alistairmaclean.bearisland-第65节

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shook　his　head。　〃The　strain　for　you　must　have　been　intolerable。　Under　such　circumstances；　as　a　medical　man；　you　should　know　that　a　person's　imagination　can　easily…〃
　〃Imagination？　Am　I　imagining　this　forty…pound　gold　ingot？〃　I　pointed　to　the　ballast　bars　below　the　battens。　〃Am　I　imagining　those　other　fifteen　ingots　there？　Am　I　imagining　the　hundred…odd　ingots　piled　in　a　rock　shelf　inside　the　Perleporten？　Am　I　imagining　the　fact　that　your　total　lack　of　reaction　to　the　word　Perleporten　demonstrates　beyond　question　that　you　all　know　what　Perleporten　is；　where　it　is；　and　what　its　significance　is？　Am　I　imagining　the　scores　of　other　lead…sheathed　ingots　still　under　water　in　the　Perleporten？　Let's　stop　playing　silly　little　games　for　your　own　game　is　up。　As　I　say；　quite　a　clever　little　game　while　it　lasted。　What　better　cover　for　a　bullion…recovery　trip　to　the　Arctic　than　a　film　unit…after　all；　film　people　are　widely　regarded　as　being　eccentric　to　the　extent　of　being　lunatic　so　that　even　their　most　ludicrous　behaviour　is　accepted　as　being　normal　within　its　own　abnormal　context？　What　better　time　to　set　out　to　achieve　the　recovery　of　this　bullion　than　when　there　are　only　a　few　hours〃　daylight　so　that　the　recovery　operation　can　be　carried　out　through　the　long　hours　of　darkness？　What　better　way　of　bringing　the　bullion　back　to　Britain　than　by　switching　it　with　this　vessel's　ballast　so　that　it　can　be　slipped　into　the　country　under　the　eyes　of　the　Customs　authorities？〃　I　surveyed　the　ballast。　〃Four　tons；　according　to　this　splendid　brochure　that　Mr。　Heissman　wrote。　I'd　put　it　nearer　five。　Say　ten　million　dollars；　justifies　a　trip　to　even　an　out…of…the…way　resort　like　Bear　Island；　I'd　say。　Wouldn't　you？〃
　They　wouldn't　say　anything。
　〃By　and　by；〃　I　went　on；　〃you'd　probably　have　manufactured　some　excuse　for　towing　this　vessel　down　to　Perleporten　so　as　to　make　the　transshipment　of　the　gold　all　that　easier。　And　then　heigh…ho　for　Merry　England　and　the　just　enjoyment　of　the　fruits　of　your　labours。　Could　I　he　wrong？〃
　〃No。〃　Otto　was　very　calm。　〃You're　right。　But　I　think　you'd　find　it　very　hard　to　make　a　criminal　case　out　of　this。　What　could　we　possibly　be　charged　with？　Theft？　Ridiculous。　Finders；　keepers。〃
　〃Finders；　keepers？　A　few　miserable　tons　of　gold？　Your　ambitions　are　only　paltry；　you're　only　swimming　the　surface　of　the　available　loot。　Isn't　that　so；　Heissman？〃
　They　all　looked　at　Heissman。　Heissman；　in　turn；　didn't　appear　particularly　anxious　to　look　at　anyone。
　〃Why　do　you　silly　people　think　I'm　here？〃　I　said。　〃Why　do　you　think　that；　in　spite　of　the　elaborate　smoke　screen　you　set　up；　that　the　British　Government　not　only　knew　that　you　were　going　to　Bear　Island　but　also　knew　that　your　purpose　in　going　there　was　not　as　advertised？　Don't　you　know　that；　in　certain　matters；　European　governments　co…operate　very　closely？　Don't　you　know　that　most　of　them　share　a　keen　interest　in　the　activities　of　Johann　Heissman？　For　what　you　don't　know　is　that　most　of　them　know　a　great　deal　more　about　Johann　Heissman　than　you　do。　Perhaps；　Heissman；　you'd　like　to　tell　them　yourself…starting；　shall　we　say；　with　the　thirty…odd　years　you've　been　working　for　the　Soviet　Government？〃
　Otto　stared　at　Heissman；　his　huge　jowls　seeming　to　fall　apart。　Goin's　facial　muscles　tightened　until　the　habitual　smooth　blandness　had　vanished　from　his　face。　The　Count's　expression　didn't　change；　he　just　nodded　slowly　as　if　understanding　at　last　the　solution　of　a　long…standing　problem。　Heissman　looked　acutely　unhappy。
　〃Well；　〃；　I　said；　〃as　Heissman　doesn't　appear　to　have　any　intention　of　telling　anyone　anything；　I　suppose　that　leaves　it　up　to　me。　Heissman；　here；　is　a　remarkably　gifted　specialist　in　an　extremely　specialised　field。　He　is；　purely　and　simply；　a　treasure…hunter　and　there's　no　one　in　the　business　who　can　hold　a　candle　to　him。　But　he　doesn't　just　hunt　for　the　type　of　treasure　that　you　people　think　he　does：　I　fear　he　may　have　been　deceiving　you　on　this　point；　as；　indeed；　he　has　been　deceiving　you　on　another。　I　refer　to　the　fact　that　a　precondition　of　his　cutting　you　into　a　share　of　the　loot　was　that　his　niece；　Mary　Stuart；　be　employed　by　Olympus　Productions。　Having　the　nasty　and　suspicious　minds　that　you　do；　you　probably　and　rapidly　arrived　at　the　conclusion　that　she　wasn't　his　niece　at　all…which　she　isn't…and　was　along　for　some　other　purposes；　which　she　is。　But　not　for　the　purposes　which　your　nasty　and　suspicious　minds　attributed　to　her。　For　Heissman；　Miss　Stuart　was　essential　for　the　achievement　of　an　entirely　different　purpose　which　he　kind　of　forgot　to　tell　you　about。
　〃Miss　Stuart's　father；　you　have　to　understand；　was　just　as　unscrupulous　and　unprincipled　a　rogue　as　any　of　you。　He　held　very　senior　positions　in　both　the　German　Navy　and　the　Nazi　Party　and；　like　others　similarly　placed；　used　his　power　to　feather　his　own　nest…just　as　Hermann　Goering　did…when　the　war　was　seen　to　be　lost；　although　he　was　smarter　than　Goering　and　managed　to　get　out　from　under　before　the　war　criminal　roundup。　The　gold；　although　this　will　probably　never　be　proved；　almost　certainly　came　from　the　vaults　of　Norwegian　banks　and　a　man　with　all　the　resources　of　the　German　Navy　behind　him　would　have　had　no　trouble　in　choosing　such　a　splendidly　isolated　spot　as　Perleporten　in　Bear　Island　and　having　the　stuff　transferred　there。　Probably　by　submarine。　Not　that　it　matters。　〃But　it　wasn't　just　the　gold　that　was　transported　to　Perleporten；　which　is　why　Mary　Stuart　is　here。　Feathers　weren't　enough　for　Dad's　nest；　nothing　less　than　swansdown　would　do。　The　swansdown　almost　certainly　took　the　form　of　either　bank　bonds　or　securities；　probably　obtained…I　wouldn't　say　purchased…in　the　late　〃30s…　Such　securities　are　perfectly　redeemable　even　today。　An　attempt　was　recently　made　to　sell　30；000；000　worth　of　such　securities　through　foreign　exchanges　but　the　West　German　Federal　Bank　wouldn't　play　ball　because　proper　owner　identification　was　lacking。　But　there　wouldn't　be　any　problem　about　owner　identification　this　time；　would　there；　Heissman？〃
　Heissman　didn't　say　whether　there　would　or　there　wouldn't。　〃And　where　are　they？〃　I　said。　〃Nicely　welded　up　on　a　dummy　steel　in　got。〃　As　he　still　wasn't　being　very　forthing　I　went　on：　〃No　matter；　we'll　have　them。　And　then　you're　never　going　to　have　the　pleasure　of　seeing　Mary　Stuart's　father　put　his　signature　and　fingerprints　on　those　documents　and　of　checking　that　they　match　up。　You're　sure　of　that？〃　Heissman　said。　He　bad　recovered　his　normal　degree　of　posure　which　meant　that　he　was　very　posed　indeed。　〃In　a　changing　world　like　ours　who　can　be　sure　of　anything。　But　with　that　proviso；　yes。　I　think　you've　overlooked　something。〃
　〃I　have？〃
　〃Yes。　We　have　Admiral　Hanneman。〃
　〃That's　Miss　Stuart's　father's　true　name？〃
　〃You　didn't　even　know　that？〃
　〃No。　It's　of　no　relevance。　And　no；　I　haven't　overlooked　that　fact。　I　shall　attend　to　that　matter　shortly。　After　I　have　attended　to　your　friends。　Maybe　that's　the　wrong　word；　maybe　they're　not　your　friends　any　more。　I　mean；　they　don't　look　particularly　friendly；　do　they？〃
　〃Monstrous！〃　Otto　shouted。　〃Absolutely　monstrous。　Unforgivable！　Diabolical！　Our　own　partner！〃
　He　spluttered　into　an　outraged　silence。　〃Despicable；〃　Goin　said　coldly。　〃Absolutely　contemptible。〃
　〃Isn't　it？〃　I　said。　〃Tell　me；　does　this　moral　indignation　stem　from　this　revelation　of　the　depths　of　Heissman's　perfidy　or　merely　because　he　omitted　to　cut　you　in　on　the　proceeds　of　the　cashing　of　the　securities？
　Don't　bother　answering　that　question；　it's　purely　rhetorical；　as　villains　you're　dyed　in　the　same　inky　black　as　Heissman。　What　I　mean　is；　most　of　you　spend　a　great　deal　of　time　and　careful　thought　in　concealing　from　the　other　members　of　the　board　of　Olympus　Productions　just　what　the　true　natures　of　your　activities　are。　Heissman　is　hardly　alone　in　this　respect。　〃Take　the　Count　here。　pared　to　the　rest　of　you　he　was　a　vestal　angel　but　even　he　dabbled　in　some　murky　waters。　For　over　thirty　years　now　he's　been　a　member　of　the　board　and　has　had　a　free　meal　ticket　for　life　because　he　happened　to　be　in　Vienna　when　the　Anschluss　came；　when　Otto　headed　for　the　States　and　Heissman　was　spirited　away。　Heissman　was　spirited　away　because　Otto　bad　arranged　for　him　to　be　so　that　he　could　take　all　the　film　pany's　capital　out　of　the　country：　Otto　was　never　a　man　to　hesitate　when　it　came　to　selling　a　friend　down　the　river。　〃What　Otto　didn't　know　but　what　the　Count　did　but　carefully　refrained　from　telling　him　was　that　Heissman's　disappearance　had　been　entirely　voluntary。　Heissman　had　been　a　German　secret　agent　for　some　time　and　his　adopted　country　needed　him。　What　his　adopted　country　didn't　know　was　that　Russia　had　adopted　him　even　before　they　had　but　this　isn't　germane　to　the　main　point　that　Otto　believed　he　had　betrayed　a　friend　for　gold　and　that　the　Count　knew　it。　Unfortunately；　it's　going　to　be　very　hard　to　prove　anything　against　the　Count　and　not　being　a　grasping　man　by　nature　never　asked　for　anything　more　than　his　salary　there's　nothing　to　demonstrate　blackmail　which　is　why　I've　chosen　him…and　he's　accepted　as　the　person　to　turn　Queen's　Evidence　against　his　fellow　directors　on　the　board。〃　
　Heissman　now　joined　Otto　and　Goin　in　giving　the　Count　the　kind　of　look　they　ha