登陆注册
14832300000040

第40章

WHAT SHAKESPEARE'S COMEDIES REVEALED

In a very depressed frame of mind, Desmond turned into the library. As he crossed the hall, he noticed how cheerless the house was. Again there came to him that odor of mustiness--of all smells the most eerie and drear--which he had noticed on his arrival. Somehow, as long as Nur-el-Din had been there, he had not remarked the appalling loneliness of the place.

A big log fire was blazing cheerfully in the grate, throwing out a bright glow into the room which, despite the early hour, was already wreathed in shadows. Wearily Desmond pulled a big armchair up to the blaze and sat down. He told himself that he must devote every minute of his spare time to going over in his mind the particulars he had memorized of Mr. Bellward's habits and acquaintanceships. He took the list of Bellward's friends from his pocket-book.

But this afternoon he found it difficult to concentrate his attention. His gaze kept wandering back to the fire, in whose glowing depths he fancied he could see a perfect oval face with pleading eyes and dazzling teeth looking appealingly at him.

Nur-el-Din! What an entrancing creature she was! What passion lurked in those black eyes of hers, in her moods, swiftly changing from gusts of fierce imperiousness to gentle airs of feminine charm! What a frail little thing she was to have fought her way alone up the ladder from the lowest rung to the very top!

She must have character and grit, Desmond decided, for he was a young man who adored efficiency: to him efficiency spelled success.

But a spy needs grit, he reflected, and Nur-el-Din had many qualities which would enable her to win the confidence of men.

Hadn't she half-captivated him, the would-be spy-catcher, already?

Desmond laughed ruefully to himself. Indeed, he mused, things looked that way. What would the Chief say if he could see his prize young man, his white-headed boy, sitting sentimentalizing by the fire over a woman who was, by her own confession, practically an accredited German agent? Desmond thrust his chin out and shook himself together. He would put the feminine side of Nur-el-Din out of his head. He must think of her henceforth only as a member of the band that was spotting targets for those sneaking, callous brutes of U-boat commanders.

He went back to the study of the list of Mr. Bellward's friends.

But he found it impossible to focus his mind upon it. Do what he would, he could not rid himself of the sensation that he had failed at the very outset of his mission. He was, indeed, he told himself, the veriest tyro at the game. Here he had had under his hand in turn Nur-el-Din and Mortimer (who, he made no doubt, was the leader of the gang which was so sorely troubling the Chief), and he had let both get away without eliciting from either even as much as their address. By the use of a little tact, he had counted on penetrating something of the mystery enveloping the dancer and her relationship with the gang; for he thought he divined that Nur-el-Din was inclined to make him her confidant.

With the information thus procured, he had hoped to get on to the track of the leader of the band.

But that ugly brute; Mortimer, with his goggle eyes, had spoiled everything. His appearance had taken Desmond completely by surprise: to tell the truth, it had thrown our young man rather off his guard. " If only I might have had a little longer acquaintance with my part," he reflected bitterly as $e sat by the fire, "I should have been better able to deal with that pompous ass!"Afterwards, when thinking over the opening events of this extraordinary episode of his career, Desmond rather wondered why he had not followed Mortimer out of the house that afternoon and tracked him down to his hiding place. But, as a matter of fact, the idea did not occur to him at the time. His orders were positive not to leave the house, and he never even thought of breaking them--at any rate, not then.

His orders, also, it is true, were to report to headquarters any communication that might be made to him; but these instructions, at least as far as Nur-el-Din's and Mortimer's visits were concerned, he resolved to ignore.

For one thing, he felt angry with the Chief who, he argued rather irrationally, ought to have foreseen and prevented Mortimer thus taking him by surprise. The Chief liked secrets--well, for a change, he should be kept in the dark and the laugh would be on Desmond's side. For a few minutes after Mortimer's departure, Desmond had felt strongly inclined to go to the telephone which stood on the desk in the library and ring up Mr. Elias, as he should have done, but he resisted this impulse. Now, thinking things over in the firelight, he was glad he had refrained. He would ferret out for himself the exact part that Nur-el-Din and Mortimer were playing in this band of spies. Nothing definite had come of his interviews with them as yet. It would be time enough to communicate with Headquarters when he had something positive to report.

Then Desmond thrust the paper he had been studying back in his pocket-book and jumped up. He felt that the inaction was stifling him. He determined to go for a walk round the garden. That, at least, was in the spirit of his orders.

Remembering that he was supposed to be suffering from a chill he donned a heavy Ulster of Bellward's which was hanging in the hall and wound a muffler round his neck. Then cramming a soft cap on his head (he noted with satisfaction that Bellward's hats fitted him remarkably well) he opened the front door and stepped outside.

The rain had stopped, but the whole atmosphere reeled of moisture. Angry-looking, dirty-brown clouds chased each other across the lowering sky, and there was a constant sound of water, trickling and gurgling and splashing, in his ears.

同类推荐
  • 初学晬盘

    初学晬盘

    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。
  • 张载集摘

    张载集摘

    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。
  • 于阗国行程记

    于阗国行程记

    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。
  • 元气论

    元气论

    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。
  • 都部陀罗尼目

    都部陀罗尼目

    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。
热门推荐
  • 浮躁

    浮躁

    瓜熟蒂落,成长无法拒绝,我们终于落在了现实的沃土上。不忘初心,不改始终是现代人的信仰还是现实的笑话,从青春出发,历经岁月的磨砺,我们最终成了陌路还是至亲。这是关于信仰与坚守的故事,这是关于蜕变和妥协的故事,这是关于迷茫与失落的故事,我们都是走在路上的小人物,我们都有伤害和眼泪,但最终我们都要用爱饶恕那些记忆的伤痛,继续前行。
  • 穿成男主的前妻肿么破

    穿成男主的前妻肿么破

    《冷面总裁:萌妻要抱抱》里,男主唐翊有一个出轨的前妻,这个前妻的存在就是来反衬女主有多纯洁多忠贞多天真多专一的存在。作为一个读者,苏楠表示:男主你这个双标狗!然后她穿成了男主的前妻苏婻。苏楠:QAQ我觉得,我还可以抢救一下!--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 陌寻月

    陌寻月

    她,醒来时记忆一片空白,身份是四王妃,名字叫柳静恩,全然陌生的一切,有了初始的心动,也体会了感情的痛。他,名满天下的四王爷,复杂的家世,墨绿色的宫装,如同泼墨山水画一般俊逸的男人,不善言辞,个性善忍,惯于顾全大局,因她心动,因她动摇,却因为犹豫伤了她,一步错步步错,那般伤她,还能否令她回心转意……他,一身黑衣蒙面出现,声音暗哑,誓死效忠,无形中给了她最有力的依靠;他,一身大红衣袍,喜怒无常,平凡的脸下是俊美绝伦的五官,他是她一眼的相交好友。他,一身白衣,踏月而至,清逸俊雅,文采卓绝,浅笑下有着顽劣的腹黑,于她,最是温柔动人的知己…她选择性遗忘记起,抬眸间,那人终究在世事变化中清晰了他的身影。
  • 神逆袭:偶得校草

    神逆袭:偶得校草

    从国外回来,想低调毕业,可惜事与愿违。扮丑扮傻居然挨欺负。姐不惹你人自作,摇身一变:林孝,你给我等着。
  • 撞上恶魔撞上劫

    撞上恶魔撞上劫

    看路看路。。。请勿分心。。。撞车?!!!OH!NO!拍戏?不是!赶场?更不是……
  • 殿下,你走

    殿下,你走

    啥?让她堂堂将军府大小姐去给三皇子做护卫?暮冉一边咬着糖葫芦,一边皱着眉头恶狠狠说:“看宝宝我不hu死他!”可某皇子却拿出一大堆好吃的来诱惑她。嗯哼?看在这堆好吃的份上,宝宝决定暂时同意当你护卫。某逗比暮冉:“三殿下,要吃糖葫芦吗?哈哈!不给你。( ̄▽ ̄)~*”某皇子傲娇了:“哼╭(╯^╰)╮我又不是你,白送我都不要!”某逗比炸毛!??看逗比暮冉Vs傲娇三殿下,二人究竟谁胜谁败??
  • 做最好的执行者

    做最好的执行者

    本书兼具实用性和指导性。书中的每一个细节都来源于众多优秀员工实际工作经验的总结和提炼,并精选了大量经典、实用的案例,理论联系实际,对一般员工在实际工作中遇到的各种棘手问题都提供了具体的、可供操作性的解决方法和技巧。本书将帮助你成为一个优秀的执行者,助你尽快迈上一个新台阶,实现自己的人生飞跃。
  • 回眸最初:忆殇

    回眸最初:忆殇

    她被人陷害,失去了记忆,毁了容,被一户好心人收养,并做了整容手术.所有人都说南宫家大小姐已死,时过境迁,三年转瞬即逝.偶然惹上一个冰山男,偏偏那个南宫大小姐是冰山男解不开的心结,她该如何去解开双重身份的谜……
  • 姜晨

    姜晨

    当他带着一本泛黄的笔记本找到我时,我被他这些年的改变惊愕到了,我实在想不出到底经历了什么样的事情才能让一个人的前后变化如此之大。他让我代为修改,然后发到网上,我犹豫了。因为我认为这并不需要修改,这其中的每一个字,每一个人,每一个故事都是他真实的经历写照,我下不了手改,也没有资格去编改。他说当你看完这几年的内容就会想要去修改了。我沉默。他让我给这本书起个名字,我拒绝了,我告诉他,既然是你的经历,那就由你自己来取。到现在我还记得他当时的眼神,平静中带着微笑,微笑中却带着不曾引人注意的坚强。“就叫,姜晨。”
  • 侠武之至尊无双

    侠武之至尊无双

    神州大地,广袤无边,宗门林立。百年前有绝世强者崛起自边荒,后一统神州,建立武朝,分天下九府,自称神武大帝。五十年前,神武大帝破碎虚空,神州九府纷纷自立,一时强者如云。一个小时前,东轻羽在被追杀的途中醒了过来……