CHAPTER 26
Haddock and Tintin walked in Marlinspike and sat their luggage down taking a deep breath closing their eyes. The high ceilings, ornate walls, and the grand stairway were welcoming sites.
"We're home!" Haddock yelled happily.
"Finally!" Tintin said as Haddock pulled Tintin to him for a nice quick kiss on the lips.
"Master Haddock! Master Tintin!" Nestor came downstairs dressed in his usual butler outfit.
"Nestor! It's good to see ya!" Haddock said expressively.
"The professor has been awfully worried about you, I have dinner started and should be ready in an hour" Nestor announced as he greeted them at the bottom of the stairs.
"It's almost six O'clock, where's the professor?" Tintin asked curiously.
"He's busy in his lab, I will ring him and let him know you're here" Nestor said walking into the parlor.
"Ok, we're going to take our things upstairs and get settled back in for now" Haddock said picking up his suitcase nodding for Tintin to follow him. Tintin ran to his room and quickly began unpacking. Haddock took a couple articles out returning them to a drawer and dumped the rest of the clothes in the dirty basket when Tintin came to his door.
Haddock walked up to him locking the door behind Tintin as he led him to the bed.
"I just couldn't wait to get you home" Haddock confessed taking Tintin into his lap gazing in his peaceful green eyes.
"You dirty old man" Tintin laughed.
"Dirty?! Blisterin' Barnacles lad! There's nothing dirty about our love!" Haddock continued to gaze into Tintin's eyes.
"That's not what I meant!" Tintin said playfully rubbing noses with Haddock affectionately.
"Then why am I dirty landlubber?" Haddock kissed him once on the lips.
"Dirty means desiring in our case" Tintin winked.
"So you're dirty too my boy" Haddock lifted Tintin's chin for a passionate kiss. They savored a whiskey flavored passionate smooch.
"I don't know what I would ever do without you lad" Haddock smiled.
"I never knew that you and I would be together like this… but I wouldn't have it any other way Captain Archie" Tintin said mischievously gazing into the captain's ice blue eyes.
"It's so amazing lad, we still talk like a newlywed couple and we've been together almost five years now" Haddock chuckled.
"I just wished others could understand" Tintin sighed.
"Listen lad, it doesn't matter what the world thinks of us, it's none of their business first off. Nothing they can say or do will tear us apart mon petit" Haddock's poetic side began to show.
"Mon dieu!" Tintin whispered as Haddock and he drew closer for another passionate kiss until a loud knocking at the door disturbed their intimate moment.
"Captain? Tintin? Are you here?" Professor Calculus said excitedly.
"Thunderin' Typhoons!" Haddock grunted under his breath.
"Sorry captain" Tintin shrugged quickly kissing him on the lips one last time.
"We finish this later tonight mon amour!" Haddock replied with a devilish look.
"You dirty old man!" Tintin whispered lovingly to him.
"You'll find out just how dirty I can be ya little naughty siren!" Haddock whispered back threateningly as they quickly regained their composure.
"Captain? Tintin?" Professor Calculus said a bit louder.
"We hear ya—ya squeaking jack in the box!" Haddock returned to his usual grouchy self.
"Coming Professor!" Tintin said innocently.
Tintin opened the door and stepped out into the hallway as Haddock slowly lumbered up behind.
"I'm so glad that both of you are back safely! Goodness! According to the detectives, there is a horrifying cult tailing you around" Calculus replied.
"You don't say!" Haddock said clasping the professor's shoulder leading him downstairs.
"Why yes captain… you and Tintin just took off without a word and…" Calculus was cut off.
"We left you a letter Cuthbert!" Haddock shook his head in disagreement.
"I know but…all of this talk of cults and murders…" Calculus continued.
"What murders?!" Tintin suddenly jumped in as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Why Thompson and Thomson went to London to investigate four murders near the city harbor" Calculus explained.
"Who was murdered?" Tintin demanded.
"Why, four youths, but so far I hear it's more gang related violence" Calculus explained.
"Throwing their lives away for a life of crime, tis a sad world we live in" Haddock sighed and looked up when they heard frantic scratching at the front door.
"Oh, I need to let Snowy and Cocoa back in" Tintin looked up forgetting that his dogs were outside busy roaming the grounds.
"Cocoa? Who's Cocoa?" Calculus asked confused.
"Meet our newest member of the family" Tintin said ironically as the cat was sitting on the arm of the staircase and in ran Snowy and Cocoa. As soon as Cocoa saw the cat she instantly ran after it. The cat hissed ferociously, but Snowy came right behind her as the cat squealed quickly upstairs disappearing into one of the rooms. Calculus only got a quick glance at her before they disappeared.
"Snowy! Cocoa!" Tintin shouted.
After a moment Snowy and Cocoa slowly returned.
"Professor, I'd like to introduce, Cocoa!" he said picking her up as she licked his face with Snowy at his feet wagging his small tail.
"Cocoa! Where did you find him?" Calculus adjusted his glasses.
"Actually professor, it's a she, and Snowy found her and brought her back to Captain Chester's sister's house one evening" Tintin explained.
"Remarkable!" Calculus said scratching her behind her ears as she quickly began licking his hands.
"Adorable!" Calculus smiled. "Speaking of which Tintin I've perfected Snowy's and the cat's food dispenser" he remembered.
"Oh you did? Congratulations professor!" Tintin nodded.
"I had to do a little rewiring of the circuits but I think it's safe to say it works ninety-nine percent efficiently" Calculus declared.
"That smells good!" Haddock said feeling his stomach growling.
"Yes, I agree captain, I'm starving too!" Tintin agreed as they led Calculus into the dining hall seeing how Nestor had already set the table elegantly as always. The captain took his usual seat as Tintin sat to his right and Calculus to his left. It wasn't long until Nestor came out with a big pot of beef stew filling each big bowl with two ladle fulls.
"What about us Snowy?" Cocoa whined licking her lips.
"Come on Cocoa, our food is in the kitchen" Snowy hung his head as he led her into the kitchen.
Snowy led Cocoa to his bowl, and as usual, it was the same slop, he only got the premium food every other couple days. Nestor rotated it around which Snowy would only eat it when he was really hungry. Cocoa looked at it then Snowy.
"Aren't you going to eat it?" she asked quizzically.
"You eat all you want first, I'll eat what's left" Snowy whined.
Cocoa took a few bites and glanced back at Snowy, "I've had worse" she nodded and continued to eat.
"Enjoy it, it's not my favorite" Snowy sat quietly beside her.
"Oh Nestor, did you see our newest member of the family?" Tintin asked as Nestor finished doling out the portions of the stew then setting it on a small holder on the table.
"No, but I thought I saw a small light brown dog dash off into the kitchen…" Nestor replied taking a seat next to Calculus.
Each of them began to slowly savor their stew and eat before further conversing. Tintin enjoyed it when everyone in the house ate together. Most of the time, Nestor ate alone or would join Professor Calculus in his lab. Haddock and Tintin were both not glad to hear about the news in London, but the detectives going out there to investigate without any back up really bothered Tintin. It made him wonder what else was going on.
"This is really good Nestor!" Haddock nodded after devouring half of his bowl in almost less than two minutes.
"I agree, I love the spicy flavor you added" Calculus nodded.
"It kind of reminds me of Alyssa's stew but just a touch different" Tintin added.
"Why thank you gentlemen" Nestor smiled.
"We did have a minor incident while you two were gone, but Nestor and I sent them on their way" Calculus laughed.
"Really?" Tintin replied concerned and somewhat amused.
"Yes, the Professor here is a clever one… it was quite shocking I assure you" Nestor said with a dry sense of humor.
Tintin and Haddock only stared blankly.
"Oh that was only a simple high voltage charged battery to the metallic door handle" Calculus explained.
"Oh, that is clever" Tintin said impressed trying to picture Calculus and Nestor together in a fix. Haddock thought the idea was almost a bit absurd but still amusing.
"So about what's been happening…" Haddock paused to take a deep breath. He and Tintin explained what all had been happening and about Tintin's twin brother. They also mentioned the information they received in Antwerp at one of Chester's favorite pubs.
"That is simply amazing! The fact that you could have a twin brother?!" Calculus said intrigued.
"The mentioning of Allan somehow doesn't surprise me, I'm willing to bet he has something to do with this cult" Calculus commented.
"I feel pretty confident that Allan is not the mastermind behind this whole operation" Tintin interjected.
"Of course not landlubber, he was one of my lackeys...cunning and treacherous yes, but masterminding and intellectual? Not so much" Haddock commented.
"We're pretty sure as well about that, but now that we know about what's going on in London and for INTERPOL to send my bosses over there just doesn't sit right with me. I have a bad feeling about all of this" Tintin admitted his concerns.
"It's you they're after Tintin" Calculus warned him.
"But why?" Tintin asked unable to come up with a rational answer.
"Your guess is as good as mine young man" Calculus shrugged.
"I have to find out, even if it means putting me in harm's way. I cannot allow Thompson and Thomson to face trouble as big as this alone" Tintin declared.
"Tintin, for all we know it could just be a handful of crazy thugs with some parlor tricks" Haddock shrugged. "Yea we did encounter Chester's old crazy first mate, but how harmful could he be? They had hired American sailors to attack us, and the other incidents were completely unrelated" Haddock tried analyzing it all.
"That may be true captain, but you're not saying that we abandon them are you?" Tintin looked at the captain with a bit of dismay.
"No, but they asked me to keep you safe Tintin, that's not keeping you safe if I take you or allow you into harm's way… I can go without you and help them" Haddock suggested.
"No captain, if you go, I go too…I won't hear another word of that" Tintin strongly disagreed.
"Oh, that reminds me, the whole reason I wanted to see you two again" Calculus lit up.
Tintin and Haddock looked at Calculus in surprise. Then they glanced at Nestor as he seemed to already know giving them a slight smile.
"What could you possibly have to show us Cuthbert?" Haddock became suddenly curious.
"I have been working on some gizmos and gadgets that would come in handy during your perilous travels" Calculus explained.
"Oh really professor?" Tintin's interest grew exponentially secretly hoping it wasn't anything like his recent dog food timed feeder.
"Oh yes! You can put that doubt of yours to rest young man! I promise, both of you will be quite amazed!" Calculus nodded with a sparkle in his eye as he took a sip of his tea.
Nestor smiled again in agreement. Haddock and Tintin were both struck like children waiting to unwrap a Christmas gift trying to guess its contents.
"No more about it until we finish dinner" Calculus nodded.
"Oh that's right! I brought some of Captain Chester's sister's scones in a small sack… I'll be right back…" Tintin said dashing off to get them.
"He is right, they are quite delicious" Haddock agreed.
Tintin shared the rest of the strawberry scones he had with Nestor and Calculus who thoroughly enjoyed them. Snowy came in whining into the dining room trying to get Tintin to feed him more, but for another thirty minutes the attempts were futile until he finally realized they didn't have a bowl for Cocoa. He opened up another can of that food that Snowy was not fond of plopping it into another container prompting him to eat up. Snowy gave Tintin a disgruntled look, but because he was hungry he ate it. Cocoa encouraged Snowy telling him it's not that bad.
"Well Cuthbert you ready to show us these wonderful gadgets of yours?" Haddock asked skeptically.
"Oh yes, that's right let's go—" Calculus said as they were getting up from the table until Nestor interjected.
"One last thing…the Bolt grandchildren came to work on the grounds the other day" Nestor reported.
"Oh yes, how did that go?" Haddock asked curiously.
"Well, but they stayed for dinner…the youngest grandchild was a bit of a nuisance…he asks too many questions and likes to snoop" Nestor concluded.
"You kept a close watch on that little whippersnapper didn't you?" Haddock asked cautiously.
"Of course, luckily his brother and sister kept him from wandering off to parts of the manor that they know are off limits" Nestor nodded.
"He kind of sounds like me when I first started reporting" Tintin laughed.
"Maybe so Tintin, but we don't need a reporter for what we have or our personal lives broadcasted to the rest of the community" Haddock explained.
"I bet he becomes a reporter, but I see your point" Tintin laughed.
"Let's go to my lab!" Calculus redirected their attention.
Without further delay, they walked across the grounds to Calculus' lab. It was always full of strange and unusual things. A chalkboard with mind boggling equations, flasks full of fluids, shelves full of books on theories, radios, various scientific measuring tools, and electronic equipment.
A huge generator took up a lot of space which had many buttons and displays. Some were abandoned projects Calculus stopped due to the destructive nature, such was the one when foreign Bordurian agents came to abduct him for his destructive sonic technology. Tintin never forgot that adventure chasing after Professor Calculus with Haddock and Snowy. Each step they took could have been their last, how luck and wits were on their side, and thanks to Madame Castafiore.
Tintin always appreciated Professor Calculus for his vast genius constantly trying to make life easier and safer at Marlinspike Hall although not always successful. Calculus never let too much idle time go by without starting a new project. The gates, the dog feeder, and many other small inventions and gizmos were some of the many Tintin had seen. Calculus led them into the heart of his sanctuary until they found a table with two small back packs made from a green camouflage material.
"Well gentlemen, I would like to present you with these back packs" he said taking one and displaying the many small utility pockets carefully sewn on.
"Where did you get those?" Tintin asked slightly impressed by how compact and well designed the bag looked. Tintin saw two Ts initialed on the bag.
"I got them from the Swiss government, but let me show you…" he said opening the bag revealing its contents.
"The first item Tintin is this" he said pulling out a medium sized black comb.
"A comb? Well that may help me keep my hair placed the way I like, but that's about it" Tintin sighed.
"Oh but it's not just any comb Tintin, the bottom prong has a radio receiver in it set on only one frequency as to not give away its secret. So if you ever get in a jam you can send out a signal as far as three thousand and five hundred meters!" Calculus explained showing Tintin the two small pin holes at the bottom, and then the miniscule button up at the top.
"That button activates the signal, the top prong allows you to hear if any message is sent your way, but you must put it right at your ear, or you will not be able to hear" Calculus explained.
"Wow professor! That's some range for such a small device!" Tintin suddenly changed his tune.
Haddock stood there quietly observing as Calculus fished out another item. A small mirror, flask, magnifying glass, he stopped with a belt with two compact items on the sides. The belt was made of coarse black leather and each had a bronze belt buckle.
"This belt now, looks ordinary except the two compact boxes at the side. Should you ever need to scale rocks and your equipment fail, these utility belts simply by pressing the button on each side box, will cause a cable twenty feet long on each side to shoot up with a metallic like claw and grab on to something and slowly retract helping to pull you upwards" Calculus explained.
"We could have used those back in Tibet for sure!" Haddock explained.
"I know, thank goodness Tharkey came back for us or neither you nor I would be here to talk about it" Tintin agreed.
"Let me try that out…" Haddock said snatching the belt out the Professor's hand.
"Captain! What are you doing!?" Calculus demanded.
"Trying this out!" he said putting on the belt.
"Captain! I can assure you that these have already been tested out by associates of mine. They aren't meant for indoor use" the Professor scolded.
It was too late. Haddock had already put it on and press both buttons. Instantly two four pronged steel claws shot out away from him soaring up into the ceiling each digging into the wooden beam then pulling him up.
"Blisterin' Barnacles! Get me down!" he said as he was being pulled up to the ceiling.
"Press the button to release Captain!" the professor instructed.
He pressed the release button on both sides and he fell down landing right next to Tintin.
"Oh that's smarts!" Haddock said seeing stars for a moment.
"I told you captain, these are not toys" he warned laughing a little.
"Are you ok captain?" Tintin said bending down to help the captain up.
"I will be, just give me a second…" he said slowly standing back up.
"That truly is amazing professor! How are you able to make those prongs so strong?" Tintin asked in amazement.
"I had them made by the Swiss government using titanium" Calculus said with a gleeful look.
Calculus took out a pair of green colored goggles were black and fit comfortable on with a switch on the side.
"These Tintin, are night vision goggles I made myself not long ago, with a flip of a switch you should be able to see in dark places" Calculus said nonchalantly. Tintin and Haddock both nodded in awe as Calculus continued pulling items out of the small bag.
"Last but not least, a flare gun… it's not a deadly weapon, but it can blind your foes should you find yourself in a bind; also, it can be shot almost a hundred feet up if you need assistance. Be careful if you use it as a weapon as anyone who sees this bright light will be blinded for almost a good minute. It's brighter than the normal flare guns. You have six rounds of flare in it" Calculus finished.
"So please use them sparingly" the professor warned.
"What about my bag?" Haddock finally asked feeling a bit left out.
"Oh yes, for you a new pipe!" Calculus said opening the other bag showing the captain a fancy silvery and black looking pipe.
"That's nice professor, but how is that going to help me other than enjoying my tobacco?" Haddock shrugged.
"That pipe is also a whistle captain, here, try blowing on it" Calculus said handing Haddock the pipe. The end of the pipe was curved and shaped like the end of a bugle. Haddock skeptically blew hard on it and a loud blasting deafening sound made Calculus and Tintin both cover their ears.
"That whistle is about ninety decibels" Calculus nodded.
"Well unless I need someone's attention and I want to smoke my tobacco, this device won't be much help" Haddock sighed.
"It also can make a nice smoke screen captain" he said taking out three fairly small pellets that fit into the pipe in a small sealed plastic bag. "When you light your pipe and inhale a few times you will trigger these mini smoke bombs…don't worry they don't explode… to begin quickly flooding a room with smoke" Calculus finished.
"Ok, I guess it could be helpful…" Haddock nodded.
"Oh and here's a nice bronze lighter I had ordered especially for you captain. It has enough fuel to last you for months. Nothing practical really, just nice to have" Calculus said handing Haddock a well crafted metallic bronze lighter.
"Each of you should have the other items in your bag that I showed you earlier… and one last item for both of you" Calculus stopped to grab two pairs of boots of different sizes off a shelf.
"Boots?" Tintin asked.
"They do look very nice" Haddock commented.
The boots were made of tough black leather and had a very interesting looking sole to them.
"These boots look nice and tough, but are as light as a feather. The soles have spring like material inside them putting a spring in your step allowing you to move fifty percent faster in them and maybe allowing your jumping abilities to propel you just a bit further" the professor finished putting them in front of Tintin and Haddock. Haddock and Tintin took off their shoes and immediately tried them on. Each of the pair of boots was a perfect fit and felt incredibly comfortable as if they were wearing a slipper.
"Wow professor these are really nice!" Tintin exclaimed not feeling in the slightest encumbered.
"It has a nice feeling to it eh boy?" Haddock said standing up tapping his feet.
"I assume the two of you are leaving for London tomorrow correct?" Calculus quickly added.
"Yes, we are" Tintin nodded. Haddock shook his head in disapproval.
"Well, I want you to take these canes to our friends Thompson and Thomson, but first let me demonstrate how they work" Calculus said quickly.
Tintin and Haddock were surprised at just how many things the professor had been working on as of late.
"You squeeze the top of the cane and watch…" Calculus demonstrated. The cane expanded out almost another foot as they realized the cane was made of some alloy rather than the wood look that it appeared to resemble.
"Watch this now!" Calculus said pointing the now five foot cane toward the wall. He squeezed the top of the cane again and a small dart shot out at the end sticking into the wall.
"I'm sure they will appreciate those professor, but I worry they may use them incorrectly" Tintin said with concern.
"Well then Tintin, I leave it up to you to teach them the proper use. There are nine dart in each of them and they each have just a bit of tranquilizing poison, make sure you explain that to them" Calculus pointed out.
"Well that one has only eight now" Tintin laughed.
"Actually, they have ten but the first dart is not poisoned…" the professor said using the other cane squeezing it shooting the first dart.
"There" he said twisting the top slightly. "Twisting the top a little will make the canes retract" he finished.
"Why thanks for all the gifts Cuthbert, I must say you never cease to amaze" Haddock said shaking his hand.
"What? Oh thank you captain… just remember a friendly 'goat' made them" Calculus laughed quickly getting laughs from both Haddock and Tintin. They gathered the small bags and other items and returned back to the manor for a good nights rest. The stars were out in full and the air was calm as they made their way back to the manor that late hour.
"Well good night gentlemen, I expect to see you for breakfast in the morning" Calculus said retiring to his room for the night.
"I guess we'd better go to bed and get some rest" Tintin said as he and Haddock stood at the top of the stairs then began walking towards his room.
"That's right" Haddock suddenly grabbed Tintin's wrist. "We are going to bed!" he whispered devilishly.
"Captain!" Tintin blushed. "I need to put my bag in my room and—" Tintin was cut off as Haddock put his hand over his mouth. "You owe me you little siren! You're coming with me!" Haddock laughed wickedly. Tintin couldn't help but to smile as Haddock drug Tintin back to his bedroom, closed, and locked the door.