The Secret Adversary Agatha Christie (books to read to get smarter TXT) đ
- Author: Agatha Christie
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That gentleman nodded approval.
âI guess thatâs all right. I was just a mite hasty. But London gets my goat! I only know little old New York. Just trot out your questions and Iâll answer.â
For the moment this paralysed the Young Adventurers, but Tuppence, recovering herself, plunged boldly into the breach with a reminiscence culled from detective fiction.
âWhen did you last see the deceâ âyour cousin, I mean?â
âNever seen her,â responded Mr. Hersheimmer.
âWhat?â demanded Tommy, astonished.
Hersheimmer turned to him.
âNo, sir. As I said before, my father and her mother were brother and sister, just as you might beââ âTommy did not correct this view of their relationshipâ ââbut they didnât always get on together. And when my aunt made up her mind to marry Amos Finn, who was a poor school teacher out West, my father was just mad! Said if he made his pile, as he seemed in a fair way to do, sheâd never see a cent of it. Well, the upshot was that Aunt Jane went out West and we never heard from her again.
âThe old man did pile it up. He went into oil, and he went into steel, and he played a bit with railroads, and I can tell you he made Wall Street sit up!â He paused. âThen he diedâ âlast fallâ âand I got the dollars. Well, would you believe it, my conscience got busy! Kept knocking me up and saying: What about your Aunt Jane, way out West? It worried me some. You see, I figured it out that Amos Finn would never make good. He wasnât the sort. End of it was, I hired a man to hunt her down. Result, she was dead, and Amos Finn was dead, but theyâd left a daughterâ âJaneâ âwhoâd been torpedoed in the Lusitania on her way to Paris. She was saved all right, but they didnât seem able to hear of her over this side. I guessed they werenât hustling any, so I thought Iâd come along over, and speed things up. I phoned Scotland Yard and the Admiralty first thing. The Admiralty rather choked me off, but Scotland Yard were very civilâ âsaid they would make inquiries, even sent a man round this morning to get her photograph. Iâm off to Paris tomorrow, just to see what the Prefecture is doing. I guess if I go to and fro hustling them, they ought to get busy!â
The energy of Mr. Hersheimmer was tremendous. They bowed before it.
âBut say now,â he ended, âyouâre not after her for anything? Contempt of court, or something British? A proud-spirited young American girl might find your rules and regulations in war time rather irksome, and get up against it. If thatâs the case, and thereâs such a thing as graft in this country, Iâll buy her off.â
Tuppence reassured him.
âThatâs good. Then we can work together. What about some lunch? Shall we have it up here, or go down to the restaurant?â
Tuppence expressed a preference for the latter, and Julius bowed to her decision.
Oysters had just given place to Sole Colbert when a card was brought to Hersheimmer.
âInspector Japp, C.I.D. Scotland Yard again. Another man this time. What does he expect I can tell him that I didnât tell the first chap? I hope they havenât lost that photograph. That Western photographerâs place was burned down and all his negatives destroyedâ âthis is the only copy in existence. I got it from the principal of the college there.â
An unformulated dread swept over Tuppence.
âYouâ âyou donât know the name of the man who came this morning?â
âYes, I do. No, I donât. Half a second. It was on his card. Oh, I know! Inspector Brown. Quiet, unassuming sort of chap.â
VI A Plan of CampaignA veil might with profit be drawn over the events of the next half-hour. Suffice it to say that no such person as âInspector Brownâ was known to Scotland Yard. The photograph of Jane Finn, which would have been of the utmost value to the police in tracing her, was lost beyond recovery. Once again âMr. Brownâ had triumphed.
The immediate result of this setback was to effect a rapprochement between Julius Hersheimmer and the Young Adventurers. All barriers went down with a crash, and Tommy and Tuppence felt they had known the young American all their lives. They abandoned the discreet reticence of âprivate inquiry agents,â and revealed to him the whole history of the joint venture, whereat the young man declared himself âtickled to death.â
He turned to Tuppence at the close of the narration.
âIâve always had a kind of idea that English girls were just a mite moss-grown. Old-fashioned and sweet, you know, but scared to move round without a footman or a maiden aunt. I guess Iâm a bit behind the times!â
The upshot of these confidential relations was that Tommy and Tuppence took up their abode forthwith at the Ritz, in order, as Tuppence put it, to keep in touch with Jane Finnâs only living relation. âAnd put like that,â she added confidentially to Tommy, ânobody could boggle at the expense!â
Nobody did, which was the great thing.
âAnd now,â said the young lady on the morning after their installation, âto work!â
Mr. Beresford put down the Daily Mail, which he was reading, and applauded with somewhat unnecessary vigour. He was politely requested by his colleague not to be an ass.
âDash it all, Tommy, weâve got to do something for our money.â
Tommy sighed.
âYes, I fear even the dear old government will not support us at the Ritz in idleness forever.â
âTherefore, as I said before, we must do something.â
âWell,â said Tommy, picking up the Daily Mail again, âdo it. I shanât stop you.â
âYou see,â continued Tuppence. âIâve been thinkingâ ââ
She was interrupted by a fresh bout of applause.
âItâs all very well for you to sit there being funny, Tommy. It would do you no harm to do a little brain work too.â
âMy union, Tuppence, my union! It does not permit me to work before 11 a.m.â
âTommy, do
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