Sherlock Hong: The Scroll of Greatness Read online

  Stammering in my nervousness, I told him why I was so eager to see the Scroll, and how Aisha had promised to turn up but she left me waiting outside.

  Dr. Woo — that was his name, as I later learnt — just hissed in annoyance. With a curt bark, he summoned three of his coolies and together they dragged me to the police station, two streets away.

  The police station was a mess. There were stacks of paper piled up high on every table, almost reaching the ceiling. The floor was dirty. Under my feet, I could feel a layer of something thick and sticky. Also I noticed bowls of fishball noodles everywhere, all half-eaten, and some even had cockroaches of varying sizes paddling around in the sauce.

  Dr. Woo had a creepy aura around him, so loathsome that the cats in the police station not only hurried out of his way when he entered, but also hissed repeatedly in his direction to show their disapproval.

  He stared at me for a while, unblinking, and his serpent-like eyes were so intense that I was afraid he would hypnotise me.

  Constable Flint was on duty, and he told me to sit in a corner while someone went to get my father.

  CHAPTER 8

  Pa hurried over as soon as he heard about the situation. I started to tell him what happened, but he just shook his head.

  “Do you know how many of my patients are waiting for me?” he sighed, sounding tired and disappointed.

  My father is the community physician, and a highly respected person around Singapore. Everyone calls him Master Hong. He left China when he was a young boy and followed his uncle around the region until they finally settled in Singapore. This uncle of his, the Great Master Fu, was a respected martial arts teacher who had to leave China in shame after two of his disciples betrayed him and framed him for the burning of a village hospital.

  Life in China was very difficult in those times. Rebellions broke out frequently, and there was a famine that lasted many decades. My father’s parents, my grandparents, begged Great Master Fu to take my father away with him, so that their son might find a better life somewhere else. Great Master Fu became a physician. In his time, he was well known among the local rulers of South East Asia because he was knowledgeable yet humble, always ready to use his skills for the good of the people. My father hoped that I would become a physician too, and help to keep Great Master Fu’s legacy alive. But each time I got into trouble, Pa would be sad, because it seemed more and more that his hopes for me would not materialise.

  Pa and I sat on a bench together as we waited for Dr. Woo to finish making his report.

  Dr. Woo was furious. He held up one of the yellow notices from outside his mansion, the one with the brush sketch of the long box. I couldn’t believe what I heard next.

  “This young thief stole the Scroll of Greatness from my mansion!” he screamed at Constable Flint. “Do you know what this means? It’s an insult to my motherland and my Emperor! You must get the Scroll back. Even if you have to torture him!”

  I could feel Pa suddenly tense up. “What’s going on?” he gasped in horror as he turned to me. “Is the Scroll really gone?”

  I hurriedly assured Pa that I didn’t steal anything. In fact, I would have gladly risked my life to protect the Great Scroll.

  It seemed like a horrible nightmare. And it had only just started.

  CHAPTER 9

  Constable Flint knew me well. Especially after the strange case of the Immortal Nightingale, which I wrote about some time back. I was neither a thief nor a troublemaker. But at that moment, he was so overwhelmed that he couldn’t explain all this to Dr. Woo.

  “Uh — right — Dr. Woo,” Constable Flint said, trying to stay calm. “Let’s not get worked up, shall we? Take some time to consider the evidence — some tea for you, sir?”

  Dr. Woo told Constable Flint that Master Chun had been called away to Shanghai on an urgent matter, and in the meantime he was in charge of the exhibition. But late in the afternoon he discovered that the Scroll was missing, and that was why he closed the doors a little early. He searched the house and found me hiding in the store room. He claimed that I was working for a gang of thieves, and had helped them to steal the Scroll.

  Meanwhile, I sat with Pa and quietly twirled my crimson marble balls, a thousand thoughts spinning in my head as I tried desperately to figure out what was really going on. I was so deep in thought that I dropped one of the balls and it landed right on Pa’s foot.

  Pa glared at me as I scrambled after the ball anxiously.

  “You are young,” he said, “and foolish. Why didn’t you listen to me? Do you know what will happen if we don’t get the Scroll back?”

  “But Pa!” I protested. “I just wanted to have a look! How can you blame me —”

  Pa held up his hand.

  “There will be a terrible war,” he hissed angrily. “And it will destroy the goodwill that we’ve established in this colony!”

  Indeed, there has been a lot of talk going around about people conspiring to take over the colony and control the Singapore River for their own benefit. There was one group in particular, the Builders Society, that had supposedly recruited many influential men in the colony. According to rumours, they held secret meetings where they schemed to overthrow the current governor and turn the colony into their private trading settlement. The governor was so worried, he even issued a warning that anyone involved with such organisations would be arrested and banished from Singapore.

  I knew that Pa was friends with the governor, and above all things, he considered it his moral duty to support the local authorities and help them maintain order.

  Pa snatched my marble balls and threw them into a nearby bin.

  “Enough of your useless toys!” he said abruptly. “Why can’t you grow up and act like a responsible young man?”

  Dr. Woo heard all this. He turned around to look at us. He had an ugly sneer on his face.

  After much talking, Constable Flint convinced Dr. Woo not to press charges against me just yet.

  I was allowed to go home while the police looked into the matter.

  CHAPTER 10

  The next morning, I was in a hurry to get out of the house and start my own investigation. I urgently wanted to find out more about the missing scroll. Who could have stolen it? What would they do with it? Was this really part of some bigger conspiracy in the colony? Would I be able to recover the Scroll?

  But, to my dismay, I remembered that I first had to sit through four hours of lessons with my tutor Miss Priya. I groaned at the thought of her arrival.

  As you might recall from my earlier reports, she is the daughter of a school principal in India. She has read an unbelievable number of books and also speaks six languages fluently, including Hokkien. Once she has enough money saved, she plans to sail to the United States of America to study medicine at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. Until that day, she has agreed to be my tutor, at least, while Pa figures out what to do with me.

  Miss Priya arrived punctually at seven in the morning. Mother spoke with her in the main hall, probably to tell her about my visit to the police station.

  Meanwhile I sat on the floor and crossed my fingers as I chanted over and over again, “Today’s lesson will end quickly! Today’s lesson will end quickly!”

  Later, as we settled down at my table, Miss Priya pulled a book out of her bag and pointed out a passage for me to read for the day.

  It was about an Arab explorer named Muhammad al-Idrisi, who lived eight hundred years before our time. He had travelled across many parts of Asia and Europe, and a king in Sicily named Roger the Second was so impressed with his adventures that he paid al-Idrisi to create the most marvellous map of the world ever.

  In the year 1154, al-Idrisi was finally done with his task and he published his masterpiece, The Book of Pleasant Journeys into Faraway Lands. In Latin, it was known as Tabula Rogeriana, or The Book of Roger, after Roger the Second. For many centuries this was widely respected as the most accurate and detailed work of its kind, the greatest
map in the world.

  To my surprise, I felt something stirring inside me as I read the passage aloud. I was inspired by the tale, and wished in my heart that I could do something in my life that was equally glorious.

  “Just imagine, it took al-Idrisi fifteen years to complete his work and deliver the map,” Miss Priya said when I reached the end. “He was dedicated to his quest and refused to abandon it no matter how difficult or impossible it appeared at times.”

  I nodded thoughtfully and tried to imagine how al-Idrisi might have felt as he presented his finished work to the king. Was he proud? Relieved? Exhausted?

  Miss Priya stared into my eyes for some time before she continued.

  “Be patient and wait for your moment,” she said, her voice suddenly sounding like a haunting whisper in a strange dream. “No matter what your circumstance might be, never give up on your dreams. Pursue the truth with all you can and work diligently at your duties.”

  I wanted to tell Miss Priya about the crimson marble balls, how Pa snatched them away from me at the police station and threw them away.

  But in that moment, my mind went blank. I was filled with a strange sense that Miss Priya was the smartest person in the whole world, that she could read my mind and she knew exactly what I was thinking.

  And then, to my astonishment, she hurriedly packed up her stuff and said she had an urgent matter to attend to.

  Strange as it might seem, the lesson really did end quickly that morning, just as I had chanted, and that was why I had the rest of the morning free.

  CHAPTER 11

  “Sherlock!”

  Someone shouted my name just as I stepped out of our front gate.

  I glanced over my shoulder. I recognised the voice. It was Aisha.

  “I can’t stop,” I said hastily. “Follow me, and we can talk on the way.”

  “But Sherlock, this is important,” Aisha protested.

  I quickened my pace. She had no choice but to run after me.

  “I’m sorry about yesterday,” she said. “I was on my way when Jayathri stopped me. She has just started something called the All Girls Island Exploration Group, and she wanted me to be the first Group Captain. She’s also invited some of the other girls on our street. I had to listen to her plans for the group. I’m sorry that I lost all sense of time!”

  The All Girls Island Exploration Group! I have to admit, it sounded impressive. Deep inside I was envious. I shook my head, as if I didn’t want to hear any more.

  I am prepared to share my secrets with Aisha, and should the time be appropriate, I will even tell her about the International Order of Young Seekers. But not Jayathri. I would much rather have to shave my head bald and also my eyebrows, no matter how stupid I would look, than let Jayathri know of this great society. Let alone allow her to join it. I find Jayathri hostile, unreasonable and scary.

  I changed the subject and quickly told Aisha what happened the night before. We kept on walking and soon we reached the wall, the exact spot behind the mansion where I had been standing yesterday.

  Aisha was shocked when she finally realised what I was up to.

  “Sherlock!” she exclaimed. “Stop this mischief. You can’t go back inside! What if your father finds out? What if you get caught again?”

  But I was determined to get to the bottom of the matter. Dr. Woo had no right to accuse me like that. Why, he was just as likely to be the guilty one!

  “You didn’t keep your promise yesterday,” I told Aisha. “You were late! And that’s why I’m in trouble now.” I stared at her solemnly. “Help me solve this,” I pleaded, making sure that I spoke in a soft and pleasant voice, just as I had been practising at home with my mother. “There’s something very fishy going on inside, I just know it. You’re my best friend! Who else can I turn to?”

  Aisha crossed her arms. “Hmmph!” she grunted. “We should stay away and let Constable Flint do his job. Sooner or later, they’ll find the Scroll of Greatness!”

  She had more to add, but suddenly there was a strange sound, so loud and beastly that it made my skin crawl. We froze.

  “Did you hear that?” I whispered nervously. “It’s coming towards us!”

  CHAPTER 12

  To my surprise, a small door at the far corner of the wall suddenly swung open.

  It was hidden behind some plants, and that’s why I hadn’t noticed it before.

  I grabbed Aisha’s arm. She was so startled that she opened her mouth to squeal, but she covered her mouth with her palm just in time and managed to remain silent. Whew!

  We turned around and raced back up the alley, our hearts pounding madly. Then we crouched behind a cart and watched.

  A man came out. He was dressed strangely, in a shiny black cloak with a hood pulled over his head.

  He pushed a wheelbarrow. There was a big basket in it. He looked around quickly, up and down the street. And then, quite unexpectedly, he sneezed, again and again.

  It was the most horrendous sound in the universe. Yet there was something familiar about it.

  The man rubbed his nose. Then he quickened his pace, hurrying towards the river, pushing his wheelbarrow in front of him.

  I had to act fast, if I wanted to find the missing Scroll of Greatness and clear my name.

  “Follow him!” I whispered to Aisha.

  She shook her head furiously. “But Sher — ”

  I didn’t hear the rest of it, because I was already scrambling after the man.

  CHAPTER 13

  The streets got more and more crowded as we approached the river.

  I lost sight of the man in the black cloak, not just once but a few times. Still, I kept moving, and eventually I would see him again, somewhere in front of me, focussed on steering his wheelbarrow in front of him.

  There were shophouses on both sides of the road. Most of them were packed with all sorts of imported goods, mostly preserved food and various spices, but also cloth, decorative items, small animals, and bricks and stones for building with.

  More than once, I saw something unusual and I felt the urge to linger for a while and inspect it. But each time I quickly changed my mind because there was an unbearable stench in the air due to the heaps of horse and cow dung deposited generously on the ground.

  We reached the bridge, and the man slowed down. I ducked behind some crates and watched.

  Three thugs approached him eagerly. They had tattoos on their arms and ugly scars on their faces.

  Deep inside I was terrified. Was I doing the right thing? Should I go home and leave this to the police? Should I get my Pa and explain everything to him? What if something bad happened to me? What if a fight broke out and an innocent person who just happened to be walking by got seriously hurt? Would that be my fault?

  I wished I had my crimson marble balls with me. Playing with them helped to calm my nerves, and that in turn allowed me to think better.

  The man in the black cloak pointed at the basket in his wheelbarrow. The three thugs lifted it and carried it down the steps to the riverbank, where they placed it next to a whole row of similar containers.

  I squinted and tried to make out the marks on the side of each basket. They were similar to the ones my father kept in our storeroom at home. They contained black pepper, probably shipped from Penang. Which explained why the man in the black cloak sneezed loudly again.

  He pulled back his hood to rub his nose, then he quickly covered his head.

  But those few seconds were enough.

  I recognised him.

  CHAPTER 14

  It was Dr. Woo! But what was he up to?

  The chief thug, the biggest and meanest looking one among the three, walked to the basket and reached in.

  He pulled out a wooden box. It was about a foot long, with gold trimmings along its edges.

  Even from where I was, I could make out the elaborate engraving of a dragon on the front panel.

  It suddenly dawned on me. This wooden box looked exactly like the sketch on the
yellow notice outside the mansion. It contained the Scroll of Greatness!

  Dr. Woo lost his temper. He gave the chief thug a hard smack.

  “You fool!” Dr. Woo said, much too loudly. “Put it away. If we should lose it, your head will roll!”

  The chief thug looked insulted. He put the wooden box back into the basket. Then he barked an order. The other two thugs obediently picked up the basket again and carried it towards the row of boats along the river. They looked nervous, as if they were expecting Dr. Woo to smack them too.

  I had to stop them and get the Scroll back. It was the only way I could clear my name. The future belongs to the young and brave!

  I scrambled onto the nearest crate and pointed at Dr. Woo.

  “You shameless thief!” I yelled. “I know what you’re up to!”

  I swallowed hard and tried to sound brave, even though my knees were shaking and it felt like I had a live frog in my throat.

  People stopped to stare at me.

  “Return the Scroll,” I cried, “or you’ll regret it!”

  CHAPTER 15

  My outburst must have startled Dr. Woo. He removed his hood and turned to stare at me.

  There was a crazy look in his eyes, a mix of arrogance and anger and frustration.

  Dr. Woo sneered. “Take care of that kid,” he shouted over his shoulder. “Silence him!”

  The thugs froze. They looked confused for a while, until Dr. Woo repeated his command. Then they dropped the basket and, to my horror, grabbed some weapons from their cart.

  One thug had a dagger, another a long stick, and the chief thug was armed with a whip. They rushed towards me.

  What was I to do? I was seriously outnumbered. They were armed, while I had nothing, not even my crimson marble balls. They were professional troublemakers, and no doubt experienced in causing all sorts of hurt to those who got in their way. I started to panic and regret my foolhardiness in confronting them like this.