登陆注册
5230100000041

第41章 CHAPTER XV(2)

The girl. Was it not always so? That breed! God's curse on them all! A crooked finger, and the women followed, hypnotized. The girl was away from the apartment the major part of the day; so it was in order to search her rooms. A pretty little fool.

But where were they hiding him? Gall and wormwood! That he should slip through Boris Karlov's fingers, after all these tortuous windings across the world! Patience. Sooner or later the girl would lead the way. Still, patience was a galling hobble when he had so little time, when even now they might be hunting him. Boris Karlov had left New York rather well known.

He expanded under this thought. For the spiritual breath of life to the anarch is flattery, attention. Had the newspapers ignored Trotzky's advent into Russia, had they omitted the daily chronicle of his activities, the Russian problem would not be so large as it is this day. Trotzky would have died of chagrin.

He would answer this advertisement. Trap? He would set one himself.

The man who eventually came to negotiate would be made a prisoner and forced to disclose the identity of the man who had interfered with the great projects of Boris Karlov, plenipotentiary extraordinary for the red government of Russia.

Midtown, Cutty tapped his breakfast egg dubiously. Not that he speculated upon the freshness of the egg. What troubled him was that advertisement. Last night, keyed high by his remarkable discovery of the identity of his guest and his cupidity relative to the emeralds, he had laid himself open. If he knew anything at all about the craft, that reporter would be digging in. Fortunately he had resources unsuspected by the reporter. Legitimately he could send a secret-service operative to collect the mail - if Karlov decided to negotiate. Still within his rights, he could use another operative to conduct the negotiations. If in the end Karlov strayed into the net the use of the service for private ends would be justified.

Lord, those green stones! Well, why not? Something in the world worth a hazard. What had he in life but this second grand passion?

There shot into his mind obliquely an irrelevant question. Supposing, in the old days, he had proceeded to reach for Molly as he was now reaching for the emeralds - a bit lawlessly? After all these years, to have such a thought strike him! Hadn't he stepped aside meekly for Conover? Hadn't he observed and envied Conover's dazzling assault? Supposing Molly had been wavering, and this method of attack had decided her? Never to have thought of that before! What did a woman want? A love storm, and then an endless after-calm.

And it had taken him twenty-odd years to make this discovery.

Fact. He had never been shy of women. He had somehow preferred to play comrade instead of gallant; and all the women had taken advantage of that, used him callously to pair with old maids, faded wives, and homely debutantes.

What impellent was driving him toward these introspections? Kitty, Molly's girl. Each time he saw her or thought of her - the uninvited ghost of her mother. Any other man upon seeing Kitty or thinking about her would have jumped into the future from the spring of a dream. The disparity in years would not have mattered. It was all nonsense, of course. But for his dropping into the office and casually picking up the thread of his acquaintance with Kitty, Molly - the memory of her - would have gone on dimming. Actions, tremendous and world-wide, had set his vision toward the future; he had been too busy to waste time in retrospection and introspection.

Thus, instead of a gently rising and falling tide, healthily recurrent, a flood of mixed longings that was swirling him into uncertain depths. Those emeralds had bobbed up just in time. The chase would serve to pull him out of this bog.

He heard a footstep and looked up. The nurse was beckoning to him.

"What is it?"

"He's awake, and there is sanity in his eyes."

"Great! Has he talked?"

"No. The awakening happened just this moment, and I came to you.

You never can tell about blows on the skull or brain fever - never any two eases alike."

Cutty threw down his napkin and accompanied the nurse to the bedside.

The glance of the patient trailed from Cutty to the nurse and back.

"Don't talk," said Cutty. "Don't ask any questions. Take it easy until later in the day. You are in the hands of persons who wish you well. Eat what the nurse gives you. When the right time comes we'll tell you all about ourselves, You've been robbed and beaten.

But the men who did it are under arrest."

"One question," said the patient, weakly.

"Well, just one."

"A girl - who gave me something to eat?"

"Yes. She fed you, and later probably your life."

"Thanks." Hawksley closed his eyes.

Cutty and the nurse watched him interestedly for a few minutes; but as he did not stir again the nurse took up her temperature sheet and Cutty returned to his eggs. Was there a girl? No question about the emeralds, no interest in the day and the hour. Was there a girl? The last person he had seen, Kitty; the first question, after coming into the light: Had he seen her? Then and there Cutty knew that when he died he would carry into the Beyond, of all his earthly possessions - a chuckle. Human beings!

The yarn that reporter had missed by a hair - front page, eight-column head! But he had missed it, and that was the main thing.

The poor devil! Beaten and without a sou marque in his pockets, his trail was likely to be crowded without the assistance of any newspaper publicity. But what a yarn! What a whale of a yarn!

In his fevered flights Hawksley had spoken of having paid Kitty for that meal.

Kitty had said nothing about it. Supposing - "Telephone, sair," announced the Jap. "Lady."

Molly's girl! Cutty sprinted to the telephone.

"Hello! That you, Kitty?"

"Yes. How is Johnny Two-Hawks?"

"Back to earth."

'When can I see him? I'm just crazy to know what the story is!"

"Say the third or fourth day from this. We'll have him shaved and sitting up then."

"Has he talked?"

同类推荐
  • 事林广记后集

    事林广记后集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 注同教问答

    注同教问答

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 佛说遗日摩尼宝经

    佛说遗日摩尼宝经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 大业拾遗记

    大业拾遗记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • King Richard III

    King Richard III

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 天使的微笑(原创经典作品)

    天使的微笑(原创经典作品)

    善读精品美文,拾取久违的感动;体悟百味人生,感受成长的快乐。阅读其间,时而在惊险悬疑的案件中悚然而惊,时而为体察入微的真情潸然泪下,时而又涌动着想针砭时弊的激情……掩卷而思,人性的美丑,世事的善恶,人生际遇的变幻无常不禁让人感慨万千。
  • 图解卡耐基成功学大全集

    图解卡耐基成功学大全集

    《图解卡耐基成功学大全集》囊括了卡耐基励志著作中最经典的《人性的弱点》、《人性的优点》、《美好的人生》、《快乐的人生》和《语言的突破》五部分内容,浓缩了卡耐基成功哲学中所有的的思想精华,旨在帮助读者解决生活中面临的最大问题:如何在社会交往、商务活动中与人打交道,并有效地影响他人;如何击败人类的大敌——忧虑,创造幸福美好的人生;如何在公共场合表现突出,准确地表达自己的观点和见解,赢得听众的赞赏和尊重。
  • 金云翘传

    金云翘传

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 天子娇

    天子娇

    在宅斗中沦为牺牲品的丫鬟,竟夺舍重生成了太子的儿子,还光明正大的登基做了皇帝。小皇帝不仅男人女相,还不近女色。ps:本文女扮男装做太子,做皇帝本文慢热,路过慎入!
  • 雪地行歌

    雪地行歌

    最好的爱情,无非牵手,无疑相守,那一年,飞雪漫天,李行歌在医院里哭的歇斯底里,注定要走的,哪怕你拿命来换,辗转人间几年,她还是要走。遇见她之后,陡然间变得鼠目寸光,时间真的太晚,余生真的好短。多年后,我很庆幸,墓碑照片里的你一如当年初见时那般美丽。人不在了,再怎么爱,也只能守着那座坟,从此以后,婆娑三千碧落黄泉,你我再不相见。你走了以后,从此再无天日,余生是你,余光也是你,要么不爱,要么爱的人都像你。
  • 听风在耳蝈密语

    听风在耳蝈密语

    听风和耳蝈失去了联系、听风高考失利、耳蝈忘记了自己与听风的约定,在国外定居,已结婚。听风在自己检查出脑萎缩症时,知道了耳蝈结婚的消息。从此,她没有走出自己的屋子,慢慢的她的肌肉也开始萎缩。她的眼眶里都是黑白灰的世界。听风知道耳蝈死了,她喜欢上了黑暗的屋子,一天24小时,沉浸在自己的二次元世界里与耳蝈见面·····(幸福就在下一秒,这个在不幸中成长的女孩会遇见那个默默守护的白马王子)
  • 无光之地

    无光之地

    陈极能穿越时间,却因此父母双亡,赵启光能预知未来,却权利尽失,钟离能窥探过去,却妻离子散,不幸接连发生,三人却仍痴迷“超能”而不悟……他们永不会想到,所谓的超能只是假象,是诱他们滑入深渊的饵……能力诱发欲望,欲望迷失理智。从救命到谋财,从被动杀人到主动杀人,迈向罪恶的每一步,他们都走得义无反顾、坚定无比……
  • 隐婚成瘾

    隐婚成瘾

    一纸契约,她成为他隐婚的妻她知道自己身份低微,配不上男人所以一向很有自知之明,知道男人有初恋,有明星情人于是非常大度,从不过问男人的感情生活可这个男人,还是一副不满意的样子“你有初恋男友?”“你不是也有吗?”“我不准你有!”无语,怎么遇见个这么难伺候的人……
  • 奇幻世界纪实

    奇幻世界纪实

    一旦有一天你知道自己该往哪里走,将无可阻挡。成长型,无CP。
  • 鬼医凰妃

    鬼医凰妃

    一朝穿越,身为现代天才医生的她,成了怀着身孕,却被虐待而死的花痴王妃。万贯家财,换来的是薄情寡义,一尸两命。她本想放弃一切,脱离是非之地,却遭人陷害,被渣夫踢的孩子早产落地,母子二人差点被大火烧死。侥幸活命,她带着儿子重生归来,誓要有仇报仇,有冤报冤。他绝代风华,权势成迷,却愿意为她保驾护航,护她平安。不曾想,真相惊人,痴心错付,她翻身化为鬼医,翻手为云覆手为雨。本无牵扯的两人因命运纠缠一起,搅起了一场席卷大陆的惊涛骇浪……--情节虚构,请勿模仿