“Yes,” said Ellery. “Now, perceive. Someone filches a valuable necklace. Problem: to get it away. Was the necklace still on the premises? It was; it had to be. There are only two physical means of egress from the estate: by the cliff-road yonder, at the entrance to which is Magruder’s cottage; and by the river below. Everywhere else there are perpendicular cliffs impossible to climb. And their crests are so high that it was scarcely feasible for an accomplice, say, to let a rope down and haul the loot up... Now, since before six Magruder had the land exit under observation and Braun the river exit. Neither had seen a soul; and Braun said that nothing had been thrown over the parapet to the beach or water, or he would have heard the impact or splash. Since the thief had made no attempt to dispose of the pearls by the only two possible routes, it was clear then that the pearls were still on the estate.”
Leonie’s face was pinched and pale now, and she kept her eyes steadfastly on Ellery. The General looked embarrassed.
“But the thief,” said Ellery, “must have had a plan of disposal, a plan that would circumvent all normal contingencies. Knowing that the theft might be discovered at once, he would expect an early arrival of the police and plan accordingly; people don’t take the loss of a twenty-five-thousand-dollar necklace without a fight. If he expected police, he expected a search; and if he expected a search, he could not have planned to hide his loot in an obvious place — such as on his person, in his luggage, in the house, or in the usual places on the estate. Of course, he might have meant to dig a hole somewhere and bury the pearls; but I didn’t think so, because he would in that case still have the problem of disposal, with the estate guarded.
“As a matter of fact, I myself searched every inch of the house; and the General’s servants searched every inch of the grounds and outbuildings... just to make sure. We called no police, but acted as police ourselves. And the pearls weren’t found.”
“But—” began Lieutenant Fiske in a puzzled way.
“Please, Lieutenant. It was plain, then, that the thief, whatever his plan, had discarded any normal use of either the land or water route. As a means of getting the pearls off the estate. Had he intended to walk off with them himself, or mail them to an accomplice? Hardly, if he anticipated a police investigation and surveillance. Besides, remember that he deliberately planned and committed his theft with the foreknowledge that a detective was in the house. And while I lay no claim to exceptional formidability, you must admit it took a daring, clever thief to concoct and carry out a theft under the circumstances. I felt justified in assuming that, whatever his plan was, it was itself daring and clever; not stupid and commonplace.
“But if he had discarded the normal means of disposal, he must have had in mind an extraordinary means, still using one of the only two possible routes. And then I recalled that there was one way the river route could be utilized to that end which was so innocent in appearance that it would probably be successful even if a whole regiment of infantry were on guard. And I knew that must be the answer.”
“The sunset gun,” said Leonie in a low voice.
“Precisely, Miss Barrett, the sunset gun. By preparing a package with the pearls inside, opening the breech-block of the gun and thrusting the package into the chamber and walking away, he disposed very simply of the bothersome problem of getting the pearls away. You see, anyone with a knowledge of ordnance and ballistics would know that this gun, like all guns which fire salutes, uses ‘blank’ ammunition. That is, there is no explosive shell; merely a charge of powder which goes off with a loud noise and a burst of smoke.
“Now, while this powder is a noise-maker purely, it still possesses a certain propulsive power — not much, but enough for the thief’s purpose. Consequently Magruder would come along at sundown today, slip the blank into the breech, pull the firing-cord, and — boom! away go the pearls in a puff of concealing smoke, to be hurled the scant twenty feet or so necessary to make it clear the little beach below and fell into the water.”
“But how—” spluttered the General, red as a cherry.
“Obviously, the container would have to float. Aluminum, probably, or something equally strong yet light. Then an accomplice must be in the scheme — someone to idle along in the Hudson below in a boat at sunset, pick up the container, and cheerfully sail away. At that time Braun is not on duty, as he told me; but even if he were, I doubt if he would have noticed anything in the noise and smoke of the gun.”
“Accomplice, eh?” roared the General. “I’ll ’phone—”
Ellery sighed. “Already done, General. I telephoned the local police at one o’clock to be on the lookout. Our man will be waiting at sundown, and if you stick to schedule with your salute to the dying sun, they’ll nab him red-handed.”
“But where’s this container, or can?” asked the Lieutenant.
“Oh, safely hidden away,” said Ellery dryly. “Very safely.”
“You hid it? But why?”
Ellery smoked peacefully for a moment. “You know, there’s a fat-bellied little god who watches over such as me. Last night we played a murder-game. To make it realistic, and to illustrate a point, I took everyone’s fingerprints with the aid of that handy little kit I carry about. I neglected to destroy the exhibits. This afternoon, before our treasure hunt, I found the container in the gun here — naturally, having reasoned out the hiding-place, I went straight to it for confirmation. And what do you think I found on the can? Fingerprints!” Ellery grimaced. “Disappointing, isn’t it? But then our clever thief was so sure of himself he never dreamed anyone would uncover his cache before the gun was fired. And so he was careless. It was child’s-play, of course, to compare the prints on the can with the master sets from last night’s game.” He paused. “Well?” he said.
There was silence for as long as one can hold a breath; and in the silence they heard the flapping of the flag overhead.
Then, his hands unclenching, Harkness said lightly: “You’ve got me, pal.”
“Ah,” said Ellery. “So good of you, Mr. Harkness.”
They stood about the gun at sunset, and old Magruder yanked the cord, and the gun roared as the flag came down, and Major-General Barrett and Lieutenant Fiske stood rigidly at attention. The report echoed and reechoed, filling the air with hollow thunder.
“Look at the creature,” gurgled Mrs. Nixon a moment later, leaning over the parapet and staring down. “He looks like a bug running around in circles.”
They joined her silently. The Hudson below was a steel mirror reflecting the last copper rays of the sun. Except for a small boat with an outboard motor the river was free of craft; and the man was hurling his boat this way and that in puzzled parabolas, scanning the surface of the river anxiously. Suddenly he looked up and saw the faces watching him; and with ludicrous haste frantically swept his boat about and shot it for the opposite shore.
“I still don’t understand,” complained Mrs. Nixon, “why you called the law off that person, Mr. Queen. He’s a criminal, isn’t he?”
Ellery sighed. “Only in intent. And then it was Miss Barrett’s idea, not mine. I can’t say I’m sorry. While I hold no brief for Harkness and his accomplice, who’s probably some poor devil seduced by our dashing friend into doing the work of disposal, I’m rather relieved Miss Barrett hasn’t been vindictive. Harkness has been touched and spoiled by the life he leads; it’s really not his fault. When you spend half your life in jungles, the civilized moralities lose their edge. He needed the money, and so he took the pearls.”
“He’s punished enough,” said Leonie gently. “Almost as much as if we’d turned him over to the police instead of sending him packing. He’s through socially. And since I’ve my pearls back—”