Gold Dust and Star Dust by Cyril G Read online

  Amazing Stories, September, 1929

  HEN the telephone rang and I Set your recorder and you can watch it after found Hilary Corwin waiting to you get back. I have a most curious problem W speak to me, I knew at once that to solve and I want your help.”

  something quite out of the ordinary

  “You mean that you want my

  had occurred. His voice, usually firm and company,” I laughed. “You know darned well slightly emphatic, as of one who is in the habit that it’s little help you ever get from me.”

  of imposing his views upon others, now

  Hilary’s eyes wrinkled into a smile and

  trembled with excitement. His eyes snapped

  he rubbed the tip of his hawk nose with the

  and sparkled and there was a hectic spot of

  forefinger of his right hand; a little habit he crimson on each high cheekbone.

  had when he was in any way embarrassed.

  “Can you come up to the lab

  “You help me more than you realize,

  immediately, Frank?” he said, after the usual Frank,” he said, shaking his head. “I can never greetings.

  think to the best advantage without someone

  “I guess I can, if it’s important, Hil,” I

  with whom to discuss my thoughts, any more

  replied. “I was planning to stay at home and

  than a pen can write without paper. Will you

  watch the game between the Yanks and the

  come?”

  Giants, but that doesn’t matter.”

  “Thanks for the compliment?” I

  “Never mind about the game, Frank.

  exclaimed, laughing again, “but I should like

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  to remind you that a pen will write very well other men leaves off. It was the breadth and

  on a block of wood! Yes, surely I’ll come. Be catholicity of his learning which rendered his there in fifteen minutes.”

  services so valuable. Had some great

  He hung up the receiver and his face

  engineering contractor encountered a problem

  vanished. I picked up my tunic from the chair which his own experts were unable to solve?

  where I had thrown it and went upstairs to the Send for Corwin! Was the Attorney General

  hangar in the attic, where I keep my little two-of some European Republic in difficulties

  seater.

  over a point of law? Send for M. Hilary

  After making sure that I had enough

  Corwin! Did one of the shipping companies

  Vrilol for the trip, I opened the roof-panels, want to remodel their aerial transportation

  stepped on the starter and threw the lifting

  lines? By all means send for Dr. Corwin. I

  helices into high.

  have even known the management of a great

  A few seconds later I was at the New York restaurant send for my friend to commuting level and set my course to the east teach the French chef the correct way to make at a comfortable four hundred miles an hour.

  a savory dish, which was a favorite among

  Corwin’s place was about eighty miles from

  Roman epicures in the days of Nero!

  my bachelor diggings, so I could be there well There was little doubt, therefore, that

  within the time I had stated. I lit a cigarette whatever problem was occupying Corwin’s

  and turned my thoughts to the probable object mind at the present moment, it would be

  of my trip.

  something different from the usual, and,

  Hilary Corwin was somewhat of a judging from his excitement, something mystery. I had known him for a long time. In

  interesting and quite out of the ordinary. My fact, I think I may say that I was his only

  time was my own. I am single by choice and

  intimate friend, if indeed our relationship wealthy enough to do what I like. The could be dignified by the name of intimacy.

  prospect of sharing in another of Corwin’s

  He seemed to regard me somewhat as adventures, even in the humble capacity of Sherlock Holmes regarded the redoubtable Dr.

  mental chopping block, appealed to me

  Watson, in the light of a mental punching bag strongly.

  or chopping block.

  These thoughts passed through my

  Not that Corwin was a detective. The

  mind as I sped across the city and into the

  fact is that in spite of our long acquaintance open country until I dropped on the wide lawn and alleged intimacy I had no definite in front of Corwin’s house and found myself knowledge of what he did for a living. That he shaking hands with my friend.

  made a living, and a very good living, too,

  His tall, sinewy figure, piercing black

  was obvious, but although he continually eyes and thin, prominent nose conveyed an enlisted my help in various enterprises for

  impression of vitality and mental alertness,

  which he received large fees, it would be

  which harmonized with his quick gestures and

  impossible to assign his work to any particular emphatic speech. He was clad in tunic and

  profession, because no two of his “jobs,” as he breeches of sombre brown, and had evidently

  called them, bore the slightest resemblance to been engaged in some scientific work when he

  each other.

  heard my plane descending, for he carried an

  electrical instrument of some kind in his left AS nearly as I can describe it, he had the type hand.

  of knowledge which begins where that of

  “Glad you were able to come, Frank!

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  Have you had lunch? Good. I thought I saw

  floor, gesticulating and jerking his head in the the dishes on the table when I phoned you.

  manner he always assumed when he was

  Come into the lab and I’ll tell you what I’m up delivering a lecture.

  against.”

  “You’ve heard about the big shipment

  He led the way up the sloping gravel

  of gold the Government is sending to

  path into a large low building which he used

  Rhodesia?”

  for the numerous technical experiments which

  I nodded. Everyone knew of the

  he was often called upon to perform in the

  tremendously rapid strides which the new

  course of his investigations. It was a Central African republic had been making in combination of laboratory, machine shop and

  the last few years as the result of the extensive observatory.

  development of the radium mines there. With

  Astronomy was the hobby in which he

  almost unlimited credit, the immediate need of found relief from his other occupations. The

  the Rhodesian government was coin with

  revolving dome with its telescope, which to pay the miners, and the shipment to spectroscope, cameras, and other instruments, which Corwin referred was part of a loan

  was small compared with the huge which was being made by the United States observatories in other places, but was for that purpose.

  exceptionally complete and perfect in its

  “Yesterday, fifty million dollars in

  appointments. He had been able to make some

  gold coin was sent from the Mint to the

  very fine original discoveries, especially in the hangars of the Trans-Atlantic Transportation

  asteroid belt and in the structure of spiral

  Company. It was packed in heavy oak chests,

  nebulae, and the name of Hilary Corwin was

  padlocked and sealed. The gold was moved in

  mentioned respectfully by professional motor lorries, accompanied by armed guards.

  astronomers.

  “On arrival at the hangars, the chests

  Corwin kicked a chair into place for

  were transferred to a building especially

  me and perched himself on a high stool, designed for the storage of valuable shipments around the legs of which he twined his own

  and were stacked in the middle of the floor.

  lanky legs.

  Four guards were left in charge and the doors

  “This is going to be good!” he were locked from the outside. The special chuckled. “One of the most baffling cases I’ve freight plane which was to take the money to

  run across for a long time. You’ve done me

  Rhodesia was scheduled to leave at eight

  the honor, more than once, to compare me to

  o’clock this morning.

  Sherlock Holmes. Possibly you think that I am

  “The Rhodesian officials who were to

  a ‘Jack of all trades and master of none,’ like accompany the shipment arrived on the scene

  your detective hero. Well, this time we’re

  at seven-thirty and were escorted to the

  going to turn detectives and go on a hunt for storage building by an under-secretary of the desperate criminals.”

  Treasury who had the keys. When they

  “I’m a perfect reproduction of Dr. opened the door they found that the gold had Watson in one respect, Hil,” I commented.

  disappea
red!”

  “I’m a first-class sample of the genus Coward,

  “Disappeared!” I exclaimed. “Do you

  and have no desire to place my life in mean that it had been stolen?”

  jeopardy fighting a gang of thugs!”

  “Presumably so,” answered Corwin,

  Corwin laughed boisterously and, “but that is simply theory, as I have no further jumping from his stool, began to pace the

  information than the bare fact that it had

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  disappeared. Vanished!”

  demanded. “It seems to me that the sooner you

  “What other explanation can there get there the better. You might see clues.

  be?” I protested.

  Fingerprints or something of that sort.”

  “That remains to be seen,” answered

  “I hope to get clues, certainly,”

  Corwin. “I will admit that I have another

  snapped Corwin, “but as to seeing them, that

  theory. As a general rule I object to is quite another thing. The clues I hope to find preconceived ideas, on principle. They will probably be invisible!”

  generally turn out to be wrong when

  “I fully understand,” I smiled,

  confronted by cold facts, but in this case the satirically. “You think the gold has been

  facts seem to be fairly obvious. The gold was spirited away and you are going to take a

  there at ten p. m. It wasn’t there at eight a. m.

  supply of ectoplasm to cause it to materialize The building had not been broken into. The

  again!”

  guards were still there. It would seem,

  “Don’t try to be funny, Frank,” replied

  therefore, that the burglary theory is Corwin, calmly. “My theory is simply that the untenable, so I have permitted myself to gold has been hidden, either deliberately or theorize to the extent of doing a little work in accidentally, and I have prepared this

  the lab this morning.”

  apparatus so that I can find it, whether it is in sight or not. Nothing very mysterious about

  HE waved his hand to a combination of coils

  that, is there?”

  and vacuum tubes which stood on a bench

  “No, not at all!” I said, smarting under

  near one of the windows.

  Corwin’s contemptuous remark with reference

  How did you hear about this to my powers of humor. “I have no doubt you mysterious disappearance?” I asked him.

  will find the fifty million in a crack in the

  “The under-secretary of whom I spoke

  floor. It only weighs about a hundred tons or phoned me at about nine o’clock and asked

  more! Or possibly it got picked up by the

  me to come down and look things over. I told

  vacuum cleaner!”

  him that criminology was one of the few

  “You are stimulating to the

  professions of which I claimed no knowledge.

  imagination!” Corwin observed with

  He said that there were some features of the

  enthusiasm. “Your comments are so inane that

  case which he thought might interest me, and

  they energize my mental powers by sheer

  that the Government would permit me to name

  force of contrast! Now, if you have quite

  my own fee, if I succeeded in restoring the

  finished with the comedy, perhaps you will

  gold and would pay my expenses in any case.

  assist me to pack this stuff into the plane.”

  So I accepted upon one condition.”

  In half an hour we arrived at the Trans-

  “What was that ?” I asked.

  Atlantic Hangars where we were met by

  “That I should be permitted to wait

  Cogswell, the Treasury man, and a couple of

  until this afternoon before going down to the the Rhodesian officials. Cogswell

  hangars and that, in the meantime, nothing

  immediately started to give a long-winded

  was to be disturbed. The secretary—his name

  account of the mysterious robbery, as he

  is Cogswell—seemed like an intelligent called it, but Corwin cut him short without fellow, though rather a wind-bag. He said that ceremony.

  he had already done what I suggested, after

  “I’ll handle this job my own way, if

  having sent for food for the guards.”

  you don’t mind, Mr. Cogswell,” he snapped.

  “But why wait until this afternoon?” I

  “I take it that the Government is chiefly

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  5

  interested in getting the money back.”

  stammered, flushing with anger, “you

  “Most certainly we are, Dr. Corwin,”

  apparently fail to realize that I am responsible exclaimed Cogswell, “and I can assure you—

  for the safety of this money. It is absolutely

  —”

  necessary that I should be present during your

  “If you can assure me of a clear field

  investigations.”

  for my investigations, I shall be quite

  “All right, have it your own way,”

  satisfied!” interrupted my friend with finality.

  replied Corwin, with undisturbed good humor.

  “Please take us to the storeroom.”

  “Come along, Frank, we’ll be on our way.

  The huge hangars, capable of housing

  Sorry to have troubled you about nothing.

  a dozen passenger and freight planes, were

  You’ll come back to my place for dinner, I

  ranged in a row facing the sea. Behind them in hope.”

  a long, low building with narrow gauge track

  Cogswell collapsed and retired with as

  running beside it, were the main express much dignity as he was able to assume.

  offices, where goods for shipment to all parts Corwin immediately started to examine the

  of Europe and Africa were sorted out and

  room without paying any further attention to

  distributed to the various hangars.

  the discomfited official.

  The storeroom, which was about thirty

  THE building where the Rhodesian gold had

  feet square, occupied the entire building.

  been received stood by itself on the top of a There were no partitions and no furniture of

  small knoll at some distance from the other

  any sort except a table and three or four chairs buildings. It was of solid stone and the few

  which had been sent in to enable the

  windows were heavily barred. It had been

  imprisoned guards to eat their meals in

  erected for the safe handling of just such comfort. The floor was an unbroken slab of valuable consignments as that for which we

  cement and the walls were uncovered, being

  were now searching.

  simply the inside faces of the stone blocks of Cogswell opened the heavy door and

  which the entire building was constructed.

  ushered us into the building. As we entered,

  There was no ceiling, the roof being of heavy four men in the bright yellow tunics and sheet iron.

  breeches of the Treasury Guard rose from the

  In short, there was no place in which

  table where they had been enjoying a late

  one could have concealed a single five dollar lunch, and came forward.

  gold piece, to say nothing of ten millions of

  “You will wish to question these men,

  them, besides a hundred heavy oak chests.

  I presume, Doctor,” said Cogswell.

  Having in mind the methods of

  “Possibly,” replied Corwin, calmly. “If

  Sherlock Holmes and other great detectives in you will be kind enough to have the two boxes the world of fiction, I looked for my friend to brought from my plane, Mr. Cogswell, I shall