Carlson walked to the purser's office to check in the real diamond necklace. He then decided his next course of action. Before he saw Penny about the painting, he would take up Willi on his fencing offer. Carlson walked down the few flights of stairs to the D-Deck reception. He followed the signs down a hall of cabins to a door in a side hallway. He found the door marked "TO SQUASH COURT". He walked a wide and softly lit ornate stairway which led to another hallway, which in turn led to a metal door marked "SQUASH COURT". Carlson entered.
What greeted him was a rather plain large room with a wooden floor. The only decoration was a red line painted on the far wall. Willi walked up to Carlson in his fencing outfit.
"Thank you for coming." Willi said, shaking Carlson's hand. "I do not meet so many people on the Titanic. It is a pity, I like the English. I wish I knew more of them."
Carlson felt relieved knowing he had found a kindred spirit.
Willi continued: "Now you have the opportunity of fencing with me. Three time champion of my university. You are also an excellent athlete, yes? Colonel Zeitel believes it so."
Colonel Zeitel was indeed correct. Carlson had competed in numerous track and field events at his university. He was also one of the best fencers in his class.
"The Colonel is coreect, I am an excellent fencer" said Carlson.
"The Colonel is seldom confused about anything." replied Willi. "You will play. If you win, perhaps, I'll relay to you some stories."
"My foil, please" said Carlson. Willi handed him the fencing outfit, and Carlson put it on. Meanwhile, Willi put on his.
Then the fencing match began. As Willi and Carlson clashed swords, Carlson thought Willi was right. He was an excellent fencer, but Carlson could still compete with him, and the match came down to a decisive face-off. However, Carlson was faster and he poked Willi with his sword, thus ending the match.
"You are a great athlete!" exclaimed Willi after the match.
"Thank you" replied Carlson.
"The Titanic, how quickly she is moving!" observed Willi. "The engines are loud here. We are nearing the Grand Banks. The Vikings thought this part of the North Atlantic cursed. Even modern sailors call it The Devil's Hole. A place of deadly surprises."
Carlson felt he knew what Willi meant.
"Things aren't always what they seem, yes?" Willi continued. "Like me, for example. I am charming, but I am also a friend to others. Perhaps even the English. Another match? Afterwards we can tell more tales."
"Yes, I'll fence" said Carlson, who was already intrigued and wanted to learn more.
Like the previous match, this one was very competitive. Again, Carlson had the upper hand and won the match.
After the match, Willi walked up to him and handed him a golden ring with a star emblazened on the front.
"Take this in friendship" Willi said. "May it bring you luck, a thing I fear we shall all need. Here's something else that may help you."
Willi handed Carlson a piece of paper which read: "Claris Limehouse D-19".
"But if anything should happen to me," continued Willi, "I trust you will know what to do."
Carlson decided to ask about something that had been on his mind. "What's Zeitel's interest in art?" he asked.
"Why do you assume he is interested in paintings?" asked Willi.
"I said art, not paintings" replied Carlson.
"Yes, yes, art!" said Willi. "That is what I meant. And you are mistaken, Colonel Zeitel cares little for art, unlike his friend Herr Barbicon. I notice he likes Old Vienna, for he has many pictures of the city.
"I would like to know more about you" Carlson inquired.
"You do?" Willi exclaimed. "Remember, only one thing is certain, and the rest is lies." Willi chuckled. "It is a quote from an old book I had the recent opportunity to read. But I'll tell you more. I am an associate professor at the University of Vienna. I study the mythos, the legends of mankind. I am on my way to New Mexico to study the Zuni Indians under Dr. Vander Plaars.
"Tell me more" said Carlson.
"I am interested in what Dr. Freud calls the unconscious mind." Willi continued. "What happens below the surface of experience. Tell me, what frightens you more, fire or ice?"
"Ice" replied Carlson.
"The ancient Aryans believed men would see four ages." replied Willi. To them this is the Wolf Age, an age that ends with ice. We of science might learn from it. They say the ice is heavier in the Labrador Current this year. Another match?"
"Yes, I'll fence." said Carlson, feeling he had the energy to do one more match.
The next match, yet again, was a tight race. This time, Willi pulled through for the win.
"You are the loser, how unfortunate." said Willi after the match. "You are very good, though. You have proven yourself, and I must confide in you. Colonel Zeitel suspects I value my friends more than Germany. He is right. Another match?"
"No, I've got to go." replied Carlson, feeling that he'd done enough fencing. Besides, he had things to do.
"Let us meet later. I will tell you more." Willi said. "For now, keep the ring. I bid you goodnight."
"Goodnight" replied Carlson as he exited the Squash Court.
Now Carlson needed to find out just what the ring meant. Maybe Trask could help. Carlson walked back up the Grand Staircase to the A-Deck landing. This time, he was surprised to see Trask waiting by the carving instead of the landing. Carlson walked up to Trask.
"You've arrived!" exclaimed Trask. "I was expecting you. I was just holding court with these two ladies." Trask gestured toward the carving. "Honor and Glory, crowning time!" he sighed.
Carlson knew not how Trask knew he was coming, but he no time to discern that.
Trask continued: "They say a hundred wood carvers worked on the Titanic. Such effort. Now in such danger."
"You sense danger?" asked Carlson, intrigued.
"Yes, for the ship." Trask replied. "And for a mutual aquaintance."
Carlson knew what he meant. He decided to cut to the chase. "I'd like you to do a reading of this ring." he said as he dug it out of his satchel.
Trask waved his hand in front of the ring. "I see your friend" he meditated. "Willi Von Haderlitz . He is in very grave danger." Trask shuddered as if he'd just seen a frightening vision. "The ring!" he suddenly cried out. "Yes! Did you notice the Russian characters on the inside band? Willi has a hidden life."
"Willi? A Russian spy?" thought Carlson, shocked. Thinking back, he realized that Willi's accent sounded a little Russian.
"There's a girl." Trask continued. "A pretty girl. Haderlitz knows her. Show her the ring. She'll help you. Good luck"
"Thank you!" exclaimed Carlson as he ran back down the stairs. He knew he'd have to move quickly if he wanted to protect Willi. He looked at the piece of paper Willi had handed him that read: "Claris Limehouse D-19". He knew at once that that was the pretty girl Trask mentioned. He ran to the D-Deck cabin area and lokked for D-19. Once there he knocked on the door.
A beautiful young girl in a flowing white dress answered it. Carlson knew at once that this was Claris Limehouse.
"Yes? You want something?" she asked.
"Do you recognize this ring?" Carlson inquired.
Claris snatched ring from Carlson's hand. As she looked at it, a look of astonishment crossed her face. "It's Willi's ring!" she exclaimed. "Willi! What's happened? Something bad hasn't it? Something to Willi."
"I don't know yet. I'm trying to find out." Carlson replied.
Claris continued: "He told me if I ever received this ring, I was to know that whoever gave it to me was a friend. And to tell them about the notebook, that they should find it."
Carlson remembered Zeitel telling him earlier that night that he was looking for a notebook. "What kind of notebook?" he asked.
"Willi's hidden a notebook on board, that's all I know" replied Claris. "What about Willi, is he hurt?"
"I still need to find him." Carlson answered.
"Oh." Claris sighed. "He told me jokes. Bad ones, but he made me laugh. Not my mama's friends. Mama, she doesn't like Germans. Unless they have a title to their name. But I like Willi. A lot.
She beckoned toward the ring. "Can I have it? The ring?"
"I better keep it" Carlson said, feeling it was a vital clue.
"Yes, yes of course, you need it" Claris replied, slightly disappointed. "Please, Willi's in trouble. Please help him if you can" she pleaded as she went inside her cabin.
Carlson decided to go see Penny. Maybe they could help rescue Willi. He ran back up the Grand Staircase to the Boat Deck. He walked down the Second Class Stairs to F-Deck. He once again found Penny's room and knocked on the door. Penny answered it almost immediately.
"Quick, there's not much time!" she said. "Willi Haderlitz is dead. Electrocuted in the Turkish Bath."
Carlson felt like a huge part of him had died with Willi. He had tried his hardest to save him, and now it was too late. What would Claris think?
Penny continued: "I heard one of the officers talking about it. This may not have been in accident. Apparently someone wants that painting badly enough to kill for it."
"Zeitel!" thought Carlson.
"Do you have it?" asked Penny.
"I found the painting in the cargo hold" replied Carlson, handing it to her.
"Smashing! Splendid job." Penny replied. "Look here, on the back" She said as she flipped it over.
What was on the back looked like a battle map.
"It's a plan for allied troop deployment in France." Penny explained. "If Germany ever invaded, they'd have destroyed us."
It was then that Carlson remembered Third Officer Morrow's words from earlier in the night.
"It seems our plans for troop deployments against Germany disappeared three weeks ago. Tom says the big boys are petrified the Jerries will get wind of it! Could upset the balance of power." Morrow had said.
"These are the plans that disappeared three weeks ago from the Admiralty!" Carlson exclaimed.
"No wonder Haderlitz was killed." said Penny. "Well, Berlin won't get this now. Leave the painting with the purser. He'll keep it with the Rubaiyat."
"There's some other things I've learned" Carlson said. "First off, Haderlitz was working for the Russians."
"Young Haderlitz? A czarist spy?" replied Penny. "It's beginning to become clear."
"Did Zeitel kill Haderlitz?" asked Carlson.
"Quite possibly" answered Penny. "We need more information about the murder."
"Another thing, Haderlitz had a notebook he took from Zeitel" Carlson said.
"A notebook?" Penny responded. "Zeitel's previous mission was aiding a band of Russian revolutionaries called Bolsheviks, who want to overthrow the Czar. The Germans would like nothing better than to see chaos in Russia. I'll bet that notebook's got names of Russian radicals. Such a list would be important to the Okhrana, the Russian secret police. With it, they'd root out the Bolshevik wing leaders and eliminate a threat to the Czar. Which would certainly help the rest of us."
"What do I do now?" asked Carlson.
"If Haderlitz was murdered, you'll need protection" Penny replied as she took out an ordinary looking pen. "Here" she said as she handed it to him. "This pen releases a single burst of knockout gas when opened. Find that notebook. It could be vitally important. And give that painting to the purser. Go investigate the situation at the Turkish Bath. Move!" She then went back into her cabin and shut the door.
As Carlson left to go to the purser's office, all he could think of was poor Haderlitz. Carlson felt more determined than ever to find the notebook. He wouldn't let Haderlitz down. Not if he could help it.
COMING NEXT: A Poetic Puzzle