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READINGS FROM
THE TREATISE ON
GEOCHEMISTRY

Editors
H. D. Holland
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

K. K. Turekian
Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

AMSTERDAM  BOSTON  HEIDELBERG  LONDON  NEW YORK  OXFORD

PARIS  SAN DIEGO  SAN FRANCISCO  SINGAPORE  SYDNEY  TOKYO
 Elsevier Ltd.
Radarweg 29, 1043 NX Amsterdam, the Netherlands

First edition 2010

Copyright ª 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights
Department in Oxford, UK: phone (+44) (0) 1865 843830; fax (+44) (0) 1865 853333;
email: [email protected]. Alternatively visit the Science & Technology website at
www.elsevierdirect.com/rights for further information

Notice
No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons
or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use
or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material
herein. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, in particular, independent
verification of diagnoses and drug dosages should be made

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009937759

ISBN: 978-0-12-381391-6

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CONTENTS

Contents iii
Introduction v
Contributors vii

1 Origin of the Elements

J W TRURAN JR. and A HEGER, University of Chicago, IL, USA
1

2 The Origin and Earliest History of the Earth

A N HALLIDAY, University of Oxford, UK
17

3 Sampling Mantle Heterogeneity through Oceanic Basalts: Isotopes and Trace Elements
A W HOFMANN, Max-Plank-Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany and Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
67

4 Compositional Model for the Earth’s Core

W F MCDONOUGH, University of Maryland, College Park, USA
109

5 Composition of the Continental Crust

R L RUDNICK, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
S GAO, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China and
Northwest University, Xi’an, People’s Republic of China
131

6 The History of Planetary Degassing as Recorded by Noble Gases

D PORCELLI, University of Oxford, UK
K K TUREKIAN, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
197

7 Soil Formation
R AMUNDSON, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
235

8 Global Occurrence of Major Elements in Rivers

M MEYBECK, University of Paris VI, CNRS, Paris, France
271
iv Contents
9 Geochemistry of Groundwater
F H CHAPELLE, US Geological Survey, Columbia, SC, USA
289

10 The Oceanic CaCO3 Cycle

W S BROECKER, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY
315

11 Hydrothermal Processes
C R GERMAN, Southampton Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK
K L VON DAMM, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
337

12 The Geologic History of Seawater

H D HOLLAND, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA and
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
379

13 Geochemistry of Fine-grained Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks

B B SAGEMAN, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
T W LYONS, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
423

14 Evolution of Sedimentary Rocks

J VEIZER, Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany, University of Ottawa, ON,Canada
F T MACKENZIE, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA
467

15 Biogeochemistry of Primary Production in the Sea

P G FALKOWSKI, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
507

16 The Contemporary Carbon Cycle

R A HOUGHTON, Woods Hole Research Center, MA, USA
537

17 Environmental Geochemistry of Radioactive Contamination

M D SIEGEL and C R BRYAN, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA
579

Index 637
Introduction
These readings from the updated first edition of the Treatise on Geochemistry were chosen to serve as
supplements for students in General Geochemistry courses, and to introduce professionals to the field of
geochemistry. They are only selections, but they span the entire range of geochemistry that is represented in
the Treatise.
We start with a discussion of the origin of the elements that is basic to any further exploration of the
geochemistry of the Solar System and the Earth in particular. This introduction is followed by an essay on
the use of isotopic studies of meteorites and mantle-derived rocks to arrive at the history of the Earth’s
formation and its separation into the crust, mantle, and core. This essay is followed by chapters on the
composition of these three major parts of the Earth, and on the processes associated with plate tectonics that
appear to have altered significant portions of the mantle over time. These chapters are followed by an essay
on the emplacement of the atmosphere and oceans and on the mechanisms by which volatiles move from
the Earth’s interior to its surface.
Earth surface processes transport and redistribute the elements and their compounds. These processes
are tracked in chapters on soil formation and on the chemistry of rivers and groundwater. The oceans
modify the geochemistry of many chemical species. Their effect is illustrated by chapters on the marine
CaCO3 cycle and on the effects of marine hydrothermal systems on the chemistry and the biology of the
oceans. Three chapters are devoted to sedimentary rocks, which carry an impressive record of changes in
the composition of the atmosphere and of seawater, and in the Earth’s surface environments during its long
history. The evolution of these environments has been influenced strongly by the biosphere. Chapters are
therefore devoted to the biogeochemistry of primary organic production in the oceans and to the carbon
cycle as a whole.
The cycles of the elements at the Earth’s surface, together with many other parts of the Earth system are
strongly affected by humanity. The final chapter of the Readings deals with the environmental geochem-
istry of radioactive contaminants. It serves as an example of the human impact and as a warning of potential
disasters.
The chapters in this volume were chosen from the large array in the Treatise on Geochemistry. They are
only fragments but we hope that they will convey the wide sweep and scope of the field that is
geochemistry.

H.D. Holland and K.K. Turekian

Executive Editors
September 2009

v
This page intentionally left blank
 CONTRIBUTORS

R Amundson
University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

W S Broecker
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY

C R Bryan
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA

F H Chapelle
US Geological Survey, Columbia, SC, USA

P G Falkowski
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

S Gao
China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China and Northwest University,
Xi’an, People’s Republic of China

C R German
Southampton Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK

A N Halliday
University of Oxford, UK

A Heger
University of Chicago, IL, USA

A W Hofmann
Max-Plank-Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory,
Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA

H D Holland
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

R A Houghton
Woods Hole Research Center, MA, USA

T W Lyons
University of California, Riverside, CA, USA

F T Mackenzie
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

vii
viii Contributors
W F McDonough
University of Maryland, College Park, USA

M Meybeck
University of Paris VI, CNRS, Paris, France

D Porcelli
University of Oxford, UK

R L Rudnick
University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

B B Sageman
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

M D Siegel
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA

J W Truran Jr.
University of Chicago, IL, USA

K K Turekian
Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

J Veizer
Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany and University of Ottawa, ON, Canada

K L Von Dammy
University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA

y
Deceased.
1
Origin of the Elements
J. W. Truran, Jr. and A. Heger
University of Chicago, IL, USA

1.1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.2 ABUNDANCES AND NUCLEOSYNTHESIS 2
1.3 INTERMEDIATE MASS STARS: EVOLUTION AND NUCLEOSYNTHESIS 3
1.3.1 Shell Helium Burning and 12C Production 4
1.3.2 s-Process Synthesis in Red Giants 4
1.4 MASSIVE-STAR EVOLUTION AND NUCLEOSYNTHESIS 5
1.4.1 Nucleosynthesis in Massive Stars 7
1.4.1.1 Hydrogen burning 7
1.4.1.2 Helium burning and the s-process 7
1.4.1.3 Hydrogen and helium shell burning 7
1.4.1.4 Carbon burning 8
1.4.1.5 Neon and oxygen burning 8
1.4.1.6 Silicon burning 8
1.4.1.7 Explosive nucleosynthesis 8
1.4.1.8 The p-process 9
1.4.1.9 The r-process 9
1.5 TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE: PROGENITORS AND NUCLEOSYNTHESIS 9
1.6 NUCLEOSYNTHESIS AND GALACTIC CHEMICAL EVOLUTION 12
REFERENCES 14

1.1 INTRODUCTION Within galaxies, stars and supernovae play the

dominant role both in synthesizing the elements
Nucleosynthesis is the study of the nuclear pro- from carbon to uranium and in returning
cesses responsible for the formation of the heavy-element-enriched matter to the interstellar
elements which constitute the baryonic matter of gas from which new stars are formed. The mass
the Universe. The elements of which the Universe fraction of our solar system (formed 4.6 Gyr ago)
is composed indeed have a quite complicated in the form of heavy elements is 1.8%, and stars
nucleosynthesis history, which extends from the formed today in our galaxy can be a factor 2 or 3
first three minutes of the Big Bang through to more enriched (Edvardsson et al., 1993). It is the
the present. Contemporary nucleosynthesis processes of nucleosynthesis operating in stars and
theory associates the production of certain supernovae that we will review in this chapter. We
elements/isotopes or groups of elements with a will confine our attention to three broad categories
number of specific astrophysical settings, the of stellar and supernova site with which specific
most significant of which are: (i) the cosmological nucleosynthesis products are understood to be iden-
Big Bang, (ii) stars, and (iii) supernovae. tified: (i) intermediate mass stars, (ii) massive stars
Cosmological nucleosynthesis studies predict and associated type II supernovae, and (iii) type Ia
that the conditions characterizing the Big Bang supernovae. The first two of these sites are the
are consistent with the synthesis only of the lightest straightforward consequence of the evolution of
elements: 1H, 2H, 3He, 4He, and 7Li (Burles et al., single stars, while type Ia supernovae are understood
2001; Cyburt et al., 2002). These contributions to result from binary stellar evolution.
define the primordial compositions both of Stellar nucleosynthesis resulting from the evo-
galaxies and of the first stars formed therein. lution of single stars is a strong function of

1
2 Origin of the Elements
stellar mass (Woosley et al., 2002). Following 1.2 ABUNDANCES AND
phases of hydrogen and helium burning, all stars NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
consist of a carbon–oxygen core. In the mass range
of the so-called ‘‘intermediate mass’’ stars The ultimate goal of nucleosynthesis theory is,
(1 . M =M8 . 10), the temperatures realized in of course, to explain the composition of the
Universe, as reflected, for example, in the stellar
their degenerate cores never reach levels at which
and gas components of galaxies. Significant pro-
carbon ignition can occur. Substantial element pro-
gress has been achieved in this regard as a
duction occurs in such stars during the asymptotic
consequence of a wealth of new information of
giant branch (AGB) phase of evolution, accompa-
cosmic abundances—spectroscopic properties of
nied by significant mass loss, and they evolve to
stars in our galaxy and of gas clouds and galaxies
white dwarfs of carbon–oxygen (or, less commonly,
at high redshifts—pouring in from new ground-
oxygen–neon) composition. In contrast, the
and space-based observatories. Given that, it
increased pressures that are experienced in the
remains true that the most significant clues to
cores of stars of masses M & 10M8 yield higher
nucleosynthesis are those provided by our detailed
core temperatures that enable subsequent phases of knowledge of the elemental and isotopic composi-
carbon, neon, oxygen, and silicon burning to pro- tion of solar system matter. The mass fractions of
ceed. Collapse of an iron core devoid of further the stable isotopes in the solar are displayed in
nuclear energy then gives rise to a type II supernova Figure 1. Key features that reflect the nature of
and the formation of a neutron star or black hole the nuclear processes by which the heavy elements
remnant (Heger et al., 2003). The ejecta of type IIs are formed include: (i) the large abundances of 12C
contain the ashes of nuclear burning of the entire life and 16O, the main products of stellar helium burn-
of the star, but are also modified by the explosion ing; (ii) the dominance of the -particle nuclei
itself. They are the source of most material (by through calcium (20Ne, 24Mg, 28Si, 32S, 36Ar, and
mass) heavier than helium. 40
Ca); (iii) the ‘‘nuclear statistical equilibrium’’
Observations reveal that binary stellar systems peak at the position of 56Fe; and (iv) the abundance
comprise roughly half of all stars in our galaxy. peaks in the region past iron at the neutron closed
Single star evolution, as noted above, can leave in shell positions (zirconium, barium, and lead), con-
its wake compact stellar remnants: white dwarfs, firming the occurrence of processes of neutron-
neutron stars, and black holes. Indeed, we have capture synthesis. The solar system abundance
evidence for the occurrence of all three types of patterns associated specifically with the slow
condensed remnant in binaries. In close binary (s-process) and fast (r-process) processes of
systems, mass transfer can take place from an evol- neutron capture synthesis are shown in Figure 2.
ving companion onto a compact object. This It is important here to call attention to the revised
naturally gives rise to a variety of interesting phe- determinations of the oxygen and carbon abun-
nomena: classical novae (involving hydrogen dances in the Sun. Allende Prieto et al. (2001)
thermonuclear runaways in accreted shells on derived an accurate oxygen abundance for the Sun
white dwarfs (Gehrz et al., 1998)), X-ray bursts of log "ðOÞ ¼ 8:69  0:05 dex, a value approxi-
(hydrogen/helium thermonuclear runaways on mately a factor of 2 below that quoted by Anders
neutron stars (Strohmayer and Bildsten, 2003)), and Grevesse (1989). Subsequently, Allende Prieto
and X-ray binaries (accretion onto black holes). et al. (2002) determined the solar carbon abundance
For some range of conditions, accretion onto to be log "ðCÞ ¼ 8:39  0:04 dex, and the ratio
carbon–oxygen white dwarfs will permit growth C=O ¼ 0:5  0:07. The bottom line here is a reduc-
of the CO core to the Chandrasekhar limit tion in the abundances of the two most abundant
MCh ¼ 1:4M8 , and a thermonuclear runaway in heavy elements in the Sun, relative to hydrogen and
to core leads to a type Ia supernova. helium, by a factor 2. The implications of these
In this chapter, we will review the characteris- results for stellar evolution, nucleosynthesis, the
tics of thermonuclear processing in the three formation of carbon stars, and galactic chemical
environments we have identified: (i) intermediate- evolution remain to be explored.
mass stars; (ii) massive stars and type II superno- Guided by early compilations of the ‘‘cosmic
vae; and (iii) type Ia supernovae. This will be abundances’’ as reflected in solar system material
followed by a brief discussion of galactic chemical (e.g., Suess and Urey, 1956), Burbidge et al. (1957)
evolution, which illustrates how the contributions and Cameron (1957) identified the nuclear processes
from each of these environments are first intro- by which element formation occurs in stellar and
duced into the interstellar media of galaxies. supernova environments: (i) hydrogen burning,
Reviews of nucleosynthesis processes include which powers stars for 90% of their lifetimes;
those by Arnett (1995), Trimble (1975), Truran (ii) helium burning, which is responsible for the
(1984), Wallerstein et al. (1997), and Woosley production of 12C and 16O, the two most abundant
et al. (2002). An overview of galactic chemical elements heavier than helium; (iii) the -process,
evolution is presented by Tinsley (1980). which we now understand as a combination of
 Intermediate Mass Stars: Evolution and Nucleosynthesis 3

Figure 1 The abundances of the isotopes present in solar system matter are plotted as a function of mass number
A (the solar system abundances for the heavy elements are those compiled by Palme and Jones.

carbon, neon, and oxygen burning; (iv) the

equilibrium process, by which silicon burning
proceeds to the formation of a nuclear statistical
equilibrium abundance peak centered on mass
A ¼ 56; (v) the slow (s-process) and rapid
(r-process) mechanisms of neutron capture
synthesis of the heaviest elements (A & 6070);
and (vi) the p-process, a combination of the
-process and the -process, which we under-
stand to be responsible for the synthesis of a
number of stable isotopes of nuclei on the pro-
ton-rich side of the valley of beta stability. Our
subsequent discussions will identify the astro-
physical environments in which these diverse
processes are now understood to occur.
Figure 2 The s-process and r-process abundances in
solar system matter (based upon the work by Käppeler
et al., 1989). Note the distinctive s-process signature at
masses A  88, 138, and 208 and the corresponding 1.3 INTERMEDIATE MASS STARS:
r-process signatures at A  130 and 195, all attributable EVOLUTION AND
to closed-shell effects on neutron capture cross-sections. NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
It is the r-process pattern thus extracted from solar
system abundances that can be compared with the Intermediate-mass red giant stars are under-
observed heavy element patterns in extremely metal- stood to be the primary source both of 12C and
deficient stars (the total solar system abundances for the of the heavy s-process (slow neutron capture)
heavy elements are those compiled by Anders and elements, as well as a significant source of 14N
Grevesse, 1989), which are very similar to those from and other less abundant CNO isotopes. Their
the compilation of Palme and Jones. contributions to galactic nucleosynthesis are
4 Origin of the Elements
a consequence of the occurrence of nuclear reac- are converted into 12C, followed by the
tions in helium shell thermal pulses on the AGB, 12
C(, )16O reaction, which forms 16O at the
the subsequent dredge-up of matter into the expense of 12C. Core helium burning in massive
hydrogen-rich envelope by convection, and stars (M & 10M8 ) occurs at high temperatures,
mass loss. This is a very complicated evolution. which increases the rate of the 12C(, )16O reac-
Current stellar models, reviewed by Busso et al. tion and favors the production of oxygen.
(1999), allow the formation of low mass Typically, the 16O/12C ratio in the oxygen-rich
(1:5M8 ) carbon stars, which represent the mantles of massive stars prior to collapse is a factor
main source of s-process nuclei. A detailed 2–3 higher than the solar values. Massive stars
review of the nucleosynthesis products (chemical are thus the major source of oxygen, while low-
yields) for low- and intermediate-mass stars is and intermediate-mass stars dominate the produc-
provided by Marigo (2001). tion of carbon.
Red giant stars have played a significant role The advantage of the helium shells of low- and
in the historical development of nucleosynthesis intermediate-mass stars for 12C production arises
theory. While the pivotal role played by nuclear from the fact that, for conditions of incomplete
reactions in stars in providing an energy source helium burning, the 12C/16O ratio is high.
sufficient to power stars like the Sun over bil- Following a thermal pulse in the helium shell,
lions of years was established in the late 1930s, convective dredge-up of matter from the helium
it remained to be demonstrated that nuclear pro- shell brings helium, s-process elements, and a sig-
cesses in stellar interiors might play a role in the nificant mass of 12C to the surface. It is the surface
synthesis of heavy nuclei. The recognition that enrichment associated with this source of 12C that
heavy-element synthesis is an ongoing process in leads to the condition that the envelope 12C/16O
stellar interiors followed the discovery by Merrill ratio exceeds 1, such that ‘‘carbon star’’ is born.
(1952) of the presence of the element technetium Calculations of galactic chemical evolution indi-
in red giant stars. Since technetium has no stable cate that this source of carbon is sufficient to
isotopes, and the longest-lived isotope has a half- account for the level of 12C in galactic matter.
life 1=2 4:6 Myr, its presence in red-giant The levels of production of 14N, 13C, and other
atmospheres indicates its formation in these CNO isotopes in this environment are significantly
stars. This confirmed that the products of nuclear more difficult to estimate, and thus the correspond-
reactions operating at high temperatures and den- ing contributions of AGB stars to the galactic
sities in the deep interior can be transported by abundances of these isotopes remain uncertain.
convection to the outermost regions of the stellar
envelope.
The role of such convective ‘‘dredge-up’’ of mat- 1.3.2 s-Process Synthesis in Red Giants
ter in the red-giant phase of evolution of 110M8
stars is now understood to be an extremely complex The formation of most of the heavy elements
process (Busso et al., 1999). On the first ascent of occurs in one of two processes of neutron capture:
the giant branch (prior to helium ignition), convec- the s-process or the r-process. These two broad
tion can bring the products of CNO cycle burning divisions are distinguished on the basis of the rela-
(e.g., 13C, 17O, and 14N) to the surface. A second tive lifetimes for neutron captures ( n) and electron
dredge-up phase occurs following the termination of decays ( ). The condition that n >  , where  is
core helium burning. The critical third dredge up, a characteristic lifetime for -unstable nuclei near
occurring in the aftermath of thermal pulses in the the valley of -stability, ensures that as captures
helium shells of these AGB stars, is responsible for proceed the neutron-capture path will itself remain
the transport of both 12C and s-process nuclei (e.g., close to the valley of -stability. This defines the
technetium) to the surface. The subsequent loss of s-process. In contrast, when n <  , it follows that
this enriched envelope matter by winds and plane- successive neutron captures will proceed into the
tary nebula formation serves to enrich the neutron-rich regions off the -stable valley.
interstellar media of galaxies, from which new Following the exhaustion of the neutron flux, the
stars are born. A brief review of the mechanisms capture products approach the position of the val-
of production of 12C and the ‘‘main’’ component of ley of -stability by -decay, forming the r-process
the s-process of neutron capture nucleosynthesis is nuclei. The s-process and r-process patterns in solar
presented in the following sections. system matter are those shown in Figure 2.
The environment provided by thermal pulses in
the helium shells of intermediate-mass stars on the
1.3.1 Shell Helium Burning and 12C AGB provides conditions consistent with the
Production synthesis of the bulk of the heavy s-process iso-
topes through bismuth. Neutron captures in AGB
Stellar helium burning proceeds by means of the stars are driven by a combination of neutron
‘‘triple-alpha’’ reaction in which three 4He nuclei sources: the 13C(, n)16O reaction provides
 Massive-star Evolution and Nucleosynthesis 5
the bulk of the neutron budget at low-neutron den-
sities, while the 22Ne(, n) 25Mg operating at high
temperatures helps to set the timescale for critical
reaction branches. This s-process site (the main
s-process component) is understood to operate in
low-mass AGB stars (M 13M8 ) and to be
responsible for the synthesis of the s-process nuclei
in the mass range A & 90. Calculations reviewed by
Busso et al. (1999) indicate a great sensitivity both
to the characteristics of the 13C ‘‘pocket’’ in which
neutron production occurs and to the initial metalli-
city of the star. In their view, this implies that the solar
system abundances are not the result of a unique
s-process but rather the consequence of a compli-
cated galactic chemical evolutionary history which Figure 3 Evolution of the central temperature and
witnessed mixing of the products of s-processing in density in stars of 15M8 and 25M8 from birth as hydro-
stars of different metallicity and a range of 13C gen burning stars until iron core collapse (Table 1). In
pockets. We can hope that observations of the general, the trajectories follow a line of  _ T 3 , but with
some deviation downward (towards higher  at a given T)
s-process abundance patterns in stars as a function due to the decreasing entropy of the core. Nonmonotonic
of metallicity will ultimately be better able to guide behavior is observed when nuclear fuels are ignited and
and to constrain such theoretical models. this is exacerbated in the 15M8 model by partial degen-
eracy of the gas (source Woosley et al., 2002).

1.4 MASSIVE-STAR EVOLUTION

AND NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
bottom of burning region (central or shell burn-
Generally speaking, the evolution of a mas- ing) and depleting the fuel elsewhere in that
sive star follows a well-understood path of region at the same time. As a result, shell burn-
contraction to increasing central density and tem- ing of this fuel then commences outside that
perature. The contraction is caused by the energy region.
loss of the star, due to light radiated from the Table 1 summarizes the burning stages and
surface and neutrino losses (see below). The their durations for a 20M8 star. The timescale
released potential energy is in part converted for helium burning is 10 times shorter than
into internal energy of the gas (Virial theorem). that of hydrogen burning, mostly because of the
This path of contraction is interrupted by nuclear lower energy release per unit mass. The timescale
fusion—first hydrogen is burned to helium, then of the burning stages and contraction beyond cen-
helium to carbon and oxygen. This is followed tral helium burning is greatly reduced by thermal
by stages of carbon, neon, oxygen, and silicon
neutrino losses that carry away energy in situ,
burning, until finally a core of iron is produced,
instead of requiring that it be transported to the
from which no more energy can be extracted by
stellar surface by diffusion or convection. These
nuclear burning. The onsets of these burning 9
losses increase with temperature (as _ T ). When
phases as the star evolves through the tempera-
ture–density plane are shown in Figure 3, for the star has built up a large-enough iron core,
stars of masses 15M8 and 25M8 . Each fuel exceeding its effective Chandrasekhar mass (the
burns first in the center of the star, then in one maximum mass for which such a core can be
or more shells (Figure 4). Most burning stages stable), the core collapses to form a neutron star
proceed convectively: i.e., the energy production or a black hole (see Woosley et al. (2002) for a
rate by the burning is so large and centrally more extended review). A supernova explosion
concentrated that the energy cannot be trans- may result (e.g., Colgate and White, 1966) that
ported by radiation (heat diffusion) alone, and ejects most of the layers outside the iron core,
convective motions dominate the heat transport. including many of the ashes from the preceding
The reason for this is the high-temperature sen- burning phase. However, when the supernova
sitivity of nuclear reaction rates: for hydrogen shock front travels outward, for a brief time peak
burning in massive stars, nuclear energy genera- temperatures are reached, that exceed the maxi-
tion has a _ T18 dependence, and the dependence mum temperatures that have been reached in each
is even stronger for later burning stages. The region in the preceding hydrostatic burning stages
important consequence is that, due to the effi- (Table 2). This defines the transient stage of
cient mixing caused by the convection, the entire ‘‘explosive nucleosynthesis’’ that is critical to the
unstable region evolves essentially chemically formation of an equilibrium peak dominated by
56
homogeneously—replenishing the fuel at the Ni (Truran et al., 1967).
6 Origin of the Elements

Figure 4 Interior structure of a 22M8 star of solar composition as a function of time (logarithm of time till core
collapse) and enclosed mass. Green hatching and red cross hatching indicate convective and semiconvective regions.
Convective regions are typically well mixed and evolve chemically homogeneously. Blue shading indicates energy
generation and pink shading energy loss. Both take into account the sum of nuclear and neutrino loss contributions. The
thick black line at the top indicates the total mass of the star, being reduced by mass loss due to stellar winds. Note that
the mass loss rate actually increases at late times of the stellar evolution. The decreasing slope of the total mass of the
star in the figure is due to the logarithmic scale chosen for the time axis.

Table 1 Hydrostatic nuclear burning stages in massive stars. The table gives burning stages, main and secondary
products (ashes), typical temperatures and burning timescales for a 20M8 star, and the main nuclear reactions. An
ellipsis (  ) indicates more than one product of the double carbon and double oxygen reactions, and a chain of reactions
leading to the buildup of iron group elements for silicon burning.

Fuel Main products Secondary products T Duration Main reaction

(109 K) (yr)

H He 14
N 0.037 8.1106 4H ! 4He (CNO cycle)
He O, C 18
O, 22Ne 0.19 1.2106 34He ! 12C
s-Process 12
C + 4He ! 16O
C Ne, Mg Na 0.87 9.8102 12
C + 12C!  
Ne O, Mg Al, P 1.6 0.60 20
Ne ! 16O + 4He
20
Ne + 4He ! 24Mg
O Si, S Cl, Ar, 2.0 1.3 16
O + 16O !  
K, Ca
Si Fe Ti, V, Cr, 3.3 0.031 28
Si ! 24Mg + 4He  
Mn, Co, Ni 28
Si + 4He ! 24Mg  

Massive stars build up most of the heavy ele- heavy elements up to atomic mass numbers 80–90
ments from oxygen through the iron group from the from initial iron, converting initial carbon, oxygen,
initial hydrogen and helium of which they are and nitrogen into 22Ne, thus providing a neutron
formed. They also make most of the s-process source for the s-process. Massive stars are probably
Other documents randomly have
different content
exclaimed. “Do you know, Inspector, I wondered if anything of the
kind had been found. That is really interesting.”
“Interesting!” grumbled the Inspector. “Aye, the reporters will find
it interesting enough, you may bet. We couldn’t keep it dark, even if
we wanted to. This fellow Pargent got it by post on Saturday
morning. He told his sister, Miss Clara, that it must be a secret token
from some admirer of his work. He was so pleased about it that he
took it down to Penderworth to show his other sister. It was on his
way back from there that he was killed. Oh yes, it’s interesting
enough. We shall have to say that Tovey and Colburn got counters
like this, and then there’ll be a fearful outcry against us for keeping it
dark. ‘Had the police not displayed this criminal reticence, the victim
would have understood the purport of the warning and adequate
measures could have been taken to protect him.’ Oh yes, I know
what’s coming all right.”
Inspector Whyland gazed savagely at the counter for a few
seconds, then continued abruptly.
“Fortunately the envelope in which this one came had been kept.
The counter was wrapped up in a piece of cheap writing paper, and
put in a square envelope of the same quality. The address was
typewritten. Our people at the Yard are trying to trace the machine it
was done with. I wish them joy of the job. They can tell the make all
right; but there must be thousands of them scattered through
London.”
“If you don’t mind my suggesting it, it doesn’t follow that because
Mr. Pargent received a counter he was murdered by the same hand
that killed Mr. Tovey or Mr. Colburn,” said the herbalist quietly.
Inspector Whyland glanced at him quickly. “No, it doesn’t exactly
follow,” he agreed. “But we’ll return to that later. I want to show you
something else first. Look here.”
This time he produced from his pocket a paper packet, which he
proceeded to unroll. From it he withdrew two sinister-looking blades,
each stained a dull brown.
“These are the knives with which Tovey and Pargent were killed,”
he said. “Don’t touch them, but tell me if you can tell one from the
other.”
 Mr. Ludgrove adjusted his spectacles, and bent over the knives.
They were exactly similar, thin, with an extremely sharp point, about
half an inch wide and eight inches long. Neither of them showed any
sign of having ever possessed a handle.
“No, I can see no difference between them,” agreed Mr.
Ludgrove. “I admit that they strengthen the supposition that Mr.
Tovey and Mr. Pargent died by the same hand. But, admitting that
this was the case, it only bears out my theory that the murders were
the actions of a maniac. If they were not, if both men were killed with
some definite motive, you have to discover some connection
between them. Yet they moved in entirely distinct orbits, and, I
should imagine, had nothing whatever in common.”
Inspector Whyland shook his head with a tolerant smile.
“Theory’s all very well in its way, Mr. Ludgrove,” he said, as he
replaced the knives in his pocket. “I can’t waste my time establishing
connections. There’s evidence enough here to convince a jury that
the same man killed all three of them. And I don’t fancy it’ll be very
long before I lay hands upon him.”
“I sincerely hope your expectations will be realized, Inspector,”
replied the herbalist, in a tone of faint irony which was lost upon
Whyland. “I suppose it is indiscreet to ask whether you have any
suspicions? I confess that for my part I am entirely at a loss. What
about young Snyder, for instance?”
“Master Wal Snyder is out of this,” returned the Inspector shortly.
“He was pinched a week ago for picking pockets in a tube lift, and is
safely under lock and key. But I don’t mind telling you in confidence,
Mr. Ludgrove, that I know the murderer lives somewhere in this
district.”
Mr. Ludgrove lifted his eyebrows in real or assumed
astonishment. “Indeed?” he exclaimed. “That is indeed a great step
forward. Pray, how did you come to that conclusion?”
If the Inspector perceived the irony in his tone, he paid no heed to
it. “Well, it’s pretty obvious,” he replied. “All three men were
murdered in Praed Street, to begin with. Then, there’s another thing.
The envelope in which the counter was sent to Pargent bore the
post-mark of this district, London, W.2. You can’t get away from it,
everything points to the murderer living somewhere about here.”
 Again Inspector Whyland paused. Then suddenly he rose and
stood over the herbalist where he sat in his chair. “There’s another
thing, Mr. Ludgrove,” he said, almost menacingly. “You said just now
that it didn’t follow that because Pargent received a counter he was
killed by the same man that murdered the other two. Do you see
where that leads you? If the third counter was sent by a different
hand, it can only have been sent by one of the very few who knew of
the receipt of the first two. And all of them live in this district, you will
remember.”
Mr. Ludgrove gazed up at him in mock alarm. “They do, indeed,”
he replied. “It makes my blood run cold to think that I am one of
them. Really, I am quite relieved to think that I have an alibi in the
case of this last murder, at least.”
Inspector Whyland laughed shortly. “Oh, for that matter, I’m as
much under suspicion as you,” he said. “But, you see, there are
some people we know who couldn’t produce an alibi for the time
when any of the murders were committed.”
And with that he turned abruptly on his heel and strode out of the
room.
 Chapter VII.
The Black Sailor
That afternoon Inspector Whyland wrote in his report: “I had a
long interview with Ludgrove. He is a shrewd fellow, and not easy to
get anything out of. I am pretty sure that he has no definite
knowledge on this matter, but he admits himself that some of his
customers are not above petty crime, and it seems to me that he is
the most likely man to hear any underground rumours that may be
flying about.
“I managed to convey to him a pretty broad hint that I suspected
one of his friends. I did this with a double motive. On the one hand, if
he thinks that Copperdock or one of the others had anything to do
with it, he will probably pass the hint on, and somebody may try to
make a bolt for it, which would give them away. On the other hand, if
he is convinced of their innocence, he will be all the more anxious to
pass on to me any information he may get and which may tend to
clear them. It is just a chance, but it may lead to something useful.”
The inspector’s strategy was indeed that of forlorn hope. Rack his
brains as he would, interrogate as he might everyone who could
possibly throw light upon the murder of Richard Pargent, he found
himself up against a stone wall. Nobody could swear to having seen
and recognized the victim from the time he entered the train at West
Laverhurst until he had been seen to stagger and fall on the refuge
in Praed Street. The ticket collector at Reading was almost positive
about him, but, as he explained, he saw so many passengers in the
course of his day’s work that he could not be sure of any particular
one, unless there was something very remarkable about him or her.
All he knew for sure was that if this was the gentleman, he was alone
in the carriage when the train left Reading.
 Nobody at Paddington had noticed him among the streams
flowing from the arrival platforms, and it was impossible to establish
whether or not he had left the station alone. The taxi-driver who had
seen him fall had not seen the blow struck, could not even say
whether anyone else had been standing on the refuge with him or
not. It was a nasty, skiddy evening, and dark at that. He had enough
to do to watch the traffic without worrying about people on refuges. It
wasn’t until he had seen the poor man stagger into the road almost
under his front wheels that he had even noticed him. And then his
attention was fully occupied in pulling up and trying to avoid
collisions.
Finally, neither of the Miss Pargents could throw the faintest
glimmer of light upon the affair. Their brother was not the type of
man to have secrets from his family. Both sisters appeared to know
the inner history of every moment of his life since infancy, and
insisted upon dispensing the knowledge at great length. As to his
having an enemy in the world, the thing was absurd. He was a very
retiring man, who lived only for his work, and had never sought
adventure beyond the narrow bounds of the family circle. Inspector
Whyland came away from his last interview with the sisters—for Miss
Margaret had been prevailed upon to come up to London—
convinced that it would have been impossible for the dead man to
have embarked upon any clandestine enterprise without the
knowledge of one or other of them.
He was equally unsuccessful in finding any link between Richard
Pargent and any of the inhabitants of Praed Street. Their names
were utterly unfamiliar to either of the sisters, and Mr. Pargent’s only
connection with Praed Street appeared to be that he occasionally
passed along it in a bus. Inspector Whyland was convinced that the
same hand that had struck down Mr. Tovey, had killed Richard
Pargent, and probably Mr. Colburn, though the receipt of the counter
was the only link in the latter case. But what could be the motive for
the murder of these three men, so entirely disconnected from one
another? And, if one adopted the theory of a homicidal maniac, the
difficulty was scarcely diminished. Homicidal maniacs either kill
indiscriminately, or, as in the classic case of Jack the Ripper, they
attack a certain class or type. Yet the receipt of the numbered
counters implied some process of definite selection. Upon what
possible grounds could such a selection be based?
The inquest helped the authorities not at all. Nothing beyond
what Inspector Whyland already knew was elicited, and the only
fresh sensation which it provided was the disclosure of the fact that
each of the three victims had received a numbered counter.
Whyland’s forecast of the results of this were proved to have been
only slightly exaggerated. Most of the newspapers of the day
following the inquest appeared with leading articles discussing the
wisdom of official secrecy upon such a matter. A large number of
practical jokers despatched counters bearing the number IV to their
friends, many of whom arrived hot-foot at Scotland Yard demanding
instant police protection. The fatal counter became for the moment a
national symbol. The Opposition newspapers contained cartoons
depicting the Prime Minister opening an envelope labelled “Public
Opinion,” and containing a numbered counter. An enterprising
Insurance Company issued a poster upon which appeared an
enormous representation of the counter, and under it the words, “You
need not fear this if you are insured with the Gigantic.” To find one in
one’s Christmas pudding was an omen of bad luck for the ensuing
year. Then, having played its part as a nine days’ wonder, the vogue
of the numbered counter ceased as suddenly as it had begun.
Meanwhile, the police had been by no means idle. To Inspector
Whyland it had always seemed that the focus of the whole business
had lain in Mr. Copperdock’s shop. Mr. Copperdock had been an
intimate friend of Mr. Tovey’s; Ted Copperdock was on familiar terms
with Dick Colburn. It had been through Mr. Copperdock that he had
first learned of the receipt of the numbered counters; the pipe which
had been responsible for Mr. Colburn’s death been bought at Mr.
Copperdock’s shop. Inspector Whyland began to regard the three
victims as represented by the extremities of the letter Y, which,
although they are not connected to one another, are each connected
to a central point. But Mr. Copperdock was the central point, this
graphic representation was incomplete until the connection between
Richard Pargent and Mr. Copperdock could be established. And, try
as he would, Inspector Whyland could find absolutely no link
between the two.
 Nevertheless, Whyland determined to make a very thorough
investigation into Mr. Copperdock’s habits and associates. He was
rewarded by the discovery of two very interesting facts. A
representative of Scotland Yard, announcing himself as an agent of
the Planet Typewriter Company, the manufacturers of the machine
owned by Mr. Copperdock, and used by his son for writing business
letters, called at the tobacconist’s shop, ostensibly for the purpose of
inspecting the machine. He succeeded in carrying away with him a
specimen of its work, which was submitted to experts. They reported
that, although there were no perceptible peculiarities in any of the
letters which would enable them to identify this specimen with the
address on the envelope sent to Richard Pargent, there was, on the
other hand no discrepancy between the two types, and that therefore
the envelope might well have been typed on Mr. Copperdock’s
machine.
This, though disappointingly inconclusive, was to Whyland’s
ideas a point to be remembered should any corroborative evidence
come to light. Among the circle in whose actions he found himself
interested, the Copperdocks were the only people who possessed a
typewriter at all. As a matter of fact, Mr. Copperdock had only
purchased it quite recently, at the instance of Ted, who while stoutly
maintaining that no respectable tradesman could be without one,
had been suspected by his shrewd father of less disinterested
motives. Certainly it had seemed only natural that, the machine once
purchased, the expert Ivy should come in of an evening and show
Ted how to work it; but Mr. Copperdock had a way of winking at his
son behind her back which made that ingenuous youth blush most
embarrassingly.
The second curious fact was discovered by Inspector Whyland
almost by accident. In his study of Mr. Copperdock and his
associates, he had taken to frequenting the saloon bar of the
Cambridge Arms, carefully choosing such times as Mr. Copperdock
was busy in the shop. There was nothing in any way suspicious
about the Cambridge Arms; it lay in one of the streets which run
southwards from Praed Street, and was consequently almost hidden
in a backwater. Its remarkably cosy little saloon bar was patronized
chiefly by the neighbouring small tradesmen, and its habitués were
all well-known to the proprietor, with whom Whyland soon became
on confidential terms.
A couple of days after the inquest on Richard Pargent, Whyland
turned into the Cambridge Arms just as its doors were opened, at
five o’clock. The proprietor met him with a smile, and, having
executed his order, leant over the bar and entered into conversation.
“I never thought, when I opened up last Saturday, that that poor
fellow was being murdered at that very minute,” he began. “Just
about five o’clock, wasn’t it, sir?”
Whyland nodded. “The clock was striking five as they picked him
up,” he replied.
“I remember the evening well,” continued the proprietor. “Though
it wasn’t until nigh upon seven that I heard anything about it. I says
to my wife it was that wet and foggy that even our regulars wouldn’t
be in till later. But there you are, you never can tell. I hadn’t opened
this bar, not more than five minutes, when in comes one of my best
customers, Sam Copperdock, the tobacconist. You may have met
him here, sir?”
Whyland nodded non-committally, and the landlord proceeded.
“I was a bit surprised to see him, sir, because Sam doesn’t
usually come along until eight, unless it happens to be Thursday,
when he closes early. ‘Hullo, Sam, you’re on time to-night,’ I says,
jocular like. ‘Oh, I’ve only come in for a drink,’ he says; ‘The bottle’s
empty at home, and I couldn’t scrounge one from old Ludgrove
opposite, he’s away.’ He has a double, and goes back to his shop.
The bar was pretty nigh empty till about seven, when a fellow comes
in and tells me about the murder.”
Inspector Whyland deftly turned the conversation. He knew that if
he questioned the man his suspicions would be aroused, and this he
was anxious to avoid. Without any appearance of haste he finished
his drink and left the premises. Once round the corner, he walked
swiftly to the spot where Richard Pargent had been murdered,
counting his paces as he went.
Could Mr. Copperdock have committed the murder? It was quite
possible. If he had left his shop a few minutes before five, he would
have had plenty of time to reach the exit from Paddington station,
plunge the knife into his victim, and be at the Cambridge Arms at five
minutes past. But, if he were the criminal, a thousand puzzling
questions presented themselves. How did he know that his victim
would be arriving at Paddington at 4.55 that evening? Above all, why
should Mr. Copperdock, the tobacconist, have any grudge against
Mr. Pargent, the minor poet? And then again, Whyland was
convinced that the murderer of Richard Pargent had been the
murderer of James Tovey. But, at the moment when Tovey had been
killed, Mr. Copperdock was in his sitting-room with his son and the
murdered man’s daughter. The riddle appeared to be insoluble.
Whyland turned abruptly, boarded a bus, and took a ticket to
Oxford Circus. Here he dismounted, and turned into the first picture-
house which presented itself. He had discovered long ago that this
was the surest way of securing freedom from interruption. Here for a
couple of hours he sat motionless, neither seeing the pictures nor
attentive to the strenuous efforts of the orchestra. And as he sat, a
new theory slowly unfolded itself in his brain.
Samuel Copperdock, whom he had studied so carefully, did not
appear to him to be a deliberate criminal. He was not of the type
which harbours revenge, and he did not seem either clever or
painstaking enough to work out the details of a premeditated murder.
Although, if it were true that he had formed a design to marry Mrs.
Tovey, the murder of Mr. Tovey might be said to be advantageous to
him, it was inconceivable that he had had any hand in it. He could
not have struck the blow himself, and, since he was not a rich man, it
was difficult to see what inducement he could offer to a hired
assassin. In all human probability, Mr. Copperdock was innocent of
the murder of James Tovey.
But, on the other hand, this murder, followed so closely by the
mysterious death of his other acquaintance, Colburn, had made a
great impression upon him. He had thought and talked of little else,
and, as it happened, he had known every detail. He had seen the
knife with which James Tovey had been killed; he, in common with
very few others, had known of the receipt of the marked counters.
Suppose that the crimes had had such a powerful effect upon his
imagination that he had felt an irresistible impulse to imitate them?
Such things were known, were in fact a commonplace of the criminal
psychologists.
 Upon this assumption, the rest was easy. Mr. Copperdock had
learnt by some accident that this man Richard Pargent would arrive
at Paddington at 4.55 on Saturday, and had selected him as a likely
victim. His imitative faculty fully developed, he had sent him the
numbered counter, and had purchased a knife similar to the one
which he had already seen. Then, just before the train was due, he
had left his shop, met his victim, committed the crime, had a drink to
steady his nerves, and then come home.
The theory was plausible, but Inspector Whyland knew well
enough that so far he had not a fragment of real evidence with which
to support it. But, unless he were to adopt the suggestion of Mr.
Ludgrove, that some homicidal maniac was responsible, Whyland
could see no alternative. The lack of motive was so extraordinarily
puzzling. The murders had been utterly purposeless, and the only
possible theory could be one which took full account of this fact. And
then again, how account for the despatch of the numbered counters?
If the murders had been inspired by irresponsible impulse, what had
been their object?
Still deep in thought, Inspector Whyland left the picture-house
and walked slowly back to the police station through the less
frequented streets. It was a little past eight on a typical December
evening, with a light wet mist which magnified the outlines of the
passers-by and covered the pavements with a shining dampness.
But the weather never had much effect upon Whyland, and, beyond
a passing reflection that on such an evening murder in the streets of
London was not, after all, an enterprise presenting any great
difficulties to a determined man, he paid no great attention to it.
He reached the police station without adventure, ordered a
modest supper, and sat down to deal with the mass of reports which
awaited him. He was thus engaged when a sergeant entered the
room, with the message that a man giving the name of Copperdock
wished to speak to him on the telephone. He rose, walked to the
instrument, and picked up the receiver. “Inspector Whyland
speaking,” he said coldly.
“Is that you, Inspector?” came an excited voice, which Whyland
recognized at once. “Can you come and see me at once? I’ve
something very important to tell you.”
 Whyland hesitated for a moment. Whatever it was that Mr.
Copperdock had to say to him, a visit to his house could afford him
an excellent opportunity for keeping his eyes open for some clue in
support of his theory. “Yes, I’ll come along straight away,” he replied.
With a word to the sergeant, he left the station and walked rapidly to
Praed Street.
It was about a quarter to ten when he arrived and rang the bell
outside Mr. Copperdock’s shop. The tobacconist was obviously
awaiting him, and the door was opened immediately. With a brief
word of greeting, Mr. Copperdock led the way upstairs to the sitting-
room. Then, shutting the door carefully behind him, he turned
dramatically, “I’ve seen that there black sailor!” he exclaimed in a
hoarse whisper.
Inspector Whyland looked at him sharply. When the reward had
originally been offered, he had been overwhelmed by a flood of
people who had claimed to have seen the “black sailor,” but of late
this elusive figure had ceased to occupy the popular imagination.
Was this a vindication of his theory, showing that Mr. Copperdock’s
brain was completely under the influence of the crime?
“You have seen the black sailor? Sit down and tell me all about it,
Mr. Copperdock,” he replied gravely.
But Mr. Copperdock was far too excited to sit down. “I see him
plain as I see you now,” he exclaimed. “Just after I left the
Cambridge Arms——”
But Inspector Whyland put out his hand and forced him gently
into the nearest chair. “Now, look here, Mr. Copperdock, if your
information is to be of any use to me, you must tell it to me in the
proper order. Begin by telling me how you spent the evening.”
“Soon as I shut up shop at eight o’clock, I goes off to the
Cambridge, same as I always does,” replied the tobacconist
protestingly. “Ted went out too, he’s taking Ivy to the pictures, and
they won’t be back for an hour or so yet. I has a couple there, sitting
in front of the fire, and it wasn’t until nigh on closing time that I left.
There wasn’t anybody there as was coming home my way, so I starts
off home alone. And I hadn’t gone more than a hundred yards when I
runs slap into the black sailor!”
 “What do you mean when you say you ran into him?” interrupted
Whyland.
“Just what I says. I saw someone come round the corner, and
before I could move we ran into one another. He was a great big
fellow, and I could see him perfectly plain, we was right under the
lamp. He bent down and looked straight at me, and you could have
knocked me down with a feather. It was the black sailor, all right. He
was muffled up in a great heavy coat, but I could see his beard, and
his woollen cap, and a great red scar down the right side of his face.
He glared at me as though he were going to hit me, and I hollered
out, being sure he was going to do me in. Then all at once he turns
his back and walks off at a tremendous pace. After a bit I follows
him, hoping to meet a copper. But he suddenly turns in to the
Edgware Road, and by the time I gets there I’d lost him.”
“H’m,” said Inspector Whyland. “That must have been nearly an
hour ago now.” He paused for a moment, then, realizing that in Mr.
Copperdock’s present excited state it would be impossible to get
anything coherent out of him, he rose and took his leave.
“Well, good night, Mr. Copperdock,” he said abruptly. “It’s a pity
you didn’t catch your man. I’d better get back to the station and warn
my people to look out for him.”
As he left the shop, he noticed that Mr. Ludgrove’s door stood
open, and as he crossed the road, the herbalist himself appeared in
the entrance. “Good evening, Inspector,” he said politely.
Obeying a sudden impulse, Whyland stopped and returned the
greeting. “Good evening, Mr. Ludgrove,” he replied. “May I come in
for a moment?”
“By all means, come along,” replied the herbalist, leading the way
into his sanctum. “I do not drink much myself, but perhaps you will
take some refreshment yourself?”
He busied himself with a bottle and a glass, while the Inspector
drew up a chair to the blazing fire. Then, when his host had seated
himself, Whyland glanced at him with a slight smile playing about his
lips.
“Our friend Mr. Copperdock has seen the black sailor,” he
remarked.
 “Seen the black sailor!” exclaimed the herbalist incredulously.
“When and where—if I may ask?”
“Listen, and I’ll tell you all about it,” replied Whyland. “About an
hour ago outside the Cambridge Arms.”
Mr. Ludgrove laughed softly at something in the tone of the
Inspector’s voice, then suddenly became serious.
“I do not think that I should place too great importance upon this
incident,” he said. “Mr. Copperdock is a most excellent person, and I
have the greatest respect for him. But I have often suspected that his
visits to the Cambridge Arms have—shall I say, a pernicious effect
upon the accuracy of his observations.”
“He seemed a bit excited, certainly,” replied Whyland. “But he
was quite positive that he had seen the man.”
Mr. Ludgrove shook his head. “Now, this is strictly between
ourselves, Inspector,” he said. “I make an invariable practice of
taking a walk every evening, as soon as my clients give me the
opportunity. This evening I went out soon after eight, and walked in
the direction of Hyde Park. As it happened, I was returning past the
Cambridge Arms, when I saw a figure which was unmistakably that
of Mr. Copperdock leave the entrance of that house. I hastened my
steps to overtake him, when suddenly he stopped, shouted, and
after a moment or two, set off in the direction of Edgware Road. I
could not imagine what was the matter, since but for us two the road
was deserted as far as one could see for the mist. I was within
twenty or thirty yards of him, and I certainly saw no black sailor.”
It was Inspector Whyland’s turn to smile significantly. “It does not
altogether surprise me to learn that Mr. Copperdock suffers from
hallucinations,” he said.
 Chapter VIII.
At No. 407, Praed Street
Although the unexplained murders which had taken place in
Praed Street were soon forgotten by the general public, their shadow
hung heavily over the neighbourhood in which they had been
committed. The fact that the three deaths had taken place within
comparatively few hundred yards of one another could not fail to
have its effect upon the local imagination. A very noticeable change
came over the usual cheerful and careless life of Praed Street. The
evening pavements were no longer blocked by a strolling, noisy
crowd. Women and children were rarely to be seen abroad after
dark. Even men, traversing the street upon their lawful occasions,
had a way of keeping close to the inner side of the pavements, and
crossing the road upon the approach of any unfamiliar form.
Christmas passed in this atmosphere of intangible fear; the old
year died and the new year came in with a welcome spell of clear
and frosty weather. But, in spite of the fact that no further tragedies
occurred, the shadow still lay heavily upon the district. Ludgrove,
listening to the whispered and entangled stories of his clients,
became more and more certain that, even in the hidden depths of
the underworld, there was no knowledge of the agency by which the
crimes had been committed.
Had such knowledge existed, it must inevitably have been
divulged to him. The police, under the direction of Inspector
Whyland, were engaged in passing a fine-toothed comb through the
Paddington district, and the minor offenders disturbed in this process
were as concerned as a colony of ants unearthed by a spade. Mr.
Ludgrove was visited furtively late at night by anxious people
seeking advice how to conceal the evidence of their misdemeanours
from the prying eyes of the police. He questioned each of these
closely, but the more he did so the more he became convinced that
none of them had the slightest inkling of the perpetrator of the
murders.
Another section of his clients, however, equally furtive and
mysterious, had clues in plenty, which they seemed to think entitled
them to some reward. These, after assuring themselves that no one
could overhear them, would produce an incoherent story of how one
of their neighbours must be the criminal. He had been heard to utter
threats that he would do some one in some day, he had been in
Praed Street on the night when Mr. Tovey was murdered, in the
neighbourhood of Paddington station when Mr. Pargent was killed.
Others, again, had met a muffled figure brandishing a knife, or had
seen a dark man with a beard standing in the shadow thrown by a
projecting wall. Two or three searching questions were always
sufficient to prove that their suspicions were baseless.
The murders in Praed Street were thus peculiar in the annals of
crime. In nearly every case of a crime being committed, there are
others besides the criminal who know all the facts. The police know
this, but their great difficulty is to secure evidence sufficiently
convincing to lead to a conviction. There is a certain esprit de corps
in the constant strife between the professional criminal and the
police, and those who know are careful to keep their knowledge to
themselves. But in this case, had there been any of the inhabitants
of the district in the secret, Mr. Ludgrove would have obtained some
hint of it. It seemed conclusive that the criminal was either working
alone and independently, or came from some other district.
This was the state of affairs towards the end of January. The
police were completely baffled; Inspector Whyland, although he still
favoured the theory he had evolved in the picture-house, had failed
to find any evidence upon which he could act. He hardly knew
whether to attribute Mr. Copperdock’s story of his meeting with the
black sailor to pure hallucination, or to an attempt to divert suspicion
from himself. In either case, it could be made to fit in with the theory
that he had murdered Richard Pargent under the influence of what
the psychologists called an imitative complex. Whyland redoubled
his activities, and a most accurate watch was kept upon Mr.
Copperdock’s movements. A month had elapsed since the murder of
Richard Pargent when Mr. Jacob Martin, the prosperous wine
merchant of the Barbican, opening his morning post in his
comfortable office, came upon a typewritten envelope, marked
“Private and Confidential.” He ripped it open with the paper cutter
which lay upon his desk, and unfolded the letter it contained. It also
was typewritten, on plain paper. Only the signature “John Lacey” was
in ink.
Mr. Martin, a portly, grey-haired man of between fifty and sixty,
read the letter through twice, with a gathering frown upon his face.
He had prospered exceedingly since the day when he had first set
up in business for himself as a wine merchant, so much so that his
competitors wondered at his success. There had, from time to time
been rumours, quickly suppressed, to the effect that Mr. Martin had
other means of livelihood than his ostensible business. But Mr.
Martin was a remarkably astute man, and had hitherto managed to
avoid undue inquisitiveness.
And now, like a bolt from the blue, came this extraordinary letter.
Confound John Lacey, and his prying habits, whoever he might be.
That little cellar under the back office! How well he remembered it. It
had been the scene of many most profitable transactions, had
harboured treasures for which the police of two continents had
searched in vain. For Mr. Martin was a receiver of stolen goods, not
a mere general practitioner of the art, but a specialist whose services
were utilized only by the aristocracy of thieves, and whose particular
function was turning into cash only the most valuable jewellery.
With an exclamation of annoyance Mr. Martin turned once more
to the letter. “Dear Sir, I venture to address you upon a subject which
will no doubt interest you,” it ran. “I have recently acquired a lease of
the premises No. 407, Praed Street, which I understand, were in
your occupation up till some fifteen years ago. Since you vacated
them, these premises have been occupied by a clothier, who did not
require the extensive cellarage, which was boarded up. In the course
of certain alterations which I am having made to the premises, the
entrance to the cellars has once again been opened. In the course of
my investigations I have made a most interesting discovery in the
small cellar beneath the back office.
 “I should perhaps report this discovery to the authorities, but I
have thought it best to consult you upon the matter before doing so.
This letter should reach you by the first post to-morrow (Saturday)
morning. I should be glad if you could make it convenient to meet me
on the premises at 2 p.m. that day, when the workmen who are at
present employed there will have gone. I can then show you my
discovery, and we can consult upon the most suitable steps to be
taken in the matter. Should you not find this convenient, I shall
assume that the subject does not interest you, and shall report the
matter forthwith to the police. Yours faithfully, John Lacey.”
A blackmailing letter, without a doubt, Mr. Martin could see at a
glance. But what on earth could the fellow have discovered? Fifteen
years ago, when Mr. Martin moved from Praed Street to the
Barbican, he had taken the utmost care to destroy every trace of the
purpose to which that little cellar had been put. He racked his brains
to try and think of anything that could possibly have been
overlooked, but without success. Even those ingeniously contrived
recesses in the walls had been torn out, leaving nothing but the bare
brick. Mr. Martin had done the work with his own hands, not caring to
trust anyone else with so delicate a matter. Yet, after all, in spite of all
his care, he must have left some clue, which this infernal fellow
Lacey had somehow blundered upon.
He brushed aside as absurd the suggestion that “Lacey” could
conceal the identity of one of those with whom he had done
business, who knew the secret of the cellar and had adopted this
clumsy plan to blackmail him. The circle of his secret clients was a
very narrow one; he knew them all and was well aware that
blackmail was neither in their line nor in their interest. The expert in
acquiring jewellery concentrated upon his particular art; he did not
descend to blackmail, especially of the one man through whose
agency he was able to dispose of his spoil. No, there was no doubt
about it, a slip had been made, a slip which had lain undiscovered all
these years, through the circumstance that his successor, the
clothier, had found no use for the cellars and had boarded up the
entrance to them.
There was nothing for it but to carry out the suggestion contained
in the letter, and meet the man in Praed Street at two o’clock. He
must find out the nature of this mysterious discovery, and take steps
to ensure that all evidence of it be securely destroyed. Lacey, of
course, would demand some compensation for holding his tongue.
The sum he demanded would depend upon the importance of what
he had found. Well, they would discuss terms, alone in that empty
house, in the very cellar which Mr. Martin remembered so well.
Mr. Martin stroked his chin reflectively. What sort of fellow was
this Lacey, he wondered? He himself was a powerful man, proud of
his own powers of intimidation. It ought to be simple enough for him
to destroy the evidence first then to tell Lacey to go to the devil and
do his worst. He unlocked a drawer of his desk and drew from it a
small automatic pistol, which he slipped into his pocket. It was with a
smile that he remembered that Praed Street had recently acquired a
sinister reputation. Well, if any accident should happen——
Mr. Martin’s office closed at one o’clock on Saturdays. He left a
few minutes before that hour, having put John Lacey’s letter in his
pocket and examined the mechanism of his automatic. Then he
consumed a hasty lunch at a chop-house near-by, and walked down
the street to Aldersgate Metropolitan station, where he took a ticket
to Paddington. He emerged into Praed Street at about five minutes
to two, and began to walk along that thoroughfare in the direction of
Number 407.
Praed Street, at this time on a fine afternoon, wore its usual air of
busy activity. The exodus from central London was still at its height,
the crowds still passed along in bus or taxi towards the portals of
Paddington station. On the other hand, the inhabitants of the
neighbourhood, released from work, were beginning their week-end
shopping. The pavement was crowded, and Mr. Martin, who had
some distance to walk to his destination, looked about him curiously.
Since he had put up his shutters for the last time, fifteen years ago,
he had rarely revisited Praed Street, and even then he had only
traversed it in a taxi, going to or from Paddington. The street had
changed a little since he had been an inhabitant of it. Certainly there
were fresh names over many of the shops, and, here and there,
there had been alterations to the buildings he remembered. He
glanced at a board on the opposite side of the street. Elmer
Ludgrove. That was new since his day. The rather musty-looking
shop was conspicuous among its neighbours by being closed. Praed
Street, as a rule, does most of its business on Saturday afternoon.
Mr. Martin walked on a step or two, then hesitated for an instant.
So Sam Copperdock, from whom he bought his cigarettes in those
early days, was still here. Mr. Martin had long ago abandoned
cigarettes for cigars, but he felt a momentary impulse to go in and
renew the old acquaintance. Sam Copperdock had been a good
customer of his, he remembered. Many a bottle of whiskey had he
sold him. But on second thoughts he refrained. Perhaps it would be
just as well, in the light of what might happen during the next half
hour or so, that his visit to Praed Street remained unsuspected.
Mr. Martin walked on, and in a few minutes found himself outside
Number 407. It was much as he remembered it, but that it was lying
empty, and showed signs of being refitted for a new tenant. The
windows were almost obscured with patches of white-wash, but
peering through them he could see trestles, timber, shavings, all the
litter which betrays the presence of the carpenter. So far, then, the
letter was correct. Mr. Martin, after a furtive glance round about him,
walked up to the door and tried it. It was locked.
He drew out his watch and consulted it. It was nearly five minutes
past two, but he remembered that he had noticed that morning that it
was a trifle fast. Lacey, whoever he was, would doubtless be along in
a moment. Mr. Martin hoped he would be quick; he had no wish to
be recognized outside the premises by any of his old acquaintances.
A sudden thought struck him. Perhaps Lacey was already inside,
waiting for him. There was an electric bellpush by the side of the
door. Mr. Martin pressed it firmly, but could hear no answering ring
above the roar of the traffic. Then all at once he became aware that
a small girl was standing by his side, looking up at him with an
appraising expression.
As he turned to look at her, she made up her mind and spoke. “Is
your name Mr. Martin?” she asked.
Mr. Martin frowned down at her. “What’s that got to do with you?”
he replied.
“ ’Cos if you are, Dad told me to give you the key,” she continued,
quite unabashed. “And there’s a message from Mr. Lacey that you’re
to go in and wait for him, as he’ll be a few minutes late.”
 “Oh, I see,” said Mr. Martin with a smile. “Yes, my dear, I am Mr.
Martin. How did your father come to have the key?”
She jerked her head towards a sweet shop two or three doors
away. “We lives there,” she replied curtly. “Mr. Briggs the builder,
what’s working here, leaves it with us because he’s my uncle. His
men come and get it in the morning. And Mr. Lacey, him what’s
coming here, telephoned just now to say you was coming to see the
drains and I was to give you the key.”
“Oh yes, that’s right,” said Mr. Martin, completely reassured.
“Thank you, my dear, I’ll see that either Mr. Lacey or myself brings
you back the key so that your uncle’s men may get in on Monday
morning. That’s the shop, there, isn’t it?”
He waited until the child had disappeared into the shop, then
opened the door of Number 407 with the key which she had given
him, walked in and closed the door behind him. Here he paused for a
moment, thinking rapidly. He felt that he was up against a brain as
agile as his own, and that the coming interview would demand all his
skill if he were to bring it to a favourable issue. This man Lacey had
taken steps to advertise the fact that Mr. Martin had entered the
premises, obviously as a precaution against foul play. His automatic
would be of no use to him, he would have to rely upon his brains
instead.
Then suddenly it flashed upon him that he had been given a very
fortunate opportunity. It was not to be supposed that Lacey had left
his discovery, whatever it was, lying about the cellar in full view of
the workmen who had been there that morning. But, if he could have
a quiet look round by himself, he might gain some clue to the nature
of the discovery, and so be prepared to meet Lacey when he arrived.
Mr. Martin was not anxious for Lacey to come upon him
unawares while he was searching the cellar. Fortunately, the
possibility of such an event could easily be guarded against. He
bolted the door top and bottom, and noticed with satisfaction that the
bolts were brand new, evidently part of the alterations which the new
tenant was making to the premises. Then, after glancing round the
ground floor, and making sure that nobody was hidden there, he
made his way to the top of the stairway which led down to the
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