Jack visited Evers' shop as a preliminary, and he was obliged to go in the afternoon before closing hours. He dispatched Bobo to dine with Mrs. Cleaver2 and Miriam. While Bobo could hardly be said to be safe in that company, still it was some satisfaction to Jack to know where he was.
The astute3 little wig-maker and his wife, the retired4 ballet-dancer, greeted Jack like an old and valued customer. Old-fashioned shop-keepers have this art.
"Everything going well?" asked Mr. Evers.
"Splendidly!"
"That little job I did for you; has it served its turn?"
"Couldn't have been better."
"What do you require to-day?"
"A fresh make-up for another purpose."
"Ah! Come back into one of the dressing-rooms."
Mr. Evers was distressed5 to learn that Jack had put himself out to get to the shop before closing time.
"You can make an appointment by 'phone for any hour of the day or night," he said. "Of course it would be too conspicuous6 for me to let you in and out of the shop after closing hours, but my apartment is upstairs. Come there any time, and we can get what we need out of the shop."
Jack thanked him. "This time," he said, "I want to look like a mere7 lad, a poor boy in cheap worn clothes, but a student, a highbrow, full of wild, anarchistic8 ideas."
"Anarchistic?" said Mr. Evers, elevating the scant10 eyebrows11. "Are you going into that kind of society?"
"Temporarily."
"Beware! I know nothing about such people, but I am told they are like wild beasts. Curious, isn't it, how they run to hair? Disturbs all my theories. Such beards! Such tangled12, flowing locks. How is it that men so unbalanced are thus favored?"
"I don't know," said Jack, smiling. "Perhaps they don't have any more than other men to start with, but spare the scissors and the razor."
"I've taken that into account. Even so, you never heard of a bald anarchist9, did you?"
Jack admitted that he had not. "Perhaps I can give you some first-hand information later," he added.
Mr. Evers said he would be glad of it.
"Now let me see as to your make-up," he went on. "Your luxuriant hair will now come in handy. Let it fall over your eyes so. A pair of thick glasses this time to make you look short-sighted. I have a pair specially13 made with lenses of clear glass let in to enable you to see where you are going. Clothes are the principal item. I think I have just what you require."
"It's no trouble for me to make you look like a youth who might frequent such company," he said, "but the question is, can you keep up the character once you get there? I am told those people talk a strange jargon14 of phrases that the uninitiated cannot understand."
"I've been boning up on their literature," said Jack. "I think I can keep my end up."
"Ah, I see I am not dealing15 with a tyro," said Mr. Evers with a flattering air of respect.
Jack dined at an humble16 little restaurant on the East Side, such as befitted his new condition, and afterwards presented himself at the address on East Broadway furnished by Sturani's letter. It was one of those plain old-fashioned dwellings17 common in the neighborhood. They are occupied by the elite18 of the East Side; that is to say, doctors, lawyers, politicians, who still find it profitable to live among their clients and constituents19.
Barbarossa's house was a combination of residence, school and club. On a brass20 plate beside the door was the legend: "Sturani School of Social Science." A youth, much the same as the one who had sold him books, let Jack in, and after favoring him with a hard stare, led him to a small room at the back and told him to wait. The house seemed to be full of Barbarossa's disciples21. Jack had glimpses of groups in the unfurnished parlors22, arguing with fury.
Jack had learned that Barbarossa's position among anarchists23 corresponded in a way with the description of himself which the mysterious Mr. B. had furnished Anderson, and he naturally inferred that Barbarossa might be another alias24 of Mr. B.'s. His heart beat fast with excitement as he waited for him, thinking that he was perhaps about to come face to face with his real adversary25.
But when the redoubtable26 Barbarossa plunged27 into the room, Jack was speedily disillusioned28 of his hopes. Plunged is the only word to use: the anarchist's movements were like those of a frolicking mastiff—only Barbarossa always affected29 an air of weighty import. He was enormously fat, and it was genuine fat, as Jack could tell by the shake and sag30 of him as he flung himself into a chair. By no stretch could he have transformed himself into the neat, decent little gentleman so often described to Jack. This was not Mr. B.
Moreover, Barbarossa had a mass of red hair standing31 on end around his head like a halo, and a spreading red beard. These were indubitably real, too, and had obviously taken years to produce.
"You're Cassels," grunted32 Barbarossa.
"Yes, sir."
"Humph! English!"
"English descent, sir."
"We don't get many English boys interested in ideas."
Jack privately33 hoped this would not count against him. He had considered assuming a foreign character, but had given it up as being too difficult to maintain.
"What do you want of me?" demanded Barbarossa.
"I want to learn," said Jack. "I want to meet men with ideas. I want to take part in the movement."
"Have you any money?"
Jack was somewhat taken aback. "A little. I'm only a working-boy."
"If you can pay, you can come to my school. It's fifteen dollars payable34 in advance. Afternoon or evening classes. You can come as often as you want."
"I'll come," said Jack. "I'll bring the money to-morrow. Is there some work I could do, too? For the Cause. Can I belong to a circle?"
"Circle?" said Barbarossa with a sharp glance of his little blue eyes—they were at once irascible and short-sighted, eyes of a fanatic35. "What kind of a circle?"
"Liberators."
"I don't know what you're talking about. If there is any such thing, I suppose you'll be invited to belong when you've proved yourself worthy36. Come to my school and I'll put some ideas into your head if it's not too English."
"Thank you, sir," said Jack rising. This was as far as he supposed he could get on the first meeting.
"By the way, who told you about me?" demanded Barbarossa.
"I read your articles in the Future Age."
"Well, then, who told you about the Future Age?"
Jack was tempted37 to try an experiment. "Fellow I used to room with. The hero who croaked38 old Silas Gyde. Emil Jansen."
It had an electrical effect. Barbarossa was out of his chair with a bound. His ruddy cheeks turned a gray color, on which the network of little dark veins39 stood out startlingly.
"Silence! Don't speak that name here! Hero nothing! Madman! Fool! What have you got to do with him?"
"Why, nothing!" stammered40 Jack, affecting a great confusion. "Isn't he one of you? Isn't he working for the Cause?"
"I don't know him!" cried Barbarossa. "If he claims to be my friend I repudiate41 him! Such madmen are like to ruin us all!"
"But—you said in your article that I read, that the capitalistic order must be overthrown42 at any cost. That he was a hero who gave up his life to accomplish it."
"That's all right in a periodical," said Barbarossa. "They don't care what you write. But murder——!" The fat man shuddered43. "I'm a responsible citizen. I've got a wife and four children to think of."
Jack thought: "In anarchy44, like other religions, there seems to be a considerable gap between preaching and practising."
"What did Jansen tell you about me?" demanded Barbarossa.
"Nothing particular," said Jack. "He just let on that he admired you, and was trying to live according to your teachings. He read me some out of a book he was writing. He dedicated45 it to you."
"What!" cried Barbarossa. "In writing?"
"Yes, it was written down."
"And the police searched his room! Oh, my God! I'm done!" He collapsed46 in his chair.
Jack looked at the collapsed mountain of flesh, and suppressed a smile. Not a very formidable object this.
"Was it my right name, Sturani?" Barbarossa asked anxiously.
"No. He had written: 'To Barbarossa.'"
A little color returned to the big man's face. "Oh, well, the police are stupid. Maybe they won't establish the connection. I expect I would have heard from them before this if they had. That's all, Cassels; you can go."
"And may I come to the school to-morrow?"
"Sure, if you bring the money."
From a public booth, Jack telephoned Harmon Evers that he would be right up to change back to his proper person.
On the way uptown he sought to digest what he had learned.
"Barbarossa is certainly not the man I'm looking for. Just the same, his fright makes it clear that he is at the head of some group that Emil Jansen belonged to. I must join that group. It's hardly possible that Barbarossa himself instigated47 the attack on Silas Gyde. He's only a paper anarchist. Somewhere back of him I'll find the cagy little 'Mr. B.' again. Lordy! This case lengthens48 out like a telescope!"
"Well!" said Mr. Evers, "you're back early. Did you see any anarchists? How about their hair?"
"The main guy of all had a bald spot as big as a saucer. Just a hedge of hair all around like the burning bush in bloom."
"Well, I'm relieved to hear that."
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1
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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cleaver
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| n.切肉刀 | |
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astute
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| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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8
anarchistic
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| 无政府主义的 | |
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anarchist
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| n.无政府主义者 | |
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scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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jargon
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| n.术语，行话 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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elite
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| n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的 | |
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constituents
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| n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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disciples
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| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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parlors
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| 客厅( parlor的名词复数 )； 起居室； （旅馆中的）休息室； （通常用来构成合成词）店 | |
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23
anarchists
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| 无政府主义者( anarchist的名词复数 ) | |
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alias
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| n.化名；别名；adv.又名 | |
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adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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redoubtable
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| adj.可敬的；可怕的 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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28
disillusioned
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| a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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sag
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| v.下垂，下跌，消沉；n.下垂，下跌，凹陷，[航海]随风漂流 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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32
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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payable
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| adj.可付的，应付的，有利益的 | |
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fanatic
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| n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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38
croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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40
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
repudiate
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| v.拒绝，拒付，拒绝履行 | |
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42
overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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43
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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44
anarchy
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| n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序 | |
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dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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47
instigated
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| v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
lengthens
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的第三人称单数 ) | |
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