was blocked all day upon the 3rd of June by sixteentruckloads of hematite. It is a single line, and nothing could havepassed. As to the Perseverance line, it is a large double line, whichdoes a considerable traffic, for the output of the mine is very large.On the 3rd of June this traffic proceeded as usual; hundreds of men,including a gang of railway platelayers, were working along the twomiles and a quarter which constitute the total length of the line, andit is inconceivable that an unexpected train could have come down therewithout attracting universal attention. It may be remarked in conclusionthat this branch line is nearer to St. Helens than the point at whichthe engine-driver was discovered, so that we have every reason tobelieve that the train was past that point before misfortune overtookher.
“As to John Slater, there is no clue to be gathered from his appearanceor injuries. We can only say that, so far as we can see, he met his endby falling off his engine, though why he fell, or what became of theengine after his fall, is a question upon which I do not feel qualifiedto offer an opinion.” In conclusion, the inspector offered hisresignation to the Board, being much nettled by an accusation ofincompetence in the London papers.
A month elapsed, during which both the police and the company prosecutedtheir inquiries without the slightest success. A reward was offered anda pardon promised in case of crime, but they were both unclaimed. Everyday the public opened their papers with the conviction that so grotesquea mystery would at last be solved, but week after week passed by, and asolution remained as far off as ever. In broad daylight, upon a Juneafternoon in the most thickly inhabited portion of England, a train withits occupants had disappeared as completely as if some master of subtlechemistry had volatilized it into gas. Indeed, among the variousconjectures which were put forward in the public Press there were somewhich seriously asserted that supernatural, or, at least, preternatural,agencies had been at work, and that the deformed Monsieur Caratal wasprobably a person who was better known under a less polite name. Othersfixed upon his swarthy companion as being the author of the mischief,but what it was exactly which he had done could never be clearlyformulated in words.
Amongst the many suggestions put forward by various newspapers orprivate individuals, there were one or two which were feasible enough toattract the attention of the public. One which appeared in the _Times_,over the signature of an amateur reasoner of some celebrity at thatdate, attempted to deal with the matter in a critical andsemi-scientific manner. An extract must suffice, although the curiouscan see the whole letter in the issue of the 3rd of July.
“It is one of the elementary principles of practical reasoning,” heremarked, “that when the impossible has been eliminated the residuum,_however improbable_, must contain the truth. It is certain that thetrain left Kenyon Junction. It is certain that it did not reach BartonMoss. It is in the highest degree unlikely, but still possible, that itmay have taken one of the seven available side lines. It is obviouslyimpossible for a train to run where there are no rails, and, therefore,we may reduce our improbables to the three open lines, namely, theCarnstock Iron Works, the Big Ben, and the Perseverance. Is there asecret society of colliers, an English _camorra_, which is capable ofdestroying both train and passengers? It is improbable, but it is notimpossible. I confess that I am unable to suggest any othe
r solution. Ishould certainly advise the company to direct all their energies towardsthe observation of those three lines, and of the workmen at the end ofthem. A careful supervision of the pawnbrokers’ shops of the districtmight possibly bring some suggestive facts to light.”
The suggestion coming from a recognized authority upon such matterscreated considerable interest, and a fierce opposition from those whoconsidered such a statement to be a preposterous libel upon an honestand deserving set of men. The only answer to this criticism was achallenge to the objectors to lay any more feasible explanation beforethe public. In reply to this two others were forthcoming (_Times_, July7th and 9th). The first suggested that the train might have run off themetals and be lying submerged in the Lancashire and Staffordshire Canal,which runs parallel to the railway for some hundreds of yards. Thissuggestion was thrown out of court by the published depth of the canal,which was entirely insufficient to conceal so large an object. Thesecond correspondent wrote calling attention to the bag which appearedto be the sole luggage which the travellers had brought with them, andsuggesting that some novel explosive of immense and pulverizing powermight have been concealed in it. The obvious absurdity, however, ofsupposing that the whole train might be blown to dust while the metalsremained uninjured reduced any such explanation to a farce. Theinvestigation had drifted into this hopeless position when a new andmost unexpected incident occurred.
This was nothing less than the receipt by Mrs. McPherson of a letterfrom her husband, James McPherson, who had been the guard of the missingtrain. The letter, which was dated July 5th, 1890, was posted from NewYork, and came to hand upon July 14th. Some doubts were expressed as toits genuine character, but Mrs. McPherson was positive as to thewriting, and the fact that it contained a remittance of a hundreddollars in five-dollar notes was enough in itself to discount the ideaof a hoax. No address was given in the letter, which ran in this way:—
“MY DEAR WIFE,—
“I have been thinking a great deal, and I find it very hard to give you up. The same with Lizzie. I try to fight against it, but it will always come back to me. I send you some money which will change into twenty English pounds. This should be enough to bring both Lizzie and you across the Atlantic, and you will find the Hamburg boats which stop at Southampton very good boats, and cheaper than Liverpool. If you could come here and stop at the Johnston House I would try and send you word how to meet, but things are very difficult with me at present, and I am not very happy, finding it hard to give you both up. So no more at present, from your loving husband,
“JAMES MCPHERSON.”
For a time it was confidently anticipated that this letter would lead tothe clearing up of the whole matter, the more so as it was ascertainedthat a passenger who bore a close resemblance to the missing guard hadtravelled from Southampton under the name of Summers in the Hamburg andNew York liner _Vistula_, which started upon the 7th of June. Mrs.McPherson and her sister Lizzie Dolton went across to New York asdirected, and stayed for three weeks at the Johnston House, withouthearing anything from the missing man. It is probable that someinjudicious comments in the Press may have warned him that the policewere using them as a bait. However this may be, it is certain that heneither wrote nor came, and the women were eventually compelled toreturn to Liverpool.
And so the matter stood, and has continued to stand up to the presentyear of 1898. Incredible as it may seem, nothing has transpired duringthese eight years which has shed the least light upon the extraordinarydisappearance of the special train which contained Monsieur Caratal andhis companion. Careful inquiries into the antecedents of the twotravellers have only established the fact that Monsieur Caratal was wellknown as a financier and political agent in Central America, and thatduring his voyage to Europe he had betrayed extraordinary anxiety toreach Paris. His companion, whose name was entered upon the passengerlists as Eduardo Gomez, was a man whose record was a violent one, andwhose reputation was that of a bravo and a bully. There was evidence toshow, however, that he was honestly devoted to the interests of MonsieurCaratal, and that the latter, being a man of puny physique, employed theother as a guard and protector. It may be added that no information camefrom Paris as to what the objects of Monsieur Caratal’s hurried journeymay have been. This comprises all the facts of the case up to thepublication in the Marseilles papers of the recent confession of Herbertde Lernac, now under sentence of death for the murder of a merchantnamed Bonvalot. This statement may be literally translated as follows:—
“It is not out of mere pride or boasting that I give this information,for, if that were my object, I could tell a dozen actions of mine whichare quite as splendid; but I do it in order that certain gentlemen inParis may understand that I, who am able here to tell about the fate ofMonsieur Caratal, can also tell in whose interest and at whose requestthe deed was done, unless the reprieve which I am awaiting comes to mevery quickly. Take warning, messieurs, before it is too late! You knowHerbert de Lernac, and you are aware that his deeds are as ready as hiswords. Hasten then, or you are lost!
“At present I shall mention no names—if you only heard the names, whatwould you not think!—but I shall merely tell you how cleverly I did it.I was true to my employers then, and no doubt they will be true to menow. I hope so, and until I am convinced that they have betrayed me,these names, which would convulse Europe, shall not be divulged. But onthat day ... well, I say no more!
“In a word, then, there was a famous trial in Paris, in the year 1890,in connection with a monstrous scandal in politics and finance. Howmonstrous that scandal was can never be known save by such confidentialagents as myself. The honour and careers of many of the chief men inFrance were at stake. You have seen a group of nine-pins standing, allso rigid, and prim, and unbending. Then there comes the ball from faraway and pop, pop, pop—there are your nine-pins on the floor. Well,imagine some of the greatest men in France as these nine-pins, and thenthis Monsieur Caratal was the ball which could be seen coming from faraway. If he arrived, then it was pop, pop, pop for all of them. It wasdetermined that he should not arrive.
“I do not accuse them all of being conscious of what was to happen.There were, as I have said, great financial as well as politicalinterests at stake, and a syndicate was formed to manage the business.Some subscribed to the syndicate who hardly understood what were itsobjects. But others understood very well, and they can rely upon it thatI have not forgotten their names. They had ample warning that MonsieurCaratal was coming long before he left South America, and they knew thatthe evidence which he held would certainly mean ruin to all of them. Thesyndicate had the command of an unlimited amount of money—absolutelyunlimited, you understand. They looked round for an agent who wascapable of wielding this gigantic power. The man chosen must beinventive, resolute, adaptive—a man in a million. They chose Herbert deLernac, and I admit that they were right.
“My duties were to choose my subordinates, to use freely the power whichmoney gives, and to make certain that Monsieur Caratal should neverarrive in Paris. With characteristic energy I set about my commissionwithin an hour of receiving my instructions, and the steps which I tookwere the very best for the purpose which could possibly be devised.
“A man whom I could trust was dispatched instantly to South America totravel home with Monsieur Caratal. Had he arrived in time the ship wouldnever have reached Liverpool; but, alas! it had already started beforemy agent could reach it. I fitted out a small armed brig to interceptit, but again I was unfortunate. Like all great organizers I was,however, prepared for failure, and had a series of alternativesprepared, one or the other of which must succeed. You must not underratethe difficulties of my undertaking, or imagine that a mere commonplaceassassination would meet the case. We must destroy not only MonsieurCaratal, but Monsieur Caratal’s documents, and Monsieur Caratal’scompanions also, if we had reason to believe that he had communicatedhis secrets to them. And you must remember that they were on the alert,and keenly suspicious of any such attempt. It was a
task which was inevery way worthy of me, for I am always most masterful where anotherwould be appalled.
“I was all ready for Monsieur Caratal’s reception in Liverpool, and Iwas the more eager because I had reason to believe that he had madearrangements by which he would have a considerable guard from the momentthat he arrived in London. Anything which was to be done must be donebetween the moment of his setting foot upon the Liverpool quay and thatof his arrival at the London and West Coast terminus in London. Weprepared six plans, each more elaborate than the last; which plan wouldbe used would depend upon his own movements. Do what he would, we wereready for him. If he had stayed in Liverpool, we were ready. If he tookan ordinary train, an express, or a special, all was ready. Everythinghad been foreseen and provided for.
“You may imagine that I could not do all this myself. What could I knowof the English railway lines? But money can procure willing agents allthe world over, and I soon had one of the acutest brains in England toassist me. I will mention no names, but it would be unjust to claim allthe credit for myself. My English ally was worthy of such an alliance.He knew the London and West Coast line thoroughly, and he had thecommand of a band of workers who were trustworthy and intelligent. Theidea was his, and my own judgment was only required in the details. Webought over several officials, amongst whom the most important was JamesMcPherson, whom we had ascertained to be the guard most likely to beemployed upon a special train. Smith, the stoker, was also in ouremploy. John Slater, the engine-driver, had been approached, but hadbeen found to be obstinate and dangerous, so we desisted. We had nocertainty that Monsieur Caratal would take a special, but we thought itvery probable, for it was of the utmost importance to him that he shouldreach Paris without delay. It was for this contingency, therefore, thatwe made special preparations—preparations which were complete down tothe last detail long before his steamer had sighted the shores ofEngland. You will be amused to learn that there was one of my agents inthe pilot-boat which brought that steamer to its moorings.
“The moment that Caratal arrived in Liverpool we knew that he suspecteddanger and was on his guard. He had brought with him as an escort adangerous fellow, named Gomez, a man who carried weapons, and wasprepared to use them. This fellow carried Caratal’s confidential papersfor him, and was ready to protect either them or his master. Theprobability was that Caratal had taken him into his counsels, and thatto remove Caratal without removing Gomez would be a mere waste ofenergy. It was necessary that they should be involved in a common fate,and our plans to that end were much facilitated by their request for aspecial train. On that special train you will understand that two out ofthe three servants of the company were really in our employ, at a pricewhich would make them independent for a lifetime. I do not go so far asto say that the English are more honest than any other nation, but Ihave found them more expensive to buy.
“I have already spoken of my English agent—who is a man with aconsiderable future before him, unless some complaint of the throatcarries him off before his time. He had charge of all arrangements atLiverpool, whilst I was stationed at the inn at Kenyon, where I awaiteda cipher signal to act. When the special was arranged for, my agentinstantly telegraphed to me and warned me how soon I should haveeverything ready. He himself under the name of Horace Moore appliedimmediately for a special also, in the hope that he would be sent downwith Monsieur Caratal, which might under certain circumstances have beenhelpful to us. If, for example, our great _coup_ had failed, it wouldthen have become the duty of my agent to have shot them both anddestroyed their papers. Caratal was on his guard, however, and refusedto admit any other traveller. My agent then left the station, returnedby another entrance, entered the guard’s van on the side farthest fromthe platform, and travelled down with McPherson the guard.
