XXIII ACHILLES HAS A PLAN

 The next day, life in the little shop went on as if there had been no break. With the early light, Yaxis was off, to the south, pushing his tip-cart before him and calling aloud—bananas and fruit and the joy of Alcibiades’s return, in his clear, high voice.... In the shop, Achilles arranged the fruit—great piles of oranges, and grape fruit and figs—and swung the heavy bunches of bananas to their hooks outside, and opened crates¹ and boxes and made ready for the day. By and by, when trade slackened a little, he would slip away and leave Alcibiades in charge of the shop. His mind was busy as he worked. He had something to do that would take him away from the shop—every day for a while, it might be—but the shop would not suffer. Alcibiades was strong—not well enough, perhaps, to go out with the new push-cart that had replaced the old one, and waited outside, but strong enough to make change and fill up the holes in the piles of oranges as they diminished under the swift rush of trade.

 

Achilles’s eyes rested on him fondly. It had been lonely in the shop—but now the long days of waiting were repaid... they had their clue. Even now the detectives might have followed it up. The little lady would be found. He hurried over the last things—his heart singing—and called the boy to him.

 

“I go away,” he said, looking at him kindly². “You stay in shop—till I come.”

 

“Yes, father.” The boy’s eyes were happy. It was good to be in the close, dark, home place with its fruity smell and the striped awning³ outside. “I do all right!” he said gaily⁴.

 

The father nodded. “To-morrow you go with push-cart—little way—every day little way—” He waited a moment while the boy’s face took in the words—he spoke⁵ with slow significance—“Some day you see—those men—then you run—like devil!” he said quickly, “you tell me!”

 

The boy’s teeth made a quick line of light and his face flashed. “I tell—quick!” he said, “I know those men!”

 

He left the shop and was lost in the crowd. He was going first to the city hall for news—then he would seek Philip Harris. The plan that he was shaping in his mind needed help.

 

But at the city hall there was no news. The chief of police seemed even a little irritated at the sight of the dark face and the slim, straight figure that stood before him. He eyed it a moment, almost hostilely; then he remembered Philip Harris’s command and told the man what steps had been taken and the reports that had come in thus far through the day. The Greek listened without comment, his dark face smouldering a little over its quick fire. “You find nothing?” he said quietly.

 

“Not a damn thing!” answered the chief.

 

“I go try,” said Achilles.

 

The man looked at him. Then he laughed out. The door opened. It was the detective in charge of the case. He glanced at Achilles and went over to the chief and said something. But the chief shook his head and they looked carelessly at Achilles, while the chief drummed on the desk. Achilles waited with slow, respectful gaze.

 

The detective came across to him. “No news,” he said.

 

Achilles’s face held its steady light. “I think we find her,” he said.

 

The inspector⁶ did not laugh. He studied the man’s face slowly, whistling a little between his teeth. “What’s your plan?” he said.

 

Achilles shook his head. “When I see those men—I go follow.”

 

The detective smiled—a little line of smile... that did not scorn him. “When you see them—yes!” he said softly.

 

The chief of police, listening with half an ear, laughed out. “Catch your hare, Alexander!” He said it with superior ease.

 

Achilles looked at him. “I catch hair?” he asked with polite interest.

 

The chief nodded. “You catch your hare before you cook it, you know.”

 

Achilles ran a slim, thoughtful hand along his dark locks and shook them slowly. The conversation had passed beyond him.

 

The detective smiled a little. “Never mind him, Alexander. Anything that you find—you bring to me—right off.” He clinked a little money in his pocket and looked at him.

 

But Achilles’s gaze had no returning gleam. “When I find her,” he said, “I tell you—I tell everybody.” His face had lightened now.

 

The detective laughed. “All right, Alexander! You’re game, all right!”

 

Achilles looked at him with puzzled eyes. “I go now,” he said. He moved away with the smooth, unhurried rhythm that bore him swiftly along.

 

The eyes of the two men followed him. “You’re welcome to him!” said the chief carelessly.

 

“I don’t feel so sure,” said the other—“He may do it yet—right under our noses. I’ve done it myself—you know.”

 

The chief looked at him curiously⁷.

 

“I used to do it—time and again,” said the man, thoughtfully. “I couldn’t ’a’ told you—how. I’d study on a case—and study—and give it up—and then, all of a sudden—pop!—and there it was—in my head. I couldn’t have told how it got there, but it worked all right!” He lighted a cigar and threw the match from him, puffing⁸ slowly. “I’d do it now—if I could.” He was lost in thought. “There’s something in his eyes—that Greek. I’d like to be inside that black skull⁹ of his a minute.” He sauntered across the room and went out.

 

The eyes of the chief of police looked after him vaguely¹⁰. He drew a column of figures toward him and began to add it—starting at the bottom and travelling slowly up. He was computing¹¹ his revenues for the coming year.

1 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

2 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

3 awning   

n.遮阳篷；雨篷

参考例句：

• A large green awning is set over the glass window to shelter against the sun.在玻璃窗上装了个绿色的大遮棚以遮挡阳光。
• Several people herded under an awning to get out the shower.几个人聚集在门栅下避阵雨

4 gaily   

adv.欢乐地，高兴地

参考例句：

• The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
• She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

5 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

7 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

8 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

10 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

11 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。