Wellnhofer

Wellnhofer was the captain of La Tortola, one of several ships that arrived in San Francisco at the time it was known that a Maltese elephant was being smuggled into the city. When private detective Miles Bowman approached Wellnhofer and tried to inquire about clues to the elephant's whereabouts, the captain was hostile and unhelpful. However, he telephoned Bowman's office afterward, desiring to set up a meeting.

When Wellnhofer was within sight and sound of Bowman's office, he was shot repeatedly with a firearm. Bowman ran out to speak with the dying captain, who had just enough time to state "Warehouse near Eddy and Fillmore" as the elephant's location, and abruptly died.

Wellnhofer's killer was probably Hugo, the brutal and dull-witted henchman of Gideon Schlechtman.

Literary Comment
Wellnhofer is based on Captain Jacobi from The Maltese Falcon.