[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
expect. I guess he must be laughing up his sleeve at what an idiot I am, right
now."
"Do not distress yourself, O Doleful One," said Hakin. He still looked much
calmer than Mel had expected him to be. "The Crooked One's sleeve will not
know laughter for long. And the fault is not yours."
"We can always change our schedule," observed Bolam. "If necessary."
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"After the trouble you've gone to in working this one out?" Mel shook his
head. "No, don't try to make me feel good. I let Closker make a monkey out of
me. The only thing I can't understand is how that schedule card got into my
pocket in the first place. I don't remember putting it there. I just can't
figure out I can't understand "
"It is not polite to interrupt any one, O Puzzled One," said Hakin. "Even
one's self."
"Wait a minute," said Mel slowly. "Maybe I
can understand. Could you possibly have put that schedule in my pocket,
Hakin?"
"All things are possible, O Ponderer of the Mysteries of Nature."
"Around this circus they seem to be. You put it in my pocket hoping that he'd
steal it. Isn't that so?"
"You wrong us, Mel," said Bolam. "We don't hope anybody will ever do any
stealing."
"Let's say you expected him to steal it. So you wrote out a fake schedule "
Mel stared at the two partners. "Say, it's beginning to look as if Closker
isn't the only one around here who has funny ideas about ethics."
"Our ethics are beyond dispute, O Pure-Thinking One," Hakin told him. "If
Closker is an honest man who has no idea of purloining what belongs to others,
he will lose nothing. He will make out his own schedule as best he can without
paying any attention to ours. If, however, he is a thief who seeks to use the
property that belongs to us, we have arranged to make him suffer for his
knavishness."
Bolam said, "That's simple justice, Mel."
"It may be justice," admitted Mel. "But it isn't so simple. Not to me it
isn't. You expect him to make out his own schedule in such a way that he falls
into a trap you've set. I suppose you've juggled the dates
a bit."
"You suppose correctly, O Shrewd One," smiled Hakin. "On the schedule that
Closker has in his possession we have set back all the dates approximately one
month. And we have hired the circus grounds in each locality not in our own
name, but in that of some dummy company which Closker will not recognize as
ours. Thus, if he investigates, he will think that we have not hired the
grounds at all. He will ascribe this to our carelessness, to the looseness of
our organization, which he supposes is much inferior to his. Perhaps he will
try to arrange his circus to play each engagement two weeks before he thinks
ours will arrive. In that way, he will hope to attract audiences until every
one is tired of circus-going, so that when we give our own performances they
will play to empty houses.
"Think how chagrined he will be to discover that we play each engagement not
two weeks later, but two weeks before him! Think how mortified he will be, O
Ethical One, to find that it is we who have skimmed the cream of the
audiences, instead of he! Think how enraged he will be to learn that it is he
who will show great losses for the season, and not we!"
Mel thought, and he didn't altogether like his thoughts. He said, "I still
don't like the idea of the way you used me and Betty to arrange this."
"We used Closker's own greed and trickiness," said Bolam. "If not through you,
we'd have managed to do it some other way. We owed him something for the dirty
work his men tried on board the ship."
"I'll agree to that," admitted Mel.
"And do not forget, O Dubious One, that the outcome depends on his own honesty
and on that alone. If he does not try to make use of our property, then our
plan fails."
Slowly, and somewhat reluctantly, Mel admitted to himself that the rubber man
was right. He didn't like being in the middle of a deal like this. But if
Closker got caught, it would be that gentleman's own fault.
As for Betty well, Mel hoped that Closker would be too mortified when he
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eventually found himself victimized to tell her about it. The story would
reflect no credit on himself. Whatever happened, however, Mel knew that when
next season rolled around and Closker found himself trailing the rival circus,
instead of just preceding it, the man would have no more use for him.
He went back to his room to find Rover waiting for him. The dog didn't seem at
all sleepy, and began to pace restlessly back and forth.
"I know how you feel, Rover," said Mel. "But you'd still better take it easy.
Lie down. Tomorrow maybe you can go for a walk."
The promise seemed to satisfy Rover, and he lay down. Mel's own thoughts were
in a whirl, but he was tired, and presently he too lay down. He fell asleep at
once.
The next day, as he had promised, he took the dog for a walk. There was no
sign of the middle-aged woman who had followed him the night before, and for a
moment Mel wondered if perhaps Lieutenant
Blazer had called off his shadow. It wasn't likely, he decided. The Lieutenant
hadn't known that Rover would be sufficiently recovered to go with him.
Then the answer struck him, and once more he felt ashamed of his own
stupidity. The police didn't use the same shadow all the time. That would put
his enemies on guard.
Now, in all probability, they had a man trailing him, later there would be
another man, and so on.
The way Rover walked reminded Mel that bright as the animal was, he was all
dog. Mel had been interested in strange sights, and after he had seen the few
that the colony seemed to have, he had rather lost interest. Rover, however,
was even more interested in smells than in sights. Two buildings might look
alike, but one sniff, and he knew how really different they were inside.
Everything he saw fascinated him.
A couple of the six-legged "sheep" that foraged on the outside came close to
the walls, and Rover was interested in them too. Mel said, "Your ancestors
were sheep-dogs, Rover, but these beasts don't need to be herded. As far as [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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expect. I guess he must be laughing up his sleeve at what an idiot I am, right
now."
"Do not distress yourself, O Doleful One," said Hakin. He still looked much
calmer than Mel had expected him to be. "The Crooked One's sleeve will not
know laughter for long. And the fault is not yours."
"We can always change our schedule," observed Bolam. "If necessary."
Page 73
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"After the trouble you've gone to in working this one out?" Mel shook his
head. "No, don't try to make me feel good. I let Closker make a monkey out of
me. The only thing I can't understand is how that schedule card got into my
pocket in the first place. I don't remember putting it there. I just can't
figure out I can't understand "
"It is not polite to interrupt any one, O Puzzled One," said Hakin. "Even
one's self."
"Wait a minute," said Mel slowly. "Maybe I
can understand. Could you possibly have put that schedule in my pocket,
Hakin?"
"All things are possible, O Ponderer of the Mysteries of Nature."
"Around this circus they seem to be. You put it in my pocket hoping that he'd
steal it. Isn't that so?"
"You wrong us, Mel," said Bolam. "We don't hope anybody will ever do any
stealing."
"Let's say you expected him to steal it. So you wrote out a fake schedule "
Mel stared at the two partners. "Say, it's beginning to look as if Closker
isn't the only one around here who has funny ideas about ethics."
"Our ethics are beyond dispute, O Pure-Thinking One," Hakin told him. "If
Closker is an honest man who has no idea of purloining what belongs to others,
he will lose nothing. He will make out his own schedule as best he can without
paying any attention to ours. If, however, he is a thief who seeks to use the
property that belongs to us, we have arranged to make him suffer for his
knavishness."
Bolam said, "That's simple justice, Mel."
"It may be justice," admitted Mel. "But it isn't so simple. Not to me it
isn't. You expect him to make out his own schedule in such a way that he falls
into a trap you've set. I suppose you've juggled the dates
a bit."
"You suppose correctly, O Shrewd One," smiled Hakin. "On the schedule that
Closker has in his possession we have set back all the dates approximately one
month. And we have hired the circus grounds in each locality not in our own
name, but in that of some dummy company which Closker will not recognize as
ours. Thus, if he investigates, he will think that we have not hired the
grounds at all. He will ascribe this to our carelessness, to the looseness of
our organization, which he supposes is much inferior to his. Perhaps he will
try to arrange his circus to play each engagement two weeks before he thinks
ours will arrive. In that way, he will hope to attract audiences until every
one is tired of circus-going, so that when we give our own performances they
will play to empty houses.
"Think how chagrined he will be to discover that we play each engagement not
two weeks later, but two weeks before him! Think how mortified he will be, O
Ethical One, to find that it is we who have skimmed the cream of the
audiences, instead of he! Think how enraged he will be to learn that it is he
who will show great losses for the season, and not we!"
Mel thought, and he didn't altogether like his thoughts. He said, "I still
don't like the idea of the way you used me and Betty to arrange this."
"We used Closker's own greed and trickiness," said Bolam. "If not through you,
we'd have managed to do it some other way. We owed him something for the dirty
work his men tried on board the ship."
"I'll agree to that," admitted Mel.
"And do not forget, O Dubious One, that the outcome depends on his own honesty
and on that alone. If he does not try to make use of our property, then our
plan fails."
Slowly, and somewhat reluctantly, Mel admitted to himself that the rubber man
was right. He didn't like being in the middle of a deal like this. But if
Closker got caught, it would be that gentleman's own fault.
As for Betty well, Mel hoped that Closker would be too mortified when he
Page 74
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
eventually found himself victimized to tell her about it. The story would
reflect no credit on himself. Whatever happened, however, Mel knew that when
next season rolled around and Closker found himself trailing the rival circus,
instead of just preceding it, the man would have no more use for him.
He went back to his room to find Rover waiting for him. The dog didn't seem at
all sleepy, and began to pace restlessly back and forth.
"I know how you feel, Rover," said Mel. "But you'd still better take it easy.
Lie down. Tomorrow maybe you can go for a walk."
The promise seemed to satisfy Rover, and he lay down. Mel's own thoughts were
in a whirl, but he was tired, and presently he too lay down. He fell asleep at
once.
The next day, as he had promised, he took the dog for a walk. There was no
sign of the middle-aged woman who had followed him the night before, and for a
moment Mel wondered if perhaps Lieutenant
Blazer had called off his shadow. It wasn't likely, he decided. The Lieutenant
hadn't known that Rover would be sufficiently recovered to go with him.
Then the answer struck him, and once more he felt ashamed of his own
stupidity. The police didn't use the same shadow all the time. That would put
his enemies on guard.
Now, in all probability, they had a man trailing him, later there would be
another man, and so on.
The way Rover walked reminded Mel that bright as the animal was, he was all
dog. Mel had been interested in strange sights, and after he had seen the few
that the colony seemed to have, he had rather lost interest. Rover, however,
was even more interested in smells than in sights. Two buildings might look
alike, but one sniff, and he knew how really different they were inside.
Everything he saw fascinated him.
A couple of the six-legged "sheep" that foraged on the outside came close to
the walls, and Rover was interested in them too. Mel said, "Your ancestors
were sheep-dogs, Rover, but these beasts don't need to be herded. As far as [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]