“Speaking of which,” said Constance, “shouldn’t you be miserable? There can’t be a company in the world that’ll hire you now that you’ve run a ship aground. How can you seem so cheery?”
Almost everyone had wondered about this, but it was such a sad and unfortunate situation that no one would have mentioned it. All around the table there was a general wincing at Constance’s comment, as if several people had bitten their tongues at once. Captain Noland only grinned, however, and Cannonball reached down to tousle Constance’s hair.
“Because he’s got another ship, Constance!” Cannonball boomed. “That’s why he’s so cheery! And he’s got me a post on it, too! In fact we’re to be at the harbor in an hour’s time, and by this very evening we’ll be at sea!”
Everyone cheered and exclaimed with surprise, and when Captain Noland had been offered congratulations by all, he scratched his beard and said, “It is wondrous news, isn’t it? I still can scarcely believe it. For some reason, Mr. Pressius made a public announcement saying he’d authorized me to ground the Shortcut, that I’d acted with remarkable heroism and expert seamanship in the service of humanity, and that he knew of no greater captain in the world!” Captain Noland laughed and shook his head in amazement. “As you might expect, the offers came pouring in after that. Cannonball and I had our pick of the lot.”
“But Mr. Pressius didn’t authorize you to ground the ship,” Kate said. “So why on earth did he say all that?”
“He gave me no explanation,” said Captain Noland, turning to look probingly at Mr. Benedict. “But he did let slip that he’d been in contact with you, Nicholas, and I have a sneaking suspicion I owe you my life once again. You seem determined to keep me in your debt.”
Mr. Benedict smiled. “Not at all, Phil. I actually did very little, and I risked nothing. There’s been a curious incident, you see, one of which you’re probably unaware, as it’s been kept quiet for several reasons: Mr. Pressius’s diamonds were stolen.”
“Stolen!” Cannonball cried, exchanging glances with Captain Noland, who seemed equally stunned. “You mean after all that hoop-de-doo with decoys and extra security, someone actually did steal them?”
Mr. Benedict raised an eyebrow. “It is my opinion that Mr. Pressius made such a grand show of protecting his diamonds precisely to make their theft seem legitimate. Having taken such pains to protect them, he could hardly be suspected of arranging their theft. I have reason to believe, however, that he did just that. Mr. Pressius stands to receive a fortune in insurance money for those stolen diamonds — much more money, in fact, than they were worth.”
“You mean he arranged the theft to get the insurance money?” Sticky said.
“So my source has suggested, and when I communicated this to Mr. Pressius, he was quickly swayed to my perspective that Phil should receive his enthusiastic recommendation. His only condition was that I keep my suspicions to myself. He seemed to be under the impression that I could actually prove them.”
“But you can’t?” said Kate.
“I have no proof whatsoever,” said Mr. Benedict. “But I neglected to mention this to Mr. Pressius.”
Cannonball guffawed. “You snookered him! Bravo, Mr. Benedict! Nobody deserves it more than that bullfrog, I can tell you!”
Everyone laughed at this except Miss Perumal’s mother, who seemed startled and put a hand to her ear. “What’s this about a bullfrog?”
Reynie leaned close to her. “I’ll explain later, Pati.”
“But what about Mr. Pressius?” Constance cried indignantly. “Are you really letting him get away with that scam?”
“It may be he misunderstood my position on the matter,” said Mr. Benedict with a sly smile. “Still, I’ll need to proceed with caution. There —”
“Ta-da!” shouted a deep voice just then, and Moocho Brazos, his massive arms bearing a gigantic platter of steaming hot pies, swooped into the room. There was a burst of applause at his appearance, and all discussion of more serious matters fell away as the group set eagerly upon the marvelous desserts. Captain Noland and Cannonball were compelled to eat their slices in a hurry — they were due at the harbor — and with wistful glances at the several remaining pies, they pushed back their chairs and bid everyone a fond adieu.
After the two men had gone and everyone had eaten at least one slice of pie, the conversation returned to Mr. Pressius’s diamond deception. Reynie wanted Mr. Benedict to explain how he knew about it. “You mentioned a source,” he said. “Is this person’s identity a secret?”
“Actually, you know her well,” Mr. Benedict said. “Her name is Martina Crowe.”
The children’s jaws dropped. How, they asked, could Martina possibly have known about Mr. Pressius?
“You’ll recall,” said Mr. Benedict, “that Martina fell into our custody after my brother abandoned her to save himself. Well, I’ve had a few talks with her since then. Martina’s been most eager to repay my brother’s disloyalty — she’s an impressively vindictive person, I must say — and has told me everything she knew about his plans. Unfortunately, though she may have been his most trusted Executive, he actually trusted her very little and told her even less. She was vaguely aware, however, of an arrangement with a jewel merchant that would result in my brother’s being substantially enriched.”
“Don’t tell me,” said Kate. “Those diamonds were stolen by a couple of well-dressed jerks with briefcases.”
Mr. Benedict tapped his nose. “Indeed they were, Kate. And so it appears my brother maintains considerable funding for his operations. Still, we have reasons to be encouraged.”
“Encouraged?” said Constance, screwing up her face, and the other children made similar expressions of doubt. “What could possibly be encouraging about all this?”
Mr. Benedict’s eyes twinkled; he seemed pleased to be asked. “Take these developments with Martina, for instance. Aren’t they a fine example of how even scurrilous behavior may lead to some good, if only we’re clever enough to take advantage?”
After some hesitation, the children said they supposed this was true.
“And I realize there’s no shortage of wickedness in the world,” said Mr. Benedict, with a significant look at Reynie, “but is it not heartening to know that so many are willing to fight for the good? Think of that young librarian, Sophie, who made certain you escaped. Think of S.Q., who risked my brother’s wrath to make me more comfortable. Think of Captain Noland, and Joe Shooter, and all the others — even strangers — who were prepared to sacrifice their safety, perhaps even their lives, on our behalf. That’s something, is it not?”
None of the children could argue with this, not even Constance, who could argue with anything. It was something, after all.
Mr. Benedict swept his arm out to indicate the grownups around the table. “And though we’d never have wanted you to attempt such a thing, you did save my life, did you not, in the face of incredible odds? Have you not proven yourselves once again to be the bravest, most resourceful children in the world?”
The children had to admit they found this notion the most agreeable of all.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the many friends and family members who have supported my work (I’m blessed with excellent unofficial publicists and agents) as well as the booksellers, librarians, teachers, and especially readers who have given the Society such a warm welcome. I also wish to call attention to a few whose contributions to the present book have been particularly invaluable: My thanks to Paul Galvin for