CHAPTER 7: OVER A CUP OF COFFEE

THE HAUNT OF BASKERVILLES

CHAPTER 7

When I returned to our quarters at Conduit Street after a late night game of whist with the boys, I was surprised to find the smell of coffee greet me. Surprised because I had never seen Jim enter the kitchen before, let alone make coffee. I had to get up early and make breakfast for the two of us because I thought he didn’t know to cook. And here he was brewing coffee and making lemon juice. As I stood there staring at him, he turned around and smiled at me.

“You look like you have seen a ghost!”

“I thought you didn’t know to cook.” I said accusingly.

“I never said I don’t. You assumed it.”

With that he took the coffee and lemon juice into his room. Naturally, I was irritated. Not only did he trick me but now when he has finally made coffee, he doesn’t even have the courtesy of offering me a sip!  I followed him into his room, where another set of smells greet me.

On his table was a set of chemicals and a glass box. The box was filled with sand. And some of it seemed to be moving. On taking a closer look I learned that it was an anthill.

“Open the window, will you?” asked Jim, as he poured the coffee into a tray.

My interest was kindled and the anger evaporated. I did as I was told.

“Now will you get me that manuscript?”

I looked at the direction he was pointing. There was an old parchment on the table. As I took it, it gave a crackling sound. The manuscript was clearly fragile.

“Take care, Seb. Its pretty old. Can you read it for me?”

I slowly opened the manuscript and for a moment stood rooted to the ground. As I read the contents of the paper, I was clearly dumbstruck.

“How- how did you get your hands on this?” I asked with a stammer.

“It was easier than you think. I went to the London Library this morning to do some research for a thesis and guess what I found in the Archives section?”

“Impossible. Such things only happen in absurd novels!” Yet I couldn’t help believing him. How else would he come in possession of such a manuscript? I looked back at the manuscript. The words stared back at me.

Baskerville Hall

1742

1742. He couldn’t have just created a time machine and gone back to the past to make 

Hugo Baskerville write such a letter to his sons. But the whole narration suited our purpose. Just a few days ago, Jim had proposed that we create ‘a tale just for him’ and now I was holding that tale. I looked back at Jim. He seemed to have read the stupefied look on my face, for he immediately burst into laughter.

“See? Even time waits for Moriarty.” he said with a wide grin.

“How did you get this?”

“I make my own luck, Seb. Do you see that parchment over there?”

I looked in the direction he was pointing. There were a few scrolls of brand new 

parchment.

“What of it?” I asked.

“What if I told you the parchment in your hand is as old as one of them?”

For a moment I stared at the thing I was holding in my hand. The brown paper, with its rugged sides and faded ink, was in stark contrast to the shining white parchments on the shelf.

“How did you do it?”

“Over a cup of coffee!” he said with a smile as he took out another parchment from the tray in which he had poured the coffee. He carefully took the paper and put it out to dry. In a few minutes he was heating it and adding a few chemicals. Finally he placed the parchment in the glass box.

“So you are making another one?”

“Yes.”

“What’s wrong with this one?”

“I made a silly mistake.”

“Moriarty making a mistake! That’s new.”

“I was so immersed in perfecting the age that I overlooked the writing part.”

I glanced at the paper once again. There didn’t seem to be any spelling mistakes.

“You see, Seb, during that period people used to use the long s and the short alternatively. It would be suspicious if the manuscript didn’t contain the same.”

“And the chemicals?”

“They are just a few finishing touches, mainly to mask the effect of coffee.”

“Well, you seem to have done some good work but how are you going to convince Sir Charles to believe in it. Its highly unlikely that he would accept this let alone take it seriously.”

“Well, I already have an appointment with him. Lets see how it turns out.”