They started into Baghdad early. Victoria’s spirits felt curiously1 low. Shehad almost a lump in her throat as she looked back on the ExpeditionHouse. However, the acute discomfort2 entailed3 in the mad bumping of thelorry effectively distracted her mind from anything but the torture of themoment. It seemed strange to be driving along a so- called road again,passing donkeys and meeting dusty lorries. It took nearly three hours toreach the outskirts4 of Baghdad. The lorry decanted5 them at the Tio Hoteland then went off with the cook and the driver to do all the necessaryshopping. A large bundle of mail was awaiting Dr. Pauncefoot Jones andRichard. Marcus appearing suddenly, massive and beaming, welcomedVictoria with his usual friendly radiance.
“Ah,” he said, “it is a long time since I have seen you. You do not come tomy hotel. Not for a week—two weeks. Why is that? You lunch here today,you have everything you want? The baby chickens? The big steak? Onlynot the turkey stuffed very special with flavouring and rice, because forthat you must let me know the day before.”
It seemed clear that as far as the Tio Hotel was concerned, the kidnap-ping of Victoria had not been noticed. Possibly Edward, on the advice ofMr. Dakin, had not been to the police.
“Is Mr. Dakin in Baghdad, do you know, Marcus?” she asked.
“Mr. Dakin—ah yes, very nice man—of course, he is friend of yours. Hewas here yesterday—no, day before. And Captain Crosbie, you know him?
A friend of Mr. Dakin’s. He arrives today from Kermanshah.”
“You know where Mr. Dakin’s office is?”
“Sure I know. Everybody knows the Iraqi Iranian Oil Co.”
“Well, I want to go there now. In a taxi. But I want to be sure the taxiknows where to take me.”
“I tell him myself,” said Marcus obligingly.
He escorted her to the head of the alleyway and yelled in his usual viol-ent fashion. A startled minion6 arrived at a run. Marcus commanded himto procure7 a taxi. Then Victoria was escorted to the taxi and Marcus ad-dressed the driver. Then he stepped back and waved a hand.
“And I want a room,” said Victoria. “Can I have one?”
“Yes, yes. I give you a beautiful room and I order you the big steak to-night I have—very special—some caviare. And before that we have a littledrink.”
“Lovely,” said Victoria. “Oh Marcus, can you lend me some money?”
“Of course, my dear. Here you are. Take all you want.”
The taxi started off with a violent honk8 and Victoria fell back on the seatclutching an assortment9 of coins and notes.
Five minutes later Victoria entered the offices of the Iraqi Iranian Oil Co.
and asked for Mr. Dakin.
Mr. Dakin looked up from his desk where he was writing when Victoriawas shown in. He rose and shook hands with her in a formal manner.
“Miss—er—Miss Jones, isn’t it? Bring coffee, Abdullah.”
As the soundproof door closed behind the clerk, he said quietly:
“You shouldn’t really have come here, you know.”
“I had to this time,” said Victoria. “There’s something I’ve got to tell youat once—before anything more happens to me.”
“Happens to you? Has anything happened to you?”
“Don’t you know?” asked Victoria. “Hasn’t Edward told you?”
“As far as I know, you are still working at the Olive Branch. Nobody hastold me anything.”
“Catherine,” exclaimed Victoria.
“I beg your pardon.”
“The cat Catherine! I bet she’s stuffed Edward up with some tale orother and the goop has believed her.”
“Well, let’s hear about it,” said Mr. Dakin. “Er—if I may say so,” his eyewent discreetly10 to Victoria’s blonde head, “I prefer you as a brunette.”
“That’s only part of it,” said Victoria.
There was a tap at the door and the messenger entered with two littlecups of sweet coffee. When he had gone, Dakin said:
“Now take your time and tell me all about it. We can’t be overheardhere.”
Victoria plunged11 into the story of her adventures. As always when shewas talking to Dakin, she managed to be both coherent and concise12. Shefinished her story with an account of the red scarf Carmichael haddropped and her association of it with Madame Defarge.
Then she looked anxiously at Dakin.
He had seemed to her when she came in, to be even more bowed andtired-looking. Now she saw a new glint come into his eye.
“I should read my Dickens more often,” he said.
“Then you do think I’m right? You think it was Defarge he said—and youthink some message is knitted into the scarf?”
“I think,” said Dakin, “that this is the first real break we’ve had—andwe’ve got you to thank for it. But the important thing is the scarf. Where isit?”
“With all the rest of my things. I shoved it into a drawer that night—andwhen I packed I remember bundling everything in without sorting or any-thing.”
“And you’ve never happened to mention to anyone—to anyone at all—that that scarf belonged to Carmichael?”
“No, because I’d forgotten all about it. I bundled it into a suitcase withsome other things when I went to Basrah and I’ve never even opened thecase since.”
“Then it ought to be all right. Even if they’ve been through your things,they won’t have attached any importance to an old dirty woollen scarf—unless they were tipped off to it, which as far as I can see, is impossible.
All we’ve got to do now is to have all your things collected and sent to youat—have you got anywhere to stay, by the way?”
“I’ve booked a room at the Tio.”
Dakin nodded.
“Best place for you.”
“Have I—do you want me—to go back to the Olive Branch?”
Dakin looked at her keenly.
“Scared?”
Victoria stuck out her chin.
“No,” she said with defiance13. “I’ll go if you like.”
“I don’t think it’s necessary—or even wise. However they learned it, Ipresume that someone there got wise to your activities. That being so, youwouldn’t be able to find out anything more, so you’d better stay clear.”
He smiled.
“Otherwise you may be a redhead next time I see you.”
“That’s what I want to know most of all,” cried Victoria. “Why did theydye my hair? I’ve thought and I’ve thought and I can’t see any point in it.
Can you?”
“Only the somewhat unpleasant one that your dead body might be lesseasy to identify.”
“But if they wanted me to be a dead body, why didn’t they kill mestraightaway?”
“That’s a very interesting question, Victoria. It’s the question I wantanswered most of all.”
“And you haven’t any idea?”
“I haven’t got a clue,” said Mr. Dakin with a faint smile.
“Talking of clues,” said Victoria, “do you remember my saying that therewas something about Sir Rupert Crofton Lee that didn’t seem right, thatmorning at the Tio?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t know him personally, did you?”
“I hadn’t met him before, no.”
“I thought not. Because, you see, he wasn’t Sir Rupert Crofton Lee.”
And she plunged once more into animated14 narrative15, starting with theincipient boil on the back of Sir Rupert’s neck.
“So that was how it was done,” said Dakin. “I didn’t see how Carmichaelcould have been sufficiently16 off his guard to be killed that night. He gotsafely to Crofton Lee—and Crofton Lee stabbed him, but he managed toget away and burst into your room before he collapsed17. And he hung ontothe scarf—literally like grim death.”
“Do you think it was because I was coming to tell you this that they kid-napped me? But nobody knew except Edward.”
“I think they felt they had to get you out of the picture quickly. You weretumbling to too much that was going on at the Olive Branch.”
“Dr. Rathbone warned me,” said Victoria. “It was—more of a threat thana warning. I think he realized that I wasn’t what I pretended to be.”
“Rathbone,” said Dakin drily, “is no fool.”
“I’m glad I haven’t got to go back there,” said Victoria. “I pretended to bebrave just now—but really I’m scared stiff. Only if I don’t go to the OliveBranch, how can I get hold of Edward?”
Dakin smiled.
“If Mohammed won’t come to the mountain, the mountain must come toMohammed. Write him a note now. Just say you’re at the Tio and ask himto get your clothes and luggage and bring them along there. I’m going toconsult Dr. Rathbone this morning about one of his Club soirées. It will beeasy for me to slip a note to his secretary—so there will be no danger ofyour enemy Catherine causing it to go astray. As for you, go back to the Tioand stay there—and, Victoria—”
“Yes?”
“If you’re in a jam—of any kind—do the best you can for yourself. As faras possible you’ll be watched over, but your adversaries18 are rather for-midable, and unfortunately you know rather a lot. Once your luggage is inthe Tio Hotel your obligations to me are over. Understand that.”
“I’ll go straight back to the Tio now,” said Victoria. “At least I shall justbuy some face powder and lipstick19 and vanishing cream on the way. Afterall—”
“After all,” said Mr. Dakin, “one cannot meet one’s young man com-pletely unarmoured.”
“It didn’t matter so much with Richard Baker20 though I’d like him toknow I can look quite nice if I try,” said Victoria. “But Edward.…”
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收听单词发音
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1
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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3
entailed
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| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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4
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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decanted
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| v.将（酒等）自瓶中倒入另一容器( decant的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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minion
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| n.宠仆；宠爱之人 | |
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7
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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8
honk
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| n.雁叫声，汽车喇叭声 | |
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9
assortment
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| n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集 | |
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10
discreetly
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| ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地 | |
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11
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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12
concise
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| adj.简洁的，简明的 | |
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13
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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14
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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15
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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16
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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17
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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18
adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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19
lipstick
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| n.口红，唇膏 | |
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baker
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| n.面包师 | |
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