"When I was a boy and traveled with the tribe," he said, "and we wished to cross a frontier without being bothered by the Customs officers or the Royal foresters, we divided into two parties and struck off for our destination by two different routes."
Hugh nodded.
"Exactly. Our trailers are experts, as I told you chaps they would be. If you will take my advice, you will adopt Gypsy tactics against them. Confuse them, string out their pursuit—and then, perhaps, we can baffle them."
"Suits me," I agreed. "Nikka obviously knows more about this kind of game than we do."
"I've had experience," replied Nikka simply. "Besides, it's in my blood. Ever since we embarked3 on this expedition I have felt the old Gypsy strain in me clamoring for the open road. Toutou's gang are using Gypsies. Very well, let us use Gypsies."
"But how can we?" interrupted Hugh.
"My name still means something to my people," said Nikka with that mediæval sang-froid which had amazed me once before. "My father's tribe will fight for me. But in the first place, this is what I suggest. Instead of sailing for Constantinople by the Messageries Maritime4 from Marseilles, let us take the train to Brindisi. Our trailers will expect us either to sail on the Messageries packet or else go by rail to Belgrade and connect with the Orient Express for Constantinople.
"By going to Brindisi we shall surprise them, and perhaps disarrange their plans. Mind you, I don't expect to throw them off; but they will be uncertain. At Brindisi we can connect with a boat for Piræus. When we board that boat they will begin to believe that they understand our plans, because at Piræus one finds frequent sailings for Constantinople. And we shall book passage from Piræus for Constantinople, as they expect. But after we have gone aboard with our baggage, Jack and I will leave the boat by stealth."
"How are you going to manage all that?" I interrupted.
"You can always bribe5 a steward," returned Nikka. "It will be for Hugh and Watkins to keep the enemy's attentions occupied. They can engage in conversations with us through the door of our stateroom, and that sort of thing."
"But what then?" demanded Hugh. "You divide forces. That makes each party half as strong as we are now."
"There'll be no harm in that," Nikka reassured6 him. "Our shadows will soon find out that Jack and I are not on the Constantinople boat, and they won't venture to touch you and Watkins until they have located us—which I assure you they won't be able to do."
"Why not?"
"Jack and I are going to take another boat for Salonika, and from Salonika we shall go by train to Seres in the eastern tip of Greek Macedonia. At Seres—and I don't expect them to be able to trail us there—Jack and I will disappear. We shall cease to exist. There will be two additional members in the band of Wasso Mikali, my mother's brother, and that band will be traveling to Constantinople with horses from the Dobrudja to trade with officers of the Allied7 detachments in the city."
"And Watty and I?" questioned Hugh.
"You go to the Pera Palace Hotel. Meet this Miss King and her father, but don't let anybody suspect that you expected to meet them. Remember, you will be watched all the time. Your rooms and your baggage will be searched. I think they will investigate the Kings, too. Yes, that is likely. You must have Miss King hide the copy of the Instructions you sent her. Not in her trunks—ah, I have it! Let her place it in an envelope, addressed to herself, Poste restante. She can go to the Post Office and collect it whenever we need it.
"You and Watkins will not be in any danger. Toutou's people will be too busy trying to find Jack and me. They will be suspecting that you are simply bait to distract their attention—which will be quite correct. But you must be careful not to venture around the city without plenty of company. Take an Allied officer with you whenever you can. You might use the daylight hours to find the site of the Bucoleon."
"Professor King can help them there," I interrupted. "He knows old Constantinople quite well."
"Excellent," applauded Nikka. "But remember, Hugh, I said 'daylight hours.' Don't venture around indiscriminately, and don't go anywhere, even in the daylight, without several other people. The larger your party, the safer you will be against accidents—and it is an accident, rather than a deliberate attack, you will have to guard against."
"But how are we going to get in touch with you?" asked Hugh.
"Leave that to us," replied Nikka, with his quiet grin. "Make it a custom to lounge in front of the Pera Palace every morning after breakfast for half an hour; and keep a watch out for Gypsies. You'll be seeing them all the time, of course, but don't let on that you're interested in them. Some morning two especially disreputable fellows will come by, and one of them will contrive8 to get a word with you. Follow them."
"That's a corking9 plan," Hugh approved warmly. "Well, lads, we'll be in Marseilles early in the morning. Shall we nap a bit?"
If we were followed in Marseilles, we didn't know it. We only left the railroad station to get breakfast and dispatch a telegram from Nikka to his uncle—or, rather, to an address in Seres which acted as a clearing-house for the operations of this particular Gypsy band. Then we took the train for Milan, and stopped off over-night to secure some sleep. The Italian railways were never very comfortable, and the War did not improve them.
We figured, too, that by stopping at Milan we might additionally confuse our shadows, as the city was a natural point of departure for Belgrade. But the first person I saw in the Southern Express restaurant-car was Hélène de Cespedes. She had discarded her black dress for a modish10 costume with furs, and sat by herself in dignified11 seclusion12, looking at once smartly aristocratic and innocently lovely. She greeted me with a smile, and crooked13 her finger.
"Don't you 'ave nothing to do with 'er, Mister Jack," breathed Watkins explosively from the rear of our group. "That's 'er!"
"Is that the pretty lady?" whispered Hugh. "My word, Watty, I'll forgive you! Jack, you hound, introduce us. She looks better than she did the other night!"
I looked at Nikka.
"It's a good plan to know your enemies," he said. "They already know us. It can't do any harm for us to know them."
Hélène gave us a charming smile.
"I'm delighted to meet you boys," she said. "And dear old Watkins! We're quite friends, aren't we, Watkins?"
"You can introduce me as the Countess de Cespedes, if you like, Mr. Nash," she continued. "I wonder if you knew Cespedes, Mr. Zaranko? He was a rotten old duffer, but he took me off the stage."
"I've heard of him," said Nikka, smiling. "Didn't he leave you anything to keep you going?"
"Other girls had the pickings before I met him. There was nothing left for me but the name."
"Is that the only one you use?" asked Hugh.
"Oh, come, now," she remonstrated17. "There's a flag of truce18 up. Really, though, if you mention our opposition19, I ought to compliment you on your work so far. I believe you might elude20 any mob but ours."
"We'll leave the decision on that point to the future," smiled Nikka. "By the way, how did you come to get into this game?"
She shrugged her shoulders again. She was an odd mixture of Latin grace and American ease.
"It's the sort of thing I do best. My folks were Wops of some kind. I was born in New York. I went with crooks21 after I left school. Then I joined the Follies22, and a broker23 cottoned to me. He educated me, music, languages, all that stuff. I went to Paris with him. When we broke off, I tried the stage there. It was just before the War. I was only a kid still, and Cespedes fell for me. After he croaked24 I tried a bit of everything. For a while I worked for the Austrians—"
"Spy?" questioned Nikka.
"Sure. There's no harm in mentioning it now, and anyway, I was never caught. That was how I happened to meet Serge and Sandra; they were in Toutou's mob. I needed money; he needed brains and a doll-baby face."
"You seem to have a grip on him," I said. "But I don't see how you can stand the beast. He gives me the creeps."
"I'm not afraid of him," she answered indifferently. "Most women are attracted by him, you know. You haven't seen his other side."
"I don't want to."
"I hope you don't," she agreed. "Say, did you know you made quite a hit with Sandra, Mr. Nash?"
Hugh and Nikka laughed. I flushed.
"Oh, you needn't flare26 up," she said. "I can see why you did. You boys are a good bunch of sports. I wish we didn't have to trim you."
"Why do it, then?" asked Hugh.
"I don't sell out," she answered curtly27. "Get that straight, Lord Chesby. Since I was a kid, I've had to fight my own way. As near as I can make out, the kind of people who are called respectable and honest are only cleverer crooks than the rest of us. I'm out to make all I can in my own way, and I play according to the rules of my mob."
It was her turn to flush.
"Call it a woman's soft heart," she returned. "Honestly, I get fed up on this life once in a while. If I could have married a decent Wop back in New York, and had a few kids and worked my fingers off— Well, I wouldn't have been able to get along without corsets and put it over you the way I did in the Marseilles train the other night, Lord Chesby."
"That may be true," Hugh agreed. "You are the first—ah—"
"Crook," she flashed, with a show of white teeth.
"Thanks for the word. You are the first of your species I've had the pleasure of meetin'. I don't quite see the attraction of the life for you."
"You wouldn't," she replied. "I'm what you English call a wrong 'un. Maude Hilyer thinks that if she and Montey could cash in they would chuck this life and go straight. But I know she's dead wrong. If you're once wrong, you're always wrong. The best thing you can do is to play safe and steer29 clear of the cops. That's me."
"But I say!" Hugh objected. "You say everybody is crooked, and next you say—"
"Never mind what I say," she interrupted. "You aren't going to reform me. And I'm against you. And if I can trim you I'll do it, and if Toutou wants to knife you, and it won't interfere30 with the game, why, I'll let him go ahead. And with it all, I like you. Now, do you understand me?"
"Yes," said Hugh, smiling. "I once met a very gallant31 Bavarian gentleman between two sets of barbed wire to arrange about burying some dead soldiers, and we found we liked each other very much. But afterward32 we tried hard to kill each other, and I am afraid I succeeded."
"You've got me," she assented33. "Well, you must be hungry, boys. You don't want to save a lot of trouble, and maybe your lives, by giving up that treasure secret, I suppose?"
"No, thanks, Countess," laughed Hugh. "We'll give you a bit of a run for your money yet."
She laughed back with that pleasant, well-bred trill of a carefree schoolgirl, and we bowed and left her.
"Aren't you going on with us?" I hailed her.
"No, Mr. Nash. I'm leaving you in competent hands. Good lord, boy, you can't dodge35 us. We've got a system—well, the late well-known Czar might have been proud to own it. Be good, and give up before you get hurt."
"That goes for your people, too," I replied a trifle grimly, for I was growing tired of threats.
She waved her hand impatiently, and stepped over to my side. Hugh and the others already were passing up the gangplank.
"Say, boy, I don't want you to get hurt. Neither does Sandra. If anything goes wrong, watch your step. We'll do what we can, but—"
She pivotted on her heel and melted into the crowd. I climbed the gangplank with my chin on my shoulder, and was met with a shower of joshes by Hugh and Nikka.
"Doin' a little missionary36 work?" inquired Hugh.
"Do you flatter yourself you're aroused the lady's disinterested37 affection?" asked Nikka.
"No, to both of you," I retorted. "But she—what's the words the novelists use?—oh, yes, she intrigues38 me."
"Remember what she did to Watty," cautioned Hugh.
Hugh predicted that we would yet meet her on board, but a diligent41 search of the vessel42 failed to reveal anyone, in or out of trousers, who remotely resembled her, and we took account of several blonde northern peasants in our canvass43. Also, whoever she had delegated to watch us kept themselves severely44 in the background. We were not conscious of any espionage45.
At Piræus we had a choice of several steamers sailing for Constantinople, none of them Greek, however, as Greece was at war with the Kemalist government which had been set up in Anatolia. Nikka pitched upon a French boat that lay across the wharf46 from a Greek liner plying47 to Salonika and the Greek islands of the Ægean. The Frenchman was sailing at dawn the next morning; the Salonika boat was due to cast off several hours later.
We booked two cabins on the Frenchman, and hired a clerk at the British consulate48 to reserve a cabin and passage for two on the Salonika boat. This arrangement made, we mustered49 our scanty50 baggage, and boarded the Frenchman just before dinnertime. We dined together ostentatiously in the saloon, having publicly concluded a treaty with the purser that we might spend the night on board and so avoid the inconvenience of an early morning start. And after dinner, with many yawns and protestations of weariness, we betook ourselves to bed.
Our cabins were next to each other, and as a matter of fact, we played poker51 until long past midnight. Then Nikka and I said good-by to Hugh and Watty, and sneaked52 out into the companionway. Several sleepy stewards53 eyed us, but there were no passengers about. The quartermaster on guard at the gangway we handed a Napoleon, telling him we were obliged to land in order to dispose of some forgotten business. The watchman on the pier54 was conciliated in the same way. And finally, the deck-guard of the Greek liner, once his fingers were greased and our tickets shown to him, offered no objection to escorting us to our cabin.
At dawn we were awakened55 by the whistling of the Frenchman as he backed out from the pier, and from a porthole we watched him disappear in the mist of the harbor. At noon the Epaminondas likewise cast off, and Nikka and I thankfully abandoned our battles with the cockroaches56 that fought with us for possession of the bunks57, and ascended58 to the deck.
"I am trying to smell an enemy," he answered curtly.
"To smell—" I hastily checked my temptation to ridicule61 him, remembering that occasionally Nikka was startlingly metamorphosed in to a creature of primordial62 instincts. "Oh," I said lamely63, "and—er—do you?"
"No," he said seriously. "It is as Hugh said. We have split the scent. They are at fault."
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
scent
|
|
| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
jack
|
|
| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
embarked
|
|
| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
maritime
|
|
| adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
bribe
|
|
| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
reassured
|
|
| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
allied
|
|
| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
contrive
|
|
| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
corking
|
|
| adj.很好的adv.非常地v.用瓶塞塞住( cork的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
modish
|
|
| adj.流行的，时髦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
dignified
|
|
| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
seclusion
|
|
| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
crooked
|
|
| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
mumbled
|
|
| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
courteous
|
|
| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
shrugged
|
|
| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
remonstrated
|
|
| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
truce
|
|
| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
opposition
|
|
| n.反对，敌对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
elude
|
|
| v.躲避，困惑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
crooks
|
|
| n.骗子( crook的名词复数 )；罪犯；弯曲部分；（牧羊人或主教用的）弯拐杖v.弯成钩形( crook的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
follies
|
|
| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
broker
|
|
| n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
croaked
|
|
| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
curiously
|
|
| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
flare
|
|
| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
curtly
|
|
| adv.简短地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
steer
|
|
| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
interfere
|
|
| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
gallant
|
|
| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
assented
|
|
| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
dodge
|
|
| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
missionary
|
|
| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
disinterested
|
|
| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
intrigues
|
|
| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
intrigue
|
|
| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
grunted
|
|
| （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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
diligent
|
|
| adj.勤勉的，勤奋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
vessel
|
|
| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
canvass
|
|
| v.招徕顾客，兜售；游说；详细检查，讨论 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
severely
|
|
| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
espionage
|
|
| n.间谍行为，谍报活动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
wharf
|
|
| n.码头，停泊处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
plying
|
|
| v.使用（工具）( ply的现在分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
consulate
|
|
| n.领事馆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
mustered
|
|
| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
scanty
|
|
| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
poker
|
|
| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
sneaked
|
|
| v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
stewards
|
|
| （轮船、飞机等的）乘务员( steward的名词复数 )； （俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的）管理员； （大型活动的）组织者； （私人家中的）管家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
pier
|
|
| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
awakened
|
|
| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
cockroaches
|
|
| n.蟑螂( cockroach的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
bunks
|
|
| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
ascended
|
|
| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
sniffed
|
|
| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
stink
|
|
| vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
ridicule
|
|
| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
primordial
|
|
| adj.原始的；最初的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
lamely
|
|
| 一瘸一拐地，不完全地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |