It's an odd place for a man in charge
of naval intelligence's Pacific fleet, wouldn't you say?
Oh, not really, Artie.
There are some admirals that, underneath,
are greater landlubbers at heart.
Uh, excuse us, admiral.
We knocked, but there was-
Sir?
Admiral, are you-?
Prussic acid.
Ruined a very fine old Tokay,
about a '58 or a '59, I'd say.
Any last minute notes
on why we were sent for in such a hurry,
or what happened?
Nah. Just doodling.
Apparently, they didn't have the time.
"Myron Kendrick."
Interesting.
The letter Y keeps recurring in these over and over again.
Mean anything to you?
No.
Uh...
This doodling- Lightning bolts.
That's about all I can make out of it.
It doesn't make much-
Any last words?
What's he saying?
I don't know.
It's Polynesian. I know that much.
Run through that one more time.
Jim, hard to starboard!
He was outta range.
Niihau, Kauai, Oahu,
Molokai, Maui, Lanai,
Kaho'olawe, Hawaii.
Separately, the bits and pieces
that may well turn into the most important parcel of real estate
of the coming century:
The Sandwich Islands,
more commonly known as the Hawaiian.
Do you gentlemen have any idea why that should be so?
"With Oahu's impregnable Pearl Harbor
and its strategic position straddling the ocean lanes-"
"The flag that flies over these sun-drenched islands
will be master of the Pacific."
I had no idea you gentlemen
went in for reading State Department white papers.
Well, we do, sir, when they're authored by
assistant secretary of state Levering Davis.
Thank you.
Ruling monarch of these islands is Mau Ke Kalakua,
a very wise man, gentlemen.
Wise enough to realize, for instance,
that his island security calls for a strong alliance
with a world power.
As you know, he will be arriving in the United States shortly
for high-level discussions.
Yes, sir. We've been assigned to his personal security.
The only thing we don't know
is exactly when and where he'll be arriving.
The royal party will arrive in San Francisco
on the Hawaiian Queen on the 18th.
That's a day and a half from now.
It's not much in the way of notice, is it, sir?
All part of overall security, Gordon.
Until our state department and the king
have concluded their agreement,
the royal visit is to remain top-secret.
As the president must have told you,
it's important that the king's visit here
be a very pleasant one.
Good day. Good day, sir.
Hello, Anabella.
I've been waiting for you, little girl.
There we are.
Got the whole message.
There's a good girl.
Yes.
Let's check on the dock with a Hawaiian c-
Artie, you with me?
Jim...
the Admiral Agnow case.
Suddenly an awful lot of loose pieces
are beginning to fall into place.
I'm listening.
Here, let's take another look at these.
Until five minutes ago,
just a bunch of scraps of paper
covered with meaningless scribbles and letters, right?
One name scrawled on it several times:
Myron Kendrick.
Now on a hunch, I got in touch with the local office
of naval personnel and asked them to check into it.
Dear old Anabella just came in with this answer.
"Myron Kendrick, able seaman.
Sole survivor of frigate Youngstown."
That's the Youngstown that went down three weeks ago.
Right.
Why the constant reference to the letter Y?
The Youngstown.
Exactly, and all of these scribbles
that look like bolts of lightning here.
Look at that.
Look at it here.
Remember the official finding?
It said that the frigate's magazine blew up
because it was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm.
Artie...
I've got an idea buzzing around in my head.
Yeah, so do I. Tell me yours.
Item:
Suppose that the admiral sent for us
after he had uncovered facts
that the Youngstown wasn't destroyed by lightning,
but that it was sabotaged.
That has to be it.
Now the only question is what form did it take?
I don't know, but we've got a day before the king arrives.
Why don't you go see Myron Kendrick
and ask him about his former ship?
I'd be glad to. What about you?
I'm going to go see that Hawaiian expert.
What was his name? Uh, Barclay.
Yeah. Adam Barclay.
I'm gonna ask him about this
and those Hawaiian phrases we heard in the garden.
How do you do, Mr. West?
I'm Adam Barclay.
I've heard about you. Read about your exploits.
Well, sir,
now that you've overcome your surprise
to find that I'm Chinese, do join me for a drink.
Thank you. It's, um-
It's not important,
but the name Adam Barclay-?
Hardly prepares one for the sight of its owner.
I know, I know.
"Adam Barclay" is a legacy from my English father.
However, with all due respect to you, sir,
I prefer to describe myself as a Chinese
who happened to have had an English father.
I've heard that Orientals living in a Caucasian world
occasionally find their nerve ends lacerated.
Well, sir, it's not an-
Thank you.
Do forgive me if I sounded crisp.
It seems to happen when I've been away
from my beloved islands too long.
You live in Hawaii?
In a very real sense, I have never left.
Hawaii is my home.
Bone of my bones. Flesh of my flesh.
Only pressing business keeps me away.
Your note, sir.
You mentioned something
about a Polynesian artifact, I believe.
Do you mind telling me where you got this?
Happy to. Someone tried to kill me with it.
Some time between now and 8:00 last night, correct?
Do you mind telling me how you knew that?
Be happy to.
It's a Hawaiian nuau.
The traditional war mace dating to King Kamehameha's reign.
It was stolen from my collection last night.
Oh, leave it there.
It looks better there
than it would have buried in my skull.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you very much, indeed.
You know, I'm having a few friends to a Hawaiian dinner.
Poi, roast pig and all the other island delicacies.
Do join us, won't you?
Uh, I'd like to, but I'm sorry. I-
It's my way of honoring his majesty Mau Ke Kalakua.
He will be arriving here for a visit quite soon.
Suddenly that seems like a very attractive idea.
Thank you.
Has he been in this state
ever since they fished him out of the water?
Yes, sir. Shock, the doctors say.
And now, sir, I think you-
Could I just have a minute or two, please?
It's most important. Please.
All right. Thank you.
Mr. Kendrick...
can you hear me?
Try to tell me what happened.
You must remember something.
Seeing something, hearing something, anything.
Try, won't you?
It's important.
It's a matter of national security.
Look, your ship is just off the Farallons,
steaming toward the Golden Gate, not 30 miles up ahead.
You're in a thunderstorm, remember?
And the vessel is pitching badly.
Now...where are you?
Are you standing watch?
Something happened, Mr. Kendrick. What was it?
All right, sailor, turn to and report!
Sir!
It was...
I sighted it...
off the port bow.
What?
It was...
like a fireball...
with a tail.
With a- With a long tail...
Like a- A comet.
What's going on here?
Do you realize this man is in deep shock?
I'm terribly sorry, doctor,
but in view of the circumstances-
Get outta here!
Thank you.
Oh. Ah.
This is a particularly favorite time of mine.
The last dull guest has departed.
One special guest remains. Now we can talk.
Thank you.
Mr. Barclay, would you translate this for me?
Oh, yes. It's a very well-known phrase.
It translates roughly to, uh,
"Where the mountain meets the sea,
the deadly blossom grows."
Then in Western terms,
pleasant and alluring though the prospect may be,
danger lurks ahead.
Exactly.
Oh, please, please. Don't stand on ceremony.
This is my secretary Miss Ishuda.
Yes?
I've seen your guests to their carriages,
secured the premises
and there's a gentleman to see-
I have the perfect secretary, Mr. West.
Congratulations.
Efficient as a stiletto, silent as the grave
and discreet as a hangman's wife.
But cold and unresponsive as a glacier.
Aren't you, Haruko?
Or is it just that I repel you?
There's a gentleman to see you in your study.
Something about a special shipment.
I mustn't keep the gentleman waiting, must I?
Excuse me. Of course.
You're, uh- You're Japanese, aren't you?
This leads to the side exit.
Nobody will see you leaving.
Well, why do I wanna leave?
Because if you don't,
Mr. Gordon will find it necessary
to carry out your joint assignment alone.
Assignment?
The protection of a certain royal personage.
Now please leave.
I wanna hear more.
I'll meet you at the end of this lane
and explain in greater detail.
My apologies to the host.
Thank you.
Don't mention it.
It's amazing how many people
seem to develop an instant dislike for you.
Thanks to your excellent aim, we'll never know why, will we?
May I suggest that we do not tarry?
Your friends may return with reinforcements.
Sit here, please, Mr. West.
Let me look at your arm.
I've ordered that my staff guard the body
until the police can be sent for.
Thank you.
Let me, Mr. Barclay.
Women are supposed to do well at this.
Oh, good. I'll fix us a drink,
which is something I do very well.
Someone tried to kill Mr. West.
Fortunately, it's only a scratch.
Whoever arranged that little garden reception
will be disappointed to hear that.
Others will be delighted.
Well, as host, I feel personally responsible for what happened
since it occurred on my proper-
Interesting development.
It seems that the body has somehow disappeared.
Thank you.
There are a lot of interesting developments
around here, Mr. Barclay.
For instance, how do you know that the Hawaiian king
will be arriving in this country?
Secret Service agents are usually quite disturbed
to find that others know what they thought only they know,
isn't that so?
You haven't answered my question.
Oh, yes.
How do I know that the king is on his way here?
Because his majesty himself wrote me about it.
You and the king are friends?
Very close, indeed.
How else would I know
that the royal party will arrive
in San Francisco tomorrow aboard the Hawaiian Queen?
My information is right, isn't it?
Yes, officially.
Oh, I see.
Officially, one set of facts,
but actually something quite different, huh?
You said that, Mr. Barclay. I didn't.
So I did. So I did.
Oh, it's unashamedly sentimental of me, I suppose,
but it would be a great satisfaction
to be able to greet his majesty as he steps ashore.
I don't suppose, quite confidentially,
you could advise me as to when he will arrive
and the name of the ship?
A little while ago you saved my life,
and I'm very grateful, but-
But you can't divulge a thing.
Unh-unh.
Well...
Well, uh...
Oh, Mr. West, you've forgotten your drink.
Oh!
That's quite all right. No problem.
I'll fix another.
That's all right, I'll have to be leaving anyway.
No. Not before you have a last loving cup drink.
An old Hawaiian custom.
First the host.
And the lovely lady in our midst.
And lastly, the guest of honor.
To Hawaii.
Hear, hear.
Goodbye.
To Hawaii...
may it always be free!
How do you feel?
Like I've been dropped on my head
from a great height, thank you.
Kendrick. Where is he?
He's dead.
Oh, no.
You were clutching that in your hand when we found you.
Sprawled on the floor alone, except for the patient.
The police have been sent for.
Tell them the patient was murdered
with an injection of poison from a hypodermic.
Tell them I'll get in touch with them later,
and fill them in on all the details.
There they are now. Sorry I can't wait.
I've got this batch of cookies in the oven.
Ah, you're a sound sleeper, Mr. West.
I must have been more tired than I realized.
The important thing is that you're awake now.
Ah, yes.
A most versatile device,
suggested by your delightful Mr. Edgar Allan Poe.
You've read his story The Pit and the Pendulum, haven't you?
As I recall, the pendulum is actually
a heavy finely-honed blade.
Exactly. Oh, you're a very literate person, Mr. West.
Yes, a blade so arranged that it drops lower and lower
with each successive swing.
Dear Haruko, I'm sparing your life
long enough for you to see and hear our friend's reaction
when the blade swings low enough.
Do you remember asking me if I was repelled by you?
Yes, but you never answered my question.
I will now.
Extremely so.
Very ingenious. How does this story end?
Suppose you settle down and find out for yourself...
unless you are prepared to confide in me now.
Confide what?
The exact time and place of the arrival of his majesty,
and the name of the ship.
But you already know that.
I have neither the time nor inclination
to indulge you, Mr. West.
You're very sure of yourself now,
but when the blade will start caressing your ribs,
you will be much more ready to talk.
When that happens, move your head backwards.
This is my good right arm, Palea.
I met your good right arm in the admiral's garden.
Yes, so he told me.
Pressing business calls me away,
but you may summon Palea if you should have a change of heart
about the information I want.
Let's see your tags, men.
Put your arm up.
"Art objects," huh?
Consigned to Adam Barclay.
Well, Mr. Barclay,
I happen to be an old art lover myself, from a way back.
That, Artemus, my boy, has to be the granddaddy
of all rockets.
There's an extra stevedore floating around
who shouldn't be here.
Look around.
You two.
Go out and see if you can get him outside.
Find him and get him.
You four, let's take these crates out right now.
Don't cry. Everything will turn out fine.
I wish...
It's bad luck to leave a wish dangling.
I wish I could help you.
You can and you will.
Who are you when you're not playing
Adam Barclay's secretary?
One of the faceless anonymous ones-
like you.
I thought we were in the same business.
Different firm, I suppose.
Different firm.
Quote:
"In the next century,
"two nations must extend their orbit
"to cover the Hawaiian islands:
the United States and Japan."
End quote.
It's sad to think that the real winner may be Adam Barclay.
Who is Adam Barclay
when he's not being a charming disarming host?
An octopus consumed with hate and ambition.
Hate for the Caucasian world. I learned that much.
And ambition to control an island kingdom.
Barclay owns vast holdings on the islands,
controls vastly more,
and won't be satisfied until he controls all of Hawaii.
Through his network of spies, he knows many things.
What, for instance?
The business you and I are in, for one.
More importantly,
he has found out that the Hawaiian king is prepared
to accept United States control for the islands' survival.
To prevent that, Barclay has decided...
The king must die.
What does your, uh, firm think about that?
It would result in senseless chaos.
To prevent that, our principal would have been
prepared to work with your principal.
Would have...
but now...
What are you doing?
There's no point in having a sharp pendulum overhead
unless you're gonna use it.
But you can't see. You'll cut your hands.
You'll be my eyes.
Can you move your hands farther up?
Even farther.
Good.
Now move your hands to the right.
Too much.
Back to the left a little.
A little more.
Yes. That's just right.
Now.
It's time to go.
How would your side feel about working with my side?
Try me.
For starters, where's Barclay?
This is just a guess, but Barclay has been leaving
regularly for the past few weeks.
I tried to follow him, but he's too elusive.
So you don't know where he's been going?
No, but each time he's come back,
his boots have been smeared with red clay.
Go on.
I've studied the regional soil charts.
There are only three sites where red clay may be found:
Costa Brava, 18 miles from here,
Berbick, 22 miles from here,
and Land's End, six miles from here
and overlooking the Golden Gate.
Where are you going?
Well, I've always wanted to visit Land's End.
We work for different firms, but we are in the same business.
I'm going with you.
If we're going, let's go.
We'll have to go by foot.
Oh!
Barclay touch, all right.
We must be on the right track.
I think we can get around this.
Watch out for tripwires, huh?
What was that Polynesian phrase
you asked Barclay to translate?
"When the mountain meets the sea,
a deadly blossom grows."
We're on top of the mountain.
And I see the sea.
Now, where's the deadly blossom?
Well, if isn't the lovely lady in our midst
and the honored guest.
What business would you say Mr. Barclay's in?
It's obvious.
He's in the business of killing kings.
I like this better:
"Mr. Adam Barclay, savior of Hawaii."
Yes, Mr. West.
I'm saving those blessed islands
from the withering domination of great countries like yours
and your bustling, rapacious little empire, dear Haruko.
I want to save her from all the corruption,
dreariness and blighting that you call progress.
All of which might threaten the monopolistic control
you already have over those "blessed" islands.
All right.
But when I am king,
Hawaii will remain as she is:
A jeweled island set in a crystal sea,
a very special place
where people can live out their lives in peace and beauty.
Oh, but I'm forgetting to thank you both.
For anything in particular?
For giving me all the information
that I need about the time of arrival
and the ship of his majesty Mau Ke Kalakua.
I-I wasn't aware that, uh- That we had.
But of course you did.
How did you find your way here, may I ask?
Oh, that was easy.
By following the man-traps.
Ah, but why?
Why go to all the trouble of visiting here today
if it isn't because the one ship that arrives today
from Hawaii will include on its passenger list the king?
For that assurance, thank you, good people.
You are aware, of course, that the Chinese
have tinkered with rockets for hundreds of years.
But these are particularly impressive.
Yes, they are.
They were designed to my specifications
by a Chinese scientist who is many decades ahead of his time.
All this to kill a king?
Why not?
The king is well guarded,
so the king will die when the ship that carries him dies.
Does that suggest anything to you, West?
The sudden death of the Youngstown.
Of course.
I couldn't really be sure that the range and accuracy
of my rockets were adequate.
So you waited for a thunderstorm
to test the device.
Right again.
The thunderclaps covered the explosion,
and those who saw the flashes thought they were lightning.
There was the small matter
of the 84 lives that were snuffed out.
Can your super-civilized country claim such a weapon?
From a range of 40 miles, with pinpoint accuracy,
I can blast any vessel to kingdom come.
Fantastic, isn't it?
Hawaiian Queen coming into view.
The beginning of the end for the king.
Hey.
A sophisticated version of the camera obscura.
Having a knowledge of logarithmic systems
and understanding the relationship
between angle of trajectory and, believe it or not,
angle of solar ray,
and with a combination of lenses and mirrors,
I can visually focus on my target.
See? When the Hawaiian Queen is on the crosshairs,
I have only to say the word,
and first one, and then the other rocket,
will blast off on its glorious mission.
Prepare to fire on my command.
Raise elevation to 20 degrees.
Deflection, 085.
Prepare to fire rocket one.
Nine...eight...
seven...six...five...
Hyah!
Let's go. We really should be there
when the king comes ashore.
Right.
That must be the king now.
You sure you won't change your mind?
Oh, James, my boy, I'd love to stick around,
but I ask you, would it be fair to Yvette?
All right. Well, I'll make your apologies to his majesty.
I don't know what I'll say, but I'll think of something.
Tell him I've got illness in the family
because if I missed this date, I'd be sick.
Au revoir. I'm off!
Oh, welcome, your majesty. Welcome.
Please accept this inadequate car
as your home until we reach Washington.
Oh, you are most kind, Mr. West. Mr. Gordon?
Oh, unfortunately Mr. Gordon had an unexpected illness
in the family.
Ah, that's a pity.
May I present my family, who will travel with me?
It would be my pleasure, sir.
Leilana, my daughter.
Nanette, my niece.
Luala, another niece.
Oh, another niece?
How do you do?
Luana, a cousin.
And Bohea, a friend of my family.
Welcome, ladies.
Oh, your majesty.
I'm so glad I managed to get back in time.
Good evening.
Oh, Mr. Gordon.
I heard about the illness in your family.
Oh, yes. My great-aunt Maude.
When I got there, I found she'd made
an absolutely fantastic recovery.
Almost a miracle, you might say.
Oh, may I present my daughter Leilana.
Nanette, my niece.
How do you do?
Luala, another niece.
Charmed.