“Major Glydr?” Jessop hesitated a little over the name.
“It is difficult, yes.” The visitor spoke1 with humorous appreciation2.
“Your compatriots, they have called me Glider3 in the war. And now, in theStates, I shall change my name to Glyn, which is more convenient for all.”
“You come from the States now?”
“Yes, I arrived a week ago. You are—excuse me—Mr. Jessop?”
“I’m Jessop.”
The other looked at him with interest.
“So,” he said. “I have heard of you.”
“Indeed? From whom?”
The other smiled.
“Perhaps we go too fast. Before you permit that I should ask you somequestions, I present you first this letter from the U.S. Embassy.”
He passed it with a bow. Jessop took it, read the few lines of polite intro-duction, put it down. He looked appraisingly4 at his visitor. A tall man, car-rying himself rather stiffly, aged5 thirty or thereabouts. The fair hair wasclose cropped in the continental6 fashion. The stranger’s speech was slowand careful with a very definite foreign intonation7, though grammaticallycorrect. He was, Jessop noticed, not at all nervous or unsure of himself.
That in itself was unusual. Most of the people who came into this officewere nervous or excited or apprehensive8. Sometimes they were shifty,sometimes violent.
This was a man who had complete command of himself, a man with apoker face who knew what he was doing and why, and who would not beeasily tricked or betrayed into saying more than he meant to say. Jessopsaid pleasantly:
“And what can we do for you?”
“I came to ask if you had any further news of Thomas Betterton, whodisappeared recently in what seems a somewhat sensational9 manner. Onecannot, I know, believe exactly what one reads in the press, so I ask whereI can go for reliable information. They tell me—you.”
“I’m sorry, we’ve no definite information about Betterton.”
“I thought perhaps he might have been sent abroad on some mission.”
He paused and added, rather quaintly10, “You know, hush-hush.”
“My dear sir.” Jessop looked pained. “Betterton was a scientist, not a dip-lomat or a secret agent.”
“I am rebuked11. But labels are not always correct. You will want to in-quire my interest in the matter. Thomas Betterton was a relation of mineby marriage.”
“Yes. You are the nephew, I believe, of the late Professor Mannheim.”
“Ah, that you knew already. You are well informed here.”
“People come along and tell us things,” murmured Jessop. “Betterton’swife was here. She told me. You had written to her.”
“Yes, to express my condolences and to ask if she had had any furthernews.”
“That was very correct.”
“My mother was Professor Mannheim’s only sister. They were verymuch attached. In Warsaw when I was a child I was much at my uncle’shouse, and his daughter, Elsa, was to me like a sister. When my father andmother died my home was with my uncle and cousin. They were happydays. Then came the war, the tragedies, the horrors .?.?. Of all that we willnot speak. My uncle and Elsa escaped to America. I myself remained in theunderground Resistance, and after the war ended I had certain assign-ments. One visit I paid to see my uncle and cousin, that was all. But therecame a time when my commitments in Europe are ended. I intend toreside in the States permanently12. I shall be, I hope, near my uncle and mycousin and her husband. But alas”—he spread out his hands—“I get thereand my uncle, he is dead, my cousin, too, and her husband he has come tothis country and has married again. So once more I have no family. Andthen I read of the disappearance13 of the well-known scientist Thomas Bet-terton, and I come over to see what can be done.” He paused and lookedinquiringly at Jessop.
Jessop looked expressionlessly back at him.
“Why did he disappear, Mr. Jessop?”
“That,” said Jessop, “is just what we’d like to know.”
“Perhaps you do know?”
Jessop appreciated with some interest how easily their roles might be-come reversed. In this room he was accustomed to ask questions ofpeople. This stranger was now the inquisitor.
Still smiling pleasantly, Jessop replied:
“I assure you we do not.”
“But you suspect?”
“It is possible,” said Jessop cautiously, “that the thing follows a certainpattern .?.?. There have been occurrences of this kind before.”
“I know.” Rapidly the visitor cited a half-dozen cases. “All scientists,” hesaid, with significance.
“Yes.”
“They have gone beyond the Iron Curtain?”
“It is a possibility, but we do not know.”
“But they have gone of their own free will?”
“Even that,” said Jessop, “is difficult to say.”
“It is not my business, you think?”
“Oh, please.”
“But you are right. It is of interest to me only because of Betterton.”
“You’ll forgive me,” said Jessop, “if I don’t quite understand your in-terest. After all, Betterton is only a relation by marriage. You didn’t evenknow him.”
“That is true. But for us Poles, the family is very important. There areobligations.” He stood up and bowed stiffly. “I regret that I have tres-passed upon your time, and I thank you for your courtesy.”
Jessop rose also.
“I’m sorry we cannot help you,” he said, “but I assure you we are com-pletely in the dark. If I do hear of anything can I reach you?”
“Care of the U.S. Embassy will find me. I thank you.” Again he bowedformally.
Jessop touched the buzzer14. Major Glydr went out. Jessop lifted the re-ceiver.
“Ask Colonel Wharton to come to my room.”
When Wharton entered the room Jessop said:
“Things are moving—at last.”
“How?”
“Mrs. Betterton wants to go abroad.”
Wharton whistled.
“Going to join hubby?”
“I’m hopeful. She came provided with a convenient letter from her med-ical adviser15. Complete need of rest and change of scene.”
“Looks good!”
“Though, of course, it may be true,” Jessop warned him. “A simple state-ment of fact.”
“We never take that view here,” said Wharton.
“No. I must say she does her stuff very convincingly. Never slips up for amoment.”
“You got nothing further from her, I suppose?”
“One faint lead. The Speeder woman with whom Betterton lunched atthe Dorset.”
“Yes?”
“He didn’t tell his wife about the lunch.”
“Oh.” Wharton considered. “You think that’s relevant?”
“It might be. Carol Speeder was had up before the Committee of Invest-igation of un-American Activities. She cleared herself, but all the same .?.?.
yes, all the same she was, or they thought she was, tarred with that brush.
It may be a possible contact. The only one we’ve found for Betterton sofar.”
“What about Mrs. Betterton’s contacts—any possible contact lately whocould have instigated16 the going abroad business?”
“No personal contact. She had a letter yesterday from a Pole. A cousin ofBetterton’s first wife. I had him here just now asking for details, etc.”
“What’s he like?”
“Not real,” said Jessop. “All very foreign and correct, got all the ‘gen,’
curiously17 unreal as a personality.”
“Think he’s been the contact to tip her off ?”
“It could be. I don’t know. He puzzles me.”
“Going to keep tabs on him?”
Jessop smiled.
“Yes. I pressed the buzzer twice.”
“You old spider—with your tricks.” Wharton became businesslike again.
“Well, what’s the form?”
“Janet, I think, and the usual. Spain, or Morocco.”
“Not Switzerland?”
“Not this time.”
“I should have thought Spain or Morocco would have been difficult forthem.”
“We mustn’t underestimate our adversaries18.”
Wharton flipped19 the security files disgustedly with his nail.
“About the only two countries where Betterton hasn’t been seen,” hesaid with chagrin20. “Well, we’ll lay it all on. My God, if we fall down on thejob this time—”
Jessop leaned back in his chair.
“It’s a long time since I’ve had a holiday,” he said. “I’m rather sick of thisoffice. I might take a little trip abroad. .?.?.”
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收听单词发音
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1
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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2
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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3
glider
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| n.滑翔机；滑翔导弹 | |
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appraisingly
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| adv.以品评或评价的眼光 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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7
intonation
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| n.语调，声调；发声 | |
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8
apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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sensational
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| adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的 | |
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quaintly
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| adv.古怪离奇地 | |
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11
rebuked
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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14
buzzer
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| n.蜂鸣器；汽笛 | |
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15
adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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instigated
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| v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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19
flipped
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| 轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥 | |
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chagrin
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| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
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