“Oh, you’re back.”
“Rouse up a bit, Tony. It might have been Mr. Jeffrey Ember, you know. He was in the passages last night, and, for all I know, he may be there every night. I came back to say that I shan’t be down to-morrow. Make our appointment Sunday night instead.”
“I want to be out of this by then,” said Anthony. “I’ll go sick if there’s no other way. Stay here another forty-eight hours I cannot, and will not. I tell you I can’t answer for myself.”
“You’ve seen Raymond. I saw her pass.”
“I’ve seen ... Lady Heritage. Henry, will you tell me what the devil women are made of? She seemed to expect to take things up exactly as if the last seven years had never been at all, exactly as if there had been no breach5, no war, no John Heritage, and no Jeffrey Ember. Oh, damn Jeffrey Ember!...”
“And I suppose you stood there and fired off sarcastic6 remarks at the poor girl, instead of thanking heaven for your luck. What’s the good of brooding over the past, Tony, and letting it spoil everything for you now? Raymond cares a heap more for you than you deserve, and if she’s got into a mess, it’s up to you to get her out of it. After all, you don’t want a scandal, do you?”
“I’ve got to get away. It’s no good, Henry.”
“I’ll give Piggy your letter,” Henry went on, “and tell him how you feel. He’ll recall you all right. But I know he’s very strong on your coming to life again. You ought to have done it ages ago; when you came back from Russia, in fact. Look here, Tony, be a reasonable being. Shave off your beard, and take the artistic7 colour off that scar. Turn up in London as yourself, and wire Raymond to come up and meet you. I want her got away from here.”
“Then get Piggy to wire to her, or her father. There are a dozen ways in which it can be done. I refuse quite definitely to have anything to do with it. If Piggy hasn’t recalled me by Monday, I shall simply go. You can tell him that, if you like; and you can tell him that I shall probably kill some one if I stay here.”
Without another word he got up, walked round the seat, and disappeared into the passage.
A little later Henry emerged from a cave upon the seashore. There were a number of these caves, some large, some small, under the far side of the headland.
The boundary of Luttrell Marches lay a quarter of a mile behind.
Henry walked briskly along the shore, keeping close to the cliff so that he might walk on rock instead of shingle8. Presently he left the beach and climbed a steep zigzagging9 path. Twenty minutes’ walk brought him to a small inn where he picked up his car and drove away.
Next day in Sir Julian’s room he unburdened himself and delivered Anthony’s letter.
“’M, yes; I’ll recall him,” said Piggy frowning. “He’s no good where he is, if that’s his frame of mind. But it’s a pity—a pity. It bears out exactly what I’ve always said. He has extraordinary abilities; I suppose he might have made a brilliant success in almost any profession, but he’s impayable.... I don’t think we’ve got a word for it in English ...; he lacks the vein10 of mediocrity which I maintain is indispensable—the faculty11 of being ordinary which, for instance, you possess.”
Henry blushed a little, and Sir Julian laughed.
“I think I’ll send him abroad again. Of course it’s high time he came to life, as you say, if it’s only for the sake of getting you out of what must be an extremely awkward position. My wife tells me that match-making mammas of her acquaintance regard you with romantic interest as the owner of Luttrell Marches. Well, I’ll see him when he comes up. Meanwhile, I’ve had Simpson’s report. He says that, according to reliable information, two men were concerned in the sale of Formula ‘A.’ One is a man called Belcovitch, the other, who seems to have kept in the background, is described as a big good-looking man—florid complexion12, blue eyes, either English or American, though he passed under the name of Bernier and professed13 to be Swiss. Does that fit your friend Ember by any chance?”
“No,” said Henry, “but it sounds very much like Molloy.”
“Molloy was supposed to have gone to the States, wasn’t he?”
Piggy had been drawing a neat brick wall at the foot of a sheet of foolscap. He now sketched14 in rapidly two fighting cats. It was a spirited performance. Each cat had wildly up-ended fur and a waving tail.
“Well, he and Ember told Miss Smith that he was going to the States. I don’t know that that goes for very much.”
“’M, no,” said Piggy. “Well, Bernier passed through Paris yesterday, and is in London to-day. Belcovitch has gone to Vienna. Now, if Bernier is Molloy, he’ll probably communicate with Ember. I was having him shadowed, of course, but the fool who was on the job has managed to let him slip. I’m hoping to pick him up again, but meanwhile....”
Piggy was putting in the cats’ claws as he spoke15, his enormous hand absolutely steady over the delicate curves and sharp points.
“There’s nothing more about Ember?” said Henry.
Sir Julian shook his head, and went on drawing. “He wore the white flower of a blameless life in Chicago, and was absolutely unknown to the police,” he said. “There’s a three-volume novel about Molloy, though. You’d better have it to read. Now you go off and have some sleep, and ... er, by the way, if Miss Smith ... what’s her other name?”
“Jane,” said Henry.
“Well, if she wants to get away at any time, my wife will be very pleased to put her up.”
When he had gone, Sir Julian asked the Exchange for his private number. He sat holding the receiver to his ear and touching17 up his cats until Isobel’s voice said:
“Yes, who is it?”
Then he said:
“M’ dear, in the matter of Henry.”
“Yes? Has anything happened?”
“In the matter of Henry,” said Piggy firmly, “I should say, from his conscious expression, that he had brought it off. Her name is Jane Smith.”
“And I mayn’t ask any questions?”
“Not one. I just thought you’d better know her name in case she suddenly arrived to stay with you. That’s all. I shall be late.”
He rang off.
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1
oblivious
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| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
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2
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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3
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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4
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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5
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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6
sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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7
artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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8
shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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9
zigzagging
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| v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 )；盘陀 | |
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10
vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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11
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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12
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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13
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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14
sketched
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| v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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15
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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16
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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