“It’s been a darned dull day,” said Tommy, and yawned widely.
“Nearly tea time,” said Tuppence and also yawned.
Business was not brisk in the International Detective Agency. Theeagerly expected letter from the ham merchant had not arrived and bonafide cases were not forthcoming.
Albert, the office boy, entered with a sealed package which he laid onthe table.
“The Mystery of the Sealed Packet,” murmured Tommy. “Did it containthe fabulous3 pearls of the Russian Grand Duchess? Or was it an infernalmachine destined4 to blow Blunt’s Brilliant Detectives to pieces?”
“As a matter of fact,” said Tuppence, tearing open the package. “It’s mywedding present to Francis Haviland. Rather nice, isn’t it?”
Tommy took a slender silver cigarette case from her outstretched hand,noted the inscription5 engraved6 in her own handwriting, “Francis fromTuppence,” opened and shut the case, and nodded approvingly.
“You do throw your money about, Tuppence,” he remarked. “I’ll haveone like it, only in gold, for my birthday next month. Fancy wasting athing like that on Francis Haviland, who always was and always will beone of the most perfect asses7 God ever made!”
“You forget I used to drive him about during the war, when he was aGeneral. Ah! those were the good old days.”
“They were,” agreed Tommy. “Beautiful women used to come andsqueeze my hand in hospital, I remember. But I don’t send them all wed-ding presents. I don’t believe the bride will care much for this gift ofyours, Tuppence.”
“It’s nice and slim for the pocket, isn’t it?” said Tuppence, disregardinghis remarks.
Tommy slipped it into his own pocket.
“Just right,” he said approvingly. “Hullo, here is Albert with the after-noon post. Very possibly the Duchess of Perthshire is commissioning us tofind her prize Peke.”
They sorted through the letters together. Suddenly Tommy gave vent1 toa prolonged whistle and held up one of them in his hand.
“A blue letter with a Russian stamp on it. Do you remember what theChief said? We were to look out for letters like that.”
“How exciting,” said Tuppence. “Something has happened at last. Openit and see if the contents are up to schedule. A ham merchant, wasn’t it?
Half a minute. We shall want some milk for tea. They forgot to leave it thismorning. I’ll send Albert out for it.”
She returned from the outer office, after despatching Albert on his er-rand, to find Tommy holding the blue sheet of paper in his hand.
“As we thought, Tuppence,” he remarked. “Almost word for word whatthe Chief said.”
Tuppence took the letter from him and read it.
It was couched in careful stilted8 English, and purported9 to be from oneGregor Feodorsky, who was anxious for news of his wife. The Interna-tional Detective Agency was urged to spare no expense in doing their ut-most to trace her. Feodorsky himself was unable to leave Russia at the mo-ment owing to a crisis in the pork trade.
“I wonder what it really means,” said Tuppence thoughtfully, smoothingout the sheet on the table in front of her.
“Code of some kind, I suppose,” said Tommy. “That’s not our business.
Our business is to hand it over to the Chief as soon as possible. Better justverify it by soaking off the stamp and seeing if the number 16 is under-neath.”
“All right,” said Tuppence. “But I should think—”
She stopped dead, and Tommy, surprised by her sudden pause, lookedup to see a man’s burly figure blocking the doorway10.
The intruder was a man of commanding presence, squarely built, with avery round head and a powerful jaw12. He might have been about forty-fiveyears of age.
“I must beg your pardon,” said the stranger, advancing into the room,hat in hand. “I found your outer office empty and this door open, so I ven-tured to intrude11. This is Blunt’s International Detective Agency, is it not?”
“Certainly it is.”
“And you are, perhaps, Mr. Blunt? Mr. Theodore Blunt?”
“I am Mr. Blunt. You wish to consult me? This is my secretary, MissRobinson.”
Tuppence inclined her head gracefully13, but continued to scrutinise thestranger narrowly through her downcast eyelashes. She was wonderinghow long he had been standing14 in the doorway, and how much he hadseen and heard. It did not escape her observation that even while he wastalking to Tommy, his eyes kept coming back to the blue paper in herhand.
Tommy’s voice, sharp with a warning note, recalled her to the needs ofthe moment.
“Miss Robinson, please, take notes. Now, sir, will you kindly15 state thematter on which you wish to have my advice?”
Tuppence reached for her pad and pencil.
The big man began in rather a harsh voice.
“My name is Bower17. Dr. Charles Bower. I live in Hampstead, where Ihave a practice. I have come to you, Mr. Blunt, because several ratherstrange occurrences have happened lately.”
“Yes, Dr. Bower?”
“Twice in the course of the last week I have been summoned by tele-phone to an urgent case—in each case to find that the summons has beena fake. The first time I thought a practical joke had been played upon me,but on my return the second time I found that some of my private papershad been displaced and disarranged, and now I believe that the samething had happened the first time. I made an exhaustive search and cameto the conclusion that my whole desk had been thoroughly18 ransacked19, andthe various papers replaced hurriedly.”
Dr. Bower paused and gazed at Tommy.
“Well, Mr. Blunt?”
“Well, Dr. Bower,” replied the young man, smiling.
“What do you think of it, eh?”
“Well, first I should like the facts. What do you keep in your desk?”
“My private papers.”
“Exactly. Now, what do those private papers consist of? What value arethey to the common thief—or any particular person?”
“To the common thief I cannot see that they would have any value at all,but my notes on certain obscure alkaloids would be of interest to anyonepossessed of technical knowledge of the subject. I have been making astudy of such matters for the last few years. These alkaloids are deadlyand virulent20 poisons, and are in addition, almost untraceable. They yieldno known reactions.”
“The secret of them would be worth money, then?”
“To unscrupulous persons, yes.”
“And you suspect—whom?”
The doctor shrugged21 his massive shoulders.
“As far as I can tell, the house was not entered forcibly from the outside.
That seems to point to some member of my household, and yet I cannotbelieve—” He broke off abruptly22, then began again, his voice very grave.
“Mr. Blunt, I must place myself in your hands unreservedly. I dare notgo to the police in the matter. Of my three servants I am almost entirelysure. They have served me long and faithfully. Still, one never knows.
Then I have living with me my two nephews, Bertram and Henry. Henry isa good boy—a very good boy—he has never caused me any anxiety, an ex-cellent hardworking young fellow. Bertram, I regret to say, is of quite adifferent character—wild, extravagant23, and persistently24 idle.”
“I see,” said Tommy thoughtfully. “You suspect your nephew Bertram ofbeing mixed up in this business. Now I don’t agree with you. I suspect thegood boy—Henry.”
“But why?”
“Tradition. Precedent25.” Tommy waved his hand airily. “In my experi-ence, the suspicious characters are always innocent—and vice16 versa, mydear sir. Yes, decidedly, I suspect Henry.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Blunt,” said Tuppence, interrupting in a deferentialtone. “Did I understand Dr. Bower to say that these notes on—er—obscurealkaloids—are kept in the desk with the other papers?”
“They are kept in the desk, my dear young lady, but in a secret drawer,the position of which is known only to myself. Hence they have so far de-fied the search.”
“And what exactly do you want me to do, Dr. Bower?” asked Tommy.
“Do you anticipate that a further search will be made?”
“I do, Mr. Blunt. I have every reason to believe so. This afternoon I re-ceived a telegram from a patient of mine whom I ordered to Bournemoutha few weeks ago. The telegram states that my patient is in a critical condi-tion, and begs me to come down at once. Rendered suspicious by theevents I have told you of, I myself despatched a telegram, prepaid, to thepatient in question, and elicited27 the fact that he was in good health andhad sent no summons to me of any kind. It occurred to me that if I preten-ded to have been taken in, and duly departed to Bournemouth, we shouldhave a very good chance of finding the miscreants28 at work. They—or he—will doubtless wait until the household has retired29 to bed before commen-cing operations. I suggest that you should meet me outside my house at el-even o’clock this evening, and we will investigate the matter together.”
“Hoping, in fact, to catch them in the act.” Tommy drummed thought-fully on the table with a paper knife. “Your plan seems to me an excellentone, Dr. Bower. I cannot see any hitch30 in it. Let me see, your address is—?”
“The Larches31, Hangman’s Lane—rather a lonely part, I am afraid. Butwe command magnificent views over the Heath.”
“Quite so,” said Tommy.
The visitor rose.
“Then I shall expect you tonight, Mr. Blunt. Outside The Larches at—shall we say, five minutes to eleven—to be on the safe side?”
“Certainly. Five minutes to eleven. Good afternoon, Dr. Bower.”
Tommy rose, pressed a buzzer33 on his desk, and Albert appeared to showthe client out. The doctor walked with a decided26 limp, but his powerfulphysique was evident in spite of it.
“An ugly customer to tackle,” murmured Tommy to himself. “Well, Tup-pence, old girl, what do you think of it?”
“I’ll tell you in one word,” said Tuppence. “Clubfoot!”
“What?”
“I said Clubfoot! My study of the classics has not been in vain. Tommy,this thing’s a plant. Obscure alkaloids indeed—I never heard a weakerstory.”
“Even I did not find it very convincing,” admitted her husband.
“Did you see his eyes on the letter? Tommy, he’s one of the gang.
They’ve got wise to the fact that you’re not the real Mr. Blunt, and they’reout for our blood.”
“In that case,” said Tommy, opening the side cupboard and surveyinghis rows of books with an affectionate eye, “our role is easy to select. Weare the brothers Okewood! And I am Desmond,” he added firmly.
Tuppence shrugged her shoulders.
“All right. Have it your own way. I’d as soon be Francis. Francis wasmuch the more intelligent of the two. Desmond always gets into a mess,and Francis turns up as the gardener or something in the nick of time andsaves the situation.”
“Ah!” said Tommy, “but I shall be a super Desmond. When I arrive at theLarches—”
Tuppence interrupted him unceremoniously.
“You’re not going to Hampstead tonight?”
“Why not?”
“Walk into a trap with your eyes shut!”
“No, my dear girl, walk into a trap with my eyes open. There’s a lot ofdifference. I think our friend, Dr. Bower, will get a little surprise.”
“I don’t like it,” said Tuppence. “You know what happens when Des-mond disobeys the Chief’s orders and acts on his own. Our orders werequite clear. To send on the letters at once and to report immediately onanything that happened.”
“You’ve not got it quite right,” said Tommy. “We were to report immedi-ately if any one came in and mentioned the number 16. Nobody has.”
“That’s a quibble,” said Tuppence.
“It’s no good. I’ve got a fancy for playing a lone32 hand. My dear old Tup-pence, I shall be all right. I shall go armed to the teeth. The essence of thewhole thing is that I shall be on my guard and they won’t know it. TheChief will be patting me on the back for a good night’s work.”
“Well,” said Tuppence. “I don’t like it. That man’s as strong as a gorilla34.”
“Ah!” said Tommy, “but think of my blue-nosed automatic.”
The door of the outer office opened and Albert appeared. Closing thedoor behind him, he approached them with an envelope in his hand.
“A gentleman to see you,” said Albert. “When I began the usual stunt35 ofsaying you were engaged with Scotland Yard, he told me he knew allabout that. Said he came from Scotland Yard himself! And he wrote some-thing on a card and stuck it up in this envelope.”
Tommy took the envelope and opened it. As he read the card, a grinpassed across his face.
“The gentleman was amusing himself at your expense by speaking thetruth, Albert,” he remarked. “Show him in.”
He tossed the card to Tuppence. It bore the name Detective InspectorDymchurch, and across it was scrawled37 in pencil—“A friend of Marriot’s.”
In another minute the Scotland Yard detective was entering the inneroffice. In appearance, Inspector36 Dymchurch was of the same type as In-spector Marriot, short and thick set, with shrewd eyes.
“Good afternoon,” said the detective breezily. “Marriot’s away in SouthWales, but before he went he asked me to keep an eye on you two, and onthis place in general. Oh, bless you, sir,” he went on, as Tommy seemedabout to interrupt him, “we know all about it. It’s not our department, andwe don’t interfere38. But somebody’s got wise lately to the fact that all is notwhat it seems. You’ve had a gentleman here this afternoon. I don’t knowwhat he called himself, and I don’t know what his real name is, but I knowjust a little about him. Enough to want to know more. Am I right in assum-ing that he made a date with you for some particular spot this evening?”
“Quite right.”
“I thought as much. 16 Westerham Road, Finsbury Park—was that it?”
“You’re wrong there,” said Tommy with a smile. “Dead wrong. TheLarches, Hampstead.”
Dymchurch seemed honestly taken aback. Clearly he had not expectedthis.
“I don’t understand it,” he muttered. “It must be a new layout. TheLarches, Hampstead, you said?”
“Yes. I’m to meet him there at eleven o’clock tonight.”
“Don’t you do it, sir.”
“There!” burst from Tuppence.
Tommy flushed.
“If you think, Inspector—” he began heatedly.
But the Inspector raised a soothing39 hand.
“I’ll tell you what I think, Mr. Blunt. The place you want to be at eleveno’clock tonight is here in this office.”
“What?” cried Tuppence, astonished.
“Here in this office. Never mind how I know — departments overlapsometimes — but you got one of those famous ‘Blue’ letters today. Oldwhat’s-his-name is after that. He lures40 you up to Hampstead, makes quitesure of your being out of the way, and steps in here at night when all thebuilding is empty and quiet to have a good search round at his leisure.”
“But why should he think the letter would be here? He’d know I shouldhave it on me or else have passed it on.”
“Begging your pardon, sir, that’s just what he wouldn’t know. He mayhave tumbled to the fact that you’re not the original Mr. Blunt, but heprobably thinks that you’re a bona fide gentleman who’s bought the busi-ness. In that case, the letter would be all in the way of regular businessand would be filed as such.”
“I see,” said Tuppence.
“And that’s just what we’ve got to let him think. We’ll catch him red-handed here tonight.”
“So that’s the plan, is it?”
“Yes. It’s the chance of a lifetime. Now, let me see, what’s the time? Sixo’clock. What time do you usually leave here, sir?”
“About six.”
“You must seem to leave the place as usual. Actually we’ll sneak41 back toit as soon as possible. I don’t believe they’ll come here till about eleven,but of course they might. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll just go and take a lookround outside and see if I can make out anyone watching the place.”
Dymchurch departed, and Tommy began an argument with Tuppence.
It lasted some time and was heated and acrimonious42. In the end Tup-pence suddenly capitulated.
“All right,” she said. “I give in. I’ll go home and sit there like a good littlegirl whilst you tackle crooks43 and hobnob with detectives—but you wait,young man. I’ll be even with you yet for keeping me out of the fun.”
Dymchurch returned at that moment.
“Coast seems clear enough,” he said. “But you can’t tell. Better seem toleave in the usual manner. They won’t go on watching the place onceyou’ve gone.”
Tommy called Albert and gave him instructions to lock up.
Then the four of them made their way to the garage near by where thecar was usually left. Tuppence drove and Albert sat beside her. Tommyand the detective sat behind.
Presently they were held up by a block in the traffic. Tuppence lookedover her shoulder and nodded. Tommy and the detective opened the right-hand door and stepped out into the middle of Oxford44 Street. In a minuteor two Tuppence drove on.
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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fabulous
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| adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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asses
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| n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人 | |
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stilted
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| adj.虚饰的；夸张的 | |
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purported
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| adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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bower
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| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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ransacked
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| v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
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virulent
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| adj.有毒的，有恶意的，充满敌意的 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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miscreants
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| n.恶棍，歹徒( miscreant的名词复数 ) | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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hitch
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| v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉 | |
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larches
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| n.落叶松（木材）( larch的名词复数 ) | |
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lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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buzzer
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| n.蜂鸣器；汽笛 | |
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gorilla
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| n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手 | |
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stunt
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| n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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scrawled
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| 乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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lures
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| 吸引力，魅力（lure的复数形式） | |
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sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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acrimonious
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| adj.严厉的，辛辣的，刻毒的 | |
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crooks
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| 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 ) | |
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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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