فصل 50

CHAPTER 50

THE THIRD ELEMENT

HAVING RECEIVED A TELEPHONE CALL from Wendy and Peter, Ted was on the first morning train from Cambridge to London. With him was his colleague, the historian Patrick Hunt, a smiling, perpetually enthusiastic man with long blond hair. When they arrived at the Scotland Landing Hotel, they were met at the door by Magill, who looked around to see if they’d been followed, then quickly brought them inside, where Peter, Wendy, and Uncle Neville were waiting.

“Peter!” cried Ted, quickly crossing the room to embrace the friend he had not seen for twenty years. Peter hugged him somewhat awkwardly; he barely recognized this portly man as the sidekick who had joined him on so many long-ago adventures. There was a muffled chime of protest from Peter’s shirt. Peter pulled back, and Tink—still resting from her efforts of the previous night—stuck her head out.

“Tinker Bell!” exclaimed Ted. “How delightful to see you!”

You’re still fat, chimed Tink.

“She’s delighted to see you, too,” said Peter.

“My word,” said Patrick, staring at Tink. He looked at Ted and said, “I had honestly wondered if you made all this up.”

“None of it,” said Ted. He quickly introduced Patrick to the others. “When I told Patrick this was a matter involving the Sword of Mercy,” he said, “he insisted on coming.”

“I’ve long been fascinated with the sword,” explained Patrick. “To think that, after all these years, the missing tip may have been found! Although I understand that this could be a very big problem.”

Wendy gave Ted a sharp look. “How much have you told Mr. Hunt?” she said.

Ted looked sheepish. “Everything,” he said. “He kept asking questions, and one thing led to another. …”

Seeing Wendy’s doubtful look, Patrick said, “You have my word that I will keep this matter in the strictest confidence. I’m here only to help you, Wendy. And from what Ted has told me, you need as much help as you can get.”

“He’s right, Wendy,” said Peter.

“I suppose he is,” sighed Wendy. “And if Uncle Ted vouches for you …”

“So that’s settled,” said Ted. “Now, where shall we start?”

“If I may,” said Neville. “Since the Cache cannot be opened without the sword, it would appear that our best hope is to prevent von Schatten from reattaching the tip to the sword. The question is, how might we do that?”

All eyes turned to Patrick.

“I’ve an idea about that,” he said, “although it may take a bit of explaining.”

“By all means,” said Neville.

Patrick cleared his throat. “Nobody,” he said, “at least nobody that I’m aware of, really knows how the Sword of Mercy, or Curtana, came to be. Its origins, as the expression goes, are shrouded in mystery. But there are legends, and one of the more prevalent ones holds that the sword was made from a very unusual metal.”

“Unusual in what way?” said Neville.

“It came from space,” said Patrick.

Neville frowned. “Wait just a moment,” he said. He went to the stairway and called up: “Mrs. Bumbrake, could you please come down for a moment?”

A minute later Mrs. Bumbrake had joined the others. Neville introduced her to Patrick, then said, “Could you please repeat for Mr. Hunt what you told me the other night, about what Lord Aster talked about in his delirium?”

“Well,” said Mrs. Bumbrake, “he kept mumbling something about a sword.”

“And wasn’t there something else?” prodded Neville.

“Yes,” said Mrs. Bumbrake. “Sometimes he talked about a meteorite.”

“What did he say about it?” Patrick asked eagerly.

“Nothing that I understood,” said Mrs. Bumbrake. “I’m sorry.”

“No need,” said Neville. “You’ve been very helpful.”

As Mrs. Bumbrake climbed back up the stairs, Patrick said, “Lord Aster’s words support the legend—that the sword was made from a strange metal rock that fell from the sky.”

“Strange in what way?” said Neville.

“For one thing, it sometimes glows,” said Patrick.

“It’s starstuff!” said Peter.

“Not exactly,” said Wendy. “A large lump of pure starstuff would kill whoever came near it. Grandfather Aster said the sword was made from metal that was infused with starstuff.”

“What does that mean?” said Peter.

“It means the metal has some starstuff in it,” said Wendy. “Grandfather said the vault that contains the Cache is made from the same metal.”

“In the legend, this particular metal is called ‘heaven-stone,’” said Patrick. “It has some unusual properties, among them great strength. Not even diamond can cut it; only another piece of heavenstone will do.”

“This is all quite interesting,” said Neville. “But I fail to see how it helps us stop von Schatten.”

“I’m getting to that,” said Patrick. “Let’s assume that von Schatten has gotten hold of the tip to Curtana. On Coronation Day he’ll be able, through his control over the king, to obtain the sword itself. So he’ll have both the tip and the sword. But I believe that to put them together, he must have a third element.”

“What?” said Wendy.

“More heavenstone,” said Patrick. “Essentially, he has to weld the tip to the sword at high temperature. But to do that, he needs a filler material, to fuse the two pieces. He cannot use ordinary metal. I believe he must use heavenstone.”

“With all due respect,” said Neville, “I still fail to see why this is relevant.”

“It’s relevant,” said Patrick, “because other than the tip and the sword, there is only one known piece of alleged heavenstone on earth. I say ‘alleged’ because there are reputable scientists who scoff at the legend.”

“What do you think?” said Wendy.

“I believe it’s heavenstone,” said Patrick. “It’s almost certainly of extraterrestrial origin, and it exhibits unusual properties. All attempts to analyze it have failed. It was found by a British archaeologist named Mansfield in a cave in the Aquitaine region of France, where Charlemagne rose to power, and where the Sword of Mercy was made. The age of other artifacts Mansfield found in the cave suggests that the stone—which is known as the Mansfield Stone—was placed there at around the time of the sword’s creation. Perhaps it was excess heavenstone, not needed for the sword and therefore placed in the cave for safekeeping. In any event, if my theory is correct, von Schatten cannot repair Curtana without the Mansfield Stone. At some point, he will have to try to acquire it.”

“Where is it now?” said Peter.

Patrick smiled and said, “Less than a mile from here.”

For a moment there was a shocked silence. Then Peter, Wendy, and Neville simultaneously exclaimed “What?”

“The Mansfield Stone,” said Patrick, “currently belongs to the Natural History Museum, right here in London. The stone is not on exhibit; as I say, some authorities believe it’s a fraud, and the museum has chosen to keep it out of public view until its experts can agree on what, exactly, it is. It’s stored in a specimen room, under lock and key.”

“If what you say is correct,” said Neville, “we need to appropriate this stone as soon as possible.”

“Appropriate?” said Peter.

“Steal,” said Wendy.

Peter nodded.

“For the greater good,” said Neville.

“I was thinking,” said Patrick, “that we might steal…I mean appropriate it tonight.”

“We?” said Wendy.

“I can get us into the museum,” said Patrick.

“Then ‘we’it is,” said Wendy. “Tonight.”