CHAPTER XXV.

 Luise was there, puzzled and sleepy. For reasons of his own, Borgenese had sent a squad¹ to bring her in. Might as well have her here and get it over with, Luis thought. She smiled at him, and he knew that Putsyn hadn't lied about that part. She remembered him and therefore Putsyn hadn't had time to do much damage.

 

Borgenese was at the desk as he walked in. Luis swung Putsyn off his shoulder and dropped him into a chair. The man was still unconscious, but wouldn't be for long.

 

"I see you brought a visitor," remarked Borgenese pleasantly.

 

"A customer," he said.

 

"Customers are welcome too," said the police counselor². "Of course, it's up to us to decide whether he is a customer."

 

Luise started to cross the room, but Borgenese motioned her back. "Let him alone. I think he's going to have a rough time."

 

"Yeah," said Luis.

 

It was nice to know that Luise liked him now—because she wouldn't after this was over.

 

He wiped the sweat off his forehead; all of it hadn't come from physical exertion³.

 

"Putsyn here is a scientist," he said. "He worked out a machine that reverses⁴ the effects of the retro gun. He intended to go to everyone who'd been retrogressed, and in return for giving them back their memory, they'd sign over most of their property to him.

 

"Naturally, they'd agree. They all want to return to their former lives that bad, and, of course, they aren't aware of how much money they had. He had it all his way. He could use the machine to investigate them, and take only those who were really wealthy. He'd give them a partial recovery in the machine, and when he found out who they were, give them a quick shot of a built-in retro gun, taking them back to the time they'd just entered his office. They wouldn't suspect a thing.

 

"Those who measured up he'd sign an agreement with, and to the other poor devils he'd say that he was sorry but he couldn't help them."

 

Putsyn was conscious now. "It's not so," he said sullenly⁵. "He can't prove it."

 

"I don't think he's trying to prove that," said Borgenese, still calm. "Let him talk."

 

Luis took a deep breath. "He might have gotten away with it, but he'd hired a laboratory assistant to help him perfect the machine. She didn't like his ideas; she thought a discovery like that should be given to the public. He didn't particularly care what she thought, but now the trouble was that she could build it too, and since he couldn't patent it and still keep it secret, she was a threat to his plans." He paused. "Her name was Luise Obispo."

 

1 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

2 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

3 exertion   

n.尽力，努力

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture.我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• She was hot and breathless from the exertion of cycling uphill.由于用力骑车爬坡，她浑身发热。

4 reverses   

n.倒转( reverse的名词复数 )；失败v.（使）反转( reverse的第三人称单数 )；（使）颠倒；（使）翻转；推翻

参考例句：

• After several reverses the enemy was forced to retreat. 几次失败后敌军被迫后撤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Perhaps because of these reverses Mailer temporarily abandoned fiction. 或许正是由于这一失败，梅勒暂时放弃了小说创作。 来自辞典例句

5 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。