The Astonishing Adventure of Jane SmithWentworth, Patricia
General
The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith
Wentworth, Patricia
Adventure stories; Cousins -- Fiction; Detective and mystery stories
“These things always leak out. It doesn’t really signify. With this
money at our command we can complete our arrangements at once, and be
ready to strike within the next few weeks. You and Belcovitch had better
keep out of the way until the time comes. He should be here in four
days’ time, travelling by the route we settled; then you’ll have
company. You must both lie close here.”
“That’s the devil of a plan now, Ember,” said Molloy. “We’ll be no
better than rats in a drain.”
“Well, it’s for your safety,” said Ember. “They’re out for blood over
this business of Formula ‘A,’ I can tell you, and there’s nowhere you’d
be half so safe.”
Jane was listening with all her ears. She decided that Mr. Ember’s
solicitude was not all on Molloy’s account. “He thinks that if Molloy
and Belcovitch are arrested, they’ll give him away over the big thing in
order to save themselves. I expect they’d be able to make a pretty good
bargain for themselves, really.” She heard Molloy give a sulky assent.
Then Ember was speaking again:
“I want to check the lists with you. Not the continental ones—I’ll keep
those for Belcovitch—but those for the States and here. I’ve got them
complete now, but I’m not very sure about all the names. Hennessey now,
he’s down for Chicago, but I don’t know that I altogether trust
Hennessey.”
“It’s late in the day to say that,” said Molloy.
“Well, what about Hayling Taylor?”
Jane listened, and heard name follow name. Ember appeared to be reading
from a list. He would name a large town and follow it with a list of
persons who apparently acted as agents there. Sometimes these names were
passed with an assenting grunt by Molloy, sometimes there was a
discussion.
There are a great many large towns in the United States of America. Jane
became stiffer and stiffer. At last she could bear her constrained
half-crouching position no longer. Very gingerly, moving half an inch at
a time, she let herself down until she was sitting on the pile of broken
bricks which blocked the tunnel. The names went on. It was dull and
monotonous to a degree, but behind the dullness and the monotony there
was a sense of lurking horror.
“It’s like being in a fog,” said Jane—“the sort you can’t see through at
all, and knowing that there’s a tiger loose somewhere.”
One thing became clearer and clearer to her. Those lists that sounded
like geography lessons must be got hold of somehow. Henry must have
them.
After what seemed like a long time Ember folded up one paper and
produced another. If Jane had been able to watch Mr. Molloy’s face, she
would have noticed that, every now and then, it was crossed by a look of
hesitation. He seemed constantly about to speak and yet held his peace.
“I’d like you to check the names for Ireland too,” said Ember. “Grogan
sent me the completed list two days ago. You’d better look at it.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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