Death Cloud

When Sherlock awakens, he finds himself in the identical room he occupied at the baron’s estate. However, a look out the window confirms he is in a building near the seashore. He realizes that the baron has made the crossing to France with his cargo, and the two teens were drugged during the entire trip. His mansion here is identical to the manor in Farnham: “Baron Maupertuis was a creature of habit and liked to have his surroundings as familiar as possible, wherever he was” (249). Once again, the black-clad attendants come to take Sherlock to the baron. This time, they are accompanied by an enormous man named Mr. Surd. He is the Baron’s “whip master,” who says, “Whatever he wants done, I do. If he wants a glass of Madeira, it’s my job to pour it. If he wants your head on a plate, it’s my job to cut it off and deliver it” (251).

As before, Sherlock is escorted into a massive, darkened chamber where Virginia is already seated. Rather than maintaining his silence, Sherlock tells Maupertuis everything he knows. In the process, he reaches a startling conclusion about the baron’s endgame. The two previous victims were stung because of clothing from the factory that was soaked in a contaminant. Sherlock deduces, “So there’s something about the clothes that causes the bees to attack them. In their boxes or crates they’re safe, but when people wear them […] the bees are attracted to them, and sting whoever’s wearing them” (255).

The baron confirms this theory. He has a government contract to supply military uniforms to British soldiers at the army bases of Ripon, Colchester, and Aldershot. If those men ship out overseas, they will carry the danger with them. Sherlock says, “And then you release the bees, and they attack every single private, subaltern, and officer in the British Army” (256). The baron also confirms this fact. He explains that Britain has grown too ambitious and wants to rule the world. The baron justifies his actions: “The boundaries of the British Empire have to be pushed back, if only so that other countries can get some breathing space, some room to live” (257). Maupertuis represents a multi-national group called the Paradol Chamber that is eager to curb British power overseas. The baron tells Surd that it is time to release the bees from the fort, saying, “By the time they find their way to the mainland and across the country, the uniforms will have been distributed. And then confusion will reign!” (261).

To buy time to think of a way out, Sherlock challenges the baron’s plan and says that it won’t work. He so enrages Maupertuis that the latter decides to kill Sherlock personally instead of letting Surd do it. Before anyone can act, Virginia rushes to the curtains and tears them down, letting light flood into the room. The illumination reveals that the baron is suspended from what looks like huge puppet strings that are controlled by a pulley track suspended from the ceiling. His minions act as puppeteers. The teens are horrified by the spectacle before them: “He was a puppet: a human puppet, entirely operated by others. ‘Grotesque, yes?’ the Baron hissed. His mouth and his eyes appeared to be the only parts of his body that he could move by himself” (269).

Maupertuis explains that he was the French liaison to the British Army during the Crimean War and was present at the Charge of the Light Brigade. He saw the folly of men who unquestioningly followed orders on a suicide mission, calling in “a tedious, pointless engagement based on misunderstood orders in a war that should never have been fought” (269). The baron was trampled in the onslaught and vowed afterward to have his revenge on the British Empire. With the assistance of his puppeteers, Maupertuis rises, a sword in his hand, and prepares to kill Sherlock. At the same time, Surd attacks Virginia. Both teens fend off their assailants. In a tense battle, Sherlock ultimately finds a way to entangle the baron’s various cables and cuts several of them, rendering Maupertuis helpless. Meanwhile, Virginia manages to knock Surd out by hitting him over the head with an iron helmet from a suit of armor. In the ensuing confusion, the two teens flee.

Running to the stables, Sherlock and Virginia steal two horses and ride to Cherbourg, the nearest coastal town. Uncertain about what to do next or who to contact, they stumble across a vessel called Mrs. Eglantine. Waiting by its gangplank, they find Crowe and Matty. Giving a quick summation of the problem, Sherlock asks what to do next. Crowe advises contacting Mycroft, while Sherlock says someone must find the French fort where the bees will be deployed and stop the operation. Crowe and Virginia agree to travel back to England to get Mycroft to stop the distribution of uniforms and send a naval vessel to the fort. Meanwhile, Matty and Sherlock pinpoint the fort‘s location and travel there to disable the bees if they can. The boys take a rowboat to the fort and sneak into the enclosure, splitting up to assess the situation:

What made Sherlock’s breath quicken was the beehives, lined up in a regular pattern across the flagstones. There were hundreds of them. With tens of thousands of bees in each hive, that meant something like a million aggressive bees were located just a few feet away from him (291).

Sherlock observes someone in a beekeeper’s suit feeding pollen to the bees. He remembers learning that flour is highly flammable and concludes that pollen powder might also ignite easily. As he considers his next move, he is surprised by the sudden appearance of Mr. Surd and his whip.

Sherlock fights with Surd, eventually getting control of his whip and pushing the big man into a beehive. The angry bees sting him to death. Matty arrives at this juncture, and Sherlock explains that they need to ignite the pollen, which will burn all the beehives. Next, “he threw the lantern. It arced away into the cloud of pollen and vanished. Moments later he heard the shattering of glass as it hit the flagstones. Followed by a massive whump! as the pollen caught fire” (301). Once the pollen ignites, it causes a massive explosion, but the boys manage to flee just as the entire fort catches fire.

Sherlock and Matty row their boat across the English Channel and rendezvous with Crowe on the other side. After a good night’s sleep and a substantial breakfast, they discuss their adventure: “Sherlock gazed out at the constant, timeless sea, wondering what would happen next in his life. He felt as if he had been diverted onto a road that he hadn’t known existed. What would he find at the end of it?” (306). At that moment, Sherlock notices a carriage passing down the road. Inside is Baron Maupertuis. The teen realizes that the baron and the Paradol Chamber are still up to mischief. His adventures have only begun.