“But if the bonds were thrown overboard, they couldn’t have been
sold in New York.”
“I admire your logical mind, Hastings. The bonds were sold in New
York, therefore they were not thrown overboard. You see where that
leads us?”
“Where we were when we started.”
“_Jamais de la vie!_ If the package was thrown overboard, and the
bonds were sold in New York, the package could not have contained
the bonds. Is there any evidence that the package _did_ contain
the bonds? Remember, Mr. Ridgeway never opened it from the time it
was placed in his hands in London.”
“Yes, but then——”
Poirot waved an impatient hand.
“Permit me to continue. The last moment that the bonds are seen as
bonds is in the office of the London and Scottish Bank on the
morning of the 23rd. They reappear in New York half an hour after
the _Olympia_ gets in, and according to one man, whom nobody
listens to, actually _before_ she gets in. Supposing then, that
they have never been on the _Olympia_ at all? Is there any other
way they could get to New York? Yes. The _Gigantic_ leaves
Southampton on the same day as the _Olympia_, and she holds the
record for the Atlantic. Mailed by the _Gigantic_, the bonds would
be in New York the day before the _Olympia_ arrived. All is clear,
the case begins to explain itself. The sealed packet is only a
dummy, and the moment of its substitution must be in the office in
the Bank. It would be an easy matter for any of the three men
present to have prepared a duplicate package which could be
substituted for the genuine one. _Très bien_, the bonds are mailed
to a confederate in New York, with instructions to sell as soon as
the _Olympia_ is in, but some one must travel on the _Olympia_ to
engineer the supposed moment of the robbery.”
“But why?”
“Because if Ridgeway merely opens the packet and finds it a dummy,
suspicion flies at once to London. No, the man on board in the
cabin next door does his work, pretends to force the lock in an
obvious manner so as to draw immediate attention to the theft,
really unlocks the trunk with a duplicate key, throws the package
overboard and waits until the last to leave the boat. Naturally he
wears glasses to conceal his eyes, and is an invalid since he does
not want to run the risk of meeting Ridgeway. He steps ashore in
New York and returns by the first boat available.”
“But who—which was he?”
“The man who had a duplicate key, the man who ordered the lock,
the man who has _not_ been severely ill with bronchitis at his home
in the country—_enfin_, that ‘stodgy’ old man, Mr. Shaw! There are
criminals in high places sometimes, my friend. Ah, here we are.
Mademoiselle, I have succeeded! You permit?”
And, beaming, Poirot kissed the astonished girl lightly on either
cheek!