Tintin’s blood ran cold. He ran a hand over his quiff. “Calculus? In danger?” He grabbed his phone. No answer from Marlinspike Hall. He called Snowy. “Snowy… we’re going to Switzerland.”
Inside was not a letter, but a single sheet of brittle, yellowed paper. It was a page torn from an old book, the text in faded German gothic typeface. At the top of the page was a handwritten note in perfect, if hurried, English:
“Yes, from the ‘Helvetic Credit Union.’ Very helpful! He’s meeting us at the pass tonight!”
But Tintin had already pressed a hidden button on his watch. A high-pitched signal echoed through the valley. Suddenly, searchlights blazed from the rocks above. Swiss federal police rappelled down on ropes, led by a stern-faced officer. Tintin In Switzerland Pdf
Later, at a small inn in Andermatt, Tintin sipped hot chocolate while Snowy devoured a plate of veal sausage. On the table lay a USB drive labeled Bern_1945_Redacted.pdf .
In the lobby of the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich, Tintin found a frantic Professor Calculus pacing between potted palms. The professor’s hearing aid was whistling a discordant tune.
He looked at Snowy. “Tomorrow, Snowy. Tomorrow we send this to the world press.” Tintin’s blood ran cold
Silber’s smile vanished. “The PDF contains the minutes of a secret 1945 meeting. It names the Swiss bank accounts that held Nazi loot—and the modern bank that still protects them. My bank. Professor Calculus was just the idiot who could read old German script. He was supposed to decipher the PDF, then have a ‘climbing accident.’ The gnome is a fairy tale.”
Chapter 1: The Mysterious Attachment
As the banker was handcuffed, Tintin helped a trembling Calculus to his feet. “The… the gnome?” the professor stammered. In danger
“Professor, I got a warning. Someone said this is a trap.”
“Herr Silber—arrested for conspiracy, illegal data access, and attempted kidnapping,” the officer announced.
"Professor Calculus is in danger. He is following the map of the 'Grimsel Gnome.' The truth is not in the earth—it is in the PDF. Find the file 'Bern_1945_Redacted.pdf' on the Federal Archives server. Password: EIDGENOSSE. Do not trust the banker."
“The warning said not to trust you,” Tintin said flatly. “What’s really in that PDF, Herr Silber? Or should I call you by your real name…?”
“The only gnome, Professor,” Tintin said, smiling, “is the one you invented. The real treasure was the truth in that PDF—the names of the criminals. Snowy and I just had to make sure you didn’t dig up the wrong thing.”