II. The Friesland

When I came down to the sitting room in the morning, Holmes had already departed. It came as no surprise to me. Sherlock Holmes had the habit of keeping early hours whenever he worked on a case.

Thus, I endeavoured to busy myself with the papers Mycroft Holmes had gathered for us, hoping that I might discover a clue to the case. To my eye, however, there was nothing more to be gathered than the obvious facts we had already discussed the previous evening.

I wondered if perhaps Holmes had seen more, being familiar with his brother's ways, and certainly of greater knowledge on such matters than I.

It was nearly mid-day when Holmes returned, dressed in a sailor's clothes and looking for all the world like an experienced seafarer. However, as he stepped into our sitting room, he changed swiftly back into his own self, straightening and, dropping the sailor's walk, strode over to the mantle to fetch a cigarette. "I can see you are eager to hear what I have been able to discover, Watson." He smiled enigmatically, running a hand through his hair to smooth it.

"Well, I fear the morning was less productive than I had hoped. I hoped to discover details at the harbour magistrate, but the officials were very reluctant to share their information, assuring me that the Friesland did not hire sailors, much less of British origin. I replied that I spoke their language fluently, but there was nothing more they would tell me as to the crew and previous stops of our steamship.

"I then went to a nearby tavern – as I have already mentioned to you, there is no better place to listen to local gossip. However, nothing was to be heard about the Friesland. It is almost as if the ship did not exist, or as if the mere knowledge of it were a secret. Now, there is no doubt in my mind that we have to proceed with extreme caution, Watson. It is quite possible that some members of the magistrate are involved in the affair, or have been coerced into silence. If either is the case, I might have committed a irreversible blunder in asking for information. It is a good thing that I did not go there in my own person."

"What will you do now?"

"I shall call upon my brother, perhaps he can supply me with a full list of crew and passengers of the Friesland to this date. It should be quite enlightening to see who will board the ship in London. Now, as it is a ship that carries both passengers and cargo, I have no doubt that among these there will be a good number of innocents, and I have also considered the possibility that our entire syndicate already resides in Curaçao, which would leave us with no other possibility than to make the entire journey and assure the criminals' arrest on the isle, or the return journey."

"You assume they will bring the slaves on board in Curaçao, and then implicate the government when they are discovered?"

"Yes, that is precisely how they will proceed. I don't doubt for one moment that they do have an associate who is even now on the isle and preparing for their arrival; however, it seems unlikely that the entire syndicate is there. I have been able to gather that this is the Friesland's first ocean-going journey, and since our criminals are of British origin, it is very likely that they have never before visited the ship. If that were the case, they will not miss the opportunity to spend an entire month on it without raising suspicion, which gives them ample time to prepare. I fear, however, Watson, that we will have no choice but to accompany them on their journey, which makes is all the more important that I talk to my brother."

"How so?"

"Mycroft despises fieldwork too much to actually make the journey himself, but he might be able to supply us with a letter that will assure us the cooperation of the Curaçao government and police. Also, he will see to it that there is always a British ship close-by – there is the possibility that the situation on board might become critical."

Holmes despatched a telegram to his brother, and then sat down to brood for a long while over the map of the ship's route his brother had given to him. After some time, there was the jingle of our bell, and Holmes went down himself to receive the telegram. "It is truly an interesting matter, Watson. If one is to believe Mycroft, the steamer is currently without passengers but for the crew, who, without exception, are all Dutch. Apparently, the only passengers will board in London, or at one of the following stops. As for my other requests, Mycroft will see to them. Now, Watson we should best engage in the intensive practice of the Dutch language and, if we find the time, the one native to Curaçao, even though we should be well equipped with our English once we reach the island. I wish, however, to keep our identity a secret, and it would be best to be as fluent in Dutch as possible, as not to arouse suspicion."

It was thus that, after a fortnight, Holmes and I found ourselves on the London dock, valises in hand and ready to depart on what promised to be a very interesting journey.

As far as I had been able to gather, Holmes had discovered little more of interest in the past days, although he had been able to obtain a full list of the passengers who were to depart with us. I had no doubt that he must have reached some conclusions due to that information, but he did not share his thoughts with me.

Instead, he had insisted that it was of the greatest importance that I should be able to lead a casual conversation in the Dutch language without appearing to struggle with it. For that purpose, we had spent several hours each day conversing in Dutch, in which Sherlock Holmes was already fluent, much to the astonishment of Mrs Hudson and the people who passed us by on our walks.

Holmes had given careful instructions ere we departed from Baker Street.

"Now, Watson, it is imperative that our true identity should remain a secret lest we put ourselves in danger. We will therefore state that we are business associates, travelling to Curaçao to buy land. I shall appear as the Dutch gentleman Mr Stefan Sipkens, while you are my British colleague, James Wilson. This will allow you to speak English whenever your Dutch doesn't suffice. However, we should take great care that we do not speak English to each other in the presence of others, as it is unlikely that a Dutch business man should be very fluent in our language."

There were several passengers already boarding when we arrived at the ship. The Friesland was quite an impressive vessel, much larger than the steamers that usually travelled on the Thames. Its full name, SS Friesland, was written in proud letters on its starboard side. Altogether, it promised to be a fascinating journey, and there was nothing to herald the sinister events we had set out to investigate.

When we arrived at the boarding bridge, there were a young couple and a second gentleman before us. The couple was clearly British, and I should have assumed that they wished to board the cruise for a holiday rather than for business, as they were both in the best of spirits. The lady was clinging onto her husband's arm and chattering away at considerable speed, while he occasionally broke out into roaring laughter at what she was telling him. Both were well-dressed at the height of London fashion, and coupled with the fact that they apparently had no difficulties to afford the tickets and at least two months of holiday, they seemed to be well-to-do.

The second man seemed to be travelling alone. He wore clothes of lesser quality and was of a slightly darker complexion. His black hair was untamed and obscured his deep-set eyes almost completely from view, highlighting a short, stubby nose. He carried only a small bag, and seemed to be quite annoyed at the couple's behaviour. He did not, however, engage anyone in conversation, and even acknowledge the sailor checking our tickets with nothing but a harsh grunt.

Holmes and I were met with a smile as Holmes showed the sailor our tickets, perhaps because Holmes had greeted the man in Dutch.

They exchanged some sentences of which I understood very little, my vocabulary being limited after only two weeks of practice, but to my surprise, the sailor turned to me also.

"I told Mr Sipkens, your cabin is on port," he said in English, his accent very thick. "We hope you will enjoy the journey."

"Thank you," I replied and then hurried after Holmes, who had already strode onto the deck, where he stood waiting for me.

"What did you tell him?" I asked in a whisper.

Holmes shook his head, indicating that he would not speak to me about it as long as others could hear us. "We should go to our cabin," said he, his otherwise perfect English tinged with the very same accent as the sailor's. Had I not know that it was a fake, I could well have believed that Holmes was indeed Dutch.

Together, we descended into the bowl of the ship. It was quite impressive, and appeared even larger than it had from the outside. I had no doubt that the steamer could easily accommodate a hundred passengers as well as the crew. If such a large number of persons were to board the steamer, it would become very difficult for Holmes and I to discover and identify the members of the crime syndicate without betraying ourselves. Furthermore, there was also the possibility that none of the syndicate were on board, even though Holmes seemed to think it unlikely.

We passed a small general room with windows, where the British couple was already sitting, and a hallway which no doubt led to the dining area.

Our cabin was a small one with a bunk bed and only one porthole, which now presented a view of the Thames. We stowed our valises in the compartments designed for that purpose and left our cabin without unpacking to witness the departure.

The British couple joined us as we climbed the staircase to the deck. The husband offered me his hand. "We are Mr and Mrs Henry Russell. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, I am sure," said I. "I am James Wilson, and this is my friend and colleague, Stefan Sipkens. Unfortunately, he speaks little English, even though he understands our language well enough."

Holmes shook hands with the couple without saying a word.

"You are Dutch, then, Mr Sipkens?" Mrs Russell asked.

"Yes," Holmes replied, smiling sweetly.

"We are travelling to Curaçao for business – we have received a missive from a Dutchman residing there, who made us a very lucrative offer," I explained as we stepped to the railing to look over across the Thames to the opposite riverbank. A few children had gathered there to watch the ships departure and waved at us.

Mrs Russell, as cheerful as before, waved back at them, while her husband stood by her side. His arm lay around her waist protectively.

"We are travelling for the pleasure. We have never done a sea cruise, and Charlotte has Dutch ancestors who now live in Curaçao and have long since invited us for a visit," said he.

I noticed that Holmes was watching the couple attentively, no doubt reading much that was hidden to me from their behaviour and manner alone, rather than their words. In Dutch, he quietly remarked to me: "What he says is not entirely true. His wife may think so, but he would never undertake a pointless journey. No, my dear fellow, he is a business man, and something of that sort awaits him in Curaçao."

Henry Russell looked at me in puzzlement.

"Mr Sipkens says he has travelled to the East before, but this is his first journey to Curaçao also." I was relieved that there was no one of the crew around to notice my lie.

"We have taken a journey on the Orient Express last year," Mrs Russell chimed in. "It was a very enlightening experience."

"I'm sure," Holmes replied in the same language.

Several more passengers gathered on deck as the steamer set about to depart, but there were by no means as many as I had feared. A cloud of steam was rising above the chimneys, and with a small jolt, the Friesland picked up speed and had soon left London behind.

For a short while, we remained on deck. Holmes was leaning against the railing casually, but, knowing him so well, I could see his eyes dart from one of our fellow travellers to the other even though his face remained expressionless.

I, for one, was grateful for the pleasant weather and the sunshine, promising a quiet sea. I had never before travelled on an ocean-going ship, and as long as I had been acquainted with Holmes, neither had he. However, from the ease with which he had accepted the length of the journey, I gathered that he had had previous experiences on that matter, or had at least gathered quite some knowledge on the subject. As for myself, I had to admit that, having resigned myself to spending quite some time on the Friesland, I found the experience to be an exciting and pleasurable one.